The Cancer Genetics Network: recruitment results and pilot studies

OBJECTIVE: The National Cancer Institute established the Cancer Genetics Network (CGN) to support collaborative investigations into the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility, explore mechanisms to integrate this new knowledge into medical practice, and identify ways of addressing the associated psychosocial, ethical, legal, and public health issues. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The CGN has developed the complex infrastructure required to support the projects, including the establishment of guidelines and policies, uniform methods, standard questionnaires to be used by all of the centers, and a standard format for submission of data to the Informatics Center. Cancer patients and their family members have been invited to enroll and be included in a pool of potential study participants. The Information Technology Group is responsible for support of the design, implementation, and maintenance of the multicenter Network-wide research protocols. RESULTS: As of January 2004, the CGN contained data on 23,995 probands (participants) and 425,798 family members. As a resource for cancer genetic studies, the CGN has a large number of probands and first-degree relatives with and without cancer and with multiple ethnicities. Different study designs can be used including case-control, case-case, and family studies. CONCLUSIONS: The unique resources of the CGN are available for studies on cancer genetic susceptibility, translational research, and behavioral research. The CGN is now at a point where approved collaborators may have access to enrolled patients and their families for special studies, as well as to the clinical, environmental and family cancer history data banked in the Informatics Center.     

A comparison of quasi-static uniaxial-strain and hugoniot tests for quartz-phenolic composite

The purpose of this paper is to show that, within experimental uncertainty, the change in volume with stress obtained by quasi-static uniaxial-strain tests matches that obtained by hugoniot experiments over the same pressure range for quartz phenolic. The result of these tests shows that comparing the data by both techniques is meaningful. In addition, the use of the relatively simple and inexpensive quasi-static uniaxial-strain test (strain rates of 10^?4/sec) may provide designers and materials engineers a method for rapid surveying of materials for their hugoniot properties.     

Application of rainbow schlieren deflectometry for concentration measurements in an axisymmetric helium jet

 The rainbow schlieren deflectometry technique was used to measure oxygen concentrations in a laminar, isothermal helium jet discharged vertically into ambient air. The concentration distributions were inferred from the color schlieren image by taking into consideration the sampling interval and noise in measurements, especially near the jet center. Excellent quantitative agreement was reached between measurements from schlieren and a continuous sampling probe. This work demonstrates the capability of the schlieren technique for providing accurate, spatially-resolved, nonintrusive, full-field of view measurements of species concentration in an isothermal binary system. Because the basic quantity measured is the refractive index, the present schlieren technique can be extended for quantitative measurements of other scalar flow properties related to the refractive index. Received: 21 April 1997 / Accepted: 14 November 1997     

High-strain-rate tests on titanium 6-6-2 utilizing a unique rate-testing machine

This paper presents the design of a unique materials-testing system capable of medium strain rates of from 10^?4 to 10²/s. The design incorporates both closed-loop hydraulic operation with that of open-loop pneumatic operation. A novel design permits accurate specimen alignment and a stiff frame which exceeds 17×10⁶ lb/in. (11.7×10⁴ MPa). The mechanine is able to perform conventional tension/compression tests, fatigue tests and, with slight modification, biaxial-stress-tube tests and triaxial-stress tests. The accurate alignment capability coupled with high frame stiffness and the pneumatic operation enables the testing of brittle materials with rigid grips. Titanium 6-6-2 was tested in both tension and compression at strain rates from 10^?4 to about 10/s at four selected temperatures. The material showed a slight strain-rate sensitivity. Yield stress was shown to increase with strain rate while ductility decreased at each test temperature.     

Characterization of Isomeric Cyclopentenone-Cycloheptene Photoadducts By 13C NMR Spectroscopy

The photochemistry of simple, alicyclic enones has been the subject of extensive study during the last decade, and this area is the subject of a recent review.² Investigation of the crossed-cycloaddition of cyclopentenone to a variety of alkenes was undertaken in our laboratory in connection with a program of synthesis of precursors for nonbenzenoid, aromatic systems. In a previous report³ we described the photoaddition of cyclopentenone to cycloheptene, from which four products were identified.     

Multi-criteria logistics modeling for military humanitarian assistance and disaster relief aerial delivery operations

Given that it is not always feasible to reach an affected area via land or sea within the first week following a natural disaster, aerial delivery provides the primary means to rapidly supply the affected population. Further, it is often the case that high density delivery of humanitarian aid supplies are taken over by non-friendly groups within the affected population. By using direct airdrop systems to deliver large quantities of individually wrapped food and water items, dispersion among the affected disaster relief population will occur more quickly. In this paper, we proffer a multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework to optimize the military humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) aerial delivery supply chain network. The model uses stochastic, mixed-integer, weighted goal programming to optimize network design, logistics costs, staging locations, procurement amounts, and inventory levels. The MCDA framework enables decision-makers to explore the trade-offs between military HA/DR aerial delivery supply chain efficiency and responsiveness, while optimizing across a wide range of real-world, probabilistic scenarios to account for the inherent uncertainty in the location of global humanitarian disasters as well as the amount of demand to be met.     

An Antibody with a Variable‐Region Coiled‐Coil “Knob” Domain

The X‐ray crystal structure of a bovine antibody (BLV1H12) revealed a unique structure in its ultralong heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3H) that folds into a solvent‐exposed β‐strand “stalk” fused to a disulfide crosslinked “knob” domain. We have substituted an antiparallel heterodimeric coiled‐coil motif for the β‐strand stalk in this antibody. The resulting antibody (Ab‐coil) expresses in mammalian cells and has a stability similar to that of the parent bovine antibody. MS analysis of H–D exchange supports the coiled‐coil structure of the substituted peptides. Substitution of the knob‐domain of Ab‐coil with bovine granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (bGCSF) results in a stably expressed chimeric antibody, which proliferates mouse NFS‐60 cells with a potency comparable to that of bGCSF. This work demonstrates the utility of this novel coiled‐coil CDR3 motif as a means for generating stable, potent antibody fusion proteins with useful pharmacological properties.     

Spin‐State Ordering on One Sub‐lattice of a Mononuclear Iron(III) Spin Crossover Complex Exhibiting LIESST and TIESST

The two‐step spin crossover in mononuclear iron(III) complex [Fe(salpm)₂]ClO₄ ? 0.5 EtOH ( 1 ) is shown to be accompanied by a structural phase transition as concluded from ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and single crystal X‐ray diffraction, with spin‐state ordering on just one of two sub‐lattices in the intermediate magnetic and structural phase. The complex also exhibits thermal‐ and light‐induced spin‐state trapping (TIESST and LIESST), and relaxation from the LIESST and TIESST excited states occurs via the broken symmetry intermediate phase. Two relaxation events are evident in both experiments, that is, two T(LIESST) and two T(TIESST) values are recorded. The change in symmetry which accompanies the TIESST effect was followed in real time using single crystal diffraction. After flash freezing at 15 K the crystal was warmed to 40 K at which temperature superstructure reflections were observed to appear and disappear within a 10 000 s time range. In the frame of the international year of crystallography, these results illustrate how X‐ray diffraction makes it possible to understand complex ordering phenomena.