Hannah Ruth London papers, 1919-1990.

The collection consists primarily of research notes for Ms. London's published works on portraits, miniatures and silhouettes of American Jews. The notes contain family histories of the subjects as well as information on the artists, and are arranged both by subject and artist. The collection also contains published articles on the subject by London, and photographs and lantern slides of the artwork that have been removed to the picture collection.

Natural frequencies of polar orthotropic annular plates

The classical Rayleigh-Ritz method with simple polynomials as admissible functions has been used for obtaining natural frequencies of transversely vibrating polar orthotropic annular plates. The method in conjunction with transformations introduced in the analysis has been found to be quite effective, particularly for large hole sizes. Estimates of natural frequencies corresponding to modes with one as well as two nodal diameters are obtained for the nine combinations of clamped, simply supported and free edge conditions and for various values of rigidity ratio and hole sizes. Based on the variation of eigenvalue parameter with rigidity ratio, the frequencies of these modes as well as those of axisymmetric modes have been expressed by means of simple formulae in terms of rigidity ratio and the frequencies of corresponding modes in the isotropic case. These formulae have been used in determining the fundamental frequencies of orthotropic plates.

Velocity ratio in the analysis of linear dynamical systems

The transfer matrix method is known to be well suited for a complete analysis of a lumped as well as distributed element, one-dimensional, linear dynamical system with a marked chain topology. However, general subroutines of the type available for classical matrix methods are not available in the current literature on transfer matrix methods. In the present article, general expressions for various aspects of analysis-viz., natural frequency equation, modal vectors, forced response and filter performance—have been evaluated in terms of a single parameter, referred to as velocity ratio. Subprograms have been developed for use with the transfer matrix method for the evaluation of velocity ratio and related parameters. It is shown that a given system, branched or straight-through, can be completely analysed in terms of these basic subprograms, on a stored program digital computer. It is observed that the transfer matrix method with the velocity ratio approach has certain advantages over the existing general matrix methods in the analysis of one-dimensional systems.

An algebraic algorithm for the design and analysis of linear dynamical systems

In an earlier paper [1], it has been shown that velocity ratio, defined with reference to the analogous circuit, is a basic parameter in the complete analysis of a linear one-dimensional dynamical system. In this paper it is shown that the terms constituting velocity ratio can be readily determined by means of an algebraic algorithm developed from a heuristic study of the process of transfer matrix multiplication. The algorithm permits the set of most significant terms at a particular frequency of interest to be identified from a knowledge of the relative magnitudes of the impedances of the constituent elements of a proposed configuration. This feature makes the algorithm a potential tool in a first approach to a rational design of a complex dynamical filter. This algorithm is particularly suited for the desk analysis of a medium size system with lumped as well as distributed elements.

Cost-effectiveness of a national initiative to improve hand hygiene compliance using the outcome of healthcare associated staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia

Background The objective is to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of the Australian National Hand Hygiene Inititiave implemented between 2009 and 2012 using healthcare associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia as the outcome. Baseline comparators are the eight existing state and territory hand hygiene programmes. The setting is the Australian public healthcare system and 1,294,656 admissions from the 50 largest Australian hospitals are included. Methods The design is a cost-effectiveness modelling study using a before and after quasi-experimental design. The primary outcome is cost per life year saved from reduced cases of healthcare associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia, with cost estimated by the annual on-going maintenance costs less the costs saved from fewer infections. Data were harvested from existing sources or were collected prospectively and the time horizon for the model was 12 months, 2011–2012. Findings No useable pre-implementation Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia data were made available from the 11 study hospitals in Victoria or the single hospital in Northern Territory leaving 38 hospitals among six states and territories available for cost-effectiveness analyses. Total annual costs increased by $2,851,475 for a return of 96 years of life giving an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $29,700 per life year gained. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed a 100% chance the initiative was cost effective in the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, with ICERs of $1,030 and $8,988 respectively. There was an 81% chance it was cost effective in New South Wales with an ICER of $33,353, a 26% chance for South Australia with an ICER of $64,729 and a 1% chance for Tasmania and Western Australia. The 12 hospitals in Victoria and the Northern Territory incur annual on-going maintenance costs of $1.51M; no information was available to describe cost savings or health benefits. Conclusions The Australian National Hand Hygiene Initiative was cost-effective against an Australian threshold of $42,000 per life year gained. The return on investment varied among the states and territories of Australia.

Structure and Bonding in N-Methylacetamide Complexes of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metals

A detailed crystallographic investigation of N-methylacetamide complexes of Li, Na, K, Mg and Ca has been made in view of its importance in the coordination chemistry and biochemistry of alkali and alkaline earth metals. The metal ions bind to the amide oxygen causing an increase in the carbonyl distance and a proportionate decrease in the central C-N bond distance. The decrease in the central C-N distance is accompanied by an increase in the distance of the adjacent C-C bond and a decrease in the adjacent C-N bond distance. The metal ion generally deviates from the direction of the lone pair of the carbonyl oxygen and also from the plane of the peptide, the out-of-plane deviation varying with the ionic potential of the cation. The metal-oxygen distance in alkali and alkaline earth metal complexes of a given coordination number also varies with the ionic potential of the cation, as does the strength of binding of the cations to the amide. The amide molecules are essentially planar in these complexes, as expected from the increased bond order of the central C-N bond. The NH bonds of the amide are generally hydrogen bonded to anions. The structures of the amide complexes are compared with those of other oxygen donor complexes of alkali and alkaline earth metals. The structural study described here also provides a basis for the interpretation of results from spectroscopic and theoretical investigations of the interaction of alkali and alkaline earth metal cations with amides.

Vibration of skew plates

The vibration problems of skew plates with different edge conditions involving simple support and clamping have been considered by using the variational method of Ritz, a double series of beam characteristic functions being employed appropriate to the combination of the edge conditions. Natural frequencies and modes of vibration have been obtained for different combinations of side ratio and skew angle. These detailed studies reveal several interesting features concerning the frequency curves and nodal patterns. The results presented should, in addition, be of considerable value and practical significance in design applications.

Sankarihautaus vapaussodassa : valkoisten kaatuneiden hautaaminen Suomessa vuonna 1918

Civil War Hero Burials the funerals of the fallen White in Finland in 1918 This study focuses on the burial with honours of fallen White combatants during the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as well as on the reasons underpinning the practice. The main sources of the study included the archives of the White army, the Civil Guard organisation and the Church, as well as the newspapers. The genetic method of history research was used. Both the existing tradition of military burials and the ecclesiastical burial culture influenced the burials of those who fell during the Civil War. The first war hero funerals took place as early as the beginning of February 1918, and the first larger-scale collective funerals were organised in Laihia and Vaasa in the Ostrobothnia province, with the latter attended by the supreme civil and military leaders of White Finland. From early on, these funerals assumed their characteristic features, such as the lion flag a design for the Finnish national flag proposed immediately upon the declaration of the country s independence military parades, lines of honour guards, eulogies, salutes and common war hero graves. As a result of the general offensive begun in mid-March 1918, the numbers of the fallen multiplied, so special organisations were established to handle the burials of the fallen. At the same time, the war hero funerals became more frequent and diffused, and the numbers of the buried grew throughout the country. In early March, the advocates of the republican system of government published their appeal in the newspapers, requesting that collective graves for those who fell in the war prepared in every locality. They motivated their request by stating that it was the funerals in particular that had inspired many men to join the ranks voluntarily in the first place, and that the large collective soldiers graves increased the numbers of those who answered the call and left for the front. The Civil Guard organisation arranged the burials of war heroes. The clergy contributed by officiating the religious service and by clearly aligning themselves with the Whites in their eulogies. The teachings of the Lutheran Church suggest that they found the Whites to be the temporal authority instituted by God, and therefore authorised raising the sword against the Reds. Speaking at the funerals with great pomp and sentimental power, the leaders of the Civil Guard and the exponents of the learned classes instigated their audiences against the Reds. The funeral speeches idealised the war hero s death by recalling military history since the times of ancient Greece. Being of the emblematic colour of the Whites, the white coffin assumed a particular importance connected to ideas of biblical purity and innocence. By the end of May 1918, almost 3,300 Whites were buried in the soldiers graves prepared by the burial organisation in some 400 localities. Only about 200 men remained missing in action or unidentified. The largest common graves accommodated over 60 fallen combatants. Thus, the traditions of the 1918 Civil War directly influenced war hero burial practices, which continued into the Finnish Winter War of 1939.

The Electronic Structure of Graphite from Compton Profile Measurements

Compton profile data are used to investigate the ground state wavefunction of graphite. The results of two new $\gamma$-ray measurements are reported and compared with the results of earlier $\gamma$-ray and electron scattering measurements. A tight-binding calculation has been carried out and the results of earlier calculations based on a molecular model and a pseudo-potential wavefunction are considered. The analysis, in terms of the reciprocal form factor, shows that none of the calculations gives an adequate description of the data in the basal plane although the pseudo-potential calculation describes the anisotropy in the plane reasonably well. In the basal plane the zero-crossing theorem appears to be violated and this problem must be resolved before more accurate models can be derived. In the c-axis direction the molecular model and the tight binding calculation give better agreement with the experimental data than does the pseudopotential calculation.

Semi-Classical Mechanics in Phase Space: A Study of Wigner's Function

We explore the semi-classical structure of the Wigner functions ($\Psi $(q, p)) representing bound energy eigenstates $|\psi \rangle $ for systems with f degrees of freedom. If the classical motion is integrable, the classical limit of $\Psi $ is a delta function on the f-dimensional torus to which classical trajectories corresponding to ($|\psi \rangle $) are confined in the 2f-dimensional phase space. In the semi-classical limit of ($\Psi $ ($\hslash $) small but not zero) the delta function softens to a peak of order ($\hslash ^{-\frac{2}{3}f}$) and the torus develops fringes of a characteristic 'Airy' form. Away from the torus, $\Psi $ can have semi-classical singularities that are not delta functions; these are discussed (in full detail when f = 1) using Thom's theory of catastrophes. Brief consideration is given to problems raised when ($\Psi $) is calculated in a representation based on operators derived from angle coordinates and their conjugate momenta. When the classical motion is non-integrable, the phase space is not filled with tori and existing semi-classical methods fail. We conjecture that (a) For a given value of non-integrability parameter ($\epsilon $), the system passes through three semi-classical regimes as ($\hslash $) diminishes. (b) For states ($|\psi \rangle $) associated with regions in phase space filled with irregular trajectories, ($\Psi $) will be a random function confined near that region of the 'energy shell' explored by these trajectories (this region has more than f dimensions). (c) For ($\epsilon \neq $0, $\hslash $) blurs the infinitely fine classical path structure, in contrast to the integrable case ($\epsilon $ = 0, where $\hslash $ )imposes oscillatory quantum detail on a smooth classical path structure.

A curve shortening flow rule for closed embedded plane curves with a prescribed rate of change in enclosed area

Motivated by a problem from fluid mechanics, we consider a generalization of the standard curve shortening flow problem for a closed embedded plane curve such that the area enclosed by the curve is forced to decrease at a prescribed rate. Using formal asymptotic and numerical techniques, we derive possible extinction shapes as the curve contracts to a point, dependent on the rate of decreasing area; we find there is a wider class of extinction shapes than for standard curve shortening, for which initially simple closed curves are always asymptotically circular. We also provide numerical evidence that self-intersection is possible for non-convex initial conditions, distinguishing between pinch-off and coalescence of the curve interior.

Hydrazinium thiocyanate as a reagent for determination of copper

Hydrazinium thiocyanate, N2H5SCN, has been used for the determination of copper in copper salts. The reagent reduces the copper ions to the cuprous state and precipitates cuprous thiocyanate Cu2(SCN)2, quantitatively.

Ruthenium(II)-CO complexes of N-[(2-pyridyl)methyliden]-alpha(or beta)-aminonaphthalene: Synthesis, spectral studies, crystal structure, redox properties and DFT calculation

The characterization and properties of trans-(X)-[RuX2(CO)(2)(alpha/beta-NaiPy)] (1, 2) (alpha-NaiPy (a), beta-NaiPy (b); X = Cl (1), I (2)) are described in this work. The structures are confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Reaction of these compounds with Me3NO in MeCN has isolated monocarbonyl trans-(X)-RuX2(CO)(MeCN)(alpha/beta-NaiPy)] (3, 4). The complexes show intense emission properties. Quantum yields of 1 and 2 (phi= 0.02-0.08) are higher than 3 and 4 (phi = 0.006-0.015). Voltammogram shows higher Ru(III)/Ru(II) (1.3-1.5 V) potential of 1 and 2 than that of 3 and 4 (0.8-0.9 V) that may be due to coordination of two pi-acidic CO groups in former. The electronic spectra and redox properties of the complexes are compared with the results obtained by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) using polarizable continuum model (CPCM).

Prevalence of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in diabetics clinical samples

Antibiotic resistance in 40 Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates from 110 diabetic patients (36%) was evaluated. Of these, 32 (80%) of the isolates showed multidrug-resistance to more than eight antibiotics and 35% isolates were found to be methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA). All 40 S. aureus strains (100%) screened from diabetic clinical specimens were resistant to penicillin, 63% to ampicillin, 55% to streptomycin, 50% to tetracycline and 50% to gentamicin. Where as low resistance rate was observed to ciprofloxacin (20%) and rifampicin (8%). In contrast, all (100%) S. aureus strains recorded susceptibility to teicoplanin, which was followed by vancomycin (95%). Genotypical examination revealed that 80% of the aminoglycoside resistant S. aureus (ARSA) have aminoglycoside modifying enzyme (AME) coding genes; however, 20% of ARSA which showed non-AME mediated (adaptive) aminoglycoside resistance lacked these genes in their genome. In contrast all MRSA isolates possessed mecA, femA genetic determinants in their genome.

Manifestation of geometric frustration on magnetic and thermodynamic properties of the pyrochlores Sm2X2O7 (X=Ti,Zr)

We present here magnetization, specific heat, and Raman studies on single-crystalline specimens of the first pyrochlore member Sm2Ti2O7 of the rare-earth titanate series. Its analogous compound Sm2Zr2O7 in the rare-earth zirconate series is also investigated in the polycrystalline form. The Sm spins in Sm2Ti2O7 remain unordered down to at least T=0.5 K. The absence of magnetic ordering is attributed to very small values of exchange (θcw∼−0.26 K) and dipolar interaction (μeff∼0.15 μB) between the Sm3+ spins in this pyrochlore. In contrast, the pyrochlore Sm2Zr2O7 is characterized by a relatively large value of Sm-Sm spin exchange (θcw∼−10 K); however, long-range ordering of the Sm3+ spins is not established at least down to T=0.67 K due to frustration of the Sm3+ spins on the pyrochlore lattice. The ground state of Sm3+ ions in both pyrochlores is a well-isolated Kramers doublet. The higher-lying crystal field excitations are observed in the low-frequency region of the Raman spectra of the two compounds recorded at T=10 K. At higher temperatures, the magnetic susceptibility of Sm2Ti2O7 shows a broad maximum at T=140 K, while that of Sm2Zr2O7 changes monotonically. Whereas Sm2Ti2O7 is a promising candidate for investigating spin fluctuations on a frustrated lattice, as indicated by our data, the properties of Sm2Zr2O7 seem to conform to a conventional scenario where geometrical frustration of the spin excludes their long-range ordering.