Raman spectroscopic analysis of thecis/trans isomer composition of edible vegetable oils

A new method is presented for determining thecis/trans isomer content of edible vegetable oils. The intensities of Raman lines near 1656 and 1670 cm⁻¹ are associated with thecis andtrans configuration, respectively. A precision of ca. 1% can be obtained in thecis/trans isomer analysis of binary mixtures of methyl esters and triglycerides of monoenes and dienes and of hydrogenated vegetable oils. The spectroscopic data also provide the iodine value of vegetable oils or isolated fractions with precision for a single determination of ca. 1%. Presented at the AOCS meeting, Houston, May 1971. W. Market. Nutr. Res. Div., ARS, USDA.     

Assessment of response function in two PET scanners with and without interplane septa

The authors have assessed the response function both experimentally and theoretically for two commercial tomographs: CTI 931/08-12 and CTI 953B with and without interplane septa. Monte Carlo simulations were undertaken using the GEANT package from CERN. Spatial resolution (tomographic and axial) was calculated for line sources at various positions in the field of view. Sensitivity and scatter fraction (SF) were calculated for various source geometries as a function of energy discrimination. A very realistic response function in positron emission tomography (PET) is obtained by Monte Carlo methods, using global parameters to account for unsimulated phenomena such as scintillation light transport inside a detector block and its sharing among the various phototubes. Minor discrepancies remain for sensitivity and SF at high energy thresholds and may probably be explained by introducing the observed dispersion in the energy response for the various crystals within a detector block.     

Noise equivalent count measurements in a neuro-PET scanner with retractable septa

The noise-equivalent count-rate (NEC) performance of a neuro-positron emission tomography (PET) scanner has been determined with and without interplane septa on uniform cylindrical phantoms of differing radii and in human studies to assess the optimum count rate conditions that realize the maximum gain. In the brain, the effective gain in NEC performance for three-dimensions (3-D) ranges from >5 at low count rates to approximately 3.3 at 200 kcps (equivalent to 37 kcps in 2-D). The gains of the 3-D method assessed by this analysis are significant, and are shown to be highly dependent on count rate and object dimensions.     

Transparent,methacrylate-based polymer networks with controlled crosslinker ductility

A series of transparent methacrylate-based crosslinked polymer networks are prepared in which the crosslinker length is controlled as a means to investigate the effects of network ductility on mechanical and ballistic properties. In each network the optical clarity of pure poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is retained, as well as a low value of haze. Both the glass transition temperature (T_g) and the tensile modulus of the networks are highly tunable, with network values both above and well below that of pure PMMA or the pure crosslinker network. The ballistic performance is likewise affected, with performance values of up to 400% greater than neat PMMA. We examine the effects of the crosslinker molecular weight on the impact performance, finding that, in these systems, the molecular weight between crosslinks is not a driving factor for the impact performance, and this may broadly translate to polymer networks in general. We find that improvements in ballistic performance can be realized at low molecular weight between crosslinks, provided the crosslinking agent is of sufficient ductility.     

SleepExplorer: a visualization tool to make sense of correlations between personal sleep data and contextual factors

Getting enough quality sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle. Many people are tracking their sleep through mobile and wearable technology, together with contextual information that may influence sleep quality, like exercise, diet, and stress. However, there is limited support to help people make sense of this wealth of data, i.e., to explore the relationship between sleep data and contextual data. We strive to bridge this gap between sleep-tracking and sense-making through the design of SleepExplorer, a web-based tool that helps individuals understand sleep quality through multi-dimensional sleep structure and explore correlations between sleep data and contextual information. Based on a two-week field study with 12 participants, this paper offers a rich understanding on how technology can support sense-making on personal sleep data: SleepExplorer organizes a flux of sleep data into sleep structure, guides sleep-tracking activities, highlights connections between sleep and contributing factors, and supports individuals in taking actions. We discuss challenges and opportunities to inform the work of researchers and designers creating data-driven health and well-being applications.     

Electron beam lithography-assisted fabrication of Au nano-dot array as a substrate of a correlated AFM and confocal Raman spectroscopy

This paper documents a study of an Au nano-dot array that was fabricated by electron beam lithography on a glass wafer. The patterns that had features of 100nm dots in diameter with a 2-mum pitch comprised a total area of 200x200mum(2). The dot-shaped Cr underlayer was open to the air after developing Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). When dipped into the Cr etchant, the exposed Cr layer was eliminated from the glass wafer in a short period of time. In order to ultimately fabricate the Ti/Au dot arrays, Ti and Au were deposited onto the arrays with a thickness of 2 and 40nm, respectively. The lift-off procedure was carried out in the Cr etchant using sonication in order to completely remove the residual Cr/PMMA layer. The fabricated Au nano-dot array was then immersed in an Ag enhancing solution and then into an ethanol solution containing (N-(6-(Biotinamido)hexyl)-3'-(2'-pyridyldithio)-propionamide (Biotin-HPDP). The substrate was analyzed using a correlated atomic force microscopy (AFM) and confocal Raman spectroscopy. Through this procedure, position-dependent surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) signals could be obtained.     

Diamorphine-bupivacaine mixture compared with plain bupivacaine for analgesia

We have studied the efficacy of two extradural infusions (10 ml h-1) in 50 patients in active labour. Patients in the diamorphine group (n = 25) received 0.0625% plain bupivacaine 6.25 mg h-1 mixed with 0.005% diamorphine 0.5 mg h-1 and those in the control group (n = 25) received 0.125% plain bupivacaine 12.5 mg h-1. Both groups received intermittent "top-ups" of 0.25% bupivacaine 10 ml when indicated. Although median pain scores during the infusion were similar in both groups, patients in the diamorphine group indicated greater satisfaction with the infusion (88% very satisfied, compared with 52% in the control group (P < 0.02)). There were no differences in the incidence of hypotension, instrumental vaginal delivery, number of "top-ups", duration of the second stage or extent of motor block. However, patients in the diamorphine group had a high incidence of pruritus (44%, compared with 0% in the control group (P < 0.01)).     

Use of fuzzy-logic-inspired features to improve bacterialrecognition through classifier fusion

Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been found to cause serious health problems. Traditional methods to identify the organism are quite slow, pulsed-held gel electrophoresis (PFGE) images contain "banding pattern" information which can be used to recognize the bacteria. A fuzzy logic rule-based system is used as a guide to find a good feature set for the recognition of E. coli O157:H7. While the fuzzy rule-based system achieved good recognition, the human inspired features used in the rules were incorporated into a multiple neural network fusion approach which gave excellent separation of the target bacteria. The fuzzy integral was utilized in the fusion of neural networks trained with different feature sets to reach an almost perfect classification rate of E. coli O157:H7 PFGE patterns made available for the experiments.     

Tennessee's failed managed care program for mental health and substance abuse services

In July 1996, Tennessee initiated a managed mental health and substance abuse program called TennCare Partners. This publicly funded "carve-out" experiment started chaotically and soon deteriorated into a crisis. Many patients did not receive care or lost continuity of care, and the traditional "safety net" mental health system nearly disintegrated. This qualitative case study sought to ascertain the impact of the TennCare Partners program. It points out that the program's difficulties stemmed directly from a flawed design that spread funds previously earmarked for severely mentally ill patients across the entire Medicaid population. States contemplating similar reforms should strive to protect vulnerable patients by risk-adjusting capitation payments and by focusing resources on care for severely mentally ill persons. States should also minimize program complexity and ensure the accountability of managed care networks for their patients' behavioral health care needs.