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Introduction Phthalates and bisphenol-a (BPA) are endocrine disrupting compounds with widespread exposure that have been linked to adverse birth outcomes and developmental effects. We hypothesized that these associations may be mediated in part through altered placental development and function consequent to exposure. To investigate this question, we examined associations between plasma biomarkers of angiogenesis and urinary biomarkers of exposure to phthalates and bisphenol-a (BPA) measured at repeated time points across pregnancy. Methods We utilized a nested case-control population of 130 mothers who delivered preterm and 352 who delivered term from a prospective birth cohort. Placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) were measured in plasma samples collected from up to four visits during pregnancy (median 10, 18, 26, and 35 weeks). Phthalate metabolites and BPA were measured in urine samples collected at the same visits as indices of exposure. Results In linear mixed effects models adjusted for urine dilution and gestational age at sample collection, oxidized di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites were associated with decreases in PlGF as well as increases in the sFlt-1 to PlGF ratio. These results were slightly attenuated in fully adjusted models. Other phthalate metabolites did not show consistent relationships with either sFlt-1 or PlGF. BPA, however, was associated with increased sFlt-1 as well as the sFlt-1 to PlGF ratio in both crude and adjusted models. Discussion We observed associations between urinary DEHP metabolites and BPA and biomarkers of angiogenesis during pregnancy that may be indicative of disrupted placental development and/or function during gestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Proton therapy is capable of delivering the planned dose more conformally to the tumour volume, reducing the dose to surrounding healthy tissue in comparison to conventional photon radiotherapy. However, secondary fast neutrons and gamma rays are produced due to the interaction of the primary proton beam with the beam shaping and modifying devices inside the beam delivery nozzle as well as the patient themselves, resulting in an unwanted radiation exposure to sensitive organs located outside the treatment volume. At the Westdeutsches Protonentherapiezentrum Essen (WPE) we have explicitly estimated the neutron and gamma dose equivalents at the outer surfaces of a 26 × 26 × 32 cm3 polystyrene plate phantom irradiated with a 226 MeV scanned proton pencil beam using commercially available α-Al2O3:C (TLD-500) and 7LiF:Ti, Mg (TLD-700) dosimeter pairs. The scanned volume in the phantom and the delivered proton dose were 1 L (10 × 10 × 10 cm3) and 10.3 Gy respectively. This small neutron and gamma dosimeter, based on existing TLD technology, will be implemented for in vivo out-of-field dosimetry for patients receiving proton radiotherapy at WPE in the near future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The detector and sensor group of the West German Proton Therapy Centre (WPE) has developed a novel real-time neutron fluence monitor based on tiny, inexpensive, commercially available GaAs-LEDs. The linear detection range for d(14)+Be neutrons was evaluated to be 5.0 × 108–2.0 × 1011 neutron.cm− 2. However, this monitor can be used universally for neutrons of any energy distribution. Using scaling factors, fluence calibration curves for 1 MeV and 14 MeV D+T fusion neutrons have been calculated. The sensitivity of the detector increases with increasing neutron energy. This makes it suitable for the detection of high-energy neutrons, providing an extra advantage for use at a proton therapy facility where there is a high proportion of high-energy neutrons. The detector is practically not sensitive to photons. A prototype of the online GaAs-LED based neutron fluence monitor has been tested successfully at University Hospital Essen neutron therapy facility and will be implemented at WPE in the near future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper develops some objective priors for correlation coefficient of the bivariate normal distribution. The criterion used is the asymptotic matching of coverage probabilities of Bayesian credible intervals with the corresponding frequentist coverage probabilities. The paper uses various matching criteria, namely, quantile matching, highest posterior density matching, and matching via inversion of test statistics. Each matching criterion leads to a different prior for the parameter of interest. We evaluate their performance by comparing credible intervals through simulation studies. In addition, inference through several likelihood-based methods have been discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effects of surfactant composition on the ability of chemical dispersants to disperse crude oil in fresh water were investigated. The objective of this research was to determine whether effective fresh water dispersants can be designed in case this technology is ever considered for use in fresh water environments. Previous studies on the chemical dispersion of crude oil in fresh water neither identified the dispersants that were investigated nor described the chemistry of the surfactants used. This information is necessary for developing a more fundamental understanding of chemical dispersion of crude oil at low salinity. Therefore, we evaluated the relationship between surfactant chemistry and dispersion effectiveness. We found that dispersants can be designed to drive an oil slick into the freshwater column with the same efficiency as in salt water as long as the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance is optimum. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Stoichiometric magnesium aluminate spinel was synthesized by reaction sintering of alumina with caustic and sintered magnesia. The volume expansion of 5–7% during MgAl2O4 formation was utilized to identify the starting temperature of spinel formation and densification by high temperature dilatometry. The magnesia reactivity was determined by measurement of crystallite size and specific surface area. Caustic magnesia and sintered magnesia behave differently vis-a`-vis phase formation and densification of spinel. Densification of stoichiometric Mag-Al spinel was carried out between 1650 and 1750 °C. Attempts were made to correlate the MgO reactivity with microstructure and densification of spinel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the nature of colonic metaplasia in ileo-anal pouches and incidence / frequency of pouchitis in the same. Biopsy specimens from 8 patients with functioning ileal pouches were studied using routine histology, mucin histochemistry and electron microscopy, over a 2 - year period. All 8 patients had villous abnormalities in the form of blunting of villi and sub total or partial villous atrophy. 6 patients had an increase in the goblet cell population and Paneth cell hyperplasia. These changes were supported by electron microscopic findings of a decrease in number and flattening of ileal type microvilli and their transformed morphologic resemblance to colonic type microvilli. All the ileal pouches also had acquired colorectal type sulphomucin, when sections stained with Alcian-blue and High Iron Diamine - Alcian blue, were studied. However, no case of pouchitis as defined in literature, was found in this study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Natural gadolinium possesses a very high thermal neutron capture (n,γ) cross section whereas, carbon doped aluminium oxide thermoluminescence dosimeters (Al2O3:C), commercially available as TLD-500 are extremely sensitive to gamma rays. Hence, by combining those two unique phenomena we have developed a highly sensitive passive neutron detector. The lowest detectable neutron dose rate was evaluated to be 6.5 μSv for 226Ra/Be neutrons. By placing the twin chip TLD sensor combinations in a polyethylene moderator we have constructed a neutron area monitor and demonstrated its performance in the radiation environment of high-energy particle accelerators at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotorn (DESY). Several area monitors are now in operation at Westdeutsches Protonentheapie-zentrum Essen (WPE). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction/Background Recent studies have shown that unintuitive control is a key factor leading to upper-extremity, myoelectric prostheses abandonment. We have developed a non-invasive modality to extract proportional control signals in the residuum using ultrasound imaging. In this study, we investigate the performance of this technology in upper-extremity amputees. Material and method We recruited 4 amputee subjects ( Table 1 ) who currently use myoelectric prostheses. Subjects were instrumented with a portable ultrasound system connected to a low-profile transducer on the volar aspect of their residuum. Ultrasound images were processed in real-time to extract graded muscle activity signal in response to volitional user-intended motions (UIMs). Subjects were trained by iterating each UIM while being provided with visual feedback of ultrasound images and muscle-activity signal. Participants were then given control of an on-screen cursor that responded proportionally to the level of muscle-activity for a particular UIM and asked to reach and hold the cursor at predefined set-points. Control steadiness (standard deviation) and control error (difference between cursor and target) were computed. Results All subjects were able to complete the training phase within 15 minutes (25 iterations or less) for at least 4 degrees-of-freedom (DoF), while achieving motion prediction accuracies greater than 88% ( Table 1 ). 3 subjects participated in the motion control task. The congenital amputee subject performed 2 motions and the rest performed at least 4 motions with control errors between 2.1% and 9.36% ( Table 2 ). Our approach provides direct positional control based on muscle deformation, resulting in improved proprioceptive feedback, unlike myoelectric control. We believe that ultrasound images coupled with the muscle activity signals serve as an intuitive visual feedback mechanism, resulting in reduced training time and improved performance. Conclusion We demonstrated intuitive proportional control using ultrasound-based muscle activity sensing paradigm for multiple DoFs with traumatic and congenital amputees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium aluminate spinel was synthesized by solid oxide reaction route at 1400 °C and then added to magnesia refractory brick compositions in the range of 0–30 weight percentages. Optimum firing temperature of the magnesia–spinel refractory composites was determined from densification study and phase analysis. Final refractory products were then characterized by thermal expansion, refractoriness under load, cold strength, retainment of cold strength after thermal shock, hot strength at different temperatures and micro-structural analysis. Spinel (20 wt.%) containing magnesia composition was found to have superior properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Densification of two different nonstoichiometric spinels (Al2O3 content 66 wt.% and 90 wt.%) was studied by using the reaction sintering technique. Sintered sea water magnesia and commercial alumina were used as starting materials. Reactivity of alumina was changed by calcinations between 800 and 1600 °C. Sintering for all the batches was carried out in the temperature range of 1600 and 1700 °C. Sintered products were characterized by bulk density, phase analysis and microstructure. Alumina calcined at 1200 °C was found to be optimum for densification of non-stoichiometric spinels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Neutron deficient isotopes of francium (, ) as excited nuclei were produced in the fusion–evaporation reaction: 197Au(16O, xn) 213− x Fr at 100 MeV. The γ rays from the residues were observed through the high sensitivity Germanium Clover detector array INGA. The decay of the high spin states and the isomeric states of the doubly-odd 208Fr nuclei, identified from the known sequence of ground state transitions, were observed. The half-lives of the isomeric transition, known from earlier observations, was measured to be . A second isomeric transition at and was also found. The measured half-lives were compared with the corresponding single particle estimates, based on the level scheme obtained from the experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The results obtained from the activation foils measurement are unfolded using two different deconvolution methods such as BUNKI and genetic algorithm (GA). The spectra produced by these codes agree fairly with each other and are comparable with that measured previously for the same system using NE213 liquid scintillator and by unfolding the neutron-induced proton pulse height distribution using two different methods, viz. FERDOR and BUNKI. The details of various unfolding procedures used in this work are reported in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We have studied the high spin states in the 137La nucleus by in-beam γ-spectroscopic techniques following the reaction 130Te(11B, 4n)137La at using an array, consisting of 8 Compton-suppressed Clover germanium detectors. Forty five new γ rays have been assigned to 137La on the basis of γ ray singles, γγ doubles and γγγ triples coincidence data. Thirty eight new levels have been proposed and the level scheme of 137La has been extended above the known 360 ns isomer up to an excitation energy of and spin . The spin-parity assignments for most of the newly proposed levels have been made using the deduced directional correlation orientation and polarisation information for the de-exciting transitions. The new scheme consists, among others, two decay sequences having states with alternating parity connected by E1 transitions. An attempt has been made to understand these interesting structure by a modest shell model calculation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sintering of lime was carried out in the presence of V2O5 by a single firing process. A pure limestone was crushed, mixed with 1, 2 and 4 wt.% V2O5, pelletised and fired between 1550 and 1650 °C. The sintered lime was evaluated by bulk density, apparent porosity, microstructure, hydration resistance and hot modulus of rupture (HMOR) at 1300 °C. Incorporation of V2O5 forms liquid phase with lime at elevated temperature and influences the densification process by liquid phase sintering. As a result bulk density of sinters improved and they become more hydration resistant due to the larger grain size of the lime phase. The hot strength increased up to a certain temperature followed by deterioration because of the pressure of higher amount of liquid phase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A number of Indian medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years in the traditional system of medicine (Ayurveda). Amongst these are plants used for the management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson''s, Alzheimer''s, loss of memory, degeneration of nerves and other neuronal disorders by the Ayurvedic practitioners. Though the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases remains enigmatic, there is evidence, which indicates that defective energy metabolism, excitotoxicity and oxidative damage may be crucial factors (Ann. Neurol. 38 (3) (1995) 357). The part of the Ayurvedic system that provides an approach to prevention and treatment of degenerative diseases is known as Rasayana, and plants used for this purpose are classed as rejuvenators. This group of plants generally possesses strong antioxidant activity (Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 43 (1992) 1175), but only a few have been investigated in detail. In the present study, three such rasayana plants were tested for the first time for their toxicity and free radical scavenging activity both in vitro and ex vivo. All the three plant infusions (up to 1 mg/ml) showed no toxic effects on the viability of PC12 cell line as judged by MTT-test. Both ethanolic extracts and water infusions of the plants were tested for their antioxidant activity in the 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS⋅+) radical cation decolorization assay; inhibition of lipid peroxidation by plant infusions was carried out using spontaneous lipid peroxidation of rat brain homogenate, and IC50 values were determined. The results from the ABTS assay showed that the ethanolic extract of Sida cordifolia was found to be most potent (IC50 16.07 μg/ml), followed by Evolvulus alsinoides (IC50 33.39 μg/ml) and Cynodon dactylon (IC50 78.62 μg/ml). The relative antioxidant capacity for the water infusions was observed in the following order: E. alsinoides (IC50 172.25 μg/ml)>C. dactylon (IC50 273.64 μg/ml)>S. cordifolia (IC50 342.82 μg/ml). The results of water infusions of the plants on lipid peroxidation were as follows: E. alsinoides (IC50 89.23 μg/ml)>S. cordifolia) (IC50 126.78 μg/ml)>C. dactylon (IC50 608.31 μg/ml). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

From ancient times, Swarnabhasma (gold ash) has been used in several clinical manifestations including loss of memory, defective eyesight, infertility, overall body weakness and incidence of early aging. Swarnabhasma has been used by Ayurvedic physicians to treat different diseases like bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, nervous disorders, etc. In the present investigation, Swarnabhasma was prepared after proper purification and calcination as per Ayurvedic pharmacy which consisted of Realger (As2S2), Lead oxide (Pb3O4), Pure gold (Au) and Latex of Calotropis gigantea. Qualitative analyses indicated that Swarnabhasma contained not only gold but also several microelements (Fe, Al, Cu, Zn, Co, Mg, Ca, As, Pb, etc.). Infrared spectroscopy showed that the material was free from any organic compound. The metal content in the bhasma was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Acute oral administration of Swarnabhasma showed no mortality in mice (up to 1 ml /20 g b.w. of Swarnabhasma suspension containing 1mg of drug). Chronic administration of Swarnabhasma also showed no toxicity as judged by SGPT, SGOT, serum creatinine and serum urea level and histological studies. In an experimental animal model, chronic Swarnabhasma-treated animals showed significantly increased superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, two enzymes that reduce free radical concentrations in the body. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Relative isotopic yield distributions have been extracted for nine correlated fission fragment pairs following a detailed analysis of prompt γ − γ coincidence events from 232Th(α ,f) reaction at E l a b = 30 MeV. Simultaneously, the charge and mass yield distributions of the even-even fission fragments have been obtained from the measured relative isotopic yields. The onset of a triple-hump structure is seen in the extracted charge as well as mass yield distributions of the fragments. The results are consistent with the two-mode fission hypothesis of compound nucleus and in good agreement with the theoretical predictions, based on relevant fission models. The detailed results provide experimental evidence for the presence of two distinct compound nucleus fission modes, where the asymmetric and symmetric fission components are 83% and 17%, respectively. An average neutron multiplicity value of 4.60 ± 0.09 has been obtained, and the extracted neutron multiplicity distribution pattern corroborates the observed features of the multifaceted fission modes. Comparing the measured yield distributions following the 232Th(α ,f) surrogate reaction, which produces 236U⁎ at an excitation energy of 21.5 MeV, with that of the direct reaction of 14 MeV neutron induced fission of 235U, an increase of about 11% in the yield of the symmetric component has been observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A minor flavonoid constituent of Limnophila rugosa has been isolated from its petrol extract and identified as 5,7-dihydroxy-8,3′,5′-trimethoxyflavone (1). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]