Experimental investigation of open-ended microwave oven assisted encapsulation process

An open ended microwave oven is presented with improved uniform heating, heating rates and power conversion efficiency. This next generation oven produces more uniform EM fields in the evanescent region forming part of the heating area of the oven. These fields are vital for the rapid and uniform heating of various electromagnetically lossy materials. A fibre optic temperature sensor and an IR pyrometer are used to measure in situ and in real-time the temperature of the curing materials. An automatic computer controlled closed feedback loop measures the temperature in the curing material and drives the microwave components to obtain predetermined curing temperature cycles for efficient curing. Uniform curing of the lossy encapsulants is achieved with this oven with typical cure cycle of 270 seconds with a ramp rate of 1oC/s and a hold period of 2 minutes. Differential scanning calorimeter based measurement for the pulsed microwave based curing of the polymer dielectric indicates a ~ 100% degree of cure

Exercise and other non-pharmaceutical interventions for cancer-related fatigue in patients during or after cancer treatment: a systematic review incorporating an indirect-comparisons meta-analysis.

To assess the relative effects of different types of exercise and other non-pharmaceutical interventions on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in patients during and after cancer treatment. Systematic review and indirect-comparisons meta-analysis. Articles were searched in PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL and published meta-analyses. Randomised studies published up to January 2017 evaluating different types of exercise or other non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce CRF in any cancer type during or after treatment. Risk of bias assessment with PEDro criteria and random effects Bayesian network meta-analysis. We included 245 studies. Comparing the treatments with usual care during cancer treatment, relaxation exercise was the highest ranked intervention with a standardisedmean difference (SMD) of -0.77 (95% Credible Interval (CrI) -1.22 to -0.31), while massage (-0.78; -1.55 to -0.01), cognitive-behavioural therapy combined with physical activity (combined CBT, -0.72; -1.34 to -0.09), combined aerobic and resistance training (-0.67; -1.01 to -0.34), resistance training (-0.53; -1.02 to -0.03), aerobic (-0.53; -0.80 to -0.26) and yoga (-0.51; -1.01 to 0.00) all had moderate-to-large SMDs. After cancer treatment, yoga showed the highest effect (-0.68; -0.93 to -0.43). Combined aerobic and resistance training (-0.50; -0.66 to -0.34), combined CBT (-0.45; -0.70 to -0.21), Tai-Chi (-0.45; -0.84 to -0.06), CBT (-0.42; -0.58 to -0.25), resistance training (-0.35; -0.62 to -0.08) and aerobic (-0.33; -0.51 to -0.16) showed all small-to-moderate SMDs. Patients can choose among different effective types of exercise and non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce CRF

Corrigendum to "High-resolution interpolar difference of atmospheric methane around the Last Glacial Maximum" published in Biogeosciences, 9, 3961–3977, 2012

No abstract available

The M33 Variable Star Population Revealed by Spitzer

We analyze five epochs of Spitzer Space Telescope/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations of the nearby spiral galaxy M33. Each epoch covered nearly a square degree at 3.6, 4.5, and 8.0 microns. The point source catalog from the full dataset contains 37,650 stars. The stars have luminosities characteristic of the asymptotic giant branch and can be separated into oxygen-rich and carbon-rich populations by their [3.6] - [4.5] colors. The [3.6] - [8.0] colors indicate that over 80% of the stars detected at 8.0 microns have dust shells. Photometric comparison of epochs using conservative criteria yields a catalog of 2,923 variable stars. These variables are most likely long-period variables amidst an evolved stellar population. At least one-third of the identified carbon stars are variable.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. See published article for full resolution figures and electronic table

Associations of Prenatal Nicotine Exposure and the Dopamine Related Genes ANKK1 and DRD2 to Verbal Language

Language impairment (LI) and reading disability (RD) are common pediatric neurobehavioral disorders that frequently co-occur, suggesting they share etiological determinants. Recently, our group identified prenatal nicotine exposure as a factor for RD and poor reading performance. Using smoking questionnaire and language data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we first determined if this risk could be expanded to other communication disorders by evaluating whether prenatal nicotine exposure increases risk for LI and poor performance on language tasks. Prenatal nicotine exposure increased LI risk (OR = 1.60; p = 0.0305) in a dose-response fashion with low (OR = 1.25; p = 0.1202) and high (OR = 3.84; p = 0.0002) exposures. Next, hypothesizing that the effects of prenatal nicotine may also implicate genes that function in nicotine related pathways, we determined whether known nicotine dependence (ND) genes associate with performance on language tasks. We assessed the association of 33 variants previously implicated in ND with LI and language abilities, finding association between ANKK1/DRD2 and performance on language tasks (p≤0.0003). The associations of markers within ANKK1 were replicated in a separate LI case-control cohort (p<0.05). Our results show that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk for LI and poor performance on language tasks and that ANKK1/DRD2 contributes to language performance. More precisely, these findings suggest that prenatal environmental factors influence in utero development of neural circuits vital to language. Our association of ANKK1/DRD2 further implicates the role of nicotine-related pathways and dopamine signaling in language processing, particularly in comprehension and phonological memory

Occupational and leisure time physical activity in contrasting relation to ambulatory blood pressure

Background: While moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activities are well documented to decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease, several studies have demonstrated an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in workers with high occupational activity. Research on the underlying causes to the contrasting effects of occupational and leisure time physical activity on cardiovascular health is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the relation of objective and self-report measures of occupational and leisure time physical activity with 24-h ambulatory systolic blood pressure (BP). Methods: Results for self-reported physical activity are based on observations in 182 workers (60% male, mean age 51 years), while valid objective physical activity data were available in 151 participants. The usual level of physical activity was assessed by 5 items from the Job Content Questionnaire (high physical effort, lifting heavy loads, rapid physical activity, awkward body positions and awkward positions of head or arms at work) and one item asking about the general level of physical activity during non-working time. On a regular working day, participants wore an ambulatory BP monitor and an accelerometer physical activity monitor during 24 h. Associations were examined by means of Analysis of Covariance. Results: Workers with an overall high level of self-reported occupational physical activity as well as those who reported to often lift heavy loads at work had a higher mean systolic BP at work, at home and during sleep. However, no associations were observed between objectively measured occupational physical activity and BP. In contrast, those with objectively measured high proportion of moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activity had a significantly lower mean systolic BP during daytime, while no differences were observed according to self-reported level of leisure time physical activity. Conclusions: These findings suggest that workers reporting static occupational physical activities, unlike general physically demanding tasks characterized by dynamic movements of large muscle groups, are related to a higher daily systolic BP, while high objective levels of moderate and vigorous leisure time physical activity are related to lower daytime systolic BP. Ambulatory systolic BP may be a physiological explanatory factor for the contrasting effects of occupational and leisure time physical activity

Aquatic community response to volcanic eruptions on the Ecuadorian Andean flank: evidence from the palaeoecological record

Aquatic ecosystems in the tropical Andes are under increasing pressure from human modification of the landscape (deforestation and dams) and climatic change (increase of extreme events and 1.5 °C on average temperatures are projected for AD 2100). However, the resilience of these ecosystems to perturbations is poorly understood. Here we use a multi-proxy palaeoecological approach to assess the response of aquatic ecosystems to a major mechanism for natural disturbance, volcanic ash deposition. Specifically, we present data from two Neotropical lakes located on the eastern Andean flank of Ecuador. Laguna Pindo (1°27.132′S–78°04.847′W) is a tectonically formed closed basin surrounded by a dense mid-elevation forest, whereas Laguna Baños (0°19.328′S–78°09.175′W) is a glacially formed lake with an inflow and outflow in high Andean Páramo grasslands. In each lake we examined the dynamics of chironomids and other aquatic and semi-aquatic organisms to explore the effect of thick (> 5 cm) volcanic deposits on the aquatic communities in these two systems with different catchment features. In both lakes past volcanic ash deposition was evident from four large tephras dated to c.850 cal year BP (Pindo), and 4600, 3600 and 1500 cal year BP (Baños). Examination of the chironomid and aquatic assemblages before and after the ash depositions revealed no shift in composition at Pindo, but a major change at Baños occurred after the last event around 1500 cal year BP. Chironomids at Baños changed from an assemblage dominated by Pseudochironomus and Polypedilum nubifer-type to Cricotopus/Paratrichocladius type-II, and such a dominance lasted for approximately 380 years. We suggest that, despite potential changes in the water chemistry, the major effect on the chironomid community resulted from the thickness of the tephra being deposited, which acted to shallow the water body beyond a depth threshold. Changes in the aquatic flora and fauna at the base of the trophic chain can promote cascade effects that may deteriorate the ecosystem, especially when already influenced by human activities, such as deforestation and dams, which is frequent in the high Andes

Homozygosity for a missense mutation in the 67 kDa isoform of glutamate decarboxylase in a family with autosomal recessive spastic cerebral palsy: parallels with Stiff-Person Syndrome and other movement disorders

Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is an heterogeneous group of neurological disorders of movement and/or posture, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 1000 live births. Non-progressive forms of symmetrical, spastic CP have been identified, which show a Mendelian autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. We recently described the mapping of a recessive spastic CP locus to a 5 cM chromosomal region located at 2q24-31.1, in rare consanguineous families. Methods Here we present data that refine this locus to a 0.5 cM region, flanked by the microsatellite markers D2S2345 and D2S326. The minimal region contains the candidate gene GAD1, which encodes a glutamate decarboxylase isoform (GAD67), involved in conversion of the amino acid and excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate to the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Results A novel amino acid mis-sense mutation in GAD67 was detected, which segregated with CP in affected individuals. Conclusions This result is interesting because auto-antibodies to GAD67 and the more widely studied GAD65 homologue encoded by the GAD2 gene, are described in patients with Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS), epilepsy, cerebellar ataxia and Batten disease. Further investigation seems merited of the possibility that variation in the GAD1 sequence, potentially affecting glutamate/GABA ratios, may underlie this form of spastic CP, given the presence of anti-GAD antibodies in SPS and the recognised excitotoxicity of glutamate in various contexts

Organization of Multinational Activities and Ownership Structure

We develop a model in which multinational investors decide about the modes of organization, the locations of production, and the markets to be served. Foreign investments are driven by market-seeking and cost-reducing motives. We further assume that investors face costs of control that vary among sectors and increase in distance. The results show that (i) production intensive sectors are more likely to operate a foreign business independent of the investment motive, (ii) that distance may have a non-monotonous effect on the likelihood of horizontal investments, and (iii) that globalization, if understood as reducing distance, leads to more integration