Development of a test method for measuring the mixed mode fracture resistance of bimaterial interfaces

Measurements of the mixed mode fracture resistance of bimaterial interface have been shown to be appreciably influenced by the presence of loading point friction and by residual strain. Analyses of the effect of these phenomena on the strain energy release rate and on the phase angle of loading are presented. The analyses are used to interpret experimental measurements obtained on several bimaterial models.     

Cellulose as a gastrointestinal US contrast agent

Ultrasound (US) imaging of the abdomen often is compromised by artifacts due to adjacent bowel gas. In an attempt to decrease gas artifacts and improve US image quality, the authors evaluated the use of cellulose preparations as gastrointestinal US contrast agents. Optimal homogeneity and reflectivity were evaluated in phantom solutions, and two suitable agents were selected for clinical trial. Ten volunteers underwent abdominal US imaging before and after contrast agent administration on three separate occasions. The volunteers drank 800 mL of freshly degassed water and two different gastrointestinal US contrast agents. US images obtained before and after administration of contrast material were evaluated by five radiologists and scored for bowel marking, visualization of abdominal anatomy, and image degradation by bowel gas. Compared with water, the orally administered US contrast agents improved visualization of bowel and abdominal anatomy, with diminished gas artifact.     

New Ultraviolet Absorbers for Improving the Stability of Cotton Cellulose to Light

The effect of a number of halogenophenyl esters of 4-carboxymethoxy-2-hydroxybenzophenone on the stability of cotton cellulose to light and soil burial is described. These compounds possess ultraviolet-absorbing as well as rotproofing properties, and give leach-resistant finishes on cotton that resist soil burial better than pentachlorophenyl laurate and do not accelerate photochemical tendering. Exposures at an urban site in England and at hot-wet and hot-dry sites in Australia show that they exercise a moderate protective effect against light and weather for a limited time at the first two sites but the effect is very small at the third.     

Structural optimization with fatigue life constraints

This paper presents a method for considering fatigue life requirements in the optimal design of structures. The basic concept is to use the load history data combined with the finite element stresses of the structure and the material fatigue properties to calculate the fatigue life during the optimization process. The life requirement is considered as side constraints and the structure weight as the objective function. To demonstrate the concept, the optimization task with fatigue life constraints and the fatigue life calculation, based on the contemporary approach, are discussed. Some optimum design test cases, using the SAE keyhole specimen experimental fatigue data, are presented.     

Optimization of a fluorescence sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in apple juice

Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, especially when coupled with biosensor technology, is a simple methodology that can rapidly screen juices for Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination. However, sampling directly from apple juice and ciders has been postulated to reduce immunoassay sensitivity. In fluorescence sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using commercially available polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies, sampling pasteurized apple juice spiked with E. coli O157:H7 compared to spiked phosphate-buffered saline shifted the range of detection. The spiked apple juice range of detection was 10(4) to 10(6) CFU/ml, whereas that for spiked phosphate-buffered saline was 10(6) to 10(8) CFU/ml, representing a hundredfold difference in sensitivity. Apple juice also increased background fluorescence intensity (P < 0.001) while reducing the net fluorescence intensity per CFU (P < 0.001). The addition of the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone to apple juice significantly improved assay performance by increasing sensitivity and net fluorescence intensity per CFU and by reducing background fluorescence. Adjusting pH of apple juice from 3.9 to 7.4 improved assay performance but not to the degree seen with phosphate-buffered saline or polyvinylpyrrolidone-treated apple juice samples. The apple juice polyphenol, epicatechin, reduced net fluorescence intensity in a concentration-dependent manner, a change that was reversed by polyvinylpyrrolidone. Taken all together, these results suggest that polyvinylpyrrolidone can improve detection of O157:H7 in juices by reducing the effect of polyphenols on fluorescence sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay performance.     

Relationships of efficiency to reproductive disorders in Danish milk production: a stochastic frontier analysis

Relationships of various reproductive disorders and milk production performance of Danish dairy farms were investigated. A stochastic frontier production function was estimated using data collected in 1998 from 514 Danish dairy farms. Measures of farm-level milk production efficiency relative to this production frontier were obtained, and relationships between milk production efficiency and the incidence risk of reproductive disorders were examined. There were moderate positive relationships between milk production efficiency and retained placenta, induction of estrus, uterine infections, ovarian cysts, and induction of birth. Inclusion of reproductive management variables showed that these moderate relationships disappeared, but directions of coefficients for almost all those variables remained the same. Dystocia showed a weak negative correlation with milk production efficiency. Farms that were mainly managed by young farmers had the highest average efficiency scores. The estimated milk losses due to inefficiency averaged 1142, 488, and 256 kg of energy-corrected milk per cow, respectively, for low-, medium-, and high-efficiency herds. It is concluded that the availability of younger cows, which enabled farmers to replace cows with reproductive disorders, contributed to high cow productivity in efficient farms. Thus, a high replacement rate more than compensates for the possible negative effect of reproductive disorders. The use of frontier production and efficiency/inefficiency functions to analyze herd data may enable dairy advisors to identify inefficient herds and to simulate the effect of alternative management procedures on the individual herd's efficiency.     

Interval approach challenges Monte Carlo simulation

Intervals are used to represent imprecise numerical values. Modelling uncertain values with precise bounds without considering their probability distribution is infeasible in many applications. As a solution, this paper proposes the use of probability density functions instead of intervals; we consider evaluation of an arithmetical function of random variables. Since the result density cannot in general be solved algebraically, an interval method for determining itsguaranteed bounds is developed. This possibility challenges traditional Monte Carlo methods in which only stochastic characterizations for the result distribution, such as confidence bounds for fractiles, can be determined.