B-site substituted lanthanum strontium ferrites as electrode materials for electrochemical applications

For electrochemical systems such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) or solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOECs), perovskites are widely used as cathode material for the reduction of molecular oxygen. At present, strontium-substituted lanthanum manganite, La1-xSrxMnO3-δ (LSM), is used as standard SOFC cathode material for operation at high temperatures, whereas strontium-substituted lanthanum ferrite (LSF) is alternatively explored for medium-temperature SOFCs. Moreover, LSF is considered to be a potential candidate for oxygen separation membranes as the material reported interesting electrical properties. The design of new perovskite-type La transition-metal oxides is of significant technological importance in order to reduce the operating temperature to 600-800 °C and thus to reduce the SOFC system cost. For investigations on a new material class, (La1-xSrx)yFe1-z(Ni,Cu)zO3-δ was synthesized by a spray-pyrolysis process and modified on the A-site in both stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric configurations and on the B-site by substituting Fe with Ni and C

Une étude pilote sur le congé parental de pères au Tirol

La présente étude porte sur les pères en congé parental au Tirol. Les auteurs constatent que les réflexions systématiques à propos des pères en congé sont rares. Les auteurs tentent de répondre à la question suivante : le congé parental a-t-il des implications sur l'attachement père-enfant ? L'étude pilote porte sur un échantillon de 15 dyades père-enfant. La description et l'analyse du comportement d'interaction père-enfant ont été effectuées à l'aide du Child Adult Relationship Index (CARE-Index) élaboré par Crittenden (1988, 2000).A pilot study of fathers on parental leave in Tirol The current study examines fathers in parental leave in Tirol. The authors have come to realise that systematic reflections concerning fathers on leave of their work are rare. The authors attempt to answer the following question: does parental leave have implications on child/father attachment? The pilot study examines a small sample of 15 father/child couples. The description and analysis of father/child interactions was elaborated with the Child Adult Relationship Index (CARE-Index) designed by Crittenden (1988, 2000).Un proyecto piloto sobre el permiso parental en Tirol El estudio trata de los padres en permiso parental en Tirol. Los autores constatan que son muy pocas las reflexiones systématicas sobre los padres en permiso. ¿Tiene el permiso parental implicaciones sobre el apego padre-hijo? Los autores tratan de responder a esta pregunta en un estudio piloto con una muestra de 15 dyadas padre-hijo. La descripción y el analisis del comportamiento de la interaccion padre-hijo han sido realisadas con la ayuda del Child Adult Relationship Index (CARE-Index) elaborado por Crittenden (1988, 2000)

Performance of Drift-Tube Detectors at High Counting Rates for High-Luminosity LHC Upgrades

The performance of pressurized drift-tube detectors at very high background rates has been studied at the Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF) at CERN and in an intense 20 MeV proton beam at the Munich Van-der-Graaf tandem accelerator for applications in large-area precision muon tracking at high-luminosity upgrades of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The ATLAS muon drifttube (MDT) chambers with 30 mm tube diameter have been designed to cope with and neutron background hit rates of up to 500 Hz/square cm. Background rates of up to 14 kHz/square cm are expected at LHC upgrades. The test results with standard MDT readout electronics show that the reduction of the drift-tube diameter to 15 mm, while leaving the operating parameters unchanged, vastly increases the rate capability well beyond the requirements. The development of new small-diameter muon drift-tube (sMDT) chambers for LHC upgrades is completed. Further improvements of tracking efficiency and spatial resolution at high counting rates will be achieved with upgraded readout electronics employing improved signal shaping for high counting rates

The spin-half XXZ antiferromagnet on the square lattice revisited: A high-order coupled cluster treatment

We use the coupled cluster method (CCM) to study the ground-state properties and lowest-lying triplet excited state of the spin-half {\it XXZ} antiferromagnet on the square lattice. The CCM is applied to it to high orders of approximation by using an efficient computer code that has been written by us and which has been implemented to run on massively parallelized computer platforms. We are able therefore to present precise data for the basic quantities of this model over a wide range of values for the anisotropy parameter Δ in the range −1≤Δ1) regimes, where Δ→∞ represents the Ising limit. We present results for the ground-state energy, the sublattice magnetization, the zero-field transverse magnetic susceptibility, the spin stiffness, and the triplet spin gap. Our results provide a useful yardstick against which other approximate methods and/or experimental studies of relevant antiferromagnetic square-lattice compounds may now compare their own results. We also focus particular attention on the behaviour of these parameters for the easy-axis system in the vicinity of the isotropic Heisenberg point (Δ=1), where the model undergoes a phase transition from a gapped state (for Δ>1) to a gapless state (for Δ≤1), and compare our results there with those from spin-wave theory (SWT). Interestingly, the nature of the criticality at Δ=1 for the present model with spins of spin quantum number s=12 that is revealed by our CCM results seems to differ qualitatively from that predicted by SWT, which becomes exact only for its near-classical large-s counterpart

A new instrument to describe indicators of well-being in old-old patients with severe dementia – The Vienna List

BACKGROUND: In patients with very severe dementia self-rating of quality of life usually is not possible and appropriate instruments for proxy-ratings are not available. The aim of this project is to develop an instrument of clinical proxy-ratings for this population. METHODS: Using electronic instruments, physicians and nurses recorded patient behaviour and changes of behaviour over a period of one year. Based on these data a list of 65 items was generated and subsequently allocated to 14 categories. This list was tested in 217 patients (61–105 yrs) with dementia diagnosed according to ICD-10 by both physicians and nurses. The severity of dementia was assessed by means of the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and the Brief Cognitive Rating Scale (BCRS). The Spitzer-Index (proxy-rating) was used as a global quality of life measure. Activity of daily living was rated using the Barthel Index. RESULTS: A factor analysis of the original 65 items revealed 5 factors (communication, negative affect, bodily contact, aggression, and mobility). By stepwise removing items we obtained satisfactory internal consistencies of the factors both for nurses' and physicians' ratings. The factors were generally unrelated. The validity of the instrument was proven by correlations of the factors communication and mobility with the Brief Cognitive Rating Scale (BCRS) and the Barthel-Index. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the reliability and validity of the Vienna List as a proxy rating measurement of quality of life in patients with severe dementia. The psychometric properties of the scale have to be proved in further studies

全部國産に依る16ミリ「レ」線映晝 : 第2編

<div><p>Microfluidics is a great enabling technology for biology, biotechnology, chemistry and general life sciences. Despite many promising predictions of its progress, microfluidics has not reached its full potential yet. To unleash this potential, we propose the use of intrinsically active hydrogels, which work as sensors and actuators at the same time, in microfluidic channel networks. These materials transfer a chemical input signal such as a substance concentration into a mechanical output. This way chemical information is processed and analyzed on the spot without the need for an external control unit. Inspired by the development electronics, our approach focuses on the development of single transistor-like components, which have the potential to be used in an integrated circuit technology. Here, we present membrane isolated chemical volume phase transition transistor (MIS-CVPT). The device is characterized in terms of the flow rate from source to drain, depending on the chemical concentration in the control channel, the source-drain pressure drop and the operating temperature.</p></div

Impact of Altered Mineral Metabolism on Pathological Cardiac Remodeling in Elevated Fibroblast Growth Factor 23

Clinical and experimental studies indicate a possible link between high serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), phosphate, and parathyroid hormone (PTH), deficiency of active vitamin D (1,25D) and klotho with the development of pathological cardiac remodeling, i.e., left ventricular hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis, but a causal link has not been established so far. Here, we investigated the cardiac phenotype in klotho hypomorphic (kl/kl) mice and Hyp mice, two mouse models of elevated FGF23 levels and klotho deficiency, but differing in parameters of mineral metabolism, by using histology, quantitative real-time PCR, immunoblot analysis, and serum and urine biochemistry. Additionally, the specific impact of calcium, phosphate, PTH, and 1,25D on hypertrophic growth of isolated neonatal rat cardiac myocytes was investigated in vitro. Kl/kl mice displayed high serum Fgf23 levels, increased relative heart weight, enhanced cross-sectional area of individual cardiac myocytes, activated cardiac Fgf23/Fgf receptor (Fgfr) 4/calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) signaling, and induction of pro-hypertrophic NFAT target genes including Rcan1, bMHC, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) as compared to corresponding wild-type (WT) mice. Investigation of fibrosis-related molecules characteristic for pathological cardiac remodeling processes demonstrated ERK1/2 activation and enhanced expression of Tgf-β1, collagen I, and Mmp2 in kl/kl mice than in WT mice. In contrast, despite significantly elevation of serum and cardiac Fgf23, and reduced renal klotho expression, Hyp mice showed no signs of pathological cardiac remodeling. Kl/kl mice showed enhanced serum calcium and phosphate levels, while Hyp mice showed unchanged serum calcium levels, lower serum phosphate, and elevated serum iPTH concentrations compared to corresponding WT mice. In cultured cardiac myocytes, treatment with both calcium or phosphate significantly upregulated endogenous Fgf23 mRNA expression and stimulated hypertrophic cell growth and expression of pro-hypertrophic genes. The treatment with PTH induced hypertrophic cell growth only, and stimulation with 1,25D had no significant effects. In conclusion, our data indicate that Hyp mice, in contrast to kl/kl mice appear to be protected from pathological cardiac remodeling during conditions of high FGF23 levels and klotho deficiency, which may be due, at least in part, to differences in mineral metabolism alterations, i.e., hypophosphatemia and lack of hypercalcemia

How to Report and Benchmark Emerging Field-Effect Transistors

Emerging low-dimensional nanomaterials have been studied for decades in device applications as field-effect transistors (FETs). However, properly reporting and comparing device performance has been challenging due to the involvement and interlinking of multiple device parameters. More importantly, the interdisciplinarity of this research community results in a lack of consistent reporting and benchmarking guidelines. Here we report a consensus among the authors regarding guidelines for reporting and benchmarking important FET parameters and performance metrics. We provide an example of this reporting and benchmarking process for a two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor FET. Our consensus will help promote an improved approach for assessing device performance in emerging FETs, thus aiding the field to progress more consistently and meaningfully.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, Under review at Nature Electronic

Acclimation in plants – the Green Hub consortium

Acclimation is the capacity to adapt to environmental changes within the lifetime of an individual. This ability allows plants to cope with the continuous variation in ambient conditions to which they are exposed as sessile organisms. Because environmental changes and extremes are becoming even more pronounced due to the current period of climate change, enhancing the efficacy of plant acclimation is a promising strategy for mitigating the consequences of global warming on crop yields. At the cellular level, the chloroplast plays a central role in many acclimation responses, acting both as a sensor of environmental change and as a target of cellular acclimation responses. In this Perspective article, we outline the activities of the Green Hub consortium funded by the German Science Foundation. The main aim of this research collaboration is to understand and strategically modify the cellular networks that mediate plant acclimation to adverse environments, employing Arabidopsis, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and Chlamydomonas as model organisms. These efforts will contribute to ‘smart breeding’ methods designed to create crop plants with improved acclimation properties. To this end, the model oilseed crop Camelina sativa is being used to test modulators of acclimation for their potential to enhance crop yield under adverse environmental conditions. Here we highlight the current state of research on the role of gene expression, metabolism and signalling in acclimation, with a focus on chloroplast‐related processes. In addition, further approaches to uncovering acclimation mechanisms derived from systems and computational biology, as well as adaptive laboratory evolution with photosynthetic microbes, are highlighted.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Peer Reviewe

RESPONDER – diagnosis of pathological complete response by vacuum-assisted biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast Cancer - a multicenter, confirmative, one-armed, intra-individually-controlled, open, diagnostic trial

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is a standard approach of the multidisciplinary treatment of breast cancer. Depending on the biological subtype a pathological complete response in the breast (bpCR) can be achieved in up to 60% of the patients. However, only limited accuracy can be reached when using imaging for prediction of bpCR prior to surgery. Due to this diagnostic uncertainty, surgery after NACT is considered to be obligatory for all patients in order to either completely remove residual disease or to diagnose a bpCR histologically. The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the accuracy of a vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB) to diagnose a bpCR after NACT prior to surgery. Methods: This study is a multicenter, confirmative, one-armed, intra-individually-controlled, open, diagnostic trial. The study will take place at 21 trial sites in Germany. Six hundred female patients with breast cancer after completed NACT showing at least a partial response to NACT treatment will be enrolled. A vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB) guided either by ultrasound or mammography will be performed followed by histopathological evaluation of the VAB specimen before standard, guideline-adherent breast surgery. The study is designed to prove that the false negative rate of the VAB is below 10%. Discussion: As a bpCR is becoming a more frequent result after NACT, the question arises whether breast surgery is therapeutically necessary in such cases. To study this subject further, it will be crucial to develop a reliable test to diagnose a bpCR without surgery. During the study we anticipate possible problems in patient recruitment as the VAB intervention does not provide participating patients with any personal benefit. Hence, a proficient informed consent discussion with the patient and a detailed explanation of the study aim will be crucial for patient recruitment. Another critical issue is the histopathological VAB evaluation of a non-tumorous specimen as this may have been taken either from the former tumor region (bpCR) or outside of the (former) tumor region (non-representative VAB, sampling error). Trial registration: The trial has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov with the identifier NCT02948764 on October 28, 2016 and at the German Clinical Trials Register ( DRKS00011761 ) on February 20, 2017. The date of enrolment of the first participant to the trial was on March 8, 2017