Creating an integrated payment system: the evolution of Fedwire

Adapted from remarks given before the Seminar on Payment Systems in the European Union in Frankfurt, Germany, on February 27, 1997.Fedwire ; Electronic funds transfers ; Federal Reserve System

Impacts of indoor surface finishes on bacterial viability.

Microbes in indoor environments are constantly being exposed to antimicrobial surface finishes. Many are rendered non-viable after spending extended periods of time under low-moisture, low-nutrient surface conditions, regardless of whether those surfaces have been amended with antimicrobial chemicals. However, some microorganisms remain viable even after prolonged exposure to these hostile conditions. Work with specific model pathogens makes it difficult to draw general conclusions about how chemical and physical properties of surfaces affect microbes. Here, we explore the survival of a synthetic community of non-model microorganisms isolated from built environments following exposure to three chemically and physically distinct surface finishes. Our findings demonstrated the differences in bacterial survival associated with three chemically and physically distinct materials. Alkaline clay surfaces select for an alkaliphilic bacterium, Kocuria rosea, whereas acidic mold-resistant paint favors Bacillus timonensis, a Gram-negative spore-forming bacterium that also survives on antimicrobial surfaces after 24 hours of exposure. Additionally, antibiotic-resistant Pantoea allii did not exhibit prolonged retention on antimicrobial surfaces. Our controlled microcosm experiment integrates measurement of indoor chemistry and microbiology to elucidate the complex biochemical interactions that influence the indoor microbiome

Accelerated Calvarial Healing in Mice Lacking Toll-Like Receptor 4

The bone and immune systems are closely interconnected. The immediate inflammatory response after fracture is known to trigger a healing cascade which plays an important role in bone repair. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is a member of a highly conserved receptor family and is a critical activator of the innate immune response after tissue injury. TLR4 signaling has been shown to regulate the systemic inflammatory response induced by exposed bone components during long-bone fracture. Here we tested the hypothesis that TLR4 activation affects the healing of calvarial defects. A 1.8 mm diameter calvarial defect was created in wild-type (WT) and TLR4 knockout (TLR4-/-) mice. Bone healing was tested using radiographic, histologic and gene expression analyses. Radiographic and histomorphometric analyses revealed that calvarial healing was accelerated in TLR4-/- mice. More bone was observed in TLR4-/- mice compared to WT mice at postoperative days 7 and 14, although comparable healing was achieved in both groups by day 21. Bone remodeling was detected in both groups on postoperative day 28. In TLR4-/- mice compared to WT mice, gene expression analysis revealed that higher expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α,TGF-β1, TGF-β3, PDGF and RANKL and lower expression level of RANK were detected at earlier time points (≤ postoperative 4 days); while higher expression levels of IL-1β and lower expression levels of VEGF, RANK, RANKL and OPG were detected at late time points (> postoperative 4 days). This study provides evidence of accelerated bone healing in TLR4-/- mice with earlier and higher expression of inflammatory cytokines and with increased osteoclastic activity. Further work is required to determine if this is due to inflammation driven by TLR4 activation. © 2012 Wang et al

A method for exploratory repeated-measures analysis applied to a breast-cancer screening study

When a model may be fitted separately to each individual statistical unit, inspection of the point estimates may help the statistician to understand between-individual variability and to identify possible relationships. However, some information will be lost in such an approach because estimation uncertainty is disregarded. We present a comparative method for exploratory repeated-measures analysis to complement the point estimates that was motivated by and is demonstrated by analysis of data from the CADET II breast-cancer screening study. The approach helped to flag up some unusual reader behavior, to assess differences in performance, and to identify potential random-effects models for further analysis.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-AOAS481 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

The impact of increased food availability on reproduction in a long-distance migratory songbird: implications for environmental change?

Many populations of migratory songbirds are declining or shifting in distribution. This is likely due to environmental changes that alter factors such as food availability that may have an impact on survival and/or breeding success. We tested the impact of experimentally supplemented food on the breeding success over three years of northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe), a species in decline over much of Europe. The number of offspring fledged over the season was higher for food-supplemented birds than for control birds. The mechanisms for this effect were that food supplementation advanced breeding date, which, together with increased resources, allowed further breeding attempts. While food supplementation did not increase the clutch size, hatching success or number of chicks fledged per breeding attempt, it did increase chick size in one year of the study. The increased breeding success was greater for males than females; males could attempt to rear simultaneous broods with multiple females as well as attempting second broods, whereas females could only increase their breeding effort via second broods. Multiple brooding is rare in the study population, but this study demonstrates the potential for changes in food availability to affect wheatear breeding productivity, primarily via phenotypic flexibility in the number of breeding attempts. Our results have implications for our understanding of how wheatears may respond to natural changes in food availability due to climate changes or changes in habitat management

Obesity-Induced Colorectal Cancer Is Driven by Caloric Silencing of the Guanylin-GUCY2C Paracrine Signaling Axis.

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for colorectal cancer but precisely how it influences risks of malignancy remains unclear. During colon cancer development in humans or animals, attenuation of the colonic cell surface receptor guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C) that occurs due to loss of its paracrine hormone ligand guanylin contributes universally to malignant progression. In this study, we explored a link between obesity and GUCY2C silencing in colorectal cancer. Using genetically engineered mice on different diets, we found that diet-induced obesity caused a loss of guanylin expression in the colon with subsequent GUCY2C silencing, epithelial dysfunction, and tumorigenesis. Mechanistic investigations revealed that obesity reversibly silenced guanylin expression through calorie-dependent induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response in intestinal epithelial cells. In transgenic mice, enforcing specific expression of guanylin in intestinal epithelial cells restored GUCY2C signaling, eliminating intestinal tumors associated with a high calorie diet. Our findings show how caloric suppression of the guanylin-GUCY2C signaling axis links obesity to negation of a universal tumor suppressor pathway in colorectal cancer, suggesting an opportunity to prevent colorectal cancer in obese patients through hormone replacement with the FDA-approved oral GUCY2C ligand linaclotide

Spin-transfer torque induced reversal in magnetic domains

Using the complex stereographic variable representation for the macrospin, from a study of the nonlinear dynamics underlying the generalized Landau-Lifshitz(LL) equation with Gilbert damping, we show that the spin-transfer torque is effectively equivalent to an applied magnetic field. We study the macrospin switching on a Stoner particle due to spin-transfer torque on application of a spin polarized current. We find that the switching due to spin-transfer torque is a more effective alternative to switching by an applied external field in the presence of damping. We demonstrate numerically that a spin-polarized current in the form of a short pulse can be effectively employed to achieve the desired macro-spin switching.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Evaluating Acute Changes in Joint Range-of-motion using Self-myofascial Release, Postural Alignment Exercises, and Static Stretches

International Journal of Exercise Science 6(4) : 310-319, 2013. This study was designed to compare the acute effect of self-myofascial release (SMR), postural alignment exercises, and static stretching on joint range-of-motion. Our sample included 27 participants (n = 14 males and n = 13 females) who had below average joint range-of-motion (specifically a sit-and-reach score of 13.5 inches [34.3 cm] or less). All were university students 18–27 years randomly assigned to complete two 30–40-minute data collection sessions with each testing session consisting of three sit-and-reach measurements (which involved lumbar spinal flexion, hip flexion, knee extension, and ankle dorsiflexion) interspersed with two treatments. Each treatment included foam-rolling, postural alignment exercises, or static stretching. Participants were assigned to complete session 1 and session 2 on two separate days, 24 hours to 48 hours apart. The data were analyzed so carryover effects could be estimated and showed that no single acute treatment significantly increased posterior mean sit-and-reach scores. However, significant gains (95% posterior probability limits) were realized with both postural alignment exercises and static stretching when used in combination with foam-rolling. For example, the posterior means equaled 1.71 inches (4.34 cm) when postural alignment exercises were followed by foam-rolling; 1.76 inches (4.47 cm) when foam-rolling was followed by static stretching; 1.49 inches (3.78 cm) when static stretching was followed by foam-rolling; and 1.18 inches (2.99 cm) when foam-rolling was followed by postural alignment exercises. Our results demonstrate that an acute treatment of foam-rolling significantly increased joint range-of-motion in participants with below average joint range-of-motion when combined with either postural alignment exercises or static stretching

Constraints on a second planet in the WASP-3 system

There have been previous hints that the transiting planet WASP-3 b is accompanied by a second planet in a nearby orbit, based on small deviations from strict periodicity of the observed transits. Here we present 17 precise radial velocity measurements and 32 transit light curves that were acquired between 2009 and 2011. These data were used to refine the parameters of the host star and transiting planet. This has resulted in reduced uncertainties for the radii and masses of the star and planet. The radial-velocity data and the transit times show no evidence for an additional planet in the system. Therefore, we have determined the upper limit on the mass of any hypothetical second planet, as a function of its orbital period.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa