Discrimination of prostate cancer cells and non-malignant cells using secondary ion mass spectrometry

This communication utilises Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) combined with multivariate analysis to obtain spectra from the surfaces of three closely related cell lines allowing their discrimination based upon mass spectral ions

Binary black hole merger dynamics and waveforms

We study dynamics and radiation generation in the last few orbits and merger of a binary black hole system, applying recently developed techniques for simulations of moving black holes. Our analysis of the gravitational radiation waveforms and dynamical black hole trajectories produces a consistent picture for a set of simulations with black holes beginning on circular-orbit trajectories at a variety of initial separations. We find profound agreement at the level of one percent among the simulations for the last orbit, merger and ringdown. We are confident that this part of our waveform result accurately represents the predictions from Einstein's General Relativity for the final burst of gravitational radiation resulting from the merger of an astrophysical system of equal-mass non-spinning black holes. The simulations result in a final black hole with spin parameter a/m=0.69. We also find good agreement at a level of roughly 10 percent for the radiation generated in the preceding few orbits.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, submitted to PRD, update citations, minor change

Profitability of Variable Rate Phosphorus in a Two Crop Rotation

The purpose of this study is to examine the profitability of variable rate phosphorus application on a rotation of rice (Oryza sativa) and soybeans (Glycine max) on fields comprised of clay and silt loam soils. Phosphorus was chosen because 1) farmers have recently been advised of the benefit of phosphorus applications on rice as well as soybeans, 2)recommended phosphorus application rates vary greatly between clay and silt loam soils and across rice and soybeans, and 3) the residual effects of phosphorus applications in a crop rotation affect the appropriateness of variable rate technology (VRT). A three phase simulation, regression and mathematical optimization analysis was conducted to determine within a ten year planning horizon the conditions under which the profitability of variable rate phosphorus applications exceeded the profitability of uniform rate technology. Results showed that in general, VRT is not profitable when fields are comprised of only the three studied silt loam soils. However, VRT was found to be profitable in most cases when even small percentages of clay were added to the soil mixin the field. Adoption will likely also be a function off arm size. Farmers earning relatively small returns to VRT on a small area are not as likely to adopt the technology as larger operations with similar per hectare returns

Intra-session and inter-day reliability of the Myon 320 electromyography system during sub-maximal contractions

Electromyography systems are widely used within the field of scientific and clinical practices. The reliability of these systems are paramount when conducting research. The reliability of Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System is yet to be determined. This study aims to determine the intra-session and inter-day reliability of the Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System. Muscle activity from fifteen participants was measured at the anterior deltoid muscle during a bilateral front raise exercise, the vastus lateralis muscle during a squat exercise and the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) muscle during an isometric handgrip task. Intra-session and inter-day reliability was calculated by intraclass correlation coefficient, standard error of measurement and coefficient of variation (CV). The normalized root mean squared (RMS) surface electromyographic signals produced good intra-session and inter-day testing intraclass correlation coefficient values (range: 0.63-0.97) together with low standard error of measurement (range: 1.49-2.32) and CV (range: 95% Confidence Interval = 0.36-12.71) measures for the dynamic-and-isometric contractions. The findings indicate that the Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System produces good to fair reliability when examining intra-session and inter-day reliability. Findings of the study provide evidence of the reliability of electromyography between trials which is essential during clinical testing.</p

Red Quasars and Quasar Evolution: the Case of BALQSO FIRST J155633.8+351758

We present the first near-IR spectroscopy of the z=1.5 radio-loud BALQSO FIRST J155633.8+351758. Both the Balmer decrement and the slope of the rest-frame UV-optical continuum independently suggest a modest amount of extinction along the line of sight to the BLR (E(B-V)~0.5 for SMC-type screen extinction at the QSO redshift). The implied gas column density along the line of sight is much less than is implied by the weak X-ray flux of the object, suggesting that either the BLR and BAL region have a low dust-to-gas ratio, or that the rest-frame optical light encounters significantly lower mean column density lines of sight than the X-ray emission. From the rest-frame UV-optical spectrum, we are able to constrain the stellar mass content of the system. Comparing the maximal stellar mass with the black hole mass estimated from the bolometric luminosity of the QSO, we find that the ratio of the black hole to stellar mass may be comparable to the Magorrian value, which would imply that the Magorrian relation is already in place at z=1.5. However, multiple factors favor a much larger black hole to stellar mass ratio. This would imply that if the Magorrian relation characterizes the late history of QSOs, and the situation observed for F1556+3517 is typical of the early evolutionary history of QSOs, central black hole masses develop more rapidly than bulge masses. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 23 pages, 4 embedded postscript figures; Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, December 200