Exploring the Expectations of Transport Professionals Concerning the Future Automobility System: Visions, challenges and transitions

A mixture of potentially significant changes in technology, commercial structures and social practices are currently entering the automobility system. These changes have the potential to combine together and lead to a substantial shift in the manner in which society fuels, owns and makes use of its cars. This paper reports a research project which made use of focus groups to examine the narratives of British transport professionals concerning forthcoming developments in the automobility system. Specific attention was given to what the expectations for future change in automobility are, if these changes will likely lead to a transition towards a more sustainable system and the manner in which a transition of this nature could be facilitated. The oral testimony offered during the focus groups has been assessed qualitatively using thematic analysis. The results suggest that there is a commonly held view that the automobility system is entering a stage of flux which may lead to considerable changes in system configuration. However, the attainment of a sustainable transition for the system will likely be inhibited by a series of institutional, societal and physical barriers which may restrict system developments

Multilayered folding with voids

In the deformation of layered materials such as geological strata, or stacks of paper, mechanical properties compete with the geometry of layering. Smooth, rounded corners lead to voids between the layers, while close packing of the layers results in geometrically-induced curvature singularities. When voids are penalized by external pressure, the system is forced to trade off these competing effects, leading to sometimes striking periodic patterns. In this paper we construct a simple model of geometrically nonlinear multi-layered structures under axial loading and pressure confinement, with non-interpenetration conditions separating the layers. Energy minimizers are characterized as solutions of a set of fourth-order nonlinear differential equations with contact-force Lagrange multipliers, or equivalently of a fourth-order free-boundary problem. We numerically investigate the solutions of this free boundary problem, and compare them with the periodic solutions observed experimentally

miR-9 Acts as an OncomiR in Prostate Cancer through Multiple Pathways That Drive Tumour Progression and Metastasis

Identification of dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in prostate cancer is critical not only for diagnosis, but also differentiation between the aggressive and indolent forms of the disease. miR-9 was identified as an oncomiR through both miRNA panel RT-qPCR as well as high-throughput sequencing analysis of the human P69 prostate cell line as compared to its highly tumorigenic and metastatic subline M12, and found to be consistently upregulated in other prostate cell lines including DU-145 and PC3. While miR-9 has been characterized as dysregulated either as an oncomiR or tumour suppressor in a variety of other cancers including breast, ovarian, and nasopharyngeal carcinomas, it has not been previously evaluated and proven as an oncomiR in prostate cancer. miR-9 was confirmed an oncomiR when found to be overexpressed in tumour tissue as compared to adjacent benign glandular epithelium through laser-capture microdissection of radical prostatectomy biopsies. Inhibition of miR-9 resulted in reduced migratory and invasive potential of the M12 cell line, and reduced tumour growth and metastases in male athymic nude mice. Analysis showed that miR-9 targets e-cadherin and suppressor of cytokine signalling 5 (SOCS5), but not NF-ĸB mRNA. Expression of these proteins was shown to be affected by modulation in expression of miR-9

On the Solution of Convection-Diffusion Boundary Value Problems Using Equidistributed Grids

The effect of using grid adaptation on the numerical solution of model convection-diffusion equations with a conservation form is studied. The grid adaptation technique studied is based on moving a fixed number of mesh points to equidistribute a generalization of the arc-length of the solution. In particular, a parameter-dependent monitor function is introduced which incorporates fixed meshes, approximate arc-length equidistribution, and equidistribution of the absolute value of the solution, in a single framework. Thus the resulting numerical method is a coupled nonlinear system of equations for the mesh spacings and the nodal values. A class of singularly perturbed problems, including Burgers's equation in the limit of small viscosity, is studied. Singular perturbation and bifurcation techniques are used to analyze the solution of the discretized equations, and numerical results are compared with the results from the analysis. Computation of the bifurcation diagram of the system is performed numerically using a continuation method and the results are used to illustrate the theory. It is shown that equidistribution does not remove spurious solutions present on a fixed mesh and that, furthermore, the spurious solutions can be stable for an appropriate moving mesh method

Durable Near-Complete Response to Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Immunotherapy in a Refractory Malignant Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura

Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura is a rare and usually benign primary neoplasm arising from mesenchymal cells of the submesothelial tissue. We present here the case of a patient diagnosed with CD34-positive advanced malignant solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura whose disease failed to respond to combination cytotoxic chemotherapy agents, but demonstrated a prompt near-complete response to checkpoint blockade treatment using the anti-programmed death (PD)-1 monoclonal antibody pembrolizumab, based on tumor molecular profiling revealing tumoral expression positivity for both programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and PD-1. The patient experienced minimal adverse effects from the treatment with durable favorable response lasting up to cycle 26

Prva analiza izotopov in novi radiokarbonski datumi poljedelcev kulture Tripolje iz jame Verteba, Bilche Zolote, Ukrajina

This paper presents an analysis of human and animal remains from Verteba cave, near Bilche Zolote, western Ukraine. This study was prompted by a paucity of direct dates on this material and the need to contextualise these remains in relation both to the transition from hunting and gathering to farming in Ukraine, and their specific place within the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture sequence. The new absolute dating places the remains studied here in Trypillia stages BII/CI at c. 3900–3500 cal BC, with one individual now redated to the Early Scythian period. As such, these finds are even more exceptional than previously assumed, being some of the earliest discovered for this culture. The isotope analyses indicate that these individuals are local to the region, with the dietary stable isotopes indicating a C3 terrestrial diet for the Trypillia-period humans analysed. The Scythian period individual has δ13C ratios indicative of either c. 50% marine, or alternatively C4 plant inputs into the diet, despite δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr ratios that are comparable to the other individuals studied.V članku predstavljamo analizo človeških in živalskih ostankov iz jame Verteba blizu kra­ja Bilche Zolote v zahodni Ukrajini. Študija je nastala zaradi pomanjkljivega števila datumov iz teh ostankov in iz potrebe po kontekstualiziranju najdb v odnosu tako do prehoda iz lovsko-nabiral­niške družbe v poljedelsko v Ukrajini kot tudi glede na poseben prostor, ki ga imajo te najdbe znotraj kulturne sekvence Cucuteni-Tripolje. Novi absolutni datumi postavljajo ostanke faze BII/CI kulture Tripolje v čas ok. 3900–3500 pr. n. št., medtem ko je eden od pokopov zdaj ponovno datiran v čas zgod­­njega skitskega obdobja, kar pomeni, da gre za ene najstarejših najdb te kulture. Analiza izoto­pov kaže, da so bili pokojni lokalni prebi­val­ci regije, analiza stabilnih izotopov pa kaže na C3 ko­pen­sko prehrano ljudi v času kulture Tri­po­lje. Pokop iz skitskega obdobja kaže glede na δ13C vredno­sti na ok. 50 % morske prehrane, oziroma na C4 rastline, vključene v prehrano, kljub temu da so deleži izotopov δ18O in 87Sr/86Sr primerljivi s preo­sta­limi vzorci ljudi na najdišču

The Origin of Power-Law Emergent Scaling in Large Binary Networks

In this paper we study the macroscopic conduction properties of large but finite binary networks with conducting bonds. By taking a combination of a spectral and an averaging based approach we derive asymptotic formulae for the conduction in terms of the component proportions p and the total number of components N. These formulae correctly identify both the percolation limits and also the emergent power law behaviour between the percolation limits and show the interplay between the size of the network and the deviation of the proportion from the critical value of p = 1/2. The results compare excellently with a large number of numerical simulations