More on the behavior of soda lime glass under shock loading

A series of plate impact experiments with soda-lime glass specimens was performed in order to further investigate the complex behavior of this material in the 0–8 GPa range of shock loading. Using commercial manganin gauges we followed the stress histories and their different shapes as the stresses increase from 3.5 to about 8.0 GPa. In particular, we find that there are meaningful differences between the shapes of these signals at pressures below about 4.0 GPa, in between 4.0 and 6.0 GPa and above 6.0 GPa. We also gather more data on the fractured glass behind the fracture wave front, from our measured stress histories, and offer a new way to determine the Hugoniot elastic limit of this material, as well as other brittle solids.     

Review of Making contact: Uses of language in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Making contact: Uses of language in psychotherapy by Leston Havens (see record 1986-97288-000). Drawing on ideas from psychoanalytic, existential, and interpersonal theories, the author has provided a thought-provoking and practical book about how to reach, affect, and influence the distant or absent patient through language. This book is not only thought-provoking and practical but also a pleasure to read; Havens possesses a graceful literary style that is vivid, witty, and filled with fresh metaphors. Havens avoids traditional terminology for describing the more disturbed patient in favor of a personal and less objectifying way of speaking. Havens has provided a framework for conceptualizing how language can be used in a disciplined and powerful way to locate the lost selves of our patients. By calling attention to how we speak, he reminds us that language, used empathically and authentically, is the most powerful tool we have to bridge the often wide chasm between us and our patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deposition of CoPtP films from citric electrolyte

Magnetically hard CoPtP (up to 40 μm thickness) films for MEMS application were deposited from citrate electrolyte and considered in terms of their composition, structure, magnetic characteristics and deposition conditions. Films containing 83-92 at.% (a/o) Co were deposited in the presence of NaH₂PO₂ in the electrolyte, with current efficiency of about 20% (deposition rate 10-12 μm/h). Coercivity 2.7-2.8 kOe and remanence 3.0 kG were achieved magnetizing in the direction normal to the film plane. According to XRD analysis, films seem to consist of hexagonal phase of CoPt solid solutions. Current efficiency, composition and morphology of the films, as well as their magnetic characteristics, were influenced by the electrolyte prehistory and total charge passed through the electrolyte in previous operation.     

Technologies and the development of the Automated Metadata Indexing and Analysis (AMIA) system

The Automated Metadata Indexing and Analysis (AMIA) project aims to provide an effective digital asset management (DAM) tool for large digital asset databases. We began with text-based indexing since it is still the most reliable approach as compared with other content-based media features. AMIA not only searches for the text of the file name, but also utilizes embedded information such as the metadata in Maya files. The AMIA system builds a linked map between all dependency files. We present an approach of preserving previously established metadata created by the old DAM tools, such as AlienBrain, and integrating them into the new system. Findings indicate that AMIA has significantly improved search performance comparing to previous DAM tools. Finally, the ongoing and future work in the AMIA project is described.     

Basement structure, lithology and permeability at Kawerau and Ohaaki geothermal fields, New Zealand

Poorly permeable basement rocks commonly occur in geothermal regions around the world, and the Quaternary Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) of New Zealand is no exception. Production from basement terrane requires detailed knowledge of its geological and geophysical parameters, as shown by the history of Kawerau and Ohaaki, the only geothermal fields in the TVZ where Mesozoic Torlesse terrane greywacke (litharenite) basement is commonly penetrated at drilled depths of 1–2.5 km. In both fields the basement is step-faulted down into the TVZ. Although hot and hydrothermally altered, the greywackes have little permeability. Some production wells feed from elusive basement faults at Kawerau, but rarely at Ohaaki. Greywackes at Ohaaki are of “granite-rhyolite” provenance, and have more interbedded argillite than the “andesite-dacite” derived Kawerau greywackes. In consequence, the Kawerau basement may sustain brittle fracture at higher temperatures and depths than the more ductile Ohaaki basement, allowing convective circulation of higher enthalpy fluids into permeable Quaternary aquifers.     

In the Footsteps of the Prince: A Look at Renaissance Ferrara

The history of Ferrara and its princes has left a clear and readable imprint on the city’s streets, palaces and churches. Written in their stones is the memory of what has gone before. Ferrara was the site of the Nexus 2000 conference on architecture and mathematics, 4–7 June 2000.     

2,3-Dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo(f)quinoxaline reduces glial loss and acute white matter pathology after experimental spinal cord contusion

Focal microinjection of 2, 3-dihyro-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo(f)quinoxaline (NBQX), an antagonist of the AMPA/kainate subclass of glutamate receptors, reduces neurological deficits and tissue loss after spinal cord injury. Dose-dependent sparing of white matter is seen at 1 month after injury that is correlated to the dose-related reduction in chronic functional deficits. To determine whether NBQX exerts an acute effect on white matter pathology, female, adult Spague Dawley rats were subjected to a standardized weight drop contusion at T-8 (10 gm x 2.5 cm) and NBQX (15 nmol) or vehicle (VEH) solution focally injected into the injury site 15 min later. At 4 and 24 hr, tissue from the injury epicenter was processed for light and electron microscopy, and the histopathology of ventromedial white matter was compared. The axonal injury index, a quantitative representation of axoplasmic and myelinic pathologies, was significantly lower in the NBQX group at 4 hr (2.7 +/- 0.24, mean +/- SE) and 24 hr (1.4 +/- 0.19) than in VEH controls (3.8 +/- 0.33 and 2.1 +/- 0.20, respectively). Counts of glial cell nuclei indicated a loss of at least 60% at 4 and 24 hr after injury in the VEH group compared with uninjured controls. NBQX treatment reduced this glial loss by half. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the spared glia were primarily oligodendrocytes. Thus, the chronic effects of NBQX in reducing white matter loss after spinal cord injury appear to be attributable to the reduction of acute pathology and may be mediated through the protection of glia, particularly oligodendrocytes.