Experiments at the W.M. Keck Observatory to support the Thirty Meter Telescope design work

In order to validate various assumptions about the operating environment of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), to validate the modeling packages being used to guide the design work for the TMT and to directly investigate the expected operation of several subsystems we have embarked on an extensive campaign of environmental measurements at the Keck telescopes. We have measured and characterized the vibration environment around the observatory floor and at certain locations on the telescope over a range of operating conditions. Similarly the acoustic environment around the telescope and primary mirror has been characterized for frequencies above 2 Hz. The internal and external wind and temperature fields are being measured using combined sonic anemometer and PRT sensors. We are measuring the telescope position error and drive torque signals in order to investigate the wind induced telescope motions. A scintillometer mounted on the telescope is measuring the optical turbulence inside the telescope tube. This experimental work is supplemented by an extensive analysis of telescope and engineering sensor log files and measurements, primarily those of accelerometers located on the main telescope optics, primary mirror segment edge sensor error signals (residuals), telescope structure temperature measurements and the telescope status information

Experiments at the W.M. Keck Observatory to support the Thirty Meter Telescope design work

In order to validate various assumptions about the operating environment of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), to validate the modeling packages being used to guide the design work for the TMT and to directly investigate the expected operation of several subsystems we have embarked on an extensive campaign of environmental measurements at the Keck telescopes. We have measured and characterized the vibration environment around the observatory floor and at certain locations on the telescope over a range of operating conditions. Similarly the acoustic environment around the telescope and primary mirror has been characterized for frequencies above 2 Hz. The internal and external wind and temperature fields are being measured using combined sonic anemometer and PRT sensors. We are measuring the telescope position error and drive torque signals in order to investigate the wind induced telescope motions. A scintillometer mounted on the telescope is measuring the optical turbulence inside the telescope tube. This experimental work is supplemented by an extensive analysis of telescope and engineering sensor log files and measurements, primarily those of accelerometers located on the main telescope optics, primary mirror segment edge sensor error signals (residuals), telescope structure temperature measurements and the telescope status information

Cancer Biomarker Discovery: The Entropic Hallmark

Background: It is a commonly accepted belief that cancer cells modify their transcriptional state during the progression of the disease. We propose that the progression of cancer cells towards malignant phenotypes can be efficiently tracked using high-throughput technologies that follow the gradual changes observed in the gene expression profiles by employing Shannon's mathematical theory of communication. Methods based on Information Theory can then quantify the divergence of cancer cells' transcriptional profiles from those of normally appearing cells of the originating tissues. The relevance of the proposed methods can be evaluated using microarray datasets available in the public domain but the method is in principle applicable to other high-throughput methods. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using melanoma and prostate cancer datasets we illustrate how it is possible to employ Shannon Entropy and the Jensen-Shannon divergence to trace the transcriptional changes progression of the disease. We establish how the variations of these two measures correlate with established biomarkers of cancer progression. The Information Theory measures allow us to identify novel biomarkers for both progressive and relatively more sudden transcriptional changes leading to malignant phenotypes. At the same time, the methodology was able to validate a large number of genes and processes that seem to be implicated in the progression of melanoma and prostate cancer. Conclusions/Significance: We thus present a quantitative guiding rule, a new unifying hallmark of cancer: the cancer cell's transcriptome changes lead to measurable observed transitions of Normalized Shannon Entropy values (as measured by high-throughput technologies). At the same time, tumor cells increment their divergence from the normal tissue profile increasing their disorder via creation of states that we might not directly measure. This unifying hallmark allows, via the the Jensen-Shannon divergence, to identify the arrow of time of the processes from the gene expression profiles, and helps to map the phenotypical and molecular hallmarks of specific cancer subtypes. The deep mathematical basis of the approach allows us to suggest that this principle is, hopefully, of general applicability for other diseases

In-situ mechanical weakness of subducting sediments beneath a plate boundary décollement in the Nankai Trough

© 2018, The Author(s). The study investigates the in-situ strength of sediments across a plate boundary décollement using drilling parameters recorded when a 1180-m-deep borehole was established during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 370, Temperature-Limit of the Deep Biosphere off Muroto (T-Limit). Information of the in-situ strength of the shallow portion in/around a plate boundary fault zone is critical for understanding the development of accretionary prisms and of the décollement itself. Studies using seismic reflection surveys and scientific ocean drillings have recently revealed the existence of high pore pressure zones around frontal accretionary prisms, which may reduce the effective strength of the sediments. A direct measurement of in-situ strength by experiments, however, has not been executed due to the difficulty in estimating in-situ stress conditions. In this study, we derived a depth profile for the in-situ strength of a frontal accretionary prism across a décollement from drilling parameters using the recently established equivalent strength (EST) method. At site C0023, the toe of the accretionary prism area off Cape Muroto, Japan, the EST gradually increases with depth but undergoes a sudden change at ~ 800 mbsf, corresponding to the top of the subducting sediment. At this depth, directly below the décollement zone, the EST decreases from ~ 10 to 2 MPa, with a change in the baseline. This mechanically weak zone in the subducting sediments extends over 250 m (~ 800–1050 mbsf), corresponding to the zone where the fluid influx was discovered, and high-fluid pressure was suggested by previous seismic imaging observations. Although the origin of the fluids or absolute values of the strength remain unclear, our investigations support previous studies suggesting that elevated pore pressure beneath the décollement weakens the subducting sediments. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Critical inquiry, instructional leadership and closing the achievement gap: principal learning in a university-school district professional development program

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Washington, 2007.A study of school leadership in urban school districts touches central issues of educational transformation and elimination of the "achievement gap". This qualitative capstone study focused on eight K-12 Seattle School District principals completing a year-long School Leadership Program (SLP) course provided by the Center for Educational Leadership (CEL), associated with the University of Washington College of Education's Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (EdLPS) department. Study questions addressed principals' sensemaking of instructional leadership learning, the critical inquiry process and principal professional development.Findings revealed the strong desire for SLP-type professional development---job-embedded, instructionally focused, and centered on school problems. Participants in the course also found opportunities for collegiality among leaders who seek equity and excellence.SLP activities facilitated sensemaking of instructional leadership. A coached learning walk was significant in learning about powerful instruction. As well, creating a social context for learning, making content obviously relevant to practice and focusing on a few connected ideas around a single content area were important in ensuring principals' needs were met. Critical inquiry projects impacted sensemaking of instructional leadership by facilitating comprehension of a complex set of variables and aligning an intentional leadership response. But the findings showed that critical inquiry is highly demanding for the beginning user. Given the complexity of the process, it is not surprising that the first efforts of participants were incomplete. The limitations of participants' development of critical inquiry underscore the need for continued engagement.Modest gains were made in instructional leadership learning. But taking into account the complexity of the task, as well as the relatively short length of the course, this was an important beginning. Recommendations for district leaders included continuing and strengthening the SLP-district partnership, pursuing a "critical mass" strategy to increase participation; encouraging greater involvement in an in-district SLP; and relieving principals of site-management responsibilities to allow more time for instructional leadership development. Recommendations for CEL in developing future School Leadership Programs included increasing coached walkthroughs; focusing on a single subject area to facilitate sensemaking of content knowledge; supporting all aspects of instructional leadership work; and deepening engagement in critical inquiry

Expedition 370 Preliminary Report: Temperature Limit of the Deep Biosphere off Muroto.

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 370 aimed to explore the limits of life in the deep subseafloor biosphere at a location where temperature increases with depth at an intermediate rate and exceeds the known temperature maximum of microbial life (~120°C) at the sediment/basement interface ~1.2 km below the seafloor. Drilling Site C0023 is located in the vicinity of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 808 and 1174 at the protothrust zone in the Nankai Trough off Cape Muroto at a water depth of 4776 m. ODP Leg 190 in 2000, revealed the presence of microbial cells at Site 1174 to a depth of ~600 meters below seafloor (mbsf), which corresponds to an estimated temperature of ~70°C, and reliably identified a single zone of higher cell concentrations just above the décollement at around 800 mbsf, where temperature presumably reached 90°C; no cell count data was reported for other sediment layers in the 70°–120°C range, because the limit of manual cell count for low-biomass samples was not high enough. With the establishment of Site C0023, we aimed to detect and investigate the presence or absence of life and biological processes at the biotic–abiotic transition with unprecedented analytical sensitivity and precision. Expedition 370 was the first expedition dedicated to subseafloor microbiology that achieved time-critical processing and analyses of deep biosphere samples by simultaneous shipboard and shore-based investigations. Our primary objectives during Expedition 370 were to study the relationship between the deep subseafloor biosphere and temperature. We aimed to comprehensively study the factors that control biomass, activity, and diversity of microbial communities in a subseafloor environment where temperatures increase from ~2°C at the seafloor to ~120°C at the sediment/basement interface and thus likely encompasses the biotic–abiotic transition zone. We also aimed to determine geochemical, geophysical, and hydrogeological characteristics in sediment and the underlying basaltic basement and elucidate if the supply of fluids containing thermogenic and/or geogenic nutrient and energy substrates may support subseafloor microbial communities in the Nankai accretionary complex. To address these primary scientific objectives and questions, we penetrated 1180 m and recovered 112 cores across the sediment/basalt interface. More than 13,000 samples were collected, and selected samples were transferred to the Kochi Core Center by helicopter for simultaneous microbiological sampling and analysis in laboratories with a super-clean environment. Following the coring operations, a temperature observatory with 13 thermistor sensors was installed in the borehole to 863 mbsf