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Notes: Mapping the chemical structures and organization of humic substances is vital for a fundamental understanding of their roles and interactions in the soil. One-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques have advanced our awareness of the composition of humic materials, but modern developments in two-dimensional NMR are soon likely to make obsolete reliance on one-dimensional spectra alone. The advantages of using heteronuclear two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy are illustrated in this paper in studies of the structural units in a fulvic acid fraction isolated from the Bh horizon of a Podzol.The structures identified from the NMR (at 500 MHz) experiments can be summarized as: mono- and dicarboxylic acids (in about equal amounts), with an average chain length of about 10 carbon atoms (these are easily the major components); smaller amounts (about 10–20% of the acids) of esters and alcohols or ethers; some carbohydrate and amino acid residues (evidence from chemical shift data would suggest that these were likely to be in the form of chains); and very small amounts of 1,2-, 1,4-, and 1,3,4-substituted benzenes and of cinnamic acids. The results suggest that applications of heteronuclear and multidimensional NMR spectroscopy will allow considerable progress to be made in understanding the nature of the structural units and their connectivities in humic molecules provided that the heterogeneity of the humic mixtures can first be decreased significantly.

Notes: We consider steady flow of a thin viscous liquid film over a small two-dimensional topography and develop a Green's function for the linearized problem. The solutions so obtained can be used to analyze the effect of arbitrary small substrate defects on the coating applied to a substrate. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: We report on the electrical characterization of single-crystal ZnO and Au Schottky contacts formed thereon before and after bombarding them with 1.8 MeV protons. From capacitance–voltage measurements, we found that ZnO is remarkably resistant to high-energy proton bombardment and that each incident proton removes about two orders of magnitude less carriers than in GaN. Deep level transient spectroscopy indicates a similar effect: the two electron traps detected are introduced in extremely low rates. One possible interpretation of these results is that the primary radiation-induced defects in ZnO may be unstable at room temperature and anneal out without leaving harmful defects that are responsible for carrier compensation. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Abstract: Tubular carcinoma of the breast (TCB) is a recognized histologic variant of infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) and has been considered to have a comparatively favorable prognosis. However, previous studies have been based on small numbers of cases, some pure TCB and some mixed histology, or have not employed an appropriate comparison group. In this study 171 pure TCB cases and a comparison group of 386 cases with grade I (well differentiated) IDC were identified in a population-based database maintained by the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA). The proportion of cases with axillary nodal involvement at presentation was lower in TCB cases than in the grade I IDC comparison group (12.9% and 23.9%, respectively; p 〈 0.05). Low-risk tumors (T1 and without vascular lymphatic or perineural invasion) were more prevalent in the TCB patients than in the grade I IDC patients (66.7% and 60.0%; p 〈 0.05). Low-risk TCB cases had a significantly lower rate of nodal metastases at presentation than low-risk grade I IDC cases (7.0% and 13.2%; p 〈 0.05). Kaplan–Meier and log-rank analyses indicated a statistically significantly lower rate of local recurrence in TCB cases than among IDC cases (p 〈 0.05) and a trend toward a lower rate of systemic relapse in TCB cases (p = 0.07). However, no difference in disease-specific survival was observed between TCB cases and grade I IDC comparisons. We conclude that the biologic behavior of TCB was more favorable than that of a comparison group of IDC cases. In view of the low incidence of axillary node metastases at presentation in the low-risk TCB subset (7%), axillary dissection may be omitted as part of the initial surgical management in these patients.

Notes: Abstract Nucleic acids are preserved in prehistoric samples under a wide range of depositional environments. The development of new molecular methods, especially the polymerase chain reaction, has made possible the recovery and manipulation of these molecules, and the subsequent molecular genetic characterization of the ancient samples. The analysis of ancient (a)DNA is complicated by the degraded nature of ancient nucleic acids, as well as the presence of enzymatic inhibitors in aDNA extracts. We review aspects of ancient DNA preservation, a variety of methods for the extraction and amplification of informative DNA segments from ancient samples, and the difficulties encountered in documenting the authenticity of ancient DNA template. Studies using aDNA to address questions in human population history or human evolution are reviewed and discussed. Future prospects for the field and potential directions for future aDNA research efforts in physical anthropology are identified.

Notes: [Auszug] We have developed transgenic mouse models to determine whether endogenous expression of phytase transgenes in the digestive tract of monogastric animals can increase the bioavailability of dietary phytate, a major but indigestible form of dietary phosphorus. We constructed phytase transgenes ...

Notes: [Auszug] To address the problem of manure-based environmental pollution in the pork industry, we have developed the phytase transgenic pig. The saliva of these pigs contains the enzyme phytase, which allows the pigs to digest the phosphorus in phytate, the most abundant source of phosphorus in the pig diet. ...

Notes: Abstract: If a pair of material line elements, passing through a typical particle P in a body, subtend an angle Θ before deformation, and Θ+γ after deformation, the pair of material elements is said to be sheared by the amount γ. Here all pairs of material elements at P are considered for arbitrary deformations. Two main problems are addressed and solved. The first is the determination of all pairs of material line elements at P which are unsheared. The second is the determination of that pair of material line elements at P which suffers the maximum shear. All unsheared pairs of material elements in a given plane π(S) with normal S passing through P are considered. Provided π(S) is not a plane of central circular section of the C-ellipsoid at P (where C is the right Cauchy-Green strain tensor), it is seen that corresponding to any material element in π(S) there is, in general, one companion material element in π(S) such that the element and its companion are unsheared. There are, however, two elements in π(S) which have no companions. We call their corresponding directions \textit{limiting directions.} Equally inclined to the direction of least stretch in the plane π(S), the limiting directions play a central role. It is seen that, in a given plane π(S), the pair of material line elements which suffer the maximum shear lie along the limiting directions in π(S). If Θ L is the acute angle subtended by the limitig directions in π(S) before deformation, then this angle is sheared into its supplement π−Θ L so that the maximum shear γ*;(S) is γ*=π− 2 Θ L . If S is given and C is known, then Θ L may be determined immediately. Its calculation does not involve knowing the eigenvectors or eigenvalues of C. When all possible planes through P are considered, it is seen that the global maximum shear γ* G occurs for material elements lying along the limiting directions in the plane spanned by the eigenvectors of C corresponding to the greatest principal stretch λ3 and the least λ1. The limiting directions in this principal plane of C subtend the angle and . Generally the maximum shear does not occur for a pair of material elements which are originally orthogonal. For a given material element along the unit vector N, there is, in general, in each plane π(S passing through N at P, a companion vector M such that material elements along N and M are unsheared. A formula, originally due to Joly (1905), is presented for M in terms of N and S. Given an unsheared pair π(S), the limiting directions in π(S) are seen to be easily determined, either analytically or geometrically. Planar shear, the change in the angle between the normals of a pair of material planar elements at X, is also considered. The theory of planar shear runs parallel to the theory of shear of material line elements. Corresponding results are presented. Finally, another concept of shear used in the geology literature, and apparently due to Jaeger, is considered. The connection is shown between Cauchy shear, the change in the angle of a pair of material elements, and the Jaeger shear, the change in the angle between the normal N to a planar element and a material element along the normal N. Although Jaeger's shear is described in terms of one direction N, it is seen to implicitly include a second material line element orthogonal to N.

Notes: Abstract The setting for this note is the theory of infinitesimal strain in the context of classical linearized elasticity. As a body is subjected to a deformation the angle between a pair of material line elements through a typical point P is changed. The decrease in angle is called the shear of this pair of elements. Here, we determine all pairs of material line elements at P which are unsheared in a deformation. It is seen, in general, that corresponding to any given material line element in a given plane through P, there is one corresponding “companion” material line element such that the given element and its conjugate are unsheared in the deformation. There are two exceptions. If the plane through P is a plane of central circular section of the strain ellipsoid, then every material line element through P in this plane has an infinity of companion elements in this plane – all pairs of material line elements in the plane(s) of central circular section of the strain ellipsoid are unsheared. If the plane through P is not a plane of central circular section of the strain ellipsoid, then there are two exceptional material line elements through P such that neither of them has a companion material line element forming an unsheared pair with it. The directions of these exceptional elements in the plane are called “limiting directions”. It is seen that it is the pair of elements along the limiting directions in a plane which suffer the maximum shear in that plane. A geometrical construction is presented for the determination of the extensional strains along the pairs of elements which are unsheared. Also, it is shown that knowing one unsheared pair in a plane and their extensions is sufficient to determine the principal extensions and the principal axes in this plane. Expressions for all unsheared pairs in a given plane are given in terms of the normals to the planes of central circular sections of the strain ellipsoid. Finally, for a given material line element, a formula is derived for the determination of all other material line elements which form an unsheared pair with the given element.