Quantum critical behavior induced by Mn impurity in CuGeO3

Results of high frequency (60-315 GHz) studies of ESR in CuGeO3 single crystals containing 0.9% of Mn impurity are reported. Quantitative EPR line shape analysis allowed concluding that low temperature magnetic susceptibility for T <40 K diverges following power law with the critical exponent 0.81 and therefore manifests onset of a quantum critical (QC) regime. We argue that transition into Griffiths phase occurs at TG~40 K and disorder produced by Mn impurity in quantum spin chains of CuGeO3 may lead to co-existence of the QC regime and spin-Peierls dimerisation.Comment: 2 pages, submitted to SCES05 proceeding

Numerical study of the strongly screened vortex glass model in an external field

The vortex glass model for a disordered high-T_c superconductor in an external magnetic field is studied in the strong screening limit. With exact ground state (i.e. T=0) calculations we show that 1) the ground state of the vortex configuration varies drastically with infinitesimal variations of the strength of the external field, 2) the minimum energy of global excitation loops of length scale L do not depend on the strength of the external field, however 3) the excitation loops themself depend sensibly on the field. From 2) we infer the absence of a true superconducting state at any finite temperature independent of the external field.Comment: 6 pages RevTeX, 5 eps-figures include

Ruggedized Color Measurement for Beer, Wort, and Malt

The standard instrument for measuring malt, wort, and beer color is the spectrophotometer. Spectrophotometers are not rugged; they have critically aligned collimators, monochromators, lenses, slits, and mirrors that make them difficult to use and maintain in a production environment. Our research shows that wort and beer color can be measured accurately with rugged equipment based on light emitting diodes (LEDs) with results in agreement with those of a spectrophotometer. Two or more colored diodes were used. LED-based apparatus does not require critical alignment, is not highly sensitive to environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, dust, and vibration, and can be rapid, inexpensive, compact, rugged, and easy to use. Statistical comparison in the range of 1–9 °SRM shows an insignificant bias for (SRM–LED) of −0.06 ± 0.4 °SRM. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the differences was 0.9952

Adaption eines elektronischen Laborbuchs (Elab) an ein objektorientiertes Datenbank-Management-System

Das Elektronische Laborbuch Elab ist ein Softwarewerkzeug zur Unterstützung der Entwicklung von Herstellungsprozessen von Mikrosystemen. Es dient der Darstellung und dem Modifizieren von Prozessen und Prozeßreihen. Dabei wird auch die Variantenbildung unterstützt. Elab ist ein objektorientiert aufgebautes System. Mehrbenutzerbetrieb, Zugriffsberechtigungen und Versionsverwaltung machen die Anbindung an ein objektorientiertes Datenbank-Management-System erforderlich. Aus diesem Grund wurde das Datenbanksystem ObjectStore mit Sprachanbindung zu Smalltalk (OSST) ausgewählt. Der parallele Zugriff von verschiedenen Applikationen auf den persistenten Datenbestand erfordert spezielle Sperrmechanismen auf der Grundlage einfacherer Mechanismen der ObjectStore Datenbanken. Durch die Implementierung von semantischen Sperren kann objektweises Sperren erreicht werden. Im Mehrbenutzerbetrieb gehören die Benutzer bestimmten Projektgruppen an, die nur Zugriff auf die Daten ihres Projekts haben. Ein Superuser übernimmt die Aufgaben der Benutzerverwaltung

Autoinducers act as biological timers in Vibrio harveyi

Quorum sensing regulates cell density-dependent phenotypes and involves the synthesis, excretion and detection of so-called autoinducers. Vibrio harveyi strain ATCC BAA-1116 (recently reclassified as Vibrio campbellii), one of the best-characterized model organisms for the study of quorum sensing, produces and responds to three autoinducers. HAI-1, AI-2 and CAI-1 are recognized by different receptors, but all information is channeled into the same signaling cascade, which controls a specific set of genes. Here we examine temporal variations of availability and concentration of the three autoinducers in V. harveyi, and monitor the phenotypes they regulate, from the early exponential to the stationary growth phase in liquid culture. Specifically, the exponential growth phase is characterized by an increase in AI-2 and the induction of bioluminescence, while HAI-1 and CAI-1 are undetectable prior to the late exponential growth phase. CAI-1 activity reaches its maximum upon entry into stationary phase, while molar concentrations of AI-2 and HAI-1 become approximately equal. Similarly, autoinducer-dependent exoproteolytic activity increases at the transition into stationary phase. These findings are reflected in temporal alterations in expression of the luxR gene that encodes the master regulator LuxR, and of four autoinducer-regulated genes during growth. Moreover, in vitro phosphorylation assays reveal a tight correlation between the HAI-1/AI-2 ratio as input and levels of receptor-mediated phosphorylation of LuxU as output. Our study supports a model in which the combinations of autoinducers available, rather than cell density per se, determine the timing of various processes in V. harveyi populations

Home birth and barriers to referring women with obstetric complications to hospitals: a mixed-methods study in Zahedan, southeastern Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One factor that contributes to high maternal mortality in developing countries is the delayed use of Emergency Obstetric-Care (EmOC) facilities. The objective of this study was to determine the factors that hinder midwives and parturient women from using hospitals when complications occur during home birth in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, where 23% of all deliveries take place in non- hospital settings.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the study and data management, a mixed-methods approach was used. In the quantitative phase, we compared the existing health-sector data with World Health Organization (WHO) standards for the availability and use of EmOC services. The qualitative phase included collection and analysis of interviews with midwives and traditional birth attendants and twenty-one in-depth interviews with mothers. The data collected in this phase were managed according to the principles of qualitative data analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The findings demonstrate that three distinct factors lead to indecisiveness and delay in the use of EmOC by the midwives and mothers studied. Socio-cultural and familial reasons compel some women to choose to give birth at home and to hesitate seeking professional emergency care for delivery complications. Apprehension about being insulted by physicians, the necessity of protecting their professional integrity in front of patients and an inability to persuade their patients lead to an over-insistence by midwives on completing deliveries at the mothers' homes and a reluctance to refer their patients to hospitals. The low quality and expense of EmOC and the mothers' lack of health insurance also contribute to delays in referral.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Women who choose to give birth at home accept the risk that complications may arise. Training midwives and persuading mothers and significant others who make decisions about the value of referring women to hospitals at the onset of life-threatening complications are central factors to increasing the use of available hospitals. The hospitals must be safe, comfortable and attractive environments for parturition and should give appropriate consideration to the ethical and cultural concerns of the women. Appropriate management of financial and insurance-related issues can help midwives and mothers make a rational decision when complications arise.</p

Dopamine Regulates Angiogenesis in Normal Dermal Wound Tissues

Cutaneous wound healing is a normal physiological process and comprises different phases. Among these phases, angiogenesis or new blood vessel formation in wound tissue plays an important role. Skin is richly supplied by sympathetic nerves and evidences indicate the significant role of the sympathetic nervous system in cutaneous wound healing. Dopamine (DA) is an important catecholamine neurotransmitter released by the sympathetic nerve endings and recent studies have demonstrated the potent anti-angiogenic action of DA, which is mediated through its D2 DA receptors. We therefore postulate that this endogenous catecholamine neurotransmitter may have a role in the neovascularization of dermal wound tissues and subsequently in the process of wound healing. In the present study, the therapeutic efficacy of D2 DA receptor antagonist has been investigated for faster wound healing in a murine model of full thickness dermal wound. Our results indicate that treatment with specific D2 DA receptor antagonist significantly expedites the process of full thickness normal dermal wound healing in mice by inducing angiogenesis in wound tissues. The underlined mechanisms have been attributed to the up-regulation of homeobox transcription factor HoxD3 and its target α5β1 integrin, which play a pivotal role in wound angiogenesis. Since D2 DA receptor antagonists are already in clinical use for other disorders, these results have significant translational value from the bench to the bedside for efficient wound management along with other conventional treatment modalities