The effect of grain size, strain rate, and temperature on the mechanical behavior of commercial purity aluminum

Commercial purity aluminum AA1050 was subjected to equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) that resulted in an ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure with an as-received grain size of 0.35 μm. This UFG material was then annealed to obtain microstructures with grain sizes ranging from 0.47 to 20 μm. Specimens were compressed at quasi-static, intermediate, and dynamic strain rates at temperatures of 77 and 298 K. The mechanical properties were found to vary significantly with grain size, strain rate, and temperature. Yield stress was found to increase with decreasing grain size, decreasing temperature, and increasing strain rate. The work hardening rate was seen to increase with increasing grain size, decreasing temperature, and increasing strain rate. The influence of strain rate and temperature is most significant in the smallest grain size specimens. The rate of work hardening is also influenced by strain rate, temperature, and grain size with negative rates of work hardening observed at 298 K and quasi-static strain rates in the smallest grain sizes and increasing rates of work hardening with increasing loading rate and grain size. Work hardening behavior is correlated with the substructural evolution of these specimens.     

State of polarization changes: Classification and measurement

We propose a standardization procedure that provides a convenient, quantitative and reproducible laboratory-based method for measuring the state of polarization (SOP) fluctuations produced by polarization varying devices. This method is based on the SOP distributions generated by commercial polarization scramblers. We show that these devices generate distributions of the maximum change of the SOP (in a given sample time) that follow Rayleigh statistics, which scale linearly with scrambling frequency and the sample time. We use this procedure to measure the SOP fluctuations in a short length of coiled fiber subject to mechanical perturbations.     

移动WiMAX的发展现状

基于IEEE 802.16-2004及ETSI HiperMAN空中接口标准的WiMAX,正在被证明是一个高性价比的替代有线和DSL服务的固定无线技术.150多次的WiMAX试验及在五大洲的部署,清楚地证明了世界范围内对WiMAX作为固定无线服务技术的接受程度.     

Viral dynamics of primary viremia and antiretroviral therapy in simian immunodeficiency virus infection

Mathematical modeling of viral replication dynamics, based on sequential measurements of levels of virion-associated RNA in plasma during antiretroviral treatment, has led to fundamental new insights into human immunodeficiency virus type 1 pathogenesis. We took advantage of the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected macaque model to perform detailed measurements and mathematical modeling during primary infection and during treatment of established infection with the antiretroviral drug (R)-9-(2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine (PMPA). The calculated clearance half-life for productively infected cells during resolution of the peak viremia of primary infection was on the order of 1 day, with slightly shorter clearance half-lives calculated during PMPA treatment. Viral reproduction rates upon discontinuation of PMPA treatment after 2 weeks were approximately twofold greater than those obtained just prior to initiation of treatment in the same animals, likely reflecting accumulation of susceptible target cells during treatment. The basic reproductive ratio (R0) for the spread of SIV infection in vivo, which represents the number of productively infected cells derived from each productively infected cell at the beginning of infection, was also estimated. This parameter quantifies the extent to which antiviral therapy or vaccination must limit the initial spread of virus to prevent establishment of chronic disseminated infection. The results thus provide an important guide for efforts to develop vaccines against SIV and, by extension, human immunodeficiency virus.     

A noncompetitive peptide inhibitor of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Conus purpurascens venom

A paralytic peptide, psi-conotoxin Piiie has been purified and characterized from Conus purpurascens venom. Electrophysiological studies indicate that the peptide inhibits the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). However, the peptide does not block the binding of alpha-bungarotoxin, a competitive nAChR antagonist. Thus, psi-conotoxin Piiie appears to inhibit the receptor at a site other than the acetylcholine-binding site. As ascertained by sequence analysis, mass spectrometry, and chemical synthesis, the peptide has the following covalent structure: HOOCCLYGKCRRYOGCSSASCCQR* (O = 4-trans hydroxyproline; * indicates an amidated C-terminus). The disulfide connectivity of the toxin is unrelated to the alpha- or the alphaA-conotoxins, the Conus peptide families that are competitive inhibitors of the nAChR, but shows homology to the mu-conotoxins (which are Na+ channel blockers).     

Semiconductor laser dynamics for feedback from afinite-penetration-depth phase-conjugate mirror

Most of the previous treatments of semiconductor lasers subject to optical feedback from a phase-conjugate mirror (PCM) have assumed that the PCM responds instantaneously. Furthermore, the mechanism responsible for phase conjugation does not usually enter into the analysis. In this paper, we derive the time-dependent reflectivity of a PCM created through nondegenerate four-wave mixing in a Kerr-type nonlinear medium. The resulting laser dynamics are compared with the case of the ideal PCM, as a function of the external-cavity length, the PCM reflectivity, and the PCM interaction depth. The PCM with a significant interaction depth tends to suppress otherwise chaotic output and produces pulses whose repetition rate is tunable by varying PCM reflectivity. At high feedback levels, it stabilizes the laser output. We use the circle-map formalism to explain our numerical results     

Another false alarm? apnea monitor activation in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit graduate

Neonatal emergencies have become more common as increasingly sophisticated Neonatal Intensive Care Units graduate lower birth-weight babies born at younger gestational ages. These patients present a number of challenges to emergency physicians. They are often discharged with apnea monitors, which generate a high number of false alarms. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit graduates, however, are predisposed to a number of conditions that can result in true episodes of apnea. We present such a case and will discuss the unusual underlying cause of apnea, the utility of apnea monitors, and the need for emergency physicians to be prepared to evaluate and treat these potentially complicated patients.     

Activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway is involved in and sufficient for megakaryocytic differentiation of CMK cells

Activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway has been associated with both cell proliferation and differentiation. Constitutively activated forms of Mek (MAP kinase/Erk kinase) and Erk (MAP kinase) have been previously shown capable of inducing differentiation or proliferation in nonhematopoietic cells. To specifically examine the role of Erk activation in megakaryocytic growth and development, we activated the MAP kinase pathway by the transfection of constitutively activated Mek or Erk cDNA into a human megakaryoblastic cell line, CMK, by electroporation. The CMK transfectant clones that expressed constitutively activated Mek or Erk showed morphologic changes of differentiation. Transfected cells also showed expression of mature megakaryocytic cell surface markers. The MAP kinase pathway was also activated by treatment of the hematopoietic cells with a cytokine that activates Erk. The treatment of CMK cells with stem cell factor (SCF ) caused MAP kinase activation and induced differentiation by the expression of mature megakaryocytic cell surface markers. The effects of the SCF treatment were inhibited by pretreatment with a specific inhibitor of the MAP kinase pathway, PD98059. In this report, we conclude that activation of the MAP kinase pathway was both necessary and sufficient to induce differentiation in this megakaryoblastic cell line.     

Effect of crosslinking agent content, monomer functionality, and repeat unit chemistry on properties of unfilled resins

Seven mechanical/physical properties were used to evaluate 10 unfilled resins: eight aromatic dimethacrylates and two urethane dimethacrylates. Physical property tests included compressive strength, Young's modulus in compression, uniaxial tensile strength, intrinsic yield point, toothbrush abrasion, Knoop hardness, and water sorption. Controlled changes were made in the following four material parameters: amount of crosslinking diluent present in the uncured monomer, functionality of the monomer, repeat unit chemistry of the monomer (urethane vs. aromatic structure) and mode of activation (chemical vs. visible light). Polymers containing a high concentration of crosslinking agent (50 wt%) were found to be tougher and to possess lower hardness than materials containing lesser amounts of crosslinking agent. This was attributed to the flexible nature of the triethylene glycol dimethacrylate crosslinking molecule. Exposure to water plasticized the highly crosslinked materials to the degree that the yield point and elastic modulus were effectively lowered. Most of the tested properties were unaffected by differences in functionality except resistance to toothbrush abrasion, which was enhanced for polymers derived from high functionality monomers. The urethane-based polymers sorbed substantially more water than the aromatic-based materials, which presumably resulted in lower values for surface hardness. However, the urethane resins were very tough, and excellent resistance to toothbrush abrasion was observed. Property differences caused by differences in activation mode were small, although the visible light materials did sorb more water.