Intraclonal Variation in Wood Density of Trembling Aspen in Alberta

Four trees from each of three putative clones of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) at one site in north-central Alberta were sampled to determine the patterns of wood density variation within stems and within clones. Sample disks were removed at five heights from each tree to examine variation among cardinal directions and across the southern radius at each height. Although only three clones were sampled, there were significant differences (0.05 level) among clones. Wood density tends to be high at the bottom of the tree, decreases to a minimum at midheight, then increases again near the top of the tree. In the radial direction, wood density is high near the pith (at all heights), decreases, then increases again in the mature wood zone (after rings 15-20+). Average wood density values within the twelve stems varied from 0.348 g/cc to 0.402 g/cc

Interacting classical and quantum particles

We apply Hall and Reginatto's theory of interacting classical and quantum ensembles to harmonically coupled particles, with a view to understanding its experimental implications. This hybrid theory has no free parameters and makes distinctive predictions that should allow it to be experimentally distinguished from quantum mechanics. It also bears on the questions of quantum measurement and quantum gravity.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

SALINAS - An implicit finite element structural dynamics code developed for massively parallel platforms

As computational needs for structural finite element analysis increase, a robust implicit structural dynamics code is needed which can handle millions of degrees of freedom in the model and produce results with quick turn around time. A parallel code is needed to avoid limitations of serial platforms. Salinas is an implicit structural dynamics code specifically designed for massively parallel platforms. It computes the structural response of very large complex structures and provides solutions faster than any existing serial machine. This paper gives a current status of Salinas and uses demonstration problems to show Salinas' performance

Best Practices for Tourism Center Development Along the Red Sea Coast

The spectacular coastlines along Egypt\u27s Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba are the focus for one of the fastest growing tourism economies in the world. In order to accomplish national objectives for growth in permanent, well-paying jobs and in foreign exchange earnings, the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has launched an initiative to make land available to investors for resort development along these coastlines. As of December, 1997, 6,000 hotel rooms are under construction in the Red Sea region and the TDA has proposals for at least 240 major resorts to be built by the year 2020. While this program has begun to yield impressive results in terms of new hotel construction, tourism jobs and tourist visitations, TDA has recognized that priority must be given to guiding private development in ways that protect Egypt\u27s natural heritage and insure that tourism can be sustained far into the future. It is clear from experience to date that such rapid growth, if not carefully planned and managed, threatens the very attractions that bring visitors here. In the best practices described here, TDA defines well planned and managed -- as distinct from haphazard and destructive -- tourism development for the Red Sea coastal environment. We look to lessons gained from several case studies of tourism center sites being jointly planned by TDA and development companies and from studies of successful established tourism centers in Egypt and from other parts of the world. We also draw upon technical literature from a variety of related fields, including marine biology, landscape architecture, engineering, tourism marketing, environmental planning, and others. These lessons and research are distilled into best practices for the planning and siting of new tourism centers and for the use and protection of environmental assets adjacent to the centers including the coral reef ecosystems, the beaches and headlands, the setback areas along coastal waters, and the surrounding desert landscape. This Best Practices Handbook is designed to be practical, well-illustrated and easily understood. It covers aspects of tourism center development that will: assist the development community to achieve environmentally sound, aesthetically pleasing and market-sensitive tourism centers, and assist the TDA and other public agencies by providing benchmarks on which to set environmental policies, guide the location of tourism centers and the subdivision of public lands, judge development plans and proposals, and base environmental management regulations. In the first section, Best Practices focuses on the framework for tourism development and environmental protection: the roles and responsibilities of key groups and the development process. The subsequent section describes the unique physical and environmental context in which tourism development is occurring and the special measures needed to respect these development shaping features. The subsequent sections address the best practices to accomplish sustainable tourism development. The best practices are not presented as a rigid set of prescribed steps and procedures, but rather as guidance and assistance in designing successful tourism facilities and managing the environmental assets on which tourism depends. Furthermore, this should be seen as our first effort. We intend to build upon and refine these practices as wel gain continued experience. Your suggestions for improvement will be sincerely appreciated

Molecule Microscopy

Contains research objectives and reports on four research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant AM-25535)Whitaker FoundationFrancis L. Friedman Chai

Differential expression of CD10 in prostate cancer and its clinical implication

BACKGROUND: CD10 is a transmembrane metallo-endopeptidase that cleaves and inactivates a variety of peptide growth factors. Loss of CD10 expression is a common, early event in human prostate cancer; however, CD10 positive cancer cells frequently appear in lymph node metastasis. We hypothesize that prostate tumors expressing high levels of CD10 have a more aggressive biology with an early propensity towards lymph node metastasis. METHODS: Eighty-seven patients, 53 with and 34 without pathologically organ confined prostate cancer at the time of radical prostatectomy (RP), were used for the study. Fourteen patients with lymph node metastasis found at the time of surgery were identified and included in this study. Serial sections from available frozen tumor specimens in OCT were processed for CD10 immunohistochemistry. Cancer glands were graded for the presence and intensity of CD10 staining, and overall percentage of glands staining positive was estimated. Clinical characteristics including pre- and post-operative PSA and Gleason score were obtained. A similar study as a control for the statistical analysis was performed with CD13 staining. For statistical analysis, strong staining was defined as > 20% positivity based on the observed maximum separation of the cumulative distributions. RESULTS: CD10 expression significantly correlated with Gleason grade, tumor stage, and with pre-operative serum PSA. Seventy percent of RP specimens from patients with node metastasis showed strong staining for CD10, compared to 30% in the entire cohort (OR = 3.4, 95% CI: 1.08–10.75, P = 0.019). Increased staining for CD10 was associated with PSA recurrence after RP. CD13 staining did not correlate significantly with any of these same clinical parameters. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the expression of CD10 by prostate cancer corresponds to a more aggressive phenotype with a higher malignant potential, described histologically by the Gleason score. CD10 offers potential clinical utility for stratifying prostate cancer to predict biological behavior of the tumor

Procedure for Correlating Events in Farm Firm Simulation Models

The Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Low Mach number modeling of Type I X-ray burst deflagrations

The Low Mach Number Approximation (LMNA) is applied to 2D hydrodynamical modeling of Type I X-ray bursts on a rectangular patch on the surface of a non-rotating neutron star. Because such phenomena involve decidedly subsonic flows, the timestep increase offered by the LMNA makes routine simulations of these deflagrations feasible in an environment where strong gravity produces significant stratification, while allowing for potentially significant lateral differences in temperature and density. The model is employed to simulate the heating, peak, and initial cooling stages in the deep envelope layers of a burst. During the deflagration, Benard-like cells naturally fill up a vertically expanding convective layer. The Mach number is always less than 0.15 throughout the simulation, thus justifying the low Mach number approximation. While the convective layer is superadiabatic on average, significant fluctuations in adiabaticity occur within it on subconvective timescales. Due to convective layer expansion, significant compositional mixing naturally occurs, but tracer particle penetration through the convective layer boundaries on convective timescales is temporary and spatially limited. Thus, mixing occurs on the relatively slow burst timescale through thermal expansion of the convective layer rather than from mass penetration of the convective layer boundary through particle convection. At the convective layer boundaries where mixing is less efficient, the actual temperature gradient more closely follows the Ledoux criteria.Comment: 40 pages, 13 figures, accepted by ApJ, high resolution version: http://www.astro.northwestern.edu/~lin/references/Lin_LMNA_ApJ_2006.pd