Start-up rheometry of highly polydisperse magnetorheological fluids: experiments and simulations

An extensive experimental and simulation study is carried out in conventional magnetorheological fluids formulated by dispersion of mixtures of carbonyl iron particles having different sizes in Newtonian carriers. Apparent yield stress data are reported for a wide range of polydispersity indexes (PDI) from PDI = 1.63 to PDI = 3.31, which for a log-normal distribution corresponds to the standard deviation ranging from to . These results demonstrate that the effect of polydispersity is negligible in this range in spite of exhibiting very different microstructures. Experimental data in the magnetic saturation regime are in quantitative good agreement with particle-level simulations under the assumption of dipolar magnetostatic forces. The insensitivity of the yield stresses to the polydispersity can be understood from the interplay between the particle cluster size distribution and the packing density of particles inside the clusters

Extending Cyberspace:Location Based Games Using Cellular Phones.

In the current market many game developers and publishers treat the cellular phone as just another platform to which they can port a console game; they ignore the exciting new possibilities cellular phones provide via their inherent ability to maintain connectivity while on the move. One possibility is to extend the virtual world of traditional video games through location-based information, which allows users to play games that incorporate knowledge of their physical location and landscape, and then provides them with the ability to interact with both real and virtual objects within that space. However, if such games are to become pervasive and if developers want their efforts to escape the bounds of the research laboratory, they must address the nature of the cellular environment, the precision of the location-based technologies in their region, and the present and likely future capabilities of cellular handsets. To aid innovative game development we draw together many fragmented sources of information for an assessment of technologies, and implementations of cellular location-based games. Further, we discuss practical mechanisms for producing a finer degree of location granularity, both through future technology and our novel implementations of systems that augment location-sensing. The first mechanism uses Bluetooth, which is already a pervasive component of mobile phones feature sets, and can be implemented without the need for client side software. The second implements the use of a future pervasive technology, RFID tags, now that commercial cellular handsets that incorporate RFID readers have emerged

Blood donors with indeterminate anti-p24gag reactivity in HIV-1 western blot: absence of infectivity to transfused patients and in virus culture

During a follow-up period of 23-40 months, 7 regular blood donors had persistently, and 4 had intermittently indeterminate anti-p24gag reactivity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 Western Blot. Serological testing and viral cultures revealed that these donors had no signs of infection for HIV-1, HIV-2, human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-4, and HTLV-1. Extensive interviewing and physical examination of these donors revealed neither risk factors, nor signs of HIV infection in the tested donors. Ten recipients, who were transfused with blood products from 6 of these 11 anti-p24gag-positive donors, were traced back. Six months after transfusion, no serological or clinical signs of HIV-1, HIV-2, or HTLV-1 infection were observed in these patients. It is concluded that blood donors with persistent or intermittent anti-p24gag reactivity in HIV-1 Western Blot, without development of antibodies to other HIV-encoded proteins in later blood samples, do not transmit the described retroviruses to transfused patient

La legalización de la eutanasia: seminario sobre su tratamiento jurídico

La Sección de Málaga del Instituto Andaluz Interuniversitario de Criminología celebró los días 3 a 5 de Noviembre un Seminario jurídico internacional sobre Eutanasia. A tal efecto representantes de España (Del Rosal, Stangeland, Escohotado), Italia (Seminara), Alemania (Koch), Holanda (v. Kalmthout), Francia (Gonzálvez), Suiza (Queloz), Japón (Nakayama/Kuzuhara), Australia (Kelly), Estados Unidos (Winslade), Uruguay (Cairoli) y Canadá (Keyserlingk) presentaron ponencias donde, tras recoger un conjunto de datos criminológicos, analizaron la situación legal y las propuestas de reforma de sus respectivos países en relación con las variadas situaciones en las que se plantea la problemática de la eutanasia. El Seminario, que contó igualmente con la presencia de los profesores españoles Muñoz Conde, Carbonell Mateu, Valle Muñiz, Mapelli Caffarena, así como de una buena parte de los profesores integrantes de la Sección de Málaga del I.A.I.C, dedicó una parte importante de su tiempo al desarrollo de intensos debates entre el restringido número de participantes. Lo que aquí sigue es un brevísimo resumen de lo que sucedió, estando prevista la publicación de un volumen con todas las ponencias, así como con una relación general de los debates que llevarán a cabo los profesores Muñoz Sánchez y Prieto del Pino