The NPS Platform Foundation

There are many well-adapted commercial simulation tools for specific problem domains. Many vendors concentrate on manufacturing, communications, and computer networks applications. The NPS Platform Foundation is a tool for modeling military platform engagements, and will support construction of a wide variety of models where platforms, sensors, humans, tactics, and information flow are important. Analysts (e.g. NPS thesis students) can use the Foundation's generic platform to configure or tailor objects to meet specific project needs by adding data to the performance database, by adding a layer of tactical methods, or by refining platform motion and sensor performance methods. Object- oriented simulation modelingNaval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.http://archive.org/details/npsplatformfound00bailNaval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

The Deployable Virtual Training Environment

The Deployable Virtual Training Environment (DVTE) project, sponsored by the Director, Expeditionary Warfare (N75) in the Office of the CNO, is a collaborative effort between the Program Executive Officer, Expeditionary Warfare (PEO EXW) and Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM). The intended product of this effort is to provide enhanced shipboard operational training simulators on amphibious ships for embarked Marines and to field a flexible, deployable, training system that addresses requirements for combined arms MAGTF and Naval Integration training. DVTE was established to provide a shipboard and shore training system that maintains and enhances embarked Marine war fighting proficiency

Oligonucleotide sequences forming short self-complimentary hairpins can expedite the down-regulation of Coprinopsis cinerea genes

Gene silencing in fungi is often induced by dsRNA hairpin forming constructs the preparation of which can require multiple cloning steps. To simplify gene silencing in the filamentous fungi we have evaluated a high throughput cloning method for target sequences using the homobasidiomycete Coprinopsis cinerea, the GFP reporter and a commercially available vector system. The pSUPER RNAi System™, which was developed for mammalian experiments, exploits the human H1 Polymerase III (Pol III) RNA gene promoter and expedites cloning/expression of specific user-defined oligonucleotide sequences to form short self-complimentary hairpins. Transformation of C. cinerea with pSUPER constructs harboring specific oligonucleotides (19 nt stem length) enabled recovery of transformants with reduced transcripts of the GFP transgene, that were less fluorescent in protein assays and microscopic phenotypes. This technological advance should expedite functional genomic studies in C. cinerea and has wider potential for utility in other homobasidiomycete and filamentous fungi

Characterization of serine proteinase expression in agaricus bisporus and coprinopsis cinerea by using green fluorescent protein and the A. bisporus SPR1 Promoter

The Agaricus bisporus serine proteinase 1 (SPR1) appears to be significant in both mycelial nutrition and senescence of the fruiting body. We report on the construction of an SPR promoter::green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion cassette, pGreen_hph1_SPR_GFP, for the investigation of temporal and developmental expression of SPR1 in homobasidiomycetes and to determine how expression is linked to physiological and environmental stimuli. Monitoring of A. bisporus pGreen_hph1_SPR_GFP transformants on media rich in ammonia or containing different nitrogen sources demonstrated that SPR1 is produced in response to available nitrogen. In A. bisporus fruiting bodies, GFP activity was localized to the stipe of postharvest senescing sporophores. pGreen_hph1_SPR_GFP was also transformed into the model basidiomycete Coprinopsis cinerea. Endogenous C. cinerea proteinase activity was profiled during liquid culture and fruiting body development. Maximum activity was observed in the mature cap, while activity dropped during autolysis. Analysis of the C. cinerea genome revealed seven genes showing significant homology to the A. bisporus SPR1 and SPR2 genes. These genes contain the aspartic acid, histidine, and serine residues common to serine proteinases. Analysis of the promoter regions revealed at least one CreA and several AreA regulatory motifs in all sequences. Fruiting was induced in C. cinerea dikaryons, and fluorescence was determined in different developmental stages. GFP expression was observed throughout the life cycle, demonstrating that serine proteinase can be active in all stages of C. cinerea fruiting body development. Serine proteinase expression (GFP fluorescence) was most concentrated during development of young tissue, which may be indicative of high protein turnover during cell differentiatio

Object-oriented modeling of the communications networks of the MAGTF

The Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) is supported by a communications system comprised of heterogenous links and widely shared network resources. In this work, we describe our approach to modeling the MAGTF communications network. This model employs a new concept of workload modeling which we have developed. We provide a mathematical development of our measures of effectiveness and show how our model will be used to seek improvement in MAGTF communications performanceWarfighting Center—Studies and Analysis MCCDC, Quantico, VAhttp://archive.org/details/objectorientedmo00bailM9545091WRR1AK2NAApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

The Prowler IADS performance evaluation tool (PIPE)

The Prowler IADS Performance Evaluator is a computer simulation model of an airstrike protected by electronic countermeasures platforms. It is designed for integration into mission planning systems and analysis tools used to determine the effectiveness of electronic countermeasures or allocate scarce countermeasures equipment. PIPE's features include flexible hierarchical IADS specification, the capability to construct and calculate appropriate measures of performance, graphical presentation analysis results, mission visualizationNaval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.http://archive.org/details/prowleriadsperfo00bailMonterey, California. Naval Postgraduate SchoolApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Regulation of pancreatic cancer aggressiveness by stromal stiffening

No abstract available

Ashfall Tephra in the Ogallala Group of the Great Plains: Characteristics and Significance

The Miocene Ogallala Group blankets the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains. This sheet of largely fluvial deposits, lying downwind of major silicic volcanic fields to the west, was ideally located to receive and preserve tephra from these fields. This investigation brings modern methods of tephrochronlogy to bear on the age and identity of Ogallala tephra. Results indicate that ~40 separate tephra layers, ranging in age from ~16.5–5.0 Ma, in the Ogallala. Most tephra came from Yellowstone hotspot sources. The relative frequency of hotspot tephra in the Ogallala matches that in more proximal regions to the west with peak intensities in the intervals ~16.5−15 Ma nd ~13.0−8.5 Ma. About 30 of the Ogallala tephra are correlated with tephra of known age the the Basin and Range to the west. Using the ages of correlative tephra to the west insight into the age of the Ogallala, the correlation of Ogallala tephra from region to region in the Great Plains, and sedimentation rates within the Ogallala. In the Ogallala sedimentation rates vary. The rates are lowest (3–9 m/Ma) in the Cap Rock Mbr. of the Ash Hollow Fm. along the Niobrara River and in undifferentiated Ogallala strata and in the undifferentiated Ogalala Gp. in NW Kansas. Rates of 40–80 m/Ma characterize the Valentine Fm. beneath the Cap Rock Mbr. Finally, one tephra, the 11.37 Ma Cougar Point Tuff XI, is recognized at 6 localies. This key horizon provides the first detailed structure contours within the Ogallala. These contours show a sharply increasing slope of the Ogallala west of 101° W that reflects the post–6 Ma tilt along the western edge of the Ogallala. East of 101º W the gradients mirror the gradients of the major rivers (1.3 to 1.6 m/km.). West of 101º W gradients increase and reach a maximun of 4.6 m/km at the crest of the Gangplank