Soluble transition metals mediate residual oil fly ash induced acute lung injury

A theoretical framework is proposed for understanding how the innovative use of behavioral science evidence is both produced and diffused among members of the global legal community. Using case law analyses and interviews with key individuals involved in selected cases, we examine how battered woman syndrome (BWS) is produced and diffused between and among Australia, Canada, England, and the United States. The following diffusion mechanisms are proposed: (1) The availability and accessibility of credible dissemination sources; (2) characteristics of the overall practice environment operating in each legal culture; (3) the attitudes and knowledge of attorneys and judges about the use of scientific evidence; (4) political and social support for the use of the evidence in the legal culture; and (5) the level of structural equivalence, communication, and "neighbor effects" between and among legal cultures. Each mechanism is discussed and supplemented with information from interviews with individuals involved in key cases involving BWS evidence.     

Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects

Hass avocados, the most common commercial avocado cultivars in the world, contain a variety of essential nutrients and important phytochemicals. Although the official avocado serving is one-fifth of a fruit (30 g), according to NHANES analysis the average consumption is one-half an avocado (68 g), which provides a nutrient and phytochemical dense food consisting of the following: dietary fiber (4.6 g), total sugar (0.2 g), potassium (345 mg), sodium (5.5 mg), magnesium (19.5 mg), vitamin A (43 μg), vitamin C (6.0 mg), vitamin E (1.3 mg), vitamin K₁ (14 μg), folate (60 mg), vitamin B-6 (0.2 mg), niacin (1.3 mg), pantothenic acid (1.0 mg), riboflavin (0.1 mg), choline (10 mg), lutein/zeaxanthin (185 μg), phytosterols (57 mg), and high-monounsaturated fatty acids (6.7 g) and 114 kcals or 1.7 kcal/g. The avocado oil consists of 71% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), 13% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and 16% saturated fatty acids (SFA), which helps to promote healthy blood lipid profiles and enhance the bioavailability of fat soluble vitamins and phytochemicals from the avocado or other fruits and vegetables, naturally low in fat, which are consumed with avocados. There are eight preliminary clinical studies showing that avocado consumption helps support cardiovascular health. Exploratory studies suggest that avocados may support weight management and healthy aging.     

Antenna and receiver system with digital beamforming for satellite navigation and communications

To demonstrate and investigate the possibilities of active antennas with digital beamforming, a compact breadboard model operating in C-band with planar patches as radiators is fabricated and measured. It was originally designed as a technology demonstrator for navigation purposes, but will be extended for future use in combined navigation and communication systems. Several parameters for beam position, sidelobe reduction, and ing are set and controlled by a suitable user interface. A special calibration and error-correction procedure is developed to compensate for drift of active elements, mutual coupling of the patches, and finite-ground plane effects. The excellent results demonstrate the versatile features of digital beamforming for satellite navigation and communication systems.     

A New Approach to Dyadic Green''s Function in Spectral Domain

A new method is proposed to derive the dyadic Green's function for stratified dielectric layers from the wave equation in spectral domain. The result is a clear equivalent circuit of the whole structure which combines the TE and TM modes by hybrid block matrices. It is simple to apply and evaluate. The relation to the conventional immittance approach is shown by means of a similarity transform which diagonalizes the submatrices. The simplicity of the method is demonstrated in the application to the well-known example of a single microstrip patch on a grounded dielectric layer as well as structures with multiple layers and metallizations in arbitrary interfaces     

Triple stimulus-responsive polypeptide nanoparticles that enhance intratumoral spatial distribution

To address the limited tumor penetration of nanoparticle drug delivery vehicles, we report the first pH-responsive polypeptide micelle that dissociates at the low extracellular pH of solid tumors. This histidine-rich elastin-like polypeptide block copolymer self-assembles at 37 °C into spherical micelles that are stabilized by Zn(2+) and are disrupted as the pH drops from 7.4 to 6.4. These pH-sensitive micelles demonstrate better in vivo penetration and distribution in tumors than a pH-insensitive control.     

Liquid-phase backmixing in bubble columns, structured by introduction of partition plates

Installation of perforated sieve plates into a bubble column has the effect of introducing structure into an otherwise chaotic hydrodynamic behaviour. In this study, we focus on the reduction of backmixing of the liquid phase in compartmentalised bubble columns. Liquid-phase residence time distribution (RTD) measurements were carried out in bubble columns with diameters D_T=0.10, 0.15 and 0.38 m with air–water system operating at superficial gas velocities of U_G=0.05–0.4 m/s. Partition sieve plates with open areas of 18.6 and 30.7% were used in the studies. The measured data on RTD were interpreted in terms of an axial dispersion model extended to allow for liquid interchange between compartments. The interchange velocity was found to be strongly dependent on the free area of the plates but practically independent of the column diameter.     

Chain orientation in melt-extruded samples of vectra A,vectra B,and blends in relation to the mechanical properties

The profile of molecular orientation within injection-molded tensile bars of the liquid crystalline copolyesters Vectra A, Vectra B, and Vectra C, as well as blends of these polymers, was investigated by means of wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) using synchrotron radiation (HASYLAB, Hamburg). The local variation of chain orientation was resolved into steps of 100 μm. An even higher resolution was obtained by using the microfocus camera (focal spot 2 μm) at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble. In Vectra A and in the blend of Vectra A and Vectra B, a smooth variation of the orientation was found being almost zero at the surface and showing its maximum at a distance of 0.6 mm from the surface. The orientation in Vectra B was rather fluctuating. The average chain orientation in the blend samples processed under the same conditions was higher than in samples of the pure liquid crystalline copolyesters. The mechanical properties of the different layers within the injection moldings were determined by cutting the samples into slices and measuring the stress-strain curves. For specimens of comparable orientation, it turned out that the blend samples had the largest values of Young's modulus and tensile strength. The synergism of orientation and mechanical strength was also found for different blend compositions, as well as in blends of Vectra B and Vectra C. Annealing the injection moldings above the melting point resulted in a rapid relaxation of the orientation, whereas the chain alignment persisted at lower temperatures. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 67: 531–545, 1998     

EPR-Untersuchungen zur Photolyse halogenierter organischer Verbindungen. I. Reine Phasen halogenierter Verbindungen (CBr4, CHBr3, CCl4, CHCl3)

EPR-Investigations on the Photolysis of Halogenated Organic Compounds I. Pure Halogenated Compounds (CBr₄, CHBr₃, CCl₄ and CHCl₃) EPR-spectra of CBr₄, CHBr₃ and CDBr₃, exposed to u.v.-light and γ-rays respectively, are presented. They are discussed and compared with the results of the photolysis of CH₂Br₂, CH₃Br and CCl₄, CHCl₂, CH₂Cl₂ and CH₃Cl. Under stationary conditions at 77K it was possible to identify paramagnetic species like \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CBr}_4\,^{_{\bar.}} $\end{document}, ·CBr₃, ·CH₃, ·C₂H₅, ·CCl₃ and trapped electrons.     

Analysis of microstrip patch antennas on arbitrarily shaped multilayers

A numerical procedure for the efficient analysis of microstrip antennas and feed networks embedded in multilayer structures of arbitrary shape is presented. It is based on a special variant of the discrete-mode-matching method (DMM) for non-planar structures using a general solution of the wave equation (GSDMM). As an example, the complex resonant frequency of a microstrip patch antenna conformal to a non-planar dielectric surface is calculated. Different shapes are modeled by a suitable parameter. Some of the results are compared with those obtained with the commercial software HFSS by Ansoft.     

3D modeling of electromagnets fed by alternating voltage sources

A method allowing 3D simulation of AC voltage driven electromagnets is described. Since the harmonic current in the exciting coil depends on the air gap width, the electromotive force in the windings has to be taken into account. A computation method based on the finite element method was developed in order to obtain the static attractive force characteristics of AC electromagnets used for circuit breakers. This method is based on nodal finite elements and loop equations of the electric circuit. Both magnetic field and electric circuit equations are solved simultaneously in the frequency domain. Computation results are compared with measurements on a 32-A contractor/circuit breaker