Defect chemistry of langasite III: Predictions of electrical and gravimetric properties and application to operation of high temperature crystal microbalance

The electrical and gravimetric properties of langasite, La₃Ga₅SiO₁₄, are related to its underlying defect and transport processes via previously developed predictive defect and transport models. These models are used here to calculate the dependence of the partial ionic and electronic conductivities and the mass change for langasite as functions of temperature, dopant type and level and pO₂. Doping strategies devised for minimizing conductivity in langasite based on use conditions are described. For example, the required dopant level to achieve minimum conductivity and thus minimum electrical losses in acceptor-doped langasite is shown to depend on the operating pO₂. Likewise intrinsic mass changes in langasite, dependent on dopant level, pO₂ and temperatures, if high enough, can mask mass changes induced in active layers applied to langasite when used as a microbalance. For example, the model predicts that the dopant level in donor-doped langasite has less of an impact on intrinsic mass change due to external environmental changes when compared to acceptor-doped langasite. The models are also applied in defining acceptable operating limits needed to achieve and/or the design of properties for desired levels of microbalance resolution and sensitivity.     

Quantitative analysis of microvascular changes in diffuse astrocytic neoplasms with increasing grade of malignancy

BACKGROUND: Despite concerns about its prevalence and ramifications, harassment has not been well quantified among physicians. Previous published studies have been small, have surveyed only 1 site or a convenience sample, and have suffered from selection bias. METHODS: Our database is the Women Physicians' Health Study, a large (4501 respondents; response rate, 59%), nationally distributed questionnaire study. We analyzed responses concerning gender-based and sexual harassment. RESULTS: Overall, 47.7% of women physicians reported ever experiencing gender-based harassment, and 36.9% reported sexual harassment. Harassment was more common while in medical school (31% of gender-based and 20% for sexual harassment) or during internship, residency, or fellowship (29% for gender-based and 19% for sexual harassment) than in practice (25% for gender-based and 11% for sexual harassment). Respondents more likely to report gender-based harassment were physicians who were now divorced or separated and those specializing in historically male specialties, whereas those of Asian and other (nonwhite, nonblack, non-Asian, non-Hispanic) ethnicity, those living in the East, and those self-characterized as politically very conservative were less likely to report gender-based harassment. Being younger, born in the United States, or divorced or separated were correlated with reporting ever experiencing sexual harassment; those who were Asian or who were currently working in group or government settings were less likely to report it. Those who felt in control of their work environments, were satisfied with their careers, and would choose again to become physicians reported lower prevalences of ever experiencing harassment. Those with histories of depression or suicide attempts were more likely to report ever having been harassed. CONCLUSIONS: Women physicians commonly perceive that they have been harassed. Experiences of and sensitivity to harassment differ among individuals, and there may be substantial professional and personal consequences of harassment. Since reported rates of sexual harassment are higher among younger physicians, the situation may not be improving.     

Effect of alcohol consumption on adult and aged bone: composition, morphology, and hormone levels of a rat animal model

To determine the effect of life-long alcohol consumption on the adult and aged rat model, 4-week-old, female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three diet groups. Alcohol-treated animals were fed a modified Lieber-DeCarli diet ad libitum containing 35% ethanol-derived calories, whereas the pair-fed animals (weight-matched to ethanol rats) received an isocaloric liquid diet in which maltose-dextrin substituted calories supplied by ethanol. Chow animals were fed a standard rat chow ad libitum. Proximal tibiae (primarily cancellous bone) and femora (primarily cortical bone) were removed for analysis after 3, 6, 9, 12, or 18 months on the diets. Serum was collected for analysis of calcium levels, the calcium regulating hormones; parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcitonin, corticosterone, estradiol, testosterone, and IGF-1. Creatinine, SGOT/AST, and SGPT/ALT levels were measured to determine kidney and liver integrity. Previous studies, with young animals, showed that chronic alcohol consumption during the age of bone development reduced bone density and bone mass in both cortical and cancellous bone. The present study demonstrates that these reductions last throughout life, whereas morphological values, such as length and diameter, attain control levels. Calcium regulating hormones and sex hormones are essentially normal and do not appear to be the primary causative agent for adult alcohol-induced osteopenia, but it appears to be due to a more direct effect of alcohol on bone cells.     

Water filtration of the forearm in short- and long-term diabetes mellitus

Blood flow and capillary filtration coefficient (CFC) were measured by strain-gauge plethysmography on the upper and lower third of the forearm in 9 normal subjects and 29 well regulated patients with diabetes mellitus of varying duration (less than 10 years, 10 to 20 years, and more than 20 years). There was no difference in blood flow in the four groups, but CFC was significantly increased in long-term diabetes (duration above 20 years) when measured at the distal part of the forearm near the wrist. Calculations showed that this was probably due to the relatively high contribution of connective tissue in this part of the forearm. Increased water filtration in connective tissue in long-term diabetics is in accordance with earlier findings of a lowered subcutaneous interstitial fluid albumin concentration in long-term diabetics, this being explained by an increase in net water outflux from the microcirculation.     

Electro-chemo-mechanical studies of perovskite-structured mixed ionic-electronic conducting SrSn<Subscript>1-x</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>x</Subscript>O<Subscript>3-x/2+δ</Subscript> part II: Electrical conductivity and cathode performance

The bulk electrical conductivity of the mixed ionic-electronic conducting perovskite-structured SrSn_1-xFe_xO_3-x/2+δ (SSF) was measured to examine how changes in defect chemistry and electronic band structure associated with the substitution of Ti by Sn impact defect charge carrier density and ultimately electrode performance. These results complement a defect chemical model for SSF investigated and reported in Part I of this study. The electrical properties of SSF were found not to differ significantly from the corresponding composition in SrTi_1-xFe_xO_3-x/2+δ (STF). It is believed that Fe dominates the character of the valence and conduction bands and thus governs the electronic properties in SSF. Though slightly shifted in energy due to the larger size of Sn, the defect equilibria and therefore the electrical conductivity of SSF were found to be largely dominated by Fe and thus differed only in a limited way from that in STF. Key kinetic parameters obtained include the migration enthalpy of oxygen vacancies (0.772 ± 0.204 eV), the activation energy of area-specific-resistance for oxygen exchange (1.65 ± 0.03 eV) and the magnitudes of electron (0.0002 ± 0.00005 cm²/V?s) and hole (0.0037 ± 0.0015 cm²/V?s) mobilities.     

Mu opioid agonists potentiate amphetamine- and cocaine-induced rotational behavior in the rat

Opioids modulate brain dopaminergic function in various experimental paradigms. This study used the rotational model of behavior in rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-induced lesions of the nigrostriatal pathway to investigate this interaction. Doses of two presynaptically acting dopaminergic drugs, amphetamine and cocaine, were coadministered with several doses of the mu opioid agonist, morphine. Morphine, at 3.0 mg/kg, potentiated rotational behavior induced by each dose of the stimulants. To determine the receptor specificity of the actions of morphine, the mu opioid agonists buprenorphine, fentanyl, levorphanol, meperidine, and methadone, and dextrorphan, the non-opioid isomer of levorphanol, were administered alone and with 1.0 mg/kg amphetamine. Each of these drugs, as well as morphine, produced circling behavior on its own. All of the mu opioid agonists and dextrorphan increased amphetamine-induced turning; the coadministration of dextrorphan, levorphanol, meperidine, methadone and morphine with amphetamine produced turning greater than predicted by simple additivity. To determine whether an opioid receptor was involved in these interactions, the opioid antagonist, naltrexone, was administered before the amphetamine/mu opioid receptor agonist combination. Naltrexone blocked the potentiating effects of morphine, but not those of the other drugs. Moreover, naltrexone alone dose-dependently increased amphetamine-induced rotational behavior. These studies show that some mu opioid receptor agonists can potentiate stimulant-induced rotational behavior and that blockade of opioid receptors can also produce a potentiation. The role of mu opioid receptors in these effects remains unclear.