Atmospheric transmission computer program CP

A computer program is described which allows for calculation of the effects of carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, ozone, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide on earth resources remote sensing techniques. A flow chart of the program and operating instructions are provided. Comparisons are made between the atmospheric transmission obtained from laboratory and spacecraft spectrometer data and that obtained from a computer prediction using a model atmosphere and radiosonde data. Limitations of the model atmosphere are discussed. The computer program listings, input card formats, and sample runs for both radiosonde data and laboratory data are included

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Investigation for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument and investigation as a part of the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is designed to study convection-zone dynamics and the solar dynamo, the origin and evolution of sunspots, active regions, and complexes of activity, the sources and drivers of solar magnetic activity and disturbances, links between the internal processes and dynamics of the corona and heliosphere, and precursors of solar disturbances for space-weather forecasts. A brief overview of the instrument, investigation objectives, and standard data products is presented

in breast cancer

PSMD9 expression predicts radiotherapy respons

Magnetron sputtered thin films and composites for automotive and aerospace electrical insulation

Ceramics are highly prised as insulating materials because of their high stability under demanding conditions (thermal, chemical and radiological). However, the use of ceramics as wire insulation is currently limited to powder packed and relatively thick low voltage coatings. This work follows the development of sputtered Al2O3 and Al2O3, SiO2 and Ta2O5 composite films as deposited onto copper. Copper disk studies will ultimately be translated onto Cu wire for a proof of concept study. Initial Al2O3 deposition utilised RF or DC sputtering but this found to have low deposition rate (up to 16 nmh 1) and to contain crystallite and metallic defects (up to 19.6 at. % Al0) respectively. These issues were addressed by introducing pulsed DC (PDC) deposition conditions, producing films with no crystalline or metallic defects (up to 146 nmh 1). The dielectric strength of PDC films measured by AFM time dependant dielectric breakdown was 310 ± 21 Vμm 1, higher than that of the DC deposited films which had a dielectric strength of between 165 ± 19 and 221 ± 20 Vμm 1. A dielectric strength of 310 Vμm 1 is suitable for applications with a voltage rating below 150 V and is also a good platform for the production of higher quality coatings. The mechanical properties of the films did suffer from a lower amount of blending at the interface, DC pull off strength was 25.8 ± 9.8 - 72.3 ± 5.6 MPa with the PDC pull off strength being 55.7 ± 2.9 MPa). Wires coated with such PDC Al2O3 showed promise with full circumference coating, however, short circuiting was apparent in the wires potentially caused by micro cracking induced either during or post deposition. The use of multilayer composites consisting of the aforementioned PDC Al2O3 and RF SiO2 or RF Ta2O5 resulted in significant gains with respect to the material’s electrical properties. The films deposited with 2 layers of each PDC Al2O3 and the RF addition performed best in terms of dielectric strengths of 513 ± 18 and 466 ± 86 Vμm 1 for Ta2O5 and SiO2 composites respectively. The success of the 2x2 layer configuration resulted from a compromise between the number of RF layers and their thickness. The mechanical properties did, however, suffer as a result of increased intrinsic stress caused by the use of multilayers of materials with varying expansion coefficients, reducing pull off adhesion strength to a maximum of 34.4 ± 4.4 MPa, where ideally the pull off adhesion would be above 80 MPa. Heat treatment of these coatings resulted in decreased adhesive properties, with a maximum pull off adhesion strength of 20.1 ± 0.9 MPa being apparent. Most of the electrical properties remained the same or were decreased by heat treatment, however the dielectric strength of the SiO2 composites improved by an average of 12 % resulting in a maximum dielectric strength of 517 ± 24 Vμm 1 due to a reduction in the defect density in the films. Conversely the electrical properties of Ta2O5 composites suffered greatly following heat treatment with a maximum dielectric strength of 358 ± 31 Vμm 1. This was theorised to result from Cu migration from the substrate and the potential for Ta2O5 to crystallise at temperatures close to 500 °C. Coating of Cu wires with PDC alumina was shown to be possible, with coatings of various interlayer and coating thickness. Characterisation showed that the wire coating rig enabled the whole circumference of the wire to be coated with alumina. Tensile testing resulted in transvers cracking followed by longitudinal cracking above an applied strain of 1.5 and 4.0 % respectively. Following heat treatment the copper substrate softened and resulted in delamination failures in the coatings during tensile testing. Electrical testing of the wires was inconsistent due micro cracking in the wire coatings. It has been shown that the use of mixed material composites sputtered by PDC and RF sputtering have potential as high dielectric strength insulating materials, improving upon the base Al2O3 believed to be a result of passivation of structural and compositional defects. Additionally, it has been shown that physical vapour deposition in conjunction with a modified sample holder can be utilised for coating of bare copper wire with the potential to act as isolative coatings

Seasonal effects on reconciliation in Macaca Fuscata Yakui

Dietary composition may have profound effects on the activity budgets, levelof food competition, and social behavior of a species. Similarly, in seasonally breeding species, the mating season is a period in which competition for mating partners increases, affecting amicable social interactions among group members. We analyzed the importance of the mating season and of seasonal variations in dietary composition and food competition on econciliation in wild female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui) on Yakushima Island, Japan. Yakushima macaques are appropriate subjects because they are seasonal breeders and their dietary composition significantly changes among the seasons. Though large differences occurred between the summer months and the winter and early spring months in activity budgets and the consumption of the main food sources, i.e., fruits, seeds, and leaves, the level of food competition and conciliatory tendency remained unaffected. Conversely,conciliatory tendency is significantly lower during the mating season than in the nonmating season. Moreover, conciliatory tendency is lower when 1 or both female opponents is in estrous than when they are not. Thus the mating season has profound effects on reconciliation, whereas seasonal changes in activity budgets and dietary composition do not. The detrimental effects of the mating season on female social relationships and reconciliation may be due to the importance of female competition for access to male partners in multimale, multifemale societies

Magnetron sputtered thin films and composites for automotive and aerospace electrical insulation

Ceramics are highly prised as insulating materials because of their high stability under demanding conditions (thermal, chemical and radiological). However, the use of ceramics as wire insulation is currently limited to powder packed and relatively thick low voltage coatings. This work follows the development of sputtered Al2O3 and Al2O3, SiO2 and Ta2O5 composite films as deposited onto copper. Copper disk studies will ultimately be translated onto Cu wire for a proof of concept study. Initial Al2O3 deposition utilised RF or DC sputtering but this found to have low deposition rate (up to 16 nmh 1) and to contain crystallite and metallic defects (up to 19.6 at. % Al0) respectively. These issues were addressed by introducing pulsed DC (PDC) deposition conditions, producing films with no crystalline or metallic defects (up to 146 nmh 1). The dielectric strength of PDC films measured by AFM time dependant dielectric breakdown was 310 ± 21 Vμm 1, higher than that of the DC deposited films which had a dielectric strength of between 165 ± 19 and 221 ± 20 Vμm 1. A dielectric strength of 310 Vμm 1 is suitable for applications with a voltage rating below 150 V and is also a good platform for the production of higher quality coatings. The mechanical properties of the films did suffer from a lower amount of blending at the interface, DC pull off strength was 25.8 ± 9.8 - 72.3 ± 5.6 MPa with the PDC pull off strength being 55.7 ± 2.9 MPa). Wires coated with such PDC Al2O3 showed promise with full circumference coating, however, short circuiting was apparent in the wires potentially caused by micro cracking induced either during or post deposition. The use of multilayer composites consisting of the aforementioned PDC Al2O3 and RF SiO2 or RF Ta2O5 resulted in significant gains with respect to the material’s electrical properties. The films deposited with 2 layers of each PDC Al2O3 and the RF addition performed best in terms of dielectric strengths of 513 ± 18 and 466 ± 86 Vμm 1 for Ta2O5 and SiO2 composites respectively. The success of the 2x2 layer configuration resulted from a compromise between the number of RF layers and their thickness. The mechanical properties did, however, suffer as a result of increased intrinsic stress caused by the use of multilayers of materials with varying expansion coefficients, reducing pull off adhesion strength to a maximum of 34.4 ± 4.4 MPa, where ideally the pull off adhesion would be above 80 MPa. Heat treatment of these coatings resulted in decreased adhesive properties, with a maximum pull off adhesion strength of 20.1 ± 0.9 MPa being apparent. Most of the electrical properties remained the same or were decreased by heat treatment, however the dielectric strength of the SiO2 composites improved by an average of 12 % resulting in a maximum dielectric strength of 517 ± 24 Vμm 1 due to a reduction in the defect density in the films. Conversely the electrical properties of Ta2O5 composites suffered greatly following heat treatment with a maximum dielectric strength of 358 ± 31 Vμm 1. This was theorised to result from Cu migration from the substrate and the potential for Ta2O5 to crystallise at temperatures close to 500 °C. Coating of Cu wires with PDC alumina was shown to be possible, with coatings of various interlayer and coating thickness. Characterisation showed that the wire coating rig enabled the whole circumference of the wire to be coated with alumina. Tensile testing resulted in transvers cracking followed by longitudinal cracking above an applied strain of 1.5 and 4.0 % respectively. Following heat treatment the copper substrate softened and resulted in delamination failures in the coatings during tensile testing. Electrical testing of the wires was inconsistent due micro cracking in the wire coatings. It has been shown that the use of mixed material composites sputtered by PDC and RF sputtering have potential as high dielectric strength insulating materials, improving upon the base Al2O3 believed to be a result of passivation of structural and compositional defects. Additionally, it has been shown that physical vapour deposition in conjunction with a modified sample holder can be utilised for coating of bare copper wire with the potential to act as isolative coatings

Functional material features of Bombyx mori silk light versus heavy chain proteins

Bombyx mori (BM) silk fibroin is composed of two different subunits; heavy chain and light chain fibroin linked by a covalent disulphide bond. Current methods of separating the two silk fractions is complicated and produces inadequate quantities of the isolated components for the study of the individual light and heavy chain silks with respect to new materials. We report a simple method of separating silk fractions using formic acid. The formic acid treatment partially releases predominately the light chain fragment (soluble fraction) and then the soluble fraction and insoluble fractions can be converted into new materials. The regenerated original (total) silk fibroin and the separated fractions (soluble vs. insoluble) had different molecular weights and showed distinctive pH stabilities against aggregation/precipitation based on particle charging. All silk fractions could be electrospun to give fibre mats with viscosity of the regenerated fractions being the controlling factor for successful electrospinning. The silk fractions could be mixed to give blends with different proportions of the two fractions to modify the diameter and uniformity of the electrospun fibres formed. The soluble fraction containing the light chain was able to modify the viscosity by thinning the insoluble fraction containing heavy chain fragments, perhaps analogous to its role in natural fibre formation where the light chain provides increased mobility and the heavy chain producing shear thickening effects. The simplicity of this new separation method should enable access to these different silk protein fractions and accelerate the identification of methods, modifications and potential applications of these materials in biomedical and industrial applications

Identification of Stage-Specific Breast Markers using Quantitative Proteomics

YesMatched healthy and diseased tissues from breast cancer patients were analyzed by quantitative proteomics. By comparing proteomic profiles of fibroadenoma (benign tumors, three patients), DCIS (noninvasive cancer, three patients), and invasive ductal carcinoma (four patients), we identified protein alterations that correlated with breast cancer progression. Three 8-plex iTRAQ experiments generated an average of 826 protein identifications, of which 402 were common. After excluding those originating from blood, 59 proteins were significantly changed in tumor compared with normal tissues, with the majority associated with invasive carcinomas. Bioinformatics analysis identified relationships between proteins in this subset including roles in redox regulation, lipid transport, protein folding, and proteasomal degradation, with a substantial number increased in expression due to Myc oncogene activation. Three target proteins, cofilin-1 and p23 (increased in invasive carcinoma) and membrane copper amine oxidase 3 (decreased in invasive carcinoma), were subjected to further validation. All three were observed in phenotype-specific breast cancer cell lines, normal (nontransformed) breast cell lines, and primary breast epithelial cells by Western blotting, but only cofilin-1 and p23 were detected by multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry analysis. All three proteins were detected by both analytical approaches in matched tissue biopsies emulating the response observed with proteomics analysis. Tissue microarray analysis (361 patients) indicated cofilin-1 staining positively correlating with tumor grade and p23 staining with ER positive status; both therefore merit further investigation as potential biomarkers.Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, Yorkshire Cancer Researc

The BIG 2.04 MRC/EORTC SUPREMO Trial: pathology quality assurance of a large phase 3 randomised international clinical trial of postmastectomy radiotherapy in intermediate-risk breast cancer

Introduction SUPREMO is a phase 3 randomised trial evaluating radiotherapy post-mastectomy for intermediate-risk breast cancer. 1688 patients were enrolled from 16 countries between 2006 and 2013. We report the results of central pathology review carried out for quality assurance. Patients and methods A single recut haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) tumour section was assessed by one of two reviewing pathologists, blinded to the originally reported pathology and patient data. Tumour type, grade and lymphovascular invasion were reviewed to assess if they met the inclusion criteria. Slides from potentially ineligible patients on central review were scanned and reviewed online together by the two pathologists and a consensus reached. A subset of 25 of these cases was double-reported independently by the pathologists prior to the online assessment. Results The major contributors to the trial were the UK (75%) and the Netherlands (10%). There is a striking difference in lymphovascular invasion (LVi) rates (41.6 vs. 15.1% (UK); p = <0.0001) and proportions of grade 3 carcinomas (54.0 vs. 42.0% (UK); p = <0.0001) on comparing local reporting with central review. There was no difference in the locally reported frequency of LVi rates in node-positive (N+) and node-negative (N−) subgroups (40.3 vs. 38.0%; p = 0.40) but a significant difference in the reviewed frequency (16.9 vs. 9.9%; p = 0.004). Of the N− cases, 104 (25.1%) would have been ineligible by initial central review by virtue of grade and/or lymphovascular invasion status. Following online consensus review, this fell to 70 cases (16.3% of N− cases, 4.1% of all cases). Conclusions These data have important implications for the design, powering and interpretation of outcomes from this and future clinical trials. If critical pathology criteria are determinants for trial entry, serious consideration should be given to up-front central pathology review

Solutions For Grand Challenges In Goat And Sheep Production

Goats and sheep are valuable livestock as they produce food, such as meat, milk, fleece, and other products. In addition, goats and sheep are important both for agriculture and biomedical research. Even though these small ruminants provide essential goods, there are major obstacles preventing the efficient, sustainable, and profitable production of goats and sheep. This review is significant because it summarizes major challenges facing goat and sheep production, their negative impacts, and specific science-based solutions to overcome them. These challenge areas are education and training, research, translational research/biotechnology, goat and sheep health, and effective/efficient/sustainable/profitable agribusiness. The solutions include effective teaching of goat and sheep science to next generation and empowering the public, supporting and pursuing innovative and translational research, preventing and treating diseases, facilitating technology transfer, and developing sound agribusinesses. This resource is expected to be helpful to scientists, students, and goat and sheep producers. In addition, the information on the current state of goat and sheep agriculture will help the public better understand and appreciate challenges and opportunities in small ruminant production