New records for Tephritidae (Diptera) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

As part of the All Taxon Biological Inventory (ATBI) being conducted in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), we report new distribution and host plant records for nine Tephritidae species

A Generalization of Metropolis and Heat-Bath Sampling for Monte Carlo Simulations

For a wide class of applications of the Monte Carlo method, we describe a general sampling methodology that is guaranteed to converge to a specified equilibrium distribution function. The method is distinct from that of Metropolis in that it is sometimes possible to arrange for unconditional acceptance of trial moves. It involves sampling states in a local region of phase space with probability equal to, in the first approximation, the square root of the desired global probability density function. The validity of this choice is derived from the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation, and the utility of the method is illustrated by a prototypical numerical experiment.Comment: RevTeX, 7 pages, 2 table

The role of data & program code archives in the future of economic research

This essay examines the role of data and program-code archives in making economic research "replicable." Replication of published results is recognized as an essential part of the scientific method. Yet, historically, both the "demand for" and "supply of" replicable results in economics has been minimal. "Respect for the scientific method" is not sufficient to motivate either economists or editors of professional journals to ensure the replicability of published results. We enumerate the costs and benefits of mandatory data and code archives, and argue that the benefits far exceed the costs. Progress has been made since the gloomy assessment of Dewald, Thursby and Anderson some twenty years ago in the American Economic Review, but much remains to be done before empirical economics ceases to be a "dismal science" when judged by the replicability of its published results.Econometrics ; Research

Estimation of Costs of Phosphorus Removal In Wastewater Treatment Facilities: Adaptation of Existing Facilities

As part of a wider enquiry into the feasibility of offset banking schemes as a means to implement pollutant trading within Georgia watersheds, this is the second of two reports addressing the issue of estimating costs for upgrades in the performance of phosphorus removal in point-source wastewater treatment facilities. Earlier, preliminary results are presented in Jiang et al (2004) (Working Paper # 2004-010 of the Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center). The present study is much more detailed and employs an advanced software package (WEST®, Hemmis nv, Kortrijk, Belgium) for simulating a variety of treatment plant designs operating under typical Georgia conditions. Specifically, upgrades in performance, in a single step, from a plant working at an effluent limit of less than 2.0 mg/l phosphorus to one working with limits variously ranging between less than 1.0 mg/l to less than 0.05 mg/l phosphorus are simulated and the resulting costs of the upgrade estimated.Five capacities of plant are considered, from 1 MGD to 100 MGD. Three strategic, alternative designs for the facility are considered: the basic activated sludge (AS) process with chemical addition, the Anoxic/Oxic (A/O) arrangement of the AS process, and the Anaerobic/Aerobic/Oxic (A/A/O) arrangement of the AS process. Upgrades in performance are consistent with the logical alternatives for adapting these options. Cost comparisons are made primarily on the basis of the incremental cost of the upgrade, i.e., from the base-case, reference plant to that performing at the higher level, as expressed through the incremental Total Annual Economic Cost (TAEC; in $) and the marginal unit cost of phosphorus removal, expressed in ($/kg).For the most stringent upgrade, for example, to a plant generating an effluent with less than 0.05 mg/l phosphorus, these marginal costs -- the cost of the additional phosphorus removed as a result of the upgrade -- amount to something of the order of 150-425 $/kg, with the upper bound being associated with the smallest plant configuration (1 MGD). Working Paper Number 2005-001

Low-speed wind-tunnel investigation of the flight dynamic characteristics of an advanced turboprop business/commuter aircraft configuration

An investigation was conducted to determine the low-speed flight dynamic behavior of a representative advanced turboprop business/commuter aircraft concept. Free-flight tests were conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center's 30- by 60-Foot Tunnel. In support of the free-flight tests, conventional static, dynamic, and free-to-roll oscillation tests were performed. Tests were intended to explore normal operating and post stall flight conditions, and conditions simulating the loss of power in one engine

Freezing by Monte Carlo Phase-Switch

We describe a Monte Carlo procedure which allows sampling of the disjoint configuration spaces associated with crystalline and fluid phases, within a single simulation. The method utilises biased sampling techniques to enhance the probabilities of gateway states (in each phase) which are such that a global switch (to the other phase) can be implemented. Equilibrium freezing-point parameters can be determined directly; statistical uncertainties prescribed transparently; and finite-size effects quantified systematically. The method is potentially quite general; we apply it to the freezing of hard spheres.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Carbon turnover in the water-soluble protein of the adult human lens.

PurposeHuman eye lenses contain cells that persist from embryonic development. These unique, highly specialized fiber cells located at the core (nucleus) of the lens undergo pseudo-apoptosis to become devoid of cell nuclei and most organelles. Ostensibly lacking in protein transcriptional capabilities, it is currently believed that these nuclear fiber cells owe their extreme longevity to the perseverance of highly stable and densely packed crystallin proteins. Maintaining the structural and functional integrity of lenticular proteins is necessary to sustain cellular transparency and proper vision, yet the means by which the lens actually copes with a lifetime of oxidative stress, seemingly without any capacity for protein turnover and repair, is not completely understood. Although many years of research have been predicated upon the assumption that there is no protein turnover or renewal in nuclear fiber cells, we investigated whether or not different protein fractions possess protein of different ages by using the (14)C bomb pulse.MethodsAdult human lenses were concentrically dissected by gently removing the cell layers in water or shaving to the nucleus with a curved micrometer-controlled blade. The cells were lysed, and the proteins were separated into water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions. The small molecules were removed using 3 kDa spin filters. The (14)C/C was measured in paired protein fractions by accelerator mass spectrometry, and an average age for the material within the sample was assigned using the (14)C bomb pulse.ResultsThe water-insoluble fractions possessed (14)C/C ratios consistent with the age of the cells. In all cases, the water-soluble fractions contained carbon that was younger than the paired water-insoluble fraction.ConclusionsAs the first direct evidence of carbon turnover in protein from adult human nuclear fiber cells, this discovery supports the emerging view of the lens nucleus as a dynamic system capable of maintaining homeostasis in part due to intricate protein transport mechanisms and possibly protein repair. This finding implies that the lens plays an active role in the aversion of age-related nuclear (ARN) cataract

The Amino Terminus of the Yeast F_1-ATPase β-Subunit Precursor Functions as a Mitochondrial Import Signal

The ATP2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae codes for the cytoplasmically synthesized beta-subunit protein of the mitochondrial F1-ATPase. To define the amino acid sequence determinants necessary for the in vivo targeting and import of this protein into mitochondria, we have constructed gene fusions between the ATP2 gene and either the Escherichia coli lacZ gene or the S. cerevisiae SUC2 gene (which codes for invertase). The ATP2-lacZ and ATP2-SUC2 gene fusions code for hybrid proteins that are efficiently targeted to yeast mitochondria in vivo. The mitochondrially associated hybrid proteins fractionate with the inner mitochondrial membrane and are resistant to proteinase digestion in the isolated organelle. Results obtained with the gene fusions and with targeting-defective ATP2 deletion mutants provide evidence that the amino-terminal 27 amino acids of the beta-subunit protein precursor are sufficient to direct both specific sorting of this protein to yeast mitochondria and its import into the organelle. Also, we have observed that certain of the mitochondrially associated Atp2-LacZ and Atp2-Suc2 hybrid proteins confer a novel respiration-defective phenotype to yeast cells

FINDCHIRP: an algorithm for detection of gravitational waves from inspiraling compact binaries

Matched-filter searches for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration use the FINDCHIRP algorithm: an implementation of the optimal filter with innovations to account for unknown signal parameters and to improve performance on detector data that has nonstationary and non-Gaussian artifacts. We provide details on the FINDCHIRP algorithm as used in the search for subsolar mass binaries, binary neutron stars, neutron star-black hole binaries, and binary black holes.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure, journal version with Creative Commons 4.0 open-access license adde