Search

Objective: To describe patient characteristics, treatment patterns and healthcare utilization (HCU) of non-active users of maintenance asthma medications in the United Kingdom.Methods: Retrospectiv...

We wished to determine whether patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) show behavioural changes similar to those of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). There is accumulating evidence to suggest a link between ALS and FTD, yet there has been little systematic exploration of behaviour in ALS. An informant based semi-structured behavioural interview, sensitive to the behavioural changes of FTD, was administered to carers of 16 consecutive patients attending a motor neuron disease clinic. Findings varied across the group. At one extreme informants reported no behavioural change, whereas at the other they reported a spectrum of behaviours similar to those seen in FTD. Changes in affect and social behaviour were most common, although some patients also showed altered response to sensory stimuli, gluttony and indiscriminate eating, behavioural stereotypies and compulsions. Behavioural changes were mirrored by SPECT abnormalities in the frontal and/or temporal lobes. Thus, behavioural changes of the type seen in FTD may be present even in a small consecutive cohort of ALS patients. Detection of behavioural change is crucial for optimal management.

We present a practical way of adapting and using four research-based assessments for different purposes in an electricity and magnetism course for K-8 science teachers. The course is designed to accomplish conceptual change toward accepted scientific conceptions as well as introducing teachers to materials and activities appropriate for their classrooms. Our data support that using the research-based tests to identify alternative conceptions and discuss test results with teachers is a promising way to use the knowledge of alternative conceptions in professional development. We also identify some mismatches between the research of conceptual change and its use in programs of professional development.

A relatively neglected level of lexical processing is semantics. We discuss why this might be and consider the current understanding of the influence of lexicosemantic measures on semantic processing. Two experiments examined the roles of lexicosemantic variables, including age of acquisition and word frequency, in semantic processing in young adults; both experiments required participants to identify named objects as “living” or “nonliving”. Age of acquisition was a significant predictor in both experiments, though just for living items. Frequency was significant only for nonliving items in Experiment 2. We discuss whether differences in classification between living and nonliving items may reflect underlying lexical differences.

Amorphous metal alloys sometimes contain order beyond that of a simple glass. The paracrystalline model for such a metallic glass is described and its predictions compared with published data. These data were obtained by the recently developed technique of fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM), which is also described. The paracrystalline model results compare well with data from a sample that, from its diffraction pattern, was clearly polycrystalline, although with very small crystallites. The model predicts only small FEM signals from samples that appear to be amorphous by their diffraction patterns.

The JET Trace Tritium (TTE) programme marked the first use of tritium in experiments under the managerial control of UKAEA, which operates the JET Facility on behalf of EFDA. The introduction of tritium into the plasma by gas fuelling and neutral beam injection, even in trace quantities, required the mobilisation of gram-quantities of tritium gas from the Active Gas Handling System (AGHS) product storage units into the supply lines connected to the torus gas valve and the neutral beam injectors. All systems for DT gas handling, recovery and reprocessing were therefore recommissioned and operating procedures re-established, involving extensive operations staff training. The validation of Key Safety Related Equipment (KSRE) is described with reference to specific examples. The differences between requirements for TTE and full DT operations are shown to be relatively small. The scientific motivation for TTE, such as the possibility to obtain high-quality measurements in key areas such as fuel-ion transport and fast ion dynamics, is described, and the re-establishment and development of JET's 14MeV neutron diagnostic capability for TTE and future DT campaigns are outlined. Some scientific highlights from the TTE campaign are presented.

The facility dedicated to full tritium recovery from carbon flakes and dust generated in the JET fusion reactor during operation with tritium plasma has been designed and is being constructed at th...

The Impurity Processing system of the JET Active Gas Handling System has been upgraded to implement a new catalytic reactor for hydrogen-containing gases, such as hydrocarbons and water, decomposition followed by removal of liberated molecular hydrogen using a palladium permeator. Detritiation of hydrogen-containing species is based on their conversion to molecular hydrogen in the reactions with the carbon-nickel composite. The non-active commissioning of the new modules has been completed.

Unjustifiably, but often, dismissed as the driest of sources, medieval accounts can be a mine of historical and social information, and those of Isabeau of Bavaria, queen of Charles VI of France, are particularly fascinating. One of the many consequences of the king's lifelong mental instability was the development of an entirely separate financial administration for his wife and children, and this combination of radical innovation and unprecedented levels of expenditure has meant that scrutiny of Isabeau's accounts — the best preserved and most extensive of any medieval queen of France — has been considered fundamental in almost all biographical works. Although this paper looks at what could be regarded as a frivolous topic in Isabeau's wardrobe, the social concept of the royal lady as decorative fashion-plate has been particularly pertinent in recent years, but also has a long-standing pedigree. The necessity and public display of wealth were always an intrinsic element of medieval queenship, and a numb...

Kikuchi bands observed in transmission electron microscopy of crystalline approximants to quasicrystals differ from those observed from the quasicrystals only in small details. They reveal the relationship between the two phases and in the past have provided some information about the small distortions of atomic clusters that occur on going from one phase to the other.

Until recently, icosahedral phase (i-phase) formation was studied primarily in Al-transition metal alloys. The Al-based i-phases generally fall into one of two classes: those believed to be based on the Pauling triacontahedron, fundamental to the Bergman 1/1 phase, and those based on the double-shell Mackay icosahedra found in the 1/1α-(Al-Mn-Si) phase. Notable Bergman-type quasicrystals include i-(Al Li-Cu) and i-(Al-Mg-Zn); i-(Al-Mn-Si) forms the best known Mackay-type i-phase. The large number of Ti-based i-phases now known, and the differences in their diffraction features raise the question of their fundamental structural units. To address this partially, results of X-ray and electron microscopy studies of Ti-Zr-Ni alloys, where Ni is replaced by Fe and Co, are reported. The character of the i-phases varies smoothly from the Ti-Zr-Ni quasicrystals, which probably are Bergman-type i-phases, to the Ti-Zr-Fe quasicrystals, which probably are Mackay types. A new classification method for icosahedral quasicrystals based on the ratio of the quasilattice constant a q to the average atomic separation , computed from the measured density, is introduced and applied to both Al- and Ti-based quasicrystals. On the basis of this scheme, most Ti-based i-phases, including the Ti-3d transition metal-Si-O phases and Ti Zr Fe, form a third group, different from the Al-based Mackay and Bergman groups. Ti-Zr-Ni and Ti-Zr-Co quasicrystals fall into the same class as the Bergman-type Al-based i-phases.

Detailed studies of the absorption and storage of hydrogen by icosahedral quasicrystalline Ti-Zr-Ni are presented. Two different absorption methods, one at room temperature and another requiring elevated temperatures, successfully introduce hydrogen into Ti-Zr-Ni alloys. Absorption is accompanied by an expansion of the quasilattice, and results correlating the rate of expansion to the hydrogen concentration are presented. The absorption rates suggest that a surface oxide layer acts as a barrier to hydrogen absorption and this is confirmed by surface depth profiling studies made with scanning Auger spectroscopy. Desorption studies also indicate some hydrogen cycling ability for the quasicrystal. The hydrogen storage ability of the quasicrystal is compared to, and found to be better than, those of the related phases in this system.

We report here the discovery of a new bcc 1/1 crystal approximant (W-phase) to the stable icosahedral quasicrystal (i-phase) discovered recently in Ti-Zr-Ni alloys. As-cast Ti-Zr-Ni ingots, which originally contain only the C14 Laves and the hcp solid-solution phases, transform almost completely to the i-phase after annealing at 570oC for 64 h. Anneals at higher temperature (610oC) lead to the formation of the bcc W-phase, with a = 1.432 nm. Preliminary X-ray 0 diffraction studies indicate that the structure of the W-phase is similar to that of the Al-Mg-Zn Bergman phase, or the isostructural Al-Li-Cu R-phase, supporting a previous proposal that i-(Ti-Zr-Ni) is structurally different from i-(Ti-Cr-Si-O) or i-(Ti-Mn-Si-O), but similar to i-(Al-Li-Cu) or i-(Al-Mg-Zn).

Despite the many similarities between icosahedrally ordered phases in Al- and Ti-transition metal (TM) alloys, decagonal phases have been found only in Al-based systems. The closest Ti-TM decagonal approximant reported in the literature is the Ti-TM-Si λ-phase. Starting with the atomic positions of the b.c.c. TiCrSi α-phase, we develop a stoichiometrically correct atomic model for the λ-phase that accurately predicts the observed selected area diffraction patterns and stereographic Kickuchi band maps, and is in agreement with high-resolution micrographs. We present a fully decorated decagonal glass model with cluster matching rules determined from analysis of the atomic clusters. Diffraction simulations from this model strongly resemble measured diffraction patterns from another decagonal approximant phase, referred to as the δ-phase. High-resolution data from the δ-phase are also presented. Comparisons between the local atomic structures of Al-based decagonal phases and Ti-based decagonal approx...

This paper suggests a Bayesian approach to the reconstruction of a 2 × 2 contingency table where some of the observations are only partially categorized and others are fully categorized. In contrast, most previous Bayesian and non-Bayesian analyses of the partially categorized data problem have been concerned with estimation of the parameters that generated the data. We show in an example that estimates may not be extremely sensitive to the weight placed on prior information relative to the sample data.

Arcs of localized diffuse scattering have been observed in the icosahedral phase of many alloys. Generally, however, they are too weak to be quantitatively compared with theoretical predictions. Since the arcs are very strong in titanium-based quasicrystals, they are ideal systems for which to study the origin and the stability of this diffuse scattering. The positions, shapes and relative intensities of the diffuse scattering in alloys of Ti-Mn-Si-TM (where TM≡V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Ge) are shown to be identical. No changes are observed with annealing, even though the samples annealed to the highest temperatures have partially transformed to several crystalline approximant phases. Similar arcs have also been observed in a b.c.c. crystal approximant. The transition-state theory based on intermediate chemical ordering is inadequate to explain these experimental observations. Further, if the arcs arise from structural ordering, the ordering temperature must be very high in these alloys.

The structural relationships between the icosahedral and decagonal phases in AL-Mn alloys are identified on the basis of selected-area diffraction patterns, convergent-beam diffraction studies of Kikuchi bands and stereographic analysis. We demonstrate that the decagonal high-symmetry axes can be constructed from two appropriately distorted icosahedra rotated 36° about a common fivefold axis with respect to one another. A new zone-axis-indexing system based on the distorted icosahedral construction is proposed for the decagonal phase. In addition an atomic model for the decagonal phase is proposed.

Icosahedral-phase (i-phase) Ti62Mn36Si2 was transformed by annealing at temperatures between 700 and 1150 ° C for times ranging from 15min to 1 week to produce three new crystalline phases. We present the results of transmission electron microscopy of these phases using selected-area diffraction (SAD), convergent-beam electron diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The Bravais lattices of all three phases are reported. Intense modulations in the SAD patterns of all three crystalline phases produce patterns that strongly resemble the i-phase SAD patterns. These modulations demonstrate the existence of local clusters of atoms with icosahedral symmetry within the crystallographic unit cells. We present structural models based on crystalline packings of icosahedral clusters of atoms that closely predict the observed SAD modulations, the experimentally determined Bravais lattices, the unit-cell sizes and the internal symmetries of two of the phases. Our model for the third phase is inco...

We present the first complete stereographic projection (Kikuchi band map) of the Al-Mn decagonal phase, determined from tilting experiments using selected-area diffraction (SAD) and convergent-beam diffraction (CBD). These new crystallographic data are indexed with existing schemes. A partial stereographic projection of a phase closely related to the decagonal phase, previously identified as orthorhombic Al3Mn, is also determined with SAD and CBD. Good agreement between the stereographic projection and the SADs for Al3Mn and those for the decagonal phase is demonstrated, indicating the degree to which the Al3Mn phase is a decagonal approximate.

The Andrews and Wormith paper in this issue presents a detailed attack on mainstream criminologists for their failure to acknowledge the role of individual differences and personality factors in lawbreaking. The authors accuse sociological criminologists of “knowledge destruction.” In response, this paper concedes the basic point made by Andrews and Wormith but also argues that they overstate their case and engage in “knowledge distortion.” More important, the paper suggests some of the directions that ought to be pursued in future theorizing and research on this question.

In diffraction from some icosahedral quasicrystals, diffuse scattering is concentrated on finite geometrical loci in reciprocal space. This diffuse scattering typically appears as arcs in transmission electron microscopy diffraction patterns. The new Ti—Mn icosahedral phase produces much more intense arcs than previously observed in quasicrystals, allowing a significantly deeper study of them. In this paper, we present a detailed description of these arcs. Two existing theoretical models, transition-state theory and the icosahedral glass, predict arcs in qualitative agreement with the observations but disagree with the details of their observed shapes and positions.

This paper outlines the career of Maurice F. Parmelee, sociologist, government official, nudist, and author of thirteen books, including the first American criminology text (1918). The contents of the latter are examined and contrasts with contemporary textbooks are noted. Parmelee's career is an anomoly, for although he published abundantly, he faded into sociological obscurity. Some conjecture is offered about scholarly career paths generally, drawn out of the Parmelee case. Finally, the paper argues that historical accounts of the development of American criminology are incomplete, for they fail to mention a number of early figures, including Parmelee.

This paper suggests estimators of the frequencies (N8) or proportions {N8/N) of N distinguishable objects contained in S categories; given various types of information, We consider information in the form of exact constraints on the N8, sample frequencies, and frequencies of related data, The analysis uses Bayesian methods, where the prior distribution is assumed to be a function of the cross-entropy between the N8 and a reference distribution, We show the relationship between our estimator and the log-linear and logit models and also present a sampling experiment to compare our proposed estimator with the iterated proportional fitting estimator.

In diffraction from some icosahedral quasicrystals, diffuse scattering is concentrated on arcs in TEM diffraction patterns. The new Ti-Mn icosahedral phase produces much more intense arcs than previously observed in quasicrystals, allowing a significantly deeper study of them.

The homogeneous hydrolysis of methyl cellulose in dilute hydrochloric acid has been followed by means of the change in end-group concentration measured by hypoiodite oxidation of the aldehyde groups. The reaction, which follows a unimolecular course in its early stages, was found to be a hydrogen-ion catalysis with an Arrhenius activation energy of 30,150 calories; the catalysis is of the type in which the reaction rate is determined by the decomposition of an intermediate complex formed by the transfer of a proton to a molecule of the cellulose ether prior to hydrolysis. There is an increase in specific reaction rate when the degree of degradation is large, due to the greater rate of hydrolysis of terminal glucose units; the methoxyl content also influences the reaction rate. In addition to those involved in 1 : 4 glucosidic bonds, there are a few combined aldehyde groups which are liberated very much more rapidly in acid solution; these weak bonds are not, however, main chain bonds.

Curves relating intrinsic viscosity and time of hydrolysis have been obtained for various methyl celluloses—fractionated and unfractionated—in 1·19N. hydrochloric acid solution, and compared with the predictions of a theory of random degradation of chain molecules. Almost quantitative agreement was obtained in the case of fractions from homogeneously methylated cellulose, assuming the weight-average degree of polymerisation to be equal to 1,170 × intrinsic viscosity (litres/g.) and the rate of hydrolysis to be that of 4′-β-glucosidic bonds when determined by an end-group method. The hydrolysis is therefore random and the viscosity decrease due solely to the scission of 4′-β-glucosidic bonds. It was also found that the intrinsic viscosity decreases more rapidly for an unfractionated methyl cellulose than for a relatively uniform fraction of the same average degree of polymerisation. This result is predicted by the theory, and the difference in rate of decrease of viscosity may be calculated from t...

Measurements have been made of the moisture regains, at 65 per cent and 80 or 85 per cent r.h., of homogeneously substituted methylcelluloses and cellulose acetates of various degrees of substitution. The moisture regain, expressed as molecules of water per glucose residue, was found to increase initially and then decrease linearly with increasing degree of substitution. It is considered that the linear relation shows the effect of substitution on the hygroscopicity of fully accessible cellulose and that on extrapolation to zero degree of substitution the intercept represents the proportion of water in fully accessible unsubstituted cellulose. Thus, fully accessible cellulose contains 1·53, 1·91, and 2·29 molecules of water per glucose unit at 65 per cent, 80 per cent, and 85 per cent r.h. respectively. For any specimen of cellulose the ratio of observed moisture regain to regain of fully accessible cellulose at the same r.h., gives the proportion of its hydroxyl groups that are accessible to moisture. Th...