WorldWideScience

Sample records for component differential hardness

  1. Development of radiation hard components for remote maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oka, Kiyoshi; Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Tominaga, Ryuichiro; Akada, Tamio; Morita, Hirosuke.

    1997-01-01

    In International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in-vessel remote-handling is inevitably required to assemble and maintain activated in-vessel components due to D-T operation. The components of the in-vessel remote-handling system must have sufficient radiation hardness to allow for operation under an intense gamma-ray radiation of over 30 kGy/h for periods up to more than 1,000 hours. To this end, extensive irradiation tests and quality improvements including the optimization of material composition have been conducted through the ITER R and D program in order to develop radiation hard components which satisfy radiation doses from 10 MGy to 100 MGy at the dose rate of 10 kGy/h. This paper outlines the latest status of the radiation hard component development that has been conducted as the Japan Home Team's contribution to ITER. The remote-handling components tested are categorized into either robotics, viewing systems or common components. The irradiation tests include commercial base products for screening both modified and newly developed products to improve their radiation hardness. (author)

  2. Development of radiation hardness components for ITER remote maintenance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Yagi, Toshiaki; Morita, Yousuke

    1998-04-01

    In the ITER, in-vessel remote handling is required to assemble and maintain in-vessel components in DT operations. Since in-vessel remote handling systems must operate under intense gamma ray radiation exceeding 30 kGy/h, their components must have sufficiently high radiation hardness to allow maintenance long enough in ITER in-vessel environments. Thus, extensive radiation tests and quality improvement, including optimization of material compositions, have been conducted through the ITER R and D program to develop radiation hardness components that meet radiation doses from 10 to 100 MGy at 10 kGy/h. This paper presents the latest on radiation hardness component development conducted by the Japan Home Team as a contribution to the ITER. The remote handling components tested are categorized for use in robotic or viewing systems, or as common components. Radiation tests have been conducted on commercially available products for screening, on modified products, and on new products to improve the radiation hardness. (author)

  3. Development of radiation hardness components for ITER remote maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira; Yagi, Toshiaki; Morita, Yousuke

    1998-01-01

    In the ITER, in-vessel remote handling is required to assemble and maintain in-vessel components in DT operations. Since in-vessel remote handling systems must operate under intense gamma ray radiation exceeding 30 kGy/h, their components must have sufficiently high radiation hardness to allow maintenance long enough in ITER in-vessel environments. Thus, extensive radiation tests and quality improvement, including optimization of material compositions, have been conducted through the ITER R and D program to develop radiation hardness components that meet radiation doses from 10 to 100 MGy at 10 kGy/h. This paper presents the latest on radiation hardness component development conducted by the Japan Home Team as a contribution to the ITER. The remote handling components tested are categorized for use in robotic or viewing systems, or as common components. Radiation tests have been conducted on commercially available products for screening, on modified products, and on new products to improve the radiation hardness. (author)

  4. Structure and effective interactions in three-component hard sphere liquids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    König, A; Ashcroft, N W

    2001-04-01

    Complete and simple analytical expressions for the partial structure factors of the ternary hard sphere mixture are obtained within the Percus-Yevick approximation and presented as functions of relative packing fractions and relative hard sphere diameters. These solutions follow from the Laplace transform method as applied to multicomponent systems by Lebowitz [Phys. Rev. 133, A895 (1964)]. As an important application, we examine effective interactions in hard sphere liquid mixtures using the microscopic information contained in their partial structure factors. Thus the ensuring pair potential for an effective one-component system is obtained from the correlation functions by using an approximate inversion, and examples of effective potentials for three-component hard sphere mixtures are given. These mixtures may be of particular interest for the study of the packing aspects of melts that form glasses or quasicrystals, since noncrystalline solids often emerge from melts with at least three atomic constituents.

  5. Development of radiation hard components for ITER blanket remote handling system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saito, Makiko, E-mail: saito.makiko@jaea.go.jp; Anzai, Katsunori; Maruyama, Takahito; Noguchi, Yuto; Ueno, Kenichi; Takeda, Nobukazu; Kakudate, Satoshi

    2016-11-01

    Highlights: • Clarify the components that will degrade by gamma ray irradiation. • Perform the irradiation tests to BRHS components. • Optimize the materials to increase the radiation hardness. - Abstract: The ITER blanket remote handling system (BRHS) will be operated in a high radiation environment (250 Gy/h max.) and must stably handle the blanket modules, which weigh 4.5 t and are more than 1.5 m in length, with a high degree of position and posture accuracy. The reliability of the system can be improved by reviewing the failure events of the system caused by high radiation. A failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) identified failure modes and determined that lubricants, O-rings, and electric insulation cables were the dominant components affecting radiation hardness. Accordingly, we tried to optimize the lubricants and cables of the AC servo motors by using polyphenyl ether (PPE)-based grease and polyether ether ketone (PEEK), respectively. Materials containing radiation protective agents were also selected for the cable sheaths and O-rings to improve radiation hardness. Gamma ray irradiation tests were performed on these components and as a result, a radiation hardness of 8 MGy was achieved for the AC servo motors. On the other hand, to develop the radiation hardness and BRHS compatibility furthermore, the improvement of materials of cable and O ring were performed.

  6. Statistical mechanics of a one-component fluid of charged hard rods in 1D

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vericat, F.; Blum, L.

    1986-09-01

    The statistical mechanics of a classical one component system of charged hard rods in a neutralizing background is investigated in 1D stressing on the effects of the hard core interactions over the thermodynamic and the structure of the system. The crystalline status of the system at all temperatures and densities and the absence of phase transitions is shown by extending previous results of Baxter and Kunz on the one-component plasma of point particles. Explicit expressions for the thermodynamic functions and the one-particle correlation function are given in the limits of small and strong couplings. (author)

  7. Force spectroscopy of membrane hardness of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells before and after differentiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Sangwoo; Yang, Woochul; Choi, Yun Kyong; Park, Jung Keuck

    2014-05-01

    Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is utilized in many studies for measuring the structure and the physical characteristics of soft and bio materials. In particular, the force spectroscopy function in the AFM system allows us to explore the mechanical properties of bio cells. In this study, we probe the variation in the membrane hardness of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells (SH-cells) before and after differentiation by using force spectroscopy. The SH-cell, which is usually differentiated by using a chemical treatment with retinoic acid (RA), is a neuronal cell line employed widely as an in-vitro model for neuroscience research. In force spectroscopy, the force-distance curves are obtained from both the original and the RA-treated cells while the AFM tip approaches and pushes on the cell membranes. The slope deduced from linear region in the force-distance curve is the spring constant and corresponds to the hardness of the cell membrane. The spring constant of the RA-treated cells (0.597 ± 0.010 nN/nm) was smaller than that of the original cells (0.794 ± 0.010 nN/nm), reflecting a hardness decrease in the cells differentiated with the RA treatments. The results clearly demonstrated that the differentiated cells are softer than the original cells. The change in the elasticity of the differentiated cells might be caused by morphological modification during differentiation process. We suggest that force spectroscopy can be employed as a novel method to determine the degree of differentiation of stem cells into various functional cells.

  8. Comparison of hard X-ray spectra obtained by spectrometers on Hinotori and SMM and detection of 'superhot' component

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nitta, Nariaki

    1988-01-01

    Hard X-ray spectra in solar flares obtained by the broadband spectrometers aboard Hinotori and SMM are compared. Within the uncertainty brought about by assuming the typical energy of the background X-rays, spectra by the Hinotori spectrometer are usually consistent with those by the SMM spectrometer for flares in 1981. On the contrary, flares in 1982 persistently show 20-50-percent higher flux by Hinotori than by SMM. If this discrepancy is entirely attributable to errors in the calibration of energy ranges, the errors would be about 10 percent. Despite such a discrepancy in absolute flux, in the the decay phase of one flare, spectra revealed a hard X-ray component (probably a 'superhot' component) that could be explained neither by emission from a plasma at about 2 x 10 to the 7th K nor by a nonthermal power-law component. Imaging observations during this period show hard X-ray emission nearly cospatial with soft X-ray emission, in contrast with earlier times at which hard and soft X-rays come from different places.

  9. Problems in accounting for the soft and hard components in transverse energy triggers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anjos, J.C.; Santoro, A.F.S.; Souza, M.H.G.; Escobar, C.O.

    1983-01-01

    It is argued that for a transverse energy trigger, the cancellation theorem of DeTar, Ellis and Landshoff is not valid. As a consequence, the problem of accounting for soft and hard components in this kind of trigger becomes complicated and no simple separation between them is expected. (Author) [pt

  10. Study of phase transition in hard microcrystalline waxes and wax blends by differential scanning calorimetry

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kumar, S.; Agrawal, K. M.; Khan, H. U.; Sikora, Antonín

    2004-01-01

    Roč. 22, 3 & 4 (2004), s. 337-345 ISSN 1091-6466 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KSK4050111 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4050913 Keywords : phase transition * hard microscrystalline waxes * differential scanning calorimetry Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 0.312, year: 2004

  11. A color contrast aided density imaging technique to differentiate between dental hard tissues and its relevance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Devi Charan Shetty

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Radiographic interpretation of a disease requires knowledge about normal structures. The calcifying jaw diseases can range from radiolucent areas to varying degrees of calcification. Therefore, it is vital to differentiate radiographically between various hard tissues. Materials and Methods: We have illustrated the use of computed tomography scan to quantify the calcified structures as dentin and enamel in a case of ameloblastic fibro-odontoma. Results: The enamel, dentin and cementum showed different values. Conclusion: The "Dentascan" can be used to distinguish the hard tissues in a variety of calcifying diseases of jaws.

  12. Elasticity of Hard-Spheres-And-Tether Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farago, O.; Kantor, Y.

    1999-01-01

    Physical properties of a large class of systems ranging from noble gases to polymers and rubber are primarily determined by entropy, while the internal energy plays a minor role. Such systems can be conveniently modeled and numerically studied using ''hard' (i.e., ''infinity-or-zero'') potentials, such as hard sphere repulsive interactions, or inextensible (''tether'') bonds which limit the distance between the bonded monomers, but have zero energy at all permitted distances. The knowledge of elastic constants is very important for understanding the behavior of entropy-dominated systems. Computational methods for determination of the elastic constants in such systems are broadly classified into ''strain'' methods and (fluctuation methods. In the former, the elastic constants are extracted from stress-strain relations, while in the latter they are determined from measurements of stress fluctuations. The fluctuation technique usually enables more accurate and well-controlled determination of the elastic constants since in this method the elastic constants are computed directly from simulations of the un strained system with no need to deform the simulation cell and perform numerical differentiations. For central forces systems, the original ''fluctuation'' formalism can be applied provided the pair potential is twice differentiable. We have extended this formalism to apply to hard-spheres-and-tether models in which this requirement is not fulfilled. We found that for such models the components of the tensor of elastic constants can be related to (two-, three- and four-point) probability densities of contacts between hard spheres and stretched bonds. We have tested our formalism on simple (phantom networks and three-dimensional hard spheres systems

  13. Manufacturing technology development of plasma/ion nitriding for improvement of hardness of machine components and tools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suprapto; Tjipto Sujitno; Saminto

    2015-01-01

    The manufacturing technology development of plasma/ion nitriding to improve of hardness of machine components and tools has been done. The development of this technology aims to improve device performance plasma nitriding double chamber and conducted with the addition of thermal radiation shield. Testing was done by testing for preheating operation (start-up), test operation for conditions nitriding and test for nitriding process. The results show that: the plasma nitriding device can be operated for nitriding process at the temperature of about 500 °C for 6 hours, using the thermal radiation shield obtained outside wall temperature of about 65 °C and shorten start-up time to about 60 minutes. The use of thermal radiation shield can also improve the efficiency of the electric power supply and increase the operating temperature for nitriding process. Test for nitriding obtained increase of hardness 1.33 times for the original camshaft (genuine parts) and 1.8 times for the imitation camshaft (imitation parts), the results are compared with after the tempering process at a temperature of 600 °C. For sample SS 304 was 2.45 times compared with before nitrided These results indicate that the development of manufacturing technology of plasma/ion nitriding to increase hardness of machine components and tools have been successfully able to increase the hardness, although still need to be optimized. Besides that, these devices can be developed to use for the process of carburizing and carbonitriding. (author)

  14. Uniform phases in fluids of hard isosceles triangles: One-component fluid and binary mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Ratón, Yuri; Díaz-De Armas, Ariel; Velasco, Enrique

    2018-05-01

    We formulate the scaled particle theory for a general mixture of hard isosceles triangles and calculate different phase diagrams for the one-component fluid and for certain binary mixtures. The fluid of hard triangles exhibits a complex phase behavior: (i) the presence of a triatic phase with sixfold symmetry, (ii) the isotropic-uniaxial nematic transition is of first order for certain ranges of aspect ratios, and (iii) the one-component system exhibits nematic-nematic transitions ending in critical points. We found the triatic phase to be stable not only for equilateral triangles but also for triangles of similar aspect ratios. We focus the study of binary mixtures on the case of symmetric mixtures: equal particle areas with aspect ratios (κi) symmetric with respect to the equilateral one, κ1κ2=3 . For these mixtures we found, aside from first-order isotropic-nematic and nematic-nematic transitions (the latter ending in a critical point): (i) a region of triatic phase stability even for mixtures made of particles that do not form this phase at the one-component limit, and (ii) the presence of a Landau point at which two triatic-nematic first-order transitions and a nematic-nematic demixing transition coalesce. This phase behavior is analogous to that of a symmetric three-dimensional mixture of rods and plates.

  15. Simple functional-differential equations for the bound-state wave-function components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamuntavicius, G.P.

    1986-01-01

    The author presents a new method of a direct derivation of differential equations for the wave-function components of identical-particles systems. The method generates in a simple manner all the possible variants of these equations. In some cases they are the differential equations of Faddeev or Yakubovskii. It is shown that the case of the bound states allows to formulate very simple equations for the components which are equivalent to the Schroedinger equation for the complete wave function. The components with a minimal antisymmetry are defined and the corresponding equations are derived. (Auth.)

  16. Ectopic Hard Tissue Formation by Odonto/Osteogenically In Vitro Differentiated Human Deciduous Teeth Pulp Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seunghye; Song, Je Seon; Jeon, Mijeong; Shin, Dong Min; Kim, Seong-Oh; Lee, Jae Ho

    2015-07-01

    There have been many attempts to use the pulp tissue from human deciduous teeth for dentin or bone regeneration. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of odonto/osteogenic in vitro differentiation of deciduous teeth pulp stem cells (DTSCs) on their in vivo hard tissue-forming potential. DTSCs were isolated from extracted deciduous teeth using the outgrowth method. These cells were exposed to odonto/osteogenic stimuli for 4 and 8 days (Day 4 and Day 8 groups, respectively), while cells in the control group were cultured in normal medium. The in vitro differentiated DTSCs and the control DTSCs were transplanted subcutaneously into immunocompromised mice with macroporous biphasic calcium phosphate and sacrificed at 8 weeks post-implantation. The effect of odonto/osteogenic in vitro differentiation was evaluated using alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The in vivo effect was evaluated by qualitative RT-PCR, assessment of ALP activity, histologic analysis, and immunohistochemical staining. The amount of hard tissue was greater in Day 4 group than Day 8 group (p = 0.014). However, Day 8 group generated lamellar bone-like structure, which was immunonegative to anti-human dentin sialoprotein with significantly low expression level of DSPP compared with the control group (p = 0.008). This study demonstrates that odonto/osteogenic in vitro differentiation of DTSCs enhances the formation of bone-like tissue, instead of dentin-like tissue, when transplanted subcutaneously using MBCP as a carrier. The odonto/osteogenic in vitro differentiation of DTSCs may be an effective modification that enhances in vivo bone formation by DTSCs.

  17. The chemistry of two-component fluoride crystalline optical media for heavy, fast, radiation hard scintillators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobolev, B.P.; Krivandina, E.A.; Fedorov, P.P.; Vasilchenko, V.G.

    1994-01-01

    Prospects for preparation of two-component dense optical materials for scintillators are shown, using data on phase diagrams of about 300 MF m - RF n (m, n ≤ 4) type systems, formed by metal fluorides. Primary characteristics (decay time and light output of luminescence, radiation hardness, etc.) of some multicomponent crystals are reported

  18. Development of a hard nano-structured multi-component ceramic coating by laser cladding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masanta, Manoj; Ganesh, P.; Kaul, Rakesh; Nath, A.K.; Roy Choudhury, A.

    2009-01-01

    The present paper reports laser-assisted synthesis of a multi-component ceramic composite coating consisting of aluminum oxide, titanium di-boride and titanium carbide (Al 2 O 3 -TiB 2 -TiC). A pre-placed powder mixture of aluminum (Al), titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) and boron carbide (B 4 C) was made to undergo self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) by laser triggering. Laser subsequently effected cladding of the products of SHS on the substrate. The effect of laser scanning speed on the hardness, microstructure and phase composition of the composite coating was investigated. The coating exhibited an increase in hardness and a decrease in grain size with increase in laser scanning speed. A maximum micro-hardness of 2500 HV 0.025 was obtained. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the top surface of the coating revealed the presence of aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), titanium di-boride (TiB 2 ) and titanium carbide (TiC) along with some non-stoichiometric products of the Ti-Al-B-C-O system. Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopic (HRTEM) analysis revealed some nano-structured TiB 2 and Al 2 O 3 , which are discussed in detail.

  19. Revisiting the definition of local hardness and hardness kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polanco-Ramírez, Carlos A; Franco-Pérez, Marco; Carmona-Espíndola, Javier; Gázquez, José L; Ayers, Paul W

    2017-05-17

    An analysis of the hardness kernel and local hardness is performed to propose new definitions for these quantities that follow a similar pattern to the one that characterizes the quantities associated with softness, that is, we have derived new definitions for which the integral of the hardness kernel over the whole space of one of the variables leads to local hardness, and the integral of local hardness over the whole space leads to global hardness. A basic aspect of the present approach is that global hardness keeps its identity as the second derivative of energy with respect to the number of electrons. Local hardness thus obtained depends on the first and second derivatives of energy and electron density with respect to the number of electrons. When these derivatives are approximated by a smooth quadratic interpolation of energy, the expression for local hardness reduces to the one intuitively proposed by Meneses, Tiznado, Contreras and Fuentealba. However, when one combines the first directional derivatives with smooth second derivatives one finds additional terms that allow one to differentiate local hardness for electrophilic attack from the one for nucleophilic attack. Numerical results related to electrophilic attacks on substituted pyridines, substituted benzenes and substituted ethenes are presented to show the overall performance of the new definition.

  20. Vertical governance change and product differentiation under decreasing component costs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeulen, B.; Huisman, K.J.M.; Kok, de A.G.

    In deciding on whether and when to outsource component production, firms should consider the trade-off between total production costs and the ability to horizontally differentiate products. We study the outsourcing decision in a duopoly under decreasing but uncertain market rates for components,

  1. Vertical governance change and product differentiation under decreasing component costs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeulen, B.; Huisman, K.J.M.; Kok, A.G. de

    2015-01-01

    In deciding on whether and when to outsource component production, firms should consider the trade-off between total production costs and the ability to horizontally differentiate products. We study the outsourcing decision in a duopoly under decreasing but uncertain market rates for components,

  2. Development of a hard nano-structured multi-component ceramic coating by laser cladding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Masanta, Manoj [Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India); Ganesh, P.; Kaul, Rakesh [Laser Material Processing Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore (India); Nath, A.K. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India); Roy Choudhury, A., E-mail: roychoudhuryasimava@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India)

    2009-05-20

    The present paper reports laser-assisted synthesis of a multi-component ceramic composite coating consisting of aluminum oxide, titanium di-boride and titanium carbide (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-TiB{sub 2}-TiC). A pre-placed powder mixture of aluminum (Al), titanium oxide (TiO{sub 2}) and boron carbide (B{sub 4}C) was made to undergo self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) by laser triggering. Laser subsequently effected cladding of the products of SHS on the substrate. The effect of laser scanning speed on the hardness, microstructure and phase composition of the composite coating was investigated. The coating exhibited an increase in hardness and a decrease in grain size with increase in laser scanning speed. A maximum micro-hardness of 2500 HV{sub 0.025} was obtained. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the top surface of the coating revealed the presence of aluminum oxide (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}), titanium di-boride (TiB{sub 2}) and titanium carbide (TiC) along with some non-stoichiometric products of the Ti-Al-B-C-O system. Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopic (HRTEM) analysis revealed some nano-structured TiB{sub 2} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, which are discussed in detail.

  3. Adolescent Depression: Differential Symptom Presentations in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Youth Using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozzay, Melanie L.; O'Leary, Kimberly N.; De Nadai, Alessandro S.; Gryglewicz, Kim; Romero, Gabriela; Karver, Marc S.

    2017-01-01

    The present study examined differences in symptom presentation in screening for pediatric depression via evaluation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). In particular, we examined whether PHQ-9 items function differentially among deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH; n = 75) and hearing (n = 75) youth based on participants recruited from crisis…

  4. FERMI OBSERVATIONS OF GRB 090510: A SHORT-HARD GAMMA-RAY BURST WITH AN ADDITIONAL, HARD POWER-LAW COMPONENT FROM 10 keV TO GeV ENERGIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ackermann, M.; Bechtol, K.; Berenji, B.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.; Borgland, A. W.; Bouvier, A.; Asano, K.; Atwood, W. B.; Axelsson, M.; Baldini, L.; Bellazzini, R.; Bregeon, J.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Baring, M. G.; Bastieri, D.; Bhat, P. N.; Bissaldi, E.; Bonamente, E.

    2010-01-01

    We present detailed observations of the bright short-hard gamma-ray burst GRB 090510 made with the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi observatory. GRB 090510 is the first burst detected by the LAT that shows strong evidence for a deviation from a Band spectral fitting function during the prompt emission phase. The time-integrated spectrum is fit by the sum of a Band function with E peak = 3.9 ± 0.3 MeV, which is the highest yet measured, and a hard power-law component with photon index -1.62 ± 0.03 that dominates the emission below ∼20 keV and above ∼100 MeV. The onset of the high-energy spectral component appears to be delayed by ∼0.1 s with respect to the onset of a component well fit with a single Band function. A faint GBM pulse and a LAT photon are detected 0.5 s before the main pulse. During the prompt phase, the LAT detected a photon with energy 30.5 +5.8 -2.6 GeV, the highest ever measured from a short GRB. Observation of this photon sets a minimum bulk outflow Lorentz factor, Γ∼> 1200, using simple γγ opacity arguments for this GRB at redshift z = 0.903 and a variability timescale on the order of tens of ms for the ∼100 keV-few MeV flux. Stricter high confidence estimates imply Γ ∼> 1000 and still require that the outflows powering short GRBs are at least as highly relativistic as those of long-duration GRBs. Implications of the temporal behavior and power-law shape of the additional component on synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton, external-shock synchrotron, and hadronic models are considered.

  5. Standard hardness conversion tables for metals relationship among brinell hardness, vickers hardness, rockwell hardness, superficial hardness, knoop hardness, and scleroscope hardness

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2007-01-01

    1.1 Conversion Table 1 presents data in the Rockwell C hardness range on the relationship among Brinell hardness, Vickers hardness, Rockwell hardness, Rockwell superficial hardness, Knoop hardness, and Scleroscope hardness of non-austenitic steels including carbon, alloy, and tool steels in the as-forged, annealed, normalized, and quenched and tempered conditions provided that they are homogeneous. 1.2 Conversion Table 2 presents data in the Rockwell B hardness range on the relationship among Brinell hardness, Vickers hardness, Rockwell hardness, Rockwell superficial hardness, Knoop hardness, and Scleroscope hardness of non-austenitic steels including carbon, alloy, and tool steels in the as-forged, annealed, normalized, and quenched and tempered conditions provided that they are homogeneous. 1.3 Conversion Table 3 presents data on the relationship among Brinell hardness, Vickers hardness, Rockwell hardness, Rockwell superficial hardness, and Knoop hardness of nickel and high-nickel alloys (nickel content o...

  6. Power Transformer Differential Protection Based on Neural Network Principal Component Analysis, Harmonic Restraint and Park's Plots

    OpenAIRE

    Tripathy, Manoj

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a new approach for power transformer differential protection which is based on the wave-shape recognition technique. An algorithm based on neural network principal component analysis (NNPCA) with back-propagation learning is proposed for digital differential protection of power transformer. The principal component analysis is used to preprocess the data from power system in order to eliminate redundant information and enhance hidden pattern of differential current to disc...

  7. Accounting for components interactions in the differential importance measure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zio, Enrico; Podofillini, Luca

    2006-01-01

    A limitation of the importance measures (IMs) currently used in reliability and risk analyses is that they rank only individual components or basic events whereas they are not directly applicable to combinations or groups of components or basic events. To partially overcome this limitation, recently, the differential importance measure (DIM), has been introduced for use in risk-informed decision making. The DIM is a first-order sensitivity measure that ranks the parameters of the risk model according to the fraction of total change in the risk that is due to a small change in the parameters' values, taken one at a time. However, it does not account for the effects of interactions among components. In this paper, a second-order extension of the DIM, named DIM II , is proposed for accounting of the interactions of pairs of components when evaluating the change in system performance due to changes of the reliability parameters of the components. A numerical application is presented in which the informative contents of DIM and DIM II are compared. The results confirm that in certain cases when second-order interactions among components are accounted for, the importance ranking of the components may differ from that produced by a first-order sensitivity measure

  8. Hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Martin; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup; Estrup, Maja

    2009-01-01

    The dependence of the hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics on their degree of crystallisation has been explored by means of differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Vickers indentation. Different degrees of crystallisation in the basaltic glasses were achieved...... by varying the temperature of heat treatment. The predominant crystalline phase in the glass was identified as augite. It was found that the hardness of the glass phase decreased slightly with an increase in the degree of crystallisation, while that of the augite phase drastically decreased....

  9. De novo transcriptome assembly and quantification reveal differentially expressed genes between soft-seed and hard-seed pomegranate (Punica granatum L..

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Xue

    Full Text Available Pomegranate (Punica granatum L. belongs to Punicaceae, and is valued for its social, ecological, economic, and aesthetic values, as well as more recently for its health benefits. The 'Tunisia' variety has softer seeds and big arils that are easily swallowed. It is a widely popular fruit; however, the molecular mechanisms of the formation of hard and soft seeds is not yet clear. We conducted a de novo assembly of the seed transcriptome in P. granatum L. and revealed differential gene expression between the soft-seed and hard-seed pomegranate varieties. A total of 35.1 Gb of data were acquired in this study, including 280,881,106 raw reads. Additionally, de novo transcriptome assembly generated 132,287 transcripts and 105,743 representative unigenes; approximately 13,805 unigenes (37.7% were longer than 1,000 bp. Using bioinformatics annotation libraries, a total of 76,806 unigenes were annotated and, among the high-quality reads, 72.63% had at least one significant match to an existing gene model. Gene expression and differentially expressed genes were analyzed. The seed formation of the two pomegranate cultivars involves lignin biosynthesis and metabolism, including some genes encoding laccase and peroxidase, WRKY, MYB, and NAC transcription factors. In the hard-seed pomegranate, lignin-related genes and cellulose synthesis-related genes were highly expressed; in soft-seed pomegranates, expression of genes related to flavonoids and programmed cell death was slightly higher. We validated selection of the identified genes using qRT-PCR. This is the first transcriptome analysis of P. granatum L. This transcription sequencing greatly enriched the pomegranate molecular database, and the high-quality SSRs generated in this study will aid the gene cloning from pomegranate in the future. It provides important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of soft seeds in pomegranate.

  10. De novo transcriptome assembly and quantification reveal differentially expressed genes between soft-seed and hard-seed pomegranate (Punica granatum L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Hui; Cao, Shangyin; Li, Haoxian; Zhang, Jie; Niu, Juan; Chen, Lina; Zhang, Fuhong; Zhao, Diguang

    2017-01-01

    Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) belongs to Punicaceae, and is valued for its social, ecological, economic, and aesthetic values, as well as more recently for its health benefits. The 'Tunisia' variety has softer seeds and big arils that are easily swallowed. It is a widely popular fruit; however, the molecular mechanisms of the formation of hard and soft seeds is not yet clear. We conducted a de novo assembly of the seed transcriptome in P. granatum L. and revealed differential gene expression between the soft-seed and hard-seed pomegranate varieties. A total of 35.1 Gb of data were acquired in this study, including 280,881,106 raw reads. Additionally, de novo transcriptome assembly generated 132,287 transcripts and 105,743 representative unigenes; approximately 13,805 unigenes (37.7%) were longer than 1,000 bp. Using bioinformatics annotation libraries, a total of 76,806 unigenes were annotated and, among the high-quality reads, 72.63% had at least one significant match to an existing gene model. Gene expression and differentially expressed genes were analyzed. The seed formation of the two pomegranate cultivars involves lignin biosynthesis and metabolism, including some genes encoding laccase and peroxidase, WRKY, MYB, and NAC transcription factors. In the hard-seed pomegranate, lignin-related genes and cellulose synthesis-related genes were highly expressed; in soft-seed pomegranates, expression of genes related to flavonoids and programmed cell death was slightly higher. We validated selection of the identified genes using qRT-PCR. This is the first transcriptome analysis of P. granatum L. This transcription sequencing greatly enriched the pomegranate molecular database, and the high-quality SSRs generated in this study will aid the gene cloning from pomegranate in the future. It provides important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of soft seeds in pomegranate.

  11. Nano-metric Dust Particles as a Hardly Detectable Component of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    sis of the TNO color index–orbital inclinations. We also .... In our view, during these two processes, their complementarities lead to a certain balance due to the .... dust will form a multi-mineral complex of the hardly detectable dust matter of the.

  12. Hard-on-hard lubrication in the artificial hip under dynamic loading conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Sonntag

    Full Text Available The tribological performance of an artificial hip joint has a particularly strong influence on its success. The principle causes for failure are adverse short- and long-term reactions to wear debris and high frictional torque in the case of poor lubrication that may cause loosening of the implant. Therefore, using experimental and theoretical approaches models have been developed to evaluate lubrication under standardized conditions. A steady-state numerical model has been extended with dynamic experimental data for hard-on-hard bearings used in total hip replacements to verify the tribological relevance of the ISO 14242-1 gait cycle in comparison to experimental data from the Orthoload database and instrumented gait analysis for three additional loading conditions: normal walking, climbing stairs and descending stairs. Ceramic-on-ceramic bearing partners show superior lubrication potential compared to hard-on-hard bearings that work with at least one articulating metal component. Lubrication regimes during the investigated activities are shown to strongly depend on the kinematics and loading conditions. The outcome from the ISO gait is not fully confirmed by the normal walking data and more challenging conditions show evidence of inferior lubrication. These findings may help to explain the differences between the in vitro predictions using the ISO gait cycle and the clinical outcome of some hard-on-hard bearings, e.g., using metal-on-metal.

  13. Aging memories: differential decay of episodic memory components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talamini, Lucia M; Gorree, Eva

    2012-05-17

    Some memories about events can persist for decades, even a lifetime. However, recent memories incorporate rich sensory information, including knowledge on the spatial and temporal ordering of event features, while old memories typically lack this "filmic" quality. We suggest that this apparent change in the nature of memories may reflect a preferential loss of hippocampus-dependent, configurational information over more cortically based memory components, including memory for individual objects. The current study systematically tests this hypothesis, using a new paradigm that allows the contemporaneous assessment of memory for objects, object pairings, and object-position conjunctions. Retention of each memory component was tested, at multiple intervals, up to 3 mo following encoding. The three memory subtasks adopted the same retrieval paradigm and were matched for initial difficulty. Results show differential decay of the tested episodic memory components, whereby memory for configurational aspects of a scene (objects' co-occurrence and object position) decays faster than memory for featured objects. Interestingly, memory requiring a visually detailed object representation decays at a similar rate as global object recognition, arguing against interpretations based on task difficulty and against the notion that (visual) detail is forgotten preferentially. These findings show that memories undergo qualitative changes as they age. More specifically, event memories become less configurational over time, preferentially losing some of the higher order associations that are dependent on the hippocampus for initial fast encoding. Implications for theories of long-term memory are discussed.

  14. Impact of bacteria and bacterial components on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fiedler, Tomas; Salamon, Achim; Adam, Stefanie; Herzmann, Nicole; Taubenheim, Jan; Peters, Kirsten

    2013-01-01

    Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are present in several tissues, e.g. bone marrow, heart muscle, brain and subcutaneous adipose tissue. In invasive infections MSC get in contact with bacteria and bacterial components. Not much is known about how bacterial pathogens interact with MSC and how contact to bacteria influences MSC viability and differentiation potential. In this study we investigated the impact of three different wound infection relevant bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes, and the cell wall components lipopolysaccharide (LPS; Gram-negative bacteria) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA; Gram-positive bacteria) on viability, proliferation, and osteogenic as well as adipogenic differentiation of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (adMSC). We show that all three tested species were able to attach to and internalize into adMSC. The heat-inactivated Gram-negative E. coli as well as LPS were able to induce proliferation and osteogenic differentiation but reduce adipogenic differentiation of adMSC. Conspicuously, the heat-inactivated Gram-positive species showed the same effects on proliferation and adipogenic differentiation, while its cell wall component LTA exhibited no significant impact on adMSC. Therefore, our data demonstrate that osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of adMSC is influenced in an oppositional fashion by bacterial antigens and that MSC-governed regeneration is not necessarily reduced under infectious conditions. - Highlights: • Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Escherichia coli bind to and internalize into adMSC. • Heat-inactivated cells of these bacterial species trigger proliferation of adMSC. • Heat-inactivated E. coli and LPS induce osteogenic differentiation of adMSC. • Heat-inactivated E. coli and LPS reduce adipogenic differentiation of adMSC. • LTA does not influence adipogenic or osteogenic differentiation of adMSC

  15. Impact of bacteria and bacterial components on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fiedler, Tomas, E-mail: tomas.fiedler@med.uni-rostock.de [Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology, and Hygiene, Rostock University Medical Center, Schillingallee 70, D-18057 Rostock (Germany); Salamon, Achim; Adam, Stefanie; Herzmann, Nicole [Department of Cell Biology, Rostock University Medical Center, Schillingallee 69, D-18057 Rostock (Germany); Taubenheim, Jan [Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology, and Hygiene, Rostock University Medical Center, Schillingallee 70, D-18057 Rostock (Germany); Department of Cell Biology, Rostock University Medical Center, Schillingallee 69, D-18057 Rostock (Germany); Peters, Kirsten [Department of Cell Biology, Rostock University Medical Center, Schillingallee 69, D-18057 Rostock (Germany)

    2013-11-01

    Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are present in several tissues, e.g. bone marrow, heart muscle, brain and subcutaneous adipose tissue. In invasive infections MSC get in contact with bacteria and bacterial components. Not much is known about how bacterial pathogens interact with MSC and how contact to bacteria influences MSC viability and differentiation potential. In this study we investigated the impact of three different wound infection relevant bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes, and the cell wall components lipopolysaccharide (LPS; Gram-negative bacteria) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA; Gram-positive bacteria) on viability, proliferation, and osteogenic as well as adipogenic differentiation of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (adMSC). We show that all three tested species were able to attach to and internalize into adMSC. The heat-inactivated Gram-negative E. coli as well as LPS were able to induce proliferation and osteogenic differentiation but reduce adipogenic differentiation of adMSC. Conspicuously, the heat-inactivated Gram-positive species showed the same effects on proliferation and adipogenic differentiation, while its cell wall component LTA exhibited no significant impact on adMSC. Therefore, our data demonstrate that osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of adMSC is influenced in an oppositional fashion by bacterial antigens and that MSC-governed regeneration is not necessarily reduced under infectious conditions. - Highlights: • Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Escherichia coli bind to and internalize into adMSC. • Heat-inactivated cells of these bacterial species trigger proliferation of adMSC. • Heat-inactivated E. coli and LPS induce osteogenic differentiation of adMSC. • Heat-inactivated E. coli and LPS reduce adipogenic differentiation of adMSC. • LTA does not influence adipogenic or osteogenic differentiation of adMSC.

  16. Well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder with intratumoral cystic components due to abundant mucin production: a mimicker of adenomyomatosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshimitsu, Kengo; Irie, Hiroyuki; Aibe, Hitoshi; Tajima, Tsuyoshi; Nishie, Akihiro; Asayama, Yoshiki; Matake, Kunishige; Honda, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Kouji; Matsuura, Shuji

    2005-01-01

    The prevalence and etiology of the cystic components within gallbladder carcinomas as seen on MR images were evaluated. A retrospective review of MR images was performed for 35 proven gallbladder carcinomas in search of radiologically detectable intratumoral cystic components. The pathologic specimens were meticulously reviewed to determine the etiology. MR images of 31 adenomyomatoses were also reviewed for comparison to clarify the difference in MR features between these two entities. Three cases out of 35 proven gallbladder carcinomas were found to have intratumoral cystic components. They were all well-differentiated adenocarcinomas, and the cystic components consisted of dilated neoplastic glands filled with abundant mucin pool. Adenomyomatosis tended to have more and rounded cystic components (Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses) lined in a linear fashion and were flat-elevated in shape, smaller in size and had a regular surface, as compared to the three carcinomas. Although rare, radiologists need to be aware that well-differentiated gallbladder carcinoma with mucin production can have cystic components, which may mimic adenomyomatosis. Careful interpretation of MR images may provide useful information in the differentiation of these two entities. (orig.)

  17. Hard X-ray Photoelectric Polarimeter

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Our objective is to determine the gas mixtures and pressures that would enable a sensitive, hard X-ray polarimeter using existing flight components with the goal of...

  18. A Global Multi-Objective Optimization Tool for Design of Mechatronic Components using Generalized Differential Evolution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech, Michael Møller; Nørgård, Christian; Roemer, Daniel Beck

    2016-01-01

    This paper illustrates how the relatively simple constrained multi-objective optimization algorithm Generalized Differential Evolution 3 (GDE3), can assist with the practical sizing of mechatronic components used in e.g. digital displacement fluid power machinery. The studied bi- and tri-objectiv......This paper illustrates how the relatively simple constrained multi-objective optimization algorithm Generalized Differential Evolution 3 (GDE3), can assist with the practical sizing of mechatronic components used in e.g. digital displacement fluid power machinery. The studied bi- and tri...... different optimization control parameter settings and it is concluded that GDE3 is a reliable optimization tool that can assist mechatronic engineers in the design and decision making process....

  19. Work Hard / Play Hard

    OpenAIRE

    Burrows, J.; Johnson, V.; Henckel, D.

    2016-01-01

    Work Hard / Play Hard was a participatory performance/workshop or CPD experience hosted by interdisciplinary arts atelier WeAreCodeX, in association with AntiUniversity.org. As a socially/economically engaged arts practice, Work Hard / Play Hard challenged employees/players to get playful, or go to work. 'The game changes you, you never change the game'. Employee PLAYER A 'The faster the better.' Employer PLAYER B

  20. Unified Research on Network-Based Hard/Soft Information Fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-02-02

    3.2.1 Hard +Soft Data Association Data gathered during various Counterinsurgency (or COIN) operations is in different formats . For example, the...characteristic, observation time, and related data. Figure 45: Sample snapshot frame from hard sensor data TML formats were developed and...160 Figure 54: Penn State components of overall hard and soft fusion process Summary of Year 1 Accomplishments • Team formation • Initial

  1. The method of diagnosis and classification of the gingival line defects of the teeth hard tissues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Bulbuk

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available For solving the problem of diagnosis and treatment of hard tissue defects the significant role belongs to the choice of tactics for dental treatment of hard tissue defects located in the gingival line of any tooth. This work aims to study the problems of diagnosis and classification of gingival line defects of the teeth hard tissues. That will contribute to the objectification of differentiated diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in the dental treatment of various clinical variants of these defects localization. The objective of the study – is to develop the anatomical-functional classification for differentiated estimation of hard tissue defects in the gingival part, as the basis for the application of differential diagnostic-therapeutic approaches to the dental treatment of hard tissue defects disposed in the gingival part of any tooth. Materials and methods of investigation: There was conducted the examination of 48 patients with hard tissue defects located in the gingival part of any tooth. To assess the magnitude of gingival line destruction the periodontal probe and X-ray examination were used. Results. The result of the performed research the classification of the gingival line defects of the hard tissues was offered using exponent power. The value of this indicator is equal to an integer number expressed in millimeters of distance from the epithelial attachment to the cavity’s bottom of defect. Conclusions. The proposed classification fills an obvious gap in academic representations about hard tissue defects located in the gingival part of any tooth. Also it offers the prospects of consensus on differentiated diagnostic-therapeutic approaches in different clinical variants of location.  This classification builds methodological “bridge of continuity” between therapeutic and prosthetic dentistry in the field of treatment of the gingival line defects of dental hard tissues.

  2. Evidence for two hard X-ray components in double power-law fits to the 1980 June 7 flare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Dean F.; Orwig, Larry E.

    1988-01-01

    The June 7, 1980 flare at 0312 UT was analyzed with double power-law fits on the basis of SMM hard X-ray burst spectrometer data. The flare is found to consist of seven peaks of characteristic time scale of about 8 sec followed by seven valleys which may contain significant peak components because of overlap. It is suggested that the possibility of thermal spectra for the peaks is unlikely. An investigation of the double power-law parameters through the third and fourth peaks revealed a hysteresis effect in the fourth peak. The present results have been interpreted in terms of a trap plus precipitation model.

  3. Hard electronics; Hard electronics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    Hard material technologies were surveyed to establish the hard electronic technology which offers superior characteristics under hard operational or environmental conditions as compared with conventional Si devices. The following technologies were separately surveyed: (1) The device and integration technologies of wide gap hard semiconductors such as SiC, diamond and nitride, (2) The technology of hard semiconductor devices for vacuum micro- electronics technology, and (3) The technology of hard new material devices for oxides. The formation technology of oxide thin films made remarkable progress after discovery of oxide superconductor materials, resulting in development of an atomic layer growth method and mist deposition method. This leading research is expected to solve such issues difficult to be easily realized by current Si technology as high-power, high-frequency and low-loss devices in power electronics, high temperature-proof and radiation-proof devices in ultimate electronics, and high-speed and dense- integrated devices in information electronics. 432 refs., 136 figs., 15 tabs.

  4. Final Report: Safety of Plasma Components and Aerosol Transport During Hard Disruptions and Accidental Energy Release in Fusion Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourham, Mohamed A.; Gilligan, John G.

    1999-08-14

    Safety considerations in large future fusion reactors like ITER are important before licensing the reactor. Several scenarios are considered hazardous, which include safety of plasma-facing components during hard disruptions, high heat fluxes and thermal stresses during normal operation, accidental energy release, and aerosol formation and transport. Disruption events, in large tokamaks like ITER, are expected to produce local heat fluxes on plasma-facing components, which may exceed 100 GW/m{sup 2} over a period of about 0.1 ms. As a result, the surface temperature dramatically increases, which results in surface melting and vaporization, and produces thermal stresses and surface erosion. Plasma-facing components safety issues extends to cover a wide range of possible scenarios, including disruption severity and the impact of plasma-facing components on disruption parameters, accidental energy release and short/long term LOCA's, and formation of airborne particles by convective current transport during a LOVA (water/air ingress disruption) accident scenario. Study, and evaluation of, disruption-induced aerosol generation and mobilization is essential to characterize database on particulate formation and distribution for large future fusion tokamak reactor like ITER. In order to provide database relevant to ITER, the SIRENS electrothermal plasma facility at NCSU has been modified to closely simulate heat fluxes expected in ITER.

  5. Performance ratio hardness characteristics polystyrene-metal composite materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klepikov, V.F.; Prokhorenko, E.M.; Lytvynenko, V.V.; Zakharchenko, A.A.; Hazhmuradov, M.A.

    2015-01-01

    The methods of measuring the hardness of layered polystyrene-metallic composite materials. It is proposed to use powder-like tungsten and powder-like steel as radiation-protective layer. A measurement of the hardness of composites of different composition, and given its dependence on the particle size and their form. The possibility of increasing the hardness of the composites reinforced with metallic additives. Radiation-protective characteristics were calculated for the studied species of composite materials. Influence of the quantitative composition of the metal components is studied on the change of the absorbed dose of gamma radiation

  6. NuSTAR Hard X-ray Survey of the Galactic Center Region. I. Hard X-ray Morphology and Spectroscopy of the Diffuse Emission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mori, Kaya; Hailey, Charles J.; Krivonos, Roman

    2015-01-01

    We present the first sub-arcminute images of the Galactic Center above 10 keV, obtained with NuSTAR. NuSTAR resolves the hard X-ray source IGR J17456-2901 into non-thermal X-ray filaments, molecular clouds, point sources, and a previously unknown central component of hard X-ray emission (CHXE). Nu...

  7. Chemical Characterization of Beer Aging Products Derived from Hard Resin Components in Hops (Humulus lupulus L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taniguchi, Yoshimasa; Yamada, Makiko; Taniguchi, Harumi; Matsukura, Yasuko; Shindo, Kazutoshi

    2015-11-25

    The bitter taste of beer originates from resins in hops (Humulus lupulus L.), which are classified into two subtypes (soft and hard). Whereas the nature and reactivity of soft-resin-derived compounds, such as α-, β-, and iso-α-acids, are well studied, there is only a little information on the compounds in hard resin. For this work, hard resin was prepared from stored hops and investigated for its compositional changes in an experimental model of beer aging. The hard resin contained a series of α-acid oxides. Among them, 4'-hydroxyallohumulinones were unstable under beer storage conditions, and their transformation induced primary compositional changes of the hard resin during beer aging. The chemical structures of the products, including novel polycyclic compounds scorpiohumulinols A and B and dicyclohumulinols A and B, were determined by HRMS and NMR analyses. These compounds were proposed to be produced via proton-catalyzed cyclization reactions of 4'-hydroxyallohumulinones. Furthermore, they were more stable than their precursor 4'-hydroxyallohumulinones during prolonged storage periods.

  8. Differential phase contrast setup for a non coherent beamline at HASYLAB using hard X-ray grating interferometer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herzen, Julia; Beckmann, Felix; Haibel, Astrid; Schreyer, Andreas [GKSS Research Centre, Geesthacht (Germany); Donath, Tilman; David, Christian; Gruenzweig, Christian [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Pfeiffer, Franz [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI (Switzerland); EPF Lausanne, Lausanne (Switzerland)

    2009-07-01

    Phase-contrast imaging is a common technique to visualize soft tissue with much higher contrast than the conventional absorption-contrast imaging. Differential phase contrast (DPC), developed at PSI, Switzerland, makes use of a hard x-ray grating interferometer and allows for phase-contrast imaging with high brilliance synchrotron sources as well as with conventional x-ray tubes. It is recently reported also to provide dark field information that is very sensitive to micro structures like porosity within the materials. Here we present the plans to adopt the DPC technique to the HARWI-II materials science beamline, operated by GKSS Research Centre, in cooperation with DESY, Hamburg. This will offer an amount of new applications especially in the field of materials science like for example characterizing new light weight materials like magnesium and studying its corrosion as implant material.

  9. Hard and soft acids and bases: structure and process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, James L

    2012-07-05

    Under investigation is the structure and process that gives rise to hard-soft behavior in simple anionic atomic bases. That for simple atomic bases the chemical hardness is expected to be the only extrinsic component of acid-base strength, has been substantiated in the current study. A thermochemically based operational scale of chemical hardness was used to identify the structure within anionic atomic bases that is responsible for chemical hardness. The base's responding electrons have been identified as the structure, and the relaxation that occurs during charge transfer has been identified as the process giving rise to hard-soft behavior. This is in contrast the commonly accepted explanations that attribute hard-soft behavior to varying degrees of electrostatic and covalent contributions to the acid-base interaction. The ability of the atomic ion's responding electrons to cause hard-soft behavior has been assessed by examining the correlation of the estimated relaxation energies of the responding electrons with the operational chemical hardness. It has been demonstrated that the responding electrons are able to give rise to hard-soft behavior in simple anionic bases.

  10. Equilibrium distribution of hard-sphere systems and revised Enskog theory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beijeren, H. van

    1983-01-01

    A revised Enskog theory (RET) is shown to lead to a correct equilibrium distribution in hard-sphere systems in a stationary external potential, while the standard Enskog theory (SET) does not. Attention is given to the s-component hard-sphere mixture with constant external potential acting on

  11. Final Report: Safety of Plasma-Facing Components and Aerosol Transport During Hard Disruptions and Accidental Energy Release in Fusion Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourham, Mohamed A.; Gilligan, John G.

    1999-01-01

    Safety considerations in large future fusion reactors like ITER are important before licensing the reactor. Several scenarios are considered hazardous, which include safety of plasma-facing components during hard disruptions, high heat fluxes and thermal stresses during normal operation, accidental energy release, and aerosol formation and transport. Disruption events, in large tokamaks like ITER, are expected to produce local heat fluxes on plasma-facing components, which may exceed 100 GW/m 2 over a period of about 0.1 ms. As a result, the surface temperature dramatically increases, which results in surface melting and vaporization, and produces thermal stresses and surface erosion. Plasma-facing components safety issues extends to cover a wide range of possible scenarios, including disruption severity and the impact of plasma-facing components on disruption parameters, accidental energy release and short/long term LOCA's, and formation of airborne particles by convective current transport during a LOVA (water/air ingress disruption) accident scenario. Study, and evaluation of, disruption-induced aerosol generation and mobilization is essential to characterize database on particulate formation and distribution for large future fusion tokamak reactor like ITER. In order to provide database relevant to ITER, the SIRENS electrothermal plasma facility at NCSU has been modified to closely simulate heat fluxes expected in ITER

  12. Perceptual dimensions differentiate emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavanaugh, Lisa A; MacInnis, Deborah J; Weiss, Allen M

    2015-08-26

    Individuals often describe objects in their world in terms of perceptual dimensions that span a variety of modalities; the visual (e.g., brightness: dark-bright), the auditory (e.g., loudness: quiet-loud), the gustatory (e.g., taste: sour-sweet), the tactile (e.g., hardness: soft vs. hard) and the kinaesthetic (e.g., speed: slow-fast). We ask whether individuals use perceptual dimensions to differentiate emotions from one another. Participants in two studies (one where respondents reported on abstract emotion concepts and a second where they reported on specific emotion episodes) rated the extent to which features anchoring 29 perceptual dimensions (e.g., temperature, texture and taste) are associated with 8 emotions (anger, fear, sadness, guilt, contentment, gratitude, pride and excitement). Results revealed that in both studies perceptual dimensions differentiate positive from negative emotions and high arousal from low arousal emotions. They also differentiate among emotions that are similar in arousal and valence (e.g., high arousal negative emotions such as anger and fear). Specific features that anchor particular perceptual dimensions (e.g., hot vs. cold) are also differentially associated with emotions.

  13. Rad Hard Active Media For Calorimeters

    CERN Document Server

    Norbeck, E; Möller, A; Onel, Y

    2006-01-01

    Zero-degree calorimeters have limited space and extreme levels of radiation. A simple, low cost, radiation hard design uses tungstenmetal as the absorber and a suitable liquid as the ˇCerenkov radiator. In other applications a PPAC (Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter) operatingwith a suitable atmosphericpressure gas is an attractive active material for a calorimeter. It can be made radiation hard and has sufficient gain in the gas that no electronic components are needed near the detector. It works well even with the highest concentration of shower particles. For this pressure range, R134A (used in auto air conditioners) has many desirable features.

  14. The Elusive Soft Emission from Hard X-ray Symbiotic System RT Cru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karovska, Margarita

    2014-09-01

    RT Cru is a fascinating member of a new class of hard X-ray emitting symbiotic binaries showing X-ray emission extending to over 50keV. While its hard X-ray emission has been studied in detail, the soft component of the spectrum, including flares, remains elusive, since previous observations have focused on the high-energy regime. We propose Chandra HRC-S/LETG observations to determine the spatial, spectral, and temporal characteristics of the source of the soft X-ray emission with a goal to establish the origin of the soft component, and determine whether and how it is tied to the hard component. Determining the origin of the soft emission is a crucial piece of the puzzle to understanding the geometry, energetics, and the environment of WD accretion in this class of symbiotic systems.

  15. Principle component analysis (PCA) and second-order global hard-modelling for the complete resolution of transition metal ions complex formation with 1,10-phenantroline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shariati-Rad, Masoud; Hasani, Masoumeh

    2009-01-01

    Second-order global hard-modelling was applied to resolve the complex formation between Co 2+ , Ni 2+ , and Cd 2+ cations and 1,10-phenantroline. The highly correlated spectral and concentration profiles of the species in these systems and low concentration of some species in the individual collected data matrices prevent the well-resolution of the profiles. Therefore, a collection of six equilibrium data matrices including series of absorption spectra taken with pH changes at different reactant ratios were analyzed. Firstly, a precise principle component analysis (PCA) of different augmented arrangements of the individual data matrices was used to distinguish the number of species involved in the equilibria. Based on the results of PCA, the equilibria included in the data were specified and second-order global hard-modelling of the appropriate arrangement of six collected equilibrium data matrices resulted in well-resolved profiles and equilibrium constants. The protonation constant of the ligand (1,10-phenantroline) and spectral profiles of its protonated and unprotonated forms are the additional information obtained by global analysis. For comparison, multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) was applied to the same data. The results showed that second-order global hard-modelling is more convenient compared with MCR-ALS especially for systems with completely known model. It can completely resolve the system and the concentration profiles which are closer to correct ones. Moreover, parameters showing the goodness of fit are better with second-order global hard-modelling.

  16. Principle component analysis (PCA) and second-order global hard-modelling for the complete resolution of transition metal ions complex formation with 1,10-phenantroline

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shariati-Rad, Masoud [Faculty of Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hasani, Masoumeh, E-mail: hasani@basu.ac.ir [Faculty of Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65174 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2009-08-19

    Second-order global hard-modelling was applied to resolve the complex formation between Co{sup 2+}, Ni{sup 2+}, and Cd{sup 2+} cations and 1,10-phenantroline. The highly correlated spectral and concentration profiles of the species in these systems and low concentration of some species in the individual collected data matrices prevent the well-resolution of the profiles. Therefore, a collection of six equilibrium data matrices including series of absorption spectra taken with pH changes at different reactant ratios were analyzed. Firstly, a precise principle component analysis (PCA) of different augmented arrangements of the individual data matrices was used to distinguish the number of species involved in the equilibria. Based on the results of PCA, the equilibria included in the data were specified and second-order global hard-modelling of the appropriate arrangement of six collected equilibrium data matrices resulted in well-resolved profiles and equilibrium constants. The protonation constant of the ligand (1,10-phenantroline) and spectral profiles of its protonated and unprotonated forms are the additional information obtained by global analysis. For comparison, multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) was applied to the same data. The results showed that second-order global hard-modelling is more convenient compared with MCR-ALS especially for systems with completely known model. It can completely resolve the system and the concentration profiles which are closer to correct ones. Moreover, parameters showing the goodness of fit are better with second-order global hard-modelling.

  17. Effect of Crystallisation Degree on Hardness of Basaltic Glass-Ceramics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Martin; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup; Yue, Yuanzheng

    The dependence of hardness of basaltic glass-ceramics on their crystallisation degree has been explored by means of differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Vickers indentation. Different degrees of crystallisation in the basaltic glasses have been obtained...... by varying the temperature of heat treatment. The change of the relative degree of crystallisation with the heat treatment temperature can be described by an empirical model established in this work. The predominant crystalline phase in the glass has been identified as the pyroxene augite. The hardness...... principle calculations. It is found that the hardness of the glass phase decreases slightly with an increase in the degree of crystallisation, while that of the augite phase drastically decreases....

  18. Hot hardness studies on zircaloy 2 pressure tube along three orientations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kutty, T.R.G.; Ravi, K.; Jarvis, T.; Sengupta, A.K.; Majumdar, S.; Tewari, R.; Shrivastava, D.; Dey, G.K.

    2002-01-01

    Zirconium based alloys are the natural choice for both the fuel element cans and in-core structural components in water cooled nuclear reactors. In this paper, the hot hardness behaviour of zircaloy 2 pressure tubes has been examined from room temperature to 400 degC using a hot hardness tester. For the purpose of comparison, the hardness of the as cast and room temperature rolled specimens has also been carried out. For this, the samples were cut along three orientations and hardness was measured in each of these directions using Vickers diamond pyramid indenter. The variation in hardness of the pressure tube samples show that the hardness was highest along circumferential direction and least along the axial direction. The room temperature rolled samples showed highest hardness along the rolling planes. These variations in hardness could be explained in terms of development of texture during working on the material. (author)

  19. Examination of water phase transitions in Loblolly pine and cell wall components by differential scanning calorimetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuel L. Zelinka; Michael J. Lambrecht; Samuel V. Glass; Alex C. Wiedenhoeft; Daniel J. Yelle

    2012-01-01

    This paper examines phase transformations of water in wood and isolated wood cell wall components using differential scanning calorimetry with the purpose of better understanding "Type II water" or "freezable bound water" that has been reported for cellulose and other hydrophilic polymers. Solid loblolly pine (Pinus taeda...

  20. Design Optimization of Mechanical Components Using an Enhanced Teaching-Learning Based Optimization Algorithm with Differential Operator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Thamaraikannan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies in detail the background and implementation of a teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO algorithm with differential operator for optimization task of a few mechanical components, which are essential for most of the mechanical engineering applications. Like most of the other heuristic techniques, TLBO is also a population-based method and uses a population of solutions to proceed to the global solution. A differential operator is incorporated into the TLBO for effective search of better solutions. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, three typical optimization problems are considered in this research: firstly, to optimize the weight in a belt-pulley drive, secondly, to optimize the volume in a closed coil helical spring, and finally to optimize the weight in a hollow shaft. have been demonstrated. Simulation result on the optimization (mechanical components problems reveals the ability of the proposed methodology to find better optimal solutions compared to other optimization algorithms.

  1. The influence of hard segment content on mechanical and thermal properties of polycarbonate-based polyurethane materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Budinski-Simendić Jaroslava

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Aliphatic segmented polyurethanes were prepared by one-step procedure in catalytic reaction between polycarbonate diol, hexamethylene-diisocyanate and 1,4-butandiol (as chain extender. The hard segment content TS was varied (17, 24, 30 and 42 wt. % by changing the ratio of starting compounds. The soft segment is made from flexible aliphatic polycarbonate diol, while hard segments consist of chain extender and diisocyanate component. In order to study the hydrogen bonding formation and phase separation, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR was used. Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS was performed to determine a degree of crystallinity and to investigate the phase behavior of prepared elastomers. The effect of TS content on mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at break and hardness was tested. Thermal behavior of prepared novel polycarbonate-based polyurethanes was investigated using differential scanning callorimetry (DSC. It was determined that the elastomer which contains the highest amount of urethane groups in its structure (TS content of 42 wt. % exhibits the most pronounced phase separation and the highest degree of crystallinity. All prepared polyurethanes exhibit high elongation at break (over 700%. The glass transition temperature Tg of prepared samples was in the temperature region from −39 to −36°C, and it was found to be slightly influenced by the soft segment content. The enthalpy of chain segments relaxation in diffused region between hard and soft domains (detected in the temperature range from 35 to 55 °C was decreased with the increase of hard segment content. The multiple melting of hard segments (connected with the dissruption of physical crosslinks appeared above 100 °C. It was found that the melting enthalpy linearly increases with the increase of urethane group content. Sample with 42 wt. % of TS has the highest value of melting enthalpy (41.5 J/g.

  2. Vector meson dominance and pointlike coupling of the photon in soft and hard processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paul, E.

    1990-05-01

    Recent experimental results on photoproduction of hadrons probe the nature of the interacting photon over a wide kinematical range from soft to hard processes. Single inclusive spectra and energy flows of the final state charged particles are well described by assuming that photon production data are built up by an incoherent superposition of a soft Vector-Meson-Dominance component and a hard pointlike photon component. (orig.)

  3. Effects of lipophilic components on the compatibility of lipid-based formulations with hard gelatin capsules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Feng-Jing; Etzler, Frank M; Ubben, Johanna; Birch, Amy; Zhong, Li; Schwabe, Robert; Dudhedia, Mayur S

    2010-01-01

    The present study investigated the effect of lipophilic components on the compatibility of propylene glycol (PG)-containing lipid-based drug delivery system (LBDDS) formulations with hard gelatin capsules. The presence of a lipophilic active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) (log P approximately 6.1) and an additional lipophilic excipient (Capmul MCM) significantly affected the activity of PG in the fills and the equilibrium of PG between capsule shells and fills. These changes in activity and equilibrium of PG were furthermore correlated to the mechanical and thermal properties of the liquid-filled capsules and subsequently linked to the shelf-life of the capsules on stability with respect to capsule deformation. The present study also investigated the mechanism by which lipophilic component(s) might affect the activity of PG in the fill formulations and the equilibrium of PG between capsule shells and fills. The activities of PG in two series of "binary" mixtures with Capmul MCM and with Cremophor EL were measured, respectively. The mixtures of PG containing Capmul MCM were found to be more nearly ideal than those containing Cremophor EL. The observed negative deviation from Rauolt's law indicates that the excess free energies of mixing are less then zero indicating favorable interaction between PG and the other component. It is speculated that enhanced hydrogen bonding opportunities with Cremophor EL are responsible for the decreased excess free energy of mixing. Replacement of Cremophor EL with lipophilic API also reduces the hydrogen bonding opportunities for PG in the mixtures. This hypothesis may further explain the increased activity of PG in the fills and the shifted equilibrium of PG toward the capsule shells. Activity determination utilizing headspace gas chromatography (GC) using short 30 min incubation time seems to be a time-efficient approach for assessing capsule-fill compatibility. Direct measurements of PG migration and other physical properties of

  4. Erosion testing of hard materials and coatings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hawk, Jeffrey A.

    2005-04-29

    Erosion is the process by which unconstrained particles, usually hard, impact a surface, creating damage that leads to material removal and component failure. These particles are usually very small and entrained in fluid of some type, typically air. The damage that occurs as a result of erosion depends on the size of the particles, their physical characteristics, the velocity of the particle/fluid stream, and their angle of impact on the surface of interest. This talk will discuss the basics of jet erosion testing of hard materials, composites and coatings. The standard test methods will be discussed as well as alternative approaches to determining the erosion rate of materials. The damage that occurs will be characterized in genera1 terms, and examples will be presented for the erosion behavior of hard materials and coatings (both thick and thin).

  5. Structural properties of hard disks in a narrow tube

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varga, S; Gurin, P; Balló, G

    2011-01-01

    Positional ordering of a two-dimensional fluid of hard disks is examined in tubes so narrow that only nearest neighbor interactions take place. Using the exact transfer-matrix method the transverse and longitudinal pressure components and the correlation function are determined numerically. Fluid–solid phase transition does not occur even in the widest tube, where the method just loses its exactness, but the appearance of a dramatic change in the equation of state and the longitudinal correlation function shows that the system undergoes a structural change from a fluid to a solid-like order. The pressure components show that the collisions are dominantly longitudinal at low densities, while they are transverse in the vicinity of the close packing density. The transverse correlation function shows that the size of solid-like domains grows exponentially with increasing pressure and the correlation length diverges at close packing. It is possible to find an analytically solvable model by expanding the contact distance up to first order. The approximate model, which corresponds to a system of hard parallel rhombuses, behaves very similarly to the system of hard disks

  6. High spectral resolution measurements of a solar flare hard X-ray burst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, R.P.; Schwartz, R.A.; NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD)

    1987-01-01

    Observations are reported of an intense solar flare hard X-ray burst on June 27, 1980, made with a balloon-borne array of liquid nitrogen-cooled Ge detector which provided unprecedented spectral resolution (no more than 1 keV FWHM). The hard X-ray spectra throughout the impulsive phase burst fitted well to a double power-law form, and emission from an isothermal 0.1-1 billion K plasma can be specifically excluded. The temporal variations of the spectrum indicate that the hard X-ray burst is made up of two superposed components: individual spikes lasting about 3-15 sec, which have a hard spectrum and a break energy of 30-65 keV; and a slowly varying component characterized by a soft spectrum with a constant low-energy slope and a break energy which increases from 25 kev to at least 100 keV through the event. The double power-law shape indicates that DC electric field acceleration, similar to that occurring in the earth's auroral zone, may be the source of the energetic electrons which produce the hard X-ray emission. 39 references

  7. Hard Identity and Soft Identity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Rachik

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Often collective identities are classified depending on their contents and rarely depending on their forms. Differentiation between soft identity and hard identity is applied to diverse collective identities: religious, political, national, tribal ones, etc. This classification is made following the principal dimensions of collective identities: type of classification (univocal and exclusive or relative and contextual, the absence or presence of conflictsof loyalty, selective or totalitarian, objective or subjective conception, among others. The different characteristics analysed contribute to outlining an increasingly frequent type of identity: the authoritarian identity.

  8. Evaluation of glass transition temperature and dynamic mechanical properties of autopolymerized hard direct denture reline resins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takase, Kazuma; Watanabe, Ikuya; Kurogi, Tadafumi; Murata, Hiroshi

    2015-01-01

    This study assessed methods for evaluation of glass transition temperature (Tg) of autopolymerized hard direct denture reline resins using dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry in addition to the dynamic mechanical properties. The Tg values of 3 different reline resins were determined using a dynamic viscoelastometer and differential scanning calorimeter, and rheological parameters were also determined. Although all materials exhibited higher storage modulus and loss modulus values, and a lower loss tangent at 37˚C with a higher frequency, the frequency dependence was not large. Tg values obtained by dynamic mechanical analysis were higher than those by differential scanning calorimetry and higher frequency led to higher Tg, while more stable Tg values were also obtained by that method. These results suggest that dynamic mechanical analysis is more advantageous for characterization of autopolymerized hard direct denture reline resins than differential scanning calorimetry.

  9. 454 Transcriptome sequencing suggests a role for two-component signalling in cellularization and differentiation of barley endosperm transfer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiel, Johannes; Hollmann, Julien; Rutten, Twan; Weber, Hans; Scholz, Uwe; Weschke, Winfriede

    2012-01-01

    Cell specification and differentiation in the endosperm of cereals starts at the maternal-filial boundary and generates the endosperm transfer cells (ETCs). Besides the importance in assimilate transfer, ETCs are proposed to play an essential role in the regulation of endosperm differentiation by affecting development of proximate endosperm tissues. We attempted to identify signalling elements involved in early endosperm differentiation by using a combination of laser-assisted microdissection and 454 transcriptome sequencing. 454 sequencing of the differentiating ETC region from the syncytial state until functionality in transfer processes captured a high proportion of novel transcripts which are not available in existing barley EST databases. Intriguingly, the ETC-transcriptome showed a high abundance of elements of the two-component signalling (TCS) system suggesting an outstanding role in ETC differentiation. All components and subfamilies of the TCS, including distinct kinds of membrane-bound receptors, have been identified to be expressed in ETCs. The TCS system represents an ancient signal transduction system firstly discovered in bacteria and has previously been shown to be co-opted by eukaryotes, like fungi and plants, whereas in animals and humans this signalling route does not exist. Transcript profiling of TCS elements by qRT-PCR suggested pivotal roles for specific phosphorelays activated in a coordinated time flow during ETC cellularization and differentiation. ETC-specificity of transcriptionally activated TCS phosphorelays was assessed for early differentiation and cellularization contrasting to an extension of expression to other grain tissues at the beginning of ETC maturation. Features of candidate genes of distinct phosphorelays and transcriptional activation of genes putatively implicated in hormone signalling pathways hint at a crosstalk of hormonal influences, putatively ABA and ethylene, and TCS signalling. Our findings suggest an integral

  10. Detectability of rotation-powered pulsars in future hard X-ray surveys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Wei

    2009-01-01

    Recent INTEGRAL/IBIS hard X-ray surveys have detected about 10 young pulsars. We show hard X-ray properties of these 10 young pulsars, which have a luminosity of 10 33 -10 37 erg s -1 and a photon index of 1.6-2.1 in the energy range of 20-100 keV. The correlation between X-ray luminosity and spin-down power of L X ∝ L sd 1.31 suggests that the hard X-ray emission in rotation-powered pulsars is dominated by the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) component. Assuming spectral properties are similar in 20-100 keV and 2-10 keV for both the pulsar and PWN components, the hard X-ray luminosity and flux of 39 known young X-ray pulsars and 8 millisecond pulsars are obtained, and a correlation of L X ∝ L sd 1.5 is derived. About 20 known young X-ray pulsars and 1 millisecond pulsars could be detected with future INTEGRAL and HXMT surveys. We also carry out Monte Carlo simulations of hard X-ray pulsars in the Galaxy and the Gould Belt, assuming values for the pulsar birth rate, initial position, proper motion velocity, period, and magnetic field distribution and evolution based on observational statistics and the L X - L sd relations: L X ∝ L sd 1.31 and L X ∝ L sd 1.5 . More than 40 young pulsars (mostly in the Galactic plane) could be detected after ten years of INTEGRAL surveys and the launch of HXMT. So, the young pulsars would be a significant part of the hard X-ray source population in the sky, and will contribute to unidentified hard X-ray sources in present and future hard X-ray surveys by INTEGRAL and HXMT.

  11. Unique opportunities in powder injection molding of refractory and hard materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    German, R.M.

    2001-01-01

    Powder injection molding (PIM) is a relatively new manufacturing process for the creation of complicated net-shapes outside the range usually possible via powder metallurgy technologies. This new process is now in production at more than 550 sites around the world. Although a small industry, PIM will soon pass $1 billion dollars (USA) in annual sales. This presentation overviews the PIM process, some of the new developments and some of the successes that have occurred with both refractory metals and hard metals. Example applications are seen in medical and dental devices, industrial components, wristwatches, jet engines, firearms, automotive components, and even hand tools. To help establish the novel growth opportunities, PIM is compared to other fabrication routes to better understand the design features arising with this new approach, providing a compelling case for substantial opportunities in the refractory and hard materials. Illustrations are provided of several components in production. New opportunities abound for the technology, since it eliminates the shape complexity barrier associated with die compaction and the cost of machining associated with complicated or dimensionally precise components. Further, a relative cost advantage exists for refractory and hard materials because PIM can use the same powders at the same prices as employed in alternative processes. Future successes will occur by early identification of candidate materials and designs. Early examples include tungsten heavy alloy components now reaching production rates of six million per month. (author)

  12. Soft and hard natures of Nd2Fe14B permanent magnet explored by first-order-reversal-curves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Po-An; Yang, Chao-Yao; Chang, Shu-Jui; Lee, Min-Han; Tang, Nai-Kuang; Yen, Sheng-Chan; Tseng, Yuan-Chieh

    2014-01-01

    Two commercial Nd 2 Fe 14 B samples, MQP-B and sintered-NdFeB were investigated using synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction and first-order-reversal-curves (FORCs). Despite differing in magnetic and structural properties, the two samples were found to comprise two major ferromagnetic components in FORCs. For the sintered-NdFeB case, the soft component may originate from the intrinsically soft Nd-f site which was coupled with its local Fe atomic environment that differs in magnetic anisotropy from the Nd-g site (intrinsically hard). It may directly originate from the Nd-rich phase or microstructural imperfection, while the former possibility (Nd-f site) appears greater than the latter. While for the MQP-B, the minor second phase resulting from high structural disorder was likely in charge of the presence of the soft component. Sophisticated FORCs analyses revealed the natures of the soft and hard components, soft–hard coupling and switching reversibility of the two cases, irrespective of the origins of their two components. This provides insights to the origin of magnetic stability and reversal dynamics of Nd 2 Fe 14 B that have not been fully understood by conventional magnetic analyses. The coexistence of the two components led to an incoherent reversal undermining the magnetic stability of Nd 2 Fe 14 B. This is a fundamental problem as to why the performance extremity can only be improved finitely through extrinsic tuning. From FORCs simulation we understand that the soft–hard coupling was moderate in a real Nd 2 Fe 14 B compound. A stronger soft–hard coupling is necessary to conquer the anisotropic competition to enable a coherent reversal that will promote the magnetic hardness. - Highlights: • We investigated two commercially available Nd 2 Fe 14 B compounds with FORCs. • The two compounds were found to comprise soft and hard natures. • The coupling between the soft and hard phases is moderate in a real Nd 2 Fe 14 B

  13. Obtention of high hardness multilayer systems by laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mejia T, I.S.

    2007-01-01

    In this thesis work the synthesis of thin films of titanium nitride (TiN), amorphous carbon nitride (CN x ) amorphous carbon (a-C) and Ti/TiN/CNx multilayers and Ti/TiN/a-C by means of the laser ablation technique, with the objective of obtaining films of high hardness is studied, as well as to produce multilayer coatings with superior properties to the individual layers. The effect that has the laser fluence used for ablationing the targets in the structure and mechanical properties of the films deposited of TiN was investigated. It was found that the hardness is increased in lineal way approximately with the fluence increment up to 19 J/cm 2 . Thin films of a-C with hardness of the order of 12 GPa. likewise CN x films with high hardness (18.4 GPa) were obtained. The hardness of the deposited films was analyzed and it was related with its microstructure and deposit conditions. It was concluded that the Ti/TiN/CNx and Ti/TiN/a-C systems presented bigger hardness that of its individual components. (Author)

  14. The underlying event in hard scattering processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Field, R.

    2002-01-01

    The authors study the behavior of the underlying event in hard scattering proton-antiproton collisions at 1.8 TeV and compare with the QCD Monte-Carlo models. The underlying event is everything except the two outgoing hard scattered jets and receives contributions from the beam-beam remnants plus initial and final-state radiation. The data indicate that neither ISAJET or HERWIG produce enough charged particles (with p T > 0.5 GeV/c) from the beam-beam remnant component and that ISAJET produces too many charged particles from initial-state radiation. PYTHIA which uses multiple parton scattering to enhance the underlying event does the best job describing the data

  15. Age effects in emotional prospective memory: cue valence differentially affects the prospective and retrospective component.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnitzspahn, Katharina M; Horn, Sebastian S; Bayen, Ute J; Kliegel, Matthias

    2012-06-01

    While first studies suggested that emotional task material may enhance prospective memory performance in young and older adults, the extent and mechanisms of this effect are under debate. The authors explored possible differential effects of cue valence on the prospective and retrospective component of prospective memory in young and older adults. Forty-five young and 41 older adults performed a prospective memory task in which emotional valence of the prospective memory cue was manipulated (positive, negative, neutral). The multinomial model of event-based prospective memory was used to analyze effects of valence and age on the two prospective memory components separately. Results revealed an interaction indicating that age differences were smaller in both emotional valence conditions. For older adults positive cues improved the prospective component, while negative cues improved the retrospective component. No main effect of valence was found for younger adults on an overt accuracy measure, but model-based analyses showed that the retrospective component was enhanced in the positive compared with the negative cue condition. The study extends the literature in demonstrating that processes underlying emotional effects on prospective memory may differ depending on valence and age. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

  16. Comparative study of carp otolith hardness: lapillus and asteriscus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Dongni; Meyers, Marc André; Zhou, Bo; Feng, Qingling

    2013-05-01

    Otoliths are calcium carbonate biominerals in the inner ear of vertebrates; they play a role in balance, movement, and sound perception. Two types of otoliths in freshwater carp are investigated using nano- and micro-indentation: asteriscus and lapillus. The hardness, modulus, and creep of asteriscus (vaterite crystals) and lapillus (aragonite crystals) are compared. The hardness and modulus of lapillus are higher than those of asteriscus both in nano- and micro-testing, which is attributed to the different crystal polymorphs. Both materials exhibit a certain degree of creep, which indicates some time dependence of the mechanical behavior and is attributed to the organic components. The nano-indentation hardnesses are higher than micro-hardnesses for both otoliths, a direct result of the scale dependence of strength; fewer flaws are encountered by the nano than by the microindenter. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. RTnet -- A Flexible Hard Real-Time Networking Framework

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kiszka, Jan; Wagner, Bernardo; Zhang, Yuchen; Broenink, Johannes F.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, the open source project RTnet is presented. RTnet provides a customisable and extensible framework for hard real-time communication over Ethernet and other transport media. The paper describes architecture, core components, and protocols of RTnet. FireWire is introduced as a powerful

  18. Co-electrodeposition of hard Ni-W/diamond nanocomposite coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xinyu; Qin, Jiaqian; Das, Malay Kumar; Hao, Ruru; Zhong, Hua; Thueploy, Adisak; Limpanart, Sarintorn; Boonyongmaneerat, Yuttanant; Ma, Mingzhen; Liu, Riping

    2016-02-01

    Electroplated hard chrome coating is widely used as a wear resistant coating to prolong the life of mechanical components. However, the electroplating process generates hexavalent chromium ion which is known carcinogen. Hence, there is a major effort throughout the electroplating industry to replace hard chrome coating. Composite coating has been identified as suitable materials for replacement of hard chrome coating, while deposition coating prepared using traditional co-deposition techniques have relatively low particles content, but the content of particles incorporated into a coating may fundamentally affect its properties. In the present work, Ni-W/diamond composite coatings were prepared by sediment co-electrodeposition from Ni-W plating bath, containing suspended diamond particles. This study indicates that higher diamond contents could be successfully co-deposited and uniformly distributed in the Ni-W alloy matrix. The maximum hardness of Ni-W/diamond composite coatings is found to be 2249 ± 23 Hv due to the highest diamond content of 64 wt.%. The hardness could be further enhanced up to 2647 ± 25 Hv with heat treatment at 873 K for 1 h in Ar gas, which is comparable to hard chrome coatings. Moreover, the addition of diamond particles could significantly enhance the wear resistance of the coatings.

  19. Development of strength-hardness relationships in additively manufactured titanium alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keist, Jayme S., E-mail: keist@psu.edu; Palmer, Todd A., E-mail: tap103@psu.edu

    2017-05-02

    A major concern for additively manufactured (AM) Ti-6Al-4V components is how AM processing parameters and post-process heat treatments impact the resulting mechanical behavior. The applicability of using microhardness measurements as a predictive tool for yield and tensile strengths of AM Ti-6Al-4V would provide a rapid and useful screening mechanism for ensuring that properties meet requirements in complex geometries. However, microhardness measurements on Ti-6Al-4V exhibit high levels of data variability due to the orientational impact of the α phase. In order to overcome this variability in hardness measurements, a methodology for aggregating microhardness data in individual builds has been developed and validated. By compiling mean microhardness values from various AM components produced by electron beam based directed energy deposition (DED), laser based DED, and laser based powder bed fusion (PBF) processes in the as-deposited and post-process heat treated conditions, strong linear correlations between strength and hardness can be developed in AM materials having a lamellar α+β microstructure. With the addition of strain hardening and α phase orientation contributions to the mean microhardness measurement, the strength-hardness correlations of AM Ti-6Al-4V followed empirically derived models, opening the possibility of using these models to predict strengths from AM components regardless of the AM process or post-process state.

  20. Hard pair production in large-angle Bhabha scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arbuzov, A.B.; Trentadue, L.

    1996-01-01

    The cross section of hard pair production in large-angle Bhabha scattering calculated in the leading and next-to-leading logarithmic approximations. Eight regions of the collinear kinematics, when the final particles imitate a process of the 2 →2 type, and three semicollinear regions, when the final particles imitate a process of the 2→3 type, are considered. Analytical formulae for differential cross sections are presented. (orig.)

  1. Recent applications of hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiland, Conan; Woicik, Joseph C., E-mail: Joseph.Woicik@NIST.gov [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Rumaiz, Abdul K. [National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973 (United States); Pianetta, Piero [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States)

    2016-05-15

    Recent applications of hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) demonstrate its many capabilities in addition to several of its limitations. Examples are given, including measurement of buried interfaces and materials under in situ or in operando conditions, as well as measurements under x-ray standing-wave and resonant excitation. Physical considerations that differentiate HAXPES from photoemission measurements utilizing soft x-ray and ultraviolet photon sources are also presented.

  2. DETECTION OF VERY HARD γ -RAY SPECTRUM FROM THE TEV BLAZAR MRK 501

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shukla, A.; Chitnis, V. R.; Acharya, B. S. [Department of High Energy Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005 (India); Mannheim, K.; Dorner, D. [Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Universität Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg (Germany); Roy, J. [UM-DAE Center for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai 400098 (India); Hughes, G.; Biland, A. [ETH Zurich, Institute for Particle Physics, Otto-Stern-Weg 5, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2016-12-01

    The occasional hardening of the GeV-to-TeV spectrum observed from the blazar Mrk 501 has reopened the debate on the physical origin of radiation and particle acceleration processes in TeV blazars. We have used the ∼7 years of Fermi -LAT data to search for the time intervals with unusually hard spectra from the nearby TeV blazar Mrk 501. We detected hard spectral components above 10 GeV with photon index <1.5 at a significance level of more than 5 sigma on 17 occasions, each with 30 day integration time. The photon index of the hardest component reached a value of 0.89 ± 0.29. We interpret these hard spectra as signatures of intermittent injection of sharply peaked and localized particle distributions from the base of the jet.

  3. Soft and hard natures of Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B permanent magnet explored by first-order-reversal-curves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Po-An; Yang, Chao-Yao; Chang, Shu-Jui [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC (China); Lee, Min-Han [Undergraduate Honors Program of Nano Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC (China); Tang, Nai-Kuang; Yen, Sheng-Chan [Metal Industries Research and Development Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Tseng, Yuan-Chieh, E-mail: yctseng21@mail.nctu.edu.tw [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC (China)

    2014-12-15

    Two commercial Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B samples, MQP-B and sintered-NdFeB were investigated using synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction and first-order-reversal-curves (FORCs). Despite differing in magnetic and structural properties, the two samples were found to comprise two major ferromagnetic components in FORCs. For the sintered-NdFeB case, the soft component may originate from the intrinsically soft Nd-f site which was coupled with its local Fe atomic environment that differs in magnetic anisotropy from the Nd-g site (intrinsically hard). It may directly originate from the Nd-rich phase or microstructural imperfection, while the former possibility (Nd-f site) appears greater than the latter. While for the MQP-B, the minor second phase resulting from high structural disorder was likely in charge of the presence of the soft component. Sophisticated FORCs analyses revealed the natures of the soft and hard components, soft–hard coupling and switching reversibility of the two cases, irrespective of the origins of their two components. This provides insights to the origin of magnetic stability and reversal dynamics of Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B that have not been fully understood by conventional magnetic analyses. The coexistence of the two components led to an incoherent reversal undermining the magnetic stability of Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B. This is a fundamental problem as to why the performance extremity can only be improved finitely through extrinsic tuning. From FORCs simulation we understand that the soft–hard coupling was moderate in a real Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B compound. A stronger soft–hard coupling is necessary to conquer the anisotropic competition to enable a coherent reversal that will promote the magnetic hardness. - Highlights: • We investigated two commercially available Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B compounds with FORCs. • The two compounds were found to comprise soft and hard natures. • The coupling between the soft and hard phases is moderate in a real Nd

  4. Analytical Expressions for the Hard-Scattering Production of Massive Partons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Cheuk-Yin [ORNL

    2016-01-01

    We obtain explicit expressions for the two-particle differential cross section $E_c E_\\kappa d\\sigma (AB \\to c\\kappa X) /d\\bb c d \\bb \\kappa$ and the two-particle angular correlation function \\break $d\\sigma(AB$$ \\to$$ c\\kappa X)/d\\Delta \\phi \\, d\\Delta y$ in the hard-scattering production of massive partons in order to exhibit the ``ridge" structure on the away side in the hard-scattering process. The single-particle production cross section $d\\sigma(AB \\to cX) /dy_c c_T dc_T $ is also obtained and compared with the ALICE experimental data for charm production in $pp$ collisions at 7 TeV at LHC.

  5. Congenital heart disease: a hard case for differential diagnosis and treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Gonçalves Nordon

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Congenital heart diseases are important malformations that might compromise not only the patient's survival, but also his/her quality of life. We present the case of a female newborn who presented cardiovascular unbalance and cianosis in spite of her previous month of life without any complication. Her differential diagnosis was rather difficult, due not only to restrictions of exams available for diagnosis, but also to their sensibility and specificity. We discuss such differential diagnosis and the complicated development of the case.

  6. Induced supersolidity in a mixture of normal and hard-core bosons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishra, Tapan; Das, B. P.; Pai, Ramesh V.

    2010-01-01

    We present a scenario where a supersolid is induced in one of the components of a mixture of two species bosonic atoms where there are no long-range interactions. We study a system of normal and hard-core boson mixture with only the former possessing long-range interactions. We consider three cases: the first where the total density is commensurate and the other two where it is incommensurate to the lattice. By suitable choices of the densities of normal and hard-core bosons and the interaction strengths between them, we predict that the charge density wave and the supersolid orders can be induced in the hard-core species as a result of the competing interatomic interactions.

  7. Soft versus hard nanoparticles in the delivery of aromatic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Materials and Methods: Previous literature and various scientific search engines were used for the review. Results: A classification of the nanoparticles based on the nature of their components, 'hard'-inorganic and 'soft'-organic, is made and several advantages and disadvantages about their uses are pointed out. Also ...

  8. TRACING THE REVERBERATION LAG IN THE HARD STATE OF BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Marco, B.; Ponti, G.; Nandra, K.; Muñoz-Darias, T.

    2015-01-01

    We report results obtained from a systematic analysis of X-ray lags in a sample of black hole X-ray binaries, with the aim of assessing the presence of reverberation lags and studying their evolution during outburst. We used XMM-Newton and simultaneous Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations to obtain broadband energy coverage of both the disk and the hard X-ray Comptonization components. In most cases the detection of reverberation lags is hampered by low levels of variability-power signal-to-noise ratio (typically when the source is in a soft state) and/or short exposure times. The most detailed study was possible for GX 339-4 in the hard state, which allowed us to characterize the evolution of X-ray lags as a function of luminosity in a single source. Over all the sampled frequencies (∼0.05–9 Hz), we observe the hard lags intrinsic to the power-law component, already well known from previous RXTE studies. The XMM-Newton soft X-ray response allows us to detail the disk variability. At low frequencies (long timescales) the disk component always leads the power-law component. On the other hand, a soft reverberation lag (ascribable to thermal reprocessing) is always detected at high frequencies (short timescales). The intrinsic amplitude of the reverberation lag decreases as the source luminosity and the disk fraction increase. This suggests that the distance between the X-ray source and the region of the optically thick disk where reprocessing occurs gradually decreases as GX 339-4 rises in luminosity through the hard state, possibly as a consequence of reduced disk truncation

  9. Hardness and microstructure analysis of damaged gear caused by adhesive wear

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahendra, Rizky Budi; Nugroho, Sri; Ismail, Rifky

    2018-03-01

    This study was a result from research on repairing project of damaged elevator gear box. The objective of this research is to analyze the failure part on elevator gearbox at flourmill factory. The equipment was damaged after one year installed and running on factory. Severe wear was occurred on high speed helical gear. These helical gear was one of main part of elevator gearbox in flour mill manufacture. Visually, plastic deformation didn't occurred and not visible on the failure helical gear shaft. Some test would be performed to check the chemical composition, microstructure and hardness of failure helical gear. The material of failure helical gear shaft was a medium carbon steel alloy. The microstructure was showed a martensitic phase formed on the surface to the center area of gear shaft. Otherwise, the depth of hardness layer slight formed on surface and lack depth of hardness layer was a main trigger of severe wear. It was not enough to resist wear due to friction caused by rolling and sliding on surface between high speed gear and low speed gear. Enhancement of hardness layer on surface and depth of hardness layer will make the component has more long life time. Furthermore, to perform next research is needed to analyze the reliability of enhanced hardness on layer and depth of hardness layer on helical gear shaft.

  10. Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Functional Endothelial Cells in Scalable Suspension Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Olmer

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Endothelial cells (ECs are involved in a variety of cellular responses. As multifunctional components of vascular structures, endothelial (progenitor cells have been utilized in cellular therapies and are required as an important cellular component of engineered tissue constructs and in vitro disease models. Although primary ECs from different sources are readily isolated and expanded, cell quantity and quality in terms of functionality and karyotype stability is limited. ECs derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs represent an alternative and potentially superior cell source, but traditional culture approaches and 2D differentiation protocols hardly allow for production of large cell numbers. Aiming at the production of ECs, we have developed a robust approach for efficient endothelial differentiation of hiPSCs in scalable suspension culture. The established protocol results in relevant numbers of ECs for regenerative approaches and industrial applications that show in vitro proliferation capacity and a high degree of chromosomal stability. : In this article, U. Martin and colleagues show the generation of hiPSC endothelial cells in scalable cultures in up to 100 mL culture volume. The generated ECs show in vitro proliferation capacity and a high degree of chromosomal stability after in vitro expansion. The established protocol allows to generate hiPSC-derived ECs in relevant numbers for regenerative approaches. Keywords: hiPSC differentiation, endothelial cells, scalable culture

  11. Galactic Black Holes in the Hard State: A Multi-Wavelength View of Accretion and Ejection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalemci; Tomsick, John A.; Migliari; Corbel; Markoff

    2010-01-01

    The canonical hard state is associated with emission from all three fundamental accretion components: the accretion disk, the hot accretion disk corona and the jet. On top of these, the hard state also hosts very rich temporal variability properties (low frequency QPOs in the PDS, time lags, long time scale evolution). Our group has been working on the major questions of the hard state both observationally (with mult i-wavelength campaigns using RXTE, Swift, Suzaku, Spitzer, VLA, ATCA, SMARTS) and theoretically (through jet models that can fit entire SEDs). Through spectral and temporal analysis we seek to determine the geometry of accretion components, and relate the geometry to the formation and emission from a jet. In this presentation I will review the recent contributions of our group to the field, including the Swift results on the disk geometry at low accretion rates, the jet model fits to the hard state SEDs (including Spitzer data) of GRO J1655-40, and the final results on the evolution of spectral (including X-ray, radio and infrared) and temporal properties of elected black holes in the hard states. I will also talk about impact of ASTROSAT to the science objective of our group.

  12. Nanostructural Evolution of Hard Turning Layers in Carburized Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedekar, Vikram

    The mechanisms of failure for components subjected to contact fatigue are sensitive to the structure and properties of the material surface. Although, the bulk material properties are determined by the steel making, forming and the heat treatment; the near surface material properties are altered during final material removal processes such as hard turning or grinding. Therefore, the ability to optimize, modulate and predict the near surface properties during final metal removal operations would be extremely useful in the enhancement of service life of a component. Hard machining is known to induce severely deformed layers causing dramatic microstructural transformations. These transformations occur via grain refinement or thermal phenomena depending upon cutting conditions. The aim of this work is to engineer the near surface nanoscale structure and properties during hard turning by altering strain, strain rate, temperature and incoming microstructure. The near surface material transformations due to hard turning were studied on carburized SAE 8620 bearing steel. Variations in parent material microstructures were introduced by altering the retained austenite content. The strain, strain rate and temperature achieved during final metal cutting were altered by varying insert geometry, insert wear and cutting speed. The subsurface evolution was quantified by a series of advanced characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD), X-ray stress evaluation and nanoindentation which were coupled with numerical modeling. Results showed that the grain size of the nanocrystalline near surface microstructure can be effectively controlled by altering the insert geometry, insert wear, cutting speed and the incoming microstructure. It was also evident that the near surface retained austenite decreased at lower cutting speed indicating transformation due to plastic deformation, while it increased at higher cutting

  13. The NuSTAR view on Hard-TeV BL Lacs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costamante, L.; Bonnoli, G.; Tavecchio, F.; Ghisellini, G.; Tagliaferri, G.; Khangulyan, D.

    2018-05-01

    Hard-TeV BL Lacs are a new type of blazars characterized by a hard intrinsic TeV spectrum, locating the peak of their gamma-ray emission in the spectral energy distribution (SED) above 2-10 TeV. Such high energies are problematic for the Compton emission, using a standard one-zone leptonic model. We study six examples of this new type of BL Lacs in the hard X-ray band with NuSTAR. Together with simultaneous observations with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, we fully constrain the peak of the synchrotron emission in their SED, and test the leptonic synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model. We confirm the extreme nature of 5 objects also in the synchrotron emission. We do not find evidence of additional emission components in the hard X-ray band. We find that a one-zone SSC model can in principle reproduce the extreme properties of both peaks in the SED, from X-ray up to TeV energies, but at the cost of i) extreme electron energies with very low radiative efficiency, ii) conditions heavily out of equipartition (by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude), and iii) not accounting for the simultaneous UV data, which then should belong to a different emission component, possibly the same as the far-IR (WISE) data. We find evidence of this separation of the UV and X-ray emission in at least two objects. In any case, the TeV electrons must not "see" the UV or lower-energy photons, even if coming from different zones/populations, or the increased radiative cooling would steepen the VHE spectrum.

  14. Bond-orientational analysis of hard-disk and hard-sphere structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senthil Kumar, V; Kumaran, V

    2006-05-28

    We report the bond-orientational analysis results for the thermodynamic, random, and homogeneously sheared inelastic structures of hard-disks and hard-spheres. The thermodynamic structures show a sharp rise in the order across the freezing transition. The random structures show the absence of crystallization. The homogeneously sheared structures get ordered at a packing fraction higher than the thermodynamic freezing packing fraction, due to the suppression of crystal nucleation. On shear ordering, strings of close-packed hard-disks in two dimensions and close-packed layers of hard-spheres in three dimensions, oriented along the velocity direction, slide past each other. Such a flow creates a considerable amount of fourfold order in two dimensions and body-centered-tetragonal (bct) structure in three dimensions. These transitions are the flow analogs of the martensitic transformations occurring in metals due to the stresses induced by a rapid quench. In hard-disk structures, using the bond-orientational analysis we show the presence of fourfold order. In sheared inelastic hard-sphere structures, even though the global bond-orientational analysis shows that the system is highly ordered, a third-order rotational invariant analysis shows that only about 40% of the spheres have face-centered-cubic (fcc) order, even in the dense and near-elastic limits, clearly indicating the coexistence of multiple crystalline orders. When layers of close-packed spheres slide past each other, in addition to the bct structure, the hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) structure is formed due to the random stacking faults. Using the Honeycutt-Andersen pair analysis and an analysis based on the 14-faceted polyhedra having six quadrilateral and eight hexagonal faces, we show the presence of bct and hcp signatures in shear ordered inelastic hard-spheres. Thus, our analysis shows that the dense sheared inelastic hard-spheres have a mixture of fcc, bct, and hcp structures.

  15. Diffusion equations and hard collisions in multiple scattering of charged particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papiez, Lech; Tulovsky, Vladimir

    1998-01-01

    The processes of angular-spatial evolution of multiple scattering of charged particles are described by the Lewis (special case of Boltzmann) integro-differential equation. The underlying stochastic process for this evolution is the compound Poisson process with transition densities satisfying the Lewis equation. In this paper we derive the Lewis equation from the compound Poisson process and show that the effective method of the solution of this equation can be based on the idea of decomposition of the compound Poisson process into processes of soft and hard collisions. Formulas for transition densities of soft and hard collision processes are provided in this paper together with the formula expressing the general solution of the Lewis equation in terms of those transition densities

  16. Diffusion equations and hard collisions in multiple scattering of charged particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papiez, Lech [Department of Radiation Oncology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN (United States); Tulovsky, Vladimir [Department of Mathematics, St. John' s College, Staten Island, New York, NY (United States)

    1998-09-01

    The processes of angular-spatial evolution of multiple scattering of charged particles are described by the Lewis (special case of Boltzmann) integro-differential equation. The underlying stochastic process for this evolution is the compound Poisson process with transition densities satisfying the Lewis equation. In this paper we derive the Lewis equation from the compound Poisson process and show that the effective method of the solution of this equation can be based on the idea of decomposition of the compound Poisson process into processes of soft and hard collisions. Formulas for transition densities of soft and hard collision processes are provided in this paper together with the formula expressing the general solution of the Lewis equation in terms of those transition densities.

  17. The hardness test: a real mechanical test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rezakhanlou, R.

    1993-02-01

    During the service life, the mechanical properties of the PWR components change. It is necessary to determine precisely this evolution, but it is not always possible to draw a sample with the adequate size for the characterization. For this latter case we intend to calculate the stress-strain curve of a material from a hardness test results, because it is appropriate for testing on site and do not need any particular sample shape. This paper is the first bibliographical part of a larger study on the relation between the values measured during a hardness test (applied load, indentation diameter) and the mechanical properties of a solid obtained by a traction test. We have treated the problem within the general setting of two solids in contact. Thus, we expose general elastic, elasto-plastic and plastic models describing the indentation of a solid by a rigid indenter

  18. Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-03-01

    Research results of hard photon technology have been summarized as a part of novel technology development highly utilizing the quantum nature of photon. Hard photon technology refers to photon beam technologies which use photon in the 0.1 to 200 nm wavelength region. Hard photon has not been used in industry due to the lack of suitable photon sources and optical devices. However, hard photon in this wavelength region is expected to bring about innovations in such areas as ultrafine processing and material synthesis due to its atom selective reaction, inner shell excitation reaction, and spatially high resolution. Then, technological themes and possibility have been surveyed. Although there are principle proposes and their verification of individual technologies for the technologies of hard photon generation, regulation and utilization, they are still far from the practical applications. For the photon source technology, the laser diode pumped driver laser technology, laser plasma photon source technology, synchrotron radiation photon source technology, and vacuum ultraviolet photon source technology are presented. For the optical device technology, the multi-layer film technology for beam mirrors and the non-spherical lens processing technology are introduced. Also are described the reduction lithography technology, hard photon excitation process, and methods of analysis and measurement. 430 refs., 165 figs., 23 tabs.

  19. Hard and soft processes in small p/sub T/ inclusive reactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kanki, T [Osaka Univ., Toyonaka (Japan). Coll. of General Education; Okamoto, Y; Ryang, S

    1977-12-01

    Small p/sub T/ inclusive single-hadron spectra in high-energy hadron-hadron collisions are discussed in view of the two-component structure; each component corresponds to the contribution from the incoherent hard process or the coherent soft process among the partons. The clustered parton model, where each constituent quark is considered a cluster of the partons, gives the theoretical basis and certain regularities for both components. The various experimental spectra are shown to be well described by the two-component formula with these regularities. It is also argued that the CIM approach to small p sub(T) shows some disagreement with the data.

  20. Resolving the hard X-ray emission of GX 5-1 with INTEGRAL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paizis, A.; Ebisawa, K.; Tikkanen, T.

    2005-01-01

    We present the study of one year of INTEGRAL data on the neutron star low mass X-ray binary GX 5-1. Thanks to the excellent angular resolution and sensitivity of INTEGRAL, we are able to obtain a high quality spectrum of GX 5-1 from similar to 5keV to similar to 100 keV, for the first time without...... contamination from the nearby black hole candidate GRS 1758-258 above 20 keV. During our observations, GX 5-1 was mostly found in the horizontal and normal branch of its hardness intensity diagram. A clear hard X-ray emission is observed above similar to 30 keV which exceeds the exponential cut-off spectrum...... expected from lower energies. This spectral flattening may have the same origin of the hard components observed in other Z sources as it shares the property of being characteristic to the horizontal branch. The hard excess is explained by introducing Compton up-scattering of soft photons from the neutron...

  1. Comprehensive hard materials

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    Comprehensive Hard Materials deals with the production, uses and properties of the carbides, nitrides and borides of these metals and those of titanium, as well as tools of ceramics, the superhard boron nitrides and diamond and related compounds. Articles include the technologies of powder production (including their precursor materials), milling, granulation, cold and hot compaction, sintering, hot isostatic pressing, hot-pressing, injection moulding, as well as on the coating technologies for refractory metals, hard metals and hard materials. The characterization, testing, quality assurance and applications are also covered. Comprehensive Hard Materials provides meaningful insights on materials at the leading edge of technology. It aids continued research and development of these materials and as such it is a critical information resource to academics and industry professionals facing the technological challenges of the future. Hard materials operate at the leading edge of technology, and continued res...

  2. Genome-wide Association Analysis of Kernel Weight in Hard Winter Wheat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheat kernel weight is an important and heritable component of wheat grain yield and a key predictor of flour extraction. Genome-wide association analysis was conducted to identify genomic regions associated with kernel weight and kernel weight environmental response in 8 trials of 299 hard winter ...

  3. `Hard science': a career option for socially and societally interested students? Grade 12 students' vocational interest gap explored

    Science.gov (United States)

    Struyf, Annemie; Boeve-de Pauw, Jelle; Van Petegem, Peter

    2017-11-01

    A key theme in science education research concerns the decline in young peoples' interest in science and the need for professionals in hard science. Goal Congruity Theory posits that an important aspect of the decision whether to pursue hard science for study or as a career is the perception that hard science careers do not fulfil social (working with people) and societal (serving or helping others) interests. In this qualitative study, we explore grade 12 students' perceptions about the social and societal orientation of hard science careers. Furthermore, we investigate the variation in students' social and societal interests. Six focus groups were conducted with 58 grade 12 students in Flanders. Our results indicate that a number of students hold stereotypical views about hard science careers' social orientation, while others believe cooperation with others is an important aspect of hard science careers nowadays. Furthermore, our results show that students believe hard science careers can be societally oriented in the sense that they often associate them with innovation or societal progress. Finally, our results indicate that students may differentiate direct versus indirect societal orientation. These findings contribute to literature regarding social and societal interests and students' perceptions of hard science careers.

  4. Multiple sine wave excitation of a hard spring oscillator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curreri, J.R.; Bezler, P.

    1976-06-01

    The vibration testing of non-linear systems has not received much attention in the literature. Frequently, linear procedures are used in the hope that large differences between the linear and non-linear responses will not occur. This may be valid for certain small ranges of the non-linearity and for a single harmonic component excitation. However, for multi-component periodic inputs, there is very little guidance in the literature for even a qualitative evaluation of the probable response. With multi-component periodic inputs, it has been shown that sub-combination frequencies can occur in cubic non-linear systems. Under these conditions, large responses can develop. The critical nature of the development of the large response has not been discussed. This is the subject of this paper. The qualitative response of a two component sine wave applied to a hard spring oscillator is shown

  5. A HARD X-RAY POWER-LAW SPECTRAL CUTOFF IN CENTAURUS X-4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chakrabarty, Deepto; Nowak, Michael A. [MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Tomsick, John A.; Boggs, Steven E.; Craig, William W. [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Grefenstette, Brian W.; Fürst, Felix; Harrison, Fiona A.; Rana, Vikram [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Psaltis, Dimitrios [Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Bachetti, Matteo; Barret, Didier [Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, F-31400 Toulouse (France); Christensen, Finn E. [Division of Astrophysics, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby (Denmark); Hailey, Charles J. [Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Kaspi, Victoria M. [Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, PQ H3A 2T8 (Canada); Miller, Jon M. [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Stern, Daniel [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Wik, Daniel R.; Zhang, William W. [Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Wilms, Jörn, E-mail: deepto@mit.edu [Dr. Karl-Remeis-Sternwarte and Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, D-96049 Bamberg (Germany)

    2014-12-20

    The low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) Cen X-4 is the brightest and closest (<1.2 kpc) quiescent neutron star transient. Previous 0.5-10 keV X-ray observations of Cen X-4 in quiescence identified two spectral components: soft thermal emission from the neutron star atmosphere and a hard power-law tail of unknown origin. We report here on a simultaneous observation of Cen X-4 with NuSTAR (3-79 keV) and XMM-Newton (0.3-10 keV) in 2013 January, providing the first sensitive hard X-ray spectrum of a quiescent neutron star transient. The 0.3-79 keV luminosity was 1.1×10{sup 33} D{sub kpc}{sup 2} erg s{sup –1}, with ≅60% in the thermal component. We clearly detect a cutoff of the hard spectral tail above 10 keV, the first time such a feature has been detected in this source class. We show that thermal Comptonization and synchrotron shock origins for the hard X-ray emission are ruled out on physical grounds. However, the hard X-ray spectrum is well fit by a thermal bremsstrahlung model with kT{sub e} = 18 keV, which can be understood as arising either in a hot layer above the neutron star atmosphere or in a radiatively inefficient accretion flow. The power-law cutoff energy may be set by the degree of Compton cooling of the bremsstrahlung electrons by thermal seed photons from the neutron star surface. Lower thermal luminosities should lead to higher (possibly undetectable) cutoff energies. We compare Cen X-4's behavior with PSR J1023+0038, IGR J18245–2452, and XSS J12270–4859, which have shown transitions between LMXB and radio pulsar modes at a similar X-ray luminosity.

  6. Too hard to swallow: a secret secondary defence of an aposematic insect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lu-Yi; Huang, Wen-San; Tang, Hsin-Chieh; Huang, Lung-Chun; Lin, Chung-Ping

    2018-01-25

    Anti-predator strategies are significant components of adaptation in prey species. Aposematic prey are expected to possess effective defences that have evolved simultaneously with their warning colours. This study tested the hypothesis of the defensive function and ecological significance of the hard body in aposematic Pachyrhynchus weevils pioneered by Alfred Russel Wallace nearly 150 years ago. We used predation trials with Japalura tree lizards to assess the survivorship of 'hard' (mature) versus 'soft' (teneral) and 'clawed' (intact) versus 'clawless' (surgically removed) weevils. The ecological significance of the weevil's hard body was evaluated by assessing the hardness of the weevils, the local prey insects, and the bite forces of the lizard populations. The existence of toxins or deterrents in the weevil was examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). All 'hard' weevils were instantly spat out after being bitten once and survived attacks by the lizards. In contrast, the 'soft' weevils were chewed and subsequently swallowed. The results were the same regardless of the presence or absence of the weevil's tarsal claws. The hardness of 'hard' Pachyrhynchus weevils was significantly higher than the average hardness of other prey insects in the same habitat and the mean bite forces of the local lizards. The four candidate compounds of the weevil identified by GC-MS had no known toxic or repellent functions against vertebrates. These results reveal that the hardness of aposematic prey functions as an effective secondary defence, and they provide a framework for understanding the spatio-temporal interactions between vertebrate predators and aposematic insect prey. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  7. Advances in discrete differential geometry

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    This is one of the first books on a newly emerging field of discrete differential geometry and an excellent way to access this exciting area. It surveys the fascinating connections between discrete models in differential geometry and complex analysis, integrable systems and applications in computer graphics. The authors take a closer look at discrete models in differential geometry and dynamical systems. Their curves are polygonal, surfaces are made from triangles and quadrilaterals, and time is discrete. Nevertheless, the difference between the corresponding smooth curves, surfaces and classical dynamical systems with continuous time can hardly be seen. This is the paradigm of structure-preserving discretizations. Current advances in this field are stimulated to a large extent by its relevance for computer graphics and mathematical physics. This book is written by specialists working together on a common research project. It is about differential geometry and dynamical systems, smooth and discrete theories, ...

  8. Remember Hard but Think Softly: Metaphorical Effects of Hardness/Softness on Cognitive Functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiushu Xie

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have found that bodily stimulation, such as hardness, biases social judgment and evaluation via metaphorical association; however, it remains unclear whether bodily stimulation also affects cognitive functions, such as memory and creativity. The current study used metaphorical associations between hard and rigid and between soft and flexible in Chinese, to investigate whether the experience of hardness affected cognitive functions requiring either rigidity (memory or flexibility (creativity. In Experiment 1, we found that Chinese-speaking participants performed better at recalling previously memorized words while sitting on a hard-surface stool (the hard condition than a cushioned one (the soft condition. In Experiment 2, participants sitting on a cushioned stool outperformed those sitting on a hard-surface stool on a Chinese riddle task, which required creative/flexible thinking, but not on an analogical reasoning task, which required both rigid and flexible thinking. The results suggest the hardness experience affects cognitive functions that are metaphorically associated with rigidity and flexibility. They support the embodiment proposition that cognitive functions and representations could be grounded via metaphorical association in bodily states.

  9. Study of runaway electrons using dosimetry of hard x-ray radiations in Damavand tokamak

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rasouli, C.; Pourshahab, B.; Rasouli, H. [Plasma Physics and Nuclear Fusion Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, AEOI, PO Box 14155-1339, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hosseini Pooya, S. M.; Orouji, T. [Radiation Application Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, AEOI, PO Box 14155-1339, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    In this work several studies have been conducted on hard x-ray emissions of Damavand tokamak based on radiation dosimetry using the Thermoluminescence method. The goal was to understand interactions of runaway electrons with plasma particles, vessel wall, and plasma facing components. Total of 354 GR-200 (LiF:Mg,Cu,P) thermoluminescence dosimeter (TLD) crystals have been placed on 118 points – three TLDs per point – to map hard x-ray radiation doses on the exterior of the vacuum vessel. Results show two distinctive levels of x-ray radiations doses on the exterior of the vessel. The low-dose area on which measured dose is about 0.5 mSv/shot. In the low-dose area there is no particular component inside the vessel. On the contrary, on high-dose area of the vessel, x-ray radiations dose exceeds 30 mSv/shot. The high-dose area coincides with the position of limiters, magnetic probe ducts, and vacuum vessel intersections. Among the high-dose areas, the highest level of dose is measured in the position of the limiter, which could be due to its direct contact with the plasma column and with runaway electrons. Direct collisions of runaway electrons with the vessel wall and plasma facing components make a major contribution for production of hard x-ray photons in Damavand tokamak.

  10. Transcriptome response to copper heavy metal stress in hard-shelled mussel (Mytilus coruscus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meiying Xu

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The hard-shelled mussel (Mytilus coruscus has considerably one of the most economically important marine shellfish worldwide and considered as a good invertebrate model for ecotoxicity study for a long time. In the present study, we used Illumina sequencing technology (HiSeq2000 to sequence, assemble and annotate the transcriptome of the hard-shelled mussel which challenged with copper pollution. A total of 21,723,913 paired-end clean reads (NCBI SRA database SRX1411195 were generated from HiSeq2000 sequencer and 96,403 contigs (with N50 = 1118 bp were obtained after de novo assembling with Trinity software. Digital gene expression analysis reveals 1156 unigenes are upregulated and 1681 unigenes are downregulated when challenged with copper. By KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, we found that unigenes in four KEGG pathways (aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, apoptosis, DNA replication and mismatch repair show significant differential expressed between control and copper treated groups. We hope that the gill transcriptome in copper treated hard-shelled mussel can give useful information to understand how mussel handles with heavy metal stress at molecular level. Keywords: Hard-shelled mussel, Heavy metal, Transcriptome, Ecotoxicity

  11. Synergy of modeling processes in the area of soft and hard modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sika Robert

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available High complexity of production processes results in more frequent use of computer systems for their modeling and simulation. Process modeling helps to find optimal solution, verify some assumptions before implementation and eliminate errors. In practice, modeling of production processes concerns two areas: hard modeling (based on differential equations of mathematical physics and soft (based on existing data. In the paper the possibility of synergistic connection of these two approaches was indicated: it means hard modeling support based on the tools used in soft modeling. It aims at significant reducing the time in order to obtain final results with the use of hard modeling. Some test were carried out in the Calibrate module of NovaFlow&Solid (NF&S simulation system in the frame of thermal analysis (ATAS-cup. The authors tested output values forecasting in NF&S system (solidification time on the basis of variable parameters of the thermal model (heat conduction, specific heat, density. Collected data was used as an input to prepare soft model with the use of MLP (Multi-Layer Perceptron neural network regression model. The approach described above enable to reduce the time of production process modeling with use of hard modeling and should encourage production companies to use it.

  12. Rock mechanics for hard rock nuclear waste repositories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heuze, F.E.

    1981-09-01

    The mined geologic burial of high level nuclear waste is now the favored option for disposal. The US National Waste Terminal Storage Program designed to achieve this disposal includes an extensive rock mechanics component related to the design of the wastes repositories. The plan currently considers five candidate rock types. This paper deals with the three hard rocks among them: basalt, granite, and tuff. Their behavior is governed by geological discontinuities. Salt and shale, which exhibit behavior closer to that of a continuum, are not considered here. This paper discusses both the generic rock mechanics R and D, which are required for repository design, as well as examples of projects related to hard rock waste storage. The examples include programs in basalt (Hanford/Washington), in granitic rocks (Climax/Nevada Test Site, Idaho Springs/Colorado, Pinawa/Canada, Oracle/Arizona, and Stripa/Sweden), and in tuff

  13. Parenting Styles of Mothers with Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Children and Hearing Siblings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonopoulou, Katerina; Hadjikakou, Kika; Stampoltzis, Aglaia; Nicolaou, Nicoletta

    2012-01-01

    The present study aims to determine whether rearing a deaf or hard-of-hearing (d/hh) child would differentiate the parenting and disciplinary preference of parents between the d/hh and the hearing child. The parenting styles of 30 hearing mothers from Cyprus were assessed using the Greek version of the Parenting Styles & Dimensions…

  14. Differential equations extended to superspace

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torres, J.; Rosu, H.C.

    2003-01-01

    We present a simple SUSY Ns = 2 superspace extension of the differential equations in which the sought solutions are considered to be real superfields but maintaining the common derivative operators and the coefficients of the differential equations unaltered. In this way, we get self consistent systems of coupled differential equations for the components of the superfield. This procedure is applied to the Riccati equation, for which we obtain in addition the system of coupled equations corresponding to the components of the general superfield solution. (Author)

  15. Differential equations extended to superspace

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Torres, J. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad de Guanajuato, A.P. E-143, Leon, Guanajuato (Mexico); Rosu, H.C. [Instituto Potosino de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica, A.P. 3-74, Tangamanga, San Luis Potosi (Mexico)

    2003-07-01

    We present a simple SUSY Ns = 2 superspace extension of the differential equations in which the sought solutions are considered to be real superfields but maintaining the common derivative operators and the coefficients of the differential equations unaltered. In this way, we get self consistent systems of coupled differential equations for the components of the superfield. This procedure is applied to the Riccati equation, for which we obtain in addition the system of coupled equations corresponding to the components of the general superfield solution. (Author)

  16. Hard copies for digital medical images: an overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blume, Hartwig R.; Muka, Edward

    1995-04-01

    This paper is a condensed version of an invited overview on the technology of film hard-copies used in radiology. Because the overview was given to an essentially nonmedical audience, the reliance on film hard-copies in radiology is outlined in greater detail. The overview is concerned with laser image recorders generating monochrome prints on silver-halide films. The basic components of laser image recorders are sketched. The paper concentrates on the physical parameters - characteristic function, dynamic range, digitization resolution, modulation transfer function, and noise power spectrum - which define image quality and information transfer capability of the printed image. A preliminary approach is presented to compare the printed image quality with noise in the acquired image as well as with the noise of state-of- the-art cathode-ray-tube display systems. High-performance laser-image- recorder/silver-halide-film/light-box systems are well capable of reproducing acquired radiologic information. Most recently development was begun toward a display function standard for soft-copy display systems to facilitate similarity of image presentation between different soft-copy displays as well as between soft- and hard-copy displays. The standard display function is based on perceptional linearization. The standard is briefly reviewed to encourage the printer industry to adopt it, too.

  17. Hard coal; Steinkohle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loo, Kai van de; Sitte, Andreas-Peter [Gesamtverband Steinkohle e.V., Herne (Germany)

    2013-04-01

    The year 2012 benefited from a growth of the consumption of hard coal at the national level as well as at the international level. Worldwide, the hard coal still is the number one energy source for power generation. This leads to an increasing demand for power plant coal. In this year, the conversion of hard coal into electricity also increases in this year. In contrast to this, the demand for coking coal as well as for coke of the steel industry is still declining depending on the market conditions. The enhanced utilization of coal for the domestic power generation is due to the reduction of the nuclear power from a relatively bad year for wind power as well as reduced import prices and low CO{sub 2} prices. Both justify a significant price advantage for coal in comparison to the utilisation of natural gas in power plants. This was mainly due to the price erosion of the inexpensive US coal which partly was replaced by the expansion of shale gas on the domestic market. As a result of this, the inexpensive US coal looked for an outlet for sales in Europe. The domestic hard coal has continued the process of adaptation and phase-out as scheduled. Two further hard coal mines were decommissioned in the year 2012. RAG Aktiengesellschaft (Herne, Federal Republic of Germany) running the hard coal mining in this country begins with the preparations for the activities after the time of mining.

  18. 30 CFR 75.1720-1 - Distinctively colored hard hats, or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Distinctively colored hard hats, or hard caps... STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Miscellaneous § 75.1720-1 Distinctively colored hard hats, or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced miners. Hard hats or hard caps distinctively different in color...

  19. The Gray Area: Ethics in Providing Clinical Services to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthmann, Debra S.

    Information on issues related to professional competence, moral and legal standards, the use of professional codes of ethics and guidelines, a decision-making model, the power differential, and appropriate uses of supervision and peer support are provided for professionals who work with deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Most human services…

  20. 30 CFR 77.1710-1 - Distinctively colored hard hats or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Distinctively colored hard hats or hard caps... Distinctively colored hard hats or hard caps; identification for newly employed, inexperienced miners. Hard hats or hard caps distinctively different in color from those worn by experienced miners shall be worn at...

  1. Modelling human hard palate shape with Bézier curves.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rick Janssen

    Full Text Available People vary at most levels, from the molecular to the cognitive, and the shape of the hard palate (the bony roof of the mouth is no exception. The patterns of variation in the hard palate are important for the forensic sciences and (palaeoanthropology, and might also play a role in speech production, both in pathological cases and normal variation. Here we describe a method based on Bézier curves, whose main aim is to generate possible shapes of the hard palate in humans for use in computer simulations of speech production and language evolution. Moreover, our method can also capture existing patterns of variation using few and easy-to-interpret parameters, and fits actual data obtained from MRI traces very well with as little as two or three free parameters. When compared to the widely-used Principal Component Analysis (PCA, our method fits actual data slightly worse for the same number of degrees of freedom. However, it is much better at generating new shapes without requiring a calibration sample, its parameters have clearer interpretations, and their ranges are grounded in geometrical considerations.

  2. Thermomechanical Properties of Sb2O3-TeO2-V2O5 Glassy Systems: Thermal Stability, Glass Forming Tendency and Vickers Hardness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souri, Dariush; Torkashvand, Ziba

    2017-04-01

    Three-component 40TeO2-(60- x)V2O5- xSb2O3 glasses with 0 ≤ x ≤ 10 (in mol.%) were obtained by the rapid melt-quenching method. These glasses were studied with respect to some mechanical properties with the goal of obtaining information about their structure. The Vickers hardness test was employed to obtain Vickers micro-hardness ( H V) at two different loads, which was within the range of 13.187-17.557 GPa for a typical 0.1 HV (0.9807 N) load. In addition, theoretical micro-hardness ( H) was investigated and compared with experimental H V, showing the elevating trend with increase of Sb2O3 content, as for H V. Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was employed within the range of 150-500°C at heating rates of φ = 3 K/min, 6 K/min, 9 K/min, 10 K/min, and 13 K/min. In this work, thermal stability ( T s = T cr - T x) and glass forming tendency ( K gl) were measured and reported for these glasses to determine the relationship between the chemical composition and the thermal stability, in order to interpret the structure of glass. Generally, from the ascertained outputs [analysis of mechanical data, titration study, the values of reduced fraction of vanadium ions ( C V) and oxygen molar volume ( V_{{O}}^{*} )], it was found that the micro-hardness had an increasing trend with increasing the Sb2O3 content. Among the studied glasses, the sample with x = 8 had a higher average micro-hardness value, the highest average thermal stability and glass forming tendency with respect to the other samples, which makes it a useful material (owning very good resistance against thermal attacks) for device manufacturing.

  3. The radial hardness-profile and the microstructure of railroad car axle materials treated by surface rolling, determined by novel examination methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berecz, Tibor; Balogh, Levente; Mészáros, István; Steinbach, Ágoston

    2014-01-01

    Surface rolling is a cold-working technique used for hardening the surface of steel and ductile cast iron components. This process increases the surface hardness and improves the fatigue properties of components, so it is commonly used to treat railroad car wheel axles. The present paper examines the influence of this surface strengthening technique on the microstructure of the railroad car wheel axle material by hardness tests, optical microscopy (OM), and other novel examination methods, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray line profile analysis (XLPA), non-destructive magnetic evaluation (NDE) and automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The results show that surface rolling causes an increase in hardness down to a depth of ∼10 mm. It is also shown, that the increase in hardness is not due to grain refinement or change in grain morphology; thus it is likely to be caused by an increase in dislocation density

  4. The radial hardness-profile and the microstructure of railroad car axle materials treated by surface rolling, determined by novel examination methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berecz, Tibor, E-mail: berecz@eik.bme.hu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Bertalan Lajos utca 7 (Hungary); Balogh, Levente, E-mail: levente@metal.elte.hu [Department of Materials Physics, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/a (Hungary); Mészáros, István, E-mail: meszaros@eik.bme.hu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Bertalan Lajos utca 7 (Hungary); Steinbach, Ágoston, E-mail: sa984@hszk.bme.hu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Bertalan Lajos utca 7 (Hungary)

    2014-01-13

    Surface rolling is a cold-working technique used for hardening the surface of steel and ductile cast iron components. This process increases the surface hardness and improves the fatigue properties of components, so it is commonly used to treat railroad car wheel axles. The present paper examines the influence of this surface strengthening technique on the microstructure of the railroad car wheel axle material by hardness tests, optical microscopy (OM), and other novel examination methods, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray line profile analysis (XLPA), non-destructive magnetic evaluation (NDE) and automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The results show that surface rolling causes an increase in hardness down to a depth of ∼10 mm. It is also shown, that the increase in hardness is not due to grain refinement or change in grain morphology; thus it is likely to be caused by an increase in dislocation density.

  5. THE STUDY OF STRUCTURE AND HARDNESS OF STEEL-MOLIBDENUMAL COVERING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BOLSHAKOV V. I.

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The new methods of surface hardening and creation of special materials are appealed for problem solving of the increasing of exploitation characteristic of materials. Among them a special place is gas-thermal coating. They are used in the different branches of machine-building for protection of the surface of details and machine assemblies from abrasion wearout. In addition, these parts and components during operation can be restored by repeatedly re-coating, that significantly reduces the cost of repair of equipment, reduces the consumption of materials to manufacture new details. Purpose of the work is to establish the influence of the gas-thermal spraying on the hardness of surface coating and to determine the connection between microhardness and structural state. The results. The value of measurements of the microhardness of molybdenum and steel in the surface layer are consistent with character of structural components. The major characteristic of the deposited layer, determining the success work of the coating is its relationship with the substrate surface. Rapid crystallization under the pressure help to create of fine-grained structure. Scientific novelty. The mechanism of formation of the coating by sequentially packaging of greatly deformed particles and the formation of the layered structure are shown. High hardness of the particles of molybdenum of sprayed layer is stipulated by several factors: the ultrafine grain, hardening particles and change of their chemical composition, being created the conditions for senescence hardening. The hardness of steel parts is determined by micro dispersive carbides and hardening of austenite.

  6. Carbon 1s photoelectron spectroscopy of halomethanes. Effects of electronegativity, hardness, charge distribution, and relaxation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saethre, L.J.; Borve, K.J.; Thomas, T.D.; Bozek, J.D.; Huttula, M.; Kukk, E.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: The concept of electronegativity - the ability of an atom (or functional group) to attract electrons to itself - plays an important role in chemistry. A related concept is the hardness, which has been defined to be half the derivative of electronegativity with respect to charge. It is inversely related to polarizibility. A number of quantitative definitions of electronegativity have been given and a number of tables of electronegativity and hardness have been presented. In spite of this extensive activity the quantitative nature of both of these remains elusive. Inner-shell ionization energies reflect both the charge distribution in a molecule (and, hence, the electronegativity of its component atoms) and the polarizibility of the molecule (and, hence, the hardness of the component atoms). It is not surprising, therefore, that the core-ionization energies of a central atom correlate with the electronegativities of the substituents attached to the atom. It has been our goal to use these correlations to obtain a better insight into the nature of electronegativity and to develop a method for assigning group electronegativities on the basis of core-ionization energies. Carbon 1s ionization energies have been measured for 12 halomethanes. These together with earlier measurements provide 27 compounds for investigating the relationship between core-ionization energies and the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens. The ionization energies correlate nearly linearly with the sum of the electronegativities of the halogens attached to the central carbon. Both electronegativity and hardness play important roles in determining the ionization energy, and it is found that the linear relationship between ionization energy and electronegativity arises from an interplay of the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens and the length and ionicity of the carbon-halogen bond

  7. High gamma-rays irradiation tests of critical components for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in-vessel remote handling system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Oka, Kiyoshi

    1999-02-01

    In ITER, the in-vessel remote handling is inevitably required to assemble and maintain the activated in-vessel components due to deuterium and tritium operation. Since the in-vessel remote handling system has to be operated under the intense of gamma ray irradiation, the components of the remote handling system are required to have radiation hardness so as to allow maintenance operation for a sufficient length of time under the ITER in-vessel environments. For this, the Japan, European and Russian Home Teams have extensively conducted gamma ray irradiation tests and quality improvements including optimization of material composition through ITER R and D program in order to develop radiation hard components which satisfy the doses from 10 MGy to 100 MGy at a dose rate of 1 x 10 6 R/h (ITER R and D Task: T252). This report describes the latest status of radiation hard component development which has been conducted by the Japan Home Team in the ITER R and D program. The number of remote handling components tested is about seventy and these are categorized into robotics (Subtask 1), viewing system (Subtask 2) and common components (Subtask 3). The irradiation tests, including commercial base products for screening, modified products and newly developed products to improve the radiation hardness, were carried out using the gamma ray irradiation cells in Takasaki Establishment, JAERI. As a result, the development of the radiation hard components which can be tolerable for high temperature and gamma radiation has been well progressed, and many components, such as AC servo motor with ceramics insulated wire, optical periscope and CCD camera, have been newly developed. (author)

  8. High gamma-rays irradiation tests of critical components for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in-vessel remote handling system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Oka, Kiyoshi [Department of Fusion Engineering Research, Naka Fusion Research Establishment, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Naka, Ibaraki (Japan)] [and others

    1999-02-01

    In ITER, the in-vessel remote handling is inevitably required to assemble and maintain the activated in-vessel components due to deuterium and tritium operation. Since the in-vessel remote handling system has to be operated under the intense of gamma ray irradiation, the components of the remote handling system are required to have radiation hardness so as to allow maintenance operation for a sufficient length of time under the ITER in-vessel environments. For this, the Japan, European and Russian Home Teams have extensively conducted gamma ray irradiation tests and quality improvements including optimization of material composition through ITER R and D program in order to develop radiation hard components which satisfy the doses from 10 MGy to 100 MGy at a dose rate of 1 x 10{sup 6} R/h (ITER R and D Task: T252). This report describes the latest status of radiation hard component development which has been conducted by the Japan Home Team in the ITER R and D program. The number of remote handling components tested is about seventy and these are categorized into robotics (Subtask 1), viewing system (Subtask 2) and common components (Subtask 3). The irradiation tests, including commercial base products for screening, modified products and newly developed products to improve the radiation hardness, were carried out using the gamma ray irradiation cells in Takasaki Establishment, JAERI. As a result, the development of the radiation hard components which can be tolerable for high temperature and gamma radiation has been well progressed, and many components, such as AC servo motor with ceramics insulated wire, optical periscope and CCD camera, have been newly developed. (author)

  9. Effect of feed rate, workpiece hardness and cutting edge on subsurface residual stress in the hard turning of bearing steel using chamfer + hone cutting edge geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hua Jiang; Shivpuri, Rajiv; Cheng Xiaomin; Bedekar, Vikram; Matsumoto, Yoichi; Hashimoto, Fukuo; Watkins, Thomas R.

    2005-01-01

    Residual stress on the machined surface and the subsurface is known to influence the service quality of a component, such as fatigue life, tribological properties, and distortion. Therefore, it is essential to predict and control it for enhanced performance. In this paper, a newly proposed hardness based flow stress model is incorporated into an elastic-viscoplastic finite element model of hard turning to analyze process variables that affect the residual stress profile of the machined surface. The effects of cutting edge geometry and workpiece hardness as well as cutting conditions, such as feed rate and cutting speed, are investigated. Numerical analysis shows that hone edge plus chamfer cutting edge and aggressive feed rate help to increase both compressive residual stress and penetration depth. These predictions are validated by face turning experiments which were conducted using a chamfer with hone cutting edge for different material hardness and cutting parameters. The residual stresses under the machined surface are measured by X-ray diffraction/electropolishing method. A maximum circumferential residual stress of about 1700 MPa at a depth of 40 μm is reached for hardness of 62 HRc and feed rate of 0.56 mm/rev. This represents a significant increase from previously reported results in literatures. It is found from this analysis that using medium hone radius (0.02-0.05 mm) plus chamfer is good for keeping tool temperature and cutting force low, while obtaining desired residual stress profile

  10. Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    For the application of photon to industrial technologies, in particular, a hard photon technology was surveyed which uses photon beams of 0.1-200nm in wavelength. Its features such as selective atom reaction, dense inner shell excitation and spacial high resolution by quantum energy are expected to provide innovative techniques for various field such as fine machining, material synthesis and advanced inspection technology. This wavelength region has been hardly utilized for industrial fields because of poor development of suitable photon sources and optical devices. The developmental meaning, usable time and issue of a hard photon reduction lithography were surveyed as lithography in ultra-fine region below 0.1{mu}m. On hard photon analysis/evaluation technology, the industrial use of analysis, measurement and evaluation technologies by micro-beam was viewed, and optimum photon sources and optical systems were surveyed. Prediction of surface and surface layer modification by inner shell excitation, the future trend of this process and development of a vacuum ultraviolet light source were also surveyed. 383 refs., 153 figs., 17 tabs.

  11. NuSTAR Hard X-ray Optics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koglin, Jason E.; Christensen, Finn Erland; Craig, William W.

    2005-01-01

    The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is a small explorer (SMEX) mission currently under an extended Phase A study by NASA. NuSTAR will be the first satellite mission to employ focusing optics in the hard X-ray band (8- 80 keV). Its design eliminates high detector backgrounds, allows...... and production process. We also describe the progress of several components of our independent optics development program that are beginning to reach maturity and could possibly be incorporated into the NuSTAR production scheme. We then present environmental test results that are being conducted in preparation...... of full space qualification of the NuSTAR optics....

  12. Diffractive hard scattering at ep and p antip colliders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruni, P.; Ingelman, G.; Uppsala Univ.

    1993-12-01

    Models for diffractive scattering based on the exchange of a pomeron with a parton structure are analysed in terms of hard scattering processes and the resulting characteristics of the final state. Diffractive deep inelastic ep scattering is considered in connection with the recently observed rapidity gap events at HERA. Heavy flavour and W, Z production in p anti p interactions are interesting measures of the gluon and quark component, respectively, in the pomeron. (orig.)

  13. Thermodynamic perturbation theory for fused hard-sphere and hard-disk chain fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Y.; Hall, C.K.; Stell, G.

    1995-01-01

    We find that first-order thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT1) which incorporates the reference monomer fluid used in the generalized Flory--AB (GF--AB) theory yields an equation of state for fused hard-sphere (FHS) chain fluids that has accuracy comparable to the GF--AB and GF--dimer--AC theories. The new TPT1 equation of state is significantly more accurate than other extensions of the TPT1 theory to FHS chain fluids. The TPT1 is also extended to two-dimensional fused hard-disk chain fluids. For the fused hard-disk dimer fluid, the extended TPT1 equation of state is found to be more accurate than the Boublik hard-disk dimer equation of state. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

  14. Quantitative Raman spectral changes of the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into islet-like cells by biochemical component analysis and multiple peak fitting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Xin; Fang, Shaoyin; Zhang, Daosen; Zhang, Qinnan; He, Yingtian; Lu, Xiaoxu; Liu, Shengde; Zhong, Liyun

    2015-12-01

    Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiate into islet-like cells, providing a possible solution for type I diabetes treatment. To search for the precise molecular mechanism of the directional differentiation of MSC-derived islet-like cells, biomolecular composition, and structural conformation information during MSC differentiation, is required. Because islet-like cells lack specific surface markers, the commonly employed immunostaining technique is not suitable for their identification, physical separation, and enrichment. Combining Raman spectroscopic data, a fitting accuracy-improved biochemical component analysis, and multiple peaks fitting approach, we identified the quantitative biochemical and intensity change of Raman peaks that show the differentiation of MSCs into islet-like cells. Along with increases in protein and glycogen content, and decreases in deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid content, in islet-like cells relative to MSCs, it was found that a characteristic peak of insulin (665 cm-1) has twice the intensity in islet-like cells relative to MSCs, indicating differentiation of MSCs into islet-like cells was successful. Importantly, these Raman signatures provide useful information on the structural and pathological states during MSC differentiation and help to develop noninvasive and label-free Raman sorting methods for stem cells and their lineages.

  15. Mathematical modeling for surface hardness in investment casting applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Rupinder

    2012-01-01

    Investment casting (IC) has many potential engineering applications. Not much work hitherto has been reported for modeling the surface hardness (SH) in IC of industrial components. In the present study, outcome of Taguchi based macro model has been used for developing a mathematical model for SH; using Buckingham's π theorem. Three input parameters namely volume/surface area (V/A) ratio of cast components, slurry layer's combination (LC) and molten metal pouring temperature were selected to give output in form of SH. This study will provide main effects of these variables on SH and will shed light on the SH mechanism in IC. The comparison with experimental results will also serve as further validation of model

  16. Remember Hard But Think Softly: Metaphorical Effects of Hardness/Softness on Cognitive Functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jiushu; Lu, Zhi; Wang, Ruiming; Cai, Zhenguang G.

    2016-01-01

    Previous studies have found that bodily stimulation, such as hardness biases social judgment and evaluation via metaphorical association; however, it remains unclear whether bodily stimulation also affects cognitive functions, such as memory and creativity. The current study used metaphorical associations between “hard” and “rigid” and between “soft” and “flexible” in Chinese, to investigate whether the experience of hardness affects cognitive functions whose performance depends prospectively on rigidity (memory) and flexibility (creativity). In Experiment 1, we found that Chinese-speaking participants performed better at recalling previously memorized words while sitting on a hard-surface stool (the hard condition) than a cushioned one (the soft condition). In Experiment 2, participants sitting on a cushioned stool outperformed those sitting on a hard-surface stool on a Chinese riddle task, which required creative/flexible thinking, but not on an analogical reasoning task, which required both rigid and flexible thinking. The results suggest the hardness experience affects cognitive functions that are metaphorically associated with rigidity or flexibility. They support the embodiment proposition that cognitive functions and representations can be grounded in bodily states via metaphorical associations. PMID:27672373

  17. Mechanism by Which Magnesium Oxide Suppresses Tablet Hardness Reduction during Storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakamoto, Takatoshi; Kachi, Shigeto; Nakamura, Shohei; Miki, Shinsuke; Kitajima, Hideaki; Yuasa, Hiroshi

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated how the inclusion of magnesium oxide (MgO) maintained tablet hardness during storage in an unpackaged state. Tablets were prepared with a range of MgO levels and stored at 40°C with 75% relative humidity for up to 14 d. The hardness of tablets prepared without MgO decreased over time. The amount of added MgO was positively associated with tablet hardness and mass from an early stage during storage. Investigation of the water sorption properties of the tablet components showed that carmellose water sorption correlated positively with the relative humidity, while MgO absorbed and retained moisture, even when the relative humidity was reduced. In tablets prepared using only MgO, a petal- or plate-like material was observed during storage. Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry showed that this material was hydromagnesite, produced when MgO reacts with water and CO2. The estimated level of hydromagnesite at each time-point showed a significant negative correlation with tablet porosity. These results suggested that MgO suppressed storage-associated softening by absorbing moisture from the environment. The conversion of MgO to hydromagnesite results in solid bridge formation between the powder particles comprising the tablets, suppressing the storage-related increase in volume and increasing tablet hardness.

  18. Effect of heat-treatment on the hardness and mechanical properties of Boron Alloyed Steel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    bin Khiyon Mohammad Raffik

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In an automotive industry, hot stamped, die quenched structural components have been widely used to provide extra protection against crash intrusion. Boron alloyed steel exhibit limited ductility, but it also promotes improvement in impact performance. This study analyzed the effect of cooling rate on the hardness and energy absorption. Self-quenched specimens were heated to 850°C and cooled in air of room temperature, water at room temperature and cold water. Vickers hardness test and tensile test was then carried out to analyze the effect of different quenching rate. Self-quenched specimens were compared to the properties of the die-quenched specimens obtained from commercial automobile body. Result shows that boron steel with the highest cooling rate has the highest value of hardness but low in strength.

  19. Effect of Heat treatment on Hardness and Corrosion Resistance of Super Cast Iron

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Roun; Kim, Young Sik [Andong National University, Andong (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-07-15

    In fossil-fuel-fired power plants, a variety of pollutants are produced from the combustion of conventional fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Major component of such pollution are ash and corrosive chemicals, which also destroy pumps and piping; by causing erosion/corrosion, pitting, and wear. In order to over come such damage, materials with high hardness and high corrosion resistance are needed. In this work, we melted super-cast-iron with excellent corrosion resistance and high hardness. To elucidate the effect of heat treatment, microstructural analysis, hardness measurement, and corrosion tests were performed. Test results revealed that the super-cast-iron had several tens better corrosion resistance than 316 L stainless steel, and it also had a high surface hardness (> HRC45). High hardness, in spite of its low carbon content (0.74%C), could resulted from a hardening heat treatment to precipitate sufficient Cr{sub 7}C{sub 3} and Cr{sub 2}3C{sub 6}. Also, it was concluded that the excellent corrosion resistance of the super-cast-iron was due to the increase of the relative chromium content by minimizing the carbon content, and by the enhancement of passive film by the addition of Cr, Mo, Cu, and W.

  20. Glass transition temperature of hard chairside reline materials after post-polymerisation treatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urban, Vanessa M; Machado, Ana L; Alves, Marinês O; Maciel, Adeilton P; Vergani, Carlos E; Leite, Edson R

    2010-09-01

    This study evaluated the effect of post-polymerisation treatments on the glass transition temperature (T(g)) of five hard chairside reline materials (Duraliner II-D, Kooliner-K, New Truliner-N, Ufi Gel hard-U and Tokuso Rebase Fast-T). Specimens (10 x 10 x 1 mm) were made following the manufacturers' instructions and divided into three groups (n = 5). Control group specimens were left untreated. Specimens from the microwave group were irradiated with pre-determined power/time combinations, and specimens from the water-bath group were immersed in hot water at 55 degrees C for 10 min. Glass transition ( degrees C) was performed by differential scanning calorimetry. Data were analysed using anova, followed by post hoc Tukey's test (alpha = 0.05). Both post-polymerisation treatments promoted a significant (p glass transition of material Kooliner, with the effect being more pronounced for microwave irradiation.

  1. Discovery of a Kiloparsec Extended Hard X-Ray Continuum and Fe-Kα from the Compton Thick AGN ESO 428-G014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabbiano, G.; Elvis, M.; Paggi, A.; Karovska, M.; Maksym, W. P.; Raymond, J.; Risaliti, G.; Wang, Junfeng

    2017-06-01

    We report the discovery of kiloparsec-scale diffuse emission in both the hard continuum (3-6 keV) and in the Fe-Kα line in the Compton thick (CT) Seyfert galaxy ESO 428-G014. This extended hard component contains at least ˜24% of the observed 3-8 keV emission, and follows the direction of the extended optical line emission (ionization cone) and radio jet. The extended hard component has ˜0.5% of the intrinsic 2-10 keV luminosity within the bi-cones. A uniform scattering medium of density 1 {{cm}}-3 would produce this luminosity in a 1 kpc path length in the bi-cones. Alternatively, higher column density molecular clouds in the disk of ESO 428-G014 may be responsible for these components. The continuum may also be enhanced by the acceleration of charged particles in the radio jet. The steeper spectrum (Γ ˜ 1.7 ± 0.4) of the hard continuum outside of the central 1.″5 radius nuclear region suggests a contribution of scattered/fluorescent intrinsic Seyfert emission. Ultrafast nuclear outflows cannot explain the extended Fe-Kα emission. This discovery suggests that we may need to revise the picture at the base of our interpretation of CT AGN spectra.

  2. Hard x-ray nanoprobe of beamline P06 at PETRA III

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schroer, C. G., E-mail: christian.schroer@desy.de [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Department Physik, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany); Baumbach, C. [Institute of Optics and Photonics of Condensed Matter, Technische Universität Chemnitz, D-09126 Chemnitz (Germany); Döhrmann, R.; Kahnt, M.; Reinhardt, J.; Scholz, M.; Schropp, A.; Seyrich, M.; Wittwer, F.; Falkenberg, G. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Klare, S.; Hoppe, R.; Patommel, J.; Ritter, S.; Samberg, D.; Seiboth, F. [Institut für Strukturphysik, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden (Germany)

    2016-07-27

    The hard x-ray scanning microscope at beamline P06 of PETRA III at DESY in Hamburg serves a large user community, from physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology to the bio-medical, materials, environmental, and geosciences. It has been in user operation since 2012, and is mainly based on nanofocusing refractive x-ray lenses. Using refractive optics, nearly gaussian-limited nanobeams in the range from 50 to 100 nm can be generated in the hard x-ray energy range from 8 to 30 keV. The degree of coherence can be traded off against the flux in the nanobeam by a two-stage focusing scheme. We give a brief overview on published results from this instrument and describe its most important components and parameters.

  3. Microbiological quality of soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses during the shelf-life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josip Vrdoljak

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Cheeses as ready-to-eat food should be considered as a potential source of foodborne pathogens, primarily Listeria monocytogenes. The aim of present study was to determine the microbiological quality of soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses during the shelf-life, with particular reference to L. monocytogenes. Five types of cheeses were sampled at different timepoints during the cold storage and analyzed for presence of Salmonella and L. monocytogenes, as well as lactic acid bacteria, Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci, yeasts, molds, sulfite-reducing clostridia and L. monocytogenes counts. Water activity, pH and NaCl content were monitored in order to evaluate the possibility of L. monocytogenes growth. Challenge test for L. monocytogenes was performed in soft whey cheese, to determine the growth potential of pathogen during the shelf-life of product. All analyzed cheeses were compliant with microbiological criteria during the shelf-life. In soft cheeses, lactic acid bacteria increased in the course of the shelf-life period (1.2-2.6 log increase, while in semi-hard and hard cheeses it decreased (1.6 and 5.2 log decrease, respectively. Soft cheeses support the growth of L. monocytogenes according to determined pH values (5.8-6.5, water activity (0.99-0.94, and NaCl content (0.3-1.2%. Challenge test showed that L. monocytogenes growth potential in selected soft cheese was 0.43 log10 cfu/g during 8 days at 4°C. Water activity in semi-hard and hard cheeses was a limiting factor for Listeria growth during the shelf-life. Soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses were microbiologically stable during their defined shelf-life. Good manufacturing and hygienic practices must be strictly followed in the production of soft cheeses as Listeria-supporting food and be focused on preventing (recontamination.

  4. Analytical Modeling of Hard-Coating Cantilever Composite Plate considering the Material Nonlinearity of Hard Coating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Sun

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the material nonlinearity of hard coating, the coated structure produces the nonlinear dynamical behaviors of variable stiffness and damping, which make the modeling of hard-coating composite structure become a challenging task. In this study, the polynomial was adopted to characterize this material nonlinearity and an analytical modeling method was developed for the hard-coating composite plate. Firstly, to relate the hard-coating material parameters obtained by test and the analytical model, the expression of equivalent strain of composite plate was derived. Then, the analytical model of hard-coating composite plate was created by energy method considering the material nonlinearity of hard coating. Next, using the Newton-Raphson method to solve the vibration response and resonant frequencies of composite plate and a specific calculation procedure was also proposed. Finally, a cantilever plate coated with MgO + Al2O3 hard coating was chosen as study case; the vibration response and resonant frequencies of composite plate were calculated using the proposed method. The calculation results were compared with the experiment and general linear calculation, and the correctness of the created model was verified. The study shows the proposed method can still maintain an acceptable precision when the material nonlinearity of hard coating is stronger.

  5. Decarburisation Effect on Hardened Strip Steel Fastening Components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karli JAASON

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Heat treatment is widely used for high reliability fastening components such as buckles and brackets. The current study focuses on mass production of safety components which are fineblanked from sheet metal, austempered and chromium electroplated. Electroplating together with stamping defects may lead to unexpected brittle failure of the component. It is widely known that during austenitisation, decarburisation could avoid brittle failure and, therefore, slight decarburisation is recommended. There is little information how much mass production is influenced by decarburisation and where the limits are. The current study has two goals. The first one focuses on the extent of decarburisation effect on the part properties, and the second aims to find the optimum furnace setting for the product type used in the study. Also, it is necessary to choose a reliable decarburisation control method for austempered components. The effect on material grades was analyzed by using three steel alloys with carbon content of 0.37 wt.%, 0.47 wt.% and 0.62 wt.%. The specimens were austempered to hardness 45 – 51 HRC under endothermic protective atmosphere. To gain different decarburisation levels, two gas set-ups were used. Infrared gas analyzer was used to measure CO and CO2 content in the furnace gas. Three characteristics of the specimens were evaluated: hardness, rupture strength and brittleness. The depth of the decarburisation was determined by three different approaches according to standard EN ISO 3887. Based on the results, the spectrographic method is the most reliable for determining the depth of decarburisation. This study reveals that higher surface decarburisation has a positive effect on the ductility and no effect on the rupture strength of the component. The material with carbon content of 0.62 wt.% is the most sensitive to decarburisation. During mass production, the inaccuracy of hardness measuring raises which results in the inaccuracy of

  6. Chemical hardness and density functional theory

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    RALPH G PEARSON. Chemistry Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Abstract. The concept of chemical hardness is reviewed from a personal point of view. Keywords. Hardness; softness; hard & soft acids bases (HSAB); principle of maximum hardness. (PMH) density functional theory (DFT) ...

  7. Hardness variability in commercial technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Winokur, P.S.; Meisenheimer, T.L.; Sexton, F.W.; Roeske, S.B.; Knoll, M.G.

    1994-01-01

    The radiation hardness of commercial Floating Gate 256K E 2 PROMs from a single diffusion lot was observed to vary between 5 to 25 krad(Si) when irradiated at a low dose rate of 64 mrad(Si)/s. Additional variations in E 2 PROM hardness were found to depend on bias condition and failure mode (i.e., inability to read or write the memory), as well as the foundry at which the part was manufactured. This variability is related to system requirements, and it is shown that hardness level and variability affect the allowable mode of operation for E 2 PROMs in space applications. The radiation hardness of commercial 1-Mbit CMOS SRAMs from Micron, Hitachi, and Sony irradiated at 147 rad(Si)/s was approximately 12, 13, and 19 krad(Si), respectively. These failure levels appear to be related to increases in leakage current during irradiation. Hardness of SRAMs from each manufacturer varied by less than 20%, but differences between manufacturers are significant. The Qualified Manufacturer's List approach to radiation hardness assurance is suggested as a way to reduce variability and to improve the hardness level of commercial technologies

  8. Hard processes in photon-photon interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duchovni, E.

    1985-03-01

    In this thesis, the existence of hard component in two-photon collisions is investigated. Due to the relative simplicity of the photon, such processes can be exactly calculated in QCD. Untagged (low Q 2 ) two-photon events are used. This leads to relatively high statistics, but to severe background problem due mainly to e + e - annihilation. The background contamination is reduced to a tolerable level using a special set of cuts. Moreover, the remaining contamination is shown to be calculable with a small systematic error. A large number of events of the hard ''γγ'' type is found. An attempt to explain these events using the simplest QCD diagram (the Born term) is done. This process is found to be capable of explaining only a 1/4 of the data. Other options like the constituent intercharge model, integer charged quarks, and higher order diagrams are therefore also discussed. The large cross-section for the production of ρ 0 ρ 0 pairs in ''γγ'' collisions has not been understood yet. Inorder to look at closely related processes, a search for φρ 0 and φφ was initiated. The cross-section for θπ + π - was found to be sizeable. Only upper limits for the production of φρ 0 and φφ are obtained

  9. Hard Quasi-real Photo-production of Charged Hadrons at COMPASS energies

    CERN Document Server

    Morréale, Astrid

    2011-01-01

    The Common Muon Proton Apparatus for Structure and Spectroscopy (COMPASS) at CERN with its use of beams of naturally polarized muons scattered of a polarized deuteron target, provides an environment of hard scattering between quasi-real photons and partons. Hard hadron quasi-real photo-production with polarized initial states is sensitive to the polarized gluon distribution $\\Delta$G through $\\gamma$-gluon($g$) direct channels as well as $q$-$g$ resolved processes. Comparisons of unpolarized differential cross section measurements to next-to-leading order (NLO) pQCD calculations are essential to develop our understanding of proton-proton and lepton-nucleon scattering at varying center of mass energies. These measurements are important to asses the applicability of NLO pQCD in interpreting polarized processes. In this talk we will discuss unidentified charged separated hadron production at low $Q^{2}$ (Q$^{2}1.0\\,GeV/c$). $$ spectra of charged hadrons at $Q^{2}>1 GeV^{2}/c^{2}$ will also be discussed.

  10. Effect of natural aging on quench-induced inhomogeneity of microstructure and hardness in high strength 7055 aluminum alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Shengdan; Li, Chengbo; Han, Suqi; Deng, Yunlai; Zhang, Xinming

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The quench-induced hardness inhomogeneity in 7055 Al alloy decreases by natural aging. • The reason is discussed based on natural aging effect on microstructural inhomogeneity. • Natural aging decreases the difference of hardening precipitates due to slow quenching. • GPII zones appear in the rapidly-quenched sample after natural aging for 17,280 h. - Abstract: The effect of natural aging on quench-induced inhomogeneity of microstructure and hardness in high strength 7055 aluminum alloy was investigated by means of end quenching technique, transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry thermal analysis. The hardness inhomogeneity in the end-quenched specimens after artificial aging decreases with the increase of natural aging time prior to artificial aging. The quench-induced differences in the amount and size of η′ phase are large in the end-quenched specimen after artificial aging at 120 °C for 24 h, leading to high hardness inhomogeneity. Natural aging for a long time results in a larger amount of stable GPI zones in the slowly-quenched sample, and thus decreases such differences in the end-quenched specimens after subsequent artificial aging, leading to lower hardness inhomogeneity. The hardness inhomogeneity can be reduced from 14% to be 4% by natural aging for 17,280 h prior to artificial aging

  11. Nanograined Net-Shaped Fabrication of Rhenium Components by EB-PVD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Jogender; Wolfe, Douglas E.

    2004-01-01

    Cost-effective net-shaped forming components have brought considerable interest into DoD, NASA and DoE. Electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) offers flexibility in forming net-shaped components with tailored microstructure and chemistry. High purity rhenium (Re) components including rhenium-coated graphite balls, Re- plates and tubes have been successfully manufactured by EB-PVD. EB-PVD Re components exhibited sub-micron and nano-sized grains with high hardness and strength as compared to CVD. It is estimated that the cost of Re components manufactured by EB-PVD would be less than the current CVD and powder-HIP Technologies

  12. Establishment of Wear Resistant HVOF Coatings for 50CrMo4 Chromium Molybdenum Alloy Steel as an Alternative for Hard Chrome Plating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karuppasamy, S.; Sivan, V.; Natarajan, S.; Kumaresh Babu, S. P.; Duraiselvam, M.; Dhanuskodi, R.

    2018-05-01

    High cost imported components of seamless steel tube manufacturing plants wear frequently and need replacement to ensure the quality of the product. Hard chrome plating, which is time consuming and hazardous, is conventionally used to restore the original dimension of the worn-out surface of the machine components. High Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) thermal spray coatings with NiCrBSi super alloy powder and Cr3C2 NiCr75/25 alloy powder applied on a 50CrMo4 (DIN-1.7228) chromium molybdenum alloy steel, the material of the wear prone machine component, were evaluated for use as an alternative for hard chrome plating in this present work. The coating characteristics are evaluated using abrasive wear test, sliding wear test and microscopic analysis, hardness test, etc. The study results revealed that the HVOF based NiCrBSi and Cr3C2NiCr75/25 coatings have hardness in the range of 800-900 HV0.3, sliding wear rate in the range of 50-60 µm and surface finish around 5 microns. Cr3C2 NiCr75/25 coating is observed to be a better option out of the two coatings evaluated for the selected application.

  13. Studying Hardness Meter Spring Strength to Understand Hardness Distribution on Body Surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arima, Yoshitaka

    2017-10-01

    For developing a hardness multipoint measurement system for understanding hardness distribution on biological body surfaces, we investigated the spring strength of the contact portion main axis of a biological tissue hardness meter (product name: PEK). We measured the hardness of three-layered sheets of six types of gel sheets (90 mm × 60 mm × 6 mm) constituting the acupuncture practice pads, with PEK measurements of 1.96 N, 2.94 N, 3.92 N, 4.90 N, 5.88 N, 6.86 N, 7.84 N, 8.82 N, and 9.81 N of the main axis spring strength. We obtained measurements 10 times for the gel sheets and simultaneously measured the load using a digital scale. We measured the hardness distribution of induration embedded and breast cancer palpation models, with a main axis with 1.96 N, 4.90 N, and 9.81 N spring strengths, to create a two-dimensional Contour Fill Chart. Using 4.90 N spring strength, we could obtain measurement loads of ≤3.0 N, and the mean hardness was 5.14 mm. This was close to the median of the total measurement range 0.0-10.0 mm, making the measurement range the largest for this spring strength. We could image the induration of the induration-embedded model regardless of the spring strength. Overall, 4.90 N spring strength was best suited for imaging cancer in the breast cancer palpation model. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  14. Cytotoxicity of Vitex agnus-castus fruit extract and its major component, casticin, correlates with differentiation status in leukemia cell lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kikuchi, Hidetomo; Yuan, Bo; Nishimura, Yoshio; Imai, Masahiko; Furutani, Ryota; Kamoi, Saki; Seno, Misako; Fukushima, Shin; Hazama, Shingo; Hirobe, Chieko; Ohyama, Kunio; Hu, Xiao-Mei; Takagi, Norio; Hirano, Toshihiko; Toyoda, Hiroo

    2013-12-01

    We have demonstrated that an extract from the ripe fruit of Vitex agnus-castus (Vitex) exhibits cytotoxic activities against various types of solid tumor cells, whereas its effects on leukemia cells has not been evaluated to date. In this study, the effects of Vitex and its major component, casticin, on leukemia cell lines, HL-60 and U-937, were investigated by focusing on proliferation, induction of apoptosis and differentiation. Identification and quantitation by NMR spectroscopy showed that casticin accounted for approximate 1% weight of Vitex. Dose-dependent cytotoxicity of Vitex and casticin was observed in both cell lines, and HL-60 cells were more sensitive to the cytotoxicity of Vitex/casticin compared to U-937 cells. Furthermore, compared to unstimulated HL-60 cells, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)- and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (VD₃)-differentiated HL-60 cells acquired resistance to Vitex/casticin based on the results from cell viability and apoptosis induction analysis. Since the HL-60 cell line is more immature than the U-937 cell line, these results suggested that the levels of cytotoxicity of Vitex/casticin were largely attributed to the degree of differentiation of leukemia cells; that is, cell lines with less differentiated phenotype were more susceptible than the differentiated ones. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that PMA upregulated the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in HL-60 cells, and that anti-ICAM-1 monoclonal antibody not only abrogated PMA-induced aggregation and adhesion of the cells but also restored its sensitivity to Vitex. These results suggested that ICAM-1 plays a crucial role in the acquired resistance in PMA-differentiated HL-60 cells by contributing to cell adhesion. These findings provide fundamental insights into the clinical application of Vitex/casticin for hematopoietic malignancy.

  15. The application of cast SiC/Al to rotary engine components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoller, H. M.; Carluccio, J. R.; Norman, J. P.

    1986-01-01

    A silicon carbide reinforced aluminum (SiC/Al) material fabricated by Dural Aluminum Composites Corporation was tested for various components of rotary engines. Properties investigated included hardness, high temperature strength, wear resistance, fatigue resistance, thermal conductivity, and expansion. SiC/Al appears to be a viable candidate for cast rotors, and may be applicable to other components, primarily housings.

  16. Effects of matrix elasticity and cell density on human mesenchymal stem cells differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Ruyue; Li, Julie Yi-Shuan; Yeh, Yiting; Yang, Li; Chien, Shu

    2013-09-01

    Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) can differentiate into various cell types, including osteogenic and chondrogenic cells. The matrix elasticity and cell seeding density are important factors in hMSCs differentiation. We cultured hMSCs at different seeding densities on polyacrylamide hydrogels with different stiffness corresponding to Young's moduli of 1.6 ± 0.3 and 40 ± 3.6 kPa. The promotion of osteogenic marker expression by hard gel is overridden by a high seeding density. Cell seeding density, however, did not influence the chondrogenic marker expressions induced by soft gel. These findings suggest that interplays between cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions contribute to hMSCs differentiation. The promotion of osteogenic differentiation on hard matrix was shown to be mediated through the Ras pathway. Inhibition of Ras (RasN17) significantly decreased ERK, Smad1/5/8 and AKT activation, and osteogenic markers expression. However, constitutively active Ras (RasV12) had little effect on osteogenic marker expression, suggesting that the Ras pathways are necessary but not sufficient for osteogenesis. Taken together, our results indicate that matrix elasticity and cell density are important microenvironmental cues driving hMSCs proliferation and differentiation. Copyright © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society.

  17. NuSTAR hard X-ray observations of the Jovian magnetosphere during Juno perijove and apojove intervals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, W.; Mori, K.; Hailey, C. J.; Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Grefenstette, B.; Jackman, C. M.; Hord, B. J.; Ray, L. C.

    2017-12-01

    The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is the first focusing hard X-ray telescope operating in the 3-79 keV band with sub-arcminute angular resolution (18" FWHM). For the first time, NuSTAR provides sufficient sensitivity to detect/resolve hard X-ray emission from Jupiter above 10 keV, since the in-situ Ulysses observation failed to detect X-ray emission in the 27-48 keV band [Hurley et al. 1993]. The initial, exploratory NuSTAR observation of Jupiter was performed in February 2015 with 100 ksec exposure. NuSTAR detected hard X-ray emission (E > 10 keV) from the south polar region at a marginally significance of 3 sigma level [Mori et al. 2016, AAS meeting poster]. This hard X-ray emission is likely an extension of the non-thermal bremsstrahlung component detected up to 7 keV by XMM-Newton [Branduardi-Raymont et al. 2007]. The Ulysses non-detection suggests there should be a spectral cutoff between 7 and 27 keV. Most intriguingly, the NuSTAR detection of hard X-ray emission from the south aurora is in contrast to the 2003 XMM-Newton observations where soft X-ray emission below 8 keV was seen from both the north and south poles [Gladstone et al. 2002]. Given the marginal, but tantalizing, hard X-ray detection of the southern Jovian aurora, a series of NuSTAR observations with total exposure of nearly half a million seconds were approved in the NuSTAR GO and DDT program. These NuSTAR observations coincided with one Juno apojove (in June 2017) and three perijoves (in May, July and September 2017), also joining the multi-wavelength campaigns of observing Jupiter coordinating with Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray telescope (below 10 keV) and HST. We will present NuSTAR imaging, spectral and timing analysis of Jupiter. NuSTAR imaging analysis will map hard X-ray emission in comparison with soft X-ray and UV images. In addition to investigating any distinctions between the soft and hard X-ray morphology of the Jovian aurorae, we will probe whether hard X

  18. Induced spherococcoid hard wheat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanev, Sh.

    1981-01-01

    A mutant has been obtained - a spheroccocoid line -through irradiation of hard wheat seed with fast neutrons. It is distinguished by semispherical glumes and smaller grain; the plants have low stem with erect leaves but with shorter spikes and with lesser number of spikelets than those of the initial cultivar. Good productive tillering and resistance to lodging contributed to 23.5% higher yield. The line was superior to the standard and the initial cultivars by 14.2% as regards protein content, and by up to 22.8% - as to flour gluten. It has been successfully used in hybridization producing high-yielding hard wheat lines resistant to lodging, with good technological and other indicators. The possibility stated is of obtaining a spherococcoid mutant in tetraploid (hard) wheat out of the D-genome as well as its being suited to hard wheat breeding to enhance protein content, resistance to lodging, etc. (author)

  19. DETERMINATION OF CRYSTALLINITY INDEX OF CARBOHYDRATE COMPONENTS IN HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA L. WOODY CORE BY MEANS OF FT-IR SPECTROSCOPY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esat Gümüşkaya

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study; it was investigated chemical compositions of hemp woody core and changes in crystallinity index of its carbohydrate components by using FT-IR spectroscopy was investigated. It was determined that carbohyrate components ratio in hemp woody core were similar to that in hard wood, but lignin content in hemp woody core was higher than in hard wood. Crystallinity index of carbohydrate components in hemp woody core increased by removing amorphous components. It was designated that monoclinic structure in hemp woody core and its carbohydrate components was dominant, but triclinic ratio increased by treated chemical isolation of carbohydrate from hemp woody core.

  20. 2TB hard disk drive

    CERN Multimedia

    This particular object was used up until 2012 in the Data Centre. It slots into one of the Disk Server trays. Hard disks were invented in the 1950s. They started as large disks up to 20 inches in diameter holding just a few megabytes (link is external). They were originally called "fixed disks" or "Winchesters" (a code name used for a popular IBM product). They later became known as "hard disks" to distinguish them from "floppy disks (link is external)." Hard disks have a hard platter that holds the magnetic medium, as opposed to the flexible plastic film found in tapes and floppies.

  1. Janka hardness using nonstandard specimens

    Science.gov (United States)

    David W. Green; Marshall Begel; William Nelson

    2006-01-01

    Janka hardness determined on 1.5- by 3.5-in. specimens (2×4s) was found to be equivalent to that determined using the 2- by 2-in. specimen specified in ASTM D 143. Data are presented on the relationship between Janka hardness and the strength of clear wood. Analysis of historical data determined using standard specimens indicated no difference between side hardness...

  2. Alternate approach for calculating hardness based on residual indentation depth: Comparison with experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ananthakrishna, G.; K, Srikanth

    2018-03-01

    It is well known that plastic deformation is a highly nonlinear dissipative irreversible phenomenon of considerable complexity. As a consequence, little progress has been made in modeling some well-known size-dependent properties of plastic deformation, for instance, calculating hardness as a function of indentation depth independently. Here, we devise a method of calculating hardness by calculating the residual indentation depth and then calculate the hardness as the ratio of the load to the residual imprint area. Recognizing the fact that dislocations are the basic defects controlling the plastic component of the indentation depth, we set up a system of coupled nonlinear time evolution equations for the mobile, forest, and geometrically necessary dislocation densities. Within our approach, we consider the geometrically necessary dislocations to be immobile since they contribute to additional hardness. The model includes dislocation multiplication, storage, and recovery mechanisms. The growth of the geometrically necessary dislocation density is controlled by the number of loops that can be activated under the contact area and the mean strain gradient. The equations are then coupled to the load rate equation. Our approach has the ability to adopt experimental parameters such as the indentation rates, the geometrical parameters defining the Berkovich indenter, including the nominal tip radius. The residual indentation depth is obtained by integrating the Orowan expression for the plastic strain rate, which is then used to calculate the hardness. Consistent with the experimental observations, the increasing hardness with decreasing indentation depth in our model arises from limited dislocation sources at small indentation depths and therefore avoids divergence in the limit of small depths reported in the Nix-Gao model. We demonstrate that for a range of parameter values that physically represent different materials, the model predicts the three characteristic

  3. Mapping residual stress fields from Vickers hardness indents using Raman microprobe spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sparks, R.G.; Enloe, W.S.; Paesler, M.A.

    1988-12-01

    Micro-Raman spectroscopy is used to map the residual stress fields in the vicinity of Vickers hardness indents. Both 514.5 and 488.0 nm, light is used to excite the effect and the resulting shifted and broadened Raman peaks are analyzed using computer deconvolution. Half-wave plates are used to vary the orientation of the incident later light`s polarization state with respect to crystal orientation. The Raman scattered light is then analyzed for polarization dependences which are indicative of the various components of the Raman scattering tensor. Such studies can yield valuable information about the orientation of stress components in a well known stress field. The results can then be applied to the determination of stress components in machined semiconductor materials.

  4. Inequalities for differential and integral equations

    CERN Document Server

    Ames, William F

    1997-01-01

    Inequalities for Differential and Integral Equations has long been needed; it contains material which is hard to find in other books. Written by a major contributor to the field, this comprehensive resource contains many inequalities which have only recently appeared in the literature and which can be used as powerful tools in the development of applications in the theory of new classes of differential and integral equations. For researchers working in this area, it will be a valuable source of reference and inspiration. It could also be used as the text for an advanced graduate course.Key Features* Covers a variety of linear and nonlinear inequalities which find widespread applications in the theory of various classes of differential and integral equations* Contains many inequalities which have only recently appeared in literature and cannot yet be found in other books* Provides a valuable reference to engineers and graduate students

  5. Determining the Effect of Material Hardness During the Hard Turning of AISI4340 Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kambagowni, Venkatasubbaiah; Chitla, Raju; Challa, Suresh

    2018-05-01

    In the present manufacturing industries hardened steels are most widely used in the applications like tool design and mould design. It enhances the application range of hard turning of hardened steels in manufacturing industries. This study discusses the impact of workpiece hardness, feed and depth of cut on Arithmetic mean roughness (Ra), root mean square roughness (Rq), mean depth of roughness (Rz) and total roughness (Rt) during the hard turning. Experiments have been planned according to the Box-Behnken design and conducted on hardened AISI4340 steel at 45, 50 and 55 HRC with wiper ceramic cutting inserts. Cutting speed is kept constant during this study. The analysis of variance was used to determine the effects of the machining parameters. 3-D response surface plots drawn based on RSM were utilized to set up the input-output relationships. The results indicated that the feed rate has the most significant parameter for Ra, Rq and Rz and hardness has the most critical parameter for the Rt. Further, hardness shows its influence over all the surface roughness characteristics.

  6. Differential expression of metabolic genes in tumor and stromal components of primary and metastatic loci in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina V Chaika

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States with a five-year survival rate of 6%. It is characterized by extremely aggressive tumor growth rate and high incidence of metastasis. One of the most common and profound biochemical phenotypes of animal and human cancer cells is their ability to metabolize glucose at high rates, even under aerobic conditions. However, the contribution of metabolic interrelationships between tumor cells and cells of the surrounding microenvironment to the progression of cancer is not well understood. We evaluated differential expression of metabolic genes and, hence, metabolic pathways in primary tumor and metastases of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.We analyzed the metabolic gene (those involved in glycolysis, tri-carboxylic acid pathway, pentose-phosphate pathway and fatty acid metabolism expression profiles of primary and metastatic lesions from pancreatic cancer patients by gene expression arrays. We observed two principal results: genes that were upregulated in primary and most of the metastatic lesions; and genes that were upregulated only in specific metastatic lesions in a site-specific manner. Immunohistochemical (IHC analyses of several metabolic gene products confirmed the gene expression patterns at the protein level. The IHC analyses also revealed differential tumor and stromal expression patterns of metabolic enzymes that were correlated with the metastasis sites.Here, we present the first comprehensive studies that establish differential metabolic status of tumor and stromal components and elevation of aerobic glycolysis gene expression in pancreatic cancer.

  7. Evaluation of variables which affect the hardness of nickel plate deposited from watts-type baths

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petit, G.S.; Wright, R.R.; Neff, W.A.

    1976-01-01

    In the course of the Cascade Improvement Program, many component equipment parts will be electroplated with nickel for corrosion protection. The maximum hardness which will be acceptable in the electroplated deposit is specified in Union Carbide's Job Specification JS-1396, Revision 3, entitled Electroplated Nickel Coatings on Steel Parts. The hardness specification is intended primarily as a control over both organic and inorganic impurities in the deposit. This report covers a study evaluating several of the numerous controllable variables which influence the hardness of the nickel plate deposited from a Watts-type bath. The variables tested were: 1) bath composition, 2) pH, 3) current density, 4) anode-cathode area ratio, and 5) bath temperature. Within the tested ranges of the variables studied, the pH and current density had the most influence on the plate hardness. The softest deposit was obtained with a bath pH of 1.5, a current density of 30 to 40 amperes/square foot, and with the anode-cathode area ratio in the range of 3:1 to 1:1

  8. Reparatory and Manufacturing Hard-Facing of Working Parts Made of Stainless Steels in Confectionary Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Rakic

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, for the sake of improving the reparatory hard-facing technology is especially analyzed reparatory hard-facing of tools for manufacturing compressed products in confectionary industry. Those products are being made of a mixture consisting of several powdery components, which is compressed under high pressure. In that way the connection between particles is realized, thus achieving certain hardness and strength of the confectionary product. The considered tool is made of high-alloyed stainless steel. The tool contains 30 identical working places. Besides the production process wear, on those tools, from time to time, appear mechanical damage on some of the products' shape punches, as cracks at the edges, where the products' final shapes are formed. Those damages are small, size wise, but they cause strong effect on the products' final shape. The aggravating circumstance is that the shape punch is extremely loaded in pressure, thus after the reparatory hard-facing, the additional heat treatment is necessary. Mechanical properties in the heat affected zone (HAZ are being leveled by annealing and what also partially reduces the residual internal stresses.

  9. Lignite and hard coal: Energy suppliers for world needs until the year 2100 - An outlook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thielemann, Thomas; Schmidt, Sandro; Peter Gerling, J.

    2007-01-01

    For three years, international hard coal prices have been at rather expensive levels. Some argue that these higher prices might indicate the threat of a physical scarcity of fossil fuels - similar to the situation with oil and gas. This is not true. The supply situations with lignite and hard coal appear to be largely not critical. Adjusted to the rise in global coal consumption, which is expected until 2100, nature by and large can meet the world's coal demand. This is shown for lignite in this article and it is illustrated for hard coal here, differentiated in space and time for a world divided into eight regions and viewed for the years 2005, 2020, 2030, 2050, and 2100. The only area of potential concern is Asia (especially China). But today's and coming eager efforts in China to convert coal resources into reserves will most likely deliver the coal needed for the Chinese market. Up to the year 2100, and from a geoscientific point of view, there will be no bottleneck in coal supplies on this planet. (author)

  10. Mechanical characterization of W-armoured plasma-facing components after thermal fatigue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serret, D; Richou, M; Missirlian, M; Loarer, T

    2011-01-01

    The future fusion device ITER is aimed at demonstrating the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. Tens of thousands of W-armoured plasma-facing components (PFCs) will be installed in the vertical targets of the ITER divertor and subjected to a high heat flux. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of mechanical and microstructural characterization of tungsten PFCs after thermal fatigue tests. On each component, Vickers hardness measurements are made. In parallel, the mean grain diameter in the corresponding zone of tungsten material is determined. The empirical Hall-Petch relation was adapted to experimental data. However, due to the plateau effect on recrystallization hardness, this relation does not seem to be relevant once recrystallization is complete: a new approach is proposed for predicting the margin to the tungsten melting onset.

  11. Optimization of lipid profile and hardness of low-fat mortadella following a sequential strategy of experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saldaña, Erick; Siche, Raúl; da Silva Pinto, Jair Sebastião; de Almeida, Marcio Aurélio; Selani, Miriam Mabel; Rios-Mera, Juan; Contreras-Castillo, Carmen J

    2018-02-01

    This study aims to optimize simultaneously the lipid profile and instrumental hardness of low-fat mortadella. For lipid mixture optimization, the overlapping of surface boundaries was used to select the quantities of canola, olive, and fish oils, in order to maximize PUFAs, specifically the long-chain n-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic-EPA, docosahexaenoic acids-DHA) using the minimum content of fish oil. Increased quantities of canola oil were associated with higher PUFA/SFA ratios. The presence of fish oil, even in small amounts, was effective in improving the nutritional quality of the mixture, showing lower n-6/n-3 ratios and significant levels of EPA and DHA. Thus, the optimal lipid mixture comprised of 20, 30 and 50% fish, olive and canola oils, respectively, which present PUFA/SFA (2.28) and n-6/n-3 (2.30) ratios within the recommendations of a healthy diet. Once the lipid mixture was optimized, components of the pre-emulsion used as fat replacer in the mortadella, such as lipid mixture (LM), sodium alginate (SA), and milk protein concentrate (PC), were studied to optimize hardness and springiness to target ranges of 13-16 N and 0.86-0.87, respectively. Results showed that springiness was not significantly affected by these variables. However, as the concentration of the three components increased, hardness decreased. Through the desirability function, the optimal proportions were 30% LM, 0.5% SA, and 0.5% PC. This study showed that the pre-emulsion decreases hardness of mortadella. In addition, response surface methodology was efficient to model lipid mixture and hardness, resulting in a product with improved texture and lipid quality.

  12. Irradiation tests of critical components for remote handling system in gamma radiation environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obara, Kenjiro; Kakudate, Satoshi; Oka, Kiyoshi

    1996-03-01

    This report covers the gamma ray irradiation tests according to the Agreement of ITER R and D Task (T35) in 1994 and describes radiation hardness of the standard components for the ITER remote handling system which are categorized into the robotics (Subtask-1), the viewing system (Subtask-2) and the common components (Subtask-3). The gamma ray irradiation tests have been conducted using No.2 and No.3 cells at the cobalt building of Takasaki Establishment in JAERI. The radiation source is cobalt sixty (Co-60), and the maximum dose rate of No.2 and No.3 cells is about 1x10 6 R/h and 2x10 6 R/h, respectively. The environmental conditions of the irradiation tests are described below and all of components excepting electrical wires have been tested in the No.2 cell. [No.2 cell : Atmosphere and ambient temperature No.3 cell : Nitrogen gas and 250degC] As a whole, many of components have been irradiated up to the rated dose of around 1x10 10 rads and the following main results are obtained. The developed AC servo motor and periscope for radiation use have shown excellent durability with the radiation hardness tolerable for more than 10 9 rads. An electrical connector compatible with remote operation has also shown no degradation of electrical characteristics after the irradiation of 10 10 rads. As for polyimide insulated wires, the mechanical and electrical characteristics are not degradated after the irradiation of 10 9 rads and more radiation hardness can be expected than the anticipation. On the contrary, standard position sensors such as rotary encoder show extremely low radiation hardness and further efforts have to be made for improvements. (J.P.N.)

  13. Congenital mucous retention cyst of the anterior hard palate! The first case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Satya Ranjan; Priyadarshini, Smita; Pati, Abhishek Ranjan; Bhuyan, Sanat Kumar; Panigrahi, Rajat G

    2014-10-01

    Children may be born with birth defects, the most common being oro-facial clefts and fissural cysts. A well circumscribed pedunculated soft tissue growth that occurs congenitally is known as congenital epulis of the newborn or 'Neuman's Tumour' as described in the literature. It is a rare lesion and the diagnosis has to be confirmed histologically. We present a rare case of a 7-year-old child with a congenital growth in the pre-maxillary region of the anterior hard palate clinically diagnosed as congenital epulis however, histologically confirmed as a mucous retention cyst. An elaborate clinical differential diagnosis is discussed. The anterior hard palate is devoid of salivary glands and the presence of a mucous retention cyst in the area is suggestive of ectopic salivary gland tissue and in a child manifesting at birth is probably the first case to be reported in the English literature.

  14. The Impact of Incentives to Recruit and Retain Teachers in "Hard-to-Staff" Subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Li; Sass, Tim R.

    2018-01-01

    We investigate the effects of a statewide program designed to increase the supply of teachers in designated "hard-to-staff" areas, such as special education, math, and science. Employing a difference-in-difference estimator we find that the loan forgiveness component of the program was effective, reducing mean attrition rates for middle…

  15. Concept for a Differential Lock and Traction Control Model in Automobiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shukul, A. K.; Hansra, S. K.

    2014-01-01

    The automobile is a complex integration of electronics and mechanical components. One of the major components is the differential which is limited due to its shortcomings. The paper proposes a concept of a cost effective differential lock and traction for passenger cars to sports utility vehicles alike, employing a parallel braking mechanism coming into action based on the relative speeds of the wheels driven by the differential. The paper highlights the employment of minimum number of components unlike the already existing systems. The system was designed numerically for the traction control and differential lock for the world's cheapest car. The paper manages to come up with all the system parameters and component costing making it a cost effective system.

  16. A Numerical Method for Partial Differential Algebraic Equations Based on Differential Transform Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Osmanoglu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We have considered linear partial differential algebraic equations (LPDAEs of the form , which has at least one singular matrix of . We have first introduced a uniform differential time index and a differential space index. The initial conditions and boundary conditions of the given system cannot be prescribed for all components of the solution vector here. To overcome this, we introduced these indexes. Furthermore, differential transform method has been given to solve LPDAEs. We have applied this method to a test problem, and numerical solution of the problem has been compared with analytical solution.

  17. Utility of tantalum (Ta) coating to improve surface hardness in vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of Co–Cr

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pham, Vuong-Hung [WCU Hybrid Materials Program, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (AIST), Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), No 1, Dai Co Viet Road, Ha Noi (Viet Nam); Lee, Seung-Hee; Li, Yuanlong; Kim, Hyoun-Ee [WCU Hybrid Materials Program, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Kwan-Ha [Department of Dental Laboratory Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 136-703 (Korea, Republic of); Koh, Young-Hag, E-mail: kohyh@korea.ac.kr [Department of Dental Laboratory Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 136-703 (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-06-01

    This study reports the utility of tantalum (Ta) coating for improving the surface hardness, in vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of Co–Cr implants. The use of direct current sputtering allowed for the deposition of a dense and uniform Ta film onto a Co–Cr substrate, which was composed of β-phase Ta grains. This hard Ta coating significantly improved the surface hardness of the Co–Cr by a factor of > 2.3. In addition, the Ta-deposited Co–Cr substrate showed a vigorous precipitation of apatite crystals on its surface after 4 weeks of immersion in simulated body fluid, suggesting its excellent in vitro bioactivity. This bioactive Ta coating led to a considerable improvement in the in vitro biocompatibility of the Co–Cr, which was assessed in terms of the attachment, proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1). - Highlights: • Dense and uniform Ta film was deposited onto a Co–Cr substrate using DC sputtering. • The Ta coating significantly enhanced the surface hardness of the Co–Cr. • The in vitro biocompatibility of the Co–Cr was also significantly improved.

  18. Utility of tantalum (Ta) coating to improve surface hardness in vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of Co–Cr

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pham, Vuong-Hung; Lee, Seung-Hee; Li, Yuanlong; Kim, Hyoun-Ee; Shin, Kwan-Ha; Koh, Young-Hag

    2013-01-01

    This study reports the utility of tantalum (Ta) coating for improving the surface hardness, in vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of Co–Cr implants. The use of direct current sputtering allowed for the deposition of a dense and uniform Ta film onto a Co–Cr substrate, which was composed of β-phase Ta grains. This hard Ta coating significantly improved the surface hardness of the Co–Cr by a factor of > 2.3. In addition, the Ta-deposited Co–Cr substrate showed a vigorous precipitation of apatite crystals on its surface after 4 weeks of immersion in simulated body fluid, suggesting its excellent in vitro bioactivity. This bioactive Ta coating led to a considerable improvement in the in vitro biocompatibility of the Co–Cr, which was assessed in terms of the attachment, proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1). - Highlights: • Dense and uniform Ta film was deposited onto a Co–Cr substrate using DC sputtering. • The Ta coating significantly enhanced the surface hardness of the Co–Cr. • The in vitro biocompatibility of the Co–Cr was also significantly improved

  19. Standard Test Method for Application of Ionization Chambers to Assess the Low Energy Gamma Component of Cobalt-60 Irradiators Used in Radiation-Hardness Testing of Silicon Electronic Devices

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2010-01-01

    1.1 Low energy components in the photon energy spectrum of Co-60 irradiators lead to absorbed dose enhancement effects in the radiation-hardness testing of silicon electronic devices. These low energy components may lead to errors in determining the absorbed dose in a specific device under test. This method covers procedures for the use of a specialized ionization chamber to determine a figure of merit for the relative importance of such effects. It also gives the design and instructions for assembling this chamber. 1.2 This method is applicable to measurements in Co-60 radiation fields where the range of exposure rates is 7 × 10 −6 to 3 × 10−2 C kg −1 s−1 (approximately 100 R/h to 100 R/s). For guidance in applying this method to radiation fields where the exposure rate is >100 R/s, see Appendix X1. Note 1—See Terminology E170 for definition of exposure and its units. 1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information onl...

  20. Low swing differential logic for mixed signal applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, P.; Kraft, E.

    2004-01-01

    Low swing differential logic operated at a constant bias current is a promising approach to reduce the switching noise in sensitive mixed mode circuits. Most differential logic families do not allow a significant change in bias current between cells so that it is difficult to optimize the power consumption for a required speed. A nonlinear load circuit for differential current-steering logic consisting of a current source in parallel with a diode connected FET is therefore proposed. The logic levels can be easily adjusted with an external supply voltage so that the circuit design is significantly simplified. As an example application a counter for the use in pixel readout chips is presented. The layout area using radiation hard design rules is not significantly larger than CMOS. The logic can be operated at very low power

  1. Qualitative Outcomes of Participation in Fishing Components of NOLS Courses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine Soule

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Numerous fishing education programs in the United States strive to impart hard skill development, as well as life values to youth. This study employs utilizing semi-structured interviewing techniques and means-end analysis to evaluate the effects of youth participation in fishing components of NOLS courses. Interviews were conducted over five years to study benefit retention across time. The fishing component led to thirteen consequences, most frequently to youth feeling a sense of fun and excitement, developing hard skills, and having a new experience/opportunity. In turn, these consequences led youth to a number of values, including transference of information learned or benefits to other areas of their lives, an increased self-respect/esteem/confidence, self-fulfillment, a sense of accomplishment, and self-awareness. These results provide educators and program managers with information to direct programming development for youth attainment and retention of specific participation outcomes.

  2. Online measurement of mental representations of complex spatial decision problems : comparison of CNET and hard laddering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Horeni, O.; Arentze, T.A.; Dellaert, B.G.C.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2014-01-01

    This paper introduces the online Causal Network Elicitation Technique (CNET), as a technique for measuring components of mental representations of choice tasks and compares it with the more common technique of online 'hard' laddering (HL). While CNET works in basically two phases, one in open

  3. On scale dependence of hardness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shorshorov, M.Kh.; Alekhin, V.P.; Bulychev, S.I.

    1977-01-01

    The concept of hardness as a structure-sensitive characteristic of a material is considered. It is shown that in conditions of a decreasing stress field under the inventor the hardness function is determined by the average distance, Lsub(a), between the stops (fixed and sessile dislocations, segregation particles, etc.). In the general case, Lsub(a) depends on the size of the impression and explains the great diversity of hardness functions. The concept of average true deformation rate on depression is introduced

  4. Hard breakup of the deuteron into two Δ isobars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Granados, Carlos G.; Sargsian, Misak M.

    2011-01-01

    We study high-energy photodisintegration of the deuteron into two Δ isobars at large center of mass angles within the QCD hard rescattering model (HRM). According to the HRM, the process develops in three main steps: the photon knocks a quark from one of the nucleons in the deuteron; the struck quark rescatters off a quark from the other nucleon sharing the high energy of the photon; then the energetic quarks recombine into two outgoing baryons which have large transverse momenta. Within the HRM, the cross section is expressed through the amplitude of pn→ΔΔ scattering which we evaluated based on the quark-interchange model of hard hadronic scattering. Calculations show that the angular distribution and the strength of the photodisintegration is mainly determined by the properties of the pn→ΔΔ scattering. We predict that the cross section of the deuteron breakup to Δ ++ Δ - is 4-5 times larger than that of the breakup to the Δ + Δ 0 channel. Also, the angular distributions for these two channels are markedly different. These can be compared with the predictions based on the assumption that two hard Δ isobars are the result of the disintegration of the preexisting ΔΔ components of the deuteron wave function. In this case, one expects the angular distributions and cross sections of the breakup in both Δ ++ Δ - and Δ + Δ 0 channels to be similar.

  5. Odontoblasts: Specialized hard-tissue-forming cells in the dentin-pulp complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawashima, Nobuyuki; Okiji, Takashi

    2016-07-01

    Odontoblasts are specialized cells that produce dentin and exhibit unique morphological characteristics; i.e., they extend cytoplasmic processes into dentinal tubules. While osteoblasts, which are typical hard-tissue-forming cells, are generated from mesenchymal stem cells during normal and pathological bone metabolism, the induction of odontoblasts only occurs once during tooth development, and odontoblasts survive throughout the lives of healthy teeth. During the differentiation of odontoblasts, signaling molecules from the inner enamel epithelium are considered necessary for the differentiation of odontoblast precursors, i.e., peripheral dental papilla cells. If odontoblasts are destroyed by severe external stimuli, such as deep caries, the differentiation of dental pulp stem cells into odontoblast-like cells is induced. Various bioactive molecules, such as non-collagenous proteins, might be involved in this process, although the precise mechanisms responsible for odontoblast differentiation have not been fully elucidated. Recently, our knowledge about the other functional activities of odontoblasts (apart from dentin formation) has increased. For example, it has been suggested that odontoblasts might act as nociceptive receptors, and surveillance cells that detect the invasion of exogenous pathogens. The regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex has recently gained much attention as a promising future treatment modality that could increase the longevity of pulpless teeth. Finally, congenital dentin anomalies, which are concerned with the disturbance of odontoblast functions, are summarized. © 2016 Japanese Teratology Society.

  6. CD10-/ALDH- cells are the sole cisplatin-resistant component of a novel ovarian cancer stem cell hierarchy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ffrench, Brendan; Gasch, Claudia; Hokamp, Karsten; Spillane, Cathy; Blackshields, Gordon; Mahgoub, Thamir Mahmoud; Bates, Mark; Kehoe, Louise; Mooney, Aoibhinn; Doyle, Ronan; Doyle, Brendan; O'Donnell, Dearbhaile; Gleeson, Noreen; Hennessy, Bryan T; Stordal, Britta; O'Riain, Ciaran; Lambkin, Helen; O'Toole, Sharon; O'Leary, John J; Gallagher, Michael F

    2017-10-19

    It is long established that tumour-initiating cancer stem cells (CSCs) possess chemoresistant properties. However, little is known of the mechanisms involved, particularly with respect to the organisation of CSCs as stem-progenitor-differentiated cell hierarchies. Here we aimed to elucidate the relationship between CSC hierarchies and chemoresistance in an ovarian cancer model. Using a single cell-based approach to CSC discovery and validation, we report a novel, four-component CSC hierarchy based around the markers cluster of differentiation 10 (CD10) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). In a change to our understanding of CSC biology, resistance to chemotherapy drug cisplatin was found to be the sole property of CD10 - /ALDH - CSCs, while all four CSC types were sensitive to chemotherapy drug paclitaxel. Cisplatin treatment quickly altered the hierarchy, resulting in a three-component hierarchy dominated by the cisplatin-resistant CD10 - /ALDH - CSC. This organisation was found to be hard-wired in a long-term cisplatin-adapted model, where again CD10 - /ALDH - CSCs were the sole cisplatin-resistant component, and all CSC types remained paclitaxel-sensitive. Molecular analysis indicated that cisplatin resistance is associated with inherent- and adaptive-specific drug efflux and DNA-damage repair mechanisms. Clinically, low CD10 expression was consistent with a specific set of ovarian cancer patient samples. Collectively, these data advance our understanding of the relationship between CSC hierarchies and chemoresistance, which was shown to be CSC- and drug-type specific, and facilitated by specific and synergistic inherent and adaptive mechanisms. Furthermore, our data indicate that primary stage targeting of CD10 - /ALDH - CSCs in specific ovarian cancer patients in future may facilitate targeting of recurrent disease, before it ever develops.

  7. Deconvolving X-ray spectral variability components in the Seyfert 1.5 NGC 3227

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arévalo, P.; Markowitz, A.

    2014-01-01

    We present the variability analysis of a 100 ks XMM-Newton observation of the Seyfert 1.5 active galaxy, NGC 3227. The observation found NGC 3227 in a period where its hard power-law component displayed remarkably little long-term variability. This lucky event allows us to clearly observe a soft spectral component undergoing a large-amplitude but slow flux variation. Using combined spectral and timing analysis, we isolate two independent variable continuum components and characterize their behavior as a function of timescale. Rapid and coherent variations throughout the 0.2-10 keV band reveal a spectrally hard (photon index Γ ∼ 1.7-1.8) power law, dominating the observed variability on timescales of 30 ks and shorter. Another component produces coherent fluctuations in the 0.2-2 keV range and is much softer (Γ ∼ 3); it dominates the observed variability on timescales greater than 30 ks. Both components are viewed through the same absorbers identified in the time-averaged spectrum. The combined spectral and timing analysis breaks the degeneracy between models for the soft excess: it is consistent with a power-law or thermal Comptonized component but not with a blackbody or an ionized reflection component. We demonstrate that the rapid variability in NGC 3227 is intrinsic to continuum-emitting components and is not an effect of variable absorption.

  8. Hard and soft supersymmetry breaking for ‘graphinos’ in uniform magnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernández-Ortíz, S; Raya, A; Murguía, G

    2012-01-01

    Using irreducible and reducible representations of the Dirac matrices, we study the two- and four-component quantum mechanical supersymmetric (SUSY) theories for ultrarelativistic fermions in (2 + 1) dimensions (‘graphinos’) in a background uniform magnetic field perpendicular to their plane of motion. We then consider ordinary and parity-violating mass terms and identify the former as a soft SUSY breaking term and the latter as the hard SUSY breaking one. (paper)

  9. Micro-hardness of non-irradiated uranium dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sung-Sik; Takagi, Osamu; Obata, Naomi; Kirihara, Tomoo.

    1983-01-01

    In order to obtain the optimum conditions for micro-hardness measurements of sintered UO 2 , two kinds of hardness tests (Vickers and Knoop) were examined with non-irradiated UO 2 of 2.5 and 5 μm in grain size. The hardness values were obtained as a function of the applied load in the load range of 25 -- 1,000 g. In the Vickers test, cracks were generated around the periphery of an indentation even at lower load of 50 g, which means the Vickers hardness is not suitable for UO 2 specimens. In the Knoop test, three stages of load dependence were observed for sintered pellet as well as for a single crystal by Bates. Load dependence of Knoop hardness and crack formation were discussed. In the range of applied load around 70 -- 100 g there were plateau region where hardness values were nearly unchanged and did not contain any cracks in the indentation. The plateau region represents a hardness of a specimen. From a comparison between the hardness values of 2.5 μm and those of 5 μm UO 2 , it was approved that the degree of sintering controls the hardness in the plateau region. (author)

  10. Validation of HVOF WC/Co Thermal Spray Coatings as a Replacement for Hard Chrome Plating on Aircraft Landing Gear

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sartwell, Bruce

    2004-01-01

    .... This document constitutes the final report on a project to quality high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray WC/Co coatings as a replacement for hard chrome plating on landing gear components...

  11. Determination of adhesion between thermoplastic and liquid silicone rubbers in hard-soft-combinations via mechanical peeling test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühr, C.; Spörrer, A.; Altstädt, V.

    2014-05-01

    The production of hard-soft-combinations via multi injection molding gained more and more importance in the last years. This is attributed to different factors. One principle reason is that the use of two-component injection molding technique has many advantages such as cancelling subsequent and complex steps and shortening the process chain. Furthermore this technique allows the combination of the properties of the single components like the high stiffness of the hard component and the elastic properties of the soft component. Because of the incompatibility of some polymers the adhesion on the interface has to be determined. Thereby adhesion is not only influenced by the applied polymers, but also by the injection molding parameters and the characteristics of the mold. Besides already known combinations of thermoplastics with thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), there consists the possibility to apply liquid silicone rubber (LSR) as soft component. A thermoplastic/LSR combination gains in importance due to the specific advantages of LSR to TPE. The faintly adhesion between LSR and thermoplastics is currently one of the key challenges when dealing with those combinations. So it is coercively necessary to improve adhesion between the two components by adding an adhesion promoter. To determine the promoters influence, it is necessary to develop a suitable testing method to investigate e.g. the peel resistance. The current German standard "VDI Richtlinie 2019', which is actually only employed for thermoplastic/TPE combinations, can serve as a model to determine the adhesion of thermoplastic/LSR combinations.

  12. Intelligent optimization models based on hard-ridge penalty and RBF for forecasting global solar radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, He; Dong, Yao; Wang, Jianzhou; Li, Yuqin

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • CS-hard-ridge-RBF and DE-hard-ridge-RBF are proposed to forecast solar radiation. • Pearson and Apriori algorithm are used to analyze correlations between the data. • Hard-ridge penalty is added to reduce the number of nodes in the hidden layer. • CS algorithm and DE algorithm are used to determine the optimal parameters. • Proposed two models have higher forecasting accuracy than RBF and hard-ridge-RBF. - Abstract: Due to the scarcity of equipment and the high costs of maintenance, far fewer observations of solar radiation are made than observations of temperature, precipitation and other weather factors. Therefore, it is increasingly important to study several relevant meteorological factors to accurately forecast solar radiation. For this research, monthly average global solar radiation and 12 meteorological parameters from 1998 to 2010 at four sites in the United States were collected. Pearson correlation coefficients and Apriori association rules were successfully used to analyze correlations between the data, which provided a basis for these relative parameters as input variables. Two effective and innovative methods were developed to forecast monthly average global solar radiation by converting a RBF neural network into a multiple linear regression problem, adding a hard-ridge penalty to reduce the number of nodes in the hidden layer, and applying intelligent optimization algorithms, such as the cuckoo search algorithm (CS) and differential evolution (DE), to determine the optimal center and scale parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed models produce much more accurate forecasts than other models

  13. Hard-hat day

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    CERN will be organizing a special information day on Friday, 27th June, designed to promote the wearing of hard hats and ensure that they are worn correctly. A new prevention campaign will also be launched.The event will take place in the hall of the Main Building from 11.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., when you will be able to come and try on various models of hard hat, including some of the very latest innovative designs, ask questions and pass on any comments and suggestions.

  14. Study of surface integrity AISI 4140 as result of hard, dry and high speed machining using CBN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginting, B.; Sembiring, R. W.; Manurung, N.

    2017-09-01

    The concept of hard, dry and high speed machining can be combined, to produce high productivity, with lower production costs in manufacturing industry. Hard lathe process can be a solution to reduce production time. In lathe hard alloy steels reported problems relating to the integrity of such surface roughness, residual stress, the white layer and the surface integrity. AISI 4140 material is used for high reliable hydraulic system components. This material includes in cold work tool steel. Consideration election is because this material is able to be hardened up to 55 HRC. In this research, the experimental design using CCD model fit with three factors, each factor is composed of two levels, and six central point, experiments were conducted with 1 replications. The experimental design research using CCD model fit.

  15. PROBING THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE SYNCHROTRON AND INVERSE-COMPTON SPECTRAL COMPONENTS OF 1ES 1959+650

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bottacini, E.; Schady, P.; Rau, A.; Zhang, X.-L.; Greiner, J.; Boettcher, M.; Ajello, M.; Fendt, C.

    2010-01-01

    1ES 1959+650 is one of the most remarkable high-peaked BL Lacertae objects (HBL). In 2002, it exhibited a TeV γ-ray flare without a similar brightening of the synchrotron component at lower energies. This orphan TeV flare remained a mystery. We present the results of a multifrequency campaign, triggered by the INTEGRAL IBIS detection of 1ES 1959+650. Our data range from the optical to hard X-ray energies, thus covering the synchrotron and inverse-Compton components simultaneously. We observed the source with INTEGRAL, the Swift X-Ray Telescope, and the UV-Optical Telescope, and nearly simultaneously with a ground-based optical telescope. The steep spectral component at X-ray energies is most likely due to synchrotron emission, while at soft γ-ray energies the hard spectral index may be interpreted as the onset of the high-energy component of the blazar spectral energy distribution (SED). This is the first clear measurement of a concave X-ray-soft γ-ray spectrum for an HBL. The SED can be well modeled with a leptonic synchrotron self-Compton model. When the SED is fitted this model requires a very hard electron spectral index of q ∼ 1.85, possibly indicating the relevance of second-order Fermi acceleration.

  16. Hard spectator interactions in B → ππ at order α2s

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pilipp, V.

    2007-01-01

    In the present thesis I discuss the hard spectator interaction amplitude in B → ππ at NLO i.e. at O(α 2 s ). This special part of the amplitude, whose LO starts at O(α s ), is defined in the framework of QCD factorization. QCD factorization allows to separate the short- and the long-distance physics in leading power in an expansion in Λ QCD /m b , where the short-distance physics can be calculated in a perturbative expansion in α s . Compared to other parts of the amplitude hard spectator interactions are formally enhanced by the hard collinear scale √(Λ QCD m b ), which occurs next to the mb-scale and leads to an enhancement of α s . From a technical point of view the main challenges of this calculation are due to the fact that we have to deal with Feynman integrals that come with up to five external legs and with three independent ratios of scales. These Feynman integrals have to be expanded in powers of Δ QCD /m b . I discuss integration by parts identities to reduce the number of master integrals and differential equations techniques to get their power expansions. A concrete implementation of integration by parts identities in a computer algebra system is given in the appendix. Finally I discuss numerical issues like scale dependence of the amplitudes and branching ratios. It turns out that the NLO contributions of the hard spectator interactions are important but small enough for perturbation theory to be valid. (orig.)

  17. Obtention of high hardness multilayer systems by laser ablation; Obtencion de sistemas multicapa de alta dureza por ablacion laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mejia T, I.S

    2007-07-01

    In this thesis work the synthesis of thin films of titanium nitride (TiN), amorphous carbon nitride (CN{sub x}) amorphous carbon (a-C) and Ti/TiN/CNx multilayers and Ti/TiN/a-C by means of the laser ablation technique, with the objective of obtaining films of high hardness is studied, as well as to produce multilayer coatings with superior properties to the individual layers. The effect that has the laser fluence used for ablationing the targets in the structure and mechanical properties of the films deposited of TiN was investigated. It was found that the hardness is increased in lineal way approximately with the fluence increment up to 19 J/cm{sup 2}. Thin films of a-C with hardness of the order of 12 GPa. likewise CN{sub x} films with high hardness (18.4 GPa) were obtained. The hardness of the deposited films was analyzed and it was related with its microstructure and deposit conditions. It was concluded that the Ti/TiN/CNx and Ti/TiN/a-C systems presented bigger hardness that of its individual components. (Author)

  18. Standard test methods for rockwell hardness of metallic materials

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2008-01-01

    1.1 These test methods cover the determination of the Rockwell hardness and the Rockwell superficial hardness of metallic materials by the Rockwell indentation hardness principle. This standard provides the requirements for Rockwell hardness machines and the procedures for performing Rockwell hardness tests. 1.2 This standard includes additional requirements in annexes: Verification of Rockwell Hardness Testing Machines Annex A1 Rockwell Hardness Standardizing Machines Annex A2 Standardization of Rockwell Indenters Annex A3 Standardization of Rockwell Hardness Test Blocks Annex A4 Guidelines for Determining the Minimum Thickness of a Test Piece Annex A5 Hardness Value Corrections When Testing on Convex Cylindrical Surfaces Annex A6 1.3 This standard includes nonmandatory information in appendixes which relates to the Rockwell hardness test. List of ASTM Standards Giving Hardness Values Corresponding to Tensile Strength Appendix X1 Examples of Procedures for Determining Rockwell Hardness Uncertainty Appendix X...

  19. Standard test methods for rockwell hardness of metallic materials

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2011-01-01

    1.1 These test methods cover the determination of the Rockwell hardness and the Rockwell superficial hardness of metallic materials by the Rockwell indentation hardness principle. This standard provides the requirements for Rockwell hardness machines and the procedures for performing Rockwell hardness tests. 1.2 This standard includes additional requirements in annexes: Verification of Rockwell Hardness Testing Machines Annex A1 Rockwell Hardness Standardizing Machines Annex A2 Standardization of Rockwell Indenters Annex A3 Standardization of Rockwell Hardness Test Blocks Annex A4 Guidelines for Determining the Minimum Thickness of a Test Piece Annex A5 Hardness Value Corrections When Testing on Convex Cylindrical Surfaces Annex A6 1.3 This standard includes nonmandatory information in appendixes which relates to the Rockwell hardness test. List of ASTM Standards Giving Hardness Values Corresponding to Tensile Strength Appendix X1 Examples of Procedures for Determining Rockwell Hardness Uncertainty Appendix X...

  20. Mechanical design of multiple zone plates precision alignment apparatus for hard X-ray focusing in twenty-nanometer scale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shu, Deming; Liu, Jie; Gleber, Sophie C.; Vila-Comamala, Joan; Lai, Barry; Maser, Jorg M.; Roehrig, Christian; Wojcik, Michael J.; Vogt, Franz Stefan

    2017-04-04

    An enhanced mechanical design of multiple zone plates precision alignment apparatus for hard x-ray focusing in a twenty-nanometer scale is provided. The precision alignment apparatus includes a zone plate alignment base frame; a plurality of zone plates; and a plurality of zone plate holders, each said zone plate holder for mounting and aligning a respective zone plate for hard x-ray focusing. At least one respective positioning stage drives and positions each respective zone plate holder. Each respective positioning stage is mounted on the zone plate alignment base frame. A respective linkage component connects each respective positioning stage and the respective zone plate holder. The zone plate alignment base frame, each zone plate holder and each linkage component is formed of a selected material for providing thermal expansion stability and positioning stability for the precision alignment apparatus.

  1. The Effectiveness of Hard Martial Arts in People over Forty: An Attempted Systematic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaby Pons van Dijk

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective was to assess the effect of hard martial arts on the physical fitness components such as balance, flexibility, gait, strength, cardiorespiratory function and several mental functions in people over forty. A computerized literature search was carried out. Studies were selected when they had an experimental design, the age of the study population was >40, one of the interventions was a hard martial art, and when at least balance and cardiorespiratory functions were used as an outcome measure. We included four studies, with, in total, 112 participants, aged between 51 and 93 years. The intervention consisted of Taekwondo or Karate. Total training duration varied from 17 to 234 h. All four studies reported beneficial effects, such as improvement in balance, in reaction tests, and in duration of single leg stance. We conclude that because of serious methodological shortcomings in all four studies, currently there is suggestive, but insufficient evidence, that hard martial arts practice improves physical fitness functions in healthy people over 40. However, considering the importance of such effects, and the low costs of the intervention, the potential of beneficial health effects of age-adapted, hard martial arts training, in people over 40, warrants further study.

  2. Thermal spray coatings replace hard chrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schroeder, M.; Unger, R.

    1997-01-01

    Hard chrome plating provides good wear and erosion resistance, as well as good corrosion protection and fine surface finishes. Until a few years ago, it could also be applied at a reasonable cost. However, because of the many environmental and financial sanctions that have been imposed on the process over the past several years, cost has been on a consistent upward trend, and is projected to continue to escalate. Therefore, it is very important to find a coating or a process that offers the same characteristics as hard chrome plating, but without the consequent risks. This article lists the benefits and limitations of hard chrome plating, and describes the performance of two thermal spray coatings (tungsten carbide and chromium carbide) that compared favorably with hard chrome plating in a series of tests. It also lists three criteria to determine whether plasma spray or hard chrome plating should be selected

  3. Extended hard-X-ray emission in the inner few parsecs of the Galaxy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perez, Kerstin; Hailey, Charles J.; Bauer, Franz E.

    2015-01-01

    of objects emitting soft X-rays (less than 10 kiloelectronvolts) within the surrounding hundreds of parsecs, as well as the population responsible for unresolved X-ray emission extending along the Galactic plane, is dominated by accreting white dwarf systems. Observations of diffuse hard-X-ray (more than 10...... kiloelectronvolts) emission in the inner 10 parsecs, however, have been hampered by the limited spatial resolution of previous instruments. Here we report the presence of a distinct hard-X-ray component within the central 4 × 8 parsecs, as revealed by subarcminute-resolution images in the 20-40 kiloelectronvolt...... outflows interacting with the surrounding radiation field, dense molecular material or magnetic fields. However, all these interpretations pose significant challenges to our understanding of stellar evolution, binary formation, and cosmic-ray production in the Galactic Centre....

  4. Structure, production and properties of high-melting compounds and systems (hard materials and hard metals)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holleck, H.; Thuemmler, F.

    1979-07-01

    The report contains contributions by various authors to the research project on the production, structure, and physical properties of high-melting compounds and systems (hard metals and hard materials), in particular WC-, TaC-, and MoC-base materials. (GSCH) [de

  5. AstroSat /LAXPC Observation of Cygnus X-1 in the Hard State

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Misra, Ranjeev; Pahari, Mayukh [Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune 411007 (India); Yadav, J S; Chauhan, Jai Verdhan; Antia, H M; Chitnis, V R; Dedhia, Dhiraj; Katoch, Tilak; Madhwani, P.; Shah, Parag [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai (India); Agrawal, P C [UM-DAE Center of Excellence for Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai, Kalina, Mumbai-400098 (India); Manchanda, R K [University of Mumbai, Kalina, Mumbai-400098 (India); Paul, B, E-mail: rmisra@iucaa.in [Dept. of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru-560080 (India)

    2017-02-01

    We report the first analysis of data from AstroSat /LAXPC observations of Cygnus X-1 in 2016 January. LAXPC spectra reveals that the source was in the canonical hard state, represented by a prominent thermal Comptonization component having a photon index of ∼1.8 and high temperature of kT{sub e} > 60 keV along with weak reflection and possible disk emission. The power spectrum can be characterized by two broad lorentzian functions centered at ∼0.4 and ∼3 Hz. The rms of the low-frequency component decreases from ∼15% at around 4 keV to ∼10% at around 50 keV, while that of the high-frequency one varies less rapidly from ∼13.5% to ∼11.5% in the same energy range. The time lag between the hard (20–40 keV) and soft (5–10 keV) bands varies in a step-like manner being nearly constant at ∼50 milliseconds from 0.3 to 0.9 Hz, decreasing to ∼8 milliseconds from 2 to 5 Hz and finally dropping to ∼2 milliseconds for higher frequencies. The time lags increase with energy for both the low and high-frequency components. The event mode LAXPC data allows for flux resolved spectral analysis on a timescale of 1 s, which clearly shows that the photon index increased from ∼1.72 to ∼1.80 as the flux increased by nearly a factor of two. We discuss the results in the framework of the fluctuation propagation model.

  6. On chlorination of WC-Co, WC-TiC-Co and TiC-Mo-Ni solid alloys components in electroerosion process conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Satyvaldiev, A.S.; Asanov, U.A.; Dronov, E.O.

    1996-01-01

    Potentialities of electroerosion processing of industrial wastes of hard alloys containing W and Ti carbides have been considered. The optimal dielectric medium for prevailing chlorination of the hard alloys metallic components has been ascertained. 8 refs., 1 tab

  7. Cold Spray for Repair of Magnesium Components

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-01

    Readiness Center East GM General Motors He helium hex-Cr hexavalent chromium HP-Al High Purity Aluminum HVOF High Velocity Oxygen Fuel ID inner...process is the hexavalent chromium (hex-Cr) permissible exposure limit (PEL) as established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA...project related to replacement of hard chrome plating on helicopter dynamic components using HVOF thermal spray coatings. FRC-E has a thermal spray

  8. NuSTAR HARD X-RAY SURVEY OF THE GALACTIC CENTER REGION. I. HARD X-RAY MORPHOLOGY AND SPECTROSCOPY OF THE DIFFUSE EMISSION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mori, Kaya; Hailey, Charles J.; Perez, Kerstin; Nynka, Melania; Zhang, Shuo; Canipe, Alicia M. [Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Krivonos, Roman; Tomsick, John A.; Barrière, Nicolas; Boggs, Steven E.; Craig, William W. [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Hong, Jaesub [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Ponti, Gabriele [Max-Planck-Institut f. extraterrestrische Physik, HEG, Garching (Germany); Bauer, Franz [Instituto de Astrofísica, Facultad de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 306, Santiago 22 (Chile); Alexander, David M. [Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Baganoff, Frederick K. [Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusets Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Barret, Didier [Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse (France); Christensen, Finn E. [DTU Space—National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, DK-2800 Lyngby (Denmark); Forster, Karl [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Giommi, Paolo, E-mail: kaya@astro.columbia.edu [ASI Science Data Center, Via del Politecnico snc I-00133, Roma (Italy); and others

    2015-12-01

    We present the first sub-arcminute images of the Galactic Center above 10 keV, obtained with NuSTAR. NuSTAR resolves the hard X-ray source IGR J17456–2901 into non-thermal X-ray filaments, molecular clouds, point sources, and a previously unknown central component of hard X-ray emission (CHXE). NuSTAR detects four non-thermal X-ray filaments, extending the detection of their power-law spectra with Γ ∼ 1.3–2.3 up to ∼50 keV. A morphological and spectral study of the filaments suggests that their origin may be heterogeneous, where previous studies suggested a common origin in young pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). NuSTAR detects non-thermal X-ray continuum emission spatially correlated with the 6.4 keV Fe Kα fluorescence line emission associated with two Sgr A molecular clouds: MC1 and the Bridge. Broadband X-ray spectral analysis with a Monte-Carlo based X-ray reflection model self-consistently determined their intrinsic column density (∼10{sup 23} cm{sup −2}), primary X-ray spectra (power-laws with Γ ∼ 2) and set a lower limit of the X-ray luminosity of Sgr A* flare illuminating the Sgr A clouds to L{sub X} ≳ 10{sup 38} erg s{sup −1}. Above ∼20 keV, hard X-ray emission in the central 10 pc region around Sgr A* consists of the candidate PWN G359.95–0.04 and the CHXE, possibly resulting from an unresolved population of massive CVs with white dwarf masses M{sub WD} ∼ 0.9 M{sub ⊙}. Spectral energy distribution analysis suggests that G359.95–0.04 is likely the hard X-ray counterpart of the ultra-high gamma-ray source HESS J1745–290, strongly favoring a leptonic origin of the GC TeV emission.

  9. On One Means of Hard Excitation of Oscillations in Nonlinear Flutter Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. D. Glyzin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Considered are so-called finite-dimensional flutter systems, i.e. systems of ordinary differential equations, arising from Galerkin approximations of certain boundary value problems of aeroelasticity theory as well as from a number of radiophysics applications. We study small oscillations of these equations in case of 1 : 3 resonance. By combining analytical and numerical methods, it is concluded that the mentioned resonance can cause a hard excitation of oscillations. Namely, for flutter systems shown is the possibility of coexistence, along with the stable zero state, of stable invariant tori of arbitrary finite dimension as well as chaotic attractors.

  10. XMM-Newton Detection of Hard X-Ray Emission in the Nitrogen-Type Wolf-Rayet Star WR 110

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skinner, Stephen L.; Zhekov, Svetozar A.; Güdel, Manuel; Schmutz, Werner

    2002-06-01

    We have used the excellent sensitivity of XMM-Newton to obtain the first high-quality X-ray spectrum of a Wolf-Rayet (W-R) star that is not known to be a member of a binary system. Our target, the nitrogen-type star WR 110 (HD 165688), was also observed and detected with the Very Large Array at four different frequencies. The radio flux density increases with frequency according to a power law Sν~ν+0.64+/-0.10, in very good agreement with the behavior expected for free-free wind emission. The radio data give an ionized mass-loss rate M=4.9×10-5 Msolar yr-1 for an assumed spherical constant-velocity wind. The undispersed CCD X-ray spectra reveal strong emission lines from He-like ions of Mg, Si, and S. The emission measure distribution shows a dominant contribution from cool plasma with a characteristic temperature kTcool~0.5 keV (~6 MK). Little or no excess absorption of this cool component above the value expected from the visual extinction is present. We conclude that the bulk of the cool plasma detected by XMM-Newton lies at hundreds of stellar radii or more if the wind is approximately spherical and homogeneous, but it could lie closer to the star if the wind is clumped. If the cool plasma is due to instability-driven wind shocks, then typical shock velocities are vs~340-550 km s-1 and the average filling factor of X-ray-emitting gas in the wind is no larger than f~10-6. A surprising result is the unambiguous detection of a hard X-ray component that is clearly seen in the hard-band images and the spectra. This hard component accounts for about half of the observed flux and can be acceptably fitted by a hot, optically thin thermal plasma or a power-law model. If the emission is thermal, then a temperature kThot>=3 keV is derived. Such high temperatures are not predicted by current instability-driven wind shock models, and a different mechanism is thus required to explain the hard X-rays. We examine several possible mechanisms and show that the hard emission

  11. Development of hard-seal gate valve and fast shutter for JT-60 neutral beam injectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuribayashi, S.; Minami, M.; Matsuoka, T.; Takeshita, K.; Morita, H.; Kuriyama, M.; Matsuda, S.; Shirakata, H.

    1983-01-01

    A 600 mm hard-seal valve and a fast shutter for the JT-60 Neutral Beam Injector were developed. The 600 mm hard-seal gate valve was fabricated and tested for 500 cycles at various temperatures of up to 250 0 C. In consequence, requirements of the endurance and vacuum tightness were satisfied. Major components of the fast shutter, i.e., swing action bellows and a high-speed pneumatic cylinder, were tested for 30,000 cycles, and their reliability was confirmed. Then the fast shutter was fabricated and tested. The test result indicated that the fast shutter fully satisfied the requirements of the molecular gas flow conductance and opening/closing speed. (author)

  12. Replacement of Chromium Electroplating on Gas Turbine Engine Components Using Thermal Spray Coatings

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sartwell, Bruce D; Legg, Keith O; Schell, Jerry; Bondaruk, Bob; Alford, Charles; Natishan, Paul; Lawrence, Steven; Shubert, Gary; Bretz, Philip; Kaltenhauser, Anne

    2005-01-01

    .... This document constitutes the final report on a project to qualify high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) and plasma thermal spray coatings as a replacement for hard chrome plating on gas turbine engine components...

  13. Hard-hard coupling assisted anomalous magnetoresistance effect in amine-ended single-molecule magnetic junction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Y.-H.; Lin, C.-J.; Chiang, K.-R.

    2017-06-01

    We proposed a single-molecule magnetic junction (SMMJ), composed of a dissociated amine-ended benzene sandwiched between two Co tip-like nanowires. To better simulate the break junction technique for real SMMJs, the first-principles calculation associated with the hard-hard coupling between a amine-linker and Co tip-atom is carried out for SMMJs with mechanical strain and under an external bias. We predict an anomalous magnetoresistance (MR) effect, including strain-induced sign reversal and bias-induced enhancement of the MR value, which is in sharp contrast to the normal MR effect in conventional magnetic tunnel junctions. The underlying mechanism is the interplay between four spin-polarized currents in parallel and anti-parallel magnetic configurations, originated from the pronounced spin-up transmission feature in the parallel case and spiky transmission peaks in other three spin-polarized channels. These intriguing findings may open a new arena in which magnetotransport and hard-hard coupling are closely coupled in SMMJs and can be dually controlled either via mechanical strain or by an external bias.

  14. Hard breakup of two nucleons from the 3He nucleus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sargsian, Misak M.; Granados, Carlos

    2009-01-01

    We investigate a large angle photodisintegration of two nucleons from the 3 He nucleus within the framework of the hard rescattering model (HRM). In the HRM a quark of one nucleon knocked out by an incoming photon rescatters with a quark of the other nucleon leading to the production of two nucleons with large relative momentum. Assuming the dominance of the quark-interchange mechanism in a hard nucleon-nucleon scattering, the HRM allows the expression of the amplitude of a two-nucleon breakup reaction through the convolution of photon-quark scattering, NN hard scattering amplitude, and nuclear spectral function, which can be calculated using a nonrelativistic 3 He wave function. The photon-quark scattering amplitude can be explicitly calculated in the high energy regime, whereas for NN scattering one uses the fit of the available experimental data. The HRM predicts several specific features for the hard breakup reaction. First, the cross section will approximately scale as s -11 . Second, the s 11 weighted cross section will have the shape of energy dependence similar to that of s 10 weighted NN elastic scattering cross section. Also one predicts an enhancement of the pp breakup relative to the pn breakup cross section as compared to the results from low energy kinematics. Another result is the prediction of different spectator momentum dependencies of pp and pn breakup cross sections. This is due to the fact that the same-helicity pp-component is strongly suppressed in the ground state wave function of 3 He. Because of this suppression the HRM predicts significantly different asymmetries for the cross section of polarization transfer NN breakup reactions for circularly polarized photons. For the pp breakup this asymmetry is predicted to be zero while for the pn it is close to (2/3).

  15. Melting of polydisperse hard disks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pronk, S.; Frenkel, D.

    2004-01-01

    The melting of a polydisperse hard-disk system is investigated by Monte Carlo simulations in the semigrand canonical ensemble. This is done in the context of possible continuous melting by a dislocation-unbinding mechanism, as an extension of the two-dimensional hard-disk melting problem. We find

  16. Computer-assisted acoustic emission analysis in alternating current magnetization and hardness testing of reactor pressure vessel steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blochwitz, M.; Kretzschmar, F.; Rattke, R.

    1985-01-01

    Non-destructive determination of material characteristics such as nilductility transition temperature is of high importance in component monitoring during long-term operation. An attempt has been made to obtain characteristics correlating with mechanico-technological material characteristics by both acoustic resonance through magnetization (ARDM) and acoustic emission analysis in Vickers hardness tests. Taking into account the excitation mechanism of acoustic emission generation, which has a quasistationary stochastic character in a.c. magnetization and a transient nature in hardness testing, a microcomputerized device has been constructed for frequency analysis of the body sound level in ARDM evaluation and for measuring the pulse sum and/or pulse rate during indentation of the test specimen in hardness evaluation. Prerequisite for evaluating the measured values is the knowledge of the frequency dependence of the sensors and the instrument system. The results obtained are presented. (author)

  17. Spatial and temporal structures of impulsive bursts from solar flares observed in UV and hard X-rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, C.-C.; Tandberg-Hanssen, E.; Bruner, E. C.; Orwig, L.; Frost, K. J.; Kenny, P. J.; Woodgate, B. E.; Shine, R. A.

    1981-01-01

    New observations are presented of impulsive UV and hard X-rays bursts in two solar flares obtained with instruments on Solar Maximum Mission. The UV bursts were observed in the Si IV and O IV emission lines, whose intensity ratio is density-sensitive. By comparing the spatially resolved Si IV/O IV observations with the corresponding hard X-ray observations, it is possible to study their spatial and temporal relationships. For one flare, the individual component spikes in the multiply peaked hard X-ray burst can be identified with different discrete Si IV/O IV flaring kernels of size 4 arcsec x 4 arcsec or smaller, which brighten up sequentially in time. For the other, many Si IV/O kernels, widely distributed over a large area, show impulsive bursts at the same time, which correlate with the main peak of the impulsive hard X-ray burst. The density of the flaring Si IV/O IV kernels is in the range from 5 x 10 to the 12th-13th/cu cm.

  18. Time-lapse Raman imaging of osteoblast differentiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashimoto, Aya; Yamaguchi, Yoshinori; Chiu, Liang-Da; Morimoto, Chiaki; Fujita, Katsumasa; Takedachi, Masahide; Kawata, Satoshi; Murakami, Shinya; Tamiya, Eiichi

    2015-07-01

    Osteoblastic mineralization occurs during the early stages of bone formation. During this mineralization, hydroxyapatite (HA), a major component of bone, is synthesized, generating hard tissue. Many of the mechanisms driving biomineralization remain unclear because the traditional biochemical assays used to investigate them are destructive techniques incompatible with viable cells. To determine the temporal changes in mineralization-related biomolecules at mineralization spots, we performed time-lapse Raman imaging of mouse osteoblasts at a subcellular resolution throughout the mineralization process. Raman imaging enabled us to analyze the dynamics of the related biomolecules at mineralization spots throughout the entire process of mineralization. Here, we stimulated KUSA-A1 cells to differentiate into osteoblasts and conducted time-lapse Raman imaging on them every 4 hours for 24 hours, beginning 5 days after the stimulation. The HA and cytochrome c Raman bands were used as markers for osteoblastic mineralization and apoptosis. From the Raman images successfully acquired throughout the mineralization process, we found that β-carotene acts as a biomarker that indicates the initiation of osteoblastic mineralization. A fluctuation of cytochrome c concentration, which indicates cell apoptosis, was also observed during mineralization. We expect time-lapse Raman imaging to help us to further elucidate osteoblastic mineralization mechanisms that have previously been unobservable.

  19. Advances in hard nucleus cataract surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Cui

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Security and perfect vision and fewer complications are our goals in cataract surgery, and hard-nucleus cataract surgery is always a difficulty one. Many new studies indicate that micro-incision phacoemulsification in treating hard nucleus cataract is obviously effective. This article reviews the evolution process of hard nuclear cataract surgery, the new progress in the research of artificial intraocular lens for microincision, and analyse advantages and disadvantages of various surgical methods.

  20. FETOMATERNAL HAEMORRHAGE – DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS – CASE REPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jadranka Domazet-Fink

    2002-07-01

    Full Text Available Background. There are several different causes for fetomaternal haemorrhage. Sinusoidal pattern, which is relatively characteristic for fetal anaemia, may in its final stages completely disappear. Differential diagnosis of silent trace of cardiotocogram with late decelerations is quite difficult to solve.Case report. A case of unusual injury of a pregnant woman is described. The injury led to fetomaternal haemorrhage. Typical sinusoidal pattern cardiotocogram was not seen and the differential diagnosis was hard to determine. Because of prompt intervention and efficient postnatal therapy the child and mother are both well. The dilemmas in regards to differential diagnosis are being discussed.Conclusions. It is important to be very careful in history taking even if the situation is urgent. If there is no explanation for pathological cardiotocogram, decision must be made according to pregnant woman’s wishes. Kleihauer-Betke test, which is easy to perform and gives much information, is described.

  1. Cancer Stem Cells in Moderately Differentiated Buccal Mucosal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Express Components of the Renin-Angiotensin System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Therese Featherston

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Aim We have recently identified and characterized cancer stem cell (CSC subpopulations within moderately differentiated buccal mucosal squamous cell carcinoma (MDBMSCC. We hypothesized that these CSCs express components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS.Methods 3,3-Diaminobenzidine (DAB immunohistochemical (IHC staining was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded MDBMSCC samples to investigate the expression of the components of the RAS: pro(renin receptor (PRR, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE, angiotensin II receptor 1 (ATIIR1 and angiotensin II receptor 2 (ATIIR2. NanoString mRNA gene expression analysis and Western Blotting (WB were performed on snap-frozen MDBMSCC samples to confirm gene expression and translation of these transcripts, respectively. Double immunofluorescent (IF IHC staining of these components of the RAS with the embryonic stem cell markers OCT4 or SALL4 was performed to demonstrate their localization in relation to the CSC subpopulations within MDBMSCC.Results DAB IHC staining demonstrated expression of PRR, ACE, ATIIR1 and ATIIR2 in MDBMSCC. IF IHC staining showed that PRR was expressed by the CSC subpopulations within the tumor nests, the peri-tumoral stroma and the endothelium of the microvessels within the peri-tumoral stroma. ATIIR1 and ATIIR2 were localized to the CSC subpopulations within the tumor nests and the peri-tumoral stroma, while ACE was localized to the endothelium of the microvessels within the peri-tumoral stroma. WB and NanoString analyses confirmed protein expression and transcription activation of PRR, ACE and ATIIR1 but not of ATIIR2, respectively.

  2. Ulno-volar bayonet hand: Its differential diagnosis from Madelung's deformity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christ, F.

    1981-01-01

    The ulno-volar bayonet hand related to the mostly hereditary multiple exostoses is compared to Madelung's forearm deformity under clinical and roentgenological view in differential diagnosis. The ulno-volar bayonet hand is considerably more seldom, basing upon dysplasia of the lower part of the ulna, less inconvenient in function, and hardly tending to the development of early arthrosis. (orig.) [de

  3. The reflection component in NS LMXBs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D’Aí A.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Thanks to the good spectral resolution and large effective area of the EPIC/PN instrument on board of XMM-Newton, we have at hand a large number of observations of accreting low-mass X-ray binaries, that allow for the fist time a comprehensive view on the characteristics of the reflection component at different accretion regimes and to probe the effects of a magnetosphere on its formation. We focus here on a comparative analysis of the reflection component from a series of spectroscopic studies on selected sources: 4U 1705-44, observed both in the soft and hard state, the pulsating ms pulsars SAX J1808.4-3658 and IGR J17511-3057, and the intermittent pulsar HETE J1900-2455. Although the sources can present very similar accretion rates and continuum shapes, the reflection parameters do not generally result the same, moreover the effect of a magnetosphere on the formation of the reflection component appears elusive.

  4. HARD X-RAY TAIL DISCOVERED IN THE CLOCKED BURSTER GS 1826–238

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodi, J.; Jourdain, E.; Roques, J. P., E-mail: jrodi@irap.omp.eu [Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse (France)

    2016-02-01

    The low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) neutron star (NS) GS 1826–238 was discovered by Ginga in 1988 September. Due to the presence of quasi-periodicity in the type I X-ray burst rate, the source has been a frequent target of X-ray observations for almost 30 years. Though the bursts were too soft to be detected by INTEGRAL/SPI, the persistent emission from GS 1826–238 was detected over 150 keV during the ∼10 years of observations. Spectral analysis found a significant high-energy excess above a Comptonization model that is well fit by a power law, indicating an additional spectral component. Most previously reported spectra with hard tails in LMXB NS have had an electron temperature of a few keV and a hard tail dominating above ∼50 keV with an index of Γ ∼ 2–3. GS 1826–238 was found to have a markedly different spectrum with kT{sub e} ∼ 20 keV and a hard tail dominating above ∼150 keV with an index of Γ ∼ 1.8, more similar to black hole X-ray binaries. We report on our search for long-term spectral variability over the 25–370 keV energy range and on a comparison of the GS 1826–238 average spectrum to the spectra of other LMXB NSs with hard tails.

  5. Initiative hard coal; Initiative Steinkohle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leonhardt, J.

    2007-08-02

    In order to decrease the import dependence of hard coal in the European Union, the author has submitted suggestions to the director of conventional sources of energy (directorate general for energy and transport) of the European community, which found a positive resonance. These suggestions are summarized in an elaboration 'Initiative Hard Coal'. After clarifying the starting situation and defining the target the presupposition for a better use of hard coal deposits as raw material in the European Union are pointed out. On that basis concrete suggestions for measures are made. Apart from the conditions of the deposits it concerns thereby also new mining techniques and mining-economical developments, connected with tasks for the mining-machine industry. (orig.)

  6. Hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brandt, A.

    1995-09-01

    The field of hard diffraction, which studies events with a rapidity gap and a hard scattering, has expanded dramatically recently. A review of new results from CDF, D OE, H1 and ZEUS will be given. These results include diffractive jet production, deep-inelastic scattering in large rapidity gap events, rapidity gaps between high transverse energy jets, and a search for diffractive W-boson production. The combination of these results gives new insight into the exchanged object, believed to be the pomeron. The results axe consistent with factorization and with a hard pomeron that contains both quarks and gluons. There is also evidence for the exchange of a strongly interacting color singlet in high momentum transfer (36 2 ) events

  7. Genetic analysis of kernel texture (grain hardness) in a hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) bi-parental population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grain hardness is a very important trait in determining wheat market class and also influences milling and baking traits. At the grain Hardness (Ha) locus on chromosome 5DS, there are two primary mutations responsible for conveying a harder kernel texture among U.S. hard red spring wheats: (1) the P...

  8. [PRODUCT OF THE BMI1--A KEY COMPONENT OF POLYCOMB--POSITIVELY REGULATES ADIPOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION OF MOUSE MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrov, N S; Vereschagina, N A; Sushilova, E N; Kropotov, A V; Miheeva, N F; Popov, B V

    2016-01-01

    Bmil is a key component of Polycomb (PcG), which in mammals controls the basic functions of mammalian somatic stem cells (SSC) such as self-renewal and differentiation. Bmi1 supports SSC via transcriptional suppression of genes associated with cell cycle and differentiation. The most studied target genes of Bmi1 are the genes of Ink4 locus, CdkI p16(Ink4a) and p1(Arf), suppression of which due to activating mutations of the BMI1 results in formation of cancer stem cells (CSC) and carcinomas in various tissues. In contrast, inactivation of BMI1 results in cell cycle arrest and cell senescence. Although clinical phenomena of hypo- and hyperactivation of BMI1 are well known, its targets and mechanisms of regulation of tissue specific SSC are still obscure. The goal of this study was to evaluate the regulatory role of BMI1 in adipocyte differentiation (AD) of mouse mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Induction of AD in mouse MSC of the C3H10T1/2 cell line was associated with an increase in the expression levels of BMI1, the genes of pRb family (RB, p130) and demethylase UTX, but not methyltransferase EZH2, whose products regulate the methylation levels of H3K27. It was observed earlier that H3K27me3 may play the role of the epigenetic switch by promoting AD of human MSC via activating expression of the PPARγ2, the master gene of AD (Hemming et al., 2014). Here we show that inactivation of BMI1 using specific siRNA slows and decreases the levels of AD, but does not abolish it. This is associated with a complete inhibition of the expression of adipogenic marker genes--PPARγ2, ADIPOQ and a decrease in the expression of RB, p130, but not UTX. The results obtained give evidence that the epigenetic mechanism regulating AD differentiation in mouse and human MSC is different.

  9. Low Molecular Weight Z-Tetraol Boundary Lubricant Films in Hard Disk Drives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. J. Waltman

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Lower molecular weight Z-Tetraol films exhibit increased mechanical spacing in the slider-disk interface due to a lower z-profile. An increased resistance to lubricant disturbance on the disk surface (e.g., lube moguls with decreasing film thickness is attributed to an increasing contribution from the polar component of the disjoining pressure. Evaporative loss at temperatures typically encountered in a hard-disk drive also increases with decreasing molecular weight but is strongly dependent on the initial bonded fraction.

  10. Categorization of psychoactive substances into "hard drugs" and "soft drugs": a critical review of terminology used in current scientific literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janik, Peter; Kosticova, Michaela; Pecenak, Jan; Turcek, Michal

    2017-11-01

    Precise terminology and definitions are important components of scientific language. Although the terms "hard drugs" and "soft drugs" are used widely by professionals, neither the International Classification of Diseases nor the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual classify psychoactive substances into the categories "hard" and "soft." To analyze the occurrence of the terms "hard drugs" and "soft drugs" in recent scientific literature and to establish the degree of consensus in labeling psychoactive substances as "hard" or "soft." A critical review of scientific papers listed in PubMed and Scopus between 2011 and 2015. Three hundred thirty-four articles were initially identified as potentially relevant for review, 132 of which were included in the final analysis. One hundred twenty-four articles used the term "hard drugs" and 84.7% provided examples of substances considered "hard." Forty-four articles used the term "soft drugs" and 90.9% provided examples of substances considered "soft." Citations of relevant articles supporting categorization as "hard" or "soft" were not given in 90% of the articles. The authors often provided no or only very sparse information on their reasons for considering specific drugs as "hard" or "soft." Although it initially appeared that there is substantial agreement as to which psychoactive substances should be regarded as "hard" and "soft," closer inspection shows that the dividing line is blurred without clear criteria for categorization. At this time, it remains uncertain whether these terms should persist in the scientific literature. We therefore recommend these terms should be avoided or, if used, be clearly and precisely defined.

  11. Development of Polyethylene Glycol and Hard Fat-Based Mucoadhesive Tablets Containing Various Types of Polyvinyl Alcohols as Mucoadhesive Polymers for Buccal Application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeuchi-Takahashi, Yuri; Kobayashi, Ayaka; Onishi, Hiraku

    2017-06-01

    Topical drug application has the advantage of avoiding systemic side effects. We attempted to develop a long-acting matrix-type tablet containing indomethacin (IM) with low physical stimulus and potent mucoadhesive force to treat pain caused by oral aphtha. A mixture of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hard fat was used as the tablet base. Ethylcellulose was added to the base in an attempt to control drug release. Tablets with PEG as a base were also prepared for comparison. Polyvinyl alcohols (PVAs) with various degrees of saponification were added to increase the mucoadhesive force. From the optical microscopic observations, formulations using PEG and hard fat exhibit PEG/hard fat dispersions caused by the stabilizing effects of PVA. Although the tablets using PEG and hard fat showed sufficient adhesiveness and sustained drug release, those using PEG as the base did not. Drug release was controlled by the amount of hard fat and the saponification degree of PVA. The drug release rate was most increased in a tablet containing PVA with an intermediate degree of saponification, PEG and hard fat. From differential scanning calorimetry and powder X-ray diffraction, IM was considered to exist in the molecular phase. From the results of buccal administration of tablets to rats, highest tissue concentrations were observed in the tablet containing PVA with the intermediate degree of saponification using PEG and hard fat, and the plasma concentrations were sufficiently low in comparison.

  12. Impact of aging on radiation hardness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaneyfelt, M.R.; Winokur, P.S.; Fleetwood, D.M.

    1997-01-01

    Burn-in effects are used to demonstrate the potential impact of thermally activated aging effects on functional and parametric radiation hardness. These results have implications on hardness assurance testing. Techniques for characterizing aging effects are proposed

  13. Isotropic-nematic transition in a mixture of hard spheres and hard spherocylinders: scaled particle theory description

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.F. Holovko

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The scaled particle theory is developed for the description of thermodynamical properties of a mixture of hard spheres and hard spherocylinders. Analytical expressions for free energy, pressure and chemical potentials are derived. From the minimization of free energy, a nonlinear integral equation for the orientational singlet distribution function is formulated. An isotropic-nematic phase transition in this mixture is investigated from the bifurcation analysis of this equation. It is shown that with an increase of concentration of hard spheres, the total packing fraction of a mixture on phase boundaries slightly increases. The obtained results are compared with computer simulations data.

  14. Experimental Investigation of White Layer formation in Hard Turning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umbrello, D.; Rotella, G.; Crea, F.

    2011-05-01

    Hard turning with super hard cutting tools, like PCBN or Ceramics inserts, represents an interesting advance in the manufacturing industry, regarding the finishing of hardened steels. This innovative machining technique is considered an attractive alternative to traditional finish grinding operations because of the high flexibility, the ability to achieve higher metal removal rates, the possibility to operate without the use of coolants, and the capability to achieve comparable workpiece quality. However, the surface integrity effects of hard machining need to be taken into account due to their influence on the life of machined components. In particular, the formation of a usually undesirable white layer at the surface needs further investigation. Three different mechanisms have been proposed as main responsible of the white layer genesis: (i) microstructural phase transformation due to a rapid heating and quenching, (ii) severe plastic deformation resulting in a homogenous structure and/or a very fine grain size microstructure; (iii) surface reaction with the environment. In this research, an experimental campaign was carried out and several experimental techniques were used in order to analyzed the machined surface and to understand which of the above mentioned theories is the main cause of the white layer formation when AISI 52100 hardened steel is machined by PCBN inserts. In particular, the topography characterization has obtained by means of optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM) while microstructural phase composition and chemical characterization have been respectively detected using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. The results prove that the white layer is the result of microstructural alteration, i.e. the generation of a martensitic structure.

  15. Development of ITER diagnostics: Neutronic analysis and radiation hardness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vukolov, Konstantin, E-mail: vukolov_KY@nrcki.ru; Borisov, Andrey; Deryabina, Natalya; Orlovskiy, Ilya

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Problems of ITER diagnostics caused by neutron radiation from hot DT plasma considered. • Careful neutronic analysis is necessary for ITER diagnostics development. • Effective nuclear shielding for ITER diagnostics in the 11th equatorial port plug proposed. • Requirements for study of radiation hardness of diagnostic elements defined. • Results of optical glasses irradiation tests in a fission reactor given. - Abstract: The paper is dedicated to the problems of ITER diagnostics caused by effects of radiation from hot DT plasma. An effective nuclear shielding must be arranged in diagnostic port plugs to meet the nuclear safety requirements and to provide reliable operation of the diagnostics. This task can be solved with the help of neutronic analysis of the diagnostics environment within the port plugs at the design stage. Problems of neutronic calculations are demonstrated for the 11th equatorial port plug. The numerical simulation includes the calculations of neutron fluxes in the port-plug and in the interspace. Options for nuclear shielding, such as tungsten collimator, boron carbide and water moderators, stainless steel and lead screens are considered. Data on neutron fluxes along diagnostic labyrinths allow to define radiation hardness requirements for the diagnostic components and to specify their materials. Options for windows and lenses materials for optical diagnostics are described. The results of irradiation of flint and silica glasses in nuclear reactor have shown that silica KU-1 and KS-4V retain transparency in visible range after neutron fluence of 10{sup 17} cm{sup −2}. Flints required for achromatic objectives have much less radiation hardness about 5 × 10{sup 14} n/cm{sup 2}.

  16. Mechanical Components from Highly Recoverable, Low Apparent Modulus Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padula, Santo, II (Inventor); Noebe, Ronald D. (Inventor); Stanford, Malcolm K. (Inventor); DellaCorte, Christopher (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    A material for use as a mechanical component is formed of a superelastic intermetallic material having a low apparent modulus and a high hardness. The superelastic intermetallic material is conditioned to be dimensionally stable, devoid of any shape memory effect and have a stable superelastic response without irrecoverable deformation while exhibiting strains of at least 3%. The method of conditioning the superelastic intermetallic material is described. Another embodiment relates to lightweight materials known as ordered intermetallics that perform well in sliding wear applications using conventional liquid lubricants and are therefore suitable for resilient, high performance mechanical components such as gears and bearings.

  17. Hard and soft acids and bases: atoms and atomic ions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, James L

    2008-07-07

    The structural origin of hard-soft behavior in atomic acids and bases has been explored using a simple orbital model. The Pearson principle of hard and soft acids and bases has been taken to be the defining statement about hard-soft behavior and as a definition of chemical hardness. There are a number of conditions that are imposed on any candidate structure and associated property by the Pearson principle, which have been exploited. The Pearson principle itself has been used to generate a thermodynamically based scale of relative hardness and softness for acids and bases (operational chemical hardness), and a modified Slater model has been used to discern the electronic origin of hard-soft behavior. Whereas chemical hardness is a chemical property of an acid or base and the operational chemical hardness is an experimental measure of it, the absolute hardness is a physical property of an atom or molecule. A critical examination of chemical hardness, which has been based on a more rigorous application of the Pearson principle and the availability of quantitative measures of chemical hardness, suggests that the origin of hard-soft behavior for both acids and bases resides in the relaxation of the electrons not undergoing transfer during the acid-base interaction. Furthermore, the results suggest that the absolute hardness should not be taken as synonymous with chemical hardness but that the relationship is somewhat more complex. Finally, this work provides additional groundwork for a better understanding of chemical hardness that will inform the understanding of hardness in molecules.

  18. Hard Copy Market Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Testan, Peter R.

    1987-04-01

    A number of Color Hard Copy (CHC) market drivers are currently indicating strong growth in the use of CHC technologies for the business graphics marketplace. These market drivers relate to product, software, color monitors and color copiers. The use of color in business graphics allows more information to be relayed than is normally the case in a monochrome format. The communicative powers of full-color computer generated output in the business graphics application area will continue to induce end users to desire and require color in their future applications. A number of color hard copy technologies will be utilized in the presentation graphics arena. Thermal transfer, ink jet, photographic and electrophotographic technologies are all expected to be utilized in the business graphics presentation application area in the future. Since the end of 1984, the availability of color application software packages has grown significantly. Sales revenue generated by business graphics software is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of just over 40 percent to 1990. Increased availability of packages to allow the integration of text and graphics is expected. Currently, the latest versions of page description languages such as Postscript, Interpress and DDL all support color output. The use of color monitors will also drive the demand for color hard copy in the business graphics market place. The availability of higher resolution screens is allowing color monitors to be easily used for both text and graphics applications in the office environment. During 1987, the sales of color monitors are expected to surpass the sales of monochrome monitors. Another major color hard copy market driver will be the color copier. In order to take advantage of the communications power of computer generated color output, multiple copies are required for distribution. Product introductions of a new generation of color copiers is now underway with additional introductions expected

  19. Development of method for evaluating cell hardness and correlation between bacterial spore hardness and durability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nakanishi Koichi

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the availability of conventional devices for making single-cell manipulations, determining the hardness of a single cell remains difficult. Here, we consider the cell to be a linear elastic body and apply Young’s modulus (modulus of elasticity, which is defined as the ratio of the repulsive force (stress in response to the applied strain. In this new method, a scanning probe microscope (SPM is operated with a cantilever in the “contact-and-push” mode, and the cantilever is applied to the cell surface over a set distance (applied strain. Results We determined the hardness of the following bacterial cells: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and five Bacillus spp. In log phase, these strains had a similar Young’s modulus, but Bacillus spp. spores were significantly harder than the corresponding vegetative cells. There was a positive, linear correlation between the hardness of bacterial spores and heat or ultraviolet (UV resistance. Conclusions Using this technique, the hardness of a single vegetative bacterial cell or spore could be determined based on Young’s modulus. As an application of this technique, we demonstrated that the hardness of individual bacterial spores was directly proportional to heat and UV resistance, which are the conventional measures of physical durability. This technique allows the rapid and direct determination of spore durability and provides a valuable and innovative method for the evaluation of physical properties in the field of microbiology.

  20. Hard coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dan, J.P.; Boving, H.J.; Hintermann, H.E.

    1993-01-01

    Hard, wear resistant and low friction coatings are presently produced on a world-wide basis, by different processes such as electrochemical or electroless methods, spray technologies, thermochemical, CVD and PVD. Some of the most advanced processes, especially those dedicated to thin film depositions, basically belong to CVD or PVD technologies, and will be looked at in more detail. The hard coatings mainly consist of oxides, nitrides, carbides, borides or carbon. Over the years, many processes have been developed which are variations and/or combinations of the basic CVD and PVD methods. The main difference between these two families of deposition techniques is that the CVD is an elevated temperature process (≥ 700 C), while the PVD on the contrary, is rather a low temperature process (≤ 500 C); this of course influences the choice of substrates and properties of the coating/substrate systems. Fundamental aspects of the vapor phase deposition techniques and some of their influences on coating properties will be discussed, as well as the very important interactions between deposit and substrate: diffusions, internal stress, etc. Advantages and limitations of CVD and PVD respectively will briefly be reviewed and examples of applications of the layers will be given. Parallel to the development and permanent updating of surface modification technologies, an effort was made to create novel characterisation methods. A close look will be given to the coating adherence control by means of the scratch test, at the coating hardness measurement by means of nanoindentation, at the coating wear resistance by means of a pin-on-disc tribometer, and at the surface quality evaluation by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Finally, main important trends will be highlighted. (orig.)

  1. A Local Approximation of Fundamental Measure Theory Incorporated into Three Dimensional Poisson-Nernst-Planck Equations to Account for Hard Sphere Repulsion Among Ions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiao, Yu; Liu, Xuejiao; Chen, Minxin; Lu, Benzhuo

    2016-04-01

    The hard sphere repulsion among ions can be considered in the Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equations by combining the fundamental measure theory (FMT). To reduce the nonlocal computational complexity in 3D simulation of biological systems, a local approximation of FMT is derived, which forms a local hard sphere PNP (LHSPNP) model. In the derivation, the excess chemical potential from hard sphere repulsion is obtained with the FMT and has six integration components. For the integrands and weighted densities in each component, Taylor expansions are performed and the lowest order approximations are taken, which result in the final local hard sphere (LHS) excess chemical potential with four components. By plugging the LHS excess chemical potential into the ionic flux expression in the Nernst-Planck equation, the three dimensional LHSPNP is obtained. It is interestingly found that the essential part of free energy term of the previous size modified model (Borukhov et al. in Phys Rev Lett 79:435-438, 1997; Kilic et al. in Phys Rev E 75:021502, 2007; Lu and Zhou in Biophys J 100:2475-2485, 2011; Liu and Eisenberg in J Chem Phys 141:22D532, 2014) has a very similar form to one term of the LHS model, but LHSPNP has more additional terms accounting for size effects. Equation of state for one component homogeneous fluid is studied for the local hard sphere approximation of FMT and is proved to be exact for the first two virial coefficients, while the previous size modified model only presents the first virial coefficient accurately. To investigate the effects of LHS model and the competitions among different counterion species, numerical experiments are performed for the traditional PNP model, the LHSPNP model, the previous size modified PNP (SMPNP) model and the Monte Carlo simulation. It's observed that in steady state the LHSPNP results are quite different from the PNP results, but are close to the SMPNP results under a wide range of boundary conditions. Besides, in both

  2. Residual stress control and design of next-generation ultra-hard gear steels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Yana

    optimized for desired carbon content profiles using carbon diffusion simulation in the multi-component system. After cyclic tempering with intermediate cryogenic treatment, a case hardness of 68.5 +/- 0.3Rc at 0.72 +/- 0.2wt% carbon content was achieved. The design demonstrated the effectiveness of cryogenic deformation in promoting martensite transformation for high carbon and high alloy steels. Good agreement between achieved and predicted case and core hardness supports the effectiveness of the computational design approach.

  3. Correlating particle hardness with powder compaction performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Xiaoping; Morganti, Mikayla; Hancock, Bruno C; Masterson, Victoria M

    2010-10-01

    Assessing particle mechanical properties of pharmaceutical materials quickly and with little material can be very important to early stages of pharmaceutical research. In this study, a wide range of pharmaceutical materials were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation. A significant amount of particle hardness and elastic modulus data were provided. Moreover, powder compact mechanical properties of these materials were investigated in order to build correlation between the particle hardness and powder compaction performance. It was found that the materials with very low or high particle hardness most likely exhibit poor compaction performance while the materials with medium particle hardness usually have good compaction behavior. Additionally, the results from this study enriched Hiestand's special case concept on particle hardness and powder compaction performance. This study suggests that the use of AFM nanoindentation can help to screen mechanical properties of pharmaceutical materials at early development stages of pharmaceutical research.

  4. Extracellular matrix aggregates from differentiating embryoid bodies as a scaffold to support ESC proliferation and differentiation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saik-Kia Goh

    Full Text Available Embryonic stem cells (ESCs have emerged as potential cell sources for tissue engineering and regeneration owing to its virtually unlimited replicative capacity and the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types. Current differentiation strategies primarily involve various growth factor/inducer/repressor concoctions with less emphasis on the substrate. Developing biomaterials to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation could aid in the realization of this goal. Extracellular matrix (ECM components are important physiological regulators, and can provide cues to direct ESC expansion and differentiation. ECM undergoes constant remodeling with surrounding cells to accommodate specific developmental event. In this study, using ESC derived aggregates called embryoid bodies (EB as a model, we characterized the biological nature of ECM in EB after exposure to different treatments: spontaneously differentiated and retinoic acid treated (denoted as SPT and RA, respectively. Next, we extracted this treatment-specific ECM by detergent decellularization methods (Triton X-100, DOC and SDS are compared. The resulting EB ECM scaffolds were seeded with undifferentiated ESCs using a novel cell seeding strategy, and the behavior of ESCs was studied. Our results showed that the optimized protocol efficiently removes cells while retaining crucial ECM and biochemical components. Decellularized ECM from SPT EB gave rise to a more favorable microenvironment for promoting ESC attachment, proliferation, and early differentiation, compared to native EB and decellularized ECM from RA EB. These findings suggest that various treatment conditions allow the formulation of unique ESC-ECM derived scaffolds to enhance ESC bioactivities, including proliferation and differentiation for tissue regeneration applications.

  5. Hard-Diet Feeding Recovers Neurogenesis in the Subventricular Zone and Olfactory Functions of Mice Impaired by Soft-Diet Feeding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Utsugi, Chizuru; Miyazono, Sadaharu; Osada, Kazumi; Sasajima, Hitoshi; Noguchi, Tomohiro; Matsuda, Mitsuyoshi; Kashiwayanagi, Makoto

    2014-01-01

    The subventricular zone (SVZ) generates an immense number of neurons even during adulthood. These neurons migrate to the olfactory bulb (OB) and differentiate into granule cells and periglomerular cells. The information broadcast by general odorants is received by the olfactory sensory neurons and transmitted to the OB. Recent studies have shown that a reduction of mastication impairs both neurogenesis in the hippocampus and brain functions. To examine these effects, we first measured the difference in Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) at the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus (Pr5), which receives intraoral touch information via the trigeminal nerve, when female adult mice ingested a hard or soft diet to explore whether soft-diet feeding could mimic impaired mastication. Ingestion of a hard diet induced greater expression of Fos-ir cells at the Pr5 than did a soft diet or no diet. Bromodeoxyuridine-immunoreactive (BrdU-ir) structures in sagittal sections of the SVZ and in the OB of mice fed a soft or hard diet were studied to explore the effects of changes in mastication on newly generated neurons. After 1 month, the density of BrdU-ir cells in the SVZ and OB was lower in the soft-diet-fed mice than in the hard-diet-fed mice. The odor preferences of individual female mice to butyric acid were tested in a Y-maze apparatus. Avoidance of butyric acid was reduced by the soft-diet feeding. We then explored the effects of the hard-diet feeding on olfactory functions and neurogenesis in the SVZ of mice impaired by soft-diet feeding. At 3 months of hard-diet feeding, avoidance of butyric acid was reversed and responses to odors and neurogenesis were recovered in the SVZ. The present results suggest that feeding with a hard diet improves neurogenesis in the SVZ, which in turn enhances olfactory function at the OB. PMID:24817277

  6. Plasma spraying of refractory metals and refractory hard materials. State of the art

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eschnauer, H.; Lugscheider, E.; Jaeger, D.

    1989-01-01

    Suitable spraying processes for manufacturing refractory metals, refractory hard materials as well as spray materials with refractory components are the VPS- and IPS-spraying techniques. The advantages of these special spraying process variations are described. The reactive spraying materials are systematically organized. The characteristical properties used in purpose of improving the substrate surfaces are explained. Finally some examples of the latest results of research concerning plasma spraying of reactive materials are shown. 16 refs., 10 figs. (Author)

  7. Non-periodic inspection optimization of multi-component and k-out-of-m systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hajipour, Yassin; Taghipour, Sharareh

    2016-01-01

    This paper proposes a model to find the optimal non-periodic inspection interval over a finite planning horizon for two types of multi-component repairable systems. The first system contains hard-type and soft-type components, and the second system is a k-out-of-m system with m identical components. The failures of components in both systems follow a non-homogeneous Poisson process. A component can be a single part such as battery or line cord, or a subsystem, such as circuit breaker or charger in an infusion pump, which depending on their failures could be either replaced or minimally repaired according to their ages at failure. The systems are inspected at scheduled inspections or when an event of opportunistic inspection or a system failure occur. We develop a model to find the optimal inspection scheme for each system, which results in the minimum total expected cost over the system's lifecycle. We first develop a simulation model to obtain the total expected cost for a given non-periodic inspection scheme, and then integrate the simulation model with a genetic algorithm to obtain the optimal scheme more efficiently. - Highlights: • Non-periodic inspection optimization of two complex systems. • One system consists of soft-type and hard-type components. • The second system is a k-out-of-m system. • Integration of a simulation model and the genetic algorithm. • The model can be used when inspection is challenging or costly.

  8. Methane in German hard coal mining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martens, P.N.; Den Drijver, J.

    1995-01-01

    Worldwide, hard coal mining is being carried out at ever increasing depth, and has, therefore, to cope with correspondingly increasing methane emissions are caused by coal mining. Beside carbon dioxide, chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFCs) and nitrogen oxides, methane is one of the most significant 'greenhouse' gases. It is mainly through the release of such trace gases that the greenhouse effect is brought about. Reducing methane emissions is therefore an important problem to be solved by the coal mining industry. This paper begins by highlighting some of the fundamental principles of methane in hard coal mining. The methane problem in German hard coal mining and the industry's efforts to reduce methane emissions are presented. The future development in German hard coal mining is illustrated by an example which shows how large methane volumes can be managed, while still maintaining high outputs at increasing depth. (author). 7 tabs., 10 figs., 20 refs

  9. Double hard scattering without double counting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diehl, Markus [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Gaunt, Jonathan R. [VU Univ. Amsterdam (Netherlands). NIKHEF Theory Group; Schoenwald, Kay [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany)

    2017-02-15

    Double parton scattering in proton-proton collisions includes kinematic regions in which two partons inside a proton originate from the perturbative splitting of a single parton. This leads to a double counting problem between single and double hard scattering. We present a solution to this problem, which allows for the definition of double parton distributions as operator matrix elements in a proton, and which can be used at higher orders in perturbation theory. We show how the evaluation of double hard scattering in this framework can provide a rough estimate for the size of the higher-order contributions to single hard scattering that are affected by double counting. In a numeric study, we identify situations in which these higher-order contributions must be explicitly calculated and included if one wants to attain an accuracy at which double hard scattering becomes relevant, and other situations where such contributions may be neglected.

  10. Double hard scattering without double counting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diehl, Markus; Gaunt, Jonathan R.

    2017-02-01

    Double parton scattering in proton-proton collisions includes kinematic regions in which two partons inside a proton originate from the perturbative splitting of a single parton. This leads to a double counting problem between single and double hard scattering. We present a solution to this problem, which allows for the definition of double parton distributions as operator matrix elements in a proton, and which can be used at higher orders in perturbation theory. We show how the evaluation of double hard scattering in this framework can provide a rough estimate for the size of the higher-order contributions to single hard scattering that are affected by double counting. In a numeric study, we identify situations in which these higher-order contributions must be explicitly calculated and included if one wants to attain an accuracy at which double hard scattering becomes relevant, and other situations where such contributions may be neglected.

  11. A Hard X-Ray Power-Law Spectral Cutoff in Centaurus X-4

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chakrabarty, Deepto; Tomsick, John A.; Grefenstette, Brian W.

    2015-01-01

    The low-mass X-ray binary Cen X-4 is the brightest and closest (<1.2 kpc) quiescent neutron star transient. Previous 0.5-10 keV X-ray observations of Cen X-4 in quiescence identified two spectral components: soft thermal emission from the neutron star atmosphere and a hard power-law tail of unkno...... behavior with PSR J1023+0038, IGR J18245-2452, and XSS J12270-4859, which have shown transitions between LMXB and radio pulsar modes at a similar X-ray luminosity....

  12. Paravertebral Well-Differentiated Liposarcoma with Low-Grade Osteosarcomatous Component: Case Report with 11-Year Follow-Up, Radiological, Pathological, and Genetic Data, and Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Macagno

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite being one of the most frequent soft-tissue sarcomas, well-differentiated liposarcoma has never been reported near the spine. The authors present the case of a 67-year-old man with progressive history of back pain. Physical examination revealed a mass located within the right paravertebral muscles. MR and CT imaging showed a heavily ossified central mass surrounded by a peripheral fatty component. No connection with the underlying bone was detected on imagery and during surgery. After surgical resection, histopathological examination revealed a tumor harboring combined features of well-differentiated liposarcoma and low-grade osteosarcoma. Tumor cells displayed overexpression of MDM2, CDK4, and P16 by immunohistochemistry and CGH revealed amplification of 12q13-15 as the only genetic imbalance. MDM2 FISH analysis was performed but was inconclusive. The pathological, immunohistochemical, and genetic features, the differential diagnoses, and the therapeutic management of this unusual tumor are discussed. No complementary treatment was performed initially. Following first treatment, two recurrences occurred 6 and 9 years later, both displaying histological features similar to the first occurrence. Radiotherapy was started after the second recurrence. Follow-up shows no evidence of disease 11 years after initial diagnosis. This case was unusual due to the paravertebral location of the tumor and its divergent differentiation.

  13. Determination of the differential cross-section in hadronic e+e--annihilation events with hard, isolated, neutral particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makowsky, M.

    1982-10-01

    Hadronic e + e - -annihilation events have been measured, by the CELLO-detector at PETRA at the center of mass energy Esub(cm) = 34 GeV and Esub(cm) = 22 GeV. Those events with hard, isolated, neutral particles are selected and explored. At Esub(cm) = 34 GeV the predominant source of these isolated photons is found to be initial state bremsstrahlung of the e + e - -annihilation. The measured photon distributions as function of its energy and the total cross section are investigated. The agreement with QED-predictions is good. (orig.) [de

  14. Analysis of Hard Thin Film Coating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Dashen

    1998-01-01

    MSFC is interested in developing hard thin film coating for bearings. The wearing of the bearing is an important problem for space flight engine. Hard thin film coating can drastically improve the surface of the bearing and improve the wear-endurance of the bearing. However, many fundamental problems in surface physics, plasma deposition, etc, need further research. The approach is using electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECRCVD) to deposit hard thin film an stainless steel bearing. The thin films in consideration include SiC, SiN and other materials. An ECRCVD deposition system is being assembled at MSFC.

  15. Subgroup report on hard x-ray microprobes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ice, G.E.; Barbee, T.; Bionta, R.; Howells, M.; Thompson, A.C.; Yun, W.

    1994-01-01

    The increasing availability of synchrotron x-ray sources has stimulated the development of advanced hard x-ray (E≥5 keV) microprobes. New x-ray optics have been demonstrated which show promise for achieving intense submicron hard x-ray probes. These probes will be used for extraordinary elemental detection by x-ray fluorescence/absorption and for microdiffraction to identify phase and strain. The inherent elemental and crystallographic sensitivity of an x-ray microprobe and its inherently nondestructive and penetrating nature makes the development of an advanced hard x-ray microprobe an important national goal. In this workshop state-of-the-art hard x-ray microprobe optics were described and future directions were discussed. Gene Ice, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), presented an overview of the current status of hard x-ray microprobe optics and described the use of crystal spectrometers to improve minimum detectable limits in fluorescent microprobe experiments. Al Thompson, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), described work at the Center for X-ray Optics to develop a hard x-ray microprobe based on Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) optics. Al Thompson also showed the results of some experimental measurements with their KB optics. Malcolm Howells presented a method for bending elliptical mirrors and Troy Barbee commented on the use of graded d spacings to achieve highest efficiency in KB multilayer microfocusing. Richard Bionta, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), described the development of the first hard x-ray zone plates and future promise of so called open-quotes jelly rollclose quotes or sputter slice zone plates. Wenbing Yun, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), described characterization of jelly roll and lithographically produced zone plates and described the application of zone plates to focus extremely narrow bandwidths by nuclear resonance. This report summarizes the presentations of the workshop subgroup on hard x-ray microprobes

  16. Analysis of the development and performance of hard disks

    OpenAIRE

    Novak, Davorin

    2010-01-01

    With the emergence of new technologies in the field of hard drives we can witness a significant increase of surface density and transfer rate of interfaces which, as a result, enables greater performance and reliability of hard disks. The reason for this are increasing needs for higher capacities and data transfer rate to or from the hard disk. This thesis presents the structure of hard drives, features, performance and reliability of hard drives and alternative data storage technologies. Par...

  17. Effect of Mo-Fe substitution on glass forming ability, thermal stability, and hardness of Fe-C-B-Mo-Cr-W bulk amorphous alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khalifa, Hesham E.; Cheney, Justin L. [University of California, San Diego Materials Science and Engineering Program, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0411 (United States); Vecchio, Kenneth S. [University of California, San Diego Department of NanoEngineering, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0411 (United States)], E-mail: kvecchio@ucsd.edu

    2008-08-25

    Amorphous Fe{sub 67-x}C{sub 10}B{sub 9}Mo{sub 7+x}Cr{sub 4}W{sub 3} (x = 1-7 at.%) plates with 640 {mu}m thickness were prepared by copper mold casting. The thermal properties and microstructural development during heat treatments were investigated by a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential thermal analysis, and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The glass forming ability (GFA) and activation energy for crystallization have a distinct dependence on Mo content. Fe{sub 62}C{sub 10}B{sub 9}Mo{sub 12}Cr{sub 4}W{sub 3} is the best glass former in this study, demonstrating a supercooled liquid region, {delta}T{sub x} = 51 K, and an activation energy for crystallization, Q = 453 kJ/mol. The GFA of alloys in this system was governed by elastic strain optimization resulting directly from the variation in Mo content. Heat treatments were performed to demonstrate resistance to crystallization under typical processing conditions. Alloys in this system exhibited a three-phase evolution during crystallization. A second set of heat treatments was performed to identify each phase. Hardness data was collected at each of the heat treatment conditions, and a bulk metallic glasses (BMG)-derived composite containing a Mo-rich phase exhibited Vickers Hardness in excess of 2000. The fully amorphous alloys had an average hardness approaching 1500.

  18. Radiation-Hard Quartz Cerenkov Calorimeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akgun, U.; Onel, Y.

    2006-01-01

    New generation hadron colliders are going to reach unprecedented energies and radiation levels. Quartz has been identified as a radiation-hard material that can be used for Cerenkov calorimeters of the future experiments. We report from the radiation hardness tests performed on quartz fibers, as well as the characteristics of the quartz fiber and plate Cerenkov calorimeters that have been built, designed, and proposed for the CMS experiment

  19. Mechanical properties of lunar materials under anhydrous, hard vacuum conditions: applications of lunar glass structural components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blacic, J.D.

    1984-01-01

    Lunar materials and derivatives such as glass may possess very high tensile strengths compared to equivalent materials on earth because of the absence of hydrolytic weakening processes on the moon and in the hard vacuum of free space. Hydrolyzation of Si-O bonds at crack tips or dislocations reduces the strength of silicates by about an order of magnitude in earth environments. However, lunar materials are extremely anhydrous and hydrolytic weakening will be suppressed in free space. Thus, the geomechanical properties of the moon and engineering properties of lunar silicate materials in space environments will be very different than equivalent materials under earth conditions where the action of water cannot be conveniently avoided. Possible substitution of lunar glass for structural metals in a variety of space engineering applications enhances the economic utilization of the moon. 26 references, 3 figures, 2 tables

  20. Gender Wage Differentials in Greece

    OpenAIRE

    Evangelia Papapetrou

    2004-01-01

    The paper studies the existence of wage differentials between male and female employees in Greece employing quantile regession analysis techniques and applying a variant of the selection-adjusted Oaxaca and Ransom (1994) decomposition method to explain the components of the wage differentials. The results suggest that, in Greece, differences in wages between men and women can be identified. Decomposing the wage gap between genders, the results show that the difference in wages is attributed m...

  1. State of the art in hard-on-hard bearings: how did we get here and what have we achieved?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zywiel, Michael G; Sayeed, Siraj A; Johnson, Aaron J; Schmalzried, Thomas P; Mont, Michael A

    2011-03-01

    Total hip arthroplasty has shown excellent results in decreasing pain and improving function in patients with degenerative disease of the hip. Improvements in prosthetic materials, designs and implant fixation have now resulted in wear of the bearing surface being the limitation of this technology, and a number of hard-on-hard couples have been introduced to address this concern. The purpose of this article is to review the origins, development, survival rates and potential advantages and disadvantages of the following hard-on-hard bearings for total hip arthroplasty: metal-on-metal standard total hip arthroplasty; metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty, ceramic-on-ceramic total hip arthroplasty; and ceramic-on-metal bearings. Improvements in the manufacturing of metal-on-metal bearings over the past 50 years have resulted in implants that provide low wear rates and allow for the use of large femoral heads. However, concerns remain regarding elevated serum metal ion levels, potential teratogenic effects and potentially devastating adverse local tissue reactions, whose incidence and pathogenesis remains unclear. Modern total hip resurfacing has shown excellent outcomes over 10 years in the hands of experienced surgeons. Current ceramic-on-ceramic bearings have demonstrated excellent survival with exceptionally low wear rates and virtually no local adverse effects. Concerns remain for insertional chipping, in vivo fracture and the variable incidence of squeaking. Contemporary ceramic-on-metal interfaces are in the early stages of clinical use, with little data reported to date. Hard-on-hard bearings for total hip arthroplasty have improved dramatically over the past 50 years. As bearing designs continue to improve with new and modified materials and improved manufacturing techniques, it is likely that the use of hard-on-hard bearings will continue to increase, especially in young and active patients.

  2. Hard processes in hadronic interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Satz, H.; Wang, X.N.

    1995-01-01

    Quantum chromodynamics is today accepted as the fundamental theory of strong interactions, even though most hadronic collisions lead to final states for which quantitative QCD predictions are still lacking. It therefore seems worthwhile to take stock of where we stand today and to what extent the presently available data on hard processes in hadronic collisions can be accounted for in terms of QCD. This is one reason for this work. The second reason - and in fact its original trigger - is the search for the quark-gluon plasma in high energy nuclear collisions. The hard processes to be considered here are the production of prompt photons, Drell-Yan dileptons, open charm, quarkonium states, and hard jets. For each of these, we discuss the present theoretical understanding, compare the resulting predictions to available data, and then show what behaviour it leads to at RHIC and LHC energies. All of these processes have the structure mentioned above: they contain a hard partonic interaction, calculable perturbatively, but also the non-perturbative parton distribution within a hadron. These parton distributions, however, can be studied theoretically in terms of counting rule arguments, and they can be checked independently by measurements of the parton structure functions in deep inelastic lepton-hadron scattering. The present volume is the work of Hard Probe Collaboration, a group of theorists who are interested in the problem and were willing to dedicate a considerable amount of their time and work on it. The necessary preparation, planning and coordination of the project were carried out in two workshops of two weeks' duration each, in February 1994 at CERn in Geneva andin July 1994 at LBL in Berkeley

  3. Theory of hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Del Duca, V.

    1995-06-01

    In this talk we review the models describing the hard diffractive production of jets or more generally high-mass states in presence of rapidity gaps in hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions. By rapidity gaps we mean regions on the lego plot in (pseudo)-rapidity and azimuthal angle where no hadrons are produced, between the jet(s) and an elastically scattered hadron (single hard diffraction) or between two jets (double hard diffraction). (orig.)

  4. Seismic signals hard clipping overcoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olszowa, Paula; Sokolowski, Jakub

    2018-01-01

    In signal processing the clipping is understand as the phenomenon of limiting the signal beyond certain threshold. It is often related to overloading of a sensor. Two particular types of clipping are being recognized: soft and hard. Beyond the limiting value soft clipping reduces the signal real gain while the hard clipping stiffly sets the signal values at the limit. In both cases certain amount of signal information is lost. Obviously if one possess the model which describes the considered signal and the threshold value (which might be slightly more difficult to obtain in the soft clipping case), the attempt of restoring the signal can be made. Commonly it is assumed that the seismic signals take form of an impulse response of some specific system. This may lead to belief that the sine wave may be the most appropriate to fit in the clipping period. However, this should be tested. In this paper the possibility of overcoming the hard clipping in seismic signals originating from a geoseismic station belonging to an underground mine is considered. A set of raw signals will be hard-clipped manually and then couple different functions will be fitted and compared in terms of least squares. The results will be then analysed.

  5. Rotation of hard particles in a soft matrix

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Weizhu; Liu, Qingchang; Yue, Zhufeng; Li, Xiaodong; Xu, Baoxing

    Soft-hard materials integration is ubiquitous in biological materials and structures in nature and has also attracted growing attention in the bio-inspired design of advanced functional materials, structures and devices. Due to the distinct difference in their mechanical properties, the rotation of hard phases in soft matrixes upon deformation has been acknowledged, yet is lack of theory in mechanics. In this work, we propose a theoretical mechanics framework that can describe the rotation of hard particles in a soft matrix. The rotation of multiple arbitrarily shaped, located and oriented particles with perfectly bonded interfaces in an elastic soft matrix subjected to a far-field tensile loading is established and analytical solutions are derived by using complex potentials and conformal mapping methods. Strong couplings and competitions of the rotation of hard particles among each other are discussed by investigating numbers, relative locations and orientations of particles in the matrix at different loading directions. Extensive finite element analyses are performed to validate theoretical solutions and good agreement of both rotation and stress field between them are achieved. Possible extensions of the present theory to non-rigid particles, viscoelastic matrix and imperfect bonding are also discussed. Finally, by taking advantage of the rotation of hard particles, we exemplify an application in a conceptual design of soft-hard material integrated phononic crystal and demonstrate that phononic band gaps can be successfully tuned with a high accuracy through the mechanical tension-induced rotation of hard particles. The present theory established herein is expected to be of immediate interests to the design of soft-hard materials integration based functional materials, structures and devices with tunable performance via mechanical rotation of hard phases.

  6. Neurosphere based differentiation of human iPSC improves astrocyte differentiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Shuling; Szczesna, Karolina; Ochalek, Anna

    2016-01-01

    Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are traditionally maintained and proliferated utilizing two-dimensional (2D) adherent monolayer culture systems. However, NPCs cultured using this system hardly reflect the intrinsic spatial development...... of brain tissue. In this study, we determined that culturing iPSC-derived NPCs as three-dimensional (3D) floating neurospheres resulted in increased expression of the neural progenitor cell (NPC) markers, PAX6 and NESTIN. Expansion of NPCs in 3D culture methods also resulted in a more homogenous PAX6...... expression when compared to 2D culture methods. Furthermore, the 3D propagation method for NPCs resulted in a significant higher expression of the astrocyte markers  GFAP and aquaporin 4 (AQP4) in the differentiated cells. Thus, our 3D propagation method could constitute a useful tool to promote NPC...

  7. Theory of hard diffraction and rapidity gaps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Del Duca, V.

    1996-01-01

    In this talk we review the models describing the hard diffractive production of jets or more generally high-mass states in presence of rapidity gaps in hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions. By rapidity gaps we mean regions on the lego plot in (pseudo)-rapidity and azimuthal angle where no hadrons are produced, between the jet(s) and an elastically scattered hadron (single hard diffraction) or between two jets (double hard diffraction). copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

  8. Effect of electrical and mechanical poling history on domain orientation and piezoelectric properties of soft and hard PZT ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marsilius, Mie; Granzow, Torsten; Jones, Jacob L

    2011-01-01

    The superior piezoelectric properties of all polycrystalline ferroelectrics are based on the extent of non-180 0 domain wall motion under electrical and mechanical poling loads. To distinguish between 180 0 and non-180 0 domain wall motion in a soft-doped and a hard-doped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic, domain texture measurements were performed using x-ray and neutron diffraction after different loading procedures. Comparing the results to measurements of the remanent strain and piezoelectric coefficient allowed the differentiation between different microstructural contributions to the macroscopic parameters. Both types of ceramic showed similar behavior under electric field, but the hard-doped material was more susceptible to mechanical load. A considerable fraction of the piezoelectric coefficient originated from poling by the preferred orientation of 180 0 domains.

  9. Effect of electrical and mechanical poling history on domain orientation and piezoelectric properties of soft and hard PZT ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsilius, Mie; Granzow, Torsten; Jones, Jacob L.

    2011-02-01

    The superior piezoelectric properties of all polycrystalline ferroelectrics are based on the extent of non-180° domain wall motion under electrical and mechanical poling loads. To distinguish between 180° and non-180° domain wall motion in a soft-doped and a hard-doped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic, domain texture measurements were performed using x-ray and neutron diffraction after different loading procedures. Comparing the results to measurements of the remanent strain and piezoelectric coefficient allowed the differentiation between different microstructural contributions to the macroscopic parameters. Both types of ceramic showed similar behavior under electric field, but the hard-doped material was more susceptible to mechanical load. A considerable fraction of the piezoelectric coefficient originated from poling by the preferred orientation of 180° domains.

  10. Hard X-ray studies on the Castor tokamak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mlynar, J.

    1990-04-01

    The electron runaway processes in tokamaks are discussed with regard to hard X radiation measurements. The origin and confinement of runaway electrons, their bremsstrahlung spectra and the influence of lower hybrid current drive on the distribution of high-energy electrons are analyzed for the case of the Castor tokamak. The hard X-ray spectrometer designed for the Castor tokamak is also described and preliminary qualitative results of hard X-ray measurements are presented. The first series of integral measurements made it possible to map the azimuthal dependence of the hard X radiation

  11. Develop guidelines for the design of pillar systems for shallow and intermediate depth, tabular, hard rock mines and provide a methodology for assessing hangingwall stability and support requirements for the panels between pillars

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    York, G

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available The design of hard rock pillars, in shallow to intermediate depth hard rock mines, has been redefined as the determination of the pillar system load bearing capacity. This entails the ability to design each of the components of the pillar system...

  12. Hard exclusive QCD processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kugler, W.

    2007-01-15

    Hard exclusive processes in high energy electron proton scattering offer the opportunity to get access to a new generation of parton distributions, the so-called generalized parton distributions (GPDs). This functions provide more detailed informations about the structure of the nucleon than the usual PDFs obtained from DIS. In this work we present a detailed analysis of exclusive processes, especially of hard exclusive meson production. We investigated the influence of exclusive produced mesons on the semi-inclusive production of mesons at fixed target experiments like HERMES. Further we give a detailed analysis of higher order corrections (NLO) for the exclusive production of mesons in a very broad range of kinematics. (orig.)

  13. Soft and hard pomerons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maor, Uri; Tel Aviv Univ.

    1995-09-01

    The role of s-channel unitarity screening corrections, calculated in the eikonal approximation, is investigated for soft Pomeron exchange responsible for elastic and diffractive hadron scattering in the high energy limit. We examine the differences between our results and those obtained from the supercritical Pomeron-Regge model with no such corrections. It is shown that screening saturation is attained at different scales for different channels. We then proceed to discuss the new HERA data on hard (PQCD) Pomeron diffractive channels and discuss the relationship between the soft and hard Pomerons and the relevance of our analysis to this problem. (author). 18 refs, 9 figs, 1 tab

  14. The Component-Based Application for GAMESS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peng, Fang [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    2007-01-01

    GAMESS, a quantum chetnistry program for electronic structure calculations, has been freely shared by high-performance application scientists for over twenty years. It provides a rich set of functionalities and can be run on a variety of parallel platforms through a distributed data interface. While a chemistry computation is sophisticated and hard to develop, the resource sharing among different chemistry packages will accelerate the development of new computations and encourage the cooperation of scientists from universities and laboratories. Common Component Architecture (CCA) offers an enviromnent that allows scientific packages to dynamically interact with each other through components, which enable dynamic coupling of GAMESS with other chetnistry packages, such as MPQC and NWChem. Conceptually, a cotnputation can be constructed with "plug-and-play" components from scientific packages and require more than componentizing functions/subroutines of interest, especially for large-scale scientific packages with a long development history. In this research, we present our efforts to construct cotnponents for GAMESS that conform to the CCA specification. The goal is to enable the fine-grained interoperability between three quantum chemistry programs, GAMESS, MPQC and NWChem, via components. We focus on one of the three packages, GAMESS; delineate the structure of GAMESS computations, followed by our approaches to its component development. Then we use GAMESS as the driver to interoperate integral components from the other tw"o packages, arid show the solutions for interoperability problems along with preliminary results. To justify the versatility of the design, the Tuning and Analysis Utility (TAU) components have been coupled with GAMESS and its components, so that the performance of GAMESS and its components may be analyzed for a wide range of systetn parameters.

  15. Soft And Hard Skills of Social Worker

    OpenAIRE

    HANTOVÁ, Libuše

    2011-01-01

    The work deals with soft and hard skills relevant to the profession of social worker. The theoretical part at first evaluates and analyzes important soft and hard skills necessary for people working in the field of social work. Then these skills are compared. The practical part illustrates the use of soft and hard skills in practice by means of model scenes and deals with the preferences in three groups of people ? students of social work, social workers and people outside the sphere, namely ...

  16. Morphology, microstructure, and hardness of titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) blocks deposited by wire-feed additive layer manufacturing (ALM)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brandl, Erhard; Schoberth, Achim; Leyens, Christoph

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The microstructure and hardness of deposited Ti-6Al-4V blocks are investigated. ► Hardness is influenced by post heat treatment rather than by process parameters. ► Microstructure within the prior β-grains varies to some extent from grain to grain. ► A 600 °C/4 h treatment significantly increased the average hardness. - Abstract: Additive layer manufacturing offers a potential for time and cost savings, especially for aerospace components made from costly titanium alloys. In this paper, the morphology, microstructure, chemical composition, and hardness of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V blocks are investigated and discussed. Blocks (7 beads wide, 7 layers high) were deposited using Ti-6Al-4V wire and a Nd:YAG laser. Two different sets of parameters are used and three different post heat treatment conditions (as-built, 600 °C/4 h, 1200 °C/2 h) are investigated. The experiments reveal elementary properties of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V material in correlation to process parameters and heat treatments, which are discussed comprehensively.

  17. Hard spectator interactions in B {yields} {pi}{pi} at order {alpha}{sup 2}{sub s}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pilipp, V.

    2007-05-31

    In the present thesis I discuss the hard spectator interaction amplitude in B {yields} {pi}{pi} at NLO i.e. at O({alpha}{sup 2}{sub s}). This special part of the amplitude, whose LO starts at O({alpha}{sub s}), is defined in the framework of QCD factorization. QCD factorization allows to separate the short- and the long-distance physics in leading power in an expansion in {lambda}{sub QCD}/m{sub b}, where the short-distance physics can be calculated in a perturbative expansion in {alpha}{sub s}. Compared to other parts of the amplitude hard spectator interactions are formally enhanced by the hard collinear scale {radical}({lambda}{sub QCD}m{sub b}), which occurs next to the mb-scale and leads to an enhancement of {alpha}{sub s}. From a technical point of view the main challenges of this calculation are due to the fact that we have to deal with Feynman integrals that come with up to five external legs and with three independent ratios of scales. These Feynman integrals have to be expanded in powers of {delta}{sub QCD}/m{sub b}. I discuss integration by parts identities to reduce the number of master integrals and differential equations techniques to get their power expansions. A concrete implementation of integration by parts identities in a computer algebra system is given in the appendix. Finally I discuss numerical issues like scale dependence of the amplitudes and branching ratios. It turns out that the NLO contributions of the hard spectator interactions are important but small enough for perturbation theory to be valid. (orig.)

  18. 7 CFR 201.57 - Hard seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... REGULATIONS Germination Tests in the Administration of the Act § 201.57 Hard seeds. Seeds which remain hard at the end of the prescribed test because they have not absorbed water, due to an impermeable seed coat... percentage of germination. For flatpea, continue the swollen seed in test for 14 days when germinating at 15...

  19. The orthogonal gradients method: A radial basis functions method for solving partial differential equations on arbitrary surfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Piret, Cé cile

    2012-01-01

    Much work has been done on reconstructing arbitrary surfaces using the radial basis function (RBF) method, but one can hardly find any work done on the use of RBFs to solve partial differential equations (PDEs) on arbitrary surfaces. In this paper

  20. Computational Modeling Develops Ultra-Hard Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-01-01

    Glenn Research Center's Mechanical Components Branch developed a spiral bevel or face gear test rig for testing thermal behavior, surface fatigue, strain, vibration, and noise; a full-scale, 500-horsepower helicopter main-rotor transmission testing stand; a gear rig that allows fundamental studies of the dynamic behavior of gear systems and gear noise; and a high-speed helical gear test for analyzing thermal behavior for rotorcraft. The test rig provides accelerated fatigue life testing for standard spur gears at speeds of up to 10,000 rotations per minute. The test rig enables engineers to investigate the effects of materials, heat treat, shot peen, lubricants, and other factors on the gear's performance. QuesTek Innovations LLC, based in Evanston, Illinois, recently developed a carburized, martensitic gear steel with an ultra-hard case using its computational design methodology, but needed to verify surface fatigue, lifecycle performance, and overall reliability. The Battelle Memorial Institute introduced the company to researchers at Glenn's Mechanical Components Branch and facilitated a partnership allowing researchers at the NASA Center to conduct spur gear fatigue testing for the company. Testing revealed that QuesTek's gear steel outperforms the current state-of-the-art alloys used for aviation gears in contact fatigue by almost 300 percent. With the confidence and credibility provided by the NASA testing, QuesTek is commercializing two new steel alloys. Uses for this new class of steel are limitless in areas that demand exceptional strength for high throughput applications.

  1. Determination of Formula for Vickers Hardness Measurements Uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purba, Asli

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of formula determination is to obtain the formula of Vickers hardness measurements uncertainty. The approach to determine the formula: influenced parameters identification, creating a cause and effect diagram, determination of sensitivity, determination of standard uncertainty and determination of formula for Vickers hardness measurements uncertainty. The results is a formula for determination of Vickers hardness measurements uncertainty. (author)

  2. Ulno-volar bayonet hand: Its differential diagnosis from Madelung's deformity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christ, F.

    1981-04-01

    The ulno-volar bayonet hand related to the mostly hereditary multiple exostoses is compared to Madelung's forearm deformity under clinical and roentgenological view in differential diagnosis. The ulno-volar bayonet hand is considerably more seldom, basing upon dysplasia of the lower part of the ulna, less inconvenient in function, and hardly tending to the development of early arthrosis.

  3. Derivation of the one component plasma fluid equation of state in strong coupling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeWitt, H.E.; Rosenfeld, Y.

    1979-01-01

    A variational calculation of the one component plasma energy using the hard sphere Percus-Yevick g(r) and the virial entropy gives U/NkT = a GAMMA + b GAMMAsup(1/4) + c + d/ GAMMAsup(1/4) + ... in agreement with the empirical fit to Monte Carlo data. (orig.)

  4. Differential Contribution of RNA Interference Components in Response to Distinct Fusarium graminearum Virus Infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jisuk; Lee, Kyung-Mi; Cho, Won Kyong; Park, Ju Yeon; Kim, Kook-Hyung

    2018-05-01

    The mechanisms of RNA interference (RNAi) as a defense response against viruses remain unclear in many plant-pathogenic fungi. In this study, we used reverse genetics and virus-derived small RNA profiling to investigate the contributions of RNAi components to the antiviral response against Fusarium graminearum viruses 1 to 3 (FgV1, -2, and -3). Real-time reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) indicated that infection of Fusarium graminearum by FgV1, -2, or -3 differentially induces the gene expression of RNAi components in F. graminearum Transcripts of the DICER-2 and AGO-1 genes of F. graminearum ( FgDICER-2 and FgAGO-1 ) accumulated at lower levels following FgV1 infection than following FgV2 or FgV3 infection. We constructed gene disruption and overexpression mutants for each of the Argonaute and dicer genes and for two RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) genes and generated virus-infected strains of each mutant. Interestingly, mycelial growth was significantly faster for the FgV1-infected FgAGO-1 overexpression mutant than for the FgV1-infected wild type, while neither FgV2 nor FgV3 infection altered the colony morphology of the gene deletion and overexpression mutants. FgV1 RNA accumulation was significantly decreased in the FgAGO-1 overexpression mutant. Furthermore, the levels of induction of FgAGO-1 , FgDICER-2 , and some of the FgRdRP genes caused by FgV2 and FgV3 infection were similar to those caused by hairpin RNA-induced gene silencing. Using small RNA sequencing analysis, we documented different patterns of virus-derived small interfering RNA (vsiRNA) production in strains infected with FgV1, -2, and -3. Our results suggest that the Argonaute protein encoded by FgAGO-1 is required for RNAi in F. graminearum , that FgAGO-1 induction differs in response to FgV1, -2, and -3, and that FgAGO-1 might contribute to the accumulation of vsiRNAs in FgV1-infected F. graminearum IMPORTANCE To increase our understanding of how RNAi components in Fusarium

  5. Immunohistochemical features of multifocal melanoacanthoma in the hard palate: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    das Chagas e Silva de Carvalho Luis Felipe

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Melanoacanthoma (MA has been described in the oral mucosa as a solitary lesion or, occasionally, as multiple lesions. MA mainly affects dark skinned patients and grows rapidly, showing a plane or slightly raised appearance and a brown to black color. The differential diagnosis includes oral nevi, amalgam tattoos, and melanomas. We report here the case of a 58-year-old black woman who presented multiple pigmented lesions on the hard palate. Case presentation Based on the differential diagnosis of melanoma, a punch biopsy (4 mm in diameter was performed. The material was fixed in 10% formalin, embedded in paraffin, and stained with hematoxylin-eosin or submitted to immunohistochemical analysis. Immunohistochemistry using antibodies against protein S-100, melan-A, HMB-45, MCM-2, MCM-5, Ki-67 and geminin was performed. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed strong cytoplasmic immunoreactivity of dendritic melanocytes for proteinS-100, HMB-45 and melan-A.Positive staining for proliferative markers (MCM-2, MCM-5, Ki-67 was only observed in basal and suprabasal epithelial cells, confirming the reactive etiology of the lesion. The diagnosis was oral Melanoacanthoma (MA. Conclusion The patient has been followed up for 30 months and shows no clinical alterations. MA should be included in the differential diagnosis of pigmented lesions of the oral cavity.

  6. Hard scattering and a diffractive trigger

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berger, E.L.; Collins, J.C.; Soper, D.E.; Sterman, G.

    1986-02-01

    Conclusions concerning the properties of hard scattering in diffractively produced systems are summarized. One motivation for studying diffractive hard scattering is to investigate the interface between Regge theory and perturbative QCD. Another is to see whether diffractive triggering can result in an improvement in the signal-to-background ratio of measurements of production of very heavy quarks. 5 refs

  7. Complex technique for materials hardness measurement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krashchenko, V P; Oksametnaya, O B

    1984-01-01

    A review of existing methods of measurement of material hardness in national and foreign practice has been made. A necessity of improving the technique of material hardness measurement in a wide temperature range and insuring load change with indenting, continuity of imprint application, smooth changing of temperatures along a sample length, and deformation rate control has been noted.

  8. Seismic loads in modularized and unmodularized large pools located on hard or intermediate hard sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, R G [California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.

    1977-12-01

    To augment the present capacity of pools for storing spent nuclear fuel elements, pools larger than those in current use are being planned. These pools may or may not be modularized into cells. Because of the large size of the pools, seismic loads are of significant interest. In particular, the effects of modularization and site hardness are of concern. The study presented in this paper reveals that modularization is generally unfavourable, because it creates the option of leaving one or more cells empty which in turn results in higher structural loads. The wall which separates a filled cell from an empty cell, or the wall which bears against earth on one side and faces an empty cell on the other, becomes very highly stressed. For the particular pool geometries examined, a hard site is generally preferred over an intermediate hard site in terms of structural loads.

  9. Micro-computer cards for hard industrial environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Breton, J M

    1984-03-15

    Approximately 60% of present or future distributed systems have, or will have, operational units installed in hard environments. In these applications, which include canalization and industrial motor control, robotics and process control, systems must be easily applied in environments not made for electronic use. The development of card systems in this hard industrial environment, which is found in petrochemical industry and mines is described. National semiconductor CIM card system CMOS technology allows the real time micro computer application to be efficient and functional in hard industrial environments.

  10. Selection of hardfacing material for components of the Indian Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhaduri, A.K.; Indira, R.; Albert, S.K.; Rao, B.P.S.; Jain, S.C.; Asokkumar, S.

    2004-01-01

    Nickel-base hardfacing alloys have been chosen to replace cobalt-base alloys as hardfacing material for components of the Indian Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, for minimising the dose rate to personnel during maintenance and decommissioning, and to reduce the shielding thickness required for component handling. Induced activity, dose rate and shielding computations showed that replacing cobalt-base alloys with nickel-base alloys for hardfacing of components would result in a marked reduction in both the dose rate from the components and the thickness of lead handling flasks. Long-term ageing studies on the nickel-base hardface deposits on austenitic stainless steel showed that the hardface deposit would retain adequate hardness at the end of the components' design service-life of 40 years of exposure at 823 K

  11. Prototypes for components of a control system for the ATLAS pixel detector at the HL-LHC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Püllen, Lukas; Boek, Jennifer; Kersten, Susanne; Kind, Peter; Mättig, Peter; Zeitnitz, Christian

    2013-01-01

    In the years around 2020 an upgrade of the LHC to the HL-LHC is scheduled, which will increase the accelerator's instantaneous luminosity by a factor of 5 and the integrated luminosity by a factor of 10. In the context of this upgrade, the inner detector (including the pixel detector) of the ATLAS experiment will be replaced. This new pixel detector requires a specific control system which complies with strict requirements in terms of radiation hardness, material budget and space for the electronics in the ATLAS experiment. The University of Wuppertal is developing a concept for a DCS (Detector Control System) network consisting of two kinds of ASICs. The first ASIC is the DCS chip which is located on the pixel detector, very close to the interaction point. The second ASIC is the DCS Controller which is controlling 4×4 DCS chips from the outer regions of ATLAS via differential data lines. Both ASICs are manufactured in 130 nm deep sub-micron technology. We present results from reliability measurements under irradiation from new prototypes of components for the DCS network.

  12. Prototypes for components of a control system for the ATLAS pixel detector at the HL-LHC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boek, J; Kersten, S; Kind, P; Mättig, P; Püllen, L; Zeitnitz, C

    2013-01-01

    In the years around 2020 an upgrade of the LHC to the HL-LHC is scheduled, which will increase the accelerators luminosity by a factor of 10. In the context of this upgrade, the inner detector of the ATLAS experiment will be replaced entirely including the pixel detector. This new pixel detector requires a specific control system which complies with the strict requirements in terms of radiation hardness, material budget and space for the electronics in the ATLAS experiment. The University of Wuppertal is developing a concept for a DCS (Detector Control System) network consisting of two kinds of ASICs. The first ASIC is the DCS Chip which is located on the pixel detector, very close to the interaction point. The second ASIC is the DCS Controller which is controlling 4x4 DCS Chips from the outer regions of ATLAS via differential data lines. Both ASICs are manufactured in 130 nm deep sub micron technology. We present results from measurements from new prototypes of components for the DCS network.

  13. Developing a semantic web model for medical differential diagnosis recommendation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammed, Osama; Benlamri, Rachid

    2014-10-01

    In this paper we describe a novel model for differential diagnosis designed to make recommendations by utilizing semantic web technologies. The model is a response to a number of requirements, ranging from incorporating essential clinical diagnostic semantics to the integration of data mining for the process of identifying candidate diseases that best explain a set of clinical features. We introduce two major components, which we find essential to the construction of an integral differential diagnosis recommendation model: the evidence-based recommender component and the proximity-based recommender component. Both approaches are driven by disease diagnosis ontologies designed specifically to enable the process of generating diagnostic recommendations. These ontologies are the disease symptom ontology and the patient ontology. The evidence-based diagnosis process develops dynamic rules based on standardized clinical pathways. The proximity-based component employs data mining to provide clinicians with diagnosis predictions, as well as generates new diagnosis rules from provided training datasets. This article describes the integration between these two components along with the developed diagnosis ontologies to form a novel medical differential diagnosis recommendation model. This article also provides test cases from the implementation of the overall model, which shows quite promising diagnostic recommendation results.

  14. Transport coefficients and mechanical response in hard-disk colloidal suspensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Bo-Kai; Ma Yu-Qiang; Li Jian; Chen Kang; Tian Wen-De

    2016-01-01

    We investigate the transport properties and mechanical response of glassy hard disks using nonlinear Langevin equation theory. We derive expressions for the elastic shear modulus and viscosity in two dimensions on the basis of thermal-activated barrier-hopping dynamics and mechanically accelerated motion. Dense hard disks exhibit phenomena such as softening elasticity, shear-thinning of viscosity, and yielding upon deformation, which are qualitatively similar to dense hard-sphere colloidal suspensions in three dimensions. These phenomena can be ascribed to stress-induced “landscape tilting”. Quantitative comparisons of these phenomena between hard disks and hard spheres are presented. Interestingly, we find that the density dependence of yield stress in hard disks is much more significant than in hard spheres. Our work provides a foundation for further generalizing the nonlinear Langevin equation theory to address slow dynamics and rheological behavior in binary or polydisperse mixtures of hard or soft disks. (rapid communication)

  15. Intercellular signaling pathways active during intervertebral disc growth, differentiation, and aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahia, Chitra Lekha; Mahoney, Eric J; Durrani, Atiq A; Wylie, Christopher

    2009-03-01

    Intervertebral discs at different postnatal ages were assessed for active intercellular signaling pathways. To generate a spatial and temporal map of the signaling pathways active in the postnatal intervertebral disc (IVD). The postnatal IVD is a complex structure, consisting of 3 histologically distinct components, the nucleus pulposus, fibrous anulus fibrosus, and endplate. These differentiate and grow during the first 9 weeks of age in the mouse. Identification of the major signaling pathways active during and after the growth and differentiation period will allow functional analysis using mouse genetics and identify targets for therapy for individual components of the disc. Antibodies specific for individual cell signaling pathways were used on cryostat sections of IVD at different postnatal ages to identify which components of the IVD were responding to major classes of intercellular signal, including sonic hedgehog, Wnt, TGFbeta, FGF, and BMPs. We present a spatial/temporal map of these signaling pathways during growth, differentiation, and aging of the disc. During growth and differentiation of the disc, its different components respond at different times to different intercellular signaling ligands. Most of these are dramatically downregulated at the end of disc growth.

  16. CMOS optimization for radiation hardness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Derbenwick, G.F.; Fossum, J.G.

    1975-01-01

    Several approaches to the attainment of radiation-hardened MOS circuits have been investigated in the last few years. These have included implanting the SiO 2 gate insulator with aluminum, using chrome-aluminum layered gate metallization, using Al 2 O 3 as the gate insulator, and optimizing the MOS fabrication process. Earlier process optimization studies were restricted primarily to p-channel devices operating with negative gate biases. Since knowledge of the hardness dependence upon processing and design parameters is essential in producing hardened integrated circuits, a comprehensive investigation of the effects of both process and design optimization on radiation-hardened CMOS integrated circuits was undertaken. The goals are to define and establish a radiation-hardened processing sequence for CMOS integrated circuits and to formulate quantitative relationships between process and design parameters and the radiation hardness. Using these equations, the basic CMOS design can then be optimized for radiation hardness and some understanding of the basic physics responsible for the radiation damage can be gained. Results are presented

  17. Novel hard compositions and methods of preparation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheinberg, H.

    1983-08-23

    Novel very hard compositions of matter are prepared by using in all embodiments only a minor amount of a particular carbide (or materials which can form the carbide in situ when subjected to heat and pressure); and no strategic cobalt is needed. Under a particular range of conditions, densified compositions of matter of the invention are prepared having hardnesses on the Rockwell A test substantially equal to the hardness of pure tungsten carbide and to two of the hardest commercial cobalt-bonded tungsten carbides. Alternately, other compositions of the invention which have slightly lower hardnesses than those described above in one embodiment also possess the advantage of requiring no tungsten and in another embodiment possess the advantage of having a good fracture toughness value. Photomicrographs show that the shapes of the grains of the alloy mixture with which the minor amount of carbide (or carbide-formers) is mixed are radically altered from large, rounded to small, very angular by the addition of the carbide. Superiority of one of these hard compositions of matter over cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide for ultra-high pressure anvil applications was demonstrated. 3 figs.

  18. Study of Cu-Al-Zn alloys hardness temperature dependence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurmanova, D.T.; Skakov, M.K.; Melikhov, V.D.

    2001-01-01

    In the paper the results of studies for the Cu-Al-Zn ternary alloys hardness temperature dependence are presented. The method of 'hot hardness' has been used during study of the solid state phase transformations and under determination of the hot stability boundaries. Due to the samples brittleness a hardness temperature dependence definition is possible only from 350-400 deg. C. Sensitivity of the 'hot hardness' method is decreasing within high plasticity range, so the measurements have been carried out only up to 700-800 deg. C. It is shown, that the alloys hardness dependence character from temperature is close to exponential one within the certain structure modification existence domain

  19. Synthesis, Structure, and Properties of Refractory Hard-Metal Borides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lech, Andrew Thomas

    As the limits of what can be achieved with conventional hard compounds, such as tungsten carbide, are nearing reach, super-hard materials are an area of increasing industrial interest. The refractory hard metal borides, such as ReB2 and WB4, offer an increasingly attractive alternative to diamond and cubic boron nitride as a next-generation tool material. In this Thesis, a thorough discussion is made of the progress achieved by our laboratory towards understanding the synthesis, structure, and properties of these extremely hard compounds. Particular emphasis is placed on structural manipulation, solid solution formation, and the unique crystallographic manifestations of what might also be called "super-hard metals".

  20. Visual inspection technology in the hard disc drive industry

    CERN Document Server

    Muneesawang, Paisarn

    2015-01-01

    A presentation of the use of computer vision systems to control manufacturing processes and product quality in the hard disk drive industry. Visual Inspection Technology in the Hard Disk Drive Industry is an application-oriented book borne out of collaborative research with the world's leading hard disk drive companies. It covers the latest developments and important topics in computer vision technology in hard disk drive manufacturing, as well as offering a glimpse of future technologies.

  1. Laser transformation hardening effect on hardening zone features and surface hardness of tool steel AISI D2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Lesyk

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The relationship of technological input regimes of the laser transformation hardening on change the hardening depth, hardening width, and hardening angle, as well as surface hardness of the tool steel AISI D2 using multifactor experiment with elements of the analysis of variance and regression equations was determined. The laser transformation hardening process implemented by controlling the heating temperature using Nd:YAG fiber laser with scanner, pyrometer and proportional-integral-differential controller. The linear and quadratic regression models are developed, as well as response surface to determine the effect of the heating temperature and feed rate of the treated surface on the energy density of the laser beam, hardening depths, hardening width, hardening angle, and surface hardness are designed. The main effect on the energy density of the laser beam has a velocity laser treatment, on the other hand, the main effect on the geometrical parameters of the laser hardened zone and surface hardness has temperature heating are shown. The optimum magnitudes of the heating temperature (1270 °C and feed rate of the treated surface (90 mm/min for laser transformation hardening of the tool steel AISI D2 using fiber laser with scanner were defined.

  2. Development and characterization of a laser-based hard x-ray source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tillman, C.

    1996-11-01

    A laser-produced plasma was generated by focusing 100 fs laser pulses, with an energy of 150 mJ, onto metal targets. The laser intensity was expected to reach 10 17 W/cm -2 . Radiation was emitted from the created plasma, with photon energies up to the MeV region. The laser-based X-ray source was optimized, with the purpose of making it a realistic source of hard X-rays (>10 keV). Dedicated equipment was developed for efficient generation and utilization of the hard X-rays. The X-ray source was characterized with respect to its spatial extent and the X-ray yield. Measurements were made of the spectral distribution, by the use of single-photon-counting detectors in different geometries, crystal spectrometers and dose measurements in combination with absorption filters. Ablation of the target material in the laser produced plasma was investigated. Imaging applications have been demonstrated, including ultrafast (picosecond) X-ray imaging, magnification imaging of up to x80, differential imaging in the spectral domain, and imaging of various biological and technical objects. The biological response of ultra-intense X-ray pulses was assessed in cell-culture exposures. The results indicate that the biological response from ultra-intense X-ray exposures is similar to the response with conventional X-ray tubes. 82 refs., 14 figs

  3. Development and characterization of a laser-based hard x-ray source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tillman, C.

    1996-11-01

    A laser-produced plasma was generated by focusing 100 fs laser pulses, with an energy of 150 mJ, onto metal targets. The laser intensity was expected to reach 10{sup 17} W/cm{sup -2}. Radiation was emitted from the created plasma, with photon energies up to the MeV region. The laser-based X-ray source was optimized, with the purpose of making it a realistic source of hard X-rays (>10 keV). Dedicated equipment was developed for efficient generation and utilization of the hard X-rays. The X-ray source was characterized with respect to its spatial extent and the X-ray yield. Measurements were made of the spectral distribution, by the use of single-photon-counting detectors in different geometries, crystal spectrometers and dose measurements in combination with absorption filters. Ablation of the target material in the laser produced plasma was investigated. Imaging applications have been demonstrated, including ultrafast (picosecond) X-ray imaging, magnification imaging of up to x80, differential imaging in the spectral domain, and imaging of various biological and technical objects. The biological response of ultra-intense X-ray pulses was assessed in cell-culture exposures. The results indicate that the biological response from ultra-intense X-ray exposures is similar to the response with conventional X-ray tubes. 82 refs., 14 figs.

  4. Platelet-Released Growth Factors Induce Differentiation of Primary Keratinocytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tohidnezhad, Mersedeh; Lammel, Justus; Lippross, Sebastian; Behrendt, Peter; Klüter, Tim; Pufe, Thomas; Jahr, Holger; Cremer, Jochen; Rademacher, Franziska; Gläser, Regine; Harder, Jürgen

    2017-01-01

    Autologous thrombocyte concentrate lysates, for example, platelet-released growth factors, (PRGFs) or their clinically related formulations (e.g., Vivostat PRF®) came recently into the physicians' focus as they revealed promising effects in regenerative and reparative medicine such as the support of healing of chronic wounds. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we analyzed the influence of PRGF and Vivostat PRF on human keratinocyte differentiation in vitro and on epidermal differentiation status of skin wounds in vivo. Therefore, we investigated the expression of early (keratin 1 and keratin 10) and late (transglutaminase-1 and involucrin) differentiation markers. PRGF treatment of primary human keratinocytes decreased keratin 1 and keratin 10 gene expression but induced involucrin and transglutaminase-1 gene expression in an epidermal growth factor receptor- (EGFR-) dependent manner. In concordance with these results, microscopic analyses revealed that PRGF-treated human keratinocytes displayed morphological features typical of keratinocytes undergoing terminal differentiation. In vivo treatment of artificial human wounds with Vivostat PRF revealed a significant induction of involucrin and transglutaminase-1 gene expression. Together, our results indicate that PRGF and Vivostat PRF induce terminal differentiation of primary human keratinocytes. This potential mechanism may contribute to the observed beneficial effects in the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds with autologous thrombocyte concentrate lysates in vivo. PMID:28808357

  5. Platelet-Released Growth Factors Induce Differentiation of Primary Keratinocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Bayer

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Autologous thrombocyte concentrate lysates, for example, platelet-released growth factors, (PRGFs or their clinically related formulations (e.g., Vivostat PRF® came recently into the physicians’ focus as they revealed promising effects in regenerative and reparative medicine such as the support of healing of chronic wounds. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we analyzed the influence of PRGF and Vivostat PRF on human keratinocyte differentiation in vitro and on epidermal differentiation status of skin wounds in vivo. Therefore, we investigated the expression of early (keratin 1 and keratin 10 and late (transglutaminase-1 and involucrin differentiation markers. PRGF treatment of primary human keratinocytes decreased keratin 1 and keratin 10 gene expression but induced involucrin and transglutaminase-1 gene expression in an epidermal growth factor receptor- (EGFR- dependent manner. In concordance with these results, microscopic analyses revealed that PRGF-treated human keratinocytes displayed morphological features typical of keratinocytes undergoing terminal differentiation. In vivo treatment of artificial human wounds with Vivostat PRF revealed a significant induction of involucrin and transglutaminase-1 gene expression. Together, our results indicate that PRGF and Vivostat PRF induce terminal differentiation of primary human keratinocytes. This potential mechanism may contribute to the observed beneficial effects in the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds with autologous thrombocyte concentrate lysates in vivo.

  6. Simulating the DIRCM engagement: component and system level performance

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Willers, CJ

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available , spectrally matched, pyrophoric. Jammers with arc lamps and steered (directional) beams. Early directional laser beams: soft- kill - jamming & dazzling. Single head, complex gimbals. Advanced direction- al laser beams: hard kill - power levels cause damage... countermeasures (DIRCM), employing high power lamps or lasers as sources of infrared energy. The larger aircraft self-protection scenario, comprising the missile, aircraft and DIRCM hardware is a complex system. In this system, each component presents major...

  7. Hard template synthesis of metal nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawamura, Go; Muto, Hiroyuki; Matsuda, Atsunori

    2014-11-01

    Metal nanowires (NWs) have attracted much attention because of their high electron conductivity, optical transmittance and tunable magnetic properties. Metal NWs have been synthesized using soft templates such as surface stabilizing molecules and polymers, and hard templates such as anodic aluminum oxide, mesoporous oxide, carbon nanotubes. NWs prepared from hard templates are composites of metals and the oxide/carbon matrix. Thus, selecting appropriate elements can simplify the production of composite devices. The resulting NWs are immobilized and spatially arranged, as dictated by the ordered porous structure of the template. This avoids the NWs from aggregating, which is common for NWs prepared with soft templates in solution. Herein, the hard template synthesis of metal NWs is reviewed, and the resulting structures, properties and potential applications are discussed.

  8. Why Are Drugs So Hard to Quit?

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Quitting drugs is hard because addiction is a brain disease. Your brain is like a control tower that sends out ... and choices. Addiction changes the signals in your brain and makes it hard to feel OK without ...

  9. Differentiation between non-neural and neural contributors to ankle joint stiffness in cerebral palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Gooijer-van de Groep, Karin L; de Vlugt, Erwin; de Groot, Jurriaan H; van der Heijden-Maessen, Hélène C M; Wielheesen, Dennis H M; van Wijlen-Hempel, Rietje M S; Arendzen, J Hans; Meskers, Carel G M

    2013-07-23

    Spastic paresis in cerebral palsy (CP) is characterized by increased joint stiffness that may be of neural origin, i.e. improper muscle activation caused by e.g. hyperreflexia or non-neural origin, i.e. altered tissue viscoelastic properties (clinically: "spasticity" vs. "contracture"). Differentiation between these components is hard to achieve by common manual tests. We applied an assessment instrument to obtain quantitative measures of neural and non-neural contributions to ankle joint stiffness in CP. Twenty-three adolescents with CP and eleven healthy subjects were seated with their foot fixated to an electrically powered single axis footplate. Passive ramp-and-hold rotations were applied over full ankle range of motion (RoM) at low and high velocities. Subject specific tissue stiffness, viscosity and reflexive torque were estimated from ankle angle, torque and triceps surae EMG activity using a neuromuscular model. In CP, triceps surae reflexive torque was on average 5.7 times larger (p = .002) and tissue stiffness 2.1 times larger (p = .018) compared to controls. High tissue stiffness was associated with reduced RoM (p therapy.

  10. The Effects of Differential Learning and Traditional Learning Trainings on Technical Development of Football Players

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozkurt, Sinan

    2018-01-01

    There are several different methods of learning motor skills, like traditional (linear) and differential (nonlinear) learning training. The traditional motor learning approach proposes that learners improve a skill just by repeating it. According to the teaching principles, exercises are selected along continua from easy to hard and from simple to…

  11. Hard diffraction and small-x

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1995-01-01

    In the United States, phrases such as ''small-x evolution'', ''the BFKL Pomeron'', ''deep-inelastic rapiditygap events'' and ''hard-diffraction'' do not generate the same intensity of discussion amongst high-energy physicists that they do in Europe. However, for three days in the fall such discussion filled the air at Fermilab. The ''2nd Workshop on Small-x and Diffractive Physics at the Tevatron'' was a review of the rapid theoretical and experimental progress taking place in this field. Although Quantum Chromo-dynamics (QCD) has been established as the theory of strong interactions for twenty years, as yet neither perturbative high-energy calculations nor low-energy non-perturbative techniques have been successfully extended to the mixture of high energy and low transverse momenta which characterize traditional ''soft'' diffractive processes. The simplest soft diffractive process is elastic scattering. In this case it is easiest to accept that there is an exchanged ''pomeron'', which can be pictured as a virtual entity with no electric charge or strong charge (colour), perhaps like an excitation of the vacuum. The same pomeron is expected to appear in all diffractive processes. Understanding the pomeron in QCD is a fundamental theoretical and experimental challenge. In the last two or three years the ''frontier'' in this challenging area of QCD has been pushed back significantly in both theory and experiment. Progress has been achieved by studying the evolution of hard collisions to relatively smaller constituent momenta (small x) and by studying ''hard'' diffractive collisions containing simultaneous signatures of diffraction and hard perturbative processes. The hard processes have included high transverse momentum jet production, deep inelastic lepton scattering, and (most recently) W

  12. Product differentiation under bounded rationality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeulen, B.; Poutré, La J.A.; Kok, de A.G.; Pyka, A.; Handa, H.; Ishibuchi, H.; Ong, Y.-S.; Tan, K.-C.

    2015-01-01

    We study product differentiation equilibria and dynamics on the Salop circle under bounded rationality. Due to bounded rationality, firms tend to agglomerate in pairs. Upon adding a second tier of component suppliers, downstream assemblers may escape pairwise horizontal agglomeration. Moreover, we

  13. Electroweak one-loop corrections for e+e- annihilation into t anti t including hard bremsstrahlung

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleischer, J.; Leike, A.; Riemann, T.; Werthenbach, A.

    2003-01-01

    We present the complete electroweak one-loop corrections to top-pair production at a linear e + e - collider in the continuum region. Besides weak and photonic virtual corrections, real hard bremsstrahlung with simple realistic kinematical cuts is included. For the bremsstrahlung we advocate a semi-analytical approach with a high numerical accuracy. The virtual corrections are parameterized through six independent form factors, suitable for Monte Carlo implementation. Alternatively, our numerical package Topfit, a stand-alone code, can be utilized for the calculation of both differential and integrated cross sections as well as forward-backward asymmetries. (orig.)

  14. "Work smart, wear your hard hat"

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    Falling objects and collisions are frequent occurrences in work sites and hazardous areas. Hard hats can help prevent many types of accident and can even save lives. Just imagine an 800 g spanner falling from a 13 m high scaffold onto the head of someone standing below - a nightmare scenario! The impact to the head is equivalent to that of a 5 kg weight falling from 2 metres. That is just what happened to Gerd Fetchenhauer when he was working on the UA1 experiment. Fortunately, he was wearing a hard hat at the time. "That hat saved my life," he explains. "It punched a hole right through the hat and I was a bit dazed for a couple of hours but otherwise I was OK." Since that day, Gerd Fetchenhauer, now working on CMS, is never seen on a work site without his hard hat on. Work sites have proliferated at CERN with the construction of the LHC and its detectors, and the wearing of hard hats is compulsory (not to mention life-saving). In the underground caverns and experiment halls, where gantry cranes and other h...

  15. Cobalt allergy in hard metal workers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, T; Rystedt, I

    1983-03-01

    Hard metal contains about 10% cobalt. 853 hard metal workers were examined and patch tested with substances from their environment. Initial patch tests with 1% cobalt chloride showed 62 positive reactions. By means of secondary serial dilution tests, allergic reactions to cobalt were reproduced in 9 men and 30 women. Weak reactions could not normally be reproduced. A history of hand eczema was found in 36 of the 39 individuals with reproducible positive test reactions to cobalt, while 21 of 23 with a positive initial patch test but negative serial dilution test had never had any skin problems. Hand etching and hand grinding, mainly female activities and traumatic to the hands, were found to involve the greatest risk of cobalt sensitization. 24 individuals had an isolated cobalt allergy. They had probably been sensitized by hard metal work, while the individuals, all women, who had simultaneous nickel allergy had probably been sensitized to nickel before their employment and then became sensitized to cobalt by hard metal work. A traumatic occupation, which causes irritant contact dermatitis and/or a previous contact allergy or atopy is probably a prerequisite for the development of cobalt allergy.

  16. Hard gap in epitaxial semiconductor-superconductor nanowires

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chang, W.; Albrecht, S. M.; Jespersen, T. S.

    2015-01-01

    a continuum of subgap states---a situation that nullifies topological protection. Here, we report a hard superconducting gap induced by proximity effect in a semiconductor, using epitaxial Al-InAs superconductor-semiconductor nanowires. The hard gap, along with favorable material properties and gate...

  17. INTEGRAL SPI Observations of Cygnus X-1 in the Soft State: What about the Jet Contribution in Hard X-Rays?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jourdain, E.; Roques, J. P.; Chauvin, M.

    2014-07-01

    During the first 7 yr of the INTEGRAL mission (2003-2009), Cyg X-1 has essentially been detected in its hard state (HS), with some incursions in intermediate HSs. This long, spectrally stable period allowed in particular the measurement of the polarization of the high-energy component that has long been observed above 200 keV in this peculiar object. This result strongly suggests that here we see the contribution of the jet, known to emit a strong synchrotron radio emission. In 2010 June, Cyg X-1 underwent a completed transition toward a soft state (SS). It gave us the unique opportunity to study in detail the corona emission in this spectral state, and to investigate in particular the behavior of the jet contribution. Indeed, during the SS, the hard X-ray emission decreases drastically, with its maximum energy shifted toward lower energy and its flux divided by a factor of ~5-10. Interestingly, the radio emission follows a similar drop, supporting the correlation between the jet emission and the hard component, even though the flux is too low to quantify the polarization characteristics. Based on observations with INTEGRAL, an ESA project with instruments and science data center funded by ESA member states (especially the PI countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland), the Czech Republic and Poland with the participation of Russia and USA.

  18. Hard Distraction and Deep Inelastic Scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BJORKEN, J.D.

    1994-01-01

    Since the advent of hard-collision physics, the study of diffractive processes- 'shadow physics' - has been less prominent than before. However, there is now a renewed interest in the subject, especially in that aspect which synthesizes the short-distance, hard-collision phenomena with the classical physics of large rapidity-gaps. This is especially stimulated by the recent data on deep-inelastic scattering from HERA, as well as the theoretical work which relates to it. The word 'diffraction' is sometimes used by high-energy physicists in a loose way. So I here begin by defining what I mean by the term: A diffractive process occurs if and only if there is a large rapidity gap in the produced-particle phase space which is not exponentially suppressed. Here a rapidity gap means essentially no hadrons produced into the rapidity gap (which operates in the 'lego' phase-space of pseudo-rapidity and azimuthal angle). And non-exponential suppression implies that the cross-section for creating a gap with width Δη does not have a power-law decrease with increasing sub energy Δη, but behaves at most like some power of pseudorapidity Δη∼ logs. The term 'hard diffraction' shall simply refer to those diffractive processes which have jets in the final-state phase-space. We may also distinguish, if desired, two subclasses, as suggested by Ingelman i) Diffractive hard processes have jets on only one side of the rapidity gap. ii) Hard diffractive processes have jets on both sides of the rapidity gap

  19. Influence of non-metallic second phases on fatigue behaviour of high strength steel components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez, L.; Elvira, R.; Garcia de Andoin, A.; Pizarro, R.; Bertrand, C.

    2005-01-01

    To assess the real effect of the inclusion type on fatigue life of ultra clean high strength steels mechanical components made of 100Cr6 steel were fatigue tested and fracture surfaces analysed to determine the origin of fatigue cracks.Two heats proceedings from different steelmaking routes were taken for the tests. The material were forged into ring shape components which were fatigue tested under compression-compression loads. Failures were analysed by SFEM (Scanning field Emission Microscopy), proving that most of failures at high loads were originated by manganese sulphides of small size (10-70 micros), while less than 40% of all fatigue cracks due to inclusions were caused by titanium carbonitrides and hard oxides. It has been demonstrated that once number and size of hard inclusions have been reduced, the hazardous effect of oxides and carbonitrides on the fatigue life decreases also. However, softer inclusions as manganese sulphides, currently considered as less hazardous, play a more relevant role as direct cause of fatigue failure and they should be taken into account in a deeper way in order to balance both machinability and fatigue life requirements in high strength steel components. (Author) 11 refs

  20. Teasing apart the contributions of hard dietary items on 3D dental microtextures in primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calandra, Ivan; Schulz, Ellen; Pinnow, Mona; Krohn, Susanne; Kaiser, Thomas M

    2012-07-01

    3D dental microtexture analysis is a powerful tool for reconstructing the diets of extinct primates. This method is based on the comparison of fossils with extant species of known diet. The diets of primates are highly diversified and include fruits, seeds, grass, tree leaves, bark, roots, tubers, and animal resources. Fruits remain the main component in the diets of most primates. We tested whether the proportion of fruit consumed is correlated with dental microtexture. Two methods of microtexture analysis, the scale-sensitive fractal analysis (SSFA) and the Dental Areal Surface Texture Analysis (DASTA; after ISO/FDIS 25178-2), were applied to specimens of eight primate species (Alouatta seniculus, Gorilla gorilla, Lophocebus albigena, Macaca fascicularis, Pan troglodytes, Papio cynocephalus, Pongo abelii, Theropithecus gelada). These species largely differ in the mean annual proportion of fruit (from 0 to 90%) in their diet, as well as in their consumption of other hard items (seeds, bark, and insect cuticles) and of abrasive plants. We find the complexity and heterogeneity of textures (SSFA) to correlate with the proportion of fruits consumed. Textural fill volume (SSFA) indicates the proportion of both fruits and other hard items processed. Furthermore, anisotropy (SSFA) relates to the consumption of abrasive plants like grass and other monocots. ISO parameters valley height, root mean square height, material volume, density of peaks, and closed hill and dale areas (DASTA) describe the functional interaction between food items and enamel facets during mastication. The shallow, plastic deformation of enamel surfaces induced by small hard particles, such as phytoliths or dust, results in flat microtexture relief, whereas the brittle, deep fracture caused by large hard items such as hard seeds creates larger relief. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Wave packet autocorrelation functions for quantum hard-disk and hard-sphere billiards in the high-energy, diffraction regime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goussev, Arseni; Dorfman, J R

    2006-07-01

    We consider the time evolution of a wave packet representing a quantum particle moving in a geometrically open billiard that consists of a number of fixed hard-disk or hard-sphere scatterers. Using the technique of multiple collision expansions we provide a first-principle analytical calculation of the time-dependent autocorrelation function for the wave packet in the high-energy diffraction regime, in which the particle's de Broglie wavelength, while being small compared to the size of the scatterers, is large enough to prevent the formation of geometric shadow over distances of the order of the particle's free flight path. The hard-disk or hard-sphere scattering system must be sufficiently dilute in order for this high-energy diffraction regime to be achievable. Apart from the overall exponential decay, the autocorrelation function exhibits a generally complicated sequence of relatively strong peaks corresponding to partial revivals of the wave packet. Both the exponential decay (or escape) rate and the revival peak structure are predominantly determined by the underlying classical dynamics. A relation between the escape rate, and the Lyapunov exponents and Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy of the counterpart classical system, previously known for hard-disk billiards, is strengthened by generalization to three spatial dimensions. The results of the quantum mechanical calculation of the time-dependent autocorrelation function agree with predictions of the semiclassical periodic orbit theory.

  2. Chondrogenic properties of collagen type XI, a component of cartilage extracellular matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ang; Wei, Yiyong; Hung, Clark; Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana

    2018-08-01

    Cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) has been used for promoting tissue engineering. However, the exact effects of ECM on chondrogenesis and the acting mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the chondrogenic effects of cartilage ECM on human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and identified the contributing molecular components. To this end, a preparation of articular cartilage ECM was supplemented to pellets of chondrogenically differentiating MSCs, pellets of human chondrocytes, and bovine articular cartilage explants to evaluate the effects on cell proliferation and the production of cartilaginous matrix. Selective enzymatic digestion and screening of ECM components were conducted to identify matrix molecules with chondrogenic properties. Cartilage ECM promoted MSC proliferation, production of cartilaginous matrix, and maturity of chondrogenic differentiation, and inhibited the hypertrophic differentiation of MSC-derived chondrocytes. Selective digestion of ECM components revealed a contributory role of collagens in promoting chondrogenesis. The screening of various collagen subtypes revealed strong chondrogenic effect of collagen type XI. Finally, collagen XI was found to promote production and inhibit degradation of cartilage matrix in human articular chondrocyte pellets and bovine articular cartilage explants. Our results indicate that cartilage ECM promotes chondrogenesis and inhibits hypertrophic differentiation in MSCs. Collagen type XI is the ECM component that has the strongest effects on enhancing the production and inhibiting the degradation of cartilage matrix. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. KIC 9451096: Magnetic Activity, Flares and Differential Rotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özdarcan, O.; Yoldaş, E.; Dal, H. A.

    2018-04-01

    We present a spectroscopic and photometric analysis of KIC 9451096. The combined spectroscopic and photometric modelling shows that the system is a detached eclipsing binary in a circular orbit and composed of F5V + K2V components. Subtracting the best-fitting light curve model from the whole long cadence data reveals additional low (mmag) amplitude light variations in time and occasional flares, suggesting a low, but still remarkable level of magnetic spot activity on the K2V component. Analyzing the rotational modulation of the light curve residuals enables us to estimate the differential rotation coefficient of the K2V component as k = 0.069 ± 0.008, which is 3 times weaker compared with the solar value of k = 0.19, assuming a solar type differential rotation. We find the stellar flare activity frequency for the K2V component as 0.000368411 h-1 indicating a low magnetic activity level.

  4. Water Hardness Level and ItAND#8217;s Health Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Necmettin Kocak

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Water hardness is a term used to define the number of ions contained in the water, especially quantity sulphate, carbonate salts of calcium and magnesium. This characteristis of water is a important quality in it’s use as drinking water, industrial water and service water. The temporary hardness level of water cames from bicarbonate salts of calcium and magnesium whereas chloride, sulphate, nitrate, phosphate, silicate salts of calcium and magnesium. In order to indicate the hardness level of water samples French Hardness Level is used in our country. There is a larger amounth of calcium and magnesium salts in hard water samples. These minerals have very important functions in the human body. In this study, the importance of hard water in terms of human health has been assessed under light of current information. The studies about the preventive role of hard water in cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, stroke and many types of cancer areviewed. These studies Express that higher levels of calcium and magnesium hard water provide a higher reduction in these disease. Water, which must be consumed as 2 liters per dayis very important for human life. Hard water contains a lot of the minerals that must be taker daily, especially calcium and magnesium. It’s advised that water for consumption to have medium hardness. The hardness level of water is an aesthetic quality. Thus, in populations having a taste for soft water, the effort of individuals to softer the network water provided by municipalities using different equipments, in addition to their preference of soft water in plastic or glass bottles for consumption could imply lack of benefit of hard water for population health and also bring out some risks in terms of water hygiene. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2011; 10(2.000: 187-192

  5. Reconfigurable, Bi-Directional Flexfet Level Shifter for Low-Power, Rad-Hard Integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeGregorio, Kelly; Wilson, Dale G.

    2009-01-01

    Two prototype Reconfigurable, Bi-directional Flexfet Level Shifters (ReBiLS) have been developed, where one version is a stand-alone component designed to interface between external low voltage and high voltage, and the other version is an embedded integrated circuit (IC) for interface between internal low-voltage logic and external high-voltage components. Targeting stand-alone and embedded circuits separately allows optimization for these distinct applications. Both ReBiLS designs use the commercially available 180-nm Flex fet Independently Double-Gated (IDG) SOI CMOS (silicon on insulator, complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology. Embedded ReBiLS circuits were integrated with a Reed-Solomon (RS) encoder using CMOS Ultra-Low-Power Radiation Tolerant (CULPRiT) double-gated digital logic circuits. The scope of the project includes: creation of a new high-voltage process, development of ReBiLS circuit designs, and adjustment of the designs to maximize performance through simulation, layout, and manufacture of prototypes. The primary technical objectives were to develop a high-voltage, thick oxide option for the 180-nm Flexfet process, and to develop a stand-alone ReBiLS IC with two 8-channel I/O busses, 1.8 2.5 I/O on the low-voltage pins, 5.0-V-tolerant input and 3.3-V output I/O on the high-voltage pins, and 100-MHz minimum operation with 10-pF external loads. Another objective was to develop an embedded, rad-hard ReBiLS I/O cell with 0.5-V low-voltage operation for interface with core logic, 5.0-V-tolerant input and 3.3-V output I/O pins, and 100-MHz minimum operation with 10- pF external loads. A third objective was to develop a 0.5- V Reed-Solomon Encoder with embedded ReBilS I/O: Transfer the existing CULPRiT RS encoder from a 0.35-micron bulk-CMOS process to the ASI 180-nm Flexfet, rad-hard SOI Process. 0.5-V low-voltage core logic. 5.0-V-tolerant input and 3.3-V output I/O pins. 100-MHz minimum operation with 10- pF external loads. The stand

  6. Transport coefficients and mechanical response in hard-disk colloidal suspensions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bo-Kai; Li, Jian; Chen, Kang; Tian, Wen-De; Ma, Yu-Qiang

    2016-11-01

    We investigate the transport properties and mechanical response of glassy hard disks using nonlinear Langevin equation theory. We derive expressions for the elastic shear modulus and viscosity in two dimensions on the basis of thermal-activated barrier-hopping dynamics and mechanically accelerated motion. Dense hard disks exhibit phenomena such as softening elasticity, shear-thinning of viscosity, and yielding upon deformation, which are qualitatively similar to dense hard-sphere colloidal suspensions in three dimensions. These phenomena can be ascribed to stress-induced “landscape tilting”. Quantitative comparisons of these phenomena between hard disks and hard spheres are presented. Interestingly, we find that the density dependence of yield stress in hard disks is much more significant than in hard spheres. Our work provides a foundation for further generalizing the nonlinear Langevin equation theory to address slow dynamics and rheological behavior in binary or polydisperse mixtures of hard or soft disks. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB821500) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21374073 and, 21574096).

  7. Driven self-assembly of hard nanoplates on soft elastic shells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yao-Yang; Hua Yun-Feng; Deng Zhen-Yu

    2015-01-01

    The driven self-assembly behaviors of hard nanoplates on soft elastic shells are investigated by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method, and the driven self-assembly structures of adsorbed hard nanoplates depend on the shape of hard nanoplates and the bending energy of soft elastic shells. Three main structures for adsorbed hard nanoplates, including the ordered aggregation structures of hard nanoplates for elastic shells with a moderate bending energy, the collapsed structures for elastic shells with a low bending energy, and the disordered aggregation structures for hard shells, are observed. The self-assembly process of adsorbed hard nanoplates is driven by the surface tension of the elastic shell, and the shape of driven self-assembly structures is determined on the basis of the minimization of the second moment of mass distribution. Meanwhile, the deformations of elastic shells can be controlled by the number of adsorbed rods as well as the length of adsorbed rods. This investigation can help us understand the complexity of the driven self-assembly of hard nanoplates on elastic shells. (paper)

  8. Hard template synthesis of metal nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Go eKawamura

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Metal nanowires (NWs have attracted much attention because of their high electron conductivity, optical transmittance and tunable magnetic properties. Metal NWs have been synthesized using soft templates such as surface stabilizing molecules and polymers, and hard templates such as anodic aluminum oxide, mesoporous oxide, carbon nanotubes. NWs prepared from hard templates are composites of metals and the oxide/carbon matrix. Thus, selecting appropriate elements can simplify the production of composite devices. The resulting NWs are immobilized and spatially arranged, as dictated by the ordered porous structure of the template. This avoids the NWs from aggregating, which is common for NWs prepared with soft templates in solution. Herein, the hard template synthesis of metal NWs is reviewed, and the resulting structures, properties and potential applications are discussed.

  9. Broad-band hard X-ray reflectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joensen, K.D.; Gorenstein, P.; Hoghoj, P.

    1997-01-01

    Interest in optics for hard X-ray broad-band application is growing. In this paper, we compare the hard X-ray (20-100 keV) reflectivity obtained with an energy-dispersive reflectometer, of a standard commercial gold thin-film with that of a 600 bilayer W/Si X-ray supermirror. The reflectivity...... of the multilayer is found to agree extraordinarily well with theory (assuming an interface roughness of 4.5 Angstrom), while the agreement for the gold film is less, The overall performance of the supermirror is superior to that of gold, extending the band of reflection at least a factor of 2.8 beyond...... that of the gold, Various other design options are discussed, and we conclude that continued interest in the X-ray supermirror for broad-band hard X-ray applications is warranted....

  10. Soft shoulders ahead: spurious signatures of soft and partial selective sweeps result from linked hard sweeps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrider, Daniel R; Mendes, Fábio K; Hahn, Matthew W; Kern, Andrew D

    2015-05-01

    general problem of "soft shoulders" underscores the difficulty in differentiating soft and partial sweeps from hard-sweep scenarios in molecular population genomics data. The soft-shoulder effect also implies that the more common hard sweeps have been in recent evolutionary history, the more prevalent spurious signatures of soft or partial sweeps may appear in some genome-wide scans. Copyright © 2015 by the Genetics Society of America.

  11. COPD phenotype description using principal components analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roy, Kay; Smith, Jacky; Kolsum, Umme

    2009-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Airway inflammation in COPD can be measured using biomarkers such as induced sputum and Fe(NO). This study set out to explore the heterogeneity of COPD using biomarkers of airway and systemic inflammation and pulmonary function by principal components analysis (PCA). SUBJECTS...... AND METHODS: In 127 COPD patients (mean FEV1 61%), pulmonary function, Fe(NO), plasma CRP and TNF-alpha, sputum differential cell counts and sputum IL8 (pg/ml) were measured. Principal components analysis as well as multivariate analysis was performed. RESULTS: PCA identified four main components (% variance...... associations between the variables within components 1 and 2. CONCLUSION: COPD is a multi dimensional disease. Unrelated components of disease were identified, including neutrophilic airway inflammation which was associated with systemic inflammation, and sputum eosinophils which were related to increased Fe...

  12. Rock-hard coatings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muller, M.

    2007-01-01

    Aircraft jet engines have to be able to withstand infernal conditions. Extreme heat and bitter cold tax coatings to the limit. Materials expert Dr Ir. Wim Sloof fits atoms together to develop rock-hard coatings. The latest invention in this field is known as ceramic matrix composites. Sloof has

  13. Factorization and non-factorization in diffractive hard scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berera, Arjun

    1997-01-01

    Factorization, in the sense defined for inclusive hard scattering, is discussed for diffractive hard scattering. A factorization theorem similar to its inclusive counterpart is presented for diffractive DIS. For hadron-hadron diffractive hard scattering, in contrast to its inclusive counterpart, the expected breakdown of factorization is discussed. Cross section estimates are given from a simple field theory model for non-factorizing double-pomeron-exchange (DPE) dijet production with and without account for Sudakov suppression

  14. A Study of Selected Properties and Applications of AlMgB14 and Related Composites: Ultra-Hard Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, Theron L. [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    2001-01-01

    This research presents a study of the hardness, electrical, and thermal properties AlMgB14 containing Al2MgO4 spinel. This research also investigated how much Al2MgO4 spinel consistently forms with AlMgB14, if AlMgB14 materials can be produced by hot isostatic pressing (HIP), what effects TiC and TiB2 have on this composite material, and the importance of mechanical alloying. Included also is a study of the variation in hardness measurements and how they relate to SI units. Heretofore, all ultra-hard materials (hardness > 40 GPA) have been found to be cubic in structure, electrical insulators, and expensive; the behavior of AlMgB14, which in certain specimens and compositions can have hardness values greater than 40 GPa, is therefore quite unusual since it is non-cubic, conductive, and moderate in cost. This offers an opportunity to investigate the relationship between hardness, thermal, and electrical properties from a new perspective. The main purpose of this project was to characterize the different properties of the AlMgB14 materials and to demonstrate that this material can be made in bulk. The technologies used for this study include microhardness measurement techniques, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction spectroscopy at different temperatures, optical microscopy, thermomechanical analysis, differential thermal analysis, 4-point probe resistivity, density techniques, Seebeck Effect, and Hall Effect. This research may lead to use of this material for applications where high abrasion resistance along with electrical conduction is needed. Also this research gave more information about a material that could have a great impact on industrial applications.

  15. Hard template synthesis of metal nanowires

    OpenAIRE

    Kawamura, Go; Muto, Hiroyuki; Matsuda, Atsunori

    2014-01-01

    Metal nanowires (NWs) have attracted much attention because of their high electron conductivity, optical transmittance, and tunable magnetic properties. Metal NWs have been synthesized using soft templates such as surface stabilizing molecules and polymers, and hard templates such as anodic aluminum oxide, mesoporous oxide, carbon nanotubes. NWs prepared from hard templates are composites of metals and the oxide/carbon matrix. Thus, selecting appropriate elements can simplify the production o...

  16. Differential bacterial load on components of total knee prosthesis in patients with prosthetic joint infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holinka, Johannes; Pilz, Magdalena; Hirschl, Alexander M; Graninger, Wolfgang; Windhager, Reinhard; Presterl, Elisabeth

    2012-10-01

    The purpose of our study was to evaluate and quantify the bacterial adherence on different components of total knee prosthesis with the sonication culture method. Explanted components of all patients with presumptive prosthetic or implant infection were treated by sonication separately in sterile containers to dislodge the adherent bacteria from the surfaces and cultured. The bacterial load of the different knee components (femur, tibia, PE-inlay and patella) was evaluated by counting of colony-forming units (CFU) dislodged from the components surfaces using the sonication culture method. Overall, 27 patients had positive sonication cultures of explanted total knee prostheses. Microorganisms were detected from 88 of 100 explanted components. Twenty femoral components were culture positive and 7 negative, 23 tibial components as well as 23 polyethylene (PE) platforms had positive microorganism detection from the surface. Staphylococcus epidermidis adhered to the highest number of components whereas Staphylococcus aureus yielded the highest load of CFU in the sonication cultures. Although not significant, PE-inlays and tibial components were most often affected. The highest CFU count was detected in polyethylene components. The sonication culture method is a reliable method to detect bacteria from the components. Additionally, the results demonstrate that bacterial adherence is not affecting a single component of knee prosthesis only. Thus, in septic revision surgery partial prosthetic exchange or exchange of single polyethylene components alone may be not sufficient.

  17. Linking Diversity and Differentiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans-Rolf Gregorius

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Generally speaking, the term differentiation refers to differences between collections for the distribution of specified traits of their members, while diversity deals with (effective numbers of trait states (types. Counting numbers of types implies discrete traits such as alleles and genotypes in population genetics or species and taxa in ecology. Comparisons between the concepts of differentiation and diversity therefore primarily refer to discrete traits. Diversity is related to differentiation through the idea that the total diversity of a subdivided collection should be composed of the diversity within the subcollections and a complement called “diversity between subcollections”. The idea goes back to the perception that the mixing of differentiated collections increases diversity. Several existing concepts of “diversity between subcollections” are based on this idea. Among them, β-diversity and fixation (inadvertently called differentiation are the most prominent in ecology and in population genetics, respectively. The pertaining measures are shown to quantify the effect of differentiation in terms of diversity components, though from a dual perspective: the classical perspective of differentiation between collections for their type compositions, and the reverse perspective of differentiation between types for their collection affiliations. A series of measures of diversity-oriented differentiation is presented that consider this dual perspective at two levels of diversity partitioning: the overall type or subcollection diversity and the joint type-subcollection diversity. It turns out that, in contrast with common notions, the measures of fixation (such as FST or GST refer to the perspective of type rather than subcollection differentiation. This unexpected observation strongly suggests that the popular interpretations of fixation measures must be reconsidered.

  18. ERRATUM: Work smart, wear your hard hat

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    An error appeared in the article «Work smart, wear your hard hat» published in Weekly Bulletin 27/2003, page 5. The impact which pierced a hole in the hard hat worn by Gerd Fetchenhauer was the equivalent of a box weighing 5 kg and not 50 kg.

  19. Flour quality and kernel hardness connection in winter wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szabó B. P.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Kernel hardness is controlled by friabilin protein and it depends on the relation between protein matrix and starch granules. Friabilin is present in high concentration in soft grain varieties and in low concentration in hard grain varieties. The high gluten, hard wheat our generally contains about 12.0–13.0% crude protein under Mid-European conditions. The relationship between wheat protein content and kernel texture is usually positive and kernel texture influences the power consumption during milling. Hard-textured wheat grains require more grinding energy than soft-textured grains.

  20. Hardness of Clustering

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Hardness of Clustering. Both k-means and k-medians intractable (when n and d are both inputs even for k =2). The best known deterministic algorithms. are based on Voronoi partitioning that. takes about time. Need for approximation – “close” to optimal.

  1. Morphology, microstructure, and hardness of titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) blocks deposited by wire-feed additive layer manufacturing (ALM)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandl, Erhard, E-mail: erhard.brandl@eads.net [EADS Innovation Works, Metallic Technologies and Surface Engineering, D-81663 Munich (Germany); Schoberth, Achim, E-mail: achim.schoberth@eads.net [EADS Innovation Works, Metallic Technologies and Surface Engineering, D-81663 Munich (Germany); Leyens, Christoph, E-mail: christoph.leyens@tu-dresden.de [Technical University of Dresden, Institute of Materials Science, Chair of Materials Technology, Berndt-Bau, Helmholtzstr. 7, D-01062 Dresden (Germany)

    2012-01-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The microstructure and hardness of deposited Ti-6Al-4V blocks are investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Hardness is influenced by post heat treatment rather than by process parameters. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Microstructure within the prior {beta}-grains varies to some extent from grain to grain. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A 600 Degree-Sign C/4 h treatment significantly increased the average hardness. - Abstract: Additive layer manufacturing offers a potential for time and cost savings, especially for aerospace components made from costly titanium alloys. In this paper, the morphology, microstructure, chemical composition, and hardness of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V blocks are investigated and discussed. Blocks (7 beads wide, 7 layers high) were deposited using Ti-6Al-4V wire and a Nd:YAG laser. Two different sets of parameters are used and three different post heat treatment conditions (as-built, 600 Degree-Sign C/4 h, 1200 Degree-Sign C/2 h) are investigated. The experiments reveal elementary properties of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V material in correlation to process parameters and heat treatments, which are discussed comprehensively.

  2. Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm Optimization for Partitional Clustering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krink, Thiemo; Paterlini, Sandra

    2006-01-01

    for numerical optimisation, which are hardly known outside the search heuristics field, are particle swarm optimisation (PSO) and differential evolution (DE). The performance of GAs for a representative point evolution approach to clustering is compared with PSO and DE. The empirical results show that DE......Many partitional clustering algorithms based on genetic algorithms (GA) have been proposed to tackle the problem of finding the optimal partition of a data set. Very few studies considered alternative stochastic search heuristics other than GAs or simulated annealing. Two promising algorithms...

  3. Analysis of Inter-Sectoral Differentiation in Setting the Vision and Mission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zrinka Blažević

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Design and implementation of strategy is the backbone of the business enterprise. Strategic management process begins by establishing the vision and mission. Therefore, they are important components of further development of the overall company strategy. Following the above, we can conclude that it is of paramount importance to set a quality statement about the vision and mission to develop strategies in a positive direction, being at the same time comprehensible and stimulating to all target groups. Economic development divides activities in four different sectors (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. Each sector has its own specifics, which become a key component of differentiation of that sector in relation to others. Therefore, it can be assumed that the company's strategy within each sector is set in accordance with sector specifics. On the basis of the above mentioned facts we come to a conclusion that there are key components that are company’s strategies specific for each sector, which also differentiate strategy compared to strategies of other sectors. The aim of this paper is to find specific components to develop a strategy for each sector, and key components of inter-sectoral differentiation in setting the vision and mission.

  4. Characterisation and application of a laser-based hard x-ray source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graetz, M.

    1998-11-01

    Hard X-rays are generated by focusing 110 fs laser pulses with intensities of about 1017 W/cm 2 onto solid metal targets. Characteristic properties of this X-ray source are the small source size, the short pulse duration and the high peak flux. The aim of the present work was to characterise this X-ray source and to demonstrate possible applications. A comparison with other X-ray sources and conventional imaging techniques is made. Characterising measurements were performed, including source size, emission spectrum, temporal behaviour, source stability and the influence of various laser parameters. The emission spectrum was measured using both energy-dispersive solid-state detectors and wavelength-dispersive crystal spectroscopy. The conversion efficiency from laser light to X-ray radiation was measured for different target materials. The laser ablation from different targets was studied. The feasibility of special imaging techniques, e.g. differential imaging and time-gated imaging, was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Differential imaging allows for selective imaging of contrast agents, while time-gated imaging can reduce the influence of scattered radiation in X-ray imaging. Time-gated imaging was demonstrated in different imaging geometries, both for planar imaging and computed tomography imaging. Reasonable agreement between theoretically calculated values and experimental results was obtained

  5. Characterisation and application of a laser-based hard x-ray source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Graetz, M

    1998-11-01

    Hard X-rays are generated by focusing 110 fs laser pulses with intensities of about 1017 W/cm{sup 2} onto solid metal targets. Characteristic properties of this X-ray source are the small source size, the short pulse duration and the high peak flux. The aim of the present work was to characterise this X-ray source and to demonstrate possible applications. A comparison with other X-ray sources and conventional imaging techniques is made. Characterising measurements were performed, including source size, emission spectrum, temporal behaviour, source stability and the influence of various laser parameters. The emission spectrum was measured using both energy-dispersive solid-state detectors and wavelength-dispersive crystal spectroscopy. The conversion efficiency from laser light to X-ray radiation was measured for different target materials. The laser ablation from different targets was studied. The feasibility of special imaging techniques, e.g. differential imaging and time-gated imaging, was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Differential imaging allows for selective imaging of contrast agents, while time-gated imaging can reduce the influence of scattered radiation in X-ray imaging. Time-gated imaging was demonstrated in different imaging geometries, both for planar imaging and computed tomography imaging. Reasonable agreement between theoretically calculated values and experimental results was obtained 120 refs, figs, tabs

  6. Evaluation of hard fossil fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zivkovic, S.; Nuic, J.

    1999-01-01

    Because of its inexhaustible supplies hard fossil fuel will represent the pillar of the power systems of the 21st century. Only high-calorie fossil fuels have the market value and participate in the world trade. Low-calorie fossil fuels ((brown coal and lignite) are fuels spent on the spot and their value is indirectly expressed through manufactured kWh. For the purpose of determining the real value of a tonne of low-calorie coal, the criteria that help in establishing the value of a tonne of hard coal have to be corrected and thus evaluated and assessed at the market. (author)

  7. Calorimeter triggers for hard collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landshoff, P.V.; Polkinghorne, J.C.

    1978-01-01

    We discuss the use of a forward calorimeter to trigger on hard hadron-hadron collisions. We give a derivation in the covariant parton model of the Ochs-Stodolsky scaling law for single-hard-scattering processes, and investigate the conditions when instead a multiple- scattering mechanism might dominate. With a proton beam, this mechanism results in six transverse jets, with a total average multiplicity about twice that seen in ordinary events. We estimate that its cross section is likely to be experimentally accessible at avalues of the beam energy in the region of 100 GeV/c

  8. Hardness of ion implanted ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliver, W.C.; McHargue, C.J.; Farlow, G.C.; White, C.W.

    1985-01-01

    It has been established that the wear behavior of ceramic materials can be modified through ion implantation. Studies have been done to characterize the effect of implantation on the structure and composition of ceramic surfaces. To understand how these changes affect the wear properties of the ceramic, other mechanical properties must be measured. To accomplish this, a commercially available ultra low load hardness tester has been used to characterize Al 2 O 3 with different implanted species and doses. The hardness of the base material is compared with the highly damaged crystalline state as well as the amorphous material

  9. Hardness of enamel exposed to Coca-Cola and artificial saliva.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devlin, H; Bassiouny, M A; Boston, D

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of change in indentation hardness of enamel in permanent teeth exposed to Coca-Cola. In a further experiment, the ability of a commercially available artificial saliva to remineralize enamel treated with Coca-Cola was tested. Ten enamel specimens were randomly chosen to be treated with Coca-Cola (experimental groups) and seven with water (control group). The fluids were applied for 1, 2, 3 h and overnight (15 h), washed off with a few drops of water and the moist enamel indentation hardness tested after each interval. With Coca-Cola treatment, the mean enamel hardness was 92.6% (s.d. = 7.9) of the original baseline hardness after 1 h, 93.25% (s.d. = 10.15) after 2 h, 85.7% (s.d. = 12.03) after 3 h and 80.3% after 15 h. The mean indentation hardness of control specimens treated with water was 108.7% (s.d. = 16.09) of the original hardness after 1 h, 99.09% (s.d. = 18.98) after 2 h, 98.97% (s.d. =11.24) after 3 h and 98.42% (s.d. = 22.78) after 15 h. In a separate experiment, the hardness of 9 enamel specimens was tested, as previously described, before and after treatment with Coca-Cola overnight and again after application of artificial saliva for 3 min. Coca-Cola reduced the mean indentation hardness of enamel in the teeth, but the hardness was partially restored with artificial saliva (Salivart) and increased by 18% from the demineralized enamel hardness.

  10. A methodology for hard/soft information fusion in the condition monitoring of aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernardo, Joseph T.

    2013-05-01

    Condition-based maintenance (CBM) refers to the philosophy of performing maintenance when the need arises, based upon indicators of deterioration in the condition of the machinery. Traditionally, CBM involves equipping machinery with electronic sensors that continuously monitor components and collect data for analysis. The addition of the multisensory capability of human cognitive functions (i.e., sensemaking, problem detection, planning, adaptation, coordination, naturalistic decision making) to traditional CBM may create a fuller picture of machinery condition. Cognitive systems engineering techniques provide an opportunity to utilize a dynamic resource—people acting as soft sensors. The literature is extensive on techniques to fuse data from electronic sensors, but little work exists on fusing data from humans with that from electronic sensors (i.e., hard/soft fusion). The purpose of my research is to explore, observe, investigate, analyze, and evaluate the fusion of pilot and maintainer knowledge, experiences, and sensory perceptions with digital maintenance resources. Hard/soft information fusion has the potential to increase problem detection capability, improve flight safety, and increase mission readiness. This proposed project consists the creation of a methodology that is based upon the Living Laboratories framework, a research methodology that is built upon cognitive engineering principles1. This study performs a critical assessment of concept, which will support development of activities to demonstrate hard/soft information fusion in operationally relevant scenarios of aircraft maintenance. It consists of fieldwork, knowledge elicitation to inform a simulation and a prototype.

  11. A comparative approach for the investigation of biological information processing: An examination of the structure and function of computer hard drives and DNA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background The robust storage, updating and utilization of information are necessary for the maintenance and perpetuation of dynamic systems. These systems can exist as constructs of metal-oxide semiconductors and silicon, as in a digital computer, or in the "wetware" of organic compounds, proteins and nucleic acids that make up biological organisms. We propose that there are essential functional properties of centralized information-processing systems; for digital computers these properties reside in the computer's hard drive, and for eukaryotic cells they are manifest in the DNA and associated structures. Methods Presented herein is a descriptive framework that compares DNA and its associated proteins and sub-nuclear structure with the structure and function of the computer hard drive. We identify four essential properties of information for a centralized storage and processing system: (1) orthogonal uniqueness, (2) low level formatting, (3) high level formatting and (4) translation of stored to usable form. The corresponding aspects of the DNA complex and a computer hard drive are categorized using this classification. This is intended to demonstrate a functional equivalence between the components of the two systems, and thus the systems themselves. Results Both the DNA complex and the computer hard drive contain components that fulfill the essential properties of a centralized information storage and processing system. The functional equivalence of these components provides insight into both the design process of engineered systems and the evolved solutions addressing similar system requirements. However, there are points where the comparison breaks down, particularly when there are externally imposed information-organizing structures on the computer hard drive. A specific example of this is the imposition of the File Allocation Table (FAT) during high level formatting of the computer hard drive and the subsequent loading of an operating system (OS). Biological

  12. A comparative approach for the investigation of biological information processing: an examination of the structure and function of computer hard drives and DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Onofrio, David J; An, Gary

    2010-01-21

    The robust storage, updating and utilization of information are necessary for the maintenance and perpetuation of dynamic systems. These systems can exist as constructs of metal-oxide semiconductors and silicon, as in a digital computer, or in the "wetware" of organic compounds, proteins and nucleic acids that make up biological organisms. We propose that there are essential functional properties of centralized information-processing systems; for digital computers these properties reside in the computer's hard drive, and for eukaryotic cells they are manifest in the DNA and associated structures. Presented herein is a descriptive framework that compares DNA and its associated proteins and sub-nuclear structure with the structure and function of the computer hard drive. We identify four essential properties of information for a centralized storage and processing system: (1) orthogonal uniqueness, (2) low level formatting, (3) high level formatting and (4) translation of stored to usable form. The corresponding aspects of the DNA complex and a computer hard drive are categorized using this classification. This is intended to demonstrate a functional equivalence between the components of the two systems, and thus the systems themselves. Both the DNA complex and the computer hard drive contain components that fulfill the essential properties of a centralized information storage and processing system. The functional equivalence of these components provides insight into both the design process of engineered systems and the evolved solutions addressing similar system requirements. However, there are points where the comparison breaks down, particularly when there are externally imposed information-organizing structures on the computer hard drive. A specific example of this is the imposition of the File Allocation Table (FAT) during high level formatting of the computer hard drive and the subsequent loading of an operating system (OS). Biological systems do not have an

  13. A comparative approach for the investigation of biological information processing: An examination of the structure and function of computer hard drives and DNA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D'Onofrio David J

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The robust storage, updating and utilization of information are necessary for the maintenance and perpetuation of dynamic systems. These systems can exist as constructs of metal-oxide semiconductors and silicon, as in a digital computer, or in the "wetware" of organic compounds, proteins and nucleic acids that make up biological organisms. We propose that there are essential functional properties of centralized information-processing systems; for digital computers these properties reside in the computer's hard drive, and for eukaryotic cells they are manifest in the DNA and associated structures. Methods Presented herein is a descriptive framework that compares DNA and its associated proteins and sub-nuclear structure with the structure and function of the computer hard drive. We identify four essential properties of information for a centralized storage and processing system: (1 orthogonal uniqueness, (2 low level formatting, (3 high level formatting and (4 translation of stored to usable form. The corresponding aspects of the DNA complex and a computer hard drive are categorized using this classification. This is intended to demonstrate a functional equivalence between the components of the two systems, and thus the systems themselves. Results Both the DNA complex and the computer hard drive contain components that fulfill the essential properties of a centralized information storage and processing system. The functional equivalence of these components provides insight into both the design process of engineered systems and the evolved solutions addressing similar system requirements. However, there are points where the comparison breaks down, particularly when there are externally imposed information-organizing structures on the computer hard drive. A specific example of this is the imposition of the File Allocation Table (FAT during high level formatting of the computer hard drive and the subsequent loading of an operating

  14. Growth type of vertebral centra and the hard tissue observed by microradiography of the rainbow trout

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubo, Y.; Asano, H.

    1987-01-01

    To clarify the growth feature and the structure of hard tissue, we studied the vertebral centrum of rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri, using three specimens (BL: 21.0, 29.0 and 40.0cm). We examined the ratio of centrum length to centrum diameter in each vertebral centrum and obtained the value of 0.8-1.0 in most centra. This indicates that the vertebral centra of rainbow trout belong to the so-called equivalent type. The hard tissue was observed by microradiography, with the longitudinal and cross sections (about 100 μm)cut through the center of notochordal pore. The microradiograph of thin section of centrurn differentiated serially and changed in pattern, but it is clear to sustain the specific characteristics. In longitudinal sections, the V-shaped part of bone was composed of structure like compact bone through the length of vertebral column. In cross sections, the notochordal pore was enclosed by the radial trabecular bones, the arrangement gradually turning toward the posterior centra like paired fans set opposite each other laterally

  15. The phase behavior of a hard sphere chain model of a binary n-alkane mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malanoski, A. P.; Monson, P. A.

    2000-01-01

    Monte Carlo computer simulations have been used to study the solid and fluid phase properties as well as phase equilibrium in a flexible, united atom, hard sphere chain model of n-heptane/n-octane mixtures. We describe a methodology for calculating the chemical potentials for the components in the mixture based on a technique used previously for atomic mixtures. The mixture was found to conform accurately to ideal solution behavior in the fluid phase. However, much greater nonidealities were seen in the solid phase. Phase equilibrium calculations indicate a phase diagram with solid-fluid phase equilibrium and a eutectic point. The components are only miscible in the solid phase for dilute solutions of the shorter chains in the longer chains. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

  16. Diagnoses behind patients with hard-to-classify tremor and normal DaT-SPECT: A clinical follow up study

    OpenAIRE

    Manuel eMenéndez-González; Manuel eMenéndez-González; Manuel eMenéndez-González; Francisco eTavares; Nahla eZeidan; José M Salas-Pacheco; Oscar eArias-Carrión

    2014-01-01

    The [123I]ioflupane - a dopamine transporter radioligand - SPECT (DaT-SPECT) has proven to be useful in the differential diagnosis of tremor. Here, we investigate the diagnoses behind patients with hard-to-classify tremor and normal DaT-SPECT. Therefore, 30 patients with tremor and normal DaT-SPECT were followed up for 2 years. In 18 cases we were able to make a diagnosis. The residual 12 patients underwent a second DaT-SPECT, were then followed for additional 12 months and thereafter the dia...

  17. Radiation-Hard Complementary Integrated Circuits Based on Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMorrow, Julian J; Cress, Cory D; Gaviria Rojas, William A; Geier, Michael L; Marks, Tobin J; Hersam, Mark C

    2017-03-28

    Increasingly complex demonstrations of integrated circuit elements based on semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) mark the maturation of this technology for use in next-generation electronics. In particular, organic materials have recently been leveraged as dopant and encapsulation layers to enable stable SWCNT-based rail-to-rail, low-power complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic circuits. To explore the limits of this technology in extreme environments, here we study total ionizing dose (TID) effects in enhancement-mode SWCNT-CMOS inverters that employ organic doping and encapsulation layers. Details of the evolution of the device transport properties are revealed by in situ and in operando measurements, identifying n-type transistors as the more TID-sensitive component of the CMOS system with over an order of magnitude larger degradation of the static power dissipation. To further improve device stability, radiation-hardening approaches are explored, resulting in the observation that SWNCT-CMOS circuits are TID-hard under dynamic bias operation. Overall, this work reveals conditions under which SWCNTs can be employed for radiation-hard integrated circuits, thus presenting significant potential for next-generation satellite and space applications.

  18. Dedicated outreach service for hard to reach patients with tuberculosis in London: observational study and economic evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jit, Mark; Stagg, Helen R; Aldridge, Robert W; White, Peter J; Abubakar, Ibrahim

    2011-09-14

    To assess the cost effectiveness of the Find and Treat service for diagnosing and managing hard to reach individuals with active tuberculosis. Economic evaluation using a discrete, multiple age cohort, compartmental model of treated and untreated cases of active tuberculosis. London, United Kingdom. Population Hard to reach individuals with active pulmonary tuberculosis screened or managed by the Find and Treat service (48 mobile screening unit cases, 188 cases referred for case management support, and 180 cases referred for loss to follow-up), and 252 passively presenting controls from London's enhanced tuberculosis surveillance system. Incremental costs, quality adjusted life years (QALYs), and cost effectiveness ratios for the Find and Treat service. The model estimated that, on average, the Find and Treat service identifies 16 and manages 123 active cases of tuberculosis each year in hard to reach groups in London. The service has a net cost of £1.4 million/year and, under conservative assumptions, gains 220 QALYs. The incremental cost effectiveness ratio was £6400-£10,000/QALY gained (about €7300-€11,000 or $10,000-$16 000 in September 2011). The two Find and Treat components were also cost effective, even in unfavourable scenarios (mobile screening unit (for undiagnosed cases), £18,000-£26,000/QALY gained; case management support team, £4100-£6800/QALY gained). Both the screening and case management components of the Find and Treat service are likely to be cost effective in London. The cost effectiveness of the mobile screening unit in particular could be even greater than estimated, in view of the secondary effects of infection transmission and development of antibiotic resistance.

  19. Hard probes 2006 Asilomar

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    "The second international conference on hard and electromagnetic probes of high-energy nuclear collisions was held June 9 to 16, 2006 at the Asilomar Conference grounds in Pacific Grove, California" (photo and 1/2 page)

  20. Analysis of surface hardness of artificially aged resin composites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise Cremonezzi Tornavoi

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluated the effect of artificially accelerated aging (AAA on the surface hardness of eight composite resins: Filtek Z250, Filtek Supreme, 4 Seasons, Herculite, P60, Tetric Ceram, Charisma, and Filtek Z100. Sixteen specimens were made from the test piece of each material, using an 8.0 × 2.0 mm teflon matrix. After 24 hours, eight specimens from each material were submitted to three surface hardness readings using a Shimadzu Microhardness Tester for 5 seconds at a load of 50 gf. The other eight specimens remained in the artificially accelerated aging machine for 382 hours and were submitted to the same surface hardness analysis. The means of each test specimen were submitted to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (p > 0.05, ANOVA and Tukey test (p < 0.05. With regard to hardness (F = 86.74, p < 0.0001 the analysis showed significant differences among the resin composite brands. But aging did not influence the hardness of any of the resin composites (F = 0.39, p = 0.53. In this study, there was interaction between the resin composite brand and the aging factors (F = 4.51, p < 0.0002. It was concluded that notwithstanding the type of resin, AAA did not influence surface hardness. However, with regard to hardness there was a significant difference among the resin brands.

  1. Soft is hard and hard is easy: learning technologies and social media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon Dron

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Questo articolo riguarda principalmente la natura delle tecnologie per apprendere, con una particolare attenzione ai social media. Muovendo dalla definizione fornita da W. Brian Arthur delle tecnologie come un insieme di fenomeni orchestrati per un qualche uso, l’articolo amplia la teoria di Arthur ridefinendo e allargando la distinzione comunemente accettata tra tecnologie soft e hard, laddove le tecnologie soft sono intese come quelle che richiedono l’orchestrazione di fenomeni da parte degli esseri umani, mentre le tecnologie hard sono quelle per le quali l’orchestrazione è predeterminata o incorporata. Le tecnologie per apprendere sono quelle in cui le pedagogie (anch’esse tecnologie sono parte dell’insieme. Le conseguenze di questa prospettiva vengono esplorate nel quadro di diversi modelli pedagogici e in relazione agli approcci basati sul social learning in una varietà di contesti, dai corsi per corrispondenza ai MOOC.

  2. MAGNESIUM, DRINKING WATER HARDNESS AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragana Nikic

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Many different countries suggest and justify an integrated laboratory and epidemiological research program with an aim to reject or accept the magnesium – CVD (cardiovascular disease hypothesis. The studies shown in this paper that have investigated the relationship between water hardness, especially magnesium and CVD indicate that, even though there has been an ongoing research for nearly half a century (1957-2004, it has not been completed yet. Different study designs (obductional, clinical, ecological, case-control and cohort restrict an adequate comparison of their results as well as the deduction of results applicable on each territorial level.The majority of researchers around the world, using populational and individual studies, have found an inverse (protective association between mortality and morbidity from CVD and the increase in water hardness, especially the increase in the concentration of magnesium. The most frequent benefit of the water with an optimal mineral composition is the reduction of mortality from ischemic heart disease.It was suggested that Mg from water is a supplementary source of Mg of high biological value, because magnesium from water is absorbed around 30% better than Mg in a diet. The vast majority of studies consider lower concentrations of Mg in the water, in the range of 10% of the total daily intake of Mg.Future research efforts must give better answers to low Mg concentrations in the drinking water, before any concrete recommendations are given to the public. Moreover, the researchers must also determine which chemical form of Mg is most easily absorbed and has the greatest impact.Additional research is necessary in order to further investigate the interrelation between different water and food components as well as individual risk factors in the pathogenesis of CVD.

  3. Dependence of Hardness of Silicate Glasses on Composition and Thermal History

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Martin; Smedskjær, Morten Mattrup; Yue, Yuanzheng

    composition on hardness of silicate glasses. E-glasses of different compositions are subjected to various degrees of annealing to obtain various fictive temperatures in the glasses. It is found that hardness decreases with the fictive temperature. Addition of Na2O to a SiO2-Al2O3-Na2O glass system causes......The prediction of hardness is possible for crystalline materials, but so far not possible for glasses. In this work, several important factors that should be used for predicting the hardness of glasses are discussed. To do so, we have studied the influences of thermal history and chemical...... a decrease in hardness. However, hardness cannot solely be determined from the degree of polymerisation of the glass network. It is also determined by the effect of ionic radius on hardness. However, this effect has opposite trend for alkali and alkaline earth ions. The hardness increases with ionic radius...

  4. Nanomechanical characterization of adaptive optics components in microprojectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palacio, Manuel; Bhushan, Bharat

    2010-01-01

    Compact microprojectors are being developed for information display in mobile electronic devices. A key component of the microprojector is the green laser package, which consists of an adaptive optics component with a drive mechanism. A crucial concern is the mechanical wear of key drive mechanism components, such as the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) driving rod, the Zn alloy body and the stainless steel friction plate, after prolonged operation. Since friction and wear are dependent on the mechanical properties, nanoindentation experiments were conducted on these drive mechanism components using a depth-sensing nanoindenter at room and elevated temperatures up to 100 °C. The hardness and elastic modulus of all the materials studied decrease at increasing test temperatures. From plasticity index analysis, a correlation between the tendency for plastic deformation and the mechanical properties was obtained. Nanoscratch studies were also conducted in order to simulate wear, as well as examine the scratch resistance and deformation modes of these materials, where it was found that the CFRP rod exhibited the highest scratch resistance. The CFRP rod undergoes mostly brittle deformation, while the Zn alloy body and friction plate undergo plastic deformation.

  5. Playing Moderately Hard to Get

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Reysen

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In two studies, we examined the effect of different degrees of attraction reciprocation on ratings of attraction toward a potential romantic partner. Undergraduate college student participants imagined a potential romantic partner who reciprocated a low (reciprocating attraction one day a week, moderate (reciprocating attraction three days a week, high (reciprocating attraction five days a week, or unspecified degree of attraction (no mention of reciprocation. Participants then rated their degree of attraction toward the potential partner. The results of Study 1 provided only partial support for Brehm’s emotion intensity theory. However, after revising the high reciprocation condition vignette in Study 2, supporting Brehm’s emotion intensity theory, results show that a potential partners’ display of reciprocation of attraction acted as a deterrent to participants’ intensity of experienced attraction to the potential partner. The results support the notion that playing moderately hard to get elicits more intense feelings of attraction from potential suitors than playing too easy or too hard to get. Discussion of previous research examining playing hard to get is also re-examined through an emotion intensity theory theoretical lens.

  6. Spectro-Timing Study of GX 339-4 in a Hard Intermediate State

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fürst, F.; Grinberg, V.; Tomsick, J. A.

    2016-01-01

    We present an analysis of Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array observations of a hard intermediate state of the transient black hole GX 339-4 taken in 2015 January. With the source softening significantly over the course of the 1.3 day long observation we split the data into 21 sub-sets and find...... that the spectrum of all of them can be well described by a power-law continuum with an additional relativistically blurred reflection component. The photon index increases from ∼1.69 to ∼1.77 over the course of the observation. The accretion disk is truncated at around nine gravitational radii in all spectra. We...

  7. Monitoring system for testing the radiation hardness of a KINTEX-7 FPGA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cojocariu, L. N., E-mail: lucian.cojocariu@cern.ch [Horia Hulubei National Institute for R& D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (Reactorului 30, MG, Romania) (Romania); Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava (Universitatii 13, Suceava, Romania) (Romania); Placinta, V. M., E-mail: vlad-mihai.placinta@cern.ch [Horia Hulubei National Institute for R& D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (Reactorului 30, MG, Romania) (Romania); University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest (Splaiul Independentei 313, Bucharest, Romania) (Romania); Dumitru, L., E-mail: dlaur@nipne.ro [Horia Hulubei National Institute for R& D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (Reactorului 30, MG, Romania) (Romania)

    2016-03-25

    A much more efficient Ring Imaging Cherenkov sub-detector system will be rebuilt in the second long shutdown of Large Hadron Collider for the LHCb experiment. Radiation-hard electronic components together with Commercial Off-The-Shelf ones will be used in the new Cherenkov photon detection system architecture. An irradiation program was foreseen to determine the radiation tolerance for the new electronic devices, including a Field Programmable Gate Array from KINTEX-7 family of XILINX. An automated test bench for online monitoring of the XC7K70T KINTEX-7 device operation in radiation conditions was designed and implemented by the LHCb Romanian group.

  8. Sampling from a polytope and hard-disk Monte Carlo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kapfer, Sebastian C; Krauth, Werner

    2013-01-01

    The hard-disk problem, the statics and the dynamics of equal two-dimensional hard spheres in a periodic box, has had a profound influence on statistical and computational physics. Markov-chain Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics were first discussed for this model. Here we reformulate hard-disk Monte Carlo algorithms in terms of another classic problem, namely the sampling from a polytope. Local Markov-chain Monte Carlo, as proposed by Metropolis et al. in 1953, appears as a sequence of random walks in high-dimensional polytopes, while the moves of the more powerful event-chain algorithm correspond to molecular dynamics evolution. We determine the convergence properties of Monte Carlo methods in a special invariant polytope associated with hard-disk configurations, and the implications for convergence of hard-disk sampling. Finally, we discuss parallelization strategies for event-chain Monte Carlo and present results for a multicore implementation

  9. The over-the-limb hard X-ray events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, H. S.

    Over-the-limb hard X-ray events offer a uniquely direct view of the hard X-ray emission from the solar corona during a major flare. Limb occultation at angles greater than about 10 deg (an arbitrary definition of this class of events) excludes any confusion with brighter chromospheric sources. Published observations of seven over-the-limb events, beginning with the prototype flare of March 30, 1969, are reviewed. The hard X-ray spectra appear to fall into two classes: hard events, with power-law index of about 2.0; and soft events, with power-law index about 5.4. This tendency towards bimodality is only significant at the 90-percent confidence level due to the smallness of the number of events observed to date. If borne out by future data, the bimodality would suggest the existence of two different acceleration mechanisms.

  10. Constraint satisfaction problems with isolated solutions are hard

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zdeborová, Lenka; Mézard, Marc

    2008-01-01

    We study the phase diagram and the algorithmic hardness of the random 'locked' constraint satisfaction problems, and compare them to the commonly studied 'non-locked' problems like satisfiability of Boolean formulae or graph coloring. The special property of the locked problems is that clusters of solutions are isolated points. This simplifies significantly the determination of the phase diagram, which makes the locked problems particularly appealing from the mathematical point of view. On the other hand, we show empirically that the clustered phase of these problems is extremely hard from the algorithmic point of view: the best known algorithms all fail to find solutions. Our results suggest that the easy/hard transition (for currently known algorithms) in the locked problems coincides with the clustering transition. These should thus be regarded as new benchmarks of really hard constraint satisfaction problems

  11. Charged hard spheres in a uniform neutralizing background: The role of thermodynamics selfconsistence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badirkhan, Z.; Pastore, G.; Tosi, M.P.

    1991-06-01

    Calculations of the thermodynamic properties and pair distribution function of a one-component classical fluid of charged hard spheres in a uniform neutralizing background are reported and compared with Monte Carlo results of Hansen and Weis. Thermodynamic selfconsistence between the virial pressure and the fluctuations formula for the isothermal compressibility is enforced in the calculations by various alternative approaches. The role of thermodynamic selfconsistence is crucial to obtain a satisfactory quantitative description of this model fluid, in view of its applications in the theory of liquid metals and of dispersions of charged colloidal particles. (author). 23 refs, 4 figs, 3 tabs

  12. Excavation Technology for Hard Rock - Problems and Prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gillani, S.T.A.; Butt, N.

    2009-01-01

    Civil engineering projects have greatly benefited from the mechanical excavation of hard rock technology. Mining industry, on the other hand, is still searching for major breakthroughs to mechanize and then automate the winning of ore and drivage of access tunnels in its metalliferous sector. The aim of this study is to extend the scope of drag bits for road headers in hard rock cutting. Various factors that can impose limitations on the potential applications of drag bits in hard rock mining are investigated and discussed along with alternative technology options. (author)

  13. Modelling the continuous cooling transformation diagram of engineering steels using neural networks. Part II. Microstructure and hardness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wolk, P.J. van der; Wang, J. [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands); Sietsma, J.; Zwaag, S. van der [Delft Univ. of Technology, Lab. for Materials Science (Netherlands)

    2002-12-01

    The neural network model of Van der Wolk et al. (2002) describes the effect of composition on the phase regions of the continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagram, yet does not consider the fractions of microstructural components and the hardness data that are often quoted in CCT diagrams. In the present paper, the construction of two more neural network models, one for the fractions of ferrite, pearlite, bainite and martensite in the microstructure, and one for the hardness after cooling, using the data of 338 and 412 diagrams, respectively. The accuracy of each model was found to be similar to the expected experimental error; moreover, the models were found to be mutually consistent, although they have been constructed independently. Furthermore, the trends in these properties for alloying elements can be quantified with the models, and are largely in line with metallurgical expectations. (orig.)

  14. 3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaohong; Ao, Qiang; Tian, Xiaohong; Fan, Jun; Wei, Yujun; Hou, Weijian; Tong, Hao; Bai, Shuling

    2016-01-01

    Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especially for hard organ regeneration, a series of new theories, strategies and protocols have been proposed. Some of the technologies have been applied in medical therapies with some successes. Each of the technologies has pros and cons in hard tissue and organ engineering. In this review, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the historical available innovative 3D bioprinting technologies for used as special tools for hard tissue and organ engineering. PMID:28773924

  15. 3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaohong Wang

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especially for hard organ regeneration, a series of new theories, strategies and protocols have been proposed. Some of the technologies have been applied in medical therapies with some successes. Each of the technologies has pros and cons in hard tissue and organ engineering. In this review, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the historical available innovative 3D bioprinting technologies for used as special tools for hard tissue and organ engineering.

  16. 3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaohong; Ao, Qiang; Tian, Xiaohong; Fan, Jun; Wei, Yujun; Hou, Weijian; Tong, Hao; Bai, Shuling

    2016-09-27

    Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especially for hard organ regeneration, a series of new theories, strategies and protocols have been proposed. Some of the technologies have been applied in medical therapies with some successes. Each of the technologies has pros and cons in hard tissue and organ engineering. In this review, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the historical available innovative 3D bioprinting technologies for used as special tools for hard tissue and organ engineering.

  17. Hard scattering and gauge/string duality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polchinski, Joseph; Strassler, Matthew J.

    2002-01-01

    We consider high-energy fixed-angle scattering of glueballs in confining gauge theories that have supergravity duals. Although the effective description is in terms of the scattering of strings, we find that the amplitudes are hard (power law). This is a consequence of the warped geometry of the dual theory, which has the effect that in an inertial frame the string process is never in the soft regime. At small angle we find hard and Regge behaviors in different kinematic regions

  18. Radiation hardness of undoped BGO crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahu, S.K.; Peng, K.C.; Huang, H.C.; Wang, C.H.; Chang, Y.H.; Hou, W.S.; Ueno, K.; Chou, F.I.; Wei, Y.Y.

    1997-01-01

    We measured the radiation hardness of undoped BGO crystals from two different manufacturers. Such crystals are proposed to be used in a small-angle calorimeter of the BELLE detector of the KEK B-factory. Transparency and scintillation light output of the crystals were monitored to see the effect of radiation damage. The crystals show considerable radiation hardness up to 10.2 Mrad equivalent dose, which is much higher than the maximum expected dosage of 500 krad per year of running at BELLE. (orig.)

  19. Diffusion corrections to the hard pomeron

    CERN Document Server

    Ciafaloni, Marcello; Müller, A H; Ciafaloni, Marcello; Taiuti, Martina

    2001-01-01

    The high-energy behaviour of two-scale hard processes is investigated in the framework of small-x models with running coupling, having the Airy diffusion model as prototype. We show that, in some intermediate high-energy regime, the perturbative hard Pomeron exponent determines the energy dependence, and we prove that diffusion corrections have the form hinted at before in particular cases. We also discuss the breakdown of such regime at very large energies, and the onset of the non-perturbative Pomeron behaviour.

  20. Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Chong Hun; Oh, W. Z.; Won, H. J.; Choi, W. K.; Kim, G. N.; Moon, J. K.

    2007-11-01

    Through the project of 'Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution', the followings were studied. 1. Investigation of decontamination characteristics of chemical decontamination process 2. Analysis of COD, ferrous ion concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration 3. Decomposition tests of hardly decomposable organic compounds 4. Improvement of organic acid decomposition process by ultrasonic wave and UV light 5. Optimization of decomposition process using a surrogate decontamination waste solution

  1. The effects of viscoelastic polymer substrates on adult stem cell differentiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chungchueh; Fields, Adam; Ramek, Alex; Jurukovski, Vladimir; Simon, Marcia; Rafailovich, Miriam

    2009-03-01

    Dental Pulp Stem Cells (DPSCs) are known to differentiate in either bone, dentine, or nerve tissue by different environment signals. In this study, we have determined whether differentiation could only through modification of the substrate mechanics. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) on Shear Modulation Force Microscopy (SMFM) mode indicated that the spun-cast polybutadiene (PB) thin films could be used to provide different stiffness substrates by changing the thicknesses of thin films. DPSCs were then plated on these substrates and cultured in standard media. After 28 days incubation, Lasar Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) with mercury lamp indicated that the crystals were observed only on hard surfaces. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX analysis) indicated that the crystals are calcium phosphates. The Glancing Incidence Diffraction (GID) was also used to determine the structure of crystals. These results indicate that DPSCs could be differentiated into osteoblasts by mechanical stimuli from substrate mechanics.

  2. Hardness of AISI type 410 martensitic steels after high temperature irradiation via nanoindentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waseem, Owais Ahmed; Jeong, Jong-Ryul; Park, Byong-Guk; Maeng, Cheol-Soo; Lee, Myoung-Goo; Ryu, Ho Jin

    2017-11-01

    The hardness of irradiated AISI type 410 martensitic steel, which is utilized in structural and magnetic components of nuclear power plants, is investigated in this study. Proton irradiation of AISI type 410 martensitic steel samples was carried out by exposing the samples to 3 MeV protons up to a 1.0 × 1017 p/cm2 fluence level at a representative nuclear reactor coolant temperature of 350 °C. The assessment of deleterious effects of irradiation on the micro-structure and mechanical behavior of the AISI type 410 martensitic steel samples via transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy and cross-sectional nano-indentation showed no significant variation in the microscopic or mechanical characteristics. These results ensure the integrity of the structural and magnetic components of nuclear reactors made of AISI type 410 martensitic steel under high-temperature irradiation damage levels up to approximately 5.2 × 10-3 dpa.

  3. Particle production at large transverse momentum and hard collision models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ranft, G.; Ranft, J.

    1977-04-01

    The majority of the presently available experimental data is consistent with hard scattering models. Therefore the hard scattering model seems to be well established. There is good evidence for jets in large transverse momentum reactions as predicted by these models. The overall picture is however not yet well enough understood. We mention only the empirical hard scattering cross section introduced in most of the models, the lack of a deep theoretical understanding of the interplay between quark confinement and jet production, and the fact that we are not yet able to discriminate conclusively between the many proposed hard scattering models. The status of different hard collision models discussed in this paper is summarized. (author)

  4. Differential Galois obstructions for non-commutative integrability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maciejewski, Andrzej J. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Zielona Gora, Podgorna 50, PL-65-246 Zielona Gora (Poland)], E-mail: maciejka@astro.ia.uz.zgora.pl; Przybylska, Maria [Torun Centre for Astronomy, N. Copernicus University, Gagarina 11, PL-87-100 Torun (Poland)], E-mail: mprzyb@astri.uni.torun.pl

    2008-08-11

    We show that if a holomorphic Hamiltonian system is holomorphically integrable in the non-commutative sense in a neighbourhood of a non-equilibrium phase curve which is located at a regular level of the first integrals, then the identity component of the differential Galois group of the variational equations along the phase curve is Abelian. Thus necessary conditions for the commutative and non-commutative integrability given by the differential Galois approach are the same.

  5. NLO corrections to differential cross sections for pseudo-scalar Higgs boson production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Field, B.; Smith, J.; Tejeda-Yeomans, M.E.; Neerven, W.L. van

    2003-01-01

    We have computed the full next-to-leading (NLO) QCD corrections to the differential distributions d 2 σ/(dp T dy) for pseudo-scalar Higgs (A) production at large hadron colliders. This calculation has been carried out using the effective Lagrangian approach which is valid as long as the mass of the pseudo-scalar Higgs boson m A and its transverse momentum p T do not exceed the top-quark mass m t . The shape of the distributions hardly differ from those obtained for scalar Higgs (H) production because, apart from the overall coupling constant and mass, there are only small differences between the partonic differential distributions for scalar and pseudo-scalar production. Therefore, there are only differences in the magnitudes of the hadronic differential distributions which can be mainly attributed to the unknown mixing angle β describing the pseudo-scalar Higgs coupling to the top quarks

  6. Hard-Boiled for Hard Times in Leonardo Padura Fuentes's Detective Fiction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, H. Rosi

    2009-01-01

    Focusing on Leonardo Padura Fuentes's hard-boiled fiction, this essay traces the origin and evolution of the genre in Cuba. Padura Fuentes has challenged the officially sanctioned socialist "literatura policial" that became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. creating a new model of criticism that is not afraid to confront the island's socio-economic…

  7. HARD X-RAY ASYMMETRY LIMITS IN SOLAR FLARE CONJUGATE FOOTPOINTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daou, Antoun G.; Alexander, David, E-mail: agdaou@rice.edu, E-mail: dalex@rice.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS 108, Houston, TX, 77005 (United States)

    2016-11-20

    The transport of energetic electrons in a solar flare is modeled using a time-dependent one-dimensional Fokker–Planck code that incorporates asymmetric magnetic convergence. We derive the temporal and spectral evolution of the resulting hard X-ray (HXR) emission in the conjugate chromospheric footpoints, assuming thick target photon production, and characterize the time evolution of the numerically simulated footpoint asymmetry and its relationship to the photospheric magnetic configuration. The thick target HXR asymmetry in the conjugate footpoints is found to increase with magnetic field ratio as expected. However, we find that the footpoint HXR asymmetry saturates for conjugate footpoint magnetic field ratios ≥4. This result is borne out in a direct comparison with observations of 44 double-footpoint flares. The presence of such a limit has not been reported before, and may serve as both a theoretical and observational benchmark for testing a range of particle transport and flare morphology constraints, particularly as a means to differentiate between isotropic and anisotropic particle injection.

  8. Hard exudates segmentation based on learned initial seeds and iterative graph cut.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusakunniran, Worapan; Wu, Qiang; Ritthipravat, Panrasee; Zhang, Jian

    2018-05-01

    (Background and Objective): The occurrence of hard exudates is one of the early signs of diabetic retinopathy which is one of the leading causes of the blindness. Many patients with diabetic retinopathy lose their vision because of the late detection of the disease. Thus, this paper is to propose a novel method of hard exudates segmentation in retinal images in an automatic way. (Methods): The existing methods are based on either supervised or unsupervised learning techniques. In addition, the learned segmentation models may often cause miss-detection and/or fault-detection of hard exudates, due to the lack of rich characteristics, the intra-variations, and the similarity with other components in the retinal image. Thus, in this paper, the supervised learning based on the multilayer perceptron (MLP) is only used to identify initial seeds with high confidences to be hard exudates. Then, the segmentation is finalized by unsupervised learning based on the iterative graph cut (GC) using clusters of initial seeds. Also, in order to reduce color intra-variations of hard exudates in different retinal images, the color transfer (CT) is applied to normalize their color information, in the pre-processing step. (Results): The experiments and comparisons with the other existing methods are based on the two well-known datasets, e_ophtha EX and DIARETDB1. It can be seen that the proposed method outperforms the other existing methods in the literature, with the sensitivity in the pixel-level of 0.891 for the DIARETDB1 dataset and 0.564 for the e_ophtha EX dataset. The cross datasets validation where the training process is performed on one dataset and the testing process is performed on another dataset is also evaluated in this paper, in order to illustrate the robustness of the proposed method. (Conclusions): This newly proposed method integrates the supervised learning and unsupervised learning based techniques. It achieves the improved performance, when compared with the

  9. Extraordinarily soft, medium-hard and hard Indian wheat varieties: Composition, protein profile, dough and baking properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katyal, Mehak; Singh, Narpinder; Virdi, Amardeep Singh; Kaur, Amritpal; Chopra, Nidhi; Ahlawat, Arvind Kumar; Singh, Anju Mahendru

    2017-10-01

    Hard wheat (HW), medium-hard wheat (MHW) and extraordinarily soft wheat (Ex-SW) varieties with grain hardness index (GHI) of 83 to 95, 72 to 80, 17 to 29 were evaluated for pasting, protein molecular weight (MW) distribution, dough rheology and baking properties. Flours from varieties with higher GHI had more protein content, ash content and paste viscosities. Ex-SW had more glutenins proportion as compared to HW and MHW. Flours from Ex-SW varieties showed lower NaSRC, WA and mixographic parameters as compared to HW and MHW. Dough from flours milled from Ex-SW had higher Intermolecular-β-sheets (IM-β-sheets) than those from MHW and HW. Muffins volume increased with decrease in GHI, Ex-SW varieties had more muffin volume and less air space. The accumulation of polypeptides (PPs) varied significantly in different varieties. Ex-SW variety (QBP12-10) showed accumulation of 98, 90, 81 and 79kDa PPs, which was unique and was different from other varieties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Short Hard Gamma Ray Bursts And Their Afterglows

    CERN Document Server

    Dado, Shlomo

    2009-01-01

    Long duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and X-ray flashes (XRFs) are produced by highly- relativistic jets ejected in core-collapse supernova explosions. The origin of short hard gamma-ray bursts (SHBs) has not been established. They may be produced by highly relativistic jets ejected in various processes: mergers of compact stellar objects; large-mass accretion episodes onto compact stars in close binaries or onto intermediate-mass black holes in dense stellar regions; phase transition of compact stars. Natural environments of such events are the dense cores of globular clusters, superstar clusters and young supernova remnants. We have used the cannonball model of GRBs to analyze all Swift SHBs with a well-sampled X-ray afterglow. We show that their prompt gamma-ray emission can be explained by inverse Compton scattering (ICS) of the progenitor's glory light, and their extended soft emission component by ICS of high density light or synchrotron radiation (SR) in a high density interstellar medium within the cl...

  11. Rock-hard coatings

    OpenAIRE

    Muller, M.

    2007-01-01

    Aircraft jet engines have to be able to withstand infernal conditions. Extreme heat and bitter cold tax coatings to the limit. Materials expert Dr Ir. Wim Sloof fits atoms together to develop rock-hard coatings. The latest invention in this field is known as ceramic matrix composites. Sloof has signed an agreement with a number of parties to investigate this material further.

  12. Hard Electromagnetic Processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richard, F.

    1987-09-01

    Among hard electromagnetic processes, I will use the most recent data and focus on quantitative test of QCD. More specifically, I will retain two items: - hadroproduction of direct photons, - Drell-Yan. In addition, I will briefly discuss a recent analysis of ISR data obtained with AFS (Axial Field Spectrometer) which sheds a new light on the e/π puzzle at low P T

  13. Induction surface hardening of hard coated steels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pantleon, K.; Kessler, O.; Hoffann, F.; Mayr, P. [Stiftung Inst. fuer Werkstofftechnik, Bremen (Germany)

    1999-11-01

    The properties of hard coatings deposited using CVD processes are usually excellent. However, high deposition temperatures negatively influence the substrate properties, especially in the case of low alloyed steels. Therefore, a subsequent heat treatment is necessary to restore the properties of steel substrates. Here, induction surface hardening is used as a method of heat treatment after the deposition of TiN hard coatings on AISI 4140 (DIN42CrMo4) substrates. The influences of the heat treatment on both the coating and the substrate properties are discussed in relation to the parameters of induction heating. Thereby, the heating time, heating atmosphere and the power input into the coating-substrate compounds are varied. As a result of induction surface hardening, the properties of the substrates are improved without losing good coating properties. High hardness values in the substrate near the interface allow the AISI 4140 substrates to support TiN hard coatings very well. Consequently, higher critical loads are measured in scratch tests after the heat treatment. Also, compressive residual stresses in the substrate are generated. In addition, only a very low distortion appears. (orig.)

  14. Indonesia in the South China Sea Dispute: Humble-Hard Power

    OpenAIRE

    Robertua, Verdinand; Sinaga, Obsatar

    2018-01-01

    This research discussed the opportunities for Indonesia to act as humble-hard power in South China Sea dispute. Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision in July 2016 to give South China Sea based on UNCLOS’s regulation has provoked China’s objection. This research question is on how to understand the conception of humble-hard power and the possibility for Indonesia to be humble-hard power in the South China Sea dispute? This article borrowed the concept of humble-hard power from Adam Nieves ...

  15. Radiation hardness of superconducting magnet insulation materials for FAIR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seidl, Tim

    2013-03-01

    This thesis focuses on radiation degradation studies of polyimide, polyepoxy/glass-fiber composites and other technical components used, for example, in the superconducting magnets of new ion accelerators such as the planned International Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at the GSI Helmholtz Center of Heavy Ion Research (GSI) in Darmstadt. As accelerators are becoming more powerful, i.e., providing larger energies and beam intensities, the potential risk of radiation damage to the components increases. Reliable data of the radiation hardness of accelerator materials and components concerning electrical, thermal and other technical relevant properties are of great interest also for other facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of CERN. Dependent on the position of the different components, induced radiation due to beam losses consists of a cocktail of gammas, neutrons, protons, and heavier particles. Although the number of heavy fragments of the initial projectiles is small compared to neutrons, protons, or light fragments (e.g. ? particles), their large energy deposition can induce extensive damage at rather low fluences (dose calculations show that the contribution of heavy ions to the total accumulated dose can reach 80 %). For this reason, defined radiation experiments were conducted using different energetic ion beams (from protons to uranium) and gamma radiation from a Co-60 source. The induced changes were analyzed by means of in-situ and ex-situ analytical methods, e.g. ultraviolet-visible and infrared spectroscopy, residual gas analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis, dielectric strength measurements, measurements of low temperature thermal properties, and performance tests. In all cases, the radiation induces a change in molecular structure as well as loss of functional material properties. The amount of radiation damage is found to be sensitive to the used type of ionizing radiation and the long term stability of the materials is

  16. Hard times; Schwere Zeiten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grunwald, Markus

    2012-10-02

    The prices of silicon and solar wafers keep dropping. According to market research specialist IMS research, this is the result of weak traditional solar markets and global overcapacities. While many manufacturers are facing hard times, big producers of silicon are continuing to expand.

  17. Characteristics of hard X-ray double sources in impulsive solar flares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakao, T.; Kosugi, T.; Masuda, S.; Yaji, K.; Inda-Koide, M.; Makishima, K.

    1996-01-01

    Imaging observations of solar flare hard X-ray sources with the Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT) aboard the Yohkoh satellite have revealed that hard X-ray emissions (greater than 30 ke V) originate most frequently from double sources. The double sources are located on both sides of the magnetic neutral line, suggesting that the bulk of hard X-rays is emitted from footpoints of flaring magnetic loops. We also found that hard X-rays from the double sources are emitted simultaneously within a fraction of second and that the weaker source tends to be located in the stronger magnetic field region, showing a softer spectrum. Physcial implications on the observed characteristics of the hard X-ray double sources are discussed.

  18. Soft skills, hard skills, and individual innovativeness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hendarman, Achmad Fajar; Cantner, Uwe

    2018-01-01

    of Indonesian firms from different industries are used from an online survey on manager and worker perceptions related to individual innovation performance on the one hand and individual skills on the other hand. The results show that soft skills and hard skills are significantly and positively associated...... with individual level innovativeness. However, no complementarity (positive interaction effect) is found between soft skills and hard skills....

  19. Volatile components of fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait. stimulate ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jane

    2011-08-10

    Aug 10, 2011 ... investigate the effects of volatile components of FLL on the proliferation and differentiation of rat calvarial ... Yang of the Department of Pharmacy, Fujian University of. Traditional Chinese .... the automated integrator. Statistical ...

  20. Soft and Hard Textured Wheat Differ in Starch Properties as Indicated by Trimodal Distribution, Morphology, Thermal and Crystalline Properties.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rohit Kumar

    Full Text Available Starch and proteins are major components in the wheat endosperm that affect its end product quality. Between the two textural classes of wheat i.e. hard and soft, starch granules are loosely bound with the lipids and proteins in soft wheat due to higher expression of interfering grain softness proteins. It might have impact on starch granules properties. In this work for the first time the physiochemical and structural properties of different sized starch granules (A-, B- and C-granules were studied to understand the differences in starches with respect to soft and hard wheat. A-, B- and C-type granules were separated with >95% purity. Average number and proportion of A-, B-, and C-type granules was 18%, 56%, 26% and 76%, 19%, 5% respectively. All had symmetrical birefringence pattern with varied intensity. All displayed typical A-type crystallites. A-type granules also showed V-type crystallinity that is indicative of starch complexes with lipids and proteins. Granules differing in gelatinization temperature (ΔH and transition temperature (ΔT, showed different enthalpy changes during heating. Substitution analysis indicated differences in relative substitution pattern of different starch granules. Birefringence, percentage crystallinity, transmittance, gelatinization enthalpy and substitution decreased in order of A>B>C being higher in hard wheat than soft wheat. Amylose content decreased in order of A>B>C being higher in soft wheat than hard wheat. Reconstitution experiment showed that starch properties could be manipulated by changing the composition of starch granules. Addition of A-granules to total starch significantly affected its thermal properties. Effect of A-granule addition was higher than B- and C-granules. Transmittance of the starch granules paste showed that starch granules of hard wheat formed clear paste. These results suggested that in addition to differences in protein concentration, hard and soft wheat lines have

  1. Mirna biogenesis pathway is differentially regulated during adipose derived stromal/stem cell differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, E C; Qureshi, A T; Llamas, C B; Burow, M E; King, A G; Lee, O C; Dasa, V; Freitas, M A; Forsberg, J A; Elster, E A; Davis, T A; Gimble, J M

    2018-02-07

    Stromal/stem cell differentiation is controlled by a vast array of regulatory mechanisms. Included within these are methods of mRNA gene regulation that occur at the level of epigenetic, transcriptional, and/or posttranscriptional modifications. Current studies that evaluate the posttranscriptional regulation of mRNA demonstrate microRNAs (miRNAs) as key mediators of stem cell differentiation through the inhibition of mRNA translation. miRNA expression is enhanced during both adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation; however, the mechanism by which miRNA expression is altered during stem cell differentiation is less understood. Here we demonstrate for the first time that adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs) induced to an adipogenic or osteogenic lineage have differences in strand preference (-3p and -5p) for miRNAs originating from the same primary transcript. Furthermore, evaluation of miRNA expression in ASCs demonstrates alterations in both miRNA strand preference and 5'seed site heterogeneity. Additionally, we show that during stem cell differentiation there are alterations in expression of genes associated with the miRNA biogenesis pathway. Quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated changes in the Argonautes (AGO1-4), Drosha, and Dicer at intervals of ASC adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation compared to untreated ASCs. Specifically, we demonstrated altered expression of the AGOs occurring during both adipogenesis and osteogenesis, with osteogenesis increasing AGO1-4 expression and adipogenesis decreasing AGO1 gene and protein expression. These data demonstrate changes to components of the miRNA biogenesis pathway during stromal/stem cell differentiation. Identifying regulatory mechanisms for miRNA processing during ASC differentiation may lead to novel mechanisms for the manipulation of lineage differentiation of the ASC through the global regulation of miRNA as opposed to singular regulatory mechanisms.

  2. Fast integration-based prediction bands for ordinary differential equation models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hass, Helge; Kreutz, Clemens; Timmer, Jens; Kaschek, Daniel

    2016-04-15

    To gain a deeper understanding of biological processes and their relevance in disease, mathematical models are built upon experimental data. Uncertainty in the data leads to uncertainties of the model's parameters and in turn to uncertainties of predictions. Mechanistic dynamic models of biochemical networks are frequently based on nonlinear differential equation systems and feature a large number of parameters, sparse observations of the model components and lack of information in the available data. Due to the curse of dimensionality, classical and sampling approaches propagating parameter uncertainties to predictions are hardly feasible and insufficient. However, for experimental design and to discriminate between competing models, prediction and confidence bands are essential. To circumvent the hurdles of the former methods, an approach to calculate a profile likelihood on arbitrary observations for a specific time point has been introduced, which provides accurate confidence and prediction intervals for nonlinear models and is computationally feasible for high-dimensional models. In this article, reliable and smooth point-wise prediction and confidence bands to assess the model's uncertainty on the whole time-course are achieved via explicit integration with elaborate correction mechanisms. The corresponding system of ordinary differential equations is derived and tested on three established models for cellular signalling. An efficiency analysis is performed to illustrate the computational benefit compared with repeated profile likelihood calculations at multiple time points. The integration framework and the examples used in this article are provided with the software package Data2Dynamics, which is based on MATLAB and freely available at http://www.data2dynamics.org helge.hass@fdm.uni-freiburg.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e

  3. Analysis of an Nth-order nonlinear differential-delay equation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallée, Réal; Marriott, Christopher

    1989-01-01

    The problem of a nonlinear dynamical system with delay and an overall response time which is distributed among N individual components is analyzed. Such a system can generally be modeled by an Nth-order nonlinear differential delay equation. A linear-stability analysis as well as a numerical simulation of that equation are performed and a comparison is made with the experimental results. Finally, a parallel is established between the first-order differential equation with delay and the Nth-order differential equation without delay.

  4. Hardness of carbides, nitrides, and borides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schroeter, W.

    1981-01-01

    Intermetallic compounds of metals with non-metals such as C, N, and B show different hardness. Wagner's interaction parameter characterizes manner and extent of the interaction between the atoms of the substance dissolved and the additional elements in metallic mixed phases. An attempt has been made to correlate the hardness of carbides, nitrides, and borides (data taken from literature) with certain interaction parameters and associated thermodynamic quantities (ΔH, ΔG). For some metals of periods 4, 5, and 6 corresponding relations were found between microhardness, interaction parameters, heat of formation, and atomic number

  5. High performance sinter-HIP for hard metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hongxia Chen; Deming Zhang; Yang Li; Jingping Chen

    2001-01-01

    The horizontal sinter-HIP equipment with great charge capacity and high performance, developed and manufactured by Central Iron and Steel Research Institute(CISRI), is mainly used for sintering and condensation of hard metals. This equipment is characterized by large hot zone, high heating speed, good temperature uniformity and fast cooling system. The equipment can provide uniform hot zone with temperature difference less than 6 o C at 1500-1600 o C and 6-10 MPa by controlling temperature, pressure and circulation of gas precisely. Using large scale horizontal sinter-HIP equipment to produce hard matals have many advantages such as stable quality, high efficiency of production, high rate of finished products and low production cost, so this equipment is a good choice for manufacturer of hard metals. (author)

  6. Interpretable functional principal component analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Zhenhua; Wang, Liangliang; Cao, Jiguo

    2016-09-01

    Functional principal component analysis (FPCA) is a popular approach to explore major sources of variation in a sample of random curves. These major sources of variation are represented by functional principal components (FPCs). The intervals where the values of FPCs are significant are interpreted as where sample curves have major variations. However, these intervals are often hard for naïve users to identify, because of the vague definition of "significant values". In this article, we develop a novel penalty-based method to derive FPCs that are only nonzero precisely in the intervals where the values of FPCs are significant, whence the derived FPCs possess better interpretability than the FPCs derived from existing methods. To compute the proposed FPCs, we devise an efficient algorithm based on projection deflation techniques. We show that the proposed interpretable FPCs are strongly consistent and asymptotically normal under mild conditions. Simulation studies confirm that with a competitive performance in explaining variations of sample curves, the proposed FPCs are more interpretable than the traditional counterparts. This advantage is demonstrated by analyzing two real datasets, namely, electroencephalography data and Canadian weather data. © 2015, The International Biometric Society.

  7. Fibroblastic osteosarcoma with epithelioid and squamous differentiation in a dog.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, Tiffany L; Agnew, Dalen; Rissi, Daniel R

    2018-04-01

    A fibroblastic osteosarcoma with epithelioid and squamous differentiation in the distal femur of a 9-y-old spayed female Greyhound dog is described. Grossly, the tumor consisted of a pale-white, firm-to-hard mass that replaced the medullary and cortical areas of the distal end of the right femur. Histologically, the mass was composed predominantly of spindle cells admixed with areas of mineralized and non-mineralized osteoid matrix that were surrounded by stellate osteoblasts and scattered multinucleate giant cells, consistent with the diagnosis of a fibroblastic osteosarcoma. In addition, well-demarcated clusters of neoplastic epithelioid cells and foci of squamous differentiation with keratin pearls were present throughout the neoplasm. The spindle cells, epithelioid cells, and areas of squamous differentiation expressed cytoplasmic immunostaining for osteocalcin and osteonectin. The spindle cells and epithelioid cells were also immunopositive for vimentin. Epithelioid cells also expressed occasional cytoplasmic immunostaining for pancytokeratin (PCK) Lu-5, and areas of squamous differentiation were immunoreactive for PCK Lu-5 and high molecular weight CK; these areas were inconsistently immunoreactive for CK 5-6 and immunonegative for low molecular weight CK. Foci of squamous differentiation were not located within blood or lymphatic vessels, given that no immunoreactivity for factor VIII-related antigen was observed around these areas. A thorough autopsy and an evaluation of the medical history excluded a primary carcinoma or other neoplasm elsewhere in the dog. The findings were consistent with a diagnosis of fibroblastic osteosarcoma with epithelioid and squamous differentiation.

  8. Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, Chong Hun; Oh, W. Z.; Won, H. J.; Choi, W. K.; Kim, G. N.; Moon, J. K

    2007-11-15

    Through the project of 'Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution', the followings were studied. 1. Investigation of decontamination characteristics of chemical decontamination process 2. Analysis of COD, ferrous ion concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration 3. Decomposition tests of hardly decomposable organic compounds 4. Improvement of organic acid decomposition process by ultrasonic wave and UV light 5. Optimization of decomposition process using a surrogate decontamination waste solution.

  9. Optomechanical Design of a Hard X-ray Nanoprobe Instrument with Nanometer-Scale Active Vibration Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shu, D.; Preissner, C.; Smolyanitskiy, A.; Maser, J.; Winarski, R.; Holt, M.; Lai, B.; Vogt, S.; Stephenson, G. B.

    2007-01-01

    We are developing a new hard x-ray nanoprobe instrument that is one of the centerpieces of the characterization facilities of the Center for Nanoscale Materials being constructed at Argonne National Laboratory. This new probe will cover an energy range of 3-30 keV with 30-nm spacial resolution. The system is designed to accommodate x-ray optics with a resolution limit of 10 nm, therefore, it requires staging of x-ray optics and specimens with a mechanical repeatability of better than 5 nm. Fast feedback for differential vibration control between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder has been implemented in the design using a digital-signal-processor-based real-time closed-loop feedback technique. A specially designed, custom-built laser Doppler displacement meter system provides two-dimensional differential displacement measurements with subnanometer resolution between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder. The optomechanical design of the instrument positioning stage system with nanometer-scale active vibration control is presented in this paper

  10. Microstructure and Hardness Distribution of Resistance Welded Advanced High Strength Steels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Kim Richardt; Harthøj, Anders; Friis, Kasper Leth

    2008-01-01

    In this work a low carbon steel and two high strength steels (DP600 and TRIP700) have been resistance lap welded and the hardness profiles were measured by micro hardness indentation of cross sections of the joint. The resulting microstructure of the weld zone of the DP-DP and TRIP-TRIP joints were...... found to consist of a martensitic structure with a significant increase in hardness. Joints of dissimilar materials mixed completely in the melted region forming a new alloy with a hardness profile lying in between the hardness measured in joints of the similar materials. Furthermore the joints were...

  11. Hard Times as Bodie: the allegorical functionality in E.L. Doctorow’s Welcome to Hard Times (1960

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. van der Merwe

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available “Welcome to Hard Times” (1960, E.L. Doctorow’s first novel, differs from the rest of his oeuvre because it is not set in a metropolitan context like New York. References to historical events that contain an apparent “mixture” of “factual” and fictional elements that are typical of Doctorow’s oeuvre are less prominent than in his other fiction, though definitely not absent. An analysis of the pioneer setting, the town Hard Times, reveals that other settings (including metropolitan ones like New York are not merely representations of specific contexts, but portrayals with allegorical elements. Criticism of Doctorow’s fiction does not sufficiently point out the rationale of Doctorow’s fiction in relation to his first novel: it is not just the basic level that contains the true topicality but also the underlying causal and thematic relationships. This article sets out to explore “Welcome to Hard Times” as a case in point. The objective of this article is therefore also to show that an analysis of this novel provides a valuable basis for understanding the allegorical character of his fiction. Angus Fletcher’s theoretical analysis, “Allegory: the theory of a symbolic mode” (1964, serves as a useful starting point for the analysis of the allegorical value of space and the town Hard Times as a microcosmic or symbolic society, as well as the “daemonic agents” in the town and the role of causality.

  12. Regulation of proximal tubular cell differentiation and proliferation in primary culture by matrix stiffness and ECM components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wan-Chun; Lin, Hsi-Hui; Tang, Ming-Jer

    2014-09-15

    To explore whether matrix stiffness affects cell differentiation, proliferation, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in primary cultures of mouse proximal tubular epithelial cells (mPTECs), we used a soft matrix made from monomeric collagen type I-coated polyacrylamide gel or matrigel (MG). Both kinds of soft matrix benefited primary mPTECs to retain tubular-like morphology with differentiation and growth arrest and to evade TGF-β1-induced EMT. However, the potent effect of MG on mPTEC differentiation was suppressed by glutaraldehyde-induced cross-linking and subsequently stiffening MG or by an increasing ratio of collagen in the soft mixed gel. Culture media supplemented with MG also helped mPTECs to retain tubular-like morphology and a differentiated phenotype on stiff culture dishes as soft MG did. We further found that the protein level and activity of ERK were scaled with the matrix stiffness. U-0126, a MEK inhibitor, abolished the stiff matrix-induced dedifferentiation and proliferation. These data suggest that the ERK signaling pathway plays a vital role in matrix stiffness-regulated cell growth and differentiation. Taken together, both compliant property and specific MG signals from the matrix are required for the regulation of epithelial differentiation and proliferation. This study provides a basic understanding of how physical and chemical cues derived from the extracellular matrix regulate the physiological function of proximal tubules and the pathological development of renal fibrosis. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  13. Remote maintenance of future fusion reactors - a challenge for rad-hard components and smart control strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Decreton, M.; Geeter, J. De

    1996-01-01

    The future fusion reactor will need frequent maintenance turns, involving inspection, repair and parts replacement inside the vacuum vessel. These operations will require high payload manipulations in constrained space under very high gamma-radiation dose-rates and temperature. Present research is being undertaken to qualify the components of the handling machine under representative conditions, in the framework of the ITER international consortium. Simultaneously, challenging control strategies will be needed to achieve reliable tasking under very poor viewing conditions and elementary sensing help. The paper reviews the present state of the art on both issues and present results of the ongoing research themes among the partners of the ITER programme. In particular, SCK''centre-dot''CEN coordinates the ITER T252 task on Radiation Tolerance Assessment of Remote Handling Components. (UK)

  14. Transition from reversible to irreversible magnetic exchange-spring processes in antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayer structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiguang; Guo Guanghua; Zhang Guangfu

    2011-01-01

    The demagnetization processes of antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayer structures have been studied based on the discrete one-dimensional atomic chain model and the linear partial domain-wall model. It is found that, when the magnetic anisotropy of soft layer is taken into account, the changes of the soft layer thickness and the interfacial exchange coupling strength may lead a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible magnetic exchange-spring process. For the trilayer structures with very thin soft layer, the demagnetization process exhibits typical reversible exchange-spring behavior. However, as the thickness of soft layer is increased, there is a crossover point t c , after which the process becomes irreversible. Similarly, there is also a critical interfacial exchange coupling constant A sh c , above which the exchange-spring process is reversible. When A sh sh c , the irreversible exchange-spring process is achieved. The phase diagram of reversible and irreversible exchange-spring processes is mapped in the plane of the interfacial exchange coupling A sh and soft layer thickness N s . - Research highlights: → A differing magnetic exchange-spring process is found in antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled hard/soft/hard trilayers if the magnetic anisotropy of the soft layers is taken into account. → The change of the soft layer thickness may lead to a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible exchange-spring process. → The change of the soft-hard interfacial exchange coupling strength may lead a transition of demagnetization process in soft layer from the reversible to the irreversible exchange-spring process. → The phase diagram of reversible and irreversible exchange-spring processes is mapped in the plane of the interfacial exchange coupling and soft layer thickness.

  15. Comparative of the Tribological Performance of Hydraulic Cylinders Coated by the Process of Thermal Spray HVOF and Hard Chrome Plating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R.M. Castro

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Due to the necessity of obtaining a surface that is resistant to wear and oxidation, hydraulic cylinders are typically coated with hard chrome through the process of electroplating process. However, this type of coating shows an increase of the area to support sealing elements, which interferes directly in the lubrication of the rod, causing damage to the seal components and bringing oil leakage. Another disadvantage in using the electroplated hard chromium process is the presence of high level hexavalent chromium Cr+6 which is not only carcinogenic, but also extremely contaminating to the environment. Currently, the alternative process of high-speed thermal spraying (HVOF - High Velocity Oxy-Fuel, uses composite materials (metal-ceramic possessing low wear rates. Research has shown that some mechanical properties are changed positively with the thermal spray process in industrial applications. It is evident that a coating based on WC has upper characteristics as: wear resistance, low friction coefficient, with respect to hard chrome coatings. These characteristics were analyzed by optical microscopy, roughness measurements and wear test.

  16. Radiation damage to electronic components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Battisti, S.; Bossart, R.; Schoenbacher, H.; Van de Voorde, M.

    1975-01-01

    Characteristic properties are presented of some 40 different electronic components (resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits) which were irradiated in a nuclear reactor up to 1015 n/cm 2 (E > 1 MeV). Complete circuits (e.g. RF amplifiers and detectors, mixers, differential amplifiers, voltage-to-frequency converters, oscillators, power supplies) were irradiated near the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings up to 106 rad(RPL) (dose measured with radiophotoluminescent dosimeters) under simulated operational conditions. Representative measured parameters, such as resistance, capacitance, forward voltage, reverse current, toggle frequencies, are given in graphs as a function of radiation dose. The results are discussed in detail and lead to the over-all conclusion that the operation of electronic components and circuits is seriously affected by radiation environments with doses in the order of 10 13 n/cm 2 or 10 4 rad(RPL); some components and circuits fail completely at doses of 10 14 n/cm 2 or 10 5 rad(RPL). (Author)

  17. Mongoose: Creation of a Rad-Hard MIPS R3000

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lincoln, Dan; Smith, Brian

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes the development of a 32 Bit, full MIPS R3000 code-compatible Rad-Hard CPU, code named Mongoose. Mongoose progressed from contract award, through the design cycle, to operational silicon in 12 months to meet a space mission for NASA. The goal was the creation of a fully static device capable of operation to the maximum Mil-883 derated speed, worst-case post-rad exposure with full operational integrity. This included consideration of features for functional enhancements relating to mission compatibility and removal of commercial practices not supported by Rad-Hard technology. 'Mongoose' developed from an evolution of LSI Logic's MIPS-I embedded processor, LR33000, code named Cobra, to its Rad-Hard 'equivalent', Mongoose. The term 'equivalent' is used to infer that the core of the processor is functionally identical, allowing the same use and optimizations of the MIPS-I Instruction Set software tool suite for compilation, software program trace, etc. This activity was started in September of 1991 under a contract from NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)-Flight Data Systems. The approach affected a teaming of NASA-GSFC for program development, LSI Logic for system and ASIC design coupled with the Rad-Hard process technology, and Harris (GASD) for Rad-Hard microprocessor design expertise. The program culminated with the generation of Rad-Hard Mongoose prototypes one year later.

  18. How to estimate hardness of crystals on a pocket calculator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simunek, Antonin

    2007-01-01

    A generalization of the semiempirical microscopic model of hardness is presented and applied to currently studied borides, carbides, and nitrides of heavy transition metals. The hardness of OsB, OsC, OsN, PtN, RuC, RuB 2 , ReB 2 , OsB 2 , IrN 2 , PtN 2 , and OsN 2 crystals in various structural phases is predicted. It is found that none of the transition metal crystals is superhard, i.e., with hardness greater than 40 GPa. The presented method provides materials researchers with a practical tool in the search for new hard materials

  19. Process component inventory in a large commercial reprocessing facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canty, M.J.; Berliner, A.; Spannagel, G.

    1983-01-01

    Using a computer simulation program, the equilibrium operation of the Pu-extraction and purification processes of a reference commercial reprocessing facility was investigated. Particular attention was given to the long-term net fluctuations of Pu inventories in hard-to-measure components such as the solvent extraction contractors. Comparing the variance of these inventories with the measurement variance for Pu contained in feed, analysis and buffer tanks, it was concluded that direct or indirect periodic estimation of contactor inventories would not contribute significantly to improving the quality of closed material balances over the process MBA

  20. Hard Break-Up of Two-Nucleons and QCD Dynamics of NN Interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sargsian, Misak

    2008-01-01

    We discus recent developments in theory of high energy two-body break-up of few-nucleon systems. The characteristics of these reactions are such that the hard two-body quasielastic subprocess can be clearly separated from the accompanying soft subprocesses. We discuss in details the hard rescattering model (HRM) in which hard photodisintegration develops in two stages. At first, photon knocks-out an energetic quark which rescatters subsequently with a quark of the other nucleon. The latter provides a mechanism of sharing the initial high momentum of the photon between two outgoing nucleons. This final state hard rescattering can be expressed through the hard NN scattering amplitude. Within HRM we discuss hard break-up reactions involving D and 3 He targets and demonstrate how these reactions are sensitive to the dynamics of hard pn and pp interaction. Another development of HRM is the prediction of new helicity selection mechanism for hard two-body reactions, which was apparently confirmed in the recent JLab experiment.

  1. Application of hard coatings for blanking and piercing tools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Podgornik, B.; Zajec, B.; Bay, Niels

    2011-01-01

    The aim of the present investigation was to examine the possibility of reducing lubrication and replacing expensive tungsten carbide material in blanking/piercing through introduction of hard tool coatings. Results show that hard PVD coatings can be successfully used in blanking/piercing...... critical value under dry friction conditions and leads to tool failure. Therefore, at present oxidation and temperature resistant hard coatings can give improved wear resistance of stamping tools, but elimination of lubricants in blanking and piercing processes is still not feasible....

  2. Topics in numerical partial differential equations and scientific computing

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    Numerical partial differential equations (PDEs) are an important part of numerical simulation, the third component of the modern methodology for science and engineering, besides the traditional theory and experiment. This volume contains papers that originated with the collaborative research of the teams that participated in the IMA Workshop for Women in Applied Mathematics: Numerical Partial Differential Equations and Scientific Computing in August 2014.

  3. Irradiation tests of readout chain components of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leroy, C.; Cheplakov, A.; Golikov, V.; Golubykh, S.; Kukhtin, V.; Kulagin, E.; Lushchikov, V.; Minashkin, V.; Shalyugin, A.

    2000-01-01

    Various readout chain components of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeters have been exposed to high neutron fluences and γ doses at the irradiation test facility of the IBR-2 reactor of JINR, Dubna. Results of the capacitance and impedance measurements of coaxial cables are presented. Results of peeling tests of PC board samples (carton and copper strips) as a measure of the bonding agent irradiation hardness are also reported

  4. Irradiation tests of readout chain components of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeters

    CERN Document Server

    Leroy, C; Golikov, V; Golubyh, S M; Kukhtin, V; Kulagin, E; Luschikov, V; Minashkin, V F; Shalyugin, A N

    1999-01-01

    Various readout chain components of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeters have been exposed to high neutron fluences and $gamma$-doses at the irradiation test facility of the IBR-2 reactor of JINR, Dubna. Results of the capacitance and impedance measurements of coaxial cables are presented. Results of peeling tests of PC board samples (kapton and copper strips) as a measure of the bonding agent irradiation hardness are also reported.

  5. The thermal expansion of hard magnetic materials of the Nd-Fe-B system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savchenko, Igor; Kozlovskii, Yurii; Samoshkin, Dmitriy; Yatsuk, Oleg

    2017-10-01

    The results of dilatometric measurement of the thermal expansion of hard magnetic materials brands N35M, N35H and N35SH containing as a main component the crystalline phase of Nd2Fe14B type are presented. The temperature range from 200 to 750 K has been investigated by the method of dilatometry with an error of 1.5-2×10-7 K-1. The approximation dependences of the linear thermal expansion coefficient have been obtained. The character of changes of the thermal coefficient of linear expansion in the region of the Curie point has been specified, its critical indices and critical amplitudes have been defined.

  6. Magnetic hyperthermia with hard-magnetic nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kashevsky, Bronislav E., E-mail: bekas@itmo.by [A.V Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute, Belarus Academy of Sciences, P. Brovka str. 15, Minsk 220072 (Belarus); Kashevsky, Sergey B.; Korenkov, Victor S. [A.V Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute, Belarus Academy of Sciences, P. Brovka str. 15, Minsk 220072 (Belarus); Istomin, Yuri P. [N. N. Alexandrov National Cancer Center of Belarus, Lesnoy-2, Minsk 223040 (Belarus); Terpinskaya, Tatyana I.; Ulashchik, Vladimir S. [Institute of Physiology, Belarus Academy of Sciences, Akademicheskaya str. 28, Minsk 220072 (Belarus)

    2015-04-15

    Recent clinical trials of magnetic hyperthermia have proved, and even hardened, the Ankinson-Brezovich restriction as upon magnetic field conditions applicable to any site of human body. Subject to this restriction, which is harshly violated in numerous laboratory and small animal studies, magnetic hyperthermia can relay on rather moderate heat source, so that optimization of the whole hyperthermia system remains, after all, the basic problem predetermining its clinical perspectives. We present short account of our complex (theoretical, laboratory and small animal) studies to demonstrate that such perspectives should be related with the hyperthermia system based on hard-magnetic (Stoner–Wohlfarth type) nanoparticles and strong low-frequency fields rather than with superparamagnetic (Brownian or Neél) nanoparticles and weak high-frequency fields. This conclusion is backed by an analytical evaluation of the maximum absorption rates possible under the field restriction in the ideal hard-magnetic (Stoner–Wohlarth) and the ideal superparamagnetic (single relaxation time) systems, by theoretical and experimental studies of the dynamic magnetic hysteresis in suspensions of movable hard-magnetic particles, by producing nanoparticles with adjusted coercivity and suspensions of such particles capable of effective energy absorption and intratumoral penetration, and finally, by successful treatment of a mice model tumor under field conditions acceptable for whole human body. - Highlights: • Hard-magnetic nanoparticles are shown superior for hyperthetmia to superparamagnetic. • Optimal system parameters are found from magnetic reversal model in movable particle. • Penetrating suspension of HM particles with aggregation-independent SAR is developed. • For the first time, mice with tumors are healed in AC field acceptable for human body.

  7. PENGEMBANGAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN SOFT SKILLS DAN HARD SKILLS UNTUK SISWA SMK

    OpenAIRE

    Widarto Noto Widodo, Pardjono

    2013-01-01

    Abstrak: Pengembangan Model Pembelajaran Soft Skills dan Hard Skills untuk Siswa SMK. Era global menuntut sumber daya manusia yang memiliki daya saing, adaptif dan antisipatif, mampu belajar, terampil, mudah beradaptasi dengan teknologi baru. Profil tenaga kerja yang dibutuhkan pasar adalah yang kuat pada aspek soft skills dan hard skills. Ada tiga alternatif model pendidikan yang memadukan hard skills dan soft skills, yaitu (1) aspek soft skills dan hard skills dilaksanakan di sekolah; (2) a...

  8. Differentiating Motivational from Affective Influence of Performance-contingent Reward on Cognitive Control: The Wanting Component Enhances Both Proactive and Reactive Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaillou, Anne-Clémence; Giersch, Anne; Hoonakker, Marc; Capa, Rémi L; Bonnefond, Anne

    2017-04-01

    Positive affect strongly modulates goal-directed behaviors and cognitive control mechanisms. It often results from the presence of a pleasant stimulus in the environment, whether that stimulus appears unpredictably or as a consequence of a particular behavior. The influence of positive affect linked to a random pleasant stimulus differs from the influence of positive affect resulting from performance-contingent pleasant stimuli. However, the mechanisms by which the performance contingency of pleasant stimuli modulates the influence of positive affect on cognitive control mechanisms have not been elucidated. Here, we tested the hypothesis that these differentiated effects are the consequence of the activation of the motivational "wanting" component specifically under performance contingency conditions. To that end, we directly compared the effects on cognitive control of pleasant stimuli (a monetary reward) attributed in a performance contingent manner, and of random pleasant stimuli (positive picture) not related to performance, during an AX-CPT task. Both proactive and reactive modes of control were increased specifically by performance contingency, as reflected by faster reaction times and larger amplitude of the CNV and P3a components. Our findings advance our understanding of the respective effects of affect and motivation, which is of special interest regarding alterations of emotion-motivation interaction found in several psychopathological disorders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Theoretical modeling developed to evaluate the hardness and reduced modulus for the C/a-Si composite film using nanoindentation tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, C.-F.; Lin, J.-F.; Chung, C.-K.; Wu, B.-H.

    2008-01-01

    A general mechanical model, which is composed of the mechanical models employed to describe the contact behaviors and deformations arising in all layers (including the substrate), is successfully developed in the present study for multilayer specimens in order to evaluate the contact projected area by a theoretical model, and thus the hardness and reduced modulus, using nanoindentation tests. The governing differential equations for the depth solutions of the indenter tip formed at all layers of the specimen under their contact load are developed individually. The influence of the material properties of the substrate on a multilayer specimen's hardness and reduced modulus at various indentation depths can thus be evaluated. Transition and pop-in occurred at depths near, but still before, the C (top layer)/a-Si (buffer layer) interface and the a-Si/Si (substrate) interface, respectively. Using the present analysis, the depths corresponding to the transition and pop-in behaviors can be predicted effectively

  10. Effects of explosions in hard rocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heuze, F.E.; Walton, O.R.; Maddix, D.M.; Shaffer, R.J.; Butkovich, T.R.

    1993-01-01

    This work relates to explosions in hard rocks (ex: basalt, granite, limestone...). Hard rock masses typically have a blocky structure created by the existence of geologic discontinuities such as bedding contacts, faults, and joints. At very high pressure - hundreds of kilobars and above - these discontinuities do not act separately, and the rock appears to be an equivalent continuous medium. At stress of a few tens of kilobars and below, the geologic discontinuities control the kinematics of the rock masses. Hence, the simulation of rock dynamics, anywhere but in the very-near source region, should account for those kinematics

  11. Gelation in a model 1-component system with adhesive hard-sphere interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jung Min; Eberle, Aaron; Fang, Jun; Wagner, Norman

    2012-02-01

    Colloidal dispersions can undergo a dynamical arrest of the disperse phase leading to a system with solid-like properties when either the volume fraction or the interparticle potential is varied. Systems that contain low to moderate particulate concentrations form gels whereas higher concentrations lead to glassy states in which caging by nearest neighbors can be a significant contributor to the arrested long-time dynamics. Colloid polymer mixtures have been the prevalent model system for studying the effect of attraction, where attractions are entropically driven by depletion effects, in which gelation has been shown to be a result of phase separation [1]. Using the model 1-component octadecyl coated silica nanoparticle system, Eberle et al. [2] found the gel-line to intersect the spinodal to the left of the critical point, and at higher concentrations extended toward the mode coupling theory attractive driven glass line. . We continue this study by varying the particle diameter and find quantitative differences which we explain by gravity. 1. Lu, P.J., et al., Nature, 2008. 453(7194): p. 499-504.2. Eberle, A.P.R., N.J. Wagner, and R. Castaneda-Priego, Physical Review Letters, 2011. 106(10).

  12. Experimental study on hollow structural component by explosive welding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duan, Mianjun, E-mail: dmjwl@163.com [PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210007 (China); Wei, Ling, E-mail: 386006087@qq.com [Tongda College, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunication, Nanjing 210007 (China); Hong, Jin [PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210007 (China); Ran, Hong [Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu 610041 (China); Ma, Rui; Wang, Yaohua [PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210007 (China)

    2014-12-15

    Highlights: • This paper relates to a study on a thin double-layers hollow structural component by using an explosive welding technology. • This thin double-layer hollow structural component is an indispensable component required for certain core equipment of thermonuclear experimental reactor. • An adjusted explosive welding technology for manufacturing an inconel625 hollow structural component was developed which cannot be made by common technology. • The result shows that a metallurgical bonding was realized by the ribs and slabs of the hollow sheet. • The shearing strength of bonding interface exceeds that of the parent metal. - Abstract: A large thin-walled hollow structural component with sealed channels is required for the vacuum chamber of a thermonuclear experimental reactor, with inconel625 as its fabrication material. This hollow structural component is rarely manufactured by normal machining method, and its manufacture is also problematic in the field of explosive welding. With this in mind, we developed an adjusted explosive welding technology which involves a two-step design, setting and annealing technology. The joints were evaluated using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope, and a mechanical experiment was conducted, involving micro-hardness test, cold helium leak test and hydraulic pressure test. The results showed that a metallurgical bonding was realized by the ribs and slabs, and the shearing strength of the bonding interface exceeded that of the parent metal. Hence, the hollow structural component has a good comprehensive mechanical performance and sealing property.

  13. Experimental study on hollow structural component by explosive welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan, Mianjun; Wei, Ling; Hong, Jin; Ran, Hong; Ma, Rui; Wang, Yaohua

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • This paper relates to a study on a thin double-layers hollow structural component by using an explosive welding technology. • This thin double-layer hollow structural component is an indispensable component required for certain core equipment of thermonuclear experimental reactor. • An adjusted explosive welding technology for manufacturing an inconel625 hollow structural component was developed which cannot be made by common technology. • The result shows that a metallurgical bonding was realized by the ribs and slabs of the hollow sheet. • The shearing strength of bonding interface exceeds that of the parent metal. - Abstract: A large thin-walled hollow structural component with sealed channels is required for the vacuum chamber of a thermonuclear experimental reactor, with inconel625 as its fabrication material. This hollow structural component is rarely manufactured by normal machining method, and its manufacture is also problematic in the field of explosive welding. With this in mind, we developed an adjusted explosive welding technology which involves a two-step design, setting and annealing technology. The joints were evaluated using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope, and a mechanical experiment was conducted, involving micro-hardness test, cold helium leak test and hydraulic pressure test. The results showed that a metallurgical bonding was realized by the ribs and slabs, and the shearing strength of the bonding interface exceeded that of the parent metal. Hence, the hollow structural component has a good comprehensive mechanical performance and sealing property

  14. Hard facings used in welded joints. Industrial applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delair, J.

    1998-01-01

    In this article, two industrial application cases of special hard facings used in offshore and nuclear fabrications are described into details. These hard facings concern more particularly 1)the heterogeneous joints of a martensitic steel on an ordinary carbon steel 2)the homogeneous joints of a high resistive low alloy carbon steel. (O.M.)

  15. A new, bright and hard aluminum surface produced by anodization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Fengyan; Hu, Bo; Tay, See Leng; Wang, Yuxin; Xiong, Chao; Gao, Wei

    2017-07-01

    Anodized aluminum (Al) and Al alloys have a wide range of applications. However, certain anodized finishings have relatively low hardness, dull appearance and/or poor corrosion resistance, which limited their applications. In this research, Al was first electropolished in a phosphoric acid-based solution, then anodized in a sulfuric acid-based solution under controlled processing parameters. The anodized specimen was then sealed by two-step sealing method. A systematic study including microstructure, surface morphology, hardness and corrosion resistance of these anodized films has been conducted. Results show that the hardness of this new anodized film was increased by a factor of 10 compared with the pure Al metal. Salt spray corrosion testing also demonstrated the greatly improved corrosion resistance. Unlike the traditional hard anodized Al which presents a dull-colored surface, this newly developed anodized Al alloy possesses a very bright and shiny surface with good hardness and corrosion resistance.

  16. Influence of skin hardness on dehydration kinetics of wine grapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolle, Luca; Caudana, Alberto; Giacosa, Simone; Gerbi, Vincenzo; Río Segade, Susana

    2011-02-01

    Knowledge of the influence of initial mechanical properties on the evolution of the weight loss of berries through the drying process is scarce. Therefore, the main purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of skin hardness at two different physiological stages of off-vine drying kinetics of grapes. Skin hardness was evaluated as the berry skin-break force parameter, measured by the texture analysis test. The decrease of berry weight as a function of the drying time was linear, indicating that the drying rates were constant within each cultivar studied (Moscato bianco and Erbaluce), and for each ripening stage and berry skin hardness. The drying rates decreased as berry skin hardness increased for the ripest grapes in the cultivars studied. The study allowed the assessment of the correlation between the skin hardness of fresh berries and the weight loss determined for different drying days. 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.

  17. Radiation hard silicon microstrip detectors for Tevatron experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korjenevski, Sergey

    2004-01-01

    The Silicon Microstrip Tracking detectors at the CDF and D0 experiments have now been operating for almost three years at Fermilab. These detectors were designed originally for an integrated luminosity of 2fb -1 . As the expected luminosity for Run IIb at the Tevatron collider was initially envisioned to reach 15fb -1 , radiation tolerances of both devices were revisited, culminating in proposals for new systems. With reduced expectations for total luminosity at ∼6fb -1 , the full detector-replacement projects were terminated. The CDF detector is expected nevertheless to cope efficiently with the lower anticipated dose, however, the D0 experiment is planning a smaller-scale project: a Layer-0 (L0) upgrade of the silicon tracker (D0SMT). The new device will fit between the beam line and the inner layer of the current Tracker. Built of single-sided sensors, this upgrade is expected to perform well in the harsh radiation environment, and be able to withstand an integrated luminosity of 15fb -1 . Prototypes of Run IIb sensors were irradiated using 10MeV protons at the tandem Van de Graaff at the James R. McDonald Laboratory at Kansas State University. A fit to the 10MeV proton data yields a damage parameter αp=11x10-17Acm. This is consistent with results from RD48 (αp=9.9x10-17Acm). The scaling of damage to 1MeV neutron fluence uses a hardness factor (κ) derived from the non-ionizing components of the energy loss (NEIL). NEIL predicts a hardness factor of 3.87 for 10MeV protons. We obtained an experimental value of this factor of 2.54, or 34% smaller than scaling predictions from NEIL

  18. Square pulse current wave’s effect on electroplated nickel hardness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bibian Alonso Hoyos

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available The effects of frequency, average current density and duty cycle on the hardness of electroplated nickel were studied in Watts and sulphamate solutions by means of direct and square pulse current. The results in Watts’ solutions revealed greater hardness at low duty cycle, high average current density and high square pulse current frequency. There was little variation in hardness in nickel sulphamate solutions to changes in duty cycle and wave frequency. Hardness values obtained in the Watts’ bath with square pulse current were higher than those achieved with direct current at the same average current density; such difference was not significant in sulphamate bath treatment.

  19. Signature Schemes Secure against Hard-to-Invert Leakage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Faust, Sebastian; Hazay, Carmit; Nielsen, Jesper Buus

    2012-01-01

    of the secret key. As a second contribution, we construct a signature scheme that achieves security for random messages assuming that the adversary is given a polynomial-time hard to invert function. Here, polynomial-hardness is required even when given the entire public-key – so called weak auxiliary input......-theoretically reveal the entire secret key. In this work, we propose the first constructions of digital signature schemes that are secure in the auxiliary input model. Our main contribution is a digital signature scheme that is secure against chosen message attacks when given an exponentially hard-to-invert function...... security. We show that such signature schemes readily give us auxiliary input secure identification schemes...

  20. GfW-handbook for irradiation test guidelines for radiation hardness of electronic components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braeunig, D.; Wulf, F.; Gaebler, W.; Boden, A.

    1982-12-01

    The purpose of the report is to propose irradiation test methods so that a standardized application of the methods can lead to a better comparison of test results. The interaction of different radiation species with matter - ionization and displacement - is described. Application of appropriate radiation sources, dosimetry problems, and shielding for simulating space radiation effects by laboratory testing is discussed. The description and characteristics of the irradiation sources are presented. Flowcharts of the planning and running of irradiation tests are given. Guidelines for running the tests are established, test methods and test circuits are proposed. The test system offers the capability of measuring devices also of high complexity up to microprocessors. The test results are collected regularly and are published in GfW-Handbook TN53/08, 'Data Compilation of Irradiation Tested Electronic Components'. (orig./HP) [de

  1. Principle component analysis and linear discriminant analysis of multi-spectral autofluorescence imaging data for differentiating basal cell carcinoma and healthy skin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chernomyrdin, Nikita V.; Zaytsev, Kirill I.; Lesnichaya, Anastasiya D.; Kudrin, Konstantin G.; Cherkasova, Olga P.; Kurlov, Vladimir N.; Shikunova, Irina A.; Perchik, Alexei V.; Yurchenko, Stanislav O.; Reshetov, Igor V.

    2016-09-01

    In present paper, an ability to differentiate basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and healthy skin by combining multi-spectral autofluorescence imaging, principle component analysis (PCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) has been demonstrated. For this purpose, the experimental setup, which includes excitation and detection branches, has been assembled. The excitation branch utilizes a mercury arc lamp equipped with a 365-nm narrow-linewidth excitation filter, a beam homogenizer, and a mechanical chopper. The detection branch employs a set of bandpass filters with the central wavelength of spectral transparency of λ = 400, 450, 500, and 550 nm, and a digital camera. The setup has been used to study three samples of freshly excised BCC. PCA and LDA have been implemented to analyze the data of multi-spectral fluorescence imaging. Observed results of this pilot study highlight the advantages of proposed imaging technique for skin cancer diagnosis.

  2. Hardness and Microstructure of Binary and Ternary Nitinol Compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanford, Malcolm K.

    2016-01-01

    The hardness and microstructure of twenty-six binary and ternary Nitinol (nickel titanium, nickel titanium hafnium, nickel titanium zirconium and nickel titanium tantalum) compounds were studied. A small (50g) ingot of each compound was produced by vacuum arc remelting. Each ingot was homogenized in vacuum for 48 hr followed by furnace cooling. Specimens from the ingots were then heat treated at 800, 900, 1000 or 1100 degree C for 2 hr followed by water quenching. The hardness and microstructure of each specimen was compared to the baseline material (55-Nitinol, 55 at.% nickel - 45 at.% titanium, after heat treatment at 900 degC). The results show that eleven of the studied compounds had higher hardness values than the baseline material. Moreover, twelve of the studied compounds had measured hardness values greater 600HV at heat treatments from 800 to 900 degree C.

  3. Design and Experiment of a Differential-Based Power Split Device

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaohua Zeng

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Hybrid electric vehicles have excellent energy efficiency and emission performance. Power split device (PSD is a key component that directly affects the control strategy of power systems, the economic consumption of fuel, and the dynamic performance of vehicles. A differential-based PSD was proposed in this paper. A traditional differential was taken as the prototype and a new design method is proposed to retrofit the differential into a PSD. First, a comprehensive approach that includes theoretical analysis and software simulation was used to analyze the possibility as well as the necessity of retrofitting the differential into PSD. Then the differential was retrofitted. Finally, finite element analysis and bench test were conducted. Results showed that applying the retrofitted differential as PSD is practicable.

  4. Radiation hard memory cell and array thereof

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunckel, T.L. II; Rovell, A.; Nielsen, R.L.

    1978-01-01

    A memory cell configuration that is implemented to be relatively hard to the adverse effects of a nuclear event is discussed. The presently disclosed memory cell can be interconnected with other like memory cells to form a high speed radiation hard register file. Information is selectively written into and read out of a memory cell comprising the register file, which memory cell preserves previously stored data without alteration in the event of exposure to high levels of nuclear radiation

  5. Car sequencing is NP-hard: a short proof

    OpenAIRE

    B Estellon; F Gardi

    2013-01-01

    In this note, a new proof is given that the car sequencing (CS) problem is NP-hard. Established from the Hamiltonian Path problem, the reduction is direct while closing some gaps remaining in the previous NP-hardness results. Since CS is studied in many operational research courses, this result and its proof are particularly interesting for teaching purposes.

  6. Hard X-ray imaging with a slat collimated telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Zhuguo; Kotov, Yu.D.; Suslov, A.Yu.

    1995-01-01

    Imaging experiments with a slat collimated hard X-ray telescope are described in this paper demonstrating the feasibility of the direct demodulation imaging method used in hard X-ray scanning modulation experiments. On 25 September 1993 an X-ray raster scan observation of Cyg X-1 was performed in a balloon flight with the hard X-ray telescope HAPI-4. An experiment to image radioactive X-ray sources was performed in the laboratory before. In both experiments the expected X-ray images were obtained, confirming the imaging capability of this method. (orig.)

  7. Novel platens to measure the hardness of a pentagonal shaped tablet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malladi, Jaya; Sidik, Kurex; Wu, Sutan; McCann, Ryan; Dougherty, Jeffrey; Parab, Prakash; Carragher, Thomas

    2017-03-01

    Tablet hardness, a measure of the breaking force of a tablet, is based on numerous factors. These include the shape of the tablet and the mode of the application of force. For instance, when a pentagonal-shaped tablet was tested with a traditional hardness tester with flat platens, there was a large variation in hardness measurements. This was due to the propensity of vertices of the tablet to crush, referred to as an "improper break". This article describes a novel approach to measure the hardness of pentagonal-shaped tablets using modified platens. The modified platens have more uniform loading than flat platens. This is because they reduce loading on the vertex of the pentagon and apply forces on tablet edges to generate reproducible tablet fracture. The robustness of modified platens was assessed using a series of studies, which included feasibility and Gauge Repeatability & Reproducibility (R&R) studies. A key finding was that improper breaks, generated frequently with a traditional hardness tester using flat platens, were eliminated. The Gauge R&R study revealed that the tablets tested with novel platens generated consistent values in hardness measurements, independent of batch, hardness level, and day of testing, operator and tablet dosage strength.

  8. Fusion of hard and soft control strategies for the robotic hand

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, Cheng-Hung

    2018-01-01

    Long considered the stuff of science fiction, a prosthetic hand capable of fully replicating all of that appendage's various functions is closer to becoming reality than ever before. This book provides a comprehensive report on exciting recent developments in hybrid control techniques—one of the most crucial hurdles to be overcome in creating smart prosthetic hands. Coauthored by two of the world's foremost pioneering experts in the field, Fusion of Hard and Soft Control Strategies for the Robotic Hand treats robotic hands for multiple applications. It begins with an overview of advances in main control techniques that have been made over the past decade before addressing the military context for affordable robotic hand technology with tactile and/or proprioceptive feedback for hand amputees. Kinematics, homogene us transformations, inverse and differential kinematics, trajectory planning, and dynamic models of two-link thumb and three-link index finger are discussed in detail. The remainder of the book is...

  9. Large component deformation studies using videogrammetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenwood, J.A.

    1999-01-01

    Fermilab has the responsibility for developing certain components for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), to be commissioned at CERN in 2005. As part of the development process, a referencing strategy must be created such that the position of internal active components may be known relative to external targeting. One question to be answered is the issue of dimensional stability of a part that will be transported over long distances; another is whether the external framework is coherent. This paper reviews the efforts of the designers of the component and the Lab's Alignment and Metrology Group to understand the behavior of a moderately large part, in this case a pie-shaped CSC chamber of dimensions 2 x 3 x 0.3 m , as it is positioned in various orientations relative to gravity. All measurements were made using a Geodetic Services, Inc. INCA 6.3 camera with an 18 min Nikon lens (Fig. 1) and were processed using GSI's V-STARS 4.1 software. Photogrammetry, more particularly digital videogrammetry, has shown that it can effectively service projects of this nature. When compared to optical tooling and laser tracker approaches, it is hard to imagine the full complement of difficulties videogrammetry allows one to avoid. Certainly the fact that neither the camera nor the part need to be stationary makes, photogrammetry an obvious choice. (author)

  10. Nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machaka, Ronald; Derry, Trevor E.; Sigalas, Iakovos

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → The load-displacement indentation response of hot-pressed B 6 O is measured and analysed. → The nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide is reported. → An approach is developed to simulate multi-cycling loading load-displacement curves. → A comprehensive model inter-comparison study of the ISE in hot-pressed B 6 O is also presented. → The fractal dimension is a better measure of ISE than the Meyer's index. - Abstract: The existence of the indentation size effect implies the absence of a single hardness value for the material under investigation especially at low applied loads. In this paper we present an investigation of the indentation size dependence behaviour of nanoindentation hardness in boron suboxide ceramic compacts prepared by uniaxial hot-pressing. Berkovich nanohardness indentations were conducted and analyzed accordingly. In addition to the ordinary Oliver and Pharr method of nanoindentation data analysis, a quantitative approach for the loading curve analysis is proposed. Using the proposed approach, the description and characterization of the observed indentation size effect through the application of the Meyer's law, and the classical and the modified proportional specimen resistance models as well as the multi-fractal scaling law was conducted and is reported. The load-independent hardness values deduced from our quantitative approach are comparable to the results calculated with conventional methods, especially with the multi-fractal scaling law.

  11. Effect of gum hardness on chewing pattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plesh, O; Bishop, B; McCall, W

    1986-06-01

    Chewing rhythms are set by a putative central pattern generator whose output is influenced by sensory feedback. In this study we assessed how an altered feedback imposed by changing the hardness of a gum bolus modifies the timing of chewing, the maximal gape, and the activity in the masseter muscle on the chewing side. Ten adult subjects with no orofacial dysfunction chewed a standard piece of soft or hard gum for at least 3 min in random order. Vertical jaw movements were recorded with a kinesiograph and activity of the masseter muscle was recorded and integrated from surface EMG electrodes. The subjects sat in a dental chair and viewed a video lecture to distract their attention from chewing; they were instructed to chew on the right molars. Cycle-by-cycle analysis showed that 9 of the 10 subjects chewed the hard gum more slowly than the soft with no significant change in gape. The increases in cycle duration were due to changes in the duration of the opening and occlusal phases. The duration of closing was not significantly changed even though the duration and level of masseter activity were both significantly increased. We conclude that gum hardness by altering proprioceptive feedback modifies the output of the masticatory central pattern generator in such a way that the temporal aspects of chewing and the output of the masseteric motor pool are affected.

  12. Evolution in fluctuating environments: decomposing selection into additive components of the Robertson-Price equation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engen, Steinar; Saether, Bernt-Erik

    2014-03-01

    We analyze the stochastic components of the Robertson-Price equation for the evolution of quantitative characters that enables decomposition of the selection differential into components due to demographic and environmental stochasticity. We show how these two types of stochasticity affect the evolution of multivariate quantitative characters by defining demographic and environmental variances as components of individual fitness. The exact covariance formula for selection is decomposed into three components, the deterministic mean value, as well as stochastic demographic and environmental components. We show that demographic and environmental stochasticity generate random genetic drift and fluctuating selection, respectively. This provides a common theoretical framework for linking ecological and evolutionary processes. Demographic stochasticity can cause random variation in selection differentials independent of fluctuating selection caused by environmental variation. We use this model of selection to illustrate that the effect on the expected selection differential of random variation in individual fitness is dependent on population size, and that the strength of fluctuating selection is affected by how environmental variation affects the covariance in Malthusian fitness between individuals with different phenotypes. Thus, our approach enables us to partition out the effects of fluctuating selection from the effects of selection due to random variation in individual fitness caused by demographic stochasticity. © 2013 The Author(s). Evolution © 2013 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  13. Optomechanical design of a hard x-ray nanoprobe instrument with active vibration control in nanometer scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shu, D.; Maser, J.; Holt, M.; Winarski, R.; Preissner, C.; Smolyanitskiy, A.; Lai, B.; Vogt, S.; Stephenson, G.

    2007-01-01

    We are developing a new hard x-ray nanoprobe instrument that is one of the centerpieces of the characterization facilities of the Center for Nanoscale Materials being constructed at Argonne National Laboratory. This new probe will cover an energy range of 3-30 keV with 30-nm spatial resolution. The system is designed to accommodate x-ray optics with a resolution limit of 10 nm, therefore, it requires staging of x-ray optics and specimens with a mechanical repeatability of better than 5 nm. Fast feedback for differential vibration control between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder has been implemented in the design using a digital-signal-processor-based real-time closed-loop feedback technique. A specially designed, custom-built laser Doppler displacement meter system provides two-dimensional differential displacement measurements with subnanometer resolution between the zone-plate x-ray optics and the sample holder. The optomechanical design of the instrument positioning stage system with nanometer-scale active vibration control is presented in this paper.

  14. Novel Aspects of Hard Diffraction in QCD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brodsky, Stanley J.

    2005-01-01

    Initial- and final-state interactions from gluon-exchange, normally neglected in the parton model have a profound effect in QCD hard-scattering reactions, leading to leading-twist single-spin asymmetries, diffractive deep inelastic scattering, diffractive hard hadronic reactions, and nuclear shadowing and antishadowing--leading-twist physics not incorporated in the light-front wavefunctions of the target computed in isolation. I also discuss the use of diffraction to materialize the Fock states of a hadronic projectile and test QCD color transparency

  15. Radiation hardness of CMS pixel barrel modules

    CERN Document Server

    Rohe, T; Erdmann, W; Kästli, H C; Khalatyan, S; Meier, B; Radicci, V; Sibille, J

    2010-01-01

    Pixel detectors are used in the innermost part of the multi purpose experiments at LHC and are therefore exposed to the highest fluences of ionising radiation, which in this part of the detectors consists mainly of charged pions. The radiation hardness of all detector components has thoroughly been tested up to the fluences expected at the LHC. In case of an LHC upgrade, the fluence will be much higher and it is not yet clear how long the present pixel modules will stay operative in such a harsh environment. The aim of this study was to establish such a limit as a benchmark for other possible detector concepts considered for the upgrade. As the sensors and the readout chip are the parts most sensitive to radiation damage, samples consisting of a small pixel sensor bump-bonded to a CMS-readout chip (PSI46V2.1) have been irradiated with positive 200 MeV pions at PSI up to 6E14 Neq and with 21 GeV protons at CERN up to 5E15 Neq. After irradiation the response of the system to beta particles from a Sr-90 source w...

  16. Development of Compton X-ray spectrometer for high energy resolution single-shot high-flux hard X-ray spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kojima, Sadaoki, E-mail: kojima-s@ile.osaka-u.ac.jp, E-mail: sfujioka@ile.osaka-u.ac.jp; Ikenouchi, Takahito; Arikawa, Yasunobu; Sakata, Shohei; Zhang, Zhe; Abe, Yuki; Nakai, Mitsuo; Nishimura, Hiroaki; Shiraga, Hiroyuki; Fujioka, Shinsuke, E-mail: kojima-s@ile.osaka-u.ac.jp, E-mail: sfujioka@ile.osaka-u.ac.jp; Azechi, Hiroshi [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, 2-6 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Ozaki, Tetsuo [National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi, Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Miyamoto, Shuji; Yamaguchi, Masashi; Takemoto, Akinori [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry, University of Hyogo, 3-1-2 Kouto, Kamigori-cho, Ako-gun, Hyogo 678-1205 (Japan)

    2016-04-15

    Hard X-ray spectroscopy is an essential diagnostics used to understand physical processes that take place in high energy density plasmas produced by intense laser-plasma interactions. A bundle of hard X-ray detectors, of which the responses have different energy thresholds, is used as a conventional single-shot spectrometer for high-flux (>10{sup 13} photons/shot) hard X-rays. However, high energy resolution (Δhv/hv < 0.1) is not achievable with a differential energy threshold (DET) X-ray spectrometer because its energy resolution is limited by energy differences between the response thresholds. Experimental demonstration of a Compton X-ray spectrometer has already been performed for obtaining higher energy resolution than that of DET spectrometers. In this paper, we describe design details of the Compton X-ray spectrometer, especially dependence of energy resolution and absolute response on photon-electron converter design and its background reduction scheme, and also its application to the laser-plasma interaction experiment. The developed spectrometer was used for spectroscopy of bremsstrahlung X-rays generated by intense laser-plasma interactions using a 200 μm thickness SiO{sub 2} converter. The X-ray spectrum obtained with the Compton X-ray spectrometer is consistent with that obtained with a DET X-ray spectrometer, furthermore higher certainly of a spectral intensity is obtained with the Compton X-ray spectrometer than that with the DET X-ray spectrometer in the photon energy range above 5 MeV.

  17. Hardness and excitation energy

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    It is shown that the first excitation energy can be given by the Kohn-Sham hardness (i.e. the energy difference of the ground-state lowest unoccupied and highest occupied levels) plus an extra term coming from the partial derivative of the ensemble exchange-correlation energy with respect to the weighting factor in the ...

  18. High thermal load component

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuse, Toshiaki; Tachikawa, Nobuo.

    1996-01-01

    A cooling tube made of a pure copper is connected to the inner portion of an armour (heat resistant member) made of an anisotropic carbon/carbon composite (CFC) material. The CFC material has a high heat conductivity in longitudinal direction of fibers and has low conductivity in perpendicular thereto. Fibers extending in the armour from a heat receiving surface just above the cooling tube are directly connected to the cooling tube. A portion of the fibers extending from a heat receiving surface other than portions not just above the cooling tube is directly bonded to the cooling tube. Remaining fibers are disposed so as to surround the cooling tube. The armour and the cooling tube are soldered using an active metal flux. With such procedures, high thermal load components for use in a thermonuclear reactor are formed, which are excellent in a heat removing characteristic and hardly causes defects such as crackings and peeling. (I.N.)

  19. Heat treatment of EN AC-AlSi13Cu2Fe silumin and its effect on change of hardness of the alloy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Pezda

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Wide application of aluminum casting alloys is connected with their very good physical and technical properties. Within such group of alloys, silumins play important role in automotive and aviation industry, as well as in another branches of technique, because the silumins enable casting of complicated shapes. The most important parameters which predetermine mechanical properties of a material in aspects of suitability for castings of machinery components are: tensile strength (Rm, elongation and hardness. Alloys based on equilibrium system of Al-Si comprise additional constituents (e.g.: Mg, Cu enabling, except modification, improvement of mechanical properties, obtained in result of heat treatment. In the paper are presented results of investigations concerning effect of the heat treatment on change of hardness (HB of the EN AC-AlSi12Cu2Fe alloy. Investigated alloy was melted in an electric resistance furnace. Run of the crystallization was presented with use of the thermal-derivative method (ATD. This method was also implemented to determination of heat treatments temperature range of the alloy. Performed heat treatment gave effect in change of the hardness. Performed investigations have enabled determination of heat treatment parameters range, which conditions suitable hardness of the investigated alloy.

  20. On a possible test of the hard-Pomeron theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ioffe, B.L.

    1992-01-01

    In the last few years there have been discussions of the fact that the Pomeron-the Regge pole responsible for high-energy scattering-has in reality a double role: a soft Pomeron built of multiperipheral hadron exchange and a hard Pomeron described by gluon exchanges in QCD. Recently, Bjorken emphasized the need to distinguish these two forms of the Pomeron. The question arises of whether it is possible to distinguish the hard and soft Pomeron experimentally. According to the hard-Pomeron concept, the hadron-hadron total cross section is determined by the imaginary part of the forward scattering amplitude corresponding to two-gluon exchange with ladder corrections. This mechanism dominates in the case of scattering of particles built from heavy quarks (a good example is γγ scattering) and also in the case of virtual-particle scattering (for example, virtual photons, where quark pairs must also be included in the ladder). These processes are hard (γ virt γ virt scattering) or impossible (γγ scattering) to observe experimentally. Bjorken suggested another process whose cross section is determined by hard-Pomeron exchange - double diffractional hadron-hadron (e.g., pp) scattering at high energies with jet production in the projectile and target fragmentation regions. If the momentum transfer from the projectile to the target is in the intermediate region, |t|∼1 GeV, and events are selected with a rapidity gap in the rapidity distribution of produced particles between the two fragmentation regions, then, according to Bjorken, a process determined by the hard Pomeron will be observed. The author addresses this proposal

  1. Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory. Annual Report 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-06-01

    The Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory is being constructed in preparation for the deep geological repository of spent fuel in Sweden. This Annual Report 1993 for the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory contains an overview of the work conducted. Present work is focused on verification of pre-investigation methods and development of the detailed investigation methodology. Construction of the facility and investigation of the bedrock are carried out in parallel. As of December 1993, 2760 m of the tunnel had been excavated to a depth of 370 m below the surface. An important and integral part of the work is further refinement of conceptual and numerical models for groundwater flow and radionuclide migration. Detailed plans have been prepared for several experiments to be conducted after the end of the construction work. Eight organizations from seven countries are now participating in the work at the Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory and are contributing in different ways to the results being achieved

  2. How hard were the Jura mountains pushed?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hindle, D

    2008-09-15

    The mechanical twinning of calcite is believed to record past differential stress values, but validating results in the context of past tectonic situations has been rarely attempted. Using assumptions of linear gradients of stress components with depth, a stress gradient based on twinning palaeopiezometry is derived for the Swiss Molasse Basin, the indenter region to the Jura fold and thrust belt. When integrated into a model of the retrodeformed Jura-Molasse system, allowing horizontal stress concentration and conservation along the original taper geometry, the stress profile proves consistent with the position of the Jura-Molasse (ftb-indenter) transition. The model demonstrates mechanically why the Plateau Molasse portion of the Molasse Basin remained relatively undeformed when transmitting tectonic forces applied to the Jura mountains. (author)

  3. How hard were the Jura mountains pushed?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hindle, D.

    2008-01-01

    The mechanical twinning of calcite is believed to record past differential stress values, but validating results in the context of past tectonic situations has been rarely attempted. Using assumptions of linear gradients of stress components with depth, a stress gradient based on twinning palaeopiezometry is derived for the Swiss Molasse Basin, the indenter region to the Jura fold and thrust belt. When integrated into a model of the retrodeformed Jura-Molasse system, allowing horizontal stress concentration and conservation along the original taper geometry, the stress profile proves consistent with the position of the Jura-Molasse (ftb-indenter) transition. The model demonstrates mechanically why the Plateau Molasse portion of the Molasse Basin remained relatively undeformed when transmitting tectonic forces applied to the Jura mountains. (author)

  4. Hard-tip, soft-spring lithography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Wooyoung; Braunschweig, Adam B; Liao, Xing; Chai, Jinan; Lim, Jong Kuk; Zheng, Gengfeng; Mirkin, Chad A

    2011-01-27

    Nanofabrication strategies are becoming increasingly expensive and equipment-intensive, and consequently less accessible to researchers. As an alternative, scanning probe lithography has become a popular means of preparing nanoscale structures, in part owing to its relatively low cost and high resolution, and a registration accuracy that exceeds most existing technologies. However, increasing the throughput of cantilever-based scanning probe systems while maintaining their resolution and registration advantages has from the outset been a significant challenge. Even with impressive recent advances in cantilever array design, such arrays tend to be highly specialized for a given application, expensive, and often difficult to implement. It is therefore difficult to imagine commercially viable production methods based on scanning probe systems that rely on conventional cantilevers. Here we describe a low-cost and scalable cantilever-free tip-based nanopatterning method that uses an array of hard silicon tips mounted onto an elastomeric backing. This method-which we term hard-tip, soft-spring lithography-overcomes the throughput problems of cantilever-based scanning probe systems and the resolution limits imposed by the use of elastomeric stamps and tips: it is capable of delivering materials or energy to a surface to create arbitrary patterns of features with sub-50-nm resolution over centimetre-scale areas. We argue that hard-tip, soft-spring lithography is a versatile nanolithography strategy that should be widely adopted by academic and industrial researchers for rapid prototyping applications.

  5. INFLUENCE OF ANNEALING ON HARDNESS OF Cr-Mn-Ni CAST IRONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Netrebko

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The necessary level of material’s hardness is determined by the exploitation conditions and presence of technological operations during manufacturing of articles. Mechanical edge cutting machining of wear resistant materials is impeded because of their high hardness. It is recommended to apply annealing in order to decrease hardness and improve machinability. The purpose of the work consisted in obtaining of regression dependences of cast iron’s macrohardness on its chemical content after annealing at 730 °С. With the use of mathematical experimental design the regression dependences of cast iron’s macrohardness and structural components’ microhardness on С, Cr, Mn, Ni content have been established. The minimal hardness of 27,6 HRC after annealing at 730 °С is obtained in the cast iron containing: 3,9% С; 11,4% Cr; 0,6% Mn; 0,2% Ni. The maximal hardness of 70,4 HRC is obtained when the content is as follows: 1,1% С; 25,6% Cr; 5,4% Mn; 3,0% Ni. Annealing at 730 °С decreases the cast irons’ hardness containing the minimal amount of Cr, Mn and Ni. Annealing at 730 °С is recommended for cast irons alloyed by Mn and Ni for increasing of hardness.

  6. From Hard Times to Better Times: College Majors, Unemployment, and Earnings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnevale, Anthony P.; Cheah, Ban

    2015-01-01

    This third installment of "Hard Times" updates the previous analyses of college majors, unemployment, and earnings over the Great Recession. While there is wide variation by college majors, hard times have become better times for most college graduates, but the recovery is far from complete. Hard times are becoming better times for most…

  7. An overview on polynomial approximation of NP-hard problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paschos Vangelis Th.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The fact that polynomial time algorithm is very unlikely to be devised for an optimal solving of the NP-hard problems strongly motivates both the researchers and the practitioners to try to solve such problems heuristically, by making a trade-off between computational time and solution's quality. In other words, heuristic computation consists of trying to find not the best solution but one solution which is 'close to' the optimal one in reasonable time. Among the classes of heuristic methods for NP-hard problems, the polynomial approximation algorithms aim at solving a given NP-hard problem in poly-nomial time by computing feasible solutions that are, under some predefined criterion, as near to the optimal ones as possible. The polynomial approximation theory deals with the study of such algorithms. This survey first presents and analyzes time approximation algorithms for some classical examples of NP-hard problems. Secondly, it shows how classical notions and tools of complexity theory, such as polynomial reductions, can be matched with polynomial approximation in order to devise structural results for NP-hard optimization problems. Finally, it presents a quick description of what is commonly called inapproximability results. Such results provide limits on the approximability of the problems tackled.

  8. Computational search for rare-earth free hard-magnetic materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores Livas, José A.; Sharma, Sangeeta; Dewhurst, John Kay; Gross, Eberhard; MagMat Team

    2015-03-01

    It is difficult to over state the importance of hard magnets for human life in modern times; they enter every walk of our life from medical equipments (NMR) to transport (trains, planes, cars, etc) to electronic appliances (for house hold use to computers). All the known hard magnets in use today contain rare-earth elements, extraction of which is expensive and environmentally harmful. Rare-earths are also instrumental in tipping the balance of world economy as most of them are mined in limited specific parts of the world. Hence it would be ideal to have similar characteristics as a hard magnet but without or at least with reduced amount of rare-earths. This is the main goal of our work: search for rare-earth-free magnets. To do so we employ a combination of density functional theory and crystal prediction methods. The quantities which define a hard magnet are magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) and saturation magnetization (Ms), which are the quantities we maximize in search for an ideal magnet. In my talk I will present details of the computation search algorithm together with some potential newly discovered rare-earth free hard magnet. J.A.F.L. acknowledge financial support from EU's 7th Framework Marie-Curie scholarship program within the ``ExMaMa'' Project (329386).

  9. Multi-spacecraft observations of solar hard X-ray bursts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kane, S.R.

    1981-01-01

    The role of multi-spacecraft observations in solar flare research is examined from the point of view of solar hard X-ray bursts and their implications with respect to models of the impulsive phase. Multi-spacecraft measurements provide a stereoscopic view of the flare region, and hence represent the only direct method of measuring directivity of X-rays. In absence of hard X-ray imaging instruments with high spatial and temporal resolution, multi-spacecraft measurements provide the only means of determining the radial (vertical) structure of the hard X-ray source. This potential of the multi-spacecraft observations is illustrated with an analysis of the presently available observations of solar hard X-ray bursts made simultaneously by two or more of the following spacecraft: International Sun Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3), Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO), Helios-B and High Energy Astrophysical Observatory-A (HEAO-A). In particular, some conclusions have been drawn about the spatial structure and directivity of 50-100 keV X-rays from impulsive flares. Desirable features of future multi-spacecraft missions are briefly discussed followed by a short description of the hard X-ray experiment on the International Solar Polar Mission which has been planned specifically for multi-spacecraft observations of the Sun. (orig.)

  10. Thinking versus feeling: differentiating between cognitive and affective components of perceived cancer risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janssen, Eva; van Osch, Liesbeth; Lechner, Lilian; Candel, Math; de Vries, Hein

    2012-01-01

    Despite the increased recognition of affect in guiding probability estimates, perceived risk has been mainly operationalised in a cognitive way and the differentiation between rational and intuitive judgements is largely unexplored. This study investigated the validity of a measurement instrument differentiating cognitive and affective probability beliefs and examined whether behavioural decision making is mainly guided by cognition or affect. Data were obtained from four surveys focusing on smoking (N=268), fruit consumption (N=989), sunbed use (N=251) and sun protection (N=858). Correlational analyses showed that affective likelihood was more strongly correlated with worry compared to cognitive likelihood and confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a two-factor model of perceived likelihood instead of a one-factor model (i.e. cognition and affect combined). Furthermore, affective likelihood was significantly associated with the various outcome variables, whereas the association for cognitive likelihood was absent in three studies. The findings provide support for the construct validity of the measures used to assess cognitive and affective likelihood. Since affective likelihood might be a better predictor of health behaviour than the commonly used cognitive operationalisation, both dimensions should be considered in future research.

  11. Studies of the Hard X-ray Emission from the Filippov Type Plasma Focus Device, Dena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tafreshi, M. A.; Saeedzadeh, E.

    2006-12-01

    This article is about the characteristics of the hard X-ray (HXR) emission from the Filippov type plasma focus (PF) device, Dena. The article begins with a brief presentation of Dena, and the mechanism of the HXR production in PF devices. Then using the differential absorption spectrometry, the energy resolved spectrum of the HXR emission from a 37 kJ discharge in Dena, is estimated. The energy flux density and the energy fluence of this emission have also been calculated to be 1.9 kJ cm-2 s-1 and 9.4 × 10-5 J cm-2. In the end, after presentation of radiography of sheep bones and calf ribs, the medical application of the PF devices has been discussed.

  12. Vapour-liquid equilibria of the hard core Yukawa fluid

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smit, B.; Frenkel, D.

    1991-01-01

    Techniques which extend the range of applicability of the Gibbs ensemble technique for particles which interact with a hard core potential are described. The power of the new technique is demonstrated in a numerical study of the vapour-liquid coexistence curve of the hard core Yukawa fluid.

  13. Thermodynamics and vibrational modes of hard sphere colloidal systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zargar, R.

    2014-01-01

    The central question that we address in this thesis is the thermodynamics of colloidal glasses. The thermodynamics of colloidal hard sphere glasses are directly related to the entropy of the system, since the phase behavior of hard sphere systems is dictated only by entropic contributions, and also

  14. The thermal expansion of hard magnetic materials of the Nd-Fe-B system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Savchenko Igor

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The results of dilatometric measurement of the thermal expansion of hard magnetic materials brands N35M, N35H and N35SH containing as a main component the crystalline phase of Nd2Fe14B type are presented. The temperature range from 200 to 750 K has been investigated by the method of dilatometry with an error of 1.5-2×10-7 K-1. The approximation dependences of the linear thermal expansion coefficient have been obtained. The character of changes of the thermal coefficient of linear expansion in the region of the Curie point has been specified, its critical indices and critical amplitudes have been defined.

  15. Prepulse dependence in hard x-ray generation from microdroplets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anand, M.; Kahaly, S.; Kumar, G. Ravindra; Sandhu, A. S.; Gibbon, P.; Krishnamurthy, M.

    2006-01-01

    We report on experiments which show that liquid microdroplets are very efficient in hard x-ray generation. We make a comparative study of hard x-ray emission from 15 μm methanol microdroplets and a plain slab target of similar atomic composition at similar laser intensities. The hard X-ray yield from droplet plasmas is about 35 times more than that obtained from solid plasmas. A prepulse that is about 10ns and at least 2% in intensity of the main pulse is essential for hard x-ray generation from the droplets at about 1015 W cm-2. A hot electron temperature of 36 keV is measured from the droplets at 8 x 1014 W cm-2; three times higher intensity is needed to obtain similar hot electron temperature from solid plasmas that have similar atomic composition. We use 1D-PIC simulation to obtain qualitative correlation to the experimental observations

  16. Comparison of time-dependent changes in the surface hardness of different composite resins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozcan, Suat; Yikilgan, Ihsan; Uctasli, Mine Betul; Bala, Oya; Kurklu, Zeliha Gonca Bek

    2013-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surface hardness of silorane-based composite resin (Filtek Silorane) in time and compare the results with the surface hardness of two methacrylate-based resins (Filtek Supreme and Majesty Posterior). Materials and Methods: From each composite material, 18 wheel-shaped samples (5-mm diameter and 2-mm depth) were prepared. Top and bottom surface hardness of these samples was measured using a Vicker's hardness tester. The samples were then stored at 37°C and 100% humidity. After 24 h and 7, 30 and 90 days, the top and bottom surface hardness of the samples was measured. In each measurement, the rate between the hardness of the top and bottom surfaces were recorded as the hardness rate. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variance, multiple comparisons by Tukey's test and binary comparisons by t-test with a significance level of P = 0.05. Results: The highest hardness values were obtained from each two surfaces of Majesty Posterior and the lowest from Filtek Silorane. Both the top and bottom surface hardness of the methacrylate based composite resins was high and there was a statistically significant difference between the top and bottom hardness values of only the silorane-based composite, Filtek Silorane (P composite resin Filtek Silorane showed adequate hardness ratio, the use of incremental technic during application is more important than methacrylate based composites. PMID:24966724

  17. Development of Composite Grinding Wheels for Hard and Soft Metals

    OpenAIRE

    Pruti, Faruk

    2012-01-01

    This research investigates the performance of grinding wheel in terms of its internal granular particles and their effect on the surface finish for both soft and hard metals subjected to both dry and wet conditions of use. The study considers the properties of materials of construction including hardness of the granular particles and their size and distributions that affects the grinding wheel efficiency in abrading of soft and hard metal surfaces. Furthermore, in order to improve grinding pe...

  18. 3D Bioprinting Technologies for Hard Tissue and Organ Engineering

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Xiaohong; Ao, Qiang; Tian, Xiaohong; Fan, Jun; Wei, Yujun; Hou, Weijian; Tong, Hao; Bai, Shuling

    2016-01-01

    Hard tissues and organs, including the bones, teeth and cartilage, are the most extensively exploited and rapidly developed areas in regenerative medicine field. One prominent character of hard tissues and organs is that their extracellular matrices mineralize to withstand weight and pressure. Over the last two decades, a wide variety of 3D printing technologies have been adapted to hard tissue and organ engineering. These 3D printing technologies have been defined as 3D bioprinting. Especial...

  19. Basal Cell Carcinoma With Matrical Differentiation: Clinicopathologic, Immunohistochemical, and Molecular Biological Study of 22 Cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyrpychova, Liubov; Carr, Richard A; Martinek, Petr; Vanecek, Tomas; Perret, Raul; Chottová-Dvořáková, Magdalena; Zamecnik, Michal; Hadravsky, Ladislav; Michal, Michal; Kazakov, Dmitry V

    2017-06-01

    Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) with matrical differentiation is a fairly rare neoplasm, with about 30 cases documented mainly as isolated case reports. We studied a series of this neoplasm, including cases with an atypical matrical component, a hitherto unreported feature. Lesions coded as BCC with matrical differentiation were reviewed; 22 cases were included. Immunohistochemical studies were performed using antibodies against BerEp4, β-catenin, and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). Molecular genetic studies using Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2 by massively parallel sequencing on Ion Torrent PGM were performed in 2 cases with an atypical matrical component (1 was previously subjected to microdissection to sample the matrical and BCC areas separately). There were 13 male and 9 female patients, ranging in age from 41 to 89 years. Microscopically, all lesions manifested at least 2 components, a BCC area (follicular germinative differentiation) and areas with matrical differentiation. A BCC component dominated in 14 cases, whereas a matrical component dominated in 4 cases. Matrical differentiation was recognized as matrical/supramatrical cells (n=21), shadow cells (n=21), bright red trichohyaline granules (n=18), and blue-gray corneocytes (n=18). In 2 cases, matrical areas manifested cytologic atypia, and a third case exhibited an infiltrative growth pattern, with the tumor metastasizing to a lymph node. BerEP4 labeled the follicular germinative cells, whereas it was markedly reduced or negative in matrical areas. The reverse pattern was seen with β-catenin. EMA was negative in BCC areas but stained a proportion of matrical/supramatrical cells. Genetic studies revealed mutations of the following genes: CTNNB1, KIT, CDKN2A, TP53, SMAD4, ERBB4, and PTCH1, with some differences between the matrical and BCC components. It is concluded that matrical differentiation in BCC in most cases occurs as multiple foci. Rare neoplasms manifest atypia in the matrical areas

  20. Nanomechanics of hard films on compliant substrates.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reedy, Earl David, Jr. (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Emerson, John Allen (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Bahr, David F. (Washington State University, Pullman, WA); Moody, Neville Reid; Zhou, Xiao Wang; Hales, Lucas (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN); Adams, David Price (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Yeager,John (Washington State University, Pullman, WA); Nyugen, Thao D. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD); Corona, Edmundo (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Kennedy, Marian S. (Clemson University, Clemson, SC); Cordill, Megan J. (Erich Schmid Institute, Leoben, Austria)

    2009-09-01

    Development of flexible thin film systems for biomedical, homeland security and environmental sensing applications has increased dramatically in recent years [1,2,3,4]. These systems typically combine traditional semiconductor technology with new flexible substrates, allowing for both the high electron mobility of semiconductors and the flexibility of polymers. The devices have the ability to be easily integrated into components and show promise for advanced design concepts, ranging from innovative microelectronics to MEMS and NEMS devices. These devices often contain layers of thin polymer, ceramic and metallic films where differing properties can lead to large residual stresses [5]. As long as the films remain substrate-bonded, they may deform far beyond their freestanding counterpart. Once debonded, substrate constraint disappears leading to film failure where compressive stresses can lead to wrinkling, delamination, and buckling [6,7,8] while tensile stresses can lead to film fracture and decohesion [9,10,11]. In all cases, performance depends on film adhesion. Experimentally it is difficult to measure adhesion. It is often studied using tape [12], pull off [13,14,15], and peel tests [16,17]. More recent techniques for measuring adhesion include scratch testing [18,19,20,21], four point bending [22,23,24], indentation [25,26,27], spontaneous blisters [28,29] and stressed overlayers [7,26,30,31,32,33]. Nevertheless, sample design and test techniques must be tailored for each system. There is a large body of elastic thin film fracture and elastic contact mechanics solutions for elastic films on rigid substrates in the published literature [5,7,34,35,36]. More recent work has extended these solutions to films on compliant substrates and show that increasing compliance markedly changes fracture energies compared with rigid elastic solution results [37,38]. However, the introduction of inelastic substrate response significantly complicates the problem [10,39,40]. As

  1. Replacement of Chromium Electroplating on C-2, E-2, P-3 and C-130 Propeller Hub Components Using HVOF Thermal Spray Coatings

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sartwell, Bruce

    2004-01-01

    .... This document constitutes the final report on a project to qualify high-velocity oxygen-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray coatings as a replacement for hard chrome plating on propeller hub components from various military aircraft...

  2. Estimating Janka hardness from specific gravity for tropical and temperate species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael C. Wiemann; David W. Green

    2007-01-01

    Using mean values for basic (green) specific gravity and Janka side hardness for individual species obtained from the world literature, regression equations were developed to predict side hardness from specific gravity. Statistical and graphical methods showed that the hardness–specific gravity relationship is the same for tropical and temperate hardwoods, but that the...

  3. CdTe Based Hard X-ray Imager Technology For Space Borne Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limousin, Olivier; Delagnes, E.; Laurent, P.; Lugiez, F.; Gevin, O.; Meuris, A.

    2009-01-01

    CEA Saclay has recently developed an innovative technology for CdTe based Pixelated Hard X-Ray Imagers with high spectral performance and high timing resolution for efficient background rejection when the camera is coupled to an active veto shield. This development has been done in a R&D program supported by CNES (French National Space Agency) and has been optimized towards the Simbol-X mission requirements. In the latter telescope, the hard X-Ray imager is 64 cm² and is equipped with 625µm pitch pixels (16384 independent channels) operating at -40°C in the range of 4 to 80 keV. The camera we demonstrate in this paper consists of a mosaic of 64 independent cameras, divided in 8 independent sectors. Each elementary detection unit, called Caliste, is the hybridization of a 256-pixel Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) detector with full custom front-end electronics into a unique 1 cm² component, juxtaposable on its four sides. Recently, promising results have been obtained from the first micro-camera prototypes called Caliste 64 and will be presented to illustrate the capabilities of the device as well as the expected performance of an instrument based on it. The modular design of Caliste enables to consider extended developments toward IXO type mission, according to its specific scientific requirements.

  4. Nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Machaka, Ronald, E-mail: Ronald.Machaka@wits.ac.za [DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, University of the Witwatersrand, P. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg (South Africa); School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050 (South Africa); Derry, Trevor E. [DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, University of the Witwatersrand, P. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg (South Africa); School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050 (South Africa); Sigalas, Iakovos [DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, University of the Witwatersrand, P. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg (South Africa); School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050 (South Africa)

    2011-07-15

    Highlights: {yields} The load-displacement indentation response of hot-pressed B{sub 6}O is measured and analysed. {yields} The nanoindentation hardness of hot-pressed boron suboxide is reported. {yields} An approach is developed to simulate multi-cycling loading load-displacement curves. {yields} A comprehensive model inter-comparison study of the ISE in hot-pressed B{sub 6}O is also presented. {yields} The fractal dimension is a better measure of ISE than the Meyer's index. - Abstract: The existence of the indentation size effect implies the absence of a single hardness value for the material under investigation especially at low applied loads. In this paper we present an investigation of the indentation size dependence behaviour of nanoindentation hardness in boron suboxide ceramic compacts prepared by uniaxial hot-pressing. Berkovich nanohardness indentations were conducted and analyzed accordingly. In addition to the ordinary Oliver and Pharr method of nanoindentation data analysis, a quantitative approach for the loading curve analysis is proposed. Using the proposed approach, the description and characterization of the observed indentation size effect through the application of the Meyer's law, and the classical and the modified proportional specimen resistance models as well as the multi-fractal scaling law was conducted and is reported. The load-independent hardness values deduced from our quantitative approach are comparable to the results calculated with conventional methods, especially with the multi-fractal scaling law.

  5. Grain characterization and milling behaviour of near-isogenic lines differing by hardness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greffeuille, V; Abecassis, J; Rousset, M; Oury, F-X; Faye, A; L'Helgouac'h, C Bar; Lullien-Pellerin, V

    2006-12-01

    Wheat grain hardness is a major factor affecting the milling behaviour and end-product quality although its exact structural and biochemical basis is still not understood. This study describes the development of new near-isogenic lines selected on hardness. Hard and soft sister lines were characterised by near infrared reflectance (NIR) and particle size index (PSI) hardness index, grain protein content, thousand kernel weight and vitreousness. The milling behaviour of these wheat lines was evaluated on an instrumented micromill which also measures the grinding energy and flour particle size distribution was investigated by laser diffraction. Endosperm mechanical properties were measured using compression tests. Results pointed out the respective effect of hardness and vitreousness on those characteristics. Hardness was shown to influence both the mode of fracture and the mechanical properties of the whole grain and endosperm. Thus, this parameter also acts on milling behaviour. On the other hand, vitreousness was found to mainly play a role on the energy required to break the grain. This study allows us to distinguish between consequences of hardness and vitreousness. Hardness is suggested to influence the adhesion forces between starch granules and protein matrix whereas vitreousness would rather be related to the endosperm microstructure.

  6. Detection and quantification of the solid component in pulmonary subsolid nodules by semiautomatic segmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scholten, Ernst T. [University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands); Kennemer Gasthuis, Department of Radiology, Haarlem (Netherlands); Jacobs, Colin; Riel, Sarah van [Radboud University Medical Center, Diagnostic Image Analysis Group, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Ginneken, Bram van [Radboud University Medical Center, Diagnostic Image Analysis Group, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Fraunhofer MEVIS, Bremen (Germany); Vliegenthart, Rozemarijn [University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Radiology, Groningen (Netherlands); University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Center for Medical Imaging-North East Netherlands, Groningen (Netherlands); Oudkerk, Matthijs [University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Center for Medical Imaging-North East Netherlands, Groningen (Netherlands); Koning, Harry J. de [Erasmus Medical Center, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Horeweg, Nanda [Erasmus Medical Center, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Erasmus Medical Center, Department of Pulmonology, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Prokop, Mathias [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Gietema, Hester A.; Mali, Willem P.T.M.; Jong, Pim A. de [University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2014-10-07

    To determine whether semiautomatic volumetric software can differentiate part-solid from nonsolid pulmonary nodules and aid quantification of the solid component. As per reference standard, 115 nodules were differentiated into nonsolid and part-solid by two radiologists; disagreements were adjudicated by a third radiologist. The diameters of solid components were measured manually. Semiautomatic volumetric measurements were used to identify and quantify a possible solid component, using different Hounsfield unit (HU) thresholds. The measurements were compared with the reference standard and manual measurements. The reference standard detected a solid component in 86 nodules. Diagnosis of a solid component by semiautomatic software depended on the threshold chosen. A threshold of -300 HU resulted in the detection of a solid component in 75 nodules with good sensitivity (90 %) and specificity (88 %). At a threshold of -130 HU, semiautomatic measurements of the diameter of the solid component (mean 2.4 mm, SD 2.7 mm) were comparable to manual measurements at the mediastinal window setting (mean 2.3 mm, SD 2.5 mm [p = 0.63]). Semiautomatic segmentation of subsolid nodules could diagnose part-solid nodules and quantify the solid component similar to human observers. Performance depends on the attenuation segmentation thresholds. This method may prove useful in managing subsolid nodules. (orig.)

  7. Parallel ICA identifies sub-components of resting state networks that covary with behavioral indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Timothy B; Wildenberg, Joseph C; Liu, Jingyu; Chen, Jiayu; Calhoun, Vince D; Biswal, Bharat B; Meyerand, Mary E; Birn, Rasmus M; Prabhakaran, Vivek

    2012-01-01

    Parallel Independent Component Analysis (para-ICA) is a multivariate method that can identify complex relationships between different data modalities by simultaneously performing Independent Component Analysis on each data set while finding mutual information between the two data sets. We use para-ICA to test the hypothesis that spatial sub-components of common resting state networks (RSNs) covary with specific behavioral measures. Resting state scans and a battery of behavioral indices were collected from 24 younger adults. Group ICA was performed and common RSNs were identified by spatial correlation to publically available templates. Nine RSNs were identified and para-ICA was run on each network with a matrix of behavioral measures serving as the second data type. Five networks had spatial sub-components that significantly correlated with behavioral components. These included a sub-component of the temporo-parietal attention network that differentially covaried with different trial-types of a sustained attention task, sub-components of default mode networks that covaried with attention and working memory tasks, and a sub-component of the bilateral frontal network that split the left inferior frontal gyrus into three clusters according to its cytoarchitecture that differentially covaried with working memory performance. Additionally, we demonstrate the validity of para-ICA in cases with unbalanced dimensions using simulated data.

  8. Analysis of failed and nickel-coated 3093 beam clamp components at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP).

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, D.; Pappacena, K.; Gaviria, J.; Burtsteva, T.; Nuclear Engineering Division

    2010-10-11

    was also explored as a failure mechanism. Corroded and failed yoke samples had hydrogen concentrations of 20-60 ppm. However, the hydrogen content reduced to 4-11 ppm (similar to baseline as-received yoke samples) when the corrosion products were polished off. The hydrogen content in the scraped off corrosion product powders was >7000 ppm. These results indicate that hydrogen is primarily present in the corrosion products and not in the underlying steel. Rockwell hardness values on the corroded yoke and D-rings were R{sub c} {approx} 41-46. It was recommended to the beam clamp manufacturer that the beam clamp components be annealed to reduce the hardness values so that they are less susceptible to brittle failure. Upon annealing, hardness values of the beam clamp components reduced to R{sub c} {approx} 25. Several strategies were recommended and put in place to mitigate failure of the beam clamp components: (a) maintain hardness levels of both yokes and D-rings at R{sub c} < 35, (b) coat the yoke and D-rings with a dual coating of nickel (with 10% phosphorus) to delay corrosion and aluminum to prevent galvanic corrosion since it is more anodic to zinc, and (c) optimize coating thicknesses for nickel and aluminum while maintaining the physical integrity of the coatings. Evaluation of the Al- and Ni-coated yoke and D-ring specimens indicated they appear to have met the recommendations. Average hardness values of the dual-coated yokes were R{sub c} {approx} 25-35. Hardness values of dual-coated D-ring were R{sub c} {approx} 32. Measured average coating thicknesses for the aluminum and nickel coatings for yoke samples were 22 {micro}m (0.9 mils) and 80 {micro}m (3 mils), respectively. The D-rings also showed similar coating thicknesses. Microscopic examination showed that the aluminum coating was well bonded to the underlying nickel coating. Some observed damage was believed to be an artifact of the cutting-and-polishing steps during sample preparation for microscopy.

  9. Parts and Components Reliability Assessment: A Cost Effective Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Lydia

    2009-01-01

    System reliability assessment is a methodology which incorporates reliability analyses performed at parts and components level such as Reliability Prediction, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) to assess risks, perform design tradeoffs, and therefore, to ensure effective productivity and/or mission success. The system reliability is used to optimize the product design to accommodate today?s mandated budget, manpower, and schedule constraints. Stand ard based reliability assessment is an effective approach consisting of reliability predictions together with other reliability analyses for electronic, electrical, and electro-mechanical (EEE) complex parts and components of large systems based on failure rate estimates published by the United States (U.S.) military or commercial standards and handbooks. Many of these standards are globally accepted and recognized. The reliability assessment is especially useful during the initial stages when the system design is still in the development and hard failure data is not yet available or manufacturers are not contractually obliged by their customers to publish the reliability estimates/predictions for their parts and components. This paper presents a methodology to assess system reliability using parts and components reliability estimates to ensure effective productivity and/or mission success in an efficient manner, low cost, and tight schedule.

  10. Innovating the differential pressure switch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostrelich, M.

    2010-01-01

    When Barton Jones filed for patent 2, 400, 048 in 1943 for his liquid filled dual-bellows differential pressure unit, he initiated an engineering concept that has endured and has been validated for rugged, reliable and accurate measurement and control. Although based on established engineering principles the execution of the concept to instrumentation products has resisted innovation until present time. With the objective of preserving the established engineering principles and maintaining the same form fit and function of the original instrumentation, it was necessary to apply present day component availability and manufacturing techniques to construct instrumentation that has improved reliability and facilitates assembly and calibration. The original component design is presented and is compared with the improved equivalent. The application of this instrumentation utilized for the control of Nuclear Power Plants has provided the initiative for component innovation. (authors)

  11. Developing very hard nanostructured bainitic steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amel-Farzad, H., E-mail: hh_amel@yahoo.com [Department of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Faridi, H.R., E-mail: faridihr@yahoo.com [Department of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy, Hamedan University of Technology, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rajabpour, F.; Abolhasani, A.; Kazemi, Sh.; Khaledzadeh, Y. [Department of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2013-01-01

    Novel nanostructured high carbon high silicon, carbide-free bainitic steels with very high strength and good ductility have been developed in the recent decade. In this work, an alloy with a high carbon content and no manganese was designed and cast. The prepared samples were heat treated through an austempering process in the range 200-350 Degree-Sign C. Optical and scanning electron microscopes and XRD were used to analyze the microstructures precisely. Bainitic ferrite plates of just a few tens of nanometer thickness were obtained with the hardness of 697{+-}6 HV. It is reasonable to say that the unprecedented hardness values obtained in this work are mostly caused by the extraordinary carbon content of the alloy.

  12. Induction surface hardening of hard coated steels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pantleon, Karen; Kessler, Olaf; Hoffmann, Franz

    1999-01-01

    The deposition of hard coatings with CVD-processes is commonly used to improve the wear resistance e.g. of tool steels in forming. The advantages of CVD are undisputed (high deposition rates with simple equipment, excellent coating properties). Nevertheless, the disadvantage of the CVD-process is......The deposition of hard coatings with CVD-processes is commonly used to improve the wear resistance e.g. of tool steels in forming. The advantages of CVD are undisputed (high deposition rates with simple equipment, excellent coating properties). Nevertheless, the disadvantage of the CVD...

  13. Effect of sintering atmosphere on the hardness of ThO_2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baena, Angela; Cardinaels, Thomas; Van Eyken, Jelle; Puzzolante, Jean Louis; Binnemans, Koen; Verwerft, Marc

    2016-01-01

    The hardness and toughness of ThO_2 sintered under reducing and oxidizing conditions has been investigated and, quite unexpectedly, a significant difference in hardness was observed for the entire range of porosities studied. Reducing conditions systematically yielded higher hardness values than oxidizing conditions. Extrapolated to zero porosity, the hardness for ThO_2 is H_0 = 10.5 ± 0.3 GPa for oxidizing conditions and H_0 = 12.4 ± 0.7 GPa for reducing conditions. Toughness values have been derived from Vickers indentations; differences in toughness were insignificant and only a single value is proposed: K_I_C = 0.97 ± 0.12 MPa √m. The difference in hardness is attributed to the presence of point defects, also acting as color centers and causing grey coloration of ThO_2 sintered under reducing conditions. Furthermore, and of interest for nuclear fuel production, is the finding that ThO_2 sintered under reducing conditions is significantly easier to grind compared to material sintered under oxidizing conditions. - Highlights: • Reducing sintering conditions increase the hardness of polycrystalline ThO_2. • Systematic series of hardness versus porosity of ThO_2 were obtained. • Reducing sintering conditions improve grinding of ThO_2.

  14. Hard diffraction and deep inelastic scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bjorken, J.D.

    1994-04-01

    Since the advent of hard-collision physics, the study of diffractive processes - shadow physics - has been less prominent than before. However, there is now a renewed interest in the subject, especially in that aspect which synthesizes the short-distance, hard-collision phenomena with the classical physics of large rapidity-gaps. This is especially stimulated by the recent data on deep-inelastic scattering from HERA, as well as the theoretical work which relates to it. The word diffraction is sometimes used by high-energy physicists in a loose way. The author defines this term to mean: A diffractive process occurs if and only if there is a large rapidity gap in the produced-particle phase space which is not exponentially suppressed. Here a rapidity gap means essentially no hadrons produced into the rapidity gap (which operates in the open-quotes legoclose quotes phase-space of pseudo-rapidity and azimuthal angle). And non-exponential suppression implies that the cross-section for creating a gap with width Δη does not have a power-law decrease with increasing subenergy s=e Δη , but behaves at most like some power of pseudorapidity Δη∼log(s). The term hard diffraction shall simply refer to those diffractive process which have jets in the final-state phase-space

  15. SURFACES OF HARD-SPHERE SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dietrich Stoyan

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In various situations surfaces appear that are formed by systems of hard spheres. Examples are porous layers as surfaces of sand heaps and biofilms or fracture surfaces of concrete. The present paper considers models where a statistically homogeneous system of hard spheres with random radii is intersected by a plane and the surface is formed by the spheres with centers close to this plane. Formulae are derived for various characteristics of such surfaces: for the porosity profile, i.e. the local porosity in dependence on the distance from the section plane and for the geometry of the sphere caps that look above the section plane.It turns out that these characteristics only depend on the first-order characteristics of the sphere system, its sphere density and the sphere radius distribution.Comparison with empirically studied biofilms shows that the model is realistic.

  16. Assessing degradation of composite resin cements during artificial aging by Martens hardness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bürgin, Stefan; Rohr, Nadja; Fischer, Jens

    2017-05-19

    Aim of the study was to verify the efficiency of Martens hardness measurements in detecting the degradation of composite resin cements during artificial aging. Four cements were used: Variolink II (VL2), RelyX Unicem 2 Automix (RUN), PermaFlo DC (PDC), and DuoCem (DCM). Specimens for Martens hardness measurements were light-cured and stored in water at 37 °C for 1 day to allow complete polymerization (baseline). Subsequently the specimens were artificially aged by water storage at 37 °C or thermal cycling (n = 6). Hardness was measured at baseline as well as after 1, 4, 9 and 16 days of aging. Specimens for indirect tensile strength measurements were produced in a similar manner. Indirect tensile strength was measured at baseline and after 16 days of aging (n = 10). The results were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA (α = 0.05). After water storage for 16 days hardness was significantly reduced for VL2, RUN and DCM while hardness of PDC as well as indirect tensile strength of all cements were not significantly affected. Thermal cycling significantly reduced both, hardness and indirect tensile strength for all cements. No general correlation was found between Martens hardness and indirect tensile strength. However, when each material was analyzed separately, relative change of hardness and of indirect tensile strength revealed a strong linear correlation. Martens hardness is a sensible test method to assess aging of resin composite cements during thermal cycling that is easy to perform.

  17. Symbiotic Cell Differentiation and Cooperative Growth in Multicellular Aggregates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jumpei F Yamagishi

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available As cells grow and divide under a given environment, they become crowded and resources are limited, as seen in bacterial biofilms and multicellular aggregates. These cells often show strong interactions through exchanging chemicals, as evident in quorum sensing, to achieve mutualism and division of labor. Here, to achieve stable division of labor, three characteristics are required. First, isogenous cells differentiate into several types. Second, this aggregate of distinct cell types shows better growth than that of isolated cells without interaction and differentiation, by achieving division of labor. Third, this cell aggregate is robust with respect to the number distribution of differentiated cell types. Indeed, theoretical studies have thus far considered how such cooperation is achieved when the ability of cell differentiation is presumed. Here, we address how cells acquire the ability of cell differentiation and division of labor simultaneously, which is also connected with the robustness of a cell society. For this purpose, we developed a dynamical-systems model of cells consisting of chemical components with intracellular catalytic reaction dynamics. The reactions convert external nutrients into internal components for cellular growth, and the divided cells interact through chemical diffusion. We found that cells sharing an identical catalytic network spontaneously differentiate via induction from cell-cell interactions, and then achieve division of labor, enabling a higher growth rate than that in the unicellular case. This symbiotic differentiation emerged for a class of reaction networks under the condition of nutrient limitation and strong cell-cell interactions. Then, robustness in the cell type distribution was achieved, while instability of collective growth could emerge even among the cooperative cells when the internal reserves of products were dominant. The present mechanism is simple and general as a natural consequence of

  18. Simulation of logical traffic isolation using differentiated services

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dlamini, I

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper extends work on a forensic model for traffic isolation based on Differentiated Services (DiffServ) and measures its performance by using a simulation. The simulated model has four basic components: traffic generators, the DiffServ network...

  19. Hard X-ray spectral and timing properties of IGR J17454-2919 consistent with a black hole in the hard state

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tendulkar, Shriharsh P.; Bachetti, Matteo; Tomsick, J.

    2014-01-01

    frequencies. The Lorentzian has a width of 2 Hz and a fractional rms of 25+/-3%. The hard power-law index, the high energy of the cutoff, and the level of variability all are consistent with properties expected for an accreting black hole in the hard state. While we cannot completely rule out the possibility...... of a low magnetic field neutron star, a black hole is more likely....

  20. Video modeling for children with dual diagnosis of deafness or hard of hearing and autism spectrum disorder to promote peer interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thrasher, Amy

    2014-11-01

    This article describes an intervention program offered at the University of Colorado Boulder that supports peer interaction among young children with autism spectrum disorders and their typical peers using a multicomponent approach, including video modeling. Characteristics of autism that may interfere with the development of peer interaction in young children will be discussed. Components of the approach will be described and the evidence base for the application of these components examined in regards to children with autism and for the potential application to children with the dual diagnosis of autism and deafness or hard of hearing. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.