Review of \u3ci\u3eWest of 98: Living and Writing the New American West\u3c/i\u3e edited by Lynn Stegner and Russell Rowland

West of 98 is an ambitious and comprehensive collection of personal essays and poems by over sixty contributors who work to define the parameters of the American West: the vast and complex region west of the 98th meridian. As Lynn Stegner explains in the collection\u27s introduction, the goal of the book is to offer a Greek chorus that might define, remark upon, and otherwise characterize the West as each of [the writers] grew to know it, and equally important, the West that is still becoming. The chorus of voices featured in the collection reflects a broad range of cultural and geographical backgrounds and experiences, and many of the names will be familiar to readers of this journal: Louise Erdrich, Dan O\u27Brien, Ron Hansen, and Larry Woiwode to name only a few. While the contributors cover a diverse assortment of subjects related to western experience-from the meaning of grass (Erdrich), to the importance of fences (Jonis Agee), to the loneliness of the real cowboys (Larry McMurtry)-they all grapple with what it means to develop a sense of place in an environment as complex and challenging as the American West

Development of biodegradable nanoparticles for targeting Tumor Associated Macrophages: synthesis, investigation of the role of the surfactant and surface decoration in complex media

Tumor Associated Macrophages (TAMs) are involved in cancer proliferation, thus strategies to deplete them represent promising tools for chemotherapy. Pharmacological agents with multiple activities such as curcumin and RNA interference have been proposed; however their employment in therapeutics has been limited because of low systemic bioavailability. Accordingly, this thesis described as an innovative therapeutic approach for cancer treatment the development of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) able to (i) increase pharmacokinetics properties of biomacromolecules and poor water soluble drugs, and (ii) guarantee TAMs specific targeting. The safe and versatile polymer Poly(Lactic-co-Glycolic)Acid (PLGA) has been used for the synthesis of NPs by both single (OW) and double (WOW) emulsion-solvent evaporation techniques. Different synthetic parameters have been taken into consideration, with particular focus on the surfactant role. As alternative to the commonly used Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA), a newly synthetized polymer (amino-PVA) and Calcium Sterate (CSt) have been investigated for their ability to modulate surface charge and biocompatibility. NPs with solid or core-shell structures, whose size was tailored between 200 and 300 nm, were obtained and a thorough characterization has been performed, with the help of innovative techniques such as single particle optical extinction and scattering (SPES) method. Both amino-PVA and CSt stabilized NPs were found to be able to load curcumin and biomacromolecules, either alone or in combination. Strategies for surface decoration with the employment of D-mannose as specific molecule to guarantee TAMs recognition were proposed. Finally, cytocompatibility of the amino-PVA and CSt stabilized NPs have been assessed

Structural validation of a realistic wing structure: the RIBES test article

Several experimental test cases are available in literature to study and validate fluid structure interaction methods. They, however, focus the attention mainly on replicating typical cruising aerodynamic conditions forcing the adoption of fully steel made models able to operate with the high loads generated in high speed facilities. This translates in a complete loss of similitude with typical realistic aeronautical wing structures configurations. To reverse this trend, and to better study the aerolastic mechanism from a structural point of view, an aeroelastic measurement campaign was carried within the EU RIBES project. A half wing model for wind tunnel tests was designed and manufactured replicating a typical metallic wing box structure, producing a database of loads, pressure, stress and deformation measurements. In this paper the design, manufacturing and validation activities performed within the RIBES project are described, with a focus on the structural behavior of the test article. All experimental data and numerical models are made freely available to the scientific community

Thrombocytosis in Malignancy: A Paraneoplastic Syndrome?

An increased platelet number may be secondary to many conditions. Malignancies are known to induce thrombocytosis in some cases. We report data of paraneoplastic thrombocytosis recognized in 54 out of 159 patient (33.9%) with reactive thrombocytosis diagnosed in our department over the last 10 years. In most of our patients increased platelet count was observed at the time of diagnosis (33.7%) or during the first year thereafter (35.2%). Evidence of other causes for reactive thrombocytosis including iron deficiency, anemia, inflammatory diseases, surgical procedures including splenectomy, and drugs were observed in 74% of our patients. 35% of our subjects had non fatal hemorrhagic or thrombotic accidents. In about one half of our patients, increased levels of fibrinogen, ESR and plasma alpha2 globulins were observed while 5 hydroxytryptamine (5HT) intraplatelet level was normal in about all these patients. The diagnosis of paraneoplastic thrombocytosis must be postulated only after exclusion of all other reactive conditions. Often an increased platelet count in patients with cancer may be considered a reactive phenomenon

Lattice energy-momentum tensor with Symanzik improved actions

We define the energy-momentum tensor on lattice for the $\lambda \phi^4$ and for the nonlinear $\sigma$-model Symanzik tree-improved actions, using Ward identities or an explicit matching procedure. The resulting operators give the correct one loop scale anomaly, and in the case of the sigma model they can have applications in Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: Self extracting archive fil

Temperature dependent characterization of optical fibres for distributed temperature sensing in hot geothermal wells

This study was performed in order to select a proper fibre for the application of a distributed temperature sensing system within a hot geothermal well in Iceland. Commercially available high temperature graded index fibres have been tested under in-situ temperature conditions. Experiments have been performed with four different polyimide coated fibres, a fibre with an aluminum coating and a fibre with a gold coating. To select a fibre, the relationship between attenuation, temperature, and time has been analyzed together with SEM micrographs. On the basis of these experiments, polyimide fibres have been chosen for utilisation. Further tests in ambient and inert atmosphere have been conducted with two polyimide coated fibres to set an operating temperature limit for these fibres. SEM micrographs, together with coating colour changes have been used to characterize the high temperature performance of the fibres. A novel cable design has been developed, a deployment strategy has been worked out and a suitable well for deployment has been selected.Comment: PACS: 42.81.Pa, 93.85.Fg, 47.80.Fg, 91.35.Dc, 07.20.Dt, 07.60.V

Double Penguins and the Contribution of Vector Meson--like States to the Decays B→K∗γ, B→ργB \to K^* \gamma, \, B \to \rho \gamma

Using perturbative QCD, the contribution at the leading twist, leading $\alpha_s$ level, of charm and up quark loops to the decays $B \rightarrow K^* \gamma$ and $B \rightarrow \rho \gamma$ is presented. In the case of $B \rightarrow \rho \gamma$, the relative importance of these contributions depend upon the unknown CKM matrix elements $V_{bu}$ and $V_{td}$. Assuming that the ratio $r = V_{bc}V^*_{cd}/V_{bt}V^*_{td}$ is bounded between $-2.25 \le r \le -.5$ as is suggested by the Particle Data Group, the error in extracting $|V_{td}/V_{ts}|$ by these decays is estimated.Comment: 4 double column pages, revtex, 3 figures attached, 2 figures added indicating less optimism concerning the accuracy at which $|V_{td}/V_{ts}|$ can be extracted: to appear in PR

Quality of life, characteristics and survival of patients with HIV and lymphoma

We sought to compare the quality of life (QOL), characteristics, and survival of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Using the population-based cancer registry for Orange and San Diego Counties, We recruited 50 patients with HIV and systemic NHL (cases) and 50 age, sex and race-matched NHL patients without HIV (controls) diagnosed with NHL during 2002–2006. Patients completed a medical history survey and QOL instrument, the Functional Assessment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (FAHI) for cases and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT G) for controls. HIV-infected patients had worse overall QOL and survival than uninfected patients. QOL differences were more marked in the areas of functional, physical and social well-being than in the area of emotional well-being. HIV-infected patients had lower income and were less likely to have private insurance and more likely to have diffuse large B cell histology than uninfected patients. HIV-infected NHL patients had worse QOL and survival than uninfected patients, due to a combination of co-morbidity, aggressive histology and lack of social support. However, their emotional well-being was comparable to that of uninfected NHL patients and better than historical norms for the HIV-infected