Multidisciplinary Effort Leading to Effective Tuberculosis Community Outbreak Containment in Israel.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second-most prevalent cause of mortality resulting from infectious diseases worldwide. It is caused by bacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). In Israel, TB incidence is low, acknowledged by the WHO as being in a pre-elimination phase.

Cost-effectiveness of erosion mitigation to meet water clarity targets in the Manawatū-Whanganui Region of New Zealand.

Soil erosion is a significant environmental issue worldwide. It affects water quality, biodiversity, and land productivity. New Zealand government agencies and regional councils work to mitigate soil erosion through policies, management programmes, and funding for soil conservation projects.

Thermally Stable Nanotwins: New Heights for Cu Mechanics.

Nanocrystalline and nanotwinned materials achieve exceptional strengths through small grain sizes. Due to large areas of crystal interfaces, they are highly susceptible to grain growth and creep deformation, even at ambient temperatures. Here, ultrahigh strength nanotwinned copper microstructures have been stabilized against high temperature exposure while largely retaining electrical conductivity.

Definition of Local Spatial Densities in Hadrons.

We show that the matrix element of a local operator between hadronic states can be used to unambiguously define the associated spatial density. As an explicit example, we consider the charge density of a spinless particle and clarify its relationship to the electric form factor. Our results lead to an unconventional interpretation of the spatial densities of local operators and their moments.

Rethinking urban park irrigation under climate change.

Climate change is forcing cities to reassess their water management practices, particularly for water-intensive applications like park irrigation. If water scarcity requires governments to deviate from current park management norms and allocate less water towards parks, it is essential that park managers design spaces that maintain community wellbeing. We apply the hedonic pricing method and use detailed park management information to assess the value of parks in a region where local climatic conditions require extensive irrigation to keep turf green, and where climate change is further constraining water supplies.

Valuing the improvement of a decommissioned heritage site to a multifunctional water sensitive greenspace.

In this paper, we assess residents' preferences for different options of large-scale water sensitive urban improvement of a heritage site in Melbourne, the Main Outfall Sewer (MOS) reserve. We use a hedonic pricing analysis and a discrete choice experiment to understand the benefits associated with improving the MOS reserve. We find that there are significant non-market benefits associated with various options, both in terms of the potential to reflect increases in house value and in terms of people's willingness to pay for improvements in amenity and environmental quality.

Removal of the Tumor Thrombus from the Right Atrium without Extracorporeal Circulation: Emphasis on the Displacement of the Tumor Apex.

Objectives: To assess the outcomes of cavoatrial tumor thrombus removal using the liver transplantation technique for thrombectomy, a retrospective study was conducted.

Materials And Methods: Five patients with atrial tumor thrombi who underwent piggy-back mobilization of the liver, surgical access to the right atrium from the abdominal cavity, and external manual repositioning of the thrombus apex below the diaphragm (milking maneuver) were included into the study. Extracorporeal circulation was used in none of the cases.

A Hybrid Nanomaterial Based on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes Cross-Linked via Axially Substituted Silicon (IV) Phthalocyanine for Chemiresistive Sensors.

In this work, the novel hybrid nanomaterial SWCNT/SiPc made of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) cross-linked via axially substituted silicon (IV) phthalocyanine (SiPc) was studied as the active layer of chemiresistive layers for the detection of ammonia and hydrogen. SWCNT/SiPc is the first example of a carbon-based nanomaterial in which an axially substituted phthalocyanine derivative is used as a linker. The prepared hybrid material was characterized by spectroscopic methods, thermogravimetry, scanning and transmission electron microscopies.

NEPHRON-SPARING SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL CELL CARCINOMA EXTENDING TO THE MAIN RENAL VEIN: INTRARENAL AND EXTRARENAL THROMBECTOMY.

In most cases RCC with venous extension is an indication for radical nephrectomy. However, in patients with imperative indications for nephron-sparing surgery a kidney resection with thrombectomy in rare situations is possible. We present a surgical technique for nephron-sparing surgery in patients with tumor spreading into the main renal vein.

Pulsed current-voltage electrodeposition of stoichiometric BiTe nanowires and their crystallographic characterization by transmission electron backscatter diffraction.

BiTe nanowires with diameters ranging from 25 to 270 nm, ultra-high aspect ratio, and uniform growth front were fabricated by electrodeposition, pulsing between zero current density during the time and constant potential during the time (pulsed-current-voltage method, p-IV). The use of zero current density during the time is to ensure no electrodeposition is carried out and the system is totally relaxed. By this procedure, stoichiometric nanowires oriented perpendicular to the is obtained for the different diameters of porous alumina templates.

Focused Electron Beam-Induced Deposition and Post-Growth Purification Using the Heteroleptic Ru Complex (η-CH)Ru(CO)Br.

Focused electron beam-induced deposition using the heteroleptic complex (η-CH)Ru(CO)Br as a precursor resulted in deposition of material with Ru content of 23 at. %. Transmission electron microscopy images indicated a nanogranular structure of pure Ru nanocrystals, embedded into a matrix containing carbon, oxygen, and bromine.

A novel copper precursor for electron beam induced deposition.

A fluorine free copper precursor, Cu(tbaoac) with the chemical sum formula CuCOH is introduced for focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID). FEBID with 15 keV and 7 nA results in deposits with an atomic composition of Cu:O:C of approximately 1:1:2. Transmission electron microscopy proved that pure copper nanocrystals with sizes of up to around 15 nm were dispersed inside the carbonaceous matrix.

Gas-assisted silver deposition with a focused electron beam.

Focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID) is a flexible direct-write method to obtain defined structures with a high lateral resolution. In order to use this technique in application fields such as plasmonics, suitable precursors which allow the deposition of desired materials have to be identified. Well known for its plasmonic properties, silver represents an interesting candidate for FEBID.

How economics can further the success of ecological restoration.

Restoration scientists and practitioners have recently begun to include economic and social aspects in the design and investment decisions for restoration projects. With few exceptions, ecological restoration studies that include economics focus solely on evaluating costs of restoration projects. However, economic principles, tools, and instruments can be applied to a range of other factors that affect project success.

Percutaneous repair of post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect: current approaches and future perspectives.

Post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect is a devastating complication of ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Although surgical intervention is considered the gold standard for treatment, it carries high morbidity and mortality rates. We present 2 cases that illustrate the application of percutaneous closure of a post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect: the first in a patient who had undergone prior surgical closure and then developed a new shunt, and the second as a bridge to definitive surgery in a critically ill patient.

Characterizing spatial uncertainty when integrating social data in conservation planning.

Recent conservation planning studies have presented approaches for integrating spatially referenced social (SRS) data with a view to improving the feasibility of conservation action. We reviewed the growing conservation literature on SRS data, focusing on elicited or stated preferences derived through social survey methods such as choice experiments and public participation geographic information systems. Elicited SRS data includes the spatial distribution of willingness to sell, willingness to pay, willingness to act, and assessments of social and cultural values.

A multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity.

An opportunity represents an advantageous combination of circumstances that allows goals to be achieved. We reviewed the nature of opportunity and how it manifests in different subsystems (e.g.

Synthesis and application of carbonated fatty acid esters from carbon dioxide including a life cycle analysis.

Carbon dioxide can be used in various ways as a cheap C1 source. However, the utilization of CO2 requires energy or energy-rich reagents, which leads to further emissions, and therefore, diminishes the CO2-saving potential. Therefore, life cycle assessment (LCA) is required for each process that uses CO2 to provide valid data for CO2 savings.

Low-threshold field emission from carbon nano-clusters.

Detonation carbon materials (DCM) composed of non-equilibrium nano-structures show the low-threshold field emission (LTFE). These materials have forward-looking application especially due to high reproducibility of the LTFE-phenomenon on a surface of emitter, where the emitting centers are homogeneously distributed. In this paper we link the effect of LTFE to the nature of the corresponding wave functions based on the experiment results obtained for DCM by the field effect on electrolytes.

Chiral logarithms in the massless limit tamed.

We derive nonlinear recursion relations for the leading chiral logarithms (LLs) in massless theories. These relations not only provide a very efficient method of computation of LLs (e.g.

Combined cytoreductive laser therapy and immunotherapy for palliation of metastatic renal cell carcinoma to the head and neck.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) remains the mainstay of treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), but minimally invasive surgical techniques have provided new options for the combined treatment of RCC. Two patients with metastatic RCC to the head and neck treated by combined laser-induced thermal therapy and IL-2 were described in this case report. Both patients had an extended survival compared to the historical survival of 10 months for metastatic RCC but eventually succumbed to progressive disease.

Where have all the antibiotic patents gone?

Patent and regulatory hurdles combined with low returns on investment are stifling antibiotic R&D in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ultrasound-guided laser-induced thermal therapy of malignant cervical adenopathy.

Objectives: Laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) for cancer is a technique whereby a source of energy (laser, radiofrequency, ultrasonic, cryoenergy, and so on) is directly applied into a tumor at various depths. Recent studies have demonstrated the efficiency of ultrasound (UTZ) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for real- or "near" real-time tumor and vessel identification as well as monitoring and quantifying energy-induced tissue damage. The objective of this study is to report UCLA's experience using UTZ monitoring of Nd:YAG laser thermal ablation of malignant cervical adenopathy in a phase II study.

Major congenital malformations and residential proximity to a regional industrial park including a national toxic waste site: an ecological study.

Background: Public concern about exposure to emissions from the regional industrial park (IP), including 17 chemical plants and the national industrial toxic waste site, initiated this study of the possible association between major congenital malformations (MCM) and residence near the IP in Israel's Southern District.

Methods: The study was conducted during the period 1995-2000 and included 63,850 deliveries. Data on deliveries and MCM detected at births were obtained from the regional medical center, and stratified by ethnicity and type of locality.