NdYAG laser treatment of a glomus tympanicum tumour

Glomus tympanicum tumours are highly vascular tumours of the middle ear. Their removal by conventional surgical methods requires an extensive procedure in many cases, often with ossicular disarticulation to allow adequate exposure prior to the 'chaotic' and haemorrhagic event of tumour removal. This paper reports on the use of an NdYAG laser in a case of a large glomus tympanicum tumour. The laser facilitated a transcanal approach, avoided ossicular disarticulation and allowed accurate and almost bloodless ablation of the entire tumour.The NdYAG laser appears to be a very useful treatment modality in the management of these highly vascular tumours. Care should be taken to avoid accidental energy transmission to the cochlea

Llif yr atmosffer drydanol dros begwn y gogledd: arsylwadau tomograffi radio a SuperDARN

The paper investigates the structure and behaviour of the nighttime ionised (electrified) atmosphere in the polar and auroral regions; the region where the aurora borealis occurs. Of particular interest are plasma structures on horizontal scales of hundreds of kilometres. The observations presented were made by the radiotomography experiment of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, which has four satellite receiving systems in the high Arctic near the north pole, at Ny Ålesund and Longyearbyen on Svalbard, Bjørnøya (Bear Island) and Tromsø on mainland Norway. Comparisons of tomography images with observations of plasma flow by the international SuperDARN radar suggest that large density plasma produced on the dayside flows across the polar region and into the night sector. The results contribute to the interpretation of physical processes that couple the Earth's environment with space, and are also of interest to users of radio systems where the ionised atmosphere can degrade the propagation of the signals

LOCAL DISTORTIONS AND VOLUME CHANGES IN SEMICONDUCTORS - DONORS IN SILICON

Experiments giving impurity-induced lattice distortion can measure quite distinct quantities. In particular EXAFS (extended X-ray fine structure) measures nearest-neighbour distances, whereas both volume changes and recent spectroscopic data measure long-range displacements. The relationship between the two depends strongly on the inter-atomic potential. The authors analyse this for impurities in silicon by adopting a variety of current potentials. There is a significant contradiction between the EXAFS results and the other experiments for all of the inter-atomic potentials. This problem may be associated with the high oxygen concentrations of Czochralski crystals used in the EXAFS study

The contribution of the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis) to the winter diet of frugivores in novel ecosystems

With the increasing expansion in urban areas, many species have adapted to utilising horticulturally used plants as alternate or augmentary food sources, in particular, during winter – when native foods are largely absent. Ornamental palms, particularly Canary Island Date Palms, fruit continuously during most of the year and thus provide a stable food supply. Based on observational, metric and bio-chemical data, this paper examines the role Canary Island Date Palms can and do play in the nutrition of frugivorous animals, in particular, for birds. It demonstrates that with its nearly year-round provisioning of drupes, the palm plays a major role as a ‘staple’ and backup food source for several species

Bleached pigment activates transduction in salamander cones.

We have used suction electrode recording together with rapid steps into 0.5 mM IBMX solution to investigate changes in guanylyl cyclase velocity produced by pigment bleaching in isolated cones of the salamander Ambystoma tigrinum. Both backgrounds and bleaches accelerate the time course of current increase during steps into IBMX. We interpret this as evidence that the velocity of the guanylyl cyclase is increased in background light or after bleaching. Our results indicate that cyclase velocity increases nearly linearly with increasing percent pigment bleached but nonlinearly (and may saturate) with increasing back-ground intensity. In cones (as previously demonstrated for rods), light-activated pigment and bleached pigment appear to have somewhat different effects on the transduction cascade. The effect of bleaching on cyclase rate is maintained for at least 15-20 min after the light is removed, much longer than is required after a bleach for circulating current and sensitivity to stabilize in an isolated cone. The effect on the cyclase rate can be completely reversed by treatment with liposomes containing 11-cis retinal. The effects of bleaching can also be partially reversed by beta-ionone, an analogue of the chromophore 11-cis-retinal which does not form a covalent attachment to opsin. Perfusion of a bleached cone with beta-ionone produces a rapid increase in circulating current and sensitivity, which rapidly reverses when the beta-ionone is removed. Perfusion with beta-ionone also causes a partial reversal of the bleach-induced acceleration of cyclase velocity. We conclude that bleaching produces an "equivalent background" excitation of the transduction cascade in cones, perhaps by a mechanism similar to that in rods

Austrian higher education institutions' idiosyncrasies and technology transfer system

The aim of this paper is to present the findings of a PhD research (Heinzl, 2007) conducted on the Universities of Applied Sciences in Austria. The research is to establish an idiosyncrasy model for Universities of Applied Sciences in Austria showing the effects of their idiosyncrasies on the ability to successfully conduct technology transfer. Research applied in the study is centred on qualitative methods as major emphasis is placed on theory building. The study pursues a stepwise approach for the establishment of the idiosyncrasy model. In the first step, an initial technology transfer model and list of idiosyncrasies are established based on a synthesis of findings from secondary research. In the second step, these findings are enhanced by the means of empirical research including problem-centred expert interviews, a focus group and participant observation. In the third step, the idiosyncrasies are matched with the factors conducive for technology transfer and focused interviews have been conducted for this purpose. The findings show that idiosyncrasies of Universities of Applied Sciences have remarkable effects on their technology transfer abilities. This paper presents four of the models that emerge from the PhD research: Generic Technology Transfer Model (Section 5.1); Idiosyncrasies Model for the Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences (Section 5.2); Idiosyncrasies-Technology Transfer Effects Model (Section 5.3); Idiosyncrasies-Technology Transfer Cumulated Effects Model (Section 5.3). The primary and secondary research methods employed for this study are: literature survey, focus groups, participant observation, and interviews. The findings of the research contribute to a conceptual design of a technology transfer system which aims to enhance the higher education institutions' technology transfer performance

CONFIGURATION-INDEPENDENT ELASTIC INTERACTIONS IN METAL HYDROGEN SOLUTIONS

The authors demonstrate quantitative methods for estimating that part of the elastic interaction energy between defects in solids which does not depend on the precise spatial arrangement of the defects. This energy involves both the total volume change per defect in the finite solid and the purely shear part of the volume change. Several different continuum and atomistic modelling methods are used to calculate these volume changes for H in Pd, V, Nb and Ta. An estimate of the configuration-independent elastic interaction energy is made for the Pd-H system as a function of the H concentration, and is given in a form suitable for comparison with statistical models