Probing Active to Sterile Neutrino Oscillations in the LENS Detector

Sterile neutrino conversion in meter scale baselines can be sensitively probed using monoenergetic, sub-MeV, flavor pure e-neutrinos from an artificial MCi source and the unique technology of LENS designed to oberve the low energy solar neutrino spectrum via tagged CC e-neutrino capture in 115-In. Active-sterile oscillations can be directly observed in the granular LENS detector itself to critically test and extend resuls of short baseline accelerator and reactor experiments.Comment: 4pages, 4 figures, text and figure change

SMMR Simulator radiative transfer calibration model. 2: Algorithm development

Passive microwave measurements performed from Earth orbit can be used to provide global data on a wide range of geophysical and meteorological phenomena. A Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) is being flown on the Nimbus-G satellite. The SMMR Simulator duplicates the frequency bands utilized in the spacecraft instruments through an amalgamate of radiometer systems. The algorithm developed utilizes data from the fall 1978 NASA CV-990 Nimbus-G underflight test series and subsequent laboratory testing

The EM Algorithm and the Rise of Computational Biology

In the past decade computational biology has grown from a cottage industry with a handful of researchers to an attractive interdisciplinary field, catching the attention and imagination of many quantitatively-minded scientists. Of interest to us is the key role played by the EM algorithm during this transformation. We survey the use of the EM algorithm in a few important computational biology problems surrounding the "central dogma"; of molecular biology: from DNA to RNA and then to proteins. Topics of this article include sequence motif discovery, protein sequence alignment, population genetics, evolutionary models and mRNA expression microarray data analysis.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-STS312 the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Remote sensing of aquatic plants

Various sensors were tested in terms of their ability to detect and discriminate among noxious aquatic macrophytes. A survey of researchers currently studying the problem and a brief summary of their work is included. Results indicated that the sensor types best suited to assessment of the aquatic environment are color, color infrared, and black-and-white infrared film, which furnish consistently high contrasts between aquatic plants and their surroundings

New Concepts in Pacemaker Syndrome

After implantation of a permanent pacemaker, patients may experience severe symptoms of dyspnea, palpitations, malaise, and syncope resulting from pacemaker syndrome. Although pacemaker syndrome is most often ascribed to the loss of atrioventricular (A-V) synchrony, more recent data may also implicate left ventricular dysynchrony caused by right ventricular pacing. Previous studies have not shown reductions in mortality or stroke with rate-modulated dual-chamber (DDDR) pacing as compared to ventricular-based (VVI) pacing. The benefits in A-V sequential pacing with the DDDR mode are likely mitigated by the interventricular (V-V) dysynchrony imposed by the high percentage of ventricular pacing commonly seen in the DDDR mode. Programming DDDR pacemakers to encourage intrinsic A-V conduction and reduce right ventricular pacing will likely decrease heart failure and pacemaker syndrome. Studies are currently ongoing to address these questions

An Empirical Analysis of the Propensity of Academics to Engage in Informal University Technology Transfer

Formal university technology transfer mechanisms, through licensing agreements, research joint ventures, and university-based startups, have attracted considerable attention in the academic literature. Surprisingly, there has been little systematic empirical analysis of the propensity of academics to engage in informal technology transfer. This paper presents empirical evidence on the determinants of three types of informal technology transfer by faculty members: knowledge transfer, joint publications with industry scientists, and consulting. We find that male and tenured faculty members are more likely to engage in all three forms of informal technology transfer. We also find that academics who allocate a relatively higher percentage of their time to grants-related research are more likely to engage in informal commercial knowledge transfer.

An Econometric Analysis of Trends in Research Joint Venture Activity.

Edith Penrose was one of the first scholars to point out that firms may need to rely on research joint ventures (RJVs) to acquire access to resources that can help them achieve and sustain a competitive advantage. We estimate an econometric model of the propensity of firms to disclose their intension to engage in RJVs, in order to explain the recent precipitous decline in RJVs filed with the U.S. Department of Justice. We find that RJV activity is inversely related to the competitive position of U.S. firms in global high-technology industries and that the establishment of the U.S. Commerce Department's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) induced a structural change in the propensity of firms to engage in RJVs. Thus, two factors may explain the recent downturn in RJV filings: a substantial improvement in U.S. global performance in high-technology markets and a sharp decline in ATP funding.

РАЗЛИЧИЕ РАКА ТОЛСТОЙ И ПРЯМОЙ КИШКИ С ТОЧКИ ЗРЕНИЯ ЭПИДЕМИОЛОГИИ, КАНЦЕРОГЕНЕЗА, МОЛЕКУЛЯРНОЙ БИОЛОГИИ, ПЕРВИЧНОЙ И ВТОРИЧНОЙ ПРОФИЛАКТИКИ: ДОКЛИНИЧЕСКИЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ

Introduction. Colon and rectal cancer (CC, RC) are different entities from a clinical and tumor biological point of view. Up to now, both, CC and RC, are synonymously called  “Colorectal Cancer” (CRC). With our experience in basic and clinical research and routine  work in this field we now have come to the opinion, that the term “CRC” should definitely be questioned, and if justified, be abandoned.Materials/Methods. We analyzed the actual available data from the literature and our own  results from the Ulm based study group FOGT to proof or reject our hypothesis.Results. The following evident differences were recognized: Anatomically, the risk to  develop RC is 4× higher than for CC. Molecular changes in carcinogenesis in CC are different from RC. Physical activity helps to prevent CC, not RC. Pathologically there are differences between RC and CC. In addition, there are also major clinical differences  between CC and RC, such as in surgical topography and– procedures, multimodal treatment  (MMT) approaches (RC in MMT is less sensitive to chemotherapy than CC), and prognostic  factors for the spontaneous course and for success of MMT (e.g. TS or DPD ). Discussion. CC ´sand RC´s definitely are different in parameters of causal and formal carcinogenesis, effectivity of primary prevention by physical activity, conventional and  molecular pathology.According to our findings we can demand from the preclinical point of  view that CC and RC are two different tumor entities in terms of various representative  biological characteristics.CC and RC are also differing substantially in many clinical features, as outlined in a separate paper from our group.Conclusion. “CRC” should no longer be used in basic and clinical research and other fields  of cancer classification as a single disease entity. CC is not the same as RC. CC might even be divided into right and left CC.Введение. Рак толстой и прямой кишки – разные опухоли с клинической и биологической точек зрения. В  настоящее время рак толстой и прямой кишки синонимично называют колоректальным раком. Основываясь  на нашем опыте в фундаментальных и клинических исследованиях в этой области, мы пришли к выводу, что  термин «колоректальный рак» необходимо пересмотреть, его нельзя использовать как обобщающее понятие.Материал и методы. Были проанализировали данные литературы и собственные результаты исследований, чтобы доказать или отклонить эту гипотезу.Результаты. Выявлены следующие очевидные различия: риск развития рака прямой кишки в 4 раза выше,  чем рака толстой кишки; молекулярный канцерогенез при раке толстой кишки отличается от рака прямой  кишки; физическая активность помогает предотвратить рак толстой кишки, но не прямой кишки;  существуют патогистологические различия между раком прямой и толстой кишки. Кроме того, имеются  значительные клинические отличия между этими злокачественными новообразованиями, такие как  различная хирургическая топография и объемы операций, разные показания для назначения  комбинированного лечения, поскольку рак прямой кишки менее чувствителен к химиотерапии, чем рак  толстой кишки, и отличаются прогностические факторы эффективности мультимодальной терапии  (например, тимидилат синтетаза и дигидропиримидин дегидрогеназа).Дискуссия. Рак толстой и прямой кишки определенно различаются по этиологии и формальному  канцерогенезу, эффективности первичной профилактики, связанной с физической активностью, обычной и  по параметрам молекулярной патологии. Согласно нашим данным, можно утверждать, что с доклинической  точки зрения рак толстой и прямой кишки являются двумя разными опухолями, поскольку обладают  различными репрезентативными биологическими характеристиками. Рак толстой и прямой кишки также  существенно различаются по многим клиническим признакам, что было указано в отдельной статье,  представленной нашей исследовательской группой. Заключение. Термин «колоректальный рак» не должен  использоваться в фундаментальных и клинических исследованиях, как определение единого заболевания.  Рак толстой кишки не одно и то же, что и рак прямой кишки. Злокачественные новообразования толстой  кишки могут быть разделены на рак правой и левой половины ободочной кишки