Formation and inhibition of free radicals in electrically stressed and aged insulating polymers

Previous work has shown that prebreakdown, electrical aging, and breakdown phenomena are directly associated with charge carriers injected from electrical contacts and their subsequent dissociative trapping and recombination. In addition, the energy released from each trapping or recombination event is dissipated in the breaking of the bonds of macromolecules, thus forming free radicals and new traps in the electrically stressed insulating polymers, as predicted by Kao's model. It is this gradual degradation process that leads to electrical aging and destructive breakdown. New experimental results are presented to confirm previous findings and a new approach to inhibit the degradation process by the incorporation of suitable dopants into the polymer. The concentration of free radicals in the polymer increases with an increasing electric field at a fixed stress time of 250 h and with increasing stress time at a fixed electric field of 833 kV cm^?1. The concentration of free radicals is directly related to the concentration of new traps created by stress. However, when suitable dopants are incorporated, the initiation voltage for the occurrence of electrical treeing and the breakdown strength are both increased. The dopants tend to create shallow traps and have little effect on the deep trap concentration. This implies that the dopants act as free‐radical scavengers that tend to satisfy the unpaired electrons of the broken bonds, which create new acceptor‐like electron traps and new shallow traps. By doing so, the shallow traps screen the deep traps, thereby reducing the energy released during trapping and recombination and the probability of breaking the macromolecular bonds and causing structural degradation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3416–3425, 2003     

An evolutionary algorithm for large traveling salesman problems

This work proposes an evolutionary algorithm, called the heterogeneous selection evolutionary algorithm (HeSEA), for solving large traveling salesman problems (TSP). The strengths and limitations of numerous well-known genetic operators are first analyzed, along with local search methods for TSPs from their solution qualities and mechanisms for preserving and adding edges. Based on this analysis, a new approach, HeSEA is proposed which integrates edge assembly crossover (EAX) and Lin-Kernighan (LK) local search, through family competition and heterogeneous pairing selection. This study demonstrates experimentally that EAX and LK can compensate for each other's disadvantages. Family competition and heterogeneous pairing selections are used to maintain the diversity of the population, which is especially useful for evolutionary algorithms in solving large TSPs. The proposed method was evaluated on 16 well-known TSPs in which the numbers of cities range from 318 to 13509. Experimental results indicate that HeSEA performs well and is very competitive with other approaches. The proposed method can determine the optimum path when the number of cities is under 10,000 and the mean solution quality is within 0.0074% above the optimum for each test problem. These findings imply that the proposed method can find tours robustly with a fixed small population and a limited family competition length in reasonable time, when used to solve large TSPs.     

Grand Coulee Dam 70 Years Later: What Can We Learn?

This paper presents key findings from a case study on the Grand Coulee Dam conducted by the authors for the World Commission on Dams. The analysis demonstrates that the distribution of project benefits has been tilted in favour of irrigation interests and hydroelectric power users and that the project's major cost bearers have been riparian-based indigenous tribes of the Upper Columbia River. The study identifies lessons learned that are applicable to many large multi-purpose water resources development projects. Within the paper, the impacts of the following factors are discussed: low stakeholder participation in decision making; absence of just compensation to Native Americans and Canadian First Nations adversely affected by the loss of fishery resources; modernization of agricultural technology; differing stakeholder perceptions of project costs and benefits; and changes in values attached to anadromous fish. The lessons highlight the need for careful, broad-based a priori assessments of the irreversible and cumulative impacts of large water resources development projects as well as planned re-evaluations of water allocations and project operations.     

Effect of deformation route on microstructural development in aluminum processed by equal channel angular extrusion

Aluminum has been deformed by equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) to obtain submicron-grained structures under different deformation routes. The deformation routes were varied by rotating billets through 0, 90, and 180 deg between each extrusion pass, and were designated as route A, B_C, and C, respectively. Based on quantitative microstructural analysis, the effectiveness of the deformation route is shown to depend upon the different definition used. The order of effectiveness is (a) A > B_C > C for both 90 and 120 deg dies, in terms of the generation of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs); (b) B_C > C > A for both 90 and 120 deg dies, in terms of the formation of equiaxed shape of grains; and (c) B_C > A > C for 90 deg die and B_C ∼ A > C for 120 die, in terms of reducing grain size. It is suggested that the generation of HAGBs can be related to the accumulation of nonredundant strain, while the shape and orientation of grains may be linked to the shearing patterns of the deformation route.     

Regulation of V(D)J recombination activator protein RAG-2 by phosphorylation

Antigen receptor genes are assembled by site-specific DNA rearrangement. The recombination activator genes RAG-1 and RAG-2 are essential for this process, termed V(D)J rearrangement. The activity and stability of the RAG-2 protein have now been shown to be regulated by phosphorylation. In fibroblasts RAG-2 was phosphorylated predominantly at two serine residues, one of which affected RAG-2 activity in vivo. The threonine at residue 490 was phosphorylated by p34cdc2 kinase in vitro; phosphorylation at this site in vivo was associated with rapid degradation of RAG-2. Instability was transferred to chimeric proteins by a 90-residue portion of RAG-2. Mutation of the p34cdc2 phosphorylation site of the tumor suppressor protein p53 conferred a similar phenotype, suggesting that this association between phosphorylation and degradation is a general mechanism.     

The lack of long-term detrimental effects on liver allografts caused by donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies

Recent reports indicate a higher incidence of both acute and chronic liver allograft rejection when, at the time of transplantation, the recipients serum contains donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies. From 9/89 to 5/91, 133 liver allografts were performed at our institution. Thirteen liver recipients had donor-specific IgG anti-HLA antibodies (complement-fixing) at the time of transplantation. In eleven patients, antibodies reacted to donor class I antigens while in 1 patient the donor-specific antibody had class II reactivity. Twelve patients have been followed for a minimum of 12 months (median 18 months, range 28-12 months). No hyperacute rejection was seen in any of the cases and four patients had acute rejections. Thus far only one of the twelve patients has biopsy evidence suggestive of chronic liver injury. The remaining have normal liver enzymes and bilirubin. Three of these twelve patients died (one from a myocardial infarction and the others from sepsis) accounting for a one-year graft survival of 75%. There was no significant statistical difference in the one-year graft survival in those recipients without donor-specific antibodies (i.e., 80.5%). In eight of the twelve patients, pretransplant preformed antibody level (PRA) was > 50%. In six of the thirteen patients donor-specific antibody was present at dilutions greater than 1:64. As previously reported, the donor-specific antibody disappeared from the serum posttransplant within hours and did not reappear. In vitro studies demonstrated no factor in portal or hepatic artery blood that could inhibit rabbit complement mediated lysis of anti-HLA antibodies. We conclude that it is not a contraindication to do liver transplants in the presence of donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies.     

Determinants of genital human papillomavirus infection among cytologically normal women attending the University of New Mexico student health center

OBJECTIVES: To confirm the risk factors for genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. GOAL OF THIS STUDY: To investigate risk factors for HPV detection apart from the correlated risk factors for cervical neoplasia. STUDY DESIGN: Cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA was assessed in 357 cytologically normal women attending the University of New Mexico student health center. Cervical swab samples were obtained for HPV DNA detection and typing using a PCR-based DNA amplification system. Possible determinants of cervical HPV were examined including age, ethnicity, history of sexually transmitted disease, oral contraceptive use, smoking, age at first intercourse, lifetime number of sex partners, marital status, and history of pregnancy. RESULTS: A 44.3% overall prevalence of cervical HPV was observed. On univariate analysis, factors associated with increasing HPV prevalence included higher lifetime number of sex partners and single marital status. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, we found that HPV prevalence increased with higher lifetime number of sexual partners. CONCLUSION: These findings, along with those from the companion reports in this issue of the journal, support the sexual route of transmission of the virus.     

Use of a modified non-rebreathing mask during upper intestinal endoscopy

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Recently, attention has been drawn to the significant occurrence of respiratory and other complications during upper intestinal endoscopy. This prospective study was designed to compare the incidence and severity of oxygen desaturation when two different methods of oxygen delivery were used during elective oesophagogastroduodenoscopy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: After local medical ethics committee approval and written informed consent, one hundred patients undergoing elective oesophagogastroduodenoscopy were randomly allocated to receive supplemental oxygen at either four litres per minute via nasal specular or ten litres per minute through a specially modified non-rebreathing mask. Oxygen saturations during endoscopy facilitated by midazolam sedation were recorded, and non-parametric tests were used to compare the oxygen saturations in the two groups. RESULTS: The mean oxygen saturations were significantly better during the procedure for American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) grade 2 and 3 patients who received oxygen with the modified mask than for those who received oxygen via nasal specular (98.6% vs. 97.0%, P = 0.004 for ASA grade 2 and 98.4% vs. 95.5, P = 0.006 for ASA grade 3). CONCLUSIONS: For ASA grade 2 and 3 patients, the modified non-rebreathing mask significantly improves oxygen saturations during upper intestinal endoscopy. This technique should be more widely used for patients at moderate and high risk.