The Demand for Wines: Variety and Region Effects

Demand and Price Analysis,

High Velocity Impact Performance of a Dual Layer Thermal Protection System for the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry Vehicle

No abstract availabl

Interim FDG-PET Scan in Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Hopes and Caveats

FDG-PET has recently emerged as an important tool for the management of Hodgkins lymphoma. Although its use for initial staging and response evaluation at the end of treatment is well established, the place of interim PET for response assessment and subsequent treatment tailoring is still quite controversial. The use of interim PET after a few cycles of chemotherapy may allow treatment reduction for good responders, leading to lesser treatment toxicities as well as early treatment adaptation for bad responders with a potential higher chance for cure. Interpretation of interim PET is a rapidly moving field. Actually, visual interpretation is preferred over quantitative interpretation in this situation. The notion of minimal residual uptake emerged for faint persisting FDG uptake, but has evolved during the recent years. Guidelines using mediastinum and liver as references have been proposed at the expert meeting in Deauville 2009. Actually, several trials are ongoing both for localised and advanced disease to evaluate the FDG-PET potential for early treatment monitoring and tailoring. Until the results of these prospective randomized trials become available, treatment changes according to the interim PET results should remain inappropriate and limited to well-conducted clinical trials

High energy photon interactions at the LHC

Experimental prospects for studying high-energy photon-photon and photon-proton interactions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are discussed. Cross sections are calculated for many electroweak and beyond the Standard Model processes. Selection strategies based on photon interaction tagging techniques are studied. Assuming a typical LHC multipurpose detector, various signals and their irreducible backgrounds are presented after applying acceptance cuts. Prospects are discussed for the Higgs boson search, detection of supersymmetric particles and of anomalous quartic gauge couplings, as well as for the top quark physics.Comment: 17 pages, 16 tables and 14 figure

Direct analysis of metal ions in solutions with high salt concentrations by total reflection x-ray fluorescence

Total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) is becoming more and more popular for elemental analysis in academia and industry. However, simplification of the procedures for analyzing samples with complex compositions and residual matrix effects is still needed. In this work, the effect of an inorganic (CaCl2) and an organic (tetraalkylphosphonium chloride) matrix on metals quantification by TXRF was investigated for liquid samples. The samples were spiked with up to 20 metals at concentrations ranging from 3 to 50 mg L^–1 per element, including elements with spectral peaks near the peaks of the matrix elements or near the Raleigh and Compton scattering peaks of the X-ray source (molybdenum anode). The recovery rate (RR) and the relative standard deviation (RSD) were calculated to express the accuracy and the precision of the measured element concentrations. In samples with no matrix effects, good RRs are obtained regardless of the internal standard selected. However, in samples with moderate matrix content, the use of an optimum internal standard (OIS) at a concentration close to that of the analyte significantly improved the quantitative analysis. In samples with high concentrations of inorganic ions, using a Triton X-100 aqueous solution to dilute the sample during the internal standardization resulted in better RRs and lower RSDs compared to using only water. In samples with a high concentration of organic material, pure ethanol gave slightly better results than when a Triton X-100–ethanol solution was used for dilution. Compared to previous methods reported in the literature, the new sample-preparation method gave better accuracy, precision, and sensitivity for the elements tested. Sample dilution with an OIS and the surfactant Triton X-100 (inorganic media) or ethanol (organic media) is recommended for fast routine elemental determination in matrix containing samples, as it does not require special equipment, experimentally derived case-dependent mathematical corrections, or physicochemical removal of interfering elements

Effect of Corn Processing in Finishing Diets Containing Wet Distillers Grains on Feedlot Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Finishing Steers

Three-hundred sixty calf-fed steers (BW = 318 ± 15 kg) were used in a completely randomized design to evaluate corn processing methods in finishing diets containing wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS). Whole corn (WC) was compared with corn processed by different methods, consisting of dryrolled corn (DRC), high-moisture corn (HMC), a 1:1 DRC:HMC combination (DM basis), steam-flaked corn (SFC), and finely-ground corn (FGC). The SFC with a flake density of 0.33 kg/L was obtained from a commercial feedlot. Basal dietary ingredients consisted of ground alfalfa hay (5.6% of DM) and dry supplement (3.0% of DM), with the balance being WDGS (30% of DM) and corn (61.4% of DM). Final BW and ADG were greater (P \u3c 0.05) for the cattle fed DRC (1.84 kg/d) compared with cattle fed FGC (1.53 kg/d), SFC (1.63 kg/d), and WC (1.75 kg/d), but was not different (P = 0.11) from cattle fed DRC:HMC (1.78 kg/d). Cattle fed HMC (0.185) had greater (P \u3c 0.05) G:F compared with cattle fed FGC (0.166), SFC (0.176), and WC (0.166). No differences (P \u3e 0.30) were detected between cattle fed HMC and DRC:HMC for ADG and G:F; however, cattle fed DRC tended to have greater (P = 0.08) ADG, yet lower (P = 0.08) G:F than cattle fed HMC. Carcass characteristics reflected performance. These data indicate that steam flaked and finely ground corn processing methods, or no processing, are not as effective as high-moisture or dry-rolled corn processing methods in finishing diets containing 30% WDGS

Cardiopulmonary Inflammatory Response to Meteorite Dust Exposures - Implications for Human Health on Earth and Beyond

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first time humans set foot on the Moon. The Apollo missions not only help answer questions related to our solar system, they also highlight many hazards associated with human space travel. One major concern is the effect of extraterrestrial dust on astronaut health. In an effort to expand upon previous work indicating lunar dust is respirable and reactive, the authors initiated an extensive study evaluating the role of a particulates innate geochemical features (e.g., bulk chemistry, internal composition, morphology, size, and reactivity) in generating adverse toxicological responses in vitro and in vivo. To allow for a broader planetary and geochemical assessment, seven samples were evaluated: six meteorites from either the Moon, Mars, or Asteroid 4 Vesta and a terrestrial basalt analogue. Even with the relatively small geochemical differences (all samples basaltic in nature), significant difference in cardiopulmonary inflammatory markers developed in both single exposure and multiple exposure studies. More specifically: 1) the single exposure studies reveal relationships between toxicity and a meteorite samples origin, its pre-ejected state (weathered versus un-weathered), and geochemical features (e.g. bulk iron content) and 2) multiple exposure studies reveal a correlation with particle derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and neutrophil infiltration. Extended human exploration will further increase the probability of inadvertent and repeated exposures to extraterrestrial dusts. This comprehensive dataset allows for not only the toxicological evaluation of extraterrestrial materials but also clarifies important correlations between geochemistry and health. The utilization of an array of extraterrestrial samples from Moon, Mars, and asteroid 4Vesta will enable the development of a geochemical based toxicological hazard model that can be used for: 1) mission planning, 2) rapid risk assessment in cases of unexpected exposures, and 3) evaluation of the efficacy of various in situ techniques in gauging surface dust toxicity. Furthermore, by better understanding the importance of geochemical features on exposure related health outcomes in space, it is possible to better understand of the deleterious nature of dust exposure on Earth