Measurable Dynamics of Maps on Profinite Groups

We study the measurable dynamics of transformations on profinite groups, in particular of those which factor through sufficiently many of the projection maps; these maps generalize the 1-Lipschitz maps on $\mathbb Z_p$.Comment: 18 page

Mapping Critical Issues of ODC as an Academic Discipline

Results of a structured exercise to identify critical issues and to suggest possible answers to the question What are the trends in the world that could be affecting OD&C academic programs

Effect of KCl deposits in high-temperature corrosion on chromium-rich steels in SO2-containing atmosphere

High-temperature corrosion was studied under multiple chemical loads on ferritic-austenitic model alloys (Fe–13Cr, Fe–18Cr–12Ni, and Fe-25Cr–20Ni) with KCl deposit under 0.5% SO2/99.5% Ar gas atmosphere at 560°C. Postexposure characterization was done by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. In a pure SO2/Ar environment a protective Cr2O3 scale was formed by all samples. The introduction of KCl deposits causes the scale to be nonprotective and multilayered, consisting of CrS, FeS, Cr2O3,Fe3O4, and Fe2O3. The impact of the microstructure and alloying elements is discussed

The effect of aqueous fluid on viscous relaxation of garnet and modification of inclusion pressures after entrapment

The elastic interaction between an inclusion and its host is often employed to study metamorphic processes based on the assumption that the host is not affected by processes such as creep that irreversibly releases stress. However, it is not well understood how fast inelastic relaxation of stress may occur and under what conditions the elastic regime holds for each inclusion-host system. To provide new constraints for the widely used systems of quartz and zircon inclusions in garnet, we performed heating experiments on almandine-pyrope and spessartine garnets under graphite, N2+H2, or H2O+Ar fluxed conditions at different temperatures. Raman spectroscopy was used to measure the same quartz and zircon inclusions after different heating times. The Raman-band wavenumbers undergo time-dependent decreases in quartz inclusions and increase in zircon inclusions under H2O+Ar conditions and exhibit a greater final shift than under graphite and N2+H2 buffered conditions. Under graphite-buffered conditions, the wavenumbers of Raman bands measured on zircon and quartz stabilise after the first heating step, after which no change was observed. Electron backscatter diffraction results reveal greater misorientation around the heated inclusions compared to unheated inclusions, implying a greater dislocation density after heating. Raman mapping reveals that stress heterogeneity in the garnet host develops at an early stage of heating and fades away afterward, indicating dispersal of dislocations into the host. Fitting a visco-elastic model to the Raman data of garnet fluxed with N2+H2 or Ar+H2O allows an estimate of flow-law parameters for garnet around quartz inclusions, similar to those obtained by conventional deformation experiments. The results demonstrate the weakening effect of aqueous fluid on garnet. The data also indicate that the garnet can hold inclusion pressure at elevated temperatures under a dry and reducing environment. This study provides information on the relaxation rate of pressurized inclusions in garnet at different temperatures and within different external environments. Furthermore, the use of inclusion-host pairs for studying creep processes offers a complementary approach to conventional deformation experiments to better understand the rheological behaviour of earth materials

A novel polyrotaxane-based intracellular delivery system for camptothecin: In vitro feasibility evaluation

Camptothecin (CPT) is a naturally occurring alkaloid that shows promise in antitumor activity in vitro against various tumor cell lines. Its potential clinical uses, however, are hindered by a lack of reaction selectivity and poor water solubility. Presented herein is a novel polyrotaxane (PR)-based delivery system that could potentially lead to a highly effective yet less toxic CPT therapy. The approach involves the synthesis of the PR–CPT conjugates via hydrolyzable linkages. To enhance the therapeutic efficacy of CPT, a cell-penetrating peptide, LMWP, is linked to the conjugate to allow specific, intratumoral delivery of CPT. To avoid nonselective uptake of the conjugates by normal tissues following administration, the cell-penetrating function of LMWP on the conjugates is masked by heparin binding. This system was designed such that after accumulation at the tumor via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, protamine can be subsequently administered to unmask heparin inhibition on LMWP, permitting intracellular uptake of the LMWP–PR–CPT conjugates. Once inside the tumor, CPT molecules are detached from the PR chain by hydrolysis, yielding a sustained concentration of CPT within tumor cells. In this paper, we demonstrated the in vitro feasibility of this delivery system. The LMWP–PR–CPT conjugates yielded a sevenfold increase in the overall CPT solubility, as well as a sustained release of CPT over a period of more than 7 days. Intracellular uptake of these conjugates by A2780 human ovarian cancer cells and regulation of such uptake by heparin and protamine were tested by MTT assay and confocal/flow cytometric methods, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2008Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57404/1/31452_ftp.pd

Ergodicity criteria for non-expanding transformations of 2-adic spheres

In the paper, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for ergodicity (with respect to the normalized Haar measure) of discrete dynamical systems $$ on 2-adic spheres $\mathbf S_{2^{-r}}(a)$ of radius $2^{-r}$, $r\ge 1$, centered at some point $a$ from the ultrametric space of 2-adic integers $\mathbb Z_2$. The map $f\colon\mathbb Z_2\to\mathbb Z_2$ is assumed to be non-expanding and measure-preserving; that is, $f$ satisfies a Lipschitz condition with a constant 1 with respect to the 2-adic metric, and $f$ preserves a natural probability measure on $\mathbb Z_2$, the Haar measure $\mu_2$ on $\mathbb Z_2$ which is normalized so that $\mu_2(\mathbb Z_2)=1$

Comparison of Fetal Mesencephalic Grafts, AAV-delivered GDNF, and Both Combined in an MPTP-induced Nonhuman Primate Parkinson’s Model

We combined viral vector delivery of human glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) with the grafting of dopamine (DA) precursor cells from fetal ventral mesencephalon (VM) to determine whether these strategies would improve the anti-Parkinson's effects in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated monkeys, an animal model for Parkinson's disease (PD). Both strategies have been reported as individually beneficial in animal models of PD, leading to clinical studies. GDNF delivery has also been reported to augment VM tissue implants, but no combined studies have been done in monkeys. Monkeys were treated with MPTP and placed into four balanced treatment groups receiving only recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 5 (rAAV5)/hu-GDNF, only fetal DA precursor cells, both together, or a buffered saline solution (control). The combination of fetal precursors with rAAV5/hu-GDNF showed significantly higher striatal DA concentrations compared with the other treatments, but did not lead to greater functional improvement in this study. For the first time under identical conditions in primates, we show that all three treatments lead to improvement compared with control animals

On hyperbolic fixed points in ultrametric dynamics

Let K be a complete ultrametric field. We give lower and upper bounds for the size of linearization discs for power series over K near hyperbolic fixed points. These estimates are maximal in the sense that there exist examples where these estimates give the exact size of the corresponding linearization disc. In particular, at repelling fixed points, the linearization disc is equal to the maximal disc on which the power series is injective.Comment: http://www.springerlink.com/content/?k=doi%3a%2810.1134%2fS2070046610030052%2

Preterm neonatal morbidity and mortality by gestational age: a contemporary cohort

Although preterm birth less than 37 weeks gestation is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the United States, the majority of data regarding preterm neonatal outcomes come from older studies, and many reports have been limited to only very preterm neonates. Delineation of neonatal outcomes by delivery gestational age is needed to further clarify the continuum of mortality and morbidity frequencies among preterm neonates