Vibration of open cylindrical shells: A three-dimensional elasticity approach

The three-dimensional elastic analysis of the vibration of open cylindrical shells are presented. Transverse normal stress usually neglected in plate and shell higher-order theories has been considered. The natural frequencies and vibration mode shapes have been obtained via a three-dimensional displacement-based extremum energy principle. Excessive requirements for memory and computational effort have been overcome, without sacrificing numerical accuracy, by (i) decoupling the three-dimensional displacements into the product of a set of beam and shell shape functions; and (ii) classifying the vibration modes. The effects of subtended angle and aspect ratio have been concluded for shells with various boundary conditions. Typical vibration mode shapes demonstrating the dependence of vibration characteristics on boundary constraints are presented. ©1998 Acoustical Society of America.published_or_final_versio

Online Innovation Intermediaries In Healthcare

In today’s knowledge rich environment even the largest organisations, such as pharmaceutical or medical technology companies, realize a bottleneck of knowledge resources for innovation. Harnessing the innovation potential of patients and other healthcare consumers contends to be part of the solution. This paper questions if online health platforms can support innovative activities by creating and transferring relevant knowledge from engaged healthcare consumers towards innovating healthcare companies. It aims at identifying online health platforms that can serve as innovation intermediaries. An exploratory, case-study-based approach is chosen. Through desk review a sample of online health platforms is created and case vignettes are developed. Content analysis returns descriptive attributes which are examined throughout the sample. 30 out of 306 health-related online platforms qualify as innovation intermediary. We observe that online innovation intermediaries look for profound experience from healthcare consumers, in particular patients with a higher degree of affectedness. Further qualitative findings are presented. This paper puts emphasis on the mediating role of selected online health platforms as advocates of innovation. It suggests a classification and description of the variety of “health 2.0” platforms and sketches a preliminary picture of the market for online innovation intermediaries in healthcare toda

Phenotype and management of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis in Hong Kong: perspective of the Hereditary Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry.

OBJECTIVES: To report on the phenotypic spectrum and clinical management of Chinese patients suffering from the rare autosomal dominant colorectal cancer syndrome of familial adenomatous polyposis. DESIGN: Analysis of prospectively collected data from the database of a regional registry. SETTING: The Hereditary Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry, Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and eight patients with proven familial adenomatous polyposis from 36 local Chinese families with the condition recruited to the Registry from 1995 to 2001. INTERVENTIONS: Screening programme for at-risk family members, prophylactic surgery at presymptomatic diagnosis, and surveillance programme for extracolonic lesions in affected individuals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rate of colorectal cancer, type of surgical treatment, spectrum of extracolonic lesions, and management of the syndrome. RESULTS: Fifty patients suffered from colorectal cancer with a mortality rate of 78.0%. The strategy of presymptomatic diagnosis by screening and appropriate prophylactic surgery reduced the incidence of colorectal cancer. Affected individuals were prone to develop potentially serious extracolonic lesions including thyroid cancer (5.7%), desmoid tumour (15.7%), gastroduodenal adenomas (7.1%), duodenal microadenoma (17.1%), and pouch polyposis (17.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Screening and prophylactic surgery are effective ways to prevent colorectal cancer for patients with familial adenomatous polyposis. Lifelong regular surveillance is necessary to detect and manage extracolonic lesions. A dedicated registry is essential to coordinate clinical management and to compile data for furthering knowledge of this rare but complex syndrome.published_or_final_versio

Inhibition of prostate cancer cell growth by human secreted PDZ domain-containing protein 2, a potential autocrine prostate tumor suppressor

A possible role of the PDZ domain-containing protein 2 (PDZD2) in prostate tumorigenesis has been suggested. Besides, PDZD2 is posttranslationally cleaved by a caspase-dependent mechanism to form a secreted PDZ domain-containing protein 2 (sPDZD2) with unknown functions in humans. In this study, we demonstrate the endogenous expression of PDZD2 and secretion of sPDZD2 in cancerous DU145, PC-3, 22Rv1, LNCaP, and immortalized RWPE-1 prostate epithelial cells. Inhibition of endogenous sPDZD2 production and secretion by DU145, PC-3, 22Rv1, and RWPE-1 cells via the caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK resulted in increased cell proliferation, which was abrogated by treatment with exogenous recombinant sPDZD2. Whereas sPDZD2-induced antiproliferation in DU145, PC-3, and 22Rv1 cells, it induced apoptosis in LNCaP cells. The data suggest that endogenous sPDZD2, produced by caspase-3-mediated cleavage from PDZD2, may function as a novel autocrine growth suppressor for human prostate cancer cells. The antiproliferative effect of sPDZD2 was apparently mediated through slowing the entry of DU145, PC-3, and 22Rv1 cells into the S phase of the cell cycle. In DU145 cells, this can be attributed to stimulated p53 and p21 CIP1/WAF1 expression by sPDZD2. On the other hand, the apoptotic effect of sPDZD2 on LNCaP cells was apparently mediated via p53-independent Bad stimulation. Together our results indicate the presence of p53-dependent and p53-independent PDZD2/sPDZD2 autocrine growth suppressive signaling pathways in human prostate cancer cells and suggest a novel therapeutic approach of harnessing the latent tumor-suppressive potential of an endogenous autocrine signaling protein like sPDZD2 to inhibit prostate cancer growth. Copyright © 2006 by The Endocrine Society.postprin

Atypical focal cortical dysplasia in a patient with Cowden syndrome

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Melatonin Inhibits Androgen Receptor Splice Variant-7 (AR-V7)-Induced Nuclear Factor-Kappa B (NF-κB) Activation and NF-κB Activator-Induced AR-V7 Expression in Prostate Cancer Cells: Potential Implications for the Use of Melatonin in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) Therapy

A major current challenge in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, which can be initially controlled by medical or surgical castration, is the development of effective, safe, and affordable therapies against progression of the disease to the stage of castration resistance. Here, we showed that in LNCaP and 22Rv1 prostate cancer cells transiently overexpressing androgen receptor splice variant-7 (AR-V7), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) was activated and could result in up-regulated interleukin (IL)-6 gene expression, indicating a positive interaction between AR-V7 expression and activated NF-κB/IL-6 signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) pathogenesis. Importantly, both AR-V7-induced NF-κB activation and IL-6 gene transcription in LNCaP and 22Rv1 cells could be inhibited by melatonin. Furthermore, stimulation of AR-V7 mRNA expression in LNCaP cells by betulinic acid, a pharmacological NF-κB activator, was reduced by melatonin treatment. Our data support the presence of bi-directional positive interactions between AR-V7 expression and NF-κB activation in CRPC pathogenesis. Of note, melatonin, by inhibiting NF-κB activation via the previously-reported MT₁ receptor-mediated antiproliferative pathway, can disrupt these bi-directional positive interactions between AR-V7 and NF-κB and thereby delay the development of castration resistance in advanced prostate cancer. Apparently, this therapeutic potential of melatonin in advanced prostate cancer/CRPC management is worth translation in the clinic via combined androgen depletion and melatonin repletion.published_or_final_versio

Optical characteristics of GAN/SI micro-pixel light-emitting diode arrays

Two-dimensional arrays of emissive micro-light-emitting diodes (μ-LEDS) have been developed for a variety of applications such as high resolution micro-displays, maskless photo-lithography and multichannel visible-light optical communications amongst others. μ-LEDs have traditionally been fabricated on InGaN LED wafers grown on transparent sapphire substrates, and have suffered from optical crosstalk issues. When a single pixel is addressed, adjacent pixels and regions appear illuminated simultaneously. Such problems could result in functional failure in high-density μ-LED applications, including reduced resolution of micro-display and decreased signal-to-noise ratio in ...postprin

Barium isotopes reveal role of ocean circulation on barium cycling in the Atlantic

We diagnose the relative influences of local-scale biogeochemical cycling and regional-scale ocean circulation on Atlantic barium cycling by analysing four new depth profiles of dissolved Ba concentrations and isotope compositions from the South and tropical North Atlantic. These new profiles exhibit systematic vertical, zonal and meridional variations that reflect the influence of both local-scale barite cycling and large-scale ocean circulation. Epipelagic decoupling of dissolved Ba and Si reported previously in the tropics is also found to be associated with significant Ba isotope heterogeneity. As such, we contend that this decoupling originates from the depth segregation of opal and barite formation but is exacerbated by weak vertical mixing. Zonal influence from isotopically-‘heavy’ water masses in the western North Atlantic evidence the advective inflow of Ba-depleted Upper Labrador Sea Water, which is not seen in the eastern basin or the South Atlantic. Meridional variations in Atlantic Ba isotope systematics below 2000 m appear entirely controlled by conservative mixing. Using an inverse isotopic mixing model, we calculate the Ba isotope composition of the Ba-poor northern end-member as +0.45 ‰ and the Ba-rich southern end-member +0.26 ‰, relative to NIST SRM 3104a. The near-conservative behaviour of Ba below 2000 m indicates that Ba isotopes can serve as an independent tracer of the provenance of northern- versus southern-sourced water masses in the deep Atlantic Ocean. This finding may prove useful in palaeoceanographic studies, should appropriate sedimentary archives be identified, and offers new insights into the processes that cycle Ba in seawater

A importância dos valores numa gestão de recursos humanos socialmente responsável - estudo de caso numa empresa seguradora angolana

A análise dos valores e a importância dos mesmos na organização e na gestão é o ponto de partida do tema em abordagem. Pretende-se entender como a observância de valores é determinante na gestão socialmente responsável. Destacaremos o papel dos modelos de gestão de recursos humanos e da cultura da organização, onde são criados e veiculados os valores organizacionais, enfatizando-se a ética e a responsabilidade social. Nesta Dissertação realizou-se um Estudo de Caso numa grande seguradora angolana, onde através da análise documental, da observação directa e de entrevistas semi-estruturadas a informantes-chave foi possível inventariar os valores organizacionais e caracterizar as principais políticas numa perspectiva de gestão de recursos humanos socialmente responsável; ABSTRACT: The analysis of the values and its importance at organization and management is the starting point of the theme approach. The aim is to understand how the observance of values is crucial in the socially responsible management. Highlight the role of models in human resource management and organizational culture, where they are created and conveyed organizational values, emphasizing ethics and social responsibility. In this thesis we performed a case study in a large insurance company of Angola, where through the document analysis, direct observation and semi-structured interviews with key informants was possible to make an inventory of organizational values and characterize the main policies from the perspective of resource management socially responsible human