The role of a 40-megadalton plasmid in the adherence and hemolytic properties of Aeromonas hydrophila

Thirty ventilation-perfusion pulmonary scintigraphic studies were performed in 13 patients who had undergone unilateral lung transplantation. Ventilation-perfusion mismatch (ventilation better than perfusion) was judged absent, mild, moderate, or severe in the transplanted and native lungs. Ventilation-perfusion mismatch was significantly worse in the transplanted lungs (p < .0001). Findings of lung biopsies and chest roentgenograms failed to correlate with the severity of ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction appears to be significantly impaired in most unilateral lung transplants; the mechanism for this impairment is unclear.     

The National Ignition Facility neutron time-of-flight system and its initial performance (invited)

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) successfully completed its first inertial confinement fusion (ICF) campaign in 2009. A neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) system was part of the nuclear diagnostics used in this campaign. The nTOF technique has been used for decades on ICF facilities to infer the ion temperature of hot deuterium (D(2)) and deuterium-tritium (DT) plasmas based on the temporal Doppler broadening of the primary neutron peak. Once calibrated for absolute neutron sensitivity, the nTOF detectors can be used to measure the yield with high accuracy. The NIF nTOF system is designed to measure neutron yield and ion temperature over 11 orders of magnitude (from 10(8) to 10(19)), neutron bang time in DT implosions between 10(12) and 10(16), and to infer areal density for DT yields above 10(12). During the 2009 campaign, the three most sensitive neutron time-of-flight detectors were installed and used to measure the primary neutron yield and ion temperature from 25 high-convergence implosions using D(2) fuel. The OMEGA yield calibration of these detectors was successfully transferred to the NIF.     

Management of special services — designing for a changing world

COSMOSS, BTs customer-oriented system for the management of special services, was implemented in early 1994. It is a large 3270-based multiple virtual storage (MVS) system using CICS, DB2 and BT Middleware. Though seen by some as a legacy system cloned from the customer service system (CSS), COSMOSS is very forward looking in its attempts to anticipate and accommodate change. This paper discusses the COSMOSS design approach and in particular how it tackles problems associated with the inevitability of change.     

The effect of pallet top deck stiffness on the compression strength of asymmetrically supported corrugated boxes

During unitized shipment, the components of unit loads are interacting with each other. During floor stacking of unit loads, the load on the top of the pallet causes the top deck of the pallet to bend, which creates an uneven top deck surface resulting in uneven or asymmetrical support of the corrugated boxes. This asymmetrical support could significantly affect the strength of the corrugated boxes, and it depends on the top deck stiffness of the pallet. This study is aimed at investigating how the variations of pallet top deck stiffness and the resulting asymmetric support affect corrugated box compression strength. The study used a scaled-down unit load compression test on quarter-scale pallet designs with different deckboard thicknesses using four different corrugated box designs. Pallet top deck stiffness was determined to have a significant effect on box compression strength. There was a 27%–37% increase in box compression strength for boxes supported by high-stiffness pallets in comparison with low-stiffness pallets. The fact that boxes were weaker on low-stiffness pallets could be explained by the uneven pressure distribution between the pallet deck and bottom layer of boxes. Pressure data showed that a higher percentage of total pressure was located under the box sidewalls that were supported on the outside stringers of low-stiffness pallets in comparison with high-stiffness pallets. This was disproportionately loading one side of the box. Utilizing the effects of pallet top deck stiffness on box compression performance, a unit load cost analysis is presented showing that a stiffer pallet can be used to carry boxes with less board material; hence, it can reduce the total unit load packaging cost.     

Traction control design for off-road mobility using an SPH-DAE cosimulation framework

Multibody System Dynamics - We describe an analytical framework implemented in a general-purpose mobility simulation platform for enabling the design of control policies for improved rover mobility...     

Developing tools for excavation design at Canada''s Underground Research Laboratory

A project to develop an excavation design process for potential application in construction of a nuclear fuel waste repository was undertaken in Canada at the Underground Research Laboratory. The excavation design process is seen to have four elements: characterization, modelling, monitoring and design. In moving this project forward, fundamental issues in rock mechanics were addressed. These issues included increasing the understanding of the micro-mechanical phenomena leading to time-dependent cracking in situ; quantifying rock mass damage through field measurements; coupling mechanical rock fracture analyses with thermal and hydraulic numerical tools; using results of laboratory long-term loading tests to calibrate properties related to time-dependent strength degradation, and presenting the results from field measurements, numerical simulations and analytical calculations in terms that are relevant to excavation design. As such, the project encompassed a wide range of geotechnical skills and technologies. The results from the project have important implications for rock mechanics and have applicability beyond the scope of nuclear fuel waste disposal.     

Mechanical gas capture and release in a network solid via multiple single-crystalline transformations

Metal-organic frameworks have demonstrated functionality stemming from both robustness and pliancy and as such, offer promise for a broad range of new materials. The flexible aspect of some of these solids is intriguing for so-called 'smart' materials in that they could structurally respond to an external stimulus. Herein, we present an open-channel metal-organic framework that, on dehydration, shifts structure to form closed pores in the solid. This occurs through multiple single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations such that snapshots of the mechanism of solid-state conversion can be obtained. Notably, the gas composing the atmosphere during dehydration becomes trapped in the closed pores. On rehydration, the pores open to release the trapped gas. Thus, this new material represents a thermally robust and porous material that is also capable of dynamically capturing and releasing gas in a controlled manner.     

Properties of chitosan/soy protein blended films with added plasticizing agent as a function of solvent type at acidic pH

Pure and blend films from chitosan (CH) and soy protein isolate (SPI) were produced in varying compositions (CH/SPI 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 w/w) based on the solvent type (acetic and formic acids). Glycerol was used as a plasticizer. The interactions between the two biopolymers was confirmed by FTIR and TGA, indicating miscibility and compatibility. Increasing the amount of soy protein decreased the tensile strength and absorptive properties, but improved the ability of the film to withstand thermal degradation. Blend films cast using acetic acid gave higher hydrophobicity, better internal blend miscibility, and better tensile properties than blend films cast from formic acid.     

Aspects of the Tribology of the Plastic Bonded Explosive LX‐04

The dynamic coefficient of friction, μ_d, of the plastic bonded explosive (PBX) LX‐04 was measured on stainless steel, aluminum, Teflon and the explosive itself as a function of temperature between ambient and 135 °C at a rotational speed of 0.0025 rad/s⁻¹. An optical profilometer was used to analyze surface roughness. LX‐04 is a composite of the explosive 1,3,5,7‐tetranitroazacyclooctane (HMX) and Viton A in an 85/15 weight ratio. For LX‐04 on stainless steel, μ_d decreased from 0.38 at ambient to 0.18 at 95 °C, then was nearly constant to about 125 °C, where the coefficient began to increase again. The opposite behavior was observed for aluminum. Against Teflon μ_d was nearly constant from ambient to 65 °C at 0.43, and then decreased to 0.17 from 100 °C to 135 °C. Against LX‐04 itself the coefficient of friction averaged 0.64 at temperatures between 35 °C and 95 °C, but tended to increase during the measurement, probably due to adhesion of the Viton to itself. Above 95 °C the coefficient dropped off and became nearly constant again at 0.16 up to 135 °C. Measurements on stainless steel with the mock explosive RM‐04‐BR, a composite of cyanuric acid and Viton A, and with the same weight ratio as the actual explosive, compared reasonably well with the explosive itself.