An ITS Vision for Melbourne’s Southbank Precinct

Melbourne’s Southbank area is achieving prominence as an activity centre because of the variety of cultural, sporting and entertainment opportunities which it provides. This paper outlines opportunities to maximise the economic and social value of the area by facilitating travel to andthrough the area. The focus here concerns the integration of intelligent transport systems (ITS) into the Southbank area. ITS covers the application of advanced information processing and communications, sensing and control technologies to surface transport. ITS will assist in the reduction of traffic congestion and inconvenience to drivers, public transport users, pedestrians, bicyclists and other travellers. The level of technology that is presently available revolves around variable message roadside signs, radio broadcasts and telephone services. For motorised vehicles, roadside systems appear to present the best option for parking and traffic information. Radio and television systems have the advantage of reaching an urban-wide audience while the roadside systems can focus on particular areas. The linear nature of the Southbank area and associated transport infrastructure lends itself to roadside information providing directions to parking and other facilities. Information for pedestrians can be provided in localised information booths or kiosks. This information could relate to entertainment, places of interest, public transport timetables, provisions of taxi services and parking. The Southbank area stands to benefit not only in the long term, but also during the period when much of the area is being developed, from investment in an ITS to cater for the diverse needs of the many people will visit Melbourne’s entertainment, sporting and cultural hub

Research of dynamics of lifting equipment

In the recent years, girder bridge cranes are replaced by double-beam overhead cranes with beams of rectangular cross-section. In addition, new materials are used for their fabrication, characterized by different values of allowable loads and deformations. In the paper, two overhead cranes from JSC "Vilniaus kranai" are considered. A mathematical model is proposed that enables assessment of the impact of the hydraulic damper built in the cargo suspension system upon the dynamic features of the crane in the beginning of the lifting process. It was determined that in such a way the period of vibration damping is reduced. However, the impact of the damper upon the dynamics of the metal structure of the crane is limited because of high mobility of the rope as compared to the mobility of the total structure

Measurement of azimuthal anchoring energy of nematic liquid crystal on photoaligning polymer surface

A method to determine the surface azimuthal anchoring energy of a nematic liquid crystal is proposed. The technique implies the measurement of the director deviation on the cell substrate as a function of strength and direction of the applied magnetic field. As an example, the dependence of the azimuthal anchoring coefficient on the exposure time is measured at the interface between the nematic K15 and polyvinylcinnamate film exposed by UV light. The analogous measurements performed in a wedge cell show that the method with magnetic field is more precise

Algorithm classification of municipal unions of the russian federation region based on a confidential interval estimation of tick-borne encephalitis virus incidence (transbaikalian krai as an example)

The algorithm of classification of municipal unions (MU is based on definition of a confidential interval of average long-term tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE) sickness rate, as a quantitative integrated indicator of an epidemiological situation at the territory. It is proved that a decade is a sufficient period to reveal the patters that can be transferred to general totality and facilitate realization of MU classification. Distribution by MU groups is a steady characteristic of TBE morbidity at MU territories by decades in 95 % a confidential interval

Dynamic Analysis of Vascular Morphogenesis Using Transgenic Quail Embryos

Background: One of the least understood and most central questions confronting biologists is how initially simple clusters or sheet-like cell collectives can assemble into highly complex three-dimensional functional tissues and organs. Due to the limits of oxygen diffusion, blood vessels are an essential and ubiquitous presence in all amniote tissues and organs. Vasculogenesis, the de novo self-assembly of endothelial cell (EC) precursors into endothelial tubes, is the first step in blood vessel formation [1]. Static imaging and in vitro models are wholly inadequate to capture many aspects of vascular pattern formation in vivo, because vasculogenesis involves dynamic changes of the endothelial cells and of the forming blood vessels, in an embryo that is changing size and shape. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have generated Tie1 transgenic quail lines Tg(tie1:H2B-eYFP) that express H2B-eYFP in all of their endothelial cells which permit investigations into early embryonic vascular morphogenesis with unprecedented clarity and insight. By combining the power of molecular genetics with the elegance of dynamic imaging, we follow the precise patterning of endothelial cells in space and time. We show that during vasculogenesis within the vascular plexus, ECs move independently to form the rudiments of blood vessels, all while collectively moving with gastrulating tissues that flow toward the embryo midline. The aortae are a composite of somatic derived ECs forming its dorsal regions and the splanchnic derived ECs forming its ventral region. The ECs in the dorsal regions of the forming aortae exhibit variable mediolateral motions as they move rostrally; those in more ventral regions show significant lateral-to-medial movement as they course rostrally. Conclusions/Significance: The present results offer a powerful approach to the major challenge of studying the relative role(s) of the mechanical, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of vascular development. In past studies, the advantages of the molecular genetic tools available in mouse were counterbalanced by the limited experimental accessibility needed for imaging and perturbation studies. Avian embryos provide the needed accessibility, but few genetic resources. The creation of transgenic quail with labeled endothelia builds upon the important roles that avian embryos have played in previous studies of vascular development

High-Throughput Transcriptomic and RNAi Analysis Identifies AIM1, ERGIC1, TMED3 and TPX2 as Potential Drug Targets in Prostate Cancer

Peer reviewe

Layered material platform for surface plasmon resonance biosensing

Plasmonic biosensing has emerged as the most sensitive label-free technique to detect various molecular species in solutions and has already proved crucial in drug discovery, food safety and studies of bio-reactions. This technique relies on surface plasmon resonances in ~50 nm metallic films and the possibility to functionalize the surface of the metal in order to achieve selectivity. At the same time, most metals corrode in bio-solutions, which reduces the quality factor and darkness of plasmonic resonances and thus the sensitivity. Furthermore, functionalization itself might have a detrimental effect on the quality of the surface, also reducing sensitivity. Here we demonstrate that the use of graphene and other layered materials for passivation and functionalization broadens the range of metals which can be used for plasmonic biosensing and increases the sensitivity by 3-4 orders of magnitude, as it guarantees stability of a metal in liquid and preserves the plasmonic resonances under biofunctionalization. We use this approach to detect low molecular weight HT-2 toxins (crucial for food safety), achieving phase sensitivity~0.5 fg/mL, three orders of magnitude higher than previously reported. This proves that layered materials provide a new platform for surface plasmon resonance biosensing, paving the way for compact biosensors for point of care testing

Chemical Biology Drug Sensitivity Screen Identifies Sunitinib as Synergistic Agent with Disulfiram in Prostate Cancer Cells

Peer reviewe

Fusion in the ETS gene family and prostate cancer

It has recently been shown that the majority of prostate cancers harbour a chromosomal rearrangement that fuses the gene for an androgen-regulated prostate-specific serine protease, TMPRSS2, with a member of the ETS family of transcription factors, most commonly ERG. These are among the most common genetic alterations in any human solid tumour. This knowledge may provide us with clues to prostate carcinogenesis, and may lead to the development of important molecular-based biomarkers for patients with localised prostate cancer. The most common variant is fusion between the 5′-untranslated region of TMPRSS2 and the 3′ region of ERG. However, over 20 other fusion variants have now been described (involving over 10 different genes) and the number of variants continues to grow. Fusion products can be identified by several techniques, including FISH, RT–PCR, and expression profiling using exon arrays. The protein products associated with the fusion transcripts have not been characterised, and the phenotypic expression of the various products of gene fusion on prostate cancer histology, or on the clinical course of cancer, are not yet understood. Several early cohort studies suggest that the presence of the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion product is associated with relatively poor cancer-specific survival. Studies that examine how individual variants and their associated phenotypes affect prostate cancer presentation and progression are required

Histone deacetylases 1, 2 and 3 are highly expressed in prostate cancer and HDAC2 expression is associated with shorter PSA relapse time after radical prostatectomy

High activity of histone deacetylases (HDACs) causes epigenetic alterations associated with malignant cell behaviour. Consequently, HDAC inhibitors have entered late-phase clinical trials as new antineoplastic drugs. However, little is known about expression and function of specific HDAC isoforms in human tumours including prostate cancer. We investigated the expression of class I HDACs in 192 prostate carcinomas by immunohistochemistry and correlated our findings to clinicopathological parameters including follow-up data. Class I HDAC isoforms were strongly expressed in the majority of the cases (HDAC1: 69.8%, HDAC2: 74%, HDAC3: 94.8%). High rates of HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression were significantly associated with tumour dedifferentiation. Strong expression of all HDACs was accompanied by enhanced tumour cell proliferation. In addition, HDAC2 was an independent prognostic marker in our prostate cancer cohort. In conclusion, we showed that the known effects of HDACs on differentiation and proliferation of cancer cells observed in vitro can also be confirmed in vivo. The class I HDAC isoforms 1, 2 and 3 are differentially expressed in prostate cancer, which might be important for upcoming studies on HDAC inhibitors in this tumour entity. Also, the highly significant prognostic value of HDAC2 clearly deserves further study