95 research outputs found
Efficient determination of cysteine sulphoxides in Allium plants applying new biosensor and HPLC-MSĀ² methods
Cysteine sulphoxide (CSO) contents of 16 different accessions of garlic (Allium sativum L.) and 15 varieties of onion (Allium cepa L.) were measured using two different rapid analytical methods: a biosensoric approach and a newly developed HPLC-MS2 technique. Both methods allow quantification of naturally occurring cysteine sulphoxides present in Allium plants without time-consuming sample pretreatment such as derivatisation of amino acid derivatives prior to HPLC-separation. It has been found that the amount of alliin, which is the predominant CSO occurring in garlic, varies between 0.2 and 2.2 g/100 g dry matter. Contrary to that, isoalliin representing the main CSO in onion has been detected in significantly lower amounts (0.3 to 1.25 g/100 g dry matter)
Direct Neutron Capture for Magic-Shell Nuclei
In neutron capture for magic--shell nuclei the direct reaction mechanism can
be important and may even dominate. As an example we investigated the reaction
Ca(n,Ca for projectile energies below 250\,keV in a direct
capture model using the folding procedure for optical and bound state
potentials. The obtained theoretical cross sections are in agreement with the
experimental data showing the dominance of the direct reaction mechanism in
this case. The above method was also used to calculate the cross section for
Ca(n,Ca.Comment: REVTeX, 7 pages plus 3 uuencoded figures, the complete uuencoded
postscript file is available at ftp://is1.kph.tuwien.ac.at/pub/ohu/calcium.u
Direct neutron capture of 48Ca at kT = 52 keV
The neutron capture cross section of 48Ca was measured relative to the known
gold cross section at kT = 52 keV using the fast cyclic activation technique.
The experiment was performed at the Van-de-Graaff accelerator, Universitaet
Tuebingen. The new experimental result is in good agreement with a calculation
using the direct capture model. The 1/v behaviour of the capture cross section
at thermonuclear energies is confirmed, and the adopted reaction rate which is
based on several previous experimental investigations remains unchanged.Comment: 9 pages (uses Revtex), 2 postscript figures, accepted for publication
as Brief Report in Phys. Rev.
Measurement of neutron capture on Ca at thermal and thermonuclear energies
At the Karlsruhe pulsed 3.75\,MV Van de Graaff accelerator the thermonuclear
Ca(n,)Ca(8.72\,min) cross section was measured by the
fast cyclic activation technique via the 3084.5\,keV -ray line of the
Ca-decay. Samples of CaCO enriched in Ca by 77.87\,\% were
irradiated between two gold foils which served as capture standards. The
capture cross-section was measured at the neutron energies 25, 151, 176, and
218\,keV, respectively. Additionally, the thermal capture cross-section was
measured at the reactor BR1 in Mol, Belgium, via the prompt and decay
-ray lines using the same target material. The
Ca(n,)Ca cross-section in the thermonuclear and thermal
energy range has been calculated using the direct-capture model combined with
folding potentials. The potential strengths are adjusted to the scattering
length and the binding energies of the final states in Ca. The small
coherent elastic cross section of Ca+n is explained through the nuclear
Ramsauer effect. Spectroscopic factors of Ca have been extracted from
the thermal capture cross-section with better accuracy than from a recent (d,p)
experiment. Within the uncertainties both results are in agreement. The
non-resonant thermal and thermonuclear experimental data for this reaction can
be reproduced using the direct-capture model. A possible interference with a
resonant contribution is discussed. The neutron spectroscopic factors of
Ca determined from shell-model calculations are compared with the values
extracted from the experimental cross sections for Ca(d,p)Ca and
Ca(n,)Ca.Comment: 15 pages (uses Revtex), 7 postscript figures (uses psfig), accepted
for publication in PRC, uuencoded tex-files and postscript-files also
available at ftp://is1.kph.tuwien.ac.at/pub/ohu/Ca.u
Dealing with daily emotionsāsupportive activities for the elderly in a municipal care setting
There are diverse descriptions of supportive activities in nursing to be found in the literature. What they have in common is their association with good care outcomes, but they may differ depending on the context in which the care is given. In a Swedish municipal elderly care setting, registered nurses (RN) work in a consultative way and they describe a part of their tasks as comprising supportive activities without specifying what kind of supportive activities they mean. The aim of the study was to explore the main concern of the support given by RN to a group of patients in an elderly home care setting. The study was conducted using Grounded Theory. Data were collected using nonparticipant observations regarding the supportive activities of 12 RN at the home of 36 patients between the ages of 80 and 102. Most of the home visit lasted about 40 min but some lasted for 90 min. The central category was about dealing with daily emotions. This was done by encouraging the situation and reducing the patient's limitations, but situations also occurred in which there was a gap of support. Support was about capturing the emotions that the patient expressed for a particular moment, but there were also situations in which RN chose not to give support. To develop a holistic eldercare, more knowledge is needed about the factors causing the RN to choose not to provide support on some occasions
The origins and development of Zuwīla, Libyan Sahara: an archaeological and historical overview of an ancient oasis town and caravan centre
ZuwÄ«la in southwestern Libya (FazzÄn) was one of the most important early Islamic centres in the Central Sahara, but the archaeological correlates of the written sources for it have been little explored. This paper brings together for the first time a detailed consideration of the relevant historical and archaeological data, together with new AMS radiocarbon dates from several key monuments. The origins of the settlement at ZuwÄ«la were pre-Islamic, but the town gained greater prominence in the early centuries of Arab rule of the Maghrib, culminating with the establishment of an IbÄįøÄ« state ruled by the dynasty of the BanÅ« Khaį¹į¹Äb, with ZuwÄ«la its capital. The historical sources and the accounts of early European travellers are discussed and archaeological work at ZuwÄ«la is described (including the new radiocarbon dates). A short gazetteer of archaeological monuments is provided as an appendix. Comparisons and contrasts are also drawn between ZuwÄ«la and other oases of the ash-SharqiyÄt region of FazzÄn. The final section of the paper presents a series of models based on the available evidence, tracing the evolution and decline of this remarkable site
The CogBIAS longitudinal study protocol: cognitive and genetic factors influencing psychological functioning in adolescence.
BACKGROUND: Optimal psychological development is dependent upon a complex interplay between individual and situational factors. Investigating the development of these factors in adolescence will help to improve understanding of emotional vulnerability and resilience. The CogBIAS longitudinal study (CogBIAS-L-S) aims to combine cognitive and genetic approaches to investigate risk and protective factors associated with the development of mood and impulsivity-related outcomes in an adolescent sample. METHODS: CogBIAS-L-S is a three-wave longitudinal study of typically developing adolescents conducted over 4Ā years, with data collection at age 12, 14 and 16. At each wave participants will undergo multiple assessments including a range of selective cognitive processing tasks (e.g. attention bias, interpretation bias, memory bias) and psychological self-report measures (e.g. anxiety, depression, resilience). Saliva samples will also be collected at the baseline assessment for genetic analyses. Multilevel statistical analyses will be performed to investigate the developmental trajectory of cognitive biases on psychological functioning, as well as the influence of genetic moderation on these relationships. DISCUSSION: CogBIAS-L-S represents the first longitudinal study to assess multiple cognitive biases across adolescent development and the largest study of its kind to collect genetic data. It therefore provides a unique opportunity to understand how genes and the environment influence the development and maintenance of cognitive biases and provide insight into risk and protective factors that may be key targets for intervention.This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unionās Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007ā2013)/ERC grant agreement no: [324176]
Individual development of preschool children - prevalences and determinants of delays in Germany: a cross-sectional study in Southern Bavaria
The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/12/188 Extent: 9p.Background: Even minor abnormalities of early child development may have dramatic long term consequences. Accurate prevalence rates for a range of developmental impairments have been difficult to establish. Since related studies have used different methodological approaches, direct comparisons of the prevalence of developmental delays are difficult. The understanding of the key factors affecting child development, especially in preschool aged children remains limited. We used data from school entry examinations in Bavaria to measure the prevalence of developmental impairments in pre-school children beginning primary school in 1997ā2009. Methods: The developmental impairments of all school beginners in the district of Dingolfing- Landau, Bavaria were assessed using modified āBavarian School Entry Modelā examination from 1997 to 2009 (N=13,182). The children were assessed for motor, cognitive, language and psychosocial impairments using a standardised medical protocol. Prevalence rates of impairments in twelve domains of development were estimated. Using uni- and multivariable logistic regression models, association between selected factors and development delays were assessed. Results: The highest prevalence existed for impairments of pronunciation (13.8%) followed by fine motor impairments (12.2%), and impairments of memory and concentration (11.3%) and the lowest for impairments of rhythm of speech (3.1%). Younger children displayed more developmental delays. Male gender was strongly associated with all developmental impairments (highest risk for fine motor impairments = OR 3.22, 95% confidence interval 2.86-3.63). Preschool children with siblings (vs. children without any siblings) were at higher risk of having impairments in pronunciation (OR 1.31, 1.14-1.50). The influence of the non-German nationality was strong, with a maximum risk increase for the subareas of grammar and psychosocial development. Although children with non-German nationality had a reduced risk of disorders for the rhythm of speech and pronunciation, in all other 10 subareas their risk was increased. Conclusions: In preschool children, most common were delays of pronunciation, memory and concentration. Age effects suggest that delays can spontaneously resolve, but providing support at school entry might be helpful. Boys and migrant children appear at high risk of developmental problems, which may warrant tailored intervention strategies.Heribert L Stich, Bernhard Th Baune, Riccardo N Caniato, Rafael T Mikolajczyk and Alexander KrƤme
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