Titanium oxide films grown on the surface of a Ni(110) single crystal have been investigated using STM, LEED and AES for Ti coverages ranging from 1 to 10 ml 1 ml of Ti is defined here as equivalent ...to the number of top layer Ni atoms of Ni(110). The oxide overlayers were prepared by vapour phase deposition of Ti followed by oxidation in 1×10
−7 mbar O
2 at 800 K. Oxidation of Ti coverages between 1 and 10 ML results in STM images indicating the presence of two terminations coexisting on the surface. One termination consists of islands of epitaxial rutile TiO
2(110), the second having cell parameters of 2.98±0.1×3.15±0.2 Å. The latter unit cell is consistent with TiO(001) (2.99×2.99 Å
2). On oxidation of higher Ti coverages (10 ml), only epitaxial rutile TiO
2(110) islands are observed.
The reaction of H
2S with NiO(100) has been studied by polarization-dependent surface EXAFS. The results evidence reduction of the selvedge to form a Ni raft having S in four-fold sites with a S–Ni ...bond length of 2.21±0.02
Å. The Ni–Ni in-plane distance is 2.77±0.09
Å, representing a 6±4% contraction compared to that in NiO(100).
Objective The Disproportionate Intrauterine Growth Intervention Trial at Term (DIGITAT) compared induction of labor and expectant management in suspected intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) at ...term. In this subanalysis, we report neonatal morbidity between the policies based on the Morbidity Assessment Index for Newborns (MAIN). Study Design We used data from the DIGITAT. For each neonate, we calculated the MAIN score, a validated outcome scale. Results There were no differences in mean MAIN scores or in MAIN morbidity categories. We found that neonatal admissions are lower after 38 weeks' gestational age compared with 36 and 37 weeks in both groups. Conclusion The incidence of neonatal morbidity in IUGR at term is comparable and relatively mild either after induction or after an expectant policy. However, neonatal admissions are lower after 38 weeks of pregnancy, so if induction to preempt possible stillbirth is considered, it is reasonable to delay until 38 weeks, provided watchful monitoring.
To assess the quality of patient leaflets regarding the choice between medical and surgical abortions.
Cross sectional survey.
NHS and private providers of abortion services in England and Wales.
...Leaflets from three private providers, all teaching hospitals (
n = 14) and a representative sample of NHS district hospitals (
n = 27), accessed by approximately 100,000 women per year.
On telephoning the above abortion services, the leaflets provided to women choosing to have medical or surgical abortions were requested. Content analysis of leaflets included: application of a coding frame assessing adequacy of information about options, risks and procedures; the Flesch Readability Ease scale.
Provision of leaflet, adequacy of information and ease of readability.
Seventy-three percent (44/60) of contacted providers offered women a leaflet. Of these 44 leaflets, one mentioned medical and 15 surgical abortion methods only. Adequacy of information provision was low, with on average 10/23 points covered about the surgical method, 12/21 points about the medical method and 7/11 points about aftercare. Readability scores were poor with 24/44 (55%) rated as ‘difficult’ or ‘fairly difficult’. Among NHS providers, scores were slightly higher in the teaching than in the district hospitals.
On average, leaflets provided half the information possible about the risks and procedures of medical and surgical methods. In addition, readability was rated as difficult in over half the leaflets. It seems unlikely that these leaflets enable women to make informed choices between abortion methods and, therefore, do not meet the requirements of current guidelines.
In the steel industry, there is a trend to equip an increasing number of production lines with camera-based inspection systems to monitor the surface quality of the steel. These systems are dedicated ...to automatically detect and classify surface defects. When camera systems are used in different processing lines through which the steel subsequently passes, it becomes possible to track the surface quality through the chain. Linking through-process data enables fast root cause analysis and optimisation of manufacturing practice to minimise the defect level. The evaluation of the changes in surface condition through the process is hampered by problems in data synchronisation, changes in product geometry (scaling), parts of the product that are taken out of the process chain (slit edges, cut off heads or tails) and delays in the processing chain (e.g. due to the maintenance of a production line). This paper highlights the conditions and problems encountered in integrated process analysis in an industrial environment.
ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of the specimen-processing method that uses the detergent C
18
-carboxypropylbetaine (CB-18) on the sensitivity of acid-fast bacillus (AFB) ...staining. Vietnamese immigrants with abnormal chest radiographs provided up to three sputum specimens, which were examined for acid-fast bacilli by use of direct auramine and Ziehl-Neelsen staining. The remaining sputum was split; half was cultured, and the other half was incubated with CB-18 for 24 h, centrifuged, and examined for AFB by both staining methods. CB-18 processing improved the sensitivity of AFB staining by 20 to 30% (only differences in auramine sensitivity were statistically significant) but reduced specificity by ≈20% (
P
< 0.05). These findings have direct utility for overseas migrant tuberculosis screening programs, for which maximizing test sensitivity is a major objective.
The fine specificity of the humoral immune response to the pre-S(2) region of the hepatitis B surface antigen was studied. It was demonstrated that the murine antibody response to the pre-S(2) region ...is focused on residues 133 through 143, and two distinct but overlapping epitopes were identified within 11 continuous residues. One epitope, defined by p133-139, is group specific, and the other epitope, defined by p137-143, is influenced by a subtype-dependent amino acid substitution at residue 141. However, the influence of residue 141 was "covert" in that it was only detected when synthetic antigens of 19 amino acids or smaller were used as the solid-phase ligand. The minimum size of both epitopes (p133-139 and p137-143) was seven amino acids. The physical and chemical form of the immunogen (i.e., protein vs peptide; conjugated vs free peptide) influenced antibody fine specificity. In quantitative antibody inhibition studies it was demonstrated that antibodies with nonoverlapping as well as overlapping fine specificities were capable of mutual inhibition. Finally, human HBV-infected, patient sera were shown to possess anti-pre-S(2) region antibodies that recognized sequences in common with the murine antisera. These results have implications relevant to the design of synthetic and recombinant second generation HBV vaccines and diagnostic reagents.
Package Inserts and the Standard of Care Thornton, Russell G.
Proceedings - Baylor University. Medical Center,
10/1/2003, 2003-Oct, 2003-10-00, 20031001, Letnik:
16, Številka:
4
Journal Article
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