bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermal Mapping of the Friction Stir Welding Process
Authors: Payton Lewis N. , Kandaswaamy Sakthivael
Published: September 2010

Friction Stir Welding is a solid state ‘green’ welding method developed by The Welding Institute (UK). An internal thermal mapping instrument has been developed which allows for symmetrical mapping of the thermal fields developed by a Friction Stir Welding tool as it passes through the material being welded. This symmetrical mapping conclusively documents statistically the asymmetrical nature of the heat sources within the friction stir welding process. The various models in the literature are compared against these results. A model developed by the authors using classic metal cutting theory predicts the observed thermal fields. A successful predictive model will facilitate tool optimization and welding schedules, while optimizing the mechanical properties of the weld.
A Basic Correction to the Orthogonal Metal Cutting Models
Authors: Payton Lewis N.
Published: September 2010

Metal cutting as a science remains more art than science. A truly predictive model for use in quantitative modeling has eluded researchers to date, leading the noted mathematician, R. Hill [1] to observe that “it is notorious that the extant theories of the mechanics of machining do not agree well with experiment”. Extensive experiments with a videographic quick stop device (VQSD) by the author indicate an extremely simple reason for these disagreements. A simple correction that is applicable to all of the classic orthogonal models of metal cutting is presented. A detailed application to the classic Merchant Force Diagram is then developed.
Comparison of Relative Contributions of Process and Geometric Errors in Micro and Macro Scale Milling Using an Integrated Error Model
Authors: Mathai George , Kumar Mukund , Melkote Shreyes , Hsu F. C. , Chiu C. C. , Wang J. J.
Published: September 2010

Error models are available for individual error sources for specific components in a machine tool. However, proper error budgeting requires an understanding of the relative importance of various error sources. This paper presents an analysis of the relative contribution of process and geometric errors on the dimensional error produced in micro scale milling. The error contributions at the micro scale are compared and contrasted with those in macro scale milling. The analysis makes use of an error model that uses homogeneous transformation matrices (HTMs) to model the effect of each error source in each component of the machine tool on the final position of the tool with respect to the workpiece. The model is developed for a generic milling machine and used to compare the relative importance of errors due to misalignment, thermal growth, tool deflection and wear of the tool on the size of the machined feature at the micro and macro scale for slot milling using standard length tools.
An Unexpected Solution to the Energy Crisis: Hybrid Nuclear Energy
Authors: Keller Michael F.
Published: September 2010

The global need for environmentally clean yet inexpensive and reliable energy is a problem that has yet to find a solution. • In one corner are coal plants that can generate low-cost power using abundant reserves of coal, but if emissions are uncontrolled, major health and environmental impacts can occur. • In another corner are natural gas power plants that can produce energy with relatively low emissions, but the cost to the consumer is unpredictable and often high. • Yet another option lies with building nuclear plants that produce emissions-free power, but initial costs are very high and some public unease exists with respect to safety. A major complication is the consensus that burning massive amounts of fossil fuels is a primary culprit behind climate change. While intermittent renewable energy (e.g. solar and wind) and conservation practices can help, the undeniable truth is that the vast quantities of power we continuously consume overwhelm the practical capabilities of the “green” sources. Similar in nature to the fundamentals behind the hybrid automobile, Hybrid-nuclear Energy is an emerging 21st century technology that provides an environmentally sound and economical solution to the power and greenhouse gas dilemmas. This developing energy conversion process uses nuclear and fossil fuels to safely produce reasonably priced electrical power and transportation fuels from our own indigenous sources with the timely benefit of dramatically reduced emissions, particularly CO2. Hybrid-nuclear Energy secures energy independence by using cleaner coal, effectively solves nuclear and coal waste dilemmas, and helps create more affordable nuclear power. These surprising results are achieved by a unique marriage of helium gas reactor, combustion turbine and coal gasification technologies.
Use of Foam-Like Materials to Enhance Heat Transfer From Surfaces Subjected to Impinging Jets
Authors: de Lemos Marcelo J. S. , Fischer Cleges
Published: September 2010

In this paper, numerical simulation of a jet impinging against a flat plane covered with a layer of a porous material is presented. The plate is kept at a temperature higher than that of the incoming fluid. Macroscopic transport equations are obtained based on a volume average concept. Discretization of such governing equations is accomplished by means of the control volume method applied with a boundary-fitted nonorthogonal coordinate system. Pressure-velocity coupling is treated with the use of the SIMPLE algorithm. Parameters such as permeability, thickness of the porous layer and thermal conductivity ratio are varied in order to analyze their effects on the local distribution of Nu. Results indicate that inclusion of a porous layer decreases the peak in Nu avoiding excessive heating or cooling at the stagnation point. Also found was that the integral heat flux from the wall is enhanced for certain range of values of layer thickness, porosity, and thermal conductivity ratio.
Solving the Flow Induced Vibration Problem in Desuperheating Zones of Feedwater Heaters by Using No-Tube-in-the-Window (NTIW) Baffling
Authors: Muldoon Thomas J.
Published: September 2010

Feedwater heaters have suffered premature failures in the desuperheating zone resulting from a combination of high cross flow velocities and relatively long baffle spacing. High steam flows coupled with longer unsupported tube spans necessary to keep pressure drops low and tube walls dry create an increased probability for flow induced vibration. This vibration is primarily the result of a fluidelastic whirling of the tube. The most significant factor in the calculation of the natural frequency of the tube is unsupported span length. The natural frequency varies as the square of the unsupported span. Keeping the span short is critical in avoiding flow induced vibration. No-Tubes-in-the-Window (NTIW) baffling allows the use of intermediate support plates without affecting the mean flow velocity in the baffle space. This allows the thermal design engineer the distinct advantage of providing a design with a very high safety margin at any anticipated overload condition. The asymmetrical flow pattern necessitated by the U-tube design of high pressure feedwater heaters can be appropriately modeled to yield an overall design heat transfer coefficient.
Measurement of Combustion Air to a Typical Cyclone Burner With a Common Wind Box and Pressure Loss Effects on the Cyclone Due to Inlet Configuration
Authors: Brandt Robert O.
Published: September 2010

To maintain proper fuel air ratio and minimize NOx during combustion, air and coal flow into a cyclone burner must be measured. Due to the large length to width ratio of the air inlet to some burners, often greater than 7, accurate measurement has proven to be difficult; in fact, measurement with a ratio greater than 2 to 1 has proven to be difficult. A typical cyclone burner system was analyzed with a premium CFD modeling package, with particular attention being given to the location which would be considered “worst case”. If this location can be measured accurately, then we can assume that the less stringent locations will also be measured accurately. Additionally, a “best case” was also analyzed to compare pressure loss due to the measurement. The worst case location was chosen based on a cross flow condition of the air just going around the corner at the entrance, where the flow velocity is the highest. See Figure A. The “best case” condition was chosen as the air flow entering the inlet normal to the plane of the inlet, although this condition may not actually exist in the example wind box chosen. Three inlet configurations were analyzed, (1) three optimally designed Oval High Betas across the inlet, (2) two optimally designed Oval High Betas across the inlet and (3) the flow distribution across the inlet as is, with no method to break up the large length to width ratio. Of particular interest, once the analysis for both the “worst case” and “best case” were done for the three inlet configurations, one configuration, proved best for both measurement and pressure loss—condition (1), the three optimally designed Oval High Betas.
Access to investigational medicinal products for minors in Europe: ethical and regulatory issues in negotiating children's access to investigational medicines
Authors: Pinxten Wim , Nys Herman , Dierickx Kris
Published: September 2010

Patients who search for a better treatment, an increased quality of life, or even a chance to preserve life itself may claim to have an interest in accessing investigational medicinal products (IMP), particularly when no validated treatment for their disease or condition exists. For many, awaiting the uncertain and time-consuming process of converting an IMP into an approved drug may not appear a realistic option, as prognoses may be grim and a dramatic outcome may seem hard to avert. Gaining access to an IMP, however, often proves to be a difficult enterprise with a highly uncertain outcome. In addition, the process of seeking access to IMP is surrounded by various ethical issues that will be explored in this article. This paper explores the ethical concerns in two potential tracks of seeking access to IMP for minors: on an individual basis, or collectively, as a patient organisation. In this discourse, several unique ethical and regulatory concerns related to the direct negotiation of access to IMP for minor patients are identified, with a focus on product safety, the recruitment of research subjects, the unnoticed entry of market mechanisms in the recruitment of research subjects, and the sidelining of third parties in the recruitment process. The paper concludes with a concise reflection on the way forward. The quest for access to investigational drugs is particularly relevant to paediatric practice, in which a significant share of the drugs prescribed has never been tested in children or labelled for use in the paediatric population.
Unconscious conflict of interest: a Jewish perspective
Authors: Gold Azgad , Appelbaum Paul S
Published: September 2010

In contemporary medicine, it is not always obvious whether the acceptance of a benefit constitutes a conflict of interest. A particular area of controversy has been the impact of small gifts or other benefits from pharmaceutical companies on physicians' behaviour. Typically, in such cases, the gift is not an explicit reward for cooperation; the physician does not perceive the gift as an attempt to influence his or her judgement; and the reward is relatively minor. Under these circumstances, physicians are generally of the view that acceptance of gifts will not affect their behaviour, notwithstanding findings from social psychology and neuroscience that the impact of gifts is often unconscious, shaping action without a person's awareness. Here, we draw on traditional texts of Jewish law pertaining to the prohibition of taking a gift to illustrate recognition by the ancients of unconscious conflicts of interest, and their approach to dealing with the problem.
Neurotrauma and the RUB: where tragedy meets ethics and science
Authors: Gillett G R , Honeybul S , Ho K M , Lind C R P
Published: September 2010

Decompressive craniectomy is a technically straightforward procedure whereby a large section of the cranium is temporarily removed in cases where the intracranial pressure is dangerously high. While its use has been described for a number of conditions, it is increasingly used in the context of severe head injury. As the use of the procedure increases, a significant number of patients may survive a severe head injury who otherwise would have died. Unfortunately some of these patients will be left severely disabled; a condition likened to the RUB, an acronym for the Risk of Unacceptable Badness. Until recently it has been difficult to predict this outcome, however an accurate prediction model has been developed and this has been applied to a large cohort of patients in Western Australia. It is possible to compare the predicted outcome with the observed outcome at 18 months within this cohort. By using predicted and observed outcome data this paper considers the ethical implications in three cases of differing severity of head injury in view of the fact that it is possible to calculate the RUB for each case.
Mortality in small geographical areas and proximity to air polluting industries in the Basque Country (Spain)
Authors: Cambra K , Martínez–Rueda T , Alonso–Fustel E , Cirarda F B , Ibáñez B , Esnaola S , Calvo M , Aldasoro E , Montoya I
Published: September 2010

Objectives

To study the association between proximity to air polluting industrial facilities and mortality in the Basque Country (Spain) in the 1996–2003 period.

Methods

A cross-sectional ecological study with 1465 census sections (CS) as units of analysis with a mean population of 1257 inhabitants. Association of CS mortality with proximity of industries of the European Pollutant Emission Register was studied by type of industrial activity and adjusted for social deprivation. Two distance thresholds (1 km and 2 km) were used as proxies for exposure in a ‘near versus far’ analysis. Causes of mortality studied were: all causes; tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancer; haematological tumours; ischaemic heart disease; cerebrovascular diseases; chronic diseases of the lower respiratory tract; and breast cancer (in women). Poisson's generalised linear mixed models (GLMM) with two random effects (heterogeneity and structured spatial variability) were used in a fully Bayesian environment.

Results

Men living in sections within 1 km from energy production industries had greater mortality from tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancer [CI90%6% to 53%] as compared with people living further. Women had greater mortality from ischaemic heart disease [CI90%1% to 17%] and respiratory illness [CI90%1% to 24%] within 2 km from metal-processing industries. On the contrary, within the 1 km buffer from mineral industries, mortality was lower for all causes [CI90%−20% to −6%] and for ischaemic heart disease [CI90%−40% to −10%] in women, and from respiratory diseases in men [CI90%−39% to −4%], while it was greater for breast cancer in women [CI90%2% to 28%] within the 2 km buffer.

Conclusions

Analysis of mortality by census sections is a helpful exploratory tool for investigating environmental risk factors and directing actions to sites and risk factors with a greater impact on health. Further epidemiological and environmental investigations around metal-processing and energy-producing plants are required.
Malaysian and Thai smokers' beliefs about the harmfulness of ‘light’ and menthol cigarettes
Authors: King B , Yong H-H , Borland R , Omar M , Ahmad A A , Sirirassamee B , Hamann S , O'Connor R J , Bansal-Travers M , Elton-Marshall T , Lee W B , Hammond D , Thrasher J
Published: September 2010

Objective

This study explored the extent to which Malaysian and Thai smokers believe “light” and menthol cigarettes are less harmful than “regular” cigarettes and the correlates of these beliefs.

Methods

The study used data from wave 1 of the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey. 2006 adult smokers (95.3% male) from Malaysia and 2000 adult smokers (94.5% male) from Thailand were interviewed face to face in 2005.

Results

29% of Malaysian respondents reported currently smoking light cigarettes and 14% menthols, with 19% agreeing that lights are less harmful and 16% agreeing that menthols are less harmful. 38% of Thai respondents reported currently smoking light cigarettes and 19% menthols, with 46% agreeing that lights are less harmful and 35% agreeing that menthols are less harmful. Malaysian smokers reporting current use of light or menthol cigarettes were more likely to believe that they are less harmful. Reported use of lights did not relate to beliefs for Thai respondents. The belief that light and/or menthol cigarettes are less harmful was strongly related to the belief that they have smoother smoke.

Conclusions

The experience of smoother smoke is likely to produce some level of belief in reduced harm, regardless of how brands are labelled and whether or not Federal Trade Commission FTC/International Organisation for Standardisation tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yield figures are used.
The case for recycling and adapting anti-tobacco mass media campaigns
Authors: Cotter Trish , Perez Donna , Dunlop Sally , Hung Wai Tak , Dessaix Anita , Bishop James F
Published: September 2010

Effective mass media campaigns are hard to come by. A delicate blend of art and science is required to ensure content is technically accurate as well as being creatively engaging for the target audience. However, the most expensive component of a media campaign is not its development but its placement at levels that allow smokers to see, engage and respond to its content. This paper uses two examples to illustrate the process of adapting existing effective material to maximise the expenditure of precious resources on the placement of material.
Exploring differences in smokers' perceptions of the effectiveness of cessation media messages
Authors: Davis Kevin C , Nonnemaker James M , Farrelly Matthew C , Niederdeppe Jeff
Published: September 2010

Objective

To examine which types of cessation-focused advertisements are associated with perceived advertisement effectiveness among smokers and to assess whether key smoker characteristics (ie, cigarette consumption, desire to quit and past quit attempts) influence perceived effectiveness of different types of cessation ads.

Methods

We used data from the New York Media Tracking Survey Online, a web survey of 7060 adult smokers in New York. Participants were exposed to four categories of cessation ads: (1) why to quit—graphic images, (2) why to quit—testimonial, (3) how to quit and (4) anti-industry. Perceived ad effectiveness was measured with a four-item scale assessing the degree to which participants thought the ads made them stop and think, grabbed their attention, were believable and made them want to quit smoking. We categorised smokers based on cigarette consumption, desire to quit and past quit attempts. We used multivariable analyses to examine how smoker characteristics and category of cessation ads predict perceived ad effectiveness.

Results

Ads using the ‘why to quit’ strategy with either graphic images or personal testimonials were perceived as more effective than the other ad categories. Smokers who had less desire to quit or had not tried quitting in the past 12 months responded significantly less favourably to all types of cessation ads tested. Greater cigarette consumption was also associated with lower perceived effectiveness, but this association was smaller in magnitude.

Conclusions

Tobacco control programmes that utilise cessation-focus advertising should focus relatively more on ads that adopt the ‘why to quit’ strategy with either graphic images or personal testimonials.
The association between home smoking restrictions and youth smoking behaviour: a review
Authors: Emory Kristen , Saquib Nazmus , Gilpin Elizabeth A , Pierce John P
Published: September 2010

Objective

To review the available evidence for home smoking restrictions as a useful tool in the prevention of youth smoking and to make recommendations for further research.

Methods

A PubMed search (1 January 1990 to 26 January 2010) identified studies involving youth ≤18 years using extensive criteria. In all, 17 studies relating home smoking restrictions to youth smoking behaviour were identified from titles, abstracts or the full text, as required. Two additional articles were identified by other means. KE, NS and EG reviewed the studies. Differences in interpretation were resolved by discussion, with EG making final decisions.

Results

Of the 19 studies, 16 (including the only 2 longitudinal studies) showed at least marginal evidence of an association of home smoking restrictions with reduced adolescent smoking behaviours. Associations were more numerous and stronger in homes without adult smokers, suggesting that even in such homes, lack of a smoke-free home may undermine the parental value of not smoking. Definitions of home smoking rules, adolescent smoking behaviour and treatment of parental smoking varied widely among studies. It is recommend that future research: (1) contrast smoke-free homes for everyone against all others, (2) included an interaction term for parental smoking and having a smoke-free home, or conduct separate analyses for homes with and without parental or other adults smokers and (3) examine early and later stages of the smoking uptake continuum.

Conclusions

While the evidence is suggestive for an effect, further research is required to establish causality using longitudinal designs.
‘Carcinogens in a puff’: smoking in Hong Kong movies: Figure 1
Authors: Ho Sai-Yin , Wang Man-Ping , Lai Hak-Kan , Hedley Anthony J , Lam Tai-Hing
Published: September 2010

Smoking scenes in movies, exploited by the tobacco industry to circumvent advertisement bans, are linked to adolescent smoking. Recently, a Hong Kong romantic comedyLove in a puffput smoking at centre stage, with numerous smoking scenes and words that glamourise smoking. Although WHO has issued guidelines on reducing the exposure of children to smoking in movies, none is adopted in Hong Kong. Comprehensive tobacco control strategies are urgently needed to protect young people in Hong Kong from cigarette promotion in movies.
The role of surface wax in susceptibility of plants to air pollutant injury
Authors: Swiecki Tedmund J. , Endress Anton G. , Taylor O. C.
Published: September 2010

The relationship between quantity of epicuticular wax and plant sensitivity to hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas was investigated using 8-, 12-, and 16-day-old Phaseolus vulgaris L. plants exposed for 20 min to 27.6 ± 3.9 mg HCl∙m−3. Twelve-day-old plants were more sensitive than 8- or 16-day-old plants and possessed the lowest mean surface wax quantity. Multiple regression analysis showed that surface wax quantity was negatively linearly related to percent of leaves glazed. Necrotic injury was also negatively correlated with surface wax quantity, but to a lesser degree than glazing. Chamber temperature also affected the amount of necrotic injury incurred. Plant age and HCl concentration did not contribute to the observed variation in any of the injury variables in the regression analysis.The results of this study support the hypothesis that cuticular resistance, which is influenced by the amount of epicuticular wax, is a major factor influencing leaf glazing due to gaseous HCl. Since necrotic injury was affected by both surface wax quantity and chamber temperature, the incidence and severity of necrotic injury may be controlled by both cuticular and stomatal resistances.
Fluorescence microscopy of cereal grains
Authors: Fulcher R. G. , Wong S. I.
Published: September 2010

The fluorescence microscope is one of the most sensitive instruments available for morphological and microchemical analysis of cereal grains. Recent innovations in illuminating systems, fluorescence chemistry, and specimen preparation methods have combined to provide dramatic improvements over conventional bright-field microscopy in both specificity and sensitivity. Examples of useful fluorescence methods for microscopic analysis of cereals are included.
Contribution à l'étude de l'activité toxique de l'Helminthosporium teres, parasite de l'orge (Hordeum vulgare)
Authors: Barrault Gérard , Al-Ali Basil , Petitprez Michel , Albertini Louis
Published: September 2010

Different isolates of Helminthosporium teres produce in vitro phytotoxic compounds which diffuse in the culture medium. These compounds bring about the wilting of barley and tomato plants with roots removed. A semiquantitative estimation of toxin production, which was based on the inhibition of the growth of tomato seedlings, allowed the isolates to be classified according to their level of toxigenicity.The toxins, of variable thermostability according to strains, are not proteins and are not specific. The action of toxin filtrates on the leaf blade of a susceptible barley cultivar brings about the appearance of necrosis on the whole thickness of the leaf blade. There is a positive correlation between toxin production level of the isolates and necrogenic power of their filtrates.During the leaf-colonization stage, the primary action of the parasite on the surrounding cells seems to affect the plasmalemma which retracts from the cell wall and shows evaginations. In such cells, starch builds up and the size of the plastoglobuli is markedly increased in the chloroplasts. The limiting membrane of these chloroplasts is not affected.
The distribution pattern of the medullary depsidone salazinic acid in the thallus of Ramalina siliquosa (lichens)
Authors: Hamada N.
Published: September 2010

The quantitative variability of salazinic acid content in ramuli of various weight classes and at various longitudinal parts of the ramulus in Ramalina siliquosa was examined. The salazinic acid content (percentage in dry weight) in the ramuli was higher in the apical part than in the basal part, but there was no difference in the average concentration of salazinic acid among various ramuli with differing weights. The ratio of salazinic acid concentration in the apical part to that in the basal part of the ramulus was nearly the same regardless of the weight or presumably of the developmental stages of the ramuli.
Regulation of nitrate reductase by various nitrogen sources in cultured Ipomoea sp.
Authors: Zink M. W.
Published: September 2010

The nitrate reductase of Ipomoea sp. (morning glory) grown in suspension culture on a chemically defined medium is induced by nitrate. The developmental pattern of the enzyme shows three peaks of enzyme activity: peak I during the initial stages of growth, peak II during the exponential growth, and peak III just before the onset of the stationary phase of growth. The full induction of nitrate reductase by nitrate is dependent on the availability of a source of energy, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. After 24 h of growth high levels of nitrate reductase are detected in the presence of casein hydrolysate and ammonium pyrrolidine carboxylate and an appreciable level in the presence of nitrite and ammonium as nitrogen sources. Glutamine, asparagine, and amino acids are also regulators of nitrate reductase synthesis whether they are used as sole nitrogen sources or as additives in nitrate media. When used as sole nitrogen source the amino acids generally fall into three distinct classes. Amino acids in the first class promote an increase in the level of nitrate reductase during the initial stages of growth. Those in the second class promote a rapid decay of the enzyme while those in the third class initially cause enzyme decay but then promote the synthesis of the enzyme on further growth. Interactions between amino acids as nitrogen sources have been found to occur. The possible reasons for the three peaks of nitrate reductase activity when Ipomoea is grown on nitrate are discussed.
The site of electron transport inhibition by bentazon (3-isopropyl-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-(4)3H-one 2,2-dioxide) in isolated chloroplasts
Authors: Suwanketnikom Rungsit , Hatzios Kriton K. , Penner Donald , Bell Duncan
Published: September 2010

The effect of bentazon (3-isopropyl-1H-2,1,3-benzathiadiazin-(4)3H-one 2,2-dioxide) on various photochemical reactions of isolated spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) chloroplasts was studied at concentrations 0, 5, 15, 45, and 135 μM. Bentazon at a concentration of 135 μM strongly inhibited uncoupled electron transport from water to ferricyanide or to methylviologen with inhibition percentages greater than 90%. Photosystem II mediated electron transport from water to oxidized diaminodurene, with 2,5-dibromo-3-methyl-6-isopropyl-p-benzoquinone (DBMIB) blocking photosystem I, was also strongly inhibited by bentazon at 135 μM but less with lower concentrations of bentazon. Photosystem I mediated transfer of electrons from diaminodurene to methylviologen, with 3,4-dichlorophenyl-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) blocking photosystem II, was not inhibited by bentazon at any concentration examined. Transfer of electrons from catechol to methylviologen in hydroxylamine-treated chloroplasts was inhibited by bentazon, and the inhibition percentages were again concentration dependent. The data indicate that the site of bentazon inhibition of the photosynthetic electron transport is at the reducing side of photosystem II, between the primary electron acceptor Q and plastoquinone.
Étude en microscopie électronique de Conidiobolus obscurus. I. Formation et germination des azygospores
Authors: Latgé J. P. , Prévost M. C. , Perry D. F. , Reisinger O.
Published: September 2010

The multinucleate hyphal bodies of Conidiobolus obscurus are characterized by a striated wall which does not react with Thiéry's stain used to detect free α glycol groups. In the developing mycelial zone, the protoplasm contains microvesicles and electron-dense corpuscles; during ageing of the mycelium, lipid globules varying in size according to the age of the cell and vesicles with dense inclusions are observed in large numbers, whereas the endoplasmic reticulum shows little development. The onset of sporulation is characterized by protoplasmic condensation at a particular point in the hyphal body through successive accumulations of cicatricial partitions. The young prespore is a spherical organ; its wall has the same structure as that of the mycelium, and it contains more or less the same organelles as the hyphal protoplasm. The first sign that the prespore is developing into a spore is the deposition of a very thick inner wall layer (tripartite layer). The inner makeup of the azygospore has all the features of a dormant spore of low metabolic activity having a huge reserve lipid globule. At the onset of germination, the spore wall and the central lipid globule are progressively digested. A new wall entity is synthesized. There is a proliferation of multivesicular and multilaminate bodies. The emergence of the germ tube results from the rupture of the original outer layer of the spore. Results are compared with those observed in various resistance organs of zygomycetes and oomycetes, and discussed in relation to functional metabolic pathways during sporogenesis or germination. [Journal translation]
Geographical variation in populations of Chenopodium album resistant and susceptible to atrazine. II. Photoperiod and reciprocal transplant studies
Authors: Warwick S. I. , Marriage P. B.
Published: September 2010

Population differences in phenology and growth characteristics of atrazine-resistant (R) and atrazine-susceptible (S) populations of Chenopodium album collected from contrasting climatic regions of southern Ontario were investigated in two experiments. The first was a reciprocal transplant of S populations into contrasting gardens, and the second was a photoperiod study comparing both R and S populations under short- and long-day conditions.In the reciprocal transplant trial, individuals of seven S populations comprising a northern group from an area characterized by 1670 to 1890 mean annual growing degree-days above 6 °C and seven S populations comprising a southern group from an area of 2220 to 2440 degree-days were grown in garden plots at Harrow (southern garden) and Ottawa (northern garden). Individuals in the populations from the northern group were earlier to flower, produced less total and reproductive biomass, but had a greater reproductive effort and greater seed weight than individuals in the populations from the southern group. Growth patterns for each group were very similar in both gardens, although some between-garden population differences occurred. There were, in addition, differences in growth patterns between populations within both groups in both gardens. Electrophoretic studies conducted on leaf tissue indicated both between- and within-population differences in enzyme patterns, with the more southerly populations showing greater variability than the northern group.In the photoperiod study, individuals of 22 populations, consisting of northern and southern groups for each of the R and S plant types, were grown under 8- and 16-h photoperiods. For all populations the differential effect of short versus long days was evident in both seedlings at 45 days and mature plants. All populations were photoperiodically indeterminate with plants under the 8-h photoperiod favouring earlier flowering than those under the 16-h photoperiod. Under the 16-h regime flowering was earlier in the more northerly R and S populations compared with their respective southern populations. Under the 8-h photoperiod, these differences in phenology (and corresponding biomass production) were no longer apparent between the more northerly and southerly groups. Under the 8-h photoperiod, however, R populations were slower to flower than S populations and exhibited smaller reproductive efforts. Greater within-group variation in time to first flowering was evident under exposure to a 16-h photoperiod and within both light regimes R populations were less variable than S populations and southern S and R groups were more variable than the northern groups.
Cerinomyces ceraceus sp. nov. and the similar C. grandinioides and C. lagerheimii
Authors: Ginns J.
Published: September 2010

A new species, Cerinomyces ceraceus, is described from a basidiome and a culture originating in Mississippi, U.S.A. Detailed descriptions of C. grandinioides and C. lagerheimii are given. The features that distinguish the three species are presented.
Slope instability in the City of Edmonton
Authors: Thomson S. , Yacyshyn R.
Published: September 2010

Increased urbanization and a more intense land use tends to emphasize the landslide problem. This report discusses landslides within the City of Edmonton in general terms and detailed analyses are not presented.Thirty-seven landslide sites are enumerated. Old coal mine subsidence, lateral erosion by the North Saskatchewan River, and construction activity are considered to be the major causes. Man induced landslides account for nearly three-quarters of the slides listed.About one half of the landslides have their seat of failure in the poorly indurated clay shales of Upper Cretaceous age that forms the bedrock. A few are located in fill sections and the remainder are in the glacial lake clays that form the surface deposits of the area.
DIVISION OF SPACE BASED SEGMENTATION SYSTEM OF UNCONSTRAINED NUMERAL STRINGS
Authors: DING JIE , YANG JINGYU
Published: September 2010

This paper presents a new segmentation method based on division of space which chooses principal curves to extract strokes of characters and form the initial stroke set. The strokes in the initial set are disposed by the fuzzy theorems and grouped based on the confidence of the classifiers. The training sample space is constructed by the Affinity Propagation (AP) algorithm and the Biomimetic Pattern Recognition (BPR) theory. The strokes are arranged in a sequence divided by calculating the distance of each subsequence to the relative subspace. Finally, with the maximum posterior (MAP) criterion, the optimal segmentation hypotheses described in a probabilistic model is found. Our system is validated by experimental results from samples of real Chinese bank checks, achieving a correct rate of without 95.23% rejection.
Engineering high confidence medical device software
Authors: Ray Arnab , Jetley Raoul , Jones Paul
Published: September 2010

The increasing complexity of medical device software has created new challenges in ensuring that a medical device operates correctly. This paper discusses how two technologies---model-based development and static analysis---may be used to facilitate the successful engineering of medical software and some possible regulatory side benefits.
Standards for physiological data transmission and archiving for the support of the service of critical care
Authors: Eklund J. Mikael , McGregor Carolyn
Published: September 2010

Physiological data is monitored and displayed on medical devices around the world every day, and the volume of this data is steadily increasing and newer monitoring devices enter the clinical setting. However, the vast majority of this data is lost since it is most often displayed once as it is recorded, perhaps replayed one or more times while it exists in the device's volatile memory. What little data that is permanently recorded is most commonly saved through hand written annotations, in paper records and in some limited samples stored on hospital clinical information systems. Meanwhile, current methods of data analysis provide opportunities to utilize this data for improved care of these same critical care patients. A major inhibitor to this becoming reality is the lack of standards for the representation, transmission and storage of physiological data. HL7, for example, does not include definitions for time series data. Research into the use of these data will soon be reaching the clinical setting and the need for such standards to be defined is becoming urgent.
What is open verification methodology?
Authors: OVM World
Published: September 2010

The Open Verification Methodology (OVM), a joint development initiative between Mentor Graphics® and Cadence® Design Systems, provides the first open, interoperable, SystemVerilog verification methodology in the industry. The OVM provides a library of base classes that allow users to create modular, reusable verification environments in which components talk to each other via standard transaction-level modeling (TLM) interfaces. It also enables intra- and inter-company reuse through a common methodology with classes for developing stimulus sequences and block-to-system reuse.
The promise of plasmonics
Authors: Atwater Harry A.
Published: September 2010

Light is a wonderful medium for carrying information.

Optical fibers now span the globe, guiding light signals that convey voluminous streams of voice communications and vast amounts of data. This gargantuan capacity has led some researchers to prophesy that photonic devices--which channel and manipulate visible light and other electromagnetic waves--could someday replace electronic circuits in microprocessors and other computer chips. Unfortunately, the size and performance of photonic devices are constrained by the diffraction limit; because of interference between closely spaced light waves, the width of an optical fiber carrying them must be at least half the light's wavelength inside the material. For chip-based optical signals, which will most likely employ near-infrared wavelengths of about 1,500 nanometers (billionths of a meter), the minimum width is much larger than the smallest electronic devices currently in use; some transistors in silicon integrated circuits, for instance, have features smaller than 100 nanometers.
Model based computing
Authors: Feldman Michael
Published: September 2010

For the past year or so, Intel has been talking up RMS, an application software model for terascale computing. RMS, which stands for Recognition, Mining and Synthesis, is the class of software that Intel believes will represent the killer apps of the not-too-distant future -- 2010 and beyond. These applications will require the capabilities of terascale processors -- teraflop performance processing terabytes of data.
Triple modular redundancy
Authors: Wikipedia
Published: September 2010

In computing, triple modular redundancy (TMR) is a fault tolerant form of N-modular redundancy, in which three systems perform a process and that result is processed by a voting system to produce a single output. If any one of the three systems fails, the other two systems can correct and mask the fault. If the voter fails then the complete system will fail. However, in a good TMR system the voter is much more reliable than the other TMR components. Alternatively, if there is another stage of TMR logic following the current one (for example, in systems such as the Saturn Launch Vehicle Digital Computer), then three voters are used - one for each copy of the next stage of logic.
What is IEEE P1801 (Unified Power Format)?
Authors: Stanley-Marbell Phillip
Published: September 2010

The Unified Power Format (UPF), currently undergoing standardization efforts by the IEEE P1801 Low Power Working Group, is a proposal for the specification of aspects of hardware designs relating to their power adaptation facilities. UPF is concerned with two separate but related issues. First, it enables the explicit specification of the aspects of a design relating to its power dissipation, such as the system's different power supply rails and the associated domains running off these supplies, different threshold voltage domains in a multi-Vt technology, the system's operations states with different power dissipation properties, and the semantics of system behavior when in different power states (e.g., whether registers keep their state when a supply rail is gated); this is a design issue, and is addressed in UPF by the UPF commands for specifying low-power design intent. Second, UPF enables the specification of information pertaining to power estimation results from hardware designs; this is a measurement issue, and is addressed in UPF by the forward and backward Switching Activity Interchange Format (SAIF) files.
Report on the EDBT/ICDT 2010 workshop on updates in XML
Authors: Benedikt Michael , Florescu Daniela , Gardner Philippa , Guerrini Giovanna , Mesiti Marco , Waller Emmanuel
Published: September 2010

The first international workshop on Updates in XML [1] was held in conjunction with the EDBT/ICDT conference in Lausanne (Switzerland) on March 22, 2010, and attracted approximately 25 participants, culminating with about 40 attending the last session. This paper summarizes the main ideas presented in the workshop as well as interesting perspectives identified by the participants.
XREF
Authors: Gruber Thomas
Published: September 2010

Experience in building XREF, a Common Lisp cross reference utility, has revealed several issues relevant to writing portable program analysis utilities and supporting portable application programs across implementations. XREF is a program analyzer that parses Lisp code, analyzes calls to macros and functions and the use of variables, and then produces reports on inter-dependencies among functions, macros, variables, and files. It was designed to be a portable Common Lisp program that could analyze any any program written entirely in Common Lisp; the standard specified in [1] (hereafter
CLtL
) is both its implementation language and domain.
(lambda (discussions) (report on X3J13))
Authors: Mathis Robert F.
Published: September 2010

Interest in Lisp standardization has resulted in the formation of a new technical committee known as "X3J13 Common Lisp." This is a technical subcommittee within the Accredited Standards Committee "X3--Information Processing Systems" which is sponsored by CBEMA (Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association) and operates under the procedures of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). X3 has a number of technical subcommittees which do the detailed technical work of standards development, including: X3J1 (PL/I), X3J2 (BASIC), X3J3 (FORTRAN), X3J4 (COBOL), X3J9 (Pascal), X3J10 (APL), X3J11 (C), and now X3J13 (Common Lisp). Although X3 has a large role in the development of programming language standards, some ANSI standard languages (like MUMPS and Ada) have not gone through the X3 route. The IEEE is also very active in developing computer standards. X3 also serves as the US technical committee that corresponds to ISO/TC97 (the Technical Committee on Information Processing within the International Organization for Standardization).
Nearest neighbor search
Authors: Lifshits Yury
Published: September 2010

Nearest Neighbor Search is a task to design a pair of algorithms for the following scenario. A dataset
S
of
n
objects is given and preprocessing algorithm is applied. Then a query object
q
is presented and search algorithm is used to find the nearest to
q
object in the dataset
S
. Any solution to Nearest Neighbor Search Problem consists of two parts: a framework and a pair of algorithms. A framework provides a specific formalization of the problem such as object representation, distance (or similarity) function, dataset properties and restrictions, computation cost model, dynamic aspects and solution requirements. There are thousands of possible framework variations. Any practical application can lead to its unique problem formalization. Thus, it is important to have a universal algorithmic toolbox that can be adapted across all existing and future frameworks. In this letter we state four fundamental algorithmic ideas that underly a vast majority of published solutions to Nearest Neighbor Search.
Similarity joins as stronger metric operations
Authors: Wang Wei
Published: September 2010

Similarity joins between two sets of records return pairs of records whose similarity is no less than a given threshold. More specifically, consider two sets of records,
R
and
S
, a similarity function
sim
(.,.) and a threshold
t
, a similarity join between
R
and
S
is defined as { (
r, s
) | (
r, s
) ∈
R x S, sim(r, s) ≥ t
}. A similarity join is a generalization of the traditional equality join commonly found in database systems. A variant of the similarity join is to use a distance threshold to replace the similarity threshold. It is generally expected that the similarity threshold is close to the maximum possible value (usually 1.0), and the distance threshold is close to the minimum possible value (usually 0). For example, we may find near-duplicate documents in a document repository using a cosine similarity threshold of 0.9, or we may find pairs of incorrectly spelt queries and their correct versions in a query log with an edit distance threshold of 2.
Real-life performance of metric searching
Authors: Dohnal Vlastislav , Zezula Pavel
Published: September 2010

Similarity is a central notion throughout human lives and it will soon become the prevalent strategy for dealing with digital content also in computer systems. But the exponential growth of data makes the scalability and performance issues serious matters of concern. Contemporary decentralized media of mass communication allowing cooperative and collaborative practices enable users autonomously contribute to production of global media, whose elements are in fact related by numerous multi-facet links of similarity. As an example, consider the sites like Flickr, YouTube, or Facebook that host user-contributed heterogeneous content for a variety of events. Accordingly, the core ability of future data processing systems is the similarity management of large and ever growing volumes of data. In a simplified way, the real-life performance can be constrained from two points of view: (1) the query response time, and (2) the query execution throughput, i.e. the number of queries processed per a unit of time. Typically, the query response time should be on-line, say less than one second, but the query execution throughput can even be expected in hundreds or thousands in case of large-scale web applications.