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: Objective: Recent surveys identified trachomatous inflammation ? follicular (TF) at endemic levels in the Torres Strait Islands; however, local health staff do not report trachomatous trichiasis (TT) in adults. We undertook a cross?sectional survey involving eye examination and microbiological testing to better understand this disconnect. Methods: We examined 169 of 207 (82%) residents and collected ocular swabs for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for Chlamydia trachomatis. Other viral PCR tests and bacterial culture were also performed. Results: TF prevalence in children aged 5?9 years was 23% (7/30). No ocular C. trachomatis was identified by PCR. For the 72 participants (43%) with follicles, bacterial culture was positive for 11 (15%) individuals. No individual had trachomatous trichiasis. Conclusions: Follicular conjunctivitis consistent with TF was prevalent but ocular C. trachomatis and cicatricial trachoma were absent. Non?chlamydial infections or environmental causes of follicular conjunctivitis may be causing TF in this community. Implications for public health: In similar settings, reliance on simplified clinical assessment alone may lead to an overestimation of the public health problem posed by trachoma. Consideration should be given to incorporating C. trachomatis PCR, and in certain settings, a detailed clinical exam could be performed by an experienced ophthalmologist during prevalence surveys., Trachoma, caused by ocular infection with specific serovars of the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is the world's leading infectious cause of blindness.[sup.1] In communities where trachoma is endemic, children suffer repeated [...]

Attribution of an extreme magnitude I-day rainfall event in Hobart is inhibited by small sample size. For moderate magnitude Hobart daily rainfall extremes, models suggest that the associated extratropical lows [...]

This paper examines efforts taking place in London, San Francisco and Stockholm to implement deep greenhouse gas emission cuts--'deep decarbonization'--through the transformation of buildings and urban energy infrastructure for increased energy efficiency and low/zero carbon energy supply. Drawing on interviews, policy document analysis, and site tours to buildings and energy infrastructure, this paper analyzes how deep decarbonization is being embedded into urban buildings, energy systems, and institutions. It argues that practitioners are finding ways to create new low/zero carbon future buildings, but are having difficulty correcting the historical development path through retrofitting. This paper examines solutions and challenges brought to light by urban decarbonization in practice targeting existing buildings from which other cities can learn. Four key lessons for low/zero carbon retrofits are highlighted: 1) shift primary targets from homeowners to owners of multiple buildings, 2) expand the suite of resources available to support zero carbon retrofits, 3) experiment and teach using public investment, and 4) institutionalize energy and carbon reporting linked to municipal department targets. Given the necessity of low-carbon, efficient, and climate-resilient building retrofits to address the climate crisis, action can be scaled up by considering buildings and energy infrastructure an infrastructure priority for public investment. Keywords: urban; cities; climate change; decarbonization Cet article examine les efforts deployes a Londres, San Francisco et Stockholm pour mettre en place une reduction profonde des emissions de gaz a effet de serre--<>--par la transformation des batiments et des infrastructures energetiques urbaines pour l'efficacite energetique et l'approvisionnement d'energie a zero ou faible intensite carbone. S'appuyant sur des entretiens, l'analyse de documents de politiques publiques et des visites de sites d'immeubles et d'infrastructures energetiques, cet article analyse comment la decarbonisation en profondeur est incorporee dans les batiments urbains, les systemes energetiques et les institutions. Il fait valoir que les praticiens trouvent des moyens de creer de nouveaux developpements a zero ou faibles emissions de carbone, mais ceux-ci ont du mal a corriger la trajectoire historique de developpement avec l'amelioration energetique. Cet article examine les solutions et les defis mis en evidence par la pratique de la decarbonisation urbaine qui cible les batiments existants, a partir desquels d'autres villes peuvent apprendre. Quatre lecons principales pour la renovation a faibles emissions ou carboneutre sont soulignees: 1) transferer les objectifs principaux des proprietaries aux proprietaries de plusieurs batiments, 2) elargir la gamme de ressources disponibles pour soutenir les ameliorations de la reduction des emissions de carbone, 3) experimenter et enseigner en utilisant les investissements publics et 4) institutionnaliser les rapports sur l'energie et le carbone lies aux objectifs des services municipaux. Compte tenu de la necessite de renover les batiments dans une optique de sobriete carbone, d'efficacite et de resilience face a la crise climatique, il est suggere d'intensifier l'action en considerant les batiments et les infrastructures energetiques comme une priorite pour les investissements publics dans les infrastructures. Mots cles: urbain; villes; changement climatique; decarbonisation, Introduction It is increasingly clear that urban climate change mitigation features diverse and multi-level action driven by actors from across government, industry and non-profit sectors. In this context, a number [...]

Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia) congregate in large nocturnal roosts during the non-breeding season. Scant evidence suggests that Bank Swallows may also congregate regularly in nocturnal roosts during the breeding period. To help clarify the issue, we used automated radio-telemetry to document the roosting behavior of 11 males and 11 females that were tending nests with young at two nesting colonies. Nineteen of the 22 birds (86%) spent at least one night roosting away from the colony, and 13 of the 22 birds (59%) spent at least one night roosting likely within a large marsh located ~30 km away from the colonies. Females tended to roost overnight at the colony more than males. The proportion of nights birds spent roosting away from the colony was highly variable between individuals. Minimum flight speeds to an evening roost site (~30 km distant) were significantly greater than return flights back to the colony in the morning. Our study confirms that breeding Bank Swallows do in fact regularly roost away from the colony during the nestling period. Our study also highlights some new and intriguing questions regarding how Bank Swallows use the landscape during the breeding season, and the potential importance of wetland roost sites in the proximity of breeding colonies. Received 24 March 2015. Accepted 10 October 2015. Key words: Bank Swallow, movements, radio telemetry. Riparia riparia, Sand Martin., Swallows (Hirundinidae) are known for their gregarious roosting habits during post-breeding, migratory stopover, and wintering periods, in which large numbers of individuals congregate at night to roost (Ormerod 1991, Russell [...]

Vascular-disrupting agents (VDAs) such as combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P) selectively disrupt blood vessels in tumors and induce tumor necrosis. However, tumors rapidly repopulate after treatment with such compounds. Here, we [...]

Mature aspen (genus Populus L..) and maple (genus Acer L.) forests appear to be high-quality breeding habitat for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius (L., 1766)). To explore some of the mechanisms that influence quality of the breeding habitat, we measured demographic and breeding resources in four forest stands each of 95-year-old quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and 182-year-old sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, from 2007 to 2009. Population density was higher, egg laying earlier, clutches larger, hatching success greater, and per capita and population fledgling production higher in maple stands compared with aspen stands. Longer nest-building and prelaying stages in aspen stands delayed egg laying by 5 days relative to maple stands. The delay in egg laying in aspen stands may have been caused by lower quality sap resources, which then resulted in lower productivity. Adults delivered smaller food loads to nests in aspen stands than in maple stands, which may have increased nestling mortality in aspen stands. Although per capita fledgling production was lower in aspen stands than in maple stands, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in both forests were able to replace themselves, suggesting that mature deciduous and mixed-deciduous forests, in general, are high-quality breeding habitat for this sapsucker. Les forets matures de peupliers (le genre Populus L.) et d'erables (le genre Acer L.) semblent fournir un habitat de reproduction de haute qualite au pic macule; (Sphyrapicus varius (L., 1766)). Avec comme objectif d'explorer certains des mecanismes qui influencent la qualite de l'habitat de reproduction, nous avons mesure les ressources demographiques et reproductives dans quatre peuplements forestiers de peupliers faux-trembles (Populus tremuloides Michx.) de 95 ans et durables a sucre (Acer saccharum Marsh.) de 182 ans dans le Parc provincial Algonquin, Ontario, de 2007 a 2009. La densite de population est plus eleveie, la ponte plus hative, les couveees plus grandes, le succes de l'eclosion plus eelevee et la production de petits a l'envol plus importante dans l'ensemble de la population et par individu dans les peuplements d'erables que dans ceux de peupliers. La duree plus longue des etapes de la construction du nid et d'avant la ponte dans les peuplements de peupliers retarde la ponte de 5 jours par rapport aux peuplements d'erables. Ce deelai de la ponte dans les peuplements de peupliers peut etre dfl aux ressources de seve de moins bonne qualite;, ce qui mene a une productivite reduite. Les adultes des peuplements de peupliers rapportent au nid des charges alimentaires plus petites que ceux des peuplements d'erables, ce qui peut augmenter la mortalitee des petits au nid dans les peuplements de peupliers. Bien que la production de petits a l'envol par individu soit plus faible dans les peuplements de peupliers que dans ceux d'erables, les pics maculeis des deux forets sont capables d'assurer leur remplacement, ce qui laisse croire qu'en geneeral les forets matures de;cidues et mixtes-de;cidues repre;sentent des habitats de reproduction de haute qualite; pour ce pic. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Aspen (genus Populus L.) forests are generally associated with disturbance events (e.g., fire, wind throw), whereas maple (genus Acer L.) forests are usually considered the endpoint of succession (Begon [...]

This study describes the previously unreported intrinsic capacity of poly-L-lysine (PLL) sixth generation ([G.sub.6]) dendrimer molecules to exhibit systemic antiangiogenic activity that could lead to solid tumor growth arrest. The PLL-dendrimer-inhibited tubule formation of SVEC4-10 murine endothelial cells and neovascularization in the chick embryo chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. Intravenous administration of the PLL-dendrimer molecules into C57BL/6 mice inhibited vascularisation in Matrigel plugs implanted subcutaneously. Antiangiogenic activity was further evidenced using intravital microscopy of tumors grown within dorsal skinfold window chambers. Reduced vascularization of P22 rat sarcoma implanted in the dorsal window chamber of SCID mice was observed following tail vein administration (i.v.) of the PLL dendrimers. Also, the in vivo toxicological profile of the PLL-dendrimer molecules was shown to be safe at the dose regime studied. The antiangiogenic activity of the PLL dendrimer was further shown to be associated with significant suppression of B16F10 solid tumor volume and delayed tumor growth. Enhanced apoptosis/necrosis within tumors of PLL-dendrimer-treated animals only and reduction in the number of CD31 positive cells were observed in comparison to protamine treatment. This study suggests that PLL-dendrimer molecules can exhibit a systemic antiangiogenic activity that may be used for therapy of solid tumors, and in combination with their capacity to carry other therapeutic or diagnostic agents may potentially offer capabilities for the design of theranostic Systems. angiogenesis | cancer | nanoparticle doi/10.1073/pnas.0908401107

We evaluated hypotheses explaining risk of predation by American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) at 418 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) and Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) nests, on the basis of nestling begging and nest-site habitat features in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Ninety-three percent of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in stands dominated by Sugar Maple (Acersaccharum) nested in Sugar Maple or American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees that were dead or in declining health, whereas 86% of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in stands dominated by aspen (Populus spp.) nested in Quaking Aspen (P. tremuloides) that were in declining health. Black Bears depredated 17% of 315 nests of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in Sugar Maple stands, which accounts for 71% of all Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nest failures. Only 1 (2%) of 46 Hairy Woodpecker nests in the same Sugar Maple stands was depredated by a bear. None of 51 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nests in aspen stands was depredated. In Sugar Maple stands, daily nest survival of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nests was lowest when nestling begging calls were loudest and carried the farthest, in more recently harvested stands, and in trees other than American Beech (mostly Sugar Maple). Nest substrates were hardest at Hairy Woodpecker nests, followed by successful Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nests in American Beech and Quaking Aspen; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker nests were softest in stands that had been harvested within the past 30 years. Our study suggests that the risk of predation by American Black Bears at woodpecker nests is a combined function of nestling begging calls, which attract bears to the nest, and nest habitat characteristics, which influence accessibility to the interior of the cavity. Key words: American Black Bear, cavity-nest site selection, nestling begging calls, Sphyrapicus varius, tree harvest, Ursus americanus, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Black-throated Green Warblers (Dendroica virens) typically place their nests within the dense foliage of a limb or in a branch fork against the trunk of a living conifer. I report four unusual nests from Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada: three in feeding cavities of Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) in snags (i.e., dead trees), and one in a sugar maple borer (Glycobius speciosus, Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) scar in a tree of declining health. These data are the first documentation of this species nesting within cavities and enhance our understanding of the importance of snags and trees in declining health for wildlife., Black-throated Green Warblers (Dendroica virens) are common breeding birds in a variety of forest types ranging from mostly coniferous to predominantly deciduous across the southern half of Canada east of [...]

The structural and electronic characterization of trans-polyacetylene (PA) and polyyne (PY) is presented. The findings from the comparison provide evidence for the high-quality theoretical prediction that could be obtained from the Coulomb-attenuated CAM-B3LYP functional.

The low-complexity delayless acoustic echo cancellation methods are proposed and investigated based on frequency-domain spline-identification. The results have shown that these methods have provided cancellation performance better than that of the fast offline projection (FAP) algorithm, especially in double-talk and noisy environments, with a lower complexity.

The alternative relationships thai can exist between a mountain from and the adjacent foreland basin have been recognized liar many years. However, seismic reflection data from such areas are commonly of poor quality and therefore structural models may contain large uncertainties. In view of scientific and commercial interest in mountain belts, we have reviewed the methods for discriminating between alternative interpretations using a case study from the Montagna dei Fiori in the central Apennines, Italy. In this area Mesozoic and Tertiary carbonate sediments arc juxtaposed with a foredeep basin containing up to 7 km of Messinian and Plio-Pleistocene siliciclastic sediments. A new structural model liar this area demonstrates how the structures in this area form a kinematically closed system in which displacement is transferred from the thrust belt to blind structures beneath the present-day foreland. Growth strata show that Pliocene shortening was initially rapid (15 mm [a.sup.-1] followed by slower rates during the final stages of deformation. Variations in structural elevation indicate a component of basement involvement during thrusting, and this is further supported by magnetic modelling. The results illustrate the interaction of thin- and thick-skinned structures in the central Apennines, and the methods for discriminating between alternative structural models.

Byline: J. Thornton (1), D. A. J. Pearce (1), D. Grace (1), M. Oodo (2), K. Katzis (1), T. C. Tozer (1) Keywords: High Altitude Platforms; cellular communications; spot-beam antennas Abstract: High Altitude Platforms may offer high spectrum efficiency by deploying multi-beam, multi-cell communications networks. The properties of the antennas carried by the HAP payload are key to the effective exploitation of these benefits. This paper compares different models for the antenna sidelobe region and quantifies, in each case, the carrier to interference ratio for a 3 channel re-use plan. Networks of 121 and 313 cells are compared. We show how the ITU recommended pattern for the 47/48 GHz band leads to pessimistic results compared to an adapted pattern which fits that of measured data for an elliptic beam lens antenna. The method is then extended to consider other radiation patterns. Spectrum sharing issues are explored with reference to further ITU recommendations and comparison with measurement data. Finally, an ITU type cellular layout which uses the same antenna for each cell is compared to an alternative hexagonal layout where each cell has equal size. Author Affiliation: (1) Communications Research Group, Department of Electronics, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom (2) National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Wireless Innovation Systems Group, 3-4, Hikarino-oka, Yokosuka, 239-0847, Japan Article History: Registration Date: 01/01/2005 Article note: John Thornton is a physics graduate of the University of York, UK, obtained an MSc. in microwave physics from the University of Portsmouth, UK, in 1995 and a PhD from the UK's Open University in 2002. He has held research posts at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, developing sub-millimetre wave solid state sources and receivers, and at the University of Oxford, on projects including passive radar transponders, array antennas and superconducting filters. In 2000 he returned to York to join the Department of Electronics as a Research Fellow, where his research interests include microwave techniques, wireless broadband and scanning antennas. David Pearce BA(Cantab), DPhil(York) MIEEE, AMIEE, is a lecturer in the Department of Electronics in the University of York and has worked in the field of Fixed Wireless Access schemes for the last five years. Prior to this he worked developing new copper-based local area network schemes in both academia and industry including heavy involvement in the standardisation work for ISO-8802.5 token ring. Current research interests are focused on media access schemes for multimedia traffic and adaptive techniques for optimising the bandwidth efficiency of wireless networks. David Grace received his MEng in Electronic Systems Engineering and D.Phil from the University of York, UK in 1993 and 1999 respectively. Since 1994 he has been a member of the Communications Research Group where he is now a Senior Research Fellow whose current interests include radio resource management for broadband communications, particularly from high-altitude platform, and terrestrial ad hoc networks. He is Principal Scientific Officer for CAPANINA, a major European Framework 6 project developing broadband communications from high-altitude platforms. He has been an invited speaker at several conferences and industrial locations in the fields of HAP systems. He is a nominated Researcher in the European NEWCOM Network of Excellence, and a Director of SkyLARC Technologies Ltd, a York based company, specialising in broadband communications from aerial platforms. He is a member of IEE and IEEE. Masayuki Oodo received B.E., M.E., and D.E. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, respectively in 1992,1994, and 1997. In 1997, he joined the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL), now part of the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT). Since July 2004 he has been a visiting research fellow at the University of York. His research interests are array antennas for wireless communications and frequency-sharing between HAPS and other systems. Dr. Oodo received the Paper Presentation Award from IEEJ (The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan) in 1995, the Young Scientist Award from URSI in 1996, the Young Engineer Award from IEICE (The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers) of Japan in 1997, and the Young Engineer Award from IEEE AP-S Tokyo Chapter in 1998. Konstantinos Katzis received his BEng degree in Computer Systems Engineering in 2000 and his MSc in Radio Systems Engineering in 2001, both from the University of Hull, UK. Since 2001 he has been a member of the Communications Research Group at York where he has been working on Resource Allocation Techniques for HAPs for his PhD degree. Currently he is a Research Associate working on Radio Resource Management for the European project CAPANINA. His current research interests include Resource allocation and spectrum management, multiple access schemes and medium access control protocol modelling. Tim Tozer MA(Cantab), CEng, FIEE, MIEEE, is Senior Lecturer in Electronics at York, since 1987, and leader of the Communications Research Group. Research interests include: wireless access techniques multi-user, satellite and High Altitude Platform communications. He has held numerous grants and research contracts from industry, government and international organisations, and is a named author on over 180 technical publications. He is active in the IEE Professional Network on Satellite Systems and Applications. Tim is a regular invited presenter at international conferences, workshops and tutorials, in the fields of VSAT and HAPs communications. He has previous experience in industry, including work on military satellite systems at DERA (now QinetiQ). Tim is also Managing Director of SkyLARC Technologies Ltd.

A Spice-compatible dynamic conductance model of a fluorescent lamp for use in electronic ballast simulation is presented. The time-dependent conductance of the fluorescent lamp is derived from a plasma ionization balance equation that uses simplified descriptions of the physical processes within the lamp as its basis. The model has been designed to enable user-defined lamp radius, length, buffer gas pressure and cold-spot temperature as input parameters thus representing a valuable tool for ballast simulations. Simulation results are compared to experimental measurements and satisfactory agreement is achieved. Index Terms--Discharge model, electronic ballast, fluorescent lamp, fluorescent lamp model, gas discharge lamp, low-pressure discharge lamp.

Byline: Guanhua Chen (1), David Grace (1), Tim C. Tozer (1) Keywords: high altitude platforms (HAPs); multiple HAPs; directive antenna; mm-wave band; broadband Abstract: This paper examines the behaviour of system capacity in High Altitude Platform (HAP) communications systems as a function of antenna directivity and HAP positioning. Antenna models for the user and the HAP are discussed, and it is shown that a flat sidelobe antenna pattern is suitable for modelling multiple HAP constellations when HAPs are located outside the coverage area. Using a single HAP scenario it is shown how narrowing the HAP antenna beamwidth may give better downlink Carrier-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) over the most of the coverage area. The roles of the HAP antenna beamwidth, HAP antenna pointing and HAP spacing radius are investigated. An equation is derived to determine the location of the peak CNR combined with these three parameters. A more complex multiple HAP scenario where all HAP's operate on the same channel and interfere with each other is also assessed in terms of the Carrier to Interference plus Noise Ratio (CINR) and spectral efficiency. It is shown that locating HAPs at a specific spacing radius that is outside the coverage area can improve performance. Using these techniques the combined bandwidth efficiency is shown to increase almost pro-rata when the number of HAPs is increased up to 16. Author Affiliation: (1) Communications Research Group, Department of Electronics, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom Article History: Registration Date: 01/01/2005 Article note: Guanhua Chen is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Electronics, the University of York, and received his BSc from Department of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, China in 1997. He had been a software engineer in Inventec Electronics (Nanjing) Co. Ltd, implementing DSP algorithm and network protocols in embedded systems for several years. He now participates in CAPANINA, a major European Framework 6 project developing broadband communications from high altitude platforms. David Grace received his ME degree in Electronic Systems Engineering D.Phil degree from the University of York, UK in 1993 and 1999 respectively. His D.Phil thesis dealt with 'Distributed Dynamic Channel Assignment for the Wireless Environment'. Since 1994 he has been a member of the Communications Research Group at York, where he is now a senior Research Fellow. He has worked on a variety of research contracts including several from the former Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. Current research interests include radio resource management for broadband communications, particularly from high-altitude platform and terrestrial ad hoc networks. He is now Principal Scientific Officer for CAPANINA a major European Framework 6 project that is developing broadband communications from high-altitude platforms. He has been an invited speaker at several conferences and industrial locations in the fields of HAP systems. He is also a nominated Researcher in the European NEWCOM Network of Excellence, and a Director of SkyLARC Technologies Ltd., a York based company, specialising in broadband communications from aerial platforms. He is a member of IEE and IEEE. Tim C. Tozer received his degree in Engineering from the University of Cambridge UK in 1969. He is currently Leader of the Communications Research Group at the University of York, York, UK, and Senior Lecturer in Electronics. Previously, he worked on satellite systems at the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). Research interests include wireless access techniques, multiuser communications, and high altitude platform (HAP) communications and services. Tim has managed numerous grants and research contracts from industry, government, and international organisations, and is a named author on over 180 technical publications. He is active in the IEE Professional Network on Satellite Systems and Applications, and is a regular invited presenter at international conferences, workshops and tutorials in the fields of VSAT and HAP communications. He is also Managing Director of SkyLARC Technologies Ltd, a company specialising in broadband services from aerial platforms.

Excess noise and multiplication is measured on a systematic series of omega = 0.1 Mum A1xGa1-xAs-GaAs type A and B heterojunction p(super +) -i-n(super +) diodes with x = 0.3, 0.45, and 0.6. The noise characteristics of the heterojunction Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) were found to depend critically upon the injection conditions, with lowest noise corresponding to pure electron injection into a type A device for all values of x.

This study examined the potential influence of religiosity, sexual orientation identity development, and internalized homonegativity on the propensity to seek conversion therapy to change one's sexual orientation. An Internet sample of 76 women and 130 men who were gay-identified, lesbian-identified, same-sex attracted, and 'questioning' was studied. Results indicated that two types of religious orientations, intrinsic and quest, predicted a propensity to seek conversion therapy, although in different directions. Furthermore, internalized homonegativity fully mediated the relationships between religious orientation and propensity to seek conversion therapy. Additionally, there was a significant inverse relationship between sexual orientation identity development and propensity to seek conversion therapy. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Byline: Susan Burdette-Radoux (1), Richard G. Tozer (2), Reinhard C. Lohmann (3), Ian Quirt (4), D. Scott Ernst (5), Wendy Walsh (6), Nancy Wainman (6), A. Dimitrios Colevas (7), Elizabeth A. Eisenhauer (6) Keywords: melanoma; flavopiridol; cyclin; cyclin-dependent kinase Abstract: Purpose: To test the activity of the cyclin dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor flavopiridol in malignant melanoma, a disease with frequent abnormalities of the cyclin dependent kinase system. Patients and methods: Patients had histologically proven, unidimensionally measurable malignant melanoma, incurable by standard therapy. Prior adjuvant immunotherapy was allowed, but patients were otherwise untreated for advanced disease. Flavopiridol was administered at a dose of 50 mg/m.sup.2 IV over 1 hour daily x 3 days every 3 weeks. Patients were assessed for response every 2 cycles. Results: 17 patients were accrued over 5 months. No objective responses were documented in the 16 patients evaluable for response. Seven patients (44%) had stable disease after 2 cycles, with a median of 2.8 months (range 1.8--9.2). The most common treatment-related non-hematologic toxicities were diarrhea (82%), nausea (47%), fatigue (41%), anorexia (35%) and vomiting (29%). Most treatment-related toxicities were mild, except for diarrhea (grade 3 in 3 patients, grade 4 in 1 patient), nausea (grade 3 in 1 patient) and tumor pain (grade 3 in 1 patient). Hematologic toxicities were minimal, none worse than grade 2. Eighty-eight percent of patients received aY=90% planned dose intensity; 2 patients had dose reductions for gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity. Conclusions: Flavopiridol is well tolerated at the dose regimen used in this study, with an acceptable (primarily GI) toxicity profile. Although 7 of the 16 patients had stable disease ranging from 1.8 to 9.2 months in duration, there was no evidence of significant clinical activity in malignant melanoma by objective response criteria. Author Affiliation: (1) McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2) Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (3) London Regional Cancer Centre, London, Ontario, Canada (4) Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (5) Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (6) NCIC Clinical Trials Group, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (7) NCI/CTEP, Rockville, MD, USA Article History: Registration Date: 21/10/2004

A dynamic coHisional-radiative model of a low-pressure mercury (Hg)-argon (Ar) discharge lump for application in circuit simulations is presented. The model is implemented in MATLAB as a set of coupled rate equations that are solved simultaneously to give the electron density, the density of the [6.sup.3] [P.sub.0,1,2] states and the electron temperature. These parameters are used to compute the electrical parameters of the discharge positive column and hence the time-dependent voltage-current characteristics of the lamp. The parameters predicted by the model are compared with published experimental data and show good agreement. Calculated lamp voltage-current characteristics based on the model are shown to be in good agreement with direct measurements on commercial fluorescent lamps. Index Terms--Ballast simulation, fluorescent lamp, lamp circuit model, low-pressure discharge, low temperature plasma, mercury-rare-gas discharge, plasma model, positive column.

Clarke's model of time variations of path amplitudes in multipath fading channels with Doppler scattering is used for the investigation of polynomial spline approximation of stationary random processes. The results reveal that local spline approximation is attractive for implementation, for both low processing delay and small approximation error.

Author(s): H. A. Radovan (corresponding author) [1]; N. A. Fortune [2]; T. P. Murphy [1]; S. T. Hannahs [1]; E. C. Palm [1]; S. W. Tozer [1]; D. Hall [1, [...]

The avalanche multiplications and excess noise characteristics of 4H-SiC avalanche photodiodes (APDs) with i-region widths of 0.105 and 0.285 (mu) m are examined using 230-365-nm light. The results show that dead space effects in thin 4H-SiC APDs are important and help to reduce the excess noise.

Byline: R.G. Tozer (1), S. Burdette-Radoux (2), K. Berlanger (3), M.L. Davis (4), R.C. Lohmann (5), J.R. Rusthoven (6), N. Wainman (7), B. Zee (7), L. Seymour (7) Keywords: bryostatin-1; malignant melanoma; multinomial; phase II; randomized Abstract: Purpose: This study addressed theefficacy and toxicity of the novel compoundBryostatin-1 (NSC 339555), a novel agentwith antineoplastic, hematopoietic andimmunomodulatory activity in a variety ofin vitro and in vivo systems. Patients and methods: This phase IIstudy randomly assignedchemotherapy-naive patients withuntreated metastatic melanoma andmeasurable disease to two schedules oftreatment: Arm A, 25 [ug/m.sup.2]bryostatin-1 given as a 24 hour continuousinfusion weekly or Arm B,120 ug/m.sup.2 bryostatin-1 given as a72 hour continuous infusion every 2 weeks.Although objective response was assessedusing standard NCIC CTG criteria,antitumour activity was assessed using amultivariate endpoint incorporating bothresponse (CR and PR) and early progression(PD at a$? 8 weeks). Seventeen patientswere randomized to each arm. Results: Arm A was better tolerated with 86.7% of15 evaluable patients receiving aY= 90%of planned dose intensity versus 76.5% of17 evaluable patients in Arm B. On Arm B,three patients experienced serious adverseevents and three patients had to be removedfrom protocol therapy due to toxicity. Themost common side effect was myalgia (33%grade 1--2 on Arm A versus 65% on Arm Bwith 5 patients experiencing grade 3 andone patient grade 4). Lethargy was morecommon on Arm A but more severe on Arm B. Other side effects such as nausea, diarrheaand headache were generally mild tomoderate in nature and occurred with asimilar frequency on both arms. Hematologicand biochemical toxicity were minimal. This trial was closed early because theprotocol-stopping rule was met based onlack of required responses and on thenumber of early progressions on both arms.No partial or complete responses were seen 3 patients randomized to Arm A had stabledisease (duration 9--24 weeks) as did 4patients (duration 10--38 weeks) randomizedto Arm B. Conclusion: Arm A wasbetter tolerated than Arm B. We concludethat bryostatin-1 has little efficacy inthe treatment of metastatic melanoma witheither of the schedules studied. Author Affiliation: (1) Regional Cancer Centre, Cancer Care Ontario-Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario (2) Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec (3) Centre Hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal-Pavillon Notre-Dame, Montreal, PQ (4) Nova Scotia Cancer Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia (5) Cancer Care Ontario-London Regional Cancer Centre, London (6) Cancer Care Ontario-Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre, UK (7) NCIC-Clinical Trials Group, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Article History: Registration Date: 10/10/2004

This paper concerns the estimation of a frequency offset of a known (pilot) signal propagated through a slowly fading multipath channel, such that channel parameters are considered to be constant over the observation interval. We derive a maximum-likelihood (ML) frequency estimation algorithm for additive Gaussian noise and path amplitudes having complex Gaussian distribution when covariance matrices of the fading and noise are known; we consider in detail the algorithm for the white noise and Rayleigh fading, in particular, for independent fading of path amplitudes and pilot signals with diagonal autocorrelation matrices. For the latter scenario, we also derive an ML frequency estimator when the power delay profile is unknown, but the noise variance and bounds for the path amplitude variances are specified; in particular, this algorithm can be used when path delays and amplitude variances are unknown. Finally, we consider frequency estimators which do not use a priori information about the noise variance; these algorithms are also operable without timing synchronization. All the frequency estimators exploit the multipath diversity by combining periodograms of multipath signal components and searching for the maximum of the combined statistic. For implementation of the algorithms, we use a fast Fourier transform-based coarse search and fine dichotomous search. We perform simulations to compare the algorithms. The simulation results demonstrate high accuracy performance of the proposed frequency estimators in wide signal-to-noise ratio and frequency acquisition range. Index Terms--Discrete Fourier transforms, fading channels, fast Fourier transforms, frequency estimation, maximum-likelihood estimation, multipath channels, Rayleigh channels.

Avalanche multiplication characteristics of Al[subscript 0.8]Ga[subscript 0.2]As are measured in a series p-i-n/n-i-p diodes.

Research describing the characteristics of submicron silicon diodes is presented. In particular the excess noise and avalanche multiplication properties are examined.

Research into the avalanche multiplication and excess noise levels of Al0.6Ga0.4As diodes is presented. Results showed that very thin devices are capable of sustaining high electric fields, generating extremely low excess noise factors.

A little over one fifth of Australian firms that operated between 1994/95 and 1997/98 saw their total income grow by more than 40% while a similar number increased their employment by at least 30%. Strongly growing businesses are the subject of intense interest and this paper analyses the characteristics of these firms, sometimes called 'gazelles', using data from Australia's Business Longitudinal Survey (BLS) and a variety of statistical techniques., Introduction The Business Longitudinal Survey (BLS) is unique: it is the only large-scale longitudinal survey of businesses in the world offering such a wide range of data on the characteristics [...]

The effects of mixed injection on the avalanche noise characteristics of a GaAs avalanche region are studied.

The development of high performance pulse magnets at the National High magnetic Field Laboratory is considered, focusing on newly developed magnets supported by internal reinforcement.

The development of a high frequency split-pair coil system for the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center is discussed and coil fatigue performance is predicted.

The design of high performance pulsed magnets using high strength conductors and high modulus internal reinforcement is described.

Avalanche photodetectors (APD's) are useful in optical fiber communication systems due to their internal gain mechanism provided by the avalanche multiplication process. However, excess noise is a limiting factor. Avalanche noise measurements were performed on homojunction GaAs p+ - i-n+ and N+ i-p+ diodes with 'i' region widths w from 2.61 to 0.05 mum. A decreasing noise factor was observed with an decrease in w. The dead-space becomes more important in thinner structures and is largely responsible for the noise reduction.

Byline: Deirdre O'Shea (1), Dan Verdin (1), Tim C. Tozer (1) Keywords: synchronisation; feedforward frequency estimation; burst mode systems. Abstract: Data detection burst mode systems requires that an accurate frequency of oscillator instabilities and doppler frequency be formed using the preamble. Current techniques manipulate the preamble's autocorrelation smaples to form the frequency estimate. In this paper we present a new estimator which uses the average of the product of adjacent autocorrelation samples. The algorithm has a feedforward structure which is easy to implement and a wide frequency acquisition range. The frequency estimate is unbiased and asymptotically reaches the Cramer Rao bound (CRB). From the derivation of the variance we calculate optimum weights using constrained optimisation. Implementation issues suggest it is possible to use a sub-optimal number of autocorrelation samples. Simulation results show that the corresponding sub-optimum weights have little effect on performance. Finally, the estimator's performance is compared to alternative techniques in the literature. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Electronics, University of York, Communications Research Group, York, YO1 5DD, United Kingdom Article History: Registration Date: 28/09/2004

A new technique for obtaining exchange-correlation functionals utilizing ab initio numerical exchange-correlation potentials and accurate total energies had been previously shown. The functional expansion was refined to illustrate that substantially enhanced atomization energies can be determined by adjusting the fitting process to include atomization energies rather than total molecular energies.

This paper outlines the structure, design and first year results from the Australian Business Longitudinal Survey being conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The survey will be conducted over [...]

Glanzmann thrombasthenia, an inherited bleeding disorder, can be caused by a defect or deficiency in platelet integrin [[Alpha].sub.IIb][[Beta].sub.3] (GPIIb-IIIa). Studies of thrombasthenia variants have facilitated identification of sites involved in the functions of [[Alpha].sub.IIb][[Beta].sub.3] and other integrins. Such sites include those that bind ligand and those that participate in the 'activation' of [[Alpha].sub.IIb][[Beta].sub.3] required for high affinity binding of ligands such as fibrinogen or PAC1, a monoclonal antibody. Here we describe the isolation of such variants, created in vitro with Chinese hamster ovary cells that express an activated form of [[Alpha].sub.IIb][[Beta].sub.3]. These cells were exposed to a mutagen, ethyl methane sulfonate, and variants that lost the capacity to bind PAC1 were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. These variants were grouped into three phenotypic classes. One comprised integrin mutations that disrupt ligand binding function; a second comprised mutations that interfere with the capacity of cells to activate the integrin. Most of these activation-defective mutations were in the integrin cytoplasmic domain, but surprisingly, several were caused by mutations affecting three closely spaced residues in the [[Beta].sub.3] extracellular domain. A third class of mutants exhibited a defect in integrin activation not ascribable to changes in the integrin sequence. Thus, these may represent mutated signaling molecules required for integrin activation. This unbiased genetic approach provides new insights into the structural basis of integrin function and may assist in identifying the cellular events that regulate integrin function.

Mathematical bounds that are independent of array locations establish the influence of temporal and spatial sampling on the variance of the frequency estimates of superimposed narrowband signals. An increase in the fourth central moment enhances the resolution ability of the array. The resolution is independent of the array aperture. The product of the number of sensors and the second central moment characterizes the estimator variance lower bound.