Experimental estimate of self-irradiation of building bricks due to incorporated radionuclides

A method is described for experimentally determining the dose rate created in building bricks by incorporated natural radionuclides. It was established using the thermoluminescence dosimetry method that the measured dose rate depends on the detector thickness, the mass of the ceramic product investigated, and the irradiation geometry. The contributions to the measured dose of weakly penetrating α and β radiation and hard ψ radiation are separated, the ratio between them depending on the experimental conditions. Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 7, pp. 62–66, July, 1996.     

The morphological stability of lateral growth in solid-solid phase transformation during thin-film interdiffusion in Al/Cu bimetal films

This article describes the phenomenon of morphological instability in solid-solid phase transformations during thin-film interdiffusion, specifically related to the initial stages of precipitation when phase growth occurs along the interface between thin films. The experimental observations that revealed this effect will be presented, and a working hypothesis will be discussed. Experimental observations suggest that the ledge mechanism of growth is present in this system but does not inhibit the formation of interfacial instabilities. It is proposed that morphological stability for solid-phase growth occurring during thin-film interdiffusion can be treated by the inclusion of a solute-source term into the two-dimensional perturbation approach generally used to study unstable growth morphologies. Experimental observations that provide qualitative and semiquantitative support for the solute-source model are also presented.     

The structure and management of service level agreements innetworks

The paper proposes a structure for quality-of-service (QoS)-centered service level agreements (SLA), and a framework for their real-time management in multiservice packet networks. The SLA is structured to be fair to both parties, the service provider and their customer. The SLA considered here are for QoS assured delivery of aggregate bandwidth from ingress to egress nodes; however, the control and signaling is for the more granular flows or calls. A SLA monitoring scheme is presented in which revenue is generated by the admission of flows into the network, and penalty incurred when flows are lost in periods when the service provider is not SLA compliant. In the SLA management scheme proposed, the results of a prior off-line design are used, in conjunction with measurements taken locally at ingress nodes, to classify the loading status of routes. The routing and resource management are based on virtual partitioning and its supporting mechanism of bandwidth protection. The effectiveness of SLA management is measured by the robustness in performance in the presence of substantial diversity in actual traffic conditions. A simulation testbed called D'ARTAGNAN has been built from which we report numerical results for a case study. The results show that the SLA management scheme is robust, fair and efficient over a broad range of traffic conditions     

The road to maturity: navigating between craft and science

C. Ebert presents his views on the state of software engineering as a field, its roots and inherent conflicts, its relationship to other engineering disciplines, where it is headed, and what we can do to influence that direction. T. Matsubara, T. Webb, M. Pezze, and O.W. Bertelsen offer a spectrum of further insights     

Perinatal problems and the prevention of premature labor]

The article describes the experience of implementing patient-focused care from a physician's perspective. Pitfalls that guarantee failure are presented, many of which are avoidable with early participation by all parties involved: administrators, nursing staff, physicians, and patients. Contamination of the process with downsizing needs, lack of support for staff in dealing with necessary change, loss of administrative commitment, and withholding of appropriated funds are among the key errors to be avoided.     

Effect of hygiene measures, water sanitation and oral rehydration therapy on diarrhea in children less than five years old in the south of Ivory Coast

BACKGROUND: Gastric sucrose permeability is a noninvasive marker that reliably increases in association with gastrointestinal injury due to use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Despite the effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on the gastric mucosa, in a previous study we were unable to demonstrate that H. pylori infection was associated with abnormal gastric sucrose permeability. Our goal in this study was to explore further whether H. pylori infection changed gastric permeability; therefore, we evaluated the effect of treatment of H. pylori infection on gastric permeability to sucrose and the relation of sucrose permeability to density of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five hundred milliliters of a solution containing 100 gm of sucrose was ingested by the subject at bedtime. Overnight urine was collected and assayed for sucrose by high-performance liquid chromatography. Sucrose permeability was assessed both before and approximately 4 weeks after anti-H. pylori therapy. RESULTS: Seventeen asymptomatic H. pylori-infected volunteers participated; 8 were cured. Sucrose permeability was in the range commonly found in normal controls both before and after anti-H. pylori therapy (mean excretion, 76.3 mg; range, 13-171 mg). Gastric sucrose permeability correlated with the density of polymorphonulcear cell infiltration of the mucosa. Cure of the H. pylori infection was associated with a small but significant decrease in sucrose permeability (98.8 +/- 18 mg to 51.7 +/- 9.8 mg (p = .01). Sucrose permeability was greater in those with a high density of mucosal polymorphonuclear cells compared to those with lower scores (119.5 +/- 4 vs 71.4 +/- 13 for those with scores > or = 5 compared to scores < or = 4; p = .023). Failed therapy resulted in an increase in the mucosal density of polymorphonuclear infiltration and sucrose permeability (56.4 +/- 13 mg-99.7 +/- 19 mg pretreatment vs posttreatment, respectively; p = .031). CONCLUSION: H. pylori gastritis causes a small but measurable increase in gastric permeability to sucrose that may reflect epithelial transmigration of neutrophils.     

Magnet Safety Assessment for ITER

The ITER magnet system consists of structurally linked sets of toroidal (TF) and poloidal (PF) field coils, central solenoid (CS), and various support structures. The coils are superconducting, force flow Helium cooled with a Kapton-Glass-Epoxy multilayer insulation system. The stored magnetic energy is about 100GJ in the TF system and 20GJ in the PF-CS. Coils and structure are maintained at 4 K by enclosing them in a vacuum cryostat. The cryostat, comprising an outer envelope to the magnets, forms most of the second radioactivity confinement barrier. The inner primary barrier is formed by the vacuum vessel, its ports and their extensions. To keep the machine size within acceptable bounds, it is essential that the magnets are in close proximity to both of the nuclear confinement barriers. The objective of the magnet design is that, although local damage to one of the barriers may occur in very exceptional circumstances, large scale magnet structural or thermal failure leading to simultaneous breaching of both barriers is not credible. Magnet accidents fall into three categories: thermal (which includes arcing arising from insulation failure and local overheating due to discharge failure in the event of a superconductor quench), structural (which includes component mechanical failure arising from material inadequacies, design errors and exceptional force patterns arising from coil shorts or control failures), and fluid (Helium release due to cooling line failure). After a preliminary survey to select initial faults conceivable within the present design, these faults are systematically analyzed to provide an assessment of the damage potential. The results of this damage assessment together with an assessment of the reliability of the monitoring and protective systems, shows that the magnets can operate with the required safety condition.