Comparative efficacy of calcipotriol (MC903) cream and betamethasone 17-valerate cream in the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. A randomized, double-blind, parallel group multicentre study. Calcipotriol Study Group

PURPOSE: Ultrasound estimated bladder weight was compared before and after surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) to reveal a possible reversible change in bladder hypertrophy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ultrasound estimated bladder weight was measured before and after subcapsular (17) or transurethral (16) prostatectomy in 33 male patients with BPH. Sequential changes in the American Urological Association symptom score and urinary flow rate were also examined. RESULTS: Along with a significant improvement in the American Urological Association symptom scores and maximum flow rate, ultrasound estimated bladder weight decreased from 52.9 +/- 22.6 to 31.6 +/- 15.8 gm. in 12 weeks after treatment. In all but 4 patients (29 of 33, or 87.9%) ultrasound estimated bladder weight decreased to less than 35.0 gm. in 12 weeks after treatment. Interestingly, in all patients with an initial ultrasound estimated bladder weight of greater than 80 gm. the bladder weight still remained at an abnormally high level 12 weeks after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Bladder hypertrophy was completely reversible after the surgical treatment of the obstruction in the majority of patients with BPH. The measurement of ultrasound estimated bladder weight was of value in monitoring therapeutic effects in BPH patients. An extraordinarily high ultrasound estimated bladder weight of 80 gm. or more might suggest degenerative and irreversible pathological changes in the bladder detrusor.     

Planning and implementation of microscope work

In modern electronics manufacturing, many of the assembly operations require the use of microscopes. This paper presents measures and suggestions that could help in relieving visual and postural fatigue in microscope work. These measures include the ergonomic design of microscope workstations as well as of microscopes themselves, process changes to minimise use of the microscope, replacement of microscope workstations with television systems, and a training programme for inexperienced operators. The main emphasis in implementing these recommendations was the ergonomic design of microscope workstations; several examples are given.     

Transition Metal Oxide Work Functions: The Influence of Cation Oxidation State and Oxygen Vacancies

Transition metal oxides are capable of a wide range of work functions. This quality allows them to be used in many applications that involve charge transfer with adsorbed molecules, for example as heterogeneous catalysts, as charge‐injection layers in organic electronics, and as electrodes in fuel cells. Chemical and structural factors can alter transition‐metal oxide work functions, often making their work functions difficult to control. Little is known about the effects of the cation oxidation state and point defects on the oxide work function. It is necessary to understand how such chemical and structural factors affect work functions in order to controllably tune transition metal oxides for desired applications. Here, a correlation between the oxide work function and cation oxidation state is demonstrated. This correlation is attributed to the change in cation electronegativity with oxidation state. A model is presented that relates the work function to the oxygen deficiency for d⁰ oxides in the limit of dilute oxygen vacancies. It is proposed that the rapid initial decrease in work function, observed for d⁰ oxides, is caused by an increase in the density of donor‐like defect states. It is also shown that oxides tend to have decreased work functions near a metal/metal‐oxide interface as a consequence of the relationship between defects and work function. These insights provide guidelines for tuning transition metal oxide work functions.     

Parameters Affecting the Cross-Flow Filtration of Dissolved LignoBoost Kraft Lignin

In the kraft pulping process, the lignin-containing by-product kraft black liquor is currently combusted as an energy source. LignoBoost is a technique that extracts lignin from kraft black liquor, resulting in a lignin-lean black liquor, which is returned to the process, and an extracted kraft lignin. To facilitate the use of the extracted kraft lignin in high-value applications, it can be refined via fractionation to produce a more homogeneous starting raw material. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the behavior of dissolved softwood kraft lignin during cross-flow filtration. The effects of the lignin concentration, pH, and ionic strength on the fractionation of the dissolved lignin during cross-flow filtration are investigated. The results indicate that large amounts of low-molecular-weight kraft lignin can be produced from solutions having a low lignin concentration. Furthermore, the effects of pH and ionic strength on the fractionation of low-molecular-weight lignin are identified within the studied ranges.     

Efficient single layer RGB phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes

We report efficient single layer red, green, and blue (RGB) phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using a “direct hole injection into and transport on triplet dopant” strategy. In particular, red dopant tris(1-phenylisoquinoline)iridium [Ir(piq)₃], green dopant tris(2-phenylpyridine)iridium [Ir(ppy)₃], and blue dopant bis(3,5-difluoro-2-(2-pyridyl)phenyl-(2-carboxypyridyl)iridium [FIrpic] were doped into an electron transporting 1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimidazole-2-yl)benzene (TPBi) host, respectively, to fabricate RGB single layer devices with indium tin oxide (ITO) anode and LiF/Al cathode. It is found that the maximum current efficiencies of the devices are 3.7, 34.5, and 6.8 cd/A, respectively. Moreover, by inserting a pure dopant buffer layer between the ITO anode and the emission layer, the efficiencies are improved to 4.9, 43.3, and 9.8 cd/A, respectively. It is worth noting that the current efficiency of the green simplified device was as high as 34.6 cd/A, even when the luminance was increased to 1000 cd/m² at an extremely low applied voltage of only 4.3 V. A simple accelerated aging test on the green device also shows the lifetime decay of the simplified device is better than that of a traditional multilayered one.     

A 640 by 480 Pixels Readout Circuit for IR Imaging

A readout circuit for a 640 × 480 pixels FPA (focal plane array) has been successfully designed, fabricated and tested. The circuit solution is based on a per pixel source-follower direct injection (SFDI) pre-amplifier. Signal multiplexing is performed in both X and Y direction. The pixel size is 25 m × 25m. The chip is optimized for a QWIP (quantum well infrared photodetector) operating at a temperature of 70 K. The circuit has been realized in a standard 0.8 m CMOS process.     

Modeling the customer in electronic commerce

This paper reviews interface design of web pages for e-commerce. Different tasks in e-commerce are contrasted. A systems model is used to illustrate the information flow between three subsystems in e-commerce: store environment, customer, and web technology. A customer makes several decisions: to enter the store, to navigate, to purchase, to pay, and to keep the merchandize. This artificial environment must be designed so that it can support customer decision-making. To retain customers it must be pleasing and fun, and create a task with natural flow. Customers have different needs, competence and motivation, which affect decision-making. It may therefore be important to customize the design of the e-store environment. Future ergonomics research will have to investigate perceptual aspects, such as presentation of merchandize, and cognitive issues, such as product search and navigation, as well as decision making while considering various economic parameters. Five theories on e-commerce research are presented.     

Antibody responses in humans against coli surface antigen 6 of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains expressing only coli surface antigen 6 (CS6) have previously been isolated from patients with diarrhea, but the immunogenicity of CS6 has not been established in humans. We have detected CS6-specific immunoglobulin A responses in the feces and blood of patients convalescing from natural ETEC disease and of volunteers given an oral ETEC vaccine.     

Improving visual inspection using binocular rivalry

In this study, we solve the non-identical parallel CNC machine scheduling problem. We have two objectives: minimizing the manufacturing cost (comprising machining, non-machining and tooling costs) and minimizing the total weighted tardiness. The tooling constraints affect the non-machining times as well as the machining conditions, such as cutting speed and feed rate, which in turn specify the machining times and tool lives. We propose a two-stage algorithm to find optimal machining conditions and to determine machine allocation, tool allocation and part scheduling decisions. The proposed algorithm generates different schedules according to the relative importance of the objectives.