Ultrasonic evaluation of geometrical and surface parameters of rough defects in solids

Ultrasonic measurements from rough cracks were carried out using both broad-band and narrow-band methods. An analysis is suggested to determine parameters of the crack quantitatively such as size, shape, rms surface roughness, and distribution function of the surface roughness. Ultrasonic measurements of the parameters compare very well with the actual parameters of the defect.     

Zur Berechnung von Wirbelkernhalbmessern in rotationssymmetrischen Drallströmungen

Zusammenfassung Drei der bedeutendsten Verfahren zum Berechnen des Wirbelkernhalbmessers in rotationssymmetrischen Drallstr?mungen werden miteinander verglichen. Zwar liegt jedem dieser Verfahren eine Energieberechnung zugrunde; die Ergebnisse unterscheiden sich jedoch erheblich voneinander. Es wird die Ursache jener Abweichungen untersucht und festgestellt, da? das von K. Bammert vorgeschlagene Verfahren nur mit Berücksichtigung der Volumflu?verteilung die gleichen Ergebnisse wie die Berechnungsverfahren von E. Meldau und M. Strscheletzky liefert. Ferner geht aus der Untersuchung die Bedeutung der Axialgeschwindigkeitsverteilung hervor. Die Verwendbarkeit dieser Verfahren bleibt dadurch auf jene F?lle beschr?nkt, in denen der Drall und die Axialgeschwindigkeit in der betrachteten achsnormalen Ebene konstant sind.     

Algorithm 45. Automatic computation of improper integrals over a bounded or unbounded planar region

An automatic quadrature algorithm especially designed for double integration of functions with some form of singular behaviour on the boundary of the integration region is described, and its FORTRAN code is presented. The algorithm is based on the use of the product trapezoidal rule, after a non-linear transformation of the integrand in both variables renders a new integrand function whose derivatives vanish on the (transformed) boundary. Numerical results demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to obtain high accuracies in dealing automatically with pathological singularities of non-specific types.     

Prediction of Failure Times for Some Adhesive Bonded Joints

Data are given for shear and tensile testing of adhesive bonds under conditions of a constant rate of loading. A rate equation is then used to predict lifetime from the mechanical data. The correlations appear to be satisfactory providing that the failure is cohesive within the adhesive.     

Templated Pt-Sn electrocatalysts for ethanol, methanol and CO oxidation in alkaline media

In this work, we have investigated an aerosol-derived templated electrocatalyst for electro-oxidation of small organic molecules in alkaline media. Templated Pt-Sn electrocatalysts are compared to templated Pt catalysts both synthesized in an aerosol synthesis technique. In this synthesis approach, mono-disperse silica nanoparticles are used to template the metallic precursors. Structural and compositional analysis of the nanostructured materials are performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET surface area measurements. The aerosol-derived templated electrocatalysts are examined in conjunction with an anion exchange ionomer for ethanol, methanol and CO oxidation in alkaline media. The electrochemical studies include cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and voltammetric adsorption of adsorbed CO.     

Automated effect-specific mammographic pattern measures

We investigate the possibility to develop methodologies for assessing effect specific structural changes of the breast tissue using a general statistical machine learning framework. We present an approach of obtaining objective mammographic pattern measures quantifying a specific biological effect, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). We compare results using this approach to using standard density measures. We show that the proposed method can quantify both age related effects and effects caused by HRT. Age effects are significantly detected by our method where standard methodologies fail. The separation of HRT subpopulations using our approach is comparable to the best methodology, which is interactive.      

Fate and effects of Camembert cheese micro-organisms in the human colonic microbiota of healthy volunteers after regular Camembert consumption

The objective of this study was to determine i) if Camembert cheese micro-organisms could be detected in fecal samples after regular consumption by human subjects and ii) the consequence of this consumption on global metabolic activities of the host colonic microbiota. An open human protocol was designed where 12 healthy volunteers were included: a 2-week period of fermented products exclusion followed by a 4-weeks Camembert ingestion period where 2x40 g/day of Camembert cheese was consumed. Stools were collected from the volunteers before consumption, twice during the ingestion period (2nd and 4th week) and once after a wash out period of 2 weeks. During the consumption of Camembert cheese, high levels of Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were measured in fecal samples using real-time quantitative PCR, reaching median values of 8.2 and 7.5 Log(10) genome equivalents/g of stool. For Ln. mesenteroides, persistence was observed 15 days after the end of Camembert consumption. The survival of Geotrichum candidum was also assessed and the fecal concentration reached a median level of 7.1 Log(10) CFU/g in stools. Except a decreasing trend of the nitrate reductase activity, no significant modification was shown in the metabolic activities during this study.     

Compact spectrum splitting photovoltaic module with high efficiency

We have designed, fabricated, and tested a small, integrated photovoltaic module comprised of two separately‐contacted, high efficiency, multijunction solar cells and non‐imaging optics that both concentrate and spectrally split the incoming light. This hybrid design allows us to individually optimize the tandem cells and optical elements. The system has a measured module efficiency, including optical and packaging losses but not power combination losses, of 38.5 ± 1.9% under the AM1.5 direct terrestrial spectrum. The internal optics concentrate the light by a factor of approximately 20. We find excellent agreement between the modeled and measured performance. This is the highest confirmed conversion efficiency demonstrated for a photovoltaic module. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Decoherence dynamics estimation for superconducting gate-model quantum computers

Quantum Information Processing - In this note, I attempt to explore the quantum Colonel Blotto game and contrast it with the classical Colonel Blotto game; in particular, I will focus on an...