Fluoroquinolone-mediated inhibition of cell growth, S-G2/M cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis in canine osteosarcoma cell lines.

Despite significant advancements in osteosarcoma research, the overall survival of canine and human osteosarcoma patients has remained essentially static over the past 2 decades. Post-operative limb-spare infection has been associated with improved survival in both species, yet a mechanism for improved survival has not been clearly established. Given that the majority of canine osteosarcoma patients experiencing post-operative infections were treated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics, we hypothesized that fluoroquinolone antibiotics might directly inhibit the survival and proliferation of canine osteosarcoma cells. Ciprofloxacin or enrofloxacin were found to inhibit p21(WAF1) expression resulting in decreased proliferation and increased S-G(2)/M accumulation. Furthermore, fluoroquinolone exposure induced apoptosis of canine osteosarcoma cells as demonstrated by cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP, and activation of caspase-3/7. These results support further studies examining the potential impact of quinolones on survival and proliferation of osteosarcoma

Reverse Doppler Effect of Sound

We report observation of reverse Doppler effect in a double negative acoustic metamaterial. The metamaterial exhibited negative phase velocity and positive group velocity. The dispersion relation is such that the wavelength corresponding to higher frequency is longer. We observed that the frequency was down-shifted for the approaching source, and up-shifted when the source receded

Acoustic metamaterial exhibiting four different sign combinations of density and modulus

We fabricated a double negative acoustic metamaterial which consisted of Helmholtz resonators and membranes. Experimental data on the transmission and dispersion relation are presented. The system exhibits three frequencies where the acoustic state makes sharp transitions from density negative ({\rho} -NG) to double negative (DNG), modulus negative (B-NG), and double positive (DPS) in sequence with the frequency. We observed a wide range of negative refractive index from -0.06 to -3.7 relative to air, which will allow for new acoustic transformation techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Net load‐displacement estimation in soil‐nailing pullout tests

Soil-nails are used to stabilise a soil mass by exploiting the resistance generated by the skin friction between the ground and grout and the tensile stiffness of the reinforcing material. A load–displacement curve is obtained from in situ pullout load tests performed by considering the elastic shear modulus and ultimate skin friction capacity between the soil and grout. This study determines the shear behaviour between the soils and grout analytically, especially the soil-dilation effect during shearing that is one of the main factors affecting the ultimate skin friction, even though this estimation is rather cumbersome. Many studies assume a full bond between the grout and the steel reinforcing bar, thus neglecting their relative displacement. In this study, the net load–displacement between the ground and grout is obtained by subtracting the nail elongation from the load–displacement of the pullout tests when estimating the shear displacement. Numerous field pullout tests are performed in this study under various ground conditions and through various construction methods. The dilatancy angles are estimated dependent on the soil type by comparing the net load–displacement curve obtained in the field with that obtained theoretically. </jats:p

Office Automated Delivery Robot System

&nbsp;Our robot encourages workers use their work hours more efficiently. It helps workers focus on their works by processing unnecessary works such as delivery for them. It also facilitates exchange of office materials such as prototypes and classified materials between departments. Our robot is like a background process in operating systems; it handles its job silently but effectively that its users – primarily the office workers- can go on about doing their works without having to leave their stations and lose focus. The potential that this robot is capable of are not limited to just within office space delivering documents and mails. It could be also used to deliver specimens and supplies at hospitals and also act as a way-finding aid in building complexes.&nbsp