Temperature and flow modulation doping of manganese in ZnS electroluminescent films by low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

A temperature and flow modulation (TFM) technique has been developed to modulate the manganese doping profile in ZnS phosphor material grown by lowpressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition for alternating-current thin film electroluminescent devices (TFELDs). In the TFM technique, modulation of both the substrate temperature as well as the flows of metalorganic sources, diethylzinc and tricarbonyl-(methylcyclopentadienyl)-manganese (TCPMn), was used to grow a structure consisting of alternating layers of undoped ZnS at 400°C and Mn-doped ZnS where Mn being incorporated into the undoped ZnS at 550°C. X-ray results indicated that MnS_x phases were present within the ZnS host crystal matrix for the modulation doped samples, while a Mn_xZn_1-xS solid solution was present in the uniformly doped samples. The luminescence efficiency of the TFELDs could be modified by growing the phosphor with dopant (luminescent center) modulation. The TFELDs with a single modulated doping phosphor layer showed lower threshold voltages in the range 70 to 80 V with light emission in the 580 to 587 nm wavelength range. With a twofold increase in the total thickness of the undoped ZnS layer, the brightness and the luminescence efficiency, measured at the threshold voltage plus 40 V, increased by a factor of 20 and 10, respectively. The electroluminescent (EL) characteristics of the phosphors with multiple dopant layers showed higher luminescence efficiency. By using the TFM growth technique, one can engineer the luminescent center distribution in the phosphor layer to improve the EL characteristics.     

Design of a bistatic dual-Doppler radar for retrieving vector windsusing one transmitter and a remote low-gain passive receiver

A bistatic dual-Doppler network consisting of an existing single transmitting pencil-beam weather radar and a remotely located, nontransmitting, passive bistatic receiver with a low-gain antenna was constructed and tested during 1993. High-quality dual Doppler vector winds were retrieved from this system. The windfields were compared with those collected with a traditional two-transmitter dual-Doppler system. Several interesting engineering challenges relating to frequency and timing synchronization were resolved in order to retrieve successfully Doppler velocities at a remote bistatic site. Frequency synchronization was achieved by using extremely stable local oscillators, linked by both Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) signals and transmitter sidelobe coupling. Both methods provided the necessary one part in 10⁹ coherence necessary for calculating accurate Doppler velocities. Timing/gating synchronization with submicrosecond accuracy was achieved by using local oscillators at each site linked with GPS and sidelobe coupling. The successful testing of this system demonstrates that inexpensive and practical bistatic multiple-Doppler networks can be deployed. These systems can provide three-dimensional vector winds for a number of purposes in research, aviation, media, weather prediction, education, meteorological modeling and severe weather detection     

Molecular subtyping of Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum

PURPOSE: Psychosocial distress and patient attitude towards psychosocial support as well as the correlations with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics should be assessed. METHODS: The stress due to cancer was measured in a consecutive sample of tumor patients at the start of radiotherapy (n = 117) by use of the Hornheide Questionnaire. In addition, the interest of these patients in professional psychosocial support was assessed with the help of the Questionnaire for Psychosocial Support. RESULTS: Patients in the course of radiotherapy and patients with a poor prognosis and advanced disease were more strongly distressed. 32.7% of patients wished professional psychosocial support from the oncologist treating them, 40.6% of the patients wished support from the oncologist and additionally from a psychotherapist or social worker. Interest in professional psychosocial support correlated with the amount of distress, but not with sociodemographic variables. CONCLUSIONS: Results stress the importance of training programs for oncologists in order to improve their ability to detect psychosocial distress in cancer patients and to offer adequate emotional support to them.     

Ultrasound diagnosis of metastatic melanoma of the gallbladder

The abdominal ultrasound examinations of 464 patients with malignant melanoma performed over a 3 year period were reviewed. 23 (5.2%) had soft tissue material attached to the gallbladder wall and projecting into the lumen. Four of these were polyps of less than 1 cm which were thought to be benign, while the remaining 19 had abnormalities likely to be metastatic melanoma. Upper abdominal ultrasound examinations are frequently requested for staging purposes in patients with thick high grade malignant melanoma or clinical suspicion of metastases. Ultrasound clearly identifies the gallbladder and biliary tree in the vast majority of patients and is generally regarded as the imaging modality of choice for suspected gallbladder pathology. As autopsy studies have confirmed the incidence of gallbladder metastases from malignant melanoma to be 15-20%, a careful review of the gallbladder is advocated when abdominal ultrasound examinations are performed on patients with malignant melanoma.     

1998 William J. Stickel Bronze Award. Antifungal activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea-tree) oil against various pathogenic organisms

Tea-tree oil (oil of Melaleuca alternifolia) has recently received much attention as a natural remedy for bacterial and fungal infections of the skin and mucosa. As with most naturally occurring agents, claims of effectiveness have been only anecdotal; however, several published studies have recently demonstrated tea-tree oil's antibacterial activity. This study was conducted to determine the activity of tea-tree oil against 58 clinical isolates: Candida albicans (n = 10), Trichophyton rubrum (n = 8), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (n = 9), Trichophyton tonsurans (n = 10), Aspergillus niger (n = 9), Penicillium species (n = 9), Epidermophyton floccosum (n = 2), and Microsporum gypsum (n = 1). Tea-tree oil showed inhibitory activity against all isolates tested except one strain of E floccosum. These in vitro results suggest that tea-tree oil may be useful in the treatment of yeast and fungal mucosal and skin infections.     

Models of counselor development or training models for supervision? Rejoinder to Stoltenberg and Delworth.

This rejoinder to Stoltenberg and Delworth's comments on my earlier article on developmental models of supervision focuses on three critical issues in the investigation of these models: (a) the distinction between models of becoming a counselor and models of training in counselor education; (b) the methodological issues in the investigation of counselor development and supervisory relationships; and (c) the characterization of conceptual level as a content-specific variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Learning disabilities and brain function: A neuropsychological approach (rev. ed.).

Reviews the book, Learning disabilities and brain function: A neuropsychological approach (rev. ed.), by William H. Gaddes (1985). The neurological substrata of intellectual functioning have long been a topic of interest to psychologists; but with the development of the learning disabilities classification and the interest in the brain, learning behavior relationships have expanded to include the entire educational community. This book, like the first edition, has been designed to draw together the neuropsychologist, the school psychologist, and teacher in common cause. In doing so, it helps to bridge a traditional interdisciplinary communications gap. There is a need for neuropsychological training of school psychologists. This book helps to bring this knowledge to bear directly on practice in the field of learning disabilities. Advantages of the second edition over the first are the inclusion of discussions of new techniques (i.e., new brain scanning devices and methods, new applications of dichotic listening) and expanded examples of case studies. The reviewers feel that Gaddes has provided an updated, thorough treatment of the role of neuropsychology in the diagnosis and remediation of the learning-disabled child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motor function of the proximal stomach and visceral perception in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease

Oxytocin (OT) is present in the mammalian testis and has been shown to play a role in the modulation of seminiferous tubule contractility and steroidogenesis. However, stage-specific effects of the peptide have not been previously investigated. In this study, computer-assisted analysis and time-lapse videomicrography were used to investigate basal contractility and the response to OT of seminiferous tubules at specific stages of the spermatogenic cycle. Adult rat testes were placed in fresh oxygenated DMEM F12 medium, decapsulated, and the tubules gently teased apart. Stages were identified by transillumination and a 10 mm section of tubule at each of stages IV-V, VII-VIII and XIII-I was placed in a microslide chamber and perifused with medium. After a control period of 3 h, OT (2 nM) was given for 1 h, followed by another control period of 1 h. The experiment was repeated using tubules from different rats and data were analysed to give arbitrary units of tubule contractility. Contractility was observed in all the tubules studied and the contractile activity was shown to vary depending on the stage of the spermatogenic cycle. Mean basal contractility at stages VII-VIII, the time when sperm are shed from the epithelium, was significantly lower than that at stages IV-V and XIII-I. The response of the tubules to OT was also stage-dependent, with the peptide producing the largest increases in contractile activity at stages VII-VIII and having no effect at stages IV-V. We postulate that these stage-specific differences in basal and OT-stimulated contractility may be important in co-ordinating the movement of developing germ cells towards the lumen of the seminiferous epithelium and in the process of spermiation.     

A prospective study of the effect of fundoplication on primary and secondary peristalsis in the esophagus

BACKGROUND: Delay of prenatal care is an important risk for poor birth outcome, yet its association with maternal knowledge and beliefs remains insufficiently studied. This research examined the relationship of unintended childbearing and beliefs about the importance of prenatal care with initiation after the first trimester, adjusting for key sociodemographic determinants. METHODS: One hundred fifty-four Texas hospitals accounting for 80 percent of state births were asked to collect surveys from all women delivering infants during a one-week interval in 1986. Seventy-four percent of hospitals and 70 percent of women participated (n = 2032). No differences occurred between the sample and the population on rates of delayed care and low birthweight or maternal demographics. RESULTS: Since delayed prenatal care is more frequent among low-income women, analyses were limited to those below the 200 percent poverty level. After adjustment for maternal age, marital status, education, parity, race, and health insurance status employing logistic regression, unintended births were 1.6 times more likely to involve delayed care. Mothers who believed prenatal care was unimportant were 2.1 times more likely to delay care. These coefficients exceeded or about equaled those for the covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Preconception education about the value of prenatal care and family planning programs to prevent unintended pregnancies should be conducted together with efforts to overcome financial and structural barriers if progress toward national prenatal care objectives is to be achieved.