Higher Purity Ingot Cerium from Molten Salts

Based on the experimental results obtained at the Reno Metallurgy Research Center of the US Bureau of Mines, an evaluation of several critical factors in the electrowin-ning of cerium from molten salts is presented.     

Baccalaureate curriculum. Gerontological nursing objectives

1. Gerontological preparation for nursing practice is no longer a curricular luxury; it is a necessity. Baccalaureate nursing education must include broad content and guided practice in gerontological nursing. 2. Incorporating gerontology into a baccalaureate nursing curriculum often is a challenge. Reasons include gerontology not being a "traditional" specialty area; health care professionals in the United States, including nurses, not viewing older adults differently from younger adults; students not being expected to apply knowledge or concepts specifically related to gerontology; and efforts to incorporate gerontological content into a curriculum being resisted due to ageism--a "natural" avoidance of aging from which nursing faculty are not exempt. 3. Because of the limited numbers of nurses with an advanced education in gerontology, the recruitment of experienced, knowledgeable faculty is difficult. Most gerontology faculty are still largely self-taught and enter nursing education via the fields of medical/surgical, psychiatric, or community nursing. It is largely these faculty who must plan and "pioneer" gerontology in the curriculum.     

DNA-modified nanocrystalline diamond thin-films as stable,biologically active substrates

Diamond, because of its electrical and chemical properties, may be a suitable material for integrated sensing and signal processing. But methods to control chemical or biological modifications on diamond surfaces have not been established. Here, we show that nanocrystalline diamond thin-films covalently modified with DNA oligonucleotides provide an extremely stable, highly selective platform in subsequent surface hybridization processes. We used a photochemical modification scheme to chemically modify clean, H-terminated nanocrystalline diamond surfaces grown on silicon substrates, producing a homogeneous layer of amine groups that serve as sites for DNA attachment. After linking DNA to the amine groups, hybridization reactions with fluorescently tagged complementary and non-complementary oligonucleotides showed no detectable non-specific adsorption, with extremely good selectivity between matched and mismatched sequences. Comparison of DNA-modified ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films with other commonly used surfaces for biological modification, such as gold, silicon, glass and glassy carbon, showed that diamond is unique in its ability to achieve very high stability and sensitivity while also being compatible with microelectronics processing technologies. These results suggest that diamond thin-films may be a nearly ideal substrate for integration of microelectronics with biological modification and sensing.     

Late luteal rescue in the baboon (Papio cynocephalus)

At the Department of Dental Radiology of ACTA, the line fraction deviation (LFD) method was developed to measure orientation on radiographic trabecular patterns. This article explains the measurement of the LFD index of orientation in a downscaled model. When investigations began to produce noteworthy results, the need for deeper understanding of the method and the resulting diagrams increased. Because it had previously been applied on rather complex patterns originating from bone it seemed worthwhile to study simpler images as well, which might yield a more intuitive understanding of the diagrams. Moreover, it seemed useful to compare the new LFD method with the well-accepted mean intercept length (MIL) method. Fifty images originating from cancellous bone structures and 25 drawings were analyzed. The results show that the MIL method tends to produce ellipses (not only on images originating from bone), and also that the LFD method is more sensitive to anisotropy.     

Sinterable β-Spodumene Glass-Ceramics

β-Spodumene glass-ceramic compositions were melted and studied. Compositional variations were made in the three major components as well as through minor additions of other oxides. Sintering characteristics and microstructures were studied and values for crystallization temperature, melting temperature, and crystallized thermal expansion coefficient were recorded. It was found that sinterable β-spodmene glass-ceramics could be made with a wide range of properties. Selection of an appropriate composition would be based on desired properties.     

Maternal recognition of pregnancy in cattle

Nature and potential functions of chemical signals involved in the process of pregnancy recognition in cattle are discussed. The array of prostaglandins, steroid metabolites, and proteins produced by the conceptus and endometrium are described and collated with histological and physiological responses of the uterus and ovary that lead toward maintenance of the corpus luteum. Advances during the last 10 yr partially have identified the conceptus-endometrial-ovarian signal sequence that is associated with maternal recognition of pregnancy in cattle. Final evaluation of the control system should permit investigators to improve embryo survival and augment further the impact of embryo manipulation to improve genetic merit of the cattle population.     

Treatment of established postmenopausal osteoporosis with raloxifene: a randomized trial

Raloxifene is a selective estrogen receptor modulator that in experimental animals acts as an estrogen receptor antagonist in breast and endometrium but as an estrogen receptor agonist in the skeletal and cardiovascular systems. We conducted a 1-year prospective, randomized, double-blind trial in 143 postmenopausal osteoporotic women (mean +/- SD age, 68.4+/-5.0 years) with at least one prevalent vertebral fractures and low bone mineral density (BMD), comparing groups receiving raloxifene at 60 mg/day (RLX60) or 120 mg/day (RLX120) and a control group receiving supplements of 750 mg/day of calcium and 400 IU/day of vitamin D. There were no differences among groups in the occurrence of uterine bleeding, thrombophlebitis, breast abnormalities, or increased endometrial thickness (assessed by ultrasonography). As compared with controls, the changes in values over 1 year for RLX60 and RLX120, respectively, were significant for serum bone alkaline phosphatase (-14.9%, -8.87%), serum osteocalcin (-20.7%, -17.0%), and urinary C-telopeptide fragment of type I collagen/creatinine (-24.9%, -30.8%), markers of bone turnover; for serum total cholesterol (-7.0% for RLX60) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) (-11.4% for RLX60) and for the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio (-13.2%, -8.3%). BMD increased significantly in the total hip (1.66% for RLX60) and ultradistal radius (2.92%, 2.50%). There were nonsignificant trends toward increases over controls in BMD for lumbar spine, total body, and total hip (for RLX120). Using a >15% cutoff definition, raloxifene had no effect on incident fractures, but using a >30% cutoff, there was a dose-related reduction (p = 0.047). We conclude that raloxifene therapy is well tolerated, reduces serum lipids, and does not stimulate the uterus or breasts. It has beneficial effects on bone, although, under the conditions of this study, these appear to be of a smaller magnitude than have been reported with estrogen therapy.     

Attitudinal outcomes of the Life Planning Workshop.

Examined the impact of the Life Planning Workshop (i.e., a developmental outreach program designed to assist individuals with personal, social, and vocational planning for the future) on attitudes toward future planning and the self-actualizing attitudes of feeling reactivity and self-regard. It was hypothesized that (a) workshop participants would demonstrate significant gains in all 3 areas when compared to controls and that these gains would endure over a follow-up period and (b) Ss who participated in small groups generating high levels of verbal interaction would show greater attitudinal change than members of groups producing low levels of interaction. An original instrument and 2 subscales of the Personal Orientation Inventory were administered to 42 17–34 yr old Ss randomly assigned to either a pre–post or post–follow-up condition. Tape recordings were made for analysis of verbal interaction. Results show significantly higher means for experimental Ss on measures of positive attitudes toward future planning and feeling reactivity; these gains endured over a mean follow-up period of 3 wks. No significant differences in self-regard were found, nor were there significant attitudinal changes associated with verbal interaction level. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fibrillating Parameters of Direct and Alternating (20 Hz) Currents Separately and in Combination--An Experimental Study

In an experimental Study on anesthetized mongrel dogs, the current levels of dc and 20-Hz ac, both singly and in combination, necessary to evoke ventricular fibrillation were investigated. The following shock durations were investigated: for dc; 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 ms, for 20-Hz ac; 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 ms, and for combination dc and ac shocks; 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 ms. It is shown that threshold fibrillating currents of a given shock duration and type are apparently more nearly log normally than normally distributed. The tests of linear combinations of ac and dc resulted in the following working principles. The hazard of any shock of whatever combination of ac and dc is essentially the same as that of a pure ac shock of 1) the same duration and peak-to-peak current if the shock duration is 0.5 s or longer, or 2) the same peak current if the duration is 0.2 s (and possibly shorter).