Upper limits on perturbations of nuclear decay rates induced by reactor electron antineutrinos.

We report the results of an experiment conducted near the High Flux Isotope Reactor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, designed to address the question of whether a flux of reactor-generated electron antineutrinos (ν¯e) can alter the rates of weak nuclear interaction induced decays of 54Mn, 22Na, and 60Co. This experiment has small statistical errors but, when systematic uncertainties are included, has null results. Perturbations greater than one part in 104 are excluded at 95% confidence level in ß± decay and electron capture processes, in the presence of an antineutrino flux of 3 × 1012 cm-2s-1. The present experimental methods are applicable to a wide range of radionuclides. Improved sensitivity in future experiments can be anticipated as we continue to better understand and reduce the dominant systematic uncertainties.

Stronger Limits on Hypothetical Yukawa Interactions in the 30-8000 nm Range.

We report the results of new differential force measurements between a test mass and rotating source masses of gold and silicon to search for forces beyond Newtonian gravity at short separations. The technique employed subtracts the otherwise dominant Casimir force at the outset and, when combined with a lock-in amplification technique, leads to a significant improvement (up to a factor of 10^{3}) over existing limits on the strength (relative to gravity) of a putative force in the 40-8000 nm interaction range.

Concerning the time dependence of the decay rate of 137Cs.

The decay rates of eight nuclides ((85)Kr, (90)Sr, (108)Ag, (133)Ba, (137)Cs, (152)Eu, (154)Eu, and (226)Ra) were monitored by the standards group at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig, Germany, over the time frame June 1999 to November 2008. We find that the PTB measurements of the decay rate of (137)Cs show no evidence of an annual oscillation, in agreement with the recent report by Bellotti et al. However, power spectrum analysis of PTB measurements of a (133)Ba standard, measured in the same detector system, does show such evidence. This result is consistent with our finding that different nuclides have different sensitivities to whatever external influences are responsible for the observed periodic variations.

[Are breast biopsies adequately funded? A process cost & revenue analysis]. / Ist die Mammabiopsie ausreichend finanziert? Eine Prozesskosten & Erlösbetrachtung.

PURPOSE: The objective of the study was to determine whether the various breast biopsy procedures specified in the S 3 guidelines are sensibly represented within the current German health system as considered from a cost evaluation perspective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospectively designed multicenter study analyzed 221 breast biopsies at 7 institutions from 04/2006 to 01/2007. Core needle biopsies, vacuum-assisted biopsies and surgical open biopsies under sonographic or mammographic guidance were evaluated. During an analysis of process costs, the individual process steps were recorded in diagrammatic form and assigned to the true consumption of resources. The actual resource consumption costs were entered. A process-related breakeven analysis was conducted to check whether the reimbursement of individual biopsy types covers the costs. RESULTS: Only sonographically guided core needle biopsy and surgical open biopsy are adequately reimbursed in the current German health system. All other breast biopsies indicate a negative profit margin. The principal reasons for under-funding are found in the area of reimbursement of investment and non-personnel costs. CONCLUSION: The reimbursement of breast biopsies must be improved in order to guarantee nationwide care of the population using the breast biopsy methods recommended in the S 3 guidelines and to avoid disincentives with respect to breast biopsy indications.

Laboratory test of Newton's second law for small accelerations.

We have tested the proportionality of force and acceleration in Newton's second law, F=ma, in the limit of small forces and accelerations. Our tests reach well below the acceleration scales relevant to understanding several current astrophysical puzzles such as the flatness of galactic rotation curves, the Pioneer anomaly, and the Hubble acceleration. We find good agreement with Newton's second law at accelerations as small as 5 x 10(-14) m/s(2).

Experimental investigation of the Casimir force beyond the proximity-force approximation.

The analysis of all Casimir force experiments using a sphere-plate geometry requires the use of the proximity-force approximation (PFA) to relate the Casimir force between a sphere and a flat plate to the Casimir energy between two parallel plates. Because it has been difficult to assess the PFA's range of applicability theoretically, we have conducted an experimental search for corrections to the PFA by measuring the Casimir force and force gradient between a gold-coated plate and five gold-coated spheres with different radii using a microelectromechanical torsion oscillator. For separations z<300 nm, we find that the magnitude of the fractional deviation from the PFA in the force gradient measurement is, at the 95% confidence level, less than 0.4z/R, where R is the radius of the sphere.

Comment on "temperature dependence of the Casimir effect".

Recently, Brevik [Phys. Rev. E, 71, 056101 (2005)] adduced arguments against the traditional approach to the thermal Casimir force between real metals and in favor of one of the alternative approaches. The latter assume zero contribution from the transverse electric mode at zero frequency in qualitative disagreement with unity as given by the thermal quantum field theory for ideal metals. Those authors claim that their approach is consistent with experiments as well as with thermodynamics. We demonstrate that these conclusions are incorrect. We show specifically that their results are contradicted by four recent experiments and also violate the third law of thermodynamics (the Nernst heat theorem).

Measurement of the Casimir force between dissimilar metals.

The first precise measurement of the Casimir force between dissimilar metals is reported. The attractive force, between a Cu layer evaporated on a microelectromechanical torsional oscillator and an Au layer deposited on an Al2O3 sphere, was measured dynamically with a noise level of 6 fN/sqrt[Hz]. Measurements were performed for separations in the 0.2-2 micro m range. The results agree to better than 1% in the 0.2-0.5 micro m range with a theoretical model that takes into account the finite conductivity and roughness of the two metals. The observed discrepancies, which are much larger than the experimental precision, can be attributed to a lack of a complete characterization of the optical properties of the specific samples used in the experiment.

New experimental limits on strongly interacting massive particles at the TeV scale.

We have carried out a search for strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) bound to Au and Fe nuclei, which could manifest themselves as anomalously heavy isotopes of these elements. Our samples included gold from the NASA Long Duration Exposure Facility satellite, RHIC at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and from various geological sources. We find no evidence for SIMPs in any of our samples, and our results set stringent limits (as low as approximately 10(-12)) on the abundances of anomalous Au or Fe isotopes with masses up to 1.67 and 0.65 TeV/c(2), respectively.

Comorbid anxiety and affective disorder in alcohol-dependent patients seeking treatment: the first Multicentre Study in Germany.

The goals of this study were to describe demographic variables, drinking history, and the 6-month prevalence of Axis I comorbidity among alcohol-dependent subjects in GERMANY: The variables: amount of alcohol consumption, age at onset of the first alcohol consumed, age at onset of daily alcohol consumption, age at onset of withdrawal symptoms and number of detoxifications were related to the different comorbid disorders and gender. In this study, 556 patients from 25 alcohol treatment centres were enrolled between 1 January 1999 and 30 April 1999. After a minimum of 10 days of sobriety patients who fulfilled ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria of alcohol dependence were interviewed for data collection using the Mini-DIPS (German version of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule) and a standardized psychosocial interview. The 6-month prevalence of comorbid Axis I disorders was 53.1%. Among the patients with comorbidity, affective and anxiety disorders were most frequent. Comorbid stress disorder was associated with an early start of drinking, an early beginning of withdrawal symptoms, highest number of detoxifications, and the highest amount of alcohol consumed. Female patients with anxiety disorder consumed more alcohol and started earlier than females without this comorbid disorder. The data do not answer the question of the pathogenesis of comorbid disorders and alcoholism, but indicate that stress disorders in alcoholic patients and anxiety disorders in female alcoholics influence the course and severity of alcoholism.

Deflection of spacecraft trajectories as a new test of general relativity.

We derive a simple formula which gives the general relativistic deflection of a spacecraft, idealized as a point mass, for all values of the asymptotic speed V(infinity) (0< or =V(infinity)< or =1). Using this formula we suggest a new test of general relativity (GR) which can be carried out during a proposed interstellar mission that involves a close pass of the Sun. We show that, with foreseeable improvements in spacecraft tracking sensitivity, the deflection of a spacecraft's trajectory in the gravitational field of the Sun could provide a new test of GR.

[Macroprolactin detection: a new approach]. / Détection de la macroprolactine: une nouvelle approche.

Macroprolactin is a complex of prolactin with immunoglobulins (IgG) that has limited or no biological activity in vivo. Immunoassays for prolactin have variable reactivity with macroprolactin. Therefore the presence of macroprolactin should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hyperprolactinemia. We compared a valid screening test for macroprolactin, polyethyleneglycol (PEG) precipitation, with the determination of the ratio of the results of two prolactin assays: Elecsys with high cross-reactivity with macroprolactin and Centaur with low cross-reactivity. In 59 negative samples subjected to the PEG test (precipitation < 50%), the Elecsys/Centaur ratio ranged between 1.11 and 1.45. Among 35 positive samples (precipitation > 60%), 33 had, as expected, an increased ratio (over 1.45), 1 a normal ratio and 1 a decreased ratio (1.07). This decreased ratio could be due to a particular form of macroprolactin poorly recognised by the Elecsys assay. Among 5 samples in the grey zone (precipitation between 50 and 60%), the ratio was increased in 2, normal in 1 and decreased in 2. Apart from one false negative case (normal ratio with positive PEG test), the results of the Elecsys/Centaur ratio method were in good agreement with those of the PEG test. The ratio method could be helpful for samples with PEG test results in the grey zone, before undertaking a complete analysis of circulating molecular forms by gel filtration chromatography. Out of the 5 five samples in the grey zone, the ratio was 4 times out of the reference range: 2 increased, 2 decreased. Our results also underline the necessity of reevaluating the Centaur prolactin reference range from samples without macroprolactin.

New experimental test of the pauli exclusion principle using accelerator mass spectrometry

We report the results of a new experimental search for the Pauli-forbidden 1s(4) state of Be, denoted by Be ('). Using the Accelerator Mass Spectrometer facility at Purdue University, we set limits on the abundance of Be (') in metallic Be, Be ore, natural gas, and air. Our results improve on those obtained in a previous search for Be (') by a factor of approximately 300.