Long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are dysregulated in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM)

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer that is often diagnosed at an advanced stage and is characterized by a long latency period (20-40 years between initial exposure and diagnosis) and prior exposure to asbestos. Currently accurate diagnosis of MPM is difficult due to the lack of sensitive biomarkers and despite minor improvements in treatment, median survival rates do not exceed 12 months. Accumulating evidence suggests that aberrant expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important functional role in cancer biology. LncRNAs are a class of recently discovered non-protein coding RNAs >200 nucleotides in length with a role in regulating transcription. Here we used NCode long noncoding microarrays to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs potentially involved in MPM pathogenesis. High priority candidate lncRNAs were selected on the basis of statistical (P<0.05) and biological significance (>3-fold difference). Expression levels of 9 candidate lncRNAs were technically validated using RT-qPCR, and biologically validated in three independent test sets: (1) 57 archived MPM tissues obtained from extrapleural pneumonectomy patients, (2) 15 cryopreserved MPM and 3 benign pleura, and (3) an extended panel of 10 MPM cell lines. RT-qPCR analysis demonstrated consistent up-regulation of these lncRNAs in independent datasets. ROC curve analysis showed that two candidates were able to separate benign pleura and MPM with high sensitivity and specificity, and were associated with nodal metastases and survival following induction chemotherapy. These results suggest that lncRNAs have potential to serve as biomarkers in MPM.

Numerical modelling of load bearing light gauge steel frame wall systems exposed to realistic design fires

Fire safety has become an important part in structural design due to the ever increasing loss of properties and lives during fires. Conventionally the fire rating of load bearing wall systems made of Light gauge Steel Frames (LSF) is determined using fire tests based on the standard time-temperature curve in ISO834 [1]. However, modern commercial and residential buildings make use of thermoplastic materials, which mean considerably high fuel loads. Hence a detailed fire research study into the fire performance of LSF walls was undertaken using realistic design fire curves developed based on Eurocode parametric [2] and Barnett’s BFD [3] curves using both full scale fire tests and numerical studies. It included LSF walls without cavity insulation, and the recently developed externally insulated composite panel system. This paper presents the details of finite element models developed to simulate the full scale fire tests of LSF wall panels under realistic design fires. Finite element models of LSF walls exposed to realistic design fires were developed, and analysed under both transient and steady state fire conditions using the measured stud time-temperature curves. Transient state analyses were performed to simulate fire test conditions while steady state analyses were performed to obtain the load ratio versus time and failure temperature curves of LSF walls. Details of the developed finite element models and the results including the axial deformation and lateral deflection versus time curves, and the stud failure modes and times are presented in this paper. Comparison with fire test results demonstrate the ability of developed finite element models to predict the performance and fire resistance ratings of LSF walls under realistic design fires.

IEEE 802.11p empirical performance model from evaluations on test tracks

IEEE 802.11p is the new standard for intervehicular communications (IVC) using the 5.9 GHz frequency band; it is planned to be widely deployed to enable cooperative systems. 802.11p uses and performance have been studied theoretically and in simulations over the past years. Unfortunately, many of these results have not been confirmed by on-tracks experimentation. In this paper, we describe field trials of 802.11p technology with our test vehicles; metrics such as maximum range, latency and frame loss are examined. Then, we propose a detailed modelisation of 802.11p that can be used to accurately simulate its performance within Cooperative Systems (CS) applications.

Integrin-functionalized artificial membranes as test platforms for monitoring small integrin ligand binding by surface plasmon-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy

The design and synthesis of molecularly or supramolecularly defined interfacial architectures have seen in recent years a remarkable growth of interest and scientific research activities for various reasons. On the one hand, it is generally believed that the construction of an interactive interface between the living world of cells, tissue, or whole organisms and the (inorganic or organic) materials world of technical devices such as implants or medical parts requires proper construction and structural (and functional) control of this organism–machine interface. It is still the very beginning of generating a better understanding of what is needed to make an organism tolerate implants, to guarantee bidirectional communication between microelectronic devices and living tissue, or to simply construct interactive biocompatibility of surfaces in general. This exhaustive book lucidly describes the design, synthesis, assembly and characterization, and bio-(medical) applications of interfacial layers on solid substrates with molecularly or supramolecularly controlled architectures. Experts in the field share their contributions that have been developed in recent years.

Use of cadavers and anthropometric test devices (ATDs) for assessing lower limb injury outcome from under‐vehicle explosions

Lower extremities are particularly susceptible to injury in an under‐vehicle explosion. Operational fitness of military vehicles is assessed through anthropometric test devices (ATDs) in full‐scale blast tests. The aim of this study was to compare the response between the Hybrid‐III ATD, the MiL‐Lx ATD and cadavers in our traumatic injury simulator, which is able to replicate the response of the vehicle floor in an under‐vehicle explosion. All specimens were fitted with a combat boot and tested on our traumatic injury simulator in a seated position. The load recorded in the ATDs was above the tolerance levels recommended by NATO in all tests; no injuries were observed in any of the 3 cadaveric specimens. The Hybrid‐III produced higher peak forces than the MiL‐Lx. The time to peak strain in the calcaneus of the cadavers was similar to the time to peak force in the ATDs. Maximum compression of the sole of the combat boot was similar for cadavers and MiL‐Lx, but significantly greater for the Hybrid‐III. These results suggest that the MiL‐Lx has a more biofidelic response to under‐vehicle explosive events compared to the Hybrid‐III. Therefore, it is recommended that mitigation strategies are assessed using the MiL‐Lx surrogate and not the Hybrid‐III.

Test-retest reliability of four physical activity measures used in population surveys

Accurate monitoring of prevalence and trends in population levels of physical activity (PA) is a fundamental public health need. Test-retest reliability (repeatability) was assessed in population samples for four self-report PA measures: the Active Australia survey (AA, N=356), the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ, N=104), the physical activity items in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS, N=127) and in the Australian National Health Survey (NHS, N=122). Percent agreement and Kappa statistics were used to assess reliability of classification of activity status as 'active', 'insufficiently active' or 'sedentary'. Intraclass correlations (ICCs) were used to assess agreement on minutes of activity reported for each item of each survey and for total minutes. Percent agreement scores for activity status were very good on all four instruments, ranging from 60% for the NHS to 79% for the IPAQ. Corresponding Kappa statistics ranged from 0.40 (NHS) to 0.52 (AA). For individual items, ICCs were highest for walking (0.45 to 0.78) and vigorous activity (0.22 to 0.64) and lowest for the moderate questions (0.16 to 0.44). All four measures provide acceptable levels of test-retest reliability for assessing both activity status and sedentariness, and moderate reliability for assessing total minutes of activity.

Information systems success research : the “20-year update?” panel report from PACIS, 2011

This article summarizes a panel held at the 15th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) in Brisbane, Austrailia, in 2011. The panelists proposed a new research agenda for information systems success research. The DeLone and McLean IS Success Model has been one of the most influential models in Information Systems research. However, the nature of information systems continues to change. Information systems are increasingly implemented across layers of infrastructure and application architecture. The diffusion of information systems into many spheres of life means that information systems success needs to be considered in multiple contexts. Services play a much more prominent role in the economies of countries, making the “service” context of information systems increasingly important. Further, improved understandings of theory and measurement offer new opportunities for novel approaches and new research questions about information systems success.

Ambiguity Acceptance Testing : A Comparison of the Ratio Test and Difference Test

Integer ambiguity resolution is an indispensable procedure for all high precision GNSS applications. The correctness of the estimated integer ambiguities is the key to achieving highly reliable positioning, but the solution cannot be validated with classical hypothesis testing methods. The integer aperture estimation theory unifies all existing ambiguity validation tests and provides a new prospective to review existing methods, which enables us to have a better understanding on the ambiguity validation problem. This contribution analyses two simple but efficient ambiguity validation test methods, ratio test and difference test, from three aspects: acceptance region, probability basis and numerical results. The major contribution of this paper can be summarized as: (1) The ratio test acceptance region is overlap of ellipsoids while the difference test acceptance region is overlap of half-spaces. (2) The probability basis of these two popular tests is firstly analyzed. The difference test is an approximation to optimal integer aperture, while the ratio test follows an exponential relationship in probability. (3) The limitations of the two tests are firstly identified. The two tests may under-evaluate the failure risk if the model is not strong enough or the float ambiguities fall in particular region. (4) Extensive numerical results are used to compare the performance of these two tests. The simulation results show the ratio test outperforms the difference test in some models while difference test performs better in other models. Particularly in the medium baseline kinematic model, the difference tests outperforms the ratio test, the superiority is independent on frequency number, observation noise, satellite geometry, while it depends on success rate and failure rate tolerance. Smaller failure rate leads to larger performance discrepancy.

Test-retest reliability of physical activity measures used in Australian population surveys

PURPOSE Accurate monitoring of prevalence and trends in population levels of physical activity is fundamental to the planning of health promotion and disease-prevention strategies. Test-retest reliability (repeatability) was assessed for four self-report measures of physical activity commonly used in population surveys: the Active Australia survey (AA, N=356), the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-S, N=104), the physical activity items in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS, N=127) and the physical activity items in the Australian National Health Survey (NHS, N=122). METHODS Percent agreement and Kappa statistics were used to assess the reliability of classification of activity status (where ‘active’= 150 minutes of activity per week) and sedentariness (where ‘sedentary’ = reporting no physical activity). Intraclass correlations (ICCs) were used to assess agreement on minutes of activity reported for each item of each survey and on total minutes reported in each survey. RESULTS Percent agreement scores for both activity status and sedentariness were very good on all four instruments. Overall the percent agreement between repeated surveys was between 73% (NHS) and 87% (IPAQ) for the criterion measure of achieving 150 minutes per week, and between 77% (NHS) and 89% (IPAQ) for the criterion of being sedentary. Corresponding Kappa statistics ranged from 0.46 (NHS) to 0.61 (AA) for activity status and from 0.20 (BRFSS) to 0.52 (AA) for sedentariness. For the individual items ICCs were highest for walking (0.45 to 0.56) and vigorous activity (0.22 to 0.64) and lowest for the moderate questions (0.16 to 0.44). CONCLUSION All four measures provide acceptable levels of test-retest reliability for assessing both activity status and sedentariness, and moderate reliability for assessing total minutes of activity. Supported by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

Unlocking the "reminder" potential when viewers pause programs : results from a laboratory test of a new online medium

The branded pause advertisement is a recently developed online television-advertising format that displays a full-screen still-image banner ad whenever a viewer pauses a streaming-video program. This study used a controlled lab experiment to compare the effectiveness of branded pause advertisements with normal online television advertisements. The results demonstrate that branded pause advertisements are effective but only when combined with a long-exposure advertisement for the same brand. Despite their short exposure time, pause advertisements function as effective reminders, building awareness through repeat exposure. The findings of the current study were similar regardless of whether pause advertisements were activated as a result of viewers’ pausing at a time of their own choosing or whether viewers were interrupted.

Institutional determinants of growth-aspiration entrepreneurship

The thesis is a country-level study on the institutional and human capital determinants of growth-aspiration entrepreneurial activity. By using country-level panel-data analysis, the study is to our knowledge the first to test to what extent country-level human capital accumulation is associated with the prevalence of growth-aspiration entrepreneurship. Overall findings of the study suggest that there are different effects of the institutional determinants on the prevalence of growth-aspiration entrepreneurship in developing countries and developed countries. The study also found that country-level human capital moderates the effects of the institutional environment.

A hypothesis test using bias-adjusted AR estimators for classifying time series in small samples

A new test of hypothesis for classifying stationary time series based on the bias-adjusted estimators of the fitted autoregressive model is proposed. It is shown theoretically that the proposed test has desirable properties. Simulation results show that when time series are short, the size and power estimates of the proposed test are reasonably good, and thus this test is reliable in discriminating between short-length time series. As the length of the time series increases, the performance of the proposed test improves, but the benefit of bias-adjustment reduces. The proposed hypothesis test is applied to two real data sets: the annual real GDP per capita of six European countries, and quarterly real GDP per capita of five European countries. The application results demonstrate that the proposed test displays reasonably good performance in classifying relatively short time series.

Improving the detection of donations within the RHD negative blood donor panel which weakly express the RHD antigen

This project improved the detection and classification of very weakly expressed RhD variants in the Australian blood donor panel and contributed to the knowledge of anti-D reactivity patterns of RHD alleles that are undescribed. As such, the management of donations possessing these RHD alleles can be improved upon and the overall safety of transfusion medicine pertaining to the Rh blood group system will be increased. Future projects at ARCBS will be able to utilise the procedures developed in this project, thereby decreasing throughput time. The specificity of current testing will be improved and the need for outsourced RHD testing diminished.

Part 2. MOO methods for multidisciplinary design using parallel evolutionary algorithms, game theory and hierarchical topology. (Part 2.) Numerical aspects and implementation of model test cases

These lecture notes describe the use and implementation of a framework in which mathematical as well as engineering optimisation problems can be analysed. The foundations of the framework and algorithms described -Hierarchical Asynchronous Parallel Evolutionary Algorithms (HAPEAs) - lie upon traditional evolution strategies and incorporate the concepts of a multi-objective optimisation, hierarchical topology, asynchronous evaluation of candidate solutions , parallel computing and game strategies. In a step by step approach, the numerical implementation of EAs and HAPEAs for solving multi criteria optimisation problems is conducted providing the reader with the knowledge to reproduce these hand on training in his – her- academic or industrial environment.

Nanofabrication of single-crystalline flat-panel display microemitters : a plasma-building unit approach

This contribution is focused on plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition systems and their unique features that make them particularly attractive for nanofabrication of flat panel display microemitter arrays based on ordered patterns of single-crystalline carbon nanotip structures. The fundamentals of the plasma-based nanofabrication of carbon nanotips and some other important nanofilms and nanostructures are examined. Specific features, challenges, and potential benefits of using the plasma-based systems for relevant nanofabrication processes are analyzed within the framework of the "plasma-building unit" approach that builds up on extensive experimental data on plasma diagnostics and nanofilm/nanostructure characterization, and numerical simulation of the species composition in the ionized gas phase (multicomponent fluid models), ion dynamics and interaction with ordered carbon nanotip patterns, and ab initio computations of chemical structure of single crystalline carbon nanotips. This generic approach is also applicable for nanoscale assembly of various carbon nanostructures, semiconductor quantum dot structures, and nano-crystalline bioceramics. Special attention is paid to most efficient control strategies of the main plasma-generated building units both in the ionized gas phase and on nanostructured deposition surfaces. The issues of tailoring the reactive plasma environments and development of versatile plasma nanofabrication facilities are also discussed.