Standardised Evaluation of Shanghai-Hangzhou High-Speed Maglev Project

In recent years, high-speed maglev systems have received renewed attention once again. However, a systematic and transparent approach to evaluate high-speed maglev projects does not currently exist, which could be an obstacle for their application, even with technical success. In Germany, the Standardised Evaluation is applied as a basis for decision making regarding the public funding of projects. It should be implemented for all investments of urban public transport projects with a value of more than € 25 million. In this paper, the economic evaluation for the Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev project is carried out with the Standardised Evaluation. One of the most important contributions of this work is to demonstrate the applicability of Standardised Evaluation for high-speed maglev projects. With the Standardised Evaluation, the evidence of macroand microeconomic benefit can be presented in a transparent and systematic way. The result can be used to prove the project’s profitability and to rank different projects or project alternatives.</p

A comparative assessment of prostate positioning guided by three-dimensional ultrasound and cone beam CT

Background: The accuracy of the Elekta Clarity (TM) three-dimensional ultrasound system (3DUS) was assessed for prostate positioning and compared to seed-and bone-based positioning in kilo-voltage cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) during a definitive radiotherapy. Methods: The prostate positioning of 6 patients, with fiducial markers implanted into the prostate, was controlled by 3DUS and CBCT. In total, 78 ultrasound scans were performed trans-abdominally and compared to bone-matches and seed-matches in CBCT scans. Setup errors detected by the different modalities were compared. Systematic and random errors were analysed, and optimal setup margins were calculated. Results: The discrepancy between 3DUS and seed-match in CBCT was -0.2 +/- 2.7 mm laterally,-1.9 +/- 2.3 mm longitudinally and 0.0 +/- 3.0 mm vertically and significant only in longitudinal direction. Using seed-match as reference, systematic errors of 3DUS were 1.3 mm laterally, 0.8 mm longitudinally and 1.4 mm vertically, and random errors were 2.5 mm laterally, 2.3 mm longitudinally, and 2.7 mm vertically. No significant difference could be detected for 3DUS in comparison to bone-match in CBCT. Conclusions: 3DUS is feasible for image guidance for patients with prostate cancer and appears comparable to CBCT based image guidance in the retrospective study. While 3DUS offers some distinct advantages such as no need of invasive fiducial implantation and avoidance of extra radiation, its disadvantages include the operator dependence of the technique and dependence on sufficient bladder filling. Further study of 3DUS for image guidance in a large patient cohort is warranted

Antagonism of the mammalian target of rapamycin selectively mediates metabolic effects of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition and protects human malignant glioma cells from hypoxia-induced cell death

Although inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor is a plausible therapy for malignant gliomas that, in vitro, enhances apoptosis, the results of clinical trials have been disappointing. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase that integrates starvation signals and generates adaptive responses that aim at the maintenance of energy homeostasis. Antagonism of mTOR has been suggested as a strategy to augment the efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition by interfering with deregulated signalling cascades downstream of Akt. Here we compared effects of antagonism of mTOR utilizing rapamycin or a small hairpin RNA-mediated gene silencing to those of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition or combined inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor and mTOR in human malignant glioma cells. In contrast to epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition, mTOR antagonism neither induced cell death nor enhanced apoptosis induced by CD95 ligand or chemotherapeutic drugs. However, mTOR inhibition mimicked the hypoxia-protective effects of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibition by maintaining adenosine triphosphate levels. These in vitro experiments thus challenge the current view of mTOR as a downstream target of Akt that mediates antiapoptotic stimuli. Under the conditions of the tumour microenvironment, metabolic effects of inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor, Akt and mTOR may adversely affect outcome by protecting the hypoxic tumour cell fractio

Building in China - Study trip of the faculty of Civil Engineering of the HTWG Konstanz 2008

Im März 2008 führte die Fakultät Bauingenieurwesen der HTWG Konstanz eine studentische Exkursion nach China durch. Auf dem Programm standen interessante Baustellen Shanghai, Nanjing, Zhenjiang und Beijing sowie der Besuch von Hochschulen. Der Exkursionsbericht beschreibt die besuchten Bauvorhaben und gibt persönliche Eindrücke der Exkursionsteilnehmer wieder.In March 2008 the faculty of civil engineering of the University of Applied Sciences Konstanz, Germany, conducted a study trip for students of civil engineering to China. Construction sites and universities in Shanghai, Nanjing, Zhenjiang and Beijing have been visited. The report describes the places seen and reflects the personal impressions of the participants

Исследование возможности реализации концепции радиационного эквивалентного обращения с РАО

в данной работе проведено исследование возможности реализации концепции радиационного эквивалентного обращения с радиоактивными отходами путём использования разработанного программного продукта для расчёта изотопного состава отработавшего ядерного топливаin this work, the feasibility of implementing the concept of radiation equivalent treatment of radioactive waste by using a developed software product for calculating the isotope composition of spent nuclear fue

Racial differences in the outcome of patients with urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract: an international study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86897/1/j.1464-410X.2011.10188.x.pd

Zebrafish Ciliopathy Screen Plus Human Mutational Analysis Identifies C21orf59 and CCDC65 Defects as Causing Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is caused when defects of motile cilia lead to chronic airway infections, male infertility, and situs abnormalities. Multiple causative PCD mutations account for only 65% of cases, suggesting that many genes essential for cilia function remain to be discovered. By using zebrafish morpholino knockdown of PCD candidate genes as an in vivo screening platform, we identified c21orf59, ccdc65, and c15orf26 as critical for cilia motility. c21orf59 and c15orf26 knockdown in zebrafish and planaria blocked outer dynein arm assembly, and ccdc65 knockdown altered cilia beat pattern. Biochemical analysis in Chlamydomonas revealed that the C21orf59 ortholog FBB18 is a flagellar matrix protein that accumulates specifically when cilia motility is impaired. The Chlamydomonas ida6 mutant identifies CCDC65/FAP250 as an essential component of the nexin-dynein regulatory complex. Analysis of 295 individuals with PCD identified recessive truncating mutations of C21orf59 in four families and CCDC65 in two families. Similar to findings in zebrafish and planaria, mutations in C21orf59 caused loss of both outer and inner dynein arm components. Our results characterize two genes associated with PCD-causing mutations and elucidate two distinct mechanisms critical for motile cilia function: dynein arm assembly for C21orf59 and assembly of the nexin-dynein regulatory complex for CCDC65

Zirconium enolatoimine complexes in olefin polymerization

Zirconium complexes with enolatoimine ligands bearing an electron-withdrawing trifluoromethyl group on the alkoxy moiety [k2-N,O-{2,6-R2N=C(CH3)C(H)=C(O)CF3]2ZrCl2 (2a, R = H; 2b, R = F; 2c, R = CH3; 2d, R = iPr) were prepared. The isopropyl substituents hinder rotation in solution for 2d, and result in a trans-arrangement of the N-donors in the solid state. Catalyst activities are similar for 2a/MAO and 2b/MAO in ethylene polymerization (1.8 x 10 5 TO h-1 for 2a and 3.3 x 10 5 TO h-1 for 2b at 25 °C under 1 bar monomer pressure), increasingly bulky alkyl substituents result in strongly decreased polymerization activities (7.1 x 10 2 TO h-1 for 2c and 5.7 x 10 2 TO h-1 for 2d at 25 °C). This goes along with an increase in polymer molecular weight (Mw = 8.1 x 103, Mw/Mn = 2.9 for 2a, Mw = 3.8 x 105, Mw/Mn = 2.0 for 2b, Mw = 1.0 x 106, Mw/Mn = 2.8 for 2c), apparently bulky substituents retard chain transfer even more strongly than activation of the precursors and/or chain growth. 2b/MAO affords atactic polypropylene (Mw = 1.4 x 10 4 g mol-1,Mw/Mn = 2.1) with a small portion of regioirregular structures. The reaction of [Zr(CH2Ph)4] with the ketoenamine 2,6-F2C6H3N(H)-CMe=CHC(O)CF3 (1b) yielded the dibenzyl complex [(o-F2C6H3N=CMeCH=C(CF3)O)2Zr-(CH2Ph)2] (3b) which was investigated as a catalyst precursor for ethylene homopolymerization in combination with different activators