Pre-selectable integer quantum conductance of electrochemically fabricated silver point contacts

The controlled fabrication of well-ordered atomic-scale metallic contacts is of great interest: it is expected that the experimentally observed high percentage of point contacts with a conductance at non-integer multiples of the conductance quantum G_0 = 2e^2/h in simple metals is correlated to defects resulting from the fabrication process. Here we demonstrate a combined electrochemical deposition and annealing method which allows the controlled fabrication of point contacts with pre-selectable integer quantum conductance. The resulting conductance measurements on silver point contacts are compared with tight-binding-like conductance calculations of modeled idealized junction geometries between two silver crystals with a predefined number of contact atoms

Para uma tanatologia dos estádios Olímpicos

The sociology of sport has over a 30-year history of developing a deeper understanding of urban life by conceptualizing the ways in which sport, both as a dominant cultural form, and as the infrastructure that houses it, is connected to the construct of community and identity.  Olympic stadiums, for example, are projected as symbols of global urban status, focal points for local collective identity, and as verification of urban regeneration success –that is, in a sense, as the concrete embodiment of the Olympic Dream.              So what happens when an Olympic stadium is abandoned or destroyed?  What happens when an Olympic stadium dies?  The purpose of this essay is to provoke thought about the role and meaning of Olympic stadium death. We draw upon media studies, gerontological, and thanatological literature to explore how former Olympic stadiums are presented in global media reports.  Situated in the notion that cultural objects have a biography of a life span much as individuals do (Kopytoff, 1986), we ultimately call for a thanatology of sports stadiums

From Naptown to Sportstown : growth politics, urban development, and economic change in Indianapolis

The purpose of this study was to explore the construction and implementation of Indianapolis' urban growth strategy and to assess its impact on the local employment and wage structure. An analytical case study encompassing the years from 1960 to 1990, was developed to provide an integrated view of the historical, social, and political forces that defined the conditions in which this strategy was embedded. Information gathered to develop this case study included planning documents, minutes from public hearings, consultants' analyses and reports, newspaper accounts, and numerous miscellaneous texts. In addition, the author conducted formal interviews with key Indianapolis government, business, and community leaders. Covered employment and wages data were utilized to assess the ways in which Indianapolis' economic and wage structure evidenced change from 1980 to 1990. Location quotients were calculated to compare Indianapolis' economic structural change to that of the nation. Wage data were analyzed to ascertain the annualized average wages associated with the jobs created or lost in the Indianapolis economy between 1980 and 1990

Clinical outcomes of different implant types in mandibular bar-retained overdentures: a retrospective analysis with up to 20 years follow-up.

PURPOSE To determine the clinical and radiological outcomes of hybrid-design- (HD) and bone-level (BL) implants for bar-retained mandibular implant-overdentures (IODs). METHODS For this retrospective study, edentulous patients who had received maxillary complete dentures and mandibular bar-retained IODs were invited for a follow-up assessment. Implant survival, implant success and health of peri-implant tissues were assessed on an implant level-based analysis. Patient-based parameters served to identify risk factors for peri-implant bone loss, presence of peri-implantitis and success. RESULTS Eighty patients (median age 72.72 [67.03; 78.81] years, 46 females) with 180 implants (median follow-up 12.01 [10.82; 21.04] years) were assessed. There was no difference concerning the rate of implant failure (p = 0.26), or peri-implantitis (p = 0.97) between HD and BL implants. Solely in one study group, there was the presence of peri-implant pus. Implant success was higher in BL implants with one group being notably higher than the comparing groups (p = 0.045). For bone loss, a width of keratinized mucosa (KM) ≤ 1 mm (p = 0.0006) and the presence of xerostomia (p = 0.09) were identified as risk factors. Smoking (p = 0.013) and a higher body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.03) were a risk factor for peri-implantitis. As risk factors for reduced implant success, a small width of KM (p = 0.003) and the presence of xerostomia (p = 0.007) were identified. CONCLUSIONS For mandibular bar-retained IODs, both BL and HD implants are mostly successful. A minimum of 1 mm KM around implants and normal salivary flow are relevant factors for implant success and stable peri-implant bone levels. Smoking and a high BMI are potential risk factors for peri-implantitis

How Do Employment Outcomes of Medicaid Buy-In Participants Vary Based on Prior Medicaid Coverage? An Example from Massachusetts

Summary: The Medicaid Buy-In program is a key component of the federal effort to make it easier for people with disabilities to work without losing health benefits. Authorized by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (“BBA”) and the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (“Ticket Act”), the Buy-In program allows states to expand Medicaid coverage to workers with disabilities whose income and assets would ordinarily make them ineligible for Medicaid. To be eligible for the program, an individual must have a disability (as defined by the Social Security Administration) and earned income, and must meet other financial eligibility requirements established by states. States have some flexibility to customize their Buy-In programs to their specific needs, resources, and objectives. As of July 1, 2008, 33 states with a Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) reported covering 82,488 individuals in the Medicaid Buy-In program. The CommonHealth Working (CHW) program in Massachusetts is the oldest Buy-In program in the nation. It began in 1988 as a state-funded program and was folded into the state’s 1115 Medicaid research and demonstration project in 1996. This issue brief, the eighth in a series on workers with disabilities, compares the employment outcomes of newly enrolled CHW participants based on whether or not they were previously enrolled in MassHealth, Massachusetts’s Medicaid program, under another eligibility category. For those who had been enrolled in MassHealth, employment outcomes before and after CHW enrollment are contrasted

In Vivo Inflammation Does Not Impair ABCA1-Mediated Cholesterol Efflux Capacity of HDL

HDL provides atheroprotection by facilitating cholesterol efflex from lipid-laden macrophages in the vessel wall. In vitro studies have suggested impaired efflux capacity of HDL following inflammatory changes. We assessed the impact of acute severe sepsis and mild chronic inflammatory disease on the efflux capacity of HDL. We hypothesize that a more severe inflammatory state leads to stronger impaired cholesterol efflux capacity. Using lipid-laden THP1 cells and fibroblasts we were able to show that efflux capacity of HDL from both patients with severe sepsis or with Crohn's disease (active or in remission), either isolated using density gradient ultracentrifugation or using apoB precipitation, was not impaired. Yet plasma levels of HDL cholesterol and apoA-I were markedly lower in patients with sepsis. Based on the current observations we conclude that inflammatory disease does not interfere with the capacity of HDL to mediate cholesterol efflux. Our findings do not lend support to the biological relevance of HDL function changes in vitro

Defense suppression benefits herbivores that have a monopoly on their feeding site but can backfire within natural communities

Background: Plants have inducible defenses to combat attacking organisms. Hence, some herbivores have adapted to suppress these defenses. Suppression of plant defenses has been shown to benefit herbivores by boosting their growth and reproductive performance. Results: We observed in field-grown tomatoes that spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) establish larger colonies on plants already infested with the tomato russet mite (Aculops lycopersici). Using laboratory assays, we observed that spider mites have a much higher reproductive performance on russet mite-infested plants, similar to their performance on the jasmonic acid (JA)-biosynthesis mutant def-1. Hence, we tested if russet mites suppress JA-responses thereby facilitating spider mites. We found that russet mites manipulate defenses: they induce those mediated by salicylic acid (SA) but suppress those mediated by JA which would otherwise hinder growth. This suppression of JA-defenses occurs downstream of JA-accumulation and is independent from its natural antagonist SA. In contrast, spider mites induced both JA- and SA-responses while plants infested with the two mite species together display strongly reduced JA-responses, yet a doubled SA-response. The spider mite-induced JA-response in the presence of russet mites was restored on transgenic tomatoes unable to accumulate SA (nahG), but russet mites alone still did not induce JA-responses on nahG plants. Thus, indirect facilitation of spider mites by russet mites depends on the antagonistic action of SA on JA while suppression of JA-defenses by russet mites does not. Furthermore, russet mite-induced SA-responses inhibited secondary infection by Pseudomonas syringae (Pst) while not affecting the mite itself. Finally, while facilitating spider mites, russet mites experience reduced population growth. Conclusion: Our results show that the benefits of suppressing plant defenses may diminish within communities with natural competitors. We show that suppression of defenses via the JA-SA antagonism can be a consequence, rather than the cause, of a primary suppression event and that its overall effect is determined by the presence of competing herbivores and the distinct palette of defenses these induce. Thus, whether or not host-defense manipulation improves a herbivore inverted question marks fitness depends on interactions with other herbivores via induced-host defenses, implicating bidirectional causation of community structure of herbivores sharing a plant

The capillary adhesion technique: A versatile method for determining the liquid adhesion force and sample stiffness

We report a novel, practical technique for the concerted, simultaneous determination of both the adhesion force of a small structure or structural unit (e.g., an individual filament, hair, micromechanical component or microsensor) to a liquid and its elastic properties. The method involves the creation and development of a liquid meniscus upon touching a liquid surface with the structure, and the subsequent disruption of this liquid meniscus upon removal. The evaluation of the meniscus shape immediately before snap-off of the meniscus allows the quantitative determination of the liquid adhesion force. Concurrently, by measuring and evaluating the deformation of the structure under investigation, its elastic properties can be determined. The sensitivity of the method is remarkably high, practically limited by the resolution of the camera capturing the process. Adhesion forces down to 10 μN and spring constants up to 2 N/m were measured. Three exemplary applications of this method are demonstrated: (1) determination of the water adhesion force and the elasticity of individual hairs (trichomes) of the floating fern Salvinia molesta. (2) The investigation of human head hairs both with and without functional surface coatings (a topic of high relevance in the field of hair cosmetics) was performed. The method also resulted in the measurement of an elastic modulus (Young’s modulus) for individual hairs of 3.0 × 10⁵ N/cm², which is within the typical range known for human hair. (3) Finally, the accuracy and validity of the capillary adhesion technique was proven by examining calibrated atomic force microscopy cantilevers, reproducing the spring constants calibrated using other methods