Torsion of an elastic space with a crack on the surface of revolution

Numerical methods for solving integral equations of an axisymmetric problem of torsion of an elastic space with cracks on the surface of revolution are suggested for the cases of cracks crossing the axis of symmetry and cracks that have no common points with this axis. We also present relations for calculating the stress intensity factors at crack tips. Numerical results are obtained for a conic or paraboloidal simply connected crack and for a doubly connected crack lying on a surface formed by the revolution of an arbitrarily oriented straight segment or a parabolic arc. The crack faces are either subjected to a constant load or free of any forces; the body is subjected to torsion at infinity.Karpenko Physico-Mechanical Institute, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, L'viv. Translated from Fiziko-Khimicheskaya Mekhanika Materialov, Vol. 29, No. 6, pp. 87–93, November–December, 1993.     

Influence of doping on the electronic structure of (La,Sr)2CuO4

High-statistics (>4 × 10⁸ counts), room-temperature measurements of the electron-positron momentum density of La_2?x Sr _x CuO₄ have been performed for samples with Sr concentrations of x=0.0, 0.1, 0.13, and 0.2. These spectra have been analyzed in conjunction with theoretical calculations of the electron-positron momentum density. The metallic samples show features consistent with the presence of a Fermi surface, but its evolution with increasing Sr concentration does not follow the predictions of band theory. These results may indicate the effects of electron-electron correlation on the electron momentum distribution in the Cu-O plane.     

Wideband HEMT MMIC low-noise amplifier with temperaturecompensation

A wideband low-noise pseudomorphic HEMT MMIC variable-gain amplifier has been designed and fabricated. The amplifier has a nominal gain of 13 dB across the band 2-20 GHz, with gain flatness better than ±0.4 dB. The noise figure is less than 3 dB across the band 6-16 GHz. An on-chip temperature-sensing diode is used to provide a linear temperature correction which has been used to reduce the gain variation of the amplifier by a factor of 2 across the temperature range -50°C to +95°C     

A little less sodium is not without hazard

Surgical thrombectomy is not a rational approach to neonatal renal vein thrombosis since the occlusion mainly involves intrarenal branches rather than the main renal vein, which is even patent in some instances. Conservative management combines supportive therapy for renal failure and systemic hypertension, if needed, and either heparin or thrombolytic agents. Streptokinase has proven difficult to handle in neonates and should not be used. Urokinase has been used in 18 patients but results are difficult to interpret because these cases occurred over an 18-year period. Plasminogen tissue activator, the latest thrombolytic agent developed, has been used in few pediatric patients. An international task force is currently studying whether or not a randomized study is warranted to provide data for standardizing thrombolytic therapy in pediatric renal vein thrombosis.     

AVMA, OSHA meet and establish dialogue

OBJECTIVE: The assessment of the posterior pharyngeal vasculature in velocardiofacial syndrome has been traditionally based on endoscopic visualization of pulsations or conventional angiography. This case report describes the utility of presurgical imaging with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) prior to performing pharyngoplasty. CONCLUSION: The use of the MRA data presurgically is an effective way to prevent bleeding complications during pharyngoplasty.     

Handwritten word recognition with character and inter-characterneural networks

An off-line handwritten word recognition system is described. Images of handwritten words are matched to lexicons of candidate strings. A word image is segmented into primitives. The best match between sequences of unions of primitives and a lexicon string is found using dynamic programming. Neural networks assign match scores between characters and segments. Two particularly unique features are that neural networks assign confidence that pairs of segments are compatible with character confidence assignments and that this confidence is integrated into the dynamic programming. Experimental results are provided on data from the U.S. Postal Service.     

Indocyanine green: intracellular uptake and phototherapeutic effects in vitro

Indocyanine green (ICG; absorption peak in human plasma 805 nm) was investigated for ICG-mediated phototherapy in vitro. The cellular uptake of ICG (1 microM-50 microM) into HaCaT keratinocytes after an incubation period of 24 h increased up to an intracellular ICG concentration of 12.1 +/- 1.3 nmol per 10(6) cells. To examine dose dependent phototoxic effects in vitro, keratinocytes were incubated with 0 microM-50 microM ICG for 24 h and irradiated by a diode laser (805 nm) with different energy densities (0, 12, 24, 48 J cm-2). All applied ICG concentrations except for 5 microM yielded a cell killing effect in combination with irradiation depending significantly on ICG concentration and light dose. Cell viability for dark control and cells incubated with 50 microM ICG and irradiated with 48 J cm-2 was 0.82 +/- 0.15 and 0.07 +/- 0.02, respectively. Sodium azide (100 mM), a quencher of reactive oxygen species, inhibited significantly the cell killing using 50 microM ICG and 24 J cm-2. Taken together, photoactivation of ICG by irradiation with a diode laser was shown to induce effectively cell killing of HaCaT keratinocytes. Moreover, this effect was inhibited by sodium azide, thus irradiation of ICG might induce a photodynamic reaction.