Optical switching of a GaAs triangular barrier switch grown by MBE

A 100 ?m-diameter GaAs triangular barrier switch (TBS) has been optically switched using a GaAlAs laser diode. The resulting transient response has been measured to have a leading edge of ~ 295 ps.     

Good computing

Explicit attention to computer ethics began with Norbert Weiner's (1950) groundbreaking book, The Human Use of Human Beings [33]. The teaching of computer ethics arguably started in the 1970s with the distribution of Walter Maner's Starter Kit in Computer Ethics and the publication of Deborah Johnson's seminal text Computer Ethics [18], [19] (see Bynum [4] for a short history). Since that time, many excellent scholars have entered the field and much work has been done. Work on the philosophical groundwork for computing ethics [9], [31], the policy diffi culties associated with computing [22], [24], [30], and professional ethics in computing [10], [11] has multiplied and borne much fruit.     

Endoscopic CO2 laser excision of large or recurrent laryngeal saccular cysts in adults

BACKGROUND: Most paediatric cardiac arrest studies have been conducted in the USA, where paramedics provide prehospital emergency care. We wanted to study the outcome of paediatric cardiac arrest patients in an emergency medical system which is based on physician staffed emergency care units. METHODS: We analysed retrospectively the files of 100 prehospital cardiac arrest patients from Southern Finland during a 10-year study period. The patients were less than 16 years of age. RESULTS: Fifty patients were declared dead on the scene (DOS) without attempted resuscitation, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated in 50 patients. The sudden infant death syndrome was the most common cause of arrest in the DOS patients (68%) as well as in those receiving CPR (36%). Asystole was the initial cardiac rhythm in 70% of the patients in whom CPR was attempted. Resuscitation was successful in 13 patients, 8 of whom were ultimately discharged. Six of the patients survived with mild or no disability and 4 of them had near-drowning aetiology. In multivariate analysis, the short duration of CPR (< or = 15 min) was the only factor significantly associated with better survival. CONCLUSIONS: Although prehospital care was provided by physicians, the overall rate of survival was found to be equally poor as reported from systems with paramedics. The only major difference between physician- and paramedic-staffed emergency care units is the ability of physicians to refrain from resuscitation already on the scene when prognosis is poor.     

Follicular vascularity--the predictive value of transvaginal power Doppler ultrasonography in an in-vitro fertilization programme: a preliminary study

The glnA gene from the human pathogen Streptococcus agalactiae was cloned from a genomic library prepared with the lambda phage vector lambdaDASHII. A 4.6-kb DNA fragment of one of the recombinant phages was subcloned in pUC18. This Escherichia coli clone expressed a 52-kDa protein encoded by a 1,341-bp open reading frame. The nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame and the deduced amino acid sequence shared a significant degree of homology with the sequences of other glutamine synthetases (GS). The highest homology was between our deduced protein and GS of gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus. Plasmids with the cloned streptococcal glnA were able to complement E. coli glnA mutants grown on minimal media. Rabbit antisera to streptococcal GS recombinant protein recognized not only the recombinant protein but also a similar-sized band in mutanolysin extracts of all group B streptococcal strains tested, regardless of polysaccharide type or surface protein profile. The amino acid sequence of the deduced protein had similarities to other streptococcal cell-surface-bound proteins. The possible functional role of the immunological features of streptococcal GS is discussed.     

Multifactorial analysis of lung cancer dose-response relationships for workers at the Mayak nuclear enterprise

Dose-response relationships for alpha-radiation-induced lung cancers (adenocarcinoma, squamous carcinoma and small cell carcinoma) were developed by multifactorial analysis using data for Mayak nuclear enterprise workers chronically exposed by inhalation to 239Pu. The three most important lung cancer risk factors (smoking, plutonium incorporation, and external gamma irradiation), out of six factors previously identified, were used. Relative risks (odds ratios) were determined for 500 nuclear enterprise workers (162 cancer cases, 338 control) for different dose levels using a case-control study design and logistic regression. A threshold at about 3.7 kBq or 0.80 Gy was discovered for incorporated plutonium, which is satisfactorily described by linear-quadratic and quadratic models. Excess relative risk was 0.020 kBq(-2) and 0.97 Gy(-2). This quadratic function was mainly due to adenocarcinoma. A trend for decreasing risk was noted for the lowest levels of plutonium incorporation, near permissible level. No clear-cut dose-response relationship for lung cancer induction by chronic external gamma irradiation was obtained. Lung cancer induction by cigarette smoking had a linear dependence: smoking of one pack of papiroses (a type of Russian cigarette) per day for 5 y increases the lung cancer risk twofold. The effect was most clearly manifested for squamous-cell carcinoma.     

Acoustic Harmonic Generation Due to Thermal Embrittlement of Inconel 718

This paper describes an attempt to characterize the deterioration of a structural material's mechanical properties by nonlinear acoustics. In this particular case, the damage was caused by “thermal embrittlement” during which the material, here the nickel-based alloy Inconel 718, loses a significant fraction of its fracture toughness. Harmonic generation was the experimental method used to characterize the microstructural changes in the material as a function of exposure time at elevated temperatures. Tests were performed on two heats of Inconel 718 with slightly different chemistries, with one heat showing particular sensitivity of the fracture toughness to the elevated temperature exposure with corresponding higher changes in the nonlinearity parameter. As a mechanical measure of the fracture toughness deterioration, a small specimen punch test was used in which the ductility of a thin slice of material is determined. A clear difference between the two heats was noted in the metallographic examination, which is reflected in the harmonic generation as well as the punch test data. An explanation for the changes of the harmonic generation during the embrittlement process is speculative at the present time.     

Characterizing user performance in command-driven dialogue

To learn to use an interactive system, a person typically has to acquire a good deal of new knowledge. The ease of learning will depend on the extent to which the design of the task and the interface capitalizes on the user's pre-existing knowledge and his or her cognitive capabilities for learning. This paper explores the nature of both design decisions and user learning with a command-based system. Three studies were conducted, all involving a task in which secret messages were decoded by means of a sequence of commands (based on the task used by Barnard et al. In Study I, software specialists designed command structures for the task and gave reasons for their choices. In Study II, naive subjects chose between alternative command terms. In Study TTI, subjects learned to use interactive versions of the task in which dialogue factors (command terms and argument structures) were systematically varied. The results enabled the development of user knowledge of the system to be specified in detail. Comparisons across the three studies highlighted the diversity of the factors determining both design decisions and user behaviour.