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We report studies on the Ba2CuO4- y superconductor (1) with features including compressed local coordination and extreme over-doping level, etc.; while such behaviors are not favorable for superconductivity in previous cuprates (2), Yamamoto (3) raises an inquiry on one of these features: The compressed local octahedron. We have solid evidence to show that what we discussed in our paper has nothing to do with his speculation. There are 2 types of “214” structures with a CuO2 plane, i.e., the T phase based on La2CuO4 and the T′ phase based on Nd2CuO4 due to the different charge reservoir substructures, the rock-salt type for the former and the fluorite type for the latter. The relative strong Coulomb attraction interaction in the rock-salt layer over … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: Jin{at}iphy.ac.cn. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Two different types of fluxes, namely sodium based and chloride based fluxes were used to grow Cr substituted barium and strontium hexaferrite ferrite crystals, (Sr,Ba)Fe 12 − x Cr x O 19 at comparatively low temperatures of about 1300 °C. The sodium based flux led to growth of larger crystals up to 5 mm, but with only minor Cr contents x ≤ 0.07. From the chloride based flux the obtained Cr contents are significantly higher with x = 5.7 (Sr) and x = 3.4 (Ba), however, crystals reach only sizes in the sub-mm range. X-ray absorption spectroscopy data support exclusively isovalent substitution of Fe 3+ by Cr 3+ even for very low Cr contents. 57 Fe Mosbauer spectroscopy reveals Cr to preferentially occupy the six-fold by oxygen coordinated site at 12 k and, to a lower degree, 2 a and 4 f 2 in space group P 6 3 / mmc . All characteristic magnetic properties drop upon Cr substitution, e. g., the Curie temperature from 728 K for pure BaFe 12 O 19 to 465 K for BaFe 8.6 Cr 3.4 O 19 , the saturation magnetization from 71 emu/g to 29.7 emu/g and the coercive field from 363 Oe to 45 Oe.

Objectives This study sought to derive age-, sex-, and ethnic-appropriate adult reference values for left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) dimensions and volumes, LV mass, fractional shortening, and ejection fraction (EF) derived from geographically diverse population studies. Background The current recommended reference values for measurements from echocardiography may not be suitable to the diverse world population to which they are now applied. Methods Population-based datasets of echocardiographic measurements from 22,404 adults without clinical cardiovascular or renal disease, hypertension, or diabetes were combined in an individual person data meta-analysis. Quantile regression was used to derive reference values at the 95th percentile (upper reference value [URV]) and fifth percentile (lower reference value [LRV]) of each measurement against age (treated as linear), separately within sex and ethnic groups. Results The URVs for left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), LV end-systolic volume, and LV stroke volume (SV) were highest in Europeans and lowest in South Asians. Important sex and ethnic differences remained after indexation by body surface area or height for these measurements, as well as for the LRV for SV. LVEDV and SV decreased with increasing age for all groups. Importantly, the LRV for EF differed by ethnicity; there was a clear apparent difference between Europeans and Asians. The URVs for LV end-diastolic diameter and LV end-systolic diameter were higher for Europeans than those for East Asian, South Asian, and African people, particularly among men. Similarly, the URVs for LA diameter and volume were highest for Europeans. Conclusions Sex- and/or ethnic-appropriate echocardiographic reference values are indicated for many measurements of LA and LV size, LV mass, and EF. Reference values for LV volumes and mass also differ across the age range.

The crystal and magnetic structures of brownmillerite-like Sr(2)Co(1.2)Ga(0.8)O(5) with a stable Co(3+) oxidation state at both octahedral and tetrahedral sites are refined using neutron powder diffraction data collected at 2 K (S.G. Icmm, a = 5.6148(6) Å, b = 15.702(2) Å, c = 5.4543(6) Å; R(wp) = 0.0339, R(p) = 0.0443, χ(2) = 0.775). The very large tetragonal distortion of CoO(6) octahedra (1.9591(4) Å for Co-O(eq) and 2.257(6) Å for Co-O(ax)) could be beneficial for the stabilization of the long-sought intermediate-spin state of Co(3+) in perovskite-type oxides. However, the large magnetic moment of octahedral Co(3+) (3.82(7)μ(B)) indicates the conventional high-spin state of Co(3+) ions, which is further supported by the results of a combined theoretical and experimental soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy study at the Co-L(2,3) edges on Sr(2)Co(1.2)Ga(0.8)O(5). A high-spin ground state of Co(3+) in Sr(2)Co(1.2)Ga(0.8)O(5) resulted in much lower in comparison with a LaCoO(3) linear thermal expansion coefficient of 13.1 ppm K(-1) (298-1073 K) determined from high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction data collected in air.

We study the magnetic anisotropic properties of as-grown and annealed Pd/Co/Pd trilayer films based on their atomic and electronic structures using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements. The annealed film exhibits interesting perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) whereas the as-grown film exhibits in-plane anisotropy. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopic analysis together with the Co K-edge EXAFS results confirm the formation of an ordered-alloy CoPd phase in the annealed film, whereas the as-grown film has an hcp Co-like phase. Co L3,2-edge XMCD measurements reveal an enhanced ratio of the Co 3d orbital to spin moments of the annealed film providing evidence of the observed PMA upon annealing.

The local electronic and atomic structures of the high-quality single crystal of SrFeO3-δ (δ~0.19) were studied using temperature-dependent x-ray absorption and valence-band photoemission spectroscopy (VB-PES) to investigate the origin of anisotropic resistivity in the ab-plane and along the c-axis close to the region of thermal hysteresis (near temperature for susceptibility maximum, Tm~78 K). All experiments herein were conducted during warming and cooling processes. The Fe L3,2-edge X-ray linear dichroism results show that during cooling from room temperature to below the transition temperature, the unoccupied Fe 3d eg states remain in persistently out-of-plane 3d3z2-r2 orbitals. In contrast, in the warming process below the transition temperature, they change from 3d3z2-r2 to in-plane 3dx2-y2 orbitals. The nearest-neighbor (NN) Fe-O bond lengths also exhibit anisotropic behavior in the ab-plane and along the c-axis below Tm. The anisotropic NN Fe-O bond lengths and Debye-Waller factors stabilize the in-plane Fe 3dx2-y2 and out-of-plane 3d3z2-r2 orbitals during warming and cooling, respectively. Additionally, a VB-PES study further confirms that a relative band gap opens at low temperature in both the ab-plane and along the c-axis, providing the clear evidence of the charge-density-wave nature of SrFeO3-δ (δ~0.19) single crystal.

Interfacial interactions between foulants and membrane directly determine foulant adhesion and membrane fouling. In this study, surface of sludge foulant particles (flocs) was found to be rough, and could be modeled by a sinusoidal sphere function. A novel method, which combined surface element integration (SEI) method, differential geometry and composite Simpson’s rule, was developed to quantify the interfacial interactions between the modeled rough floc surface and membrane surface. Application of the novel method in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) provides broad profiles of quantitative interactions with rough floc surface with separation distance. It is also found that increase in the scaled amplitude of floc surface significantly reduced the interaction strength. Derjaguin’s approximation (DA) can be regarded as a special case of the novel method, indicating the extensive application prospect of the novel method. The novel method for interaction calculation was verified to be correct and feasible. Finally, roles of the novel method in membrane fouling research were discussed.

The local electronic and atomic structures of the high-quality single crystal of SrFeO3-δ (δ~0.19) were studied using temperature-dependent x-ray absorption and valence-band photoemission spectroscopy (VB-PES) to investigate the origin of anisotropic resistivity in the ab-plane and along the c-axis close to the region of thermal hysteresis (near temperature for susceptibility maximum, Tm~78 K). All experiments herein were conducted during warming and cooling processes. The Fe L 3,2-edge X-ray linear dichroism results show that during cooling from room temperature to below the transition temperature, the unoccupied Fe 3d e g states remain in persistently out-of-plane 3d 3z 2 -r 2 orbitals. In contrast, in the warming process below the transition temperature, they change from 3d 3z 2 -r 2 to in-plane 3d x 2 -y 2 orbitals. The nearest-neighbor (NN) Fe-O bond lengths also exhibit anisotropic behavior in the ab-plane and along the c-axis below Tm. The anisotropic NN Fe-O bond lengths and Debye-Waller factors stabilize the in-plane Fe 3d x 2 -y 2 and out-of-plane 3d 3z 2 -r 2 orbitals during warming and cooling, respectively. Additionally, a VB-PES study further confirms that a relative band gap opens at low temperature in both the ab-plane and along the c-axis, providing the clear evidence of the charge-density-wave nature of SrFeO3-δ (δ~0.19) single crystal.

Hypopituitarism in leukemia is very rare. In addition, central nervous system (cns) relapse and leukemic retinopathy in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (all) have declined with the use of modern systemic chemotherapy that includes cns prophylaxis. Here, we report the case of a 4-year-old girl who received chemotherapy and intrathecal therapy without cns radiation after a diagnosis of B-precursor all without cns involvement. Three months after chemotherapy completion, she presented with lower-extremity weakness and was diagnosed with an isolated cns relapse. Concurrent hypopituitarism and leukemic retinopathy were also found. After receiving craniospinal radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy, her retinopathy and vision improved. She is now in complete remission, and she is still on chemotherapy according to the guideline from the Pediatric Oncology Group. Although rare, hypopituitarism and leukemic retinopathy should be taken into consideration in patients with cns involvement by leukemia.

The x-ray absorption spectra at the Bi-${L}_{1}$ and S-$K$ edges of ${\mathrm{LaO}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{F}}_{x}{\mathrm{BiS}}_{2}$ show a decrease of spectral weight close to the absorption thresholds upon F substitution for O, indicating a reduction of the unoccupied Bi $6p$ and S $3p$ states, as expected for electron doping. This doping-induced spectral weight transfer at the S-$K$ edge is similar to the electron-doped cuprate superconductor, ${\mathrm{Nd}}_{2\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Ce}}_{x}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$, but the polarization-dependent XAS spectra of ${\mathrm{LaO}}_{0.54}{\mathrm{F}}_{0.46}{\mathrm{BiS}}_{2}$ at the S-$K$ edge is very different from those of ${\mathrm{Nd}}_{2\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Ce}}_{x}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ at the O-$K$ edge, reflecting different constitution of valence electrons. We found that one-electron band structure calculations cannot describe our experimental S-$K$ XAS spectra of ${\mathrm{LaO}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{F}}_{x}{\mathrm{BiS}}_{2}$, suggesting possible correlation effects for $p$ electrons, which is important in transition metal compounds with the dominating $d$ electrons.

Lead (Pb), a heavy metal, has become a crucial pollutant in soil and water, causing not only permanent and irreversible health problems, but also substantial reduction in crop yields. In this study, we conducted proteome analysis of the roots of the non-hyperaccumulator inbred maize line 9782 at four developmental stages (0, 12, 24, and 48 h) under Pb pollution using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification technology. A total of 252, 72 and 116 proteins were differentially expressed between M12 (after 12-h Pb treatment) and CK (water-mocked treatment), M24 (after 24-h Pb treatment) and CK, and M48 (after 48-h Pb treatment) and CK, respectively. In addition, 14 differentially expressed proteins were common within each comparison group. Moreover, Cluster of Orthologous Groups enrichment analysis revealed predominance of the proteins involved in posttranslational modification, protein turnover, and chaperones. Additionally, the changes in protein profiles showed a lower concordance with corresponding alterations in transcript levels, indicating important roles for transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation in the response of maize roots to Pb pollution. Furthermore, enriched functional categories between the successive comparisons showed that the proteins in functional categories of stress, redox, signaling, and transport were highly up-regulated, while those in the functional categories of nucleotide metabolism, amino acid metabolism, RNA, and protein metabolism were down-regulated. This information will help in furthering our understanding of the detailed mechanisms of plant responses to heavy metal stress by combining protein and mRNA profiles.

Background and purpose: Infection is a major medical problem in patients with acute stroke. Recent evidences suggest that statins reduce infection-associated complications. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of statin treatment on mortality and functional outcomes in patients with stroke-associated infection. Methods: In this prospective observational cohort study, 514 patients with acute ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (mean age, 74 ± 11 years; men, 48%) with infection occurring in the first 7 days after admission were included. We examined the effect of in-hospital statin treatment on mortality and favorable functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale score ≤2) at 3 months follow-up. Results: Infection occurred at 0.93 ± 1.49 days after admission. All patients had not received statin treatment prior to admission, and 121 patients (24%) received statin at 1.71 ± 1.28 days after admission. Follow-up at 3 months was completed for 511 patients (99%). National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score and Charlson index were the most important independent predictors of mortality and functional outcome. Univariate [hazard ratio (HR), 0.82; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.47–1.42] and multivariate (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 0.79–3.56) Cox regression analysis showed that statin did not significantly decrease the morality. In propensity analysis, statin treatment still had no significant association with mortality (HR, 1.54; 95% CI, 0.68–3.47) in the multivariate analyses after adjusting for age, sex, and propensity score. Conclusions: Statin use was not associated with a better functional outcome or survival in patients with stroke-associated infection.

This article explores the inventory model with a general demand rate function in which both the Weibull distributed deterioration and partial backlogging are considered. The inventory model discussed here is based on the important finding by Wu [Wu, K.S., 2001. An EOQ inventory model for items with Weibull distribution deterioration, ramp type demand rate and partial backlogging. Production Planning and Control, 12, 787–793]. There are four parts in our research. First, we derive the analytical framework of the inventory model for a general demand rate function1. Second, for the ramp type demand, we improve Wu's model to find the criterion to guarantee the existence and uniqueness of the optimal solution. Third, we develop a new model to compensate for the missing case in Wu's article. Fourth, we combine our results to show that our findings are applicable to the ramp type demand inventory model, so that the optimal solution is independent of the demand function. Finally, some numerical examples and graph...

The proximity effects of the Pt layers on the magnetic properties of the ultrathin Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) films have been systematically investigated. A significant decrease in the saturation magnetization is observed after capping the Pt films on the YIG films, indicating that a strong interaction occurs between Pt and YIG. In contrast, the magnetic properties remain essentially unchanged for YIG capping with the Cu films. The X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements show that a selective charge transfer occurs from Pt to the tetrahedral site Fe of YIG, leading to a reduction of the magnetic moment of the interfacial YIG. Our findings provide important clues to further understanding the pure spin current transport at the Pt/YIG interface.

A coupled structural and fluid flow analysis was performed to assess the hydroelastic behavior of a composite marine propeller. The finite element method and lifting surface theory were applied in the structural and fluid analyses, respectively. A coupled equation derived from the Bernoulli equation and the hydrostatic pressure in terms of the blade deflection and strength of the vortex was solved by Newton-Raphson procedure. A MAU 3–60 propeller was analyzed with different stacking sequences of composite layup. The hydroelastic behaviors of the propeller with balanced and unbalanced stacking sequences were investigated and discussed. The unbalanced Stacking sequences were shown to influence the performance of the composite propeller, especially in the region in which the advanced coefficient is low.

Chang MC, Lin LD, Chen YJ, Tsai YL, Cheng YA, Kuo CS, Chang HH, Tai TF, Lin HJ, Jeng JH. Comparative cytotoxicity of five root canal sealers on cultured human periodontal ligament fibroblasts. International Endodontic Journal, 43, 251–257, 2010. Abstract Aim To evaluate the cytotoxicity of current root canal sealers to periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts. Methodology Five root canal sealers (Canals, Canals-N, Topseal, Sealapex, Tubliseal) were prepared and placed into transwells. After initial setting for 1 h, the transwells with sealers were placed into cultured PDL fibroblasts. They were cultured for further 3 or 18 h. Morphological changes were observed. Cell viability was estimated by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results Marked retraction and death of PDL fibroblasts were observed after exposure to Canals or Topseal for 3 h. A 3-h exposure of PDL fibroblasts to Tubliseal stimulated MTT reduction. Canals-N showed little cytotoxicity even after an exposure of 18 h. Conclusion Canals was the most toxic sealer, followed by Topseal. Sealapex and Tubliseal had comparable and moderate cytotoxicity to PDL fibroblasts, whereas Canals-N showed little cytotoxicity. Exposure to Tubliseal may modulate MTT reduction in PDL fibroblasts. Canals-N had good biocompatibility.

Hemoglobin (Hb) gene disorders are one of the most common inherited diseases in Taiwan, which include alpha-thalassemia, beta-thalassemia, and Hb variants. In this study, we collected and analyzed mutations found in 930 patients with Hb gene disorders except Hb Bart's Hydrops and beta-thalassemia major. The patients included 650 cases of alpha-thalassemia, 225 cases of beta-thalassemia, 9 cases of alpha-thalassemia combined with beta-thalassemia, and 46 cases of Hb variants or Hb variants combined with alpha-thalassemia or beta-thalassemia. The most common type of alpha0-thalassemia and alpha++-thalassemia mutations in our study were the SEA type deletion and the alpha3.7 deletion, respectively; the most common beta-thalassemia mutation was the IVS-2 nt 654 C-->T mutation; and the most common Hb variant was the HbE. We compared the relationships between genotype and hematological phenotypes of various Hb gene disorders and found that different genotypes of alpha0-thalassemia have similar hematological features. In conclusion, the results of our study provide data of the complex interaction of thalassemias and Hb variants which might be useful for other researchers in this field.

Summary Background Patients with peptic ulcer bleeding and uraemia are prone to re-bleeding. Aim To compare the efficacy of an intravenous proton pump inhibitor in treating peptic ulcer bleeding in patients with uraemia and those without uraemia. Methods High-risk peptic ulcer bleeding patients received endoscopic therapy with epinephrine (adrenaline) injection plus intravenous omeprazole (40 mg bolus followed by 40 mg infusion every 12 h) for 3 days. Re-bleeding, volume of blood transfusion, hospital stay, need for surgery, and mortality were analysed. Results The uraemic group had similar 7-day re-bleeding rate (6/42, 14.29% vs. 6/46, 13.04%, P = 0.865) to that of non-uraemic patients, but more re-bleeding episodes beyond 7 days (4/42, 9.52% vs. 0/46, 0%, P = 0.032, OR [95% CI] = 1.105 [1.002–1.219]) and all-cause mortality (4/42 vs. 0/46 P = 0.032, OR [95% CI] = 1.105 [1.002–1.219]). The uraemic group also had more units of blood transfusion after endoscopic therapy (mean ± s.d. 4.33 ± 3.35 units vs. 2.15 ± 1.65 units, P

This paper proposes a user friendly interactive colourization system that utilizes iterative region expansion and linear programming to carry out colourization. The region corresponding to each scribbled colour is iteratively expanded using a sequence of increasing threshold values. Usually a few pixels remain unassigned to any colour region after this stage, each of which is then simply assigned to the nearest region based on an intrinsic distance measure. The optimal colours for the brightest pixel and the darkest pixel in each region are determined by employing linear programming, and then the whole region is colourized using linear interpolation. The proposed system provides several colourization modes users can select from. The user simply needs to scribble on the given greyscale image and select the colouring mode they want. The experimental results show that the proposed system provides natural and satisfactory colouring results.

This article considers the periodic review stochastic inventory models with service level constraint to provide an improved solution procedure. The previous researchers assumed that the objective function is concave down in the lead time so that the minimum must occur on the boundary points of each sub-domain. In this article, we will show that their assumption is questionable since the minimum might not occur at the boundary points of each sub-domain. In a recent paper in International Journal of Systems Science, Ouyang and Chuang studied this problem. However, their solutions contained questionable results and their algorithm might not find the optimal solution due to flaws in their solution procedure. We develop some lemmas to reveal the parameter effects and then present our improved solution procedures for finding the optimal solution for periodic review stochastic inventory models in which the lead time demand is a normal distribution. The savings are illustrated by solving the same examples from Ouyang and Chuang's paper to demonstrate the improvement using our revised algorithm. In the direction of future research, we discuss the comparison between the reordered point being fixed and the reordered point as a new variable.

The isolation of protein-binding synthetic molecules from combinatorial libraries or compound collections is now a common practice in chemical biology. An important, but underdeveloped, aspect of characterizing the binding properties of such molecules is their level of binding specificity. This is often evaluated by simply measuring the equilibrium binding affinity of the compound of interest with its target protein and comparing this value with its affinity to one or a few other purified proteins selected at random. These measurements may not reflect accurately the ability of the compound to seek out its target in a complex mixture of proteins such as a cell extract or serum. A more desirable alternative would be to develop solution assays that measure directly the binding of the molecule of interest to both target and competitor proteins in complex solutions. In this report, we evaluate a rapid and efficient photo-triggered cross-linking reaction for assessing binding specificity of synthetic molecules in protein mixtures. Using peptide-protein complexes, we demonstrate that this reaction provides an unbiased view of the peptide-protein contacts present in solution under a given set of conditions and thus is useful for assessing binding specificity. We also discuss the potential application of this chemistry to the related, but more difficult, problem of the identification of protein targets of bioactive molecules.

We study the paper of Xu [Z. Xu, On consistency of the weighted geometric mean complex judgement matrix in AHP, European Journal of Operational Research 126 (2000) 683–687] for the group consistency in analytic hierarchy process of multicriteria decision-making. The purpose of this note is threefold. First, we point out the questionable results in this paper. Second, for three by three comparison matrices, we provide a patchwork for his method. Third, we constructed a counter example to show that in general his method is wrong. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate our findings. If there are four or more alternatives, then we may advise researchers to ignore his results to avoid questionable estimation of group consistency.

Seemann Composites Resin Infusion Molding Process (called SCRIMPTM for short) is a resin transfer molding process which is commonly used in the manufacture of yachts. Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (called FRP for short) manufactured by using SCRIMP has higher fiber-volume-content than that manufactured by using Hand Lay-Up Process (called HLUP for short). In general, the tensile strength and fatigue strength are used to compare the tensile properties of SCRIMP-FRP and HLUP-FRP. In this paper, another viewpoint of comparison is used to compare their tensile properties, especially their fatigue tensile properties. Experiments on the fatigue life and damage phenomena in SCRIMP-FRP and HLUP-FRP were performed. Experimental results show that if the same fibers are used in SCRIMP-FRP and HLUPFRP, SCRIMP-FRP will be much thinner than HLUP-FRP and few air bubbles exist inside SCRIMP-FRP. Although SCRIMP-FRP has higher tensile strength than HLU-FRP, the tensile forces they can bear are approached. That means, processes do not affect the tensile load carrying capacities of FRP. However, SCRIMP-FRP exhibits shorter fatigue life than HLUP-FRP. The reason for that is discussed in this paper and qualitative analysis is performed to explain the author's contentions.

This paper is major on discussing the paper of Barzilai, Cook and Golany published in Operations Research Letters to discuss consistent weights for judgment matrices of the relative importance of alternatives. We point out that they misuse the reciprocal operation to imply meaningless alternatives such that their challenge to conventional AHP is not well founded. Our findings should result in the development of both the theoretical and practical applications.

This paper discusses the inventory replenishment policy over an infinite planning horizon with a negative exponential lead time crashing cost, taking time value into account. Our work is based on the paper of Ben-Daya and Raouf that has been cited 65 times. We extend their model to incorporate the time value of money and then find the criterion to decide the optimal solution. Numerical examples illustrate our findings to demonstrate that we provide an easy and efficient procedure to find the optimal solution.

The magnetic and electronic properties of CeCo 2 bulk and nanoparticles have been investigated using element-specific techniques, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The results of Ce L 3 -edge XAS spectra shows a higher spectral weight of 4f l configuration in nanoparticles with respect to the bulk, which indicates that the valence of Ce is decreased in nanoparticles. In addition, spectroscopic results from the XMCD at Co L 2,3 -edges and Ce M 4,5 -edges indicate that CeCo 2 undergoes a nonmagnetic to magnetic transition with size reduction. The variations in electronic and magnetic properties of nanoparticles were attributed to the charge transfer related to the sample dimension.

The cuff pressures may be different in oesophageal and tracheal intubations. We conducted a study to evaluate if cuff pressures of endotracheal tubes (ETTs) could provide information to distinguish tracheal or oesophageal intubations in a pig trachea-oesophagus model.In each preparation of pig trachea-oesophagus model, the trachea and the oesophagus were intubated separately with a cuffed ETT, and the cuff pressures were measured after each 1 ml increment of air (1-10 ml) during inflation. The cuff pressures and the pressure-volume relationships in both intubations were compared.The cuff pressures of oesophageal intubations were significantly higher than those of tracheal intubations in all comparisons from 1 to 10 ml of cuff volumes (P0.05). The cuff pressure-volume curve was steeper in the oesophageal intubation group, and the difference between the two curves was the largest when the cuff volume was 4-5 ml.We conclude that the cuff pressures may be useful in detecting oesophageal intubations. This method is faster than other confirmation measures as it can detect inadvertent oesophageal intubations at the time of inflating the cuffs.

The electronic structure of the Cr ions in Zn1−x Cr x Te (x=0.03 and 0.15) has been investigated using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and photoemission spectroscopy. Magnetic-field (H) and temperature (T) dependences of the Cr L 2,3 XMCD spectra well corresponded to the behavior of the magnetization measured by a SQUID magnetometer. The line shape of the Cr L 2,3 XMCD spectra was independent of H,T, and x, indicating that the ferromagnetism was originated from the same Cr electronic states independent of Cr concentration. The Cr 3d partial density of states (DOS) showed a peak at the top of the valence band but there was no DOS at the Fermi level, corresponding to their insulating behaviors.

We study the ϵ-algorithm that was discussed in the papers of Guilpin et al. and Brezinski both published in 2004. Some researchers may motivate by their results to believe that is an efficient algorithm to generate many new series that will converge to the desired limit much faster than the original series. We will use the same example that appeared in Guilpin et al. to illustrate that some series derived by the ϵ-algorithm may not converge to the desired limit. Thus, we advise the researchers with care to look deeply into the existing literature before to use this sophisticated technique.

We study the paper of Hadley to compare the order quantities for inventory models using the average annual cost and the discounted cost. The purpose of this note is threefold. First, we show that the solution for the discounted cost inventory model is exist and unique. Second, we provide a formulated approximation for the discounted cost inventory model. Third, we use our approximation to explain why two solutions by the average annual cost and the discounted cost are close each other such that the numerical analysis in Hadley’s examples to demonstrate a negligible difference between them is explained. Our findings will undoubtedly improve the theoretical base for inventory models and develop new practical application for operational research.

Summary Background The role of Helicobacter pylori in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease in patients with uraemia remains unclear. Aim To evaluate the long-term effect of H. pylori eradication in these patients. Methods Uraemic and non-uraemic patients with peptic ulcer were enrolled in this study. Patients having history of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use or cardiovascular disease that need aspirin use were excluded. After confirmation of H. pylori infection, they received a triple therapy and were followed up for 2 years. Results Between September 1999 and December 2005, 34 patients (41%) of the end-stage renal disease [H. pylori (+) group] and 67 (84%) of the non-uraemic patients with peptic ulcer disease (PU group) received anti-H. pylori therapy. After triple therapy, 32 (94%) from the end-stage renal disease group and 64 (96%) from the peptic ulcer group obtained successful eradication. During the 2-year follow-up, three patients in the end-stage renal disease group were excluded because of the presence of cardiovascular disease and aspirin use in two cases and died of heart failure in one case; two patients in peptic ulcer group refused follow-up. Finally, 29 uraemic and 62 non-uraemic patients had achieved the follow-up. Recurrence of peptic ulcer was more in the end-stage renal disease group than in the peptic ulcer group with intention-to-treat analysis (eight of 32, 25% vs. two of 64, 3%, P = 0.001, OR: 10.0, 95% CI: 1.979–50.540) or per-protocol analysis (eight of 29, 28% vs. two of 62, 3%, P

We examine inventory models with two warehouses proposed by Pakkala and Achary (1992) and then further studied by Chou et al. (2006). Our finding provides an analytic explanation why in Pakkala and Achary (1992), they might claim that the two warehouse inventory model under the condition of the first derivative is positive at zero inventories in the rented warehouse then the optimal solution will happen without using the rented warehouse.

This study describes the design and testing of a superconducting solenoid magnet for soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (SXMCD) experiments at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC). The superconducting solenoid magnet provides an uniform field of up to 8 T in a bore of 55 mm in diameter and 0.5 m long. The superconducting solenoid is operated in a 4.5-K liquid helium bath for reducing the vibration level during the experiments. The magnet and its cryostat are optimized to prevent magnet quenching and lower liquid helium consumption. The magnet quench test and magnetic field measurements are also performed.

To delineate the clinical features of traumatic adrenal haematoma, to help emergency physicians recognise the condition early and so to prevent adrenal crisis.Review of the records of all patients admitted to Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, with traumatic torso injuries, between 1 August 2003 and 31 August 2005. Of the 305 patients reviewed, 8 had adrenal haematoma. Injury Severity Scores, hospital course, need for intensive care unit admission and surgery or vascular embolisation, and concomitant injuries, were compared between patients with and without adrenal haematoma.No adrenal haematoma was recognised in the emergency department. No case of adrenal haematoma needed surgery or vascular embolisation, but each had associated injuries to other internal organs. All eight patients with, but only 106 patients without, adrenal haematoma sustained injuries to more than one internal organ (p0.01). The mean Injury Severity Scores and lengths of hospital and intensive care unit stays among the two groups were not significantly different. There was no statistical significance in the differences in rates of admission to the intensive care unit, mortality, laparotomy or vascular embolisation between the two groups.Emergency physicians were liable in trauma cases to miss adrenal haematoma, which of itself was a benign condition but was associated with increased internal organ injuries and days in the intensive care unit. Emergency physicians should be aware of the possibility of adrenal haematoma in trauma cases in order not to miss the bilateral condition, which might lead to a deadly adrenal crisis.

In this research we study the inventory models for deteriorating items with ramp type demand rate. We first clearly point out some questionable results that appeared in (Mandal, B., Pal, A.K., 1998. Order level inventory system with ramp type demand rate for deteriorating items. Journal of Interdisciplinary Mathematics 1, 49–66 and Wu, K.S., Ouyang, L.Y., 2000. A replenishment policy for deteriorating items with ramp type demand rate (Short Communication). Proceedings of National Science Council ROC (A) 24, 279–286). And then resolve the similar problem by offering a rigorous and efficient method to derive the optimal solution. In addition, we also propose an extended inventory model with ramp type demand rate and its optimal feasible solution to amend the incompleteness in the previous work. Moreover, we also proposed a very good inventory replenishment policy for this kind of inventory model. We believe that our work will provide a solid foundation for the further study of this sort of important inventory models with ramp type demand rate.

This work explores the sound transmission loss provided by the orthotropic multi-layers to elucidate the sound insulation of FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics). Mat is the major material considered in the numerical works. The transfer matrices of a single layer of the orthotropic laminate and the fluid are determined. Further, the boundary conditions on the various interface planes are arranged into matrix form. Combining the transfer matrixes and the boundary conditions and applying the transfer matrix method (TMM) yields the surface impedance and the sound transmission loss. The sound-propagation characteristics are studied. Additionally, the STC (Sound Transmission Class) of FRP and steel are compared and discussed.

In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As channel MOSFETs were fabricated on 300 mm Si substrate. The epitaxial In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As channel layer exhibits high Hall electron mobility comparable to those grown on lattice matched InP substrates. Excellent device characteristics (SS∼95 mV/dec., I on /I off ∼105, DIBL ∼51 mV/V at V ds = 0.5V for L g =150 nm device) with good uniformity across the wafer were demonstrated. The extracted high field effect mobility (µ EF = 1837 cm2/V-s with EOT ∼ 0.9 nm) is among the highest values reported for surface channel In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As MOSFETs.

The field dependence of spin and orbital magnetic moments of Fe in L10 FePt magnetic thin films was investigated using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The spin and orbital moments were calculated using the sum rules; it was found that the spin and orbital moment of Fe in L10 FePt films are ∼2.5 and 0.2 μB, respectively. The relative XMCD asymmetry at Fe L3 peak on the dependence of applied field suggested that the majority magnetic moment of L10 FePt films resulted from Fe.

This note examines the inventory model with service level constraint in which the lead time, the reordered point and order quantity are treated as decision variables. The previous researchers believed that the objective function is concave in the lead time such that the minimummust occur on the boundary points of each sub-domain. In this note, we will show that their belief contains questionable results. In a recent paper in Journal of the Operations Research Society of Japan, Ouyang and Chuang studied this problem. However, their algorithm might not find the optimal solution due to flaws in their solution procedure. We developed some lemmas to reveal the parameter effects and then presented the complete procedures for finding the optimal solution for the inventory model in which the lead time demand is unknown and for solving by the Gallego’s minimax distribution free procedure. The savings are illustrated by solving the same examples from Ouyang and Chuang’s paper to demonstrate a 30% improvement by our revised algorithm.