The Influence of Charge Transfer on Ion Emission from NaAu<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript> Film

We have studied transient processes of the thermal ionization of sodium on the surface of NaAu_y semiconductor film under the action of a variable external electric field. It is established that the kinetics of Na⁺ ion current during variation of the external field is determined by the establishment of charge distribution in the NaAu_y film, while the efficiency of thermal ionization of Na atoms is related to the concentration of holes near the NaAu_y/vacuum interface.     

Recommendation of RILEM Technical Committee 250-CSM: Test method for Textile Reinforced Mortar to substrate bond characterization

Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM), also known as Fabric Reinforced Mortar or Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix, composites are an emerging technology for the external repair and strengthening of existing structures. For most applications, the effectiveness of the TRM reinforcement relies on its bond performance. This recommendation identifies the best practice to characterize the bond behaviour of TRM. A shear bond test method is proposed to determine the peak axial stress (associated with the maximum load that can be transferred from the structural member to the externally bonded TRM reinforcement), the stress–slip relationship and the failure mode that controls the TRM-to-substrate load transfer capacity. Guidelines on specimen manufacturing, experimental setup, test execution, and determination of test results are provided.     

Insulin-like growth factor I-dependent regulation of prolidase activity in cultured human skin fibroblasts

In metastatic breast cancer the goal to reach must be the best possible palliation with minimum discomfort for the patient. We reviewed our experience with radiotherapy (20 or 30 Gy), systemic therapy and brace. Among 2200 breast cancer patients, we extracted 28 potential candidates for resection. All of them developed new metastases outside the treated field within one year. Local control was achieved in 68%, and 80% of them had stable or better performance status at 3 months. From our analysis, even patients with a so called "solitary lesion" do not seem to have a better prognosis than others. We conclude that radiotherapy (with systemic therapy and a brace) is still first-choice treatment for vertebral metastases; CT-guided percutaneous biopsy can avoid worthless major operations. The role of surgery should be limited to neurological compression, severe mechanical instability and to salvage the failures of conservative treatment.     

Body thiamine level in acute alcohol psychoses

PURPOSE: To compare admission data and academic performances of medical students younger and older than 25, and to qualify older students' experiences and perceptions in medical school. METHOD: The authors reviewed 1988-1991 data for applications to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Data included GPAs and MCAT scores, as well as ratings for reference letters, autobiographical statements, and interviews. For those same years, the authors measured students' academic performances in the preclinical and clinical years. The authors compared the data by students' age: "younger" students, aged 17 to 24; and "older" students, aged 25 and above. All enrolled students took the Derogatis Stress Profile, and the older students participated in focus groups. RESULTS: The older applicants had lower GPAs and MCAT scores, but higher interview and reference letter ratings. For older accepted students, basic science course scores were lower than those of younger students, but clinical scores did not differ significantly between the groups. The two groups had similar stress levels, although older students tested lower in driven behavior, relaxation potential, attitude posture, and hostility. In focus groups, the older students spoke of learning style differences, loss of social support, and loss of professional identity. CONCLUSION: Different scores in admission criteria suggest that McGill uses different standards to select older medical students. Older students admitted under different criteria, however, do just as well as do younger students by their clinical years. A broad-based study of admission criteria and outcomes for the older student population is warranted.     

Cellular decomposition in Fe-26Ni-(2-3)Ti-Nb steels with an addition of aluminium or molybdenum

Cellular decomposition in three Fe-26Ni-(2-3)Ti-Nb type steels was investigated. One of these steels was alloyed with molybdenum while the two others, differing in grain size, contained an addition of aluminium. In Ni26AITi3Nb and Ni26MoTi2Nb steels quenched from 1223 K in water, the first colonies of decomposition were observed after holding for 4 h at 923 K. A longer holding at this temperature resulted in growth of decomposition cells in the steel with molybdenum while in the steels with aluminium, a halting of the decomposition and the appearance of isolated plates of the phase was observed. In Ni26MoTi2Nb and Ni26Al2Ti3Nb steels, quenched in water and subsequently cold treated in liquid nitrogen, repeated heating in the temperature range 293–999.9 K at a rate of 2.5,10 and 40 Kmin^–1 and cooling at a rate 320 Kmin^–1 favoured the cellular decomposition more markedly in the steel with molybdenum. On cooling to room temperature, austenite within the decomposition cells transformed into martensite. The tendency to cellular decomposition depended to a higher degree on the factors which stabilize austenite as well as on the presence of precipitates in grain boundaries, than on the grain size.     

The effect of anterior lesions to the medial forebrain bundle on the motor activity evoked by a sensory deficit (sensory drive) in rats]

The orbito-frontal cortex and postcommissural MFB lesions evoked two major effects. The first one consisted in an increased need for light stimulation while the second one concerned changes in anxiety level with different results depending on the lesion location (cortical ot subcortical). The second effect is in agreement with P. Simonov's hypothesis concerning the different configurations of the CNS structures. Upon destruction of the orbito-frontal area, the dominant role in behaviour regulation is taken over by the "emotional part" of the brain, whereas the destruction of the postcommissural MFB (reduction of the amygdalar influence on the hypothalamus) creates conditions for functional prevalence of the "informational brain".     

Deciding k-Colorability of P 5-Free Graphs in Polynomial Time

The problem of computing the chromatic number of a P ₅-free graph (a graph which contains no path on 5 vertices as an induced subgraph) is known to be NP-hard. However, we show that for every fixed integer k, there exists a polynomial-time algorithm determining whether or not a P ₅-free graph admits a k-coloring, and finding one, if it does.     

A parallel direct solver for the self-adaptive hp Finite Element Method

In this paper we present a new parallel multi-frontal direct solver, dedicated for the hp Finite Element Method (hp-FEM). The self-adaptive hp-FEM generates in a fully automatic mode, a sequence of hp-meshes delivering exponential convergence of the error with respect to the number of degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) as well as the CPU time, by performing a sequence of hp refinements starting from an arbitrary initial mesh. The solver constructs an initial elimination tree for an arbitrary initial mesh, and expands the elimination tree each time the mesh is refined. This allows us to keep track of the order of elimination for the solver. The solver also minimizes the memory usage, by de-allocating partial LU factorizations computed during the elimination stage of the solver, and recomputes them for the backward substitution stage, by utilizing only about 10% of the computational time necessary for the original computations. The solver has been tested on 3D Direct Current (DC) borehole resistivity measurement simulations problems. We measure the execution time and memory usage of the solver over a large regular mesh with 1.5 million degrees of freedom as well as on the highly non-regular mesh, generated by the self-adaptive hp$hp$-FEM, with finite elements of various sizes and polynomial orders of approximation varying from p=1$p=1$ to p=9$p=9$. From the presented experiments it follows that the parallel solver scales well up to the maximum number of utilized processors. The limit for the solver scalability is the maximum sequential part of the algorithm: the computations of the partial LU factorizations over the longest path, coming from the root of the elimination tree down to the deepest leaf.     

Michell cantilevers constructed within a half strip. Tabulation of selected benchmark results

The paper delivers the benchmark results for the Michell cantilevers constructed within a half strip, for selected values of the σ _T /σ _C ratio, σ _T , σ _C being the admissible stresses in tension and compression, respectively.