A self-study course in FORTRAN programming. Volume 1 - Textbook

Self study textbook for course in FORTRAN programming - Vol.

A self-study course in FORTRAN programming. Volume 2 - Workbook

Self study workbook for course in FORTRAN programming - Vol.

FORTRAN programming - A self-taught course

Comprehensive programming course begins with numerical systems and basic concepts, proceeds systematically through FORTRAN language elements, and concludes with discussion of programming techniques. Course is suitable either for individual study or for group study on informal basis

Field Scanner Design for MUSTANG of the Green Bank Telescope

MUSTANG is a bolometer camera for the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) working at a frequency of 90 GHz. The detector has a field of view of 40 arcseconds. To cancel out random emission change from atmosphere and other sources, requires a fast scanning reflecting system with a few arcminute ranges. In this paper, the aberrations of an off-axis system are reviewed. The condition for an optimized system is provided. In an optimized system, as additional image transfer mirrors are introduced, new aberrations of the off-axis system may be reintroduced, resulting in a limited field of view. In this paper, different scanning mirror arrangements for the GBT system are analyzed through the ray tracing analysis. These include using the subreflector as the scanning mirror, chopping a flat mirror and transferring image with an ellipse mirror, and chopping a flat mirror and transferring image with a pair of face-to-face paraboloid mirrors. The system analysis shows that chopping a flat mirror and using a well aligned pair of paraboloids can generate the required field of view for the MUSTUNG detector system, while other systems all suffer from larger off-axis aberrations added by the system modification. The spot diagrams of the well aligned pair of paraboloids produced is only about one Airy disk size within a scanning angle of about 3 arcmin.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of gold surfaces after removal of thiolated DNA oligomers by ultraviolet/ozone treatment

Well-ordered films of molecular DNA can be formed by the attachment of thiolated DNA oligonucleotides to a supporting gold substrate. The gold substrate represents a significant fraction of the total cost of preparing such films, and it is thus important to determine whether such substrates can be reused. Here, we investigate with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy the suitability of UV/ozonolysis previously employed to remove alkanethiols from gold, for removing 40-mer, single- and double-stranded synthetic DNA. We find that while UV/O3 can indeed remove thiolated DNA from gold slides, the treatment times required permit the implantation of additional organic contaminants

Hepatic expression of endocannabinoid receptors and their novel polymorphisms in primary biliary cirrhosis

BACKGROUND: The endocannabinoid system (EC) has emerged as a crucial mediator in a variety of pathophysiological conditions. AIMS: To evaluate: (1) whether the EC system is activated in the livers of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC); (2) if genetic variations in human EC receptor genes (CB1 and CB2) may be associated with a different phenotypic expression of the disease and response to therapy. METHODS: The expression of CB1 and CB2 receptors was studied by immunohistochemistry in liver biopsy specimens from 13 patients with PBC, and CB1 and CB2 mRNA expression was studied by real-time polymerase chain reaction testing (RT-PCR) in liver samples. In addition, genetic polymorphisms in the EC receptor gene were sought in 68 patients with PBC from Italy, 84 patients who were residents of the United States (US), and 70 controls matched for sex, age, and for geographical area with the Italian PBC patients. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral venous blood leucocytes with standard methods. PCR was used to amplify the coding regions of the CB1 and CB2 genes with specific primers. RESULT: CB1 was markedly expressed in hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells in the livers of patients with PBC; conversely in control liver samples, it was virtually absent. CB2 was expressed in hepatocytes and in cholangiocytes, whereas it was absent from mesenchymal cells. The mRNA of both CB1 and CB2 was detected in the PBC liver samples, as demonstrated by RT-PCR. The CB1 polymorphism (1359 G/A) was present in 26.5% of Italian patients, in 22.9% of healthy controls, and in 27.4% of patients from the US (p = n.s.). The CB2 polymorphism (188-189 AA/GG) was present in 24.4 versus 30.4% of Italian and US patients with PBC, respectively, and in 28.0% of Italian controls samples (p = n.s.). Logistic regression analysis showed that advanced histological stage and the lack of response to ursodeoxycholic acid treatment were significantly correlated with the CB1 polymorphism. CONCLUSIONS: The EC system is markedly up-regulated in the livers of patients with PBC and it may exert a role regulating adaptive mechanisms in cholestasis