Radiation Hardened CMOS/SOS

This paper reports the results of experiments designed to optimize the total dose ionizing radiation hardness of CMOS/SOS devices. Type 4007 inverter circuits were fabricated with variations in the process, including wet versus dry gate oxidation. Tolerable values (e. g. < l?A per mil of channel width) of post-radiation n-channel back leakage were obtained only with wet oxides. Threshold shifts of ?1V for the n-channel devices and ?2V for the p-channel devices were obtained after 106 rads (Si) on the best devices fabricated.     

Mechanism of aggregation behavior inMaladera matrida Argaman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

AdultMaladera matrida Argaman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) males emerge from soil for an active period at dusk, a few minutes before the females. Adults are found during most of the active hours on the foliage in aggregations composed of an equal sex ratio. The mechanism of aggregation behavior ofM. matrida beetles was studied in a Y-shaped olfactometer. No evidence was found for the existence of an aggregation pheromone released either by males or by females, but behavior tests indicate that adultM. matrida beetles, males as well as females, are attracted to volatiles of an injured host plant. The following scenario is suggested: Males emerge daily from soil at dusk, a few minutes before the females, and immediately start feeding. Additional males are attracted to the injured host's volatiles and form aggregations. When females emerge from soil, the attractant volatiles are concentrated in spots, and the females join the aggregations, forming an equal sex ratio.     

Occupational Health Research in Developing Countries: The Experience in Ecuador

We report the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in nine cystic fibrosis (CF) subjects receiving cationic liposome complexed with a complementary DNA encoding the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), and six CF subjects receiving only liposome to the nasal epithelium. No adverse clinical effects were seen and nasal biopsies showed no histological or immuno-histological changes. A partial restoration of the deficit between CF and non-CF subjects of 20% was seen for the response to low Cl- perfusion following CFTR cDNA administration. This was maximal around day three and had reverted to pretreatment values by day seven. In some cases the response to low Cl- was within the range for non-CF subjects. Plasmid DNA and transgene-derived RNA were detected in the majority of treated subjects. Although these data are encouraging, it is likely that transfection efficiency and the duration of expression will need to be increased for therapeutic benefit.     

Jacques Lacan: The turn of the Obligado or the return of the unavoidable]

"La Vuelta de Obligado" (Obligado bend of Paraná river) is the name of a battle fought by local rebels against the colonial invading navy. The victory was due to a witty device: the patriots stretched a cable across the river and succeded in stopping the foreign float. The event is the paradigm of the everlasting fight of under-developped countries against powerful colonial metropolis. The author examines the conditions of local fight against colonizing cultural and scientific ideas, being his main content that scientific advancement needs not be an instrument of scientific imperialism. He analyzes in detail several factors currently impeding the use of scientific discoveries and improvements, focusing into concrete "obstacles" (in Bachelard's meaning) to betterment of Psychoanalytic knowledge. The obstacles are: 1. All-pervading transference. The rule adapted from Melanie Klein theories emphasizing hic et nunc validity of materials from the patient, neglects the fact that the analyst is also moved by desire, and that the patient's productions are not fragments of behavior able to be reduced to the present situation, but vectorial motions, always open and always re-opening into something defined since the beginning as forever lost. 2. Increasing activity for the analyst. The current hypothesis concerning the possibility of analyzing everything, encouraging the analyst's hyperactivity, does not allow for theoretical evaluation of the means and ways of manifestation of unconscious drives through gaps in the discourse. 3. Pan-counter-transference. The conception of counter-transference as an instrument is against Freud's contention, defining it as a reciprocal transference that must be fought in the same way as the patient's. 4. Belittling of theory. The thesis against theory, on the grounds that Psychoanalysis deals with affects and the affective life of patients, forgets that there is always some system for understanding the world and, for want of a theory, an ideological system is always ready to provide the grid underlying all concepts used. 5. Not-analyzing. The automatic "translation", lacking the search for new links to replace the ones that analysis dismantles, leads to denaturalizing the practice and keeping intact the patient's imaginary consistent universe. 6. Intergrationism. Other theories cannot be integrated to Psychoanalysis as they have different objects and different frameworks. Conversely, Psychoanalitic concepts cannot be formulated in other theories conceptual corpus for the same reason. The exception are the sciences having similar fields and methods of analysis, such as Semiotics or Linguistics. In their case the articulation of concepts becomes possible, but still requires the previous command of Psychoanalytic Theory in its full depth. 7. Communicationalism. The most common of all integrations with other sciences is the one linking Psychoanalysis with Communications Theory...     

Boundary infinite elements for the Helmholtz equation in exterior domains

A novel approach to the development of infinite element formulations for exterior problems of time-harmonic acoustics is presented. This approach is based on a functional which provides a general framework for domain-based computation of exterior problems. Special cases include non-reflecting boundary conditions (such as the DtN method). A prominent feature of this formulation is the lack of integration over the unbounded domain, simplifying the task of discretization. The original formulation is generalized to account for derivative discontinuities across infinite element boundaries, typical of standard infinite element approximations. Continuity between finite elements and infinite elements is enforced weakly, precluding compatibility requirements. Various infinite element approximations for two-dimensional configurations with circular interfaces are presented. Implementation requirements are relatively simple. Numerical results demonstrate the good performance of this scheme. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How real is the academic paradox of social psychological research and clinical practice? Response to Jones.

Responds to R. Jones's (see record 1987-23212-001) work on the paradox of social psychological research and clinical practice. Concern with the increasing fragmentation of the discipline of psychology and the present author's (in press) work on the presumed scientist–practitioner rift are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Combat flow: Military, political, and ethical dimensions of subjective well-being in war.

The theory of flow argues that subjective well-being results from absorption in an activity that strikes a good balance between challenges and skills. This absorption has been termed flow. Such absorption is often reported in combat situations, in which it contributes both to the subjective well-being and to the efficiency of soldiers. This article suggests that combat flow may have been central to military training and military performance throughout history. The study of combat flow could therefore shed new light on military history and form the basis for the development of new training techniques. The article simultaneously probes the ethical and political implications of manipulating the subjective well-being of soldiers in such a way. It cautions scholars of flow and subjective well-being that they should be aware of the ethical and political implications of their studies and warns against the dangerous political results of equating subjective well-being with happiness. The article further calls for greater cooperation between psychologists and historians in the study of well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)