In situ transformation and cleaning of tin-drop contamination on mirrors for extreme ultraviolet light

Tin-drop contamination was cleaned from multilayer-coated mirrors by induction of phase transformation. The {\beta} - {\alpha} phase transition of tin was induced to initiate material embrittlement and enable facile removal of thick tin deposits. The necessary steps were performed under high-vacuum conditions for an in-situ demonstration of the removal of severe tin contamination from optics used for reflection of extreme ultraviolet light. Molten tin of high purity was dripped onto mirror samples, inoculated with small seed particles of gray tin and then cooled to temperatures in the range of -25 {\deg}C to -40 {\deg}C. As recorded by photographic imaging, the drops were converted in an evacuated chamber to gray tin by induction of tin pest leading to their disintegration within a few hours. They could then be easily cleaned or fell off from the surface without causing any damage of the multilayer coating. Cleaning of tin contamination from the mirrors with almost complete structural transformation of the tin drops and subsequent removal by puffs of dry gas could be achieved within a day. The fraction of area coverage of untransformed tin remaining on the samples after cleaning was evaluated from the images and generally found to be well below 1%. After tin dripping, phase transition and cleaning, analysis of the reflectance of a Mo/Si-coated mirror with measurements at wavelengths of 13.6 nm and 13.5 nm showed a reduction by only 0.5%, with an upper limit of 1%

Metformin, Sulfonylureas, or Other Antidiabetes Drugs and the Risk of Lactic Acidosis or Hypoglycemia

OBJECTIVE: Lactic acidosis has been associated with use of metformin. Hypoglycemia is a major concern using sulfonylureas. The aim of this study was to compare the risk of lactic acidosis and hypoglycemia among patients with type 2 diabetes using oral antidiabetes drugs. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study is a nested case-control analysis using the U.K.-based General Practice Research Database to identify patients with type 2 diabetes who used oral antidiabetes drugs. Within the study population, all incident cases of lactic acidosis and hypoglycemia were identified, and hypoglycemia case subjects were matched to up to four control patients based on age, sex, practice, and calendar time. RESULTS: Among the study population of 50,048 type 2 diabetic subjects, six cases of lactic acidosis during current use of oral antidiabetes drugs were identified, yielding a crude incidence rate of 3.3 cases per 100,000 person-years among metformin users and 4.8 cases per 100,000 person-years among users of sulfonylureas. Relevant comorbidities known as risk factors for lactic acidosis could be identified in all case subjects. A total of 2,025 case subjects with hypoglycemia and 7,278 matched control subjects were identified. Use of sulfonylureas was associated with a materially elevated risk of hypoglycemia. The adjusted odds ratio for current use of sulfonylureas was 2.79 (95% CI 2.23–3.50) compared with current metformin use. CONCLUSIONS: Lactic acidosis during current use of oral antidiabetes drugs was very rare and was associated with concurrent comorbidity. Hypoglycemic episodes were substantially more common among sulfonylurea users than among users of metformin.Merck SA, Lyon, Franc

Workfare, Monitoring, and Efficiency Wages

The impact of a stronger work requirement for welfare recipients in a workfare program is studied in an efficiency wage model where a representative firm chooses its level of monitoring activities. A stricter workfare policy raises employment and monitoring activities. It typically increases profits and reduces the tax rate. The impact on the net wage isambiguous. Utility levels of employed workers and welfare recipients may increase even if the net wage declines. The utility differential between these two groups of workers shrinks.workfare, welfare, efficiency wages, monitoring

Time Limits on Welfare Use under Involuntary Unemployment

The impacts of introducing or tightening time limits on welfare use are studied in an efficiency wage model. Those losing access to regular benefits receive some smaller benefit, which can be interpreted as food stamps. Stricter time limits raise both employment and profits and generally reduce the tax rate. The impact on the net wage is ambiguous. Changes of utility levels of employed workers and recipients of regular social assistance have the same sign as the variation in the net wage. The utility differential between social assistance recipients and food stamp participants shrinks.welfare benefits, time limits, efficiency wages

Time Limits in a Two-tier Unemployment Benefit Scheme under Involuntary Unemployment

The consequences of introducing or tightening time limits on receiving high unemploymentbenefits are studied in a shirking model. Stricter time limits have an ambiguousimpact on the net wage, and changes of utility levels of employed workers and recipientsof high unemployment benefits have the same sign as the variation in the netwage. The utility differential between the two groups of unemployed shrinks. The relativeincome position of skilled workers moves in the same direction as the net wage ofunskilled workers. When access to high benefits is denied for caught shirkers, strictertime limits may decrease employment.Unemployment benefits, welfare benefits, time limits, efficiency wages.

The trade-off between scope and precision in sustainability assessments of food systems

With sustainability becoming an increasingly important issue, several tools have been developed, promising to assess sustainability of farms and farming systems. However, looking closer at the scope, the level of assessment and the precision of indicators used for impact assessment we discern considerable differences between the sustainability impact assessment tools at hand. The aim of this paper is therefore to classify and analyse six different sustainability impact assessment tools with respect to the assessment level, the scope and the precision. From our analysis we can conclude that there is a trade-off between scope and precision of these tools. Thus one-size-fits-all solutions with respect to tool selection are rarely feasible. Furthermore, as the indicator selection determines the assessment results, different and inconsistent indicators could lead to contradicting and not comparable assessment results. To overcome this shortcoming, sustainability impact assessments should disclose the methodological approach as well as the indictor sets use and aim for harmonisation of assumptions

Use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate and fracture risk

Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), which has a high rate of use among teenagers in Europe and the United States, has been associated with impaired bone mineral acquisition during adolescence and accelerated bone loss in later life. Studies on the association between DMPA use and fracture risk are limited.; We aimed at evaluating the relationship between use of hormonal contraceptives, specifically DMPA, and fracture risk.; We conducted a case-control analysis using the United Kingdom-based General Practice Research Database.; Participants were females aged 20-44 yr with an incident fracture diagnosis between 1995 and 2008.; Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of incident fracture in relation to exposure to DMPA or combined oral contraceptives were assessed. Adjustments were made for smoking, body mass index, and additional potential confounders.; We identified 17,527 incident fracture cases and 70,130 control patients (DMPA exposure: 11 and 8%, respectively). Compared with nonuse, current use of one to two, three to nine, or 10 or more DMPA prescriptions yielded adjusted OR for fractures of 1.18 (95% CI = 0.93-1.49), 1.36 (95% CI = 1.15-1.60), and 1.54 (95% CI = 1.33-1.78), respectively. Fracture risk was highest after longer treatment duration (<2-3 yr), and there was no difference in patients below and above the age of 30 yr. For users of combined estrogen-containing oral contraceptives, the OR were around 1.; This population-based study suggests that use of DMPA is associated with a slightly increased risk of fractures

Russia under Putin: foreign economic relations policy up for re-shaping?

'Die offiziellen programmatischen Äußerungen und der bisherige Kurs der Putin-Administration machen deutlich, daß es das Ziel der Außenwirtschaftspolitik ist, Rußland nach der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise von 1998 wieder zu einem verläßlichen und berechenbaren Partner in den internationalen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zu machen. Bei den entsprechenden Bemühungen stehen drei Aufgaben im Vordergrund. Erstens sollen die notwendigen Voraussetzungen für einen breiten Zugang zu den gegenwärtig versperrten internationalen Kapitalmärkten geschaffen werden. Zweitens geht es darum, die seither rückläufigen Handels- und Kooperationsbeziehungen mit den wichtigsten Außenwirtschaftspartnern bzw. -partnergruppen wieder zu reaktivieren und, wo möglich, weiter auszubauen. Drittens ist man in Moskau bestrebt, die gegenwärtig stagnierende Einbindung Rußlands in leitende Institutionen der Weltwirtschaft zu forcieren. In der vorliegenden Studie untersucht der Verfasser die Implementierung dieser Aufgaben und zeigt die dabei erkennbaren sachlichen Probleme und konzeptionellen Schwierigkeiten auf, die die russische Administration zu überwinden hat, um das Land zu einem strategischen Partner in den internationalen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen werden zu lassen.' (Textauszug)'The official programme statements made and the course pursued by the Putin Administration to date make it apparent that the objective of its foreign economic relations policy is to make Russia a reliable and calculable partner in international economic relations again, its reputation having been seriously tarnished by the financial and economic crisis of the summer of 1998. The endeavours to this end focus on achieving three tasks. Firstly, to establish the preconditions required for broad access to international capital markets, which is currently being denied. Secondly, to re-activate and, if possible, expand the country's trade and co-operation relations with its most important partners and partner groups, which have been declining since the crisis. And thirdly, Moscow is eager to forge ahead with Russia's currently stagnating integration into the leading institutions of the global economy. In the present report the author examines the implementation of these tasks and thereby outlines the main obvious relevant problems and conceptual deficits, which the Putin Administration has to overcome in order to let advance Russia to a strategic partner in international economic relations.' (extract