Hyperthermia as an Antineoplastic Treatment Modality

Preclinical evaluation of hyperthermia for treating tumerous cancers is discussed

Anomalous scaling of conductivity in integrable fermion systems

We analyze the high-temperature conductivity in one-dimensional integrable models of interacting fermions: the t-V model (anisotropic Heisenberg spin chain) and the Hubbard model, at half-filling in the regime corresponding to insulating ground state. A microcanonical Lanczos method study for finite size systems reveals anomalously large finite-size effects at low frequencies while a frequency-moment analysis indicates a finite d.c. conductivity. This phenomenon also appears in a prototype integrable quantum system of impenetrable particles, representing a strong-coupling limit of both models. In the thermodynamic limit, the two results could converge to a finite d.c. conductivity rather than an ideal conductor or insulator scenario.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to PR

Learning with a Drifting Target Concept

We study the problem of learning in the presence of a drifting target concept. Specifically, we provide bounds on the error rate at a given time, given a learner with access to a history of independent samples labeled according to a target concept that can change on each round. One of our main contributions is a refinement of the best previous results for polynomial-time algorithms for the space of linear separators under a uniform distribution. We also provide general results for an algorithm capable of adapting to a variable rate of drift of the target concept. Some of the results also describe an active learning variant of this setting, and provide bounds on the number of queries for the labels of points in the sequence sufficient to obtain the stated bounds on the error rates

How valid are IMS DA summary statistics of children's vaccination status?

Purpose: Accurate recording of immunisation status is essential for the evaluation of any immunization program. In September 2006, 7 Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination (PCV7) was introduced into the UK’s routine childhood immunisation programme. This study validated the PCV7 immunization status of children aged 2 years recorded in the IMS Disease Analyses database. / Methods: The PCV7 vaccination uptake rate for children born in 2008 in the IMS DA database was calculated. A sample of 173 of the 2497 children not recorded as vaccinated was identified and a questionnaire was sent to each of their General Practitioners to ascertain the child’s true PCV7 vaccination status. / Results: In the IMS DA data of 15,237 children born in 2008, 12,740 (83.6%) had a vaccination record of PCV7. One hundred and eleven of the 167 questionnaires sent to the child’s general practitioners were returned, giving an adjusted response rate of 111/167 (66.5%). Based on the general practitioners’ responses, 71 (64%) of these children were fully vaccinated according to their General Practitioner’s records making the revised estimated vaccination rate for this cohort 94.1%. / Conclusion: This validation study has shown that caution is needed if using historical IMS patient-level data to analyse the effectiveness of PCV7 as there is a potential under-recording of immunization leading to underrepresentation of vaccination rates by approximately ten per cent. Coverage of other vaccines may also be underestimated in the IMS database

Non-Invasive Photoacoustic Imaging of In Vivo Mice with Erythrocyte Derived Optical Nanoparticles to Detect CAD/MI.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) causes mortality and morbidity worldwide. We used near-infrared erythrocyte-derived transducers (NETs), a contrast agent, in combination with a photoacoustic imaging system to identify the locations of atherosclerotic lesions and occlusion due to myocardial-infarction (MI). NETs (≈90 nm diameter) were fabricated from hemoglobin-depleted mice erythrocyte-ghosts and doped with Indocyanine Green (ICG). Ten weeks old male C57BL/6 mice (n = 9) underwent left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery ligation to mimic vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and their rupture leading to MI. 150 µL of NETs (20 µM ICG,) was IV injected via tail vein 1-hour prior to photoacoustic (PA) and fluorescence in vivo imaging by exciting NETs at 800 nm and 650 nm, respectively. These results were verified with histochemical analysis. We observed ≈256-fold higher PA signal from the accumulated NETs in the coronary artery above the ligation. Fluorescence signals were detected in LAD coronary, thymus, and liver. Similar signals were observed when the chest was cut open. Atherosclerotic lesions exhibited inflammatory cells. Liver demonstrated normal portal tract, with no parenchymal necrosis, inflammation, fibrosis, or other pathologic changes, suggesting biocompatibility of NETs. Non-invasively detecting atherosclerotic plaques and stenosis using NETs may lay a groundwork for future clinical detection and improving CAD risk assessment

Intracellular interferons in fish : a unique means to combat viral infection

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Dimension in a Radiative Stellar Atmosphere

Dimensional scales are examined in an extended 3+1 Vaidya atmosphere surrounding a Schwarzschild source. At one scale, the Vaidya null fluid vanishes and the spacetime contains only a single spherical 2-surface. Both of these behaviors can be addressed by including higher dimensions in the spacetime metric.Comment: to appear in Gen. Rel. Gra

“BAM”: a collaborative R&D project for the development of a simulation based solution for the design and manufacture of 3D woven composites

Breakthrough Aerospace Materials (BAM) is a collaborative R&D project based in the UK [1]; led by industry and co-funded by the British Government via the Innovate-UK under its Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) R&T Programme. The overall objective of BAM is to develop a complete process that will enable aerospace industry (and others) to design and manufacture complex shaped components using 3D woven composites. This material offers great advantages particularly for producing lightweight structures with high resistance to impact loading and damage - yet, there is still no evidence of it been widely adopted by industry! It is agreed that one of the major reasons behind slow adoption of the 3D woven composites by industry is the lack of industrial simulation tools that can be used effectively by design and analysis engineers. A consortium consisting of 12 partners, involving 9 from industry and 3 from academia, was set up to work towards this goal over a period of three years. As it is less than a year since the kick-off of the project, this paper will mainly introduce the general approach for now - leaving the full demonstration of applying the developed technologies on industrial cases for follow up publications. However, a few independent illustration examples are still presented - while elaborating on the current status of development at various steps in the process and its associated challenges. The paper also aims to highlight the interdependence between industrial and academic partners for their success in pushing the required technology up the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) scale. Two leading CAE software developers (ESI Group and MSC Software) are involved in BAM, and both are working on developing their own strategy to tackle the problem. The paper will elaborate on the approach adopted by ESI in particular, which is aligned with its global strategy for providing virtual end-to-end solution for composites product development