Producing high-purity tantalum

Results of a study of the conditions for refining tantalum during production by the carbothermal method are presented. The behavior of a large number of impurities during the reduction is examined. Investigations showed that the carbothermal method of reducing tantalum with subsequent sintering is one of the most efficient means of producing high-purity tantalum, both in the form of compact metal, suitable for pressure treatment, and in the form of powder.Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 400–405, November, 1964     

Visualization of the arteries, veins, and nerves of the orbit by sector computed tomography

Altering the scintillation crystal configuration of a fixed-detector CT scanner increased the spatial resolution from 6.25 to 10 line pairs per centimeter. Sector scans of th orbit with this modified scanner showed the ophthalmic artery and superior ophthalmic vein and their branches and the intraorbital branches of the third, fifth, and sixth nerves, apparently seen with CT for the first time.     

Biomolecule-compatible support structures for biomolecule coupling to physical measuring principle surfaces

As part of studies on biomolecule-compatible interfacial structures for practice-relevant biosensor and biochip developments, new film-forming aminocelluloses of the 'P-CH2-NH-(X)-NH2' type (P = cellulose) with spacer structures (X = special oligoamine residues) at C6 and solubilising groups (S = tosylate or carbanilate) at C2C3 of the anhydroglucose unit (AGU) were synthesised and their film properties and covalent coupling with enzyme protein examined. Depending on the nature and degree of substitution (DS(S)) of the ester groups (S) at C2C3, the new aminocellulose derivatives are soluble either in DMA and DMSO (with S = carbanilate) or in water (with S = tosylate). The aminocellulose derivatives form transparent films from their solutions. AFM investigations of the film surfaces have either shown very flat (topography <1 nm) films or tubular topographies of nanostructure size, depending on structural and environment-induced factors of influence. Especially in the case of films from water-soluble aminocelluloses with oligoamine residues at C6, inter alia, enzyme-specific pH values and different positive charge distributions can be adjusted by partial protonation of the NH2 end groups. By means of the covalent coupling of the new aminocelluloses with glucose oxidase (GOD) it was shown that the enzyme coupling efficiency can be decisively optimised by the interplay of aminocellulose structure, coupling structure and enzyme protein.     

A model of a liquid droplet impinging on a high-temperature solid surfaces

The paper deals with a model of a liquid droplet vertically impinging on a heated solid surface. The model uses the following assumptions. The value of the wall temperature is taken to be such that the droplet-wall interaction would proceed via gas-vapor interlayer (T 400 °C). The droplet liquid is incompressible and nonviscous. The droplet surface is taken to be free, with its deformation caused by the effect of external pressure distributed over the droplet surface. The pressure is made up by two components, of which the first one is the surface tension pressure due to the curvature of the droplet surface; the second component is the pressure of vapor between the droplet and wall, which is determined by analyzing the process of vapor escape from the vapor interlayer. The motion of liquid within the droplet is taken to be potential and axisymmetric. The equations of droplet motion are solved relative to the potential of the vector field of velocity. The suggested model is used to perform numerical calculations of the droplet collision process, and the obtained results are compared with the data of other authors.Translated from Teplofizika Vysokikh Temperatur, Vol. 42, No. 6, 2004, pp. 921–927.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by A. V. Gulikov, I. I. Berlin, and A. V. Karpyshev.     

Evaluation of low density spine software for the assessment of bone mineral density in children

Pediatric dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry spine scans often cannot be analyzed with standard software due to a failure to identify the bone edges of low density vertebrae. Low density spine (LDS) software improves bone detection compared with standard software. The objective of this study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) measurements obtained with the standard and LDS software in 27 healthy nonobese, 32 obese, and 41 chronically ill children, ages 2-18 years. Lumbar spine (L1-L4) BMD, measured by standard analysis, ranged from 0.531-1.244 gm/cm2. Reanalysis with the LDS software resulted in a systematic increase (mean +/- SD) in estimated bone area of 17.0+/-5.0%, an increase in bone mineral content of 6.1+/-6.3%, and a mean decrease in BMD of 8.7+/-1.7% (all p < 0.001). This resulted in a mean decrease in BMD Z score of 0.7+/-0.2. Linear regression models, predicting standard BMD from LDS BMD, were fit for the three subject groups (R2 = 0.993-0.995). Small differences in slopes were detected across groups (p = 0.07); LDS BMD predicted higher standard BMD in obese subjects. In conclusion, LDS analysis resulted in a clinically significant decrease in measured BMD. The association between analysis methods was exceptionally high (R2 > 0.99), indicating that LDS BMD accurately predicts standard BMD. Although LDS BMD in obese subjects predicts higher standard BMD results than in nonobese subjects, the small difference is of questionable clinical significance. LDS software is a useful tool for the assessment of BMD in children.     

Development of a stakeholder identification and analysis method for human factors integration in work system design interventions – Change Agent Infrastructure

In any work system design intervention—for example, a physical workplace re-design, a work process change, or an equipment upgrade—it is often emphasized how important it is to involve stakeholders in the process of analysis and design, to gain their perspectives as input to the development, and ensure their future acceptance of the solution. While the users of an artifact or workplace are most often regarded as being the most important stakeholders in a design intervention, in a work-system context there may be additional influential stakeholders who influence and negotiate the design intervention's outcomes, resource allocation, requirements, and implementation. Literature shows that it is uncommon for empirical ergonomics and human factors (EHF) research to apply and report the use of any structured stakeholder identification method at all, leading to ad-hoc selections of whom to consider important. Conversely, other research fields offer a plethora of stakeholder identification and analysis methods, few of which seem to have been adopted in the EHF context. This article presents the development of a structured method for identification, classification, and qualitative analysis of stakeholders in EHF-related work system design intervention. It describes the method's EHF-related theoretical underpinnings, lessons learned from four use cases, and the incremental development of the method that has resulted in the current method procedure and visualization aids. The method, called Change Agent Infrastructure (abbreviated CHAI), has a mainly macroergonomic purpose, set on increasing the understanding of sociotechnical interactions that create the conditions for work system design intervention, and facilitating participative efforts.