Searching for Extra Dimensions in the Early Universe

We investigate extra spatial dimensions ($D = 3+\epsilon$) in the early universe using very high resolution molecular rotational spectroscopic data derived from a large molecular cloud containing moderately cold carbon monoxide gas at Z $\approx 6.42$. It turns out that the $\epsilon$-dependent quantum mechanical wavelength transitions are solvable for a linear molecule and we present the solution here. The CO microwave data allows a very precise determination of $= -0.00000657 \pm .10003032$. The probability that $\neq 0$ is one in 7794, only 850 million years (using the standard cosmology) after the Big Bang.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

On the use of intermediate infrared and microwave infrared in weather satellites

Intermediate, and microwave infrared measurements by weather satellite

On the uses of intermediate infrared and microwave infrared in meteorological satellites Semiannual report

Intermediate infrared and microwave infrared applications in meteorological satellite

On the uses of intermediate infrared and microwave infrared in meteorological satellites Third semiannual report

Analysis of Nimbus satellite high resolution infrared radiation grid point data, surface emissivity in intermediate region, and meteorological modeling for microwave stud

Ketone Bodies and Signaling in Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, and 95% of these cases are caused by PDAC (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma). Ketone bodies have previously been shown to decrease cell proliferation and cancer-induced cachexia. The molecular mechanism of ketone body-mediated growth inhibition of pancreatic cancer cells is not well understood. Research conducted thus far has not explored which molecular pathways are affected by ketone body treatment in pancreatic cancer cells. In the current study, the effect of the ketone body sodium hydroxybutyrate on the JAK-STAT and mTOR pathways and cell migration was explored. A decrease in cell migration was observed in a dose dependent manner. Levels of p-STAT3 and p-p70 S6K were decreased after 72 hour treatment with 5 and 10 mM sodium hydroxybutyrate. These proteins regulate transcription and translation of several genes involved in cellular growth and proliferation

On the use of intermediate infrared and microwave infrared in weather satellites First annual report

Microwave infrared sensors in meteorological satellite payloads to obtain additional weather informatio

The kinetics of the reaction of superoxide radical with Fe(III) complexes of EDTA, DETAPAC and HEDTA

AbstractTo gain an understanding of the mechanism by which the hydroxyl free radical can arise in superoxide generating systems and learn how different chelaters of iron can inhibit this reaction, a pulse radiolysis kinetic study of the reaction of O−2 with Fe(III)EDTA, Fe(III)HEDTA and Fe(III)DETAPAC (or DTPA) was undertaken. Superoxide reacts readily with Fe(III)EDTA and Fe(III)HEDTA with a pH-dependent second-order rate constant having values of 1.9 × 106 M−1.s−1 and 7.6 × 105 M−1.s−1 at pH 7, respectively. However, the rate constant for the reaction of O−2 with Fe(III)DETAPAC was found to be much slower, the upper limit for the rate constant being 104 M−1.s−1. These results in conjunction with spin-trapping experiments with Fe(II)EDTA, Fe(II)HEDTA, Fe(II)DETAPAC and H2O2 suggests that DETAPAC inhibits the formation of OH by slowing the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) and not by inhibiting the Fenton reaction

Risk attribution of Campylobacter infection by age group using exposure modelling

Knowledge on the relative importance of alternative sources of human campylobacteriosis is important in order to implement effective disease prevention measures. The objective of this study was to assess the relative importance of three key exposure pathways (travelling abroad, poultry meat, pet contact) for different patient age groups in Switzerland. With a stochastic exposure model data on Campylobacter incidence for the years 2002-2007 were linked with data for the three exposure pathways and the results of a case-control study. Mean values for the population attributable fractions (PAF) over all age groups and years were 27% (95% CI 17-39) for poultry consumption, 27% (95% CI 22-32) for travelling abroad, 8% (95% CI 6-9) for pet contact and 39% (95% CI 25-50) for other risk factors. This model provided robust results when using data available for Switzerland, but the uncertainties remained high. The output of the model could be improved if more accurate input data are available to estimate the infection rate per exposure. In particular, the relatively high proportion of cases attributed to ‘other risk factors' requires further attentio

The Policy and Public Management Residency Program: A Proposal to Restore Staffing Capacity in the U.S. House, CBO, CRS, and GAO

There is robust consensus among political scientists, congressional observers, and in Congress that the First Branch’s internal staffing capacity is at historic, dangerous lows. This paper addresses staffing capacity in the U.S. House of Representatives and the three primary congressional support offices: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Governmental Accountability Office (CBO). In recent decades, political actors, penurious budgeting, and voter animosity have degraded needed expertise. Such actions include reduced or frozen staffing numbers and pay and poor working conditions. The result is frequent staff burnout and turnover. Bright but inexperienced staff struggle to manage an portfolio of policy issues in which they cannot possibly have a working proficiency. These staff turn to lobbyists inevitably join the “Influence Industry.” The executive branch staffing, relatively, is substantial. Congress struggles to exercise oversight over federal agencies, in large part, due to a mismatch of resources. Lawmakers face legislative gridlock and the lawmaking they do undertake is often overly responsive to the wishes of K Street. This capstone proposes a Residency Program to onboard an annual cohort of 300 staff into the U.S. House and three support agencies who are experienced, knowledgeable and credentialed in the fields of public policy and administration. It draws inspiration from similar and established programs. The program would annually onboard 150 recent graduates of masters programs and 150 recent graduates of doctoral programs. The programs must be accredited. The candidates must possess at minimum three years’ executive branch experience. The Residents would be paid a living wage and work 12 months. The goal is to find the Residents a permanent job in Congress, hopefully the House or three offices. There would be no job guarantee. By the end of 2025, the annual cohorts of 300 Residents could represent as much as 19.11 percent of the House, or 13.6 percent of the House and three support offices combined

The Parallel Persistent Memory Model

We consider a parallel computational model that consists of $P$ processors, each with a fast local ephemeral memory of limited size, and sharing a large persistent memory. The model allows for each processor to fault with bounded probability, and possibly restart. On faulting all processor state and local ephemeral memory are lost, but the persistent memory remains. This model is motivated by upcoming non-volatile memories that are as fast as existing random access memory, are accessible at the granularity of cache lines, and have the capability of surviving power outages. It is further motivated by the observation that in large parallel systems, failure of processors and their caches is not unusual. Within the model we develop a framework for developing locality efficient parallel algorithms that are resilient to failures. There are several challenges, including the need to recover from failures, the desire to do this in an asynchronous setting (i.e., not blocking other processors when one fails), and the need for synchronization primitives that are robust to failures. We describe approaches to solve these challenges based on breaking computations into what we call capsules, which have certain properties, and developing a work-stealing scheduler that functions properly within the context of failures. The scheduler guarantees a time bound of $O(W/P_A + D(P/P_A) \lceil\log_{1/f} W\rceil)$ in expectation, where $W$ and $D$ are the work and depth of the computation (in the absence of failures), $P_A$ is the average number of processors available during the computation, and $f \le 1/2$ is the probability that a capsule fails. Within the model and using the proposed methods, we develop efficient algorithms for parallel sorting and other primitives.Comment: This paper is the full version of a paper at SPAA 2018 with the same nam