Hybrid Airship Multi-Role (HAMR) Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) mission capability

The Hybrid Airship Multi-Role (HAMR) Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Mission Module project applies established systems engineering principles and processes to the design of an ASW payload module that examines the capability of the HAMR to perform persistent ASW mission support. Critical system functions and objectives are identified and are assigned appropriate quantitative metrics. Additionally, three alternative architectures are generated and evaluated using the appropriate metrics based on results from modeling using Naval Systems Simulation (NSS). Manning is considered as a key stakeholder parameter and is included as an evaluation concern. The alternatives are also compared through the examination of life cycle costs. The recommendation to the stakeholders based on the research and results is an unmanned ASW sensor platform that uses other ASW assets for prosecution.http://archive.org/details/hybridairshipmul109456935N

Hormone-replacement therapy influences gene expression profiles and is associated with breast-cancer prognosis: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) increases breast-cancer risk. The influence of HRT on the biology of the primary tumor, however, is not well understood. METHODS: We obtained breast-cancer gene expression profiles using Affymetrix human genome U133A arrays. We examined the relationship between HRT-regulated gene profiles, tumor characteristics, and recurrence-free survival in 72 postmenopausal women. RESULTS: HRT use in patients with estrogen receptor (ER) protein positive tumors (n = 72) was associated with an altered regulation of 276 genes. Expression profiles based on these genes clustered ER-positive tumors into two molecular subclasses, one of which was associated with HRT use and had significantly better recurrence free survival despite lower ER levels. A comparison with external data suggested that gene regulation in tumors associated with HRT was negatively correlated with gene regulation induced by short-term estrogen exposure, but positively correlated with the effect of tamoxifen. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that post-menopausal HRT use is associated with a distinct gene expression profile related to better recurrence-free survival and lower ER protein levels. Tentatively, HRT-associated gene expression in tumors resembles the effect of tamoxifen exposure on MCF-7 cells

Movements and Home Ranges of Radio-Tracked Crocodylus porosus in the Cambridge Gulf Region of Western Australia

VHF radio-tags were attached to 16 estuarine crocodiles that were tracked between October 2001 and May 2003. Male (n = 12) and female (n = 4) crocodiles exhibited distinctly different patterns of movement. Females occupied a small core linear range (1.3 +/- 0.9 km) on the main river channel during the dry season and moved up to 62 km to nesting habitat during the wet season, returning to the same core area the following dry season. They occasionally made excursions away from their core areas during the dry season. Males moved considerable distances along the Ord River throughout the year. The largest range recorded was 87 km for a 2.5-m juvenile male. However, ranges of males did not appear to be related to body size, with the largest two ranges being recorded for the smallest (2.5 m) and largest (4.3 m) males tagged. Rates of movement of males did not differ significantly between three size classes of males but there were significant seasonal differences, with the highest mean rates of movement occurring during the summer wet season (4.0 +/- 5.4 km/day). However, males were quite mobile during the dry season and the highest rate of movement detected was 23.3 km/day for a 4.3-m male at the end of July. The highest rate of sustained movement was 9.8 km/day for a translocated 2.6-m juvenile male, which travelled 118 km in 12 days to return to the area of its capture. Neither males nor females showed exclusive habitat preferences for any of four broad riverine habitats identified on the Ord River. However, the three largest males had activity centres that they returned to frequently despite numerous excursions throughout the year, both up- and downriver. Males had substantial range overlaps with no obvious spatial partitioning, suggesting that territoriality is not an important behavioural characteristic of free-ranging male crocodiles along the Ord River