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Analytical performance of nano-LC-SRM using nondepleted human plasma over an 18-month period
No full textA standardized procedure for label-free nano-LC-SRM analysis of 32 high-medium abundance proteins from nondepleted human plasma was established and SRM data were acquired on 45 separate days for a control sample that was independently prepared on 39 distinct dates over an 18-month period (542 days). This case study enabled us to assess quantitative variance associated with nano-LC-SRM plasma analysis, mimicking experimental conditions that would be experienced with clinical trial biomarker studies. We assessed sample preparation variability attributed to different technicians and sample storage stability. Instrument performance varied over the 18-month period requiring ion path cleaning, so we assessed the impact of declining performance on specific peptide ion sensitivity and evaluated how various data normalization strategies could compensate for these changes. Our analysis demonstrated that while sample preparation was the main contributor for data variances when MS data were acquired within days, variability in SRM sensitivity was a far greater source of variance when data were acquired over a long period. The overall median multiplexed assay CV was 13% over the 18-month period. This case study is illustrative of large-scale plasma biomarker studies using nano-LC-SRM over extended periods and highlights aspects of bioanalysis that require careful attention to ensure reliable quantitation.10 page(s
Welfare programme participation and the wellbeing of non-local rural migrants in metropolitan China : a social exclusion perspective
No full textChina has seen an unprecedented increase in rural-to-urban migrants in the last three decades, and the extension of welfare programmes to these migrants has been a public concern in urban society. The wellbeing of rural-to-urban migrants is closely associated with their access to various welfare programmes. Although pilot reforms on social insurance extension, which often require co-contribution from both employers and employees, have been implemented in several cities, the participation rate remains low. Participation in non-contributory welfare programmes is closely related to the hukou status, which is also undergoing reform. From a social exclusion perspective, this paper examines the critical issues in China’s welfare reforms in relation to the wellbeing of rural to urban migrants. Using qualitative data on welfare programme participation on both institutional and individual levels, this paper argues that the trends of welfare marketization and decentralization lead the welfare provision system to be more selective than universal. This welfare selectivity helps rural migrants with higher economic status become integrated into urban society and enjoy a sense of belonging in cities, while also creating a dual exclusion for rural migrant workers who are disadvantaged in the urban labour market. Individual-level factors, including employment selectivity, information obtainment, settlement intention, and confidence in future reform, influence the choice to participate in welfare programmes. This paper calls for an increased centralization in welfare system reforms.23 page(s
Digital rolling role across global classrooms : a geodramatic framework
No full textThis article focuses on the Sydney case study within the 2013 international Water Reckoning Project (www.water-reckoning.net) – a project which repurposed Dorothy Heathcote’s rolling role curriculum model with digital technologies to connect students and teachers around the world in a common drama, considering the ‘what if’ context of a fictional community, called ‘Ardus Unda’, which was on the brink of an imagined environmental disaster. The article proposes a new geodramatic inquiry framework that draws upon place pedagogy and social ecology to examine the positioning of learners as the drama opened up new ways for them to consider their collective and personal responses to local and global environmental issues. In this project experiences were curated by teacher/researchers and student’s dramatic content was uploaded online for a range of audiences. In analysing the role-based exchanges between students and teachers, as well as focus group data, the writers offer a new framework for researching drama. This geodramatic analysis examines the dynamic interplay of place, time and relationships within a digital rolling role project. Researchers of the Sydney case study also consider the tensions and possibilities of situatedness in a global drama and the implications for applying this digital pedagogical model.13 page(s
Cooperative trifunctional organocatalysts for proficient proton transfer reactions
No full textCooperativity is essential to proficient catalysis, and designing biomimetic, cooperative catalysis is a major avenue to finding new and efficient chemical reactions with practical applications. One challenge in designed cooperative catalysis is to access high catalytic proficiency (large enhancement in both rate and enantioselectivity) as seen in biocatalysis. Here described is an approach of developing and investigating trifunctional organocatalysts with three distinct catalytic functionalities, in order to understand how cooperativity could be organized for enantioselective activation that confers the observed proficiency in a tandem Michael-aldol-proton transfer elimination model reaction. This in future may assist in finding not just cooperative but also regulated catalysis to expand the level of catalytic complexity and efficiency in biomimetic systems.19 page(s
Relationships between syn-orogenic sedimentation and nappe emplacement in the hinterland of the Variscan belt in NW Iberia deduced from detrital zircons
No full textFlysch-type, syn-orogenic deposits of Carboniferous age occur in relation to the emplacement of a large allochthonous nappe stack in the Variscan belt of NW Iberia. New U–Pb age populations of detrital zircons obtained using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are considered together with others from previously dated samples to establish the relationships between sedimentation and thrusting. The age populations of four syn-orogenic formations are compared with those of the pre-orogenic sequence in the Autochthon and Parautochthon, representing the Gondwanan passive margin, and in the Allochthon, formed by peri-Gondwanan and oceanic terranes. In addition, a new structural study has been carried out to understand the relationships between the syn-orogenic deposits and the development of Variscan structures. The aims are to identify the sources of sediments and to establish the relationship between Variscan structural evolution and syn-orogenic sedimentation. Development of a forebulge outwards from the allochthonous front, deduced from the structural study, suggests the existence of depocentres that hosted the syn-orogenic sediments. Together with the trend shown by the more recent zircons in each formation, that are younger towards the external zones, the data suggest that sedimentation occurred in progressively migrating depocentres formed in front of the allochthonous wedge during its emplacement. The zircon age populations point to the Allochthon as the main source of detritus for the syn-orogenic basins, with perhaps a limited participation of the Parautochthon and Autochthon in the younger formations.23 page(s
Genetic testing for the risk of developing late effects among survivors of childhood cancer : consumer understanding, acceptance, and willingness to pay
No full textBackground: Genetic testing to determine cancer survivors' risk of developing late effects from their cancer treatment will be increasingly used in survivorship care. This 2-stage study with 64 survivors of childhood cancer and their parents investigated the preferences and acceptability of testing among those who may be at risk of developing late effects. Methods: The first stage (Stage 1) identified the most commonly perceived benefits and concerns regarding genetic testing for the risk of late effects among 24 participants. In Stage 2, during interviews, 20 survivors (55% of whom were female; mean age, 26.0 years [range, 18-39 years]; standard deviation [SD], 0.80) and 20 parents (55% of whom were male; mean age of child survivor, 14.2 years [range, 10-19 years]; SD, 0.79) rated the 7 most common benefits and concerns from those identified in Stage 1. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed. Decisional balance ratios were calculated by dividing the participants' average concerns scores with the average benefits scores. Results: Genetic testing for late effects was highly acceptable: 95% of participants leaned toward testing, and the majority (65.9%) would pay up to Australian $5000. The majority (97.2%) reported it was acceptable to wait for up to 6 months to receive results, and to be offered testing immediately after treatment or when the survivor reached adulthood (62.9%). Survivors and parents had a highly positive decisional balance (Mean (M), 0.5 [SD, 0.38] and M, 0.5 [SD, 0.39], respectively), indicating that perceived benefits outweighed concerns. Conclusions: Although to our knowledge clinical efficacy has yet to be clearly demonstrated, survivors and parents described positive interest in genetic testing for the risk of developing late effects. Perceived benefits outweighed harms, and the majority of participants would be willing to pay, and wait, for testing.10 page(s
In vitro neuronal depolarization and increased synaptic activity induced by infrared neural stimulation
No full textNeuronal responses to infrared neural stimulation (INS) are explored at the single cell level. We examined membrane and synaptic responses of solitary tract neurons prepared from the Sprague-Dawley rat. Neurons were stimulated using a 1890 nm laser with light delivered via single-mode fiber. We show that infrared radiation increased spontaneous synaptic event frequency, and evoked steady-state currents. The magnitude of the responses was proportional to laser output.2 page(s
Invisible structures as particular solutions of Devaney-Wolf theorem on non-radiating sources
No full textStarting from Devaney-Wolf theorem on non-radiating sources, a general theory for invisible structures is presented, compactly deriving non-scattering devices based on Directional Invisibility, Plasmonic Cloaking, Mantle Cloaking and Anapole modes.2 page(s
Broadband antenna-coupled high-temperature superconducting Josephson-junction mixer for terahertz communication applications
No full textThis paper presents a broadband terahertz (THz) high-temperature superconducting (HTS) mixer based on a log-periodic antenna-coupled YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋ₓ (YBCO) step-edge Josephson junction. The THz thin-film antenna, as well as the microwave coupling circuits, have been carefully designed to optimize the power transmission from and into the junction while realizing good isolation between the DC bias, local-oscillator and intermediate-frequency (IF) ports. This mixer device has been fabricated, packaged and characterized to demonstrate a frequency down-conversion capability with a view to potential application in THz wireless communication systems.2 page(s