Space and time resolved rotational state populations and gas temperatures in an inductively coupled hydrogen RF discharge

Gas temperature is of major importance in plasma based surface treatment, since the surface processes are strongly temperature sensitive. The spatial distribution of reactive species responsible for surface modification is also influenced by the gas temperature. Industrial applications of RF plasma reactors require a high degree of homogeneity of the plasma in contact with the substrate. Reliable measurements of spatially resolved gas temperatures are, therefore, of great importance. The gas temperature can be obtained, e.g. by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Common methods of OES to obtain gas temperatures from analysis of rotational distributions in excited states do not include the population dynamics influenced by cascading processes from higher electronic states. A model was developed to evaluate this effect on the apparent rotational temperature that is observed. Phase resolved OES confirmed the validity of this model. It was found that cascading leads to higher apparent temperatures, but the deviation (similar or equal to 25 K) is relatively small and can be ignored in most cases. This analysis is applied to investigate axially and radially resolved temperature profiles in an inductively coupled hydrogen RF discharge.

Distribution of terminal nerve entry points to the flexor and extensor groups of forearm muscles:An anatomical study

The motor points of the skeletal muscles, mainly of interest to anatomists and physiologists, have recently attracted much attention from researchers in the field of functional electrical stimulation. The muscle motor point has been defined as the entry point of the motor nerve branch into the epimysium of the muscle belly. Anatomists have pointed out that many muscles in the limbs have multiple motor points. Knowledge of the location of nerve branches and terminal nerve entry points facilitates the exact insertion and the suitable selection of the number of electrodes required for each muscle for functional electrical stimulation. The present work therefore aimed to describe the number, location, and distribution of motor points in the human forearm muscles to obtain optimal hand function in many clinical situations. Twenty three adult human cadaveric forearms were dissected. The numbers of primary nerves and motor points for each muscle were tabulated. The mean numbers and the standard deviation were calculated and grouped in tables. Data analyses were performed with the use of a statistical analysis package (SPSS 13.0). The proximal third of the muscle was the usual part of the muscle that received the motor points. Most of the forearm muscles were innervated from the lateral side and deep surface of the muscle. The information in this study may also be usefully applied in selective denervation procedures to balance muscles in spastic upper limbs. Copyright © 2007 Via Medica.

Role of saphenous vein wall in the pathogenesis of primary varicose veins

UNLABELLED: Varicose veins may be due to weakness of the vein wall as a result of structural problems. There are conflicting findings in the literature about these problems especially concerning collagen, elastin and smooth muscle cells content. The aim of this study was to look at the structural abnormalities of varicose veins (with and without valvular incompetence).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 70 specimens of long saphenous veins from 35 patients (24 with varicose and 11 with normal veins). Two specimens were taken from each vein approximately 3-4 cm from the saphenofemoral junction. Vein specimens were processed for histological and electron microscopic studies. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed to assess the degree of wall changes. Using the image analyzer, contents of collagen, elastin and smooth muscle cells, in addition to intimal and medial thickness, were measured.

RESULTS: Light microscopy revealed significant increase in intimal and medial thickness and collagen content of media and significant decrease in elastin content in varicose veins compared with normal veins. There was no statistical significant difference between varicose veins with and without saphenofemoral valve incompetence. Electron microscopy showed marked degenerative changes in intima and media of varicose veins.

CONCLUSION: The findings in our study supported the theory of primary weakness of the vein wall as a cause of varicosity. This weakness is due to intimal changes, disturbance in the connective tissue components and smooth muscle cells.

Cyanoacrylate glue versus suture in peripheral nerve reanastomosis

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate glue compared with microsuturing technique in peripheral nerve reanastomosis in rats.

STUDY DESIGN: Fourteen young adult white rats were used. Bilateral sciatic neurotomies were performed in 12 of them and then reanastomosed with 3 epineural microsutures in the right side (study group G1) and with n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate glue in the left side (study group G2). On the remaining 2 rats (control group G3), sham surgery was done on both sides. Biopsies were harvested 12 weeks after surgery and examined under light microscope using Osmic acid stains. The number of nerve fibers was counted in the distal and proximal nerve segments, and the results were analyzed and compared in all groups.

RESULTS: Adequate regeneration with no anastomotic ruptures was seen 12 weeks after surgery in G1 and G2. The histomorphometric assessment showed no statistically significant difference (P = .960) in the neurotization index of G1 (89.01%) compared with G2 (88.97%). There was a significant (P = .001) reduction in the mean number of axon counts distal to the repair in G1 (271.3) and G2 (272.8) compared with that of the proximal segments of each study group (304.6 and 303, respectively, as well as to that of G3 (348.5).

CONCLUSION: Both n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate adhesive and 3-microsuture techniques showed comparable neurotization indices and were equally adequate to stabilize the nerve during regeneration period.

Princesse Catherine de Grèce : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 59431

La discapacidad en la literatura infantil y juvenil.

El Centro Internacional del Libro Infantil y Juvenil de la Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez, la Fundación CNSE para la supresión de las barreras de comunicación y el Servicio de Asuntos Sociales de la Universidad de Salamanca, presentan conjuntamente esta bibliografía dedicada a la discapacidad. La publicación ofrece una amplia y representativa muestra de las obras infantiles y juveniles editadas en castellano que tocan el tema de la discapacidad, de forma directa o indirectamente, o que incluyen en sus tramas personajes con alguna discapacidad. El contenido bibliográfico se divide en dos grandes bloques: Discapacidad de papel, donde se referencian obras de ficción para niños y jóvenes; y La discapacidad, los niños y los libros, que recoge artículos y monografías en los que se analiza y reflexiona desde distintas perspectivas sobre el tema monográfico.

¿Tenemos libre albedrío? Objeciones empíricas y filosóficas a Benjamin Libet.

Benjamin Libet ha argumentado que cambios específicos en la actividad electroencefalográfica del córtex cerebral son registrados varios cientos de milisegundos antes que las personas tengan la intención consciente para actuar. Según Libet este hallazgo prueba que los movimientos voluntarios se inician de manera inconsciente. Siendo así, pone en duda nuestra percepción de libre albedrío según la cual nosotros somos iniciadores conscientes de nuestras acciones voluntarias. En este artículo haré objeciones empíricas a su modelo experimental argumentando que Libet no mide en realidad lo que él cree que está midiendo y, que el uso de electroencefalografía con electrodo de registro en cuero cabelludo no suministra datos fiables que permitan correlacionar cambios de la actividad cerebral y fenómenos psíquicos. También haré objeciones teóricas a las conclusiones filosóficas derivadas de sus experimentos, argumentado que la acción simple (mover el dedo) no puede ser una acción paradigmática para estudiar libre albedrío y que Libet al no estudiar la naturaleza de las intenciones distales ni su probable rol causal en la formación de intenciones proximales, no puede demostrar que el cerebro decide inconscientemente iniciar la acción. Concluyo que Libet nunca llega a probar que no actuamos por nuestro propio libre albedrío.

A comparative study of immigrants’ political participation in Sweden and the Netherlands

This study deals with immigrants’ political participation in Sweden and the Netherlands. Scholars have recognized low level of political participation of immigrants in Sweden compared to the Netherlands. The main goal of this study is to analyze the institutional influence, mainly from political parties over immigrants’ motivation for active electoral participation. The modified actor-context model uses here as the main theoretical framework. In addition, social capital theory employs to analyze immigrants’ voluntary organizational membership. This study confirms that, Swedish immigrants have the lower participation rate in the political sphere, at lest to a certain extent, than its counterparts the Dutch immigrants. This study also confirms the argument that contextual factors can influence actor’s motivations in integration-oriented action, and similarly it validates the necessity of enlargement of the actor-context model.

Electrical Evaluation of a Low Concentrating PVT Collector Based on Performance Ratio

Photovoltaic Thermal/Hybrid collectors are an emerging technology that combines PV and solar thermal collectors by producing heat and electricity simultaneously. In this paper, the electrical performance evaluation of a low concentrating PVT collector was done through two testing parts: power comparison and performance ratio testing. For the performance ratio testing, it is required to identify and measure the factors affecting the performance ratio on a low concentrating PVT collector. Factors such as PV cell configuration, collector acceptance angle, flow rate, tracking the sun, temperature dependence and diffuse to irradiance ratio. Solarus low concentrating PVT collector V12 was tested at Dalarna University in Sweden using the electrical equipment at the solar laboratory. The PV testing has showed differences between the two receivers. Back2 was producing 1.8 energy output more than Back1 throughout the day. Front1 and Front2 were almost the same output performance. Performance tests showed that the cell configuration for Receiver2 with cells grouping (6- 32-32-6) has proved to have a better performance ratio when to it comes to minimizing the shading effect leading to more output power throughout the day because of lowering the mismatch losses. Different factors were measured and presented in this thesis in chapter 5. With the current design, it has been obtained a peak power at STC of 107W per receiver. The solar cells have an electrical efficiency of approximately 19% while the maximum measured electrical efficiency for the collector was approximately 18 % per active cell area, in addition to a temperature coefficient of -0.53%/ ˚C. Finally a recommendation was done to help Solarus AB to know how much the electrical performance is affected during variable ambient condition and be able to use the results for analyzing and introducing new modification if needed.

Chromosome aberrations as a predictor of clinical outcome for smoking associated lung cancer

The ability to identify individuals at greatest risk of developing lung cancer can significantly enhance the efficacy of intervention modalities. One strategy for identifying these individuals is through biomarkers that reflect the severity of their cancer. In the present study, we evaluated 22 lung cancer patients and 35 controls to determine whether the frequency of chromosome aberrations was significantly associated with specific clinical variables such as the histological type, grade and stage of the turners. Chromosome aberrations (expressed as total breaks) were investigated on chromosome 1 in interphase nuclei obtained from blood Lymphocytes of the study participants using the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) chromosome aberration assay. Our results indicate a significant linear increase (P = 0.01) in the level of breaks with respect to the grade of the carcinoma. The poorly differentiated tumors had a significantly higher level of chromosome breaks mean +/- SD (1.7 +/- 0.46) as compared to the well differentiated tumors (0.98 +/- 0,23, P < 0,05). These results indicate that chromosome aberrations, as determined by the FISH assay, can be used as a biomarker for identifying individuals with aggressive types of lung cancer and potentially, as a predictor for prognostic outcome of the disease. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spectral karyotyping suggests additional subsets of colorectal cancers characterized by pattern of chromosome rearrangement

The abundant chromosome abnormalities in most carcinomas are probably a reflection of genomic instability present in the tumor, so the pattern and variability of chromosome abnormalities will reflect the mechanism of instability combined with the effects of selection. Chromosome rearrangement was investigated in 17 colorectal carcinoma-derived cell lines. Comparative genomic hybridization showed that the chromosome changes were representative of those found in primary tumors. Spectral karyotyping (SKY) showed that translocations were very varied and mostly unbalanced, with no translocation occurring in more than three lines. At least three karyotype patterns could be distinguished. Some lines had few chromosome abnormalities: they all showed microsatellite instability, the replication error (RER)+ phenotype. Most lines had many chromosome abnormalities: at least seven showed a surprisingly consistent pattern, characterized by multiple unbalanced translocations and intermetaphase variation, with chromosome numbers around triploid, 6–16 structural aberrations, and similarities in gains and losses. Almost all of these were RER−, but one, LS411, was RER+. The line HCA7 showed a novel pattern, suggesting a third kind of genomic instability: multiple reciprocal translocations, with little numerical change or variability. This line was also RER+. The coexistence in one tumor of two kinds of genomic instability is to be expected if the underlying defects are selected for in tumor evolution.

Furbearers in Kansas : a guide to trapping /

Bibliography: p. 96-100.

The Burkholderia Cenocepacia OmpA-Like Protein BCAL2958: Identification, Characterization, and Detection of Anti-BCAL2958 Antibodies in Serum from B. Cepacia Complex-Infected Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Respiratory infections by bacteria of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality among cystic fibrosis patients, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic strategies. In the present work we have studied the B. cenocepacia protein BCAL2958, a member of the OmpA-like family of proteins, demonstrated as highly immunogenic in other pathogens and capable of eliciting strong host immune responses. The encoding gene was cloned and the protein, produced as a 6× His-tagged derivative, was used to produce polyclonal antibodies. Bioinformatics analyses led to the identification of sequences encoding proteins with a similarity higher than 96 % to BCAL2958 in all the publicly available Bcc genomes. Furthermore, using the antibody it was experimentally demonstrated that this protein is produced by all the 12 analyzed strains from 7 Bcc species. In addition, results are also presented showing the presence of anti-BCAL2958 antibodies in sera from cystic fibrosis patients with a clinical record of respiratory infection by Bcc, and the ability of the purified protein to in vitro stimulate neutrophils. The widespread production of the protein by Bcc members, together with its ability to stimulate the immune system and the detection of circulating antibodies in patients with a documented record of Bcc infection strongly suggest that the protein is a potential candidate for usage in preventive therapies of infections by Bcc.

Recognition of Activities of Daily Living from Topic Model

Research in ubiquitous and pervasive technologies have made it possible to recognise activities of daily living through non-intrusive sensors. The data captured from these sensors are required to be classified using various machine learning or knowledge driven techniques to infer and recognise activities. The process of discovering the activities and activity-object patterns from the sensors tagged to objects as they are used is critical to recognising the activities. In this paper, we propose a topic model process of discovering activities and activity-object patterns from the interactions of low level state-change sensors. We also develop a recognition and segmentation algorithm to recognise activities and recognise activity boundaries. Experimental results we present validates our framework and shows it is comparable to existing approaches.