Broadside Dual-channel Orthogonal-Polarization Radiation using a Double-Asymmetric Periodic Leaky-Wave Antenna

The paper demonstrates that double unit-cell asymmetry in periodic leaky-wave antennas (P-LWAs), i.e. asymmetry with respect to both the longitudinal and transversal axes of the structure -- or longitudinal asymmetry (LA) and transversal asymmetry (TA) -- allows for the simultaneous broadside radiation of two orthogonal modes excited at the two ports of the antenna. This means that the antenna may simultaneously support two orthogonal channels, which represents an interesting polarization diversity characteristics for wireless communications. The double asymmetric (DA) unit cell combines a circularly polarized LA unit cell and a coupled mode TA unit cell, where the former provides equal radiation in the series and shunt modes while the latter separates these two modes in terms of their excitation ports. It is also shown that the degree of TA in the DA unit cell controls the cross-polarization discrimination level. The DA P-LWA concept is illustrated by two examples, a series-fed line-connected patch (SF-LCP) P-LWA and a series-fed capacitively-coupled patch (SF-CCP) P-LWA, via full-wave simulation and also experiment for the SF-LCP P-LWA case

‘Framing the project’ of international human rights law: Reflections on the dysfunctional ‘family’ of the Universal Declaration

Full text embargoed until November 2013.The task of ‘framing the project’ of international human rights law is daunting to say the least. First, there is the sheer enormity and complexity of the international human rights law ‘project’: adequately mapping the subject and its key related issues is impossible in a whole book, let alone a short chapter. Secondly, it is daunting because of the sense of epistemic responsibility involved. Every framing inevitably involves selection – if not pre-selection – through the conscious (and/or unconscious) placing of focus upon features or factors considered to be significant and/or valuable. As Gitlin puts it, framing is a way of choosing, underlining and presenting ‘what exists, what happens and what matters’. In this sense, the founding document (or as Entman might put it, the inaugural ‘communicating text’) of international human rights law (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR) functions as a particularly potent form of framing, for it selects aspects of perceived reality, making them not just salient but symbolically central to the entire philosophical, moral, juridical order designated by the term ‘international human rights law’

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the urinary bladder in an Arab woman with history of squamous cell carcinoma: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the urinary bladder are rare and tend to occur in an older age group than do their counterparts in bones and soft tissue.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a case of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the urinary bladder in a 67-year-old woman of Arab origin. She had undergone transurethral resection followed by chemotherapy because of pulmonary metastasized muscle-invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder in 2005. One year later, she first presented with a history of repeated hematuria in our institution. Performing cystoscopy any tumor could be detected. Control cystoscopy two months later showed a tumor mass of 3 cm in diameter at another location than described for the first tumor. After perforating by transurethral resection partial bladder resection had to be done. Tissue specimen after pathological analysis revealed a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor with tumor cells reactive to cluster of differentiation 99, neuron-specific enolase and S100 protein and stained negative for other markers such as cytokeratins, epithelial membrane antigen, desmin, smooth muscle actin, chromogranin and leucocyte common antigen. Staging computerized tomography was especially free from any hint on organ metastasis, but the patient died due to a cardiac problem only a few months later.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, we report the eighth case of bladder peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors in literature and the first concerning an Arab patient. It is also the first presentation of a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor patient with a history of squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder. As in other cases, expression of single-chain-type 1 glycoprotein and neural markers was positive and the disease was at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis.</p

Revisiting Fara: Comparison of merged prospection results of diverse magnetometers with the earliest excavations in ancient Suruppak from 120 years ago

Ancient Suruppak, today Fara, was one of the major Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia. It was situated along one of the ancient watercourses of the Euphrates River. Findings date it back to the Jemdet Nasr period around 3000 bc with a continuous occupation until the end of the Ur III period around 2000 bc. Fara was first explored and excavated by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft in the years 1902 and 1903 under the direction of Walter Andrae. Multiple excavation trenches with lengths up to 900 m transect the 1 km(2) wide mound and are still visible today which enables us to georeference the excavation maps. Today, the 2.2 km(2) wide archaeological area is dry and without any vegetation. Thousands of deep looting pits are covering the majority of mound which not only destroyed its upper metres but also challenge the application of geophysical prospection methods and their interpretation. The magnetometer prospecting of selected areas on and around the mound was carried out with three devices, two total field magnetometers and one gradiometer. The individual survey areas were combined in post-processing by applying a high-pass filter on the total field data sets and multiplying the vertical gradiometer data sets by a factor of two. This approach provides visually uniform magnetograms, despite being obtained by different devices, which simplifies subsequent visual interpretation. These magnetograms enable us to review, and to extend the results of the old excavations. The comparison show a good correlation in accuracy to the old drawings and positive identification of the already excavated features with magnetometry. Highlights of the survey are the discovery of the city wall confirming its existence, the layout of a unique building complex in the centre of the mound, likely a temple, traces of canals inside the city and an evaluation of magnetometer prospection over a looted area

The aggregation of cytochrome C may be linked to its flexibility during refolding

Large-scale expression of biopharmaceutical proteins in cellular hosts results in production of large insoluble mass aggregates. In order to generate functional product, these aggregates require further processing through refolding with denaturant, a process in itself that can result in aggregation. Using a model folding protein, cytochrome C, we show how an increase in final denaturant concentration decreases the propensity of the protein to aggregate during refolding. Using polarised fluorescence anisotropy, we show how reduced levels of aggregation can be achieved by increasing the period of time the protein remains flexible during refolding, mediated through dilution ratios. This highlights the relationship between the flexibility of a protein and its propensity to aggregate. We attribute this behaviour to the preferential urea-residue interaction, over self-association between molecules

Iatrogenic Subtotal Stenosis of the Right Subclavian Artery Treated With Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty

This report describes a rare vascular complication of surgical placement of a marking clip and a possible approach to problem solving. A 55-year-old patient presented with loss of sensation in the fingers and loss of peripheral pulsations in the right arm 4 days after right upper lobectomy for a pT2N1 moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the lung. Duplex examination and computed tomography were performed the same day and showed a subtotal stenosis of the right subclavian artery, which was caused by the surgical placement of a metal clip to mark the surgical boundary. Selective angiography was subsequently performed. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) successfully dilated the stenosis and pushed the clip off. Flow in the right subclavian artery (RSA) was completely restored as were neurology and peripheral pulses. In conclusion, arterial stenosis by a surgical (marking) clip may be feasibly treated with PTA

Fair land governance : how to legalise land rights for rural development

"These farmers have been working this land for generations. But they have no papers. So the government may clear this land for a project. People fear they will be chased away.” Such stories can be heard every day in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They demonstrate the insecurity of rural smallholders who are threatened with eviction without proper compensation. The ‘project’ may be large-scale agriculture, industry, bio fuels, forest conservation, urban sprawl, or transnational land-grabbing by countries insecure in food and energy resources. Can such peasants be empowered with ‘papers’? Five legal experts who believe in adaptation to local conditions share their experiences and work with local people, take their needs seriously, respect their ways of managing land, make good use of the legal system and opt for simple but robust registration systems.9789400600546 (ebook)Wetensch. publicati

Removing Biofilms from Microstructured Titanium Ex Vivo: A Novel Approach Using Atmospheric Plasma Technology

The removal of biofilms from microstructured titanium used for dental implants is a still unresolved challenge. This experimental study investigated disinfection and removal of in situ formed biofilms from microstructured titanium using cold atmospheric plasma in combination with air/water spray. Titanium discs (roughness (Ra): 1.96 µm) were exposed to human oral cavities for 24 and 72 hours (n = 149 each) to produce biofilms. Biofilm thickness was determined using confocal laser scanning microscopy (n = 5 each). Plasma treatment of biofilms was carried out ex vivo using a microwave-driven pulsed plasma source working at temperatures from 39 to 43°C. Following plasma treatment, one group was air/water spray treated before re-treatment by second plasma pulses. Vital microorganisms on the titanium surfaces were identified by contact culture (Rodac agar plates). Biofilm presence and bacterial viability were quantified by fluorescence microscopy. Morphology of titanium surfaces and attached biofilms was visualized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Total protein amounts of biofilms were colorimetrically quantified. Untreated and air/water treated biofilms served as controls. Cold plasma treatment of native biofilms with a mean thickness of 19 µm (24 h) to 91 µm (72 h) covering the microstructure of the titanium surface caused inactivation of biofilm bacteria and significant reduction of protein amounts. Total removal of biofilms, however, required additional application of air/water spray, and a second series of plasma treatment. Importantly, the microstructure of the titanium discs was not altered by plasma treatment. The combination of atmospheric plasma and non-abrasive air/water spray is applicable for complete elimination of oral biofilms from microstructured titanium used for dental implants and may enable new routes for the therapy of periimplant disease

Impaired dynamic cerebral autoregulation in trained breath-hold divers

Breath-hold divers (BHD) experience repeated bouts of severe hypoxia and hypercapnia with large increases in blood pressure. However, the impact of long-term breath-hold diving on cerebrovascular control remains poorly understood. The ability of cerebral blood vessels to respond rapidly to changes in blood pressure represents the property of dynamic autoregulation. The current investigation tested the hypothesis that breathhold diving impairs dynamic autoregulation to a transient hypotensive stimulus. Seventeen BHD (3 women, 11 ± 9 yr of diving) and 15 healthy controls (2 women) completed two or three repeated sit-tostand trials during spontaneous breathing and poikilocapnic conditions. Heart rate (HR), finger arterial blood pressure (BP), and cerebral blood flow velocity (BFV) from the right middle cerebral artery were measured continuously with three-lead electrocardiography, finger photoplethysmography, and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, respectively. End-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure was measured with a gas analyzer. Offline, an index of cerebrovascular resistance (CVRi) was calculated as the quotient of mean BP and BFV. The rate of the drop in CVRi relative to the change in BP provided the rate of regulation [RoR; (δCVRi/δT)/δBP]. The BHD demonstrated slower RoR than controls (P ≤ 0.001, d = 1.4). Underlying the reduced RoR in BHD was a longer time to reach nadir CVRi compared with controls (P = 0.004, d = 1.1). In concert with the longer CVRi response, the time to reach peak BFV following standing was longer in BHD than controls (P = 0.01, d = 0.9). The data suggest impaired dynamic autoregulatory mechanisms to hypotension in BHD. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Impairments in dynamic cerebral autoregulation to hypotension are associated with breath-hold diving. Although weakened autoregulation was observed acutely in this group during apneic stress, we are the first to report on chronic adaptations in cerebral autoregulation. Impaired vasomotor responses underlie the reduced rate of regulation, wherein breath-hold divers demonstrate a prolonged dilatory response to transient hypotension. The slower cerebral vasodilation produces a longer perturbation in cerebral blood flow velocity, increasing the risk of cerebral ischemia