Measurements of the mechanical properties of snow are essential for improving our understanding and the prediction of snow failure and hence avalanche release. We performed fracture mechanical experiments in which a crack was initiated by a saw in a weak snow layer underlying cohesive snow slab layers. Using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), the displacement field of the slab was determined and used to derive the mechanical energy of the system as a function of crack length. By fitting the estimates of mechanical energy to an analytical expression, we determined the slab effective elastic modulus and weak layer specific fracture energy for 80 different snowpack combinations, including persistent and nonpersistent weak snow layers. The effective elastic modulus of the slab ranged from 0.08 to 34 MPa and increased with mean slab density following a power-law relationship. The weak layer specific fracture energy ranged from 0.08 to 2.7 J m−2 and increased with overburden. While the values obtained for the effective elastic modulus of the slab agree with previously published low-frequency laboratory measurements over the entire density range, the values of the weak layer specific fracture energy are in some cases unrealistically high as they exceeded those of ice. We attribute this discrepancy to the fact that our linear elastic approach does not account for energy dissipation due to non-linear parts of the deformation in the slab and/or weak layer, which would undoubtedly decrease the amount of strain energy available for crack propagation.

We have mapped the southern galaxies NGC 613, 1313, 1433, 1566, 1672 and 2442 in the 12CO(J = 1 → 0) transition with the 15-m Swedish European Submillimetre Telescope (SEST). The sample is based on galaxies previously observed in radio continuum with the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST). Strong emission is seen from the barred galaxies NGC 613 and NGC 2442 and from the active galaxies NGC 1566 and 1672. The weakest emission was from NGC 1433, while the Sd spiral NGC 1313 was not detected.

Most electrolytic zinc plants have to deal with dissolved magnesium in their process liquors, as zinc sulphide concentrates contain small amounts of magnesium. Applied magnesium bleed methods are generally expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Recently, a new approach was suggested and discussed, which involves selective magnesium fluoride precipitation from purified zinc sulphate solutions. X-ray fluorescence measurements of these precipitates indicated that the ratio Mg:F is not 1:2 as would be expected if the precipitate was MgF2, which should be formed on a theoretical basis. It was inferred that fluoride was partly substituted by hydroxyl groups. Analytical techniques such as infrared absorption spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetry were combined in order to verify this hypothesis. The precipitate indeed appeared to be a magnesium fluoro- hydroxide compound containing physically bound water. The results contribute to the understanding of the required operating conditions of the proposed process.

The purpose of the present study was to identify Echinococcus multilocularis infection in follow-up of 95 subjects initially seropostive by Emc-ELISA or Emf-ELISA antibody assays and to compare the utility of these assays with specific Em2plus-ELISA and ultrasound screening for E. multilocularis infection. At follow-up seven subjects were seropositive with both methods, while three were seropositive only with Emc-ELISA and 11 only with Emf-ELISA. All subjects were seronegative with Em2plus-ELISA. There were no manifestations of E. multilocularis infestation by ultrasonographic screening. Seropositivity on Emc-ELISA and Emf-ELISA screening tests does not appear to correlate with manifest alveolar echinococcosis identified by ultrasound. A recommendation for further follow-up of subjects found to be seropositive with Emc-ELISA and Emf-ELISA but with no sonographic evidence of disease is not justified at this time.

The nonperturbative renormalization group flow of Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) is reviewed. It is argued that there could be strong renormalization effects at large distances, in particular a scale dependent Newton constant, which mimic the presence of dark matter at galactic and cosmological scales.

The aim was to establish the prevalence of large pericardial effusions in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, and to determine the incidence of various types of effusions. A total of 233 patients presented with large pericardial effusions. Each patient underwent tests for HIV, sputum smear and culture, blood culture, blood biochemistry and serological testing. Tuberculous pericardial effusions were diagnosed according to pre-determined criteria. Eighty-four patients (36·1%) were found to be HIV positive; 81 of these (96·4%) had tuberculous pericarditis. More than 65% of the study population was aged between 15 and 39 years. The prevalence of HIV amongst unemployed individuals was 49·0% compared to 30·0% amongst employed individuals. Tuberculous pericarditis was the most common cause of pericardial effusions (69·5%, n=162). It was concluded that tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of pericarditis in this province of South Africa. The prevalence of TB confounded by HIV co-infection is steadily increasing, burdening the health-care facilities.

Two series of Ni-Mn-Ga thin films with two different compositions and various thicknesses in the submicron range are investigated with respect to their structural and magnetic properties. The films are fabricated by sputter deposition on alumina substrates and subsequent heat treatment. The martensitic transformation occurs well above room temperature showing a small thermal hysteresis width of about 6 K. The magnetic properties turn out to be thickness-dependent in the submicron range. In particular, in-plane magnetic susceptibilities increase and critical field strengths for onset of saturation decrease for decreasing thickness down to 0.1 μm by factors of 3–5 depending on the chemical composition. The Curie temperature TC decreases by about 25 K for samples with TC higher than the martensitic transformation.

A trench-first dual damascene process has been developed for fat wires (1.26 μm pitch, 1.1 μm thickness) in a 0.18 μm CMOS process with copper/fluorosilicate glass (FSG) interconnect technology. The process window for the patterning of vias in such deep trenches depends on the trench depth and on the line width of the trench, with the worse case being an intermediate line width (lines that are 3X the via diameter). Compared to a single damascene process, the dual damascene process has comparable yield and reliability, with lower via resistance and lower cost.