A FORTRAN-90 low-energy electron diffraction program (LEED90 v1.1)

We describe a FORTRAN-90 program to compute low-energy electron diffraction I(V) curves. Plane-waves and layer doubling are used to compute the inter-layer multiple-scattering, while the intra-layer multiple-scattering is computed in the standard way expanding the wavefield on a basis of spherical waves. The program is kept as general as possible, in order to allow testing different parts of multiple-scattering calculations. In particular, it can handle non-diagonal t-matrices describing the scattering of non-spherical potentials, anisotropic vibrations, anharmonicity, etc. The program does not use old FORTRAN flavours, and has been written keeping in mind the advantage for parallelism brought forward by FORTRAN-90.

Phase-transition studies of Ba(0.90)Ca(0.10)(Ti(1-x)Zr(x))O(3) ferroelectric ceramic compounds

Perovskite-structured Ba(0.90)Ca(0.10)(Ti(1-x)Zr(x))O(3) ceramics were prepared in this work and subsequently studied in terms of composition-dependent dielectric and high-resolution long-range order structural properties from 30 to 450 K. The dielectric response of these materials was measured at several frequencies in the range from 1 kHz to 1 MHz. Combining both techniques, including Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction data, allowed observing that, when increasing Zr(4+) content, the materials change from conventional to diffuse and relaxor ferroelectric compounds, the transition occurring spontaneously at the x = 0.18 composition. Interestingly, this spontaneous transition turned out to be prevented for a further increase of Zr(4+). On the basis of all the dielectric and structural results processed, a phase diagram of this system is presented. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

The characterisation of the protective film formed by benzotriazole on the 90/10 copper-nickel alloy surface in H2SO4 media

The nature of the protective film formed by benzotriazole (BTAH) on the surface of the 90/10 CuNi alloy in deaerated 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 solution containing Fe(III) ions as oxidant was investigated by weight-loss, calorimetric measurements, and by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The SERS measurements show that the protective film is composed by the [Cu(I)BTA](n), polymeric complex and that the BTAH molecules are also adsorbed on the electrode surface. A modification of the BET isotherm for adsorption of gases ill solids is proposed to describe the experimental results obtained from weight-loss experiments that suggest an adsorption in multilayers. Electrochemical studies of copper and nickel in 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 in presence and absence of BTAH have also been made as an aid to interpret the results. The calculated adsorption free energy of the cuprous benzotriazolate on the surface of the alloy is in accordance with the value for pure copper. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stoichiometry and thermodynamics of the interaction between the C-terminus of human 90 kDa heat shock protein Hsp90 and the mitochondrial translocase of outer membrane Tom70

A large majority of the 1000-1500 proteins in the mitochondria are encoded by the nuclear genome, and therefore, they are translated in the cytosol in the form and contain signals to enable the import of proteins into the organelle. The TOM complex is the major translocase of the outer membrane responsible for preprotein translocation. It consists of a general import pore complex and two membrane import receptors, Tom20 and Tom70. Tom70 contains a characteristic TPR domain, which is a docking site for the Hsp70 and Hsp90 chaperones. These chaperones are involved in protecting cytosolic preproteins from aggregation and then in delivering them to the TOM complex. Although highly significant, many aspects of the interaction between Tom70 and Hsp90 are still uncertain. Thus, we used biophysical tools to study the interaction between the C-terminal domain of Hsp90 (C-Hsp90), which contains the EEVD motif that binds to TPR domains, and the cytosolic fragment of Tom70. The results indicate a stoichiometry of binding of one monomer of Tom70 per dimer of C-Hsp90 with a K(D) of 360 30 nM, and the stoichiometry and thermodynamic parameters obtained suggested that Tom70 presents a different mechanism of interaction with Hsp90 when compared with other TPR proteins investigated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The influence of sex, age, and race experience on pacing profiles during the 90 km Vasaloppet ski race

The purpose of this study was to investigate pacing-profile differences during the 90 km Vasaloppet ski race related to the categories of sex, age, and race experience. Skiing times from eight sections (S1 to S8) were analyzed. For each of the three categories, 400 pairs of skiers were matched to have a finish time within 60 seconds, the same start group, and an assignment to the same group for the other two categories. Paired-samples Student’s t-tests were used to investigate sectional pacing-profile differences between the subgroups. Results showed that males skied faster in S2 (P=0.0042), S3 (P=0.0049), S4 (P=0.010), and S1–S4 (P<0.001), whereas females skied faster in S6 (P<0.001), S7 (P<0.001), S8 (P=0.0088), and S5–S8 (P<0.001). For the age category, old subjects (40 to 59 years) skied faster than young subjects (19 to 39 years) in S3 (P=0.0029), and for the other sections, there were no differences. Experienced subjects (≥4 Vasaloppet ski race completions) skied faster in S1 (P<0.001) and S1–S4 (P=0.0054); inexperienced skiers (<4 Vasaloppet ski race completions) had a shorter mean skiing time in S5–S8 (P=0.0063). In conclusion, females had a more even pacing profile than that of males with the same finish time, start group, age, and race experience. No clear age-related pacing-profile difference was identified for the matched subgroups. Moreover, experienced skiers skied faster in the first half whereas inexperienced skiers had higher skiing speeds during the second half of the race.

Labour market institutions and the gender wage gap in Britain and Australia, 1973-90

The importance of wage structure is frequently interpreted as indirect evidence of the role played by labour market institutions. The current paper follows in this tradition, examining the role of wage structure in explaining the trend in the gender wage gap over the period 1973–91 for both Australia and the UK. The focus is upon whether changes in wage structure (and associated gender wage gap) both across country and over time are compatible with institutional explanations. Combining comparisons both cross‐country and over time yields a more stringent, albeit indirect, test of the role of institutions.

Online scams and fraud: Australians lose over $90 million in 2014

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Australians gave more than $90 million to scammers in 2014, which is a slight increase on the 2013 figures. And while dating and romance scams still make up a large proportion of the fraud being committed, the most complaints to the ACCC are related to advance fee fraud – those scams where you receive a message from someone who needs your help to get money out of a foreign bank account.

Limited effect of fly-wheel and spinal mobilization exercise countermeasures on lumbar spine deconditioning during 90 d bed-rest in the Toulouse LTBR study

We examined the effect of high-load fly-wheel (targeting the lower-limb musculature and concurrent loading of the spine via shoulder restraints) and spinal movement countermeasures against lumbar spine muscle atrophy, disc and spinal morphology changes and trunk isokinetic torque loss during prolonged bed-rest. Twenty-four male subjects underwent 90 d head-down tilt bed-rest and performed either fly-wheel (FW) exercises every three days, spinal movement exercises in lying five times daily (SpMob), or no exercise (Ctrl). There was no significant impact of countermeasures on losses of isokinetic trunk flexion/extension (p≥0.65). Muscle volume change by day-89 of bed-rest in the psoas, iliacus, lumbar erector spinae, lumbar multifidus and quadratus lumborum, as measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was statistically similar in all three groups (p≥0.33). No significant effect on MRI-measures of lumbar intervertebral disc volume, spinal length and lordosis (p≥0.09) were seen either, but there was some impact (p≤0.048) on axial plane disc dimensions (greater reduction than in Ctrl) and disc height (greater increases than in Ctrl). MRI-data from subjects measured 13 and 90-days after bed-rest showed partial recovery of the spinal extensor musculature by day-13 after bed-rest with this process complete by day-90. Some changes in lumbar spine and disc morphology parameters were still persistent 90-days after bed-rest. The present results indicate that the countermeasures tested were not optimal to maintain integrity of the spine and trunk musculature during bed rest. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.