Defining Yield from Bender Element Measurements in Triaxial Stress Probe Experiments

This paper describes the elastic response of a block sample of compressible Chicago glacial clay under a variety of stresses and its relationship with the deformation characteristics at relatively large strains. The elastic shear stiffness was obtained from bender element tests during consolidation and shearing in drained triaxial stress probe tests. An empirical correlation was established based on the elastic shear stiffness in a preyield condition. By comparing the empirical correlation with the measured elastic shear stiffness in the stress region during probing, the changes of elastic shear stiffness were investigated. The departure of elastic shear stiffness from values computed by the empirical relation based on K0 loading directly relates to the yielding characteristics of the clay. The large-scale change of soil structure at yielding alters the well-established relationship between the elastic shear stiffness and stresses in the preyield condition. The mechanical yielding response of clays can be detected based on the systematic analysis of the elastic shear wave velocities.     

Effect of Y2O3, CeO2 on Sintering Properties of Si3N4 Ceramics

The effect of rare earth oxides Y203 or Ce02 on sintering properties of Si3N4 ceramics was studied and the mechanism of assisting action during sintering was analyzed. The results in dicate that the best sintering properties appear in Si3N4 ceramics with 5% Y203 or 8% CeO2. Secondary crystallites are formed at grain boundaries after heat treatment,which decreases the amount of glass phase and contributes to the improvement of high-temperature mechanical properties of silicon nitride.     

Experience in testing the Motif interface

The testing and quality assurance of the Motif 1.0 graphical user-interface software are described. The testing goals, which fell into three general categories (code coverage, defect-density, and defect-arrival rate), and a deliverable formal test suite are examined. The three phases of the testing process-evaluation, test development, and regression testing-and the tools used in testing are discussed     

Ozonation of CI Reactive Black 5 using rotating packed bed and stirred tank reactor

This study investigates the ozonation of CI Reactive Black 5 (RB5) by using the rotating packed bed (RPB) and completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) as ozone contactors. The RPB, which provides high gravitational force by adjusting the rotational speed, was employed as a novel ozone contactor. The same ozone dosage was separately introduced into either the RPB or the CSTR for the investigation, while the experimental solution was continuously circulated within the apparatus consisting of the RPB and CSTR. The decolorization and mineralization efficiencies of RB5 in the course of ozonation are compared for these two methods. Moreover, the dissolved and off‐gas ozone concentrations were simultaneously monitored for the further analysis. As a result, the ozone mass transfer rate per unit volume of the RPB was significantly higher because of its higher mass transfer coefficient and gas–liquid concentration driving force. Furthermore, ozonation kinetics was found to be independent of the gravitational magnitude of an ozone gas–liquid contactor. Therefore, the results suggest employing RPBs as ozone‐contacting devices with the advantage of volume reduction. The experimental results, which can be used for further modeling of the ozonation process in the RPB, also show the requirement of correct design for the RPB. Consequently, the present study is useful for the understanding of practical application of RPBs. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Crystal growth of selected II–VI semiconducting alloys by directional solidification: Part I Ground-based experiments

A series of Hg_0.84Zn_0.16 Te crystal ingots have been grown from pseudobinary melts by the Bridgmam–Stockbarger type directional solidification using a Marshall Space Flight Center/Space Science Laboratory heat-pipe furnace and the ground control experiment laboratory furnace of the crystal growth furnace which was flown on the first United States Microgravity Mission. A number of translation rates and a series of hot- and cold-zone temperatures were employed to assess the influence of growth parameters on the crystal properties for the purpose of optimizing the in-flight growth conditions. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Study and design of step-index channel waveguide bends withlarge-angle and low-loss characteristics

By using micro-prisms, improved three-dimensional (3-D) bends of the embedded and buried waveguides of step-index profile are proposed. A simple phase compensation rule for the optimal design of the micro-prism is also presented. Through the simulation of 3-D semivectorial finite-difference beam propagation method, the transmission characteristics of the improved bends are shown to have been enhanced dramatically as compared with those of the conventional ones. Even for a bend angle of as large as 10°, the normalized transmitted power can still be greater than 95%. These results of 3-D bends are then compared with those of the two-dimensional (2-D) ones which are simplified from 3-D structures by the effective index method, and physical explanation of the discrepancy between the 3-D and 2-D results is introduced. The influences of waveguide structures and prism parameters on the transmission characteristics are discussed in detail. Some criteria for the design of large-angle low-loss 3-D improved bends are also accessed     

Multiterminal light-emitting logic device electricallyreprogrammable between OR and NAND functions

A monolithic multiterminal logic device that functions both optically and electrically as an ORNAND gate, is demonstrated for the first time. The device, based on the real-space transfer of hot electrons into a complementary collector layer, has been implemented in an InGaAs/InAlAs/InGaAs heterostructure grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Excellent performance is obtained at room temperature. The collector current and the optical output power both exhibit the OR and the NAND functions of any two of the three input terminals, these functions being interchangeable by the voltage on the third terminal     

Physiological actions of the neuropeptide Antho-RNamide on antagonistic muscle systems in sea anemones

Several studies have reported that the bulk aluminum (Al) concentration is increased in the brain in Alzheimer disease (AD), while other studies have failed to demonstrate an increase. Most of these investigations have had one or more methodological deficiencies, including lack of adequate neuropathological assessment; failure to age-match the control samples; small sample sizes, lacking statistical power; and geographical heterogeneity in the AD and control populations. The present population-based study of 92 clinically and histopathologically diagnosed AD patients and normal elderly nursing home residents was designed to avoid these potential biases. When a subsample of AD cases with the most severe brain pathology was compared with controls having no or minimal pathology, no statistically significant differences were found in the bulk aluminum concentration measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry in frontal cortex (1.8 +/- 0.7 vs. 1.7 +/- 0.7 micrograms/g dry wt), temporal cortex (1.4 +/- 0.3 vs. 1.5 +/- 0.5 micrograms/g dry wt), liver (2.0 +/- 1.3 vs. 2.0 +/- 1.2 micrograms/g dry wt), or head of femur (2.4 +/- 1.6 vs. 2.2 +/- 1.0 micrograms/g ash wt). Within the whole series of 92 cases, there was no difference in the bulk aluminum concentration of the frontal cortex between individuals diagnosed as definite, probable, and possible cases of AD using the CERAD (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease) criteria. The density of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in frontal and temporal cortex showed no correlation with the bulk aluminum concentration. Logistic regression analyses, which controlled for age and sex, did not influence outcome for any of the comparisons. The data show conclusively that in AD, bulk aluminum concentration is not increased in two cortical brain regions that are selectively vulnerable to the neuropathological changes associated with this disorder.     

我国清洁代用燃料汽车发展状况

随着汽车数量的迅速增加，汽车排放的有害废气也急剧增加，人们的健康受到威胁，解决这一问题的最好办法是发展清洁代用燃料汽车。介绍了天然气汽车和液化石油气汽车的主要优点，分析了目前我国清洁代用燃料汽车的发展现状，阐述了近期适宜发展我国清洁代用燃料汽车的机遇和面临的困难。最后就提高人们的环保意识、修改和完善汽车尾气污染控制法及排放标准、清洁代用燃料汽车的有关标准和安全措施。对发展这种汽车应给予优惠政策以及零部件生产和车辆改装企业的管理等方面，提出了建议。     

A tutorial on wavelets from an electrical engineering perspective.I. Discrete wavelet techniques

The objective of this paper is to present the subject of wavelets from a filter-theory perspective, which is quite familiar to electrical engineers. Such a presentation provides both physical and mathematical insights into the problem. It is shown that taking the discrete wavelet transform of a function is equivalent to filtering it by a bank of constant-Q filters, the non-overlapping bandwidths of which differ by an octave. The discrete wavelets are presented, and a recipe is provided for generating such entities. One of the goals of this tutorial is to illustrate how the wavelet decomposition is carried out, starting from the fundamentals, and how the scaling functions and wavelets are generated from the filter-theory perspective. Examples (including image compression) are presented to illustrate the class of problems for which the discrete wavelet techniques are ideally suited. It is interesting to note that it is not necessary to generate the wavelets or the scaling functions in order to implement the discrete wavelet transform. Finally, it is shown how wavelet techniques can be used to solve operator/matrix equations. It is shown that the “orthogonal-transform property” of the discrete wavelet techniques does not hold in numerical computations