CELLULAR REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PRIMARY IN VITRO ANTIBODY RESPONSE TO DNP-FICOLL

The cellular requirements for the primary in vitro IgM and IgG response to dinitrophenyl-substituted Ficoll were examined. Neither thymus-derived lymphocytes nor macrophage-rich splenic adherent cells were required for anti-DNP antibody synthesis. DNP-Ficoll is therefore tentatively classified as a "thymic-independent" antigen

Development of a generic activities model of command and control

This paper reports on five different models of command and control. Four different models are reviewed: a process model, a contextual control model, a decision ladder model and a functional model. Further to this, command and control activities are analysed in three distinct domains: armed forces, emergency services and civilian services. From this analysis, taxonomies of command and control activities are developed that give rise to an activities model of command and control. This model will be used to guide further research into technological support of command and control activities

The Hubble Space Telescope Treasury Program on the Orion Nebula Cluster

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Treasury Program on the Orion Nebula Cluster has used 104 orbits of HST time to image the Great Orion Nebula region with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi Object Spectrograph (NICMOS) instruments in 11 filters ranging from the U-band to the H-band equivalent of HST. The program has been intended to perform the definitive study of the stellar component of the ONC at visible wavelengths, addressing key questions like the cluster IMF, age spread, mass accretion, binarity and cirumstellar disk evolution. The scanning pattern allowed to cover a contiguous field of approximately 600 square arcminutes with both ACS and WFPC2, with a typical exposure time of approximately 11 minutes per ACS filter, corresponding to a point source depth AB(F435W) = 25.8 and AB(F775W)=25.2 with 0.2 magnitudes of photometric error. We describe the observations, data reduction and data products, including images, source catalogs and tools for quick look preview. In particular, we provide ACS photometry for 3399 stars, most of them detected at multiple epochs, WFPC2 photometry for 1643 stars, 1021 of them detected in the U-band, and NICMOS JH photometry for 2116 stars. We summarize the early science results that have been presented in a number of papers. The final set of images and the photometric catalogs are publicly available through the archive as High Level Science Products at the STScI Multimission Archive hosted by the Space Telescope Science Institute.Comment: Accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, March 27, 201

Study protocol of the LARK (TROG 17.03) clinical trial: a phase II trial investigating the dosimetric impact of Liver Ablative Radiotherapy using Kilovoltage intrafraction monitoring

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR) is a non-invasive treatment which allows delivery of an ablative radiation dose with high accuracy and precision. SABR is an established treatment for both primary and secondary liver malignancies, and technological advances have improved its efficacy and safety. Respiratory motion management to reduce tumour motion and image guidance to achieve targeting accuracy are crucial elements of liver SABR. This phase II multi-institutional TROG 17.03 study, Liver Ablative Radiotherapy using Kilovoltage intrafraction monitoring (LARK), aims to investigate and assess the dosimetric impact of the KIM real-time image guidance technology. KIM utilises standard linear accelerator equipment and therefore has the potential to be a widely available real-time image guidance technology for liver SABR. METHODS: Forty-six patients with either hepatocellular carcinoma or oligometastatic disease to the liver suitable for and treated with SABR using Kilovoltage Intrafraction Monitoring (KIM) guidance will be included in the study. The dosimetric impact will be assessed by quantifying accumulated patient dose distribution with or without the KIM intervention. The patient treatment outcomes of local control, toxicity and quality of life will be measured. DISCUSSION: Liver SABR is a highly effective treatment, but precise dose delivery is challenging due to organ motion. Currently, there is a lack of widely available options for performing real-time tumour localisation to assist with accurate delivery of liver SABR. This study will provide an assessment of the impact of KIM as a potential solution for real-time image guidance in liver SABR. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered on December 7th 2016 on ClinicalTrials.gov under the trial-ID NCT02984566

Distributed situation awareness in dynamic systems: Theoretical development and application of an ergonomics methodology

The purpose of this paper is to propose foundations for a theory of situation awareness based on the analysis of interactions between agents (i.e., both human and non-human) in subsystems. This approach may help promote a better understanding of technology-mediated interaction in systems, as well as helping in the formulation of hypotheses and predictions concerning distributed situation awareness. It is proposed that agents within a system each hold their own situation awareness which may be very different from (although compatible with) other agents. It is argued that we should not always hope for, or indeed want, sharing of this awareness, as different system agents have different purposes. This view marks situation awareness as a 1 dynamic and collaborative process that binds agents together on tasks on a moment-by-moment basis. Implications of this viewpoint for development of a new theory of, and accompanying methodology for, distributed situation awareness are offered

Heated indoor swimming pools, infants, and the pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a neurogenic hypothesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In a case-control study a statistically significant association was recorded between the introduction of infants to heated indoor swimming pools and the development of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). In this paper, a neurogenic hypothesis is formulated to explain how toxins produced by chlorine in such pools may act deleteriously on the infant's immature central nervous system, comprising brain and spinal cord, to produce the deformity of AIS.</p> <p>Presentation of the hypothesis</p> <p>Through vulnerability of the developing central nervous system to circulating toxins, and because of delayed epigenetic effects, the trunk deformity of AIS does not become evident until adolescence. In mature healthy swimmers using such pools, the circulating neurotoxins detected are chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform. Cyanogen chloride and dichloroacetonitrile have also been detected.</p> <p>Testing the hypothesis</p> <p>In infants, the putative portals of entry to the blood could be dermal, oral, or respiratory; and entry of such circulating small molecules to the brain are via the blood-brain barrier, blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, and circumventricular organs. Barrier mechanisms of the developing brain differ from those of adult brain and have been linked to brain development. During the first 6 months of life cerebrospinal fluid contains higher concentrations of specific proteins relative to plasma, attributed to mechanisms continued from fetal brain development rather than immaturity.</p> <p>Implications of the hypothesis</p> <p>The hypothesis can be tested. If confirmed, there is potential to prevent some children from developing AIS.</p

Slow magnetic relaxation in Fe(ii) m-terphenyl complexes

Two-coordinate transition metal complexes are exciting candidates for single-molecule magnets (SMMs) because their highly axial coordination environments lead to sizeable magnetic anisotropy. We report a series of five structurally related two-coordinate Fe(II) m-terphenyl complexes (4-R-2,6-Xyl2C6H2)2Fe [R = tBu (1), SiMe3 (2), H (3), Cl (4), CF3 (5)] where, by changing the functionalisation of the para-substituent (R), we alter their magnetic function. All five complexes are field-induced single-molecule magnets, with relaxation rates that are well-described by a combination of direct and Raman mechanisms. By using more electron donating R groups we were able to slow the rate of magnetic relaxation. Our ab initio calculations predict a large crystal field splitting (>850 cm−1) and sizeable zero-field splitting parameters (ca. −60 cm−1, |E| < 0.2 cm−1) for 1–5. These favourable magnetic properties suggest that m-terphenyl ligands have untapped potential as chemically versatile ligands able to impose highly axial crystal fields

Further evidence for large central mass-to-light ratios in early-type galaxies: the case of ellipticals and lenticulars in the Abell~262 cluster

We present radially resolved spectroscopy of 8 early-type galaxies in Abell~262, measuring rotation, velocity dispersion, $H_3$ and $H_4$ coefficients along three axes, and line-strength index profiles of Mg, Fe and H$\beta$. Ionized-gas velocity and velocity dispersion is included for 6 galaxies. We derive dynamical mass-to-light ratios and dark matter densities from orbit-based dynamical models, complemented by the galaxies' ages, metallicities, and $\alpha$-elements abundances. Four galaxies have significant dark matter with halos about 10 times denser than in spirals of the same stellar mass. Using dark matter densities and cosmological simulations, assembly redshifts \zdm\approx 1-3, which we found earlier for Coma. The dynamical mass following the light is larger than expected for a Kroupa stellar IMF, especially in galaxies with high velocity dispersion \sigeff inside the effective radius \reff. This could indicate a `massive' IMF in massive galaxies. Alternatively, some dark matter in massive galaxies could follow the light closely. Combining with our comparison sample of Coma early-types, we now have 5 of 24 galaxies where (1) mass follows light to 1-3\,\reff, (2) the dynamical mass-to-light ratio {of all the mass that follows the light is large ($\approx\,8-10$ in the Kron-Cousins $R$ band), (3) the dark matter fraction is negligible to 1-3\,\reff. Unless the IMF in these galaxies is particularly `massive' and somehow coupled to the dark matter content, there seems a significant degeneracy between luminous and dark matter in some early-type galaxies. The role of violent relaxation is briefly discussed.Comment: 62 pages, 13 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in A