Search for solar axion signals via Bragg scattering with germanium detectors

The lack of experimental evidence for CP violation in the strong nuclear force led to the development of Peccei-Quinn theory which proposes a mechanism by which CP violation is suppressed in the strong force. One consequence of Peccei-Quinn theory is the prediction of a new boson, the axion, with an unknown mass and coupling constant. Although experiments have searched for these axions, we have only been able to place limits on the mass and coupling constant. We seek to perform a search for axions using the high purity germanium detectors in the Majorana Demonstrator to look for axion-to-photon converted signals from the sun. To do this we use the germanium crystal lattice to Bragg scatter the incident solar axion ux, which by the Primakoff effect is converted into a photon signal detectable by our germanium crystals. The work described in this document serves to establish a procedure for determining the germanium crystal axes (needed to find the Bragg condition), as well as to perform research and development on the hardware and software tools necessary to perform the axion search.Bachelor of Scienc

Fast multipole networks

Two prerequisites for robotic multiagent systems are mobility and communication. Fast multipole networks (FMNs) enable both ends within a unified framework. FMNs can be organized very efficiently in a distributed way from local information and are ideally suited for motion planning using artificial potentials. We compare FMNs to conventional communication topologies, and find that FMNs offer competitive communication performance (including higher network efficiency per edge at marginal energy cost) in addition to advantages for mobility

Podcasting and the Maine Humanities Council: Integrating a New Tool for Public Humanities Education

The Maine Humanities Council seeks a Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant to design, market and test a "humanities on demand" podcasting capability, to be used across its programs to deliver high-quality humanities content to audiences statewide and beyond, who, for reasons of geography, mobility or economics might never have the opportunity to enjoy such events in person; and to explore ways in which the Council might comprehensively harness podcasting and similar emerging technologies as a tool for future program development

chowder piece on Louis D. Norton (1868-1940), a graduate of the Rhode Island S

chowder piece on Louis D. Norton (1868-1940), a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and a veteran of the Parisian art scene, who painted in a studio in Kennebunkport for more than 30 years. In his later years, with his eyesight failing him, Norton painted murals of Turbats Creek on the walls of his studio. The studio was acquired by the Kennebunkport Historical Society in 1996, and is now on display at their Pasco Center on North Street

A look at some of Maine\u27s most exclusive real estate listings, including Southe

A look at some of Maine\u27s most exclusive real estate listings, including Southerly, an 18,000 square-foot, $12.75 million Shingle Style mansion built eight years ago in Seal Harbor. In the last five years, 321 homes in Maine have been sold for over$1 million. Two hundred forty-two are listed for $1 million or above right now. With detailed listings for five properties at$5.4 million and up, plus seven ocean-view homes for under $140,000

Epithelial Tight Junctional Changes in Colorectal Cancer Tissues

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the western world. Early screening and detection could be highly preventative and therefore reduce mortality. Tight junctions (TJ) are well known for their function in controlling paracellular traffic of ions and molecules. It has become increasingly evident that TJs play a crucial role in maintaining cell-cell integrity, and the loss of cell junctional sealing could involve itself in the processes of carcinoma and cancer metastasis. If correlations between altered TJ proteins and CRC presence or invasiveness could be established, they may serve as important markers and guidelines for prophylactic and prognostic purposes, along with other screening methods. This review will present recent data from clinical and animal studies showing how altered TJ protein expression is a feature of certain CRCs. The up-regulation of claudin-1 in many CRCs is especially noteworthy. The focus of this article is simply on the association – however imperfect – between CRC and the major TJ transmembrane barrier proteins, namely claudins and occludin. Any causal relationship between TJ protein change and neoplasia remains conclusively unproven at present

Continuous Release of Tumor-Derived Factors Improves the Modeling of Cachexia in Muscle Cell Culture

Cachexia is strongly associated with a poor prognosis in cancer patients but the biological trigger is unknown and therefore no therapeutics exist. The loss of skeletal muscle is the most deleterious aspect of cachexia and it appears to depend on secretions from tumor cells. Models for studying wasting in cell culture consist of experiments where skeletal muscle cells are incubated with medium conditioned by tumor cells. This has led to candidates for cachectic factors but some of the features of cachexia in vivo are not yet well-modeled in cell culture experiments. Mouse myotube atrophy measured by myotube diameter in response to medium conditioned by mouse colon carcinoma cells (C26) is consistently less than what is seen in muscles of mice bearing C26 tumors with moderate to severe cachexia. One possible reason for this discrepancy is that in vivo the C26 tumor and skeletal muscle share a circulatory system exposing the muscle to tumor factors in a constant and increasing way. We have applied Transwell®-adapted cell culture conditions to more closely simulate conditions found in vivo where muscle is exposed to the ongoing kinetics of constant tumor secretion of active factors. C26 cells were incubated on a microporous membrane (a Transwell® insert) that constitutes the upper compartment of wells containing plated myotubes. In this model, myotubes are exposed to a constant supply of cancer cell secretions in the medium but without direct contact with the cancer cells, analogous to a shared circulation of muscle and cancer cells in tumor-bearing animals. The results for myotube diameter support the idea that the use of Transwell® inserts serves as a more physiological model of the muscle wasting associated with cancer cachexia than the bolus addition of cancer cell conditioned medium. The Transwell® model supports the notion that the dose and kinetics of cachectic factor delivery to muscle play a significant role in the extent of pathology