A new method for the separation of androgens from estrogens and for the partition of estriol from the estrone-estradiol fraction: with special reference to the identification and quantitative microdetermination of estrogens by ultraviolet absorption spectrophotometry

It is recognized generally that a qualitative and quantitative knowledge of the excretion pattern of the urinary estrogens is one index to an understanding of the functional activity of the ovary and adrenal cortex. Obviously, such determinations may be useful also in evaluating the normal and abnormal functions of other physiologically related endocrine glands as well as of organs like the liver and kidneys. The clinical applications of these data are self-evident. Various attempts have been made to circumvent the notoriously inaccurate values which have been obtained for the urinary estrogens by a variety of bioassay methods and calorimetric techniques (1, 2). The acknowledged shortcomings of these methods have led us to investigate the application of ultraviolet absorption spectrophotometry to the quantitative determination of the urinary estrogens in an attempt to develop an objective physical method for their accurate determination. It is known that the infra-red portion of the spectrum yields more differentially characteristic curves, but those of the ultraviolet range are more readily obtainable, and consequently better adapted to clinical use. This communication is concerned with studies of the following aspects of the problem: (1) spectrophotometric identification and quantitative micro determination of crystalline estrogens; (2) detection by spectrophotometric assay of gross errors in current methods for extraction and partition of estrogens; (3) studies on the ultraviolet absorption of substances comprising the background material; (4) separation of the phenolic estrogens from the so called neutral steroid fraction; (5) separation of urinary estrogens from other urinary phenolic substances by steam distillation; (6) micro-Girard separation of estrone from estradiol; (7) an essentially new method for the extraction and partition of crystalline estrone, estradiol, and estriol, and their quantitative assay by ultraviolet spectrophotometry

Design requirements for laminar airflow clean rooms and devices

Laminar airflow and airborne contamination control concepts with clean room specifications and laminar flow facility design

Critical spin-flip scattering at the helimagnetic transition of MnSi

We report spherical neutron polarimetry (SNP) and discuss the spin-flip scattering cross sections as well as the chiral fraction $\eta$ close to the helimagnetic transition in MnSi. For our study, we have developed a miniaturised SNP device that allows fast data collection when used in small angle scattering geometry with an area detector. Critical spin-flip scattering is found to be governed by chiral paramagnons that soften on a sphere in momentum space. Carefully accounting for the incoherent spin-flip background, we find that the resulting chiral fraction $\eta$ decreases gradually above the helimagnetic transition reflecting a strongly renormalised chiral correlation length with a temperature dependence in excellent quantitative agreement with the Brazovskii theory for a fluctuation-induced first order transition.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Neon Lights Up a Controversy: the Solar Ne/O Abundance

The standard solar model was so reliable that it could predict the existence of the massive neutrino. Helioseismology measurements were so precise that they could determine the depth of the convection zone. This agreement between theory and observation was the envy of all astrophysics -- until recently when sophisticated three-dimensional hydrodynamic calculations of the solar atmosphere reduced the metal content by a factor of almost two. Antia & Basu (2005) suggested that a higher value of the solar neon abundance, Ne/O = 0.52, would resolve this controversy. Drake & Testa (2005) presented strong evidence in favor of this idea from a sample of 21 Chandra stars with enhanced values of the neon abundance, Ne/O = 0.41. In this paper, we have analyzed solar active region spectra from the archive of the Flat Crystal Spectrometer on Solar Maximum Mission, a NASA mission from the 1980s, as well as full-Sun spectra from the pioneering days of X-ray astronomy in the 1960s. These data seem consistent with the standard neon-to-oxygen abundance value, Ne/O = 0.15 (Grevesse & Sauval 1998). If these results prove to be correct, than the enhanced-neon hypothesis will not resolve the current controversy.Comment: submitted to ApJ Letter

Efficacy of Online Training for Improving Camp Staff Competency

Preparing competent staff is a critical issue within the camp community. This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of an online course for improving staff competency in camp healthcare practices among college-aged camp staff and a comparison group (N = 55). We hypothesized that working in camp would increase competency test scores due to opportunities for staff to experientially apply knowledge learned online. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyse the cross-level effects of a between-individuals factor (assignment to experimental or comparison group) and within-individual effects of time (pre-test, post-test #1, and post-test #2) on online course test scores. At post-test #2, the difference in average test scores between groups was ~30 points, with the treatment group scoring lower on average than the comparison group. Factors that may have influenced these findings are explored, including fatigue and the limited durability of online learning. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed

Linearly polarized GHz magnetization dynamics of spin helix modes in the ferrimagnetic insulator Cu2_{2}OSeO3_{3}

Linear dichroism -- the polarization dependent absorption of electromagnetic waves -- is routinely exploited in applications as diverse as structure determination of DNA or polarization filters in optical technologies. Here filamentary absorbers with a large length-to-width ratio are a prerequisite. For magnetization dynamics in the few GHz frequency regime strictly linear dichroism was not observed for more than eight decades. Here, we show that the bulk chiral magnet Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$ exhibits linearly polarized magnetization dynamics at an unexpectedly small frequency of about 2 GHz. Unlike optical filters that are assembled from filamentary absorbers, the magnet provides linear polarization as a bulk material for an extremely wide range of length-to-width ratios. In addition, the polarization plane of a given mode can be switched by 90$^\circ$ via a tiny variation in width. Our findings shed a new light on magnetization dynamics in that ferrimagnetic ordering combined with anisotropic exchange interaction offers strictly linear polarization and cross-polarized modes for a broad spectrum of sample shapes. The discovery allows for novel design rules and optimization of microwave-to-magnon transduction in emerging microwave technologies.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

The Cooperative Extension Program Development Model: Adapting to a Changing Context

For over 100 years, Cooperative Extension in the United States has used a consistently articulated program development model including program planning, design and implementation, and evaluation that involves stakeholders in the process. This issue of the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension examines the history and evolution of the program development model for successful Extension work and adaptations to that model that have emerged due to the changing educational context. This issue provides information on how elements of the model have changed over the last 100 years; delves into contemporary issues and challenges; and provides important analysis, implications, lessons learned, and applications for current and future success of Extension programs. In this article, we provide a definition of a program, the rationale for using a program development model in Extension work, the Extension Program Development Model, other program development models used by Extension professionals, and the changing context surrounding Extension work that impacts the Program Development Model

Emergent Lorentz symmetry with vanishing velocity in a critical two-subband quantum wire

We consider a quantum wire with two subbands of spin-polarized electrons in the presence of strong interactions. We focus on the quantum phase transition when the second subband starts to get filled as a function of gate voltage. Performing a one-loop renormalization group (RG) analysis of the effective Hamiltonian, we identify the critical fixed-point theory as a conformal field theory having an enhanced SU(2) symmetry and central charge 3/2. While the fixed point is Lorentz invariant, the effective 'speed of light' nevertheless vanishes at low energies due to marginally irrelevant operators leading to a diverging critical specific heat coefficient.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, minor changes, published versio

Looking Ahead: Envisioning the Future of the Extension Program Development Model

This article synthesizes key points from this special issue of the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension and provides recommendations for and predictions about the evolution of the Extension Program Development Model. A foundational question addressed by each of the authors of this special issue and summarized in this chapter is, “If your recommendations regarding the Extension Program Development Model were followed, what would Extension look like in five years?

Universal signatures of the metamagnetic quantum critical endpoint: Application to CeRu2Si2

A quantum critical endpoint related to a metamagnetic transition causes distinct signatures in the thermodynamic quantities of a compound. We argue that, irrespective of the microscopic details of the considered material, the diverging differential susceptibility combined with the Ising symmetry of the endpoint give rise to a number of characteristic metamagnetic phenomena. In the presence of a magnetoelastic coupling, one finds a correspondence of susceptibility, magnetostriction and compressibility and, as a result, a pronounced crystal softening, a diverging Grueneisen parameter, a sign change of thermal expansion alpha(H), and a minimum in the specific heat coefficient gamma(H). We illustrate these signatures and their relation on the metamagnetic crossover at 8 T in the prototypical heavy-fermion system CeRu2Si2.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, v2: changed title, minor modification