Ceramic Matrix Composites .

The present state of the knowledge of ceramic-matrix composites have been reviewed. The fracture toughness of present structural ceramics are not enough to permit design of high performance machines with ceramic parts. They also fail by catastrophic brittle fracture. It is generally believed that further improvement of fracture toughness is only possible by making composites of ceramics with ceramic fibre, particulate or platelets. Only ceramic-matrix composites capable of working above 1000 degree centigrade has been dealt with keeping reinforced plastics and metal-reinforced ceramics outside the purview. The author has discussed the basic mechanisms of toughening and fabrication of composites and the difficulties involved. Properties of available fibres and whiskers have been given. The best results obtained so far have been indicated. The limitations of improvement in properties of ceramic-matrix composites have been discussed

The influence of steps on the dissociation of NO on Pt surfaces: Temperature-programmed desorption studies of NO adsorption on Pt{211}

Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) has been used to investigate the adsorption of NO on Pt{211} at 300 K and 120 K. Results show that NO dissociation occurs readily on Pt{211}, as evidenced by the observation of N-2 and N2O in the TPD spectrum. Following adsorption at 120 K three NO TPD peaks at 338, 416, and 503 K are observed, in agreement with previous observations. In combination with data acquired in a recent reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory investigation of NO/Pt{211}, these peaks are assigned to the desorption of NO from an O-NO complex, the recombinative desorption of N and O atoms, and to desorption of a step-bridged NO species, respectively. These assignments are in disagreement with previous work, where the high-temperature NO peak was assigned to the desorption of step bound NO and the two low-temperature peaks were assigned to the desorption of NO from terrace sites. TPD spectra recorded following adsorption at 300 K, with a heating rate of 1 K s(-1), show similar features to those recorded following 120 K adsorption. This is also in disagreement with previous observations, where only two NO TPD peaks were observed following adsorption at room temperature. This disagreement can be accounted for by the different heating rates used in the two experiments. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics

Market Allocations under Ambiguity: A Survey

We review some of the (theoretical) economic implications of David Schmeidler's models of decision under uncertainty (Choquet expected utility and maxmin expected utility) in competitive market settings. We start with the portfolio inertia result of Dow and Werlang (1992), show how it does or does not generalize in an equilibrium setting. We further explore the equilibrium implications (indeterminacies, non revelation of information) of these decision models. A section is then devoted to the studies of Pareto optimal arrangements under these models. We conclude with a discussion of experimental evidence for these models that relate, in particular, to the implications for market behaviour discussed in the preceding sections

Physics-informed PointNet: On how many irregular geometries can it solve an inverse problem simultaneously? Application to linear elasticity

Regular physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) predict the solution of partial differential equations using sparse labeled data but only over a single domain. On the other hand, fully supervised learning models are first trained usually over a few thousand domains with known solutions (i.e., labeled data) and then predict the solution over a few hundred unseen domains. Physics-informed PointNet (PIPN) is primarily designed to fill this gap between PINNs (as weakly supervised learning models) and fully supervised learning models. In this article, we demonstrate that PIPN predicts the solution of desired partial differential equations over a few hundred domains simultaneously, while it only uses sparse labeled data. This framework benefits fast geometric designs in the industry when only sparse labeled data are available. Particularly, we show that PIPN predicts the solution of a plane stress problem over more than 500 domains with different geometries, simultaneously. Moreover, we pioneer implementing the concept of remarkable batch size (i.e., the number of geometries fed into PIPN at each sub-epoch) into PIPN. Specifically, we try batch sizes of 7, 14, 19, 38, 76, and 133. Additionally, the effect of the PIPN size, symmetric function in the PIPN architecture, and static and dynamic weights for the component of the sparse labeled data in the loss function are investigated

The Absolute of Advaita and the Spirit of Hegel: Situating Vedānta on the Horizons of British Idealisms

$\textit{Purpose}$ A significant volume of philosophical literature produced by Indian academic philosophers in the first half of the twentieth century can be placed under the rubric of ‘Śaṁkara and X’, where X is Hegel, or a German or a British philosopher who had commented on, elaborated or critiqued the Hegelian system. We will explore in this essay the philosophical significance of Hegel-influenced systems as an intellectual conduit for these Indo-European conceptual encounters, and highlight how for some Indian philosophers the British variations on Hegelian systems were both a point of entry into debates over ‘idealism’ and ‘realism’ in contemporary European philosophy and an occasion for defending Advaita against the charge of propounding a doctrine of world illusionism. $\textit{Methodology}$ Our study of the philosophical enquiries of A.C. Mukerji, P.T. Raju, and S.N.L. Shrivastava indicates that they developed distinctive styles of engaging with Hegelian idealisms as they reconfigured certain aspects of the classical Advaita of Śaṁkara through contemporary vocabulary. $\textit{Result and Conclusion}$ These appropriations of Hegelian idioms can be placed under three overlapping styles: (a) Mukerji was partly involved in locating Advaita in an intermediate conceptual space between, on the one hand, Kantian agnosticism and, on the other hand, Hegelian absolutism; (b) Raju and Shrivastava presented Advaitic thought as the fulfilment of certain insights of Hegel and F.H. Bradley; and (c) the interrogations of Hegel’s ‘idealism’ provided several Indian academic philosophers with a hermeneutic opportunity to revisit the vexed question of whether the ‘idealism’ of Śaṁkara reduces the phenomenal world, structured by $\textit{māyā}$, to a bundle of ideas

Pain during ice water test distinguishes clinical bladder hypersensitivity from overactivity disorders.

BACKGROUND: The Bladder cooling reflex (BCR) i.e. uninhibited detrusor contractions evoked by intravesical instillation of cold saline, is a segmental reflex believed to be triggered by menthol sensitive cold receptors in the bladder wall, with the afferent signals transmitted by C fibres. The BCR is a neonatal reflex that becomes suppressed by descending signals from higher centres at approximately the time when the child gains full voluntary control of voiding. It re-emerges in adults with neurogenic detrusor overactivity as a consequence of loss of central descending inhibition, resulting from conditions such as spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis. We have recently shown an increase of nerve fibres expressing the cool and menthol receptor TRPM8 in both overactive (IDO) and painful bladder syndrome (PBS), but its functional significance is unknown. We have therefore studied the bladder cooling reflex and associated sensory symptoms in patients with PBS and overactivity disorders. METHODS: The BCR, elicited by ice water test (IWT) was performed in patients with painful bladder syndrome (PBS, n = 17), idiopathic detrusor overactivity (IDO, n = 22), neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO, n = 4) and stress urinary incontinence (as controls, n = 21). The IWT was performed by intravesical instillation of cold saline (0 - 4 degrees C). A positive IWT was defined as presence of uninhibited detrusor contraction evoked by cold saline, associated with urgency or with fluid expulsion. Patients were asked to report and rate any pain and cold sensation during the test. RESULTS: A positive IWT was observed in IDO (6/22, 27.3%) and NDO (4/4, 100%) patients, but was negative in all control and PBS patients. Thirteen (76.5%) PBS patients reported pain during the IWT, with significantly higher pain scores during ice water instillation compared to the baseline (P = 0.0002), or equivalent amount of bladder filling (100 mls) with saline at room temperature (P = 0.015). None of the control or overactive (NDO/IDO) patients reported any pain during the IWT. CONCLUSION: The BCR in DO may reflect loss of central inhibition, which appears necessary to elicit this reflex; the pain elicited in PBS suggests afferent sensitisation, hence sensory symptoms are evoked but not reflex detrusor contractions. The ice water test may be a useful and simple marker for clinical trials in PBS, particularly for novel selective TRPM8 antagonists

Hierarchical model for the scale-dependent velocity of seismic waves

Elastic waves of short wavelength propagating through the upper layer of the Earth appear to move faster at large separations of source and receiver than at short separations. This scale dependent velocity is a manifestation of Fermat's principle of least time in a medium with random velocity fluctuations. Existing perturbation theories predict a linear increase of the velocity shift with increasing separation, and cannot describe the saturation of the velocity shift at large separations that is seen in computer simulations. Here we show that this long-standing problem in seismology can be solved using a model developed originally in the context of polymer physics. We find that the saturation velocity scales with the four-third power of the root-mean-square amplitude of the velocity fluctuations, in good agreement with the computer simulations.Comment: 7 pages including 3 figure

A novel C-terminal HSP90 inhibitor KU135 induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in melanoma cells

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is differentially expressed in tumor cells including melanoma and involved in proper folding, stabilization and regulation of cellular proteins. We investigated a novobiocin-derived Hsp90 C-terminal inhibitor, KU135, for anti-proliferative effects in melanoma cells. The results indicate that KU135 reduced cell viability and cell proliferation in melanoma cells and IC50 values for A735(DRO), M14(NPA), B16F10 and SKMEL28 cells were 0.82, 0.92, 1.33 and 1.30 M respectively. KU135 induced a more potent anti-proliferative effect in most melanoma cells versus N-terminal Hsp90 inhibitor 17AAG. KU135 induced apoptosis in melanoma cells, as indicated by annexin V/PI staining, reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial cytochrome C release and caspase 3 activation. KU135 reduced levels of Hsp90 client proteins Akt, BRAF, RAF-1, cyclin B and cdc25 proteins. Additionally, it reduced Hsp70, Hsp90 paralog, GRP94 and HSF1 levels. KU135 induced strong G2/M cell cycle arrest, associated with decreased expression of cdc25c, cyclin B and increased phosphorylation of cdc25c. These finding show that KU135 reduced cell survival, proliferation, and induces apoptosis in melanoma cells. We suggest that KU135 may be a potential candidate for cancer therapy against melanoma

Novel C-Terminal Hsp90 Inhibitor for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC) with in vivo Efficacy and Improved Toxicity Profiles Compared with Standard Agents

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1245/s10434-011-1971-1.Background - Current therapies for HNSCC, especially platinum agents, are limited by their toxicities and drug resistance. This study evaluates a novel C-terminal Hsp90 inhibitor (CT-Hsp90-I) for efficacy and toxicity in vitro and in vivo in an orthotopic HNSCC model. Our hypothesis is that C-terminal inhibitors exhibit improved toxicity/efficacy profiles over standard therapies and may represent a novel group of anticancer agents. Methods - MDA-1986 HNSCC cells were treated with doses of 17-AAG or KU363 (a CT-Hsp90-I) and compared for antiproliferation by GLO-Titer and trypan blue exclusion and for apoptosis by PARP cleavage and caspase-3 inactivation by Western analysis. In vivo studies in Nu/Nu mice examined an orthotopic model of MDA-1986 cells followed by drug dosing intraperitoneally for a 21-day period (mg/kg/dose: cisplatin = 3.5, low-dose KU363 = 5, high-dose KU363 = 25, 17-AAG = 175). Tumor size, weight, and toxicity (body score) were measured 3×/week. Results - The IC50 levels for KU363 = 1.2–2 μM in MDA-1986. KU363 induces apoptosis at 1 μM with cleavage of PARP and inactivation of caspase-3 levels after 24 h. Client proteins Akt and Raf-1 were also downregulated at 1–3 μM of drug. In vivo, 100% of controls had progressive disease, while 100% of cisplatin animals showed some response, all with significant systemic toxicity. High-dose KU363 showed 88% of animals responding and low-dose KU363 showed 75% responding. KU363 animals showed significantly less toxicity (P < 0.01) than cisplatin or 17-AAG. Conclusion - This novel CT-Hsp90-I KU363 manifests potent anticancer activity against HNSCC, showing excellent in vivo efficacy and reduced toxicity compared with standard agents justifying future translational evaluation