An analysis is presented that addresses the grain growth in 0.5 μm thick Cu films on Si substrates. Samples were thermally cycled to several maximum temperatures up to 500 °C in order to identify the ...evolution of grain size with temperature. Grain-morphological studies by focussed ion beam microscopy, as well as transmission and scanning electron microscopy were performed before and after thermal cycling. Additionally, in-situ measurements of stress and resistivity were carried out. During the first heating up to 500 °C the grains grow from 60 nm to approximately the tenfold size. The enlargement occurs by the growth of a few grains which consume the surrounding (stagnant) fine-grained matrix until the large grains meet and the fine-grained matrix is completely consumed. No other texture components than {111} were found before and after thermal cycling. An estimation yields the grain-boundary energy as the decisive driving force for the abnormal grain growth observed.
The aquarium trade and other wildlife consumers are at a crossroads forced by threats from global climate change and other anthropogenic stressors that have weakened coastal ecosystems. While the ...wildlife trade may put additional stress on coral reefs, it brings income into impoverished parts of the world and may stimulate interest in marine conservation. To better understand the influence of the trade, we must first be able to quantify coral reef fauna moving through it. Herein, we discuss the lack of a data system for monitoring the wildlife aquarium trade and analyze problems that arise when trying to monitor the trade using a system not specifically designed for this purpose. To do this, we examined an entire year of import records of marine tropical fish entering the United States in detail, and discuss the relationship between trade volume, biodiversity and introduction of non-native marine fishes. Our analyses showed that biodiversity levels are higher than previous estimates. Additionally, more than half of government importation forms have numerical or other reporting discrepancies resulting in the overestimation of trade volumes by 27%. While some commonly imported species have been introduced into the coastal waters of the USA (as expected), we also found that some uncommon species in the trade have also been introduced. This is the first study of aquarium trade imports to compare commercial invoices to government forms and provides a means to, routinely and in real time, examine the biodiversity of the trade in coral reef wildlife species.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Analyses evaluate predictive blood tests to identify patients who often survive 1 and 2 years. A four-test model includes: albumin, absolute neutrophil count, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, and ...lymphocyte-monocyte ratio. Individual tests include: alkaline phosphatase, lymphocytes, white blood count, platelet count, and hemoglobin. Eligible patients have advanced: resistant 3.sup.rd line colorectal, and both resistant and new pancreatic and intrahepatic bile duct cancers. Eligibility characteristics include: biopsy-proven, measurable metastatic disease, NCI grade 0-2 blood tests, Karnofsky Score 100-50, and any adult age. Drugs are given at 1/4-1/3 of their standard dosages biweekly: gemcitabine, irinotecan, fluorouracil, leucovorin, and day 2 oxaliplatin every 2 weeks. In case of progression, Docetaxel is added (except colon cancer), with or without Mitomycin C, and next cetuximab (except pancreatic and KRAS BRAF mutation cancers). Bevacizumab is substituted for cetuximab in case of another progression or ineligibility. Consent was written and conforms with Helsinki, IRB, and FDA criteria (FDA #119005). Median survival is 14.5 months. Of 205 patients, 60% survive 12, and 37% survive 24 months (95% CI ± 8%). Survival is > 24, 13, and 3.8 months for patients with 0, 1-2, and 3-4 unfavorable tests, respectively. Individual "favorable and unfavorable" tests predict long and short survival. Neither age nor prior therapy discernibly affects survival. Net rates of clinically significant toxicities are less than 5%. Treatments reproduce predictable, greater than 12 and 24-month chances of survival for the aged and for patients with drug-resistant tumors. Evaluation of blood tests may change practice, expand eligibility, and personalize treatments. Findings support investigation of drug combinations and novel dosages to reverse resistance and improve safety.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
An analysis that addresses the strain-hardening behavior of thin metallic films on substrates is presented. Stress measurements were made on 0.5 μm thick Cu films on Si substrates during thermal ...cycling, during stress relaxation at room temperature (RT), and after quenching in liquid nitrogen. Significant strengthening was observed in the thermal cycle during cooling. The stress relaxation at RT shows a decrease of the stress from 360 MPa to 290 MPa within 15 months. A theoretical approach to the strengthening phenomenon is made on the basis of the Peach–Koehler dislocation-interaction forces. It shows that adding threading dislocations into a parallel array of dislocations at the film–substrate interface can contribute significantly to the strain hardening of thin films. The calculated strain hardening accounts for a large portion of the observed strengthening.
In June 2007, the US government proposed Corallium (pink and red corals) for listing on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The proposal was adopted ...and later overturned due to perceived difficulties in implementing and enforcing a CITES listing and uncertainties on population status. An expert review (Food and Agriculture Organization) questioned whether populations had declined to 20-30% of the historic baseline, the level required for a CITES Appendix II listing. This review used colony abundance and density as surrogates of decline, which may be high (200 to 1300 colonies m super(-2)) in the Mediterranean. Yet assessments of decline for colonial organisms should also consider changes in size, since reproductive output and survival increase exponentially with size. Colonies of C. rubrum historically achieved heights of 50 cm with complex first, second and third order branching patterns. Today, >90% of colonies in fished areas are 3 to 5 cm tall, <50% are sexually mature and most have only rudimentary branches. Few population data are available for Pacific Corallium spp.; however, landings over the last 15 yr have declined from 100-400 to <5 t yr super(-1). Recovery of populations to their natural state may require decades, as colonies in protected areas are less than half their historic size after 20 to 30 yr of protection. Minimum allowable size for harvest should be increased because traditionally determined growth rates appear to underestimate colony age, and corals are being removed long before achieving maximum sustainable yield. 'Boom and bust' cycles of Corallium fisheries and dramatic, long-lasting shifts in population demography highlight the need for improved management and trade regulations.
Three independent line intercept transect surveys on northern Red Sea reef slopes conducted in 1988/9 and 1997/8 in Egypt and from 2006-9 in Saudi Arabia were used to compare community patterns and ...coral size. Coral communities showed scale-dependent variability, highest at fine spatial and taxonomic scale (species-specific within and among reef patterns). At coarser scale (generic pattern across regions), patterns were more uniform (regionally consistent generic dominance on differently exposed reef slopes and at different depths). Neither fine- nor coarse-scale patterns aligned along the sampled 1700 km latitudinal gradient. Thus, a latitudinal gradient that had been described earlier from comparable datasets, separating the Red Sea into three faunistic zones, was no longer apparent. This may indicate subtle changes in species distributions. Coral size, measured as corrected average intercept of corals in transects, had decreased from 1997 to 2009, after having remained constant from 1988 to 1997. Recruitment had remained stable (∼12 juvenile corals per m(2)). Size distributions had not changed significantly but large corals had declined over 20 years. Thus, data from a wide range of sites taken over two decades support claims by others that climate change is indeed beginning to show clear effects on Red Sea reefs.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Coastal habitat quality and quantity have been significantly eroded by stressors operating and interacting across the land-sea interface, prompting a recent proliferation in coastal restoration ...programs worldwide. These initiatives often recognize connectivity as a critical driver of ecosystem functioning, yet most do not include connectivity as a spatially explicit, quantitative criterion during the planning process. Here, we demonstrate the use of spatial graph models to quantify potential functional connectivity for 2 multi-habitat-utilizing reef fish species known to transport nutrients from nearshore mangrove and seagrass nurseries to oligotrophic offshore reefs. Applying the method across sites considered by a multi-million dollar coral restoration program in the Florida Keys, USA, revealed locations where out-planted corals are likely to benefit most from enhanced functional connectivity in the form of nutrient provisioning and other consumer-driven processes. Opportunities for positive fish-coral interactions varied between fish species, owing to selective patterns of habitat use, highlighting the need for species-specific connectivity assessments, even within a trophic guild. Connectivity estimates for candidate restoration sites were influenced more strongly by habitat composition (which influences fish foraging and shelter resources) than by proximity to potential mangrove and seagrass nurseries, emphasizing the importance of considering both seascape composition and configuration in restoration design. Ecologically and economically effective restoration strategies are urgently required to curb rapid declines in coral reef architectural complexity, ecological function, and resilience. Our study illustrates the utility of spatial graphs as a data- and resource-efficient technique for quantifying and communicating complex ecological connectivity information in service of such efforts.
Introduction Routine blood tests are prognostic tests for patients with cholangiocarcinoma. New drug regimens may produce a median overall survival of 2 years or more. Methods This single practice, ...IRB-approved, phase II trial examines prognostic tests, Kaplan-Meier survival, and univariate Cox regression analyses. Eligibility requires: intent-to-treat; signed consent; advanced measurable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, with or without resistance to the test drugs; any adult age; performance status 0–2; and expected survival of ≥ 6 weeks. Biweekly treatment, with 1/3 of standard dosages in mg/M 2 , includes: Gemcitabine 500; 5-Fluorouracil 1200 over 24 hours; Leucovorin 180; Irinotecan 80; and on day 2, Oxaliplatin 40. On progression, drugs are added on day 2: first, Docetaxel 25 precedes Oxaliplatin, with or without Mitomycin C 6 after Oxaliplatin. The next sequential additions are day 1, Cetuximab 400 total mg, then 200 mg weekly, and then Bevacizumab 10 mg/kg is substituted for Cetuximab (FDA IND# 119005). Results For 35 patients, 19 with 1–2 lines of prior therapy, resistant tumors, and 16 no prior therapy, survival at 24-months is ≥ 72 and ≥ 58%, respectively. For 14 patients aged ≥ 70 years, ≥ 63% survive 24 months, P = 0.28. Validated tests that predict ≤ 6-month survivals find median survival times of 17-months through > 2-years when compared to patients with favorable tests: Neutrophils lymphocyte ratio > 3.0, HR = 6.54, P < 6.4x10–3; absolute neutrophil count > 8000/μl, HR = 4.95, P < 6.5x10–3; serum albumin < 3.5 g/dl, HR = 4.10, P < 0.03; and lymphocyte monocyte ratio< 2.1, HR = 1.6, P = 0.50. Overall, the 76 (60–90)% of patients with 0–2 out of 4 high risk tests survive ≥ 24 months, (P = 7.1x10–3). Treatments produce neither hospitalization, neutropenic fever, severe enteritis, nor severe neuropathies. Conclusion Two-year survival is replicable and predictable. Findings warrant phase III validation tests of sequential regimens, re-challenge with recombination, low dosages, and blood tests that are associated with lethal mechanisms that impair response and survival.
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