Head-to-head polymers: 33. Bromination of cis-1,4-polybutadiene to head-to-head poly(vinyl bromide)

Cis-1,4-polybutadiene (PB) in a 0.5% solution of a solvent mixture of dichloromethane and 1,2-dibromoethane or tetrahydrofuran was quantitatively brominated with elemental bromine at 0°C under careful exclusion of oxygen to head-to-head poly(vinyl bromide). Partially brominated PB has a structure of random or block sequences of butadiene units in the polymer depending on the bromination solvent but shows no stereospecificity in the CHBrCHBr-dyads. Partially brominated PB with block structure showed a microphase-separated morphology over a wide range of composition. Microphase separation is less pronounced for the more random structure of butadiene units. I.r and ¹³C n.m.r. spectroscopy of the partially brominated PB was used to follow the progress of the bromination.     

Light metal compound casting

‘Compound casting’simplifies joining processes by directly casting a metallic melt onto a solid metal substrate. A continuously metallurgic transition is very important for industrial applications, such as joint structures of spaceframe constructions in transport industry. In this project, ‘compound casting’ of light metals is investigated, aiming at weight-saving. The substrate used is a wrought aluminium alloy of type AA5xxx, containing magnesium as main alloying element. The melts are aluminium alloys, containing various alloying elements (Cu, Si, Zn), and magnesium. By replacing the natural oxygen layer with a zinc layer, the inherent wetting difficulties were avoided, and compounds with flawless interfaces were successfully produced (no contraction defects, cracks or oxides). Electron microscopy and EDX investigations as well as optical micrographs of the interfacial areas revealed their continu- ously metallic constitution. Diffusion of alloying elements leads to heat-treatable microstructures in the vicinity of the joining interfaces in Al-Al couples. This permits significant variability of mechanical properties. Without significantly cutting down on wettability, the formation of low-melting intermetallic phases (Al3Mg2 and Al12Mg17 IMPs) at the interface of Al-Mg couples was avoided by applying a protective coating to the substrate.     

Solid Ink Laser Patterning for High-Resolution Information Labels with Supervised Learning Readout

Tagging, tracking, or validation of products are often facilitated by inkjet-printed optical information labels. However, this requires thorough substrate pretreatment, ink optimization, and often lacks in printing precision/resolution. Herein, a printing method based on laser-driven deposition of solid polymer ink that allows for printing on various substrates without pretreatment is demonstrated. Since the deposition process has a precision of <1 µm, it can introduce the concept of sub-positions with overlapping spots. This enables high-resolution fluorescent labels with comparable spot-to-spot distance of down to 15 µm (444,444 spots cm⁻²) and rapid machine learning-supported readout based on low-resolution fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, the defined thickness of the printed polymer ink spots can be used to fabricate multi-channel information labels. Additional information can be stored in different fluorescence channels or in a hidden topography channel of the label that is independent of the fluorescence.     

Immunohistochemical localization of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in human retina and retinal pigment epithelium

OBJECTIVE: Validation a self-administered form used by patients to record their food intake and compare the recorded data with the observed intake. DESIGN: Data were obtained from an unselected cross-sectional group of hospitalized patients. SUBJECTS: Forty-five adult men and women volunteered to participate. Five of these dropped out. METHODS: Observed intake at breakfast, lunch and dinner was obtained by recording the servings of food before they were served to the patients and subtracting weighed leftovers. At meal times the patients recorded food items eaten in fractions of amount served to the nearest 25%. SETTING: Inpatients from five different wards at Rikshospitalet, Oslo. RESULTS: There was a significant under-reporting of the number of foods served (P < 0.005) resulting in a significant underestimation of energy 231 kJ (P < 0.02). There was good agreement between the patients and the observers for the portions of most foods (Kappa 0.44-0.92, P < 0.00001). The differences in amount had little influence on the difference in total energy. The difference in number of foods correlated with the difference in energy (r = 0.68, P < 0.001) and with the difference in protein (r = 0.50, P < 0.01). Patients with an underestimation of energy above 20% had forgotten seven or more food items. CONCLUSIONS: For most patients, the self-administered form adapted to the hospital menu appears to have acceptable validity, but for some patients it was unacceptable, mainly owing to food items being omitted and not because of incorrect estimate of amounts of food.     

Evaluation of Murex CMV DNA hybrid capture assay for detection and quantitation of cytomegalovirus infection in patients following allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Murex hybrid capture DNA assay (HCS) is a solution hybridization antibody capture assay for detection and quantitation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in leukocytes. To determine whether CMV HCS is sensitive enough to initiate and monitor antiviral therapy after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), 51 consecutive SCT recipients were prospectively screened for the appearance of CMV infection by HCS, PCR, and culture assays from blood samples. Preemptive antiviral therapy was initiated after the second positive PCR result in all patients, as previously reported, and HCS was not considered for clinical decision making. A total of 417 samples were analyzed. Of these, 21 samples were found to be positive by PCR and HCS, 88 samples were PCR positive but HCS negative, and 308 were negative by both assays. Concordance of results between PCR and HCS and between HCS and blood culture was observed in 78.9 and 95.9% of the samples assayed, respectively. PCR was found to be more sensitive than HCS, and HCS was more sensitive than the blood culture assay (P < 0.0001). Four patients with symptomatic CMV infection were PCR positive prior to the onset of CMV-related symptoms, whereas HCS detected CMV DNA in three patients prior to and one at onset of CMV disease. The numbers of genomes per milliliter of blood were higher in patients with symptomatic CMV infection than in those with asymptomatic CMV infection (P = 0.06). None of the HCS-negative patients developed CMV disease. Thus, all patients with CMV disease were correctly identified by HCS; however, the lower sensitivity limit of the HCS assay may still be insufficient to allow diagnosis of CMV infection early enough to prevent CMV disease in patients following allogeneic SCT.     

Moderate dose escalation for advanced stage Hodgkin's disease using the bleomycin, etoposide, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone scheme and adjuvant radiotherapy: a study of the German Hodgkin's Lymphoma Study Group

The BEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone) regimen, a rearranged and accelerated version of the standard COPP/adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) chemotherapy, has been shown to be effective and safe in a previous pilot study for advanced stage Hodgkin's disease (HD). The present study aimed to determine a maximum practicable dose of three drugs, ie, etoposide, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide, for which acute toxicities were acceptable and to assess the feasibility of the escalated scheme. Sixty untreated patients with advanced stage HD were enrolled in this study. Radiotherapy was given in 44 patients (73%) after chemotherapy to initial bulk lesions and residual disease. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was given from day 8 to prevent prolonged neutrocytopenia and severe infections. The intended doses of adriamycin, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide in the BEACOPP schedule could be substantially escalated: adriamycin from 25 to 35, cyclophosphamide from 650 to 1,200, and etoposide from 100 to 200 mg/m2. The major toxicities were leukocytopenia and thrombocytopenia with considerable heterogeneity between individual patients. Of 60 patients, 56 (93%) achieved a complete remission (CR). At a median observation of 32 months, the rates of survival and freedom from treatment failure (FFTF) were estimated to be 91% (95% confidence interval 83% to 99%) and 90% (82% to 98%). These results show that a moderate dose escalation of adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide of the baseline BEACOPP regimen is feasible. The escalated BEACOPP regimen shows very encouraging results in advanced stage HD and is now being compared in a randomized phase III study with BEACOPP at baseline dose level.     

Role conflicts in psychology and their implications for a reevaluation of training models.

For 25 years training in clinical psychology has followed the Boulder model, attempting to make the clinical psychologist both a scientist and a professional. In this paper arguments are advanced which suggest that it is usually difficult and frequently impossible to make the same person into both a scientist and a professional. Science abhors secrecy, but professionals must keep their knowledge secret. Differences exist in personality characteristics in individuals attracted to the science or the profession. Training requirements are clearly different. Readiness to participate in social and political action also differentiates the groups. For these and other reasons the authors advance the argument that separate professional training schools for psychology must be established, following the historically evolving model provided by other professions. A division of training of psychologists in scientific and professional work may have beneficial effects by eliminating role conflicts in the professional and by making clear the essential division of labor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Real-Time Engine Simulator Using Multiple Microcomputers

A multiple microcomputer system which is useful for real-time simulation of both complex and fast response systems has been designed and constructed. Interprocessor communication between five microprocessors is done in parallel using direct memory access techniques. Tests on system performance indicate that it is capable of fast processing element execution times and fast interprocessor message transfers.