Climate change mitigation strategies for mechanically controlled repositories: The case of The National Archives, Kew

A computer based building simulation model was developed to examine the energy load and environmental management in The National Archives Q1 repository building in Kew, UK to optimise environmental management and examine the impacts of climate change. The need to accurately simulate the hygrothermal environment inside the archive building which houses mainly paper-based records led to the choice of EnergyPlus as the modelling software. The study presents the simulation results of five environmental strategies which predict energy saving potential as high as 43% without significantly affecting the quality of the preservation environment. The effect of climate change is predicted to have little impact on the archive environment due to the filtering effect of the air conditioning system. On the other hand, an increase in total energy load by 15% and 24% is predicted under the worst case climate change scenario in 2050 and 2080, respectively, if the current environmental management practice is continued into the future. However, the identified energy saving strategies could represent possible mitigative solutions in reducing future energy load against the impact of climate change

Damage Function for Historic Paper: Part II

Background As a result of use of library and archival documents, defined as reading with handling in the context of general access, mechanical degradation (wear and tear) accumulates. In contrast to chemical degradation of paper, the accumulation of wear and tear is less well studied. Previous work explored the threshold of mechanical degradation at which a paper document is no longer considered to be fit for the purpose of use by a reader, while in this paper we explore the rate of accumulation of such damage in the context of object handling. Results The degree of polymerisation (DP) of historic paper of European origin from mid-19th–mid-20th Century was shown to affect the rate of accumulation of wear and tear. While at DP > 800, this accumulation no longer depends on the number of handlings (the process is random), a wear-out function could be developed for documents with DP between 300 and 800. For objects with DP < 300, one large missing piece (i.e. such that contains text) developed on average with each instance of handling, which is why we propose this DP value as a threshold value for safe handling. Conclusions The developed model of accumulation of large missing pieces per number of handlings of a document depending on DP, enables us to calculate the time required for an object to become unfit for use by readers in the context of general access. In the context of the average frequency of document use at The UK National Archives (Kew), this period is 60 years for the category of papers with DP 300, and 450 years for papers with DP 500. At higher DP values, this period of time increases beyond the long-term planning horizon of 500 years, leading to the conclusion that for such papers, accumulation of wear and tear is not a significant collection management concern

O-band QKD link over a multiple ONT loaded carrier-grade GPON for FTTH applications

We have successfully integrated an O-band commercial Quantum-Key-Distribution (QKD) system over a lit GPON testbed that replicates a carrier-grade Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) optical access network with multiple ONTs to emulate real-life FTTH operational deployments.Comment: 3 page

Rice-Map: a new-generation rice genome browser

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The concurrent release of rice genome sequences for two subspecies (<it>Oryza sativa </it>L. ssp. <it>japonica </it>and <it>Oryza sativa </it>L. ssp. <it>indica</it>) facilitates rice studies at the whole genome level. Since the advent of high-throughput analysis, huge amounts of functional genomics data have been delivered rapidly, making an integrated online genome browser indispensable for scientists to visualize and analyze these data. Based on next-generation web technologies and high-throughput experimental data, we have developed Rice-Map, a novel genome browser for researchers to navigate, analyze and annotate rice genome interactively.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>More than one hundred annotation tracks (81 for <it>japonica </it>and 82 for <it>indica</it>) have been compiled and loaded into Rice-Map. These pre-computed annotations cover gene models, transcript evidences, expression profiling, epigenetic modifications, inter-species and intra-species homologies, genetic markers and other genomic features. In addition to these pre-computed tracks, registered users can interactively add comments and research notes to Rice-Map as User-Defined Annotation entries. By smoothly scrolling, dragging and zooming, users can browse various genomic features simultaneously at multiple scales. On-the-fly analysis for selected entries could be performed through dedicated bioinformatic analysis platforms such as WebLab and Galaxy. Furthermore, a BioMart-powered data warehouse "Rice Mart" is offered for advanced users to fetch bulk datasets based on complex criteria.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Rice-Map delivers abundant up-to-date <it>japonica </it>and <it>indica </it>annotations, providing a valuable resource for both computational and bench biologists. Rice-Map is publicly accessible at <url>http://www.ricemap.org/</url>, with all data available for free downloading.</p

Development of an electrochemical biosensor for the rapid detection of naphthalene acetic acid in fruits by using air stable lipid films with incorporated auxin-binding protein 1 receptor

This work describes the investigations of electrochemical interactions of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) with stabilized lipid films supported on a methacrylate polymer on a glass fiber filter with incorporated auxin-binding protein 1 receptor for the development of a biosensor for the rapid detection of this compound in fruits. NAA was injected into the flowing streams of a carrier electrolyte solution, the flow of the electrolyte solution stops and an ion current transient was obtained; the magnitude of the signal was correlated to NAA concentration, which could be determined at the micromolar level. NAA preconcentrates at the lipid membrane surface which causes dynamic alterations of the electrostatic fields and phase structure of membranes. The response times were ca. 5 min and naphthalene acetic acid was determined at concentration levels of μM. The effect of potent interferences included a wide range of compounds. The results showed no interferences from these compounds in concentration levels usually found in real samples. The method was applied for the determination of NAA in fruits and the reproducibility of the method was checked in about 100 samples. A quantitative method for the detection of NAA in fruits that can be complimentary to HPLC methods is provided in the present paper. These lipid films can be used as portable sensors for the rapid detection of NAA in fruits by non-skilled personnel. © 2008 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd

Clinical and surgical-pathological staging in early non-small cell lung cancer

Staging is of the utmost importance in the evaluation of a patient with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) because it defines the actual extent of the disease. Accurate staging allows multidisciplinary oncology teams to plan the best surgical or medical treatment and to predict patient prognosis. Based on the recommendation of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), a tumor, node, and metastases (TNM) staging system is currently used for NSCLC. Clinical staging (c-TNM) is achieved via non-invasive modalities such as examination of case history, clinical assessment and radiological tests. Pathological staging (p-TNM) is based on histological examination of tissue specimens obtained with the aid of invasive techniques, either non-surgical or during the intervention. This review is a critical evaluation of the roles of current pre-operative staging modalities, both invasive and non-invasive. In particular, it focuses on new techniques and their role in providing accurate confirmation of patient TNM status. It also evaluates the surgical-pathological staging modalities used to obtain the true-pathological staging for NSCLC

Soluble ICAM-1 levels in small-cell lung cancer: prognostic value for survival and predictive significance for response during chemotherapy

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is an adhesion molecule, member of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily that seems to participate in the evolution of the metastatic process. We investigated the significance of baseline soluble ICAM-1 levels on the outcome of patients with small-cell lung cancer and whether soluble ICAM-1 is a predictive marker for objective response during and after chemotherapy in patients with small-cell lung cancer. Fifty patients with recently diagnosed small-cell lung cancer, as well as 27 healthy smokers, were enrolled. Blood samples were collected at the time of diagnosis, during and at the end of chemotherapy. Data were correlated with the characteristics of the patients and survival as well as with ICAM-1 predictive role for objective response. Statistical significant values of baseline soluble ICAM between patients and controls (p &lt; 0.001) were observed. Multivariate analysis revealed an elevated risk of death of 9 % in the first year after diagnosis for every 10 units of increased soluble ICAM-1 at the baseline (p = 0.046). Performance status and disease stage were also independent prognostic factors. Patients with extensive disease who achieved an objective response during chemotherapy showed a significant decrease (25.8 %) in their soluble ICAM-1 levels compared with baseline levels (p = 0.001). Alongside performance status and disease stage, baseline soluble ICAM-1 could be evaluated as an additional prognostic factor in patients with small-cell lung cancer. Also, a possible role for soluble ICAM-1 may exist as a predictive marker for objective response during chemotherapy for patients with extensive disease (p = 0.001)