The German Investigation of the Accident at Meopham (England)

This report is a recounting of the German investigation of the crash of a commercial Junkers F 13 ge in England. The English report is examined and compared with the German interpretation of the accident

Role of alkali cations for the excited state dynamics of liquid water near the surface

Time-resolved liquid jet photoelectron spectroscopy was used to explore the excited state dynamics at the liquid water surface in the presence of alkali cations. The data were evaluated with the help of ab initio calculations on alkali-water clusters and an extension of these results on the basis of the dielectric continuum model: 160nm, sub-20fs vacuum ultraviolet pulses excite water molecules in the solvent shell of Na + or K + cations and evolve into a transient hydrated complex of alkali-ion and electron. The vertical ionization energy of this transient is about 2.5eV, significantly smaller than that of the solvated electron. ??? 2012 American Institute of Physics.open1

Detection of circulating microparticles by flow cytometry: influence of centrifugation, filtration of buffer, and freezing

The clinical importance of microparticles resulting from vesiculation of platelets and other blood cells is increasingly recognized, although no standardized method exists for their measurement. Only a few studies have examined the analytical and preanalytical steps and variables affecting microparticle detection. We focused our analysis on microparticle detection by flow cytometry. The goal of our study was to analyze the effects of different centrifugation protocols looking at different durations of high and low centrifugation speeds. We also analyzed the effect of filtration of buffer and long-term freezing on microparticle quantification, as well as the role of Annexin V in the detection of microparticles. Absolute and platelet-derived microparticles were 10- to 15-fold higher using initial lower centrifugation speeds at 1500 × g compared with protocols using centrifugation speeds at 5000 × g (P < 0.01). A clear separation between true events and background noise was only achieved using higher centrifugation speeds. Filtration of buffer with a 0.2 μm filter reduced a significant amount of background noise. Storing samples for microparticle detection at −80°C decreased microparticle levels at days 28, 42, and 56 (P < 0.05 for all comparisons with fresh samples). We believe that staining with Annexin V is necessary to distinguish true events from cell debris or precipitates. Buffers should be filtered and fresh samples should be analyzed, or storage periods will have to be standardized. Higher centrifugation speeds should be used to minimize contamination by smaller size platelets

NACA Technical Memorandums

This report is a recounting of the German investigation of the crash of a commercial Junkers F 13 ge in England. The English report is examined and compared with the German interpretation of the accident

Association of preoperative cone biopsy with recurrences after radical hysterectomy

Objective!#!To evaluate association of preoperative cone biopsy with the probability of recurrent disease after radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer.!##!Methods!#!This is a retrospective single-center study. Patients with cervical cancer stage IA1 with LVSI to IIA2 and squamous, adenosquamous and adenocarcinoma subtype were included. Patients were analyzed for general characteristics and recurrence-free survival (RFS).!##!Results!#!In total, of 480 patients with cervical cancer, 183 patients met the inclusion criteria (117 with laparoscopic and 66 with open surgery). The median tumor diameter was 25.0 mm (range 4.6-70.0 mm) with 66 (36.2%) patients having tumors smaller than 2 cm. During median follow-up of 54.0 months (range 0-166.0 months), the RFS for the laparoscopic cohort was 93.2% and 87.5% at 3 and 4.5 years, and 79.3% for the open cohort after 3 and 4.5 years, respectively. In total, 17 (9.3%) patients developed recurrent disease, 9 (7.3%) after laparoscopic, and 8 (12.1%) after open surgery. No preoperative cone biopsy (OR 9.60, 95% CI 2.14-43.09) as well as tumor diameter &amp;gt; 2 cm (OR 5.39, 95% CI 1.20-24.25) were significantly associated with increased risk for recurrence. In multivariate analysis, only missing preoperative cone biopsy was significantly associated with increased risk for recurrence (OR 5.90, 95% CI 1.11-31.29) CONCLUSION: There appears to be a subgroup of patients (preoperative cone biopsy, tumor diameter &amp;lt; 2 cm) with excellent survival and low risk for recurrence after radical hysterectomy which might benefit from the advantages of laparoscopic surgery

Preparation and superconducting properties of PbMo6S8 thin films

Thin films of the Chevrel phase superconductor PbMo6S8 were sputtered from sintered PbMo6S8 onto sapphire substrates in an UHV-system. The Chevrel phase was obtained by a subsequent heat treatment and verified by X-ray diffraction. The best films had a resistively measured critical temperature up to 12.9K (midpoint), 3nsets above 14.5K, resistance ratios (300K)/ (16K) of about 1.6 and an initial slope of the upper critical field of 35kG/K