Surface Roughness-Controlled Superelastic Hysteresis in Shape Memory Microwires

Superelasticity in Cu–Zn–Al shape memory alloy microwires is studied as a function of surface roughness. Wires with a rough surface finish dissipate more than twice as much energy per unit volume during a superelastic cycle than do electropolished wires with smooth surfaces. We attribute the increased damping in wires with large surface roughness to the increased density of surface obstacles where frictional energy is dissipated as heat during martensitic phase transformation.United States. Army Research Office. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologie

The Earliest Known Epiphytotic of Rust in Iowa (Abstract)

A rust epiphytotic in 1858 apparently has been overlooked in the study of disease prevalence in Iowa. Early Iowa agricultural records and newspapers contain numerous reports of the calamitous wheat and oat failures caused by rust in 1858; yet this rust year has not been reported in any scientific publication from Iowa. Wheat yielded an average of 4.2 bushels per acre, oats 5.4 bushels, while the yields for 1855 were 14.09 and 32.09 bushels per acre, respectively. County agricultural societies reported either total wheat crop failures or very poor yields, with the exception of Van Buren and Woodbury Counties, which reported medium and fair yields, respectively. In general, oats were reported as a total failure or seriously injured. Throughout the state grain fields were left uncut, not being worth the expense of harvesting. Losses were attributed to rust and wet weather conditions, with occasional mention of blight and scab. Weather records show that rainfall was excessive during May, June and July, thus providing a favorable environment for the development of a rust epiphytotic

The Earliest Known Epiphytotic of Rust in Iowa

It is the purpose of this paper to call attention to a rust epiphytotic in l 858, which apparently has been overlooked in the study of plant disease prevalence in Iowa. Early Iowa agricultural records and newspapers contain numerous reports of the calamitous wheat and oat failures caused by rust in 1858, yet this rust year has not been reported in any scientific publication from Iowa. Miss Hamilton2, who summarized material regarding a rust epiphytotic that occurred in 1878 in southern Minnesota, northern Iowa and Wisconsin, likewise makes no mention of the epiphytotic of 1858

Diseases of Potatoes in Iowa

It is a well-known fact that potato production in Iowa has decreased since 1895. This raises the question as to the cause of this decline. Many factors contributed to the decrease in potato production, one of which was the destructiveness of various diseases. Many diseases tend to initiate sharp fluctuations in yield and quality, two factors that have much to do with the stability of a given crop. Previous to 1895 there were no well-developed control measures for any of the potato diseases: in fact the causal agencies of many of them were quite unknown. Consequently, as different pathogens became established in the virgin soil they accentuated the annual fluctuation in production. The decline following 1895 warrants study particularly from the viewpoint of the role of diseases. In order to do this all available records of potato failures and diseases have been consulted and summarized in the following pages

Cabbage yellows, caused by Fusarium Conglutinans, in Iowa

Cabbage yellows caused by Fusarium conglutinans is widely distributed in Iowa. It probably was introduced into the state just previous to 1910 on cabbage transplants shipped from the southern states. The organism causing cabbage yellows is the chief limiting factor in cabbage production in the Muscatine Island section and contiguous territory on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River. The yellows organism may live in the soil for long periods of time, at least 11 years, and still be destructive to a cabbage crop. Cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi and brussels sprouts are known to be hosts of this organism. Cabbage yellows is most destructive in the Cornelt states, where the temperature range is favorable for the causal agent during the growing season of the crop. Losses ranging from 50 to 95 percent of a crop are common on any of the commercial early or late varieties. Certain individual plants in the variety Copenhagen market have proved quite resistant

The Developement of an Educational Program in Iowa State Parks

The first state park was created in 1918; consequently the state park educational program is of recent development. Although the educational program and the development of a park system by the state is relatively new, the idea of state-owned lands for recreational purposes is almost as old as our statehood. T. S. Parvin, registrar of lands back in the fifties, advocated in one of his reports that the state should buy a large tract of land in Des Moines to preserve the statehouse ground, for in time the state would need it for recreational purposes. It is evident now that Parvin was at least a half century ahead of his time, because the act providing for the establishment of state parks was passed by the Thirty-seventh General Assembly in 1917

Diseases of Cereals and Flax in Iowa

Information relating to the prevalence and destructiveness of diseases of plants has been recorded in various journals and papers ever since the beginning of agriculture in Iowa. Most of these records are specific and valuable; some, however, especially for the early years, are so general as to have little value. In this paper an attempt has been made to summarize available records of the prevalence and destructiveness of the diseases of cereals and flax in Iowa and to interpret the early general reports on the basis of our present knowledge of plant pathology

Itch and skin rash from chocolate during fluoxetine and sertraline treatment: Case report

BACKGROUND: The skin contains a system for producing serotonin as well as serotonin receptors. Serotonin can also cause pruritus when injected into the skin. SSRI-drugs increase serotonin concentrations and are known to have pruritus and other dermal side effects. CASE PRESENTATION: A 46-year-old man consulted his doctor due to symptoms of depression. He did not suffer from any allergy but drinking red wine caused vasomotor rhinitis. Antidepressive treatment with fluoxetine 20 mg daily was initiated which was successful. After three weeks of treatment an itching rash appeared. An adverse drug reaction (ADR) induced by fluoxetine was suspected and fluoxetine treatment was discontinued. The symptoms disappeared with clemastine and betametasone treatment. Since the depressive symptoms returned sertraline medication was initiated. After approximately two weeks of sertraline treatment he noted an intense itching sensation in his scalp after eating a piece of chocolate cake. The itch spread to the arms, abdomen and legs and the patient treated himself with clemastine and the itch disappeared. He now realised that he had eaten a chocolate cake before this episode and remembered that before the first episode he had had a chocolate mousse dessert. He had never had any reaction from eating chocolate before and therefore reported this observation to his doctor. CONCLUSIONS: This case report suggests that there may be individuals that are very sensitive to increases in serotonin concentrations. Dermal side reactions to SSRI-drugs in these patients may be due to high activity in the serotonergic system at the dermal and epidermo-dermal junctional area rather than a hypersensitivity to the drug molecule itself

Retinoic Acid Increases Proliferation of Human Osteoclast Progenitors and Inhibits RANKL-Stimulated Osteoclast Differentiation by Suppressing RANK

It has been shown that high vitamin A intake is associated with bone fragility and fractures in both animals and humans. However, the mechanism by which vitamin A affects bones is unclear. In the present study, the direct effects of retinoic acid (RA) on human and murine osteoclastogenesis were evaluated using cultured peripheral blood CD14+ monocytes and RAW264.7 cells. Both the activity of the osteoclast marker tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) in culture supernatant and the expression of the genes involved in osteoclast differentiation together with bone resorption were measured. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the effects of RA on human osteoclast progenitors and mature osteoclasts have been studied in vitro. RA stimulated proliferation of osteoclast progenitors both from humans and mice. In contrast, RA inhibited differentiation of the receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis of human and murine osteoclast progenitors via retinoic acid receptors (RARs). We also show that the mRNA levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK), the key initiating factor and osteoclast associated receptor for RANKL, were potently suppressed by RA in osteoclast progenitors. More importantly, RA abolished the RANK protein in osteoclast progenitors. This inhibition could be partially reversed by a RAR pan-antagonist. Furthermore, RA treatment suppressed the expression of the transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T-cells cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1) and increased the expression of interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8) in osteoclast progenitors via RARs. Also, RA demonstrated differential effects depending on the material supporting the cell culture. RA did not affect TRAP activity in the culture supernatant in the bone slice culture system, but inhibited the release of TRAP activity if cells were cultured on plastic. In conclusion, our results suggest that retinoic acid increases proliferation of human osteoclast progenitors and that it inhibits RANK-stimulated osteoclast differentiation by suppressing RANK