Phoenix Technologies (Canada)

<div>AbstractPurpose:<p>Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive neuroendocrine tumor with a high relapse rate, limited therapeutic options, and poor prognosis. We investigated the antitumor activity of AMG 757, a half-life extended bispecific T-cell engager molecule targeting delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)—a target that is selectively expressed in SCLC tumors, but with minimal normal tissue expression.</p>Experimental Design:<p>AMG 757 efficacy was evaluated in SCLC cell lines and in orthotopic and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse SCLC models. Following AMG 757 administration, changes in tumor volume, pharmacodynamic changes in tumor-infiltrating T cells (TILs), and the spatial relationship between the appearance of TILs and tumor histology were examined. Tolerability was assessed in nonhuman primates (NHPs).</p>Results:<p>AMG 757 showed potent and specific killing of even those SCLC cell lines with very low DLL3 expression (<1,000 molecules per cell). AMG 757 effectively engaged systemically administered human T cells, induced T-cell activation, and redirected T cells to lyse tumor cells to promote significant tumor regression and complete responses in PDX models of SCLC and in orthotopic models of established primary lung SCLC and metastatic liver lesions. AMG 757 was well tolerated with no AMG 757-related adverse findings up to the highest tested dose (4.5 mg/kg weekly) in NHP. AMG 757 exhibits an extended half-life in NHP, which is projected to enable intermittent administration in patients.</p>Conclusions:<p>AMG 757 has a compelling safety and efficacy profile in preclinical studies making it a viable option for targeting DLL3-expressing SCLC tumors in the clinical setting.</p></div>

ABSTRACT Typically, the introduction and implementation of new technologies in the Contract Electronics Manufacturing (CEM) environment is driven by the existing or new customer demand, however, the CEMs must recognize that adherence to this strategy can increase the risk of losing an existing or a potential customer. On the other hand, in today’s economy of tighter margins, shrinking market-share and diminishing demand, it is economically impractical to invest in equipment upgrades and extensive experiments beforehand and hope that a customer will come along with the requirement for the new technology that the CEM or Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) provider has already put in place. In this article, our approach towards the introduction and implementation of the 0201 technology in manufacturing will be discussed. We feel that the best approach is to be prepared to introduce 0201 technology into manufacturing by investing in the training of key individuals, identifying the equipment capabilities, upgrading requirements and documenting a formal road-map.

To maintain self-sufficiency in oil, Uzbekistan is systematically exploring all oil-prospective basins in the country, including the Bukharo-Khivinsky paleorift (BKP) in central Uzbekistan. The BKP has a prospective area of 14 100 km2 and contains an estimated 63 000 km3 of prospective Paleozoic sediments below gas-producing Mesozoic sediments. The ``Paleorift' project (begun in November 2001) is an integrated project comprising ten regional profiles 80?90 km long that will include seismic (using new 3D equipment), MT, gravity, magnetics, and thermometry. The field work began with MT because MT costs less than seismic, is easy and quick to use and interpret, causes minimal disturbance to agricultural land, and is definitive in this application. Uzbekneftegaz has long experience with MT and other electrical methods and routinely uses them before seismic. Approx. 350 MT stations were measured on three of the regional profiles (1 km station spacing) and on two ``prospecting' profiles (500 m station spacing) over known Mesozoic gas deposits. The profiles mapped the boundaries of the BKP central graben, a crustal conductor in the north part of the BKP, a gas-producing Jurassic structural high, and a resistivity low associated with the gas deposits.

Immiscible polymer blend films were formed by air drying aqueous dispersions containing mixtures of a high-T g latex, poly(methyl methacrylate), and a film-forming low-T g latex, poly(butyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate). Fluorescence energy transfer experiments were used to characterize the interfaces in these films, in which one component was labeled with a donor dye and the other with an acceptor. The quantum efficiency of energy transfer (Φ ET ) between the donors and acceptors is influenced by the interfacial contact area between the two polymer phases. As the amount of soft component in the blend is increased, Φ ET approaches an asymptotic value, consistent with complete coverage ofthe hard polymer surface with soft polymer. This limiting extent of energy transfer is very sensitive to the total surface area in the film, with correspondingly more energy transfer at constant volume fraction for small hard particles. Some of the details of the energy transfer are revealed through a fluorescence lifetime distribution analysis. The presence of ionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) in the dispersion from which the latex blend film is prepared reduces the cross-boundary energy transfer by 30%, which implies that in these films the surfactant decreases the interfacial contact. After annealing the surfactant-free blends above 100°C, we observe an increase in energy transfer, consistent with a broader interface between the two polymers.

A 2 V fully-differential SC integrator is developed for a standard double-poly CMOS without the need for clock or supply-voltage multiplication. The common mode at the integrator output is set to maximise the signal swing, and the common mode at the input to the OTA is set at the negative rail, maximising the overdrive on all the switches. Two capacitive common-mode adjustment networks are required to alleviate large leakage currents associated with parasitic junction diodes. A novel CMFB technique is proposed. Simulation results are presented for a 1.2 µm CMOS process.