Elastic and plastic properties of Mo3Si measured by nanoindentation

Single crystal Mo3Si specimens were grown and tested at room temperature using established nanoindentation techniques at various crystallographic orientations. The indentation modulus and hardness were obtained for loads that were large enough to determine bulk properties, yet small enough to avoid cracking in the specimens. From the indentation modulus results, anisotropic elastic constants were determined. As load was initially increased to approximately 1.5 mN, the hardness exhibited a sudden drop that corresponded to a jump in displacement. The resolved shear stress that was determined from initial yielding was 10-15% of the shear modulus, but 3 to 4 times the value obtained from the bulk hardness. Non-contact atomic force microscopy images in the vicinity of indents revealed features consistent with {100}(010) slip.

Retinal vascular function and cardiovascular risk factors

The current platform of conventional cardiovascular risk assessments tends to forsake the importance of endothelial function - a key biological mechanism by which cardiovascular risk factors exert their propensity for adverse vascular events. Moreover, the presence and severity of endothelial dysfunction in ‘low-risk’ individuals suggests considerable variability in pre-clinical risk that could potentially be detected well before the onset of disease. The aim of the present thesis was to investigate the presence and impact of retinal vascular dysfunction, as a barometer of endothelial function, in otherwise healthy individuals with one or more cardiovascular risk factors, but low to moderate cardiovascular risk. Systemic circulatory influences on retinal vascular function were also evaluated. The principle sections and findings of this work are: 1. Ageing effect on retinal vascular function • In low-risk individuals, there are age differences in retinal vascular function throughout the entire functional response curve for arteries and veins. Gender differences mainly affect the dilatory phase and are only present in young individuals. 2. Retinal vascular function in healthy individuals with a family history of cardiovascular disease • In low-risk individuals with a family history of cardiovascular disease, impairments in microvascular function at the retinal level correlate with established plasma markers for cardiovascular risk. 3. Ethnic differences in retinal vascular function • When compared to age-matched White Europeans, in low-risk middle-aged South Asians, there are impairments in retinal vascular function that correlate with established cardiovascular risk indicators. 4. Systemic circulatory influences on retinalµvascular function • Systemic antioxidant capacity (redox index) and plasma markers for cardiovascular risk (lipids) influence retinal microvascular function at both arterial and venous levels. 5. Retinal vascular function in individuals with obstructive sleep apnoea: a preliminarystudy • Patients with moderate to severe sleep apnoea exhibit attenuated retinal vascular function.

Az értékesítés és a marketing kapcsolatának piaci tájékozódásban betöltött szerepe és meghatározó tényezői (Role of the sales and marketing relationship in market orientation and its determining factors)

A szerző kutatásában azt vizsgálja, hogy az értékesítés területén dolgozó munkatársak piaci megfigyeléseit milyen mértékben képesek beépíteni a marketingvezetők a menedzsmentmunkába. Az értékesítési munkatársak piaci megfigyelései mindig naprakészek, ráadásul jelentősebb ráfordítás nélkül hozzáférhetők. A marketing- és a sales munkatársak közötti hagyományosan konfliktusokkal terhelt kapcsolat miatt azonban a vállalatok sokszor mégsem aknázzák ki a piaci tájékozódásnak ezt a lehetőségét. A nagyvállalati mintán empirikusan tesztelt modell szerint a menedzserek azon képessége, hogy felhasználják a vállalaton belül rendelkezésre álló információkat, alapvetően nem egyéni, hanem szervezeti képesség. Azok a menedzserek, akik olyan cégeknél dolgoznak, ahol a vállalati továbbképzések során más részlegek munkájába is bekapcsolódhatnak, nagyobb mértékben támaszkodnak a munkatársak piaci megfigyeléseire döntéseik meghozatala során. _____ The author examines in her research that to what extent marketing leaders can build market experience of sales employees into the management activity. Because of the traditionally problematic relationship between marketing and sales employees, companies do not exploit this opportunity of market orientation. According to the model tested on a big corporation sample, the capacity of managers to use information available within the company is basically not an individual but organisational capacity.

Estrogen and lithium: Facilitating factors involved in brain cell signaling pathways

Learning and memory in adult females decline during menopause and estrogen replacement therapy is commonly prescribed during menopause. Post-menopausal women tend to suffer from depression and are prescribed antidepressants – in addition to hormone therapy. Estrogen replacement therapy is a topic that engenders debate since several studies contradict its efficacy as a palliative therapy for cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. Signaling transduction pathways can alter brain cell activity, survival, and morphology by facilitating transcription factor DNA binding and protein production. The steroidal hormone estrogen and the anti-depressant drug lithium interact through these signaling transduction pathways facilitating transcription factor activation. The paucity of data on how combined hormones and antidepressants interact in regulating gene expression led me to hypothesize that in primary mixed brain cell cultures, combined 17β-estradiol (E2) and lithium chloride (LiCl) (E2/LiCl) will alter genetic expression of markers involved in synaptic plasticity and neuroprotection. Results from these studies indicated that a 48 h treatment of E2/LiCl reduced glutamate receptor subunit genetic expression, but increased neurotrophic factor and estrogen receptor genetic expression. Combined treatment also failed to protect brain cell cultures from glutamate excitotoxicity. If lithium facilitates protein signaling pathways mediated by estrogen, can lithium alone serve as a palliative treatment for post-menopause? This question led me to hypothesize that in estrogen-deficient mice, lithium alone will increase episodic memory (tested via object recognition), and enhance expression in the brain of factors involved in anti-apoptosis, learning and memory. I used bilaterally ovariectomized (bOVX) C57BL/6J mice treated with LiCl for one month. Results indicated that LiCl-treated bOVX mice increased performance in object recognition compared with non-treated bOVX. Increased performance in LiCl-treated bOVX mice coincided with augmented genetic and protein expression in the brain. Understanding the molecular pathways of estrogen will assist in identifying a palliative therapy for menopause-related dementia, and lithium may serve this purpose by acting as a selective estrogen-mediated signaling modulator.

Regional Variation on Rates of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Associated Risk Factors

Background. An abnormally high incidence (44%) of bronchopulmonary dysplasia with variations in rates among cities was observed in Colombia among premature infants. Objective. To identify risk factors that could explain the observed high incidence and regional variations of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Study Design. A case-control study was designed for testing the hypothesis that differences in the disease rates were not explained by differences in city-of-birth specific population characteristics or by differences in respiratory management practices in the first 7 days of life, among cities. Results. Multivariate analysis showed that premature rupture of membranes, exposure to mechanical ventilation after received nasal CPAP, no surfactant exposure, use of rescue surfactant (instead of early surfactant), PDA, sepsis and the median daily FIO2, were associated with a higher risk of dysplasia. Significant differences between cases and controls were found among cities. Models exploring for associations between city of birth and dysplasia showed that being born in the highest altitude city (Bogotá) was associated with a higher risk of dysplasia (OR 1.82 95% CI 1.31–2.53). Conclusions. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia was manly explained by traditional risk factors. Findings suggest that altitude may play an important role in the development of this disease. Prenatal steroids did not appear to be protective at high altitude.

A precise measurement of the two -photon exchange effect

The two-photon exchange phenomenon is believed to be responsible for the discrepancy observed between the ratio of proton electric and magnetic form factors, measured by the Rosenbluth and polarization transfer methods. This disagreement is about a factor of three at Q 2 of 5.6 GeV2. The precise knowledge of the proton form factors is of critical importance in understanding the structure of this nucleon. The theoretical models that estimate the size of the two-photon exchange (TPE) radiative correction are poorly constrained. This factor was found to be directly measurable by taking the ratio of the electron-proton and positron-proton elastic scattering cross sections, as the TPE effect changes sign with respect to the charge of the incident particle. A test run of a modified beamline has been conducted with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. This test run demonstrated the feasibility of producing a mixed electron/positron beam of good quality. Extensive simulations performed prior to the run were used to reduce the background rate that limits the production luminosity. A 3.3 GeV primary electron beam was used that resulted in an average secondary lepton beam of 1 GeV. As a result, the elastic scattering data of both lepton types were obtained at scattering angles up to 40 degrees for Q2 up to 1.5 GeV2. The cross section ratio displayed an &epsis; dependence that was Q2 dependent at smaller Q2 limits. The magnitude of the average ratio as a function of &epsis; was consistent with the previous measurements, and the elastic (Blunden) model to within the experimental uncertainties. Ultimately, higher luminosity is needed to extend the data range to lower &epsis; where the TPE effect is predicted to be largest.

Cuba's Judicial System and Transition: Lecture by Antonio G. Rodiles and Amelia Maria Rodríguez Cala

This flyer promotes the event "Cuba's Judicial System and Transition: Lecture by Antonio G. Rodiles and Amelia Maria Rodríguez Cala" cosponsored by the FlU College of Law and the Vaclav Hável Initiative for Human Rights and Diplomacy.

Estrogen and Lithium: Facilitating Factors Involved in Brain Cell Signaling Pathways

Learning and memory in adult females decline during menopause and estrogen replacement therapy is commonly prescribed during menopause. Post-menopausal women tend to suffer from depression and are prescribed antidepressants – in addition to hormone therapy. Estrogen replacement therapy is a topic that engenders debate since several studies contradict its efficacy as a palliative therapy for cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. Signaling transduction pathways can alter brain cell activity, survival, and morphology by facilitating transcription factor DNA binding and protein production. The steroidal hormone estrogen and the anti-depressant drug lithium interact through these signaling transduction pathways facilitating transcription factor activation. The paucity of data on how combined hormones and antidepressants interact in regulating gene expression led me to hypothesize that in primary mixed brain cell cultures, combined 17beta-estradiol (E2) and lithium chloride (LiCl) (E2/LiCl) will alter genetic expression of markers involved in synaptic plasticity and neuroprotection. Results from these studies indicated that a 48 h treatment of E2/LiCl reduced glutamate receptor subunit genetic expression, but increased neurotrophic factor and estrogen receptor genetic expression. Combined treatment also failed to protect brain cell cultures from glutamate excitotoxicity. If lithium facilitates protein signaling pathways mediated by estrogen, can lithium alone serve as a palliative treatment for post-menopause? This question led me to hypothesize that in estrogen-deficient mice, lithium alone will increase episodic memory (tested via object recognition), and enhance expression in the brain of factors involved in anti-apoptosis, learning and memory. I used bilaterally ovariectomized (bOVX) C57BL/6J mice treated with LiCl for one month. Results indicated that LiCl-treated bOVX mice increased performance in object recognition compared with non-treated bOVX. Increased performance in LiCl-treated bOVX mice coincided with augmented genetic and protein expression in the brain. Understanding the molecular pathways of estrogen will assist in identifying a palliative therapy for menopause-related dementia, and lithium may serve this purpose by acting as a selective estrogen-mediated signaling modulator.

Experimental data of CO2, CO3, Omega calcite saturation, pH values, alpha and epsilon fractionation factors, and Dd18O calctite-water

The oxygen isotopic composition (d18O) of calcium carbonate of planktonic calcifying organisms is a key tool for reconstructing both past seawater temperature and salinity. The calibration of paloeceanographic proxies relies in general on empirical relationships derived from field experiments on extant species. Laboratory experiments have more often than not revealed that variables other than the target parameter influence the proxy signal, which makes proxy calibration a challenging task. Understanding these secondary or "vital" effects is crucial for increasing proxy accuracy. We present data from laboratory experiments showing that oxygen isotope fractionation during calcification in the coccolithophore Calcidiscus leptoporus and the calcareous dinoflagellate Thoracosphaera heimii is dependent on carbonate chemistry of seawater in addition to its dependence on temperature. A similar result has previously been reported for planktonic foraminifera, supporting the idea that the [CO3]2- effect on d18O is universal for unicellular calcifying planktonic organisms. The slopes of the d18O/[CO3]2- relationships range between -0.0243 per mil/(µmol/kg) (calcareous dinoflagellate T. heimii) and the previously published -0.0022 per mil/(µmol/kg) (non-symbiotic planktonic foramifera Orbulina universa), while C. leptoporus has a slope of -0.0048 per mil/(µmol/kg). We present a simple conceptual model, based on the contribution of d18O-enriched [HCO3]- to the [CO3]2- pool in the calcifying vesicle, which can explain the [CO3]2- effect on d18O for the different unicellular calcifiers. This approach provides a new insight into biological fractionation in calcifying organisms. The large range in d18O/[CO3]2- slopes should possibly be explored as a means for paleoreconstruction of surface [CO3]2-, particularly through comparison of the response in ecologically similar planktonic organisms.

Chaucer and the Disconsolations of Philosophy: Boethius, Agency, and Literary Form in Late Medieval Literature

This study argues that Chaucer's poetry belongs to a far-reaching conversation about the forms of consolation (philosophical, theological, and poetic) that are available to human persons. Chaucer's entry point to this conversation was Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, a sixth-century dialogue that tried to show how the Stoic ideals of autonomy and self-possession are not simply normative for human beings but remain within the grasp of every individual. Drawing on biblical commentary, consolation literature, and political theory, this study contends that Chaucer's interrogation of the moral and intellectual ideals of the Consolation took the form of philosophical disconsolations: scenes of profound poetic rupture in which a character, sometimes even Chaucer himself, turns to philosophy for solace and yet fails to be consoled. Indeed, philosophy itself becomes a source of despair. In staging these disconsolations, I contend that Chaucer asks his readers to consider the moral dimensions of the aspirations internal to ancient philosophy and the assumptions about the self that must be true if its insights are to console and instruct. For Chaucer, the self must be seen as a gift that flowers through reciprocity (both human and divine) and not as an object to be disciplined and regulated.

Chapter one focuses on the Consolation of Philosophy. I argue that recent attempts to characterize Chaucer's relationship to this text as skeptical fail to engage the Consolation on its own terms. The allegory of Lady Philosophy's revelation to a disconsolate Boethius enables philosophy to become both an agent and an object of inquiry. I argue that Boethius's initial skepticism about the pretentions of philosophy is in part what Philosophy's therapies are meant to respond to. The pressures that Chaucer's poetry exerts on the ideals of autonomy and self-possession sharpen one of the major absences of the Consolation: viz., the unanswered question of whether Philosophy's therapies have actually consoled Boethius. Chapter two considers one of the Consolation's fascinating and paradoxical afterlives: Robert Holcot's Postilla super librum sapientiae (1340-43). I argue that Holcot's Stoic conception of wisdom, a conception he explicitly links with Boethius's Consolation, relies on a model of agency that is strikingly similar to the powers of self-knowledge that Philosophy argues Boethius to posses. Chapter three examines Chaucer's fullest exploration of the Boethian model of selfhood and his ultimate rejection of it in Troilus and Criseyde. The poem, which Chaucer called his "tragedy," belonged to a genre of classical writing he knew of only from Philosophy's brief mention of it in the Consolation. Chaucer appropriates the genre to explore and recover mourning as a meaningful act. In Chapter four, I turn to Dante and the House of Fame to consider Chaucer's self-reflections about his ambitions as a poet and the demands of truth-telling.

Isotopic composition of diet and tissues, and isotope discrimination factors for pink-footed and barnacle geese, Svalbard

Breeding in the high Arctic is time constrained and animals should therefore start with their annual reproduction as early as possible. To allow for such early reproduction in migratory birds, females arrive at the breeding grounds either with body stores or they try to rapidly develop their eggs after arrival using local resources. Svalbard breeding barnacle geese Branta leucopsis have to fly non-stop for about 1100 km from their last continental staging site to the archipelago making the transport of body stores costly. However, environmental conditions at the breeding grounds are highly unpredictable favouring residual body stores allowing for egg production after arrival on the breeding grounds. We estimated the reliance on southern continental resources, i.e. body stores for egg formation, in barnacle geese using stable isotope ratios in the geese's forage along the flyway and in their eggs. Females adopted mixed breeding strategies by using southern resources as well as local resources to varying extents for egg formation. Southern capital in lipid-free yolk averaged 41% (range: 23-65%), early laid eggs containing more southern capital than eggs laid late in the season. Yolk lipids and albumen did not vary over time and averaged a southern capital proportion of 54% (range: 32-73%) and 47% (range: 25-88%), respectively. Our findings indicate that female geese vary the use of southern resources when synthesizing their eggs and this allocation also varies among egg tissues. Their mixed and flexible use of distant and local resources potentially allows for adaptive adjustments to environmental conditions encountered at the archipelago just before breeding.

Women Lawyers and the Struggle for Change in Conflict and Transition

This article examines the particular experiences of female ‘cause lawyers’ in conflicted and transitional societies. Drawn from an ongoing comparative project which involved fieldwork in Cambodia, Chile, Israel, Palestine, Tunisia and South Africa, the paper looks at opportunities, obstacles and the obduracy required from such lawyers to ‘make a difference’ in these challenging contexts. Drawing upon the theoretical literature on the sociology of the legal profession, cause-lawyers, gender and transitional justice, and the structure/agency nexus, the article considers in turn the conflict\cause-lawyering intersection and the work of cause-lawyers in transitional contexts. It concludes by arguing that the case-study of cause-lawyers offers a rebuttal to the charge that transitional justice is just like ‘ordinary justice’. It also contends that, notwithstanding the durability of patriarchal power in transitional contexts, law remains a site of struggle, not acquiescence, and many of these cause-lawyers have and continue to exercise both agency and responsibility in ‘taking on’ that power.