Multimodal Magnetic Resonance and Near-Infrared-Fluorescent Imaging of Intraperitoneal Ovarian Cancer Using a Dual-Mode-Dual-Gadolinium Liposomal Contrast Agent.

The degree of tumor removal at surgery is a major factor in predicting outcome for ovarian cancer. A single multimodality agent that can be used with magnetic resonance (MR) for staging and pre-surgical planning, and with optical imaging to aid surgical removal of tumors, would present a new paradigm for ovarian cancer. We assessed whether a dual-mode, dual-Gadolinium (DM-Dual-Gd-ICG) contrast agent can be used to visualize ovarian tumors in the peritoneal cavity by multimodal MR and near infra-red imaging (NIR). Intraperitoneal ovarian tumors (Hey-A8 or OVCAR3) in mice enhanced on MR two days after intravenous DM-Dual Gd-ICG injection compared to controls (SNR, CNR, p < 0.05, n = 6). As seen on open abdomen and excised tumors views and confirmed by optical radiant efficiency measurement, Hey-A8 or OVCAR3 tumors from animals injected with DM-Dual Gd-ICG had increased fluorescence (p < 0.05, n = 6). This suggests clinical potential to localize ovarian tumors by MR for staging and surgical planning, and, by NIR at surgery for resection

Experimental realization of the Yang-Baxter Equation via NMR interferometry

The Yang-Baxter equation is an important tool in theoretical physics, with many applications in different domains that span from condensed matter to string theory. Recently, the interest on the equation has increased due to its connection to quantum information processing. It has been shown that the Yang-Baxter equation is closely related to quantum entanglement and quantum computation. Therefore, owing to the broad relevance of this equation, besides theoretical studies, it also became significant to pursue its experimental implementation. Here, we show an experimental realization of the Yang-Baxter equation and verify its validity through a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) interferometric setup. Our experiment was performed on a liquid state Iodotrifluoroethylene sample which contains molecules with three qubits. We use Controlled-transfer gates that allow us to build a pseudo-pure state from which we are able to apply a quantum information protocol that implements the Yang-Baxter equation.Comment: 10 pages and 6 figure

Histochemistry and anatomy of phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae) nodosities on young roots of grapevine (Vitis spp).

Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae FITCH) induce galls (nodosities) on young grapevine roots. Histological and histochemical methods were applied to study the gall's morphology and enzyme activities (peroxidases, leucine aminopeptidases and acidic phosphatases). Susceptible V. vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon was compared to the resistant rootstock 5 BB (V. berlandieri x V. riparia) using aseptic dual culture conditions. The gall induction phase was analyzed before visible signs of potential resistance responses were detected. Elevated metabolic activity has been found in nodosities compared to uninfected roots. Starch granule incorporation was detected in young galls and was highest at the feeding site. As galls mature, the starch density decreased at the feeding site and increased towards the periphery of the gall. Peroxidase, acidic phosphatase and leucine aminopeptidase activities were highest at the incision. No differences in enzyme activities could be detected between the two cultivars tested.

On the Role of Renewable Energy Policies and Electric Vehicle Deployment Incentives for a Greener Sector Coupling

Various incentives are introduced for the expansion of electric vehicle fleets and electricity generation from renewable energy resources. Although many researchers studied the effect of these policies on the related sector, there is no study investigating the indirect effect of renewable energy incentives on the deployment of electric vehicles or the indirect effect of electric vehicle adoption policies on the long-term integration of renewable energy resources. The main contribution of this paper is to analyze the impact of the specific incentives on both deployment of electric vehicles in the transportation system and investment in capacity generation in the electricity market. For this purpose, a new framework was designed to analyze the effect of policies on the electric vehicle deployment and development of DC charging stations based on the system dynamics approach. Then, this framework was combined with the existing dynamic models of the electricity market to study the interaction and behavior of both coupled systems from the policymakers' perspective. The effect of policies implementation was interpreted in a mathematical framework and the Net Present Value method was used for assessing the investment in charging infrastructures. Simulation results of a case study in the United States and sensitivity analysis illustrate that increasing the wind capacity incentives accelerated the electrification of the transportation system and increasing the incentives for electrification of transportation system influences wind capacity positively. Moreover, the sensitivity of the electric vehicle adoption to gas price is more than the sensitivity of the wind capacity penetration to gas price

A Flexible Responsive Load Economic Model for Industrial Demands

The best pricing method for any company in a perfectly competitive market is the pricing scheme with regards to the marginal cost. In contrast to this environment, there is a market with imperfect competition. In this market, the price can be affected by some players in the generation/demand side (i.e., suppliers and/or buyers). In the economic literature, “market power” refers to a company that has the power to affect prices. In fact, market power is often defined as the ability to divert prices from competitive levels. In the electricity market, especially because of the integration of intermittent renewable energy resources (RESs) along with the inflexibility of demand, there are levels of market power on the supply side. Hence, implementation of demand response (DR) programs is necessary to increase the flexibility of the demand side to deal with the intermittency of renewable generations and at the same time tackle the market power of the supply side. This paper uses economic theories and mathematical formulations to develop a flexible responsive load economic model (FRLEM) based on real-time pricing (RTP) to show modification of the load profile and mitigation of the energy costs for an industrial zone. This model was developed based on constant elasticity of the substitution utility function, known as one of the most popular utility functions in microeconomics

Mathematical Models for Estimating the Risk of vCJD Transmission

We present two different simple models for vCJD transmission by blood transfusion. Both models indicate that transfusions alone are unlikely to cause more than a few infections, unless the number of primary cases increases. To improve our models, future work should pursue data collection, empirical estimation of the model parameters, and examination of the underlying assumptions of our frameworks. Further improvements could also include examining susceptibility to vCJD infection by age group and iatrogenic infections introduced through surgical instruments. Regarding the latter, it may be worthwhile to conduct experiments to quantify the transmission of prions from an infected surgical instrument after repeated sterilization procedures