A Study of Ozone Generation by Negative Corona Discharge Through Different Plasma Chemistry Models

The Steady radial distribution of chemical species in a wire‐to‐cylinder ozone generator filled with pure oxygen has been computed by applying four different plasma chemistry models of increasing complexity. The most complete model considers ten species (e, O₂ ⁺, O₂ ^?, O₃ ^?, O^?, O₂, O₂(¹Δ_g), O₂(¹∑_g ⁺), O and O₃) and 79 reactions, including ionization by electron impact, electron attachment and detachment, electron-ion recombination, charge transfer, etc. The chemical model is coupled with the electrical model through Poisson's equation. The spatially averaged ozone density has been computed as a function of the current intensity and compared with the experimental values obtained by UV spectroscopy.     

Cimaterol and clenbuterol residue analysis by HPLC-HPTLC in liver.

A method has been developed for the analysis of cimaterol and clenbuterol residues in liver, with detection limits of 0.25 micrograms/kg and 0.5 micrograms/kg, respectively. The recovery varied from 55% to 60%. After extraction, a clean-up procedure with Baker-spe C-18 columns was performed. The two chemical compounds of interest were eluted with methanol. Cimaterol and clenbuterol were quantitatively determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using an RP-Select B (5 microns) column and a post-column reaction procedure. The positive results were confirmed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) as this technique reaches the same level of sensitivity as the HPLC method.     

Relation between the cavity detuning and the output opticalintensity in free-electron lasers

The authors use a simple model of saturation in free-electron lasers operating with pulsed beams to study the intensity growth as a function of the cavity mismatch and of the coupling parameter. In spite of the simplicity of the model, the dependence of the intracavity power, as a function of the cavity detuning, is reproduced remarkably well. It is also pointed out that an enhancement of the optical power is obtained by adjusting the cavity length while the optical signal grows. The problem is analyzed qualitatively and realization schemes are proposed     

Characteristics of a NaOH-Activated Blast Furnace Slag Blended with a Fine Particle Silica Waste

Mortars of blast furnace slag blended with a geothermal silica waste at various replacement levels of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% were cured for up to 90 days. The binder was activated by 6 wt% Na₂O equivalent of sodium hydroxide. Lime was added as an activating agent and also to promote pozzolanic reaction with the silica. It was found that the presence of the silica waste increased the reactivity of the cementitious materials, as measured by means of nonevaporable water. The compressive strength was increased in the presence of the silica, except at the highest replacement level of 20%, the optimum silica replacement was that of 5%–10%. The microstructures of blended slag showed less porosity than those of neat slag mortars. The lime was completely consumed after 90 days of hydration.     

Dynamic Policy-Based Network Management for a Secure Coalition Environment

This article reports the latest results of an R&D effort to develop a prototype implementation of a dynamic policy-based network management (PBNM) system that can be used to configure and manage a secure network for a coalition environment across an unsecured wide area network. The prototype, based on a distributed architecture, includes capabilities for policy creation and management, dynamic policy negotiation, and dynamic policy provisioning. The policy negotiation facilitates the rapid deployment of a coalition network while the dynamic policy provisioning automates the configuration and management of network services including firewalls, virtual private network connections, routing, quality of service (QoS), and domain name services. Such a PBNM system enhances an organization's ability to react to network incidents identified by a network situational awareness assessment. Although the focus of the current research is a military coalition environment, the system can be used in any distributed enterprise or collaborative environment     

Very low surface recombination velocities on p-type silicon wafers passivated with a dielectric with fixed negative charge

Surface recombination velocities as low as 10 cm/s have been obtained by treated atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al₂O₃ layers on p-type CZ silicon wafers. Low surface recombination is achieved by means of field induced surface passivation due to a high density of negative charges stored at the interface. In comparison to a diffused back surface field, an external field source allows for higher band bending, that is, a better performance. While this process yields state of the art results, it is not suited for large-scale production. Preliminary results on an industrially viable, alternative process based on a pseudo-binary system containing Al₂O₃ are presented, too. With this process, surface recombination velocities of 500–1000 cm/s have been attained on mc-Si wafers.     

Assessing and interpreting personality change and continuity in patients treated for major depression.

Structural, mean- and individual-level, differential, and ipsative personality continuity were examined in 599 patients treated for major depression assigned to 1 of 6 forms of a 6-month pharmaco-psychotherapy program. Covariation among traits from the Five Factor model remained invariant across treatment, and patients described themselves as slightly more extraverted, open to experience, agreeable and conscientious, and substantially more emotional stable after treatment. Trait changes were only to a small extent explained by changes in depression severity. There was evidence for differential, individual-level, and ipsative stability, with stable personality profiles in terms of shape and to a lesser extent in terms of scatter and elevation. Traits remain relatively stable, except for emotional stability, despite the depressive state and the psychopharmacological interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Design optimization of 3D steel structures: Genetic algorithms vs. classical techniques

In this paper an elitist genetic algorithm (GA) developed by the authors is compared with common commercial solutions for complex structural optimization. After its prior validation on two-dimensional (2D) structures, the GA was tuned and improved in order to obtain structural elements with minimum weights that satisfy the ultimate limit states of the applicable building code. Subsequently, the same spatial structures were optimized using a commercial structural analysis program. Finally, the cost and weight improvements obtained using the GA, although at a higher computational cost, are discussed.     

Comments on “Multiphase systolic algorithms for spectraldecomposition” [and reply]

Comments that the paper by Liu and Yao (see ibid., vol.40, no.1, p.190, 1992) presented an efficient algorithm for spectral decomposition, but the parallel algorithm and architecture for the Hessenberg reduction has a problem. The matrix obtained from the unitary similarity transformation is not necessarily a Hessenberg matrix. The authors reply that the Hessenberg reduction described is not in the Hessenberg form. Only the first column is in its proper form. There are many ways to overcome such a problem. One simple way is to use the multiphase rectangular systolic array