Search results for "Testing"
showing 10 items of 1769 documents
<i>BRAF</i> Mutation Testing in Lynch Syndrome Diagnostics: Performance and Efficiency According to Patient's Age
2019
Background: BRAF V600E mutations are reportedly associated with sporadic microsatellite-unstable (MSI) colorectal cancer (CRC), while rarely detected in CRCs of Lynch syndrome (LS) patients. Therefore, current international diagnostic guidelines recommend somatic BRAF mutation testing in MLH1-deficient MSI CRC patients to exclude LS. As sporadic BRAF- mutant MSI CRC is a disease of the elderly, while LS-associated CRC usually occurs at younger age, we hypothesized that the efficacy of BRAF testing in LS diagnostics may be age-dependent. Methods: We systematically compared the prevalence of BRAF mutations in LS-associated CRCs and MSI CRCs from population-based cohorts in different age group…
Hereditary ovarian cancer.
2008
Apoptosis is a form of cell death that permits the removal of damaged, senescent or unwanted cells in multicellular organisms, without damage to the cellular microenvironment. Defective apoptosis represents a major causative factor in the development and progression of cancer. The majority of chemotherapeutic agents, as well as radiation, utilize the apoptotic pathway to induce cancer cell death. Resistance to standard chemotherapeutic strategies also seems to be due to alterations in the apoptotic pathway of cancer cells. Recent knowledge on apoptosis has provided the basis for novel targeted therapies that exploit apoptosis to treat cancer. These new target include those acting in the ext…
Developing and using tasks for the assessment of speaking
2019
This article provides an overview of the development and use of tasks for the assessment of speaking. It first addresses the key role of the assessment of the skill of speaking within language assessment in general and in the context of teaching and learning foreign languages. Then, it discusses how social changes and research have reshaped the way speaking is defined and operationalized, and focuses on how speaking can be assessed more validly and reliably today. The central role of tasks is also discussed, together with the importance of taking into consideration the implications and impact of different task characteristics. Some recommendations for the development of useful and meaningfu…
Measured and predicted light attenuation in dense coastal upslope fog at 650, 850, and <inline-formula><math display="inline" overflow="scro…
2008
Free-space optics FSO has gained considerable importance in this decade of demand for high-bandwidth transmission capabilities. FSO can provide the last mile solution, but the availability and reliability issues concerned with it have received increasing attention and need thorough investigation. In this work, we present our results on fog attenu- ation measurement and prediction at wavelengths 650, 850, and 950 nm with peak values up to 500 dB/km. For the attenuation measurement, optical wavelengths are transmitted over the same path of fog in free air to a receiver, measuring the power at every wavelength. The measure- ment of fog attenuation was performed at the France Telecom RD free-sp…
Oxygen permeability of hydrogel contact lenses with organosilicon moieties
2002
Oxygen transport through two extended wear (day and night) hydrogel contact lenses that contain organosilicon moieties (balafilcon A and lotrafilcon A) was studied in the hydrate (hydrogel) and dry (xerogel) states. The water uptake increased the oxygen permeability [(Dk)app] and transmissibility [Dk/L(av)] coefficients of the dry materials by about 70%. The (Dk)app for the hydrated lenses was determined following the so-called stack procedure. The values obtained were 107 +/- 4 barrer for balafilcon A and 141 +/- 5 barrer for lotrafilcon A, about 5-10 times larger than those previously reported for conventional (without organosilicon moieties) extended wear hydrogels contact lenses. The Dk…
Refractive micro-optical elements for surface plasmons: from classical to gradient index optics.
2010
Controlling the propagation of surface plasmons along a metal-dielectric interface is a key feature for the development of surface plasmon based circuits. We have designed various two-dimensional refractive dielectric optical elements for surface plasmons (SP) and characterized their capacity to route SP, using near- or far-field techniques. We first present basic devices analogous to usual optical components and the associated challenges for SP optics. We then use a metamaterial approach to locally vary the refractive index and fabricate gradient index structures for SP circuitry.
Moiré with zone plates pseudo-randomly encoded
1993
Abstract Moire patterns are a convenient method for optically sensing lateral displacements, or in-plane rotations. Sharp moire fringes are here created by using two zone plates, pseudo-randomly encoded. Our results may be useful in metrology, optical testing, and robotics. Experimental results are reported.
Optimal Design of Trusses According to a Plastic Shakedown Criterion
2004
The optimal design of elastic-perfectly plastic truss structures subjected to quasi-statically loads variable within a given load domain is studied. The actions are given as the combination of fixed load and perfect cyclic load. Suitably chosen load multipliers are given. A minimum volume formulation of the design problem with assigned limit load multiplier is developed and it is provided on the grounds of a statical approach as well as of a kinematical approach. The incremental collapse (ratchetting) of the optimal structure is prevented, as long as the loads are not greater than some prescribed values, by special constraints suitably introduced in the search problem. The Kuhn-Tucker equat…
Base-isolated structure equipped with tuned liquid column damper: An experimental study
2019
Abstract In this study, a novel passive vibration control strategy is investigated experimentally, where a Tuned Liquid Column Damper protects a base-isolated structure. The Tuned Liquid Column Damper is attached to the base, in contrast to typical attachment points of passive energy dissipation devices in high-rise buildings at elevated levels. Experiments on a base-excited small-scale three-story shear frame are conducted in order to study effects of both control devices – base-isolation and Tuned Liquid Column Damper – on the structural model. The dynamic properties of the stand-alone shear frame and the base-isolation subsystem are derived using standard dynamic test methods based on di…
Tuning the electronic properties and the planarity degree in the π-extended TTF series: the prominent role of heteroatoms
2018
The main asset of small molecules for application in organic electronics lies in the tunability of their electronic properties owing to the precise control of their molecular design. Semiconducting properties in organic compounds are for instance closely linked to the molecular planarity degree, including when considering various redox states. Among those species, the π-extended TTF (exTTF: 9,10-bis(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)-9,10-dihydroanthracene) presents fascinating redox and structural properties, which have been extensively studied in various fields of organic electronics. Here we show that S-exTTF, a sulfur enriched π-isoelectronic dithieno analogue of pristine exTTF, synthesized through…