Converging Technologies - Shaping the Future of European Societies

The European Commission and Member States are called upon to recognise the novel potential of Converging Technologies (CTs) to advance the Lisbon Agenda. Wise investment in CTs stimulates science and technology research, strengthens economic competitiveness, and addresses the needs of European societies and their citizens. Preparatory action should be taken to implement CT as a thematic research priority, to develop Converging Technologies for the European Knowledge Society (CTEKS) as a specifically European approach to CTs, and to establish a CTEKS research communit

Visual span and change detection in soccer: an expertise study

There is evidence to suggest that sports experts are able to extract more perceptual information from a single fixation than novices when exposed to meaningful tasks that are specific to their field of expertise. In particular, Reingold et al. (2001) showed that chess experts use a larger visual span including fewer fixations when compared to their less skilled counterparts. The aim of the present study was to examine whether also in a more complex environment, namely soccer, skilled players use a larger visual span and fewer fixations than less skilled players when attempting to recognise players' positions. To this end, we combined the gaze-contingent window technique with the change detection paradigm. Results seem to suggest that skilled soccer players do not use a larger visual span than less skilled players. However, skilled soccer players showed significantly fewer fixations of longer duration than their less skilled counterparts, supporting the notion that experts may extract more information from a single glance. © 2011 Psychology Press

Gene expression profile of oral squamous cell carcinomas from Sri Lankan betel quid users

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the major health problems in Sri Lanka and the disease is associated with the habit of Betel Quid (BQ) chewing. Using 35k oligo microarrays, we analyzed the gene expression profile of 15 Sri Lankan patients diagnosed with OSCCs and pair-wised normal controls and correlated the findings with the clinicopathological data. Following the recording of the scanned array images and data analysis, results for selected candidate genes were verified using QRT-PCR. Upon analysis, a total of 263 genes [71 (27%) of unknown functions previously not reported in OSCCs and 192 (73%) of known functions] were found as differentially expressed between tumors and controls. For the genes with known functions, 66 (34%; such as COL4A1, MMP1, MMP3, PLAU, SPARC and KRT19) were previously reported in OSCC and for the remaining 126 (66%; such as CD47, APOL3, RRAGC, BPIL1 and AZGP1) this is the first report in OSCCs. Hierarchical clustering of the differentially expressed 263 genes grouped the samples into several clusters with the larger one being dominated by tumors of stage 3 and 4. Two cases (a verrucous SCC and an advanced SCC), did not cluster with any of the other samples. We found two main biological pathways (cell communication and integrin-mediated cell adhesion) and 5 gene ontology categories (transcription regulator activity, structural molecule activity, intracellular signaling, cytoskeleton and signal transduction) of relevance to the OSCCs examined. Results from the QRT-PCR verified the results from the microarray experiment. This study provides valuable information on gene expression profile of OSCCs of habitual users of BQ from Sri Lanka. Of particular interest were the list of genes of known and unknown functions and the two biological pathways that we suggest as candidate genes in oral cancers associated with BQ chewing in Southeast Asia, in particular Sri Lanka. The suggested candidate genes might be used as molecular biomarkers in the early detection of the alarming problem of OSCCs in Southeast Asia in association with BQ use. These findings provide valuable information that might help in the selection of possible biomarkers that can be used in early detection of the alarming problem of oral cancer in Southeast Asia.publishedVersio

Identifying the mechanisms underpinning recognition of structured sequences of action

© 2012 The Experimental Psychology SocietyWe present three experiments to identify the specific information sources that skilled participants use to make recognition judgements when presented with dynamic, structured stimuli. A group of less skilled participants acted as controls. In all experiments, participants were presented with filmed stimuli containing structured action sequences. In a subsequent recognition phase, participants were presented with new and previously seen stimuli and were required to make judgements as to whether or not each sequence had been presented earlier (or were edited versions of earlier sequences). In Experiment 1, skilled participants demonstrated superior sensitivity in recognition when viewing dynamic clips compared with static images and clips where the frames were presented in a nonsequential, randomized manner, implicating the importance of motion information when identifying familiar or unfamiliar sequences. In Experiment 2, we presented normal and mirror-reversed sequences in order to distort access to absolute motion information. Skilled participants demonstrated superior recognition sensitivity, but no significant differences were observed across viewing conditions, leading to the suggestion that skilled participants are more likely to extract relative rather than absolute motion when making such judgements. In Experiment 3, we manipulated relative motion information by occluding several display features for the duration of each film sequence. A significant decrement in performance was reported when centrally located features were occluded compared to those located in more peripheral positions. Findings indicate that skilled participants are particularly sensitive to relative motion information when attempting to identify familiarity in dynamic, visual displays involving interaction between numerous features

ISRM Suggested Method for Determining the Abrasivity of Rock by the CERCHAR Abrasivity Test

Rock abrasivity plays an important role in characterizing a rock material for excavation purposes. Abrasion can be defined as the wearing or tearing away of particles from the surface, i.e. it is a process causing removal or displacement of material at a solid surface, which will lead to wear, especially on tools that are used in mining, drilling, and tunneling applications. The CERCHAR Abrasivity Test is a method to determine an index called CERCHAR Abrasivity Index (CAI) for the rock's abrasivity. The test was originally developed by the Laboratoire du Centre d'Etudes et Recherches des Charbonnages (CERCHAR) de France for coal mining applications (Cerchar 1986). Two standards exist for this test method: the French standard AFNOR NF P 94-430-1 (2000) and ASTM D7625-10 (2010). The test is widely used in research and practice. There are essentially two designs of testing apparatus: the original design as developed at the CERCHAR Centre (Valantin 1973) and a modified design as reported by West (1989). While the designs are similar there are some important differences as well as ambiguities in test conditions that include equipment actuation, material properties of the stylus and sample preparation as summarized by Plinninger et al. (2003

Biogeochemical cycling of dissolved zinc along the GEOTRACES South Atlantic transect GA10 at 40°S

The biogeochemical cycle of zinc (Zn) in the South Atlantic, at 40°S, was investigated as part of the UK GEOTRACES program. To date there is little understanding of the supply of Zn, an essential requirement for phytoplankton growth, to this highly productive region. Vertical Zn profiles displayed nutrient-like distributions with distinct gradients associated with the watermasses present. Surface Zn concentrations are among the lowest reported for theworld’s oceans (<50 pM). A strong Zn-Si linear relationshipwas observed (Zn (nM)= 0.065 Si (μM), r2=0.97, n = 460). Our results suggest that the use of a global Zn-Si relationship would lead to an underestimation of dissolved Zn in deeper waters of the South Atlantic. By utilizing Si* and a new tracer Zn* our data indicate that the preferential removal of Zn in the Southern Ocean prevented a direct return path for dissolved Zn to the surface waters of the South Atlantic at 40°S and potentially the thermocline waters of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre. The importance of Zn for phytoplankton growth was evaluated using the Zn-soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) relationship. We hypothesize that the low Zn concentrations in the South Atlantic may select for phytoplankton cells with a lower Zn requirement. In addition, a much deeper kink at ~ 500m in the Zn:SRP ratio was observed compared to other oceanic regions

Multiscale entropy-based analyses of soil transect data

A deeper understanding of the spatial variability of soil properties and the relationships between them is needed to scale up measured soil properties and to model soil processes. The object of this study was to describe the spatial scaling properties of a set of soil physical properties measured on a common 1024-m transect across arable fields at Silsoe in Bedfordshire, east-central England. Properties studied were volumetric water content ({theta}), total porosity ({pi}), pH, and N2O flux. We applied entropy as a means of quantifying the scaling behavior of each transect. Finally, we examined the spatial intrascaling behavior of the correlations between {theta} and the other soil variables. Relative entropies and increments in relative entropy calculated for {theta}, {pi}, and pH showed maximum structure at the 128-m scale, while N2O flux presented a more complex scale dependency at large and small scales. The intrascale-dependent correlation between {theta} and {pi} was negative at small scales up to 8 m. The rest of the intrascale-dependent correlation functions between {theta} with N2O fluxes and pH were in agreement with previous studies. These techniques allow research on scale effects localized in scale and provide the information that is complementary to the information about scale dependencies found across a range of scale

13C-assisted metabolic flux analysis to investigate heterotrophic and mixotrophic metabolism in Cupriavidus necator H16

Introduction. Cupriavidus necator H16 is a gram-negative bacterium, capable of lithoautotrophic growth by utilizing hydrogen as an energy source and fixing carbon dioxide (CO2) through Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle. The potential to utilize synthesis gas (Syngas) and the prospects of rerouting carbon from polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis to value-added compounds makes C. necator an excellent chassis for industrial application. Objectives. In the context of lack of sufficient quantitative information of the metabolic pathways and to advance in rational metabolic engineering for optimized product synthesis in C. necator H16, we carried out a metabolic flux analysis based on steady-state 13C-labelling. Methods. In this study, steady-state carbon labelling experiments, using either D-[1-13C]fructose or [1,2-13C]glycerol, were undertaken to investigate the carbon flux through the central carbon metabolism in C. necator H16 under heterotrophic and mixotrophic growth conditions, respectively. Results. We found that the CBB cycle is active even under heterotrophic condition, and growth is indeed mixotrophic. While Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway is shown to be the major route for sugar degradation, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is highly active in mixotrophic condition. Enhanced flux is observed in reductive pentose phosphate pathway (redPPP) under the mixotrophic condition to supplement the precursor requirement for CBB cycle. The flux distribution was compared to the mRNA abundance of genes encoding enzymes involved in key enzymatic reactions of the central carbon metabolism. Conclusion. This study leads the way to establishing 13C-based quantitative fluxomics for rational pathway engineering in C. necator H16

River Influences on Shelf Ecosystems: Introduction and Synthesis

River Influences on Shelf Ecosystems (RISE) is the first comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the rates and dynamics governing the mixing of river and coastal waters in an eastern boundary current system, as well as the effects of the resultant plume on phytoplankton standing stocks, growth and grazing rates, and community structure. The RISE Special Volume presents results deduced from four field studies and two different numerical model applications, including an ecosystem model, on the buoyant plume originating from the Columbia River. This introductory paper provides background information on variability during RISE field efforts as well as a synthesis of results, with particular attention to the questions and hypotheses that motivated this research. RISE studies have shown that the maximum mixing of Columbia River and ocean water occurs primarily near plume liftoff inside the estuary and in the near field of the plume. Most plume nitrate originates from upwelled shelf water, and plume phytoplankton species are typically the same as those found in the adjacent coastal ocean. River-supplied nitrate can help maintain the ecosystem during periods of delayed upwelling. The plume inhibits iron limitation, but nitrate limitation is observed in aging plumes. The plume also has significant effects on rates of primary productivity and growth (higher in new plume water) and microzooplankton grazing (lower in the plume near field and north of the river mouth); macrozooplankton concentration (enhanced at plume fronts); offshelf chlorophyll export; as well as the development of a chlorophyll ?shadow zone? off northern Oregon

Hyaluronidase induces a transcapillary pressure gradient and improves the distribution and uptake of liposomal doxorubicin (Caelyx™) in human osteosarcoma xenografts

Liposomal drug delivery enhances the tumour selective localisation and may improve the uptake compared to free drug. However, the drug distribution within the tumour tissue may still be heterogeneous. Degradation of the extracellular matrix is assumed to improve the uptake and penetration of drugs. The effect of the ECM-degrading enzyme hyaluronidase on interstitial fluid pressure and microvascular pressure were measured in human osteosarcoma xenografts by the wick-in-needle and micropipette technique, respectively. The tumour uptake and distribution of liposomal doxorubicin were studied on tumour sections by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The drugs were injected i.v. 1 h after the hyaluronidase pretreatment. Intratumoral injection of hyaluronidase reduced interstitial fluid pressure in a nonlinear dose-dependent manner. Maximum interstitial fluid pressure reduction of approximately 50% was found after injection of 1500 U hyaluronidase. Neither intratumoral nor i.v. injection of hyaluronidase induced any changes in the microvascular pressure. Thus, hyaluronidase induced a transcapillary pressure gradient, resulting in a four-fold increase in the tumour uptake and improving the distribution of the liposomal doxorubicin. Hyaluronidase reduces a major barrier for drug delivery by inducing a transcapillary pressure gradient, and administration of hyaluronidase adjuvant with liposomal doxorubicin may thus improve the therapeutic outcome