3,600 research outputs found
A Scaling-up Synthesis From Laboratory Scale to Pilot Scale and to Near Commercial Scale for Paste-Glue Production
This paper concerns on developing a synthesis method of paste-glue production for gummed tape using a corn-based starch as an alternative feedstock from laboratory-scale to pilot-scale and to near commercial scale. Basically, two methods of synthesis were developed to produce paste-glue in laboratory scale. Based on the two methods, we then scale-up the earlier laboratory scale data to pilot-scale and near commercial-scale for developing a large scale process production of paste-glue. Scaling up production from 1,000 ml reactor to 500 L pilot-scale reactor and 1,500 L near commercial scale reactor, we monitored pathway of temperature increase during reaction as well as adjustment of operating condition conducted for laboratory experimental data in order to produce a good quality of paste-glue. Some scaling up parameters have been found as well as critical parameters for a good product quality such as viscosity and ceiling temperature of the reaction which are very crucial in order to give optimum operating condition. We have selected synthesis method of paste-glue production and found the range of the parameters in order to produce a very good quality of paste-glue in pilot scale and near commercial scale
Polarizing Bubble Collisions
We predict the polarization of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons that
results from a cosmic bubble collision. The polarization is purely E-mode,
symmetric around the axis pointing towards the collision bubble, and has
several salient features in its radial dependence that can help distinguish it
from a more conventional explanation for unusually cold or hot features in the
CMB sky. The anomalous "cold spot" detected by the Wilkinson Microwave
Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite is a candidate for a feature produced by such
a collision, and the Planck satellite and other proposed surveys will measure
the polarization on it in the near future. The detection of such a collision
would provide compelling evidence for the string theory landscape.Comment: Published version. 15 pages, 8 figure
Integrin-mediated traction force enhances paxillin molecular associations and adhesion dynamics that increase the invasiveness of tumor cells into a three-dimensional extracellular matrix.
Metastasis requires tumor cells to navigate through a stiff stroma and squeeze through confined microenvironments. Whether tumors exploit unique biophysical properties to metastasize remains unclear. Data show that invading mammary tumor cells, when cultured in a stiffened three-dimensional extracellular matrix that recapitulates the primary tumor stroma, adopt a basal-like phenotype. Metastatic tumor cells and basal-like tumor cells exert higher integrin-mediated traction forces at the bulk and molecular levels, consistent with a motor-clutch model in which motors and clutches are both increased. Basal-like nonmalignant mammary epithelial cells also display an altered integrin adhesion molecular organization at the nanoscale and recruit a suite of paxillin-associated proteins implicated in invasion and metastasis. Phosphorylation of paxillin by Src family kinases, which regulates adhesion turnover, is similarly enhanced in the metastatic and basal-like tumor cells, fostered by a stiff matrix, and critical for tumor cell invasion in our assays. Bioinformatics reveals an unappreciated relationship between Src kinases, paxillin, and survival of breast cancer patients. Thus adoption of the basal-like adhesion phenotype may favor the recruitment of molecules that facilitate tumor metastasis to integrin-based adhesions. Analysis of the physical properties of tumor cells and integrin adhesion composition in biopsies may be predictive of patient outcome
Twisted Split Fermions
The observed flavor structure of the standard model arises naturally in
"split fermion" models which localize fermions at different places in an extra
dimension. It has, until now, been assumed that the bulk masses for such
fermions can be chosen to be flavor diagonal simultaneously at every point in
the extra dimension, with all the flavor violation coming from the Yukawa
couplings to the Higgs. We consider the more natural possibility in which the
bulk masses cannot be simultaneously diagonalized, that is, that they are
twisted in flavor space. We show that, in general, this does not disturb the
natural generation of hierarchies in the flavor parameters. Moreover, it is
conceivable that all the flavor mixing and CP-violation in the standard model
may come only from twisting, with the five-dimensional Yukawa couplings taken
to be universal.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur
Numerical Ricci-flat metrics on K3
We develop numerical algorithms for solving the Einstein equation on
Calabi-Yau manifolds at arbitrary values of their complex structure and Kahler
parameters. We show that Kahler geometry can be exploited for significant gains
in computational efficiency. As a proof of principle, we apply our methods to a
one-parameter family of K3 surfaces constructed as blow-ups of the T^4/Z_2
orbifold with many discrete symmetries. High-resolution metrics may be obtained
on a time scale of days using a desktop computer. We compute various geometric
and spectral quantities from our numerical metrics. Using similar resources we
expect our methods to practically extend to Calabi-Yau three-folds with a high
degree of discrete symmetry, although we expect the general three-fold to
remain a challenge due to memory requirements.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures; program code and animations of figures
downloadable from http://schwinger.harvard.edu/~wiseman/K3/ ; v2 minor
corrections, references adde
Real-world outcomes of sipuleucel-T treatment in PROCEED, a prospective registry of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
BackgroundThe large registry, PROVENGE Registry for the Observation, Collection, and Evaluation of Experience Data (PROCEED)(NCT01306890), evaluated sipuleucel-T immunotherapy for asymptomatic/minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).MethodsPROCEED enrolled patients with mCRPC receiving 3 biweekly sipuleucel-T infusions. Assessments included overall survival (OS), serious adverse events (SAEs), cerebrovascular events (CVEs), and anticancer interventions (ACIs). Follow-up was for ≥3 years or until death or study withdrawal.ResultsIn 2011-2017, 1976 patients were followed for 46.6 months (median). The median age was 72 years, and the baseline median prostate-specific antigen level was 15.0 ng/mL; 86.7% were white, and 11.6% were African American. Among the patients, 1902 had 1 or more sipuleucel-T infusions. The median OS was 30.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 28.6-32.2 months). Known prognostic factors were independently associated with OS in a multivariable analysis. Among the 1255 patients who died, 964 (76.8%) died of prostate cancer (PC) progression. The median time from the first infusion to PC death was 42.7 months (95% CI, 39.4-46.2 months). The incidence of sipuleucel-T-related SAEs was 3.9%. The incidence of CVEs was 2.8%, and the rate per 100 person-years was 1.2 (95% CI, 0.9-1.6). The CVE incidence among 11,972 patients with mCRPC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database was 2.8%; the rate per 100 person-years was 1.5 (95% CI, 1.4-1.7). One or more ACIs (abiraterone, enzalutamide, docetaxel, cabazitaxel, or radium 223) were received by 77.1% of the patients after sipuleucel-T; 32.5% and 17.4% of the patients experienced 1- and 2-year treatment-free intervals, respectively.ConclusionsPROCEED provides contemporary survival data for sipuleucel-T-treated men in a real-world setting of new life-prolonging agents, which will be useful in discussing treatment options with patients and in powering future trials with sipuleucel-T. The safety and tolerability of sipuleucel-T in PROCEED were consistent with previous findings
Engaging the Dynamics of Pastoral Imagination for Field Education
The importance and the process of engaging pastoral imagination in field education
A status report on the observability of cosmic bubble collisions
In the picture of eternal inflation as driven by a scalar potential with
multiple minima, our observable universe resides inside one of many bubbles
formed from transitions out of a false vacuum. These bubbles necessarily
collide, upsetting the homogeneity and isotropy of our bubble interior, and
possibly leading to detectable signatures in the observable portion of our
bubble, potentially in the Cosmic Microwave Background or other precision
cosmological probes. This constitutes a direct experimental test of eternal
inflation and the landscape of string theory vacua. Assessing this possibility
roughly splits into answering three questions: What happens in a generic bubble
collision? What observational effects might be expected? How likely are we to
observe a collision? In this review we report the current progress on each of
these questions, improve upon a few of the existing results, and attempt to lay
out directions for future work.Comment: Review article; comments very welcome. 24 pages + 4 appendices; 19
color figures. (Revised version adds two figures, minor edits.
The Aspergillus Flavus Homeobox Gene, HBX1, Is Required for Development and Aflatoxin Production
Homeobox proteins, a class of well conserved transcription factors, regulate the expression of targeted genes, especially those involved in development. In filamentous fungi, homeobox genes are required for normal conidiogenesis and fruiting body formation. In the present study, we identified eight homeobox (hbx) genes in the aflatoxin-producing ascomycete, Aspergillus flavus, and determined their respective role in growth, conidiation and sclerotial production. Disruption of seven of the eight genes had little to no effect on fungal growth and development. However, disruption of the homeobox gene AFLA_069100, designated as hbx1, in two morphologically different A. flavus strains, CA14 and AF70, resulted in complete loss of production of conidia and sclerotia as well as aflatoxins B1 and B2, cyclopiazonic acid and aflatrem. Microscopic examination showed that the ∆hbx1 mutants did not produce conidiophores. The inability of ∆hbx1 mutants to produce conidia was related to downregulation of brlA (bristle) and abaA (abacus), regulatory genes for conidiophore development. These mutants also had significant downregulation of the aflatoxin pathway biosynthetic genes aflC, aflD, aflM and the cluster-specific regulatory gene, aflR. Our results demonstrate that hbx1 not only plays a significant role in controlling A. flavus development but is also critical for the production of secondary metabolites, such as aflatoxins
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