We apply two methods to estimate the 21-cm bispectrum from data taken within the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) project of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Using data acquired with the Phase II compact array allows a direct bispectrum estimate to be undertaken on the multiple redundantly spaced triangles of antenna tiles, as well as an estimate based on data gridded to the uv-plane. The direct and gridded bispectrum estimators are applied to 21 h of high-band (167–197 MHz; z = 6.2–7.5) data from the 2016 and 2017 observing seasons. Analytic predictions for the bispectrum bias and variance for point-source foregrounds are derived. We compare the output of these approaches, the foreground contribution to the signal, and future prospects for measuring the bispectra with redundant and non-redundant arrays. We find that some triangle configurations yield bispectrum estimates that are consistent with the expected noise level after 10 h, while equilateral configurations are strongly foreground-dominated. Careful choice of triangle configurations may be made to reduce foreground bias that hinders power spectrum estimators, and the 21-cm bispectrum may be accessible in less time than the 21-cm power spectrum for some wave modes, with detections in hundreds of hours.

A non-contacting displacement measuring system utilizing focussed x-rays is being developed for use in hostile environments. Ultimately, this method will be used to measure mechnical strain under adverse conditions such as high temperatures, flame, cutting fluids, and gases with high velocity and pressure gradients. The foundation of the technique is the use of xrays, which are immune to the various environmental factors mentioned above. The proposed system uses a highly focussed, intense x-ray line which is scanned across markers that fluoresce secondary radiation. This secondary radiation level is then monitored using a photon detector and marker-focussed line overlap can be discerned. These targets can be used as fiducial markers demarcating a gage length, and the change in pointing angle of the focussed beam at target overlap is used as a measure of relative displacement. The present experimental systemcan consistently resolve 1.27 microns at ambient conditions, and 2.54 microns have been measured at a target temperature of 1900 de-grees F through an open flame. Given the performance of the current apparatus, equipment improvements should permit increases in resolution by a least a factor of 10 and measurements at much higher temperatures are possible.

This study reports the fabrication of high mass loading (32 mg/cm2) electrodes of niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using a facile procedure. The as-obtained Nb2O5 nanoparticles by microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis presented pseudohexagonal (TT) phase, and when exposed to the thermal treatment, the Nb2O5 nanoparticles changed to orthorhombic (T) phase. Distinct morphologies were obtained, which exhibited a specific surface area of 216 m2/g and 47 m2/g to pseudohexagonal and orthorhombic phases, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques were performed in a three-electrode system using 1 M Li2SO4 as electrolyte with a potential window of 0–0.9 V (versus standard calomel electrode). Both materials showed capacitive behavior with a specific capacitance of 0.11 F/cm2 and 0.09 F/cm2 to nanocomposites CNT + TT-Nb2O5 and CNT + T-Nb2O5 at 2 mV/s, respectively. Thus, an efficient, simple, and promising process to produce electrodes for supercapacitors was demonstrated.

Motivated by the success of wavepackets in modelling the noise from subsonic and perfectly expanded supersonic jets, we apply the wavepacket model to imperfectly expanded supersonic jets. Recent studies with subsonic jets have demonstrated the importance of capturing the ‘jitter’ of wavepackets in order to correctly predict the intensity of far-field sound. Wavepacket jitter may be statistically represented using a two-point coherence function; accurate prediction of noise requires identification of this coherence function. Following the analysis of Cavalieri & Agarwal (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 748, 2014. pp. 399–415), we extend their methodology to model the acoustic sources of broadband shock-associated noise in imperfectly expanded supersonic jets using cross-spectral densities of the turbulent and shock-cell quantities. The aim is to determine the relationship between wavepacket coherence-decay and far-field broadband shock-associated noise, using the model as a vehicle to explore the flow mechanisms at work. Unlike the subsonic case where inclusion of coherence decay amplifies the sound pressure level over the whole acoustic spectrum, we find that it does not play such a critical role in determining the peak sound amplitude for shock-cell noise. When higher-order shock-cell modes are used to reconstruct the acoustic spectrum at higher frequencies, however, the inclusion of a jittering wavepacket is necessary. These results suggest that the requirement for coherence decay identified in prior broadband shock-associated noise (BBSAN) models is in reality the statistical signature of jittering wavepackets. The results from this modelling approach suggest that nonlinear jittering effects of wavepackets need to be included in dynamic models for broadband shock-associated noise.

A set of ordered pairs of integers {(ai, mi)} is said to cover the integers if each integer x satisfies the congruence x ≡ ai (mod mi ) for some i. We may assume that the mi are positive. Trivially {(0, 1)} covers, as does {(0, m), (1, m), (2, m), … , (m — 1, m)}. In order to arrive at some non-trivial problems concerning covers, the following definition is given: A finite set of ordered pairs of integers with mi > 1 and mi ≠ mj if i ≠ j, is called a covering class of residues if every integer x satisfies the congruence x ≡ ai (mod mi) for some i.

For a positive integer k and a prime p ≡ 1 (mod k), there is a proper subgroup, R, of the multiplicative group (mod p) consisting of the kth power residues (mod p). A necessary and sufficient condition that an integer t be an element of R is that the congruence xk ≡ t (mod p) be solvable. The cosets, not R, formed with respect to R are called classes of kth power nonresidues, and form with R a cyclic group of order k. Let ρ be a primitive kth root of unity and let S be a class of non-residues that is a generator of this cyclic group. There is a kth power character X (mod p) such that

Functional circuits of the human brain emerge and change dramatically over the second half of gestation. It is possible that variation in neural functional system connectivity in utero predicts individual differences in infant behavioral development, but this possibility has yet to be examined. The current study examines the association between fetal sensorimotor brain system functional connectivity and infant postnatal motor ability. Resting-state functional connectivity data was obtained in 96 healthy human fetuses during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Infant motor ability was measured 7 months after birth using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Increased connectivity between the emerging motor network and regions of the prefrontal cortex, temporal lobes, posterior cingulate, and supplementary motor regions was observed in infants that showed more mature motor functions. In addition, females demonstrated stronger fetal-brain to infant-behavior associations. These observations extend prior longitudinal research back into prenatal brain development and raise exciting new ideas about the advent of risk and the ontogeny of early sex differences.

Excavations at several locations in Verteba Cave have uncovered a large amount of human skeletal remains in association with faunal bones and Tripolye material culture. We aim to establish radiocarbon (14C) dates for eight sites and to evaluate whether these deposits are singular events, or slow accumulations over time. 14C measurements, along with stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from human and faunal remains, were collected from 18 specimens. Stable isotope values were used to evaluate human and animal diet, and whether freshwater reservoir effects offset measured dates. We found diets of the sampled species had limited to no influence from freshwater resources. Human diet appears to be dominated by terrestrial plants and herbivores. Four new sites were identified as Eneolithic. Comparisons of dates from top and bottom strata for two sites (7 and 20) reveal coeval dates, and we suggest that these deposits represent discrete events rather than slow continuous use. Lastly, we identified dates from the Mesolithic (8490±45 BP, 8765±30 BP), Iron Age (2505±20 BP), Slavic state era (1315±25 BP), and Medieval Period (585±15 BP), demonstrating periodic use of the cave by humans prior to and after the Eneolithic.

Perceptions of employee entitlement are reported to be increasing in organizations and have been linked to negative outcomes at work. Employee entitlement is an employee’s belief in deserving preferential treatment or reward without regard to performance. Arguments, however, are emerging that entitlement may also be linked to positive behaviors. In this article, we outline a study that examines the moderating effect of self-monitoring on the relationship between employee entitlement and organizational citizenship behavior and affective organizational commitment. Based on survey data collected from 167 individuals, we found that self-monitoring moderated the relationship between the specific subscales of employee entitlement and organizational citizenship behavior but had no relationship to commitment. Although previous studies have addressed entitlement perceptions as a negative outcome for the organization, in this article we outline the potential for positive outcomes. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Gliomas are the most lethal and common primary tumor type in the central nervous system across all age groups; affected adults have a life expectancy of just 14 months. As glioma cells invade the surrounding normal parenchyma they remodel the composition and ultrastructure of the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM), suggesting that the native (i.e., “normal”) microenvironment is not ideal for their survival and proliferation. Recent reports describe suppressive and/or lethal effects of mammalian ECM hydrogels derived from normal (nonneoplastic) sources upon various cancer types. ECM-based bioscaffolds placed at sites of neoplastic tissue resection in humans have never been reported to facilitate cancer recurrence. The objective of the present research is to evaluate mammalian ECM as a novel approach to glioma therapy. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: ECM hydrogels from porcine dermis, small intestine, and urinary bladder were produced as described previously. Primary glioma cells were graciously supplied by Drs. Nduka Amankulor and Johnathan Engh, and U-87 MG were ordered through ATCC. Cells were plated onto tissue culture plastic at ~60% confluence and allowed to attach for 24 hours before treatment. The saline-soluble fraction (SSF) of ECM was obtained by mixing lyophilized, comminuted ECM with 0.9% saline for 24 hours then filtering the resulting mixture through a 10 kDa molecular weight cutoff column. All assays and kits were followed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Cell viability was measured via MTT assay (Vybrant® MTT Cell Proliferation Assay, Invitrogen) and by live/dead staining (LIVE/DEAD® Cell Imaging Kit, Invitrogen). Time lapse videos were created by taking images every 20 minutes for 18 hours (phase-contrast) or every 10 minutes for 12 hours (darkfield). NucView reagent was ordered from Biotium. Temozolomide was ordered through Abmole. All in vivo work was conducted according to protocols approved by the University of Pittsburgh’s IACUC office. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: ECM hydrogels derived from porcine dermis, small intestine, or urinary bladder all decreased the viability of primary glioma cells in vitro, with urinary bladder extracellular matrix (UBM) having the most dramatic effects. The SSF of UBM (UBM-SSF), devoid of the fibrillar, macromolecular components of ECM, was sufficient to recapitulate this detrimental effect upon neoplastic cells in vitro and was used for the remainder of the experiments described herein. In a cell viability assay normalized to the media treatment, non-neoplastic CHME5 and N1E-115 cells scored 103% and 114% after 48 hours when treated with UBM-SSF and 2 primary high-grade glioma cell types scored 17% and 30.5% with UBM-SSF (n=2). Phase-contrast time-lapse video showed CHME5 and HFF thriving in the presence of UBM-SSF for 18 hours while most primary glioma cells shriveled and died within this time. Darkfield time-lapse video of wells containing Nucview dye, fluorescent upon cleavage by active caspase-3, confirmed that within 12 hours most primary glioma cells underwent apoptosis while CHME5 and HFF did not. In culture with primary astrocytes, high grade primary glioma cells, and U-87 MG glioma cells for 24 hours, UBM-SSF was found to significantly increase the population of primary astrocytes compared with media (p<0.05) while decreasing the 2 glioma cell types to approximately one-third as many cells as the media control (p<0.0001). A dose-response of temozolomide from 0 to 10,000 μM showed that when treating 2 non-neoplastic cell types (CHME5 and HFF) and 2 types of primary glioma cell there was no difference in survivability at any concentration. Contrasted to this, a dose-response of UBM-SSF from 350 to 7000 μg/mL showed that the non-neoplastic cells survived significantly better than the glioma cells at concentrations of 875 μg/mL and upward (p<0.05). In preliminary animal experiments, large primary glioma tumors in the flanks of athymic nude mice were resected and replaced with either UBM SSF or Matrigel (an ECM product of neoplastic cell origin). After 7 days the resection sites with UBM-SSF had little tumor regrowth if any compared with the dramatic recurrence seen in the Matrigel injection sites (n=2). In a separate survival study comparing PBS to UBM-SSF injections in the flank-resection model, all animals given PBS had to be sacrificed at 9, 11, and 11 days (n=3) whereas animals given UBM-SSF were sacrificed at 15, 24, and 39 days (n=3), indicating a moderate increase in survival due to the UBM-SSF. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Since the introduction of the pan-cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent TMZ in 2005, the standard of care for patients with glioblastoma multiforme has not improved. These findings indicate that non-neoplastic ECM contains potent bioactive regulators capable of abrogating malignancy. Our in vitro data suggest these molecules appear to have no deleterious effect on non-neoplastic cells while specifically inducing apoptosis in glioma cells. Our in vivo data suggest that these molecules may be useful in delaying glioma recurrence, thus resulting in extended lifespan. Delivering soluble fractions of ECM to a tumor site may represent a novel approach to glioma therapy, sidestepping traditional cytotoxic therapies in favor of utilizing putative endogenous anti-tumor pathways.

BACKGROUND: IGTS is a rare phenomenon of paradoxical germ cell tumor (GCT) growth during or following treatment despite normalization of tumor markers. We sought to evaluate the frequency, clinical characteristics and outcome of IGTS in patients in 21 North-American and Australian institutions. METHODS: Patients with IGTS diagnosed from 2000-2017 were retrospectively evaluated. RESULTS: Out of 739 GCT diagnoses, IGTS was identified in 33 patients (4.5%). IGTS occurred in 9/191 (4.7%) mixed-malignant GCTs, 4/22 (18.2%) immature teratomas (ITs), 3/472 (0.6%) germinomas/germinomas with mature teratoma, and in 17 secreting non-biopsied tumours. Median age at GCT diagnosis was 10.9 years (range 1.8-19.4). Male gender (84%) and pineal location (88%) predominated. Of 27 patients with elevated markers, median serum AFP and Beta-HCG were 70 ng/mL (range 9.2-932) and 44 IU/L (range 4.2-493), respectively. IGTS occurred at a median time of 2 months (range 0.5-32) from diagnosis, during chemotherapy in 85%, radiation in 3%, and after treatment completion in 12%. Surgical resection was attempted in all, leading to gross total resection in 76%. Most patients (79%) resumed GCT chemotherapy/radiation after surgery. At a median follow-up of 5.3 years (range 0.3-12), all but 2 patients are alive (1 succumbed to progressive disease, 1 to malignant transformation of GCT). CONCLUSION: IGTS occurred in less than 5% of patients with GCT and most commonly after initiation of chemotherapy. IGTS was more common in patients with IT-only on biopsy than with mixed-malignant GCT. Surgical resection is a principal treatment modality. Survival outcomes for patients who developed IGTS are favourable.

We detail tentative detections of low-frequency carbon radio recombination lines from within the Orion molecular cloud complex observed at 99–129 MHz. These tentative detections include one alpha transition and one beta transition over three locations and are located within the diffuse regions of dust observed in the infrared at 100 μm, the Hα emission detected in the optical, and the synchrotron radiation observed in the radio. With these observations, we are able to study the radiation mechanism transition from collisionally pumped to radiatively pumped within the H ii regions within the Orion molecular cloud complex.

We present a multi-frequency study of the intermediate spiral SAB(r)bc type galaxy NGC 6744, using available data from the Chandra X-Ray telescope, radio continuum data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array and Murchison Widefield Array, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer infrared observations. We identify 117 X-ray sources and 280 radio sources. Of these, we find nine sources in common between the X-ray and radio catalogues, one of which is a faint central black hole with a bolometric radio luminosity similar to the Milky Way’s central black hole. We classify 5 objects as supernova remnant (SNR) candidates, 2 objects as likely SNRs, 17 as H ii regions, 1 source as an AGN; the remaining 255 radio sources are categorised as background objects and one X-ray source is classified as a foreground star. We find the star-formation rate (SFR) of NGC 6744 to be in the range 2.8–4.7 M⊙~yr − 1 signifying the galaxy is still actively forming stars. The specific SFR of NGC 6744 is greater than that of late-type spirals such as the Milky Way, but considerably less that that of a typical starburst galaxy.

We examine how organizational form affects corporate payouts. Conglomerates pay out more than pure plays in both cash dividends and total payouts (cash dividends plus share repurchases). Furthermore, their payouts are more sensitive to cash flows compared to pure-play firms. The sensitivity of payouts to cash flow increases as the cross-segment correlation in a conglomerate decreases. Corporate payouts increase after mergers and acquisitions (M&As), especially among M&As in which acquirers and targets are less correlated. These results suggest that the coinsurance among different divisions of a conglomerate allows them to pay out more cash flow to their shareholders than pure-play firms.

We review an improved statistical model of extra-galactic point-source foregrounds first introduced in Murray et al. (2017), in the context of the Epoch of Reionization. This model extends the instrumentally-convolved foreground covariance used in inverse-covariance foreground mitigation schemes, by considering the cosmological clustering of the sources. In this short work, we show that over scales of k ∼ (0.6, 40.)hMpc−1, ignoring source clustering is a valid approximation. This is in contrast to Murray et al. (2017), who found a possibility of false detection if the clustering was ignored. The dominant cause for this change is the introduction of a Galactic synchrotron component which shadows the clustering of sources.