Preparation of 1-2-3 Superconductors from Hydroxide–Carbonate Coprecipitation

A batch coprecipitation of 1-2-3 superconductor precursor powder was accomplished by adding an aqueous solution of mixed nitrates rapidly to a mixture of sodium or potassium hydroxide and carbonate. The blue hydrogel, an intimate mixture of Y(OH)₃, BaCO₃, and Cu(OH)₂, was filtered and washed by decantation, using water sparged with CO₂ to control the pH. After a second filtration, drying and calcination, the product was a homogeneous powder, with an average particle size of about 1 μm, free of alkali, and with excellent superconducting properties. The process is reproducible, inexpensive, and easy to scale to higher production rates. Important process parameters are the following: the time and temperature of precipitation; alkali ratios; volume, temperature, and pH of the wash water; and time of calcination.     

Tumour cell killing using chemically engineered antibody constructs specific for tumour cells and the complement inhibitor CD59

BACKGROUND: Although beta blockers have been used primarily to decrease unwanted perioperative hemodynamic responses, the sedative properties of these compounds might decrease anesthetic requirements. This study was designed to determine whether esmolol, a short-acting beta 1-receptor antagonist, could reduce the propofol concentration required to prevent movement at skin incision. METHODS: Sixty consenting patients were premedicated with morphine, and then propofol was delivered by computer-assisted continuous infusion along with 60% nitrous oxide. Patients were randomly divided into three groups, propofol alone, propofol plus low-dose esmolol (bolus of 0.5 mg/kg, then 50 micrograms.kg-1.min-1), and propofol plus high-dose esmolol (bolus of 1 mg/kg, then 250 micrograms.kg-1.min-1). Two venous blood samples were drawn at equilibrium. The serum propofol concentration that prevented movement to incision in 50% of patients (Cp50) was calculated by logistic regression. RESULTS: The propofol Cp50 with nitrous oxide was 3.85 micrograms/ ml. High-dose esmolol infusion was associated with a significant reduction in the Cp50 to 2.80 micrograms/ml (P < 0.04). Propofol computer-assisted continuous infusion produced stable serum concentrations with a slight positive blas. Esmolol did not alter the serum propofol concentration. No intergroup differences in heart rate or blood pressure response to intubation or incision were found. CONCLUSIONS: Esmolol significantly decreased the anesthetic requirement for skin incision. The components and mechanism of this interaction remain unclear. A simple pharmacokinetic interaction between esmolol and propofol does not explain the Cp50 reduction. These results demonstrate an anesthetic-sparing effect of a beta-adrenergic antagonist in humans under clinically relevant conditions.     

Input Versus Output Queueing on a Space-Division Packet Switch

Two simple models of queueing on anN times Nspace-division packet switch are examined. The switch operates synchronously with fixed-length packets; during each time slot, packets may arrive on any inputs addressed to any outputs. Because packet arrivals to the switch are unscheduled, more than one packet may arrive for the same output during the same time slot, making queueing unavoidable. Mean queue lengths are always greater for queueing on inputs than for queueing on outputs, and the output queues saturate only as the utilization approaches unity. Input queues, on the other hand, saturate at a utilization that depends onN, but is approximately(2 -sqrt{2}) = 0.586whenNis large. If output trunk utilization is the primary consideration, it is possible to slightly increase utilization of the output trunks-upto(1 - e^{-1}) = 0.632asN rightarrow infty-by dropping interfering packets at the end of each time slot, rather than storing them in the input queues. This improvement is possible, however, only when the utilization of the input trunks exceeds a second critical threshold-approximatelyln (1 +sqrt{2}) = 0.881for largeN.     

Queuing disciplines and passive congestion control in byte-streamnetworks

The mean delay and throughput characteristics of various trunk queuing disciplines of the FIFO (first in, first out) and round-robin types for byte-stream data networks are investigated. It is shown that, under normal traffic, high-speed trunks substantially reduce queuing delays. Almost any queuing discipline will give acceptable delay if the backbone network is sufficiently faster than the access lines. In the absence of high-speed trunks, both the packet FIFO and the round-robin discipline can be augmented with a priority queue that expedites single-packet messages, which may carry network control signals or echoplex characters. In FIFO-type disciplines, the mean delays of messages that do not go through the priority queue depend on the overall message length distribution. A sprinkling of very long messages can significantly increase the mean delays of other messages. In disciplines of round-robin type, the mean delay of each message type is not affected by the presence of very long messages of other types     

Inorganic constituents in American lignites

Both the discrete mineral phases and the ion-exchangeable inorganic constituents of lignites from Texas, Montana, and North Dakota have been studied. The ion-exchangeable cations and the carboxyl groups with which they are associated were characterized by ion exchange methods utilizing ammonium acetate and barium acetate respectively. Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba were found to be present in all three coals, but significant variations in the relative and absolute concentrations of all the cations were observed. It was found that Ca and Mg were the most abundant cations and that 40–60% of the carboxyl groups in the raw coals were exchanged with cations. The discrete mineral phases in these lignites were studied by semi-quantitative X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The importance of the cations in this analysis was shown when the mineralogical analyses of the low-temperature ash (LTA) of the coals with the cations removed and the raw coals were compared. Results show that up to 50% of the LTA of these raw coals can be attributed to the existence of metal cations and that fixation of sulphur, carbon, and oxygen to form carbonates and sulphates is the major reason for this contribution.     

Relation between pressure determined by ophthalmodynamometry and aortic pressure in the dog

AIMS: Ophthalmodynamometry has been used extensively since the last century; however, controversy surrounds what it actually measures. This study was set up to determine the relation between ophthalmodynamometric (ODP) and systemic blood pressures. METHODS: Aortic pressure was continuously monitored and altered by phlebotomy in six anaesthetised dogs, while ophthalmodynamometry was performed, by directly altering intraocular pressure. Maxillary artery pressure was monitored in two animals. All pressure transducers were zeroed at eye level. RESULTS: Mean ODP was 96.6% (1.6%) (95% confidence interval, n = 49) of aortic pressure. Mean maxillary artery pressure was 95.7% (5.5%) (95% CI, n = 16) of aortic pressure. ODP was 1.9 (0.6) mm Hg (95% CI, n = 33) higher than maxillary artery pressures. CONCLUSION: ODP was only slightly below aortic pressure and not significantly different from maxillary artery pressure, the analogue of the internal carotid artery in humans. These results also suggest a retinal artery collapse pressure of at least 1.9 mm Hg.