An R Package for Assessing Drug Synergism/Antagonism

Synergistic and antagonistic drug interactions are important to consider when developing mixtures of anticancer or other types of drugs. Boik, Newman, and Boik (2008) proposed the MixLow method as an alternative to the Median-Effect method of Chou and Talalay (1984) for estimating drug interaction indices. One advantage of the MixLow method is that the nonlinear mixed-effects model used to estimate parameters of concentration-response curves can provide more accurate parameter estimates than the log linearization and least-squares analysis used in the Median-Effect method. This paper introduces the mixlow package in R, an implementation of the MixLow method. Results are reported for a small simulation study.

Breeding and larval rearing of mud crab- Winter School on Recent Advances in Breeding and Larviculture of Marine Finfish and Shellfish

Aquaculture of mud crabs (Scylla spp.) dates back to 1890 in Guangdong, China (Shan and Lain 1994). Since 1970s onwards, a steady interest was noticed in mud crabs culture in many tropical Asian countries due to its importantance in the industry and advantages viz. (1) uncomplicated technology, (2) abandoned shrimp ponds can be converted, (3) international markets, (4) native species to many tropical Asian countries, (5) easy transportation, potential for rural as well as industrialized aquaculture, (6) individual animals are valued in contrast to penaeid shrimps and (7) resilience of resources. However, crab aquaculture is severely constrained by the unperfected hatchery technology. This article summarizes various aspects of mud crab biology and hatchery technology

Drag of two-dimensional small-amplitude symmetric and asymmetric wavy walls in turbulent boundary layers

Included are results of an experimental investigation of low-speed turbulent flow over multiple two-dimensional transverse rigid wavy surfaces having a wavelength on the order of the boundary-layer thickness. Data include surface pressure and total drag measurements on symmetric and asymmetric wall waves under a low-speed turbulent boundary-layer flow. Several asymmetric wave configurations exhibited drag levels below the equivalent symmetric (sine) wave. The experimental results compare favorably with numerical predictions from a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes spectral code. The reported results are of particular interest for the estimation of drag, the minimization of fabrication waviness effects, and the study of wind-wave interactions

The Library of Babel

We show that heavy pure states of gravity can appear to be mixed states to almost all probes. Our arguments are made for $\rm{AdS}_5$ Schwarzschild black holes using the field theory dual to string theory in such spacetimes. Our results follow from applying information theoretic notions to field theory operators capable of describing very heavy states in gravity. For certain supersymmetric states of the theory, our account is exact: the microstates are described in gravity by a spacetime ``foam'', the precise details of which are invisible to almost all probes.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, Essay receiving honorable mention in the 2005 Gravity Research Foundation essay competitio

Generalized Uncertainty Principle and Self-Adjoint Operators

In this work we explore the self-adjointness of the GUP-modified momentum and Hamiltonian operators over different domains. In particular, we utilize the theorem by von-Newmann for symmetric operators in order to determine whether the momentum and Hamiltonian operators are self-adjoint or not, or they have self-adjoint extensions over the given domain. In addition, a simple example of the Hamiltonian operator describing a particle in a box is given. The solutions of the boundary conditions that describe the self-adjoint extensions of the specific Hamiltonian operator are obtained.Comment: v1: 22 pages, LaTeX, revtex4; v2: 19 pages, minor corrections, to appear in Annals of Physic

Arithmetic properties of blocks of consecutive integers

This paper provides a survey of results on the greatest prime factor, the number of distinct prime factors, the greatest squarefree factor and the greatest m-th powerfree part of a block of consecutive integers, both without any assumption and under assumption of the abc-conjecture. Finally we prove that the explicit abc-conjecture implies the Erd\H{o}s-Woods conjecture for each k>2.Comment: A slightly corrected and extended version of a paper which will appear in January 2017 in the book From Arithmetic to Zeta-functions published by Springe

Physiology in aquaculture with special reference to penaeid shrimp aquaculture- Winter School on Recent Advances in Breeding and Larviculture of Marine Finfish and Shellfish

Aquaculture has been practiced in some societies for many centuries. However, the transition from low-input, pond-based capture system to more intensive and industrialized method has been done only during the last few decades. Contrary to terrestrial agriculture systems, aquaculture is a new industry with limited scientific knowledge. This is especially true for shrimp aquaculture, the fast growing and most valued food production systems of the world. Shrimp aquaculture has been developed without sufficient understanding of basic physiology of species of interest. Physiology is a powerful science, which has potential to contribute positively for the development and growth of aquaculture. The more understanding of the physiological processes that underlie crop performance leads to the improvement and optimization of aquaculture production. Further, as knowledge of physiological process expands, desirable traits can be identified, and that can be utilized as selection criteria. Incorporation of physiological traits for selection in breeding programme, thus, would help to achieve results more quickly and efficiently than selecting for yield performance alone. This lecture note provides an overview of various aspects of reproductive physiology that have direct application in optimizing aquaculture production. The possibilities of selecting physiological traits in breeding programme have also been discussed

Structure and Magnetism of Mn5Ge3 Nanoparticles

In this work, we investigated the magnetic and structural properties of isolated Mn5Ge3 nanoparticles prepared by the cluster-beam deposition technique. Particles with sizes between 7.2 and 12.6 nm were produced by varying the argon pressure and power in the cluster gun. X-ray diffraction (XRD)and selected area diffraction (SAD) measurements show that the nanoparticles crystallize in the hexagonal Mn5Si3-type crystal structure, which is also the structure of bulk Mn5Ge3. The temperature dependence of the magnetization shows that the as-made particles are ferromagnetic at room temperature and have slightly different Curie temperatures. Hysteresis-loop measurements show that the saturation magnetization of the nanoparticles increases significantly with particle size, varying from 31 kA/m to 172 kA/m when the particle size increases from 7.2 to 12.6 nm. The magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant K at 50 K, determined by fitting the high-field magnetization data to the law of approach to saturation, also increases with particle size, from 0.4 × 105 J/m3 to 2.9 × 105 J/m3 for the respective sizes. This trend is mirrored by the coercivity at 50 K, which increases from 0.04 T to 0.13 T. A possible explanation for the magnetization trend is a radial Ge concentration gradient

An Effect of α′\alpha' Corrections on Racetrack Inflation

We study the effects of $\alpha '$ corrections to the K\"ahler potential on volume stabilisation and racetrack inflation. In a region where classical supergravity analysis is justified, stringy corrections can nevertheless be relevant for correctly analyzing moduli stabilisation and the onset of inflation.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. Typos corrected, references added, this version to appear in JHE