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The International Geodynamics and Earth Tide Service (IGETS) was established in 2015 by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). IGETS continues the activities of the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP, 1997-2015) to provide support to geodetic and geophysical research activities using superconducting gravimeter (SG) data within the context of an international network. The Membach station is located near the river Vesdre. It consists of a 130 m long gallery excavated in the side of the valley that rises to the Hautes Fagnes plateau. At the end of the gallery, there are two rooms, located at ~45 m below the ground surface. Room 1 is dedicated to absolute gravity and seismic measurements; room 2 houses the superconducting gravimeter. The structure of the gallery and the rooms is in reinforced concrete. It was built in the early 1970s to monitor the seismic activity in the vicinity of the Gileppe and Eupen water reservoirs. Works were performed contemporeanously with the raising of the Gileppe dam. The gallery has been excavated in low-porosity argillaceous sandstone with quartzitic beds. As a function of rainfall and seasonal effects, gravity variations up to 40 nms-2 have been observed, and are mostly due to groundwater changes in the vadose zone above the underground laboratory (Van Camp et al., 2006). Strong rainfall induces rapid gravity decreases (Meurers et al 2007; Delobbe et al., 2019). At the surface, a beech forest. Absolute gravity measurements have been performed on average every month since 1996, using the FG5#202 gravimeter and the station is also the reference point for the Belgian gravity network. The SG GWR#C021 has been operating continuously since 1995 August so that, since 2017 September 18, it holds both records for the longest continuous time spent measuring gravity variations in the same place and for the longest superconducting levitation of an artefact (Van Camp et al., 2017). For high precision works like Earth tides analysis on long time series, data should not be used before 1998 June 12, when the original "TIDE" card in the SG electronics was replaced by the "GGP" one. Filters are different, and so are the transfer functions. Moreover, in this early period, the SG suffered from numerous technical issues, causing several changes in the amplitude and phase calibrations and making it difficult to ensure that the data are as reliable as after 1998 June.

The International Geodynamics and Earth Tide Service (IGETS) was established in 2015 by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). IGETS continues the activities of the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP, 1997-2015) to provide support to geodetic and geophysical research activities using superconducting gravimeter (SG) data within the context of an international network. In 2014 December the Royal Observatory of Belgium installed the iGrav #019 at the surface site of the Rochefort "Lorette" cave laboratory. The Lorette cave is one of several cavities that belong to the Wamme–Lomme karst system, a 10 km long karst area. At the surface of the site, a small and solid building, located at the border of a large sinkhole, hosts the gravity laboratory, which is thermally stabilized at ~25°C by a heater, excepted during a few days each summer when the temperature may increase above that level. The iGrav #019 is installed directly on the bedrock (limestone) in a 1 m deep shaft. Two meters away from the iGrav there is a pillar of cement (60% sand, 40% cement, no iron nor stones) founded 1 meter deep on the bedrock and on which absolute gravity measurements are performed 10 times or more per year with the FG5#202 absolute gravimeter. See description in Fig A7 in Van Camp et al., 2017. As this instrument was installed among others to investigate flash floods in the caves, it regularly monitors sudden changes in gravity reaching 50-100 nm/s², especially during the winter (Watlet et al., 2020). This should be considered when performing e.g. tidal analyses.

The Case Study Research method is an-in depth inquiry into a topic or phenomenon within its real-life setting. It can be applied to several research fields. It can also serve in several areas, as it can be applied for exploratory and descriptive purposes. The method has gained in popularity in the recent period, but it is also been criticised for lack of scientific rigour and reliability and that it does not address the issues of generalizability. Literature review shows that the quality of Case Study Research reports leaves to be desired. In this thesis, an area where this might be improved is researched. With a literature study following a rapid prototyping approach, a support tool is modelled that could support research teams in their Case Study Research project conduct and capturing their results in a structured way. The aim is also to support in factoring in the research deliverables and results into the report. With a prototyping approach, the requirements for such a tool are evaluated. It would also add insights into the main components and functions that the tool would have. Finally, the model reveals and supports possibilities for further evaluation and research in this area.

The regional key comparison of absolute gravimeters, EURAMET.M.G-K3 and the simultaneously organized additional comparison, was held in Germany at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell of the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy in the spring of 2018. Here we present the list of the participants who actually performed measurements during the comparison, the data submitted by the operators as well as the results of the determination of the gravity as a function of height at the comparison sites. The measurement strategy is briefly discussed and the results of the data harmonization is documented. Finally, the results of the constrained least squares adjustment are presented including the degrees of equivalence of each gravimeter and the key comparison reference values. Main text To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

PURPOSE Predictive biomarkers to identify patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)���positive breast cancer who may benefit from targeted therapy alone are required. We hypothesized that early measurements of tumor maximum standardized uptake values corrected for lean body mass (SULmax) on [ 18 F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography would predict pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant pertuzumab and trastuzumab (PT). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with stage II/III, estrogen receptor���negative, HER2-positive breast cancer received four cycles of neoadjuvant PT. [ 18 F]Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography was performed at baseline and 15 days after PT initiation (C1D15). Eighty evaluable patients were required to test the null hypothesis that the area under the curve of percentage of change in SULmax by C1D15 predicting pCR is less than or equal to 0.65, with a one-sided type I error rate of 10%. RESULTS Eighty-eight women were enrolled (83 evaluable), and 85% (75 of 88) completed all four cycles of PT. pCR after PT alone was 34%. Receiver operating characteristic analysis yielded an area under the curve of 0.76 (90% CI, 0.67 to 0.85), which rejected the null hypothesis. Between patients who obtained pCR versus not, a significant difference in median percent reduction in SULmax by C1D15 was observed (63.8% v 33.5%; P, .001), an SULmax reduction greater than or equal to 40% was more prevalent (86% v 46%; P, .001; negative predictive value, 88%; positive predictive value, 49%), and a significant difference in median C1D15 SULmax (1.6 v 3.9; P, .001) and higher proportion of C1D15 SULmax less than or equal to 3 (93% v 38%; P, .001; negative predictive value, 94%; positive predictive value, 55%) were observed. CONCLUSION Early changes in SULmax predict response to four cycles of PT in estrogen receptor���negative, HER2-positive breast cancer. Once optimized, this quantitative imaging strategy may facilitate a more tailored approach to therapy in this setting.

We report the first measurement of differential and total cross sections for the \ud γ\ud d\ud →\ud K\ud 0\ud Λ\ud (\ud p\ud )\ud reaction, using data from the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Data collected during two separate experimental runs were studied with photon-energy coverage 0.8–3.6 GeV and 0.5– 2.6 GeV, respectively. The two measurements are consistent giving confidence in the method and determination of systematic uncertainties. The cross sections are compared with predictions from the KAON-MAID theoretical model (without kaon exchange), which deviate from the data at higher \ud W\ud and at forward kaon angles. These data, along with previously published cross sections for \ud K\ud +\ud Λ\ud photoproduction, provide essential constraints on the nucleon resonance spectrum. A first partial wave analysis was performed that describes the data without the introduction of new resonances.

This chapter studies the role played by small entrepreneurial firms and large companies in the international biotechnology industry. The biotechnology industry is one of the main examples of current industries that are characterized by “hypercompetition”, with a high degree of uncertainty about the combined effects of both new technologies and new market structures. It is an example of an industry with Schumpeterian competition where revolutionary changes in technology and innovative new products and processes have the potential to threaten the position of existing market leaders and their product-market positions. It is also a sector where we find a large number of R&D alliances, in particular between large and small companies.