So Many Playbills, So Little Time: A Case Study in Fugitive Theatrical Material.

Libraries/Museum

Standard Flaws for Eddy Current Probe Characterization

Calibration procedures for eddy current inspections often involve the use of artifact standards containing manufactured flaws. The manufactured flaw is assumed to be a good approximation of the type of flaw being sought during the inspection. These manufactured flaws are most often produced by electrical discharge machining (EDM), milling, or the controlled growth of fatigue cracks. With simple amplitude display inspection equipment this type of artifact is usually sufficient, but as more sophisticated inspection equipment is developed some drawbacks to the commonly accepted practice are becoming evident. Instruments that are sensitive to eddy current signal phase as well as amplitude can show considerable differences in phase between a relatively wide EDM notch or milled slot and a real fatigue crack [1]. The use of controlled growth fatigue cracks can also cause problems when forces at the crack’s tip drive the crack faces together, making electrical contact [2], In addition, estimates of crack depth will always be estimates until the crack is broken apart. We describe here a technique for consistently producing well characterized discontinuities in aluminum which are not subject to these problems

Transepithelial Corneal Cross-Linking With Vitamin E-Enhanced Riboflavin Solution and Abbreviated, Low-Dose UV-A: 24-Month Clinical Outcomes

Purpose: To report the clinical outcomes with 24-month follow-up of transepithelial cross-linking using a combination of a D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene-glycol 1000 succinate (vitamin E-TPGS)-enhanced riboflavin solution and abbreviated low fluence UV-A treatment. Methods: In a nonrandomized clinical trial, 25 corneas of 19 patients with topographically proven, progressive, mild to moderate keratoconus over the previous 6 months were cross-linked, and all patients were examined at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. The treatments were performed using a patented solution of riboflavin and vitamin E-TPGS, topically applied for 15 minutes, followed by two 5-minute UV-A treatments with separate doses both at fluence below 3 mW/cm2 that were based on preoperative central pachymetry. Results: During the 6-month pretreatment observation, the average Kmax increased by +1.99 +/- 0.29 D (diopter). Postoperatively, the average Kmax decreased, changing by -0.55 +/- 0.94 D, by -0.88 +/- 1.02 D and by -1.01 +/- 1.22 D at 6, 12, and 24 months. Postoperatively, Kmax decreased in 19, 20, and 20 of the 25 eyes at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months, respectively. Refractive cylinder was decreased by 3 months postoperatively and afterward, changing by -1.35 +/- 0.69 D at 24 months. Best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) improved at 6, 12, and 24 months, including an improvement of -0.19 +/- 0.13 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution units at 24 months. There was no reduction in endothelial cell count. No corneal abrasions occurred, and no bandage contact lenses or prescription analgesics were used during postoperative recovery. Conclusions: Transepithelial cross-linking using the riboflavin-vitamin E solution and brief, low-dose, pachymetry-dependent UV-A treatment safely stopped keratoconus progression

Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars.VIII

Radial-velocity measurements and sine-curve fits to the orbital velocity variations are presented for the seventh set of ten close binary systems: V410 Aur, V523 Cas, QW Gem, V921 Her, V2357 Oph, V1130 Tau, HN UMa, HX UMa, HD 93917, NSV 223. All systems, but three (V523 Cas, HD 93917, NSV 223), were discovered photometrically by the Hipparcos mission. All systems are double-lined (SB2) binaries and all, but the detached, very close system V1130 Tau, are contact binaries. The broadening-function permitted improvement of the orbital elements for V523 Cas, which was the only system observed before for radial velocity variations. Spectroscopic/visual companions were detected for V410 Aur and HX UMa.Comment: AASTeX5, 4 figures, 3 tables, to appear AJ, June 200

New Technologies for Ecosystem Analysis Planning and Management

Planning the rural environment is one of the most intriguing examples of technical challenge where a multi-disciplinary approach plays a crucial role. The agricultural production, both food and non-food, the social role of rural settlements, the state and diffusion of the infrastructural networks, the rural architectonic heritage that in many countries constitutes a major positive value, should be appropriately considered and sinergically interlaced for a sound planning of agricultural biosystems. Human activities impose a transformation of the extra-urban land that may lead to the modification of the frail equilibrium of whole ecosystems. Sound planning strategies should be therefore pursued, employing a multidisciplinary approach that should take into account geographical, environmental and landscape factors as variables interacting among themselves and with the social and economic aspects. In order to simultaneously analyse all these properties, tools able to manage, interpret and integrate several data are necessary

Skin Extracellular Matrix Breakdown Following Paclitaxel Therapy in Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.

The chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel causes peripheral neuropathy, a dose-limiting side effect, in up to 68% of cancer patients. In this study, we investigated the impact of paclitaxel therapy on the skin of breast cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), building upon previous findings in zebrafish and rodents. Comprehensive assessments, including neurological examinations and quality of life questionnaires, were conducted, followed by intraepidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density evaluations using skin punch biopsies. Additionally, RNA sequencing, immunostaining for Matrix-Metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13), and transmission electron microscopy provided insights into molecular and ultrastructural changes in this skin. The results showed no significant difference in IENF density between the control and CIPN patients despite the presence of patient-reported CIPN symptoms. Nevertheless, the RNA sequencing and immunostaining on the skin revealed significantly upregulated MMP-13, which is known to play a key role in CIPN caused by paclitaxel therapy. Additionally, various genes involved in the regulation of the extracellular matrix, microtubules, cell cycle, and nervous system were significantly and differentially expressed. An ultrastructural examination of the skin showed changes in collagen and basement membrane structures. These findings highlight the presence of CIPN in the absence of IENF density changes and support the role of skin remodeling as a major contributor to CIPN

Frequency addressing of nano-objects by electrical tuning of optical antennas

We first analyze the equivalent circuit parameters of linear wire optical nano-antennas in uniaxial anisotropic media. We then exploit the electro-optic response of a bipolar nematic liquid crystal to demonstrate tuning of an optical antenna using a low frequency external electric field as the control mechanism

Counting the photons : determining the absolute storage capacity of persistent phosphors

The performance of a persistent phosphor is often determined by comparing luminance decay curves, expressed in cd/m(2). However, these photometric units do not enable a straightforward, objective comparison between different phosphors in terms of the total number of emitted photons, as these units are dependent on the emission spectrum of the phosphor. This may lead to incorrect conclusions regarding the storage capacity of the phosphor. An alternative and convenient technique of characterizing the performance of a phosphor was developed on the basis of the absolute storage capacity of phosphors. In this technique, the phosphor is incorporated in a transparent polymer and the measured afterglow is converted into an absolute number of emitted photons, effectively quantifying the amount of energy that can be stored in the material. This method was applied to the benchmark phosphor SrAl2O4: Eu, Dy and to the nano-sized phosphor CaS: Eu. The results indicated that only a fraction of the Eu ions (around 1.6% in the case of SrAl2O4: Eu, Dy) participated in the energy storage process, which is in line with earlier reports based on X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These findings imply that there is still a significant margin for improving the storage capacity of persistent phosphors