Numerical investigation of nitriding of refractory metals (with account of the phase constitution diagrams for metal-gas systems)

A mathematical model of dissolution of gas in a metal is suggested with account of phase formation in accordance with the phase constitution diagram (PCD). The stage-by-stage saturation process to the final product formation is shown for an individual particle, through which a reaction wave passes, depending on the diffusion permeability of the metal and solubility conditions that obey Sieverts's law. The effect of the filtration supply of the oxidant to the reaction zone and the process exothermicity on the course of the process is shown.Institute of Structural Macrokinetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Russia. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 65, No. 4, pp. 447–450, October, 1993.     

Study of adenovirus production in serum-free 293SF suspension culture by GFP-expression monitoring

BACKGROUND: Recently, investigators have reported the use of endoscopic myotomy in the treatment of esophageal achalasia. As with the open operation, considerable disagreement exists regarding the appropriate length of the myotomy and the need for a concomitant antireflux procedure. METHODS: Patients presenting with symptomatic achalasia between 1993 and 1997 were included in this prospective study. Preoperative studies included barium upper gastrointestinal study, endoscopy, and esophageal manometry. Laparoscopic myotomy was completed in all 20 patients; 18 had concomitant Toupet fundoplication. RESULTS: Operative times ranged from 95 to 345 minutes (mean 216). Blood loss ranged from 50 to 300 cc (mean 100 cc). There were 7 minor complications (5 mucosal injuries repaired laparoscopically, 1 bile leak and 1 splenic capsular tear). Nine patients began a liquid diet on the first day postoperatively; 19 were tolerating liquids by postoperative day 3. Hospital stay ranged from 2 to 20 days (mean 5). Eighteen patients had complete relief of dysphagia, with less than one reflux episode per month. One individual continues to have mild persistent solid food dysphagia. Another patient initially did well but subsequently developed mild recurrent dysphagia and reflux. One patient required laparoscopic take-down of the wrap because of recurrent dysphagia and now has no problems swallowing, but does complain of mild reflux. Two other patients also have mild reflux, 1 of whom did not undergo fundoplication. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic Heller myotomy can be performed safely with excellent results in patients with achalasia. Adding a partial fundoplication appears to help control postoperative symptoms of reflux. This procedure should be considered the procedure of choice in patients with symptomatic esophageal achalasia.     

Parental bonding and mental health in adolescence

Attachment between parent and child plays a crucial role in the healthy development of the child. Accordingly disturbances in parental bonding will be linked with the development of mental disorders later in life. The present study examines the relationship between parental bonding and mental health in healthy adolescents. Participants were 847 Israeli high school students who completed the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the General Well-Being (GWB), the Perceived Social Support (PSS), and the Social Desirability scale (SDS). In general, Israeli adolescents reported more parental care and less control than did Australian adolescents and adults. Female subjects reported more maternal care than did males. Subjects who reported high care and low control (optimal bonding) reported less distress, better general well-being and better social support that did all other groups. In contrast, those who reported low care and high control (affectionless control bonding) had the highest BSI scores and the lowest GWB and PSS scores. These results are in line with Bowlby's theory of attachment. They also show that specific configuration of parental bonding are linked with distress and isolation in adolescents.     

Evolution of consanguinity in the Archbishopric of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) during 1900-1979

Continuous intracameral infusions of a balanced salt solution (0.175 microliter min-1) have been reported to raise intraocular pressure (IOP) in anesthetized rats. Palm et al. (1995) previously reported that this effect was attenuated significantly by inclusion of arginine-vasopressin (AVP, 10 ng 0.175 microliter-1) in the infusate. This study used experimental and computer simulation methods to investigate factors underlying these changes in IOP. First, constant intracameral infusions of artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) at different fixed rates (0.049-0.35 microliter min-1) were used to estimate the outflow resistance. Secondly, IOP responses were measured during an 2 hr intracameral infusion of either aCSF or AVP that was the sum of a small constant component (0.05 microliter min-1) and a larger periodic component (0.25 microliter min-1, cycling for 4 min on, then 4 min off); the mean infusion rate was 0.175 microliter min-1. As shown previously for 0.175 microliter min-1 constant infusions, the periodic aCSF infusion induced a significant rise in IOP that was attenuated by AVP administration. Complex demodulation analysis and the estimated gain parameter of a second order transfer function fit to the periodic responses indicated that outflow resistance increased significantly during the infusions in both aCSF and AVP groups, but that the indices of resistance did not differ significantly between aCSF and AVP infused eyes. This finding implies that changes in outflow resistance do not explain the difference in IOP responses to intracameral aCSF and AVP. The two responses differed significantly, though, in damping factors, such that the aCSF responses were considerably more underdamped than the AVP responses. It is hypothesized that aCSF-induced increase in IOP reflects both (1) a small component reflecting increased outflow resistance and (2) a larger non-resistive component. Since the non-resistive component is insensitive to pretreatment with acetazolamide, it is suggested that the aCSF-induced elevation in IOP reflects primarily vascular perfusion changes that are reduced by local vasoconstrictor actions of AVP. The latter mechanism likely maintains vascular perfusion of the globe when intraocular hypertension develops.     

Drug therapy of hemiballism. Review of the literature and personal observations

Hemiballism is a rare hyperkinetic disorder which is characterized by irregular vigorous rotatory movements of the limbs of one side of the body. The disabling and exhausting movements with their high risk of severe injuries require an acute drug treatment. However, there are no common guidelines for the treatment of this disorder. Therefore we reviewed the available literature to establish a concept for a rational symptomatic drug treatment. Furthermore, own observations in 6 patients with hemiballism of different origins are reported.     

Measuring knowledge transfer between fields of science

In this paper we report on the results of an exploratory study of knowledge exchange between disciplines and subfields of science, based on bibliometric methods. The goal of this analysis is twofold. Firstly, we consider knowledge exchange between disciplines at a global level, by analysing cross-disciplinary citations in journal articles, based on the world publication output in 1999. Among others a central position of the Basic Life Sciences within the Life Sciences and of Physics within the Exact Sciences is shown. Limitations of analyses of interdisciplinary impact at the journal level are discussed. A second topic is a discussion of measures which may be used to quantify the rate of knowledge transfer between fields and the importance of work in a given field or for other disciplines. Two measures are applied, which appear to be proper indicators of impact of research on other fields. These indicators of interdisciplinary impact may be applied at other institutional levels as well. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tunneling spectroscopy of palladium-barium emitters

The surface of a palladium-barium cathode was studied using scanning probe microscopy techniques. Data from the tunneling spectroscopy showed the pattern of the electron work function distribution over a microscopic region on the emitter surface. This pattern is compared to the distribution of various phases in the palladium-barium alloy employed.     

A practical controller for explicit rate congestion control

This paper examines congestion control for explicit rate data networks. The available bit rate (ABR) service category of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks serves as an example system, however, the results of this paper are applicable to other explicit rate systems as well. After a plant model is established, an adaptive control strategy is presented. Several algorithm enhancements are then introduced. These enhancements reduce convergence time, improve queue depth management, and reduce parameter bias. This work differentiates itself from the other contributions in the area of rate-based congestion control in its balanced approach of retaining enough complexity as to afford attractive performance properties, but not so much complexity as to make implementation prohibitively expensive     

Efficient computer implementation of the renormalized coupled-cluster methods: The R-CCSD[T], R-CCSD(T), CR-CCSD[T], and CR-CCSD(T) approaches

The recently proposed renormalized (R) and completely renormalized (CR) coupled-cluster (CC) methods of the CCSD[T] and CCSD(T) types have been implemented using recursively generated intermediates and fast matrix multiplication routines. The details of this implementation, including the complete set of equations that have been used in writing efficient computer codes, memory requirements, and typical CPU timings, are discussed. The R-CCSD[T], R-CCSD(T), CR-CCSD[T], and CR-CCSD(T) computer codes and similar codes for the standard CC methods, including the LCCD, CCD, CCSD, CCSD[T], and CCSD(T) approaches, have been incorporated into the gamess package. Information about the main features of this new set of CC programs is provided.     

A Collection of Papers and Memoirs Celebrating the Contribution of Rod Burstall to Advances in Computer Science

Formal Aspects of Computing are dedicated to Professor Rod Burstall, and, as a collection of papers, memoirs and incidental pieces, form a Festschrift for Rod. The contributions are made by some of the many who know Rod and have been in uenced by him. The research papers included here represent some of the areas in which Rod has been active, and the editors thank their colleagues for agreeing to contribute to this Festschrift.