RHEED characterisation of the near surface microstructure of Ti-O based biocompatible coatings

Mechanically polished, annealed, nitric acid treated and aged in boiling water after nitriding, commercially pure Ti substrates have been characterised using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and secondary electron imaging, in terms of their naturally formed or ‘accelerated’ oxide layers. Annealing induced crystallisation and transformation of anatase to the rutile phase and led to increased roughness, with localised fracture and balling up of the surface oxide layer as the time and temperature of annealing were increased. Nitric acid modification produced no influence on the anatase to rutile transformation, whilst further aging in boiling water induced an acceleration of this transformation. RHEED data acquired at differing accelerating voltages have indicated a Ti-O phase gradation within annealed sol-gel derived V modified TiO2 layers deposited by spin coating onto Ti substrates

African-American patients with cancer Talking About Clinical Trials (TACT) with oncologists during consultations: evaluating the efficacy of tailored health messages in a randomised controlled trial—the TACT study protocol

Introduction Low rates of accrual of African-American (AA) patients with cancer to therapeutic clinical trials (CTs) represent a serious and modifiable racial disparity in healthcare that impedes the development of promising cancer therapies. Suboptimal physician–patient consultation communication is a barrier to the accrual of patients with cancer of any race, but communication difficulties are compounded with AA patients. Providing tailored health messages (THM) to AA patients and their physician about CTs has the potential to improve communication, lower barriers to accrual and ameliorate health disparities. Objective (1) Demonstrate the efficacy of THM to increase patient activation as measured by direct observation. (2) Demonstrate the efficacy of THM to improve patient outcomes associated with barriers to AA participation. (3) Explore associations among preconsultation levels of: (A) trust in medical researchers, (B) knowledge and attitudes towards CTs, (C) patient-family member congruence in decision-making, and (D) involvement/information preferences, and group assignment. Methods and analysis First, using established methods, we will develop THM materials. Second, the efficacy of the intervention is determined in a 2 by 2 factorial randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of (1) providing 357 AA patients with cancer with THM with 2 different ‘depths’ of tailoring and (2) either providing feedback to oncologists about the patients\u27 trial THM or not. The primary analysis compares patient engaged communication in 4 groups preconsultation and postconsultation. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the Virginia Commonwealth University Institutional Review Board. To facilitate use of the THM intervention in diverse settings, we will convene ‘user groups’ at 3 major US cancer centres. To facilitate dissemination, we will post all materials and the implementation guide in publicly available locations

Microstructural characterisation of biocompatible sol-gel derived vanadium doped TiO2 on Ti substrates

Sol-gel derived pure titania is compared with vanadium and / or aluminium modified titania deposited by spin coating on pure titanium substrates annealed at 300C and 650C. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction indicated the presence of anatase from the surface layers of samples annealed at 300C with a transition to rutile with increasing annealing temperature and addition of vanadium. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy indicated a gradation of Ti-O phases through the layer with the dominant presence of rutile. Aluminium was found to inhibit grain growth while vanadium promoted crystallisation

Hamiltonians for Reduced Gravity

A generalised canonical formulation of gravity is devised for foliations of spacetime with codimension $n\ge1$. The new formalism retains n-dimensional covariance and is especially suited to 2+2 decompositions of spacetime. It is also possible to use the generalised formalism to obtain boundary contributions to the 3+1 Hamiltonian.Comment: 18 pages, revtex, 3 postscript figures include

An Analysis of Masked Bobwhite Collection Locales and Habitat Characteristics

We evaluated the collecting locales of 251 masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi) specimens in museum collections. Eighteen were from 4 sites in Arizona—all collected by Herbert Brown. The vast majority (93%) of specimens were from the Mexican State of Sonora. We visited and photographed each of the Arizona collection locations and most of the sites in Sonora. Collector descriptions indicate the bird’s principal habitat affiliations were with tall grass-weed (1⁄4 forb) pastures, savannas, and farm fields. All historic localities visited were either in grass-forb habitats along drainages or in present or former savannas adjacent to woody cover and/or agricultural fields between 240 and 1,060 m elevation. These sites were remarkably similar to other bobwhite habitats in subtropic-tropic South Texas and Oaxaca, Mexico. Masked bobwhite habitat was a diverse tropic-subtropic grassland within or adjacent to dense woody cover (thornscrub) and/or farmland. These habitats experienced alterations and loss of the tall grass-weed component due to livestock husbandry. Some former habitat sites appear to have recovered, however, and restoration of the subspecies might be possible if suitable stock exists. Unfortunately, this bird may now be functionally extinct

Excavations at 41LK67 a Prehistoric Site in the Choke Canyon Reservior, South Texas

In 1977-1978 excavations were conducted at 41 LK 67 in Live Oak County, south Texas, by the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio. The investigation of this prehistoric archaeological site was part of an extensive program of reconnaissance and excavation necessitated by the construction of the Choke Canyon Reservoir on the Frio River by the Bureau of Reclamation. The site is situated in shallow colluvial deposits capping an old terrace remnant of the Frio River. The excavations involved 193 m2 in three separate areas and revealed Late Prehistoric and Late Archaic components. Recognizably older artifacts (including patinated chert flakes) from the surface and from excavations may represent older disturbed components or artifacts collected prehistorically from nearby sites. Radiocarbon dates, with medians ranging from 1590 to 660 B.C. (MASCA correction) are available only from the Late Archaic component. The principal kinds of debris recovered from the excavations are fire-cracked rock, cores and chipping debris, shells of snails and freshwater mussels, plainware potsherds, and chipped stone tools. Mussel shell was surprisingly abundant; more than 9000 specimens, including 3000 specimens identified taxonomically, were recovered. Fish otoliths were the only animal bones preserved, except for a few recent, intrusive elements. Debris frequencies from the two larger excavation blocks (Areas A and B) were factor analyzed. In most cases the analysis showed the strongest covariation occurring among different classes of chipping debris. For Area C factor analysis indicated that the strongest spatial patterning occurred in the upper part of the deposits. Unfortunately, the analysis was not particularly successful in defining activity sets. The small collection of chipped stone tools was examined microscopically. Two tool classes in particular, distally beveled tools (gouges) and quadrilateral bifaces (beveled knives) seem to represent more functionally specific tool forms, but other hafted bifaces (projectile points) show a wide range of use wear mostly unrelated to projectile use

Combined premedical-medical programmes: programme structure and student outcomes at four universities

Many American universities now support combined premedical-medical programmes which shorten and integrate the education of doctors. This paper reviews combined baccalaureate-MD programmes at four institutions: Boston University, the City College of New York, The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In comparison to most US medical schools, the combined programmes have admitted and educated larger portions of women students. In addition, some have had large proportions of graduates choosing primary-care careers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75128/1/j.1365-2923.1986.tb01053.x.pd

Prevention and Treatment of Influenza with Hyperimmune Bovine Colostrum Antibody

Background: Despite the availability of specific vaccines and antiviral drugs, influenza continues to impose a heavy toll on human health worldwide. Passive transfer of specific antibody (Ab) may provide a useful means of preventing or treating disease in unvaccinated individuals or those failing to adequately seroconvert, especially now that resistance to antiviral drugs is on the rise. However, preparation of appropriate Ab in large scale, quickly and on a yearly basis is viewed as a significant logistical hurdle for this approach to control seasonal influenza. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, bovine colostrum, which contains approximately 500 g of IgG per milking per animal, has been investigated as a source of polyclonal antibody for delivery to the respiratory tract. IgG and F(ab’)2 were purified from the hyperimmune colostrum of cows vaccinated with influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) vaccine and were shown to have high hemagglutination-inhibitory and virus-neutralizing titers. In BALB/c mice, a single administration of either IgG or F(ab’)2 could prevent the establishment of infection with a sublethal dose of PR8 virus when given as early as 7 days prior to exposure to virus. Pre-treated mice also survived an otherwise lethal dose of virus, the IgG- but not the F(ab’)2-treated mice showing no weight loss. Successful reduction of established infection with this highly virulent virus was also observed with a single treatment 24 hr after virus exposure. Conclusions/Significance: These data suggest that a novel and commercially-scalable technique for preparing Ab fro