Introduction The estimation of failure parameters of bone are clinically relevant as in our aged society bone injuries are having greater economic impact. At the macro scale, bone is mainly composed of cortical and trabecular bone. Trabecular bone has major importance in the failure process in bone. The highly hierarchical structure of bone makes it necessary to study its different scales to in...

Synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence (XRF) combined with scanning electron microscopy-based energy dispersive micro-analysis (EDS) has been used to determine the elemental distribution of contaminants (e.g., Ni) and of chemical elements inherent to the cement matrix (e.g., Si, Ca, Al, S) in hardened cement paste. Detailed information on the cement microstructure was gained by using backsc...

Based on the research on Service Unit based Network Architecture (SUNA), this paper presents a Micro-Communication Element System (MCES) which is a new interconnecting network system and is easy for applications and users from TCP/IP environment to be converted into. MCES is constructed of organized micro-communication elements, and the entire network system consists of many micro-communication...

We have designed, fabricated, and characterized a micro-optical beam-shaping device that is intended to optimize the coupling of an incoherent, linearly extended high-power diode laser into a multimode fiber. The device uses two aligned diffractive optical elements (DOEs) in combination with conventional optics. With a first prototype, we achieved an overall efficiency of 28%. Straightforward i...

Background and Aims: Giardia lamblia infection is a common cause of food and water-borne diarrhea in non-sanitary communities. Infections are common in children, particularly in child-care centers, backpackers, travelers, and homosexuals. Zinc is necessary for the immune system functions. Zinc deficiency is associated with acute diarrhea. Copper is essential for the production of red blood cell...