Development of a C3 generic workstation: System overview

A command, control, and communications (C3) environment is described which will be applied to the evaluation of performance of aircrews, particularly in situations in which they are subjected to chemical defense protection drugs and antihistamines

Structured analysis and modeling of complex systems

The Aircrew Evaluation Sustained Operations Performance (AESOP) facility at Brooks AFB, Texas, combines the realism of an operational environment with the control of a research laboratory. In recent studies we collected extensive data from the Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) Weapons Directors subjected to high and low workload Defensive Counter Air Scenarios. A critical and complex task in this environment involves committing a friendly fighter against a hostile fighter. Structured Analysis and Design techniques and computer modeling systems were applied to this task as tools for analyzing subject performance and workload. This technology is being transferred to the Man-Systems Division of NASA Johnson Space Center for application to complex mission related tasks, such as manipulating the Shuttle grappler arm

Translational energy dependence of cross sections for reactions of OH− (H2O) n with CO2 and SO2

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jcp/80/10/10.1063/1.446510.A tandem mass spectrometer has been used to measure cross sections for reactions of the solvated negative ions OH−(H2O) n , where 0≤n≤3, with the neutral molecules CO2 and SO2 over the range of reactant translational energy 0.15–25.0 eV (LAB). The reactions observed include solvent switching, collisional dissociation, and charge transfer. The exoergic solvent switching reactions are very rapid, having cross sections which exceed a hundred square Angstroms at low energies. These cross sections decrease approximately as (energy)−0.5 up to 1 eV and then decrease much more rapidly at higher collision energies. Estimates of bond dissociation energies for the cluster ions are derived from the measured translational energy thresholds for the endothermic collisional dissociationreactions

Evaluating LANDSAT-4 MSS and TM data

Interband line pixel misregistrations were determined for the four MSS bands of the Mistassini, Ontario scene and multitemporal registration of LANDSAT-4 products were tested for two different geocoded scenes. Line and pixel misregistrations are tabulated as determined by the manual ground control points and the digital band to band correlation techniques. A method was developed for determining the spectral information content of TM images for forestry applications

Tumor-induced senescent T cells with suppressor function: A potential form of tumor immune evasion

Senescent and suppressor T cells are reported to be increased in select patients with cancer and are poor prognostic indicators. Based on the association of these T cells and poor outcomes, we hypothesized that tumors induce senescence in T cells, which negatively effects antitumor immunity. In this report, we show that human T cells from healthy donors incubated with tumor for only 6 h at a low tumor to T-cell ratio undergo a senescence-like phenotype, characterized by the loss of CD27 and CD28 expression and telomere shortening. Tumor-induced senescence of T cells is induced by soluble factors and triggers increases in expression of senescence-associated molecules such as p53, p21, and p16. Importantly, these T cells are not only phenotypically altered, but also functionally altered as they can suppress the proliferation of responder T cells. This suppression requires cell-to-cell contact and is mediated by senescent CD4+ and CD8+ subpopulations, which are distinct from classically described natural T regulatory cells. Our observations support the novel concept that tumor can induce senescent T cells with suppressor function and may effect both the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. ©2008 American Association for Cancer Research.Fil: Montes, Carolina Lucia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Chapoval, Andrei I.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Nelson, Jonas. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Orhue, Vbenosa. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Zhang, Xiaoyu. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Schulze, Dan H.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Strome, Scott E.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Gastman, Brian R.. University of Maryland; Estados Unido

CD137 promotes proliferation and survival of human B cells

CD137 (4-1BB)-mediated costimulation plays an important role in directing the fate of Ag-stimulated T cells and NK cells, yet the role of CD137 in mediating B cell function is unknown. We found that CD137 is expressed in vitro on anti-Ig–stimulated peripheral blood B cells and in vivo on tonsillar B cells with an activated phenotype. In vitro CD137 expression is enhanced by CD40 stimulation and IFN-g and is inhibited by IL-4, -10, and -21. The expression of CD137 on activated human B cells is functionally relevant because engagement with its ligand at the time of activation stimulates B cell proliferation, enhances B cell survival, and induces secretion of TNF-a and -b. Our study suggests that CD137 costimulation may play a role in defining the fate of Agstimulated human B cells.Fil: Zhang, Xiaoyu. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Voskens, Caroline J.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Sallin, Michelle. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Maniar, Amudhan. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Montes, Carolina Lucia. University of Maryland; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Zhang, Yue. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Lin, Wei. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Li, Guoyan. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Burch, Erin. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Tan, Ming. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Hertzano, Ronna. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Chapoval, Andrei I.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Tamada, Koji. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Gastman, Brian R.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Schulze, Dan H.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Strome, Scott E.. University of Maryland; Estados Unido

Reviewer agreement trends from four years of electronic submissions of conference abstract

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the inter-rater agreement between reviewers on the quality of abstract submissions to an annual national scientific meeting (Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians; CAEP) to identify factors associated with low agreement. METHODS: All abstracts were submitted using an on-line system and assessed by three volunteer CAEP reviewers blinded to the abstracts' source. Reviewers used an on-line form specific for each type of study design to score abstracts based on nine criteria, each contributing from two to six points toward the total (maximum 24). The final score was determined to be the mean of the three reviewers' scores using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: 495 Abstracts were received electronically during the four-year period, 2001 – 2004, increasing from 94 abstracts in 2001 to 165 in 2004. The mean score for submitted abstracts over the four years was 14.4 (95% CI: 14.1–14.6). While there was no significant difference between mean total scores over the four years (p = 0.23), the ICC increased from fair (0.36; 95% CI: 0.24–0.49) to moderate (0.59; 95% CI: 0.50–0.68). Reviewers agreed less on individual criteria than on the total score in general, and less on subjective than objective criteria. CONCLUSION: The correlation between reviewers' total scores suggests general recognition of "high quality" and "low quality" abstracts. Criteria based on the presence/absence of objective methodological parameters (i.e., blinding in a controlled clinical trial) resulted in higher inter-rater agreement than the more subjective and opinion-based criteria. In future abstract competitions, defining criteria more objectively so that reviewers can base their responses on empirical evidence may lead to increased consistency of scoring and, presumably, increased fairness to submitters

Multiple determination of the optical constants of thin-film coating materials

The seven participating laboratories received films of two different thicknesses of Sc2O3 and Rh. All samples of each material were prepared in a single deposition run. Brief descriptions are given of the various methods used for determination of the optical constants of these coating materials. The measurement data are presented, and the results are compared. The mean of the variances of the Sc2O3refractive-index determinations in the 0.40–0.75-nm spectral region was 0.03. The corresponding variances for the refractive index and absorption coefficient of Rh were 0.35 and 0.26, respectively