Forest management in Maine

Sample passage: We must next observe that a large part of the State of Maine is destined to remain permanently wooded. The bulk of our population is now and will continue to be located in the lower southern part, where milder climate, abundant water power and areas-of fertile soil offer advantages. Again, there is a strip of land with easy topography and very fertile soil along the New Brunswick line in Aroostook County. Out of these areas indeed a large proportion is wooded, and some bodies of land included within them are of such a character that they never will be inhabited or cultivated. For the great district remaining, about half the area of the State, the same thing is true. It is high in the first place, and the season of growth is short. As a rule the topography is rough. and the soil poor. Considerable of it, indeed, is little more than ledges and piled up rocks.https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/books_pubs/1038/thumbnail.jp

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating effects of lebrikizumab on airway eosinophilic inflammation and remodelling in uncontrolled asthma (CLAVIER)

BACKGROUND: The anti-interleukin 13 (IL-13) monoclonal antibody lebrikizumab improves lung function in patients with moderate-to-severe uncontrolled asthma, but its effects on airway inflammation and remodelling are unknown. CLAVIER was designed to assess lebrikizumab\u27s effect on eosinophilic inflammation and remodelling. OBJECTIVE: To report safety and efficacy results from enrolled participants with available data from CLAVIER. METHODS: We performed bronchoscopy on patients with uncontrolled asthma before and after 12 weeks of randomized double-blinded treatment with lebrikizumab (n = 31) or placebo (n = 33). The pre-specified primary end-point was relative change in airway subepithelial eosinophils per mm RESULTS: There was a baseline imbalance in tissue eosinophils and high variability between treatment groups. There was no discernible change in adjusted mean subepithelial eosinophils/mm CONCLUSIONS & CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We did not observe reduced tissue eosinophil numbers in association with lebrikizumab treatment. However, in pre-specified exploratory analyses, lebrikizumab treatment was associated with reduced degree of subepithelial fibrosis, a feature of airway remodelling, as well as improved lung function and reduced key pharmacodynamic biomarkers in bronchial tissues. These results reinforce the importance of IL-13 in airway pathobiology and suggest that neutralization of IL-13 may reduce asthmatic airway remodelling. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02099656

Structural Characteristics of Carbon Nanofibers for On-chip Interconnect Applications

In this letter, we compare the structures of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of Ni-catalyzed and Pd-catalyzed carbon nanofibers (CNFs) synthesized for on-chip interconnect applications with scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The Ni-catalyzed CNF has a conventional fiberlike structure and many graphitic layers that are almost parallel to the substrate at the CNF base. In contrast, the Pd-catalyzed CNF has a multiwall nanotubelike structure on the sidewall spanning the entire CNF. The microstructure observed in the Pd-catalyzed fibers at the CNF-metal interface has the potential to lower contact resistance significantly, as our electrical measurements using current-sensing atomic force microscopy indicate. A structural model is presented based on STEM image analysis

Localization of the AP-3 adaptor complex defines a novel endosomal exit site for lysosomal membrane proteins

The adaptor protein (AP) 3 adaptor complex has been implicated in the transport of lysosomal membrane proteins, but its precise site of action has remained controversial. Here, we show by immuno-electron microscopy that AP-3 is associated with budding profiles evolving from a tubular endosomal compartment that also exhibits budding profiles positive for AP-1. AP-3 colocalizes with clathrin, but to a lesser extent than does AP-1. The AP-3– and AP-1–bearing tubular compartments contain endocytosed transferrin, transferrin receptor, asialoglycoprotein receptor, and low amounts of the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor and the lysosome-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) 1 and 2. Quantitative analysis revealed that of these distinct cargo proteins, only LAMP-1 and LAMP-2 are concentrated in the AP-3–positive membrane domains. Moreover, recycling of endocytosed LAMP-1 and CD63 back to the cell surface is greatly increased in AP-3–deficient cells. Based on these data, we propose that AP-3 defines a novel pathway by which lysosomal membrane proteins are transported from tubular sorting endosomes to lysosomes

Interface Characteristics of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofibers for Interconnect Applications

The authors characterize the detailed interface structure of Ni-catalyzed vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (CNFs) prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition for interconnect applications. Stacked graphitic layers and cup-shape structures of CNFs around the interface region have been observed using high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. The interaction between the Ni catalyst and Ti layer dramatically affects the CNF structure during initial growth. The effect of interface nanostructures on contact resistance is also discussed

Implementing a Multi-Component School-based Obesity Prevention Intervention: A Qualitative Study

Objective: To explore barriers and facilitators to implementing and sustaining Healthy Choices, a three-year multi-component obesity prevention intervention implemented in middle schools in Massachusetts. Methods: Using purposive sampling, 56 in-depth interviews were conducted with middleschool employees representing different positions (administrators, teachers, food service personnel, and employees serving as intervention coordinators). Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Emergent themes were identified using thematic analyses. Results: State-mandated testing, budget limitations, and time constraints were viewed as implementation barriers while staff buy-in and technical assistance were seen as facilitating implementation. Respondents felt that intervention sustainability was dependent on external funding and expert assistance. Conclusions and Implications: Results confirm the importance of gaining faculty and staff support. Schools implementing large scale interventions should consider developing sustainable partnerships with organizations that can provide resources and ongoing training. Sustainability of complex interventions may depend on state-level strategies that provide resources for implementation and technical assistance

Validation of frequency and mode extraction calculations from time-domain simulations of accelerator cavities

The recently developed frequency extraction algorithm [G.R. Werner and J.R. Cary, J. Comp. Phys. 227, 5200 (2008)] that enables a simple FDTD algorithm to be transformed into an efficient eigenmode solver is applied to a realistic accelerator cavity modeled with embedded boundaries and Richardson extrapolation. Previously, the frequency extraction method was shown to be capable of distinguishing M degenerate modes by running M different simulations and to permit mode extraction with minimal post-processing effort that only requires solving a small eigenvalue problem. Realistic calculations for an accelerator cavity are presented in this work to establish the validity of the method for realistic modeling scenarios and to illustrate the complexities of the computational validation process. The method is found to be able to extract the frequencies with error that is less than a part in 10^5. The corrected experimental and computed values differ by about one parts in 10^$, which is accounted for (in largest part) by machining errors. The extraction of frequencies and modes from accelerator cavities provides engineers and physicists an understanding of potential cavity performance as it depends on shape without incurring manufacture and measurement costs

Highly Accurate Frequency Calculations of Crab Cavities Using the VORPAL Computational Framework

We have applied the Werner-Cary method [J. Comp. Phys. 227, 5200-5214 (2008)] for extracting modes and mode frequencies from time-domain simulations of crab cavities, as are needed for the ILC and the beam delivery system of the LHC. This method for frequency extraction relies on a small number of simulations, and post-processing using the SVD algorithm with Tikhonov regularization. The time-domain simulations were carried out using the VORPAL computational framework, which is based on the eminently scalable finite-difference time-domain algorithm. A validation study was performed on an aluminum model of the 3.9 GHz RF separators built originally at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the US. Comparisons with measurements of the A15 cavity show that this method can provide accuracy to within 0.01% of experimental results after accounting for manufacturing imperfections. To capture the near degeneracies two simulations, requiring in total a few hours on 600 processors were employed. This method has applications across many areas including obtaining MHD spectra from time-domain simulations

Exile Vol. XVII No. 1

FICTION The Backyard Burial by Heather Johnson 9-11 French Persuasion by John Benes 18-22 In His Time by Keith Mcwalter 27-37 Time Ticking Off, Not Stopping by Holly Battles 39-40 ARTWORK by Roxy Sisson 13 by Bill Lutz 16 by Carol Belfatto 17 by Ned Bittinger 23 by Gail Lutsch 41 by Diane Ulmer 43 PHOTOGRAPHY by Tim Heth 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 22, 38, 40, 44 by Rip Odell 15 by Maggie Hernandez 26, 42 POETRY For G. S. & A. B. T. by Paul Holbrook 2 Picture Writer by Julie Lockwood 6 Youth by Rufus Hurst 6 Today I Watched Flies Without Wings by Alice Merrill 6 Room 102 by Alice Merrill 6 The Flick by Debby Snyder 8 For P. E. H. by Timothy Cope 12 In Memory of Gertrude Stein by Michael Daugherty 14 Apogee Analogy by Paul Holbrook 15 First Impressions by Austin Hartman, Jr. 16 Count Jack Playing Peasant by Alice Merrill 24 Cherokee Arrowsmith by R. Crozier 24 road runs down valley by Fred Hoppe 25 Singularity by M. J. Wallace 25 Love\u27s Labour Lost by Tina Ostergard 25 Gnome by Cary Spear 25 Design and Layout: Keith McWalter 1 EXILE is the literary magazine of Denison University. It is entirely student-run and student edited, and receives operating funds from the Denison Campus Government Association. Submissions are edited anonymously and final actions are made independently by each staff. Printed by Ace News, Heath, Ohio.

Relacorilant, a Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor Modulator in Development for the Treatment of Patients With Cushing Syndrome, Does Not Cause Prolongation of the Cardiac QT Interval

Objective: To assess the effect of relacorilant, a selective glucocorticoid receptor modulator under investigation for the treatment of patients with endogenous hypercortisolism (Cushing syndrome [CS]), on the heart rate–corrected QT interval (QTc). Methods: Three clinical studies of relacorilant were included: (1) a first-in-human, randomized, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose (up to 500 mg of relacorilant) study in healthy volunteers; (2) a phase 1 placebo- and positive-controlled thorough QTc (TQT) study of 400 and 800 mg of relacorilant in healthy volunteers; and (3) a phase 2, open-label study of up to 400 mg of relacorilant administered daily for up to 16 weeks in patients with CS. Electrocardiogram recordings were taken, and QTc change from baseline (ΔQTc) was calculated. The association of plasma relacorilant concentration with the effect on QTc in healthy volunteers was assessed using linear mixed-effects modeling. Results: Across all studies, no notable changes in the electrocardiogram parameters were observed. At all time points and with all doses of relacorilant, including supratherapeutic doses, ΔQTc was small, generally negative, and, in the placebo-controlled studies, similar to placebo. In the TQT study, placebo-corrected ΔQTc with relacorilant was small and negative, whereas placebo-corrected ΔQTc with moxifloxacin positive control showed rapid QTc prolongation. These results constituted a negative TQT study. The model-estimated slopes of the concentration-QTc relationship were slightly negative, excluding an association of relacorilant with prolonged QTc. Conclusion: At all doses studied, relacorilant consistently demonstrated a lack of QTc prolongation in healthy volunteers and patients with CS, including in the TQT study. Ongoing phase 3 studies will help further establish the overall benefit-risk profile of relacorilant.</p