Radiolabeling human peripheral blood stem cells for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in young rhesus monkeys.

These studies focused on a new radiolabeling technique with copper ((64)Cu) and zirconium ((89)Zr) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using a CD45 antibody. Synthesis of (64)Cu-CD45 and (89)Zr-CD45 immunoconjugates was performed and the evaluation of the potential toxicity of radiolabeling human peripheral blood stem cells (hPBSC) was assessed in vitro (viability, population doubling times, colony forming units). hPBSC viability was maintained as the dose of (64)Cu-TETA-CD45 increased from 0 (92%) to 160 µCi/mL (76%, p>0.05). Radiolabeling efficiency was not significantly increased with concentrations of (64)Cu-TETA-CD45 >20 µCi/mL (p>0.50). Toxicity affecting both growth and colony formation was observed with hPBSC radiolabeled with ≥40 µCi/mL (p<0.05). For (89)Zr, there were no significant differences in viability (p>0.05), and a trend towards increased radiolabeling efficiency was noted as the dose of (89)Zr-Df-CD45 increased, with a greater level of radiolabeling with 160 µCi/mL compared to 0-40 µCi/mL (p<0.05). A greater than 2,000 fold-increase in the level of (89)Zr-Df-CD45 labeling efficiency was observed when compared to (64)Cu-TETA-CD45. Similar to (64)Cu-TETA-CD45, toxicity was noted when hPBSC were radiolabeled with ≥40 µCi/mL (p<0.05) (growth, colony formation). Taken together, 20 µCi/mL resulted in the highest level of radiolabeling efficiency without altering cell function. Young rhesus monkeys that had been transplanted prenatally with 25×10(6) hPBSC expressing firefly luciferase were assessed with bioluminescence imaging (BLI), then 0.3 mCi of (89)Zr-Df-CD45, which showed the best radiolabeling efficiency, was injected intravenously for PET imaging. Results suggest that (89)Zr-Df-CD45 was able to identify engrafted hPBSC in the same locations identified by BLI, although the background was high

Gradient Enhanced Surrogate Modeling Methods for NDE Applications

Over the past 15 years, there has been significant interest in the NDE community in surrogate modeling applied to both uncertainty propagation (UP) as well as inverse uncertainty quantification (UQ). There has been a general acceptance in the value of surrogates due to the quick model evaluations that can be made during an inverse problem or for fast Monte Carlo sampling, evidenced by the fact that surrogate modeling techniques now appear in multiple commercial NDE simulation tools. Many techniques have been explored such as regular grid methods, polynomial chaos, sparse grids, response surfaces, and Kriging models, among others. While these techniques all offer reduced computational burden for UP and inverse applications, they are still somewhat computationally expensive and require a significant amount of model evaluations. To overcome this, many other communities have adopted a gradient-enhanced approach to surrogate modeling. In many cases, when sensitivities (i.e. gradients with respect to parameters) are included in building a surrogatemodel, convergence of the surrogate can be greatly enhanced. In this presentation, several different gradient-enhanced methods will be presented as applied to NDE models. The convergence of the surrogates will be shown relative to the non- gradient-enhanced surrogate models, and the surrogates will be applied to both UP and inverse problems

Monitoring the Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Sky Using Earth Occultation with GLAST GBM

Long term all-sky monitoring of the 20 keV – 2 MeV gamma-ray sky using the Earth occultation technique was demonstrated by the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The principles and techniques used for the development of an end-to-end earth occultation data analysis system for BATSE can be extended to the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM), resulting in multiband light curves and time-resolved spectra in the energy range 8 keV to above 1 MeV for known gamma-ray sources and transient outbursts, as well as the discovery of new sources of gamma-ray emission. In this paper we describe the application of the technique to the GBM. We also present the expected sensitivity for the GBM

Using airborne LiDAR Survey to explore historic-era archaeological landscapes of Montserrat in the eastern Caribbean

This article describes what appears to be the first archaeological application of airborne LiDAR survey to historic-era landscapes in the Caribbean archipelago, on the island of Montserrat. LiDAR is proving invaluable in extending the reach of traditional pedestrian survey into less favorable areas, such as those covered by dense neotropical forest and by ashfall from the past two decades of active eruptions by the Soufrière Hills volcano, and to sites in localities that are inaccessible on account of volcanic dangers. Emphasis is placed on two aspects of the research: first, the importance of ongoing, real-time interaction between the LiDAR analyst and the archaeological team in the field; and second, the advantages of exploiting the full potential of the three-dimensional LiDAR point cloud data for purposes of the visualization of archaeological sites and features

Pembuatan Aplikasi Stereogram Generator

Di dalam pengolahan citra digital, terdapat banyak cara atau metode untuk menghasilkan suatu citra agar menjadi lebih menarik. Salah satu hasil pengolahan citra tersebut adalah streogram, dimana pengolahan citra jenis ini dapat membuat citra tampak lebih menarik. Hal ini disebabkan citra jenis ini dapat membuat impresi pada otak manusia sebagai obyek tiga dimensi yang keluar dari citra dua dimensi biasa. Pada penelitian ini, dikembangkan aplikasi stereogram generator dengan melakukan penggabungan depth mask dan pattern yang di-input-kan atau dengan menggunakan titik-titik acak yang di-generate secara otomatis. Proses ini dilakukan dengan memindah posisi piksel sesuai dengan gray value pada depth mask

Understanding K/πK/\pi ratio distribution in the mixed events

The event mixing method is analyzed for the study of the event-by-event $K/\pi$ ratio distribution. It is shown that there exists some correlation between the kaon and pion multiplicities in the mixed events. The $K/\pi$ ratio distributions in the mixed events for different sets of real events are shown. The dependence of the distributions on the mean $K/\pi$ ratio, mean and variance of multiplicity distribution in the real events is investigated systematically. The effect of imperfect particle identification on the $K/\pi$ ratio distribution in the mixed event is also considered.Comment: 11 pages in revtex, 8 eps figures include

A utilitarian antagonist: the zombie in popular video games

This article takes as its starting point the prevalence of the zombie in video games. I argue that, although the zombie games often superficially resemble filmic texts in their use of aesthetic and narrative, they must be understood, less as a set of conventions and thematic metaphors in the way that the zombie text has been read in film and television scholarship, and more as a utilisation of the zombie as a utilitarian antagonist that facilitates and permits the pleasures of violence and fantasy in video game play. Beginning with the Resident Evil and Left 4 Dead series of games I examine the way that games necessarily update the notion zombie as mass antagonist via the need to vary gameplay activity through different styles of adversary for players. At the same time I will demonstrate that, far from simply being the province of the survival horror genre, the zombie appears across an array of game forms, game cultures and game productions. The zombie highlights the participatory nature of game culture in the array of zombie 'mods' that users create to transform existing games into zombie based games, in particular in relation to titles such as the Call of Duty series. At the other end of the production spectrum the zombie features heavily in the little studied area of online flash games where the zombie can be found in a variety of game genres and forms. The zombie here often operates as a pastiche of popular zombie narratives in survival games (The Last Stand), parodic engagements with zombie conventions (Jetpacks and Zombies) or play with the notion of zombie pandemics (the Infectionator games). Here I situate the zombie game as a aesthetic genre that works to provide an easily understandable context for such interactive genres as survival horror, text adventures, shooting games, physics games and driving games, with the popularity of these enough to drive numerous dedicated hosting and link sites such as zombiegames.net. The pastiche element of these games extends into gamers social engagement with games. Online debates over the the appropriate actions or preparation for a zombie holocaust are commonplace on the internet in such spaces as Zombieresearch.net. Whilst many of these sites feature decidedly tongue in cheek engagement with the notion of the zombie apocalypse, the users of fora for games like Left 4 Dead and Dead Island tend to debate this directly in the terms of the games themselves, discussing their relative merits or realism. Some of these games also highlight the specific pleasures of identifying the zombie as protagonist of sorts. In discussing this I will return to online gaming and the Left 4 Dead games in which players may compete online as part of the zombie horde. Such games raise major questions for the issues of identification and immersion that are said to be at the centre of the game experience. I will also explore the parodic pleasures of many flash games that situate the player in the role of spreading zombie infections. Throughout this article I aim to demonstrate that the zombie in game culture is less a cultural metaphor than a combination of utilitarian antagonist and a persistent aesthetic; a means of providing style or pleasure to many games that relies on the intertextual and flexible nature of the zombie as popular cultural phenomenon

Measurement Of Quasiparticle Transport In Aluminum Films Using Tungsten Transition-Edge Sensors

We report new experimental studies to understand the physics of phonon sensors which utilize quasiparticle diffusion in thin aluminum films into tungsten transition-edge-sensors (TESs) operated at 35 mK. We show that basic TES physics and a simple physical model of the overlap region between the W and Al films in our devices enables us to accurately reproduce the experimentally observed pulse shapes from x-rays absorbed in the Al films. We further estimate quasiparticle loss in Al films using a simple diffusion equation approach.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, PRA

Farm and Ranch Income Tax Management.

12 p