A magnetic and magneto-optical investigation of Co-Pt alloy nanowire arrays.

We have investigated the magneto-optical properties of highly ordered Co-Pt alloy nanowire arrays embedded in anodic aluminum oxide templates. The magnetic field-dependent Stokes parameters, Faraday rotation angle and ellipticity were investigated by an in-house magneto-optical measurement system. The extracted hysteresis loops are broadly consistent with magnetic hysteresis loops obtained from the vibrating sample magnetometer. The maximum Faraday rotation angle and ellipticity of these samples were examined as a function of nanowire composition. With an increase of platinum content from 9 at.% to 86 at.% in the as-deposited nanowire arrays, the maximum Faraday rotation angle per length decreases linearly from 1.39 x 10(3) degrees/cm to 1.58 x 10(2) degrees/cm. The maximum ellipticity shows a similar behavior with the composition. These linear relationships suggest a dilution model for the magnetic moment in the alloy nanowires. Our results indicate that magneto-optical measurements comprise an effective and sensitive method for monitoring the behavior of AAO-based magnetic nanowire arrays.

Control of asthma in Canada: failure to achieve guideline targets.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree of asthma control achieved by patients with asthma in Canada and to describe the impact of poor asthma control. DESIGN: Population-based, cross-sectional telephone interview survey of Canadians with doctor-diagnosed asthma. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Random digit dialing was used to identify a representative sample of Canadians with asthma. A total of 801 adults and 200 parents of children aged four to 15 years were interviewed over the telephone. Telephone interviews were also conducted with 266 physicians. RESULTS: Only 24% of patients achieved disease control by meeting the six symptom-based criteria listed by the 1996 Canadian Asthma Consensus Guidelines as appropriate treatment targets. Fifty-seven per cent of patients failed to meet two or more of the six control criteria and were considered poorly controlled. Fifty-one per cent had required urgent care for out of control asthma at least once in the year before the survey. Nonetheless, 91% of patients thought that their asthma was adequately controlled. Physicians shared this optimism: 77% of family physicians and 90% of respirologists believed that they were usually able to achieve optimal asthma control in their patients. Few physicians gauged asthma control by tracking more than one or two symptoms, and just over one-half (54%) of patients surveyed recalled ever having had a lung function test. One-half (48%) of patients with poorly controlled asthma who used inhaled steroids did not understand the role of inhaled steroids; one-third (32%) of patients with poorly controlled asthma who used short acting bronchodilators misunderstood the action of quick relief bronchodilators. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of Canadians with asthma suffer from inadequate control of their disease. Suboptimal control of asthma is associated with excess health care use. Inadequate monitoring by physicians and poor patient education may be factors contributing to this problem.

Excimer-laser-induced degradation of fused silica and calcium fluoride for 193-nm lithographic applications.

We report the initial results of a large-scale evaluation of production-grade fused silica and calcium fluoride to be used in 193-nm lithographic applications. The samples have been provided by many different suppliers of materials. A marathon irradiation chamber permits simultaneous exposure of as many as 36 samples at 800 Hz, at fluences from 0.2 to > or =4 (mJ/cm(2))/pulse and pulse counts in excess of 10(9) . The initial absorption and the laser-induced absorption are found to vary over a wide range. The compaction of each fused-silica sample follows a power law, but its parameters can differ widely from sample to sample.

The impact of postchemotherapy nausea and vomiting on quality of life after moderately emetogenic chemotherapy.

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of postchemotherapy nausea and vomiting (PCNV) after moderately emetogenic chemotherapy on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with cancer being treated in a routine clinical practice setting. The European Organization for Research and Treatment in Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) was administered on day 2 and day 6 following moderately emetogenic chemotherapy to 119 patients with a variety of cancers. Patients kept daily diaries to record the occurrence and severity of nausea and vomiting. The QLQ-C30 questions were modified, for this study only, to assess the impact of nausea and vomiting on HRQOL in patients who experienced nausea and/or vomiting during the six days following chemotherapy. Those patients who experienced either nausea or vomiting experienced a decrease in HRQOL from prechemotherapy levels on six functioning and five symptom scales at day 2, and on four functioning and four symptom scales on day 6. Comparison of mean scores between the unmodified QLQ-30 and the nausea and vomiting versions demonstrated that the HRQOL rating attributed to nausea and vomiting accounted for much, but not all, of the deterioration in HRQOL scores in patients who experienced these symptoms. It can be concluded that patients who experience PCNV experience a significant negative impact on their HRQOL and that this impact can be attributed in large part to their experience of nausea and vomiting. However, since not all of the deterioration is attributable to these symptoms, other reasons for some of the decrease in HRQOL must also be identified in future studies.