A Feasibility Analysis at Signal-Free Intersections

In this letter, we address the problem of improving the feasible domain of the solution of a decentralized control framework for coordinating connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) at signal-free intersections as the traffic volume increases. The framework provides the optimal trajectories of CAVs to cross the intersection safely without stop-and-go driving. However, as the traffic volume increases, the domain of the feasible trajectories decreases. We use concepts of numerical interpolation to identify appropriate polynomials that can serve as alternative trajectories of the CAVs, expanding the domain of the feasible CAV trajectories. We provide the conditions under which such polynomials exist. Finally, we demonstrate the efficacy of our approach through numerical simulations

Inheritance of Resistance to Common Bacterial Blight in Four Tepary Bean Lines

High levels of resistance to common bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli (Smith) Dye (Xcp) have been observed for tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray var. latifolius Freeman). However, the inheritance of resistance from this source is unknown for many lines. The inheritance of common bacterial blight resistance was studied in four tepary bean lines crossed with the susceptible tepary bean MEX-114. Progenies were inoculated with a single Xcp strain 484a. Segregation ratios in the F2 generation suggested that resistance in Neb-T-6-s and PI 321637-s was governed by one dominant gene, and Neb T-8a-s had two dominant genes with complementary effects. These hypotheses for inheritance of resistance were supported by various combinations of F1, F3, BC1Pn segregation data in all lines except PI 321637-s where an additional minor-effect gene with recessive inheritance was indicated. Generation means analyses corroborated that multiple resistance genes were present in PI 321638-s. Lack of segregation for susceptibility among testcrosses for allelism between Neb-T-6-s/PI 321637-s, Neb-T-6-s/Neb-T-8a-s, PI 321637-s/Neb-T- 8a-s, and PI 321637-s/PI 321638-s, suggested that one or more loci conditioning resistance to common bacterial blight were in common across the four tepary lines

CSF Inflammatory Markers Differ in Gram-Positive Versus Gram-negative Shunt Infections.

BACKGROUND: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt placement is frequently complicated by bacterial infection. Shunt infection diagnosis relies on bacterial culture of CSF which can often produce false-negative results. Negative cultures present a conundrum for physicians as they are left to rely on other CSF indices, which can be unremarkable. New methods are needed to swiftly and accurately diagnose shunt infections. CSF chemokines and cytokines may prove useful as diagnostic biomarkers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of systemic and CSF biomarkers for identification of CSF shunt infection. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of children with culture-confirmed CSF shunt infection at Children\u27s Hospital and Medical Center from July 2013 to December 2015. CSF cytokine analysis was performed for those patients with CSF in frozen storage from the same sample that was used for diagnostic culture. RESULTS: A total of 12 infections were included in this study. Patients with shunt infection had a median C-reactive protein (CRP) of 18.25 mg/dL. Median peripheral white blood cell count was 15.53 × 10 CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study is the first to characterize the CSF cytokine profile in patients with CSF shunt infection and supports the distinction of chemokine and cytokine profiles between gram-negative and gram-positive infections. Additionally, it demonstrates the potential of CSF chemokines and cytokines as biomarkers for the diagnosis of shunt infection

Specific Genomic Regions in Common Bean Condition Resistance to Multiple Pathogens

A genetic linkage map of 170 RAPD markers mapped across 79 recombinant inbred lines (Dorado and XAN-176) reveal genomic regions that condition multiple disease resistance to fungal (Ashy Stem Blight—Macrophomina phaseolina), viral (bean golden mosaic virus— BGMV), and bacterial (common bacterial blight—Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli) pathogens of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). A genomic site on linkage group US-1 had a major effect, explaining 18%, 34%, and 40% of the variation in phenotypic reaction to ashy stem blight, BGMV, and common bacterial blight disease, respectively. Adjacent to this region was a QTL conditioning 23% of the variation in reaction to another fungal pathogen, web blight (Thanatephorus cucumeris). A second genomic site on linkage group US-1 had minor affect on multiple resistance expression to the same fungal (15%), viral (15%), and bacterial (10%) pathogens. It is unknown whether these specific genomic regions represent a series of linked QTL affecting resistance to each disease separately or an individual locus with pleiotropic effect against all three pathogens

Inheritance and QTL Analysis of Field Resistance to Ashy Stem Blight in Common Bean

Ashy stem blight [caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid.] can be a serious disease of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under drought and high temperature conditions in some regions. The mode of inheritance of valuable sources of resistance is lacking. We studied inheritance of field resistance to ashy stem blight in a recombinant inbred population (’Dorado’ × XAN 176) consisting of 119 F5:7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) tested in replicated experiments across 2 yr. A score from 1 to 9 (no disease to severe disease) was used to measure disease reaction. Moderate HNs (0.53 and 0.57) and near-normal frequency distribution of RILs for mean disease score each year indicated a lack of discrete segregation classes. The phenotypic variation across a subgroup composed of 79 RILs was further investigated with 165 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers by one-way analyses of variance and interval mapping. Five quantitative trait loci (QTL), explaining 19, 15, 15, 13, and 13% of the phenotypic variation for disease score, were detected in 1993. Three of these QTL, explaining 15,12, and 12% of the variation in disease reaction, were detected in 1994. Multiple QTL regression models (P \u3c 0.01) explained up to 47% (four loci) of the phenotypic variation for disease score in 1993 and 28% (three loci) in 1994. The five QTL, all derived from XAN 176, generally showed additive effects. These QTL-linked RAPD markers may prove useful for indirect selection of field resistance to ashy stem blight derived from XAN 176

IL-10 plays an important role in the control of inflammation but not in the bacterial burden in S. epidermidis CNS catheter infection.

BACKGROUND: Shunt infection is a frequent and serious complication in the surgical treatment in hydrocephalus. Previous studies have shown an attenuated immune response to these biofilm-mediated infections. We proposed that IL-10 reduces the inflammatory response to Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) CNS catheter infection. METHODS: In this study, a murine model of catheter-associated S. epidermidis biofilm infection in the CNS was generated based on a well-established similar model for S. aureus. The catheters were pre-coated with a clinically derived biofilm-forming strain of S. epidermidis (strain 1457) which were then stereotactically implanted into the lateral left ventricle of 8-week-old C57BL/6 and IL-10 knockout (IL-10 knockout) mice. Bacterial titers as well as cytokine and chemokine levels were measured at days 3, 5, 7, and 10 in mice implanted with sterile and S. epidermidis-coated catheters. RESULTS: Cultures demonstrated a catheter-associated and parenchymal infection that persisted through 10 days following infection. Cytokine analysis of the tissue surrounding the catheters revealed greater levels of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, in the infected group compared to the sterile. In IL-10 KO mice, we noted no change in bacterial burdens, showing that IL-10 is not needed to control the infection in a CNS catheter infection model. However, IL-10 KO mice had increased levels of pro-inflammatory mediators in the tissues immediately adjacent to the infected catheter, as well as an increase in weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: Together our results indicate that IL-10 plays a key role in regulating the inflammatory response to CNS catheter infection but not in control of bacterial burdens. Therefore, IL-10 may be a useful therapeutic target for immune modulation in CNS catheter infection but this should be used in conjunction with antibiotic therapy for bacterial eradication

Contributions in Puerto Rico to Bean, \u3ci\u3ePhaseolus\u3c/i\u3e spp., Research

Most literature reviews focus on a specific topic. The purpose of this paper, however, is to review the contributions made by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at a specific location (Puerto Rico) over a period of several decades. This paper documents bean research of the University of Puerto Rico and the USDA-ARS Tropical Agriculture Research Station during the past century. The following illustrates the merits of continuity of effort in research and shows that research often follows a logical sequence of actions to solve problems related to genetic improvement as well as to study biotic and abiotic factors that affect common bean production in Central America and the Caribbean. Finally, this narrative demonstrates that the ongoing development of improved bean germplasm lines and cultivars is cyclical and builds upon previous research achievements. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important component of the traditional diet in Puerto Rico. The 1900 report of the USDA Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station (USDA-PRAES) noted that rice and beans were staple crops in Puerto Rico and found on the tables of both the rich and poor. Smit et al. (2007) noted that annual per capita consumption of grain legumes, mostly dry beans, in Puerto Rico (6.4 kg) is almost double the per capita consumption in the U.S. (3.4 kg; US Dry Bean Council, 2019). Common and lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus L.) have been produced in the Caribbean for at least 500 years. The grain legume fits well into rotations and is often intercropped with other longer season crops such as plantains and bananas. Small white beans, locally known as ‘Blanca del País’ and striped pink beans known as ‘Colorado del País’ are traditional market classes in Puerto Rico (Koenig, 1953). Consumers in Puerto Rico today consume a wide array of market classes including white, red, pink, pinto, black and kidney beans (Bean Institute, 2018). Although Puerto Ricans represent roughly 1% of the U.S. population, they consume 3.1% of the common and lima beans in the U.S. (Lucier et al., 2000)

Staphylococcus aureus sarA regulates inflammation and colonization during central nervous system biofilm formation

Infection is a frequent and serious complication following the treatment of hydrocephalus with CSF shunts, with limited therapeutic options because of biofilm formation along the catheter surface. Here we evaluated the possibility that the sarA regulatory locus engenders S. aureus more resistant to immune recognition in the central nervous system (CNS) based on its reported ability to regulate biofilm formation. We utilized our established model of CNS catheter-associated infection, similar to CSF shunt infections seen in humans, to compare the kinetics of bacterial titers, cytokine production and inflammatory cell influx elicited by wild type S. aureus versus an isogenic sarA mutant. The sarA mutant was more rapidly cleared from infected catheters compared to its isogenic wild type strain. Consistent with this finding, several pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including IL-17, CXCL1, and IL-1β were significantly increased in the brain following infection with the sarA mutant versus wild type S. aureus, in agreement with the fact that the sarA mutant displayed impaired biofilm growth and favored a planktonic state. Neutrophil influx into the infected hemisphere was also increased in the animals infected with the sarA mutant compared to wild type bacteria. These changes were not attributable to extracellular protease activity, which is increased in the context of SarA mutation, since similar responses were observed between sarA and a sarA/protease mutant. Overall, these results demonstrate that sarA plays an important role in attenuating the inflammatory response during staphylococcal biofilm infection in the CNS via a mechanism that remains to be determined

Presupposition projection as proof construction

Even though Van der Sandt's presuppositions as anaphora approach is empirically successful, it fails to give a formal account of the interaction between world-knowledge and presuppositions. In this paper, an algorithm is sketched which is based on the idea of presuppositions as anaphora. It improves on this approach by employing a deductive system, Constructive Type Theory (CTT), to get a formal handle on the way world-knowledge influences presupposition projection. In CTT, proofs for expressions are explicitly represented as objects. These objects can be seen as a generalization of DRT's discourse markers. They are useful in dealing with presuppositional phenomena which require world-knowledge, such as Clark's bridging examples and Beaver's conditional presuppositions