Evidence for structural transformations in polymer melts

Crystallizing and non-crystallizing polymers have been investigated by Brillouin spectroscopy in the liquid state. The temperature gradient of the sound velocity of crystallizing polymers shows a discontinuity at ～60–110K above the melting transition. The non-crystallizing polymers investigated show no uniform behaviour. We interpret the phase between the melt temperature and the temperature of the additional transformation as a phase of locally nematic structure. This interpretation is also supported by a study of density, refractive index, viscosity and hypersonic attenuation.     

Technical note: Validation and comparison of 2 commercially available activity loggers

To validate the accuracy of 2 commercially available activity loggers in determining lying, standing, walking, and number of steps in dairy cows, 30 cows were fitted with the CowScout Leg (GEA Farm Technologies, Bönen, Germany) system and the IceTag (IceRobotics Ltd., Edinburgh, Scotland) system. The CowScout Leg logger reports standing and lying in 15-min periods, whereas the IceTag logger reports standing and lying every second. To make data comparable, the IceTag data were therefore also summarized over 15-min periods corresponding to the paired CowScout Leg sensor. These data from the 2 systems were then analyzed (more than 1,000 cow days in total). Video recordings of a total of 29.5 h were used for labeling the behaviors of the selected cows (n = 10) and these labels were used as a gold standard to determine the accuracy with which these 2 loggers can record behavioral states lying, standing, walking, and the behavioral event number of steps. A concordance correlation coefficient analysis showed that both the standing and lying durations obtained with the 2 systems were almost perfectly correlated with the video labeling (IceTag: ρ_c = 0.999 and 0.999, respectively; CowScout Leg: ρ_c = 0.995 and 0.996, respectively). However, both loggers performed poorly regarding number of steps (classified as an event; IceTag: ρ_c = 0.629; CowScout Leg: ρ_c = 0.678) and CowScout Leg did not detect walking (classified as a state) very accurately (ρ_c = 0.860). The IceTag system does not measure walking behavior. When comparing the 2 loggers, the correlation between them for standing and lying was substantial (ρ_c = 0.953 and ρ_c = 0.953, respectively). The number of steps poorly correlated between the 2 loggers (ρ_c = 0.593), which might be due to the CowScout Leg logger being attached to the front leg and the IceTag logger being attached to the hind leg. We conclude that both the IceTag and the CowScout Leg logger are able to record standing and lying almost perfectly, but the step counting by both loggers and the walking recording by the CowScout Leg logger are not very accurate.     

A photoluminiscent Ge-containing conjugated macrocycle

The selective synthesis of a photoluminiscent macrocycle containing germanium atoms in conjugation with two aromatic segments has been accomplished by ruthenium-based olefin metathesis. The macrocycle shows blue emission with 40% quantum efficiency. The optical properties are interpreted with the help of theoretical DFT calculations using B3LYP/6-31G** and B3LYP/Lanl2dz with a remarkable match between the measured and the calculated absorption characteristics.     

Brillouin scattering of semicrystalline poly(4-methyl-1-pentene): study of surface effects of bulk and film material

Partially crystalline but highly transparent poly(4-methyl-1-pentene) has been investigated as bulk and film material by Brillouin scattering. Special surface effects have been demonstrated in terms of elastic compressional and shear constants. The temperature dependence of the hypersonic velocity has been studied between 17 and 350K indicating a glass transition temperature of 288K.     

Ft1, a novel gene related to ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes, is deleted in the Fused toes mouse mutation

The Academic Schools Act of 1920 and the Ordinance of 1924 pertaining to doctorates provided that one could earn the degree only having submitted a disseration. The Austrian Act which was in force up to that moment had allowed to receive the degree without writing a thesis. Protests voiced by medical students extended validity of the Act. The Jagiellonian University medicals played an important role in delaying the Ordinance coming into force. Protesting against the newest regulations they organized public meetings, wrote memorials and filled petitions. The Jagiellonian University Faculty of Medicine granted doctorates without dissertation up to the end of December 1932. However some doctorates were granted even after that term.     

Rapid eye movement sleep time in dairy cows changes during the lactation cycle

The importance of rest and sleep is well established; we know, for example, that lack of sleep impairs immune function in rats and increases pain sensitivity in humans. However, little is known about sleep in dairy cows, but a lack of rest and sleep is discussed as a possible welfare problem in cattle. A first step toward a better understanding of sleep in dairy cows is to quantify the time cows spend awake and asleep in different stages of lactation. Using electrophysiological recordings on 7 occasions in wk ?2, 2, 7, 13, 22, 37, and 45 in relation to calving, we investigated changes in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time as well as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, drowsing, awake, and rumination in 19 dairy cows of the Swedish Red breed kept in single pens with ad libitum access to feed and water. The recordings on wk ?2 and 45 were conducted during the dry period, and all others during lactation. The PROC MIXED procedure in SAS (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) was used to test for significant differences in REM, NREM, drowsing, awake, and rumination between the different stages of lactation cycle. Pairwise comparisons between all recording occasions showed that total REM sleep duration was shorter for cows in wk 2 relative to calving compared with wk ?2, and the number of REM sleep bouts were fewer in wk 2 compared with wk ?2. The REM sleep was recorded during both the day (0500–2100 h) and night (2100–0500 h), but predominantly performed at night compared with daytime, and the bout duration was longer during nighttime compared with daytime. A tendency was observed for time spent in NREM sleep to be shorter in wk 2 relative to calving compared with wk ?2. The duration spent drowsing was shorter for cows in wk 2 and 13 relative to calving compared with wk ?2. We found no effect of stage of lactation cycle on the duration of awake or ruminating. Our study is the first to assess sleep distribution during a lactation cycle, and our results show that stage of lactation is important to consider when moving forward with sleep investigations in dairy cows. The shortest REM sleep duration was found for cows 2 wk after calving and longest 2 wk before calving, and the difference was due a higher number of REM sleep bouts in the recording 2 wk before calving. The REM sleep and rumination predominantly occurred at night but were recorded during both day and night.     

Only because I love you: Why people make and why they break promises in romantic relationships.

People make and break promises frequently in interpersonal relationships. In this article, we investigate the processes leading up to making promises and the processes involved in keeping them. Across 4 studies, we demonstrate that people who had the most positive relationship feelings and who were most motivated to be responsive to the partner's needs made bigger promises than did other people but were not any better at keeping them. Instead, promisers' self-regulation skills, such as trait conscientiousness, predicted the extent to which promises were kept or broken. In a causal test of our hypotheses, participants who were focused on their feelings for their partner promised more, whereas participants who generated a plan of self-regulation followed through more on their promises. Thus, people were making promises for very different reasons (positive relationship feelings, responsiveness motivation) than what made them keep these promises (self-regulation skills). Ironically, then, those who are most motivated to be responsive may be most likely to break their romantic promises, as they are making ambitious commitments they will later be unable to keep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Laparoscopic appendectomy is an acceptable alternative for the treatment of perforated appendicitis

BACKGROUND: Ever since laparoscopy was first applied to the treatment of appendicitis, a controversy has existed as to whether the acknowledged benefits of a minimally invasive approach warrant its preference over the conventional treatment, which historically has had relatively low morbidity. The purpose of this study was to determine if laparoscopic appendectomy should be performed preferentially in cases where surgeons are not limited by technical constraints. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of 112 patients operated on for suspected appendicitis from June 1995 to July 1996. Forty-eight patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy, and 64 had conventional open appendectomy. Laparoscopic appendectomy was performed using a three-trocar technique and the endoscopic stapler. Results: The histopathological diagnosis of appendicitis was confirmed in 82.6% of cases. Overall, laparoscopic appendectomy reduced length of hospital stay (1.54 versus 4.09 days; p < 0.0001) compared to conventional open appendectomy, with no significant difference in hospital cost ($6430 versus $6669; p = ns). Although the total OR time was longer in the laparoscopic group (75.8 versus 60.2 min; p < 0.0001), laparoscopy resulted in both a reduction in length of stay (2.17 versus 6.27 days; p < 0.0001) and hospital cost ($7506 versus $10,504; p < 0.02) for cases of perforated appendicitis. Conversion to open appendectomy was performed in 6% of patients, all of whom had perforated appendicitis. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that most cases of acute appendicitis with suspected perforation could be managed laparoscopically. Laparoscopic appendectomy significantly reduces length of stay and hospital costs in patients with perforated appendicitis.     

Brillouin spectroscopy at the melt transition of poly-4-methyl-pentene-1: Discontinuous melting of superstructures?

Summary The elastic properties of Poly-4-methylpentene-1 around the melt transition have been studied by Brillouin spectroscopy. A discontinuous change of the sound velocity is observed in the melting region of 10 K indicating a rather discontinuous melting and formation of spherulites with sharp boundaries. Another result is that practically the final elastic properties of the spherulites appear already during their formation.