Method and system for enhanced single particle reflectance imaging

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Review of Pedestrian Load Models for Vibration Serviceability Assessment of Floor Structures

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordInnovative design and technological advancements in the construction industry have resulted in an increased use of large, slender and lightweight floors in contemporary office buildings. Compounded by an ever-increasing use of open-plan layouts with few internal partitions and thus lower damping, floor vibration is becoming a governing limit state in the modern structural design originating from dynamic footfall excitations. This could cause annoyance and discomfort to building occupants as well as knock-on management and financial consequences for facility owners. This article presents a comprehensive review pertinent to walking-induced dynamic loading of low-frequency floor structures. It is intended to introduce and explain key walking parameters in the field as well as summarise the development of previous walking models and methods for vibration serviceability assessment. Although a number of walking models and design procedures have been proposed, the literature survey highlights that further work is required in the following areas; (1) the development of a probabilistic multi-person loading model which accounts for inter- and intra-subject variabilities, (2) the identification of walking paths (routes accounting for the effect of occupancy patterns on office floors) coupled with spatial distribution of pedestrians and (3) the production of a statistical spatial response approach for vibration serviceability assessment. A stochastic approach, capable of taking into account uncertainties in loading model and vibration responses, appears to be a more reliable way forward compared to the deterministic approaches of the past and there is a clear need for further research in this areaEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)Qatar National Research Foundatio

Magnetoresistive detection of perpendicular switching in a magnetic insulator

Spintronics offers promising routes for efficient memory, logic, and computing technologies. The central challenge in spintronics is electrically manipulating and detecting magnetic states in devices. The electrical control of magnetization via spin-orbit torques is effective in both conducting and insulating magnetic layers. However, the electrical readout of magnetization in the latter is inherently difficult, limiting its use in practical applications. Here, we demonstrate magnetoresistive detection of perpendicular magnetization reversal in an electrically insulating ferrimagnet, terbium iron garnet (TbIG). To do so, we use TbIG|Cu|TbCo, where TbCo is a conducting ferrimagnet and serves as the reference layer, and Cu is a nonmagnetic spacer. Current injection through Cu|TbCo allows us to detect the magnetization reversal of TbIG with a simple resistance readout during an external magnetic field sweep. By examining the effect of measurement temperature, TbCo composition, and Cu thickness on the sign and amplitude of the magnetoresistance, we conclude that the spin-dependent electron scattering at the TbIG|Cu interface is the underlying cause. Technologically-feasible magnetoresistive detection of perpendicular switching in a ferrimagnetic garnet is a breakthrough, as it opens broad avenues for novel insulating spintronic devices and concepts

Perspective of turkish medicine students on cancer, cancer treatments, palliative care, and oncologists (ares study): A study of the palliative care working committee of the turkish oncology group (TOG)

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death all over the World (Rahib et al. in Cancer Res 74(11):2913–2921, 2014; Silbermann et al. in Ann Oncol 23(Suppl 3):iii15–iii28, 2012). It is crucial to diagnose this disease early by effective screening methods and also it is very important to acknowledge the community on various aspects of this disease such as the treatment methods and palliative care. Not only the oncologists but every medical doctor should be educated well in dealing with cancer patients. Previous studies suggested various opinions on the level of oncology education in medical schools (Pavlidis et al. in Ann Oncol 16(5):840–841, 2005). In this study, the perspectives of medical students on cancer, its treatment, palliative care, and the oncologists were analyzed in relation to their educational status. A multicenter survey analysis was performed on a total of 4224 medical school students that accepted to enter this study in Turkey. After the questions about the demographical characteristics of the students, their perspectives on the definition, diagnosis, screening, and treatment methods of cancer and their way of understanding metastatic disease as well as palliative care were analyzed. The questionnaire includes questions with answers and a scoring system of Likert type 5 (absolutely disagree = 1, completely agree = 5). In the last part of the questionnaire, there were some words to detect what the words “cancer” and “oncologist” meant for the students. The participant students were analyzed in two study groups; “group 1” (n = 1.255) were phases I and II students that had never attended an oncology lesson, and “group 2” (n = 2.969) were phases III to VI students that had attended oncology lessons in the medical school. SPSS v17 was used for the database and statistical analyses. A value of p < 0.05 was noted as statistically significant. Group 1 defined cancer as a contagious disease (p = 0.00025), they believed that early diagnosis was never possible (p = 0.042), all people with a diagnosis of cancer would certainly die (p = 0.044), and chemotherapy was not successful in a metastatic disease (p = 0.003) as compared to group 2. The rate of the students that believed gastric cancer screening was a part of the national screening policy was significantly more in group 1 than in group 2 (p = 0.00014). Group 2 had a higher anxiety level for themselves or their family members to become a cancer patient. Most of the students in both groups defined medical oncologists as warriors (57% in group 1 and 40% in group 2; p = 0.097), and cancer was reminding them of “death” (54% in group 1 and 48% in group 2; p = 0.102). This study suggested that oncology education was useful for the students’ understanding of cancer and related issues; however, the level of oncology education should be improved in medical schools in Turkey. This would be helpful for medical doctors to cope with many aspects of cancer as a major health care problem in this country. © 2018, American Association for Cancer Education

Zoledronic acid induces apoptosis via stimulating the expressions of ERN1, TLR2, and IRF5 genes in glioma cells

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive brain tumor that affects older people. Although the current therapeutic approaches for GBM include surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide, the median survival of patients is 14.6 months because of its aggressiveness. Zoledronic acid (ZA) is a nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate that exhibited anticancer activity in different cancers. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential effect of ZA in distinct signal transduction pathways in U87-MG cells. In this study, experiments performed on U87-MG cell line (Human glioblastoma-astrocytoma, epithelial-like cell line) which is an in vitro model of human glioblastoma cells to examine the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of ZA. IC50 dose of ZA, 25 μM, applied on U87-MG cells during 72 h. ApoDIRECT In Situ DNA Fragmentation Assay was used to investigate apoptosis of U87MG cells. The quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) (LightCycler480 System) was carried out for 48 gene expression like NF-κB, Toll-like receptors, cytokines, and inteferons. Our results indicated that ZA (IC50 dose) increased apoptosis 1.27-fold in U87MG cells according to control cells. According to qRT-PCR data, expression levels of the endoplasmic reticulum-nuclei-1 (ERN1), Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), and human IFN regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) tumor suppressor genes elevated 2.05-, 2.08-, and 2.3-fold by ZA, respectively, in U87MG cells. Our recent results indicated that ZA have a key role in GBM progression and might be considered as a potential agent in glioma treatment. © 2015, International Society of Oncology and BioMarkers (ISOBM)

Biologically modified microelectrode sensors provide enhanced sensitivity for detection of nucleic acid sequences from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

This paper describes improved sensitivity when using biosensors based on microfabricated microelectrodes to detect DNA, with the goal of progressing towards a low cost and mass manufacturable assay for antibiotic resistance in tuberculosis (TB). The microelectrodes gave a near 20 times improvement in sensitivity compared to polycrystalline macroelectrodes. In addition, experimental parameters such as redox mediator concentration and experimental technique were investigated and optimised. It was found that lower concentrations of redox mediator gave higher signal changes when measuring hybridisation events and, at these lower concentrations, square wave voltammetry was more sensitive and consistent than differential pulse voltammetry. Together, this paper presents a quantifiable comparison of macroelectrode and microelectrode DNA biosensors. The final assay demonstrates enhanced sensitivity through reduction of sensor size, reduction of redox mediator concentration and judicious choice of detection technique, therefore maintaining manufacturability for incorporation into point of care tests and lab-on-a-chip devices