Mixing Center of a Channel

For longitudinally uniform stretches of waterways there is a mixing center for the across-channel location of a steady point source in steady flow, such that complete mixing is achieved as soon as possible and there is no concentration overshoot at either of the two shorelines. A mathematical definition of the mixing center is the zero of the first oscillatory cross-channel diffusion mode. With the shorelines plus four interior data points across the channel, the starting estimate for the mixing center suffices to keep peak shoreline concentrations to within 6% of optimal. For comparison, a source at mid flow gives 18% shoreline concentration overshoot in the test case. Should very high precision be required, the Appendix gives an iterative construction that converges to the first oscillatory diffusion mode.     

Investigations of high-performance GaAs solar cells grown on Ge-Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/-Si substrates

High-performance p/sup +//n GaAs solar cells were grown and processed on compositionally graded Ge-Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/-Si (SiGe) substrates. Total area efficiencies of 18.1% under the AM1.5-G spectrum were measured for 0.0444 cm/sup 2/ solar cells. This high efficiency is attributed to the very high open-circuit voltages (980 mV (AM0) and 973 mV (AM1.5-G)) that were achieved by the reduction in threading dislocation density enabled by the SiGe buffers, and thus reduced carrier recombination losses. This is the highest independently confirmed efficiency and open-circuit voltage for a GaAs solar cell grown on a Si-based substrate to date. Larger area solar cells were also studied in order to examine the impact of device area on GaAs-on-SiGe solar cell performance; we found that an increase in device area from 0.36 to 4.0 cm/sup 2/ did not degrade the measured performance characteristics for cells processed on identical substrates. Moreover, the device performance uniformity for large area heteroepitaxial cells is consistent with that of homoepitaxial cells; thus, device growth and processing on SiGe substrates did not introduce added performance variations. These results demonstrate that using SiGe interlayers to produce "virtual" Ge substrates may provide a robust method for scaleable integration of high performance III-V photovoltaics devices with large area Si wafers.     

A strategy for improving patient satisfaction by the intensive training of residents in psychosocial medicine: a controlled, randomized study

PURPOSE: To use a controlled, randomized design to assess the effect on patient satisfaction of an intensive psychosocial training program for residents. METHOD: Twenty-six first-year residents, in two internal medicine and family practice community-based programs affiliated with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, were randomly assigned during 1991 and 1992 to a control group or a one-month intensive training program. Experiential teaching focused on many psychosocial skills required in primary care. A 29-item questionnaire administered before and after the residents' training evaluated their patients' satisfaction regarding patient disclosure, physician empathy, confidence in physician, general satisfaction, and comparison of the physician with other physicians. Analyses of covariance with groups and gender as factors and pre-training patient satisfaction scores as the covariate evaluated the effect of the training. RESULTS: The patients of the trained residents expressed more confidence in their physicians (p = .01) and more general satisfaction (p = .02) than did the patients of controls. The effect of training on patient satisfaction with patient disclosure (p < .01) and physician empathy (p < .05) was greater for female than for male residents. CONCLUSION: The intensive psychosocial training program for residents improved their patients' satisfaction.     

Sustainable building: Building green

In addition to having one of the top environmental law programs in the United States, the University of Denver College of Law now has a building that demonstrates the institution ‘practices what it preaches’ when it comes to concern for the environment. Built on the front range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the 181,000 square foot, $63 million facility which opened in August will be the first certified “green” law school in the country. Don C. Smith, U.S. Correspondent explains the attributes that distinguish the building from conventional ones.     

Appraisal as a Pervasive Determinant of Anger.

L. Berkowitz and E. Harmon-Jones (see record 2004-15096-001) challenge appraisal theories of emotion by describing 2 sets of conditions (physical discomfort and anger-related muscle actions) in which anger appears to be elicited in the absence of theoretically predicted appraisals. In response, the authors discuss the ability of the specific appraisal model they have developed (e.g., C. A. Smith & L. D. Kirby, 2000, 2001; C. A. Smith & R. S. Lazarus, 1990) to account for such instances of anger. First, a number of issues are clarified relevant to the authors' model, including the nature of both the cognitive operations underlying appraisal and the specific appraisals hypothesized to evoke anger. The authors then describe how their model can account for the instances of anger described by L. Berkowitz and E. Harmon-Jones and how both accounts might be tested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Breaking the Nyquist barrier

The author discusses the concept that data sampled beyond the Nyquist frequency is meaningless. A simple signal processing scheme to extend resolution to nearly twice the Nyquist without the problem of alias emerged. It starts by placing one-dimensional signals into a simulated sample-and-hold process in a Mathcad application     

The Study of Heterogeneous Catalysts by High-Resolution Transmission Electron MicroscoDV

Advances in instrumentation have made it possible in recent years to study the microstructure of inorganic materials at atomic resolution using the technique of high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Details of instrumentation have been described elsewhere [l], and applications and trends for HREM have recently been reviewed [2]. Although HREM is primarily a technique for studying bulk defects, it is increasingly also being applied in the profile-imaging mode to derive information about surfaces [3]. The high spatial resolution of the electron microscope makes it a valuable tool for the characterization of heterogeneous catalysts. This is evidenced by the growing number of studies wherein electron micrographs are being used to describe the morphology of a particular catalyst. Profile imaging is proving particularly useful in this regard for following changes in surface structure as a function of treatment conditions [4].     

Effects of viscosity on the bitterness and astringency of grape seed tannin

To examine the separate effects of viscosity and sweetness on astringency, aqueous solutions of grape seed tannin (GST) were thickened with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) from 2 to 45 cP (experiment 1) or sweetened with 0 to 1.8 g/L aspartame (experiment 2). Trained subjects continuously rated astringency and bitterness in duplicate. Subjects were categorized by the salivary flow induced by citric acid and ability to taste n-propyl thiouracil (PROP). In experiment 1, maximum intensity and total duration of astringency were significantly decreased as viscosity rose, although time to maximum intensity of astringency was not affected. Maximum intensity and total duration of bitterness were not significantly affected by increasing viscosity; however, the onset of bitterness was significantly delayed. In experiment 2, increasing sweetness had no affect on any astringency parameter, although maximum intensity of bitterness was significantly decreased. Neither PROP nor salivary flow-status had any effect on perception of bitterness or astringency in either experiment.