Calculation of ternary systems containing III-V and II-VI compound phases

A data base covering the binary systems composed of Aluminum, Gallium, Indium, Phosphorus, Arsenic and Antimony has been constructed by analyzing the fifteen combinations of these elements in terms of lattice stability, solution phase and compound parameters. Partial isothermal sections in the P-In-As, As-In-Sb, P-Ga-As, Ga-Sb-In and Al-Sb-Ga systems were then calculated using the foregoing data base for comparison with experimental isothermal sections and quasi-binary III-V phase diagrams. It was found that ternary liquid and III-V compound interaction parameters were required to attain good agreement in some cases. Similar calculations were performed for the Te-Cd, Hg-Cd and Te-Hg binary systems and the Cd-Te-Hg ternary systems at pressures up to 74 atmospheres. Comparison of the calculated results with experimental data on tie-line compositions between Cd-Te-Hg liquid and quasi-binary CdTe-HgTe alloys is important in the liquid phase epitaxial growth of controlled band gap electro-optical materials.     

Topological segmentation in three-dimensional vector fields

We present a new method for topological segmentation in steady three-dimensional vector fields. Depending on desired properties, the algorithm replaces the original vector field by a derived segmented data set, which is utilized to produce separating surfaces in the vector field. We define the concept of a segmented data set, develop methods that produce the segmented data by sampling the vector field with streamlines, and describe algorithms that generate the separating surfaces. This method is applied to generate local separatrices in the field, defined by a movable boundary region placed in the field. The resulting partitions can be visualized using standard techniques for a visualization of a vector field at a higher level of abstraction.     

Flat‐plate encapsulation solution for OLED displays using a printed getter

Abstract— The encapsulation of organic light‐emitting layers is a key development item on the road‐map to OLED commercialization and needs to be resolved in order to compete with the incumbent LCD technology. DuPont? Drylox? cover glass is a product developed by DuPont Displays to improve the features of the OLED encapsulation solution. Thin displays, low design cycle time, and substantial reduction in encapsulation cost are the driving forces for the product improvement. This paper discusses permeation theory, describes a manufacturing method, and documents the performance characteristics achieved to date.     

An interaction integral method for computing mixed mode stress intensity factors for curved bimaterial interface cracks in non-uniform temperature fields

In finite element analysis the interaction integral has been a useful tool for computing the stress intensity factors for fracture analysis. This work extends the interaction integral to account for non-uniform temperatures in the calculation of stress intensity factors for three dimensional curvilinear cracks either in a homogeneous body or on a bimaterial interface. First, the derivation of the computational algorithm, which includes the additional terms developed by the non-zero gradient of the temperature field, is presented in detail. The algorithm is then implemented in conjunction with commercial finite element software to calculate the stress intensity factors of a crack undergoing non-uniform temperatures on both a homogeneous and a bimaterial interface. The numerical results displayed path independence and showed excellent agreement with available analytical solutions.     

Collective management in dynamic situations: the individual contribution

This paper presents an empirical study for extending the ecological safety model developed for individual activity (Amalberti in La conduite des systèmes à risques, PUF, 1996; Hoc and Amalberti in J Cogn Eng Decis Mak 1:22–55, 2007) to collective management. The study took place in a medical emergency center (SAMU) and focused on individual contribution to safety of collective management. The experiment aimed at extending the domain of validity of the conclusions of a previous study (Marc and Amalberti in Trav Hum 65:217–242, 2002) showing that individual intervention (as an actor and as an observer) in collective action was a matter of ecological safety. A “pseudo-simulation” was designed for confronting experienced PARMs and physicians of the SAMU with a series of “safety events” in the functioning of “their” emergency center. In the position of observers, participants were asked to comment on what they observed during a series of short periods of simulated activity and to assess situation mastery by the various actors observed. The results confirm that the model of ecological safety is directly relevant for collective management of “technical errors”: as observers, participants reacted to safety events depending on their potential consequences; not all “erroneous” actions oriented toward task performing were detected, and if detected they were not always identified; participants focused mainly on errors they observed which might have operational consequences on the global quality of safety management in the center. Concerning “non-technical errors” in collective work, participants were focusing on safety management by the physician as the responsible for the center safe functioning; they were less prone to identify safety events related to teamwork itself. These last results can be interpreted at the light of an extension of the ecological model of safety management for taking into account the teamwork-oriented dimension in collective work.     

Recollection- and familiarity-based memory in healthy aging and amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Little is known about the cognitive mechanisms of the memory impairment associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). We explored recollection and familiarity in 27 healthy young adults, 45 healthy older adults, and 17 individuals with aMCI. Relative to the younger adults, recollection was reduced in the older adults, especially among those with aMCI. Familiarity did not differ among groups. In the healthy younger and older adults, better performance on a set of clinical memory measures that are sensitive to medial temporal lobe functioning was associated with greater recollection. In addition, among the healthy older adults better executive functioning was also associated with greater recollection. These results are consistent with the notion that recollection is a product of strategic processes mediated by the prefrontal cortex that suppport the retrieval of context-dependent memories from the hippocampus. Hippocampal atrophy associated with aMCI may disrupt this brain network, and thereby interfere with recollection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determination of polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in milk cream by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

An analytical method for polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in milk cream has been optimized. The six PBDEs targeted were chosen on criteria of toxicity and occurrence in environmental matrices. Three methods of extraction were tested and compared in terms of lipid recovery yields and repeatability. The sample preparation process includes two steps: extraction by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and purification by solid phase extraction (SPE). The preferred method of extraction used a hexane/methylene chloride/methanol (5 : 2 : 1, v/v) solvent mixture. Three extraction cycles were carried out per sample at a temperature of 80°C and a pressure of 1500 psi. The method was validated on milk cream samples spiked with the specified PBDEs. Recoveries for the whole sample preparation process (extraction and cleanup) for cream samples spiked at 10 and 100 ng g^?1 were greater than 80% (ranging from 81 to 106%) at both concentrations for BDE-99, -100, -153 and 154. Recoveries were lower (ranging from 65 to 75%) for BDE-28 and BDE-47. PBDEs were quantified by GC/MS detection with selected ion monitoring (SIM) using three ions formed by electron capture. The method was successfully tested on real samples.     

Consumption of resistant starch decreases postprandial lipogenesis in white adipose tissue of the rat

Chronic consumption of diets high in resistant starch (RS) leads to reduced fat cell size compared to diets high in digestible starch (DS) in rats and increases total and meal fat oxidation in humans. The aim of the present study was to examine the rate of lipogenesis in key lipogenic organs following a high RS or DS meal. Following an overnight fast, male Wistar rats ingested a meal with an RS content of 2% or 30% of total carbohydrate and were then administered an i.p bolus of 50 μCi ³H₂O either immediately or 1 hour post-meal. One hour following tracer administration, rats were sacrificed, a blood sample collected, and the liver, white adipose tissue (WAT), and gastrocnemius muscle excised and frozen until assayed for total ³H-lipid and ³H-glycogen content. Plasma triglyceride and NEFA concentrations and ³H-glycogen content did not differ between groups. In all tissues, except the liver, there was a trend for the rate of lipogenesis to be higher in the DS group than the RS group which reached significance only in WAT at 1 h (p < 0.01). On a whole body level, this attenuation of fat deposition in WAT in response to a RS diet could be significant for the prevention of weight gain in the long-term.     

Editorial special issue: house, home and dwelling

The aim of this special issue is to further our understanding of ‘house’, ‘home’ and ‘dwelling’ by presenting five empirical studies that investigate different aspects of these concepts. All three are complex, multi-faceted and multi-layered concepts, whose diverse connotations are often used interchangeably. For example, the word home is used for the physical structure of the house, for the meanings attached to the house, as well as for the process of homemaking. From an analytical point of view this is undesirable, since we require our concepts to be as unambiguous as possible. Therefore, in this introductory paper, the guest editors present a conceptual framework for studying house, home and dwelling that is based on the fundamental distinction between an environmental object and the affordances attached to it. The studies presented in this special issue investigate different aspects of house, home and dwelling, but they all use this conceptual framework and share the same theoretical perspective on people—dwelling relations. And, although each of the papers has its own merits, together they demonstrate that the conceptual framework is an effective tool for dismantling the concepts of house, home and dwelling.