Laboratory Investigation of Skid Resistance for Steel Slag Utilization as Chip Seal

Slag as waste material of steel-making process has similar characteristics with aggregate that has been widely used in pavement construction. The use of slag as chip seal aggregate to provide skid resistance needs to be analyzed. In this laboratory study, the chip seal samples are made using steel slag and natural aggregate. The bonding materials used are asphalt and epoxy resin. Skid resistance tests for all chip seal samples and also hot rolled sheet pavement without chip seal application are performed using the Portable British Pendulum Tester. The results show the variations of chip seal aggregate weight are inconsistent. The natural aggregate used as chip seal material could produce high skid resistance value of 10.3% higher than that using steel slag. Also the skid resistance of chip seal with the ALD 3 mm are not significantly different with that of ALD 6 mm. Similar results occur on the skid resistance of chip seals using epoxy resin and asphalt

Physical Electronics

Contains research objectives and reports on two research projects

Maximum Flux Transition Paths of Conformational Change

Given two metastable states A and B of a biomolecular system, the problem is to calculate the likely paths of the transition from A to B. Such a calculation is more informative and more manageable if done for a reduced set of collective variables chosen so that paths cluster in collective variable space. The computational task becomes that of computing the "center" of such a cluster. A good way to define the center employs the concept of a committor, whose value at a point in collective variable space is the probability that a trajectory at that point will reach B before A. The committor "foliates" the transition region into a set of isocommittors. The maximum flux transition path is defined as a path that crosses each isocommittor at a point which (locally) has the highest crossing rate of distinct reactive trajectories. (This path is different from that of the MaxFlux method of Huo and Straub.) It is argued that such a path is nearer to an ideal path than others that have been proposed with the possible exception of the finite-temperature string method path. To make the calculation tractable, three approximations are introduced, yielding a path that is the solution of a nonsingular two-point boundary-value problem. For such a problem, one can construct a simple and robust algorithm. One such algorithm and its performance is discussed.Comment: 7 figure

Validation of the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse model with four classes of licensed antiretrovirals.

BackgroundThe SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse model of HIV-1 infection is a useful platform for the preclinical evaluation of antiviral efficacy in vivo. We performed this study to validate the model with representatives of all four classes of licensed antiretrovirals.Methodology/principal findingsEndpoint analyses for quantification of Thy/Liv implant viral load included ELISA for cell-associated p24, branched DNA assay for HIV-1 RNA, and detection of infected thymocytes by intracellular staining for Gag-p24. Antiviral protection from HIV-1-mediated thymocyte depletion was assessed by multicolor flow cytometric analysis of thymocyte subpopulations based on surface expression of CD3, CD4, and CD8. These mice can be productively infected with molecular clones of HIV-1 (e.g., the X4 clone NL4-3) as well as with primary R5 and R5X4 isolates. To determine whether results in this model are concordant with those found in humans, we performed direct comparisons of two drugs in the same class, each of which has known potency and dosing levels in humans. Here we show that second-generation antiretrovirals were, as expected, more potent than their first-generation predecessors: emtricitabine was more potent than lamivudine, efavirenz was more potent than nevirapine, and atazanavir was more potent than indinavir. After interspecies pharmacodynamic scaling, the dose ranges found to inhibit viral replication in the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse were similar to those used in humans. Moreover, HIV-1 replication in these mice was genetically stable; treatment of the mice with lamivudine did not result in the M184V substitution in reverse transcriptase, and the multidrug-resistant NY index case HIV-1 retained its drug-resistance substitutions.ConclusionGiven the fidelity of such comparisons, we conclude that this highly reproducible mouse model is likely to predict clinical antiviral efficacy in humans

Oral rivaroxaban versus standard therapy for the treatment of symptomatic venous thromboembolism : a pooled analysis of the EINSTEIN-DVT and PE randomized studies

Background: Standard treatment for venous thromboembolism (VTE) consists of a heparin combined with vitamin K antagonists. Direct oral anticoagulants have been investigated for acute and extended treatment of symptomatic VTE; their use could avoid parenteral treatment and/or laboratory monitoring of anticoagulant effects. Methods: A prespecified pooled analysis of the EINSTEIN-DVT and EINSTEIN-PE studies compared the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban (15 mg twice-daily for 21 days, followed by 20 mg once-daily) with standard-therapy (enoxaparin 1.0 mg/kg twice-daily and warfarin or acenocoumarol). Patients were treated for 3, 6, or 12 months and followed for suspected recurrent VTE and bleeding. The prespecified noninferiority margin was 1.75. Results: 8282 patients were enrolled. 4151 received rivaroxaban and 4131 received standard-therapy. The primary efficacy outcome occurred in 86 rivaroxaban-treated patients (2.1%) compared with 95 (2.3%) standard-therapy-treated patients (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66-1.19; pnoninferiority<0.001). Major bleeding was observed in 40 (1.0%) and 72 (1.7%) patients in the rivaroxaban and standard-therapy groups, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.37-0.79; p=0.002). In key subgroups, including fragile patients, cancer patients, patients presenting with large clots and those with a history of recurrent VTE, the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban was similar compared with standard-therapy. Conclusion: The single-drug approach with rivaroxaban resulted in similar efficacy to standard-therapy and was associated with a significantly lower rate of major bleeding. Efficacy and safety results were consistent among key patient subgroups

Quantum Relaxation of Magnetisation in Magnetic Particles

At temperatures below the magnetic anisotropy energy, monodomain magnetic systems (small particles, nanomagnetic devices, etc.) must relax quantum mechanically. This quantum relaxation must be mediated by the coupling to both nuclear spins and phonons (and electrons if either particle or substrate is conducting. We analyze the effect of each of these couplings, and then combine them. Conducting systems can be modelled by a "giant Kondo" Hamiltonian, with nuclear spins added in as well. At low temperatures, even microscopic particles on a conducting substrate (containing only $10-50$ spins) will have their magnetisation frozen over millenia by a combination of electronic dissipation and the "degeneracy blocking" caused by nuclear spins. Raising the temperature leads to a sudden unblocking of the spin dynamics at a well defined temperature. Insulating systems are quite different. The relaxation is strongly enhanced by the coupling to nuclear spins. At short times the magnetisation of an ensemble of particles relaxes logarithmically in time, after an initial very fast decay; this relaxation proceeds entirely via the nuclear spins. At longer times phonons take over, but the decay rate is still governed by the temperature-dependent nuclear bias field acting on the particles - decay may be exponential or power-law depending on the temperature. The most surprising feature of the results is the pivotal role played by the nuclear spins. The results are relevant to any experiments on magnetic particles in which interparticle dipolar interactions are unimportant. They are also relevant to future magnetic device technology.Comment: 30 pages, RevTex, e:mail , Submitted to J.Low Temp.Phys. on 1 Nov. 199

Self-similar magnetoresistance of Fibonacci ultrathin magnetic films

We study numerically the magnetic properties (magnetization and magnetoresistance) of ultra-thin magnetic films (Fe/Cr) grown following the Fibonacci sequence. We use a phenomenological model which includes Zeeman, cubic anisotropy, bilinear and biquadratic exchange energies. Our physical parameters are based on experimental data recently reported, which contain biquadratic exchange coupling with magnitude comparable to the bilinear exchange coupling. When biquadratic exchange coupling is sufficiently large a striking self-similar pattern emerges.Comment: 5 pages, 5 EPS figures, REVTeX, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Advanced stratified charge rotary aircraft engine design study

A technology base of new developments which offered potential benefits to a general aviation engine was compiled and ranked. Using design approaches selected from the ranked list, conceptual design studies were performed of an advanced and a highly advanced engine sized to provide 186/250 shaft Kw/HP under cruise conditions at 7620/25,000 m/ft altitude. These are turbocharged, direct-injected stratified charge engines intended for commercial introduction in the early 1990's. The engine descriptive data includes tables, curves, and drawings depicting configuration, performance, weights and sizes, heat rejection, ignition and fuel injection system descriptions, maintenance requirements, and scaling data for varying power. An engine-airframe integration study of the resulting engines in advanced airframes was performed on a comparative basis with current production type engines. The results show airplane performance, costs, noise & installation factors. The rotary-engined airplanes display substantial improvements over the baseline, including 30 to 35% lower fuel usage

Physical Electronics

Contains reports on three research projects