The reorientation of Cd2+-vacancy and Pb2+-vacancy complexes in KCl

The relaxation of Pb²⁺-vacancy and Cd²⁺-vacancy dipoles in purified KCl crystals was studied using a double crystal dc polarization method which self-corrects relaxation effects due to spurious causes. In the radius range from Cd²⁺ to Ba²⁺ these results and most others support Dreyfus' model. The reciprocal relaxation times for each impurity are given by

$\text{τ}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Cd</mtext>}}\text{=2.06x10}{}^{12}\text{exp(?s0.64±0.01}\text{eV}\text{)}\text{kT}$

;

$\text{τ}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Pb</mtext>}}\text{=1.19x10}{}^{13}\text{exp(?0.69±0.01}\text{eV}\text{)}\text{kT}$

.It is also shown that the presence of H₂O or its products greatly perturb the relaxation times observed.     

Abdominal imaging studies: comparison of diagnostic accuracies resulting from ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging in the same individual

We retrospectively compared the diagnostic accuracy of abdominal ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies performed on the same individual to determine the relative performance of these modalities in the evaluation of disease processes, arising from different intra-abdominal organ systems. We retrospectively reviewed all procedure codes accrued by our abdominal imaging section during a 1-year period to determine how many patients underwent all three imaging procedures in our institution within a 2-week interval. These cases were then further evaluated to determine: (1) the primary organ system of disease involvement, (2) the final diagnosis, and (3) the imaging modality that provided the most accurate information upon which appropriate medical management was based. Imaging findings were determined by review of diagnostic reports, and medical management was determined by chart review. Two thousand six hundred-ninety five patients underwent ultrasound, 4,394 patients underwent CT, and 872 patients underwent MRI for the investigation of abdominal disease. Among these 5,126 patients, 26 underwent sequential US, CT, and MRI evaluation within a two-week interval. Appropriate clinical management was based on the US findings in 12/26 cases (46%; 95% CI: 27-67%), CT findings in 16/26 cases (62%; 95% CI: 41-80%), and MRI findings in 24 cases (92%; 95% CI: 75-99%). Significant differences in directing appropriate clinical management were found when comparing the relative diagnostic accuracies of MRI to US (p = 0.0003) and MRI to CT (p = 0.009). However, differences were not significant when comparing CT to US (p = 0.27). All final diagnoses in a given patient were accurately determined by US in 7/26 cases (27%), by CT in 10/26 cases (38%), and by MRI in 23/26 cases (88%). When analyzed according to individual diagnoses (61 total), US detected 33 of 61 (54%) abnormalities, CT detected 41 (67%) abnormalities, and MRI detected 51 (84%) abnormalities. US correctly characterized 32 (52%) abnormalities, CT correctly characterized 36 (59%) abnormalities, and MRI correctly characterized 49 (80%) abnormalities. Ultrasound, CT, and MR imaging correctly diagnosed the disease process in 3 of 12 (25%), 3 of 12 (25%), and 10 of 12 (83%) patients, respectively, with liver disease; 2 of 9 (22%), 6 of 9 (66%), and 9 of 9 (100%) patients, respectively, with pancreatic disease; 17 of 17 (100%), 8 of 17 (47%), and 10 of 17 (58%) patients, respectively, with gallbladder and biliary disease; 2 of 8 (25%), 5 of 8 (63%), and 5 of 8 (63%) patients, respectively, with renal disease; 0 of 3 (0%), 2 of 3 (66%), and 3 of 3 (100%) patients, respectively, with adrenal disease; and 8 of 12 (75%), 12 of 12 (100%), and 12 of 12 (100%) patients with free intraperitoneal fluid. Our results provide new information, regarding the relative benefits of ultrasound, CT, and MRI for the investigation of abdominal diseases at our institution. This initial data suggests that ultrasound provides the most accurate diagnoses in the investigation of gallbladder disease; MRI provides the most accurate diagnoses in the investigation of hepatic, adrenal, and pancreatic disease; and either CT or MRI may be the most appropriate first imaging study for the detection of renal disease.     

Second-order necessary conditions in semismooth optimization

First- and second-order conditions are given which are necessary for a functionf to have a local minimal value atx ^* inR ⁿ. It is assumed thatf is locally Lipschitzian nearx ^* and semismooth atx ^*. The necessary conditions are expressed in terms of the generalized gradients of nonsmooth analysis and certain second-order directional derivatives. The method of proof bears no resemblance to standard methods. Three special cases are discussed here, but applications to constrained problems are made elsewhere.     

Scheduling reconstruction operations with modes of execution

Since the decline of the Cold War, the risk of major conflict between powerful, industrialized nations has decreased. Insecurities in the 21st century are more apt to arise from the debris of imploding states. Such situations may require intervention—military or otherwise—by concerned states. To meet this new operational challenge, nations must adapt their planning procedures to account for Security, Stabilization, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations (SSTRO). This paper develops a project scheduling framework for post-conflict reconstruction that schedules reconstruction activities to maximize the positive impact to the local economy during the initial phase of SSTRO. Specifically, this paper builds on the Multimode Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem with Generalized Precedence Relations (MM-RCPSP-GPR) using goal programming to maximize the reconstruction operations’ positive impact to local population's economic welfare. This MM-RCPSP-GPR variant is applied to a notional example to illustrate its potential use in post-conflict SSTRO. The basic framework can be extended to other settings.     

Phoenix mars mission—The thermal evolved gas analyzer

The Phoenix spacecraft that was launched to Mars in August 2007 landed safely on the Martian northern arctic region on May 25, 2008. It carried six experiments to study the history of water on the planet and search for organic molecules in the icy subsurface Martian soil. The spacecraft is a lander with an arm and scoop designed to dig a trench though the top soil to reach an expected ice layer near the surface. One of the instruments on board is the thermal evolved gas analyzer (TEGA), which consists of two components, a set of eight very small ovens that will heat samples of the ice soil mixtures from the trench to release imbedded gases and mineral decomposition products, and a mass spectrometer that serves as the analysis tool for the evolved gases, and also for measurements of the composition and isotopic ratios of the gases that comprise the atmosphere of Mars. The mass spectrometer is a miniature magnetic sector instrument controlled by microprocessor-driven power supplies. One feature is the gas enrichment cell that will increase the partial pressures of the noble gases in an atmosphere sample by removing all the active gases, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, to improve the accuracy of their isotopic ratio measurements.     

Phenylphosphonic acid functionalization of indium tin oxide: surface chemistry and work functions

The work function of indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates was modified with phosphonic acid molecular films. The ITO surfaces were treated prior to functionalization with a base cleaning procedure. The film growth and coverage were quantified by contact angle goniometry and XPS. Film orientation was determined by reflection/absorption infrared spectroscopy using ITO-on-Cr substrates. The absolute work functions of nitrophenyl- and cyanophenyl-phosphonic acid films in ITO were determined by Kelvin probe measurement to be 5.60 and 5.77 eV, respectively.     

Biological evaluation of radiolabeled D-methionine as a parent compound in potential nuclear imaging

Based on the high radioactivity uptake of some 14C-labeled D-amino acids in tumors and pancreas of mice, this investigation was undertaken to ascertain possible usefulness of radioactive D-methionine as a nuclear imaging agent. Radioactivity derived from D-[3,4-14C]-methionine in Ehrlich solid tumor was approximately three times higher than that from the L-isomer, but was the same as for mouse pancreas. Excretion rate of the radioactivity of D-[14C]-methionine into urine was approximately two times faster than that of the L-isomer. As compared with two potential imaging agents, 1-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid, D-methionine showed almost the same radioactivity biodistribution in tumor and pancreas. These results suggest potential for D-methionine as a mother compound for use in tumor and pancreas imaging.