HI Clouds detected towards Virgo with the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey

The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey is in the process of yielding a complete HI dataset of the Virgo Cluster and its environs (Giovanelli et al. 2007, Kent et al., in preparation). Assuming a distance to Virgo of 16.7 Mpc, the minimum detectable HI mass by ALFALFA is of order 2 x 10^7 Msun. A number of the HI detections appear to have interesting properties. Some appear associated with, but offset from, low surface brightness optical counterparts; others, at larger spatial offsets, may be tidally related to optical counterparts. Yet another class includes detections which are not identifiable with any optical counterparts. We present the ALFALFA results on these objects in the Virgo region, as well as followup aperture synthesis observations obtained with the VLA.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of IAU Symp #244, "Dark Galaxies and Lost Baryons", June 2007, 10 pages including 7 figures and 1 tabl

Treat It Right : Alternative Wastewater Systems That Protect Water Quality

Treat It Right : Alternative Wastewater Systems That Protect Water Quality Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection : Maine Dept. of Economic & Community Development, February 1993. This handbook was prepared by Maine Tomorrow, a consulting firm in Hallowell. Maine. The handbook was researched, written and designed by Brian Kent; the primary editor and research associate was Alison Truesdale, and Wendy Mahoney did the wordprocessing and desk-top printing.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/me_collection/1070/thumbnail.jp

Project Management Estimating Tool

A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Project ManagementThis project developed a user-friendly spreadsheet cost estimating tool for Public Buildings Service (PBS) project manager use in small construction and leasing projects. It helps users provide their own conceptual and budgetary level estimates for over 50 common tenant improvement tasks in federally owned and leased buildings in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Project Management Estimating Tool (PMET) will enable project managers to provide many simple estimates in minutes that currently require multiple days using cost estimator resources. PBS leaders consistently receive complaints from customer agencies regarding the long time PBS takes to provide estimates, and often regarding estimate inaccuracy. The PMET addresses both timeliness and accuracy of small, recurring project estimates, freeing cost estimators to focus on timeliness and accuracy of more complex estimates. The PMET incorporates a statistical risk methodology to increase estimate accuracy. Each estimating item contains a dataset combination of commercial estimating guide values and actual bid values from recent federal contracts. Based on user-provided answers to seven risk factor questions, the tool tailors estimates to the risks. The improved accuracy of PBS estimates from this tool will also build the estimating skills and confidence of project managers, another PBS goal toward project management maturity.Title Page / Table of Contents / List of Exhibits / List of Appendices / Project Overview / Abstract / Keywords And Abbreviations / Current State / Future State / Need / Scope / Project Justification / Project Objectives / Deliverables / Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) / Research Approach / Research Sources / Research Keywords / External Research / Internal Agency Research / Initial User Survey Questions / Initial User Survey Results / Annual Follow-Up User Survey Questions / Project Management Life Cycle / Critical Success Factors / Project Results / Staffing Planning and Acquisition / Assumptions / Constraints / Integration Management / Scope Management / Scope Change One / Scope Change Two / Scope Change Three /Time Management / Schedule Change One / Schedule Change Two / Cost Management / Quality Management / Communications Management / Risk Management / Stakeholder Management / Performance Measurement (Project Metrics) / Product (PMET) Overview / Tool Construction / Development Iterations / PMET User Introduction / PMET User Input / PMET Parametric Estimate Outputs / PMET Assembly Estimate Outputs / Product (PMET) Testing, Rollout and Maintenance / Testing, Training and Rollout / Annual Maintenance / Annual User Survey / Annual Maintenance Instructions / Project Conclusions / PMET Lessons Learned / PMET Project Conclusion /PMET Product Conclusion / Recommendations for Further Research/Development / Actual Cost Data Collection / PMET Testing and Rollout / Reference

International Economic Convergence: Measuring Economic Growth and Income Inequality from 1975-1999

As the world continues to be reshaped by technological advances and globalization, national borders are rapidly dissolving. Nations that are many thousands of miles away now seem closer than ever due to modern technology and transportation. The world has experienced tremendous progress and economic growth in the last few decades, and today people in many countries enjoy a higher standard of living than the world\u27s citizens have ever known. Yet despite all that we have accomplished as a human society, somehow we are still unable to solve the most fundamental problem facing humanity: relieving the poverty and misfortune of billions of people. The recent trend toward globalization has also served to bring international problems closer to home, and today the issues facing less developed nations are becoming more pertinent to every one of us

ELECTROCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE, pH, AND ELECTROLYTE ON THE ELECTRON TRANSFER REACTIONS OF CYTOCHROME C

Spectroelectrochemical and electrochemical methods have been used to investigate the characteristics of heterogeneous electron transfer between cytochrome c and indium oxide electrodes. Direct electron transfer between cytochrome c and solid electrodes is of interest due to the interfacial character of electron transfer between the protein and its membrane-bound physiological redox partners. The conformation of ferricytochrome c is affected more by changes in temperature or pH than is its reduced form, ferrocytochrome c. This difference in conformational stability is attributed to the +1 charge of the heme in ferricytochrome c that is largely embedded in the hydrophobic interior of the enzyme. A linear temperature dependence of the formal potential of cytochrome c was observed from 5 to ≥ 55 °C in neutral and acidic media. This behavior is attributed to a linear variation in the conformation of ferricytochrome c that results in an increase in solvent exposure of the solvent- exposed heme edge. A break in the linear temperature dependence of the formal potential occurred at 40 °C in alkaline media. This reflects a distinct conformational change that accompanies the onset of thermal denaturation of ferricytochrome c. The change in reaction center entropy, Asrc°, of ca. -13 eu in neutral and acidic media (5 to ≥ 55 °C) and in alkaline media (below 40 °C) is appropriate for the small shift to a more stable conformation of cytochrome c that occurs upon reduction. The heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant, k°\u27, of cytochrome c exhibited a biphasic temperature dependence with a maximum value obtained at different temperatures, but at the same formal potential in binding and nonbinding neutral media. This indicates that there is an optimum conformation of ferricytochrome c for facile heterogeneous electron transfer. Adsorption of reactant and product was detected. The strength and type of adsorption were found to be temperature- and pH-dependent. The characteristics of electron transfer between cytochrome c and an electrode depend on bulk solvent properties and electrode surface characteristics

Prokofiev\u27s Sinfonia Concertante, Opus 125: An Analysis and Thematic Comparison to the Concerto, Opus 58.

Prokofiev\u27s Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 125, written between 1950 and 1952, was a thorough-going revision of the less successful Cello Concerto, Op. 58, composed between 1933 and 1938. The purpose of this monograph is to analyze and explain Prokofiev\u27s unique tonal style through a comparison of themes and their separate treatment in the first movements of these works. The monograph is in three main parts: a brief history of Prokofiev and the background of these two pieces, a comparison of the first movement themes of these works, and an analysis of Prokofiev\u27s key relations and modulatory devices. Almost all of the thematic material of the Concerto appears in the Sinfonia Concertante. However, Prokofiev adapts and expands the themes in the Concerto\u27s ternary movement to create a quasi-sonata form in the Sinfonia Concertante. A comparison of themes and motives in these works indicates the degree to which Prokofiev\u27s composition of these works was a process of arranging clearly conceived thematic ideas. Richard Bass\u27s theory of Chromatic Displacement is employed to explain Prokofiev\u27s melodic chromaticism. The strongly diatonic themes frequently contain chromatically shifted fragments which have the initial characteristics of ornamental chromaticism. Tonally, individual melodic lines may briefly go out of phase with the prevailing key. Or they may contain chromaticism implying one tonal desination while contrapuntally arranged to support the sonorities of a contrasting key area

Blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment and cognitive decline in older adults

PhD ThesisHypertension is prevalent in older adults and associated with impaired cognitive function compared to normotensive peers. The effect of antihypertensive therapy on preventing or reducing the rate of cognitive decline is unclear. The studies in this thesis examined the association of elevated blood pressure in older adults on changes in specific cognitive domains and tested the hypothesis that antihypertensive treatment reduces the rate of cognitive decline in older adults with mild hypertension. 507 older individuals (70-89 years) were recruited from a general practice population (250 normotensives, and 257 hypertensives who participated in an international, placebo- controlled trial of candesartan). Cognition was assessed annually for 3-5 years using a comprehensive computerised assessment battery and tests of executive function. Analysis of cognitive function at baseline showed hypertensive subjects performed worse than normotensives across a range of tasks (Chapter 3). Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the baseline data to derive composite scores used to characterise five domains of cognition and reduce the number of statistical comparisons (Chapter 4). Regression analyses were performed for each participant to calculate individual slopes of decline on the five domains, to provide a sensitive method of analysing repeated assessment data with differential length of follow-up. The primary analysis showed that candesartan-based therapy reduced cognitive decline associated with hypertension on Attention and Episodic Memory, with a trend for Speed of Cognition; effect sizes were small-to-moderate. There were no effects on Working Memory or Executive Function (Chapter 6). The normotensive subjects showed less cognitive decline than the hypertensives (Chapter 7). These data suggest that the rate of cognitive decline associated with hypertension in older adults may be reduced by blood-pressure-lowering. Analysing individual slopes of decline on empirically-derived domains of cognition provides a sensitive and feasible methodology for assessing the effects