A rapid alternative to X-ray crystallography for chiral determination: case studies of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) to advance drug discovery projects.

PubMed

Wesolowski, Steven S; Pivonka, Don E

2013-07-15

The absolute stereochemistry of chiral drugs is usually established via X-ray crystallography. However, vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy coupled with quantum mechanics simulations offers a rapid alternative to crystallography and is readily applied to both crystalline and non-crystalline samples. VCD is an effective complement to X-ray analysis of drug candidates, and it can be used as a high-throughput means of assessing absolute stereochemistry at all phases of the discovery process (hundreds of assignments per year). The practical implementation (or fee-for-service outsourcing) of VCD and selected case studies are illustrated with an emphasis on providing utility and impact to pharmaceutical discovery programs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Density functional IR, Raman, and VCD spectra of halogen substituted β-lactams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rode, Joanna E.; Dobrowolski, Jan Cz.

2003-06-01

Halogenoazetidinones are important as synthetic intermediates for preparation of halogen β-lactam (2-azetidinone) antibiotics and as building blocks for carbohydrates and amino acids. In this paper, we consider the influence of the halogen atom, substituted at the C4 position of the 2-azetidinone ring, on the geometry, IR, Raman, and vibrational circular dichroism spectra. The vibrational spectra were calculated for the chiral 4-( R)-X-2-azetidinone (X=F, Cl or Br) molecules at the B3PW91/aug-cc-pVTZ level. It was shown that the geometry of the molecules studied do not change much upon the change of the halogen atom. In case of the vibrational spectra, the position but even more the intensities depend strongly on the kind of halogen substituent.

Identification and characterization of individual airborne volcanic ash particles by Raman microspectroscopy.

PubMed

Ivleva, Natalia P; Huckele, Susanne; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Niessner, Reinhard; Haisch, Christoph; Baumann, Thomas

2013-11-01

We present for the first time the Raman microspectroscopic identification and characterization of individual airborne volcanic ash (VA) particles. The particles were collected in April/May 2010 during research aircraft flights, which were performed by Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt in the airspace near the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption and over Europe (between Iceland and Southern Germany). In addition, aerosol particles were sampled by an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor in Munich, Germany. As references for the Raman analysis, we used the spectra of VA collected at the ground near the place of eruption, of mineral basaltic rock, and of different minerals from a database. We found significant differences in the spectra of VA and other aerosol particles (e.g., soot, nitrates, sulfates, and clay minerals), which allowed us to identify VA among other atmospheric particulate matter. Furthermore, while the airborne VA shows a characteristic Raman pattern (with broad band from ca. 200 to ca. 700 cm(-1) typical for SiO₂ glasses and additional bands of ferric minerals), the differences between the spectra of aged and fresh particles were observed, suggesting differences in their chemical composition and/or structure. We also analyzed similarities between Eyjafjallajökull VA particles collected at different sampling sites and compared the particles with a large variety of glassy and crystalline minerals. This was done by applying cluster analysis, in order to get information on the composition and structure of volcanic ash.

A method for the generation of ectromelia virus (ECTV) recombinants: in vivo analysis of ECTV vCD30 deletion mutants.

PubMed

Alejo, Ali; Saraiva, Margarida; Ruiz-Argüello, Maria Begoña; Viejo-Borbolla, Abel; de Marco, Mar Fernández; Salguero, Francisco Javier; Alcami, Antonio

2009-01-01

Ectromelia virus (ECTV) is the causative agent of mousepox, a lethal disease of mice with similarities to human smallpox. Mousepox progression involves replication at the initial site of infection, usually the skin, followed by a rapid spread to the secondary replicative organs, spleen and liver, and finally a dissemination to the skin, where the typical rash associated with this and other orthopoxviral induced diseases appears. Case fatality rate is genetically determined and reaches up to 100% in susceptible mice strains. Like other poxviruses, ECTV encodes a number of proteins with immunomodulatory potential, whose role in mousepox progression remains largely undescribed. Amongst these is a secreted homologue of the cellular tumour necrosis factor receptor superfamily member CD30 which has been proposed to modulate a Th1 immune response in vivo. To evaluate the contribution of viral CD30 (vCD30) to virus pathogenesis in the infected host, we have adapted a novel transient dominant method for the selection of recombinant ECTVs. Using this method, we have generated an ECTV vCD30 deletion mutant, its corresponding revertant control virus as well as a virus encoding the extracellular domain of murine CD30. These viruses contain no exogenous marker DNA sequences in their genomes, as opposed to other ECTVs reported up to date. We show that the vCD30 is expressed as a secreted disulfide linked trimer and that the absence of vCD30 does not impair mousepox induced fatality in vivo. Replacement of vCD30 by a secreted version of mouse CD30 caused limited attenuation of ECTV. The recombinant viruses generated may be of use in the study of the role of the cellular CD30-CD30L interaction in the development of the immune response. The method developed might be useful for the construction of ECTV mutants for the study of additional genes.

VCD Robustness of the Amide-I and Amide-II Vibrational Modes of Small Peptide Models.

PubMed

Góbi, Sándor; Magyarfalvi, Gábor; Tarczay, György

2015-09-01

The rotational strengths and the robustness values of amide-I and amide-II vibrational modes of For(AA)n NHMe (where AA is Val, Asn, Asp, or Cys, n = 1-5 for Val and Asn; n = 1 for Asp and Cys) model peptides with α-helix and β-sheet backbone conformations were computed by density functional methods. The robustness results verify empirical rules drawn from experiments and from computed rotational strengths linking amide-I and amide-II patterns in the vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of peptides with their backbone structures. For peptides with at least three residues (n ≥ 3) these characteristic patterns from coupled amide vibrational modes have robust signatures. For shorter peptide models many vibrational modes are nonrobust, and the robust modes can be dependent on the residues or on their side chain conformations in addition to backbone conformations. These robust VCD bands, however, provide information for the detailed structural analysis of these smaller systems. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spectroscopic investigation of Ginkgo biloba terpene trilactones and their interaction with amyloid peptide Aβ(25-35)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Jiangtao; Petrovic, Ana G.; Dzyuba, Sergei V.; Berova, Nina; Nakanishi, Koji; Polavarapu, Prasad L.

2008-04-01

The beneficial effects of Ginkgo biloba extract in the "treatment" of dementia are attributed to its terpene trilactone (TTL) constituents. The interactions between TTLs and amyloid peptide are believed to be responsible in preventing the aggregation of peptide. These interactions have been investigated using infrared vibrational absorption (VA) and circular dichroism (VCD) spectra. Four TTLs, namely ginkgolide A (GA), ginkgolide B (GB), ginkgolide C (GC) and bilobalide (BB) and amyloid Aβ(25-35) peptide, as a model for the full length peptide, are used in this study. GA-monoether and GA-diether have also been synthesized and investigated to help understand the role of individual carbonyl groups in these interactions. The precipitation and solubility issues encountered with the mixture of ginkgolide + Aβ peptide for VA and VCD studies were overcome using binary ethanol-D 2O solvent mixture. The experimental VA and VCD spectra of GA, GB, GC and BB, GA-monoether and GA-diether have been analyzed using the corresponding spectra predicted with density functional theory. The time-dependent experimental VA and VCD spectra of Aβ(25-35) peptide and the corresponding experimental spectra in the presence of TTLs indicated that the effect of the TTLs in modulating the aggregation of Aβ(25-35) peptide is relatively small. Such small effects might indicate the absence of a specific interaction between the TTLs and Aβ(25-35) peptide as a major force leading to the reduced aggregation of amyloid peptides. It is possible that the therapeutic effect of G. biloba extract does not originate from direct interactions between TTLs and the Aβ(25-35) peptide and is more complex.

Economic and environmental benefits of reducing standby power lossin DVD/VCD players and copiers in China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Jiang; Li, Tienan; Li, Aizhen

's certification activities. Media events organized by CECP have greatly improved the country's awareness of standby power loss. Reducing standby power loss has been formally incorporated into China's energy efficiency policy portfolio and in China's collaboration with the international community on the subject of energy efficiency (IEA, 2001). In phase II of the program, CECP's main task was to assess the market for DVD/VCD (Digital Versatile/Video Disc and Video Compact Disc) players and copiers to analyze the economic and technical benefits of energy conservation potential, and to develop technical specifications for DVD/VCD players and copiers, with technical assistance from LBNL. Having built on the success of Phase I, CECP paid great attention to the appraisal of market conditions and the economic and environmental benefits of reducing standby power loss in DVD/VCD players and copiers, and solicited inputs from stakeholders before finalizing the product certification requirements. This paper summarizes the expected energy conservation and environmental benefits due to the implementation of certification programs for DVD/VCD players and copiers in China.« less

Comparison of outcomes for veterans receiving dialysis care from VA and non-VA providers.

PubMed

Wang, Virginia; Maciejewski, Matthew L; Patel, Uptal D; Stechuchak, Karen M; Hynes, Denise M; Weinberger, Morris

2013-01-18

Demand for dialysis treatment exceeds its supply within the Veterans Health Administration (VA), requiring VA to outsource dialysis care by purchasing private sector dialysis for veterans on a fee-for-service basis. It is unclear whether outcomes are similar for veterans receiving dialysis from VA versus non-VA providers. We assessed the extent of chronic dialysis treatment utilization and differences in all-cause hospitalizations and mortality between veterans receiving dialysis from VA versus VA-outsourced providers. We constructed a retrospective cohort of veterans in 2 VA regions who received chronic dialysis treatment financed by VA between January 2007 and December 2008. From VA administrative data, we identified veterans who received outpatient dialysis in (1) VA, (2) VA-outsourced settings, or (3) both ("dual") settings. In adjusted analyses, we used two-part and logistic regression to examine associations between dialysis setting and all-cause hospitalization and mortality one-year from veterans' baseline dialysis date. Of 1,388 veterans, 27% received dialysis exclusively in VA, 47% in VA-outsourced settings, and 25% in dual settings. Overall, half (48%) were hospitalized and 12% died. In adjusted analysis, veterans in VA-outsourced settings incurred fewer hospitalizations and shorter hospital stays than users of VA due to favorable selection. Dual-system dialysis patients had lower one-year mortality than veterans receiving VA dialysis. VA expenditures for "buying" outsourced dialysis are high and increasing relative to "making" dialysis treatment within its own system. Outcomes comparisons inform future make-or-buy decisions and suggest the need for VA to consider veterans' access to care, long-term VA savings, and optimal patient outcomes in its placement decisions for dialysis services.

Comparison of outcomes for veterans receiving dialysis care from VA and non-VA providers

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Demand for dialysis treatment exceeds its supply within the Veterans Health Administration (VA), requiring VA to outsource dialysis care by purchasing private sector dialysis for veterans on a fee-for-service basis. It is unclear whether outcomes are similar for veterans receiving dialysis from VA versus non-VA providers. We assessed the extent of chronic dialysis treatment utilization and differences in all-cause hospitalizations and mortality between veterans receiving dialysis from VA versus VA-outsourced providers. Methods We constructed a retrospective cohort of veterans in 2 VA regions who received chronic dialysis treatment financed by VA between January 2007 and December 2008. From VA administrative data, we identified veterans who received outpatient dialysis in (1) VA, (2) VA-outsourced settings, or (3) both (“dual”) settings. In adjusted analyses, we used two-part and logistic regression to examine associations between dialysis setting and all-cause hospitalization and mortality one-year from veterans’ baseline dialysis date. Results Of 1,388 veterans, 27% received dialysis exclusively in VA, 47% in VA-outsourced settings, and 25% in dual settings. Overall, half (48%) were hospitalized and 12% died. In adjusted analysis, veterans in VA-outsourced settings incurred fewer hospitalizations and shorter hospital stays than users of VA due to favorable selection. Dual-system dialysis patients had lower one-year mortality than veterans receiving VA dialysis. Conclusions VA expenditures for “buying” outsourced dialysis are high and increasing relative to “making” dialysis treatment within its own system. Outcomes comparisons inform future make-or-buy decisions and suggest the need for VA to consider veterans’ access to care, long-term VA savings, and optimal patient outcomes in its placement decisions for dialysis services. PMID:23327632

Diagnostic criteria for vascular cognitive disorders: a VASCOG statement

PubMed Central

Sachdev, Perminder; Kalaria, Raj; O’Brien, John; Skoog, Ingmar; Alladi, Suvarna; Black, Sandra E; Blacker, Deborah; Blazer, Dan; Chen, Christopher; Chui, Helena; Ganguli, Mary; Jellinger, Kurt; Jeste, Dilip V.; Pasquier, Florence; Paulsen, Jane; Prins, Niels; Rockwood, Kenneth; Roman, Gustavo; Scheltens, Philip

2014-01-01

Background Several sets of diagnostic criteria have been published for vascular dementia (VaD) since the 1960s. The continuing ambiguity in VaD definition warrants a critical re-examination. Methods Participants at a special symposium of the International Society for Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders (VASCOG) in 2009 critiqued the current criteria. They drafted a proposal for a new set of criteria, later reviewed through multiple drafts by the group, including additional experts and the members of the Neurocognitive Disorders Work Group of the DSM-5 Task Force. Results Cognitive disorders of vascular etiology are a heterogeneous group of disorders with diverse pathologies and clinical manifestations, discussed broadly under the rubric of vascular cognitive disorders (VCD). The continuum of vascular cognitive impairment is recognized by the categories of Mild Vascular Cognitive Disorder, and Vascular Dementia or Major Vascular Cognitive Disorder. Diagnostic thresholds are defined. Clinical and neuroimaging criteria are proposed for establishing vascular etiology. Subtypes of VCD are described, and the frequent co-occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease pathology emphasized. Conclusions The proposed criteria for VCD provide a coherent approach to the diagnosis of this diverse group of disorders, with a view to stimulating clinical and pathological validation studies. These criteria can be harmonized with the DSM-5 criteria such that an international consensus on the criteria for VCD may be achieved. PMID:24632990

PVP VA64 as a novel release-modifier for sustained-release mini-matrices prepared via hot melt extrusion.

PubMed

Li, Yongcheng; Lu, Ming; Wu, Chuanbin

2017-11-10

The purpose of this study was to explore poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) (PVP VA64) as a novel release-modifier to tailor the drug release from ethylcellulose (EC)-based mini-matrices prepared via hot melt extrusion (HME). Quetiapine fumarate (QF) was selected as model drug. QF/EC/PVP VA64 mini-matrices were extruded with 30% drug loading. The physical state of QF in extruded mini-matrices was characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, and confocal Raman microscopy. The release-controlled ability of PVP VA64 was investigated and compared with that of xanthan gum, crospovidone, and low-substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. The influences of PVP VA64 content and processing temperature on QF release behavior and mechanism were also studied. The results indicated QF dispersed as the crystalline state in all mini-matrices. The release of QF from EC was very slow as only 4% QF was released in 24 h. PVP VA64 exhibited the best ability to enhance the drug release as compared with other three release-modifiers. The drug release increased to 50-100% in 24 h with the addition of 20-40% PVP VA64. Increasing processing temperature slightly slowed down the drug release by decreasing free volume and pore size. The release kinetics showed good fit with the Ritger-Peppas model. The values of release exponent (n) increased as PVP VA64 is added (0.14 for pure EC, 0.41 for 20% PVP VA64, and 0.61 for 40% PVP VA64), revealing that the addition of PVP VA64 enhanced the erosion mechanism. This work presented a new polymer blend system of EC with PVP VA64 for sustained-release prepared via HME.

Analysis of a nanocrystalline polymer dispersion of ebselen using solid-state NMR, Raman microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction.

PubMed

Vogt, Frederick G; Williams, Glenn R

2012-07-01

Nanocrystalline drug-polymer dispersions are of significant interest in pharmaceutical delivery. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the applicability of methods based on two-dimensional (2D) and multinuclear solid-state NMR (SSNMR) to a novel nanocrystalline pharmaceutical dispersion of ebselen with polyvinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate (PVP-VA), after initial characterization with other techniques. A nanocrystalline dispersion of ebselen with PVP-VA was prepared and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), confocal Raman microscopy and mapping, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and then subjected to detailed 1D and 2D SSNMR analysis involving ¹H, ¹³C, and ⁷⁷Se isotopes and ¹H spin diffusion. PXRD was used to show that dispersion contains nanocrystalline ebselen in the 35-60 nm size range. Confocal Raman microscopy and spectral mapping were able to detect regions where short-range interactions may occur between ebselen and PVP-VA. Spin diffusion effects were analyzed using 2D SSNMR experiments and are able to directly detect interactions between ebselen and the surrounding PVP-VA. The methods used here, particularly the 2D SSNMR methods based on spin diffusion, provided detailed structural information about a nanocrystalline polymer dispersion of ebselen, and should be useful in other studies of these types of materials.

Molecules-in-molecules fragment-based method for the calculation of chiroptical spectra of large molecules: Vibrational circular dichroism and Raman optical activity spectra of alanine polypeptides.

PubMed

Jose, K V Jovan; Raghavachari, Krishnan

2016-12-01

The molecules-in-molecules (MIM) fragment-based method has recently been adapted to evaluate the chiroptical (vibrational circular dichroism [VCD] and Raman optical activity [ROA]) spectra of large molecules such as peptides. In the MIM-VCD and MIM-ROA methods, the relevant higher energy derivatives of the parent molecule are assembled from the corresponding derivatives of smaller fragment subsystems. In addition, the missing long-range interfragment interactions are accounted at a computationally less expensive level of theory (MIM2). In this work we employed the MIM-VCD and MIM-ROA fragment-based methods to explore the evolution of the chiroptical spectroscopic characteristics of 3 10 -helix, α-helix, β-hairpin, γ-turn, and β-extended conformers of gas phase polyalanine (chain length n = 6-14). The different conformers of polyalanine show distinctive features in the MIM chiroptical spectra and the associated spectral intensities increase with evolution of system size. For a better understanding the site-specific effects on the vibrational spectra, isotopic substitutions were also performed employing the MIM method. An increasing redshift with the number of isotopically labeled 13 C=O functional groups in the peptide molecule was seen. For larger polypeptides, we implemented the two-step-MIM model to circumvent the high computational expense associated with the evaluation of chiroptical spectra at a high level of theory using large basis sets. The chiroptical spectra of α-(alanine) 20 polypeptide obtained using the two-step-MIM model, including continuum solvation effects, show good agreement with the full calculations and experiment. This benchmark study suggests that the MIM-fragment approach can assist in predicting and interpreting chiroptical spectra of large polypeptides. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

VA Caregiver Support

MedlinePlus

... Performance VA Plans, Budget, & Performance VA Center for Innovation (VACI) Agency Financial Report ... Management Services Veterans Service Organizations Office of Accountability & Whistleblower ...

Comparison of experimental and calculated chiroptical spectra for chiral molecular structure determination.

PubMed

Polavarapu, Prasad L; Covington, Cody L

2014-09-01

For three different chiroptical spectroscopic methods, namely, vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and Raman optical activity (ROA), the measures of similarity of the experimental spectra to the corresponding spectra predicted using quantum chemical theories are summarized. In determining the absolute configuration and/or predominant conformations of chiral molecules, these similarity measures provide numerical estimates of agreement between experimental observations and theoretical predictions. Selected applications illustrating the similarity measures for absorption, circular dichroism, and corresponding dissymmetry factor (DF) spectra, in the case of VCD and ECD, and for Raman, ROA, and circular intensity differential (CID) spectra in the case of ROA, are presented. The analysis of similarity in DF or CID spectra is considered to be much more discerning and accurate than that in absorption (or Raman) and circular dichroism (or ROA) spectra, undertaken individually. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparing Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infection Prevention Programs Between VA and Non-VA Nursing Homes

PubMed Central

Mody, Lona; Greene, M. Todd; Saint, Sanjay; Meddings, Jennifer; Trautner, Barbara W.; Wald, Heidi L.; Crnich, Christopher; Banaszak-Holl, Jane; McNamara, Sara E.; King, Beth J.; Hogikyan, Robert; Edson, Barbara; Krein, Sarah L.

2018-01-01

OBJECTIVE The impact of healthcare system integration on infection prevention programs is unknown. Using catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) prevention as an example, we hypothesize that U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nursing homes have a more robust infection prevention infrastructure due to integration and centralization compared with non-VA nursing homes. SETTING VA and non-VA nursing homes participating in the “AHRQ Safety Program for Long-term Care” collaborative. METHODS Nursing homes provided baseline information about their infection prevention programs to assess strengths and gaps related to CAUTI prevention. RESULTS A total of 353 (71%; 47 VA, 306 non-VA) of 494 nursing homes from 41 states responded. VA nursing homes reported more hours/week devoted to infection prevention-related activities (31 vs. 12 hours, P<.001), and were more likely to have committees that reviewed healthcare-associated infections. Compared with non-VA facilities, a higher percentage of VA nursing homes reported tracking CAUTI rates (94% vs. 66%, P<.001), sharing CAUTI data with leadership (94% vs. 70%, P=.014) and nursing personnel (85% vs. 56%, P=.003). However, fewer VA nursing homes reported having policies for appropriate catheter use (64% vs. 81%, P=.004) and catheter insertion (83% vs. 94%, P=.004). CONCLUSIONS Among nursing homes participating in an AHRQ-funded collaborative, VA and non-VA nursing homes differed in their approach to CAUTI prevention. Best practices from both settings should be applied universally to create an optimal infection prevention program within emerging integrated healthcare systems. PMID:27917728

75 FR 78806 - Agency Information Collection (Create Payment Request for the VA Funding Fee Payment System (VA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-16

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78 FR 59771 - Proposed Information Collection (Create Payment Request for the VA Funding Fee Payment System (VA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-27

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The role of d-allo-isoleucine in the deposition of the anti-Leishmania peptide bombinin H4 as revealed by 31P solid-state NMR, VCD spectroscopy, and MD simulation.

PubMed

Mijiddorj, Batsaikhan; Kaneda, Shiho; Sato, Hisako; Kitahashi, Yuki; Javkhlantugs, Namsrai; Naito, Akira; Ueda, Kazuyoshi; Kawamura, Izuru

2018-07-01

Bombinin H4 is an antimicrobial peptide that was isolated from the toad Bombina variegata. Bombinin H family peptides are active against gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi as well as the parasite Leishmania. Among them, bombinin H4 (H4), which contains d-allo-isoleucine (d-allo-Ile) as the second residue in its sequence, is the most active, and its l-isomer is bombinin H2 (H2). H4 has a significantly lower LC50 than H2 against Leishmania. However, the atomic-level mechanism of the membrane interaction and higher activity of H4 has not been clarified. In this work, we investigated the behavior of the conformations and interactions of H2 and H4 with the Leishmania membrane using 31 P solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The generation of isotropic 31 P NMR signals depending on the peptide concentration indicated the abilities of H2 and H4 to exert antimicrobial activity via membrane disruption. The VCD experiment and density functional theory calculation confirmed the different stability and conformations of the N-termini of H2 and H4. MD simulations revealed that the N-terminus of H4 is more stable than that of H2 in the membrane, in line with the VCD experiment data. VCD and MD analyses demonstrated that the first l-Ile and second d-allo-Ile of H4 tend to take a cis conformation. These residues function as an anchor and facilitate the easy winding of the helical conformation of H4 in the membrane. It may assist to quickly reach to the threshold concentration of H4 on the Leishmania membrane. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: d-Amino acids: biology in the mirror, edited by Dr. Loredano Pollegioni, Dr. Jean-Pierre Mothet and Dr. Molla Gianluca. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

VA Health Care: Further Action Needed to Address Weaknesses in Management and Oversight of Non-VA Medical Care

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-18

medical centers. VA also provides care to veterans in VA-operated community-based outpatient clinics, community living centers ( nursing homes...facility or nursing home up to the point that the veteran can be safely returned to the VA facility following the emergency care treatment at the non-VA... nursing home care, compensation and pension exams, and most pharmacy expenses paid for through the Non-VA Medical Care Program. (See fig. 1.) 8VA

Myosin Va binding to neurofilaments is essential for correct myosin Va distribution and transport and neurofilament density

PubMed Central

Rao, Mala V.; Engle, Linda J.; Mohan, Panaiyur S.; Yuan, Aidong; Qiu, Dike; Cataldo, Anne; Hassinger, Linda; Jacobsen, Stephen; Lee, Virginia M-Y.; Andreadis, Athena; Julien, Jean-Pierre; Bridgman, Paul C.; Nixon, Ralph A.

2002-01-01

The identification of molecular motors that modulate the neuronal cytoskeleton has been elusive. Here, we show that a molecular motor protein, myosin Va, is present in high proportions in the cytoskeleton of mouse CNS and peripheral nerves. Immunoelectron microscopy, coimmunoprecipitation, and blot overlay analyses demonstrate that myosin Va in axons associates with neurofilaments, and that the NF-L subunit is its major ligand. A physiological association is indicated by observations that the level of myosin Va is reduced in axons of NF-L–null mice lacking neurofilaments and increased in mice overexpressing NF-L, but unchanged in NF-H–null mice. In vivo pulse-labeled myosin Va advances along axons at slow transport rates overlapping with those of neurofilament proteins and actin, both of which coimmunoprecipitate with myosin Va. Eliminating neurofilaments from mice selectively accelerates myosin Va translocation and redistributes myosin Va to the actin-rich subaxolemma and membranous organelles. Finally, peripheral axons of dilute-lethal mice, lacking functional myosin Va, display selectively increased neurofilament number and levels of neurofilament proteins without altering axon caliber. These results identify myosin Va as a neurofilament-associated protein, and show that this association is essential to establish the normal distribution, axonal transport, and content of myosin Va, and the proper numbers of neurofilaments in axons. PMID:12403814

Animals on VA property. Final rule.

PubMed

2015-08-17

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends its regulation concerning the presence of animals on VA property. This final rule expands the current VA regulation to authorize the presence of service animals consistent with applicable Federal law when these animals accompany individuals with disabilities seeking admittance to property owned or operated by VA.

VA Vascular Injury Study (VAVIS): VA-DoD extremity injury outcomes collaboration.

PubMed

Shireman, Paula K; Rasmussen, Todd E; Jaramillo, Carlos A; Pugh, Mary Jo

2015-02-03

Limb injuries comprise 50-60% of U.S. Service member's casualties of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Combat-related vascular injuries are present in 12% of this cohort, a rate 5 times higher than in prior wars. Improvements in medical and surgical trauma care, including initial in-theatre limb salvage approaches (IILS) have resulted in improved survival and fewer amputations, however, the long-term outcomes such as morbidity, functional decline, and risk for late amputation of salvaged limbs using current process of care have not been studied. The long-term care of these injured warfighters poses a significant challenge to the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA Vascular Injury Study (VAVIS): VA-DoD Extremity Injury Outcomes Collaborative, funded by the VA, Health Services Research and Development Service, is a longitudinal cohort study of Veterans with vascular extremity injuries. Enrollment will begin April, 2015 and continue for 3 years. Individuals with a validated extremity vascular injury in the Department of Defense Trauma Registry will be contacted and will complete a set of validated demographic, social, behavioral, and functional status measures during interview and online/ mailed survey. Primary outcome measures will: 1) Compare injury, demographic and geospatial characteristics of patients with IILS and identify late vascular surgery related limb complications and health care utilization in Veterans receiving VA vs. non-VA care, 2) Characterize the preventive services received by individuals with vascular repair and related outcomes, and 3) Describe patient-reported functional outcomes in Veterans with traumatic vascular limb injuries. This study will provide key information about the current process of care for Active Duty Service members and Veterans with polytrauma/vascular injuries at risk for persistent morbidity and late amputation. The results of this study will be the first step for clinicians in VA and

75 FR 61252 - Proposed Information Collection (Create Payment Request for the VA Funding Fee Payment System (VA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-04

... Payment Request for the VA Funding Fee Payment System (VA FFPS); A Computer Generated Funding Fee Receipt... Payment Request for the VA Funding Fee Payment System (VA FFPS); A Computer Generated Funding Fee Receipt... information through the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) at http://www.Regulations.gov or to Nancy J...

75 FR 61859 - Proposed Information Collection (Create Payment Request for the VA Funding Fee Payment System (VA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-06

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Determination of VA health care costs.

PubMed

Barnett, Paul G

2003-09-01

In the absence of billing data, alternative methods are used to estimate the cost of hospital stays, outpatient visits, and treatment innovations in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The choice of method represents a trade-off between accuracy and research cost. The direct measurement method gathers information on staff activities, supplies, equipment, space, and workload. Since it is expensive, direct measurement should be reserved for finding short-run costs, evaluating provider efficiency, or determining the cost of treatments that are innovative or unique to VA. The pseudo-bill method combines utilization data with a non-VA reimbursement schedule. The cost regression method estimates the cost of VA hospital stays by applying the relationship between cost and characteristics of non-VA hospitalizations. The Health Economics Resource Center uses pseudo-bill and cost regression methods to create an encounter-level database of VA costs. Researchers are also beginning to use the VA activity-based cost allocation system.

48 CFR 853.215-70 - VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. 853.215-70 Section 853.215-70 Federal... 853.215-70 VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA, will be used for...

48 CFR 853.215-70 - VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. 853.215-70 Section 853.215-70 Federal... 853.215-70 VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA, will be used for...

48 CFR 853.215-70 - VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. 853.215-70 Section 853.215-70 Federal... 853.215-70 VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA, will be used for...

48 CFR 853.215-70 - VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. 853.215-70 Section 853.215-70 Federal... 853.215-70 VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA, will be used for...

48 CFR 853.215-70 - VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. 853.215-70 Section 853.215-70 Federal... 853.215-70 VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA. VA Form 10-1170, Application for Furnishing Nursing Home Care to Beneficiaries of VA, will be used for...

Do Older Rural and Urban Veterans Experience Different Rates of Unplanned Readmission to VA and Non-VA Hospitals?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weeks, William B.; Lee, Richard E.; Wallace, Amy E.; West, Alan N.; Bagian, James P.

2009-01-01

Context: Unplanned readmission within 30 days of discharge is an indicator of hospital quality. Purpose: We wanted to determine whether older rural veterans who were enrolled in the VA had different rates of unplanned readmission to VA or non-VA hospitals than their urban counterparts. Methods: We used the combined VA/Medicare dataset to examine…

Accessing VA Healthcare During Large-Scale Natural Disasters.

PubMed

Der-Martirosian, Claudia; Pinnock, Laura; Dobalian, Aram

2017-01-01

Natural disasters can lead to the closure of medical facilities including the Veterans Affairs (VA), thus impacting access to healthcare for U.S. military veteran VA users. We examined the characteristics of VA patients who reported having difficulty accessing care if their usual source of VA care was closed because of natural disasters. A total of 2,264 veteran VA users living in the U.S. northeast region participated in a 2015 cross-sectional representative survey. The study used VA administrative data in a complex stratified survey design with a multimode approach. A total of 36% of veteran VA users reported having difficulty accessing care elsewhere, negatively impacting the functionally impaired and lower income VA patients.

The Impact of a Change in the Price of VA Health Care on Utilization of VA and Medicare Services.

PubMed

Nelson, Richard E; Hicken, Bret; Vanneman, Megan; Liu, Chuan-Fen; Rupper, Randall

2018-05-15

The passage of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 has expanded the non-Veteran Affairs (VA) care options for eligible US Veterans. In order for these new arrangements to provide the best care possible for Veterans, it is important to understand the relationship between VA and non-VA care options. The purpose of this study was to use another recent VA policy change, one that increased the reimbursement rate that eligible Veterans receive for travel for health care to VA, to understand the use of VA and Medicare services among Medicare-enrolled Veterans. We used a difference-in-difference technique to compare inpatient and outpatient utilization and cost in VA and Medicare between Veterans who were eligible for travel reimbursement and those who were not eligible following 2 increases in the travel reimbursement rate. We used generalized estimating equation models and 2-part models when cost outcomes were rare. Our cohort consisted of 110,007 Medicare-enrolled Veterans, including 25,076 under 65 and 84,931 over 65 years old. Following the travel reimbursement rate increases, the number of VA outpatient encounters increased for Veterans in our cohort regardless of age group or whether living in an urban or rural area. The number of non-VA outpatient encounters decreased significantly for Veterans in both age groups living in rural areas following these policy changes. Our estimates suggest that VA outpatient care may be a substitute for Medicare outpatient care for Medicare-enrolled Veterans living in rural areas. These results are important because they indicate how Veteran health care utilization might be affected by future policy changes designed to increase access to VA services. They also indicate the ripple effects that may occur in other health systems due to changes in the VA system.

Cooperative use of VCD and XRD for the determination of tetrahydrobenzoisoquinolines absolute configuration: a reliable proof of memory of chirality and retention of configuration in enediyne rearrangements.

PubMed

Mondal, Shovan; Naubron, Jean-Valère; Campolo, Damien; Giorgi, Michel; Bertrand, Michéle P; Nechab, Malek

2013-12-01

The absolute configurations (AC) of azaheterocylic compounds resulting from the cascade rearrangement of enediynes involving only light atoms were unambiguously assigned by the joint use of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and copper radiation single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). These AC determinations proved that the rearrangements of enediynes proceeded with memory of chirality and retention of configuration. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hospital Distance and Readmissions Among VA-Medicare Dual-Enrolled Veterans.

PubMed

Wong, Edwin S; Rinne, Seppo T; Hebert, Paul L; Cook, Meredith A; Liu, Chuan-Fen

2016-09-01

Geographic access to inpatient care at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System is challenging for many veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) given relatively few VA hospitals nationwide. Veterans with lengthy travel distances may obtain non-VA care, particularly those dually enrolled in Medicare. Our primary objective was to assess whether distance from VA patients' residence to the nearest VA and non-VA hospitals was associated with 30-day all-cause readmission and the system where patients were readmitted (VA or Medicare). Using VA and Medicare administrative data, we identified 21,273 patients hospitalized for COPD between October 2008 and September 2011 and dually enrolled in VA and fee-for-service Medicare. Outcome variables were dichotomous measures denoting readmission for any cause within 30 days following discharge and whether the readmission occurred in a non-VA hospital through Medicare. Distance to the nearest hospital was defined as the number of miles between patients' residence ZIP code and the ZIP code of the nearest VA and non-VA hospital accepting Medicare, respectively. Probit models with sample selection were applied to examine the relationship between hospital distance and outcome measures. Respective distances to the nearest VA and non-VA hospital were not associated with 30-day all-cause readmission. Greater distance to the nearest VA hospital was associated with a greater conditional probability of choosing non-VA hospitals for readmission. COPD patients with poor geographic access to VA hospitals did not forgo subsequent inpatient care following their index hospitalization, but they were more likely to seek non-VA substitutes. © 2016 National Rural Health Association.

Proposed comprehensive ototoxicity monitoring program for VA healthcare (COMP-VA)

PubMed Central

Konrad-Martin, Dawn; Reavis, Kelly M.; McMillan, Garnett; Helt, Wendy J.; Dille, Marilyn

2015-01-01

Prevention and rehabilitation of hearing loss and tinnitus, the two most commonly awarded service-connected disabilities, are high priority initiatives in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). At least 4,000 Veterans, most with significant hearing loss, will receive cisplatin this year, with more than half sustaining permanent hearing shift and nearly 40% developing new tinnitus. With improved survivability following cancer treatment, Veterans treated with cisplatin are approached with the dual goals of effective treatment and preserved quality of life. This article describes COMP-VA, a comprehensive ototoxicity monitoring program developed for VA patients receiving cisplatin. The program includes an individualized pretreatment prediction model that identifies the likelihood of hearing shift given cisplatin dose and patient factors. It supports both manual and automated hearing testing with a newly developed portable audiometer capable of performing the recommended procedures on the chemotherapy unit during treatment. It also includes objective methods for identifying outer hair cell changes and predicting audiogram changes using distortion-product otoacoustic emissions. We describe this program of evidence-based ototoxicity monitoring protocols using a case example to give the reader an understanding of how this program would be applied, along with a plan for future work to accomplish the final stages of program development. PMID:24805896

77 FR 70893 - Authorization for Non-VA Medical Services

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-28

... professions, Health records, Homeless, Mental health programs, Nursing homes, Reporting and recordkeeping... restrictive modes of healthcare delivery. Although VA has made great strides to expand the delivery of... expand VA's authority to provide non-VA medical services under the non- VA care authority. As amended...

77 FR 70967 - Authorization for Non-VA Medical Services

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-28

... expand the delivery of healthcare to veterans, VA is, like the rest of the healthcare industry...(a)(2)(B) to expand VA's authority to provide non-VA medical services under the non- VA care... furnished hospital care, nursing home care, domiciliary care, or medical services and who requires medical...

77 FR 67063 - VA Directive 0005 on Scientific Integrity

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-08

... policies that: Foster a culture of transparency, integrity, and ethical behavior in the development and... provided to the VA's Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Office of Government Ethics, and Congress. VA...: VA has amended Directive 0005, ] 5.b., to state that ``VA policy provides an ethical and accountable...

The WHO 2016 verbal autopsy instrument: An international standard suitable for automated analysis by InterVA, InSilicoVA, and Tariff 2.0

PubMed Central

Chandramohan, Daniel; Clark, Samuel J.; Jakob, Robert; Leitao, Jordana; Rao, Chalapati; Riley, Ian; Setel, Philip W.

2018-01-01

Background Verbal autopsy (VA) is a practical method for determining probable causes of death at the population level in places where systems for medical certification of cause of death are weak. VA methods suitable for use in routine settings, such as civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems, have developed rapidly in the last decade. These developments have been part of a growing global momentum to strengthen CRVS systems in low-income countries. With this momentum have come pressure for continued research and development of VA methods and the need for a single standard VA instrument on which multiple automated diagnostic methods can be developed. Methods and findings In 2016, partners harmonized a WHO VA standard instrument that fully incorporates the indicators necessary to run currently available automated diagnostic algorithms. The WHO 2016 VA instrument, together with validated approaches to analyzing VA data, offers countries solutions to improving information about patterns of cause-specific mortality. This VA instrument offers the opportunity to harmonize the automated diagnostic algorithms in the future. Conclusions Despite all improvements in design and technology, VA is only recommended where medical certification of cause of death is not possible. The method can nevertheless provide sufficient information to guide public health priorities in communities in which physician certification of deaths is largely unavailable. The WHO 2016 VA instrument, together with validated approaches to analyzing VA data, offers countries solutions to improving information about patterns of cause-specific mortality. PMID:29320495

78 FR 76064 - Authorization for Non-VA Medical Services; Withdrawal

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-16

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 17 RIN 2900-AO47 Authorization for Non-VA Medical... November 28, 2012, that would have amended its regulations regarding payment by VA for medical services under VA's statutory authority to provide non-VA medical care. VA sought to remove an outdated...

Estimating the costs of VA ambulatory care.

PubMed

Phibbs, Ciaran S; Bhandari, Aman; Yu, Wei; Barnett, Paul G

2003-09-01

This article reports how we matched Common Procedure Terminology (CPT) codes with Medicare payment rates and aggregate Veterans Affairs (VA) budget data to estimate the costs of every VA ambulatory encounter. Converting CPT codes to encounter-level costs was more complex than a simple match of Medicare reimbursements to CPT codes. About 40 percent of the CPT codes used in VA, representing about 20 percent of procedures, did not have a Medicare payment rate and required other cost estimates. Reconciling aggregated estimated costs to the VA budget allocations for outpatient care produced final VA cost estimates that were lower than projected Medicare reimbursements. The methods used to estimate costs for encounters could be replicated for other settings. They are potentially useful for any system that does not generate billing data, when CPT codes are simpler to collect than billing data, or when there is a need to standardize cost estimates across data sources.

Electrical and mechanical anharmonicities from NIR-VCD spectra of compounds exhibiting axial and planar chirality: the cases of (S)-2,3-pentadiene and methyl-d(3) (R)- and (S)-[2.2]paracyclophane-4-carboxylate.

PubMed

Abbate, Sergio; Longhi, Giovanna; Gangemi, Fabrizio; Gangemi, Roberto; Superchi, Stefano; Caporusso, Anna Maria; Ruzziconi, Renzo

2011-10-01

The IR and Near infrared (NIR) vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of molecules endowed with noncentral chirality have been investigated. Data for fundamental, first, and second overtone regions of (S)-2,3-pentadiene, exhibiting axial chirality, and methyl-d(3) (R)- and (S)-[2.2]paracyclophane-4-carboxylate, exhibiting planar chirality have been measured and analyzed. The analysis of NIR and IR VCD spectra was based on the local-mode model and the use of density functional theory (DFT), providing mechanical and electrical anharmonic terms for all CH-bonds. The comparison of experimental and calculated spectra is satisfactory and allows one to monitor fine details in the asymmetric charge distribution in the molecules: these details consist in the harmonic frequencies, in the principal anharmonicity constants, in both the atomic polar and axial tensors and in their first and second derivatives with respect to the CH-stretching coordinates. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

VaST: A variability search toolkit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sokolovsky, K. V.; Lebedev, A. A.

2018-01-01

Variability Search Toolkit (VaST) is a software package designed to find variable objects in a series of sky images. It can be run from a script or interactively using its graphical interface. VaST relies on source list matching as opposed to image subtraction. SExtractor is used to generate source lists and perform aperture or PSF-fitting photometry (with PSFEx). Variability indices that characterize scatter and smoothness of a lightcurve are computed for all objects. Candidate variables are identified as objects having high variability index values compared to other objects of similar brightness. The two distinguishing features of VaST are its ability to perform accurate aperture photometry of images obtained with non-linear detectors and handle complex image distortions. The software has been successfully applied to images obtained with telescopes ranging from 0.08 to 2.5 m in diameter equipped with a variety of detectors including CCD, CMOS, MIC and photographic plates. About 1800 variable stars have been discovered with VaST. It is used as a transient detection engine in the New Milky Way (NMW) nova patrol. The code is written in C and can be easily compiled on the majority of UNIX-like systems. VaST is free software available at http://scan.sai.msu.ru/vast/.

38 CFR 77.17 - Recovery of funds by VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Recovery of funds by VA....17 Recovery of funds by VA. (a) Recovery of funds. VA may recover from the grantee any funds that are... additional adaptive sports grant payments. When VA makes a final decision that action will be taken to...

78 FR 62441 - VA Dental Insurance Program-Federalism

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-22

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 17 RIN 2900-AO85 VA Dental Insurance Program... Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking direct final action to amend its regulations related to the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP), a pilot program to offer premium-based dental insurance to enrolled veterans and...

78 FR 63143 - VA Dental Insurance Program-Federalism

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-23

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 17 RIN 2900-AO86 VA Dental Insurance Program... Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its regulations related to the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP), a pilot program to offer premium-based dental insurance to enrolled veterans and certain survivors and dependents...

Visionary leadership and the future of VA health system.

PubMed

Bezold, C; Mayer, E; Dighe, A

1997-01-01

As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) makes the change over to Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISNs) the need for new and better leadership is warranted if VA wants to not only survive, but thrive in the emerging twenty-first century healthcare system. VA can prepare for the future and meet the challenges facing them by adopting a system of visionary leadership. The use of scenarios and vision techniques are explained as they relate to VA's efforts to move toward their new system of VISNs. The four scenarios provide snapshots of possible futures for the U.S. healthcare system as well as the possible future role and mission of VA--from VA disappearing to its becoming a premier virtual organization.

48 CFR 819.7109 - VA review of application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS VA Mentor-Protégé Program 819.7109 VA review of application. (a) VA OSDBU will review the information to establish the mentor and protégé eligibility and to ensure... charge to apply for the Mentor-Protégé Program. (b) After OSDBU completes its review and provides written...

38 CFR 1.203 - Information to be reported to VA Police.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... reported to VA Police. 1.203 Section 1.203 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS... be reported to VA Police. Information about actual or possible violations of criminal laws related to... occurs on VA premises, will be reported by VA management officials to the VA police component with...

Role of Side Chains in β-Sheet Self-Assembly into Peptide Fibrils. IR and VCD Spectroscopic Studies of Glutamic Acid-Containing Peptides.

PubMed

Tobias, Fernando; Keiderling, Timothy A

2016-05-10

Poly(glutamic acid) at low pH self-assembles after incubation at higher temperature into fibrils composed of antiparallel sheets that are stacked in a β2-type structure whose amide carbonyls have bifurcated H-bonds involving the side chains from the next sheet. Oligomers of Glu can also form such structures, and isotope labeling has provided insight into their out-of-register antiparallel structure [ Biomacromolecules 2013 , 14 , 3880 - 3891 ]. In this paper we report IR and VCD spectra and transmission electron micrograph (TEM) images for a series of alternately sequenced oligomers, Lys-(Aaa-Glu)5-Lys-NH2, where Aaa was varied over a variety of polar, aliphatic, or aromatic residues. Their spectral and TEM data show that these oligopeptides self-assemble into different structures, both local and morphological, that are dependent on both the nature of the Aaa side chains and growth conditions employed. Such alternate peptides substituted with small or polar residues, Ala and Thr, do not yield fibrils; but with β-branched aliphatic residues, Val and Ile, that could potentially pack with Glu side chains, these oligopeptides do show evidence of β2-stacking. By contrast, for Leu, with longer side chains, only β1-stacking is seen while with even larger Phe side chains, either β-form can be detected separately, depending on preparation conditions. These structures are dependent on high temperature incubation after reducing the pH and in some cases after sonication of initial fibril forms and reincubation. Some of these fibrillar peptides, but not all, show enhanced VCD, which can offer evidence for formation of long, multistrand, often twisted structures. Substitution of Glu with residues having selected side chains yields a variety of morphologies, leading to both β1- and β2-structures, that overall suggests two different packing modes for the hydrophobic side chains depending on size and type.

Poststroke Rehabilitation and Restorative Care Utilization: A Comparison Between VA Community Living Centers and VA-contracted Community Nursing Homes.

PubMed

Jia, Huanguang; Pei, Qinglin; Sullivan, Charles T; Cowper Ripley, Diane C; Wu, Samuel S; Bates, Barbara E; Vogel, W Bruce; Bidelspach, Douglas E; Wang, Xinping; Hoffman, Nannette

2016-03-01

Effective poststroke rehabilitation care can speed patient recovery and minimize patient functional disabilities. Veterans affairs (VA) community living centers (CLCs) and VA-contracted community nursing homes (CNHs) are the 2 major sources of institutional long-term care for Veterans with stroke receiving care under VA auspices. This study compares rehabilitation therapy and restorative nursing care among Veterans residing in VA CLCs versus those Veterans in VA-contracted CNHs. Retrospective observational. All Veterans diagnosed with stroke, newly admitted to the CLCs or CNHs during the study period who completed at least 2 Minimum Data Set assessments postadmission. The outcomes were numbers of days for rehabilitation therapy and restorative nursing care received by the Veterans during their stays in CLCs or CNHs as documented in the Minimum Data Set databases. For rehabilitation therapy, the CLC Veterans had lower user rates (75.2% vs. 76.4%, P=0.078) and fewer observed therapy days (4.9 vs. 6.4, P<0.001) than CNH Veterans. However, the CLC Veterans had higher adjusted odds for therapy (odds ratio=1.16, P=0.033), although they had fewer average therapy days (coefficient=-1.53±0.11, P<0.001). For restorative nursing care, CLC Veterans had higher user rates (33.5% vs. 30.6%, P<0.001), more observed average care days (9.4 vs. 5.9, P<0.001), higher adjusted odds (odds ratio=2.28, P<0.001), and more adjusted days for restorative nursing care (coefficient=5.48±0.37, P<0.001). Compared with their counterparts at VA-contracted CNHs, Veterans at VA CLCs had fewer average rehabilitation therapy days (both unadjusted and adjusted), but they were significantly more likely to receive restorative nursing care both before and after risk adjustment.

Veterans' experiences initiating VA-based mental health care.

PubMed

Bovin, Michelle J; Miller, Christopher J; Koenig, Christopher J; Lipschitz, Jessica M; Zamora, Kara A; Wright, Patricia B; Pyne, Jeffrey M; Burgess, James F

2018-05-21

Military veterans who could benefit from mental health services often do not access them. Research has revealed a range of barriers associated with initiating United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) care, including those specific to accessing mental health care (e.g., fear of stigmatization). More work is needed to streamline access to VA mental health-care services for veterans. In the current study, we interviewed 80 veterans from 9 clinics across the United States about initiation of VA mental health care to identify barriers to access. Results suggested that five predominant factors influenced veterans' decisions to initiate care: (a) awareness of VA mental health services; (b) fear of negative consequences of seeking care; (c) personal beliefs about mental health treatment; (d) input from family and friends; and (e) motivation for treatment. Veterans also spoke about the pathways they used to access this care. The four most commonly reported pathways included (a) physical health-care appointments; (b) the service connection disability system; (c) non-VA care; and (d) being mandated to care. Taken together, these data lend themselves to a model that describes both modifiers of, and pathways to, VA mental health care. The model suggests that interventions aimed at the identified pathways, in concert with efforts designed to reduce barriers, may increase initiation of VA mental health-care services by veterans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Quantitative fiber-optic Raman spectroscopy for tissue Raman measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duraipandian, Shiyamala; Bergholt, Mads; Zheng, Wei; Huang, Zhiwei

2014-03-01

Molecular profiling of tissue using near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy has shown great promise for in vivo detection and prognostication of cancer. The Raman spectra measured from the tissue generally contain fundamental information about the absolute biomolecular concentrations in tissue and its changes associated with disease transformation. However, producing analogues tissue Raman spectra present a great technical challenge. In this preliminary study, we propose a method to ensure the reproducible tissue Raman measurements and validated with the in vivo Raman spectra (n=150) of inner lip acquired using different laser powers (i.e., 30 and 60 mW). A rapid Raman spectroscopy system coupled with a ball-lens fiber-optic Raman probe was utilized for tissue Raman measurements. The investigational results showed that the variations between the spectra measured with different laser powers are almost negligible, facilitating the quantitative analysis of tissue Raman measurements in vivo.

78 FR 32126 - VA Dental Insurance Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-29

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 17 RIN 2900-AN99 VA Dental Insurance Program AGENCY... its regulations to establish rules and procedures for the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP), a pilot program that offers premium-based dental insurance to enrolled veterans and certain survivors and...

77 FR 12517 - VA Dental Insurance Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 17 RIN 2900-AN99 VA Dental Insurance Program AGENCY... dental insurance to enrolled veterans and certain survivors and dependents of veterans. VA would contract with a private insurer through the Federal contracting process to offer dental insurance, and the...

Release of VA Records Relating to HIV. Final rule.

PubMed

2017-03-23

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its medical regulations governing the release of VA medical records. Specifically, VA is eliminating the restriction on sharing a negative test result for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with veterans' outside providers. HIV testing is a common practice today in healthcare and the stigma of testing that may have been seen in the 1980s when HIV was first discovered is no longer prevalent. Continuing to protect negative HIV tests causes delays and an unnecessary burden on veterans when VA tries to share electronic medical information with the veterans' outside providers through electronic health information exchanges. For this same reason, VA will also eliminate restrictions on negative test results of sickle cell anemia. This final rule eliminates the current barriers to electronic medical information exchange.

2. Perspective Map of Buena Vista (In Buena Vista, VA, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

2. Perspective Map of Buena Vista (In Buena Vista, VA, NY:South Publishing Co., 1891 n.p.) (copy on file at Virginia State Library, Richmond, VA) - North River Canal System, West side of Buena Vista, Buena Vista, Roanoke City, VA

The Clusters-in-a-Liquid Approach for Solvation: New Insights from the Conformer Specific Gas Phase Spectroscopy and Vibrational Optical Activity Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Perera, Angelo S.; Thomas, Javix; Poopari, Mohammad R.; Xu, Yunjie

2016-01-01

Vibrational optical activity spectroscopies, namely vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and Raman optical activity (ROA), have been emerged in the past decade as powerful spectroscopic tools for stereochemical information of a wide range of chiral compounds in solution directly. More recently, their applications in unveiling solvent effects, especially those associated with water solvent, have been explored. In this review article, we first select a few examples to demonstrate the unique sensitivity of VCD spectral signatures to both bulk solvent effects and explicit hydrogen-bonding interactions in solution. Second, we discuss the induced solvent chirality, or chiral transfer, VCD spectral features observed in the water bending band region in detail. From these chirality transfer spectral data, the related conformer specific gas phase spectroscopic studies of small chiral hydration clusters, and the associated matrix isolation VCD experiments of hydrogen-bonded complexes in cold rare gas matrices, a general picture of solvation in aqueous solution emerges. In such an aqueous solution, some small chiral hydration clusters, rather than the chiral solutes themselves, are the dominant species and are the ones that contribute mainly to the experimentally observed VCD features. We then review a series of VCD studies of amino acids and their derivatives in aqueous solution under different pHs to emphasize the importance of the inclusion of the bulk solvent effects. These experimental data and the associated theoretical analyses are the foundation for the proposed “clusters-in-a-liquid” approach to account for solvent effects effectively. We present several approaches to identify and build such representative chiral hydration clusters. Recent studies which applied molecular dynamics simulations and the subsequent snapshot averaging approach to generate the ROA, VCD, electronic CD, and optical rotatory dispersion spectra are also reviewed. Challenges associated with

Raman microspectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman scattering microspectroscopy, and stable-isotope Raman microspectroscopy for biofilm characterization.

PubMed

Ivleva, Natalia P; Kubryk, Patrick; Niessner, Reinhard

2017-07-01

Biofilms represent the predominant form of microbial life on our planet. These aggregates of microorganisms, which are embedded in a matrix formed by extracellular polymeric substances, may colonize nearly all interfaces. Detailed knowledge of microorganisms enclosed in biofilms as well as of the chemical composition, structure, and functions of the complex biofilm matrix and their changes at different stages of the biofilm formation and under various physical and chemical conditions is relevant in different fields. Important research topics include the development and improvement of antibiotics and medical devices and the optimization of biocides, antifouling strategies, and biological wastewater treatment. Raman microspectroscopy is a capable and nondestructive tool that can provide detailed two-dimensional and three-dimensional chemical information about biofilm constituents with the spatial resolution of an optical microscope and without interference from water. However, the sensitivity of Raman microspectroscopy is rather limited, which hampers the applicability of Raman microspectroscopy especially at low biomass concentrations. Fortunately, the resonance Raman effect as well as surface-enhanced Raman scattering can help to overcome this drawback. Furthermore, the combination of Raman microspectroscopy with other microscopic techniques, mass spectrometry techniques, or particularly with stable-isotope techniques can provide comprehensive information on monospecies and multispecies biofilms. Here, an overview of different Raman microspectroscopic techniques, including resonance Raman microspectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering microspectroscopy, for in situ detection, visualization, identification, and chemical characterization of biofilms is given, and the main feasibilities and limitations of these techniques in biofilm research are presented. Future possibilities of and challenges for Raman microspectroscopy alone and in combination with other

Building capacity in VA to provide emergency gynecology services for women.

PubMed

Cordasco, Kristina M; Huynh, Alexis K; Zephyrin, Laurie; Hamilton, Alison B; Lau-Herzberg, Amy E; Kessler, Chad S; Yano, Elizabeth M

2015-04-01

Visits to Veterans Administration (VA) emergency departments (EDs) are increasingly being made by women. A 2011 national inventory of VA emergency services for women revealed that many EDs have gaps in their resources and processes for gynecologic emergency care. To guide VA in addressing these gaps, we sought to understand factors acting as facilitators and/or barriers to improving VA ED capacity for, and quality of, emergency gynecology care. Semistructured interviews with VA emergency and women's health key informants. ED directors/providers (n=14), ED nurse managers (n=13), and Women Veteran Program Managers (n=13) in 13 VA facilities. Leadership, staff, space, demand, funding, policies, and community were noted as important factors influencing VA EDs building capacity and improving emergency gynecologic care for women Veterans. These factors are intertwined and cross multiple organizational levels so that each ED's capacity is a reflection not only of its own factors, but also those of its local medical center and non-VA community context as well as VA regional and national trends and policies. Policies and quality improvement initiatives aimed at building VA's emergency gynecologic services for women need to be multifactorial and aimed at multiple organizational levels. Policies need to be flexible to account for wide variations across EDs and their medical center and community contexts. Approaches that build and encourage local leadership engagement, such as evidence-based quality improvement methodology, are likely to be most effective.

Nonplanar tertiary amides in rigid chiral tricyclic dilactams. Peptide group distortions and vibrational optical activity.

PubMed

Pazderková, Markéta; Profant, Václav; Hodačová, Jana; Sebestík, Jaroslav; Pazderka, Tomáš; Novotná, Pavlína; Urbanová, Marie; Safařík, Martin; Buděšínský, Miloš; Tichý, Miloš; Bednárová, Lucie; Baumruk, Vladimír; Maloň, Petr

2013-08-22

We investigate amide nonplanarity in vibrational optical activity (VOA) spectra of tricyclic spirodilactams 5,8-diazatricyclo[6,3,0,0(1,5)]undecan-4,9-dione (I) and its 6,6',7,7'-tetradeuterio derivative (II). These rigid molecules constrain amide groups to nonplanar geometries with twisted pyramidal arrangements of bonds to amide nitrogen atoms. We have collected a full range vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and Raman optical activity (ROA) spectra including signals of C-H and C-D stretching vibrations. We report normal-mode analysis and a comparison of calculated to experimental VCD and ROA. The data provide band-to-band assignment and offer a possibility to evaluate roles of constrained nonplanar tertiary amide groups and rigid chiral skeletons. Nonplanarity shows as single-signed VCD and ROA amide I signals, prevailing the couplets expected to arise from the amide-amide interaction. Amide-amide coupling dominates amide II (mainly C'-N stretching, modified in tertiary amides by the absence of a N-H bond) transitions (strong couplet in VCD, no significant ROA) probably due to the close proximity of amide nitrogen atoms. At lower wavenumbers, ROA spectra exhibit another likely manifestation of amide nonplanarity, showing signals of amide V (δ(oop)(N-C) at ~570 cm(-1)) and amide VI (δ(oop)(C'═O) at ~700 cm(-1) and ~650 cm(-1)) vibrations.

The NO vA simulation chain

DOE PAGES

Aurisano, A.; Backhouse, C.; Hatcher, R.; ...

2015-12-23

The NO vA experiment is a two-detector, long-baseline neutrino experiment operating in the recently upgraded NuMI muon neutrino beam. Simulating neutrino interactions and backgrounds requires many steps including: the simulation of the neutrino beam flux using FLUKA and the FLUGG interface, cosmic ray generation using CRY, neutrino interaction modeling using GENIE, and a simulation of the energy deposited in the detector using GEANT4. To shorten generation time, the modeling of detector-specific aspects, such as photon transport, detector and electronics noise, and readout electronics, employs custom, parameterized simulation applications. We will describe the NO vA simulation chain, and present details onmore » the techniques used in modeling photon transport near the ends of cells, and in developing a novel data-driven noise simulation. Due to the high intensity of the NuMI beam, the Near Detector samples a high rate of muons originating in the surrounding rock. In addition, due to its location on the surface at Ash River, MN, the Far Detector collects a large rate ((˜) 140 kHz) of cosmic muons. Furthermore, we will discuss the methods used in NO vA for overlaying rock muons and cosmic ray muons with simulated neutrino interactions and show how realistically the final simulation reproduces the preliminary NO vA data.« less

Indomethacin-Kollidon VA64 Extrudates: A Mechanistic Study of pH-Dependent Controlled Release.

PubMed

Tres, Francesco; Treacher, Kevin; Booth, Jonathan; Hughes, Leslie P; Wren, Stephen A C; Aylott, Jonathan W; Burley, Jonathan C

2016-03-07

Because of its weakly acidic nature (pKa of 4.5), indomethacin presents an aqueous solubility that significantly increases when changing from acidic to neutral/alkaline pH (1.5 μg/mL at pH 1.2 and 105.2 μg/mL at pH 7.4). We have therefore investigated the impact of the dissolution medium pH on the dissolution performance of indomethacin:Kollidon VA64 extrudates. The impact of the drug loading on the dissolution properties of these systems was also examined (5%, 15%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90% drug loading). Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy along with in-line UV-vis spectrophotometry was employed to directly relate changes in dissolution behavior to physicochemical changes that occur to the extrudate during the test. The dissolution tests were performed in pH 2 HCl (to mimic the stomach conditions), and this was then switched during the experiment to pH 6.8 phosphate buffer (to simulate the poststomach conditions). The rotating disc dissolution rate test was also used to simultaneously measure the dissolution rate of both the drug and the polymer. We found that in pH 2 HCl buffer, for the 15% or higher drug-loaded extrudates, Kollidon VA64 preferentially dissolves from the exterior of the compact leaving an amorphous drug-rich hydrophobic shell, which, similarly to an enteric coating, inhibits the drug release. The in situ formation of an enteric coating has been previously hypothesized, and this has been the first time that is directly observed in a pH-variable dissolution test. The dissolution medium switch to pH 6.8 phosphate buffer, due to the large increase of the aqueous solubility of indomethacin at this pH, leads to rapid dissolution of the material forming the coating and therefore total drug release. In contrast, the 5% extrudate is fully hydrated and quickly dissolves at low pH pointing to a dissolution performance dependent on highly water-soluble Kollidon VA64.

REACH VA: Moving from Translation to System Implementation.

PubMed

Nichols, Linda O; Martindale-Adams, Jennifer; Burns, Robert; Zuber, Jeffrey; Graney, Marshall J

2016-02-01

Resources for Enhancing All Caregivers Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs (REACH VA) has been implemented in the VA system as a national program for caregivers. We describe the trajectory of REACH VA from national randomized clinical trial through translation to national implementation. The implementation is examined through the six stages of the Fixsen and Blasé implementation process model: exploration and adoption, program installation, initial implementation, full operation, innovation, and sustainability. Different drivers that move the implementation process forward are important at each stage, including staff selection, staff training, consultation and coaching, staff evaluation, administrative support, program evaluation/fidelity, and systems interventions. Caregivers in the REACH VA 4 session intervention currently implemented in the VA had similar outcomes to longer REACH interventions, including Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregivers Health (REACH II). Caregivers experienced significant decreases in burden, depression, anxiety, number of troubling patient behaviors reported, caregiving frustrations, stress symptoms (feeling overwhelmed, feeling like crying, being frustrated as a result of caregiving, being lonely), and general stress. Effect sizes (Cohen's d) for these significant variables were between small and medium ranging from .24 to .46. The implementation of REACH VA provides a road map for implementation of other behavioral interventions in health care delivery settings. Lessons learned include the importance of implementing a proven, needed intervention, support from both leadership and clinical staff, willingness to respond to staff and organization needs and modify the intervention while preserving its integrity, and fitting the intervention into ongoing routines and practices. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2014.

78 FR 48609 - Safety Zone; James River; Newport News, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-09

...-AA00 Safety Zone; James River; Newport News, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Temporary final rule...-0670 to read as follows: Sec. 165.T05-0670 Safety Zone, James River, Newport News, VA. (a) Definitions...'11'' N longitude 076[deg]38'40'' W, located near Fort Eustis in Newport News, VA. (c) Regulations. (1...

33 CFR 80.510 - Chesapeake Bay Entrance, VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Chesapeake Bay Entrance, VA. 80.510 Section 80.510 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Fifth District § 80.510 Chesapeake Bay Entrance, VA. A...

Raman spectroscopy

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Raman spectroscopy has gained increased use and importance in recent years for accurate and precise detection of physical and chemical properties of food materials, due to the greater specificity and sensitivity of Raman techniques over other analytical techniques. This book chapter presents Raman s...

38 CFR 74.27 - How will VA store information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) VETERANS SMALL BUSINESS REGULATIONS Records Management § 74.27 How will VA store information? VA... examination visits will be scanned onto portable media and fully secured in the Center for Veterans Enterprise...

Raman Plus X: Biomedical Applications of Multimodal Raman Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Das, Nandan K; Dai, Yichuan; Liu, Peng; Hu, Chuanzhen; Tong, Lieshu; Chen, Xiaoya; Smith, Zachary J

2017-07-07

Raman spectroscopy is a label-free method of obtaining detailed chemical information about samples. Its compatibility with living tissue makes it an attractive choice for biomedical analysis, yet its translation from a research tool to a clinical tool has been slow, hampered by fundamental Raman scattering issues such as long integration times and limited penetration depth. In this review we detail the how combining Raman spectroscopy with other techniques yields multimodal instruments that can help to surmount the translational barriers faced by Raman alone. We review Raman combined with several optical and non-optical methods, including fluorescence, elastic scattering, OCT, phase imaging, and mass spectrometry. In each section we highlight the power of each combination along with a brief history and presentation of representative results. Finally, we conclude with a perspective detailing both benefits and challenges for multimodal Raman measurements, and give thoughts on future directions in the field.

Raman Plus X: Biomedical Applications of Multimodal Raman Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Das, Nandan K.; Dai, Yichuan; Liu, Peng; Hu, Chuanzhen; Tong, Lieshu; Chen, Xiaoya

2017-01-01

Raman spectroscopy is a label-free method of obtaining detailed chemical information about samples. Its compatibility with living tissue makes it an attractive choice for biomedical analysis, yet its translation from a research tool to a clinical tool has been slow, hampered by fundamental Raman scattering issues such as long integration times and limited penetration depth. In this review we detail the how combining Raman spectroscopy with other techniques yields multimodal instruments that can help to surmount the translational barriers faced by Raman alone. We review Raman combined with several optical and non-optical methods, including fluorescence, elastic scattering, OCT, phase imaging, and mass spectrometry. In each section we highlight the power of each combination along with a brief history and presentation of representative results. Finally, we conclude with a perspective detailing both benefits and challenges for multimodal Raman measurements, and give thoughts on future directions in the field. PMID:28686212

Medical Student Psychiatry Examination Performance at VA and Non-VA Clerkship Sites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Phebe; von Schlageter, Margo Shultes; Park, EunMi; Rosenberg, Emily; Benjamin, Ashley B.; Nawar, Ola

2009-01-01

Objective: The authors examined the effects of medical student assignment to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center inpatient and outpatient psychiatry clerkship sites versus other university and community sites on the performance outcome measure of National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject examination scores. Methods:…

FACILITIES FOR EDUCATION IN VA HOSPITALS. FINAL REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

GREEN, ALAN C.; AND OTHERS

THIS STUDY WAS AUTHORIZED BY THE VA DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY FOR THE PURPOSE OF IDENTIFYING AND DETERMINING THE FACILITIES NEEDED TO PROPERLY HOUSE AND SUPPORT EDUCATION ACTIVITIES IN EXISTING AND FUTURE VA HOSPITALS AND TO PRODUCE ARCHITECTURAL GUIDANCE IN THE DESIGN OF THE FACILITIES. CURRENT PRACTICES AND SIGNIFICANT TRENDS IN MEDICAL…

48 CFR 852.219-71 - VA mentor-protégé program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false VA mentor-protégÃ....219-71 VA mentor-protégé program. As prescribed in 819.7115(a), insert the following clause: VA Mentor-Protégé Program (DEC 2009) (a) Large businesses are encouraged to participate in the VA Mentor-Protégé...

FT-Raman Spectroscopy: A Catalyst for the Raman Explosion?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chase, Bruce

2007-01-01

The limitations of Fourier transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy, which is used to detect and analyze the scattered radiation, are discussed. FT-Raman has served to revitalize a field that was lagging and the presence of Raman instrumentation as a routine analytical tool is established for the foreseeable future.

Characterization of Methane Hydrate Growth from Aqueous Solution by Raman Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chou, I.; Lu, W.; Yuan, S.; Li, J.; Burruss, R. C.

2009-12-01

of the capsule to ~0 °C. It is difficult to recognize the nucleation and growth of hydrate crystals under a microscope, but Raman spectroscopy was used to identify and map the distribution of hydrate crystals along the capsule. Near the original vapor-aqueous phase boundary (V-A B), Raman signals show 100% methane hydrate. However, the lack of dissolved methane in the solution further away from the V-A B limited the growth of hydrate, as indicated by the increase in water/hydrate ratio when the Raman spectrum, which combines signals from both water and hydrate, was collected further away from the V-A B. We are investigating other possible ways to map the distribution of hydrate crystals around the glass beads, including x-ray computed tomography, to understand the nature of methane hydrate crystals that grow around grains in marine sediments from pore water. These observations will improve our ability to interpret the geophysical responses (e.g., electric and acoustic signals) obtained from hydrate-bearing sediments in the field.

Empirical analysis on future-cash arbitrage risk with portfolio VaR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Rongda; Li, Cong; Wang, Weijin; Wang, Ze

2014-03-01

This paper constructs the positive arbitrage position by alternating the spot index with Chinese Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) portfolio and estimating the arbitrage-free interval of futures with the latest trade data. Then, an improved Delta-normal method was used, which replaces the simple linear correlation coefficient with tail dependence correlation coefficient, to measure VaR (Value-at-risk) of the arbitrage position. Analysis of VaR implies that the risk of future-cash arbitrage is less than that of investing completely in either futures or spot market. Then according to the compositional VaR and the marginal VaR, we should increase the futures position and decrease the spot position appropriately to minimize the VaR, which can minimize risk subject to certain revenues.

Haemophilia utilization group study - Part Va (HUGS Va): design, methods and baseline data.

PubMed

Zhou, Z-Y; Wu, J; Baker, J; Curtis, R; Forsberg, A; Huszti, H; Koerper, M; Lou, M; Miller, R; Parish, K; Riske, B; Shapiro, A; Ullman, M; Johnson, K

2011-09-01

To describe the study design, procedures and baseline characteristics of the Haemophilia Utilization Group Study - Part Va (HUGS Va), a US multi-center observational study evaluating the cost of care and burden of illness in persons with factor VIII deficiency. Patients with factor VIII level ≤ 30%, age 2-64 years, receiving treatment at one of six federally supported haemophilia treatment centres (HTCs) were enrolled in the study. Participants completed an initial interview including questions on socio-demographical characteristics, health insurance status, co-morbidities, access to care, haemophilia treatment regimen, factor utilization, self-reported joint pain and motion limitation and health-related quality of life. A periodic follow-up survey collected data regarding time lost from usual activities, disability days, health care utilization and outcomes of care. HTC clinicians documented participants' baseline clinical characteristics and pharmacy dispensing records for 2 years. Between July 2005 and July 2007, 329 participants were enrolled. Average age was 9.7 years for children and 33.5 years for adults; two-thirds had severe haemophilia. The distributions of age, marital status, education level and barriers to haemophilia care were relatively consistent across haemophilic severity categories. Differences were found in participants' employment status, insurance status and income. Overall, children with haemophilia had quality of life scores comparable to healthy counterparts. Adults had significantly lower physical functioning than the general US population. As one of the largest economic studies of haemophilia care, HUGS Va will provide detailed information regarding the burden of illness and health care utilization in the US haemophilia A population. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Scanning angle Raman spectroscopy: Investigation of Raman scatter enhancement techniques for chemical analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meyer, Matthew W.

2013-01-01

This thesis outlines advancements in Raman scatter enhancement techniques by applying evanescent fields, standing-waves (waveguides) and surface enhancements to increase the generated mean square electric field, which is directly related to the intensity of Raman scattering. These techniques are accomplished by employing scanning angle Raman spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. A 1064 nm multichannel Raman spectrometer is discussed for chemical analysis of lignin. Extending dispersive multichannel Raman spectroscopy to 1064 nm reduces the fluorescence interference that can mask the weaker Raman scattering. Overall, these techniques help address the major obstacles in Raman spectroscopy for chemical analysis, which include themore » inherently weak Raman cross section and susceptibility to fluorescence interference.« less

Use of VA and Medicare Services By Dually Eligible Veterans with Psychiatric Problems

PubMed Central

Carey, Kathleen; Montez-Rath, Maria E; Rosen, Amy K; Christiansen, Cindy L; Loveland, Susan; Ettner, Susan L

2008-01-01

Objective To examine how service accessibility measured by geographic distance affects service sector choices for veterans who are dually eligible for veterans affairs (VA) and Medicare services and who are diagnosed with mental health and/or substance abuse (MH/SA) disorders. Data Sources Primary VA data sources were the Patient Treatment (acute care), Extended Care (long-term care), and Outpatient Clinic files. VA cost data were obtained from (1) inpatient and outpatient cost files developed by the VA Health Economics and Resource Center and (2) outpatient VA Decision Support System files. Medicare data sources were the denominator, Medicare Provider Analysis Review (MEDPAR), Provider-of-Service, Outpatient Standard Analytic and Physician/Supplier Standard Analytic files. Additional sources included the Area Resource File and Census Bureau data. Study Design We identified dually eligible veterans who had either an inpatient or outpatient MH/SA diagnosis in the VA system during fiscal year (FY)'99. We then estimated one- and two-part regression models to explain the effects of geographic distance on both VA and Medicare total and MH/SA costs. Principal Findings Results provide evidence for substitution between the VA and Medicare, demonstrating that poorer geographic access to VA inpatient and outpatient clinics decreased VA expenditures but increased Medicare expenditures, while poorer access to Medicare-certified general and psychiatric hospitals decreased Medicare expenditures but increased VA expenditures. Conclusions As geographic distance to VA medical facility increases, Medicare plays an increasingly important role in providing mental health services to veterans. PMID:18355256

Greening America's Capitals - Richmond, VA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Report from the Greening America's Capitals project in Richmond, VA, to help the city develop design options to protect pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and drivers; improve stormwater management; and spur revitalization.

On stability, chirality measures, and theoretical VCD spectra of the chiral C58X2 fullerenes (X = N, B).

PubMed

Ostrowski, Sławomir; Jamróz, Michał H; Rode, Joanna E; Dobrowolski, Jan Cz

2012-01-12

The stability of all 23 C(58)N(2) and C(58)B(2) heterofullerenes in the singlet and triplet states was determined at the B3LYP/6-31G** level. In equilibrium mixture the achiral (1,4) C(58)N(2) isomer would be populated in ca. 95.8%, the chiral (1,16) one in ca. 3.3%, and the achiral (1,4) C(58)B(2) in 100%, whereas all triplet state isomers are less stable. Fourteen out of 23 C(58)X(2) are chiral. Four different chirality measures were calculated by our own CHIMEA program: pure geometrical, labeled, mass, and charge. Intercorrelations between the measures for all chiral compounds indicate that the pure geometrical chirality measure is unstable and should not be used in QSAR predictions of the other molecular properties, while the labeled and mass-weighted ones are promising QSAR descriptors. For each chiral C(58)N(2) molecule, some very strong VCD bands, of intensity comparable with that in the IR spectra, can serve in identification and characterization of the isomers.

VA Telemedicine: An Analysis of Cost and Time Savings.

PubMed

Russo, Jack E; McCool, Ryan R; Davies, Louise

2016-03-01

The Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system provides beneficiary travel reimbursement ("travel pay") to qualifying patients for traveling to appointments. Travel pay is a large expense for the VA and hence the U.S. Government, projected to cost nearly $1 billion in 2015. Telemedicine in the VA system has the potential to save money by reducing patient travel and thus the amount of travel pay disbursed. In this study, we quantify this savings and also report trends in VA telemedicine volumes over time. All telemedicine visits based at the VA Hospital in White River Junction, VT between 2005 and 2013 were reviewed (5,695 visits). Travel distance and time saved as a result of telemedicine were calculated. Clinical volume in the mental health department, which has had the longest participation in telemedicine, was analyzed. Telemedicine resulted in an average travel savings of 145 miles and 142 min per visit. This led to an average travel payment savings of $18,555 per year. Telemedicine volume grew significantly over the study period such that by the final year the travel pay savings had increased to $63,804, or about 3.5% of the total travel pay disbursement for that year. The number of mental health telemedicine visits rose over the study period but remained small relative to the number of face-to-face visits. A higher proportion of telemedicine visits involved new patients. Telemedicine at the VA saves travel distance and time, although the reduction in travel payments remains modest at current telemedicine volumes.

77 FR 58773 - Drawbridge Operation Regulations; James River, Newport News, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-24

... Operation Regulations; James River, Newport News, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of temporary... schedule that governs the US 17/258 Bridge across the James River, mile 5.0, at Newport News, VA. The... 17/258 Bridge over the James River, mile 5.0, at Newport News, VA opens on signal as required by 33...

Community Veterans' Decision to Use VA Services: A Multimethod Veteran Health Partnership Study.

PubMed

Franco, Zeno E; Logan, Clinton; Flower, Mark; Curry, Bob; Ruffalo, Leslie; Brazauskas, Ruta; Whittle, Jeff

2016-01-01

Ensuring veterans' access to healthcare is a national priority. Prior studies of veterans' use of Veterans Health Administration (VA) healthcare have had limited success in evaluating barriers to access for certain vulnerable veteran subpopulations. Our coalition of researchers and veteran community members sought to understand factors affecting use of VA, particularly for those less likely to participate in traditional survey studies. We recruited 858 veterans to complete a collaboratively designed survey at community events or via social media. We compared our results regarding VA use with the 2010 National Survey of Veterans (NSV) using chi-square tests, multiple logistic regression to identify predictors of VA use, and content analysis for open-ended descriptions of barriers to VA use. Veterans in our study were more likely than NSV respondents to report using VA healthcare ever (76% vs. 28%; p<0.0001). Within this group, more veterans in our sample were current VA users (83% vs. 68%; p<0.0001). In multivariable analysis, VA use was predicted by self-reported physical problems (comparing "a lot" vs. "none" for each variable, adjusted odds ratio [OR], 8.35), thinking problems (OR, 1.14), need for smoking cessation (OR, 1.54), need for pain management (OR, 1.65), and need for other mental health services (OR, 3.04). We identified 15 themes summarizing veterans' perceived barriers to VA use. Persistent actual and perceived barriers prevent some veterans from using VA services. The VA can better understand and address these issues through community-academic partnerships with veterans' organizations.

38 CFR 74.27 - How will VA store information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... information? 74.27 Section 74.27 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) VETERANS SMALL BUSINESS REGULATIONS Records Management § 74.27 How will VA store information? VA intends to store records provided to complete the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages registration fully...

38 CFR 74.27 - How will VA store information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... information? 74.27 Section 74.27 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) VETERANS SMALL BUSINESS REGULATIONS Records Management § 74.27 How will VA store information? VA intends to store records provided to complete the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages registration fully...

38 CFR 74.27 - How will VA store information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... information? 74.27 Section 74.27 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) VETERANS SMALL BUSINESS REGULATIONS Records Management § 74.27 How will VA store information? VA intends to store records provided to complete the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages registration fully...

38 CFR 74.27 - How will VA store information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... information? 74.27 Section 74.27 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) VETERANS SMALL BUSINESS REGULATIONS Records Management § 74.27 How will VA store information? VA intends to store records provided to complete the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages registration fully...

A VaR Algorithm for Warrants Portfolio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Jun; Ni, Liyun; Wang, Xiangrong; Chen, Weizhong

Based on Gamma Vega-Cornish Fish methodology, this paper propose the algorithm for calculating VaR via adjusting the quantile under the given confidence level using the four moments (e.g. mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis) of the warrants portfolio return and estimating the variance of portfolio by EWMA methodology. Meanwhile, the proposed algorithm considers the attenuation of the effect of history return on portfolio return of future days. Empirical study shows that, comparing with Gamma-Cornish Fish method and standard normal method, the VaR calculated by Gamma Vega-Cornish Fish can improve the effectiveness of forecasting the portfolio risk by virture of considering the Gamma risk and the Vega risk of the warrants. The significance test is conducted on the calculation results by employing two-tailed test developed by Kupiec. Test results show that the calculated VaRs of the warrants portfolio all pass the significance test under the significance level of 5%.

Factors related to attrition from VA healthcare use: findings from the National Survey of Women Veterans.

PubMed

Hamilton, Alison B; Frayne, Susan M; Cordasco, Kristina M; Washington, Donna L

2013-07-01

While prior research characterizes women Veterans' barriers to accessing and using Veterans Health Administration (VA) care, there has been little attention to women who access VA and use services, but then discontinue use. Recent data suggest that among women Veterans, there is a 30 % attrition rate within 3 years of initial VA use. To compare individual characteristics and perceptions about VA care between women Veteran VA attriters (those who discontinue use) and non-attriters (those who continue use), and to compare recent versus remote attriters. Cross-sectional, population-based 2008-2009 national telephone survey. Six hundred twenty-six attriters and 2,065 non-attriters who responded to the National Survey of Women Veterans. Population weighted demographic, military and health characteristics; perceptions about VA healthcare; length of time since last VA use; among attriters, reasons for no longer using VA care. Fifty-four percent of the weighted VA ever user population reported that they no longer use VA. Forty-five percent of attrition was within the past ten years. Attriters had better overall health (p = 0.007), higher income (p < 0.001), and were more likely to have health insurance (p < 0.001) compared with non-attriters. Attriters had less positive perceptions of VA than non-attriters, with attriters having lower ratings of VA quality and of gender-specific features of VA care (p < 0.001). Women Veterans who discontinued VA use since 2001 did not differ from those with more remote VA use on most measures of VA perceptions. Overall, among attriters, distance to VA sites of care and having alternate insurance coverage were the most common reasons for discontinuing VA use. We found high VA attrition despite recent advances in VA care for women Veterans. Women's attrition from VA could reduce the critical mass of women Veterans in VA and affect current system-wide efforts to provide high-quality care for women Veterans. An understanding of reasons for

Impact of the REACH II and REACH VA Dementia Caregiver Interventions on Healthcare Costs.

PubMed

Nichols, Linda O; Martindale-Adams, Jennifer; Zhu, Carolyn W; Kaplan, Erin K; Zuber, Jeffrey K; Waters, Teresa M

2017-05-01

Examine caregiver and care recipient healthcare costs associated with caregivers' participation in Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregivers Health (REACH II or REACH VA) behavioral interventions to improve coping skills and care recipient management. RCT (REACH II); propensity-score matched, retrospective cohort study (REACH VA). Five community sites (REACH II); 24 VA facilities (REACH VA). Care recipients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and their caregivers who participated in REACH II study (analysis sample of 110 caregivers and 197 care recipients); care recipients whose caregivers participated in REACH VA and a propensity matched control group (analysis sample of 491). Previously collected data plus Medicare expenditures (REACH II) and VA costs plus Medicare expenditures (REACH VA). There was no increase in VA or Medicare expenditures for care recipients or their caregivers who participated in either REACH intervention. For VA care recipients, REACH was associated with significantly lower total VA costs of care (33.6%). VA caregiver cost data was not available. In previous research, both REACH II and REACH VA have been shown to provide benefit for dementia caregivers at a cost of less than $5/day; however, concerns about additional healthcare costs may have hindered REACH's widespread adoption. Neither REACH intervention was associated with additional healthcare costs for caregivers or patients; in fact, for VA patients, there were significantly lower healthcare costs. The VA costs savings may be related to the addition of a structured format for addressing the caregiver's role in managing complex ADRD care to an existing, integrated care system. These findings suggest that behavioral interventions are a viable mechanism to support burdened dementia caregivers without additional healthcare costs. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.

Comparing VA and private sector healthcare costs for end-stage renal disease.

PubMed

Hynes, Denise M; Stroupe, Kevin T; Fischer, Michael J; Reda, Domenic J; Manning, Willard; Browning, Margaret M; Huo, Zhiping; Saban, Karen; Kaufman, James S

2012-02-01

Healthcare for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is intensive, expensive, and provided in both the public and private sector. Using a societal perspective, we examined healthcare costs and health outcomes for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ESRD patients comparing those who received hemodialysis care at VA versus private sector facilities. Dialysis patients were recruited from 8 VA medical centers from 2001 through 2003 and followed for 12 months in a prospective cohort study. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, quality of life, healthcare use, and cost data were collected. Healthcare data included utilization (VA), claims (Medicare), and patient self-report. Costs included VA calculated costs, Medicare dialysis facility reports and reimbursement rates, and patient self-report. Multivariable regression was used to compare costs between patients receiving dialysis at VA versus private sector facilities. The cohort comprised 334 patients: 170 patients in the VA dialysis group and 164 patients in the private sector group. The VA dialysis group had more comorbidities at baseline, outpatient and emergency visits, prescriptions, and longer hospital stays; they also had more conservative anemia management and lower baseline urea reduction ratio (67% vs. 72%; P<0.001), although levels were consistent with guidelines (Kt/V≥1.2). In adjusted analysis, the VA dialysis group had $36,431 higher costs than those in the private sector dialysis group (P<0.001). Continued research addressing costs and effectiveness of care across public and private sector settings is critical in informing health policy options for patients with complex chronic illnesses such as ESRD.

32 CFR 105.10 - SARC and SAPR VA procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... CIVILIAN SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE PROGRAM PROCEDURES § 105.10 SARC and SAPR VA procedures. (a) SARC procedures. The SARC shall: (1) Serve as the single point of contact to coordinate sexual assault response when a sexual assault is reported. All SARCs shall be authorized to perform VA duties in...

32 CFR 105.10 - SARC and SAPR VA procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... CIVILIAN SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE PROGRAM PROCEDURES § 105.10 SARC and SAPR VA procedures. (a) SARC procedures. The SARC shall: (1) Serve as the single point of contact to coordinate sexual assault response when a sexual assault is reported. All SARCs shall be authorized to perform VA duties in...

Job satisfaction and burnout among VA and community mental health workers.

PubMed

Salyers, Michelle P; Rollins, Angela L; Kelly, Yu-Fan; Lysaker, Paul H; Williams, Jane R

2013-03-01

Building on two independent studies, we compared burnout and job satisfaction of 66 VA staff and 86 community mental health center staff in the same city. VA staff reported significantly greater job satisfaction and accomplishment, less emotional exhaustion and lower likelihood of leaving their job. Sources of work satisfaction were similar (primarily working with clients, helping/witnessing change). VA staff reported fewer challenges with job-related aspects (e.g. flexibility, pay) but more challenges with administration. Community mental health administrators and policymakers may need to address job-related concerns (e.g. pay) whereas VA administrators may focus on reducing, and helping workers navigate, administrative policies.

48 CFR 852.219-9 - VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false VA Small business... Provisions and Clauses 852.219-9 VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements. As prescribed in subpart 819.709, insert the following clause: VA Small Business Subcontracting Plan Minimum Requirements...

48 CFR 852.219-9 - VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false VA Small business... Provisions and Clauses 852.219-9 VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements. As prescribed in subpart 819.709, insert the following clause: VA Small Business Subcontracting Plan Minimum Requirements...

48 CFR 852.219-9 - VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false VA Small business... Provisions and Clauses 852.219-9 VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements. As prescribed in subpart 819.709, insert the following clause: VA Small Business Subcontracting Plan Minimum Requirements...

48 CFR 852.219-9 - VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false VA Small business... Provisions and Clauses 852.219-9 VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements. As prescribed in subpart 819.709, insert the following clause: VA Small Business Subcontracting Plan Minimum Requirements...

48 CFR 852.219-9 - VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false VA Small business... Provisions and Clauses 852.219-9 VA Small business subcontracting plan minimum requirements. As prescribed in subpart 819.709, insert the following clause: VA Small Business Subcontracting Plan Minimum Requirements...

33 CFR 110.166 - York River, Va., naval anchorage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... ANCHORAGES ANCHORAGE REGULATIONS Anchorage Grounds § 110.166 York River, Va., naval anchorage. (a) The anchorage grounds. Between Yorktown and the Naval Mine Depot, beginning at latitude 37°15′34″, longitude 76... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false York River, Va., naval anchorage...

33 CFR 110.166 - York River, Va., naval anchorage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... ANCHORAGES ANCHORAGE REGULATIONS Anchorage Grounds § 110.166 York River, Va., naval anchorage. (a) The anchorage grounds. Between Yorktown and the Naval Mine Depot, beginning at latitude 37°15′34″, longitude 76... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false York River, Va., naval anchorage...

33 CFR 110.166 - York River, Va., naval anchorage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... ANCHORAGES ANCHORAGE REGULATIONS Anchorage Grounds § 110.166 York River, Va., naval anchorage. (a) The anchorage grounds. Between Yorktown and the Naval Mine Depot, beginning at latitude 37°15′34″, longitude 76... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false York River, Va., naval anchorage...

33 CFR 110.166 - York River, Va., naval anchorage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... ANCHORAGES ANCHORAGE REGULATIONS Anchorage Grounds § 110.166 York River, Va., naval anchorage. (a) The anchorage grounds. Between Yorktown and the Naval Mine Depot, beginning at latitude 37°15′34″, longitude 76... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false York River, Va., naval anchorage...

33 CFR 110.166 - York River, Va., naval anchorage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... ANCHORAGES ANCHORAGE REGULATIONS Anchorage Grounds § 110.166 York River, Va., naval anchorage. (a) The anchorage grounds. Between Yorktown and the Naval Mine Depot, beginning at latitude 37°15′34″, longitude 76... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false York River, Va., naval anchorage...

Identifying Homelessness among Veterans Using VA Administrative Data: Opportunities to Expand Detection Criteria.

PubMed

Peterson, Rachel; Gundlapalli, Adi V; Metraux, Stephen; Carter, Marjorie E; Palmer, Miland; Redd, Andrew; Samore, Matthew H; Fargo, Jamison D

2015-01-01

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have used administrative criteria to identify homelessness among U.S. Veterans. Our objective was to explore the use of these codes in VA health care facilities. We examined VA health records (2002-2012) of Veterans recently separated from the military and identified as homeless using VA conventional identification criteria (ICD-9-CM code V60.0, VA specific codes for homeless services), plus closely allied V60 codes indicating housing instability. Logistic regression analyses examined differences between Veterans who received these codes. Health care services and co-morbidities were analyzed in the 90 days post-identification of homelessness. VA conventional criteria identified 21,021 homeless Veterans from Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (rate 2.5%). Adding allied V60 codes increased that to 31,260 (rate 3.3%). While certain demographic differences were noted, Veterans identified as homeless using conventional or allied codes were similar with regards to utilization of homeless, mental health, and substance abuse services, as well as co-morbidities. Differences were noted in the pattern of usage of homelessness-related diagnostic codes in VA facilities nation-wide. Creating an official VA case definition for homelessness, which would include additional ICD-9-CM and other administrative codes for VA homeless services, would likely allow improved identification of homeless and at-risk Veterans. This also presents an opportunity for encouraging uniformity in applying these codes in VA facilities nationwide as well as in other large health care organizations.

Identifying Homelessness among Veterans Using VA Administrative Data: Opportunities to Expand Detection Criteria

PubMed Central

Peterson, Rachel; Gundlapalli, Adi V.; Metraux, Stephen; Carter, Marjorie E.; Palmer, Miland; Redd, Andrew; Samore, Matthew H.; Fargo, Jamison D.

2015-01-01

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have used administrative criteria to identify homelessness among U.S. Veterans. Our objective was to explore the use of these codes in VA health care facilities. We examined VA health records (2002-2012) of Veterans recently separated from the military and identified as homeless using VA conventional identification criteria (ICD-9-CM code V60.0, VA specific codes for homeless services), plus closely allied V60 codes indicating housing instability. Logistic regression analyses examined differences between Veterans who received these codes. Health care services and co-morbidities were analyzed in the 90 days post-identification of homelessness. VA conventional criteria identified 21,021 homeless Veterans from Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (rate 2.5%). Adding allied V60 codes increased that to 31,260 (rate 3.3%). While certain demographic differences were noted, Veterans identified as homeless using conventional or allied codes were similar with regards to utilization of homeless, mental health, and substance abuse services, as well as co-morbidities. Differences were noted in the pattern of usage of homelessness-related diagnostic codes in VA facilities nation-wide. Creating an official VA case definition for homelessness, which would include additional ICD-9-CM and other administrative codes for VA homeless services, would likely allow improved identification of homeless and at-risk Veterans. This also presents an opportunity for encouraging uniformity in applying these codes in VA facilities nationwide as well as in other large health care organizations. PMID:26172386

A Role for Myosin Va in Human Cytomegalovirus Nuclear Egress.

PubMed

Wilkie, Adrian R; Sharma, Mayuri; Pesola, Jean M; Ericsson, Maria; Fernandez, Rosio; Coen, Donald M

2018-03-15

Herpesviruses replicate and package their genomes into capsids in replication compartments within the nuclear interior. Capsids then move to the inner nuclear membrane for envelopment and release into the cytoplasm in a process called nuclear egress. We previously found that nuclear F-actin is induced upon infection with the betaherpesvirus human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and is important for nuclear egress and capsid localization away from replication compartment-like inclusions toward the nuclear rim. Despite these and related findings, it has not been shown that any specific motor protein is involved in herpesvirus nuclear egress. In this study, we have investigated whether the host motor protein, myosin Va, could be fulfilling this role. Using immunofluorescence microscopy and coimmunoprecipitation, we observed associations between a nuclear population of myosin Va and the viral major capsid protein, with both concentrating at the periphery of replication compartments. Immunoelectron microscopy showed that nearly 40% of assembled nuclear capsids associate with myosin Va. We also found that myosin Va and major capsid protein colocalize with nuclear F-actin. Importantly, antagonism of myosin Va with RNA interference or a dominant negative mutant revealed that myosin Va is important for the efficient production of infectious virus, capsid accumulation in the cytoplasm, and capsid localization away from replication compartment-like inclusions toward the nuclear rim. Our results lead us to suggest a working model whereby human cytomegalovirus capsids associate with myosin Va for movement from replication compartments to the nuclear periphery during nuclear egress. IMPORTANCE Little is known regarding how newly assembled and packaged herpesvirus capsids move from the nuclear interior to the periphery during nuclear egress. While it has been proposed that an actomyosin-based mechanism facilitates intranuclear movement of alphaherpesvirus capsids, a functional role for

(4015) 1979 VA: 'Missing Link' Discovered

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helin, Eleanor F.

1993-01-01

Apollo Asteroid (4015) 1979 VA was discovered in November of 1979 by Helin at Palomar with the 0.46m Schmidt Telescope. It's orbital elements immediately indicated a possible cometary origin. With an extremely eccentric orbit, it approaches the orbit of Jupiter (at the time, the largest 'Q', aphelion, of any known near-Earth asteroid). Physical observations acquired during the discovery apparition suggested that it was carbonaceous in nature. Research into prediscovery observations of Near-Earth Asteroids (Bowell et. al., 1992) has located Palomar Sky Survey photographic plates taken in 1949 observations of (4015) 1979 VA, not as an asteroid, but rather a small cometary image (IAU Circular Nos. 5585 and 5586, August 13, 1992)...

30 CFR 57.22309 - Methane monitors (V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Methane monitors (V-A mines). 57.22309 Section... Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Equipment § 57.22309 Methane monitors (V-A mines). (a) Methane monitors shall be installed on continuous mining machines used in or beyond the last open crosscut...

30 CFR 57.22309 - Methane monitors (V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Methane monitors (V-A mines). 57.22309 Section... Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Equipment § 57.22309 Methane monitors (V-A mines). (a) Methane monitors shall be installed on continuous mining machines used in or beyond the last open crosscut...

Flexural Stiffness of Myosin Va Subdomains as Measured from Tethered Particle Motion

PubMed Central

Michalek, Arthur J.; Kennedy, Guy G.; Warshaw, David M.; Ali, M. Yusuf

2015-01-01

Myosin Va (MyoVa) is a processive molecular motor involved in intracellular cargo transport on the actin cytoskeleton. The motor's processivity and ability to navigate actin intersections are believed to be governed by the stiffness of various parts of the motor's structure. Specifically, changes in calcium may regulate motor processivity by altering the motor's lever arm stiffness and thus its interhead communication. In order to measure the flexural stiffness of MyoVa subdomains, we use tethered particle microscopy, which relates the Brownian motion of fluorescent quantum dots, which are attached to various single- and double-headed MyoVa constructs bound to actin in rigor, to the motor's flexural stiffness. Based on these measurements, the MyoVa lever arm and coiled-coil rod domain have comparable flexural stiffness (0.034 pN/nm). Upon addition of calcium, the lever arm stiffness is reduced 40% as a result of calmodulins potentially dissociating from the lever arm. In addition, the flexural stiffness of the full-length MyoVa construct is an order of magnitude less stiff than both a single lever arm and the coiled-coil rod. This suggests that the MyoVa lever arm-rod junction provides a flexible hinge that would allow the motor to maneuver cargo through the complex intracellular actin network. PMID:26770194

Home health care and patterns of subsequent VA and medicare health care utilization for veterans.

PubMed

Van Houtven, Courtney Harold; Jeffreys, Amy S; Coffman, Cynthia J

2008-10-01

The Veterans Affairs or VA health care system is in the process of significantly expanding home health care (HHC) nationwide. We describe VA HHC use in 2003 for all VA HHC users from 2002; we examine whether VA utilization across a broad spectrum of services differed for a sample of VA HHC users and their propensity-score-matched controls. We also consider crossover between the VA and Medicare. This is a retrospective study using propensity score and stratified analysis to control for selection bias on observable characteristics. We examined the full cohort of 2002 VA HHC users (n = 24,169) and a 2:1 sample of age- and race-based nonusers (n = 53,356). Utilization measures included VA and Medicare outpatient, inpatient, nursing home, and hospice use, as well as VA home-based primary care, respite care, and adult day health care. VA HHC users had a higher absolute probability of outpatient use by around 3%, of inpatient use by 12%, and nursing home use by 6% than their propensity-score-matched controls. Veterans who used HHC services had a higher rate of VA service use in the subsequent year than controls did, even after we adjusted for differences in observed health status, eligibility advantages, and supplemental insurance status. High utilization for VA home health users spilled over into high Medicare utilization.

Home Health Care and Patterns of Subsequent VA and Medicare Health Care Utilization for Veterans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Houtven, Courtney Harold; Jeffreys, Amy S.; Coffman, Cynthia J.

2008-01-01

Purpose: The Veterans Affairs or VA health care system is in the process of significantly expanding home health care (HOC) nationwide. We describe VA HHC use in 2003 for all VA HHC users from 2002; we examine whether VA utilization across a broad spectrum of services differed for a sample of VA HHC users and their propensity-score-matched…

Transmission Raman Measurements Using a Spatial Heterodyne Raman Spectrometer (SHRS).

PubMed

Strange, K Alicia; Paul, Kelly C; Angel, S Michael

2017-02-01

A spatial heterodyne Raman spectrometer (SHRS) was used to measure transmission Raman spectra of highly scattering compounds. Transmission Raman spectral intensities of ibuprofen were only 2.4 times lower in intensity than backscatter Raman spectra. The throughput was about eight times higher than an f/1.8 dispersive spectrometer, and the width of the area viewed was found to be seven to nine times higher, using 50.8 mm and 250 mm focal length collection lenses. However, the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio was two times lower for the SHRS than the f/1.8 dispersive spectrometer, apparently due to high levels of stray light.

48 CFR 803.7000 - Display of the VA Hotline poster.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... poster. 803.7000 Section 803.7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS... Improper Business Practices 803.7000 Display of the VA Hotline poster. (a) Under the circumstances described in paragraph (b) of this section, a contractor must display prominently a VA Hotline poster...

48 CFR 803.7000 - Display of the VA Hotline poster.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... poster. 803.7000 Section 803.7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS... Improper Business Practices 803.7000 Display of the VA Hotline poster. (a) Under the circumstances described in paragraph (b) of this section, a contractor must display prominently a VA Hotline poster...

48 CFR 803.7000 - Display of the VA Hotline poster.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... poster. 803.7000 Section 803.7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS... Improper Business Practices 803.7000 Display of the VA Hotline poster. (a) Under the circumstances described in paragraph (b) of this section, a contractor must display prominently a VA Hotline poster...

48 CFR 803.7000 - Display of the VA Hotline poster.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... poster. 803.7000 Section 803.7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS... Improper Business Practices 803.7000 Display of the VA Hotline poster. (a) Under the circumstances described in paragraph (b) of this section, a contractor must display prominently a VA Hotline poster...

48 CFR 803.7000 - Display of the VA Hotline poster.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... poster. 803.7000 Section 803.7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS... Improper Business Practices 803.7000 Display of the VA Hotline poster. (a) Under the circumstances described in paragraph (b) of this section, a contractor must display prominently a VA Hotline poster...

77 FR 38181 - VA Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Guidelines

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-27

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 74 RIN 2900-AO49 VA Veteran-Owned Small Business... small businesses (VOSBs), including service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) in order...- AO49--VA Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Guidelines.'' All comments received will be...

78 FR 56271 - FY 2014-2020 Draft VA Strategic Plan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-12

... and access to benefits and services through integration within VA and with our partners; and... integration within VA and with our partners; and developing our workforce with the skills, tools, and... program to coordination and integration across programs and organizations, measuring performance by the...

38 CFR 26.7 - VA environmental decision making and documents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... environmental decision making and documents. (a) Relevant environmental documents shall accompany other decision documents as they proceed through the decision-making process. (b) The major decision points for VA actions... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false VA environmental decision...

38 CFR 26.9 - Information on and public participation in VA environmental process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... participation in VA environmental process. 26.9 Section 26.9 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA) ACTIONS § 26.9 Information on and public participation in VA environmental process. (a) During the...

Case-mix groups for VA hospital-based home care.

PubMed

Smith, M E; Baker, C R; Branch, L G; Walls, R C; Grimes, R M; Karklins, J M; Kashner, M; Burrage, R; Parks, A; Rogers, P

1992-01-01

The purpose of this study is to group hospital-based home care (HBHC) patients homogeneously by their characteristics with respect to cost of care to develop alternative case mix methods for management and reimbursement (allocation) purposes. Six Veterans Affairs (VA) HBHC programs in Fiscal Year (FY) 1986 that maximized patient, program, and regional variation were selected, all of which agreed to participate. All HBHC patients active in each program on October 1, 1987, in addition to all new admissions through September 30, 1988 (FY88), comprised the sample of 874 unique patients. Statistical methods include the use of classification and regression trees (CART software: Statistical Software; Lafayette, CA), analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression techniques. The resulting algorithm is a three-factor model that explains 20% of the cost variance (R2 = 20%, with a cross validation R2 of 12%). Similar classifications such as the RUG-II, which is utilized for VA nursing home and intermediate care, the VA outpatient resource allocation model, and the RUG-HHC, utilized in some states for reimbursing home health care in the private sector, explained less of the cost variance and, therefore, are less adequate for VA home care resource allocation.

Semi-nonparametric VaR forecasts for hedge funds during the recent crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del Brio, Esther B.; Mora-Valencia, Andrés; Perote, Javier

2014-05-01

The need to provide accurate value-at-risk (VaR) forecasting measures has triggered an important literature in econophysics. Although these accurate VaR models and methodologies are particularly demanded for hedge fund managers, there exist few articles specifically devoted to implement new techniques in hedge fund returns VaR forecasting. This article advances in these issues by comparing the performance of risk measures based on parametric distributions (the normal, Student’s t and skewed-t), semi-nonparametric (SNP) methodologies based on Gram-Charlier (GC) series and the extreme value theory (EVT) approach. Our results show that normal-, Student’s t- and Skewed t- based methodologies fail to forecast hedge fund VaR, whilst SNP and EVT approaches accurately success on it. We extend these results to the multivariate framework by providing an explicit formula for the GC copula and its density that encompasses the Gaussian copula and accounts for non-linear dependences. We show that the VaR obtained by the meta GC accurately captures portfolio risk and outperforms regulatory VaR estimates obtained through the meta Gaussian and Student’s t distributions.

78 FR 71041 - VA Compensation and Pension Regulation Rewrite Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-27

...The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to reorganize and rewrite its compensation and pension regulations in a logical, claimant-focused, and user-friendly format. The intended effect of the proposed revisions is to assist claimants, beneficiaries, veterans' representatives, and VA personnel in locating and understanding these regulations.

38 CFR 17.66 - Notice of noncompliance with VA standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... AFFAIRS MEDICAL Community Residential Care § 17.66 Notice of noncompliance with VA standards. If the hearing official determines that an approved community residential care facility does not comply with the... standards must be met in order to avoid revocation of VA approval; (c) The community residential care...

78 FR 26250 - Payment for Home Health Services and Hospice Care to Non-VA Providers

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-06

... Hospice Care to Non-VA Providers AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amends its regulations concerning the billing methodology for non-VA... billing methodology for non-VA providers of home health services and hospice care. The proposed rulemaking...

Raman spectroscopy and Raman imaging for early detection of cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Narahari V.; Ortega, Angel; Estrela, Jose Maria

2004-06-01

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful technique as it provides fundamental information about vibrational modes of a system. Eigenvalues of these modes are very sensitive to the strength of the chemical bonds and perturbations caused by the environment, particularly charge distribution and alterations in the dipole strength of the system. All these parameters are profoundly modified during the tumor formation process nad hence Raman technique could be a unique and also a direct approach for evaluating tumor genesis at early stages. for this pupose the present investigation was carried out. We used cultured wild type and c-ras transformed NIH 3T3 fibroblast. The samples were treated with methyl alcohol solution ina conventional manner and then Raman spectra nad images were obtained by a specially developed confocal Raman microscope. The present results reveal differences between both cell types in the spectral details as well as in the morphology. Raman images are able to detect the exact site where cancer-related changes have taken place. These results clearly indicate the superiority of the present technique over conventional methods such as images obtained by X-rays or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Moreover, unlike other approaches, Raman images detect alterations at the submicron level rather than in the centimeter or millimeter range. Being an optical method it can be applied in vivo as a non-invasive technique potentially useful to early detection of cancer (particularly easy accessible cancers such as those of the skin and the digestive tract). The obtained resulsts suggest the great potential of Raman imaging in premature clinical diagnostic approaches.

Reduction of Raman scattering and fluorescence from anvils in high pressure Raman scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dierker, S. B.; Aronson, M. C.

2018-05-01

We describe a new design and use of a high pressure anvil cell that significantly reduces the Raman scattering and fluorescence from the anvils in high pressure Raman scattering experiments. The approach is particularly useful in Raman scattering studies of opaque, weakly scattering samples. The effectiveness of the technique is illustrated with measurements of two-magnon Raman scattering in La2CuO4.

Identification of VaD and AD prodromes: the Cache County Study.

PubMed

Hayden, K M; Warren, L H; Pieper, C F; Østbye, T; Tschanz, J T; Norton, M C; Breitner, J C S; Welsh-Bohmer, K A

2005-07-01

It is unclear whether vascular dementia (VaD) has a cognitive prodrome, akin to the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) prodrome to Alzheimer's dementia (AD). To evaluate whether VaD has a cognitive prodrome, and if it can be differentiated from prodromal AD, we examined neuropsychological test performance of participants in a nested case-control study within a population-based cohort aged 65 or older. Participants (n = 485) were identified from the Cache County Study, a large population-based study of aging and dementia. After an average of 3 years of follow-up, a total of 62 incident dementia cases were identified (14 VaD, 48 AD). We identified a number of neuropsychological tests (executive and memory) that discriminated between diagnosed VaD and AD cases. Multivariate analyses sought to differentiate between these same groups 3 years before clinical diagnosis. The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Word List Recognition Test correct recognition of foils (mean difference, 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42 to 2.07; p < 0.01), Logical Memory I (mean difference, 7.16; 95% CI, 0.78 to 13.55, p < 0.05), Logical Memory II delayed recall (mean difference, 8.67; 95% CI, 1.59 to 15.74, p < 0.05), and percent savings (mean difference, 51.07; 95% CI, 32.58 to 69.56, p < 0.0001) differentiated VaD from AD cases after adjustment for age, sex, education, and dementia severity. Three years before dementia diagnosis, word list recognition ("no" responses mean difference, 1.40; 95% CI, 0.64 to 2.17; p < 0.001, and "yes" responses mean difference, -1.14; 95% CI, -2.14 to -0.13; p < 0.03) discriminated between prodromal VaD and AD. These results suggest that VaD has a prodromal syndrome, the cognitive features of which are distinguishable from the cognitive prodrome of AD.

Raman Spectroscopy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerrard, Donald L.

1984-01-01

Reviews literature on Raman spectroscopy from late 1981 to late 1983. Topic areas include: instrumentation and sampling; liquids and solutions; gases and matrix isolation; biological molecules; polymers; high-temperature and high-pressure studies; Raman microscopy; thin films and surfaces; resonance-enhanced and surface-enhanced spectroscopy; and…

76 FR 63357 - VA National Academic Affiliations Council; Notice of Establishment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-12

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS VA National Academic Affiliations Council; Notice of Establishment... Academic Affiliations Council. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has determined that establishing the... Secretary for Health on matters affecting partnerships between VA and its academic affiliates. The Council...

An overview of patient safety climate in the VA.

PubMed

Hartmann, Christine W; Rosen, Amy K; Meterko, Mark; Shokeen, Priti; Zhao, Shibei; Singer, Sara; Falwell, Alyson; Gaba, David M

2008-08-01

To assess variation in safety climate across VA hospitals nationally. Data were collected from employees at 30 VA hospitals over a 6-month period using the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey. We sampled 100 percent of senior managers and physicians and a random 10 percent of other employees. At 10 randomly selected hospitals, we sampled an additional 100 percent of employees working in units with intrinsically higher hazards (high-hazard units [HHUs]). Data were collected using an anonymous survey design. We received 4,547 responses (49 percent response rate). The percent problematic response--lower percent reflecting higher levels of patient safety climate--ranged from 12.0-23.7 percent across hospitals (mean=17.5 percent). Differences in safety climate emerged by management level, clinician status, and workgroup. Supervisors and front-line staff reported lower levels of safety climate than senior managers; clinician responses reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of nonclinicians; and responses of employees in HHUs reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of workers in other areas. This is the first systematic study of patient safety climate in VA hospitals. Findings indicate an overall positive safety climate across the VA, but there is room for improvement.

VA Health Care: VA Spends Millions on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Research and Incorporates Research Outcomes into Guidelines and Policy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Services

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

post - traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) and...Veterans Affairs (VA) Intramural Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD ) Research Funding and VA’s Medical and Prosthetic Research Appropriation...Table 6: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Research Centers and Programs That Conduct or Support Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD ) Research

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of urine by an ingenious near-infrared Raman spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Shangyuan; Chen, Weiwei; Li, Yongzeng; Chen, Guannan; Huang, Zufang; Liao, Xiaohua; Xie, Zhiming; Chen, Rong

2007-11-01

This paper demonstrates the potential of an elaborately devised near-infrared Raman system in analysis of urine. The broad band in the long-wavelength region of the electronic absorption spectra of the sol with added adsorbent at certain concentrations has been explained in terms of the aggregation of the colloidal silver particles. We have reported the surface-enhanced Raman (SERS) spectra of urine, and studied the silver solution enhanced effects on the urine Raman scattering. The Raman bands of human's urine was assigned to certain molecule vibrations. We have found that different donators have dissimilar SERS of urine in different physiological condition. Comparatively few studies have explored the ability of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of urine acid. In the present report, we investigated the ability of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy to measure uric acid in the human urine. The results suggested that the present Raman system holds considerable promise for practical use. Practical applications such as the quantitative medical examination of urine metabolites may also be feasible in the near future.

MicroRaman Spectroscopy and Raman Imaging of Basal Cell Carcinoma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Short, M. A.; Zeng, H.; Lui, H.

2005-03-01

We have measured the Raman spectra of normal and cancerous skin tissues using a confocal microRaman spectrograph with a sub-micron spatial resolution. We found that the Raman spectrum of a cell nucleolus is different from the spectra measured outside the nucleolus and considerably different from those measured outside the nucleus. In addition, we found significant spectroscopic differences between normal and cancer-bearing sites in the dermis region. In order to utilize these differences for non-invasive skin cancer diagnosis, we have developed a Raman imaging system that clearly demonstrates the structure, location and distribution of cells in unstained skin biopsy samples. Our method is expected to be useful for the detection and characterization of skin cancer based on the known distinct cellular differences between normal and malignant skin.

Employment status, employment functioning, and barriers to employment among VA primary care patients.

PubMed

Zivin, Kara; Yosef, Matheos; Levine, Debra S; Abraham, Kristen M; Miller, Erin M; Henry, Jennifer; Nelson, C Beau; Pfeiffer, Paul N; Sripada, Rebecca K; Harrod, Molly; Valenstein, Marcia

2016-03-15

Prior research found lower employment rates among working-aged patients who use the VA than among non-Veterans or Veterans who do not use the VA, with the lowest reported employment rates among VA patients with mental disorders. This study assessed employment status, employment functioning, and barriers to employment among VA patients treated in primary care settings, and examined how depression and anxiety were associated with these outcomes. The sample included 287 VA patients treated in primary care in a large Midwestern VA Medical Center. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted examining associations between socio-demographic and clinical predictors of six employment domains, including: employment status, job search self-efficacy, work performance, concerns about job loss among employed Veterans, and employment barriers and likelihood of job seeking among not employed Veterans. 54% of respondents were employed, 36% were not employed, and 10% were economically inactive. In adjusted analyses, participants with depression or anxiety (43%) were less likely to be employed, had lower job search self-efficacy, had lower levels of work performance, and reported more employment barriers. Depression and anxiety were not associated with perceived likelihood of job loss among employed or likelihood of job seeking among not employed. Single VA primary care clinic; cross-sectional study. Employment rates are low among working-aged VA primary care patients, particularly those with mental health conditions. Offering primary care interventions to patients that address mental health issues, job search self-efficacy, and work performance may be important in improving health, work, and economic outcomes. Published by Elsevier B.V.

77 FR 12697 - VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

...We propose to revise and reorganize regulations which contain the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program. This rulemaking would update our current regulations, implement and authorize new VA policies, and generally improve the clarity of part 61.

76 FR 24570 - Proposed Information Collection (Application for VA Education Benefits) Activity; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-02

... (Application for VA Education Benefits) Activity; Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA... Under the Montgomery GI Bill, VA Form 22-1990E. c. Application for VA Education Benefits Under the...

Participation of Myosin Va and Pka Type I in the Regeneration of Neuromuscular Junctions

PubMed Central

Röder, Ira Verena; Strack, Siegfried; Reischl, Markus; Dahley, Oliver; Khan, Muzamil Majid; Kassel, Olivier; Zaccolo, Manuela; Rudolf, Rüdiger

2012-01-01

Background The unconventional motor protein, myosin Va, is crucial for the development of the mouse neuromuscular junction (NMJ) in the early postnatal phase. Furthermore, the cooperative action of protein kinase A (PKA) and myosin Va is essential to maintain the adult NMJ. We here assessed the involvement of myosin Va and PKA in NMJ recovery during muscle regeneration. Methodology/Principal Findings To address a putative role of myosin Va and PKA in the process of muscle regeneration, we used two experimental models the dystrophic mdx mouse and Notexin-induced muscle degeneration/regeneration. We found that in both systems myosin Va and PKA type I accumulate beneath the NMJs in a fiber maturation-dependent manner. Morphologically intact NMJs were found to express stable nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and to accumulate myosin Va and PKA type I in the subsynaptic region. Subsynaptic cAMP signaling was strongly altered in dystrophic muscle, particularly in fibers with severely subverted NMJ morphology. Conclusions/Significance Our data show a correlation between the subsynaptic accumulation of myosin Va and PKA type I on the one hand and NMJ regeneration status and morphology, AChR stability and specificity of subsynaptic cAMP handling on the other hand. This suggests an important role of myosin Va and PKA type I for the maturation of NMJs in regenerating muscle. PMID:22815846

78 FR 6849 - Agency Information Collection (Verification of VA Benefits) Activity Under OMB Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-31

... (Verification of VA Benefits) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of... ``OMB Control No. 2900-0406.'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Verification of VA Benefits, VA Form 26... eliminate unlimited versions of lender- designed forms. The form also informs the lender whether or not the...

Teacher factors contributing to dosage of the KiVa anti-bullying program.

PubMed

Swift, Lauren E; Hubbard, Julie A; Bookhout, Megan K; Grassetti, Stevie N; Smith, Marissa A; Morrow, Michael T

2017-12-01

The KiVa Anti-Bullying Program (KiVa) seeks to meet the growing need for anti-bullying programming through a school-based, teacher-led intervention for elementary school children. The goals of this study were to examine how intervention dosage impacts outcomes of KiVa and how teacher factors influence dosage. Participants included 74 teachers and 1409 4th- and 5th-grade students in nine elementary schools. Teachers and students completed data collection at the beginning and end of the school year, including measures of bullying and victimization, correlates of victimization (depression, anxiety, peer rejection, withdrawal, and school avoidance), intervention cognitions/emotions (anti-bullying attitudes, and empathy toward victims), bystander behaviors, and teacher factors thought to relate to dosage (self-efficacy for teaching, professional burnout, perceived principal support, expected effectiveness of KiVa, perceived feasibility of KiVa). The dosage of KiVa delivered to classrooms was measured throughout the school year. Results highlight dosage as an important predictor of change in bullying, victimization, correlates of victimization, bystander behavior, and intervention cognitions/emotions. Of the teacher factors, professional burnout uniquely predicted intervention dosage. A comprehensive structural equation model linking professional burnout to dosage and then to child-level outcomes demonstrated good fit. Implications for intervention design and implementation are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CoVaCS: a consensus variant calling system.

PubMed

Chiara, Matteo; Gioiosa, Silvia; Chillemi, Giovanni; D'Antonio, Mattia; Flati, Tiziano; Picardi, Ernesto; Zambelli, Federico; Horner, David Stephen; Pesole, Graziano; Castrignanò, Tiziana

2018-02-05

The advent and ongoing development of next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) has led to a rapid increase in the rate of human genome re-sequencing data, paving the way for personalized genomics and precision medicine. The body of genome resequencing data is progressively increasing underlining the need for accurate and time-effective bioinformatics systems for genotyping - a crucial prerequisite for identification of candidate causal mutations in diagnostic screens. Here we present CoVaCS, a fully automated, highly accurate system with a web based graphical interface for genotyping and variant annotation. Extensive tests on a gold standard benchmark data-set -the NA12878 Illumina platinum genome- confirm that call-sets based on our consensus strategy are completely in line with those attained by similar command line based approaches, and far more accurate than call-sets from any individual tool. Importantly our system exhibits better sensitivity and higher specificity than equivalent commercial software. CoVaCS offers optimized pipelines integrating state of the art tools for variant calling and annotation for whole genome sequencing (WGS), whole-exome sequencing (WES) and target-gene sequencing (TGS) data. The system is currently hosted at Cineca, and offers the speed of a HPC computing facility, a crucial consideration when large numbers of samples must be analysed. Importantly, all the analyses are performed automatically allowing high reproducibility of the results. As such, we believe that CoVaCS can be a valuable tool for the analysis of human genome resequencing studies. CoVaCS is available at: https://bioinformatics.cineca.it/covacs .

Enhancing Cross-Cultural Collaboration between DoD and VA

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-27

James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center ( FHCC ). The NDAA 2010 authorized the DoD and VA to establish a five-year demonstration project...integrating the North Chicago VA Medical Center and the Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes.50 The FHCC is named in 15 honor of retired U.S. Naval officer...and Illinois resident, Captain James A. Lovell , who was an astronaut on Apollo 13. The joint facility serves the medical needs of active duty service

76 FR 44288 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; New Market, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-25

...-380; Airspace Docket No. 11-AEA-12] Establishment of Class E Airspace; New Market, VA AGENCY: Federal... proposes to establish Class E Airspace at New Market, VA, to accommodate the additional airspace needed for the Standard Instrument Approach Procedures developed for New Market Airport. This action would...

77 FR 30050 - VA National Academic Affiliations Council, Notice of meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-21

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS VA National Academic Affiliations Council, Notice of meeting The...) that the second meeting of the National Academic Affiliations Council will be held on June 5-6, 2012... the Secretary on matters affecting partnerships between VA and its academic affiliates. On June 5, the...

An Empirical Study on Raman Peak Fitting and Its Application to Raman Quantitative Research.

PubMed

Yuan, Xueyin; Mayanovic, Robert A

2017-10-01

Fitting experimentally measured Raman bands with theoretical model profiles is the basic operation for numerical determination of Raman peak parameters. In order to investigate the effects of peak modeling using various algorithms on peak fitting results, the representative Raman bands of mineral crystals, glass, fluids as well as the emission lines from a fluorescent lamp, some of which were measured under ambient light whereas others under elevated pressure and temperature conditions, were fitted using Gaussian, Lorentzian, Gaussian-Lorentzian, Voigtian, Pearson type IV, and beta profiles. From the fitting results of the Raman bands investigated in this study, the fitted peak position, intensity, area and full width at half-maximum (FWHM) values of the measured Raman bands can vary significantly depending upon which peak profile function is used in the fitting, and the most appropriate fitting profile should be selected depending upon the nature of the Raman bands. Specifically, the symmetric Raman bands of mineral crystals and non-aqueous fluids are best fit using Gaussian-Lorentzian or Voigtian profiles, whereas the asymmetric Raman bands are best fit using Pearson type IV profiles. The asymmetric O-H stretching vibrations of H 2 O and the Raman bands of soda-lime glass are best fit using several Gaussian profiles, whereas the emission lines from a florescent light are best fit using beta profiles. Multiple peaks that are not clearly separated can be fit simultaneously, provided the residuals in the fitting of one peak will not affect the fitting of the remaining peaks to a significant degree. Once the resolution of the Raman spectrometer has been properly accounted for, our findings show that the precision in peak position and intensity can be improved significantly by fitting the measured Raman peaks with appropriate profiles. Nevertheless, significant errors in peak position and intensity were still observed in the results from fitting of weak and wide Raman

76 FR 40453 - Agency Information Collection (Application for VA Education Benefits) Activity Under OMB Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-08

... (Application for VA Education Benefits) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration... Education Benefits, VA Form 22-1990. b. Application for Family Member to Use Transferred Benefits, VA Form 22-1990E. [[Page 40454

An Overview of Patient Safety Climate in the VA

PubMed Central

Hartmann, Christine W; Rosen, Amy K; Meterko, Mark; Shokeen, Priti; Zhao, Shibei; Singer, Sara; Falwell, Alyson; Gaba, David M

2008-01-01

Objective To assess variation in safety climate across VA hospitals nationally. Study Setting Data were collected from employees at 30 VA hospitals over a 6-month period using the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey. Study Design We sampled 100 percent of senior managers and physicians and a random 10 percent of other employees. At 10 randomly selected hospitals, we sampled an additional 100 percent of employees working in units with intrinsically higher hazards (high-hazard units [HHUs]). Data Collection Data were collected using an anonymous survey design. Principal Findings We received 4,547 responses (49 percent response rate). The percent problematic response—lower percent reflecting higher levels of patient safety climate—ranged from 12.0–23.7 percent across hospitals (mean=17.5 percent). Differences in safety climate emerged by management level, clinician status, and workgroup. Supervisors and front-line staff reported lower levels of safety climate than senior managers; clinician responses reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of nonclinicians; and responses of employees in HHUs reflected lower levels of safety climate than those of workers in other areas. Conclusions This is the first systematic study of patient safety climate in VA hospitals. Findings indicate an overall positive safety climate across the VA, but there is room for improvement. PMID:18355257

Military and VA general dentistry training: a national resource.

PubMed

Atchison, Kathryn A; Bachand, William; Buchanan, C Richard; Lefever, Karen H; Lin, Sylvia; Engelhardt, Rita

2002-06-01

In 1999, HRSA contracted with the UCLA School of Dentistry to evaluate the postgraduate general dentistry (PDG) training programs. The purpose of this article is to compare the program characteristics of the PGD training programs sponsored by the Armed Services (military) and VA. Surveys mailed to sixty-six VA and forty-two military program directors in fall 2000 sought information regarding the infrastructure of the program, the program emphasis, resident preparation prior to entering the program, and a description of patients served and types of services provided. Of the eighty-one returned surveys (75 percent response rate), thirty were received from military program directors and fifty-one were received from VA program directors. AEGDs reported treating a higher proportion of children patients and GPRs more medically intensive, disadvantaged and HIV/AIDS patients. Over half of the directors reported increases in curriculum emphasis in implantology. The program directors reported a high level of inadequate preparation among incoming dental residents. Having a higher ratio of residents to total number of faculty predicted inadequate preparation (p=.022) although the model was weak. Although HRSA doesn't financially support federally sponsored programs, their goal of improved dental training to care for medically compromised individuals is facilitated through these programs, thus making military and VA general dentistry programs a national resource.

MyHealtheVet (VA's personal health record)

MedlinePlus

... Overview Site Map Help & User Guides FAQ Privacy & Security Terms and Conditions Policies Privacy Policy Web Policies FOIA Accessibility System Use Important Links VA Home White House USA.gov Inspector ...

What the VA can teach us about geriatric care.

PubMed

Ratner, Edward R; West, Melissa; Hartwig, Kristopher N; Meyer, Bruce C

2013-01-01

The innovation now being demanded by Medicare is creating new opportunities for health care organizations to redesign how they deliver care for elderly people. For many years, the VA Health System has experimented with ways to deliver care more effectively and efficiently. Hospital-based postacute and palliative care and home-based primary care are two examples of successful approaches that non-VA providers should be looking at as they move away from fee-for-service reimbursement and invent new care-delivery models.

76 FR 27381 - Proposed Information Collection (Notice of Waiver of VA Compensation or Pension To Receive...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-11

... of Waiver of VA Compensation or Pension To Receive Military Pay and Allowances) Activity; Comment... Pension to Receive Military Pay and Allowances, VA Form 21-8951 and VA Form 21-8951-2. OMB Control Number... to waive VA disability benefits in order to receive active or inactive duty training pay are required...

Cost-Effectiveness of Treatments for Genotype 1 Hepatitis C Virus Infection in non-VA and VA Populations

PubMed Central

Liu, Shan; Barnett, Paul G.; Holodniy, Mark; Lo, Jeanie; Joyce, Vilija R.; Gidwani, Risha; Asch, Steven M.; Owens, Douglas K.; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Jeremy D.

2018-01-01

Background Chronic hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection affects millions of Americans. Healthcare systems face complex choices between multiple highly efficacious, costly treatments. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of HCV treatments for chronic, genotype 1 HCV monoinfected, treatment-naïve individuals in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and general U.S. healthcare systems. Methods We conducted a decision-analytic Markov model-based cost-effectiveness analysis, employing appropriate payer perspectives and time horizons, and discounting benefits and costs at 3% annually. Interventions included: Sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (SOF-LDV); ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir/dasabuvir (3D); sofosbuvir/simeprevir (SOF-SMV); sofosbuvir/pegylated interferon/ribavirin (SOF-RBV-PEG); boceprevir/pegylated interferon/ribavirin (BOC-RBV-PEG); and pegylated interferon/ribavirin (PEG-RBV). Outcomes were sustained virologic response (SVR), advanced liver disease, costs, quality adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness. Results SOF-LDV and 3D achieve higher SVR rates compared to older regimens and reduce advanced liver disease (>20% relative to no treatment), increasing QALYs by over 2 years per person. For the non-VA population, at current prices ($5,040 per week for SOF-LDV and $4,796 per week for 3D), SOF-LDV’s lifetime cost ($293,370) is $18,000 lower than 3D’s because of its shorter treatment duration in subgroups. SOF-LDV costs $17,100 per QALY gained relative to no treatment. 3D costs $208,000 per QALY gained relative to SOF-LDV. Both dominate other treatments and are even more cost-effective for the VA, though VA aggregate treatment costs still exceed $4 billion at SOF-LDV prices of $3,308 per week. Drug prices strongly determine relative cost-effectiveness for SOF-LDV and 3D; With sufficient price reductions (approximately 20–30% depending on the health system), 3D could be cost-effective relative to SOF-LDV. Limitations include the lack of

VA/Q distribution during heavy exercise and recovery in humans: implications for pulmonary edema

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaffartzik, W.; Poole, D. C.; Derion, T.; Tsukimoto, K.; Hogan, M. C.; Arcos, J. P.; Bebout, D. E.; Wagner, P. D.

1992-01-01

Ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) inequality has been shown to increase with exercise. Potential mechanisms for this increase include nonuniform pulmonary vasoconstriction, ventilatory time constant inequality, reduced large airway gas mixing, and development of interstitial pulmonary edema. We hypothesized that persistence of VA/Q mismatch after ventilation and cardiac output subside during recovery would be consistent with edema; however, rapid resolution would suggest mechanisms related to changes in ventilation and blood flow per se. Thirteen healthy males performed near-maximal cycle ergometry at an inspiratory PO2 of 91 Torr (because hypoxia accentuates VA/Q mismatch on exercise). Cardiorespiratory variables and inert gas elimination patterns were measured at rest, during exercise, and between 2 and 30 min of recovery. Two profiles of VA/Q distribution behavior emerged during heavy exercise: in group 1 an increase in VA/Q mismatch (log SDQ of 0.35 +/- 0.02 at rest and 0.44 +/- 0.02 at exercise; P less than 0.05, n = 7) and in group 2 no change in VA/Q mismatch (n = 6). There were no differences in anthropometric data, work rate, O2 uptake, or ventilation during heavy exercise between groups. Group 1 demonstrated significantly greater VA/Q inequality, lower vital capacity, and higher forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of forced vital capacity for the first 20 min during recovery than group 2. Cardiac index was higher in group 1 both during heavy exercise and 4 and 6 min postexercise. However, both ventilation and cardiac output returned toward baseline values more rapidly than did VA/Q relationships. Arterial pH was lower in group 1 during exercise and recovery. We conclude that greater VA/Q inequality in group 1 and its persistence during recovery are consistent with the hypothesis that edema occurs and contributes to the increase in VA/Q inequality during exercise. This is supported by observation of greater blood flows and acidosis and, presumably therefore

Raman crystallography of RNA.

PubMed

Gong, Bo; Chen, Jui-Hui; Yajima, Rieko; Chen, Yuanyuan; Chase, Elaine; Chadalavada, Durga M; Golden, Barbara L; Carey, Paul R; Bevilacqua, Philip C

2009-10-01

Raman crystallography is the application of Raman spectroscopy to single crystals. This technique has been applied to a variety of protein molecules where it has provided unique information about biopolymer folding, substrate binding, and catalysis. Here, we describe the application of Raman crystallography to functional RNA molecules. RNA represents unique opportunities and challenges for Raman crystallography. One issue that confounds studies of RNA is its tendency to adopt multiple non-functional folds. Raman crystallography has the advantage that it isolates a single state of the RNA within the crystal and can evaluate its fold, metal ion binding properties (ligand identity, stoichiometry, and affinity), proton binding properties (identity, stoichiometry, and affinity), and catalytic potential. In particular, base-specific stretches can be identified and then associated with the binding of metal ions and protons. Because measurements are carried out in the hanging drop at ambient, rather than cryo, conditions and because RNA crystals tend to be approximately 70% solvent, RNA dynamics and conformational changes become experimentally accessible. This review focuses on experimental setup and procedures, acquisition and interpretation of Raman data, and determination of physicochemical properties of the RNA. Raman crystallographic and solution biochemical experiments on the HDV RNA enzyme are summarized and found to be in excellent agreement. Remarkably, characterization of the crystalline state has proven to help rather than hinder functional characterization of functional RNA, most likely because the tendency of RNA to fold heterogeneously is limited in a crystalline environment. Future applications of Raman crystallography to RNA are briefly discussed.

30 CFR 57.22315 - Self-contained breathing apparatus (V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Self-contained breathing apparatus (V-A mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Equipment § 57.22315 Self-contained breathing apparatus (V-A mines). Self-contained breathing apparatus of a duration to allow for escape from...

30 CFR 57.22315 - Self-contained breathing apparatus (V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Self-contained breathing apparatus (V-A mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Equipment § 57.22315 Self-contained breathing apparatus (V-A mines). Self-contained breathing apparatus of a duration to allow for escape from...

Near-field Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayars, Eric James

2000-10-01

The purpose of this research is to investigate differences observed between Raman spectra when seen through a Near-field Scanning Optical Microscope (NSOM) and spectra of the same materials in conventional Raman or micro-Raman configurations. One source of differences in the observed spectra is a strong z polarized component in the near-field radiation; observations of the magnitude of this effect are compared with theoretical predictions for the field intensity near an NSOM tip. Large electric field gradients near the sharp NSOM probe may be another source of differences. This Gradient-Field Raman (GFR) effect was observed, and there is good evidence that it plays a significant role in Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). The NSOM data seen, however, are not sufficient to prove conclusively that the spectral variations seen are due to the field gradients.

75 FR 9277 - Proposed Information Collection (VA National Rehabilitation Special Events, Event Registration...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-01

... Clinic Application, VA Form 0928--53 hours. f. National Veterans Creative Arts Festival Application, VA... Games, National Veterans Golden Age Games, National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, National Veterans...

75 FR 25321 - Agency Information Collection (VA National Rehabilitation Special Events, Event Registration...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-07

... Clinic Application, VA Form 0928a series. f. National Veterans Creative Arts Festival Application, VA... Veterans Creative Arts Festival, National Veterans TEE Tournament, National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports...

The use of VA Disability Compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance among working-aged veterans.

PubMed

Wilmoth, Janet M; London, Andrew S; Heflin, Colleen M

2015-07-01

Although there is substantial disability among veterans, relatively little is known about working-aged veterans' uptake of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Disability Compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance (DI). This study identifies levels of veteran participation in VA disability and/or DI benefit programs, examines transitions into and out of VA and DI programs among veterans, and estimates the size and composition of the veteran population receiving VA and/or DI benefits over time. Data from the 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2004, and 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) are used to describe VA and DI program participation among veterans under the age of 65. The majority of working-aged veterans do not receive VA or DI benefits and joint participation is low, but use of these programs has increased over time. A higher percentage of veterans receive VA compensation, which ranges from 4.9% in 1992 to 13.2% in 2008, than DI compensation, which ranges from 2.9% in 1992 to 6.7% in 2008. The rate of joint participation ranges from less than 1% in 1992 to 3.6% in 2008. Veterans experience few transitions between VA and DI programs during the 36-48 months they are observed. The number of veterans receiving benefits from VA and/or DI nearly doubled between 1992 and 2008. There have been substantial shifts in the composition of veterans using these programs, as cohorts who served prior to 1964 are replaced by those who served after 1964. The findings suggest potential gaps in veterans' access to disability programs that might be addressed through improved coordination of VA and DI benefits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Malaria epidemiology in the Pakaanóva (Wari') Indians, Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

Sá, D Ribeiro; Souza-Santos, R; Escobar, A L; Coimbra, C E A

2005-04-01

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of malaria incidence (1998-2002) among the Pakaanóva (Wari') Indians, Brazilian southwest Amazon region, based on data routinely gathered by Brazilian National Health Foundation outposts network in conjunction with the Indian health service. Malaria is present yearlong in the Pakaanóva. Statistically significant differences between seasons or months were not noticed. A total of 1933 cases of malaria were diagnosed in the Pakaanóva during this period. The P. vivax / P. falciparum ratio was 3.4. P. vivax accounted for 76.5% of the cases. Infections with P. malariae were not recorded. Incidence rates did not differ by sex. Most malaria cases were reported in children < 10 years old (45%). About one fourth of all cases were diagnosed on women 10-40 years old. An entomological survey carried out at two Pakaanóva villages yielded a total of 3.232 specimens of anophelines. Anopheles darlingi predominated (94.4%). Most specimens were captured outdoors and peak activity hours were noted at early evening and just before sunrise. It was observed that Pakaanóva cultural practices may facilitate outdoor exposure of individuals of both sexes and all age groups during peak hours of mosquito activities (e.g., coming to the river early in the morning for bathing or to draw water, fishing, engaging in hunting camps, etc). In a context in which anophelines are ubiquitous and predominantly exophilic, and humans of both sexes and all ages are prone to outdoor activities during peak mosquito activity hours, malaria is likely to remain endemic in the Pakaanóva, thus requiring the development of alternative control strategies that are culturally and ecologically sensitive.

46 CFR 7.45 - Cape Henlopen, DE to Cape Charles, VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Cape Henlopen, DE to Cape Charles, VA. 7.45 Section 7.45 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO THE PUBLIC BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.45 Cape Henlopen, DE to Cape Charles, VA. (a) A line drawn from the easternmost...

75 FR 41577 - VBA/VHA Musculoskeletal Forum: Improving VA's Disability Evaluation Criteria

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-16

... medical science information from presentations made by subject matter experts. VA plans to use this information to update the sections of VA's Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) that pertain to diseases... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brad Tuttle, VASRD Coordinator, Compensation and Pension Service...

75 FR 33216 - Payment or Reimbursement for Emergency Treatment Furnished by Non-VA Providers in Non-VA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-11

... treatment of eligible veterans at non-VA facilities and expand the circumstances under which payment for..., potentially eligible veterans would be appropriately afforded ample opportunity to qualify for this expanded...; 64.010, Veterans Nursing Home Care; and 64.011, Veterans Dental Care. Signing Authority The Secretary...

48 CFR 833.103 - Protests to VA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... encouraged to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures to resolve protests at any stage in the protest process. If ADR is used, VA will not furnish any documentation in an ADR proceeding beyond what is...

78 FR 21817 - Amendment of Restricted Area R-6601; Fort A.P. Hill, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-12

...; Airspace Docket No. 12-AEA-7] RIN 2120-AA66 Amendment of Restricted Area R-6601; Fort A.P. Hill, VA AGENCY... limits and time of designation of restricted area R-6601, Fort A.P. Hill, VA. The U.S. Army requested... limits and increase the time of designation of restricted area R-6601, Fort A.P. Hill, VA, (77 FR 35308...

The VA Computerized Patient Record — A First Look

PubMed Central

Anderson, Curtis L.; Meldrum, Kevin C.

1994-01-01

In support of its in-house DHCP Physician Order Entry/Results Reporting application, the VA is developing the first edition of a Computerized Patient Record. The system will feature a physician-oriented interface with real time, expert system-based order checking, a controlled vocabulary, a longitudinal repository of patient data, HL7 messaging support, a clinical reminder and warning system, and full integration with existing VA applications including lab, pharmacy, A/D/T, radiology, dietetics, surgery, vitals, allergy tracking, discharge summary, problem list, progress notes, consults, and online physician order entry. PMID:7949886

76 FR 71920 - Payment for Home Health Services and Hospice Care by Non-VA Providers

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-21

... concerning the billing methodology for non-VA providers of home health services and hospice care. The proposed rulemaking would include home health services and hospice care under the VA regulation governing payment for other non-VA health care providers. Because the newly applicable methodology cannot supersede...

Optical trapping and Raman spectroscopy of single nanostructures using standing-wave Raman tweezers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Mu-ying; He, Lin; Chen, Gui-hua; Yang, Guang; Li, Yong-qing

2017-08-01

Optical tweezers integrated with Raman spectroscopy allows analyzing a single trapped micro-particle, but is generally less effective for individual nano-sized objects in the 10-100 nm range. The main challenge is the weak gradient force on nanoparticles that is insufficient to overcome the destabilizing effect of scattering force and Brownian motion. Here, we present standing-wave Raman tweezers for stable trapping and sensitive characterization of single isolated nanostructures with a low laser power by combining a standing-wave optical trap (SWOT) with confocal Raman spectroscopy. This scheme has stronger intensity gradients and balanced scattering forces, and thus is more stable and sensitive in measuring nanoparticles in liquid with 4-8 fold increase in the Raman signals. It can be used to analyze many nanoparticles that cannot be measured with single-beam Raman tweezers, including individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), graphene flakes, biological particles, polystyrene beads (100 nm), SERS-active metal nanoparticles, and high-refractive semiconductor nanoparticles with a low laser power of a few milliwatts. This would enable sorting and characterization of specific SWCNTs and other nanoparticles based on their increased Raman fingerprints.

Effects of inspired CO2, hyperventilation, and time on VA/Q inequality in the dog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsukimoto, K.; Arcos, J. P.; Schaffartzik, W.; Wagner, P. D.; West, J. B.

1992-01-01

In a recent study by Tsukimoto et al. (J. Appl. Physiol. 68: 2488-2493, 1990), CO2 inhalation appeared to reduce the size of the high ventilation-perfusion ratio (VA/Q) mode commonly observed in anesthetized mechanically air-ventilated dogs. In that study, large tidal volumes (VT) were used during CO2 inhalation to preserve normocapnia. To separate the influences of CO2 and high VT on the VA/Q distribution in the present study, we examined the effect of inspired CO2 on the high VA/Q mode using eight mechanically ventilated dogs (4 given CO2, 4 controls). The VA/Q distribution was measured first with normal VT and then with increased VT. In the CO2 group at high VT, data were collected before, during, and after CO2 inhalation. With normal VT, there was no difference in the size of the high VA/Q mode between groups [10.5 +/- 3.5% (SE) of ventilation in the CO2 group, 11.8 +/- 5.2% in the control group]. Unexpectedly, the size of the high VA/Q mode decreased similarly in both groups over time, independently of the inspired PCO2, at a rate similar to the fall in cardiac output over time. The reduction in the high VA/Q mode together with a simultaneous increase in alveolar dead space (estimated by the difference between inert gas dead space and Fowler dead space) suggests that poorly perfused high VA/Q areas became unperfused over time. A possible mechanism is that elevated alveolar pressure and decreased cardiac output eliminate blood flow from corner vessels in nondependent high VA/Q regions.

RadNet Air Data From Richmond, VA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page presents radiation air monitoring and air filter analysis data for Richmond, VA from EPA's RadNet system. RadNet is a nationwide network of monitoring stations that measure radiation in air, drinking water and precipitation.

RadNet Air Data From Harrisonburg, VA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page presents radiation air monitoring and air filter analysis data for Harrisonburg, VA from EPA's RadNet system. RadNet is a nationwide network of monitoring stations that measure radiation in air, drinking water and precipitation.

Raman Spectra of Glasses

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-11-30

Howard University , Department of Chemistry, Washington, DC Distribution Unlimited Per.. .Dr. Donald Polk, ONR/Code 1131M .IL. OFFICE OF NAVAL...the specific facilities to perform this extremely high temperature Raman work at Howard university . Of course, we do have very extensive facilities at... Howard University for CW laser-Raman spectroscopy of melts to about 1600 or 1800 OC. We have four complete laser-Raman instruments; Lhree holographic

78 FR 66265 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Elizabeth River, Eastern Branch, Norfolk, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-05

... Operation Regulation; Elizabeth River, Eastern Branch, Norfolk, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice... Elizabeth River Eastern Branch, mile 1.1, at Norfolk, VA. This deviation is necessary to facilitate... maintenance. The Norfolk Southern 5 railroad Bridge, at mile 1.1, across the Elizabeth River (Eastern Branch...

78 FR 36715 - VA Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Verification Guidelines; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-19

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 74 RIN 2900-AO63 VA Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB... Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amended its Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Verification Guidelines... Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (00SB), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810...

46 CFR 7.55 - Cape Henry, VA to Cape Fear, NC.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cape Henry, VA to Cape Fear, NC. 7.55 Section 7.55 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO THE PUBLIC BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.55 Cape Henry, VA to Cape Fear, NC. (a) A line drawn from Rudee Inlet Jetty Light “2” to...

Who pays when VA users are hospitalized in the private sector? Evidence from three data sources.

PubMed

West, Alan N; Weeks, William B

2007-10-01

Older veterans enrolled in VA healthcare receive much of their medical care in the private sector, through Medicare. Less is known about younger VA enrollees' use of the private sector, or its funding. We compare payers for younger and older enrollees' private sector use in 3 hospitalization datasets. From 1998 to 2000, using private sector discharge data for VA enrollees in New York State, we categorized hospitalizations according to payer (self/family, private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, other sources). We compared this payer distribution to population-weighted national Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data from 1996-2003 for veterans in VA healthcare. We also compared Medicare utilization in either dataset to hospitalizations for New York veterans from 1998-2000 in the VA-Medicare dataset. Analyses separated patients younger than age 65 from those age 65 or older. VA enrollees under age 65 obtain roughly half their hospitalizations in the private sector; older enrollees use the private sector at least twice as often as the VA. Datasets generally agree on payer distributions. Although older enrollees rely heavily on Medicare, they also use commercial insurance and self/family payments substantially. Half of younger enrollees' non-VA hospitalizations are paid by private insurance, but Medicare, Medicaid, and self/family each pay for one-quarter to one-third of admissions. VA enrollees use the private sector for most of their inpatient care, which is funded by multiple sources. Developing a national UB-92/VA dataset would be critical to understanding veterans' use of the private sector for specific diagnoses and procedures, particularly for the fast growing population of younger veterans.

VA's National PTSD Brain Bank: a National Resource for Research.

PubMed

Friedman, Matthew J; Huber, Bertrand R; Brady, Christopher B; Ursano, Robert J; Benedek, David M; Kowall, Neil W; McKee, Ann C

2017-08-25

The National PTSD Brain Bank (NPBB) is a brain tissue biorepository established to support research on the causes, progression, and treatment of PTSD. It is a six-part consortium led by VA's National Center for PTSD with participating sites at VA medical centers in Boston, MA; Durham, NC; Miami, FL; West Haven, CT; and White River Junction, VT along with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. It is also well integrated with VA's Boston-based brain banks that focus on Alzheimer's disease, ALS, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and other neurological disorders. This article describes the organization and operations of NPBB with specific attention to: tissue acquisition, tissue processing, diagnostic assessment, maintenance of a confidential data biorepository, adherence to ethical standards, governance, accomplishments to date, and future challenges. Established in 2014, NPBB has already acquired and distributed brain tissue to support research on how PTSD affects brain structure and function.

VA Construction: Improved Processes Needed to Monitor Contract Modifications, Develop Schedules, and Estimate Costs

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

address challenges in managing projects to build medical facilities. In response to statutory requirements and additional congressional direction, VA...is outsourcing management of certain such projects to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). As of October 2016, VA had 23 ongoing projects...costing $100 million or more. VA and USACE have entered into interagency agreements for 12 of these 23 projects. The agreements entail USACE’s managing

Feasibility and acceptability of interventions to delay gun access in VA mental health settings.

PubMed

Walters, Heather; Kulkarni, Madhur; Forman, Jane; Roeder, Kathryn; Travis, Jamie; Valenstein, Marcia

2012-01-01

The majority of VA patient suicides are completed with firearms. Interventions that delay patients' gun access during high-risk periods may reduce suicide, but may not be acceptable to VA stakeholders or may be challenging to implement. Using qualitative methods, stakeholders' perceptions about gun safety and interventions to delay gun access during high-risk periods were explored. Ten focus groups and four individual interviews were conducted with key stakeholders, including VA mental health patients, mental health clinicians, family members and VA facility leaders (N=60). Transcripts were consensus-coded by two independent coders, and structured summaries were developed and reviewed using a consensus process. All stakeholder groups indicated that VA health system providers had a role in increasing patient safety and emphasized the need for providers to address gun access with their at-risk patients. However, VA mental health patients and clinicians reported limited discussion regarding gun access in VA mental health settings during routine care. Most, although not all, patients and clinicians indicated that routine screening for gun access was acceptable, with several noting that it was more acceptable for mental health patients. Most participants suggested that family and friends be involved in reducing gun access, but expressed concerns about potential family member safety. Participants generally found distribution of trigger locks acceptable, but were skeptical about its effectiveness. Involving Veteran Service Organizations or other individuals in temporarily holding guns during high-risk periods was acceptable to many participants but only with numerous caveats. Patients, clinicians and family members consider the VA health system to have a legitimate role in addressing gun safety. Several measures to delay gun access during high-risk periods for suicide were seen as acceptable and feasible if implemented thoughtfully. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Novel micro-Raman setup with tunable laser excitation for time-efficient resonance Raman microscopy and imaging.

PubMed

Stürzl, Ninette; Lebedkin, Sergei; Klumpp, Stefanie; Hennrich, Frank; Kappes, Manfred M

2013-05-07

We describe a micro-Raman setup allowing for efficient resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS), i.e., mapping of Raman spectra as a function of tunable laser excitation wavelength. The instrument employs angle-tunable bandpass optical filters which are integrated into software-controlled Raman and laser cleanup filter devices. These automatically follow the excitation laser wavelength and combine tunability with high bandpass transmission as well as high off-band blocking of light. Whereas the spectral intervals which can be simultaneously acquired are bandpass limited to ~350 cm(-1), they can be tuned across the spectrum of interest to access all characteristic Raman features. As an illustration of performance, we present Raman mapping of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs): (i) in a small volume of water-surfactant dispersion as well as (ii) after deposition onto a substrate. A significant improvement in the acquisition time (and efficiency) is demonstrated compared to previous RRS implementations. These results may help to establish (micro) Raman spectral mapping as a routine tool for characterization of SWNTs as well as other materials with a pronounced resonance Raman response in the visible-near-infrared spectral region.

33 CFR 334.290 - Elizabeth River, Southern Branch, Va., naval restricted areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., Va., naval restricted areas. 334.290 Section 334.290 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF....290 Elizabeth River, Southern Branch, Va., naval restricted areas. (a) The areas—(1) St. Helena Annex Area. Beginning at a point at St. Helena Annex of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, on the eastern shore of...

33 CFR 334.290 - Elizabeth River, Southern Branch, Va., naval restricted areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., Va., naval restricted areas. 334.290 Section 334.290 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF....290 Elizabeth River, Southern Branch, Va., naval restricted areas. (a) The areas—(1) St. Helena Annex Area. Beginning at a point at St. Helena Annex of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, on the eastern shore of...

Micro-mirror arrays for Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duncan, W. M.

2015-03-01

In this research we study Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies as non-destructive and noninvasive methods for probing biological material and "living systems." Particularly for a living material any probe need be non-destructive and non-invasive, as well as provide real time measurement information and be cost effective to be generally useful. Over the past few years the components needed to measure weak and complex processes such as Raman scattering have evolved substantially with the ready availability of lasers, dichroic filters, low noise and sensitive detectors, digitizers and signal processors. A Raman spectrum consists of a wavelength or frequency spectrum that corresponds to the inelastic (Raman) photon signal that results from irradiating a "Raman active" material. Raman irradiation of a material usually and generally uses a single frequency laser. The Raman fingerprint spectrum that results from a Raman interaction can be determined from the frequencies scattered and received by an appropriate detector. Spectra are usually "digitized" and numerically matched to a reference sample or reference material spectra in performing an analysis. Fortunately today with the many "commercial off-the-shelf" components that are available, weak intensity effects such as Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy can be used for a number of analysis applications. One of the experimental limitations in Raman measurement is the spectrometer itself. The spectrometer is the section of the system that either by interference plus detection or by dispersion plus detection that "signal" amplitude versus energy/frequency signals are measured. Particularly in Raman spectroscopy, optical signals carrying desired "information" about the analyte are extraordinarily weak and require special considerations when measuring. We will discuss here the use of compact spectrometers and a micro-mirror array system (used is the digital micro-mirror device (DMD) supplied by the DLP® Products group of

77 FR 3844 - Proposed Information Collection (Dependents' Application for VA Educational Benefits) Activity...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-25

... use of other forms of information technology. Title: Dependents' Application for VA Educational... (Dependents' Application for VA Educational Benefits) Activity; Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits...' Educational Assistance and Fry Scholarship benefits. DATES: Written comments and recommendations on the...

75 FR 24510 - Drug and Drug-Related Supply Promotion by Pharmaceutical Company Sales Representatives at VA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-05

... VA facilities and the business relationships between VA staff and sales representatives promoting..., and provide sales representatives with a consistent standard of permissible business practice at VA... include suspension of a sales representative's access privileges, or, in extreme cases, denying access to...

Myosin Va Bound to Phagosomes Binds to F-Actin and Delays Microtubule-dependent Motility

PubMed Central

Al-Haddad, Ahmed; Shonn, Marion A.; Redlich, Bärbel; Blocker, Ariel; Burkhardt, Janis K.; Yu, Hanry; Hammer, John A.; Weiss, Dieter G.; Steffen, Walter; Griffiths, Gareth; Kuznetsov, Sergei A.

2001-01-01

We established a light microscopy-based assay that reconstitutes the binding of phagosomes purified from mouse macrophages to preassembled F-actin in vitro. Both endogenous myosin Va from mouse macrophages and exogenous myosin Va from chicken brain stimulated the phagosome–F-actin interaction. Myosin Va association with phagosomes correlated with their ability to bind F-actin in an ATP-regulated manner and antibodies to myosin Va specifically blocked the ATP-sensitive phagosome binding to F-actin. The uptake and retrograde transport of phagosomes from the periphery to the center of cells in bone marrow macrophages was observed in both normal mice and mice homozygous for the dilute-lethal spontaneous mutation (myosin Va null). However, in dilute-lethal macrophages the accumulation of phagosomes in the perinuclear region occurred twofold faster than in normal macrophages. Motion analysis revealed saltatory phagosome movement with temporarily reversed direction in normal macrophages, whereas almost no reversals in direction were observed in dilute-lethal macrophages. These observations demonstrate that myosin Va mediates phagosome binding to F-actin, resulting in a delay in microtubule-dependent retrograde phagosome movement toward the cell center. We propose an “antagonistic/cooperative mechanism” to explain the saltatory phagosome movement toward the cell center in normal macrophages. PMID:11553713

Overlapping buprenorphine, opioid, and benzodiazepine prescriptions among Veterans dually enrolled in VA and Medicare Part D

PubMed Central

Gellad, Walid F.; Zhao, Xinhua; Thorpe, Carolyn T.; Thorpe, Joshua M.; Sileanu, Florentina E.; Cashy, John P.; Mor, Maria; Hale, Jennifer A.; Radomski, Thomas; Hausmann, Leslie R. M.; Fine, Michael J.; Good, Chester B.

2016-01-01

Background Buprenorphine is a key tool in the management of opioid use disorder, but there are growing concerns about abuse, diversion and safety. These concerns are amplified for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), whose patients may receive care concurrently from multiple prescribers within and outside VA. To illustrate the extent of this challenge, we examined overlapping prescriptions for buprenorphine, opioids, and benzodiazepines among Veterans dually enrolled in VA and Medicare Part D. Methods We constructed a cohort of all Veterans dually enrolled in VA and Part D who filled an opioid prescription in 2012. We identified patients who received tablet or film buprenorphine products from either source. We calculated the proportion of buprenorphine recipients with any overlapping prescription (based on days supply) for a non-buprenorphine opioid or benzodiazepine, focusing on Veterans who received overlapping prescriptions from a different system than their buprenorphine prescription (Part D buprenorphine recipients receiving overlapping opioids or benzodiazepines from VA and vice versa). Results We identified 1,790 dually enrolled Veterans with buprenorphine prescriptions, including 760 (43%) from VA and 1,091 (61%) from Part D (61 Veterans with buprenorphine from both systems were included in each group). Among VA buprenorphine recipients, 199 (26%) received an overlapping opioid prescription and 11 (1%) received an overlapping benzodiazepine prescription from Part D. Among Part D buprenorphine recipients, 208 (19%) received an overlapping opioid prescription and 178 (16%) received an overlapping benzodiazepine prescription from VA. Among VA and Part D buprenorphine recipients with cross-system opioid overlap, 25% (49/199) and 35% (72/208), respectively, had >90 days of overlap. Conclusions Many buprenorphine recipients receive overlapping prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines from a different health care system than the one in which their

Raman scattering tensors of tyrosine.

PubMed

Tsuboi, M; Ezaki, Y; Aida, M; Suzuki, M; Yimit, A; Ushizawa, K; Ueda, T

1998-01-01

Polarized Raman scattering measurements have been made of a single crystal of L-tyrosine by the use of a Raman microscope with the 488.0-nm exciting beam from an argon ion laser. The L-tyrosine crystal belongs to the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) (orthorhombic), and Raman scattering intensities corresponding to the aa, bb, cc, ab and ac components of the crystal Raman tensor have been determined for each prominent Raman band. A similar set of measurements has been made of L-tyrosine-d4, in which four hydrogen atoms on the benzene ring are replaced by deuterium atoms. The effects of NH3-->ND3 and OH-->OD on the Raman spectrum have also been examined. In addition, depolarization ratios of some bands of L-tyrosine in aqueous solutions of pH 13 and pH 1 were examined. For comparison with these experimental results, on the other hand, ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been made of the normal modes of vibration and their associated polarizability oscillations of the L-tyrosine molecule. On the basis of these experimental data and by referring to the results of the calculations, discussions have been presented on the Raman tensors associated to some Raman bands, including those at 829 cm-1 (benzene ring breathing), 642 cm-1 (benzene ring deformation), and 432 cm-1 (C alpha-C beta-C gamma bending).

Is supramolecular filament chirality the underlying cause of major morphology differences in amyloid fibrils?

PubMed

Kurouski, Dmitry; Lu, Xuefang; Popova, Ludmila; Wan, William; Shanmugasundaram, Maruda; Stubbs, Gerald; Dukor, Rina K; Lednev, Igor K; Nafie, Laurence A

2014-02-12

The unique enhanced sensitivity of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) to the formation and development of amyloid fibrils in solution is extended to four additional fibril-forming proteins or peptides where it is shown that the sign of the fibril VCD pattern correlates with the sense of supramolecular filament chirality and, without exception, to the dominant fibril morphology as observed in AFM or SEM images. Previously for insulin, it has been demonstrated that the sign of the VCD band pattern from filament chirality can be controlled by adjusting the pH of the incubating solution, above pH 2 for "normal" left-hand-helical filaments and below pH 2 for "reversed" right-hand-helical filaments. From AFM or SEM images, left-helical filaments form multifilament braids of left-twisted fibrils while the right-helical filaments form parallel filament rows of fibrils with a flat tape-like morphology, the two major classes of fibril morphology that from deep UV resonance Raman scattering exhibit the same cross-β-core secondary structure. Here we investigate whether fibril supramolecular chirality is the underlying cause of the major morphology differences in all amyloid fibrils by showing that the morphology (twisted versus flat) of fibrils of lysozyme, apo-α-lactalbumin, HET-s (218-289) prion, and a short polypeptide fragment of transthyretin, TTR (105-115), directly correlates to their supramolecular chirality as revealed by VCD. The result is strong evidence that the chiral supramolecular organization of filaments is the principal underlying cause of the morphological heterogeneity of amyloid fibrils. Because fibril morphology is linked to cell toxicity, the chirality of amyloid aggregates should be explored in the widely used in vitro models of amyloid-associated diseases.

Is Supramolecular Filament Chirality the Underlying Cause of Major Morphology Differences in Amyloid Fibrils?

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The unique enhanced sensitivity of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) to the formation and development of amyloid fibrils in solution is extended to four additional fibril-forming proteins or peptides where it is shown that the sign of the fibril VCD pattern correlates with the sense of supramolecular filament chirality and, without exception, to the dominant fibril morphology as observed in AFM or SEM images. Previously for insulin, it has been demonstrated that the sign of the VCD band pattern from filament chirality can be controlled by adjusting the pH of the incubating solution, above pH 2 for “normal” left-hand-helical filaments and below pH 2 for “reversed” right-hand-helical filaments. From AFM or SEM images, left-helical filaments form multifilament braids of left-twisted fibrils while the right-helical filaments form parallel filament rows of fibrils with a flat tape-like morphology, the two major classes of fibril morphology that from deep UV resonance Raman scattering exhibit the same cross-β-core secondary structure. Here we investigate whether fibril supramolecular chirality is the underlying cause of the major morphology differences in all amyloid fibrils by showing that the morphology (twisted versus flat) of fibrils of lysozyme, apo-α-lactalbumin, HET-s (218–289) prion, and a short polypeptide fragment of transthyretin, TTR (105–115), directly correlates to their supramolecular chirality as revealed by VCD. The result is strong evidence that the chiral supramolecular organization of filaments is the principal underlying cause of the morphological heterogeneity of amyloid fibrils. Because fibril morphology is linked to cell toxicity, the chirality of amyloid aggregates should be explored in the widely used in vitro models of amyloid-associated diseases. PMID:24484302

38 CFR 74.26 - What types of business information will VA collect?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED) VETERANS SMALL BUSINESS REGULATIONS Records Management § 74.26 What types of business information will VA collect? VA will examine a variety of business records. See § 74.12, “What is... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What types of business...

Microcavity Enhanced Raman Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrak, Benjamin J.

Raman scattering can accurately identify molecules by their intrinsic vibrational frequencies, but its notoriously weak scattering efficiency for gases presents a major obstacle to its practical application in gas sensing and analysis. This work explores the use of high finesse (≈50 000) Fabry-Perot microcavities as a means to enhance Raman scattering from gases. A recently demonstrated laser ablation method, which carves out a micromirror template on fused silica--either on a fiber tip or bulk substrates-- was implemented, characterized, and optimized to fabricate concave micromirror templates ˜10 mum diameter and radius of curvature. The fabricated templates were coated with a high-reflectivity dielectric coating by ion-beam sputtering and were assembled into microcavities ˜10 mum long and with a mode volume ˜100 mum 3. A novel gas sensing technique that we refer to as Purcell enhanced Raman scattering (PERS) was demonstrated using the assembled microcavities. PERS works by enhancing the pump laser's intensity through resonant recirculation at one longitudinal mode, while simultaneously, at a second mode at the Stokes frequency, the Purcell effect increases the rate of spontaneous Raman scattering by a change to the intra-cavity photon density of states. PERS was shown to enhance the rate of spontaneous Raman scattering by a factor of 107 compared to the same volume of sample gas in free space scattered into the same solid angle subtended by the cavity. PERS was also shown capable of resolving several Raman bands from different isotopes of CO2 gas for application to isotopic analysis. Finally, the use of the microcavity to enhance coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) from CO2 gas was demonstrated.

Raman technology for future planetary missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiele, Hans; Hofer, Stefan; Stuffler, Timo; Glier, Markus; Popp, Jürgen; Sqalli, Omar; Wuttig, Andreas; Riesenberg, Rainer

2017-11-01

Scientific experiments on mineral and biological samples with Raman excitation below 300nm show a wealth of scientific information. The fluorescence, which typically decreases signal quality in the visual or near infrared wavelength regime can be avoided with deep ultraviolet excitation. This wavelength regime is therefore regarded as highly attractive for a compact high performance Raman spectrometer for in-situ planetary research. Main objective of the MIRAS II breadboard activity presented here (MIRAS: Mineral Investigation with Raman Spectroscopy) is to evaluate, design and build a compact fiber coupled deep-UV Raman system breadboard. Additionally, the Raman system is combined with an innovative scanning microscope system to allow effective auto-focusing and autonomous orientation on the sample surface for high precise positioning or high resolution Raman mapping.

Homeless Veterans: Management Improvements Could Help VA Better Identify Supportive Housing Projects

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

HOMELESS VETERANS Management Improvements Could Help VA Better Identify Supportive-Housing Projects Report to...VETERANS Management Improvements Could Help VA Better Identify Supportive-Housing Projects What GAO Found As of September 2016, for veterans who...disabled veterans. These supportive-housing EULs receive project -based HUD-VASH vouchers, which provide housing subsidies, on-site case management

The Impact of VA and Navy Hospital Collaboration on Medical School Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atre-Vaidya, Nutan; Ross, Arthur, III; Sandu, Ioana C.; Hassan, Tariq

2009-01-01

Objective: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the largest single provider of medical education in the United States and is often the preferred training site for medical students and residents. However, changing priorities of patients and the marketplace are forcing medical schools and the VA to consider new ways of practicing medicine…

Wide-Field Raman Imaging of Dental Lesions

PubMed Central

Yang, Shan; Li, Bolan; Akkus, Anna; Akkus, Ozan; Lang, Lisa

2014-01-01

Detection of dental caries at the onset remains as a great challenge in dentistry. Raman spectroscopy could be successfully applied towards detecting caries since it is sensitive to the amount of the Raman active mineral crystals, the most abundant component of enamel. Effective diagnosis requires full examination of a tooth surface via a Raman mapping. Point-scan Raman mapping is not clinically relevant (feasible) due to lengthy data acquisition time. In this work, a wide-field Raman imaging system was assembled based on a high-sensitivity 2D CCD camera for imaging the mineralization status of teeth with lesions. Wide-field images indicated some lesions to be hypomineralized and others to be hypermineralized. The observations of wide-field Raman imaging were in agreement with point-scan Raman mapping. Therefore, sound enamel and lesions can be discriminated by Raman imaging of the mineral content. In conclusion, wide-field Raman imaging is a potentially useful tool for visualization of dental lesions in the clinic. PMID:24781363

VA Health Care: Improved Monitoring Needed for Effective Oversight of Care for Women Veterans

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

November 2014. VHA officials also said that after reviewing information from sources such as veteran surveys and feedback from regional VA business...authorizations for care (of both men and women) from early calendar year 2016. In one case, almost a month and a half elapsed from the time of the...veteran’s initial pregnancy confirmation appointment at VA (when she was 6 weeks pregnant) to when the Choice authorization was sent by the VA facility to

76 FR 70831 - Proposed Information Collection (Survey of Veteran Enrollees (Quality and Efficiency of VA Health...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-15

... of Veteran Enrollees (Quality and Efficiency of VA Health Care)) Activity; Comment Request AGENCY... of Veteran Enrollees (Quality and Efficiency of VA Health Care), VA Form 10-21088. OMB Control Number... will be used to collect data that is necessary to promote quality and efficient delivery of health care...

76 FR 59765 - Virginia Disaster # VA-00036

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-27

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12843 and 12844] Virginia Disaster VA-00036 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Virginia dated 09/21/2011. Incident: Hurricane Irene...

Integrated Raman spectroscopy and trimodal wide-field imaging techniques for real-time in vivo tissue Raman measurements at endoscopy.

PubMed

Huang, Zhiwei; Teh, Seng Khoon; Zheng, Wei; Mo, Jianhua; Lin, Kan; Shao, Xiaozhuo; Ho, Khek Yu; Teh, Ming; Yeoh, Khay Guan

2009-03-15

We report an integrated Raman spectroscopy and trimodal (white-light reflectance, autofluorescence, and narrow-band) imaging techniques for real-time in vivo tissue Raman measurements at endoscopy. A special 1.8 mm endoscopic Raman probe with filtering modules is developed, permitting effective elimination of interference of fluorescence background and silica Raman in fibers while maximizing tissue Raman collections. We demonstrate that high-quality in vivo Raman spectra of upper gastrointestinal tract can be acquired within 1 s or subseconds under the guidance of wide-field endoscopic imaging modalities, greatly facilitating the adoption of Raman spectroscopy into clinical research and practice during routine endoscopic inspections.

UV Raman imaging--a promising tool for astrobiology: comparative Raman studies with different excitation wavelengths on SNC Martian meteorites.

PubMed

Frosch, Torsten; Tarcea, Nicolae; Schmitt, Michael; Thiele, Hans; Langenhorst, Falko; Popp, Jürgen

2007-02-01

The great capabilities of UV Raman imaging have been demonstrated on the three Martian meteorites: Sayh al Uhaymir, Dar al Gani, and Zagami. Raman spectra without disturbing fluorescence and with high signal-to-noise-ratios and full of spectral features were derived. This result is of utmost importance for the development of powerful instruments for space missions. By point scanning the surfaces of the meteorite samples, it was possible for the first time to construct UV-Raman images out of the array of Raman spectra. Deep-UV Raman images are to the best of our knowledge presented for the first time. The images were used for a discussion of the chemical-mineralogical composition and texture of the meteorite surfaces. Comparative Raman studies applying visible and NIR Raman excitation wavelengths demonstrate a much better performance for UV Raman excitation. This comparative study of different Raman excitation wavelengths at the same sample spots was done by constructing a versatile, robust sample holder with a fixed micro-raster. The overall advantages of UV resonance Raman spectroscopy in terms of sensitivity and selectivity are demonstrated and discussed. Finally the application of this new technique for a UV Raman instrument for envisaged astrobiological focused space missions is suggested.

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy based on a line-scan hyperspectral Raman system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is a technique that can obtain subsurface layered information by collecting Raman spectra from a series of surface positions laterally offset from the excitation laser. The current methods of SORS measurement are typically either slow due to mechanical move...

77 FR 3841 - Proposed Information Collection (Survey of Veteran Enrollees (Quality and Efficiency of VA Health...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-25

... of Veteran Enrollees (Quality and Efficiency of VA Health Care)) Activities Under OMB Review AGENCY... of Veteran Enrollees (Quality and Efficiency of VA Health Care), VA Form 10-21088. OMB Control Number... will be used to collect data that is necessary to promote quality and efficient delivery of health care...

78 FR 18425 - Proposed Information Collection VA Police Officer Pre-Employment Screening Checklist); Comment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-26

... enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the... approved collection. Abstract: VA personnel complete VA Form 0120 to document pre- employment history and...

VA health service utilization for homeless and low-income Veterans: a spotlight on the VA Supportive Housing (VASH) program in greater Los Angeles.

PubMed

Gabrielian, Sonya; Yuan, Anita H; Andersen, Ronald M; Rubenstein, Lisa V; Gelberg, Lillian

2014-05-01

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-VA Supportive Housing (VASH) program-the VA's Housing First effort-is central to efforts to end Veteran homelessness. Yet, little is known about health care utilization patterns associated with achieving HUD-VASH housing. We compare health service utilization at the VA Greater Los Angeles among: (1) formerly homeless Veterans housed through HUD-VASH (HUD-VASH Veterans); (2) currently homeless Veterans; (3) housed, low-income Veterans not in HUD-VASH; and (4) housed, not low-income Veterans. We performed a secondary database analysis of Veterans (n=62,459) who received VA Greater Los Angeles care between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011. We described medical/surgical and mental health utilization [inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department (ED)]. We controlled for demographics, need, and primary care use in regression analyses of utilization data by housing and income status. HUD-VASH Veterans had more inpatient, outpatient, and ED use than currently homeless Veterans. Adjusting for demographics and need, HUD-VASH Veterans and the low-income housed Veterans had similar likelihoods of medical/surgical inpatient and outpatient utilization, compared with the housed, not low-income group. Adjusting first for demographics and need (model 1), then also for primary care use (model 2), HUD-VASH Veterans had the greatest decrease in incident rates of specialty medical/surgical, mental health, and ED care from models 1 to 2, becoming similar to the currently homeless, compared with the housed, not low-income group. Our findings suggest that currently homeless Veterans underuse health care relative to housed Veterans. HUD-VASH may address this disparity by providing housing and linkages to primary care.

Development of a miRNA surface-enhanced Raman scattering assay using benchtop and handheld Raman systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schechinger, Monika; Marks, Haley; Locke, Andrea; Choudhury, Mahua; Cote, Gerard

2018-01-01

DNA-functionalized nanoparticles, when paired with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), can rapidly detect microRNA. However, widespread use of this approach is hindered by drawbacks associated with large and expensive benchtop Raman microscopes. MicroRNA-17 (miRNA-17) has emerged as a potential epigenetic indicator of preeclampsia, a condition that occurs during pregnancy. Biomarker detection using an SERS point-of-care device could enable prompt diagnosis and prevention as early as the first trimester. Recently, strides have been made in developing portable Raman systems for field applications. An SERS assay for miRNA-17 was assessed and translated from traditional benchtop Raman microscopes to a handheld system. Three different photoactive molecules were compared as potential Raman reporter molecules: a chromophore, malachite green isothiocyanate (MGITC), a fluorophore, tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate, and a polarizable small molecule 5,5-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB). For the benchtop Raman microscope, the DTNB-labeled assay yielded the greatest sensitivity under 532-nm laser excitation, but the MGITC-labeled assay prevailed at 785 nm. Conversely, DTNB was preferable for the miniaturized 785-nm Raman system. This comparison showed significant SERS enhancement variation in response to 1-nM miRNA-17, implying that the sensitivity of the assay may be more heavily dependent on the excitation wavelength, instrumentation, and Raman reporter chosen than on the plasmonic coupling from DNA/miRNA-mediated nanoparticle assemblies.

[Laser Raman spectrum analysis of carbendazim pesticide].

PubMed

Wang, Xiao-bin; Wu, Rui-mei; Liu, Mu-hua; Zhang, Lu-ling; Lin, Lei; Yan, Lin-yuan

2014-06-01

Raman signal of solid and liquid carbendazim pesticide was collected by laser Raman spectrometer. The acquired Raman spectrum signal of solid carbendazim was preprocessed by wavelet analysis method, and the optimal combination of wavelet denoising parameter was selected through mixed orthogonal test. The results showed that the best effect was got with signal to noise ratio (SNR) being 62.483 when db2 wavelet function was used, decomposition level was 2, the threshold option scheme was 'rigisure' and reset mode was 'sln'. According to the vibration mode of different functional groups, the de-noised Raman bands could be divided into 3 areas: 1 400-2 000, 700-1 400 and 200-700 cm(-1). And the de-noised Raman bands were assigned with and analyzed. The characteristic vibrational modes were gained in different ranges of wavenumbers. Strong Raman signals were observed in the Raman spectrum at 619, 725, 964, 1 022, 1 265, 1 274 and 1 478 cm(-1), respectively. These characteristic vibrational modes are characteristic Raman peaks of solid carbendazim pesticide. Find characteristic Raman peaks at 629, 727, 1 001, 1 219, 1 258 and 1 365 cm(-1) in Raman spectrum signal of liquid carbendazim. These characteristic peaks were basically tallies with the solid carbendazim. The results can provide basis for the rapid screening of pesticide residue in food and agricultural products based on Raman spectrum.

78 FR 11094 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; James River, Between Isle of Wight and Newport News, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-15

... Operation Regulation; James River, Between Isle of Wight and Newport News, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... River, mile 5.0, between Isle of Wight and Newport News, VA. This deviation is necessary to facilitate... Isle of Isle and Newport News, VA opens on signal. The James River Bridge has vertical clearances in...

Raman spectroscopy of oral bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Andrew J.; Zhu, Qingyuan; Quivey, Robert G.

2003-10-01

Raman spectroscopy has been employed to measure the varying concentrations of two oral bacteria in simple mixtures. Evaporated droplets of centrifuged mixtures of Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus mutans were analyzed via Raman microspectroscopy. The concentration of s. sanguis was determined based upon the measured Raman spectrum, using partial least squares cross-validation, with an r2 value of 0.98.

Polarized micro Raman spectroscopy of bilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, Hyerim; Yoon, Duhee; Son, Young-Woo; Cheong, Hyeonsik

2009-03-01

The frequency of Raman 2D band of the graphite depends on the excitation laser energy. This phenomenon is explained with double resonance Raman process. In polarized micro-Raman spectroscopy of single layer graphene, Raman G band (˜1586 cm-1) is isotropic, and 2D band (˜2686 cm-1) strongly depends on relative polarizations of the incident and scattered photons. This strong polarization dependence originates from inhomogeneous optical absorption and emission mediated by resonant electron-phonon interaction. In bi-layer graphene, Raman 2D band can be decomposed into four Lorenztian peaks which can be interpreted in terms of the four transition paths in the double resonance Raman process. We investigated the polarization dependence of each Lorenztian peak in the Raman 2D band of bi-layer graphene for different excitation laser energies. Strong polarization dependence of the Raman 2D band, similar to the case of single layer graphene, is observed. The excitation energy dependence of the polarized Raman scattering is analyzed in terms of the band structure of bi-layer graphene.

75 FR 8005 - Safety Zone; Wicomico Community Fireworks, Great Wicomico River, Mila, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-23

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Wicomico Community Fireworks, Great Wicomico River, Mila, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... the Great Wicomico River in the vicinity of Mila, VA in support of the Wicomico Community Fireworks... protect mariners from the hazards associated with fireworks displays. DATES: Comments and related material...

Raman and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy of amino acids and peptide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Xiaojuan; Gu, Huaimin; Wu, Jiwei; Kang, Jian; Dong, Xiao

2009-08-01

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is potentially tool in the characterization of biomolecules such as amino acids, complicated peptides and proteins, and even tissues or living cells. Amino acids and short peptides contain different functional groups. Therefore, they are suitable for the investigations of the competitive-interactions of these functional groups with colloidal silver surfaces. In this paper, Normal Raman and SERS of amino acids Leucine and Isoleucine and short peptide Leu-Leu were measured on the silver colloidal substrate. Raman shifts that stem from different vibrational mode in the molecular inner structure, and the variations of SERS of the samples were analyzed in this study. The results show that different connection of one methyl to the main chains of the isomer amino acids resulted in different vibration modes in the Normal Raman spectra of Leucine and Isoleucine. In the SERS spectra of the isomer amino acids, all frequency shifts are expressed more differently than those in Normal Raman spectra of solid state. Orientation of this isomer amino acids, as well as specific-competitive interactions of their functional groups with the colloidal silver surface, were speculated by detailed spectral analysis of the obtained SERS spectra. In addition, the dipeptide Leu-Leu, as the corresponding homodipeptide of Leucine, was also measured adsorbed on the colloidal silver surface. The SERS spectrum of Leu-Leu is different from its corresponding amino acid Leucine but both of them are adsorbed on the silver surface through the carboxylate moiety.

VA Health Professional Scholarship and Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility Professional Scholarship Programs. Final rule.

PubMed

2013-08-20

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its VA Health Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP) regulations. VA is also establishing regulations for a new program, the Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility Professional Scholarship Program (VIOMPSP). These regulations comply with and implement sections 302 and 603 of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (the 2010 Act). Section 302 of the 2010 Act established the VIOMPSP, which authorizes VA to provide financial assistance to certain students seeking a degree in visual impairment or orientation or mobility, in order to increase the supply of qualified blind rehabilitation specialists for VA and the United States. Section 603 of the 2010 Act reauthorized and modified HPSP, a program that provides scholarships for education or training in certain health care occupations.

Optimizing laser crater enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Lednev, V N; Sdvizhenskii, P A; Grishin, M Ya; Filichkina, V A; Shchegolikhin, A N; Pershin, S M

2018-03-20

Raman signal enhancement by laser crater production was systematically studied for 785 nm continuous wave laser pumping. Laser craters were produced in L-aspartic acid powder by a nanosecond pulsed solid state neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser (532 nm, 8 ns, 1 mJ/pulse), while Raman spectra were then acquired by using a commercial spectrometer with 785 nm laser beam pumping. The Raman signal enhancement effect was studied in terms of the number of ablating pulses used, the lens-to-sample distance, and the crater-center-laser-spot offset. The influence of the experiment parameters on Raman signal enhancement was studied for different powder materials. Maximum Raman signal enhancement reached 11 fold for loose powders but decreased twice for pressed tablets. Raman signal enhancement was demonstrated for several diverse powder materials like gypsum or ammonium nitrate with better results achieved for the samples tending to give narrow and deep craters upon the laser ablation stage. Alternative ways of cavity production (steel needle tapping and hole drilling) were compared with the laser cratering technique in terms of Raman signal enhancement. Drilling was found to give the poorest enhancement of the Raman signal, while both laser ablation and steel needle tapping provided comparable results. Here, we have demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that a Raman signal can be enhanced 10 fold with the aid of simple cavity production by steel needle tapping in rough highly reflective materials. Though laser crater enhancement Raman spectroscopy requires an additional pulsed laser, this technique is more appropriate for automatization compared to the needle tapping approach.

Blood analysis by Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Enejder, Annika M K; Koo, Tae-Woong; Oh, Jeankun; Hunter, Martin; Sasic, Slobodan; Feld, Michael S; Horowitz, Gary L

2002-11-15

Concentrations of multiple analytes were simultaneously measured in whole blood with clinical accuracy, without sample processing, using near-infrared Raman spectroscopy. Spectra were acquired with an instrument employing nonimaging optics, designed using Monte Carlo simulations of the influence of light-scattering-absorbing blood cells on the excitation and emission of Raman light in turbid medium. Raman spectra were collected from whole blood drawn from 31 individuals. Quantitative predictions of glucose, urea, total protein, albumin, triglycerides, hematocrit, and hemoglobin were made by means of partial least-squares (PLS) analysis with clinically relevant precision (r(2) values >0.93). The similarity of the features of the PLS calibration spectra to those of the respective analyte spectra illustrates that the predictions are based on molecular information carried by the Raman light. This demonstrates the feasibility of using Raman spectroscopy for quantitative measurements of biomolecular contents in highly light-scattering and absorbing media.

Raman water vapor lidar calibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landulfo, E.; Da Costa, R. F.; Torres, A. S.; Lopes, F. J. S.; Whiteman, D. N.; Venable, D. D.

2009-09-01

We show here new results of a Raman LIDAR calibration methodology effort putting emphasis in the assessment of the cross-section ratio between water vapor and nitrogen by the use of a calibrated NIST traceable tungsten lamp. Therein we give a step by step procedure of how to employ such equipment by means of a mapping/scanning procedure over the receiving optics of a water vapor Raman LIDAR. This methodology has been independently used at Howard University Raman LIDAR and at IPEN Raman LIDAR what strongly supports its reproducibility and points towards an independently calibration methodology to be carried on within an experiment routine.

75 FR 29660 - Safety Zone; Wicomico Community Fireworks, Great Wicomico River, Mila, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-27

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Wicomico Community Fireworks, Great Wicomico River, Mila, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... the Great Wicomico River in the vicinity of Mila, VA in support of the Wicomico Community Fireworks... protect mariners from the hazards associated with fireworks displays. DATES: This rule is effective from 9...

VA and HRS Local Coordination of Florida's Home-Based Services to the Elderly.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradham, Douglas D.; Chico, Innette Mary

Florida's District 12 Veterans Administration (VA) wanted to deliver medical case-management services to veterans not receiving home-based services due to the geographic restrictions of the VA's Hospital-Based Home Care Program. The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) desired to demonstrate the effectiveness of nurse…

Implementation of online suicide-specific training for VA providers.

PubMed

Marshall, Elizabeth; York, Janet; Magruder, Kathryn; Yeager, Derik; Knapp, Rebecca; De Santis, Mark L; Burriss, Louisa; Mauldin, Mary; Sulkowski, Stan; Pope, Charlene; Jobes, David A

2014-10-01

Due to the gap in suicide-specific intervention training for mental health students and professionals, e-learning is one solution to improving provider skills in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. This study focused on the development and evaluation of an equivalent e-learning alternative to the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) in-person training approach at a Veteran Health Affairs medical center. The study used a multicenter, randomized, cluster, and three group design. the development of e-CAMS was an iterative process and included pilot testing. Eligible and consenting mental health providers, who completed a CAMS pre-survey, were randomized. Provider satisfaction was assessed using the standard VA evaluation of training consisting of 20 items. Two post training focus groups, divided by learning conditions, were conducted to assess practice adoption using a protocol focused on experiences with training and delivery of CAMS. A total of 215 providers in five sites were randomized to three conditions: 69 to e-learning, 70 to in-person, 76 to the control. The providers were primarily female, Caucasian, midlife providers. Based on frequency scores of satisfaction items, both learning groups rated the trainings positively. In focus groups representing divided by learning conditions, participants described positive reactions to CAMS training and similar individual and institutional barriers to full implementation of CAMS. This is the first evaluation study of a suicide-specific e-learning training within the VA. The e-CAMS appears equivalent to the in-person CAMS in terms of provider satisfaction with training and practice adoption, consistent with other comparisons of training deliveries across specialty areas. Additional evaluation of provider confidence and adoption and patient outcomes is in progress. The e-CAMS has the potential to provide ongoing training for VA and military mental health providers and serve as a tutorial for

Novel Raman Techniques for Imaging and Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Perry S.

Raman scattering spectroscopy is extensively demonstrated as a label-free, chemically selective sensing and imaging technique for a multitude of chemical and biological applications. The ability to detect "fingerprint" spectral signatures of individual molecules, without the need to introduce chemical labelers, makes Raman scattering a powerful sensing technique. However, spectroscopy based on spontaneous Raman scattering traditionally suffers from inherently weak signals due to small Raman scattering cross-sections. Thus, considerable efforts have been put forth to find pathways towards enhancing Raman signals to bolster sensitivity for detecting small concentrations of molecules or particles. The development of coherent Raman techniques that can offer orders of magnitude increase in signal have garnered significant interest in recent years for their application in imaging; such techniques include coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering and stimulated Raman scattering. Additionally, methods to enhance the local field of either the pump or generated Raman signal, such as through surface enhanced Raman scattering, have been investigated for their orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity and single molecule sensing capability. The work presented in this dissertation describes novel techniques for performing high speed and highly sensitive Raman imaging as well as sensing applications towards bioimaging and biosensing. Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) is combined with holography to enable recording of high-speed (single laser shot), wide field CARS holograms which can be used to reconstruct the both the amplitude and the phase of the anti-Stokes field therefore allowing 3D imaging. This dissertation explores CARS holography as a viable label-free bio-imaging technique. A Raman scattering particle sensing system is also developed that utilizes wave guide properties of optical fibers and ring-resonators to perform enhanced particle sensing. Resonator

Kerr-gated picosecond Raman spectroscopy and Raman photon migration of equine bone tissue with 400-nm excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, Michael D.; Goodship, Allen E.; Draper, Edward R. C.; Matousek, Pavel; Towrie, Michael; Parker, Anthony W.

2004-07-01

We show that Raman spectroscopy with visible lasers, even in the deep blue is possible with time-gated Raman spectroscopy. A 4 picosec time gate allows efficient fluorescence rejection, up to 1000X, and provides almost background-free Raman spectra with low incident laser power. The technology enables spectroscopy with better than 10X higher scattering efficiency than is possible with the NIR (785 nm and 830 nm) lasers that are conventionally used. Raman photon migration is shown to allow depth penetration. We show for the first time that Kerr-gated Raman spectra of bone tissue with blue laser excitation enables both fluorescence rejection and depth penetration.

Development of a miRNA surface-enhanced Raman scattering assay using benchtop and handheld Raman systems.

PubMed

Schechinger, Monika; Marks, Haley; Locke, Andrea; Choudhury, Mahua; Cote, Gerard

2018-01-01

DNA-functionalized nanoparticles, when paired with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), can rapidly detect microRNA. However, widespread use of this approach is hindered by drawbacks associated with large and expensive benchtop Raman microscopes. MicroRNA-17 (miRNA-17) has emerged as a potential epigenetic indicator of preeclampsia, a condition that occurs during pregnancy. Biomarker detection using an SERS point-of-care device could enable prompt diagnosis and prevention as early as the first trimester. Recently, strides have been made in developing portable Raman systems for field applications. An SERS assay for miRNA-17 was assessed and translated from traditional benchtop Raman microscopes to a handheld system. Three different photoactive molecules were compared as potential Raman reporter molecules: a chromophore, malachite green isothiocyanate (MGITC), a fluorophore, tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate, and a polarizable small molecule 5,5-dithio-bis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB). For the benchtop Raman microscope, the DTNB-labeled assay yielded the greatest sensitivity under 532-nm laser excitation, but the MGITC-labeled assay prevailed at 785 nm. Conversely, DTNB was preferable for the miniaturized 785-nm Raman system. This comparison showed significant SERS enhancement variation in response to 1-nM miRNA-17, implying that the sensitivity of the assay may be more heavily dependent on the excitation wavelength, instrumentation, and Raman reporter chosen than on the plasmonic coupling from DNA/miRNA-mediated nanoparticle assemblies. (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Introduction to Raman chemical imaging technology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

New developments in computer and imaging hardware have significantly advanced Raman spectroscopy and spectral imaging technologies, and have led to the recent emergence of new Raman detection techniques for rapid and online applications. This book chapter presents Raman chemical imaging technology a...

75 FR 20774 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Fort A.P. Hill, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-21

...-0739; Airspace Docket No. 09-AEA-14] Establishment of Class E Airspace; Fort A.P. Hill, VA AGENCY... December 7, 2009 that establishes Class E airspace at Fort A.P. Hill, VA. DATES: Effective Date: 0901 UTC... Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, Georgia 30320; telephone (404...

Topiramate Protects Pericytes from Glucotoxicity: Role for Mitochondrial CA VA in Cerebromicrovascular Disease in Diabetes.

PubMed

Patrick, Ping; Price, Tulin O; Diogo, Ana L; Sheibani, Nader; Banks, William A; Shah, Gul N

Hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus causes oxidative stress and pericyte depletion from the microvasculature of the brain thus leading to the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) disruption. The compromised BBB exposes the brain to circulating substances, resulting in neurotoxicity and neuronal cell death. The decline in pericyte numbers in diabetic mouse brain and pericyte apoptosis in high glucose cultures are caused by excess superoxide produced during enhanced respiration (mitochondrial oxidative metabolism of glucose). Superoxide is precursor to all Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) which, in turn, cause oxidative stress. The rate of respiration and thus the ROS production is regulated by mitochondrial carbonic anhydrases (mCA) VA and VB, the two isoforms expressed in the mitochondria. Inhibition of both mCA: decreases the oxidative stress and restores the pericyte numbers in diabetic brain; and reduces high glucose-induced respiration, ROS, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in cultured brain pericytes. However, the individual role of the two isoforms has not been established. To investigate the contribution of mCA VA in ROS production and apoptosis, a mCA VA overexpressing brain pericyte cell line was engineered. These cells were exposed to high glucose and analyzed for the changes in ROS and apoptosis. Overexpression of mCA VA significantly increased pericyte ROS and apoptosis. Inhibition of mCA VA with topiramate prevented increases both in glucose-induced ROS and pericyte death. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that mCA VA regulates the rate of pericyte respiration. These findings identify mCA VA as a novel and specific therapeutic target to protect the cerebromicrovascular bed in diabetes.

A Novel Technique for Raman Analysis of Highly Radioactive Samples Using Any Standard Micro-Raman Spectrometer

PubMed Central

Colle, Jean-Yves; Naji, Mohamed; Sierig, Mark; Manara, Dario

2017-01-01

A novel approach for the Raman measurement of nuclear materials is reported in this paper. It consists of the enclosure of the radioactive sample in a tight capsule that isolates the material from the atmosphere. The capsule can optionally be filled with a chosen gas pressurized up to 20 bars. The micro-Raman measurement is performed through an optical-grade quartz window. This technique permits accurate Raman measurements with no need for the spectrometer to be enclosed in an alpha-tight containment. It therefore allows the use of all options of the Raman spectrometer, like multi-wavelength laser excitation, different polarizations, and single or triple spectrometer modes. Some examples of measurements are shown and discussed. First, some spectral features of a highly radioactive americium oxide sample (AmO2) are presented. Then, we report the Raman spectra of neptunium oxide (NpO2) samples, the interpretation of which is greatly improved by employing three different excitation wavelengths, 17O doping, and a triple mode configuration to measure the anti-stokes Raman lines. This last feature also allows the estimation of the sample surface temperature. Finally, data that were measured on a sample from Chernobyl lava, where phases are identified by Raman mapping, are shown. PMID:28448046

Women's veteran identity and utilization of VA health services.

PubMed

Di Leone, Brooke A L; Wang, Joyce M; Kressin, Nancy; Vogt, Dawne

2016-02-01

Women have participated in the United States military since its founding. However, until the mid-20th century, there had been limited recognition of women as official members of the military, and women remain a statistical minority within military and veteran populations. It is therefore important to better understand women's veteran identity (which we define here as one's self-concept as derived from their veteran status) and associated implications for service use and experiences in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care setting. The present research examined the centrality of, and positive regard for, women's veteran identity among 407 female veterans deployed in support of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Data were collected via a mailed national survey. Positive regard for veteran identity, but not veteran identity centrality,was positively associated with participants' age and length of time spent in the military. Results also showed that the centrality of women's veteran identity was positively related to their choice to use VA for health care and their feelings of belonging within VA, and that veteran identity centrality and positive regard for veteran identity are differentially associated with participants' military experiences (e.g., combat exposure, deployment sexual harassment) and mental health symptomatology (e.g., depression). (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

78 FR 36642 - Proposed Information Collection (VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) System) Activity...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-18

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0021] Proposed Information Collection (VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) System) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans... techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface...

Optimization of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) assay for the transition from benchtop to handheld Raman systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schechinger, Monika; Marks, Haley; Locke, Andrea; Choudhury, Mahua; Coté, Gerard

2017-02-01

Human biomarkers are indicative of the body's relative state prior to the onset of disease, and sometimes before symptoms present. While blood biomarker detection has achieved considerable success in laboratory settings, its clinical application is lagging and commercial point-of-care devices are rare. A physician's ability to detect biomarkers such as microRNA-17, a potential epigenetic indicator of preeclampsia in pregnant woman, could enable early diagnosis and preventive intervention as early as the 1st trimester. One detection approach employing DNA-functionalized nanoparticles to detect microRNA-17, in conjunction with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), has shown promise but is hindered, in part, by the use of large and expensive benchtop Raman microscopes. However, recent strides have been made in developing portable Raman systems for field applications. Characteristics of the SERS assay responsible for strengthening the assay's plasmonic response were explored, whilst comparing the results from both benchtop and portable Raman systems. The Raman spectra and intensity of three different types of photoactive molecules were compared as potential Raman reporter molecules: chromophores, fluorophores, and highly polarizable small molecules. Furthermore, the plasmonic characteristics governing the formation of SERS colloidal nanoparticle assemblies in response to DNA/miRNA hybridization were investigated. There were significant variations in the SERS enhancement in response to microRNA-17 using our assay depending on the excitation lasers at wavelengths of 532 nm and 785 nm, depending on which of the three different Raman systems were used (benchtop, portable, and handheld), and depending on which of the three different Raman reporters (chromophore, fluorophore, or Raman active molecule) were used. Analysis of data obtained did indicate that signal enhancement was better for the chromophore (MGITC) and Raman active molecule (DTNB) than it was for the

Quantitative determinations using portable Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Navin, Chelliah V; Tondepu, Chaitanya; Toth, Roxana; Lawson, Latevi S; Rodriguez, Jason D

2017-03-20

A portable Raman spectrometer was used to develop chemometric models to determine percent (%) drug release and potency for 500mg ciprofloxacin HCl tablets. Parallel dissolution and chromatographic experiments were conducted alongside Raman experiments to assess and compare the performance and capabilities of portable Raman instruments in determining critical drug attributes. All batches tested passed the 30min dissolution specification and the Raman model for drug release was able to essentially reproduce the dissolution profiles obtained by ultraviolet spectroscopy at 276nm for all five batches of the 500mg ciprofloxacin tablets. The five batches of 500mg ciprofloxacin tablets also passed the potency (assay) specification and the % label claim for the entire set of tablets run were nearly identical, 99.4±5.1 for the portable Raman method and 99.2±1.2 for the chromatographic method. The results indicate that portable Raman spectrometers can be used to perform quantitative analysis of critical product attributes of finished drug products. The findings of this study indicate that portable Raman may have applications in the areas of process analytical technology and rapid pharmaceutical surveillance. Published by Elsevier B.V.

RadNet Air Data From Virginia Beach, VA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page presents radiation air monitoring and air filter analysis data for Virginia Beach, VA from EPA's RadNet system. RadNet is a nationwide network of monitoring stations that measure radiation in air, drinking water and precipitation.

Circularly polarized Raman study on diamond structure crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Je-Ho; Kim, Sera; Seong, Maeng-Je

2018-01-01

Circularly polarized Raman and/or photoluminescence (PL) analyses have recently been very important in studying physical properties of many layered materials that were either mechanically exfoliated or grown by chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) on silicon substrates. Since silicon Raman signal is always accompanied by the circularly polarized Raman and/or PL signal from the layered materials, observation of proper circularly polarized Raman selection rules on silicon substrates would be extremely good indicator that the circularly polarized Raman and/or PL measurements on the layered materials were done properly. We have performed circularly polarized Raman measurements on silicon substrates and compared the results with the Raman intensities calculated by using Raman tensors of the diamond crystal structure. Our experimental results were in excellent agreement with the calculation. Similar circularly polarized Raman analysis done on germanium substrate also showed good agreement.

Charge Transfer Effect on Raman and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Furfural Molecules.

PubMed

Wan, Fu; Shi, Haiyang; Chen, Weigen; Gu, Zhaoliang; Du, Lingling; Wang, Pinyi; Wang, Jianxin; Huang, Yingzhou

2017-08-02

The detection of furfural in transformer oil through surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is one of the most promising online monitoring techniques in the process of transformer aging. In this work, the Raman of individual furfural molecules and SERS of furfural-M x (M = Ag, Au, Cu) complexes are investigated through density functional theory (DFT). In the Raman spectrum of individual furfural molecules, the vibration mode of each Raman peak is figured out, and the deviation from experimental data is analyzed by surface charge distribution. In the SERS of furfural-M x complexes, the influence of atom number and species on SERS chemical enhancement factors (EFs) are studied, and are further analyzed by charge transfer effect. Our studies strengthen the understanding of charge transfer effect in the SERS of furfural molecules, which is important in the online monitoring of the transformer aging process through SERS.

Charge Transfer Effect on Raman and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Furfural Molecules

PubMed Central

Wan, Fu; Shi, Haiyang; Chen, Weigen; Gu, Zhaoliang; Du, Lingling; Wang, Pinyi; Wang, Jianxin

2017-01-01

The detection of furfural in transformer oil through surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is one of the most promising online monitoring techniques in the process of transformer aging. In this work, the Raman of individual furfural molecules and SERS of furfural-Mx (M = Ag, Au, Cu) complexes are investigated through density functional theory (DFT). In the Raman spectrum of individual furfural molecules, the vibration mode of each Raman peak is figured out, and the deviation from experimental data is analyzed by surface charge distribution. In the SERS of furfural-Mx complexes, the influence of atom number and species on SERS chemical enhancement factors (EFs) are studied, and are further analyzed by charge transfer effect. Our studies strengthen the understanding of charge transfer effect in the SERS of furfural molecules, which is important in the online monitoring of the transformer aging process through SERS. PMID:28767053

48 CFR 853.236-70 - VA Form 10-6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false VA Form 10-6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal. 853.236-70 Section 853.236-70 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF...-Engineer Fee Proposal. VA Form 10-6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal, shall be used as prescribed in 836...

48 CFR 853.236-70 - VA Form 10-6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false VA Form 10-6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal. 853.236-70 Section 853.236-70 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF...-Engineer Fee Proposal. VA Form 10-6298, Architect-Engineer Fee Proposal, shall be used as prescribed in 836...

Near infrared Raman spectra of Rhizoma dioscoreae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Wenshuo; Chen, Rong; Chen, Guannan; Feng, Sangyuan; Li, Yongzeng; Huang, Zufang; Li, Yongsen

2008-03-01

A novel and compact near-infrared (NIR) Raman system is developed using 785-nm diode laser, volume-phase technology holographic system, and NIR intensified charge-coupled device (CCD). Raman spectra and first derivative spectra of Rhizoma Dioscoreae are obtained. Raman spectra of Rhizoma Dioscoreae showed three strong characteristic peaks at 477.4cm -1, 863.9cm -1, and 936.0cm -1. The major ingredients are protein, amino acid, starch, polysaccharides and so on, matched with the known basic biochemical composition of Rhizoma Dioscoreae. In the first derivative spectra of Rhizoma Dioscoreae, distinguishing characteristic peaks appeared at 467.674cm -1, 484.603cm -1, 870.37cm -1, 943.368cm -1. Contrasted with Rhizoma Dioscoreae Raman spectra, in 600cm -1 to 800cm -1, 1000cm -1 to 1400cm -1 regions, changes in Rhizoma Dioscoreae Raman first derivative spectra are represented more clearly than Rhizoma Dioscoreae Raman spectra. So Rhizoma Dioscoreae raman first derivative spectra can be an accurate supplementary analysis method to Rhizoma Dioscoreae Raman spectra.

48 CFR 819.602-3 - Resolving differences between VA and the Small Business Administration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... between VA and the Small Business Administration. 819.602-3 Section 819.602-3 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS Certificates... Small Business Administration. The Director, OSDBU, is the VA liaison with the SBA. Information copies...

78 FR 59099 - Agency Information Collection (VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) System) Activity...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-25

... Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attn: VA Desk Officer; 725 17th St. NW....'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) System. OMB Control Number... information submitted through the VALERI system to perform supplemental servicing, determination on...

VA Health Care: Processes to Evaluate, Implement, and Monitor Organizational Structure Changes Needed

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

VA HEALTH CARE Processes to Evaluate , Implement, and Monitor Organizational Structure Changes Needed Report to...Accountability Office Highlights of GAO-16-803, a report to congressional requesters September 2016 VA HEALTH CARE Processes to Evaluate , Implement, and...recommended organizational structure changes are evaluated to determine appropriate actions and implemented. This is inconsistent with federal standards

Military and VA telemedicine systems for patients with traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Girard, Philip

2007-01-01

Telemedicine plays a critical role within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration by allowing the surveillance and care of patients who are isolated by geography, poverty, and disability. In military settings, telemedicine is being widely used to identify injury and illness and aid in the treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery of combat-wounded soldiers in theater. Rapid advances in both domains are transforming the way clinicians provide care, education, and support to patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their families. This article discusses the military and VA telemedicine capabilities that are supporting the care of service members and veterans with TBI. These capabilities include new technologies that enhance the identification of TBI, management of symptoms in theater, and application of proven technologies (interactive video, Internet, and World Wide Web) to improve overall care coordination throughout military and VA systems. The impact of distance learning, teleconsultation, telerehabilitation, and home telehealth programs is also described within this context.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans: National Findings from VA Residential Treatment Programs

PubMed Central

Cook, Joan M.; Dinnen, Stephanie; O’Donnell, Casey; Bernardy, Nancy; Rosenheck, Robert; Desai, Rani

2013-01-01

A quality improvement effort was undertaken in Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) residential treatment programs for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) across the United States. Qualitative interviews were conducted with over 250 directors, providers, and staff during site visits of 38 programs. The aims of this report are to describe clinical issues and distinctive challenges in working with veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and approaches to addressing their needs. Providers indicated that the most commonly reported problems were: acute PTSD symptomotology; other complex mental health symptom presentations; broad readjustment problems; and difficulty with time demands of and readiness for intensive treatment. Additional concerns included working with active duty personnel and mixing different eras in therapy. Programmatic solutions address structure (e.g., blended versus era-specific therapy), content (e.g., physical activity), and adaptations (e.g., inclusion of family; shortened length of stay). Clinical implications for VA managers and policy makers as well as non-VA health care systems and individual health care providers are noted. PMID:23458113

Detection of latent prints by Raman imaging

DOEpatents

Lewis, Linda Anne [Andersonville, TN; Connatser, Raynella Magdalene [Knoxville, TN; Lewis, Sr., Samuel Arthur

2011-01-11

The present invention relates to a method for detecting a print on a surface, the method comprising: (a) contacting the print with a Raman surface-enhancing agent to produce a Raman-enhanced print; and (b) detecting the Raman-enhanced print using a Raman spectroscopic method. The invention is particularly directed to the imaging of latent fingerprints.

Miniature standoff Raman probe for neurosurgical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Oliver A. C.; Hutchings, Joanne; Gray, William; Vincent, Rosa Louise; Day, John C.

2016-08-01

Removal of intrinsic brain tumors is a delicate process, where a high degree of specificity is required to remove all of the tumor tissue without damaging healthy brain. The accuracy of this process can be greatly enhanced by intraoperative guidance. Optical biopsies using Raman spectroscopy are a minimally invasive and lower-cost alternative to current guidance methods. A miniature Raman probe for performing optical biopsies of human brain tissue is presented. The probe allows sampling inside a conventional stereotactic brain biopsy system: a needle of length 200 mm and inner diameter of 1.8 mm. By employing a miniature stand-off Raman design, the probe removes the need for any additional components to be inserted into the brain. Additionally, the probe achieves a very low internal silica background while maintaining good collection of Raman signal. To illustrate this, the probe is compared with a Raman probe that uses a pair of optical fibers for collection. The miniature stand-off Raman probe is shown to collect a comparable number of Raman scattered photons, but the Raman signal to background ratio is improved by a factor of five at Raman shifts below ˜500 cm-1. The probe's suitability for use on tissue is demonstrated by discriminating between different types of healthy porcine brain tissue.

High Fidelity Raman Chemical Imaging of Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobba, Venkata Nagamalli Koteswara Rao

The development of high fidelity Raman imaging systems is important for a number of application areas including material science, bio-imaging, bioscience and healthcare, pharmaceutical analysis, and semiconductor characterization. The use of Raman imaging as a characterization tool for detecting the amorphous and crystalline regions in the biopolymer poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is the precis of my thesis. In the first chapter, a brief insight about the basics of Raman spectroscopy, Raman chemical imaging, Raman mapping, and Raman imaging techniques has been provided. The second chapter contains details about the successful development of tailored sample of PLLA. Biodegradable polymers are used in areas of tissue engineering, agriculture, packaging, and in medical field for drug delivery, implant devices, and surgical sutures. Detailed information about the sample preparation and characterization of these cold-drawn PLLA polymer substrates has been provided. Wide-field Raman hyperspectral imaging using an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) was demonstrated in the early 1990s. The AOTF contributed challenges such as image walk, distortion, and image blur. A wide-field AOTF Raman imaging system has been developed as part of my research and methods to overcome some of the challenges in performing AOTF wide-field Raman imaging are discussed in the third chapter. This imaging system has been used for studying the crystalline and amorphous regions on the cold-drawn sample of PLLA. Of all the different modalities that are available for performing Raman imaging, Raman point-mapping is the most extensively used method. The ease of obtaining the Raman hyperspectral cube dataset with a high spectral and spatial resolution is the main motive of performing this technique. As a part of my research, I have constructed a Raman point-mapping system and used it for obtaining Raman hyperspectral image data of various minerals, pharmaceuticals, and polymers. Chapter four offers

76 FR 44086 - Agency Information Collection (Notice of Waiver of VA Compensation or Pension To Receive Military...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-22

... of Waiver of VA Compensation or Pension To Receive Military Pay and Allowances) Activity Under OMB....'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Notice of Waiver of VA Compensation or Pension to Receive Military Pay and... order to receive active or inactive duty training pay are required to complete VA Forms 21-8951 and 21...

MyRIP interaction with MyoVa on secretory granules is controlled by the cAMP-PKA pathway.

PubMed

Brozzi, Flora; Lajus, Sophie; Diraison, Frederique; Rajatileka, Shavanthi; Hayward, Katy; Regazzi, Romano; Molnár, Elek; Váradi, Anikó

2012-11-01

Myosin- and Rab-interacting protein (MyRIP), which belongs to the protein kinase A (PKA)-anchoring family, is implicated in hormone secretion. However, its mechanism of action is not fully elucidated. Here we investigate the role of MyRIP in myosin Va (MyoVa)-dependent secretory granule (SG) transport and secretion in pancreatic beta cells. These cells solely express the brain isoform of MyoVa (BR-MyoVa), which is a key motor protein in SG transport. In vitro pull-down, coimmunoprecipitation, and colocalization studies revealed that MyRIP does not interact with BR-MyoVa in glucose-stimulated pancreatic beta cells, suggesting that, contrary to previous notions, MyRIP does not link this motor protein to SGs. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion is augmented by incretin hormones, which increase cAMP levels and leads to MyRIP phosphorylation, its interaction with BR-MyoVa, and phosphorylation of the BR-MyoVa receptor rabphilin-3A (Rph-3A). Rph-3A phosphorylation on Ser-234 was inhibited by small interfering RNA knockdown of MyRIP, which also reduced cAMP-mediated hormone secretion. Demonstrating the importance of this phosphorylation, nonphosphorylatable and phosphomimic Rph-3A mutants significantly altered hormone release when PKA was activated. These data suggest that MyRIP only forms a functional protein complex with BR-MyoVa on SGs when cAMP is elevated and under this condition facilitates phosphorylation of SG-associated proteins, which in turn can enhance secretion.

Intelligent walkers for the elderly: performance and safety testing of VA-PAMAID robotic walker.

PubMed

Rentschler, Andrew J; Cooper, Rory A; Blasch, Bruce; Boninger, Michael L

2003-01-01

A walker that could help navigate and avoid collisions with obstacles could help reduce health costs and increase the quality of care and independence of thousands of people. This study evaluated the safety and performance of the Veterans Affairs Personal Adaptive Mobility Aid (VA-PAMAID). We performed engineering tests on the VA-PAMAID to determine safety factors, including stability, energy consumption, fatigue life, and sensor and control malfunctions. The VA-PAMAID traveled 10.9 km on a full charge and avoided obstacles while traveling at a speed of up to 1.2 m/s. No failures occurred during static stability, climatic, or fatigue testing. Some problems were encountered during obstacle climbing and sensor and control testing. The VA-PAMAID has good range, has adequate reaction time, and is structurally sound. Clinical trials are planned to compare the device to other low-technical adaptive mobility devices.

Forecasting VaR and ES of stock index portfolio: A Vine copula method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Bangzheng; Wei, Yu; Yu, Jiang; Lai, Xiaodong; Peng, Zhenfeng

2014-12-01

Risk measurement has both theoretical and practical significance in risk management. Using daily sample of 10 international stock indices, firstly this paper models the internal structures among different stock markets with C-Vine, D-Vine and R-Vine copula models. Secondly, the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) of the international stock markets portfolio are forecasted using Monte Carlo method based on the estimated dependence of different Vine copulas. Finally, the accuracy of VaR and ES measurements obtained from different statistical models are evaluated by UC, IND, CC and Posterior analysis. The empirical results show that the VaR forecasts at the quantile levels of 0.9, 0.95, 0.975 and 0.99 with three kinds of Vine copula models are sufficiently accurate. Several traditional methods, such as historical simulation, mean-variance and DCC-GARCH models, fail to pass the CC backtesting. The Vine copula methods can accurately forecast the ES of the portfolio on the base of VaR measurement, and D-Vine copula model is superior to other Vine copulas.

75 FR 35511 - Virginia Disaster Number VA-00028

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-22

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12040 and 12041] Virginia Disaster Number VA-00028 AGENCY: Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 3. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the... declaration remains unchanged. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers 59002 and 59008) Roger B...

VA/DOD Federal Health Care Center: Costly Information Technology Delays Continue and Evaluation Plan Lacking

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

Lovell Federal Health Care Center ( FHCC ). Although DOD and VA have shared resources at some level since the 1980s,1 the FHCC is unique in that it is...establish a 5-year demonstration to integrate VA and DOD medical care into a first-of- its-kind FHCC in North Chicago, Illinois. Expectations for the... FHCC are outlined in the Executive Agreement signed by VA and DOD in April 2010. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010, as amended by the NDAA for

38 CFR 3.2130 - Will VA accept a signature by mark or thumbprint?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... signature by mark or thumbprint? 3.2130 Section 3.2130 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF... of This Title General § 3.2130 Will VA accept a signature by mark or thumbprint? VA will accept signatures by mark or thumbprint if: (a) They are witnessed by two people who sign their names and give their...

30 CFR 57.22240 - Actions at 2.0 percent methane (V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Actions at 2.0 percent methane (V-A mines). 57... MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22240 Actions at 2.0 percent methane (V-A mines). If methane reaches 2.0 percent in the mine atmosphere, all persons other than...

Making Bullying Prevention a Priority in Finnish Schools: The KiVa Antibullying Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmivalli, Christina; Poskiparta, Elisa

2012-01-01

The KiVa antibullying program has been widely implemented in Finnish comprehensive schools since 2009. The program is predicated on the idea that a positive change in the behaviors of classmates can reduce the rewards gained by the perpetrators of bullying and consequently their motivation to bully in the first place. KiVa involves both universal…

30 CFR 57.22240 - Actions at 2.0 percent methane (V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Actions at 2.0 percent methane (V-A mines). 57... MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22240 Actions at 2.0 percent methane (V-A mines). If methane reaches 2.0 percent in the mine atmosphere, all persons other than...

Raman scattering in crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edwards, D.F.

1988-09-30

A tutorial presentation is given of Raman scattering in crystals. The physical concepts are emphasized rather than the detailed mathematical formalism. Starting with an introduction to the concepts of phonons and conservation laws, the effects of photon-phonon interactions are presented. This interaction concept is shown for a simple cubic crystal and is extended to a uniaxial crystal. The correlation table method is used for determining the number and symmetry of the Raman active modes. Finally, examples are given to illustrate the relative ease of using this group theoretical method and the predictions are compared with measured Raman spectra. 37 refs.,more » 17 figs., 6 tabs.« less

Using average cost methods to estimate encounter-level costs for medical-surgical stays in the VA.

PubMed

Wagner, Todd H; Chen, Shuo; Barnett, Paul G

2003-09-01

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains discharge abstracts, but these do not include cost information. This article describes the methods the authors used to estimate the costs of VA medical-surgical hospitalizations in fiscal years 1998 to 2000. They estimated a cost regression with 1996 Medicare data restricted to veterans receiving VA care in an earlier year. The regression accounted for approximately 74 percent of the variance in cost-adjusted charges, and it proved to be robust to outliers and the year of input data. The beta coefficients from the cost regression were used to impute costs of VA medical-surgical hospital discharges. The estimated aggregate costs were reconciled with VA budget allocations. In addition to the direct medical costs, their cost estimates include indirect costs and physician services; both of these were allocated in proportion to direct costs. They discuss the method's limitations and application in other health care systems.

Applications of Raman spectroscopy to gemology.

PubMed

Bersani, Danilo; Lottici, Pier Paolo

2010-08-01

Being nondestructive and requiring short measurement times, a low amount of material, and no sample preparation, Raman spectroscopy is used for routine investigation in the study of gemstone inclusions and treatments and for the characterization of mounted gems. In this work, a review of the use of laboratory Raman and micro-Raman spectrometers and of portable Raman systems in the gemology field is given, focusing on gem identification and on the evaluation of the composition, provenance, and genesis of gems. Many examples are shown of the use of Raman spectroscopy as a tool for the identification of imitations, synthetic gems, and enhancement treatments in natural gemstones. Some recent developments are described, with particular attention being given to the semiprecious stone jade and to two important organic materials used in jewelry, i.e., pearls and corals.

77 FR 7229 - Virginia Disaster Number VA-00037

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-10

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12909 and 12910] Virginia Disaster Number VA-00037 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 3. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of... remains unchanged. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers 59002 and 59008.) Jane M. D. Pease...

76 FR 62132 - Virginia Disaster Number VA-00038

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-06

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12805 and 12806] Virginia Disaster Number VA-00038 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 2. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of... Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers 59002 and 59008) James E. Rivera, Associate Administrator for Disaster...

Cascaded-cladding-pumped cascaded Raman fiber amplifier.

PubMed

Jiang, Huawei; Zhang, Lei; Feng, Yan

2015-06-01

The conversion efficiency of double-clad Raman fiber laser is limited by the cladding-to-core area ratio. To get high conversion efficiency, the inner-cladding-to-core area ratio has to be less than about 8, which limits the brightness enhancement. To overcome the problem, a cascaded-cladding-pumped cascaded Raman fiber laser with multiple-clad fiber as the Raman gain medium is proposed. A theoretical model of Raman fiber amplifier with multiple-clad fiber is developed, and numerical simulation proves that the proposed scheme can improve the conversion efficiency and brightness enhancement of cladding pumped Raman fiber laser.

Raman spectra of lignin model compounds

Treesearch

Umesh P. Agarwal; Richard S. Reiner; Ashok K. Pandey; Sally A. Ralph; Kolby C. Hirth; Rajai H. Atalla

2005-01-01

To fully exploit the value of Raman spectroscopy for analyzing lignins and lignin containing materials, a detailed understanding of lignins’ Raman spectra needs to be achieved. Although advances made thus far have led to significant growth in application of Raman techniques, further developments are needed to improve upon the existing knowledge. Considering that lignin...

Raman spectroscopy of white wines.

PubMed

Martin, Coralie; Bruneel, Jean-Luc; Guyon, François; Médina, Bernard; Jourdes, Michael; Teissedre, Pierre-Louis; Guillaume, François

2015-08-15

The feasibility of exploiting Raman scattering to analyze white wines has been investigated using 3 different wavelengths of the incoming laser radiation in the near-UV (325 nm), visible (532 nm) and near infrared (785 nm). To help in the interpretation of the Raman spectra, the absorption properties in the UV-visible range of two wine samples as well as their laser induced fluorescence have also been investigated. Thanks to the strong intensity enhancement of the Raman scattered light due to electronic resonance with 325 nm laser excitation, hydroxycinnamic acids may be detected and analyzed selectively. Fructose and glucose may also be easily detected below ca. 1000 cm(-1). This feasibility study demonstrates the potential of the Raman spectroscopic technique for the analysis of white wines. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Raman accumulator as a fusion laser driver

DOEpatents

George, E. Victor; Swingle, James C.

1985-01-01

Apparatus for simultaneous laser pulse amplification and compression, using multiple pass Raman scattering in one Raman cell and pulse switchout from the optical cavity through use of a dichroic device associated with the Raman cell.

Raman accumulator as a fusion laser driver

DOEpatents

George, E.V.; Swingle, J.C.

1982-03-31

Apparatus for simultaneous laser pulse amplification and compression, using multiple pass Raman scattering in one Raman cell and pulse switchout from the optical cavity through use of a dichroic device associated with the Raman cell.

77 FR 12647 - Fund Availability Under VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

... Affairs (VA) is announcing the availability of funds for applications for assistance under the Per Diem..., application process, and amount of funding available. DATES: Applications must be received in accordance with... Providers Grant and Per Diem Program for eligible entities. VA will award only one application for funding...

VA Library Service--Today's look at Tomorrow's Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veterans Administration, Washington, DC.

The Conference Poceedings are divided into three broad topics: systems planning, audiovisuals in biomedical communication, and automation and networking. Speakers from within the Veterans Administration (VA), from the National Medical Audiovisual Center, and the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, National Library of…

Solution behavior of PVP-VA and HPMC-AS-based amorphous solid dispersions and their bioavailability implications.

PubMed

Qian, Feng; Wang, Jennifer; Hartley, Ruiling; Tao, Jing; Haddadin, Raja; Mathias, Neil; Hussain, Munir

2012-10-01

To identify the mechanism behind the unexpected bio-performance of two amorphous solid dispersions: BMS-A/PVP-VA and BMS-A/HPMC-AS. Solubility of crystalline BMS-A in PVP-VA and HPMC-AS was measured by DSC. Drug-polymer interaction parameters were obtained by Flory-Huggins model fitting. Drug dissolution kinetics of spray-dried dispersions were studied under sink and non-sink conditions. BMS-A supersaturation was studied in the presence of pre-dissolved PVP-VA and HPMC-AS. Potency and crystallinity of undissolved solid dispersions were determined by HPLC and DSC. Polymer dissolution kinetics were obtained by mass balance calculation. Bioavailability of solid dispersions was assessed in dogs. In solid state, both polymers are miscible with BMS-A, while PVP-VA solublizes the drug better. BMS-A dissolves similarly from both solid dispersions in vitro regardless of dissolution method, while the HPMC-AS dispersion performed much better in vivo. At the same concentration, HPMC-AS is more effective in prolonging BMS-A supersaturation; this effect was negated by the slow dissolution rate of HPMC-AS. Further study revealed that fast PVP-VA dissolution resulted in elevated drug loading in undissolved dispersions and facilitated drug recrystallization before complete release. In contrast, the hydrophobicity and slower HPMC-AS dissolution prevented BMS-A recrystallization within the HPMC-AS matrix for >24 h. The lower bioavailability of PVP-VA dispersion was attributed to BMS-A recrystallization within the undissolved dispersion, due to hydrophilicity and fast PVP-VA dissolution rate. Polymer selection for solid dispersion development has significant impact on in vivo performance besides physical stability.

The impact of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act of 2004 on VA physicians' salaries and retention.

PubMed

Weeks, William B; Wallace, Tanner A; Wallace, Amy E

2009-01-01

To determine whether the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act (the Act), which was designed to achieve VA physician salary parity with American Academy of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Associate Professors and enacted in 2006, had achieved its goal. Using VA human resources datasets and data from the AAMC, we calculated mean VA physician salaries, with 95 percent confidence intervals, for 15 different medical specialties. For each specialty, we compared VA salaries to the median, 25th, and 75th percentile of AAMC Associate Professors' incomes. The Act's passage resulted in a $20,000 annual increase in VA physicians' salaries. VA primary care physicians, medical subspecialists, and psychiatrists had salaries that were comparable to their AAMC counterparts prior to and after enactment of the Act. However, VA surgical specialists', anesthesiologists', and radiologists' salaries lagged their AAMC counterparts both before and after the Act's enactment. Income increases were negatively correlated with full-time workforce changes. VA does not appear to provide comparable salaries for physicians necessary for surgical care. In certain cases, VA should consider outsourcing surgical services.

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in life science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Airton A.; T. Soto, Cláudio A.; Ali, Syed M.; Neto, Lázaro P. M.; Canevari, Renata A.; Pereira, Liliane; Fávero, Priscila P.

2015-06-01

Raman spectroscopy has been applied to the analysis of biological samples for the last 12 years providing detection of changes occurring at the molecular level during the pathological transformation of the tissue. The potential use of this technology in cancer diagnosis has shown encouraging results for the in vivo, real-time and minimally invasive diagnosis. Confocal Raman technics has also been successfully applied in the analysis of skin aging process providing new insights in this field. In this paper it is presented the latest biomedical applications of Raman spectroscopy in our laboratory. It is shown that Raman spectroscopy (RS) has been used for biochemical and molecular characterization of thyroid tissue by micro-Raman spectroscopy and gene expression analysis. This study aimed to improve the discrimination between different thyroid pathologies by Raman analysis. A total of 35 thyroid tissues samples including normal tissue (n=10), goiter (n=10), papillary (n=10) and follicular carcinomas (n=5) were analyzed. The confocal Raman spectroscopy allowed a maximum discrimination of 91.1% between normal and tumor tissues, 84.8% between benign and malignant pathologies and 84.6% among carcinomas analyzed. It will be also report the application of in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy as an important sensor for detecting advanced glycation products (AGEs) on human skin.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the VA Health Care System: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Freeman, Michele; Toure, Joahd; Tippens, Kimberly M.; Weeks, Christine; Ibrahim, Said

2008-01-01

Objectives To better understand the causes of racial disparities in health care, we reviewed and synthesized existing evidence related to disparities in the “equal access” Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. Methods We systematically reviewed and synthesized evidence from studies comparing health care utilization and quality by race within the VA. Results Racial disparities in the VA exist across a wide range of clinical areas and service types. Disparities appear most prevalent for medication adherence and surgery and other invasive procedures, processes that are likely to be affected by the quantity and quality of patient–provider communication, shared decision making, and patient participation. Studies indicate a variety of likely root causes of disparities including: racial differences in patients’ medical knowledge and information sources, trust and skepticism, levels of participation in health care interactions and decisions, and social support and resources; clinician judgment/bias; the racial/cultural milieu of health care settings; and differences in the quality of care at facilities attended by different racial groups. Conclusions Existing evidence from the VA indicates several promising targets for interventions to reduce racial disparities in the quality of health care. PMID:18301951

Enhanced Raman scattering in porous silicon grating.

PubMed

Wang, Jiajia; Jia, Zhenhong; Lv, Changwu

2018-03-19

The enhancement of Raman signal on monocrystalline silicon gratings with varying groove depths and on porous silicon grating were studied for a highly sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) response. In the experiment conducted, porous silicon gratings were fabricated. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were then deposited on the porous silicon grating to enhance the Raman signal of the detective objects. Results show that the enhancement of Raman signal on silicon grating improved when groove depth increased. The enhanced performance of Raman signal on porous silicon grating was also further improved. The Rhodamine SERS response based on Ag NPs/ porous silicon grating substrates was enhanced relative to the SERS response on Ag NPs/ porous silicon substrates. Ag NPs / porous silicon grating SERS substrate system achieved a highly sensitive SERS response due to the coupling of various Raman enhancement factors.

Gain suppression involving both stimulated Raman and hyper-Raman photons in two-step stimulated emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Lu; Garrett, W. R.; Payne, M. G.; Moore, M. A.

1997-05-01

We show that multiphoton destructive interference leading to gain suppression can be produced even when two different step-wise stimulated emissions, such as stimulated Raman and hyper-Raman emissions, are included in the interference loop.

Evaluation of VA Women's Health Fellowships: developing leaders in academic women's health.

PubMed

Tilstra, Sarah A; Kraemer, Kevin L; Rubio, Doris M; McNeil, Melissa A

2013-07-01

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) instituted the VA Women's Health Fellowship (VAWHF) Program in 1994, to accommodate the health needs of increasing numbers of female veterans and to develop academic leaders in women's health. Despite the longevity of the program, it has never been formally evaluated. To describe the training environments of VAWHFs and career outcomes of female graduates. Cross-sectional web-based surveys of current program directors (2010-2011) and VAWHF graduates (1995-2011). Responses were received from six of seven program directors (86 %) and 42 of 74 graduates (57 %). The mean age of graduates was 41.2 years, and mean time since graduation was 8.5 years. Of the graduates, 97 % were female, 74 % trained in internal medicine, and 64 % obtained an advanced degree. Those with an advanced degree were more likely than those without an advanced degree to pursue an academic career (82 % vs. 60 %; P<0.01). Of the female graduates, 76 % practice clinical women's health and spend up to 66 % of their time devoted to women's health issues. Thirty percent have held a VA faculty position. Seventy-nine percent remain in academics, with 39 % in the tenure stream. Overall, 94 % had given national presentations, 88 % had received grant funding, 79 % had published in peer-reviewed journals, 64 % had developed or evaluated curricula, 51 % had received awards for teaching or research, and 49 % had held major leadership positions. At 11 or more years after graduation, 33 % of the female graduates in academics had been promoted to the rank of associate professor and 33 % to the rank of full professor. The VAWHF Program has been successful in training academic leaders in women's health. Finding ways to retain graduates in the VA system would ensure continued clinical, educational, and research success for the VA women veteran's healthcare program.

Condensing Raman spectrum for single-cell phenotype analysis.

PubMed

Sun, Shiwei; Wang, Xuetao; Gao, Xin; Ren, Lihui; Su, Xiaoquan; Bu, Dongbo; Ning, Kang

2015-01-01

In recent years, high throughput and non-invasive Raman spectrometry technique has matured as an effective approach to identification of individual cells by species, even in complex, mixed populations. Raman profiling is an appealing optical microscopic method to achieve this. To fully utilize Raman proling for single-cell analysis, an extensive understanding of Raman spectra is necessary to answer questions such as which filtering methodologies are effective for pre-processing of Raman spectra, what strains can be distinguished by Raman spectra, and what features serve best as Raman-based biomarkers for single-cells, etc. In this work, we have proposed an approach called rDisc to discretize the original Raman spectrum into only a few (usually less than 20) representative peaks (Raman shifts). The approach has advantages in removing noises, and condensing the original spectrum. In particular, effective signal processing procedures were designed to eliminate noise, utilising wavelet transform denoising, baseline correction, and signal normalization. In the discretizing process, representative peaks were selected to signicantly decrease the Raman data size. More importantly, the selected peaks are chosen as suitable to serve as key biological markers to differentiate species and other cellular features. Additionally, the classication performance of discretized spectra was found to be comparable to full spectrum having more than 1000 Raman shifts. Overall, the discretized spectrum needs about 5storage space of a full spectrum and the processing speed is considerably faster. This makes rDisc clearly superior to other methods for single-cell classication.

Improved multiple-pass Raman spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kc, Utsav; Silver, Joel A.; Hovde, David C.; Varghese, Philip L.

2011-08-01

An improved Raman gain spectrometer for flame measurements of gas temperature and species concentrations is described. This instrument uses a multiple-pass optical cell to enhance the incident light intensity in the measurement volume. The Raman signal is 83 times larger than from a single pass, and the Raman signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in room-temperature air of 153 is an improvement over that from a single-pass cell by a factor of 9.3 when the cell is operated with 100 passes and the signal is integrated over 20 laser shots. The SNR improvement with the multipass cell is even higher for flame measurements at atmospheric pressure, because detector readout noise is more significant for single-pass measurements when the gas density is lower. Raman scattering is collected and dispersed in a spectrograph with a transmission grating and recorded with a fast gated CCD array detector to help eliminate flame interferences. The instrument is used to record spontaneous Raman spectra from N2, CO2, O2, and CO in a methane--air flame. Curve fits of the recorded Raman spectra to detailed simulations of nitrogen spectra are used to determine the flame temperature from the shapes of the spectral signatures and from the ratio of the total intensities of the Stokes and anti-Stokes signals. The temperatures measured are in good agreement with radiation-corrected thermocouple measurements for a range of equivalence ratios.

Collaboration in health services research: on developing relationships between VA researchers and those in other institutions.

PubMed Central

Greenlick, M R; Freeborn, D K

1986-01-01

This article explores the potential for collaboration between investigators in institutions outside of the VA and those engaged in research within the VA. The focus is on the potential for collaborative work in health services research; our perspective is that of researchers in a freestanding HMO research center affiliated with the Veterans Administration's Northwest Health Services Research and Development Field Program. The paper begins with a review of the reasons that make collaboration between VA researchers and other health services researchers so appropriate at this time. An example of collaboration is presented, drawing on the experience of the Northwest Field Program and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. Finally, some difficulties inherent in collaboration between VA and other health services researchers are discussed. PMID:3512485

Quality Of End-Of-Life Care Is Higher In The VA Compared To Care Paid For By Traditional Medicare.

PubMed

Gidwani-Marszowski, Risha; Needleman, Jack; Mor, Vincent; Faricy-Anderson, Katherine; Boothroyd, Derek B; Hsin, Gary; Wagner, Todd H; Lorenz, Karl A; Patel, Manali I; Joyce, Vilija R; Murrell, Samantha S; Ramchandran, Kavitha; Asch, Steven M

2018-01-01

Congressional and Veterans Affairs (VA) leaders have recommended the VA become more of a purchaser than a provider of health care. Fee-for-service Medicare provides an example of how purchased care differs from the VA's directly provided care. Using established indicators of overly intensive end-of-life care, we compared the quality of care provided through the two systems to veterans dying of cancer in fiscal years 2010-14. The Medicare-reliant veterans were significantly more likely to receive high-intensity care, in the form of chemotherapy, hospital stays, admission to the intensive care unit, more days spent in the hospital, and death in the hospital. However, they were significantly less likely than VA-reliant patients to have multiple emergency department visits. Higher-intensity end-of-life care may be driven by financial incentives present in fee-for-service Medicare but not in the VA's integrated system. To avoid putting VA-reliant veterans at risk of receiving lower-quality care, VA care-purchasing programs should develop coordination and quality monitoring programs to guard against overly intensive end-of-life care.

Geropsychology Training in a VA Nursing Home Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karel, Michele J.; Moye, Jennifer

2005-01-01

There is a growing need for professional psychology training in nursing home settings, and nursing homes provide a rich environment for teaching geropsychology competencies. We describe the nursing home training component of our Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Predoctoral Internship and Geropsychology Postdoctoral Fellowship programs. Our…

Access to mental health care among women Veterans: is VA meeting women's needs?

PubMed

Kimerling, Rachel; Pavao, Joanne; Greene, Liberty; Karpenko, Julie; Rodriguez, Allison; Saweikis, Meghan; Washington, Donna L

2015-04-01

Patient-centered access to mental health describes the fit between patient needs and resources of the system. To date, little data are available to guide implementation of services to women veterans, an underrepresented minority within Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) health care. The current study examines access to mental health care among women veterans, and identifies gender-related indicators of perceived access to mental health care. A population-based sample of 6287 women veterans using VA primary care services participated in a survey of past year perceived need for mental health care, mental health utilization, and gender-related mental health care experiences. Subjective rating of how well mental health care met their needs was used as an indicator of perceived access. Half of all women reported perceived mental health need; 84.3% of those women received care. Nearly all mental health users (90.9%) used VA services, although only about half (48.8%) reported that their mental health care met their needs completely or very well. Gender related experiences (availability of female providers, women-only treatment settings, women-only treatment groups, and gender-related comfort) were each associated with 2-fold increased odds of perceived access, and associations remained after adjusting for ease of getting care. Women VA users demonstrate very good objective access to mental health services. Desire for, and access to specialized mental health services for women varies across the population and are important aspects of shared decision making in referral and treatment planning for women using VA primary care.

Emerging technology: applications of Raman spectroscopy for prostate cancer.

PubMed

Kast, Rachel E; Tucker, Stephanie C; Killian, Kevin; Trexler, Micaela; Honn, Kenneth V; Auner, Gregory W

2014-09-01

There is a need in prostate cancer diagnostics and research for a label-free imaging methodology that is nondestructive, rapid, objective, and uninfluenced by water. Raman spectroscopy provides a molecular signature, which can be scaled from micron-level regions of interest in cells to macroscopic areas of tissue. It can be used for applications ranging from in vivo or in vitro diagnostics to basic science laboratory testing. This work describes the fundamentals of Raman spectroscopy and complementary techniques including surface enhanced Raman scattering, resonance Raman spectroscopy, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, confocal Raman spectroscopy, stimulated Raman scattering, and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy. Clinical applications of Raman spectroscopy to prostate cancer will be discussed, including screening, biopsy, margin assessment, and monitoring of treatment efficacy. Laboratory applications including cell identification, culture monitoring, therapeutics development, and live imaging of cellular processes are discussed. Potential future avenues of research are described, with emphasis on multiplexing Raman spectroscopy with other modalities.

76 FR 27970 - Safety Zone; Cape Charles Fireworks, Cape Charles Harbor, Cape Charles, VA.

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-13

... Charles will sponsor a fireworks display on the shoreline of the navigable waters of Cape Charles City...[deg]01'30'' W (NAD 1983). This safety zone will be established in the vicinity of Cape Charles, VA...-AA00 Safety Zone; Cape Charles Fireworks, Cape Charles Harbor, Cape Charles, VA. AGENCY: Coast Guard...

76 FR 38302 - Safety Zone; Cape Charles Fireworks, Cape Charles Harbor, Cape Charles, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-30

... the Town of Cape Charles will sponsor a fireworks display on the shoreline of the navigable waters of...-AA00 Safety Zone; Cape Charles Fireworks, Cape Charles Harbor, Cape Charles, VA AGENCY: Coast Guard... navigable waters of Cape Charles City Harbor in Cape Charles, VA in support of the Fourth of July Fireworks...

Preventing Raman Lasing in High-Q WGM Resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Savchenkov, Anatoliy; Matsko, Andrey; Strekalov, Dmitry; Maleki, Lute

2007-01-01

A generic design has been conceived to suppress the Raman effect in whispering- gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonators that have high values of the resonance quality factor (Q). Although it is possible to exploit the Raman effect (even striving to maximize the Raman gain to obtain Raman lasing), the present innovation is intended to satisfy a need that arises in applications in which the Raman effect inhibits the realization of the full potential of WGM resonators as frequency-selection components. Heretofore, in such applications, it has been necessary to operate high-Q WGM resonators at unattractively low power levels to prevent Raman lasing. (The Raman-lasing thresholds of WGM optical resonators are very low and are approximately proportional to Q(sup -2)). Heretofore, two ways of preventing Raman lasting at high power levels have been known, but both entail significant disadvantages: A resonator can be designed so that the optical field is spread over a relatively large mode volume to bring the power density below the threshold. For any given combination of Q and power level, there is certain mode volume wherein Raman lasing does not start. Unfortunately, a resonator that has a large mode volume also has a high spectral density, which is undesirable in a typical photonic application. A resonator can be cooled to the temperature of liquid helium, where the Raman spectrum is narrower and, therefore, the Raman gain is lower. However, liquid-helium cooling is inconvenient. The present design overcomes these disadvantages, making it possible to operate a low-spectral-density (even a single-mode) WGM resonator at a relatively high power level at room temperature, without risk of Raman lasing.

A tunable single-monochromator Raman system based on the supercontinuum laser and tunable filters for resonant Raman profile measurements.

PubMed

Liu, X-L; Liu, H-N; Tan, P-H

2017-08-01

Resonant Raman spectroscopy requires that the wavelength of the laser used is close to that of an electronic transition. A tunable laser source and a triple spectrometer are usually necessary for resonant Raman profile measurements. However, such a system is complex with low signal throughput, which limits its wide application by scientific community. Here, a tunable micro-Raman spectroscopy system based on the supercontinuum laser, transmission grating, tunable filters, and single-stage spectrometer is introduced to measure the resonant Raman profile. The supercontinuum laser in combination with transmission grating makes a tunable excitation source with a bandwidth of sub-nanometer. Such a system exhibits continuous excitation tunability and high signal throughput. Its good performance and flexible tunability are verified by resonant Raman profile measurement of twisted bilayer graphene, which demonstrates its potential application prospect for resonant Raman spectroscopy.

76 FR 67557 - Proposed Information Collection (Survey of Veteran Enrollees' Health and Reliance Upon VA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-01

... of Veteran Enrollees' Health and Reliance Upon VA) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Health... enrollees' health status and reliance on VA's health care services. DATES: Written comments and... of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: Survey...

Use of the Decision Support System for VA cost-effectiveness research.

PubMed

Barnett, P G; Rodgers, J H

1999-04-01

The Department of Veterans Affairs is adopting the Decision Support System (DSS), computer software and databases which include a cost-accounting system which determines the cost of health care products and patient encounters. A system for providing cost data for cost-effectiveness analysis should be provide valid, detailed, and comprehensive data that can be aggregated. The design of DSS is described and compared with those criteria. Utilization data from DSS was compared with other VA utilization data. Aggregate DSS cost data from 35 medical centers was compared with relative resource weights developed for the Medicare program. Data on hospital stays at 3 facilities found that 3.7% of the stays in DSS were not in the VA discharge database, whereas 7.6% of the stays in the discharge data were not in DSS. DSS reported between 68.8% and 97.1% of the outpatient encounters reported by six facilities in the ambulatory care data base. Relative weights for each Diagnosis Related Group based on DSS data from 35 VA facilities correlated with Medicare weights (correlation coefficient of .853). DSS will be useful for research if certain problems are overcome. It is difficult to distinguish long-term from acute hospital care. VA does not have a complete database of all inpatient procedures, so DSS has not assigned them a specific cost. The authority to access encounter-level DSS data needs to be centralized. Researchers can provide the feedback needed to improve DSS cost estimates. A comprehensive encounter-level extract would facilitate use of DSS for research.

Brand-Name Prescription Drug Use Among Diabetes Patients in the VA and Medicare Part D: A National Comparison

PubMed Central

Gellad, Walid F.; Donohue, Julie M.; Zhao, Xinhua; Mor, Maria K.; Thorpe, Carolyn T.; Smith, Jeremy; Good, Chester B.; Fine, Michael J.; Morden, Nancy E.

2013-01-01

Background Medicare Part D and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) use different approaches to manage prescription drug benefits, with implications for spending. Medicare relies on private plans with distinct formularies, whereas VA administers its own benefit using a national formulary. Objective To compare overall and regional rates of brand-name drug use among older adults with diabetes in Medicare and VA. Design Retrospective cohort Setting Medicare and VA Patients National sample in 2008 of 1,061,095 Part D beneficiaries and 510,485 Veterans age 65+ with diabetes. Measurements Percent of patients on oral hypoglycemics, statins, and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin-receptor-blockers who filled brand-name drugs and percent of patients on long-acting insulin who filled analogues. We compared sociodemographic and health-status adjusted hospital referral region (HRR) brand-name use to examine local practice patterns, and calculated changes in spending if each system’s brand-name use mirrored the other. Results Brand-name use in Medicare was 2–3 times that of VA: 35.3% vs. 12.7% for oral hypoglycemics, 50.7% vs. 18.2% for statins, 42.5% vs. 20.8% for angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin-receptor-blockers, and 75.1% vs. 27.0% for insulin analogues. Adjusted HRR brand-name statin use ranged (5th to 95th percentile) from 41.0%–58.3% in Medicare and 6.2%–38.2% in VA. For each drug group, the HRR at the 95th percentile in VA had lower brand-name use than the 5th percentile HRR in Medicare. Medicare spending in this population would have been $1.4 billion less if brand-name use matched the VA for these medications. Limitation This analysis cannot fully describe the factors underlying differences in brand-name use. Conclusions Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes use 2–3 times more brand-name drugs than a comparable group within VA, at substantial excess cost. Primary Funding Sources VA; NIH; RWJF PMID:23752663

Raman active components of skin cancer.

PubMed

Feng, Xu; Moy, Austin J; Nguyen, Hieu T M; Zhang, Jason; Fox, Matthew C; Sebastian, Katherine R; Reichenberg, Jason S; Markey, Mia K; Tunnell, James W

2017-06-01

Raman spectroscopy (RS) has shown great potential in noninvasive cancer screening. Statistically based algorithms, such as principal component analysis, are commonly employed to provide tissue classification; however, they are difficult to relate to the chemical and morphological basis of the spectroscopic features and underlying disease. As a result, we propose the first Raman biophysical model applied to in vivo skin cancer screening data. We expand upon previous models by utilizing in situ skin constituents as the building blocks, and validate the model using previous clinical screening data collected from a Raman optical fiber probe. We built an 830nm confocal Raman microscope integrated with a confocal laser-scanning microscope. Raman imaging was performed on skin sections spanning various disease states, and multivariate curve resolution (MCR) analysis was used to resolve the Raman spectra of individual in situ skin constituents. The basis spectra of the most relevant skin constituents were combined linearly to fit in vivo human skin spectra. Our results suggest collagen, elastin, keratin, cell nucleus, triolein, ceramide, melanin and water are the most important model components. We make available for download (see supplemental information) a database of Raman spectra for these eight components for others to use as a reference. Our model reveals the biochemical and structural makeup of normal, nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers, and precancers and paves the way for future development of this approach to noninvasive skin cancer diagnosis.

Raman active components of skin cancer

PubMed Central

Feng, Xu; Moy, Austin J; Nguyen, Hieu T. M.; Zhang, Jason; Fox, Matthew C.; Sebastian, Katherine R.; Reichenberg, Jason S.; Markey, Mia K.; Tunnell, James W.

2017-01-01

Raman spectroscopy (RS) has shown great potential in noninvasive cancer screening. Statistically based algorithms, such as principal component analysis, are commonly employed to provide tissue classification; however, they are difficult to relate to the chemical and morphological basis of the spectroscopic features and underlying disease. As a result, we propose the first Raman biophysical model applied to in vivo skin cancer screening data. We expand upon previous models by utilizing in situ skin constituents as the building blocks, and validate the model using previous clinical screening data collected from a Raman optical fiber probe. We built an 830nm confocal Raman microscope integrated with a confocal laser-scanning microscope. Raman imaging was performed on skin sections spanning various disease states, and multivariate curve resolution (MCR) analysis was used to resolve the Raman spectra of individual in situ skin constituents. The basis spectra of the most relevant skin constituents were combined linearly to fit in vivo human skin spectra. Our results suggest collagen, elastin, keratin, cell nucleus, triolein, ceramide, melanin and water are the most important model components. We make available for download (see supplemental information) a database of Raman spectra for these eight components for others to use as a reference. Our model reveals the biochemical and structural makeup of normal, nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers, and precancers and paves the way for future development of this approach to noninvasive skin cancer diagnosis. PMID:28663910

Raman scattering of Cisplatin near silver nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirsaleh-Kohan, Nasrin; Duplanty, Michael; Torres, Marjorie; Moazzezi, Mojtaba; Rostovtsev, Yuri V.

2018-03-01

The Raman scattering of Cisplatin (the first generation of anticancer drugs) has been studied. In the presence of silver nanoparticles, strong modifications of Raman spectra have been observed. The Raman frequencies have been shifted and the line profiles are broadened. We develop a theoretical model to explain the observed features of the Raman scattering. The model takes into account self-consistently the interaction of molecules with surface plasmonic waves excited in the silver nanoparticles, and it provides a qualitative agreement with the observed Raman spectra. We have demonstrated that the using silver nanoparticles can increase sensitivity of the technique, and potentially it has a broader range of applications to both spectroscopy and microscopy.

Comparative Analysis of VaR Estimation of Double Long-Memory GARCH Models: Empirical Analysis of China's Stock Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Guangxi; Guo, Jianping; Xu, Lin

GARCH models are widely used to model the volatility of financial assets and measure VaR. Based on the characteristics of long-memory and lepkurtosis and fat tail of stock market return series, we compared the ability of double long-memory GARCH models with skewed student-t-distribution to compute VaR, through the empirical analysis of Shanghai Composite Index (SHCI) and Shenzhen Component Index (SZCI). The results show that the ARFIMA-HYGARCH model performance better than others, and at less than or equal to 2.5 percent of the level of VaR, double long-memory GARCH models have stronger ability to evaluate in-sample VaRs in long position than in short position while there is a diametrically opposite conclusion for ability of out-of-sample VaR forecast.

12 CFR 217.205 - VaR-based measure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... requirements. The Board-regulated institution must update data sets at least monthly or more frequently as... year. Data used to determine the VaR-based measure must be relevant to the Board-regulated institution.... A Board-regulated institution using this option must update its data more frequently than monthly...

KiVa Anti-Bullying Program in Italy: Evidence of Effectiveness in a Randomized Control Trial.

PubMed

Nocentini, Annalaura; Menesini, Ersilia

2016-11-01

The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the KiVa anti-bullying program in Italy through a randomized control trial of students in grades 4 and 6. The sample involved 2042 students (51 % female; grade 4, mean age = 8.85; ds = 0.43; grade 6, mean age = 10.93; ds = 0.50); 13 comprehensive schools were randomly assigned into intervention (KiVa) or control (usual school provision) conditions. Different outcomes (bullying, victimization, pro-bullying attitudes, pro-victim attitudes, empathy toward victims), analyses (longitudinal mixed model with multiple-item scales; longitudinal prevalence of bullies and victims using Olweus' single question), and estimates of effectiveness (Cohen's d; odds ratios) were considered in order to compare the Italian results with those from other countries. Multilevel models showed that KiVa reduced bullying and victimization and increased pro-victim attitudes and empathy toward the victim in grade 4, with effect sizes from 0.24 to 0.40. In grade 6, KiVa reduced bullying, victimization, and pro-bullying attitudes; the effects were smaller as compared to grade 4, yet significant (d ≥ 0.20). Finally, using Olweus dichotomous definition of bullies and victims, results showed that the odds of being a victim were 1.93 times higher for a control student than for a KiVa student in grade 4. Overall, the findings provide evidence of the effectiveness of the program in Italy; the discussion will focus on factors that influenced successfully the transportability of the KiVa program in Italy.

Validity testing and neuropsychology practice in the VA healthcare system: results from recent practitioner survey (.).

PubMed

Young, J Christopher; Roper, Brad L; Arentsen, Timothy J

2016-05-01

A survey of neuropsychologists in the Veterans Health Administration examined symptom/performance validity test (SPVT) practices and estimated base rates for patient response bias. Invitations were emailed to 387 psychologists employed within the Veterans Affairs (VA), identified as likely practicing neuropsychologists, resulting in 172 respondents (44.4% response rate). Practice areas varied, with 72% at least partially practicing in general neuropsychology clinics and 43% conducting VA disability exams. Mean estimated failure rates were 23.0% for clinical outpatient, 12.9% for inpatient, and 39.4% for disability exams. Failure rates were the highest for mTBI and PTSD referrals. Failure rates were positively correlated with the number of cases seen and frequency and number of SPVT use. Respondents disagreed regarding whether one (45%) or two (47%) failures are required to establish patient response bias, with those administering more measures employing the more stringent criterion. Frequency of the use of specific SPVTs is reported. Base rate estimates for SPVT failure in VA disability exams are comparable to those in other medicolegal settings. However, failure in routine clinical exams is much higher in the VA than in other settings, possibly reflecting the hybrid nature of the VA's role in both healthcare and disability determination. Generally speaking, VA neuropsychologists use SPVTs frequently and eschew pejorative terms to describe their failure. Practitioners who require only one SPVT failure to establish response bias may overclassify patients. Those who use few or no SPVTs may fail to identify response bias. Additional clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Effects of the KiVa antibullying program on cyberbullying and cybervictimization frequency among Finnish youth.

PubMed

Williford, Anne; Elledge, L Christian; Boulton, Aaron J; DePaolis, Kathryn J; Little, Todd D; Salmivalli, Christina

2013-01-01

Cyberbullying among school-aged children has received increased attention in recent literature. However, no empirical evidence currently exists on whether existing school-based antibullying programs are effective in targeting the unique aspects of cyberbullying. To address this important gap, the present study investigates the unique effects of the KiVa Antibullying Program on the frequency of cyberbullying and cybervictimization among elementary and middle school youth. Using data from a group randomized controlled trial, multilevel ordinal regression analyses were used to examine differences in the frequencies of cyberbullying and cybervictimization between intervention (N = 9,914) and control students (N = 8,498). The effects of age and gender on frequencies of cyber behaviors were also assessed across conditions. Results revealed a significant intervention effect on the frequency of cybervictimization; KiVa students reported lower frequencies of cybervictimization at posttest than students in a control condition. The effect of condition on the perpetration of cyberbullying was moderated by age. When student age was below the sample mean, KiVa students reported lower frequencies of cyberbullying than students in the control condition. We also found evidence of classroom level variation in cyberbullying and cybervictimization, suggesting cyberbullying is in part a classroom-level phenomenon. KiVa appears to be an efficacious program to address cyber forms of bullying and victimization. We discuss several unique aspects of KiVa that may account for the significant intervention effects. Results suggest that KiVa is an intervention option for schools concerned with reducing cyberbullying behavior and its deleterious effects on children's adjustment.

Raman imaging of lipid bilayer membrane by surface enhanced Raman scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mori, Motoaki; Abe, Shunsuke; Kondo, Takahiro; Saito, Yuika

2018-04-01

We investigated two-dimensional lipid bilayers by spectroscopic imaging with surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). A DSPC lipid bilayer incubated on a glass substrate was coated with a thin layer of silver. Due to the strong electromagnetic enhancement of the silver film and the affinity to lipid molecules, the Raman spectrum of a single bilayer was obtained in a 1 s exposure time with 0.1 mW of incident laser power. In the C-H vibrational region of the spectra, which is sensitive to bilayer configurations, a randomly stacked area was dominated by the CH3 asymmetric-stretch mode, whereas flat areas including double bilayers showed typical SERS spectra. The spectral features of the randomly stacked area are explained by the existence of many free lipid molecules, which is supported by DFT calculations of paired DSPC molecules. Our method can be applied to reveal the local crystallinity of single lipid bilayers, which is difficult to assess by conventional Raman imaging.

Using policy to increase prescribing of smoking cessation medications in the VA healthcare system.

PubMed

Smith, Mark W; Chen, Shuo; Siroka, Andrew M; Hamlett-Berry, Kim

2010-12-01

Since 2002 the US Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system has initiated national policies and programmes to reduce smoking among its patients and to increase evidence-based treatment for smoking. To document changes in dispensing rates of cessation-related medications in VA from 2004 to 2008. Retrospective analysis of VA administrative data. Prescription fills for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and for bupropion among NRT users, each grew more than 60% in four years. The increase stemmed primarily from treating more people rather than from filling more prescriptions per person. The results provide strong support for the efficacy of these policies and illustrate how healthcare systems can successfully employ multiple strategies to increase evidence-based smoking-cessation treatment.

Raman Hyperspectral Imaging of Microfossils: Potential Pitfalls

PubMed Central

Olcott Marshall, Alison

2013-01-01

Abstract Initially, Raman spectroscopy was a specialized technique used by vibrational spectroscopists; however, due to rapid advancements in instrumentation and imaging techniques over the last few decades, Raman spectrometers are widely available at many institutions, allowing Raman spectroscopy to become a widespread analytical tool in mineralogy and other geological sciences. Hyperspectral imaging, in particular, has become popular due to the fact that Raman spectroscopy can quickly delineate crystallographic and compositional differences in 2-D and 3-D at the micron scale. Although this rapid growth of applications to the Earth sciences has provided great insight across the geological sciences, the ease of application as the instruments become increasingly automated combined with nonspecialists using this techique has resulted in the propagation of errors and misunderstandings throughout the field. For example, the literature now includes misassigned vibration modes, inappropriate spectral processing techniques, confocal depth of laser penetration incorrectly estimated into opaque crystalline solids, and a misconstrued understanding of the anisotropic nature of sp2 carbons. Key Words: Raman spectroscopy—Raman imaging—Confocal Raman spectroscopy—Disordered sp2 carbons—Hematite—Microfossils. Astrobiology 13, 920–931. PMID:24088070

Evaluation of Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy and Comparison to Computational Background Correction Methods Applied to Biochemical Raman Spectra.

PubMed

Cordero, Eliana; Korinth, Florian; Stiebing, Clara; Krafft, Christoph; Schie, Iwan W; Popp, Jürgen

2017-07-27

Raman spectroscopy provides label-free biochemical information from tissue samples without complicated sample preparation. The clinical capability of Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo applications. However, a challenge for in vivo applications is the simultaneous excitation of auto-fluorescence in the majority of tissues of interest, such as liver, bladder, brain, and others. Raman bands are then superimposed on a fluorescence background, which can be several orders of magnitude larger than the Raman signal. To eliminate the disturbing fluorescence background, several approaches are available. Among instrumentational methods shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) has been widely applied and studied. Similarly, computational techniques, for instance extended multiplicative scatter correction (EMSC), have also been employed to remove undesired background contributions. Here, we present a theoretical and experimental evaluation and comparison of fluorescence background removal approaches for Raman spectra based on SERDS and EMSC.

Role of Raman spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy in colorectal cancer

PubMed Central

Jenkins, Cerys A; Lewis, Paul D; Dunstan, Peter R; Harris, Dean A

2016-01-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common cancer in the United Kingdom and is the second largest cause of cancer related death in the United Kingdom after lung cancer. Currently in the United Kingdom there is not a diagnostic test that has sufficient differentiation between patients with cancer and those without cancer so the current referral system relies on symptomatic presentation in a primary care setting. Raman spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are forms of vibrational spectroscopy that offer a non-destructive method to gain molecular information about biological samples. The techniques offer a wide range of applications from in vivo or in vitro diagnostics using endoscopic probes, to the use of micro-spectrometers for analysis of biofluids. The techniques have the potential to detect molecular changes prior to any morphological changes occurring in the tissue and therefore could offer many possibilities to aid the detection of CRC. The purpose of this review is to look at the current state of diagnostic technology in the United Kingdom. The development of Raman spectroscopy and SERS in clinical applications relation for CRC will then be discussed. Finally, future areas of research of Raman/SERS as a clinical tool for the diagnosis of CRC are also discussed. PMID:27190582

The Athena Raman Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Alian; Haskin, Larry A.; Jolliff, Bradley; Wdowiak, Tom; Agresti, David; Lane, Arthur L.

2000-01-01

Raman spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for in situ mineralogy, petrology, and detection of water and carbon. The Athena Raman spectrometer is a microbeam instrument intended for close-up analyses of targets (rock or soils) selected by the Athena Pancam and Mini-TES. It will take 100 Raman spectra along a linear traverse of approximately one centimeter (point-counting procedure) in one to four hours during the Mars' night. From these spectra, the following information about the target will extracted: (1) the identities of major, minor, and trace mineral phases, organic species (e.g., PAH or kerogen-like polymers), reduced inorganic carbon, and water-bearing phases; (2) chemical features (e.g. Mg/Fe ratio) of major minerals; and (3) rock textural features (e.g., mineral clusters, amygdular filling and veins). Part of the Athena payload, the miniaturized Raman spectrometer has been under development in a highly interactive collaboration of a science team at Washington University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and an engineering team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The development has completed the brassboard stage and has produced the design for the engineering model.

30 CFR 57.22218 - Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22218 Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines). (a) All seals, and those stoppings that separate main intake from main...

30 CFR 57.22218 - Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22218 Seals and stoppings (III, V-A, and V-B mines). (a) All seals, and those stoppings that separate main intake from main...

30 CFR 57.22608 - Secondary blasting (I-A, II-A, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Secondary blasting (I-A, II-A, and V-A mines). 57.22608 Section 57.22608 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... blasting (I-A, II-A, and V-A mines). Prior to secondary blasting, tests for methane shall be made in the...

30 CFR 57.22608 - Secondary blasting (I-A, II-A, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Secondary blasting (I-A, II-A, and V-A mines). 57.22608 Section 57.22608 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... blasting (I-A, II-A, and V-A mines). Prior to secondary blasting, tests for methane shall be made in the...

30 CFR 57.22101 - Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). 57.22101 Section 57.22101 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). Persons shall not smoke or carry smoking materials, matches, or...

30 CFR 57.22101 - Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). 57.22101 Section 57.22101 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). Persons shall not smoke or carry smoking materials, matches, or...

30 CFR 57.22101 - Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). 57.22101 Section 57.22101 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). Persons shall not smoke or carry smoking materials, matches, or...

30 CFR 57.22101 - Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). 57.22101 Section 57.22101 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... Smoking (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). Persons shall not smoke or carry smoking materials, matches, or...

Resolved discrepancies between visible spontaneous Raman cross-section and direct near-infrared Raman gain measurements in TeO2-based glasses.

PubMed

Rivero, Clara; Stegeman, Robert; Couzi, Michel; Talaga, David; Cardinal, Thierry; Richardson, Kathleen; Stegeman, George

2005-06-13

Disagreements on the Raman gain response of different tellurite-based glasses, measured at different wavelengths, have been recently reported in the literature. In order to resolve this controversy, a multi-wavelength Raman cross-section experiment was conducted on two different TeO2-based glass samples. The estimated Raman gain response of the material shows good agreement with the directly-measured Raman gain data at 1064 nm, after correction for the dispersion and wavelength-dependence of the Raman gain process.

Development of 873 nm Raman Seed Pulse for Raman-seeded Laser Wakefield Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigsby, F.; Peng, D.; Downer, M. C.

2004-12-01

By using a Raman-shifted seed pulse coincident with a main driving pulse, laser wakefields can be generated with sub-relativistic intensity, coherent control and high repetition rate in the self-modulated regime. Experimentally, the generation of a chirped Stokes laser pulse by inserting a solid state Raman shifter, Ba(NO3)2, into a CPA system before the compressor (to suppress self-phase modulation) will be described. We will also report on design, modeling and experimental demonstration of a novel compressor for the Stokes pulse that uses a mismatched grating pair to achieve a near transform-limited seed pulse. Finally, we will describe the design, simulation and current status of Raman-seeded LWFA experiments that use this novel source.

Managing the human side of change in VA's transformation.

PubMed

Backer, T E

1997-01-01

Transformational change interventions often fail or short fall of their intended impact on organizations and systems. One main reason is that these interventions frequently do not strategically address the complex human dynamics of change. This happens despite awareness of and commitment to intervening at this level by top management and change leaders. The wisdom that "systems don't change; people change" is widely acknowledged but inadequately applied. These are exactly the conditions the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) faces in deploying its new Veterans Integrated Services Networks (VISNs). Applying validated behavioral science strategies that address the human side of change will help VA implement VISNs effectively. Six strategies derived from many years of study and practice in the public and private sectors are discussed, along with suggestions for VISN managers about how to implement them.

Combination ring cavity and backward Raman waveguide amplifier

DOEpatents

Kurnit, Norman A.

1983-01-01

A combination regenerative ring and backward Raman waveguide amplifier and a combination regenerative ring oscillator and backward Raman waveguide amplifier which produce Raman amplification, pulse compression, and efficient energy extraction from the CO.sub.2 laser pump signal for conversion into a Stokes radiation signal. The ring cavity configuration allows the CO.sub.2 laser pump signal and Stokes signal to copropagate through the Raman waveguide amplifier. The backward Raman waveguide amplifier configuration extracts a major portion of the remaining energy from the CO.sub.2 laser pump signal for conversion to Stokes radiation. Additionally, the backward Raman amplifier configuration produces a Stokes radiation signal which has a high intensity and a short duration. Adjustment of the position of overlap of the Stokes signal and the CO.sub.2 laser pump signal in the backward Raman waveguide amplifiers alters the amount of pulse compression which can be achieved.

Initiating an ophthalmic laser program for VA outpatients.

PubMed

Newcomb, R D

1995-08-01

Administrative and clinical considerations for the establishment of an ophthalmic laser program at a VA Outpatient Clinic are discussed. Outcomes of the first 320 patients treated over a 3-year period of time are presented. The program is evaluated from the perspectives of patient care, safety, maintenance, education, and economics.

Raman fingerprints of amyloid structures.

PubMed

Flynn, Jessica D; Lee, Jennifer C

2018-06-21

Structural differences in pathological and functional amyloid fibrils have been investigated by Raman microspectroscopy. Second-derivative analyses of amide-I and amide-III bands distinguish parallel in-register β-sheets from a β-solenoid. Further, spatially resolved Raman spectra reveal molecular heterogeneity in amyloid structures.

77 FR 39346 - Proposed Information Collection (Statement of Accredited Representative in Appealed Case, VA Form...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-02

... in Appealed Case, VA Form 646. OMB Control Number: 2900-0042. Type of Review: Extension of a... (Statement of Accredited Representative in Appealed Case, VA Form 646) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA), Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Board of...

Effectiveness of Expanded Implementation of STAR-VA for Managing Dementia-Related Behaviors Among Veterans.

PubMed

Karel, Michele J; Teri, Linda; McConnell, Eleanor; Visnic, Stephanie; Karlin, Bradley E

2016-02-01

Nonpharmacological, psychosocial approaches are first-line treatments for managing behavioral symptoms in dementia, but they can be challenging to implement in long-term care settings. The Veterans Health Administration implemented STAR-VA, an interdisciplinary behavioral approach for managing challenging dementia-related behaviors in its Community Living Center (CLCs, nursing home care) settings. This study describes how the program was implemented and provides an evaluation of Veteran clinical outcomes and staff feedback on the intervention. One mental health professional and registered nurse team from 17 CLCs completed STAR-VA training, which entailed an experiential workshop followed by 6 months of expert consultation as they worked with their teams to implement STAR-VA with Veterans identified to have challenging dementia-related behaviors. The frequency and severity of target behaviors and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and agitation were evaluated at baseline and at intervention completion. Staff provided feedback regarding STAR-VA feasibility and impact. Seventy-one Veterans completed the intervention. Behaviors clustered into 6 types: care refusal or resistance, agitation, aggression, vocalization, wandering, and other. Frequency and severity of target behaviors and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and agitation all significantly decreased, with overall effect sizes of 1 or greater. Staff rated both benefits for Veterans and program feasibility favorably. This evaluation supports the feasibility and effectiveness of STAR-VA, an interdisciplinary, behavioral intervention for managing challenging behaviors among residents with dementia in CLCs. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2015.

Testing V-A in Top Decay at CDF at √s = 1.8 TeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilminster, Ben

2004-02-01

The structure of the tbW vertex can be probed by measuring the polarization of the W in t → W + b → l + ν + b. The invariant mass of the the lepton and b quark measures the W decay angle which in turn allows a comparison with polarizations expected from a V-A and V+A tbW vertex. We measure the fraction by rate of Ws produced with a V+A coupling in lieu of the Standard Model V-A to be fV+A = -0.21-0.24+0.42 (stat) ± 0.21 (sys). We assign a limit of fV+A < 0.80 @ 95% CL. By combining this result with a complementary observable in the same data, we assign a limit of fV+A < 0.61 @ 95% CL. From this CDF Run I preliminary result, we find no evidence for a non-standard Model tbW vertex.

In-pile Thermal Conductivity Characterization with Time Resolved Raman

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Xinwei; Hurley, David H.

The project is designed to achieve three objectives: (1) Develop a novel time resolved Raman technology for direct measurement of fuel and cladding thermal conductivity. (2) Validate and improve the technology development by measuring ceramic materials germane to the nuclear industry. (3) Conduct instrumentation development to integrate optical fiber into our sensing system for eventual in-pile measurement. We have developed three new techniques: time-domain differential Raman (TD-Raman), frequency-resolved Raman (FR-Raman), and energy transport state-resolved Raman (ET-Raman). The TD-Raman varies the laser heating time and does simultaneous Raman thermal probing, the FR-Raman probes the material’s thermal response under periodical laser heatingmore » of different frequencies, and the ET-Raman probes the thermal response under steady and pulsed laser heating. The measurement capacity of these techniques have been fully assessed and verified by measuring micro/nanoscale materials. All these techniques do not need the data of laser absorption and absolute material temperature rise, yet still be able to measure the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity with unprecedented accuracy. It is expected they will have broad applications for in-pile thermal characterization of nuclear materials based on pure optical heating and sensing.« less

Evaluation of Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy and Comparison to Computational Background Correction Methods Applied to Biochemical Raman Spectra

PubMed Central

Cordero, Eliana; Korinth, Florian; Stiebing, Clara; Krafft, Christoph; Schie, Iwan W.; Popp, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Raman spectroscopy provides label-free biochemical information from tissue samples without complicated sample preparation. The clinical capability of Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo applications. However, a challenge for in vivo applications is the simultaneous excitation of auto-fluorescence in the majority of tissues of interest, such as liver, bladder, brain, and others. Raman bands are then superimposed on a fluorescence background, which can be several orders of magnitude larger than the Raman signal. To eliminate the disturbing fluorescence background, several approaches are available. Among instrumentational methods shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) has been widely applied and studied. Similarly, computational techniques, for instance extended multiplicative scatter correction (EMSC), have also been employed to remove undesired background contributions. Here, we present a theoretical and experimental evaluation and comparison of fluorescence background removal approaches for Raman spectra based on SERDS and EMSC. PMID:28749450

77 FR 48127 - Foreign-Trade Zone 20-Suffolk, VA; Notification of Proposed Production Activity, Usui...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-13

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-53-2012] Foreign-Trade Zone 20--Suffolk, VA; Notification of Proposed Production Activity, Usui International Corporation, (Diesel Engine Fuel Lines), Chesapeake, VA The Virginia Port Authority, grantee of FTZ 20, submitted a notification of proposed production activity on behalf of Usui...

76 FR 59153 - Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Fairfax County, VA, and Featherstone...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-23

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS-R5-R-2011-N128; BAC-4311-K9-S3] Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Fairfax County, VA, and Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge, Prince William County, VA AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of...

Calculating two-dimensional THz-Raman-THz and Raman-THz-THz signals for various molecular liquids: the samplers.

PubMed

Ito, Hironobu; Hasegawa, Taisuke; Tanimura, Yoshitaka

2014-09-28

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) THz-Raman spectroscopy has been used to investigate the intermolecular modes of liquid water. We examine such 2D spectroscopy signals by means of full molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In this way, we carry out a detailed analysis of intermolecular interactions that play an essential role in many important chemical processes. We calculate 2D Raman-THz-THz (RTT), THz-Raman-THz (TRT), and 2D Raman signals for liquid water, methanol, formamide, acetonitrile, formaldehyde, and dimethyl sulfoxide using an equilibrium-non-equilibrium hybrid MD simulation algorithm originally developed for 2D Raman spectroscopy. These signals are briefly analyzed in terms of anharmonicity and nonlinear polarizability of vibrational modes on the basis of the 2D Raman signals calculated from a Brownian oscillator model with a nonlinear system-bath interaction. We find that the anharmonic contribution is dominant in the RTT case, while the nonlinear polarizability contribution is dominant in the TRT case. For water and methanol, we observed vibrational echo peaks of librational motion in the 2D TRT signals. The predicted signal profiles and intensities that we obtained provide valuable information that can be applied to 2D spectroscopy experiments, allowing them to be carried out more efficiently.

48 CFR 852.219-72 - Evaluation factor for participation in the VA mentor-protégé program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... participation in the VA mentor-protégé program. 852.219-72 Section 852.219-72 Federal Acquisition Regulations... Texts of Provisions and Clauses 852.219-72 Evaluation factor for participation in the VA mentor-protégé... the VA Mentor-Protégé Program (DEC2009) This solicitation contains an evaluation factor or sub-factor...

Federal Health Care Center: VA and DOD Need to Develop Better Information to Monitor Operations and Improve Efficiency

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

delivery of health care that would be more accessible and less expensive than operating two federal medical centers serving VA and DOD beneficiaries in...departments—including DOD’s operational readiness mission—by integrating services previously provided by the former North Chicago VA Medical Center...1VA beneficiaries include veterans of military service and certain dependents and survivors. DOD beneficiaries include active duty

Raman microspectroscopy of optically trapped micro- and nanoobjects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonáš, Alexandr; Ježek, Jan; Šerý, Mojmír; Zemánek, Pavel

2008-12-01

We describe and characterize an experimental system for Raman microspectroscopy of micro- and nanoobjects optically trapped in aqueous suspensions with the use of a single-beam gradient optical trap (Raman tweezers). This system features two separate lasers providing light for the optical trapping and excitation of the Raman scattering spectra from the trapped specimen, respectively. Using independent laser beams for trapping and spectroscopy enables optimizing the parameters of both beams for their respective purposes. Moreover, it is possible to modulate the position of the trapped object relative to the Raman beam focus for maximizing the detected Raman signal and obtaining spatially resolved images of the trapped specimen. Using this experimental system, we have obtained Raman scattering spectra of individual optically confined micron and sub-micron sized polystyrene beads and baker's yeast cells. Sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio of the spectra could be achieved using a few tens of milliwatts of the Raman beam power and detector integration times on the order of seconds.

Correspondence of the Boston Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury-Lifetime (BAT-L) clinical interview and the VA TBI screen.

PubMed

Fortier, Catherine Brawn; Amick, Melissa M; Kenna, Alexandra; Milberg, William P; McGlinchey, Regina E

2015-01-01

Mild traumatic brain injury is the signature injury of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND), yet its identification and diagnosis is controversial and fraught with challenges. In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented a policy requiring traumatic brain injury (TBI) screening on all individuals returning from deployment in the OEF/OIF/OND theaters of operation that lead to the rapid and widespread use of the VA TBI screen. The Boston Assessment of TBI-Lifetime (BAT-L) is the first validated, postcombat semistructured clinical interview to characterize head injuries and diagnose TBIs throughout the life span, including prior to, during, and post-military service. Community-dwelling convenience sample of 179 OEF/OIF/OND veterans. BAT-L, VA TBI screen. Based on BAT-L diagnosis of military TBI, the VA TBI screen demonstrated similar sensitivity (0.85) and specificity (0.82) when administered by research staff. When BAT-L diagnosis was compared with historical clinician-administered VA TBI screen in a subset of participants, sensitivity was reduced. The specificity of the research-administered VA TBI screen was more than adequate. The sensitivity of the VA TBI screen, although relatively high, suggests that it does not oversample or "catch all" possible military TBIs. Traumatic brain injuries identified by the BAT-L, but not identified by the VA TBI screen, were predominantly noncombat military injuries. There is potential concern regarding the validity and reliability of the clinician administered VA TBI screen, as we found poor correspondence between it and the BAT-L, as well as low interrater reliability between the clinician-administered and research-administered screen.

12 CFR 324.205 - VaR-based measure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... risk-based capital requirements. The FDIC-supervised institution must update data sets at least monthly... observation period of at least one year. Data used to determine the VaR-based measure must be relevant to the... portfolio over a full business cycle. An FDIC-supervised institution using this option must update its data...

12 CFR 3.205 - VaR-based measure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... bank or Federal savings association must update data sets at least monthly or more frequently as... be based on a historical observation period of at least one year. Data used to determine the VaR... using this option must update its data more frequently than monthly and in a manner appropriate for the...

30 CFR 57.22212 - Air flow (I-C, II-A, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Air flow (I-C, II-A, and V-A mines). 57.22212 Section 57.22212 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND... Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22212 Air flow (I-C, II-A, and V-A mines...

Spectroscopic characterization of sixteenth century panel painting references using Raman, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and helium-Raman system for in situ analysis of Ibero-American Colonial paintings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Bucio, María Angélica; Casanova-González, Edgar; Ruvalcaba-Sil, José Luis; Arroyo-Lemus, Elsa; Mitrani-Viggiano, Alejandro

2016-12-01

Colonial panel paintings constitute an essential part of Latin-American cultural heritage. Their study is vital for understanding the manufacturing process, including its evolution in history, as well as its authorship, dating and other information significant to art history and conservation purposes. Raman spectroscopy supplies a non-destructive characterization tool, which can be implemented for in situ analysis, via portable equipment. Specific methodologies must be developed, comprising the elaboration of reference panel paintings using techniques and materials similar to those of the analysed period, as well as the determination of the best analysis conditions for different pigments and ground preparations. In order to do so, Raman spectroscopy at 532, 785 and 1064 nm, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and a helium-Raman system were applied to a panel painting reference, in combination with X-ray fluorescence analysis. We were able to establish the analysis conditions for a number of sixteenth century pigments and dyes, and other relevant components of panel paintings from this period, 1064 nm Raman and SERS being the most successful. The acquired spectra contain valuable specific information for their identification and they conform a very useful database that can be applied to the analysis of Ibero-American Colonial paintings. This article is part of the themed issue "Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology".

Spectroscopic characterization of sixteenth century panel painting references using Raman, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and helium-Raman system for in situ analysis of Ibero-American Colonial paintings

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Colonial panel paintings constitute an essential part of Latin-American cultural heritage. Their study is vital for understanding the manufacturing process, including its evolution in history, as well as its authorship, dating and other information significant to art history and conservation purposes. Raman spectroscopy supplies a non-destructive characterization tool, which can be implemented for in situ analysis, via portable equipment. Specific methodologies must be developed, comprising the elaboration of reference panel paintings using techniques and materials similar to those of the analysed period, as well as the determination of the best analysis conditions for different pigments and ground preparations. In order to do so, Raman spectroscopy at 532, 785 and 1064 nm, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and a helium-Raman system were applied to a panel painting reference, in combination with X-ray fluorescence analysis. We were able to establish the analysis conditions for a number of sixteenth century pigments and dyes, and other relevant components of panel paintings from this period, 1064 nm Raman and SERS being the most successful. The acquired spectra contain valuable specific information for their identification and they conform a very useful database that can be applied to the analysis of Ibero-American Colonial paintings. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology’. PMID:27799434

Raman chemical imaging technology for food and agricultural applications

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper presents Raman chemical imaging technology for inspecting food and agricultural products. The paper puts emphasis on introducing and demonstrating Raman imaging techniques for practical uses in food analysis. The main topics include Raman scattering principles, Raman spectroscopy measurem...

Effects of 4-Vinylcyclohexene Diepoxide on Peripubertal and Adult Sprague–Dawley Rats: Ovarian, Clinical, and Pathologic Outcomes

PubMed Central

Muhammad, F Salih; Goode, Amanda K; Kock, Nancy D; Arifin, Esther A; Cline, J Mark; Adams, Michael R; Hoyer, Patricia B; Christian, Patricia J; Isom, Scott; Kaplan, Jay R; Appt, Susan E

2009-01-01

Young rats treated daily with intraperitoneal 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) undergo selective destruction of primordial follicles, resulting in gradual ovarian failure resembling the menopausal transition in women. To determine whether VCD has similar effects on ovaries of older rats, adult and peripubertal Sprague–Dawley rats were injected intraperitoneally daily for 30 d with vehicle or VCD at 40 or 80 mg/kg. Body weight, food intake, complete blood counts, and markers of liver injury and renal function were measured during VCD treatment. Complete gross necropsy and microscopic observations were performed on day 31, and ovarian follicles were counted. At 80 mg/kg, VCD destroyed primordial and primary follicles to a similar extent in both adult and peripubertal animals, although adult rats likely started with fewer follicles and therefore approached follicle depletion. Treatment with VCD did not affect body weight, but food intake was reduced in both adult and peripubertal rats treated with 80 mg/kg VCD. Adult rats treated with 80 mg/kg VCD had neutrophilia and increased BUN and creatinine; in addition, 4 of these rats were euthanized on days 25 or 26 due to peritonitis. VCD treatment did not increase alanine aminotransferase levels, a marker of liver injury, although the 80-mg/kg dose increased liver weights. In conclusion, VCD effectively destroys small preantral follicles in adult Sprague–Dawley rats, making them a suitable model of the menopausal transition of women. However, because adult rats were more sensitive to the irritant properties of VCD, the use of a lower dose should be considered. PMID:19295054

Q-Switched Raman laser system

DOEpatents

George, E. Victor

1985-01-01

Method and apparatus for use of a Raman or Brillouin switch together with a conventional laser and a saturable absorber that is rapidly bleached at a predetermined frequency .nu.=.nu..sub.0, to ultimately produce a Raman or Brillouin pulse at frequency .nu.=.nu..sub.0 .+-..nu..sub.Stokes.

Q-switched Raman laser system

DOEpatents

George, E.V.

Method and apparatus for use of a Raman or Brillouin switch together with a conventional laser and a saturable absorber that is rapidly bleached at a predeterimined frequency nu = nu/sub O/, to ultimately produce a Raman or Brillouin pulse at frequency nu = nu/sub O/ +- nu /sub Stokes/.

Raman Spectrometry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardiner, Derek J.

1980-01-01

Reviews mainly quantitative analytical applications in the field of Raman spectrometry. Includes references to other reviews, new and analytically untested techniques, and novel sampling and instrument designs. Cites 184 references. (CS)

77 FR 72816 - Foreign-Trade Zone 20-Suffolk, VA; Authorization of Production Activity; Usui International...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-06

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-53-2012] Foreign-Trade Zone 20--Suffolk, VA; Authorization of Production Activity; Usui International Corporation (Diesel Engine Fuel Lines); Chesapeake, VA On June 28, 2012, the Virginia Port Authority, grantee of FTZ 20, submitted a notification of proposed production activity to the...

78 FR 31840 - Safety Zone; USO Patriotic Festival Air Show, Atlantic Ocean; Virginia Beach, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-28

...-AA00 Safety Zone; USO Patriotic Festival Air Show, Atlantic Ocean; Virginia Beach, VA AGENCY: Coast... provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the USO Patriotic Festival Air Show. This action... Patriotic Festival Air Show, Atlantic Ocean; Virginia Beach, VA. (a) Regulated Area. The following area is a...

77 FR 39404 - Safety Zone; Wicomico Community Fireworks Rain Date, Great Wicomico River, Mila, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-03

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Wicomico Community Fireworks Rain Date, Great Wicomico River, Mila, VA AGENCY: Coast... zone on the Great Wicomico River in the vicinity of Mila, VA in support of the Wicomico Community Rain... as follows: Sec. 165.T05-0425 Safety Zone; Wicomico Community Fireworks Rain Date, Great Wicomico...

Raman Antenna Effect in Semiconducting Nanowires.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Gugang; Xiong, Qihua; Eklund, Peter

2007-03-01

A novel Raman antenna effect has been observed in Raman scattering experiments recently carried out on individual GaP nanowires [1]. The Raman antenna effect is perfectly general and should appear in all semiconducting nanowires. It is characterized by an anomalous increase in the Raman cross section for scattering from LO or TO phonons when the electric field of the incident laser beam is parallel to the nanowire axis. We demonstrate that the explanation for the effect lies in the polarization dependence of the Mie scattering from the nanowire and the concomitant polarization-dependent electric field set up inside the wire. Our analysis involves calculations of the internal electric field using the discrete dipole approximation (DDA). We find that the Raman antenna effect happens only for nanowire diameters d<λ/4, where λ is the excitation laser wavelength. Our calculations are found in good agreement with recent experimental results for scattering from individual GaP nanowires. [1] Q. Xiong, G. Chen, G. D. Mahan, P. C. Eklund, in preparation, 2006.

Citrus fruits freshness assessment using Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Nekvapil, Fran; Brezestean, Ioana; Barchewitz, Daniel; Glamuzina, Branko; Chiş, Vasile; Cintă Pinzaru, Simona

2018-03-01

The freshness of citrus fruits commonly available in the market was non-destructively assessed by Raman spectroscopy. Intact clementine, mandarin and tangerine species were characterised concerning their carotenoids skin Raman signalling in a time course from the moment they were acquired as fresh stock, supplying the market, to the physical degradation, when they were no longer attractive to consumers. The freshness was found to strongly correlate to the peel Raman signal collected from the same area of the intact fruits in a time course of a maximum of 20days. We have shown that the intensity of the carotenoid Raman signal is indeed a good indicator of fruit freshness and introduced a Raman coefficient of freshness (C Fresh ), whose time course is linearly decreasing, with different slope for different citrus groups. Additionally, we demonstrated that the freshness assessment could be achieved using a portable Raman instrument. The results could have a strong impact for consumer satisfaction and the food industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combined experimental and theoretical study on the Raman and Raman optical activity signatures of pentamethylundecane diastereoisomers.

PubMed

Drooghaag, Xavier; Marchand-Brynaert, Jacqueline; Champagne, Benoît; Liégeois, Vincent

2010-09-16

The synthesis and the separation of the four stereoisomers of 2,4,6,8,10-pentamethylundecane (PMU) are described together with their characterization by Raman spectroscopy. In parallel, theoretical calculations of the Raman and vibrational Raman optical activity (VROA) spectra are reported and analyzed in relation with the recorded spectra. A very good agreement is found between the experimental and theoretical spectra. The Raman spectra are also shown to be less affected by the change of configuration than the VROA spectra. Nevertheless, by studying the overlap between the theoretical Raman spectra, we show clear relationships between the spectral fingerprints and the structures displaying a mixture of the TGTGTGTG conformation of the (4R,6s,8S)-PMU (isotactic compound) with the TTTTTTTT conformation of the (4R,6r,8S)-PMU (syndiotactic compound). Then, the fingerprints of the VROA spectra of the five conformers of the (4R,8R)-PMU have been related to the fingerprints of the regular (TG)(N) isotactic compound as a function of the torsion angles. Since the (TT)(N) syndiotactic compound has no VROA signatures, the VROA spectroscopy is very sensitive to the helical structures, as demonstrated here.

Characterization method for relative Raman enhancement for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using gold nanoparticle dimer array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugano, Koji; Ikegami, Kohei; Isono, Yoshitada

2017-06-01

In this paper, a characterization method for Raman enhancement for highly sensitive and quantitative surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is reported. A particle dimer shows a marked electromagnetic enhancement when the particle connection direction is matched to the polarization direction of incident light. In this study, dimers were arrayed by nanotrench-guided self-assembly for a marked total Raman enhancement. By measuring acetonedicarboxylic acid, the fabricated structures were characterized for SERS depending on the polarization angle against the particle connection direction. This indicates that the fabricated structures cause an effective SERS enhancement, which is dominated by the electromagnetic enhancement. Then, we measured 4,4‧-bipyridine, which is a pesticide material, for quantitative analysis. In advance, we evaluated the enhancement of the particle structure by the Raman measurement of acetonedicarboxylic acid. Finally, we compared the Raman intensities of acetonedicarboxylic acid and 4,4‧-bipyridine. Their intensities showed good correlation. The advantage of this method for previously evaluating the enhancement of the substrate was demonstrated. This developed SERS characterization method is expected to be applied to various quantitative trace analyses of molecules with high sensitivity.

38 CFR 17.71 - Revocation of VA approval.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Community Residential Care § 17.71 Revocation of VA approval. (a) If a hearing official determines under § 17.70 of this part that a community residential care facility does not comply with the standards set forth in § 17.63 of this part and determines that the community residential care facility shall not have...

Microfluidics and Raman microscopy: current applications and future challenges.

PubMed

Chrimes, Adam F; Khoshmanesh, Khashayar; Stoddart, Paul R; Mitchell, Arnan; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh

2013-07-07

Raman microscopy systems are becoming increasingly widespread and accessible for characterising chemical species. Microfluidic systems are also progressively finding their way into real world applications. Therefore, it is anticipated that the integration of Raman systems with microfluidics will become increasingly attractive and practical. This review aims to provide an overview of Raman microscopy-microfluidics integrated systems for researchers who are actively interested in utilising these tools. The fundamental principles and application strengths of Raman microscopy are discussed in the context of microfluidics. Various configurations of microfluidics that incorporate Raman microscopy methods are presented, with applications highlighted. Data analysis methods are discussed, with a focus on assisting the interpretation of Raman-microfluidics data from complex samples. Finally, possible future directions of Raman-microfluidic systems are presented.

Raman tensor elements of β-Ga2O3.

PubMed

Kranert, Christian; Sturm, Chris; Schmidt-Grund, Rüdiger; Grundmann, Marius

2016-11-03

The Raman spectrum and particularly the Raman scattering intensities of monoclinic β-Ga 2 O 3 are investigated by experiment and theory. The low symmetry of β-Ga 2 O 3 results in a complex dependence of the Raman intensity for the individual phonon modes on the scattering geometry which is additionally affected by birefringence. We measured the Raman spectra in dependence on the polarization direction for backscattering on three crystallographic planes of β-Ga 2 O 3 and modelled these dependencies using a modified Raman tensor formalism which takes birefringence into account. The spectral position of all 15 Raman active phonon modes and the Raman tensor elements of 13 modes were determined and are compared to results from ab-initio calculations.

Raman tensor elements of β-Ga2O3

PubMed Central

Kranert, Christian; Sturm, Chris; Schmidt-Grund, Rüdiger; Grundmann, Marius

2016-01-01

The Raman spectrum and particularly the Raman scattering intensities of monoclinic β-Ga2O3 are investigated by experiment and theory. The low symmetry of β-Ga2O3 results in a complex dependence of the Raman intensity for the individual phonon modes on the scattering geometry which is additionally affected by birefringence. We measured the Raman spectra in dependence on the polarization direction for backscattering on three crystallographic planes of β-Ga2O3 and modelled these dependencies using a modified Raman tensor formalism which takes birefringence into account. The spectral position of all 15 Raman active phonon modes and the Raman tensor elements of 13 modes were determined and are compared to results from ab-initio calculations. PMID:27808113

ENTRANCE TO CEMETERY FROM VA MEDICAL CENTER CAMPUS, WITH ADMINISTRATION ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

ENTRANCE TO CEMETERY FROM VA MEDICAL CENTER CAMPUS, WITH ADMINISTRATION BUILDING IN BACKGROUND. VIEW TO NORTH. - Bath National Cemetery, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Juan Avenue, Bath, Steuben County, NY

Raman spectroscopy in astrobiology.

PubMed

Jorge Villar, Susana E; Edwards, Howell G M

2006-01-01

Raman spectroscopy is proposed as a valuable analytical technique for planetary exploration because it is sensitive to organic and inorganic compounds and able to unambiguously identify key spectral markers in a mixture of biological and geological components; furthermore, sample manipulation is not required and any size of sample can be studied without chemical or mechanical pretreatment. NASA and ESA are considering the adoption of miniaturised Raman spectrometers for inclusion in suites of analytical instrumentation to be placed on robotic landers on Mars in the near future to search for extinct or extant life signals. In this paper we review the advantages and limitations of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of complex specimens with relevance to the detection of bio- and geomarkers in extremophilic organisms which are considered to be terrestrial analogues of possible extraterrestial life that could have developed on planetary surfaces.

Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injury and Swallowing Dysfunction in Neonatal Aortic Arch Repair.

PubMed

Pourmoghadam, Kamal K; DeCampli, William M; Ruzmetov, Mark; Kosko, James; Kishawi, Sami; O'Brien, Michael; Cowden, Amanda; Piggott, Kurt; Fakioglu, Harun

2017-11-01

We evaluated the incidence, clinical effect, and recovery rate of vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) and swallowing dysfunction in neonates undergoing aortic arch repair. We retrospectively evaluated 101 neonates who underwent aortic arch reconstruction from 2008 to 2015. Direct flexible laryngoscopy was performed in 89 patients before initiation of postoperative oral feeding after Norwood (n = 63) and non-Norwood (n = 26) arch reconstruction. We defined VCD as immobility of vocal cords or their lack of coaptation and poor mobility. The incidence of VCD after aortic arch repair was 48% (n = 43). There was no significant difference between the VCD and non-VCD groups in postoperative length of stay, extubation failure, cardiopulmonary bypass, cross-clamp, selective cerebral perfusion time, operative death, and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (STAT) Congenital Heart Surgery Mortality Categories. Placement of gastrostomy (p = 0.03) and documented aspiration (p = 0.01) were significantly more common in VCD patients. The incidence of VCD was 41% (n = 26) after Norwood and 65% (n = 17) after non-Norwood repairs (p = 0.06). Gastrostomy was required in 44 Norwood patients vs 9 non-Norwood patients (p = 0.004). Median length of stay was similar in Norwood patients with or without VCD (p = .28) but was significantly longer in non-Norwood patients with VCD vs those without (p = 0.002). At follow-up direct flexible laryngoscopy, VCD recovery was 74% (14 of 19) in the Norwood group and 86% (12 of 14) in the non-Norwood group. The incidence of VCD and swallowing dysfunction in neonates undergoing aortic arch reconstruction is high. Patients with VCD have a significantly higher incidence of gastrostomy placement and aspiration. In the Norwood population, length of stay is not associated with presence or absence of VCD. More than 70% of patients in each group who had direct flexible laryngoscopy follow-up recovered vocal cord

Raman Scattering from Tin

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

ARL-TR-7448 ● SEP 2015 US Army Research Laboratory Raman Scattering from Tin by Patrick A Folkes, Patrick Taylor, Charles Rong...REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2015 to 00-00-2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Raman Scattering from Tin 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c... tin as an analytical tool for discerning specific allotropic differences in ultra-thin tin films, and discerning differences between the tin and the

Characterization of uranium tetrafluoride (UF 4) with Raman spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Villa-Aleman, Eliel; Wellons, Matthew S.

The Raman spectrum of uranium tetrafluoride (UF 4) is unambiguously characterized with multiple Raman excitation laser sources for the first time. Across different laser excitation wavelengths, UF 4 demonstrates 16 distinct Raman bands within the 50-400 cm -1 region. The observed Raman bands are representative of various F-F vibrational modes. UF 4 also shows intense fluorescent bands in the 325 – 750 nm spectral region. Comparison of the UF 4 spectrum with the ZrF 4 spectrum, its crystalline analog, demonstrates a similar Raman band structure consistent with group theory predictions for expected Raman bands. Additionally, a demonstration of combined scanningmore » electron microscopy (SEM) and in situ Raman spectroscopy microanalytical measurements of UF 4 particulates shows that despite the inherent weak intensity of Raman bands, identification and characterization are possible for micron-sized particulates with modern instrumentation. The published well characterized UF 4 spectrum is extremely relevant to nuclear materials and nuclear safeguard applications.« less

Characterization of uranium tetrafluoride (UF 4) with Raman spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Villa-Aleman, Eliel; Wellons, Matthew S.

2016-03-22

The Raman spectrum of uranium tetrafluoride (UF 4) is unambiguously characterized with multiple Raman excitation laser sources for the first time. Across different laser excitation wavelengths, UF 4 demonstrates 16 distinct Raman bands within the 50-400 cm -1 region. The observed Raman bands are representative of various F-F vibrational modes. UF 4 also shows intense fluorescent bands in the 325 – 750 nm spectral region. Comparison of the UF 4 spectrum with the ZrF 4 spectrum, its crystalline analog, demonstrates a similar Raman band structure consistent with group theory predictions for expected Raman bands. Additionally, a demonstration of combined scanningmore » electron microscopy (SEM) and in situ Raman spectroscopy microanalytical measurements of UF 4 particulates shows that despite the inherent weak intensity of Raman bands, identification and characterization are possible for micron-sized particulates with modern instrumentation. The published well characterized UF 4 spectrum is extremely relevant to nuclear materials and nuclear safeguard applications.« less

Toward a VA Women's Health Research Agenda: setting evidence-based priorities to improve the health and health care of women veterans.

PubMed

Yano, Elizabeth M; Bastian, Lori A; Frayne, Susan M; Howell, Alexandra L; Lipson, Linda R; McGlynn, Geraldine; Schnurr, Paula P; Seaver, Margaret R; Spungen, Ann M; Fihn, Stephan D

2006-03-01

The expansion of women in the military is reshaping the veteran population, with women now constituting the fastest growing segment of eligible VA health care users. In recognition of the changing demographics and special health care needs of women, the VA Office of Research & Development recently sponsored the first national VA Women's Health Research Agenda-setting conference to map research priorities to the needs of women veterans and position VA as a national leader in Women's Health Research. This paper summarizes the process and outcomes of this effort, outlining VA's research priorities for biomedical, clinical, rehabilitation, and health services research.

Toward a VA Women's Health Research Agenda: Setting Evidence-based Priorities to Improve the Health and Health Care of Women Veterans

PubMed Central

Yano, Elizabeth M; Bastian, Lori A; Frayne, Susan M; Howell, Alexandra L; Lipson, Linda R; McGlynn, Geraldine; Schnurr, Paula P; Seaver, Margaret R; Spungen, Ann M; Fihn, Stephan D

2006-01-01

The expansion of women in the military is reshaping the veteran population, with women now constituting the fastest growing segment of eligible VA health care users. In recognition of the changing demographics and special health care needs of women, the VA Office of Research & Development recently sponsored the first national VA Women's Health Research Agenda-setting conference to map research priorities to the needs of women veterans and position VA as a national leader in Women's Health Research. This paper summarizes the process and outcomes of this effort, outlining VA's research priorities for biomedical, clinical, rehabilitation, and health services research. PMID:16637953

Raman imaging of molecular dynamics during cellular events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujita, Katsumasa

2017-07-01

To overcome the speed limitation in Raman imaging, we have developed a microscope system that detects Raman spectra from hundreds of points in a sample simultaneously. The sample was illuminated by a line-shaped focus, and Raman scattering from the illuminated positions was measured simultaneously by an imaging spectrophotometer. We applied the line-illumination technique to observe the dynamics of intracellular molecules during cellular events. We found that intracellular cytochrome c can be clearly imaged by resonant Raman scattering. We demonstrated label-free imaging of redistribution of cytochrome c during apoptosis and osteoblastic mineralization. We also proposed alkyne-tagged Raman imaging to observe small molecules in living cells. Due to its small size and the unique Raman band, alkyne can tag molecules without strong perturbation to molecular functions and with the capability to be detected separately from endogenous molecules.

Functional evaluation of sublingual microcirculation indicates successful weaning from VA-ECMO in cardiogenic shock.

PubMed

Akin, Sakir; Dos Reis Miranda, Dinis; Caliskan, Kadir; Soliman, Osama I; Guven, Goksel; Struijs, Ard; van Thiel, Robert J; Jewbali, Lucia S; Lima, Alexandre; Gommers, Diederik; Zijlstra, Felix; Ince, Can

2017-10-26

Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly adopted for the treatment of cardiogenic shock (CS). However, a marker of successful weaning remains largely unknown. Our hypothesis was that successful weaning is associated with sustained microcirculatory function during ECMO flow reduction. Therefore, we sought to test the usefulness of microcirculatory imaging in the same sublingual spot, using incident dark field (IDF) imaging in assessing successful weaning from VA-ECMO and compare IDF imaging with echocardiographic parameters. Weaning was performed by decreasing the VA-ECMO flow to 50% (F 50 ) from the baseline. The endpoint of the study was successful VA-ECMO explantation within 48 hours after weaning. The response of sublingual microcirculation to a weaning attempt (WA) was evaluated. Microcirculation was measured in one sublingual area (single spot (ss)) using CytoCam IDF imaging during WA. Total vessel density (TVDss) and perfused vessel density (PVDss) of the sublingual area were evaluated before and during 50% flow reduction (TVDss F50 , PVDss F50 ) after a WA and compared to conventional echocardiographic parameters as indicators of the success or failure of the WA. Patients (n = 13) aged 49 ± 18 years, who received VA-ECMO for the treatment of refractory CS due to pulmonary embolism (n = 5), post cardiotomy (n = 3), acute coronary syndrome (n = 2), myocarditis (n = 2) and drug intoxication (n = 1), were included. TVDss F50 (21.9 vs 12.9 mm/mm 2 , p = 0.001), PVDss F50 (19.7 vs 12.4 mm/mm 2 , p = 0.01) and aortic velocity-time integral (VTI) at 50% flow reduction (VTI F50 ) were higher in patients successfully weaned vs not successfully weaned. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.99 vs 0.93 vs 0.85 for TVDss F50 (small vessels) >12.2 mm/mm 2 , left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >15% and aortic VTI >11 cm. Likewise, the AUC was 0.91 vs 0.93 vs 0.85 for the PVDss F50 (all vessels) >14

Military and VA General Dentistry Training: A National Resource.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atchison, Kathryn A.; Bachand, William; Buchanan, C. Richard; Lefever, Karen H.; Lin, Sylvia; Engelhardt, Rita

2002-01-01

Compared the program characteristics of the postgraduate general dentistry (PGD) training programs sponsored by the military and the Veterans Health Administration (VA). Gathered information on program infrastructure and emphasis, resident preparation prior to entering the program, and patients served and types of services provided. Programs…

78 FR 76061 - Authorization for Non-VA Medical Services

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-16

..., Health professions, Health records, Homeless, Mental health programs, Nursing homes, Reporting and... final rule adopts the proposed rule without changes. We received several comments urging VA to expand....009, Veterans Medical Care Benefits; 64.010, Veterans Nursing Home Care; 64.011, Veterans Dental Care...

Characteristics and service utilization of homeless veterans entering VA substance use treatment.

PubMed

Cox, Koriann B; Malte, Carol A; Saxon, Andrew J

2017-05-01

This article compares characteristics and health care utilization patterns of homeless veterans entering substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Baseline self-report and medical record data were collected from 181 homeless veterans participating in a randomized trial of SUD/housing case management. Veterans, categorized as newly (n = 45), episodically (n = 61), or chronically homeless (n = 75), were compared on clinical characteristics and health care utilization in the year prior to baseline. Between-groups differences were seen in stimulant use, bipolar, and depressive disorders. A significant majority accessed VA emergency department services, and nearly half accessed inpatient services, with more utilization among chronically versus newly homeless. A majority in all groups attended VA primary care (73.5%) and mental health (56.9%) visits, and 26.7% newly, 32.8% episodically, and 56.0% chronically homeless veterans initiated multiple SUD treatment episodes (p = .002). A significant proportion of veterans struggling with homelessness and SUDs appear to remain unstable despite high utilization of VA acute and preventative services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Broadband stimulated Raman spectroscopy in the deep ultraviolet region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuramochi, Hikaru; Fujisawa, Tomotsumi; Takeuchi, Satoshi; Tahara, Tahei

2017-09-01

We report broadband stimulated Raman measurements in the deep ultraviolet (DUV) region, which enables selective probing of the aromatic amino acid residues inside proteins through the resonance enhancement. We combine the narrowband DUV Raman pump pulse (<10 cm-1) at wavelengths as short as 240 nm and the broadband DUV probe pulse (>1000 cm-1) to realize stimulated Raman measurements covering a >1500 cm-1 spectral window. The stimulated Raman measurements for neat solvents, tryptophan, tyrosine, and glucose oxidase are performed using 240- and 290-nm Raman pump, highlighting the high potential of the DUV stimulated Raman probe for femtosecond time-resolved study of proteins.

Raman microscopic analysis in museology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Withnall, Robert; Derbyshire, Alan; Thiel, Sigrun; Hughes, Michael J.

2000-09-01

These portrait miniatures on ivory were analyzed by Raman microscopy to determine the identity of tiny, white crystals which occur under, within, or on top of their paint layers. In each case the crystals were identified as magnesium hydrogen phosphate trihydrate, newberyite (MgHPO4.3H2O). Small, white crystals which grow on the inner surface of ivory tusks were also identified as newberyite by means of Raman microscopy. Thus, it is concluded that the tiny, white crystals occurring on the portrait miniatures on ivory almost certainly originate from the ivory substrate. Resonance Raman spectroscopy using 632.8 nm excitations were found to be a sensitive probe for the detection of the blue pigment, indigo, even when it occurs in pigment mixtures on paintings. Raman microscopy was also used in analyze a fragment of opaque red Assyrian glass, dating from around the 9th-8th centuries BC, an opaque red Iron Age glass stud, dating from around the 1st century BC, and three opaque yellow Anglo-Saxon glass beads, dating from the 6th century AD.

Raman-based system for DNA sequencing-mapping and other separations

DOEpatents

Vo-Dinh, Tuan

1994-01-01

DNA sequencing and mapping are performed by using a Raman spectrometer with a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate to enhance the Raman signal. A SERS label is attached to a DNA fragment and then analyzed with the Raman spectrometer to identify the DNA fragment according to characteristics of the Raman spectrum generated.

30 CFR 57.22208 - Auxiliary fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Auxiliary fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). 57.22208 Section 57.22208 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). (a) Auxiliary fans, except fans used in shops and other areas...

30 CFR 57.22103 - Open flames (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Open flames (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). 57.22103 Section 57.22103 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... Open flames (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). Open flames shall not be permitted underground except for...

30 CFR 57.22207 - Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22207 Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). (a) Booster fans shall be approved by MSHA under the applicable...

30 CFR 57.22207 - Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22207 Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). (a) Booster fans shall be approved by MSHA under the applicable...

30 CFR 57.22207 - Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22207 Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). (a) Booster fans shall be approved by MSHA under the applicable...

30 CFR 57.22207 - Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines... NONMETAL MINES Safety Standards for Methane in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Ventilation § 57.22207 Booster fans (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). (a) Booster fans shall be approved by MSHA under the applicable...

Tunable infrared source employing Raman mixing

DOEpatents

Byer, Robert L.; Herbst, Richard L.

1980-01-01

A tunable source of infrared radiation is obtained by irradiating an assemblage of Raman active gaseous atoms or molecules with a high intensity pumping beam of coherent radiation at a pump frequency .omega..sub.p to stimulate the generation of Stokes wave energy at a Stokes frequency .omega..sub.s and to stimulate the Raman resonant mode at the Raman mode frequency .omega..sub.R within the irradiated assemblage where the pump frequency .omega..sub.p minus the Stokes frequency .omega..sub.s is equal to the Raman mode frequency .omega..sub.R. The stimulated assemblage is irradiated with a tunable source of coherent radiation at a frequency .omega..sub.i to generate the output infrared radiation of the frequency .omega..sub.0 which is related to the Raman mode frequency .omega..sub.R and the input wave .omega..sub.i by the relation .omega..sub.0 =.omega..sub.i .+-..omega..sub.R. In one embodiment the interaction between the pump wave energy .omega..sub.p and the tunable input wave energy .omega..sub.i is collinear and the ratio of the phase velocity mismatch factor .DELTA.k to the electric field exponential gain coefficient T is within the range of 0.1 to 5. In another embodiment the pump wave energy .omega..sub.p and the tunable input wave energy .omega..sub.i have velocity vectors k.sub.p and k.sub.i which cross at an angle to each other to compensate for phase velocity mismatches in the medium. In another embodiment, the Stokes wave energy .omega..sub.s is generated by pump energy .omega..sub.p in a first Raman cell and .omega..sub.s, .omega..sub.i and .omega..sub.p are combined in a second Raman mixing cell to produce the output at .omega..sub.i.

Sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy to normal patient variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vargis, Elizabeth; Byrd, Teresa; Logan, Quinisha; Khabele, Dineo; Mahadevan-Jansen, Anita

2011-11-01

Many groups have used Raman spectroscopy for diagnosing cervical dysplasia; however, there have been few studies looking at the effect of normal physiological variations on Raman spectra. We assess four patient variables that may affect normal Raman spectra: Race/ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), parity, and socioeconomic status. Raman spectra were acquired from a diverse population of 75 patients undergoing routine screening for cervical dysplasia. Classification of Raman spectra from patients with a normal cervix is performed using sparse multinomial logistic regression (SMLR) to determine if any of these variables has a significant effect. Results suggest that BMI and parity have the greatest impact, whereas race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status have a limited effect. Incorporating BMI and obstetric history into classification algorithms may increase sensitivity and specificity rates of disease classification using Raman spectroscopy. Studies are underway to assess the effect of these variables on disease.

VA/DoD Joint Executive Council FY 2009: Joint Strategic Plan FY 2010-2012

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

through the Military Health System (MHS) Population Health Portal . HEC Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health In FY 2009, VA and DoD made...available using the Deployment Occupational and Environmental Health Surveillance Portal . TBI and MH assessment tools were evaluated and monitored through...with increased access, VA maintained the frequency of encounters for treatment of PTSD and other MH conditions in Veterans of prior eras. To forecast

What Good is Raman Water Vapor Lidar?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitman, David

2011-01-01

Raman lidar has been used to quantify water vapor in the atmosphere for various scientific studies including mesoscale meteorology and satellite validation. Now the international networks of NDACC and GRUAN have interest in using Raman water vapor lidar for detecting trends in atmospheric water vapor concentrations. What are the data needs for addressing these very different measurement challenges. We will review briefly the scientific needs for water vapor accuracy for each of these three applications and attempt to translate that into performance specifications for Raman lidar in an effort to address the question in the title of "What good is Raman water vapor Iidar."

Raman-based system for DNA sequencing-mapping and other separations

DOEpatents

Vo-Dinh, T.

1994-04-26

DNA sequencing and mapping are performed by using a Raman spectrometer with a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate to enhance the Raman signal. A SERS label is attached to a DNA fragment and then analyzed with the Raman spectrometer to identify the DNA fragment according to characteristics of the Raman spectrum generated. 11 figures.

Double spacing multi-wavelength Brillouin Raman fiber laser of eight-shaped structure utilizing Raman amplifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madin, M. Sya'aer; Ahmad Hambali, N. A. M.; Shahimin, M. M.; Wahid, M. H. A.; Roshidah, N.; Azaidin, M. A. M.

2017-02-01

In this paper, double frequency spacing of multi-wavelength Brillouin Raman fiber laser utilizing eight-shaped structure in conjunction with Raman amplifier is simulated and demonstrated using Optisys software. Double frequency multiwavelength Brillouin Raman fiber laser is one of the solution for single frequency spacing channel de-multiplexing from narrow single spacing in the communication systems. The eight-shaped structure has the ability to produce lower noise and double frequency spacing. The 7 km of single mode fiber acting as a nonlinear medium for the generation of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering and Stimulated Raman Scattering. As a results, the optimum results are recorded at 1450 nm of RP power at 22 dBm and 1550 nm of BP power at 20 dBm. These parameters provide a high output peak power, gain and average OSNR. The highest peak power of Stokes 1 is recorded at 90% of coupling ratio which is 29.88 dBm. It is found that the maximum gain and average OSNR of about 1.23 dB and 63.74 dB.

Raman band intensities of tellurite glasses.

PubMed

Plotnichenko, V G; Sokolov, V O; Koltashev, V V; Dianov, E M; Grishin, I A; Churbanov, M F

2005-05-15

Raman spectra of TeO2-based glasses doped with WO3, ZnO, GeO2, TiO2, MoO3, and Sb2O3 are measured. The intensity of bands in the Raman spectra of MoO3-TeO2 and MoO3-WO3-TeO2 glasses is shown to be 80-95 times higher than that for silica glass. It is shown that these glasses can be considered as one of the most promising materials for Raman fiber amplifiers.

UV Resonant Raman Spectrometer with Multi-Line Laser Excitation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambert, James L.; Kohel, James M.; Kirby, James P.; Morookian, John Michael; Pelletier, Michael J.

2013-01-01

A Raman spectrometer employs two or more UV (ultraviolet) laser wavel engths to generate UV resonant Raman (UVRR) spectra in organic sampl es. Resonant Raman scattering results when the laser excitation is n ear an electronic transition of a molecule, and the enhancement of R aman signals can be several orders of magnitude. In addition, the Ra man cross-section is inversely proportional to the fourth power of t he wavelength, so the UV Raman emission is increased by another fact or of 16, or greater, over visible Raman emissions. The Raman-scatter ed light is collected using a high-resolution broadband spectrograph . Further suppression of the Rayleigh-scattered laser light is provi ded by custom UV notch filters.

Development of a multiplexing fingerprint and high wavenumber Raman spectroscopy technique for real-time in vivo tissue Raman measurements at endoscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergholt, Mads Sylvest; Zheng, Wei; Huang, Zhiwei

2013-03-01

We report on the development of a novel multiplexing Raman spectroscopy technique using a single laser light together with a volume phase holographic (VPH) grating that simultaneously acquires both fingerprint (FP) and high wavenumber (HW) tissue Raman spectra at endoscopy. We utilize a customized VPH dual-transmission grating, which disperses the incident Raman scattered light vertically onto two separate segments (i.e., -150 to 1950 cm-1 1750 to 3600 cm-1) of a charge-coupled device camera. We demonstrate that the multiplexing Raman technique can acquire high quality in vivo tissue Raman spectra ranging from 800 to 3600 cm-1 within 1.0 s with a spectral resolution of 3 to 6 cm-1 during clinical endoscopy. The rapid multiplexing Raman spectroscopy technique covering both FP and HW ranges developed in this work has potential for improving in vivo tissue diagnosis and characterization at endoscopy.

On vibrational circular dichroism chirality transfer in electron donor-acceptor complexes: a prediction for the quinine···BF3 system.

PubMed

Rode, Joanna E; Jamróz, Michał H; Dobrowolski, Jan Cz; Sadlej, Joanna

2012-08-02

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) chirality transfer occurs when an achiral molecule interacts with a chiral one and becomes VCD-active. Unlike for H-bonds, for organic electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes this phenomenon remains almost unknown. Here, the VCD chirality transfer from chiral quinine to achiral BF3 is studied at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. Accessibility of four quinine electron donor sites changes with conformation. Therefore, the quinine conformational landscape was explored and a considerable agreement between X-ray and the most stable conformer geometries was achieved. The BF3 complex through the aliphatic quinuclidine N atom is definitely dominating and is predicted to be easily recognizable in the VCD spectrum. Out of several VCD chirality transfer modes, the ν(s)(BF3) mode, the most intense in the entire VCD spectrum, satisfies the VCD mode robustness criterion and can be used for monitoring the chirality transfer phenomenon in quinine···BF3 system.

Experimental artifacts influencing polarization sensitive magneto-Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thirunavukkuarasu, K.; Lu, Z.; Su, L.; Yu, Y.; Cao, L.; Ballotin, M. V.; Christianen, P. C. M.; Zhang, Y.; Smirnov, D.

Since the discovery of graphene, there has been an explosion of research on 2D layered materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Among several experimental techniques utilized for studying these materials, Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a very powerful tool due to it's sensitivity to layer numbers, interlayer coupling etc. Layered MoS2, member of TMD family, is a typical example with promising applications in nano-optoelectronics. A recent magneto-Raman investigations on MoS2 published by J. Ji etal reported an observation of giant magneto-optical effect. In this work, the intensity of Raman modes exhibited dramatic change in intensities and was attributed to field-induced broken symmetry on Raman scattering cross-section. Due to the ambiguous nature of the interpretation presented in this publication, we performed further Raman studies on MoS2 at high magnetic fields to illustrate the experimental factors overlooked by the previous study. It is highly important to consider the magnetic field-induced rotation of the polarization of the light and its effect on the Raman active phonon modes in anisotropic materials. A detailed report of our magneto-Raman experiments and their outcomes will be presented.

Time Resolved Raman and Fluorescence Spectrometer for Planetary Mineralogy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blacksberg, Jordana; Rossman, George

2010-05-01

Raman spectroscopy is a prime candidate for the next generation of planetary instruments, as it addresses the primary goal of mineralogical analysis which is structure and composition. It does not require sample preparation and provides unique mineral fingerprints, even for mixed phase samples. However, large fluorescence return from many mineral samples under visible light excitation can seriously compromise the quality of the spectra or even render Raman spectra unattainable. Fluorescence interference is likely to be a problem on Mars and is evident in Raman spectra of Martian Meteorites[1]. Our approach uses time resolution for elimination of fluorescence from Raman spectra, allowing for traditional visible laser excitation (532 nm). Since Raman occurs instantaneously with the laser pulse and fluorescence lifetimes vary from nsec to msec depending on the mineral, it is possible to separate them out in time. Complementary information can also be obtained simultaneously using the time resolved fluorescence data. The Simultaneous Spectral Temporal Adaptive Raman Spectrometer (SSTARS) is a planetary instrument under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, capable of time-resolved in situ Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy. A streak camera and pulsed miniature microchip laser provide psec scale time resolution. Our ability to observe the complete time evolution of Raman and fluorescence in minerals provides a foundation for design of pulsed Raman and fluorescence spectrometers in diverse planetary environments. We will discuss the SSTARS instrument design and performance capability. We will also present time-resolved pulsed Raman spectra collected from a relevant set of minerals selected using available data on Mars mineralogy[2]. Of particular interest are minerals resulting from aqueous alteration on Mars. For comparison, we will present Raman spectra obtained using a commercial continuous wave (CW) green (514 nm) Raman system. In many cases using a CW laser

77 FR 27118 - Safety Zone; Rocketts Red Glare Fireworks, Ancarrows Landing Park, James River, Richmond, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-09

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 165 [Docket No. USCG-2012-0114] RIN 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Rocketts Red Glare Fireworks, Ancarrows Landing Park, James River, Richmond, VA... Glare Fireworks, Ancarrows Landing Park, James River, Richmond, VA in the Federal Register (76 FR 13525...

38 CFR 21.4216 - Review of decision of Director of VA Regional Processing Office of jurisdiction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Director of VA Regional Processing Office of jurisdiction. 21.4216 Section 21.4216 Pensions, Bonuses, and... Administration of Educational Assistance Programs Schools § 21.4216 Review of decision of Director of VA Regional Processing Office of jurisdiction. (a) Decision is subject to review by the Director, Education Service. At...

75 FR 34934 - Safety Zone; Fireworks for the Virginia Lake Festival, Buggs Island Lake, Clarksville, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-21

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Fireworks for the Virginia Lake Festival, Buggs Island Lake, Clarksville, VA AGENCY... Fireworks for the Virginia Lake Festival event. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic movement... Virginia Lake Festival, Buggs Island Lake, Clarksville, VA (a) Regulated Area. The following area is a...

National Dam Safety Program. Upper Apple Mountain & Lower Apple Mountain. Dam (Inventory Number VA 18711 and VA 18709), Potomac River Basin, Warren County, Virginia. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-03-01

pt 3349 tIto . %. 0- Z 20a Z US It - r.422 j - oil too I - i n IN IU w-nj 1.t 1-1 1 1 Uzi bp- r* 93 I .- -CL US0 (1syOWSW!)C 91 00A o Z z 49 W, x _jW4~0...UNCLASSIFIED .’mollIIEIEEIIII l//lEEBhE/h//E IIIEEIIIlIIIII I hhhhhhhhhhhhl POTOAC RIVER BASIN Name Of Dam: UPPER APPLE MTN. 6 LOWER ALE Mt. Location...WARREN COUNTY Inventory Number: VA. 48711 S VA. 16709 PHASE I INSPECTION REPORT NATIONAL DAM SAFETY PROGRAM + I + - SEP3 tell. "=: ~~t PUMP, -We"* li

VA Education Benefits: VA Should Strengthen Its Efforts to Help Veterans Make Informed Education Choices. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-14-324

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emrey-Arras, Melissa

2014-01-01

In fiscal year 2013, VA provided over $12 billion in benefits for veterans' postsecondary education; however, questions have been raised as to whether some schools are receiving these funds as a result of inappropriate recruiting practices. GAO was asked to examine issues related to schools' recruitment of veterans. This report examines (1) how…

VA/DoD Collaboration Guidebook for Healthcare Research

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-24

specific time periods. The VA has academic affiliates that, in some instances, may supplement a researcher’s income and provide tenure and academic ...Clinical care dollars only Career Scientist and Research Scientist Research efforts paid by research funds Academic Researcher Research or...their graduate medical education (GME) program training director. DoD researchers may have scientific academic affiliations with the Uniformed

Cavity-enhanced Raman microscopy of individual carbon nanotubes

PubMed Central

Hümmer, Thomas; Noe, Jonathan; Hofmann, Matthias S.; Hänsch, Theodor W.; Högele, Alexander; Hunger, David

2016-01-01

Raman spectroscopy reveals chemically specific information and provides label-free insight into the molecular world. However, the signals are intrinsically weak and call for enhancement techniques. Here, we demonstrate Purcell enhancement of Raman scattering in a tunable high-finesse microcavity, and utilize it for molecular diagnostics by combined Raman and absorption imaging. Studying individual single-wall carbon nanotubes, we identify crucial structural parameters such as nanotube radius, electronic structure and extinction cross-section. We observe a 320-times enhanced Raman scattering spectral density and an effective Purcell factor of 6.2, together with a collection efficiency of 60%. Potential for significantly higher enhancement, quantitative signals, inherent spectral filtering and absence of intrinsic background in cavity-vacuum stimulated Raman scattering render the technique a promising tool for molecular imaging. Furthermore, cavity-enhanced Raman transitions involving localized excitons could potentially be used for gaining quantum control over nanomechanical motion and open a route for molecular cavity optomechanics. PMID:27402165

Multiplex coherent raman spectroscopy detector and method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joyner, Candace C. (Inventor); Patrick, Sheena T. (Inventor); Chen, Peter (Inventor); Guyer, Dean R. (Inventor)

2004-01-01

A multiplex coherent Raman spectrometer (10) and spectroscopy method rapidly detects and identifies individual components of a chemical mixture separated by a separation technique, such as gas chromatography. The spectrometer (10) and method accurately identify a variety of compounds because they produce the entire gas phase vibrational Raman spectrum of the unknown gas. This is accomplished by tilting a Raman cell (20) to produce a high-intensity, backward-stimulated, coherent Raman beam of 683 nm, which drives a degenerate optical parametric oscillator (28) to produce a broadband beam of 1100-1700 nm covering a range of more than 3000 wavenumber. This broadband beam is combined with a narrowband beam of 532 nm having a bandwidth of 0.003 wavenumbers and focused into a heated windowless cell (38) that receives gases separated by a gas chromatograph (40). The Raman radiation scattered from these gases is filtered and sent to a monochromator (50) with multichannel detection.

Multiplex coherent raman spectroscopy detector and method

DOEpatents

Chen, Peter; Joyner, Candace C.; Patrick, Sheena T.; Guyer, Dean R.

2004-06-08

A multiplex coherent Raman spectrometer (10) and spectroscopy method rapidly detects and identifies individual components of a chemical mixture separated by a separation technique, such as gas chromatography. The spectrometer (10) and method accurately identify a variety of compounds because they produce the entire gas phase vibrational Raman spectrum of the unknown gas. This is accomplished by tilting a Raman cell (20) to produce a high-intensity, backward-stimulated, coherent Raman beam of 683 nm, which drives a degenerate optical parametric oscillator (28) to produce a broadband beam of 1100-1700 nm covering a range of more than 3000 wavenumber. This broadband beam is combined with a narrowband beam of 532 nm having a bandwidth of 0.003 wavenumbers and focused into a heated windowless cell (38) that receives gases separated by a gas chromatograph (40). The Raman radiation scattered from these gases is filtered and sent to a monochromator (50) with multichannel detection.

Rapid identification of staphylococci by Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Rebrošová, Katarína; Šiler, Martin; Samek, Ota; Růžička, Filip; Bernatová, Silvie; Holá, Veronika; Ježek, Jan; Zemánek, Pavel; Sokolová, Jana; Petráš, Petr

2017-11-01

Clinical treatment of the infections caused by various staphylococcal species differ depending on the actual cause of infection. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a fast and reliable method for identification of staphylococci. Raman spectroscopy is an optical method used in multiple scientific fields. Recent studies showed that the method has a potential for use in microbiological research, too. Our work here shows a possibility to identify staphylococci by Raman spectroscopy. We present a method that enables almost 100% successful identification of 16 of the clinically most important staphylococcal species directly from bacterial colonies grown on a Mueller-Hinton agar plate. We obtained characteristic Raman spectra of 277 staphylococcal strains belonging to 16 species from a 24-hour culture of each strain grown on the Mueller-Hinton agar plate using the Raman instrument. The results show that it is possible to distinguish among the tested species using Raman spectroscopy and therefore it has a great potential for use in routine clinical diagnostics.

Single Molecule Raman Spectroscopy Under High Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Yuanxi; Dlott, Dana

2014-06-01

Pressure effects on surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectra of Rhdoamine 6G adsorbed on silver nanoparticle surfaces was studied using a confocal Raman microscope. Colloidal silver nanoparticles were treated with Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and its isotopically substituted partner, R6G-d4. Mixed isotopomers let us identify single-molecule spectra, since multiple-molecule spectra would show vibrational transitions from both species. The nanoparticles were embedded into a poly vinyl alcohol film, and loaded into a diamond anvil cell for the high-pressure Raman scattering measurement. Argon was the pressure medium. Ambient pressure Raman scattering spectra showed few single-molecule spectra. At moderately high pressure ( 1GPa), a surprising effect was observed. The number of sites with observable spectra decreased dramatically, and most of the spectra that could be observed were due to single molecules. The effects of high pressure suppressed the multiple-molecule Raman sites, leaving only the single-molecule sites to be observed.

Raman scattering or fluorescence emission? Raman spectroscopy study on lime-based building and conservation materials.

PubMed

Kaszowska, Zofia; Malek, Kamilla; Staniszewska-Slezak, Emilia; Niedzielska, Karina

2016-12-05

This work presents an in-depth study on Raman spectra excited with 1064 and 532nm lasers of lime binders employed in the past as building materials and revealed today as valuable conservation materials. We focus our interest on the bands of strong intensity, which are present in the spectra of all binders acquired with laser excitation at 1064nm, but absent in the corresponding spectra acquired with laser excitation at 532nm. We suggest, that the first group of spectra represents fluorescence phenomena of unknown origin and the second true Raman scattering. In our studies, we also include two other phases of lime cycle, i.e. calcium carbonate (a few samples of calcite of various origins) and calcium oxide (quicklime) to assess how structural and chemical transformations of lime phases affect the NIR-Raman spectral profile. Furthermore, we analyse a set of carbonated limewashes and lime binders derived from old plasters to give an insight into their spectral characteristics after excitation with the 1064nm laser line. NIR-Raman micro-mapping results are also presented to reveal the spatial distribution of building materials and fluorescent species in the cross-section of plaster samples taken from a 15th century chapel. Our study shows that the Raman analysis can help identify lime-based building and conservation materials, however, a caution is advised in the interpretation of the spectra acquired using 1064nm excitation. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

All-solid-state, synchronously pumped, ultrafast BaWO4 Raman laser with long and short Raman shifts generating at 1180, 1225, and 1323 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, Milan; Jelínek, Michal; Kubeček, Václav; Ivleva, Lyudmila I.; Zverev, Petr G.; Smetanin, Sergei

2017-12-01

A lot of attention is currently focused on synchronously pumped, extra-cavity crystalline Raman lasers generating one or two Stokes Raman components in KGW or diamond Raman-active crystals, and also generating additional components of stimulated polariton scattering in lithium niobate crystal having both cubic and quadratic nonlinearities. In this contribution we report on generation of more than two Stokes components of stimulated Raman scattering with different Raman shifts in the all-solid-state, synchronously pumped, extra-cavity Raman laser based on the Raman-active a-cut BaWO4 crystal excited by a mode-locked, 220 nJ, 36 ps, 150 MHz diode sidepumped Nd:GdVO4 laser generating at the wavelength of 1063 nm. Excitation by the pumping radiation polarized along the BaWO4 crystal optical axis resulted in the Raman generation with not only usual (925cm - 1), but also additional (332cm - 1) Raman shift. Besides the 1180-nm first and 1323 nm second Stokes components with the Raman shift of 925cm - 1 from the 1063nm fundamental laser wavelength, we have achieved generation of the additional 1227 nm Raman component with different Raman shift of 332cm - 1 from the 1180nm component. At the 1227 nm component the strongest 12-times pulse shortening from 36ps down to 3ps was obtained due to shorter dephasing time of this additional Raman line (3ps for the 332-cm - 1 line instead of 6.5ps for the 925cm - 1 line). It has to be also noted that the 1225 nm generation is intracavity pumped by the 1179 nm first Stokes component resulting in the strongest pulse shortening close to the 332cm -1 line dephasing time (3ps). Slope efficiency of three Stokes components generation exceeded 20%.

Automated Tumor Registry for Oncology. A VA-DHCP MUMPS application.

PubMed

Richie, S

1992-01-01

The VA Automated Tumor Registry for Oncology, Version 2, is a multifaceted, completely automated user-friendly cancer database. Easy to use modules include: Automatic Casefinding; Suspense Files; Abstracting and Printing; Follow-up; Annual Reports; Statistical Reports; Utility Functions.

The Impact of Array Detectors on Raman Spectroscopy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denson, Stephen C.; Pommier, Carolyn J. S.; Denton, M. Bonner

2007-01-01

The impact of array detectors in the field of Raman spectroscopy and all low-light-level spectroscopic techniques is examined. The high sensitivity of array detectors has allowed Raman spectroscopy to be used to detect compounds at part per million concentrations and to perform Raman analyses at advantageous wavelengths.

Investigation of Skin Cancers Using MicroRaman Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Short, M. A.; Chen, X. K.; Zeng, H.; Ajlan, A. A.; McLean, D. I.; Hui, H.

2004-03-01

We have measured the Raman spectra of skin cancers, including melanoma and basal cell carcinoma, using a confocal microRaman spectrograph. In an attempt to identify the origin of the observed Raman modes, we investigated the spectra obtained from different locations of the samples, compared the observed spectra with those measured from normal human skin and pig skin, and studied the polarization dependence of the spectra. In addition, we will discuss the effects of fluorescence in the measurement of Raman spectra of skin samples.

77 FR 12997 - Drug and Drug-Related Supply Promotion by Pharmaceutical Company Representatives at VA Facilities

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-05

... reduce or eliminate any potential for disruption in the patient care environment, manage activities and... activities that VA staff would otherwise perform during duty hours, including patient care and other... important that VA be able to limit the effects of such promotion on patient care. Again, we make no changes...

Raman lidar/AERI PBL Height Product

DOE Data Explorer

Ferrare, Richard

2012-12-14

Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) heights have been computed using potential temperature profiles derived from Raman lidar and AERI measurements. Raman lidar measurements of the rotational Raman scattering from nitrogen and oxygen are used to derive vertical profiles of potential temperature. AERI measurements of downwelling radiance are used in a physical retrieval approach (Smith et al. 1999, Feltz et al. 1998) to derive profiles of temperature and water vapor. The Raman lidar and AERI potential temperature profiles are merged to create a single potential temperature profile for computing PBL heights. PBL heights were derived from these merged potential temperature profiles using a modified Heffter (1980) technique that was tailored to the SGP site (Della Monache et al., 2004). PBL heights were computed on an hourly basis for the period January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2011. These heights are provided as meters above ground level.

Comparison of topical fixed-combination fortified vancomycin-amikacin (VA solution) to conventional separate therapy in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcer.

PubMed

Chiang, C-C; Lin, J-M; Chen, W-L; Chiu, Y-T; Tsai, Y-Y

2009-02-01

In an in vitro study, fixed-combination fortified vancomycin and amikacin ophthalmic solutions (VA solution) had the same potency and stable physical properties as the separate components. In this retrospective clinical study, we evaluated the efficacy of the topical VA solution in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcer and comparison with separate topical fortified vancomycin and amikacin. Separate topical fortified eye drops was used prior to January 2004 and switched to the VA solution afterwards in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcer. The medical records of 223 patients diagnosed with bacterial corneal ulcers between January 2002 and December 2005 were reviewed retrospectively. There were 122 patients in the VA group and 101 in the separate group. Cure was defined as complete healing of the ulcer accompanied by a nonprogressive stromal infiltrate on two consecutive visits. No significant difference was found between the VA and separate therapy group. The mean treatment duration was 15.4 days in the VA group and 16.1 days in the separate therapy group. The average hospital stay was 5.4 days (VA) and 7.2 days (separate antibiotics). Stromal infiltration regressed significantly without further expansion in both groups. All corneal ulcers completely re-epithelialized without complications related to drugs. VA solution provided similar efficacy to the conventional separate therapy in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcers; however, it is more convenient and tolerable, promotes patient's compliance, avoids the washout effect, and reduces nurse utilization. Hence, VA solution is a good alternative to separate therapy.

Development of a multiplexing fingerprint and high wavenumber Raman spectroscopy technique for real-time in vivo tissue Raman measurements at endoscopy.

PubMed

Bergholt, Mads Sylvest; Zheng, Wei; Huang, Zhiwei

2013-03-01

We report on the development of a novel multiplexing Raman spectroscopy technique using a single laser light together with a volume phase holographic (VPH) grating that simultaneously acquires both fingerprint (FP) and high wavenumber (HW) tissue Raman spectra at endoscopy. We utilize a customized VPH dual-transmission grating, which disperses the incident Raman scattered light vertically onto two separate segments (i.e., -150 to 1950  cm⁻¹; 1750 to 3600  cm⁻¹) of a charge-coupled device camera. We demonstrate that the multiplexing Raman technique can acquire high quality in vivo tissue Raman spectra ranging from 800 to 3600  cm⁻¹ within 1.0 s with a spectral resolution of 3 to 6  cm⁻¹ during clinical endoscopy. The rapid multiplexing Raman spectroscopy technique covering both FP and HW ranges developed in this work has potential for improving in vivo tissue diagnosis and characterization at endoscopy.

In situ Raman mapping of art objects

PubMed Central

Brondeel, Ph.; Moens, L.; Vandenabeele, P.

2016-01-01

Raman spectroscopy has grown to be one of the techniques of interest for the investigation of art objects. The approach has several advantageous properties, and the non-destructive character of the technique allowed it to be used for in situ investigations. However, compared with laboratory approaches, it would be useful to take advantage of the small spectral footprint of the technique, and use Raman spectroscopy to study the spatial distribution of different compounds. In this work, an in situ Raman mapping system is developed to be able to relate chemical information with its spatial distribution. Challenges for the development are discussed, including the need for stable positioning and proper data treatment. To avoid focusing problems, nineteenth century porcelain cards are used to test the system. This work focuses mainly on the post-processing of the large dataset which consists of four steps: (i) importing the data into the software; (ii) visualization of the dataset; (iii) extraction of the variables; and (iv) creation of a Raman image. It is shown that despite the challenging task of the development of the full in situ Raman mapping system, the first steps are very promising. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology’. PMID:27799424

Time-lapse Raman imaging of osteoblast differentiation

PubMed Central

Hashimoto, Aya; Yamaguchi, Yoshinori; Chiu, Liang-da; Morimoto, Chiaki; Fujita, Katsumasa; Takedachi, Masahide; Kawata, Satoshi; Murakami, Shinya; Tamiya, Eiichi

2015-01-01

Osteoblastic mineralization occurs during the early stages of bone formation. During this mineralization, hydroxyapatite (HA), a major component of bone, is synthesized, generating hard tissue. Many of the mechanisms driving biomineralization remain unclear because the traditional biochemical assays used to investigate them are destructive techniques incompatible with viable cells. To determine the temporal changes in mineralization-related biomolecules at mineralization spots, we performed time-lapse Raman imaging of mouse osteoblasts at a subcellular resolution throughout the mineralization process. Raman imaging enabled us to analyze the dynamics of the related biomolecules at mineralization spots throughout the entire process of mineralization. Here, we stimulated KUSA-A1 cells to differentiate into osteoblasts and conducted time-lapse Raman imaging on them every 4 hours for 24 hours, beginning 5 days after the stimulation. The HA and cytochrome c Raman bands were used as markers for osteoblastic mineralization and apoptosis. From the Raman images successfully acquired throughout the mineralization process, we found that β-carotene acts as a biomarker that indicates the initiation of osteoblastic mineralization. A fluctuation of cytochrome c concentration, which indicates cell apoptosis, was also observed during mineralization. We expect time-lapse Raman imaging to help us to further elucidate osteoblastic mineralization mechanisms that have previously been unobservable. PMID:26211729

Time-lapse Raman imaging of osteoblast differentiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, Aya; Yamaguchi, Yoshinori; Chiu, Liang-Da; Morimoto, Chiaki; Fujita, Katsumasa; Takedachi, Masahide; Kawata, Satoshi; Murakami, Shinya; Tamiya, Eiichi

2015-07-01

Osteoblastic mineralization occurs during the early stages of bone formation. During this mineralization, hydroxyapatite (HA), a major component of bone, is synthesized, generating hard tissue. Many of the mechanisms driving biomineralization remain unclear because the traditional biochemical assays used to investigate them are destructive techniques incompatible with viable cells. To determine the temporal changes in mineralization-related biomolecules at mineralization spots, we performed time-lapse Raman imaging of mouse osteoblasts at a subcellular resolution throughout the mineralization process. Raman imaging enabled us to analyze the dynamics of the related biomolecules at mineralization spots throughout the entire process of mineralization. Here, we stimulated KUSA-A1 cells to differentiate into osteoblasts and conducted time-lapse Raman imaging on them every 4 hours for 24 hours, beginning 5 days after the stimulation. The HA and cytochrome c Raman bands were used as markers for osteoblastic mineralization and apoptosis. From the Raman images successfully acquired throughout the mineralization process, we found that β-carotene acts as a biomarker that indicates the initiation of osteoblastic mineralization. A fluctuation of cytochrome c concentration, which indicates cell apoptosis, was also observed during mineralization. We expect time-lapse Raman imaging to help us to further elucidate osteoblastic mineralization mechanisms that have previously been unobservable.

Raman scattering in the atmospheres of the major planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cochran, W. D.; Trafton, L. M.

1978-01-01

A technique is developed to calculate the detailed effects of Raman scattering in an inhomogeneous anisotropically scattering atmosphere. The technique is applied to evaluations of Raman scattering by H2 in the atmosphere of the major planets. It is noted that Raman scattering produces an insufficient decrease in the blue and ultraviolet regions to explain the albedos of all planets investigated. For all major planets, the filling-in of solar line cores and the generation of the Raman-shifted ghosts of the Fraunhofer spectrum are observed. With regard to Uranus and Neptune, Raman scattering is seen to exert a major influence on the formation and profile of strong red and near infrared CH4 bands, and Raman scattering by H2 explains the residual intensity in the cores of these bands. Raman scattering by H2 must also be taken into account in the scattering of photons into the cores of saturated absorption bands.

Fourier-Transform Raman Spectroscopy Of Biological Assemblies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, Ira W.; Lewis, E. Neil

1989-12-01

Although the successful coupling of Raman scattered near-infrared radiation to a Michelson interferometer has recently created an outburst of intense interest in Fourier-transform (FT) Raman spectrometry," extended applications of the technique to macromolecular assemblies of biochemical and biophysical relevance have not progressed as rapidly as studies directed primarily at more conventional chemical characterizations. Since biological materials sampled with visible laser excitation sources typically emit a dominant fluorescence signal originating either from the intrinsic fluorescence of the molecular scatterer or from unrelenting contaminants, the use of near-infrared Nd:YAG laser excitation offers a convenient approach for avoiding this frequently overwhelming effect. In addition, the FT-Raman instrumentation provides a means of eliminating the deleterious resonance and decomposition effects often observed with the more accessible green and blue laser emissions. However, in choosing the incident near-infrared wavelength at, for example, 1064nm, the Raman scattered intensity decreases by factors of eighteen to forty from the Raman emissions induced by the shorter, visible excitations. Depending upon the experiment, this disadvantage is offset by the throughput and multiplex advantages afforded by the interferometric design. Thus, for most chemical systems, near-infrared FT-Raman spectroscopy, clearly provides a means for obtaining vibrational Raman spectra from samples intractable to the use of visible laser sources. In particular, for neat liquids, dilute solutions or polycrystalline materials, the ability to achieve high quality, reproducible spectra is, with moderate experience and perhaps relatively high laser powers, as straightforward as the conventional methods used to obtain Raman spectra with visible excitation and dispersive monochromators. In using near-infrared FT techniques to determine the Raman spectra of biological samples, one encounters new

The Integrated Care Team Approach of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Geriatric Primary Care.

PubMed

Rasin-Waters, Donna; Abel, Valerie; Kearney, Lisa K; Zeiss, Antonette

2018-05-01

Historically, integrated mental and behavioral healthcare in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) commenced with initiatives in geriatrics. Innovation and system-wide expansion has occurred over decades and culminated in a unified vision for training and practice in the VA medical home model: Patient Aligned Care Team or PACT approach. In one VA hospital, the integration of neuropsychological services in geriatric primary care is pivotal and increases access for patients, as well as contributing to timely and effective care on an interprofessional team. The development and innovative use of an algorithm to identify problems with cognition, health literacy, and mental and behavioral health has been pragmatic and provides useful information for collaborative treatment planning in GeriPACT, VA geriatric primary care. Use of the algorithm also assists with decision-making regarding brief versus comprehensive neuropsychological assessment in the primary care setting. The model presented here was developed by supervising neuropsychologists as part of a postdoctoral residency program in geropsychology. However, postdoctoral residency programs in neuropsychology, as well as neuropsychological clinics, can also use this model to integrate neuropsychological assessment and interventions in geriatric primary care settings.

Color perception differentiates Alzheimer's Disease (AD) from Vascular Dementia (VaD) patients.

PubMed

Arnaoutoglou, N A; Arnaoutoglou, M; Nemtsas, P; Costa, V; Baloyannis, S J; Ebmeier, K P

2017-08-01

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Vascular Dementia (VaD) are the most common causes of dementia in older people. Both diseases appear to have similar clinical symptoms, such as deficits in attention and executive function, but specific cognitive domains are affected. Current cohort studies have shown a close relationship between αβ deposits and age-related macular degeneration (Johnson et al., 2002; Ratnayaka et al., 2015). Additionally, a close link between the thinning of the retinal nerve fiber (RNFL) and AD patients has been described, while it has been proposed that AD patients suffer from a non-specific type of color blindness (Pache et al., 2003). Our study included 103 individuals divided into three groups: A healthy control group (n = 35), AD (n = 32) according to DSM-IV-TR, NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, and VaD (n = 36) based on ΝΙΝDS-AIREN, as well as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) results. The severity of patient's cognitive impairment, was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and was classified according to the Reisberg global deterioration scale (GDS). Visual perception was examined using the Ishihara plates: "Ishihara Color Vision Test - 38 Plate." The three groups were not statistically different for demographic data (age, gender, and education). The Ishihara color blindness test has a sensitivity of 80.6% and a specificity of 87.5% to discriminate AD and VaD patients when an optimal (32.5) cut-off value of performance is used. Ishihara Color Vision Test - 38 Plate is a promising potential method as an easy and not time-consuming screening test for the differential diagnosis of dementia between AD and VaD.

Study and application of new Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Qiushi; Zhang, Xiaohua

2016-03-01

Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) is a new type of Raman Spectroscopy technology, which can detect the medium concealed in the opaque or sub-transparent material fast and nondestructively. The article summarized Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy`s international and domestic study and application progress on contraband detecting, medical science (bone ingredient, cancer diagnose etc.), agricultural products, historical relic identification etc. and stated the technology would become an effective measurement which had wide application prospect.

Rotating samples in FT-RAMAN spectrometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Paepe, A. T. G.; Dyke, J. M.; Hendra, P. J.; Langkilde, F. W.

1997-11-01

It is customary to rotate samples in Raman spectroscopy to avoid absorption or sample heating. In FT-Raman experiments the rotation is always shown (typically 30-60 rpm) because higher speeds are thought to generate noise in the spectra. In this article we show that more rapid rotation is possible. A tablet containing maleic acid and one made up of sub-millimetre silica particles with metoprolol succinate as active ingredient were rotated at different speeds, up to 6760 rpm. The FT-Raman spectra were recorded and studied. We conclude that it is perfectly acceptable to rotate samples up to 1500 rpm.

Simultaneous Spectral Temporal Adaptive Raman Spectrometer - SSTARS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blacksberg, Jordana

2010-01-01

Raman spectroscopy is a prime candidate for the next generation of planetary instruments, as it addresses the primary goal of mineralogical analysis, which is structure and composition. However, large fluorescence return from many mineral samples under visible light excitation can render Raman spectra unattainable. Using the described approach, Raman and fluorescence, which occur on different time scales, can be simultaneously obtained from mineral samples using a compact instrument in a planetary environment. This new approach is taken based on the use of time-resolved spectroscopy for removing the fluorescence background from Raman spectra in the laboratory. In the SSTARS instrument, a visible excitation source (a green, pulsed laser) is used to generate Raman and fluorescence signals in a mineral sample. A spectral notch filter eliminates the directly reflected beam. A grating then disperses the signal spectrally, and a streak camera provides temporal resolution. The output of the streak camera is imaged on the CCD (charge-coupled device), and the data are read out electronically. By adjusting the sweep speed of the streak camera, anywhere from picoseconds to milliseconds, it is possible to resolve Raman spectra from numerous fluorescence spectra in the same sample. The key features of SSTARS include a compact streak tube capable of picosecond time resolution for collection of simultaneous spectral and temporal information, adaptive streak tube electronics that can rapidly change from one sweep rate to another over ranges of picoseconds to milliseconds, enabling collection of both Raman and fluorescence signatures versus time and wavelength, and Synchroscan integration that allows for a compact, low-power laser without compromising ultimate sensitivity.

[A new peak detection algorithm of Raman spectra].

PubMed

Jiang, Cheng-Zhi; Sun, Qiang; Liu, Ying; Liang, Jing-Qiu; An, Yan; Liu, Bing

2014-01-01

The authors proposed a new Raman peak recognition method named bi-scale correlation algorithm. The algorithm uses the combination of the correlation coefficient and the local signal-to-noise ratio under two scales to achieve Raman peak identification. We compared the performance of the proposed algorithm with that of the traditional continuous wavelet transform method through MATLAB, and then tested the algorithm with real Raman spectra. The results show that the average time for identifying a Raman spectrum is 0.51 s with the algorithm, while it is 0.71 s with the continuous wavelet transform. When the signal-to-noise ratio of Raman peak is greater than or equal to 6 (modern Raman spectrometers feature an excellent signal-to-noise ratio), the recognition accuracy with the algorithm is higher than 99%, while it is less than 84% with the continuous wavelet transform method. The mean and the standard deviations of the peak position identification error of the algorithm are both less than that of the continuous wavelet transform method. Simulation analysis and experimental verification prove that the new algorithm possesses the following advantages: no needs of human intervention, no needs of de-noising and background removal operation, higher recognition speed and higher recognition accuracy. The proposed algorithm is operable in Raman peak identification.

Application of laser Raman spectroscopy to dental diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izawa, Takahiro; Wakaki, Moriaki

2005-03-01

The aim of this research is related with the diagnosis of caries by use of a laser. We study the fundamental characterization of the diagnosis method using both fluorescence and Raman scattering spectroscopy. We try to evaluate the possibility of the caries diagnosis using Raman spectroscopy and its clinical application. We focus on the PO34- ion that flows out with the dissolution of hydroxyapatite (HAp), and the fluorescence that increases in connection with caries. The Raman line of P-O vibration is overlapped on the continuous, background spectrum by fluorescence. Consequently, we try to find out the correlation between a healthy part and a carious part by analyzing both fluorescence and Raman spectra. It was found that Raman intensity of HAp at carious lesion was weaker than those of healthy parts and the florescence intensity at the same portions was stronger. We have obtained the feasibility to estimate the degree of caries and health condition by deriving the ratio between Raman and florescence intensity. And the trial measurements in vivo were carried out to verify the availability of the method by using a fiber probe type multi channel Raman spectrometer. The process of remineralization is under researching for the development of preventive medicine.

FT-Raman study of dehydrogenation polymer (DHP) lignins

Treesearch

Umesh P. Agarwal; Noritsugu Terashima

2003-01-01

Compared to conventional Raman spectroscopy where samples are excited using visible light lasers, 1064 nm-excited FT-Raman technique has the single most important advantage that the sample-fluorescence is significantly suppressed for samples that are strongly fluorescent. DHPs are difficult to analyze in conventional Raman because small amounts of chromophores present...

76 FR 59502 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Gordonsville, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-27

... at Gordonsville, VA, to accommodate the new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures serving Gordonsville Municipal Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight... approach procedures developed for Gordonsville Municipal Airport. This action is necessary for the safety...

Automated Tumor Registry for Oncology. A VA-DHCP MUMPS application.

PubMed Central

Richie, S.

1992-01-01

The VA Automated Tumor Registry for Oncology, Version 2, is a multifaceted, completely automated user-friendly cancer database. Easy to use modules include: Automatic Casefinding; Suspense Files; Abstracting and Printing; Follow-up; Annual Reports; Statistical Reports; Utility Functions. PMID:1482866

Raman spectroscopy of bone metastasis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esmonde-White, Karen A.; Sottnik, Joseph; Morris, Michael; Keller, Evan

2012-02-01

Raman spectroscopy of bone has been used to characterize chemical changes occurring in diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and osteomyelitis. Metastasis of cancer into bone causes changes to bone quality that are similar to those observed in osteoporosis, such as decreased bone strength, but with an accelerated timeframe. In particular, osteolytic (bone degrading) lesions in bone metastasis have a marked effect on patient quality of life because of increased risk of fractures, pain, and hypercalcemia. We use Raman spectroscopy to examine bone from two different mouse models of osteolytic bone metastasis. Raman spectroscopy measures physicochemical information which cannot be obtained through standard biochemical and histological measurements. This study was reviewed and approved by the University of Michigan University Committee on the Care and Use of Animals. Two mouse models of prostate cancer bone metastasis, RM1 (n=3) and PC3-luc (n=4) were examined. Tibiae were injected with RM1 or PC3-luc cancer cells, while the contralateral tibiae received a placebo injection for use as controls. After 2 weeks of incubation, the mice were sacrificed and the tibiae were examined by Raman microspectroscopy (λ=785 nm). Spectroscopic markers corresponding to mineral stoichiometry, bone mineralization, and mineral crystallinity were compared in spectra from the cancerous and control tibiae. X-ray imaging of the tibia confirmed extensive osteolysis in the RM1 mice, with tumor invasion into adjoining soft tissue and moderate osteolysis in the PC3-luc mice. Raman spectroscopic markers indicate that osteolytic lesions are less mineralized than normal bone tissue, with an altered mineral stoichiometry and crystallinity.

Combined raman spectrometer/laser-induced breakdown spectrometer design concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazalgette Courrèges-Lacoste, Gregory; Ahlers, Berit; Boslooper, Erik; Rull-Perez, Fernando; Maurice, Sylvestre

2017-11-01

Amongst the different instruments that have been preselected to be on-board the Pasteur payload on ExoMars is the Raman/ Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument. Raman spectroscopy and LIBS will be integrated into a single instrument sharing many hardware commonalities. An international team under the lead of TNO has been gathered to produce a design concept for a combined Raman Spectrometer/ LIBS Elegant Bread-Board (EBB). The instrument is based on a specifically designed extremely compact spectrometer with high resolution over a large wavelength range, suitable for both Raman spectroscopy and LIBS measurements. Low mass, size and resources are the main drivers of the instrument's design concept. The proposed design concept, realization and testing programme for the combined Raman/ LIBS EBB is presented as well as background information on Raman and LIBS.

Chaplains' Engagement with Suicidality among Their Service Users: Findings from the VA/DoD Integrated Mental Health Strategy.

PubMed

Kopacz, Marek S; Nieuwsma, Jason A; Jackson, George L; Rhodes, Jeffrey E; Cantrell, William C; Bates, Mark J; Meador, Keith G

2016-04-01

Chaplains play an important role in supporting the mental health of current and former military personnel; in this study, the engagement of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Army, Navy, and Air Force chaplains with suicidality among their service users were examined. An online survey was used to collect data from 440 VA and 1,723 Department of Defense (DoD) chaplains as part of the VA/DoD Integrated Mental Health Strategy. Differences were noted for demographics, work setting characteristics, encountering suicidality, and self-perceived preparation for dealing with suicidality. Compared to DoD chaplains, VA chaplains encounter more at-risk service users, yet feel less prepared for dealing with suicidality. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

The hallmarks of breast cancer by Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abramczyk, H.; Surmacki, J.; Brożek-Płuska, B.; Morawiec, Z.; Tazbir, M.

2009-04-01

This paper presents new biological results on ex vivo breast tissue based on Raman spectroscopy and demonstrates its power as diagnostic tool with the key advantage in breast cancer research. The results presented here demonstrate the ability of Raman spectroscopy to accurately characterize cancer tissue and distinguish between normal, malignant and benign types. The goal of the paper is to develop the diagnostic ability of Raman spectroscopy in order to find an optical marker of cancer in the breast tissue. Applications of Raman spectroscopy in breast cancer research are in the early stages of development in the world. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is one of the most statistically reliable reports (1100 spectra, 99 patients) on Raman spectroscopy-based diagnosis of breast cancers among the world women population.

Multifrequency Raman amplifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, Ido; Fisch, Nathaniel J.

2018-03-01

In its usual implementation, the Raman amplifier features only one pump carrier frequency. However, pulses with well-separated frequencies can also be Raman amplified while compressed in time. Amplification with frequency-separated pumps is shown to hold even in the highly nonlinear, pump-depletion regime, as derived through a fluid model, and demonstrated via particle-in-cell simulations. The resulting efficiency is similar to single-frequency amplifiers, but, due to the beat-wave waveform of both the pump lasers and the amplified seed pulses, these amplifiers feature higher seed intensities with a shorter spike duration. Advantageously, these amplifiers also suffer less noise backscattering, because the total fluence is split between the different spectral components.

Waves from the Sun: to the 100th anniversary of V.A. Troitskaya's birth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guglielmi, Anatol; Potapov, Alexander

2017-09-01

It has been one hundred years since the birth of the outstanding scientist Professor V.A. Troitskaya. Her remarkable achievements in solar-terrestrial physics are widely known. For many years, Valeria A. Troitskaya was the President of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy. This article deals with only one aspect of the multifaceted creative activity of V.A. Troitskaya. It relates to the problem of sources of ultra-low frequency (ULF) electromagnetic oscillations and waves outside Earth’s magnetosphere. We were fortunate to work under the leadership of V.A. Troitskaya on this problem. In this paper, we briefly describe the history from the emergence of the idea of the extramagnetospheric origin of dayside permanent ULF oscillations in the late 1960s to the modern quest made by ground and satellite means for ULF waves excited by solar surface oscillations propagating in the interplanetary medium and reaching Earth.

Contraceptive Provision in the VA Healthcare System to Women Who Report Military Sexual Trauma

PubMed Central

Mattocks, Kristin; Schwarz, Eleanor Bimla; Borrero, Sonya; Skanderson, Melissa; Zephyrin, Laurie; Brandt, Cynthia; Haskell, Sally

2014-01-01

Abstract Background: Women Veterans who suffered military sexual trauma (MST) may be at high risk for unintended pregnancy and benefit from contraceptive services. The objective of this study is to compare documented provision of contraceptives to women Veterans using the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system who report or deny MST. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included women Veterans aged 18–45 years who served in Operation Enduring or Iraqi Freedom and had at least one visit to a VA medical center between 2002 and 2010. Data were obtained from VA administrative and clinical databases. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression were conducted to evaluate the association between MST, ascertained by routine clinical screening, and first documented receipt of hormonal or long-acting contraception. Results: Of 68,466 women Veterans, 13% reported, 59% denied and 28% had missing data for the MST screen. Among the entire study cohort, 30% of women had documented receipt of a contraceptive method. Women reporting MST were significantly more likely than those denying MST to receive a method of contraception (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07–1.18) including an intrauterine device (odds ratio [OR] 1.29, 95% CI 1.17–1.41) or contraceptive injection (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.05–1.29). Women who were younger, unmarried, seen at a women's health clinic, or who had more than one visit were more likely to receive contraception. Conclusions: A minority of women Veterans of reproductive age receive contraceptive services from the VA. Women Veterans who report MST, and particularly those who seek care at VA women's health clinics, are more likely to receive contraception. PMID:24787680

Insights into the complex association of bovine factor Va with acidic-lipid-containing synthetic membranes.

PubMed Central

Cutsforth, G A; Koppaka, V; Krishnaswamy, S; Wu, J R; Mann, K G; Lentz, B R

1996-01-01

The mechanism of binding of blood coagulation cofactor factor Va to acidic-lipid-containing membranes has been addressed. Binding isotherms were generated at room temperature using the change in fluorescence anisotropy of pyrene-labeled bovine factor Va to detect binding to sonicated membrane vesicles containing either bovine brain phosphatidylserine (PS) or 1,2-dioleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidylglycerol (DOPG) in combination with 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidylcholine (POPC). The composition of the membranes was varied from 0 to 40 mol% for PS/POPC and from 0 to 65 mol % for DOPG/POPC membranes. Fitting the data to a classical Langmuir adsorption model yielded estimates of the dissociation constant (Kd) and the stoichiometry of binding. The values of Kd defined in this way displayed a maximum at low acidic lipid content but were nearly constant at intermediate to high fractions of acidic lipid. Fitting the binding isotherms to a two-process binding model (nonspecific adsorption in addition to binding of acidic lipids to sites on the protein) suggested a significant acidic-lipid-independent binding affinity in addition to occupancy of three protein sites that bind PS in preference to DOPG. Both analyses indicated that interaction of factor Va with an acidic-lipid-containing membrane is much more complex than those of factor Xa or prothrombin. Furthermore, a change in the conformation of bound pyrene-labeled factor Va with surface concentration of acidic lipid was implied by variation of both the saturating fluorescence anisotropy and the binding parameters with the acidic lipid content of the membrane. Finally, the results cannot support the contention that binding occurs through nonspecific adsorption to a patch or domain of acidic lipids in the membrane. Factor Va is suggested to associate with membranes by a complex process that includes both acidic-lipid-specific and acidic-lipid-independent sites and a protein structure change induced by occupancy of acidic

Simultaneous neutron scattering and Raman scattering.

PubMed

Adams, Mark A; Parker, Stewart F; Fernandez-Alonso, Felix; Cutler, David J; Hodges, Christopher; King, Andrew

2009-07-01

The capability to make simultaneous neutron and Raman scattering measurements at temperatures between 1.5 and 450 K has been developed. The samples to be investigated are attached to one end of a custom-made center-stick suitable for insertion into a 100 mm-bore cryostat. The other end of the center-stick is fiber-optically coupled to a Renishaw in Via Raman spectrometer incorporating a 300 mW Toptica 785 nm wavelength stabilized diode laser. The final path for the laser beam is approximately 1.3 m in vacuo within the center-stick followed by a focusing lens close to the sample. Raman scattering measurements with a resolution of 1 to 4 cm(-1) can be made over a wide range (100-3200 cm(-1)) at the same time as a variety of different types of neutron scattering measurements. In this work we highlight the use of inelastic neutron scattering and neutron diffraction in conjunction with the Raman for studies of the globular protein lysozyme.

Stokes injected Raman capillary waveguide amplifier

DOEpatents

Kurnit, Norman A.

1980-01-01

A device for producing stimulated Raman scattering of CO.sub.2 laser radiation by rotational states in a diatomic molecular gas utilizing a Stokes injection signal. The system utilizes a cryogenically cooled waveguide for extending focal interaction length. The waveguide, in conjunction with the Stokes injection signal, reduces required power density of the CO.sub.2 radiation below the breakdown threshold for the diatomic molecular gas. A Fresnel rhomb is employed to circularly polarize the Stokes injection signal and CO.sub.2 laser radiation in opposite circular directions. The device can be employed either as a regenerative oscillator utilizing optical cavity mirrors or as a single pass amplifier. Additionally, a plurality of Raman gain cells can be staged to increase output power magnitude. Also, in the regenerative oscillator embodiment, the Raman gain cell cavity length and CO.sub.2 cavity length can be matched to provide synchronism between mode locked CO.sub.2 pulses and pulses produced within the Raman gain cell.

38 CFR 17.1000 - Payment or reimbursement for emergency services for nonservice-connected conditions in non-VA...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... for emergency services for nonservice-connected conditions in non-VA facilities. 17.1000 Section 17.1000 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL Payment Or Reimbursement for Emergency Services for Nonservice-Connected Conditions in Non-Va Facilities § 17.1000 Payment...

38 CFR 17.169 - VA Dental Insurance Program for veterans and survivors and dependents of veterans (VADIP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false VA Dental Insurance..., Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL Dental Services § 17.169 VA Dental... Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) provides premium-based dental insurance coverage through which...

38 CFR 17.169 - VA Dental Insurance Program for veterans and survivors and dependents of veterans (VADIP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false VA Dental Insurance..., Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL Dental Services § 17.169 VA Dental... Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) provides premium-based dental insurance coverage through which...

38 CFR 17.120 - Payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain veterans with service-connected... Payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain veterans with... emergency treatment, not previously authorized, in a private or public (or Federal) hospital not operated by...

38 CFR 17.120 - Payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain veterans with service-connected... Payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain veterans with... emergency treatment, not previously authorized, in a private or public (or Federal) hospital not operated by...

38 CFR 17.120 - Payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain veterans with service-connected... Payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished by non-VA providers to certain veterans with... emergency treatment, not previously authorized, in a private or public (or Federal) hospital not operated by...

Raman spectroscopy of biomedical polyethylenes.

PubMed

Pezzotti, Giuseppe

2017-06-01

With the development of three-dimensional Raman algorithms for local mapping of oxidation and plastic strain, and the ability to resolve molecular orientation patterns with microscopic spatial resolution, there is an opportunity to re-examine many of the foundations on which our understanding of biomedical grade ultra-high molecular weight polyethylenes (UHMWPEs) are based. By implementing polarized Raman spectroscopy into an automatized tool with an improved precision in non-destructively resolving Euler angles, oxidation levels, and microscopic strain, we become capable to make accurate and traceable measurements of the in vitro and in vivo tribological responses of a variety of commercially available UHMWPE bearings for artificial hip and knee joints. In this paper, we first review the foundations and the main algorithms for Raman analyses of oxidation and strain of biomedical polyethylene. Then, we critically re-examine a large body of Raman data previously collected on different polyethylene joint components after in vitro testing or in vivo service, in order to shed new light on an area of particular importance to joint orthopedics: the microscopic nature of UHMWPE surface degradation in the human body. A complex scenario of physical chemistry appears from the Raman analyses, which highlights the importance of molecular-scale phenomena besides mere microstructural changes. The availability of the Raman microscopic probe for visualizing oxidation patterns unveiled striking findings related to the chemical contribution to wear degradation: chain-breaking and subsequent formation of carboxylic acid sites preferentially occur in correspondence of third-phase regions, and they are triggered by emission of dehydroxylated oxygen from ceramic oxide counterparts. These findings profoundly differ from more popular (and simplistic) notions of mechanistic tribology adopted in analyzing joint simulator data. Statement of Significance This review was dedicated to the

Raman Spectroscopy of Ocular Tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermakov, Igor V.; Sharifzadeh, Mohsen; Gellermann, Warner

The optically transparent nature of the human eye has motivated numerous Raman studies aimed at the non-invasive optical probing of ocular tissue components critical to healthy vision. Investigations include the qualitative and quantitative detection of tissue-specific molecular constituents, compositional changes occurring with development of ocular pathology, and the detection and tracking of ocular drugs and nutritional supplements. Motivated by a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to cataract formation in the aging human lens, a great deal of work has centered on the Raman detection of proteins and water content in the lens. Several protein groups and the hydroxyl response are readily detectable. Changes of protein compositions can be studied in excised noncataractous tissue versus aged tissue preparations as well as in tissue samples with artificially induced cataracts. Most of these studies are carried out in vitro using suitable animal models and conventional Raman techniques. Tissue water content plays an important role in optimum light transmission of the outermost transparent ocular structure, the cornea. Using confocal Raman spectroscopy techniques, it has been possible to non-invasively measure the water to protein ratio as a measure of hydration status and to track drug-induced changes of the hydration levels in the rabbit cornea at various depths. The aqueous humor, normally supplying nutrients to cornea and lens, has an advantageous anterior location for Raman studies. Increasing efforts are pursued to non-invasively detect the presence of glucose and therapeutic concentrations of antibiotic drugs in this medium. In retinal tissue, Raman spectroscopy proves to be an important tool for research into the causes of macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible vision disorders and blindness in the elderly. It has been possible to detect the spectral features of advanced glycation and advanced lipooxydation end products in

30 CFR 57.22206 - Main ventilation failure (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Main ventilation failure (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). 57.22206 Section 57.22206 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... Main ventilation failure (I-A, II-A, III, and V-A mines). (a) When there has been a main ventilation...

Raman Imaging in Cell Membranes, Lipid-Rich Organelles, and Lipid Bilayers.

PubMed

Syed, Aleem; Smith, Emily A

2017-06-12

Raman-based optical imaging is a promising analytical tool for noninvasive, label-free chemical imaging of lipid bilayers and cellular membranes. Imaging using spontaneous Raman scattering suffers from a low intensity that hinders its use in some cellular applications. However, developments in coherent Raman imaging, surface-enhanced Raman imaging, and tip-enhanced Raman imaging have enabled video-rate imaging, excellent detection limits, and nanometer spatial resolution, respectively. After a brief introduction to these commonly used Raman imaging techniques for cell membrane studies, this review discusses selected applications of these modalities for chemical imaging of membrane proteins and lipids. Finally, recent developments in chemical tags for Raman imaging and their applications in the analysis of selected cell membrane components are summarized. Ongoing developments toward improving the temporal and spatial resolution of Raman imaging and small-molecule tags with strong Raman scattering cross sections continue to expand the utility of Raman imaging for diverse cell membrane studies.

Remote Raman Efficiencies and Cross-Sections of Organic and Inorganic Chemicals.

PubMed

Acosta-Maeda, Tayro E; Misra, Anupam K; Porter, John N; Bates, David E; Sharma, Shiv K

2017-05-01

We determined Raman cross-sections of various organic liquids and inorganic polyatomic ions in aqueous solutions with a 532 nm pulsed laser using remote Raman systems developed at the University of Hawaii. Using a calibrated integrating sphere as a light source, we converted the intensity counts in the spectrum of the light from the integrating sphere measured with UH remote Raman instrument to spectral radiance. From these data, a response function of the remote Raman instrument was obtained. With the intensity-calibrated instrument, we collected remote Raman data from a standard 1 mm path length fused silica spectrophotometer cell filled with cyclohexane. The measured value of the differential Raman cross-section for the 801 cm -1 vibrational mode of cyclohexane is 4.55 × 10 -30 cm 2 sr -1 molecule -1 when excited by a 532 nm laser, in good agreement with the values reported in the literature. Using the measured cyclohexane Raman cross-section as a reference and relative Raman mode intensities of the various ions and organic liquids, we calculated the Raman cross-sections of the strongest Raman lines of nitrate, sulfate, carbonate, phosphate ions, and organic liquids by maintaining same experimental conditions for remote Raman detection. These relative Raman cross-section values will be useful for estimating detection capabilities of remote Raman systems for planetary exploration.

Monitoring of aqueous humor metabolites using Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wicksted, James P.; Erckens, Roel J.; Motamedi, Massoud; March, Wayne F.

1994-05-01

Laser Raman scattering has been used to monitor glucose and lactate metabolites within aqueous humor specimens obtained from nine human eyes during cataract surgery. Nine postmortem rabbit eyes were also investigated. Raman measurements were obtained using a single grating Raman spectrometer with a liquid nitrogen cooled CCD. A 514.5 nm line from an argon laser was used to illuminate capillaries containing several microliters of aqueous humor. A water background was subtracted from each of the aqueous humor Raman spectra. This experimental system was calibrated so that each metabolite in water could be measured down to 0.1 weight percent. Raman peaks indicative of the stretching vibrations of methylene and methyl groups associated with glucose and lactate, respectively, were observed in the human specimens. A second stretching mode characteristic of lactate between the carbon atom and either the carboxylic acid group or carboxylate ion group was also observed providing a distinguishing feature between the glucose and lactate Raman peaks. Similar structure was observed from the rabbit specimens, but these samples have recently been found to have been contaminated during euthanasia.

76 FR 27379 - Proposed Information Collection (Supplement to VA Forms 21-526, 21-534, and 21-535 (For...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-11

... information technology. Title: Supplement to VA Forms 21-526, 21-534, and 21-535 (For Philippine Claims), VA... residence, proof of service, and whether the applicant was a member of pro-Japanese, pro-German, or anti...

Comparative studies by IR, Raman, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of azodicarbonamide, biurea and semicarbazide hydrochloride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Yunfei; Li, Pei; Zhang, Jin; Wang, Heya; Qian, He; Yao, Weirong

2013-10-01

Azodicarbonamide is widely applied in the food industry as a new flour gluten fortifier in China, Canada, the United States, and some other countries, whose metabolites of biurea and semicarbazide hydrochloride are reaction products during baking. In this study, IR, Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of azodicarbonamide, biurea, and semicarbazide hydrochloride have been studied, and vibrational bands have been assigned on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The calculated Raman spectra were in good agreement with experimental Raman spectra. The SERS method coupled with active gold substrates has also been applied for detection of the three chemicals with pure water as solvent, with the limit of detection of this method being as low as 10 μg/mL (less than 45 μg/mL). These results showed that azodicarbonamide and its metabolites could be detected by the vibrational spectra technique, which might be applied as a powerful tool for the rapid detection on these species derived from agents added to flour.

Polarization Sensitive Coherent Raman Measurements of DCVJ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Josiah; Cooper, Nathan; Lawhead, Carlos; Shiver, Tegan; Ujj, Laszlo

2014-03-01

Coherent Raman spectroscopy which recently developed into coherent Raman microscopy has been used to produce label free imaging of thin layers of material and find the spatial distributions of certain chemicals within samples, e.g. cancer cells.(1) Not all aspects of coherent scattering have been used for imaging. Among those for example are special polarization sensitive measurements. Therefore we have investigated the properties of polarization sensitive CARS spectra of a highly fluorescent molecule, DCVJ.(2) Spectra has been recorded by using parallel polarized and perpendicular polarized excitations. A special polarization arrangement was developed to suppress the non-resonant background scattering from the sample. These results can be used to improve the imaging properties of a coherent Raman microscope in the future. This is the first time coherent Raman polarization sensitive measurements have been used to characterize the vibrational modes of DCVJ. 1: K. I. Gutkowski, et al., ``Fluorescence of dicyanovinyl julolidine in a room temperature ionic liquid '' Chemical Physics Letters 426 (2006) 329 - 333 2: Fouad El-Diasty, ``Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering: Spectroscopy and microscopy'' Vibrational Spectroscopy 55 (2011) 1-37

Raman q-plates for Singular Atom Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, Justin T.; Hansen, Azure; Murphree, Joseph D.; Jayaseelan, Maitreyi; Bigelow, Nicholas P.

2016-05-01

We use a coherent two-photon Raman interaction as the atom-optic equivalent of a birefringent optical q-plate to facilitate spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion in a pseudo-spin-1/2 BEC. A q-plate is a waveplate with a fixed retardance but a spatially varying fast axis orientation angle. We derive the time evolution operator for the system and compare it to a Jones matrix for an optical waveplate to show that in our Raman q-plate, the equivalent orientation of the fast axis is described by the relative phase of the Raman beams and the retardance is determined by the pulse area. The charge of the Raman q-plate is determined by the orbital angular momentum of the Raman beams, and the beams contain umbilic C-point polarization singularities which are imprinted into the condensate as spin singularities: lemons, stars, spirals, and saddles. By tuning the optical beam parameters, we can create a full-Bloch BEC, which is a coreless vortex that contains every possible superposition of two spin states, that is, it covers the Bloch sphere.

[Progress in Raman spectroscopic measurement of methane hydrate].

PubMed

Xu, Feng; Zhu, Li-hua; Wu, Qiang; Xu, Long-jun

2009-09-01

Complex thermodynamics and kinetics problems are involved in the methane hydrate formation and decomposition, and these problems are crucial to understanding the mechanisms of hydrate formation and hydrate decomposition. However, it was difficult to accurately obtain such information due to the difficulty of measurement since methane hydrate is only stable under low temperature and high pressure condition, and until recent years, methane hydrate has been measured in situ using Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy, a non-destructive and non-invasive technique, is used to study vibrational modes of molecules. Studies of methane hydrate using Raman spectroscopy have been developed over the last decade. The Raman spectra of CH4 in vapor phase and in hydrate phase are presented in this paper. The progress in the research on methane hydrate formation thermodynamics, formation kinetics, decomposition kinetics and decomposition mechanism based on Raman spectroscopic measurements in the laboratory and deep sea are reviewed. Formation thermodynamic studies, including in situ observation of formation condition of methane hydrate, analysis of structure, and determination of hydrate cage occupancy and hydration numbers by using Raman spectroscopy, are emphasized. In the aspect of formation kinetics, research on variation in hydrate cage amount and methane concentration in water during the growth of hydrate using Raman spectroscopy is also introduced. For the methane hydrate decomposition, the investigation associated with decomposition mechanism, the mutative law of cage occupancy ratio and the formulation of decomposition rate in porous media are described. The important aspects for future hydrate research based on Raman spectroscopy are discussed.

Use of a cost accounting system to evaluate costs of a VA special program.

PubMed

Menke, T J; Wray, N P

1999-04-01

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) established six mobile clinics to provide care for rural veterans. Each was operated by a parent VA Medical Center (VAMC). To describe the use of a cost-accounting system which does not provide costs at the service or patient level to determine the costs of the mobile clinics. Costs per visit were compared among the mobile clinics with the parent VAMCs and with simulated fixed-location clinics. Cost data came from VA's Centralized Accounting for Local Management (CALM) data. Utilization data came from VA's outpatient file. Information was obtained from the VAMCs' fiscal services to reallocate costs among the CALM subaccounts to generate cost data that was comparable among the mobile clinics. Costs per visit for the mobile clinics were twice as high as those of the parent VAMCs. Costs per visit would be lower at fixed-location clinics unless the volume were substantially less than that provided by the mobile clinics. Differences between cost allocations for accounting purposes and research are likely to necessitate adjusting cost accounting data for research purposes. Fortunately, information from the accountants or primary data can lead to a cost database which is appropriate for research evaluations. In the mobile clinics study, the analysis of cost accounting data led to the conclusion that mobile clinics were not a cost-effective way in which to provide care to rural veterans.

76 FR 34576 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Waynesboro, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-14

... Waynesboro, VA, to accommodate the additional airspace need for the Standard Instrument Approach Procedures developed for Eagle's Nest Airport. This action enhances the safety and management of Instrument Flight... upward from 700 feet above the surface to accommodate new standard instrument approach procedures...

Military and Veteran Support: DOD and VA Programs That Address the Effects of Combat and Transition to Civilian Life

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

servicemembers to civilian life. For its part, VA’s agency priority goals are to (1) ensure access to VA benefits and services, (2) eliminate the disability...transfer their benefits to dependents. VA – Veterans Benefit Administration ( VBA ) Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders Centers Disability; Physical...who are temporarily residing in a home owned by a family member to help adapt the home to meet his or her special needs. VA - VBA Yellow Ribbon

Approximate chemical analysis of volcanic glasses using Raman spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Morgavi, Daniele; Hess, Kai‐Uwe; Neuville, Daniel R.; Borovkov, Nikita; Perugini, Diego; Dingwell, Donald B.

2015-01-01

The effect of chemical composition on the Raman spectra of a series of natural calcalkaline silicate glasses has been quantified by performing electron microprobe analyses and obtaining Raman spectra on glassy filaments (~450 µm) derived from a magma mingling experiment. The results provide a robust compositionally‐dependent database for the Raman spectra of natural silicate glasses along the calcalkaline series. An empirical model based on both the acquired Raman spectra and an ideal mixing equation between calcalkaline basaltic and rhyolitic end‐members is constructed enabling the estimation of the chemical composition and degree of polymerization of silicate glasses using Raman spectra. The model is relatively insensitive to acquisition conditions and has been validated using the MPI‐DING geochemical standard glasses1 as well as further samples. The methods and model developed here offer several advantages compared with other analytical and spectroscopic methods such as infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy, electron and ion microprobe analyses, inasmuch as Raman spectroscopy can be performed with a high spatial resolution (1 µm2) without the need for any sample preparation as a nondestructive technique. This study represents an advance in efforts to provide the first database of Raman spectra for natural silicate glasses and yields a new approach for the treatment of Raman spectra, which allows us to extract approximate information about the chemical composition of natural silicate glasses using Raman spectroscopy. We anticipate its application in handheld in situ terrestrial field studies of silicate glasses under extreme conditions (e.g. extraterrestrial and submarine environments). © 2015 The Authors Journal of Raman Spectroscopy Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd PMID:27656038

Distribution of phthalocyanines and Raman reporters in human cancerous and noncancerous breast tissue as studied by Raman imaging.

PubMed

Brozek-Pluska, Beata; Jarota, Arkadiusz; Jablonska-Gajewicz, Joanna; Kordek, Radzislaw; Czajkowski, Wojciech; Abramczyk, Halina

2012-08-01

There is a considerable interest in the developing new diagnostic techniques allowing noninvasive tracking of the progress of therapies used to treat a cancer. Raman imaging of distribution of phthalocyanine photosensitizers may open new possibilities of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) to treat a wide range of neoplastic lesions with improved effectiveness of treatment through precise identification of malignant areas. We have employed Raman imaging and Raman spectroscopy to analyze human breast cancer tissue that interacts with photosensitizers used in the photodynamic therapy of cancer. PCA (Principal Component Analysis) has been employed to analyze various areas of the noncancerous and cancerous breast tissues. The results show that the emission spectra combined with the Raman images are very sensitive indicators to specify the aggregation state and the distribution of phthalocyanines in the cancerous and noncancerous breast tissues. Our results provide experimental evidence on the role of aggregation of phthalocyanines as a factor of particular significance in differentiation of the normal and tumourous (cancerous or benign pathology) breast tissues. We conclude that the Raman imaging reported here has a potential to be a novel and effective photodynamic therapeutic method with improved selectivity for the treatment of breast cancer.

Progress on Raman laser for sodium resonance fluorescence lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)