The Kahler Structure of Supersymmetric Holographic RG Flows

We study the metrics on the families of moduli spaces arising from probing with a brane the ten and eleven dimensional supergravity solutions corresponding to renormalisation group flows of supersymmetric large n gauge theory. In comparing the geometry to the physics of the dual gauge theory, it is important to identify appropriate coordinates, and starting with the case of SU(n) gauge theories flowing from N=4 to N=1 via a mass term, we demonstrate that the metric is Kahler, and solve for the Kahler potential everywhere along the flow. We show that the asymptotic form of the Kahler potential, and hence the peculiar conical form of the metric, follows from special properties of the gauge theory. Furthermore, we find the analogous Kahler structure for the N=4 preserving Coulomb branch flows, and for an N=2 flow. In addition, we establish similar properties for two eleven dimensional flow geometries recently presented in the literature, one of which has a deformation of the conifold as its moduli space. In all of these cases, we notice that the Kahler potential appears to satisfy a simple universal differential equation. We prove that this equation arises for all purely Coulomb branch flows dual to both ten and eleven dimensional geometries, and conjecture that the equation holds much more generally.Comment: 26 pages. Late

On the design of multi-platform parallel mechanisms

Parallel mechanisms have been examined in more and more detail over the past two decades. Parallel mechanisms are essentially the same design layout, a base, multiple legs/limbs, and a moving platform with a single end-effector to allow the mechanism to complete its desired function. Recently, several research groups have begun looking into multiple-platform parallel mechanisms and/or multiple end-effectors for parallel mechanisms. The reason for the research in this new form of parallel mechanism stems from multiple sources, such as applications that would require multiple handling points being accessed simultaneously, a more controlled gripper motion by having the jaws of the gripper being attached at different platforms, or to increasing the workload of the mechanism. The aim of the thesis is to modify the design process of parallel mechanisms so that it will support the development of a new parallel mechanism with multiple platforms capable of moving relative to each other in at least 1-DOF and to analyse the improvements made on the traditional single platform mechanism through a comparison of the power requirements for each mechanism. Throughout the thesis, a modified approach to the type synthesis of a parallel mechanism with multiple moving platforms is proposed and used to create several case study mechanisms. Additionally, this thesis presents a new series of methods for determining the workspace, inverse kinematic and dynamic models, and the integration of these systems into the design of a control system. All methods are vetted through case studies where they are judged based on the results gained from existing published data. Lastly, the concepts in this thesis are combined to produce a physical multi-platform parallel mechanism case study with the process being developed at each stage. Finally, a series of proposed topics of future research are listed along with the limitations and contributions of this work

Rural Land-Use Trends in the Conterminous United States, 1950-2000.

In order to understand the magnitude, direction, and geographic distribution of land-use changes, we evaluated land-use trends in U.S. counties during the latter half of the 20th century. Our paper synthesizes the dominant spatial and temporal trends in population, agriculture, and urbanized land uses, using a variety of data sources and an ecoregion classification as a frame of reference. A combination of increasing attractiveness of nonmetropolitan areas in the period 1970–2000, decreasing household size, and decreasing density of settlement has resulted in important trends in the patterns of developed land. By 2000, the area of low-density, exurban development beyond the urban fringe occupied nearly 15 times the area of higher density urbanized development. Efficiency gains, mechanization, and agglomeration of agricultural concerns has resulted in data that show cropland area to be stable throughout the Corn Belt and parts of the West between 1950 and 2000, but decreasing by about 22% east of the Mississippi River. We use a regional case study of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions to focus in more detail on the land-cover changes resulting from these dynamics. Dominating were land-cover changes associated with the timber practices in the forested plains ecoregions and urbanization in the piedmont ecoregions. Appalachian ecoregions show the slowest rates of landcover change. The dominant trends of tremendous exurban growth, throughout the United States, and conversion and abandonment of agricultural lands, especially in the eastern United States, have important implications because they affect large areas of the country, the functioning of ecological systems, and the potential for restoratio

A method for calculating 16o/18o peptide ion ratios for the relative quantification of proteomes

AbstractA method is described for the identification and relative quantification of proteomes using accurate mass tags (AMT) generated by nLC-dual ESI-FT-ICR-MS on a 7T instrument in conjunction with stable isotope labeling using 16O/18O ratios. AMTs were used for putative peptide identification, followed by confirmation of peptide identity by tandem mass spectrometry. For a combined set of 58 tryptic peptides from bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human transferrin, a mean mass measurement accuracy of 1.9 ppm ±0.94 ppm (CIM99%) was obtained. This subset of tryptic peptides was used to measure 16O/18O ratios of 0.36 ± 0.09 (CIM99%) for BSA (μ = 0.33) and 1.48 ± 0.47 (CIM99%) for transferrin (μ = 1.0) using a method for calculating 16O/18O ratios from overlapping isotopic multiplets arising from mixtures of 16O, 18O1, and 18O2 labeled C-termini. The model amino acid averagine was used to calculate a representative molecular formula for estimating and subtracting the contributions of naturally occurring isotopes solely as a function of peptide molecular weight. The method was tested against simulated composite 16O/18O spectra where peptide molecular weight, 16O/18O ratio, 18O1/18O2 ratios, and number of sulfur atoms were varied. Relative errors of 20% or less were incurred when the 16O/18O ratios were less than three, even for peptides where the number of sulfur atoms was over- or under-estimated. These data demonstrate that for biomarker discovery, it is advantageous to label the proteome representing the disease state with 18O; and the method is not sensitive to variations in 18O1/18O2 ratio. This approach allows a comprehensive differentiation of expression levels and tentative identification via AMTs, followed by targeted analysis of over- and under-expressed peptides using tandem mass spectrometry, for applications such as the discovery of disease biomarkers

Characterizing the Response of Composite Panels to a Pyroshock Induced Environment using Design of Experiments Methodology

This experimental study seeks to quantify the impact various composite parameters have on the structural response of a composite structure in a pyroshock environment. The prediction of an aerospace structure's response to pyroshock induced loading is largely dependent on empirical databases created from collections of development and flight test data. While there is significant structural response data due to pyroshock induced loading for metallic structures, there is much less data available for composite structures. One challenge of developing a composite pyroshock response database as well as empirical prediction methods for composite structures is the large number of parameters associated with composite materials. This experimental study uses data from a test series planned using design of experiments (DOE) methods. Statistical analysis methods are then used to identify which composite material parameters most greatly influence a flat composite panel's structural response to pyroshock induced loading. The parameters considered are panel thickness, type of ply, ply orientation, and pyroshock level induced into the panel. The results of this test will aid in future large scale testing by eliminating insignificant parameters as well as aid in the development of empirical scaling methods for composite structures' response to pyroshock induced loading

EC80-553 What to Do Until the Doctor Comes....First Aid : A Guide for Emergency Medical Care

Extension circular 80-553 discusses What to do until the doctor comes: first aid, a guide for emergency medical care

Automated system for analyzing the activity of individual neurons

This paper presents a signal processing system that: (1) provides an efficient and reliable instrument for investigating the activity of neuronal assemblies in the brain; and (2) demonstrates the feasibility of generating the command signals of prostheses using the activity of relevant neurons in disabled subjects. The system operates online, in a fully automated manner and can recognize the transient waveforms of several neurons in extracellular neurophysiological recordings. Optimal algorithms for detection, classification, and resolution of overlapping waveforms are developed and evaluated. Full automation is made possible by an algorithm that can set appropriate decision thresholds and an algorithm that can generate templates on-line. The system is implemented with a fast IBM PC compatible processor board that allows on-line operation

Anti-inflammatory effects of methoxyphenolic compounds on human airway cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The respiratory epithelium plays a central role in the inflammatory response in asthma and other diseases. Methoxyphenolic compounds are purported to be effective anti-inflammatory agents, but their effects on the airway epithelium have not been well characterized.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human airway cells were stimulated with TNF-α in the presence or absence of 4-substituted methoxyphenols and resveratrol. The expression of various cytokines was measured by qPCR, ELISAs, and protein arrays. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured with a reactive fluorescent probe (3',6'-diacetate-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein). Activation of NF-κB was measured by nuclear translocation and phosphorylation. Ribonuclear protein association with mRNA was assessed with a biotin-RNA affinity isolation assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Multiple inflammatory mediators were inhibited by methoxyphenols, including: CCL2, CCL5, IL-6, IL-8, ICAM-1, MIF, CXCL1, CXCL10, and Serpin E1. IC₅₀values were obtained for each compound that showed significant anti-inflammatory activity: diapocynin (20.3 μM), resveratrol (42.7 μM), 2-methoxyhydroquinone (64.3 μM), apocynin (146.6 μM), and 4-amino-2-methoxyphenol (410 μM). The anti-inflammatory activity did not correlate with inhibition of reactive oxygen species production or NF-κB activation. However, methoxyphenols inhibited binding of the RNA-binding protein HuR to mRNA, indicating that they may act post-transcriptionally.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Methoxyphenols demonstrate anti-inflammatory activity in human airway cells. More potent compounds that act via similar mechanisms may have therapeutic potential as novel anti-inflammatory agents.</p

Effect of a Non-antibiotic Feed Additive (Royal Nutrazyme™) on Nursery Pig Performance

Profitable pork production revolves around increasing average daily gain and feed efficiency and decreasing mortalities. Many health products exist to aid the pork producer in achieving a high health status herd. Antimicrobial products such as Mecadox® are traditionally utilized in the nursery phase. New non-antimicrobial derived products such as oregano oil are also entering the market. To determine the efficacy of these two products a trial was carried out at Iowa Lakes Community College. Four groups of pigs were monitored for growth rate, feed consumption and morbidity. Through the nursery phase, both products improved growth rate over a non-medicated control diet

EMS Adherence to a Pre-hospital Cervical Spine Clearance Protocol

Purpose: To determine the degree of adherence to a cervical spine (c-spine) clearance protocol by pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel by both self-assessment and receiving hospital assessment, to describe deviations from the protocol, and to determine if the rate of compliance by paramedic self-assessment differed from receiving hospital assessment. Methods: A retrospective sample of pre-hospital (consecutive series) and receiving hospital (convenience sample) assessments of the compliance with and appropriateness of c-spine immobilization. The c-spine clearance protocol was implemented for Orange County EMS just prior to the April-November 1999 data collection period. Results: We collected 396 pre-hospital and 162 receiving hospital data forms. From the pre-hospital data sheet. the percentage deviation from the protocol was 4.096 (16/396). Only one out of 16 cases that did not comply with the protocol was due to over immobilization (0.2%). The remaining 15 cases were under immobilized, according to protocol. Nine of the under immobilized cases (66%) that should have been placed in c-spine precautions met physical assessment criteria in the protocol, while the other five cases met mechanism of injury criteria. The rate of deviations from protocol did not differ over time. The receiving hospital identified 8.0% (13/162; 6/16 over immobilized, 7/16 under immobilized) of patients with deviations from the protocol; none was determined to have actual c-spine injury. Conclusion: The implementation of a pre-hospital c-spine clearance protocol in Orange County was associated with a moderate overall adherence rate (96% from the pre-hospital perspective, and 92% from the hospital perspective, p=.08 for the two evaluation methods). Most patients who deviated from protocol were under immobilized, but no c-spine injuries were missed. The rate of over immobilization was better than previously reported, implying a saving of resources