An Experiment in Productivity: The Use of Home Terminals

In recent years, the use of remote or home computer terminals has made a significant impact on the IS department and its clients ( users). In response to IS and user needs, including a desire to decentralize the workplace (i.e., IS department) and a belief that home terminals would have a positive effect on productivity and employee morale, IBM decided to implement several such home terminals as a means of determining their effectiveness. This article describes an experiment that measured the effects of implementing a home terminal program.     

Network analysis of the modes of two-dimensionalgrating-surface-emitting diode laser arrays

The modes and threshold gain characteristics of two-dimensional grating-surface-emitting diode laser arrays that are evanescently coupled in the lateral direction and mutually injection coupled in the longitudinal direction are analyzed. The ratio of the grating transmissivity to reflectivity is found to be a critical parameter in obtaining uniform power distribution inside the array. Good qualitative agreement between the theory and experimentally measured near-field patterns and threshold currents is obtained     

Resolution of a left ureteral stone using electrohydraulic lithotripsy in a thoroughbred colt

A 3-year-old Thoroughbred colt was presented for evaluation of azotemia and anorexia. Physical examination revealed a ureterolith in the left ureter, approximately 10 cm from the bladder, which was thought to obstruct urine flow by approximately 90% when viewed cystoscopically. Ultrasonographic examination of both kidneys revealed indistinct corticomedullary junctions, and the right kidney was more hyperechoic. A percutaneous biopsy of the right kidney revealed chronic interstitial nephritis with marked interstitial medullary fibrosis. Medical therapy consisting of IV fluids, sodium chloride PO, and ammonium chloride PO was initiated. Ureteroscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy via a perineal urethrostomy was used to successfully remove the stone. Klebsiella oxytoca, which responded to oral enrofloxacin therapy, was cultured from the urine after surgery. Azotemia resolved and the horse resumed training.     

On the survivability and pyrosynthesis of PAH during combustion of pulverized coal and tire crumb

Results are presented on the emissions of semivolatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from the combustion of a pulverized bituminous coal and ground waste automobile tires. Streams of fuel particles were injected at steady-state steady-flow conditions, and burned inside an isothermal drop-tube furnace, in air, at a gas temperature and gas residence time of 1150°C and 0.75 s, respectively. Combustion occurred under either very fuel-lean conditions (bulk equivalence ratio, φ < 0.5) or substantially fuel-rich conditions (φ = 1.6–1.9). Emissions from fuel pyrolysis, in the absence of oxygen, were also examined. The survivability of the fuel-PAHs during combustion/pyrolysis was assessed by examining the reactants (fuels) and the products of their oxidation/pyrolysis. The PAH species in the effluent of combustion were: 1) qualitatively compared with indigenous PAH constituents of the input fuels, and 2) quantitatively contrasted with known amounts of deuterium-labeled PAH standards, which were absorbed on the input fuels. No PAHs were detected in the effluent of combustion of either fuel under sufficiently fuel-lean conditions, e.g., φ < 0.5. This indicated that the PAH constituents of the input fuels, either indigenous or adsorbed, as well as those formed by pyrosynthesis in either the diffusion volatile flames or during the heterogeneous oxidation of the chars were destroyed. Significant amounts of PAHs were detected in the effluent of the combustion of both fuels under sufficiently fuel-rich conditions, e.g., φ > 1.6 and, especially, under pyrolytic conditions in N₂. These PAHs were mostly attributed to pyrosynthesis since none of the deuterated PAHs, adsorbed on the fuels, survived the combustion process. Small amounts of the labeled compounds, however, survived under purely pyrolytic conditions. These results were confirmed with separate experiments, where deuterium-labeled PAH standards were adsorbed on highly porous calcium/magnesium oxide or mullite particles. Again, small amounts of some PAHs survived in high-temperature pyrolytic conditions, but none in oxidative environments. These observations suggest that pyrosynthesis is the major contributing mechanism to the PAH emissions from the combustion of these fuels. Survivability of parent PAHs may be a minor mechanism at very high equivalence ratios.

Finally, both fuels were mixed with powders of calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), and calcium oxide (CaO), all of which are known sulfur reduction agents, at a molar Ca/S ratio of 1. Combustion of the fuels mixed with CMA or CaCO₃ generated enhanced amounts of PAHs, while combustion with CaO had no effect on the PAH emissions.     

Annual variations of pesticide concentrations in Great Lakes precipitation

Twenty pesticides and related analytes were measured in 28-day integrated precipitation samples from five U.S. sites in the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN) between 1997 and 2002. Consistent, significant decreases in concentration as a function of time were observed only for p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD, while increases in beta-HCH were observed at all sites. Significant annual variations were observed for most analytes at each site with higher concentrations in the summer for current-use pesticides (endosulfan and gamma-HCH) and peaks in the winter for most others. The increased concentrations in the winter are likely the result of the increased scavenging efficiency of snow compared to rain and, for some analytes, higher concentrations in the particulate phase during winter. These seasonal differences appear to account for a large portion of the observed variability in pesticide concentrations in precipitation samples.     

Facile synthesis of high affinity styrylpyridine systems as inherently fluorescent ligands for the estrogen receptor

A series of styrylpyridine derivatives containing two phenols was prepared via an efficient two-step synthesis. These compounds were designed to maximize the estrogen receptor binding affinity of a known series of inherently fluorescent styrylpyridines. While significant improvements were achieved in receptor affinity, the fluorescence intensity of this series of compounds is poor.     

Selective ET(A) receptor antagonism reduces neointimal hyperplasia in a porcine coronary stent model

BACKGROUND: As endothelin binds to ET(A) receptors, it stimulates vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and may thus be pivotally involved in the pathogenesis of restenosis. This study assessed the ability of a potent and selective ET(A) antagonist to reduce neointimal hyperplasia in a porcine coronary artery stented injury model. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-five pigs were randomized to receive placebo or the oral ET(A)-selective antagonist ABT147627 twice daily for 28 days in one of three doses: 0.75 mg/kg (low), 3.75 mg/kg (mid), and 10.0 mg/kg (high). Each underwent oversized stent deployment in two randomly assigned major epicardial coronary arteries. Three animals (5.5%) died as a consequence of stent thrombosis within 24 hours of the procedure. The remaining 52 animals (13 pigs per group) survived without complication until predetermined euthanasia at 28 days. In the placebo group, mean injury score was 1.73+/-0.80, with a mean neointimal response of 0.45+/-0.24 mm. By comparison, the low-dose group had a similar mean injury score of 1.79+/-0.75 with reduced neointimal response, 0.36+/-0.22 mm (P<0.01). Mean injury score in the mid-dose animals was significantly greater than in the placebo group (1.94+/-0.92; P<0.05). The neointimal hyperplasia associated with this injury was less than with placebo, although the difference did not reach statistical significance (0.40+/-0.25 mm; P=0.05). In the high-dose pigs, mean injury score was also significantly greater than in the placebo arm (1.93+/-0.73; P<0.05). Despite this, neointimal response was also significantly less (0.37+/-0.37 mm; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Oral, selective ET(A) receptor antagonism significantly reduced neointimal hyperplasia forming over porcine coronary stented injuries in the first 28 days. This strategy may have clinical potential for the limitation and treatment of coronary restenosis after percutaneous revascularization.     

Manitoba's Rural and Northern Community-Based Training Program for Psychology Interns and Residents.

This article describes a unique internship training experience developed by the Department of Clinical Health Psychology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Manitoba. Interns live in and provide services to remote northern communities for half of the internship year and receive supervision from a psychologist in the community, supplemented by telehealth. The department also offers a full-year, postdoctoral rural residency. Ten interns and 4 residents have been trained so far. The community-based generalist training model and responses to the challenges, for both supervisors and trainees, of working in small underserved communities are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Amorphous-silicon solar cells

The status of a-Si solar cell technology is reviewed. This review includes a discussion of the types of solar cell structure that are being used in commercial products. An overview of the development efforts under way involving new materials, such as alloys and microcrystalline films, and their impact on device performance is given. The status of stability in a-Si solar cells and projections for costs for large-scale manufacturing facilities are reviewed. The development of markets for a-Si photovoltaics is also discussed