348 research outputs found
A Feasibility Study of a Transfer of Federal Lands: Assessing the Triple Bottom Line
reportThis feasibility study identifies various aspects of the proposed transfer of public federal lands to individual states by characterizing the most significant challenges that the transfer entails for civil and environmental engineers
The Uinta Express pipeline: a comprehensive research report conducted by students enrolled in CvEEN 3100 technical communications
reportThe Uinta Express Pipeline is a proposed common carrier pipeline which would transport waxy crude oil extracted from the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah to area refineries in North Salt Lake City. The proposed project would consist of a 12-inch, buried, insulated, carbon steel pipeline supported by numerous ancillary facilities along its approximately 135-mile long route. Tesoro Refining and Marketing LLC, the principle organization sponsoring research and development of the Uinta Express Pipeline, claims that once operational it will have the capacity to transport up to 60,000 barrels of unrefined waxy crude oil daily, thereby removing an estimated 250 semi tanker trucks from Utah's highways each day. This Report, compiled by University of Utah students enrolled in CvEEN 3100: Technical Communications, thoroughly interrogates the proposed pipeline with current research and specification data. Students enrolled in CvEEN 3100 during the Fall 2014 semester identified various aspects of the proposed project that presented the most significant challenges from a civil and environmental perspective. Students worked in teams to compile feasibility reports, which comprise the individual chapters. Teams coordinated with one another to ensure that research content, images, and technical data discussed in one chapter did not overlap with material in other chapters
Crystal energy functions via the charge in types A and C
The Ram-Yip formula for Macdonald polynomials (at t=0) provides a statistic
which we call charge. In types A and C it can be defined on tensor products of
Kashiwara-Nakashima single column crystals. In this paper we prove that the
charge is equal to the (negative of the) energy function on affine crystals.
The algorithm for computing charge is much simpler and can be more efficiently
computed than the recursive definition of energy in terms of the combinatorial
R-matrix.Comment: 25 pages; 1 figur
Closure relations during the plateau emission of Swift GRBs and the fundamental plane
The Neil Gehrels Swift observatory observe Gamma-Ray bursts (GRBs) plateaus
in X-rays. We test the reliability of the closure relations through the
fireball model when dealing with the GRB plateau emission. We analyze 455 X-ray
lightcurves (LCs) collected by \emph{Swift} from 2005 (January) until 2019
(August) for which the redshift is both known and unknown using the
phenomenological Willingale 2007 model. Using these fits, we analyze the
emission mechanisms and astrophysical environments of these GRBs through the
closure relations within the time interval of the plateau emission. Finally, we
test the 3D fundamental plane relation (Dainotti relation) which connects the
prompt peak luminosity, the time at the end of the plateau (rest-frame), and
the luminosity at that time, on the GRBs with redshift, concerning groups
determined by the closure relations. This allows us to check if the intrinsic
scatter \sigma_{int} of any of these groups is reduced compared to previous
literature. The most fulfilled environments for the electron spectral
distribution, p>2, are Wind Slow Cooling (SC) and ISM Slow Cooling for cases in
which the parameter q, which indicates the flatness of the plateau emission and
accounts for the energy injection, is =0 and =0.5, respectively, both in the
cases with known and unknown redshifts.
We also find that for the sGRBs All ISM Environments with have the
smallest \sigma_{int}=0.04 \pm 0.15 in terms of the fundamental plane relation
holding a probability of occurring by chance of p=0.005. We have shown that the
majority of GRBs presenting the plateau emission fulfil the closure relations,
including the energy injection, with a particular preference for the Wind SC
environment. The subsample of GRBs that fulfil given relations can be used as
possible standard candles and can suggest a way to reduce the intrinsic scatter
of these studied relationships.Comment: 44 pages, 23 figures; Accepted to the PASJ to be published soo
Intrinsic Folding Properties of the HLA-B27 Heavy Chain Revealed by Single Chain Trimer Versions of Peptide-Loaded Class I Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecules
Peptide-loaded Major Histocompatibility Complex (pMHC) class I molecules can be expressed in a single chain trimeric (SCT) format, composed of a specific peptide fused to the light chain beta-2 microglobulin (β2m) and MHC class I heavy chain (HC) by flexible linker peptides. pMHC SCTs have been used as effective molecular tools to investigate cellular immunity and represent a promising vaccine platform technology, due to their intracellular folding and assembly which is apparently independent of host cell folding pathways and chaperones. However, certain MHC class I HC molecules, such as the Human Leukocyte Antigen B27 (HLA-B27) allele, present a challenge due to their tendency to form HC aggregates. We constructed a series of single chain trimeric molecules to determine the behaviour of the HLA-B27 HC in a scenario that usually allows for efficient MHC class I molecule folding. When stably expressed, a pMHC SCT incorporating HLA-B27 HC formed chaperone-bound homodimers within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A series of HLA-B27 SCT substitution mutations revealed that the F pocket and antigen binding groove regions of the HLA-B27 HC defined the folding and dimerisation of the single chain complex, independently of the peptide sequence. Furthermore, pMHC SCTs can demonstrate variability in their association with the intracellular antigen processing machinery
Asymmetric function theory
The classical theory of symmetric functions has a central position in
algebraic combinatorics, bridging aspects of representation theory,
combinatorics, and enumerative geometry. More recently, this theory has been
fruitfully extended to the larger ring of quasisymmetric functions, with
corresponding applications. Here, we survey recent work extending this theory
further to general asymmetric polynomials.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Written for the proceedings of the
Schubert calculus conference in Guangzhou, Nov. 201
Agile mechanisms for open data process innovation in public sector organizations: Towards theory building
Process innovation in public organizations is widely documented
and has increasingly been the subject of empirical scrutiny.
However, no study has attempted to investigate process
innovation in open data organizations in public sector. Guided by
the Dynamic Capability Theory and based on the detailed study
of four open data organizations, we synthesize a theoretical model
and a process model for open data process innovation in public
sector organizations. Specifically, the study sought to understand
how open data process agility is achieved in these organizations.
The results highlight the specific agile mechanisms that enable
and improve open data process innovation in public sector
organizations. The results also provide perspectives on how open
data organizations in public sector can change data processes to
transform the way they respond to changing demands and
external environment
Properties of monocytes generated from haematopoietic CD34+ stem cells from bone marrow of colon cancer patients
Monocytes exhibit direct and indirect antitumour activities and may be potentially useful for various forms of adoptive cellular immunotherapy of cancer. However, blood is a limited source of them. This study explored whether monocytes can be obtained from bone marrow haematopoietic CD34(+) stem cells of colon cancer patients, using previously described protocol of expansion and differentiation to monocytes of cord blood-derived CD34(+) haematopoietic progenitors. Data show that in two-step cultures, the yield of cells was increased approximately 200-fold, and among these cells, up to 60 % of CD14(+) monocytes were found. They consisted of two subpopulations: CD14(++)CD16(+) and CD14(+)CD16(−), at approximately 1:1 ratio, that differed in HLA-DR expression, being higher on the former. No differences in expression of costimulatory molecules were observed, as CD80 was not detected, while CD86 expression was comparable. These CD14(+) monocytes showed the ability to present recall antigens (PPD, Candida albicans) and neoantigens expressed on tumour cells and tumour-derived microvesicles (TMV) to autologous CD3(+) T cells isolated from the peripheral blood. Monocytes also efficiently presented the immunodominant HER-2/neu(369–377) peptide (KIFGSLAFL), resulting in the generation of specific cytotoxic CD8(+) T lymphocytes (CTL). The CD14(++)CD16(+) subset exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity, though nonsignificant, towards tumour cells in vitro. These observations indicate that generation of monocytes from CD34(+) stem cells of cancer patients is feasible. To our knowledge, it is the first demonstration of such approach that may open a way to obtain autologous monocytes for alternative forms of adaptive and adoptive cellular immunotherapy of cancer
Social Health and Change in Cognitive Capability among Older Adults: Findings from Four European Longitudinal Studies
INTRODUCTION: In this study we examine whether social health markers measured at baseline are associated with differences in cognitive capability and in the rate of cognitive decline over an 11-to-18-year period among older adults and compare results across studies. METHODS: We applied an integrated data analysis approach to 16,858 participants (mean age 65 years; 56% female) from the National Survey for Health and Development (NSHD), the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), and the Rotterdam Study. We used multilevel models to examine social health in relation to cognitive capability and the rate of cognitive decline. RESULTS: Pooled estimates show distinct relationships between markers of social health and cognitive domains e.g., a large network size (≥6 people vs none) was associated with higher executive function (0.17 SD[95%CI:0.0, 0.34], I2=27%) but not with memory (0.08 SD[95%CI: -0.02, 0.18], I2=19%). We also observed pooled associations between being married or cohabiting, having a large network size and participating in social activities with slower decline in cognitive capability, however estimates were close to zero e.g., 0.01SD/year [95%CI: 0.01 to 0.02] I2=19% for marital status and executive function. There were clear study-specific differences: results for average processing speed were the most homogenous and results for average memory were the most heterogenous. CONCLUSION: Overall, markers of good social health have a positive association with cognitive capability. However, we found differential associations between specific markers of social health and cognitive domains and differences between studies. These findings highlight the importance of examining between study differences and considering context specificity of findings in developing and deploying any interventions
The impact of currently recommended antihypertensive therapy on depression and other psychometric parameters: preliminary communication
AIMS: Current evidence on the psychological effects of antihypertensive medications is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of current antihypertensive medication on different psychometric parameters and on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level. METHODS: Psychometric, haemodynamic, arterial stiffness and laboratory parameters were evaluated before and 3 months after the initiation of antihypertensive medication in untreated hypertensive patients (HT, n=31), and once in healthy controls (CONT, n=22). Subjects completed the following psychometric tests: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90), Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Autoquestionnaire, Big Five Inventory, Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire and Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire. Amlodipine and/or perindopril compounds were preferred medications. Serum BDNF was measured with ELISA. RESULTS: Brachial systolic blood pressure, as well as pulse wave velocity were significantly improved in the HT group over the 3-month follow-up (153.3±15.9 mmHg vs. 129.5±10.0 mmHg and 8.2±1.4 m/s vs 7.5±1.6 m/s, respectively). Similarly, we found improvements in BDI (0.73 points) and in several Scl-90 subscales. Serum BDNF was not different between CONT and HT and did not change for therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that initiation of currently recommended antihypertensive medications in newly diagnosed patients may have a significant impact on psychological well-being of patients and could influence quality of life as well
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