Gibbs energy of formation of nickel chromite

The equilibrium partial pressure of oxygen for a system containing coexisting NiCr₂O₄, Cr₂O₃, and Ni was determined at 1000 to 1300 K using the electrochemical technique. Yttria-stabilized zirconia was employed as a solid-state electrolyte in the open-circuit electromotive force (EMF) measurements. Results were compared to the reported data in the literature. The standard Gibbs energy of NiCr₂O₄ at 1000 to 1300 K was determined to be ΔG°_f(NiCr₂O_{4)=-1327.2+0.314T±2.874 (kJ/mole)}     

8-ns CMOS 64 K×4 and 256 K×1 SRAMs

SRAMs (static random-access memory) with a 64 K×4 and 256 K×1 structure and with 8-ns access time have been developed on a 1.0-μm CMOS process. Circuits are designed with source-coupling techniques to achieve high speed with small signal swings, using only CMOS devices. A metal option permits selection of the 64 K×4 or 256 K×1 configuration. The same core architecture has also been used to generate ×8 and ×9 designs. An output-enable (OE) version achieves 3-ns response time. As system speeds have recently increased toward 100-MHz operation, the need for address transition detection (ATD) has diminished as a means for improving the SRAM speed/power ratio. This trend in SRAM design stems mainly from the fact that AC current becomes the most significant fraction of the total current. Accordingly, the design described here employs a purely static path through the entire SRAM, with no requirement of ATD at any point. The resulting DC current is countered with a combined strategy of array subdivision, small-signal techniques, and active preamplification at key points in the data path     

Effect of fatigue loading on the modal properties of composite structures and its utilization for prediction of residual life

The design of composite structures for fatigue loading utilizes S-N curves to predict the fatigue life based on coupon testing. Due to the complex manufacturing process, the initial fabrication inconsistencies may cause the predicted number of cycles to failure to be off by one or two orders of magnitude. An experimental method is developed to predict the residual fatigue life of composite structures and continuously refine the prediction during the service life of these structures. Global effects on modal parameters, natural frequencies and damping ratios are investigated during the fatigue process. The Random Decrement signal processing technique is used. Changes of modal parameters are correlated with the prediction of fatigue failure life for selected graphite/epoxy composite specimens. The nature of the proposed method lends itself to real-time applications, especially, in service structures, as a nondestructive indicator.     

REM sleep behaviour disorder: an overview

REM sleep behaviour disorder (RSBD) is a recently described parasomnia characterised by a history of excessive nocturnal motor activity and absence of muscle atonia during REM sleep. Only limited literature is available on this condition. The exact prevalence is unclear, but recent studies suggest it might not be an uncommon condition. The elderly are more often affected and there is a male preponderance. While transient RSBD can be seen after taking certain drugs or during drug withdrawal, the chronic type is usually idiopathic or associated with an underlying degenerative neurological condition. It can result in considerable distress and/or serious injury to the patients or their bed partners. Differential diagnoses include sleep-walking, night terrors, nightmares, nocturnal seizures, obstructive sleep apnoea, post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative states and nocturnal confusional states. The dramatic response to clonazepam highlights the importance of recognition and appropriate treatment of this sleep disorder.     

Optimum Downlink Power Control of a DS-CDMA System via Convex Programming

An optimum downlink power control that maximizes the user-capacity of a Direct Sequence-Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) cellular system is proposed based on a convex programming method. First, the downlink beamforming weights for the base-station antenna-array are designed based on the maximum Signal-Interference-Ratio (SIR) criterion. Then by optimizing the downlink power subject to a fixed total transmit power constraint, we further increase the Signal-Interference-Noise-Ratio (SINR) at the mobile terminal, thus increasing the capacity of the system. With the same methodology, we can also minimize the required transmit power while satisfying the SINR threshold constraints. Additionally, a robust downlink power control approach for mitigating the performance degradation due to channel estimates error is also proposed. Computer simulations are given to demonstrate the improvement of downlink capacity, received SINR, robustness, and the minimization of the required transmit power for a DS-CDMA system with antenna-array at the base-station.     

Association between intestinal vitamin D receptor, calcium absorption, and serum 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D in normal young and elderly women

This paper systematically reviews the results from epidemiologic studies investigating the hypothesis that breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women increases with increasing concentrations of estradiol in blood and with increasing urinary estrogen excretion rates. Data from 29 epidemiologic studies of endogenous hormones and postmenopausal breast cancer were used. The ratio of the average estrogen concentration in the women with breast cancer to that in the women without breast cancer (and its 95 percent confidence interval [CI]) was calculated for each study, and the results were summarized by calculating weighted averages of the log ratios. In six prospective studies of serum estradiol concentration, 329 women who subsequently developed breast cancer had, overall, a 15 percent (CI = 6-24 percent, P = 0.0003) higher mean concentration of estradiol in their blood than the 1,105 women who remained free of cancer. The results of these prospective studies did not differ significantly from each other (chi2 for heterogeneity = 8.7; degrees of freedom = 5; P > 0.1). Similar differences in mean estrogen levels were seen in the case-control studies which reported either estradiol concentrations in the blood or urinary estrogen excretion. However, the case-control studies showed significant heterogeneity among their results. The data from the prospective studies strongly suggest that breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women is associated with relatively high concentrations of endogenous estradiol.     

A kilohertz repetition rate 1.9 μm H2 Ramanoscillator

Raman conversion of a high-repetition-rate Q-switched Nd:YAG laser using a gaseous H₂ Raman medium is reported. With a H₂ cell placed in a focusing intracavity Raman oscillator, 3 W of average power at 1.9 μm was obtained from a 15-W 1.06-μm laser operating at 2 kHz. Although the pump beam was multimode, the Stokes output was diffraction limited. At kilohertz repetition rates, conversion efficiencies were improved with a flowing gas cell which substantially reduced the thermal lensing effect in the Raman medium. A rate equation approach was used to model the intracavity conversion process     

Analyses of the gaseous species in halide-activated cementation coating packs

The partial pressures of equilibrium gaseous species in pack-cementation diffusion processes using pure condensed Al(l), Cr(s), and Si(s) metals activated by various halide salts under Ar or reducing environments which contain different amounts of hydrogen have been calculated. The analyses indicate that the presence of hydrogen gas in the system does not significantly alter the equilibrium partial pressures of gaseous species for a pack containing Al at unit activity. In general, the partial pressures of CrCl₂ and SiCl₂ are higher in a chloride-activated pack than in a fluoride-activated pack. Therefore, the codeposition of Cr or Si with Al is possible when a chloride salt is used as the activator with a masteralloy of composition dilute in Al. The addition of hydrogen to the gas phase decreases the partial pressure of Cl₂ and thereby the partial pressures of CrCl₂ and SiCl₂. However, the presence of hydrogen and the formation of hydrogen halides and metal hydrides could increase the kinetics of the transporting processes, particularly for the coatings of Cr and Si. The study also indicates that the vapor pressures for the volatile chlorides of Fe are significantly higher than those for Ni or Co, so that displacement reactions leading to the loss of Fe from the substrate are expected for coating processes involving high halide activities.