1,303 research outputs found
BAND-GAP SHIFT IN CDS SEMICONDUCTOR BY PHOTOACOUSTIC-SPECTROSCOPY - EVIDENCE OF A CUBIC TO HEXAGONAL LATTICE TRANSITION
The band-gap energies of the CdS semiconductor are obtained by a photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) technique over a range of temperature of thermal annealing (TTA), in which the evolution of the sample structure is characterized by x-ray diffraction patterns. The PAS experiment gives a set of data for the band-gap shift in the region of the fundamental absorption edge. With increasing TTA the band-gap shift increases up to a critical TTA when its slope decreases in a roughly symmetrical way. It is suggested that at this temperature a cubic to hexagonal-lattice transition occurs.64329129
Developmental Defects of Enamel in Primary Teeth and Association with Early Life Course Events: A Study of 6--36 Month old Children in Manyara, Tanzania.
Children with low birth weight show an increased prevalence of developmental defects of enamel in the primary dentition that subsequently may predispose to early childhood caries (ECC).Focusing 6--36 months old, the purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of enamel defects in the primary dentition and identify influences of early life course factors; socio-demographics, birth weight, child's early illness episodes and mothers' perceived size of the child at birth, whilst controlling for more recent life course events in terms of current breastfeeding and oral hygiene. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the high fluoride area of Manyara, northern Tanzania including 1221 child-mother pairs who attended Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) clinics for immunization and/or growth monitoring. After the primary caregivers had completed face to face interviews at the health care facility, children underwent oral clinical examination whereby ECC and developmental defects of enamel were recorded using field criteria. All erupted teeth were examined and the enamel defects were assessed on buccal surfaces according to the modified DDE Index. The prevalence of enamel defects was 33.3%. Diffuse opacities were the most common defects identified (23.1%), followed by hypoplasia (7.6%) and demarcated opacities (5.0%). The most frequently affected teeth were the upper central incisors (29.0% - 30.5%), whereas lower central incisors (4.3% to 4.5%) were least frequently affected. Multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for confounding the factors revealed that having normal birth weight (equal or more than 2500 g) associated with lower odds of having enamel hypoplasia [OR 0.22 (95% CI 0.1-0.7)]. No statistically significant association occurred between birth weight and diffuse opacities, demarcated opacities or combined DDE. Children with the history of low birth weight were more likely than their normal birth weight counterparts to present with enamel hypoplasia. In view of the frequent occurrence of enamel defects and the fact that hypoplasia may constitute a risk factor for future ECC, enamel defects should be included as a dental health indicator in epidemiological studies of children in northern Tanzania
Constitutive RB1 mutation in a child conceived by in vitro fertilization: implications for genetic counseling
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to identify mutations associated with bilateral retinoblastoma in a quadruplet conceived by in vitro fertilization, and to trace the parental origin of mutations in the four quadruplets and their father.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mutational screening was carried out by sequencing. Genotyping was carried out for determining quadruplet zygosity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proband was a carrier of a novel <it>RB1</it> constitutive mutation (g.2056C>G) which was not detected in her father or her unaffected sisters, and of two other mutations (g.39606 C>T and g.174351T>A) also present in two monozygotic sisters. The novel mutation probably occurred de novo while the others were of likely maternal origin. The novel mutation, affecting the Kozak consensus at the 5'UTR of <it>RB1</it> and g.174351T>A were likely associated to retinoblastoma in the proband.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Molecular diagnosis of retinoblastoma requires genotypic data of the family for determining hereditary transmission. In the case of children generated by IVF with oocytes from an anonymous donor which had been stored in a cell repository, this might not be successfully accomplished, making precise diagnosis impracticable for genetic counseling.</p
Mitoxantrone pleurodesis to palliate malignant pleural effusion secondary to ovarian cancer
BACKGROUND: Advanced ovarian cancer is the leading non-breast gynaecologic cause of malignant pleural effusion. Aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of mitoxantrone sclerotherapy as a palliative treatment of malignant pleural effusions due to ovarian cancer. METHODS: Sixty women with known ovarian cancer and malignant recurrent symptomatic pleural effusion were treated with chest tube drainage followed by intrapleural mitoxantrone sclerotherapy. Survival, complications and response to pleurodesis were recorded. The data are expressed as the mean ± SEM and the median. RESULTS: The mean age of the entire group was 64 ± 11,24 years. The mean interval between diagnosis of ovarian cancer and presentation of the effusion was 10 ± 2,1 months. Eighteen patients (30%) had pleural effusion as the first evidence of recurrence. The mean volume of effusion drained was 1050 ± 105 ml and chest tube was removed within 4 days in 75% of patients. There were no deaths related to the procedure. Side effects of chemical pleurodesis included fever (37–38,5°C) chest pain, nausea and vomiting. At 30 days among 60 treated effusions, there was an 88% overall response rate, including 41 complete responses and 12 partial responses. At 60 days the overall response was 80% (38 complete responses and 10 partial responses). The mean survival of the entire population was 7,5 ± 1,2 months. CONCLUSIONS: Mitoxantrone is effective in the treatment of malignant pleural effusion secondary to ovarian cancer without causing significant local or systemic toxicity
A mathematical and computational review of Hartree-Fock SCF methods in Quantum Chemistry
We present here a review of the fundamental topics of Hartree-Fock theory in
Quantum Chemistry. From the molecular Hamiltonian, using and discussing the
Born-Oppenheimer approximation, we arrive to the Hartree and Hartree-Fock
equations for the electronic problem. Special emphasis is placed in the most
relevant mathematical aspects of the theoretical derivation of the final
equations, as well as in the results regarding the existence and uniqueness of
their solutions. All Hartree-Fock versions with different spin restrictions are
systematically extracted from the general case, thus providing a unifying
framework. Then, the discretization of the one-electron orbitals space is
reviewed and the Roothaan-Hall formalism introduced. This leads to a exposition
of the basic underlying concepts related to the construction and selection of
Gaussian basis sets, focusing in algorithmic efficiency issues. Finally, we
close the review with a section in which the most relevant modern developments
(specially those related to the design of linear-scaling methods) are commented
and linked to the issues discussed. The whole work is intentionally
introductory and rather self-contained, so that it may be useful for non
experts that aim to use quantum chemical methods in interdisciplinary
applications. Moreover, much material that is found scattered in the literature
has been put together here to facilitate comprehension and to serve as a handy
reference.Comment: 64 pages, 3 figures, tMPH2e.cls style file, doublesp, mathbbol and
subeqn package
Longitudinal evaluation the pulmonary function of the pre and postoperative periods in the coronary artery bypass graft surgery of patients treated with a physiotherapy protocol
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) seeks to reduce or prevent its complications and decrease morbidity and mortality. For certain subgroups of patients, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) may accomplish these goals. The objective of this study was to assess the pulmonary function in the CABG postoperative period of patients treated with a physiotherapy protocol.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-two volunteers with an average age of 63 ± 2 years were included and separated into three groups: healthy volunteers (n = 09), patients with CAD (n = 9) and patients who underwent CABG (n = 20). Patients from the CABG group received preoperative and postoperative evaluations on days 3, 6, 15 and 30. Patients from the CAD group had evaluations on days 1 and 30 of the study, and the healthy volunteers were evaluated on day 1. Pulmonary function was evaluated by measuring forced vital capacity (FVC), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) and Maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After CABG, there was a significant decrease in pulmonary function (p < 0.05), which was the worst on postoperative day 3 and returned to the preoperative baseline on postoperative day 30.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pulmonary function decreased after CABG. Pulmonary function was the worst on postoperative day 3 and began to improve on postoperative day 15. Pulmonary function returned to the preoperative baseline on postoperative day 30.</p
Proteasome properties of hemocytes differ between the whiteleg shrimp Penaeus vannamei and the brown shrimp Crangon crangon (Crustacea, Decapoda)
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A Search for Dark Higgs Bosons
Recent astrophysical and terrestrial experiments have motivated the proposal
of a dark sector with GeV-scale gauge boson force carriers and new Higgs
bosons. We present a search for a dark Higgs boson using 516 fb-1 of data
collected with the BABAR detector. We do not observe a significant signal and
we set 90% confidence level upper limits on the product of the Standard
Model-dark sector mixing angle and the dark sector coupling constant.Comment: 7 pages, 5 postscript figures, published version with improved plots
for b/w printin
Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay
We reconstruct the rare decays , , and in a data sample
corresponding to collected in collisions at
by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. Using and decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report
the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon
forward-backward asymmetry in the and decay modes, and the
longitudinal polarization in the decay mode with respect to the squared
dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the
standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of
comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the {\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to
\phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}27 \pm 6B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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