Regularity of nanopores in anodic alumina formed on orientated aluminium single-crystals

On aluminium single crystals with (1 1 1), (1 1 0) and (1 0 0) orientation, nanoporous alumina layers were formed in a two-step anodization process within sulphuric acid. The pore ordering within the hexagonal arrangement of the nanopores was documented by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), described on the basis of defect thermology and analyzed quantitatively by image evaluation. The best ordering was obtained in nanoporous alumina on (1 0 0) aluminium. We supposed that this is caused by the interface energy term within the driving force for the formation of the nanoporous alumina, since – in contrast to (1 1 1) and (1 1 0) aluminium as substrate – in the case of (1 0 0) aluminium the interface energy is minimised in the waved interface between aluminium and hexagonally arranged nanoporous alumina.     

A new heat shock protein that binds nucleic acids

Familial acromegaly/gigantism occurring in the absence of multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN-1) or the Carney complex has been reported in 18 families since the biochemical diagnosis of GH excess became available, and the genetic defect is unknown. In the present study we examined 2 unrelated families with isolated acromegaly/gigantism. In family A, 3 of 4 siblings were affected, with ages at diagnosis of 19, 21, and 23 yr. In family B, 5 of 13 siblings exhibited the phenotype and were diagnosed at 13, 15, 17, 17, and 24 yr of age. All 8 affected patients had elevated basal GH levels associated with high insulin-like growth factor I levels and/or nonsuppressible serum GH levels during an oral glucose tolerance test. GHRH levels were normal in affected members of family A. An invasive macroadenoma was found in 6 subjects, and a microadenoma was found in 1 subject from family B. The sequence of the GHRH receptor complementary DNA in 1 tumor from family A was normal. There was no history of consanguinity in either family, and the past medical history and laboratory results excluded MEN-1 and the Carney complex in all affected and unaffected screened subjects. Five of 8 subjects have undergone pituitary surgery to date, and paraffin-embedded pituitary blocks were available for analysis. Loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 11q13 was studied by comparing microsatellite polymorphisms of leukocyte and tumor DNA using PYGM (centromeric) and D11S527 (telomeric), markers closely linked to the MEN-1 tumor suppressor gene. All tumors exhibited a loss of heterozygosity at both markers. Sequencing of the MEN-1 gene revealed no germline mutations in either family, nor was a somatic mutation found in tumor DNA from one subject in family A. The integrity of the MEN-1 gene in this subject was further supported by demonstration of the presence of MEN-1 messenger ribonucleic acid, as assessed by RT-PCR. These data indicate that loss of heterozygosity in these affected family members appears independent of MEN-1 gene changes and suggest that a novel (tissue-specific?) tumor suppressor gene(s) linked to the PYGM marker and expressed in the pituitary is essential for regulation of somatotrope proliferation.     

Water quality and taste sensitivity for basic tastes and metallic sensation

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of water quality on taste sensitivity for basic tastes and metallic sensation. To familiarize subjects with sensory analysis, they were asked to recognize tastes, distinguish between different concentrations of basic tastes, and realize their own taste sensitivity. The International Standard ISO 3972 describes a set of tests to measure taste sensitivity. A “neutral, tasteless, still and odourless water, preferably of known hardness” is recommended for preparing the dilutions and for rinsing the mouth. The standard also recommends a series of dilutions for acid (citric acid), bitter (caffeine), salty (sodium chloride), sweet (sucrose), umami (monosodium glutamate) and metallic (iron(II)sulfate). The question arises if water quality affects taste sensitivity.MethodsTwenty-three female subjects (mean age: 22), who were recruited at the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, Faculty of Life Sciences, were tested. Deionized water, spring water and tap water were used for taste dilutions. In each experiment, subjects were initially familiarized with the basic tastes.ResultsIn comparison to taste thresholds in spring water, the recognition thresholds are higher using tap water, and lower using deionized water. When using deionized water, sour was detected by all subjects at the lowest concentrations. Iron(II)sulfate could best be matched to metallic sensation in deionized water. Results indicate that taste sensitivity is influenced by water quality.     

Combining Bandwidth Borrowing and Reservation in Cellular Networks

In the third generation cellular networks and beyond, a wide variety of different services are/will be provided by the operators. Out of QoS reasons, it is preferable to assign higher priority to certain connection types. These include calls carrying delay-sensitive services and already ongoing calls. In this paper, a prioritization method combining bandwidth borrowing and reservation, called BBR, will be presented. BBR monitors the rate-adaptiveness of the ongoing calls in a cell. Simultaneously, advanced movement predictions are applied to estimate the arrival rate to each cell. If it is determined that the use of bandwidth borrowing (temporarily reducing the data rate of other connections in the same cell) is not sufficient to support the high priority calls that are expected to arrive, a portion of the assigned bandwidth to the cell is exclusively reserved for these calls to prevent call dropping. The scheme enables the operator to increase the average user satisfaction in the network. This is achieved by defining appropriate penalty functions for the events of blocking, dropping and bandwidth reduction of a call.     

Predictive and Adaptive Resource Reservation (PARR) for Cellular Networks

In cellular networks, a higher priority can, out of Quality of Service reasons, be given to ongoing connections than new call attempts. This can be achieved by having capacity in each cell (guard channels) exclusively reserved for arriving handover calls. In this paper, an advanced guard channel scheme, called Predictive and Adaptive Resource Reservation (PARR), will be introduced. The PARR scheme determines the amount of guard channels to allocate in a cell through subscriber movement predictions. The novelty of PARR is that both positioning and history-based measurements are used as input for the predictions. To improve the prediction accuracy, different data sets are applied for calls with different mobility and latest visited cells. Simulations will be used to show that significant performance improvements are obtainable with PARR.     

Thermally Activated Martensitic Transformations in Mg-PSZ

The thermally activated, stress-assisted martensitic tetragonal → monoclinic ( t → m ) and tetragonal → orthorhombic ( t → o ) transformations in a high-toughness Mg-PSZ were investigated by monitoring the phase assemblage with Raman spectroscopy after a variety of heat treatments and loading conditions. After a short anneal at 1000°C, which transforms m - and o -ZrO₂ to the t polymorph, isothermal t → m and t → o transformations occur at room temperature during the months following the anneal. The transformation rates in the annealed samples are greatly enhanced under external stress. Alternatively, samples containing regions of significant residual stress, introduced by indentation for example, and then annealed at relatively low temperatures, underwent additional thermally activated transformation in the stressed regions. The thermodynamics and kinetics of this complex transformation "plasticity," and its effect on mechanical properties, are discussed.     

Recording fetal and adult magnetocardiograms using high-temperature Superconducting quantum interference device gradiometers

In this paper, we analyze the influence of the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) gradiometer baseline on the recording of magnetocardiographic measurements. The magnetometers consist of high-temperature superconducting radio-frequency SQUIDs fabricated from YBaCuO thin films, and a substrate resonator which serves as tank circuit. The gradiometers are formed using two or three such magnetometers with individual readouts in electronic difference. We have compared the measurement results using a magnetometer and first- and second-order gradiometers with different baselines. In a standard magnetically shielded room, we found not only an increasing signal-to-noise ratio in adult magnetocardiographic measurements, but also a decreasing distortion of the magnetic field map with increasing baseline of the gradiometer. Using a first-order gradiometer with an ultralong baseline of 18 cm, we have successfully measured the heart signal of a fetus in real time.     

Die faktische Kraft des Normativen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Effects of public and private failure on self-evaluation.

This study "examined how variations in the strength of social pressures, acting upon a person in the direction of lowering his self-evaluation, affect the evaluations the individual assigns to the quality of his performance, and to his more or less closely relevant abilities, after he has failed on a task… . Ss who made low evaluations of their performances did not evaluate these abilities differently under different experimental conditions… " but those who made high evaluations did. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1HJ23S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)