Direct Observation of Orbital Ordering in Layered Manganites

Soft X-ray resonant diffraction is a new technique and there exist several examples of large resonant enhancements of charge and magnetic scattering that can be obtained at the L-edges of 3d transition metal oxides. Here we have employed resonant soft X-ray scattering at the manganese L edges which provide a direct measurement of the orbital ordering. We have studied the layered manganite La_0.5Sr_1.5MnO₄ that displays charge, spin, and orbital ordering. Energy scans at constant wavevector show that there are two separate contributions to the observed scattering, direct Goodenough orbital ordering and strong cooperative Jahn–Teller distortions of the Mn³⁺ ions. Finally we will show how that the charge, spin and orbital degrees of freedom are strongly correlated in these materials.     

Inverse material identification in coupled acoustic-structure interaction using a modified error in constitutive equation functional

This work focuses on the identification of heterogeneous linear elastic moduli in the context of frequency-domain, coupled acoustic-structure interaction (ASI), using either solid displacement or fluid pressure measurement data. The approach postulates the inverse problem as an optimization problem where the solution is obtained by minimizing a modified error in constitutive equation (MECE) functional. The latter measures the discrepancy in the constitutive equations that connect kinematically admissible strains and dynamically admissible stresses, while incorporating the measurement data as additional quadratic error terms. We demonstrate two strategies for selecting the MECE weighting coefficient to produce regularized solutions to the ill-posed identification problem: 1) the discrepancy principle of Morozov, and 2) an error-balance approach that selects the weight parameter as the minimizer of another functional involving the ECE and the data misfit. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed methodology can successfully recover elastic parameters in 2D and 3D ASI systems from response measurements taken in either the solid or fluid subdomains. Furthermore, both regularization strategies are shown to produce accurate reconstructions when the measurement data is polluted with noise. The discrepancy principle is shown to produce nearly optimal solutions, while the error-balance approach, although not optimal, remains effective and does not need a priori information on the noise level.     

Differences in seasonal distribution of wild and stocked juvenile lake trout by depth and temperature in Lake Champlain

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) reared in hatcheries are exposed to an environment and feeding regime that is different from wild lake trout, and are stocked at substantially larger sizes with higher lipid reserves. In addition to differences in diet and growth, this early experience may alter habitat use compared to the wild cohort. We used seasonal data on the depth and temperature distribution of wild and stocked juvenile lake trout to test for differences in habitat use and inform sampling strategies to evaluate annual recruitment. Bottom trawling was conducted from 2015 to 2019 in the central basin of Lake Champlain every two to four weeks during the ice-free season. Differences in distribution of wild and stocked lake trout were most pronounced during thermal stratification, when wild juveniles were more abundant than stocked juveniles at shallower depths and warmer temperatures and stocked juveniles were more abundant at deeper depths and colder temperatures. Temperature preferences may be a consequence of different early rearing environments; wild lake trout are acclimated to lake temperatures and forage, whereas stocked fish entered the lake with high lipid content and little foraging experience. Unbiased assessment of the proportion of wild lake trout and growth and survival of the entire juvenile lake trout population using bottom trawl sampling should either take place in the pre- and post-stratification seasons when wild and stocked fish are at the same depths, or include the full range of depths and temperatures that wild and stocked fish occupy during the stratified period.     

发挥咨询业作用,推进工程项目管理

承包商对工程的具体掌控力要远高于业主方,业主方面对工程实施中的各种问题往往鞭长莫及。为了帮助业主方从源头上实现项目的成功管理,就要发挥工程咨询机构的作用。本文论述了工程咨询机构在招标阶段项目管理的核心内容,指明了其在招标阶段的关键工作,在一定程度上实现了项目资源的优化配置,为业主节约了成本和效益最大化。同时,也分析了我国目前项目管理发展中存在的问题,并参照国内外先进管理思想和管理模式提出了我国工程咨询机构的发展方向及相应对策,对我国工程咨询业的发展有一定的参考价值。     

A Spectral Finite Element Approach to Modeling Soft Solids Excited with High-Frequency Harmonic Loads

An approach for efficient and accurate finite element analysis of harmonically excited soft solids using high-order spectral finite elements is presented and evaluated. The Helmholtz-type equations used to model such systems suffer from additional numerical error known as pollution when excitation frequency becomes high relative to stiffness (i.e. high wave number), which is the case, for example, for soft tissues subject to ultrasound excitations. The use of high-order polynomial elements allows for a reduction in this pollution error, but requires additional consideration to counteract Runge's phenomenon and/or poor linear system conditioning, which has led to the use of spectral element approaches. This work examines in detail the computational benefits and practical applicability of high-order spectral elements for such problems. The spectral elements examined are tensor product elements (i.e. quad or brick elements) of high-order Lagrangian polynomials with non-uniformly distributed Gauss-Lobatto-Legendre nodal points. A shear plane wave example is presented to show the dependence of the accuracy and computational expense of high-order elements on wave number. Then, a convergence study for a viscoelastic acoustic-structure interaction finite element model of an actual ultrasound driven vibroacoustic experiment is shown. The number of degrees of freedom required for a given accuracy level was found to consistently decrease with increasing element order. However, the computationally optimal element order was found to strongly depend on the wave number.     

Stay on Your Feet Safety Walks Group

The Safety Walks Group is an initiative that evolved from the Stay on Your Feet Program. The strategies used in this program target both behavioural and environmental change and are based on the five areas for action under the Ottawa Charter (WHO, 1986) and Jakarta Declaration (WHO, 1997). The Safety Walks Group addresses the issue of public hazards via the use of a standard checklist covering pedestrian areas, business houses and accommodation. The project provided a forum for seniors to be proactive, working with the authorities to address the issue of public hazards and make the environment safer.     

Structurally related peptide agonist, partial agonist, and antagonist occupy a similar binding pocket within the cholecystokinin receptor. Rapid analysis using fluorescent photoaffinity labeling probes and capillary electrophoresis

The molecular basis of ligand binding to receptors provides important insights for drug development. Here, we explore domains of the cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor that are critical for ligand binding, using a novel series of fluorescent photolabile probes, receptor proteolysis, and rapid high resolution separation of peptide fragments by capillary electrophoresis. Each probe incorporated the same fluorophore and a photolabile p-benzoylphenylalanine at the amino terminus of the pharmacophoric domain (residue 24 of CCK-33) of CCK analogues representing full agonist, partial agonist, and antagonist of this receptor. Each was used to label the CCK receptor expressed on Chinese hamster ovary-CCKR cells, with the labeled domain then released by cyanogen bromide cleavage. Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection achieved an on-capillary mass sensitivity of 1.6 attomoles (10(-18) mol), with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio. Each of the biologically divergent, but structurally similar probes saturably and specifically labeled the same receptor domain, consistent with conservation of "docking" determinants. This had an apparent mass of 2.9 kDa, most consistent with the first extracellular loop domain. An additional probe having its site of covalent attachment in a different region of the probe (residue 29 of CCK-33) labeled a distinct receptor fragment with differential migration on capillary electrophoresis (third extracellular loop). Identification of the specific receptor residue(s) covalently linked to the amino-terminal probes must await further fragmentation and sequence analysis.     

Double free-flap reconstruction of massive defects involving the lip, chin, and mandible

Men develop perioperative ulnar neuropathies more frequently than women. To determine the role of anatomical gender differences in the development of these neuropathies, we performed several studies of the anatomy of the ulnar nerve, cubital tunnel, and elbow region. These studies included detailed dissection of male and female embalmed and unembalmed cadavers, ultrasound measurements of the tissue layers at the elbow, and measurement of various dimensions of the coronoid process of the ulna in multiple skeletal sets. No gross anatomical differences were found between genders regarding the course of the ulnar nerve through the upper limb. However, there was a strikingly larger (2-19 times greater) fat content on the medial aspect of the elbow in women compared to men, and the tubercle of the coronoid process was approximately 1.5 times larger in men (P < or = .002, rank sum test). Our finding suggest that the tubercle of the coronoid process is a likely area for external compression-induced ischemia of the ulnar nerve because the nerve and its arterial supply (the posterior ulnar recurrent artery) are covered at the tubercle only by skin, subcutaneous fat, and a very thin aponeurosis of the flexor carpi ulnaris. Importantly, this tubercle is larger and the nerve and blood vessels passing by it are less protected by subcutaneous fat in men than in women. These two anatomical differences between men and women may contribute to the increased frequency of perioperative ulnar neuropathy induced by external pressure at the medial aspect of the elbow in men.