Regional service coverage modeling

Service coverage is an often utilized concept in location modeling. Whether it be evaluating existing facilities or planning for new services, an underlying goal in many planning efforts is providing at least a minimal level of service coverage to an entire region. Examples include locating emergency medical services so as to ensure acceptable response times or siting Doppler radar stations to monitor evolving weather conditions. A challenge in addressing such problems has been how to represent a study region in a digital (or mathematical) environment. Historically, the approach taken has been to represent a region as an irregular pattern of points. These points typically correspond to centroids (or centers) of neighborhoods, towns, administrative units or census boundaries and summarize population or other service demand characteristics used in location models. A related alternative has been to represent a region as a regular pattern of points. The proliferation of geographic information systems (GIS), and the spatial data they manage, suggests that such representations may be overly simplistic in some circumstances. Further, there is increasingly an attempt to incorporate greater richness in traditional location modeling approaches. In this paper we explore coverage modeling of a region. An application focusing on siting emergency warning sirens in an urban area is used to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative coverage modeling approaches.     

Ion-pair chromatographic separation of water-soluble gold monolayer-protected clusters

We demonstrate the efficacy of ion-pair chromatography for separations of samples of charged, polydisperse, water-soluble gold nanoparticles protected by monolayers of N-acetyl-l-cysteine and of tiopronin ligands. These nanoparticle mixtures have 1-2-nm-diameter Au core sizes as estimated from UV-visible spectra of the separated components. This size range encompasses the transition from bulk metal to molecular properties. The nanoparticle mixtures were resolved, the smallest nanoparticles eluting first, on an octadecylsilyl (C18) column using isocratic elution with a methanol/water mobile phase containing tetrabutylammonium fluoride (Bu4N+F-) and phosphate buffer. The column retention increases with Bu4N+F- concentration, lowered pH, and decreasing methanol volume fraction. The retention mechanism is dominated by ion-pairing in either the mobile phase or at the stationary/mobile-phase interface. Size exclusion effects, used in many previous nanoparticle separations, are insignificant.     

Stress-corrosion cracking of reactor feed pump wear rings

Stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) is observed in machine components when an optimal combination of stress levels and environmental conditions is present in susceptible material. An interesting case history of intergranular SCC failure is presented in this paper. This failure occurred in wear rings that were shrink-fitted on the impellers of a multistage horizontal feed pump during the project procurement phase. After manufacture and assembly, two pumps were performance-tested in the supplier's test loop for a combined total of approximately 600 h. The test duration lasted for approximately three months. During this duration, the two pump internals were not absolutely dry and were exposed to an indoor environment in the supplier's test plant. After the completion of the tests, the pump internals were inspected, cleaned, dried, and packaged before air freighting to the reactor site. The pumps were in storage at the site for approximately two months. When the pumps were opened for inspection, two wear rings on each of the pumps were cracked. This paper summarizes the results of the studies to evaluate the root cause of the wear ring failures and the corrective actions implemented to avoid similar failures.     

Reversible resistance modulation in mesoscopic silver wires induced by exposure to amine vapor

Ensembles of silver nanowires (AgNEs) with diameters ranging from 200 nm to 1.0 microm have been prepared by electrochemical step edge decoration. These AgNEs showed a rapid (< 5 s), reversible increase in resistance upon exposure to the vapor of ammonia, trimethylamine, and pyridine. The amplitude of the resistance change was up to +3000% (DeltaR/Ro)-more than 2 orders of magnitude larger than can be explained based on boundary layer scattering effects. We experimentally probe the mechanism for this resistance modulation in the case of ammonia, and we propose a model to describe it. Conductive tip atomic force microscopy was used to probe individual sections of nanowires in AgNEs; these data revealed that the resistance change caused by NH(3) exposure was concentrated within a minority (approximately 10%) of the 5-microm wire segments that were probed--not uniformly distributed along each nanowire. All AgNEs showed a temperature dependence of their resistance, alpha, that was smaller than expected for silver metal. Highly sensitive AgNEs sometimes showed a negative alpha, characteristic of semiconductors, but negative alpha values were never observed for AgNEs with a low sensitivity to NH3. AgNEs did not respond to hydrocarbons, O2, H2O, N2, CO, or Ar, but a large (DeltaR/Ro > |-50%|) irreversible decrease in resistance was seen upon exposures to acids including HCl, HNO3, and H2SO4. Based on these and other data, we propose a model in which oxidized constrictions in silver nanowires limit the conductivity of the wire and provide a means for "gating" conduction based on the protonation state of the oxide surface.     

Imaging in diffuse media with pulsed-ultrasound-modulated light and the photorefractive effect

Acousto-optic imaging in diffuse media is a dual wave-sensing technique in which an acoustic field interacts with multiply scattered laser light. The acoustic field causes a phase modulation in the optical field emanating from the interaction region, and this phase-modulated optical field carries with it information about the local optomechanical properties of the media. We report on the use of a pulsed ultrasound transducer to modulate the optical field and the use of a photorefractive-crystal-based interferometry system to detect ultrasound-modulated light. The use of short pulses of focused ultrasound allows for a one-dimensional acousto-optic image to be obtained along the transducer axis from a single, time-averaged acousto-optic signal. The axial and lateral resolutions of the system are controlled by the spatial pulse length and width of the ultrasound beam, respectively. In addition, scanning the ultrasound transducer in one dimension yields two-dimensional images of optical inhomogeneities buried in turbid media.     

Long-term measurements of thoron, its airborne progeny and radon in 205 dwellings in Ireland

Long-term (circa 3 months) simultaneous measurements of indoor concentrations of thoron gas, airborne thoron progeny and radon were made using passive alpha track detectors in 205 dwellings in Ireland during the period 2007-09. Thoron progeny concentrations were measured using passive deposition monitors designed at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), Japan, whereas thoron gas concentrations were measured using Raduet detectors (Radosys, Budapest). Radon concentrations were measured in these dwellings by means of NRPB/SSI type alpha track radon detectors as normally used by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII). The concentration of thoron gas ranged from <1 to 174 Bq m(-3) with an arithmetic mean (AM) of 22 Bq m(-3). The concentration of radon gas ranged from 4 to 767 Bq m(-3) with an AM of 75 Bq m(-3). For radon, the estimated annual doses were 0.1 (min), 19.2 (max) and 1.9 (AM) mSv y(-1). The concentration of thoron progeny ranged from <0.1 to 3.8 Bq m(-3) [equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration (EETC)] with an AM of 0.47 Bq m(-3) (EETC). The corresponding estimated annual doses were 2.9 (max) and 0.35 (mean) mSv y(-1). In 14 or 7% of the dwellings, the estimated doses from thoron progeny exceeded those from radon.     

Particle formation in ambient MALDI plumes

The ablated particle count and size distribution of four solid matrix materials commonly used for matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) were measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) combined with a light scattering aerodynamic particle sizer (APS). The two particle sizing instruments allowed size measurements in the range from 10 nm to 20 μm. The four solid matrixes investigated were 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB), 4-nitroaniline (NA), α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA), and sinapic acid (SA). A thin film of the matrix was deposited on a stainless steel target using the dried droplet method and was irradiated with a 337 nm nitrogen laser at atmospheric pressure. The target was rotated during the measurement. A large number of nanoparticles were produced, and average particle diameters ranged from 40 to 170 nm depending on the matrix and the laser fluence. These particles are attributed to agglomeration of smaller particles and clusters and/or hydrodynamic sputtering of melted matrix. A coarse particle component of the distribution was observed with diameters between 500 nm and 2 μm. The coarse particles were significantly lower in number but had a total mass that was comparable to that of the nanoparticles. The coarse particles are attributed to matrix melting and spallation. Two of the compounds, CHCA and SA, had a third particle size distribution component in the range of 10 to 30 nm, which is attributed to the direct ejection of clusters.     

Journal Citations.

Comments on the article by J. R. Haynes (August, 1983) regarding core psychology journals. Haynes originally argues that two APA journals, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance and Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory failed to be included in the citation impact list because of extremely low citation impact for the Journal Citation Report. However, the Journal Citation Report for 1979-1981 is an unreliable source about Journal of Experimental Psychology journals for a number of reasons, including the citation of nonarticles and the conflation of citations for different journals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nicardipine versus nitroprusside for controlled hypotension during spinal surgery in adolescents

Nicardipine or nitroprusside was used to induce controlled hypotension in healthy adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis undergoing spinal fusion. Twenty patients were randomly assigned to the nitroprusside (N) or nicardipine (C) group. All patients received a standardized anesthetic. A target mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) of 60 mm Hg was achieved by varying the vasoactive infusions only. Moderate hemodilution (PCV = 25) and intraoperative blood salvage were used in all cases. Hemodynamic variables, blood loss, occurrence of reflex tachycardia, and reversibility of the hypotensive state were compared between the two groups. Significant differences were observed between the two groups in the amount of blood loss and reversibility of the hypotensive state. Group C had less blood loss (761 +/- 199 mL) than Group N (1297.5 +/- 264, P < or = .05). Time to restoration of baseline MAP was longer with Group C (26.8 +/- 4.0 min) than Group N (7.3 +/- 1.1 min, P < or = 0.001). Both drugs rapidly achieved a stable, controlled hypotensive state and an acceptable operating field. There was no statistically significant difference between groups with respect to the amount of crystalloid administered or urine output. These results suggest that nicardipine is a safe, effective drug for controlled hypotension in this population and that it may offer the significant advantage of reduced blood loss in these patients.     

International Symposium on the Role of HDL in Disease Prevention: report on a meeting

An area of unidirectional conduction block is one requirement for reentrant arrhythmias to occur. Functional block caused by dispersion of repolarization and refractoriness is the most probable mechanism of drug-induced unidirectional conduction block. We assessed the effects of lidocaine on spatial dispersion of myocardial repolarization and refractoriness in the intact porcine heart. Monophasic action potential duration at 90% repolarization, effective refractory period (ERP), and ventricular fibrillation cycle length (VFCL) were measured at two endocardial and one epicardial sites at baseline and during a treatment phase with D5W (n=11) or lidocaine 10 mg/kg/hour (n=12). Dispersion was calculated as the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the three recording sites. Lidocaine produced significant changes in ERP, VFCL, paced QRS duration, and intraventricular conduction time. It did not change basal levels of dispersion in repolarization and refractoriness. Lidocaine produced changes in myocardial electrophysiology that are uniform across the myocardium and thus did not change myocardial electrical heterogeneity. This may be a mechanism of the agent's lower proarrhythmic effects compared with other sodium channel blockers that increase myocardial electrical heterogeneity.