The Promethean: Fall 2012

Fall 2012 edition of The Promethean. Contents: From the Director 2 Honors Study Abroad 4 Tips for Writing Your Senior Thesis 6 Collected Poetry 8 Freshman Experience Articles 9 Remembering Alex Kogut 10https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/promethean/1007/thumbnail.jp

Pathwise Sensitivity Analysis in Transient Regimes

The instantaneous relative entropy (IRE) and the corresponding instanta- neous Fisher information matrix (IFIM) for transient stochastic processes are pre- sented in this paper. These novel tools for sensitivity analysis of stochastic models serve as an extension of the well known relative entropy rate (RER) and the corre- sponding Fisher information matrix (FIM) that apply to stationary processes. Three cases are studied here, discrete-time Markov chains, continuous-time Markov chains and stochastic differential equations. A biological reaction network is presented as a demonstration numerical example

Integrated operations of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) optical pulse generation development system

We describe the Optical Pulse Generation (OPG) testbed, which is the integration of the MOR and Preamplifier Development Laboratories. We use this OPG testbed to develop and demonstrate the overall capabilites of the NIF laser system front end. We will present the measured energy and power output, temporal and spatial pulse shaping capability, FM bandwidth and dispersion for beam smoothing, and measurements of the pulse-to-pulse power variation of the OPG system and compare these results with the required system performance specifications. We will discuss the models that are used to predict the system performance and how the OPG output requirements flowdown to the subordinate subsystems within the OPG system

Metastable lifetimes in a kinetic Ising model: Dependence on field and system size

The lifetimes of metastable states in kinetic Ising ferromagnets are studied by droplet theory and Monte Carlo simulation, in order to determine their dependences on applied field and system size. For a wide range of fields, the dominant field dependence is universal for local dynamics and has the form of an exponential in the inverse field, modified by universal and nonuniversal power-law prefactors. Quantitative droplet-theory predictions are numerically verified, and small deviations are shown to depend nonuniversally on the details of the dynamics. We identify four distinct field intervals in which the field dependence and statistical properties of the lifetimes are different. The field marking the crossover between the weak-field regime, in which the decay is dominated by a single droplet, and the intermediate-field regime, in which it is dominated by a finite droplet density, vanishes logarithmically with system size. As a consequence the slow decay characteristic of the former regime may be observable in systems that are macroscopic as far as their equilibrium properties are concerned.Comment: 18 pages single spaced. RevTex Version 3. FSU-SCRI-94-1

Correlation of cell growth and heterologous protein production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

With the increasing demand for biopharmaceutical proteins and industrial enzymes, it is necessary to optimize the production by microbial fermentation or cell cultures. Yeasts are well established for the production of a wide range of recombinant proteins, but there are also some limitations; e.g., metabolic and cellular stresses have a strong impact on recombinant protein production. In this work, we investigated the effect of the specific growth rate on the production of two different recombinant proteins. Our results show that human insulin precursor is produced in a growth-associated manner, whereas alpha-amylase tends to have a higher yield on substrate at low specific growth rates. Based on transcriptional analysis, we found that the difference in the production of the two proteins as function of the specific growth rate is mainly due to differences in endoplasmic reticulum processing, protein turnover, cell cycle, and global stress response. We also found that there is a shift at a specific growth rate of 0.1 h(-1) that influences protein production. Thus, for lower specific growth rates, the alpha-amylase and insulin precursor-producing strains present similar cell responses and phenotypes, whereas for higher specific growth rates, the two strains respond differently to changes in the specific growth rate

From Monasteries to Multinationals (and Back): A Historical Review of the Beer Economy

This article reviews beer production, consumption and the industrial organization of breweries throughout history. Monasteries were the centers of the beer economy in the early Middle Ages. Innovation and increased demand later induced the growth of commercial breweries. Globalization and scientific discoveries transfirmed the beer industry and increased competition from the 16th through the 19th century. The 20th century was characterized by dramatic (domestic and international) consolidation, major shifts in consumption patterns, and the re-emergence of small breweries