Linear friction welding of Ti6Al4V: experiments and modelling

Linear friction welding of the Ti6Al4V alloy is studied. A new definition of the energy input rate is proposed, based on an integration over time of the in-plane force and velocity; a strong correlation with the upset rate is then found. The effective friction coefficient is estimated to be 0·5±0·1 for varying frequencies and amplitudes, with only a weak dependence on the processing conditions displayed. A model is proposed that accounts for both the conditioning and equilibrium stages of the process, which is shown to be in good agreement with the experimental data. The model is used to study the mechanism by which the flash is formed. A criterion is proposed by which the rippled nature of its morphology can be predicted.     

Simulated recruitment of riparian trees and shrubs under natural and regulated flow regimes on the Wisconsin River,USA

Models that link ecological responses to hydrologic changes are important for assessing the effects of flow regulation on aquatic and riparian ecosystems. Based on the Recruitment Box Model, a graphical model used to prescribe environmental flows for cottonwood (Populus spp.) recruitment, we designed a simulation model to represent the influence of river flow dynamics on seedling recruitment of riparian pioneer woody plants. The model simulates the influence of temporal patterns of river stage on dispersal, germination, initial recruitment and over‐winter survival of first‐year seedlings of riparian pioneer shrubs and trees. We used the model to simulate seedling recruitment patterns for five species (Acer saccharinum, Betula nigra, Populus deltoides, Salix nigra and Salix exigua) on the Wisconsin River (Wisconsin, USA) under three flow scenarios: historic (1935–2002), simulated natural (1915–1975) and simulated regulated flows (1915–1975). Simulation results agreed well with field‐observed relative differences among years (1997–2000) in seedling densities for the five focal species. Simulated successful recruitment years were highly synchronous among species, but species differed in their sensitivity to flows at different times during the growing season, consistent with among‐species differences in seed dispersal timing. Comparison of simulated natural and regulated flows for 1915–1975 showed that flow regulation decreased monthly flow variability, increased late summer to winter baseflow and reduced the magnitude of spring peaks. Simulated recruitment and over‐winter survival of tree seedlings of all species was enhanced under the regulated flow scenario, likely due to increased summer baseflow and reductions in peak flood magnitude. Our analyses show the utility of extending the Recruitment Box Model to include multiple species of riparian shrubs and trees, and the effects of post‐colonization flows on their recruitment success. However, some key functional relationships between flow patterns and woody seedling demography (e.g. shear stress thresholds for seedling mortality) have not been adequately quantified and merit further study. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Smooth muscle of the bladder in the normal and the diseased state: pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment

The smooth muscle of the normal bladder wall must have some specific properties. It must be very compliant and able to reorganise itself during filling and emptying to accommodate the change in volume without generating any intravesical pressure, but whilst maintaining the normal shape of the bladder. It must be capable of synchronous activation to generate intravesical pressure at any length to allow voiding. The cells achieve this through spontaneous electrical activity combined with poor electrical coupling between cells, and a dense excitatory innervation. In the diseased state, alterations of the smooth muscle may lead to failure to store or failure to empty properly. The diseased states discussed are bladder instability and diabetic neuropathy. Bladder instability is characterised urodynamically by uninhibitable rises in pressure during filling, and is seen idiopathically and in association with bladder outflow obstruction and neuropathy. In diabetic neuropathy, many of the smooth muscle changes are a consequence of diuresis, but there is evidence for alterations in the sensory arm of the micturition reflex. In the unstable bladder, additional alterations of the smooth muscle are seen, which are probably caused by the patchy denervation that occurs. The causes of this denervation are not fully established. Nonsurgical treatment of instability is not yet satisfactory; neuromodulation has some promise, but is expensive, and the mechanisms poorly understood. Pharmacological treatment is largely through muscarinic receptor blockade. Drugs to reduce the excitability of the smooth muscle are being sought, since they may represent a better pharmacological option.     

Primary (granulomatous) angiitis of the central nervous system with multiple aneurysms of spinal arteries. Case report

A 55-year-old woman with primary (granulomatous) angiitis of the central nervous system in association with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type) presented with an acute spinal subdural hemorrhage secondary to rupture of one of several fusiform inflammatory aneurysms of the spinal cord radicular arteries. The literature on hemorrhagic complications, aneurysms, and spinal cord involvement in granulomatous angiitis is reviewed. Recognition of granulomatous angiitis is important, as the condition may be responsive to immunosuppressive therapy.     

A phase I-II study of paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and vinorelbine with filgrastim (rhG-CSF) support in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

PURPOSE: We designed a phase I-II trial of three active agents, paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and vinorelbine, in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to: 1) define the dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of paclitaxel with filgrastim (G-CSF) support; and 2) determine the overall response rate and median survival of patients treated on this regimen. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We treated cohorts of patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC with ifosfamide 1.2-1.6 g/m2/day x 3 and vinorelbine 20-25 mg/m2/day x 3 and escalating doses of paclitaxel at 100-175 mg/m2 on day 2 with G-CSF support on a 21-day cycle. One prior experimental single-agent chemotherapy regimen was allowed. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients, were enrolled on this trial: 27 on the phase I portion of the study and an additional 29 at the recommended phase II dose (RPTD). Thirteen patients had received prior chemotherapy. Paclitaxel doses of 175 mg/m2 and 150 mg/m2 produced dose-limiting myelosuppression, and the RPTD was determined to be paclitaxel 135 mg/m2 with ifosfamide 1.2 g/m2/day on days 1-3 and vinorelbine 20 mg/m2/ day on days 1-3 with G-CSF support. The overall response rate was 18%, with a median survival of 6.1 months. Six of 35 patients (17%) treated at the RPTD achieved a partial response to therapy. Grade IV neutropenia was observed in 19 of 35 patients at this dose, with eight patients suffering febrile neutropenia. CONCLUSIONS: This non-cisplatin-containing three-drug regimen has substantial toxicity and low activity in advanced NSCLC, and does not seem to improve on prior regimens. It is unclear whether the lack of efficacy relates to an antagonistic reaction between the specific drugs, administration schedule, or to subtherapeutic doses of the individual agents.     

The directional effects of passive eye movement on the directional visual responses of single units in the pigeon optic tectum

We have investigated the visual responses of 184 single units located in the superficial layers of the optic tectum (OT) of the decerebrate, paralysed pigeon. Visual responses were similar to those reported in non-decerebrate preparations; most units responded best to moving visual stimuli, 18% were directionally selective (they had a clear preference for a particular direction of visual stimulus movement), 76% were plane-selective (they responded to movement in either direction in a particular plane). However, we also found that a high proportion of units showed some sensitivity to the orientation of visual stimuli. We examined the effects of extraocular muscle (EOM) afferent signals, induced by passive eye movement (PEM), on the directional visual responses of units. Visual responses were most modified by particular directions of eye movement, although there was no unique relationship between the direction of visual stimulus movement to which an individual unit responded best and the direction of eye movement that caused the greatest modification of that visual response. The results show that EOM afferent signals, carrying information concerning the direction of eye movement, reach the superficial layers of the OT in the pigeon and there modify the visual responses of units in a manner that suggests some role for these signals in the processing of visual information.     

Multicast routing and bandwidth dimensioning in overlay networks

Multicast services can be provided either as a basic network service or as an application-layer service. Higher level multicast implementations often provide more sophisticated features and can provide multicast services at places where no network layer support is available. Overlay multicast networks offer an intermediate option, potentially combining the flexibility and advanced features of application layer multicast with the greater efficiency of network layer multicast. In this paper, we introduce the multicast routing problem specific to the overlay network environment and the related capacity assignment problem for overlay network planning. Our main contributions are the design of several routing algorithms that optimize the end-to-end delay and the interface bandwidth usage at the multicast service nodes within the overlay network. The interface bandwidth is typically a key resource for an overlay network provider, and needs to be carefully managed in order to maximize the number of users that can be served. Through simulations, we evaluate the performance of these algorithms under various traffic conditions and on various network topologies. The results show that our approach is cost-effective and robust under traffic variations.     

Logical foundations of nonmonotonic reasoning

In this paper we shall review the main appraches to nonmonotonic reasoning which we classify from the perspective of their underlying logical settings as classical, intuitionistic, three-valued/partial models, and conditional. We shall be placing special emphasis on some of the prominent approaches. We shall also give hints on potential future directions and emphasize that more theoretical work is still needed before a move to application is made.     

4-bit adder-accumulator at 41-GHz clock frequency in InP DHBT technology

A 41-GHz 4-b adder-accumulator test circuit implemented in InP double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) technology using 624 transistors is reported. High clock rates are obtained by combining the logic functions into pipelined latches. The adder-accumulator contains a single-level parallel-gated carry circuit that is used as a step toward reduced power consumption. The carry circuit has a maximum clock frequency of 55 GHz. The accumulator architecture employs modular, pipelined 2-b adders and is cascadable to 2 N-bits. The test circuit includes a 4-b digital to analog converter (DAC) that facilitates demonstration of high-speed operation.     

项目管理学派：过程（和成功）学派

在目前的系列文章中，我正在阐述项目管理的八个学派。前两期我讨论了（硬）系统学派和合同学派（治理学派的一部分）。从历史沿革来看下一个出现的学派是成功和失败学派，不过去年我已经以此为主题撰写过一系列文章，因此这里就不再赘述。本期我将转而讨论过程学派，如图1所示，过程学派坐落在迄今为止讨论过的其他三个学派之间。