High resolution multigrid cross-correlation digital PIV measurements of a turbulent starting jet using half frame image shift film recording

This paper describes a novel approach of acquiring two single-exposed, non-overlapping images using half frame image shift (HFIS) recording on photographic film. This technique permits the recording of two single-exposed, non-overlapping images of seed particles in a flow plane on high spatial resolution film with any arbitrary time delay between exposures. A new multigrid CCDPIV (MCCDPIV) analysis method is used to analyse the single-exposed, non-overlapping sequential images resulting in PIV measurements with a larger velocity dynamic range, lower random error and better spatial resolution than standard CCDPIV analysis. HFIS recording followed by MCCDPIV analysis was employed to measure the spatio-temporal evolution of the in-plane velocity vector and the out-of-plane vorticity fields of a turbulent starting jet at Reynolds numbers based on the orifice diameter and piston velocity of 10,780 and 13,860.     

Soil respiration rates and δ13C(CO2) in natural beech forest (Fagus sylvatica L.) in relation to stand structure

Soil respiration rates were studied as a function of soil type, texture and light intensity at five selected natural beech forest stands with contrasting geology: stands on silicate bedrock at Kladje and Bricka in Pohorje, a stand on quartz sandstone at Vrhovo and two stands on a carbonate bedrock in the Karstic-Dinaric area in Kocevski Rog, Snezna jama and Rajhenav, Slovenia, during the growing season in 2005-2006. Soil respiration exhibited pronounced seasonal and spatial variations in the studied forest ecosystem plots. The CO(2) flux rates ranged from minimum averages of 2.3?μmol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1) (winter) to maximum averages of about 7?μmol CO(2) m(-2) s(-1) (summer) at all the investigated locations. An empirical model describing the relationship between soil respiration and soil temperature predicted seasonal variations in soil respiration reasonably well during 2006. Nevertheless, there were also some indications that soil moisture in relation to soil texture could influence the soil CO(2) efflux rates in both sampling seasons. It was shown that spatial variability of mean soil respiration at the investigated sites was high and strongly related to root biomass. Based on the [image omitted] data, it was shown that new photoassimilates could account for a major part of the total soil respiration under canopy conditions in forest ecosystems where no carbonate rocks are present, indicating that microbial respiration could not always dominate bulk soil CO(2) fluxes. At Snezna jama and Rajhenav, the abiotic CO(2) derived from carbonate dissolution had a pronounced influence on CO(2) efflux accounting, on average, to ～17%. Further spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration was clearly affected by management practice. Higher respiration rates as well as higher variability in respiration rates were observed in the virgin forest (Rajhenav) than in the management forest (Snezna jama) and could be related to a higher amount of detritus and consequently to less pronounced influence of inorganic pool to CO(2) efflux, lower mixing with atmospheric CO(2) and higher sensitivity to environmental changes. Major differences in soil carbon dynamics among these five forest ecosystems can be explained by the influence of bedrock geology (particularly, the presence or absence of carbonate minerals) and soil texture (affecting gas exchange with overlying air and soil moisture).     

Intrasubject variability of objective voice measures

Recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders necessitate the need for accurate and reliable objective voice measurements. There are many instruments commonly used to analyze voice data. Many, if not most, of these instruments have not been adequately tested for reliability or consistency. This study evaluates the intrasubject variability of the objective voice measurements from two commonly used voice analysis instruments. The study also presents data correlating subjective mood states, room temperatures, sleep times of the subject, time since last meal, and hydration levels to the various acoustic measures. Several weak but significant correlations were obtained and are discussed. Guidelines for the appropriate use of these instruments are described.     

Products of central collineations

An n by n matrix M over a (commutative) field F is said to be central if M ? I has rank 1. We say that M is an involution if M²=I; if M is also central we call M a simple involution. We will prove that any n-by-n matrix M satisfying detM=±1 is the product of n+2 or fewer simple involutions. This can be reduced to n+1 if F contains no roots of the equation xⁿ=(?1)ⁿ other than ±1. Any ordered field is of this kind. Our main result is that if M is any n-by-n nonsingular nonscalar matrix and if x_i ∈ F such that x₁?x_n=detM, then there exist central matrices M_i such that M=M₁?M_n and x_i=detM_i for i=1,…,n. We will apply this result to the projective group PGL(n,F) and to the little projective group PSL(n,F).     

Note on a Variation of the Schröder-Bernstein Problem for Fields

In this note we study fields F with the property that the simple transcendental extension F(u) of F is isomorphic to some subfield of F but not isomorphic to F. Such a field provides one type of solution of the Schröder-Bernstein problem for fields.     

Photolytic Measurement of Tissue S-Nitrosothiols in Rats and Humans In Vivo

S-nitrosothiols are labile thiol-NO adducts formed in vivo primarily by metalloproteins such as NO synthase, ceruloplasmin, and hemoglobin. Abnormal S-nitrosothiol synthesis and catabolism contribute to many diseases, ranging from asthma to septic shock. Current methods for quantifying S-nitrosothiols in vivo are suboptimal. Samples need to be removed from the body for analysis, and the S-nitrosothiols can be broken down during ex vivo processing. Here, we have developed a noninvasive device to measure mammalian tissue S-nitrosothiols in situ non-invasively using ultraviolet (UV) light, which causes NO release in proportion to the S-nitrosothiol concentration. We validated the assay in vitro; then, we applied it to measure S-nitrosothiols in vivo in rats and in humans. The method was sensitive to 0.5 µM, specific (did not detect other nitrogen oxides), and was reproducible in rats and in humans. This noninvasive approach to S-nitrosothiol measurements may be applicable for use in human diseases.