A study of minimum rate and increment differentials in steelworker-organized plants of companies, in the basic steel, pig iron, and iron ore industries, and in other major companies with 2,500 or more employees in steelworker-organized units in the United States and Canada for the three contract years 1956, 1957, 1958, showing A. remaining differentials, B. reductions in and elimination of differentials, C. increases in differentials.

Mode of access: Internet.

Discovering scientific method with science puzzle pictures.

Mode of access: Internet.

An elementary treatise on logic ; including pt. I. Analysis of formulae. pt. II. Method. With an appendix of examples for analysis and criticism. And a copious index of terms and subjects. Designed for use in schools and colleges as well as for private study and use /

Mode of access: Internet.

Locomotor performance of closely related Tropidurus species: relationships with physiological parameters and ecological divergence

Tropidurid lizards have colonized a variety of Brazilian open environments without remarkable morphological variation, despite ecological and structural differences among habitats used. This study focuses on two Tropidurus sister-species that, despite systematic proximity and similar morphology, exhibit great ecological divergence and a third ecologically generalist congeneric species providing an outgroup comparison. We quantified jumping capacity and sprint speed of each species on sand and rock to test whether ecological divergence was also accompanied by differences in locomotor performance. Relevant physiological traits possibly associated with locomotor performance metabolic scopes and fiber type composition, power output and activity of the enzymes citrate synthase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase of the iliofibularis muscle - were also compared among the three Tropidurus species. We found that the two sister-species exhibited remarkable differences in jumping performance, while Tropidurus oreadicus, the more distantly related species, exhibited intermediate values. Tropidurus psamonastes, a species endemic to sand dunes, exhibited high absolute sprint speeds on sand, jumped rarely and possessed a high proportion of glycolytic fibers and low activity of citrate synthase. The sister-species Tropidurus itambere, endemic to rocky outcrops, performed a large number of jumps and achieved lower absolute sprint speed than T. psamonastes. This study provides evidence of rapid divergence of locomotor parameters between sister-species that use different substrates, which is only partially explained by variation in physiological parameters of the iliofibularis muscle.

CEDIA (R) sirolimus assay compared with HPLC-MS/MS and HPLC-UV in transplant recipient specimens

The role of the therapeutic drug monitoring laboratory in support of immunosuppressant drug therapy is well established, and the introduction of sirolimus (SRL) is a new direction in this field. The lack of an immunoassay for several years has restricted the availability of SRL assay services. The recent availability of a CEDIA (R) SRL assay has the potential to improve this situation. The present communication has compared the CEDIA (R) SRL method with 2 established chromatographic methods, HPLC-UV and HPLC-MS/MS. The CEDIA (R) method, run on a Hitachi 917 analyzer, showed acceptable validation criteria with within-assay precision of 9.1% and 3.3%, and bias of 17.1% and 5.8%, at SRL concentrations of 5.0 mu g/L and 20 mu g/L, respectively. The corresponding between-run precision values were 11.5% and 3.3% and bias of 7.1% and 2.9% at 5.0 mu g/L and 20 mu g/L, respectively, The lower limit of quantification was found to be 3.0 mu g/L. A series of 96 EDTA whole-blood samples predominantly from renal transplant recipients were assayed by the 3 methods for comparison. It was found that the CEDIA (R) method showed a Deming regression line of CEDIA = 1.20 X HPLC-MS/MS - 0.07 (r = 0.934, SEE = 1.47), with a mean bias of 20.4%. Serial blood samples from 8 patients included in this evaluation showed that the CEDIA (R) method reflected the clinical fluctuations in the chromatographic methods, albeit with the variable bias noted. The CEDIA (R) method on the H917 analyzer is therefore a useful adjunct to SRL dosage individualization in renal transplant recipients.

Beneficial associations of physical activity with 2-h but not fasting blood glucose in Australian adults

OBJECTIVE - We examined the associations of physical activity with fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and with 2-h postload plasma glucose (2-h PG) in men and women with low, moderate, and high waist circumference. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study provided data on a population-based cross-sectional sample of 4,108 men and 5,106 women aged >= 25 years without known diabetes or health conditions that could affect physical activity. FPG and 2-h PG were obtained from an oral glucose tolerance test. Self-reported physical activity level was defined according to the current public health guidelines as active (>= 150 min/week across five or more sessions) or inactive (< 150 min/week and/or less than five sessions). Sex-specific quintiles of physical activity time were used to ascertain dose response. RESULTS - Being physically active and total physical activity time were independently and negatively associated with 2-h PG. When physical activity level was considered within each waist circumference category, 2-h PG was significantly lower in active high-waist circumference women (beta-0.30 [95% CI -0.59 to -0.01], P = 0.044) and active low-waist circumference men(beta-0.25 [-0.49 to -0.02],P = 0.036) compared with their inactive counterparts. Considered across physical activity and waist circumference categories, 2-h PG levels were not significantly different between active moderate-waist circumference participants and active low-waist circumference participants. Associations between physical activity and FPG were nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS - There are important differences between 2-h PG and FPG related to physical activity. It appears that 2-h PG is more sensitive to the beneficial effects of physical activity, and these benefits occur across the waist circumference spectrum.

Phakometric measurement of ocular surface radius of curvature and alignment: evaluation of method with physical model eyes

Ophthalmophakometric measurements of ocular surface radius of curvature and alignment were evaluated on physical model eyes encompassing a wide range of human ocular dimensions. The results indicated that defocus errors arising from imperfections in the ophthalmophakometer camera telecentricity and light source collimation were smaller than experimental errors. Reasonable estimates emerged for anterior lens surface radius of curvature (accuracy: 0.02–0.10 mm; precision 0.05–0.09 mm), posterior lens surface radius of curvature (accuracy: 0.10–0.55 mm; precision 0.06–0.20 mm), eye rotation (accuracy: 0.00–0.32°; precision 0.06–0.25°), lens tilt (accuracy: 0.00–0.33°; precision 0.05–0.98°) and lens decentration (accuracy: 0.00–0.07 mm; precision 0.00–0.07 mm).

Organic reactions in ionic liquids:Ionic liquid promoted Knoevenagel condensation of aromatic aldehydes with (2-thio)barbituric acid

The Knoevenagel condensation of aromatic aldehydes with (2-thio)barbituric acid proceeded efficiently in reusable ionic liquids, EAN, BmimBF4, and BmimPF6 at room temperature in the absence of any catalyst with high yields.

Organic reactions in ionic liquids: cyclocondensation of alpha-bromoketones with 2-aminopyridine

The room temperature ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMImBF4), is used as a `green` recyclable alternative to classical molecular solvents for the cyclocondensation of a-bromoketones with 2-aminopyridine to form 2-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with rate accelerations and improved yields.

Organic reactions in ionic liquids: ionic liquid-accelerated cyclocondensation of alpha-tosyloxyketones with 2-aminopyridine

The room temperature ionic liquid it-butylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate (BPyBF4) is used as a `green' recyclable alternative to classical molecular solvents for the cyclocondensation of alpha-tosyloxyketones with 2-aminopyridine. Significant rate enhancements and improved yields have been observed.

Numerical implementation of the coarse step method with a varying differential group delay

The effect of having a fixed differential group delay term in the coarse step method results in a periodic pattern in the inserting a varying DGD term at each integration step, according to a Gaussian distribution. Simulation results are given to illustrate the phenomenon and provide some evidence about its statistical nature.

Fiber Bragg grating sensor interrogation system using a CCD side detection method with Superimposed blazed gratings

We present, for the first time to our knowledge, experimental evidence showing that superimposed blazed fiber Bragg gratings may be fabricated and used to extend the dynamic range of a grating-based spectrometer. Blazed gratings of 4° and 8° were superimposed in germanosilicate fiber by ultraviolet inscription and used in conjunction with a coated charged-coupled device array to interrogate a wavelength-division-multiplexing sensor array. We show that the system can be used to monitor strain and temperature sensors simultaneously with an employable bandwidth which is extendable to 70 nm.