The computerization of programming: Ada (R) lessons learned

One of the largest systems yet written in Ada has been constructed. This system is the Intermetrics Ada compiler. Many lessons have been learned during the implementation of this Ada compiler. Some of these lessons, concentrating on those lessons relevant to large system implementations are described. The characteristics of the Ada compiler implementation project at Intermetrics are also described. Some specific experiences during the implementation are pointed out

Ultra thin gage plastic film

Process utilizing specially modified conventional equipment, with changes in process temperature, pressure, and cooling requirements produces ultra thin 1.56 micron /0.0614 mil/ thick polyethylene film

Bioaugmentation for Improved Recovery of Anaerobic Digesters After Toxicant Exposure

Bioaugmentation was investigated as a method to decrease the recovery period of anaerobic digesters exposed to a transient toxic event. Two sets of laboratory-scale digesters (SRT = 10 days, OLR = 2 g COD/L-day), started with inoculum from a digester stabilizing synthetic municipal wastewater solids (MW) and synthetic industrial wastewater (WW), respectively, were transiently exposed to the model toxicant, oxygen. Bioaugmented digesters received 1.2 g VSS/L-day of an H2-utilizing culture for which the archaeal community was analyzed. Soon after oxygen exposure, the bioaugmented digesters produced 25–60% more methane than non-bioaugmented controls (p \u3c 0.05). One set of digesters produced lingering high propionate concentrations, and bioaugmentation resulted in significantly shorter recovery periods. The second set of digesters did not display lingering propionate, and bioaugmented digesters recovered at the same time as non-bioaugmented controls. The difference in the effect of bioaugmentation on recovery may be due to differences between microbial communities of the digester inocula originally employed. In conclusion, bioaugmentation with an H2-utilizing culture is a potential tool to decrease the recovery period, decrease propionate concentration, and increase biogas production of some anaerobic digesters after a toxic event. Digesters already containing rapidly adaptable microbial communities may not benefit from bioaugmentation, whereas other digesters with poorly adaptable microbial communities may benefit greatly

Environments of Redshift Survey Compact Groups of Galaxies

Redshift Survey Compact Groups (RSCGs) are tight knots of N >= 3 galaxies selected from the CfA2+SSRS2 redshift survey. The selection is based on physical extent and association in redshift space alone. We measured 300 new redshifts of fainter galaxies within 1 h^{-1} Mpc of 14 RSCGs to explore the relationship between RSCGs and their environments. 13 of 14 RSCGs are embedded in overdense regions of redshift space. The systems range from a loose group of 5 members to an Abell cluster. The remaining group, RSCG 64, appears isolated. RSCGs are isolated and distinct from their surroundings to varying degrees, as are the Hickson Compact Groups. Among the 13 embedded RSCGs, 3 are distinct from their general environments (RSCG 9, RSCG 11 and RSCG 85).Comment: 35 pages, including 10 figures and 5 tables, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

A Novel Scoring Based Distributed Protein Docking Application to Improve Enrichment

Molecular docking is a computational technique which predicts the binding energy and the preferred binding mode of a ligand to a protein target. Virtual screening is a tool which uses docking to investigate large chemical libraries to identify ligands that bind favorably to a protein target. We have developed a novel scoring based distributed protein docking application to improve enrichment in virtual screening. The application addresses the issue of time and cost of screening in contrast to conventional systematic parallel virtual screening methods in two ways. Firstly, it automates the process of creating and launching multiple independent dockings on a high performance computing cluster. Secondly, it uses a N˙ aive Bayes scoring function to calculate binding energy of un-docked ligands to identify and preferentially dock (Autodock predicted) better binders. The application was tested on four proteins using a library of 10,573 ligands. In all the experiments, (i). 200 of the 1000 best binders are identified after docking only 14% of the chemical library, (ii). 9 or 10 best-binders are identified after docking only 19% of the chemical library, and (iii). no significant enrichment is observed after docking 70% of the chemical library. The results show significant increase in enrichment of potential drug leads in early rounds of virtual screening

Molecular Targets of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) within the Zebrafish Ovary: Insights into TCDD-induced Endocrine Disruption and Reproductive Toxicity

TCDD is a reproductive toxicant and endocrine disruptor, yet the mechanisms by which it causes these reproductive alterations are not fully understood. In order to provide additional insight into the molecular mechanisms that underlie TCDD\u27s reproductive toxicity, we assessed TCDD-induced transcriptional changes in the ovary as they relate to previously described impacts on serum estradiol concentrations and altered follicular development in zebrafish. In silico computational approaches were used to correlate candidate regulatory motifs with observed changes in gene expression. Our data suggest that TCDD inhibits follicle maturation via attenuated gonadotropin responsiveness and/or depressed estradiol biosynthesis, and that interference of estrogen-regulated signal transduction may also contribute to TCDD\u27s impacts on follicular development. TCDD may also alter ovarian function by disrupting various signaling pathways such as glucose and lipid metabolism, and regulation of transcription. Furthermore, events downstream from initial TCDD molecular-targets likely contribute to ovarian toxicity following chronic exposure to TCDD. Data presented here provide further insight into the mechanisms by which TCDD disrupts follicular development and reproduction in fish, and can be used to formulate new hypotheses regarding previously documented ovarian toxicity

Proposal of \u3cem\u3eVibrionimonas magnilacihabitans\u3c/em\u3e gen. nov., sp. nov., a Curved Gram Negative Bacterium Isolated From Lake Michigan Water

A mesophilic bacterium appearing as curved rod-shaped cells was isolated from Lake Michigan water. It exhibited highest similarities with Sediminibacterium ginsengisoli DCY13T (94.4 %); Sediminibacterium salmoneum NJ-44T (93.6 %) and Hydrotalea flava CCUG 51397 T (93.1 %) while similarities with other recognized species were sym-homospermidine was the primary polyamine. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 1G, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0 3-OH and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, with moderate amounts of iso-C16 : 0. The presence of glycolipids differentiated the novel strains from related genera. The DNA mol% G+C content of the type strain MU-2T was 45.2. Results for other phenotypic and molecular analyses indicated that strain MU-2T is a representative of a novel genus and species for which the name Vibrionimonas magnilacihabitans is proposed. The type strain is MU-2T ( = NRRL B-59231 = DSM 22423)