Bibliometric analysis of tsunami research

The use of the bibilometric analytical technique for examining tsunami research does not exist in the literature. The objective of the study was to perform a bibliometric analysis of all tsunami-related publications in the Science Citation Index (SCI). Analyzed parameters included document type, language of publication, publication output, authorship, publication patterns, distribution of subject category, distribution of author keywords, country of publication, most-frequently cited article, and document distribution after the Indonesia tsunami. The US and Japan produced 53% of the total output where the seven major industrial countries accounted for the majority of the total production. English was the dominant language, comprising 95% of articles. A simulation model was applied to describe the relationship between the number of authors and the number of articles, the number of journals and the number of articles, and the percentage of total articles and the number of times a certain keyword was used. Moreover the tsunami publication patterns in the first 8 months after the Indonesia tsunami occurred on 26 December 2004 indicated a high percentage of non-article publications and more documents being published in journals with higher impact factors.     

Bibliometric analysis of Patent Ductus Arteriosus treatments

A bibliometric analysis was performed to assess the quantitative trend of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) treatment research, including intravenous injection of indomethacin and surgery. The documents studied were retrieved from the Science Citation Index (SCI) for the period from 1991 to 2002. The publication pattern concerning authorship, collaboration, original countries, citation frequency, document type, language of publication, distribution of journals, page count and the most frequently cited papers were performed. The results indicated that either treatment was not the recent emphasis of PDA research. The publishing countries of both treatments have also denoted that these researches were mostly done in Europe and North America. Both surgery and drug treatments had few international collaboration papers. English was the dominant language, and collaboration of two to six authors was the most popular level of co-authorship. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Catalytic effect of MWCNTs on the dehydrogenation behavior of LiAlH4

Dehydrogenation behavior of LiAlH₄ (lithium alanate) admixed with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was investigated by using high-pressure thermal gravimetric analysis (HPTGA) and in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. HPTGA results indicated that MWCNTs play a catalytic role in the dehydrogenation of LiAlH₄, subsequently decreasing the dehydrogenation temperature and improving the desorption kinetics. With the proper amount of MWCNT, the initial dehydrogenation temperature of LiAlH₄ decreased by approximately 60 °C. Furthermore, in-situ synchrotron XRD analysis confirmed the dehydrogenation reaction products and paths of LiAlH₄, with and without MWCNT addition.     

The electrochemical behaviour of direct strip casting stainless steel in acid solutions

The electrochemical behaviour of direct strip casting (DSC) 304 stainless steel in 0.1 M H2SO4 and 0.01M HCl solutions was investigated. The DSC 304 stainless steel strips were produced by using either copper-alloy roller or 304 stainless steel roller. The difference in thermal conductivity of different roller materials resulted in a change in the surface microstructure of the DSC strips. Potentiodynamic polarization curves of the DSC 304 stainless steels produced were measured in 0.1M H2SO4 and 0.01M HCl solutions. The results showed that both alloys could passivate in the above solutions. In the HCl solution, the passive potential range of DSC 304 stainless steel with a higher ferrite content prepared by the copper roller was wider than that with a lower ferrite content. Furthermore, the addition of silicon could cause an expansion while the addition of titanium could lead to a shrinkage in the passive range in 0.01M HCl solution. Potential decay tests in 0.1M H2SO4 solutions showed that the reactivation time decreased as the ferrite content was increased. © 1998 Chapman & Hall     

Morphological and Microstructural Aspects of Metal Dusting on 304L Stainless Steel with Different Surface Treatments

The effect of surface treatment on the susceptibility to metal dusting of 304L stainless steel (SS) exposed in a mixed gas of CO/CO₂ = 100/1 in the temperature ranging from 500–700 °C was investigated. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) and long-term exposure tests in the above environments, followed by surface-morphological examination and cross-section chemical composition and microstructure analyses were conducted. The results showed that the decomposition of CO gas to form graphite and nano-sized carbon filaments was affected by the surface pre-treatment applied on the 304L SS. Enhanced carbon deposition but with a significant resistance to metal dusting was found on the sand-blasted 304L SS. The existence of an initial non-protective oxide on the pre-oxidized 304L SS surface, however, gave rise to the highest susceptibility to metal-dusting-associated-localized attack. The roles of different surface treatments on the reactions between 304L SS and the exposing gas environment are discussed.     

Improved hydrogen storage performance of defected carbon nanotubes with Pd spillover catalysts dispersed using supercritical CO2 fluid

Hydrogen storage properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified by oxidative etching and decoration of Pd spillover catalysts are investigated. A mixed H₂SO₄/H₂O₂ solution containing ferrous ions (Fe²⁺) is useful to open the caps, to shorten the length, and to generate defects on CNTs. The Pd catalysts are deposited on the CNTs with the aid of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂); as a result, a highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles and an intimate connection between Pd and carbon surface can be obtained. Combination of the two approaches can optimize a hydrogen spillover reaction on CNTs, resulting in a superior hydrogen storage capacity of 1.54 wt% (at 25 °C and 6.89 MPa), which corresponds to an enhancement factor of ∼4.5 as compared to that of pristine CNTs.     

Highly Organized Porous Gelatin-Based Scaffold by Microfluidic 3D-Foaming Technology and Dynamic Culture for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

A gelatin-based hydrogel scaffold with highly uniform pore size and biocompatibility was fabricated for cartilage tissue engineering using microfluidic 3D-foaming technology. Mainly, bubbles with different diameters, such as 100 μm and 160 μm, were produced by introducing an optimized nitrogen gas and gelatin solution at an optimized flow rate, and N₂/gelatin bubbles were formed. Furthermore, a cross-linking agent (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl)-carbodiimide, EDC) was employed for the cross-linking reaction of the gelatin-based hydrogel scaffold with uniform bubbles, and then the interface between the close cells were broken by degassing. The pore uniformity of the gelatin-based hydrogel scaffolds was confirmed by use of a bright field microscope, conjugate focus microscope and scanning electron microscope. The in vitro degradation rate, mechanical properties, and swelling rate of gelatin-based hydrogel scaffolds with highly uniform pore size were studied. Rabbit knee cartilage was cultured, and its extracellular matrix content was analyzed. Histological analysis and immunofluorescence staining were employed to confirm the activity of the rabbit knee chondrocytes. The chondrocytes were seeded into the resulting 3D porous gelatin-based hydrogel scaffolds. The growth conditions of the chondrocyte culture on the resulting 3D porous gelatin-based hydrogel scaffolds were evaluated by MTT analysis, live/dead cell activity analysis, and extracellular matrix content analysis. Additionally, a dynamic culture of cartilage tissue was performed, and the expression of cartilage-specific proteins within the culture time was studied by immunofluorescence staining analysis. The gelatin-based hydrogel scaffold encouraged chondrocyte proliferation, promoting the expression of collagen type II, aggrecan, and sox9 while retaining the structural stability and durability of the cartilage after dynamic compression and promoting cartilage repair.     

Cross-domain probabilistic inference in a clinical decision support system: examples for dermatology and rheumatology

Introduction

Maintaining a large diagnostic knowledge base (KB) is a demanding task for any person or organization. Future clinical decision support system (CDSS) may rely on multiple, smaller and more focused KBs developed and maintained at different locations that work together seamlessly. A cross-domain inference tool has great clinical import and utility.

Methods

We developed a modified multi-membership Bayes formulation to facilitate the cross-domain probabilistic inferencing among KBs with overlapping diseases. Two KBs developed for evaluation were non-infectious generalized blistering diseases (GBD) and autoimmune diseases (AID). After the KBs were finalized, they were evaluated separately for validity.

Result

Ten cases from medical journal case reports were used to evaluate this “cross-domain” inference across the two KBs. The resultant non-error rate (NER) was 90%, and the average of probabilities assigned to the correct diagnosis (AVP) was 64.8% for cross-domain consultations.

Conclusion

A novel formulation is now available to deal with problems occurring in a clinical diagnostic decision support system with multi-domain KBs. The utilization of this formulation will help in the development of more integrated KBs with greater focused knowledge domains.     

Metal dusting behavior of 321 stainless steel: Effects of edge and corner

The metal dusting behavior of 321 stainless steel (SS) in a flowing mixed CO/H₂/H₂O gas stream at 600 °C for 500 h and 1000 h was investigated. The microstructures and chemical compositions of the reaction products at the surface and those in the substrate under the pits were examined by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM), each combined with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The phenomenon of a pitting attack that occurred preferentially at the edges and corners of the specimens was the focus of this study. The carburization behavior in the steel substrate under the pits was also characterized. Matrix carbide in the form of Cr₇C₃ and grain boundary carbide in the form of Cr₂₃C₆ were identified by TEM.