While drop-film impacts have been studied extensively in the past, little thought has been given towards separating the effects of the drop fluid properties from those of the film. Distinguishing between the behaviors resulting from characteristics of each independently could provide insight into the underlying physical phenomena with a clarity that is unavailable when the drop and the film consist of identical liquids. In this study, the viscosity is the central parameter varied in both drop and film liquid. Using water, aqueous glycerol mixtures, and Fluoroinert FC-72, a range of kinematic viscosity covering 3 orders of magnitude (4 × 10-7 - 6.5 × 10 -4 m2/s) is examined; a smaller range of surface tension (0.024-0.072 N/m) is covered, as well. Drop impacts occur over a range of Weber numbers from 20 to 3000 and Reynolds numbers from 20 to 14000. Impact outcomes categorized are both formation of a crown and splashing from the crown. Criteria for each impact outcome are presented in light of both film and drop properties; certain outcomes are found to depend more strongly on either the properties of the drop or the film individually. Crown formation appears to relate more strongly to the film's properties, whereas crown splashing has some dependence on the drop properties. Existing splashing correlations are examined in light of the separation of properties. © 2013 by Begell House, Inc.

The goal of this project is to develop a means for individuals with stroke to practice arm movement therapy at home with remote monitoring. We previously developed a Web-based system for repetitive movement training (Java Therapy). This paper describes a new input device for the system that measures and assists in naturalistic arm movement, as well as software enhancements. The new input device is an instrumented, adult-sized version of Wilmington robotic exoskeleton (WREX), which is a five degrees-of-freedom orthosis that counterbalances the weight of the arm using elastic bands. To test the ability of the new device (Training-WREX or "T-WREX") to measure and assist in functional arm movements, we measured five chronic stroke subjects' movement ability while wearing the orthosis without gravity balance compared to wearing the orthosis with gravity balance. T-WREX's gravity balance function improved a clinical measure of arm movement (Fugl-Meyer Score), range of motion of reaching movements, and accuracy of drawing movements. Coupled with an enhanced version of Java Therapy, T-WREX will thus provide a means to assist functional arm movement training at home, either over the Web in real-time, or stand-alone with periodic communication with a remote site.

We have measured the specific heat of GdxEu1-xBa2Cu3O7-δ (0 ≤ × ≤ 1). The data show a λ-type anomaly at high concentrations and a broad Schottky type anomaly at intermediate and low concentrations. We compare this behavior with theoretical predictions for a 2-dimensional Ising system. © 1988.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most potent and perilous diseases known, with a median survival rate of 3-5 months due to the combination of only advanced stage diagnosis and ineffective therapeutic options. Metformin (1,1-Dimethylbiguanide hydrochloride), the leading drug used for type 2 diabetes mellitus, emerges as a potential therapy for PDAC and other human cancers. Metformin exerts its anticancer action via a variety of adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK)- dependent and/or AMPK-independent mechanisms. We present data here showing that metformin downregulated pancreatic transcription factor pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX-1), suggesting a potential novel mechanism by which metformin exerts its anticancer action. Metformin inhibited PDX-1 expression at both protein and mRNA levels and PDX-1 transactivity as well in PDAC cells. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) was identified as a PDX-1-interacting protein by antibody array screening in GFP-PDX-1 stable HEK293 cells. Co-transfection of ERK1 with PDX-1 resulted in an enhanced PDX-1 expression in HEK293 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Immunoprecipitation/Western blotting analysis confirmed the ERK-PDX-1 interaction in PANC-1 cells stimulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF). EGF induced an enhanced PDX-1 expression in PANC-1 cells and this stimulation was inhibited by MEK inhibitor PD0325901. Metformin inhibited EGF-stimulated PDX-1 expression with an accompanied inhibition of ERK kinase activation in PANC- 1 cells. Taken together, our studies show that PDX-1 is a potential novel target for metformin in PDAC cells and that metformin may exert its anticancer action in PDAC by down-regulating PDX-1 via a mechanism involving inhibition of ERK signaling.

We report here experimental data on the crystal-field interaction of gadolinium ions with their environment in GdxEu1-xBa2Cu3O7-. The ESR spectrum and a Schottky anomaly in the specific heat of dilute samples (x1) indicate the existence of a crystal-field splitting of the S728 ground state of Gd3+ ions of about 1.5 K. We discuss the parametrization of the measured splitting in terms of an effective Hamiltonian, and the microscopic origin of the interaction within the framework of a superposition model. Since the single-ion energies involved are of the same order of magnitude as the energies associated with the magnetic ordering of the Gd3+ moments in GdBa2Cu3O7- (TN 2.24 K), we analyze the effects of the crystal-field interaction on the magnetic transition. © 1988 The American Physical Society.