Clustered crystalline structures as glassy phase approximants

This paper presents some crystalline structures which can be taken as the approximants of the corresponding metallic glassy phases. Such phases have a clustered structure and preferably (but not strictly necessarily) a large unit cell. Peak intensities of their radial distribution functions (RDFs) must be integrated at a step of about 0.01 nm in order to obtain RDFs similar to those of the corresponding glassy alloys owing to a degree of disorder related to the corresponding glassy structures.     

Synthetic bioabsorbable microtubes for the treatment of surgical sites

Bioabsorbable polyglycolide-co-lactide microtubes have been developed for the continuous delivery of fluid medications directly to an operative site. Studies conducted with radio-opaque solution using porcine models indicated that infusion of fluids in the wound site was rapid and complete. The tissue reaction to the microtube was generally characterized as minimal to mild with complete absorption occurring within 56 days postimplantation. Processing–microstructure-property relationships and bio-degradation characteristics of the microtubes are presented.     

The accuracy of reference lists in five experimental psychology journals.

Reference lists appended to published journals are of critical importance to readers of academic literature. They allow readers to retrieve cited sources, either to increase their own knowledge or to substantiate the authors' claims, and in so doing help to establish the judgment and credibility of the authors (M. F. McLellan et al, 1992). However, erroneous references detract from the intended function of reference lists by impeding retrieval searches and by providing misleading bibliographic information (G. de Lacey et al, 1985; McLellan et al, 1992). The present study aims to assess the accuracy of reference lists in five experimental psychology journals published by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1999 (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, and Journal of Experimental Psychology: General). Perhaps the most disturbing result from this study is the finding that authors were incorrectly cited in 12% of reference list citations, with errors in the initials of the authors being the most common. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time of Sampling Strategies for Asphalt Pavement Quality Assurance

The cost of quality assurance programs in asphalt road construction is high in part because of the need for daily testing. This paper demonstrates the methodology used to investigate the timing of sampling and its effect on the quality assurance program. Fourteen lots over two highway paving projects were tested twice: during construction on a daily basis, and after construction was complete. Three quality measures were compared, namely asphalt content, degree of compaction, and aggregate gradation. The test data during construction were obtained from two sources: the consultant’s quality assurance, and the contractor’s quality control. One-way ANOVA tests and T-tests were used to compare the means. In addition, the arithmetic difference between the means was reviewed to understand how the time of sampling might affect contractor payment adjustments.     

Behavior therapy and tricyclic medication in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A quantitative review.

A meta-analysis was used to integrate the research literature on the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Antidepressants, such as clomipramine, and behavior therapy have produced appreciable changes in obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms. Patients with obsessions who did not suffer from compulsions have responded less to treatment. No follow-up data have been available for clomipramine, but the benefits of behavior therapy have been shown to be stable at follow-up. Ratings of improvement by assessors have been higher than ratings made by patients. The effects of tricyclic medication and exposure therapies have not significantly differed, but both have proven significantly superior to nonspecific treatment programs. There is a need for a large, randomized comparison of clomipramine and exposure that includes adequate follow-up of subjects after treatment has concluded. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hydroxyapatite bone substitutes developed via replication of natural marine sponges

The application of synthetic cancellous bone has been shown to be highly successful when its architecture mimics that of the naturally interconnected trabeculae bone it aims to replace. The following investigation demonstrates the potential use of marine sponges as precursors in the production of ceramic based tissue engineered bone scaffolds. Three species of natural sponge, Dalmata Fina (Spongia officinalis Linnaeus, Adriatic Sea), Fina Silk (Spongia zimocca, Mediterranean) and Elephant Ear (Spongia agaricina, Caribbean) were selected for replication. A high solid content (80 %wt), low viscosity (126 mPas) hydroxyapatite slurry was developed, infiltrated into each sponge species and subsequently sintered, producing a scaffold structure that replicated pore architecture and interconnectivity of the precursor sponge. The most promising of the ceramic tissue engineered bone scaffolds developed, Spongia agaricina replicas, demonstrated an overall porosity of 56–61% with 83% of the pores ranging between 100 and 500 μm (average pore size 349 μm) and an interconnectivity of 99.92%.     

Scaling Properties of Superfluid 3He in Aerogel

We have investigated the superfluid transition of ³ He in different samples of silica aerogel. Several of these samples have been characterized using x-ray imaging, yielding information about the microstructure of the aerogel. In comparing new measurements on a 99.5% sample with previous observations on the behavior of ³ He in 98% porous aerogel we have found evidence for a scaling of the superfluid transition temperature to the correlation length of the aerogel. Furthermore, the superfluid density exhibits a similar universal behaviour over a range of values of reduced temperature. We discuss these new results in the context of superfluid pairing in the presence of a correlated disorder, specifically focussing on the fractal nature of the aerogel.     

Fatigue crack in large-scale tubular joints for offshore structures

Tubular members have been used for constructing offshore structures. Large-scale fatigue tests of welded tubular K-joints under the balanced in-plane bending brace were carried out to investigate the fatigue behavior of API 2W Gr.50 steel produced by POSCO. The experimental results were verified by numerical approaches and compared with the IIW, DnV RP-C203 and API RP 2A-WSD design curves. The test results based on the hot spot stress were in agreement with the design curves. The SCF factor for tubular K-jo...