The Cryogenic Distribution Line for the LHC: Functional Specification and Conceptual Design

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) currently under construction at CERN will make use of superconducting magnets operating in superfluid helium below 2 K. The cryogenic distribution scheme for each of the eight sectors, individually served by a refrigeration plant, is based on a separate Cryogenic Distribution Line (QRL) feeding helium at different temperatures and pressures to the elementary cooling loops. The QRL comprises two supply headers and three return headers including a sub-atmospheric one. Low heat inleak to all temperature levels is essential for the overall LHC cryogenic performance. With an overall length of 25.6 km the QRL has a very critical cost-to-performance ratio. Therefore, following an in-house feasibility study, CERN adjudicated in autumn 1998 three industrial contracts in parallel for the supply of Pre-Series Test Cells (~ 112 m) of the QRL, which will be tested at CERN in 2000. Installation of the QRL for LHC is scheduled from 2002 to mid 2004. This paper will present the general layout, the functional requirements as well as some aspects of the in-house conceptual design

Effect of Urbanization on the Adoption of Environmental Management Systems in Canadian Agriculture

This study examines the extent to which farming practices have adjusted to the presence of urbanization in Canada. In particular, we compare the adoption rates for environmental management systems (EMSs) by farmers close to urbanized areas versus those in more rural, isolated regions. Using information from a national survey of 16,053 farmers, eight EMSs are considered. We find that farmers operating close to the urban milieu demonstrate strategic behavior by selecting more environmentally-friendly farm management practices to overcome social and regulatory pressures from such communities compared to those farmers that operate in rural communities.Farm Management,

Recent Developments: The Uniform Arbitration Act

This Article is an overview of recent court decisions that interpret state versions of the Uniform Arbitration Act ( U.A.A. ).\u27 Arbitration statutes patterned after the U.A.A. have been adopted by thirty-four states and the District of Columbia.\u27 The goal of this project is to promote uniformity in the interpretation of the U.A.A. by articulating the underlying policies and rationales of recent court decisions interpreting the U.A.A

Recent Developments: The Uniform Arbitration Act

This Article is an overview of recent court decisions that interpret state versions of the Uniform Arbitration Act ( U.A.A. ).\u27 Arbitration statutes patterned after the U.A.A. have been adopted by thirty-four states and the District of Columbia.\u27 The goal of this project is to promote uniformity in the interpretation of the U.A.A. by articulating the underlying policies and rationales of recent court decisions interpreting the U.A.A

What Do Audiences Want from a Public Art Gallery in the Digital Age?

This paper outlines the human-centred design approach taken to create a new analytical framework to understand audiences and establish themes, patterns and behaviours at MOSTYN, a public contemporary art gallery in Llandudno, North Wales. Wrexham Glyndwr University PhD student Clare Harding collaborated with Dr Adrian Gradinar, and Dr Mark Lochrie from Media Innovation Studio, University of Central Lancashire, to test the conceptual framework with the EDGE (Experiential Display to Generate Engagement) research project that secured Innovate UK and the Arts Council of Wales funding. EDGE applied a Human Centred Design process to MOSTYN, Wales’ foremost contemporary Art Gallery MOSTYN to investigate audience expectations of a public art gallery in the digital age. EDGE was designed to help MOSTYN define their purpose as a public art gallery in the face of rapidly developing, culturally competing technologies. Phase one of the project used design thinking and iterative processes to explore new and authentic ways in which MOSTYN can co-design their visitor experience with audiences. Phase two, from April 2019, will use findings to build a digital interface within the gallery to create an interactive exhibition of digital art. This will be accompanied by a six-month engagement programme to build links with new audiences and up-skill both the general public and regional artists. The scope and limitation of the research as identified so far are discussed with a focus on how human-centred design approaches were used to create a new analytical framework. The testing of lo-fi prototypes will be discussed within the gallery setting and the insights uncovered by deployment of the framework, tools and MOSTYN’s engagement programme with a critical review of the methodological approach used and findings to date

Tree spatial pattern within the forest–tundra ecotone: a comparison of sites across Canada

Accepted VersionAlthough many studies have focused on factors influencing treeline advance with climate change, less consideration has been given to potential changes in tree spatial pattern across the forest–tundra ecotone. We investigated trends in spatial pattern across the forest–tundra ecotone and geographical variation in the Yukon, Manitoba, and Labrador, Canada. Tree cover was measured in contiguous quadrats along transects up to 100 m long located in Forest, Ecotone, and Tundra sections across the forest–tundra transition. Spatial patterns were analyzed using new local variance to estimate patch size and wavelet analysis to determine the scale and amount of aggregation. Compared with the Forest, tree cover in the Ecotone was less aggregated at most sites, with fewer smaller patches of trees. We found evidence that shorter trees may be clumped at some sites, perhaps due to shelter from the wind, and we found little support for regular spacing that would indicate competition. With climate change, trees in the Ecotone will likely become more aggregated as patches enlarge and new patches establish. However, results were site-specific, varying with aspect and the presence of krummholz (stunted trees); therefore, strategies for adaptation of communities to climate change in Canada’s subarctic forest would need to reflect these differences

Differential expression of glucose transporters and hexokinases in prostate cancer with a neuroendocrine gene signature: A mechanistic perspective for 18 F-FDG imaging of PSMA-suppressed tumors

Although the incidence of de novo neuroendocrine prostate cancer (PC) is rare, recent data suggest that low expression of prostatespecific membrane antigen (PSMA) is associated with a spectrum of neuroendocrine hallmarks and androgen receptor (AR) suppression in PC. Previous clinical reports indicate that PCs with a phenotype similar to neuroendocrine tumors can be more amenable to imaging by 18F-FDG than by PSMA-targeting radioligands. In this study, we evaluated the association between neuroendocrine gene signature and 18F-FDG uptake-associated genes including glucose transporters (GLUTs) and hexokinases, with the goal of providing a genomic signature to explain the reported 18F-FDG avidity of PSMA suppressed tumors. Methods: Data-mining approaches, cell lines, and patient-derived xenograft models were used to study the levels of 14 members of the SLC2A family (encoding GLUT proteins), 4 members of the hexokinase family (genes HK1-HK3 and GCK), and PSMA (FOLH1 gene) after AR inhibition and in correlation with neuroendocrine hallmarks. Also, we characterize a neuroendocrine-like PC (NELPC) subset among a cohort of primary and metastatic PC samples with no neuroendocrine histopathology. We measured glucose uptake in a neuroendocrine-induced in vitro model and a zebrafish model by nonradioactive imaging of glucose uptake using a fluorescent glucose bioprobe, GB2-Cy3. Results: This work demonstrated that a neuroendocrine gene signature associates with differential expression of genes encoding GLUT and hexokinase proteins. In NELPC, elevated expression of GCK (encoding glucokinase protein) and decreased expression of SLC2A12 correlated with earlier biochemical recurrence. In tumors treated with AR inhibitors, high expression of GCK and low expression of SLC2A12 correlated with neuroendocrine histopathology and PSMA gene suppression. GLUT12 suppression and upregulation of glucokinase were observed in neuroendocrine- induced PC cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models. A higher glucose uptake was confirmed in low-PSMA tumors using a GB2-Cy3 probe in a zebrafish model. Conclusion: A neuroendocrine gene signature in neuroendocrine PC and NELPC associates with a distinct transcriptional profile of GLUTs and hexokinases. PSMA suppression correlates with GLUT12 suppression and glucokinase upregulation. Alteration of 18F-FDG uptake-associated genes correlated positively with higher glucose uptake in AR- and PSMA-suppressed tumors. Zebrafish xenograft tumor models are an accurate and efficient preclinical method for monitoring nonradioactive glucose uptake

Influence of taste disorders on dietary behaviors in cancer patients under chemotherapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>To determine the relationship between energy and nutrient consumption with chemosensory changes in cancer patients under chemotherapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We carried out a cross-sectional study, enrolling 60 subjects. Cases were defined as patients with cancer diagnosis after their second chemotherapy cycle (n = 30), and controls were subjects without cancer (n = 30). Subjective changes of taste during treatment were assessed. Food consumption habits were obtained with a food frequency questionnaire validated for Mexican population. Five different concentrations of three basic flavors --sweet (sucrose), bitter (urea), and a novel basic taste, umami (sodium glutamate)-- were used to measure detection thresholds and recognition thresholds (RT). We determine differences between energy and nutrient consumption in cases and controls and their association with taste DT and RT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No demographic differences were found between groups. Cases showed higher sweet DT (6.4 vs. 4.4 μmol/ml; p = 0.03) and a higher bitter RT (100 vs. 95 μmol/ml; <it>p </it>= 0.04) than controls. Cases with sweet DT above the median showed significant lower daily energy (2,043 vs.1,586 kcal; p = 0.02), proteins (81.4 vs. 54 g/day; <it>p </it>= 0.01), carbohydrates (246 vs.192 g/day; <it>p </it>= 0.05), and zinc consumption (19 vs.11 mg/day; <it>p </it>= 0.01) compared to cases without sweet DT alteration. Cases with sweet DT and RT above median were associated with lower completion of energy requirements and consequent weight loss. There was no association between flavors DT or RT and nutrient ingestion in the control group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Changes of sweet DT and bitter RT in cancer patients under chemotherapy treatment were associated with lower energy and nutrient ingestion. Taste detection and recognition thresholds disorders could be important factors in malnutrition development on patients with cancer under chemotherapy treatment.</p

Evaluation of the effects of erythritol on gene expression in Brucella abortus

Bacteria of the genus Brucella have the unusual capability to catabolize erythritol and this property has been associated with their virulence mainly because of the presence of erythritol in bovine foetal tissues and because the attenuated S19 vaccine strain is the only Brucella strain unable to oxydize erythritol. In this work we have analyzed the transcriptional changes produced in Brucella by erythritol by means of two high throughput approaches: RNA hybridization against a microarray containing most of Brucella ORF's constructed from the Brucella ORFeome and next generation sequencing of Brucella mRNA in an Illumina GAIIx platform. The results obtained showed the overexpression of a group of genes, many of them in a single cluster around the ery operon, able to co-ordinately mediate the transport and degradation of erythritol into three carbon atoms intermediates that will be then converted into fructose-6P (F6P) by gluconeogenesis. Other induced genes participating in the nonoxidative branch of the pentose phosphate shunt and the TCA may collaborate with the ery genes to conform an efficient degradation of sugars by this route. On the other hand, several routes of amino acid and nucleotide biosynthesis are up-regulated whilst amino acid transport and catabolism genes are down-regulated. These results corroborate previous descriptions indicating that in the presence of erythritol, this sugar was used preferentially over other compounds and provides a neat explanation of the the reported stimulation of growth induced by erythritol