Materials library collections as tools for interdisciplinary research

This paper examines how materials libraries are used as tools for interdisciplinary collaboration in 3 research projects that inhabit a disciplinary triangle between materials research, design and user needs: PhysFeel, which explores how materials collections can be used in psychological therapies; Light.Touch.Matters, a design-led project to develop new smart materials; and Hands of X, which uses materials collections to develop a bespoke prosthetics service. The paper analyses and contrasts these case studies to better understand the affordances and limitations of materials collections when used as research, translational and design tools. We conclude that in collaborations between materials researchers, designers and end users, tensions arise as a result of the primacy that each partner gives to creativity, the development of new knowledge and to solving societal problems. The use of a materials library addresses many of these issues but is not a panacea for all the problems associated with interdisciplinary working

Cascade metathesis reactions for the synthesis of taxane and isotaxane derivatives

Tricyclic isotaxane and taxane derivatives and have been synthesized by a very efficient cascade ring-closing dienyne metathesis (RCDEYM) reaction, which formed the A and B rings in one operation. When the alkyne is present at C13 (with no neighboring gem-dimethyl group), the RCEDYM reaction leads to 14,15-isotaxanes 16a,b and 18b with the gem-dimethyl group on the A ring. If the alkyne is at the C11 position (and thus flanked by a gem-dimethyl group), RCEDYM reaction only proceeds in the presence of a trisubstituted olefin at C13, which disfavors the competing diene ring-closing metathesis reaction, to give the tricyclic core of Taxol 44

Advertising in Medical Journals: Should Current Practices Change?

Fugh-Berman and colleagues surveyed medical journals' policies and practices on advertising. Pharmaceutical products, they say, dominate journals' advertising pages, creating conflicts of interests

Spontaneous central venous thrombosis and shunt occlusion following peritoneovenous shunt placement for intractable ascites

A 43-year-old man had a peritoneovenous shunt inserted for the treatment of chylous ascites secondary to myelofibrosis. Despite being on anticoagulation for superior mesenteric vein thrombosis, he developed shunt dysfunction within two weeks of insertion. Superior venacavography showed multiple filling defects in the right axillary vein, no filling of the right brachiocephalic and right subclavian vein, and thrombotic occlusion of the internal jugular veins bilaterally. The shunt was removed 11 days after insertion, and there was extensive thrombosis of the venous end of the shunt and the compressible pump chamber. Shunt thrombosis is known to occur but remains a rare complication, with 87% of such obstructions being due to a thrombus at the tip of the venous end of the shunt. Extensive thrombosis of the shunt (as in the present case) is very rare

Multicolor Photometric Observations of Optical Candidates to Faint ROSAT X-ray Sources in a 1 deg2^2 field of the BATC Survey

We present optical candidates for 75 X-ray sources in a $\sim 1$ deg$^2$ overlapping region with the medium deep ROSAT survey. These candidates are selected using the multi-color CCD imaging observations made for the T329 field of the Beijing-Arizona-Taipei-Connecticut (BATC) Sky Survey. These X-ray sources are relatively faint (CR $<< 0.2 s^{-1}$) and thus mostly are not included in the RBS catalog, they also remain as X-ray sources without optical candidates in a previous identification program carried out by the Hamburg Quasar Survey. Within their position-error circles, almost all the X-ray sources are observed to have one or more spatially associated optical candidates within them down to the magnitude $m_V \sim 23.1$. We have classified 149 of 156 detected optical candidates with 73 of the 75 X-ray sources with a SED-based Object Classification Approach (SOCA). These optical candidates include: 31 QSOs, 39 stars, 37 starburst galaxies, 42 galaxies, and 7 "just" visible objects. We have also cross-correlated the positions of these optical objects with NED, the FIRST radio source catalog and the 2MASS catalog. Separately, we have also SED-classified the remaining 6011 objects in our field of view. Optical objects are found at the $6.5\sigma$ level above what one would expect from a random distribution, only QSOs are over-represented in these error circles at greater than 4$\sigma$ frequency. We estimate redshifts for all extragalactic objects, and find a good correspondence of our predicted redshift with the measured redshift (a mean error of 0.04 in $\Delta z$. There appears to be a supercluster at z $\sim$ 0.3-0.35 in this direction, including many of the galaxies in the X-ray error circles are found in this redshift range.Comment: 45 pages, 21 figures, AJ in press, Version with full resolution figures available from http://www.lamost.org/~zht/xray.zi

The Brera Multi-scale Wavelet Chandra Survey. I. Serendipitous source catalogue

We present the BMW-Chandra source catalogue drawn from essentially all Chandra ACIS-I pointed observations with an exposure time in excess of 10ks public as of March 2003 (136 observations). Using the wavelet detection algorithm developed by Lazzati et al. (1999) and Campana et al. (1999), which can characterise both point-like and extended sources, we identified 21325 sources. Among them, 16758 are serendipitous, i.e. not associated with the targets of the pointings, and do not require a non-automated analysis. This makes our catalogue the largest compilation of Chandra sources to date. The 0.5--10 keV absorption corrected fluxes of these sources range from ~3E-16 to 9E-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1 with a median of 7E-15 erg cm^-2 s^-1. The catalogue consists of count rates and relative errors in three energy bands (total, 0.5-7keV; soft, 0.5-2keV; and hard, 2-7keV), and source positions relative to the highest signal-to-noise detection among the three bands. The wavelet algorithm also provides an estimate of the extension of the source. We include information drawn from the headers of the original files, as well, and extracted source counts in four additional energy bands, SB1 (0.5-1keV), SB2 (1-2keV), HB1 (2-4keV), and HB2 (4-7keV). We computed the sky coverage for the full catalogue and for a subset at high Galactic latitude (|b|> 20deg). The complete catalogue provides a sky coverage in the soft band (0.5-2keV, S/N =3) of ~8 deg^2 at a limiting flux of 1E-13 erg cm^-2 s^-1, and ~2 deg^2 at a limiting flux of ~1E-15 erg cm^-2 s^-1.Comment: Accepted by A&A, Higher res. Figs 4 and 5 at http://www.ifc.inaf.it/~romano/BMC/Docs/aapaper/9601f4.eps http://www.ifc.inaf.it/~romano/BMC/Docs/aapaper/9601f5.eps, Catalog Web pages: http://www.brera.inaf.it/BMC/bmc_home.html http://www.ifc.inaf.it/~romano/BMC/bmc_home.html (Mirror

Application of Ionic Liquids in the Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Proanthocyanidins from Larix gmelini Bark

Ionic liquid based, microwave-assisted extraction (ILMAE) was successfully applied to the extraction of proanthocyanidins from Larix gmelini bark. In this work, in order to evaluate the performance of ionic liquids in the microwave-assisted extraction process, a series of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids with different cations and anions were evaluated for extraction yield, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide was selected as the optimal solvent. In addition, the ILMAE procedure for the proanthocyanidins was optimized and compared with other conventional extraction techniques. Under the optimized conditions, satisfactory extraction yield of the proanthocyanidins was obtained. Relative to other methods, the proposed approach provided higher extraction yield and lower energy consumption. The Larix gmelini bark samples before and after extraction were analyzed by Thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the ILMAE method is a simple and efficient technique for sample preparation

Use of complementary/alternative therapies by women with advanced-stage breast cancer

BACKGROUND: This study sought to describe the pattern of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) use among a group of patients with advanced breast cancer, to examine the main reasons for their CAM use, to identify patient's information sources and their communication pattern with their physicians. METHODS: Face-to-face structured interviews of patients with advanced-stage breast cancer at a comprehensive oncology center. RESULTS: Seventy three percent of patients used CAM; relaxation/meditative techniques and herbal medicine were the most common. The most commonly cited primary reason for CAM use was to boost the immune system, the second, to treat cancer; however these reasons varied depending on specific CAM therapy. Friends or family members and mass media were common primary information source's about CAM. CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of advanced-stage breast cancer patients used CAM. Discussion with doctors was high for ingested products. Mass media was a prominent source of patient information. Credible sources of CAM information for patients and physicians are needed