Remarkable enhancement in crystalline perfection, second harmonic generation efficiency, optical transparency, and laser damage threshold in potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals by L-threonine doping

Effect of L-threonine (LT) doping on crystalline perfection, second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency, optical transparency, and laser damage threshold (LDT) in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) has been investigated. The influence of doping on growth rate and morphology of the grown crystals has also been studied. Powder x-ray diffraction data confirms the crystal structure of KDP and shows a systematic variation in intensity of diffraction peaks in correlation with morphology due to varying LT concentration. No extra phase formation was observed which is further confirmed by Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) studies. High-resolution x-ray diffraction curves indicate that crystalline perfection has been improved to a great extent at low concentrations with a maximum perfection at 1 mol % doping. At higher concentrations (5 to 10 mol %), it is slightly reduced due to excess incorporation of dopants at the interstitial sites of the crystalline matrix. LDT has been increased considerably with increase in doping concentration, whereas SHG efficiency was found to be maximum at 1 mol % in correlation with crystalline. The optical transparency for doped crystals has been increased as compared to that of pure KDP with a maximum value at 1 mol % doping

Magnetic resonance imaging correlates of first-episode psychosis in young adult male patients: combined analysis of grey and white matter.

Background: Several patterns of grey and white matter changes have been separately described in young adults with first-episode psychosis. Concomitant investigation of grey and white matter densities in patients with first-episode psychosis without other psychiatric comorbidities that include all relevant imaging markers could provide clues to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis in schizophrenia. Methods: We recruited patients with first-episode psychosis diagnosed according to the DSM-IV-TR and matched controls. All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis and mean diffusivity voxel-based analysis (VBA) were used for grey matter data. Fractional anisotropy and axial, radial and mean diffusivity were analyzed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) for white matter data. Results: We included 15 patients and 16 controls. The mean diffusivity VBA showed significantly greater mean diffusivity in the first-episode psychosis than in the control group in the lingual gyrus bilaterally, the occipital fusiform gyrus bilaterally, the right lateral occipital gyrus and the right inferior temporal gyrus. Moreover, the TBSS analysis revealed a lower fractional anisotropy in the first-episode psychosis than in the control group in the genu of the corpus callosum, minor forceps, corticospinal tract, right superior longitudinal fasciculus, left middle cerebellar peduncle, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus and the posterior part of the fronto-occipital fasciculus. This analysis also revealed greater radial diffusivity in the first-episode psychosis than in the control group in the right corticospinal tract, right superior longitudinal fasciculus and left middle cerebellar peduncle. Limitations: The modest sample size and the absence of women in our series could limit the impact of our results. Conclusion: Our results highlight the structural vulnerability of grey matter in posterior areas of the brain among young adult male patients with first-episode psychosis. Moreover, the concomitant greater radial diffusivity within several regions already revealed by the fractional anisotropy analysis supports the idea of a late myelination in patients with first-episode psychosis

Accurate calibration of test mass displacement in the LIGO interferometers

We describe three fundamentally different methods we have applied to calibrate the test mass displacement actuators to search for systematic errors in the calibration of the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors. The actuation frequencies tested range from 90 Hz to 1 kHz and the actuation amplitudes range from 1e-6 m to 1e-18 m. For each of the four test mass actuators measured, the weighted mean coefficient over all frequencies for each technique deviates from the average actuation coefficient for all three techniques by less than 4%. This result indicates that systematic errors in the calibration of the responses of the LIGO detectors to differential length variations are within the stated uncertainties.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, submitted on 31 October 2009 to Classical and Quantum Gravity for the proceedings of 8th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Wave

The Privatization of Metropolitan Jakarta's (Jabodetabek) Urban Fringes:The Early Stages of "Post-Suburbanization" in Indonesia

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Recent metropolitan development in developed countries is associated with post-suburbia, or a decline in population in the former central city and the growth of polycentric structures outside the traditional core. Current urban development in Asian cities, particularly in the Jakarta metropolitan region (Jabodetabek), also reflects an early stage of post-suburbia. We examine physical development patterns and the changing role of public and private sectors, although our approach is descriptive in nature. The rapid growth in fringe areas that have developed from dormitory communities into independent towns, triggered by privatization of industrial estates and multifunction new towns, shows typical post-suburban patterns. The national government's pro-growth economic policies and the local autonomy granted to local governments have given the private sector the power to largely control the acquisition, development, and management of land in fringe areas, accelerating post-suburban development patterns.Takeaway for practice: Planners in developing nations must be alert to the rapidly increasing role of the private sector, recognizing how the private sector can help the government to respond to regional needs for housing, jobs, shopping and educational opportunities, and infrastructure while understanding the key role that planning can and should play in ensuring private sector actions do not exacerbate regional problems and lead to uncoordinated public responses

Factors associated with underutilization of antenatal care services in Indonesia: results of Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey 2002/2003 and 2007

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antenatal care aims to prevent maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. In Indonesia, at least four antenatal visits are recommended during pregnancy. However, this service has been underutilized. This study aimed to examine factors associated with underutilization of antenatal care services in Indonesia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used data from Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) 2002/2003 and 2007. Information of 26,591 singleton live-born infants of the mothers' most recent birth within five years preceding each survey was examined. Twenty-three potential risk factors were identified and categorized into four main groups, external environment, predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between all potential risk factors and underutilization of antenatal services. The Population Attributable Risk (PAR) was calculated for selected significant factors associated with the outcome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Factors strongly associated with underutilization of antenatal care services were infants from rural areas and from outer Java-Bali region, infants from low household wealth index and with low maternal education level, and high birth rank infants with short birth interval of less than two years. Other associated factors identified included mothers reporting distance to health facilities as a major problem, mothers less exposed to mass media, and mothers reporting no obstetric complications during pregnancy. The PAR showed that 55% of the total risks for underutilization of antenatal care services were attributable to the combined low household wealth index and low maternal education level.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Strategies to increase the accessibility and availability of health care services are important particularly for communities in rural areas. Financial support that enables mothers from poor households to use health services will be beneficial. Health promotion programs targeting mothers with low education are vital to increase their awareness about the importance of antenatal services.</p

Potential novel candidate polymorphisms identified in genome-wide association study for breast cancer susceptibility

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown several risk alleles to be associated with breast cancer. However, the variants identified so far contribute to only a small proportion of disease risk. The objective of our GWAS was to identify additional novel breast cancer susceptibility variants and to replicate these findings in an independent cohort. We performed a two-stage association study in a cohort of 3,064 women from Alberta, Canada. In Stage I, we interrogated 906,600 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on Affymetrix SNP 6.0 arrays using 348 breast cancer cases and 348 controls. We used single-locus association tests to determine statistical significance for the observed differences in allele frequencies between cases and controls. In Stage II, we attempted to replicate 35 significant markers identified in Stage I in an independent study of 1,153 cases and 1,215 controls. Genotyping of Stage II samples was done using Sequenom Mass-ARRAY iPlex platform. Six loci from four different gene regions (chromosomes 4, 5, 16 and 19) showed statistically significant differences between cases and controls in both Stage I and Stage II testing, and also in joint analysis. The identified variants were from EDNRA, ROPN1L, C16orf61 and ZNF577 gene regions. The presented joint analyses from the two-stage study design were not significant after genome-wide correction. The SNPs identified in this study may serve as potential candidate loci for breast cancer risk in a further replication study in Stage III from Alberta population or independent validation in Caucasian cohorts elsewhere