Buried Ion-Exchanged Glass Wavelengths: Burial-Depth Dependence on Waveguide Width

A detailed theoretical and experimental study of the depth dependence of buried ion-exchanged waveguides on waveguide width is reported. Modeling, which includes the effect of nonhomogeneous time-dependent electric field distribution, agrees well with our experiments showing that burial depth increases linearly with waveguide width. These results may be used in the proper design of integrated optical circuits that need waveguides of different widths at different sections, such as arrayed waveguide gratings

Introducing Object Oriented Programming to Engineering Technology Students with an App Development Tool

Object oriented programming concepts are frequently a difficult topic for Engineering Technology educators to teach to students that have no previous object oriented programming experience. With the recent rise of mobile computing, a powerful and robust tool is now available to easily develop software for the Android mobile device operating system. Through “App” development with a highly interactive interface and real-time device feedback, difficult programming concepts are conveyed in a highly visual and tactile learning environment

Effects of Glycol on Leachability and Efficacy of Boron Wood Preservatives

Although boron has many advantages as a wood preservative, this chemical performs poorly in leaching exposures. In this study, we investigated the potential for decreasing the leachability of boron preservatives with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Southern pine (Pinus spp.) test samples impregnated with combinations of sodium borate or boric acid and PEG were subjected to both leaching and decay tests. Samples treated sequentially with sodium borate or boric acid and then with PEG-400 or PEG-600 showed a significantly increased resistance to boron leaching. However, decay tests indicated that blocks treated with sodium borate or boric acid and PEG experienced slightly higher weight losses at nearly all retention levels, possibly as a result of PEG depletion. Thus, although the results suggest that bulking agents may enhance the resistance of boron to leaching, the enhanced leach resistance may be a temporary effect

Barley landraces are characterized by geographically heterogeneous genomic origins

<p>Genotyping data for landrace and cultivated lines from the National Small Grains Collection.</p> <p>The dataset has been devided in 11 parts. <strong>This is part 04. Make sure to download all 11 parts.</strong></p> <p>Data used in the article: "Barley landraces are characterized by geographically heterogeneous genomic origins". Published in Genome Biology</p> <p>Use the following command to put the pieces together:</p> <p>% cat * >./My_complete_data.txt</p> <p>The scripts used to analyze and plot the data are available in GitHub: https://github.com/AnaPoets/BarleyLandraces</p

Age and Prostate-Specific Antigen Level Prior to Diagnosis Predict Risk of Death from Prostate Cancer.

A single early prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level has been correlated with a higher likelihood of prostate cancer diagnosis and death in younger men. PSA testing in older men has been considered of limited utility. We evaluated prostate cancer death in relation to age and PSA level immediately prior to prostate cancer diagnosis. Using the Veterans Affairs database, we identified 230,081 men aged 50-89 years diagnosed with prostate cancer and at least one prior PSA test between 1999 and 2009. Prostate cancer-specific death over time was calculated for patients stratified by age group (e.g., 50-59 years, through 80-89 years) and PSA range at diagnosis (10 ranges) using Kaplan-Meier methods. Risk of 10-year prostate cancer mortality across age and PSA was compared using log-rank tests with a Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing. 10.5% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer died of cancer during the 10-year study period (mean follow-up = 3.7 years). Higher PSA values prior to diagnosis predict a higher risk of death in all age groups (p &lt; 0.0001). Within the same PSA range, older age groups are at increased risk for death from prostate cancer (p &lt; 0.0001). For PSA of 7-10 ng/mL, cancer-specific death, 10 years after diagnosis, increased from 7% for age 50-59 years to 51% for age 80-89 years. Men older than 70 years are more likely to die of prostate cancer at any PSA level than younger men, suggesting prostate cancer remains a significant problem among older men (even those aged 80+) and deserves additional study

Ion-Exchanged Waveguides in Glass Doped with PbS Quantum Dots

The lowest-loss (≤1 dB/cm) ion-exchanged waveguides in glass doped with PbS quantum dots are presented. Near-field mode profile and refractive index profile using the refracted near-field technique were measured for these waveguides. We demonstrate that the optical properties of this glass unchanged during the ion-exchange process

The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib sensitizes AML with myelomonocytic differentiation to TRAIL mediated apoptosis

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive stem cell malignancy that is difficult to treat. There are limitations to the current treatment regimes especially after disease relapse, and therefore new therapeutic agents are urgently required which can overcome drug resistance whilst avoiding unnecessary toxicity. Among newer targeted agents, both tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and proteasome inhibitors show particular promise. In this report we show that a combination of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib and TRAIL is effective against AML cell lines, in particular, AML cell lines displaying myelomonocytic/monocytic phenotype (M4/M5 AML based on FAB classification), which account for 20-30% of AML cases. We show that the underlying mechanism of sensitization is at least in part due to bortezomib mediated downregulation of c-FLIP and XIAP, which is likely to be regulated by NF-κB. Blockage of NF-κB activation with BMS-345541 equally sensitized myelomonocytic AML cell lines and primary AML blasts to TRAIL

The massive double-lined O-type binary HD 165052

We present a new optical spectroscopic study of the O-type binary HD 165052 based on high-and intermediate-resolution CCD observations. We re-investigated the spectral classification of the binary components, obtaining spectral types of O6.5 V and O7.5 V for the primary and secondary, respectively, finding that both stars display weak CIII λ5696 emission in their spectra. We also determined a radial-velocity orbit for HD 165052 with a period of 2.95510 ± 0.00001 d, and semi-amplitudes of 94.8 and 104.7 ± 0.5km s-1, resulting in a mass ratio Q = 0.9. From a comparison with previous radial-velocity determinations, we found evidence of apsidal motion in the system. Several signatures of wind-wind collision, such as phase-locked variability of the X-ray flux and the Struve-Sahade effect, are also considered. It was also found that the reddening in the region should be normal, in contrast with previous determinations.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Variations in Longitudinal Permeability of Coastal Western Hemlock

The air permeability of western hemlock from coastal forests in western Oregon was assessed. Permeability varied widely among trees, as well as by position within individual trees. Permeability tended to decrease with distance inward from the bark, a trend implying that this species produces a heartwood zone. These variations may help to explain the treatability differences observed in lumber of this species