Untangling the Web of E-Research: Towards a Sociology of Online Knowledge

e-Research is a rapidly growing research area, both in terms of publications and in terms of funding. In this article we argue that it is necessary to reconceptualize the ways in which we seek to measure and understand e-Research by developing a sociology of knowledge based on our understanding of how science has been transformed historically and shifted into online forms. Next, we report data which allows the examination of e-Research through a variety of traces in order to begin to understand how the knowledge in the realm of e-Research has been and is being constructed. These data indicate that e-Research has had a variable impact in different fields of research. We argue that only an overall account of the scale and scope of e-Research within and between different fields makes it possible to identify the organizational coherence and diffuseness of e-Research in terms of its socio-technical networks, and thus to identify the contributions of e-Research to various research fronts in the online production of knowledge

Price Squeezes and Imputation Tests on Next Generation Access Networks

A vertically integrated firm that wholesales to its retail rivals can, if it has sufficient market power, set the margin between its retail and wholesale prices so as to harm its rivals. Conventionally, an imputation test is used to determine whether such behavior is being undertaken. Such tests are common in electronic communications, and the EC calls for their potentially intensive ex ante application in the supply of NGANs. This paper shows that while imputation tests are helpful analytical tools for understanding the nature of price squeezes, difficulties associated with implementation, which are sharp in an NGAN context, can make them misleading in practice. Instead, price squeezes are best dealt with through the rigorous comparison of expected outcomes, given the alleged anticompetitive behavior, with the outcomes expected in that behavior’s absence. Such analysis is not suited to ex ante application.price squeeze, imputation tests, next generation access networks, vertical discrimination, electronic communications, regulation

New Calculations of Stellar Wind Torques

Using numerical simulations of magnetized stellar winds, we carry out a parameter study to find the dependence of the stellar wind torque on observable parameters. We find that the power-law dependencies of the torque on parameters is significantly different than what has been used in all spin evolution models to date.Comment: To appear in the proceedings for the 15th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun. 4 page poster contributio

Longevity Extension from a Socioeconomic Perspective: Plausibility, Misconceptions, and Potential Outcomes

In the last several decades, a significant amount of progress has been made in pursuits to better understand the process of aging and subsequently gain some level of control over it. Wide-ranging successes with gene therapy and increased comprehension of the genetic components of aging have also recently culminated in numerous successes in extending the longevity of animals and the first human trial of a gene therapy to extend life through telomerase manipulation is already underway, albeit on a small scale (Mendell et al. 2015; Bernardes de Jesus et al. 2012; Konovalenko 2014). In light of these recent accomplishments, bioethicists, sociologists, and philosophers have published a great deal of research on the subject, offering badly needed critiques, examinations, and discussions of the many potential positive, negative, and uncertain outcomes longevity extension could well necessitate. Their discussions are admirable and sorely needed, but the path to an even understanding of the potential consequences of longevity extension has lately become strewn with obstacles in the form of misplaced assumptions and a great deal of overtly emotional or instinctive rhetoric

Web archives: the future

T his report is structured first, to engage in some speculative thought about the possible futures of the web as an exercise in prom pting us to think about what we need to do now in order to make sure that we can reliably and fruitfully use archives of the w eb in the future. Next, we turn to considering the methods and tools being used to research the live web, as a pointer to the types of things that can be developed to help unde rstand the archived web. Then , we turn to a series of topics and questions that researchers want or may want to address using the archived web. In this final section, we i dentify some of the challenges individuals, organizations, and international bodies can target to increase our ability to explore these topi cs and answer these quest ions. We end the report with some conclusions based on what we have learned from this exercise

Profiling of oligolignols reveals monolignol coupling conditions in lignifying poplar xylem

Lignin is an aromatic heteropolymer, abundantly present in the walls of secondary thickened cells. Although much research has been devoted to the structure and composition of the polymer to obtain insight into lignin polymerization, the low-molecular weight oligolignol fraction has escaped a detailed characterization. This fraction, in contrast to the rather inaccessible polymer, is a simple and accessible model that reveals details about the coupling of monolignols, an issue that has raised considerable controversy over the past years. We have profiled the methanol-soluble oligolignol fraction of poplar (Populus spp.) xylem, a tissue with extensive lignification. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, chemical synthesis, and nuclear magnetic resonance, we have elucidated the structures of 38 compounds, most of which were dimers, trimers, and tetramers derived from coniferyl alcohol, sinapyl alcohol, their aldehyde analogs, or vanillin. All structures support the recently challenged random chemical coupling hypothesis for lignin polymerization. Importantly, the structures of two oligomers, each containing a γ-p-hydroxybenzoylated syringyl unit, strongly suggest that sinapyl p-hydroxybenzoate is an authentic precursor for lignin polymerization in poplar

The Impact of Rent Controls in Non-Walrasian Markets: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach

We use agent-based models to consider rent ceilings in non-Walrasian housing markets, where bargaining between landlord and tenant leads to exchange at a range of prices. In the non-Walrasian setting agents who would be extramarginal in the Walrasian setting frequently are successful in renting, and actually account for a significant share of the units rented. This has several implications. First, rent ceilings above the Walrasian equilibrium price (WEP) can affect the market outcome. Second, rent ceilings that reduce the number of units rented do not necessarily reduce total market surplus. Finally, the distributional impact of rent controls differs from the Walrasian setting.

Calibration Methodology for the Scripps 13C/12C and 18O/16O stable Isotope program 1992-2018

This report details calibration method for measurements of 13C/12C and 18O/16O ratios of atmospheric CO2 by the Scripps CO2 program from 1992-2018.  The method depends principally on repeat analysis of CO2 derived from a suite of high-pressure gas cylinders filled with compressed natural air pumped at La Jolla.  The first set of three cylinders were given isotopic assignments in 1994 based on comparisons with material artifacts NBS16, NBS17, and NBS19.  Six cylinders subsequently brought into service were assigned values by comparing directly or indirectly with this first set.  A tenth cylinder with natural CO2 in air was obtained from MPI Jena.  Aliquots of CO2 from these cylinders, which serve as secondary standards, were extracted into heat-sealed glass ampoules (“flame-off tubes”) before introduction into the mass spectrometer.  Some of these ampoules have been stored for many years before analysis, allowing long-term isotopic drift of the cylinders to be quantified.  All secondary standards contain natural levels of N2O.  The method corrects for any detected drift, while also applying corrections for N2O interference, for isobaric interferences (“Craig correction”) and for an inter-lab offset identified in early comparisons with the isotope lab at the University of Groningen.  The Jena cylinder was found to be drifting upwards in δ18O at a rate of +0.10 ‰ per decade.  Five of the other nine cylinders were found to be drifting downwards in δ18O, δ13C, or both, at rates of up to -0.11‰ per decade.  The secondary standards were applied uniformly across a transition to a new mass spectrometer in 2000, thereby establishing continuity across this transition.  Results are presented also for instrumental precision based on replicate analyses of standards.  Drift-corrected analyses of the Jena cylinder establishes offsets of +0.037 ‰ in δ13C and +0.041 ‰ in δ18O between the Scripps and JRAS isotopic scales (Scripps more positive)

A review about lycopene-induced nuclear hormone receptor signalling in inflammation and lipid metabolism via still unknown endogenous apo-10´-lycopenoids

Lycopene is the red pigment in tomatoes and tomato products and is an important dietary carotenoid found in the human organism. Lycopene-isomers, oxidative lycopene metabolites and apo-lycopenoids are found in the food matrix. Lycopene intake derived from tomato consumption is associated with alteration of lipid metabolism and a lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Lycopene is mainly described as a potent antioxidant but novel studies are shifting towards its metabolites and their capacity to mediate nuclear receptor signalling. Di-/tetra-hydro-derivatives of apo-10´-lycopenoic acid and apo-15´-lycopenoic acids are potential novel endogenous mammalian lycopene metabolites which may act as ligands for nuclear hormone mediated activation and signalling. In this review, we postulate that complex lycopene metabolism results in various lycopene metabolites which have the ability to mediate transactivation of various nuclear hormone receptors like RARs, RXRs and PPARs. A new mechanistic explanation of how tomato consumption could positively modulate inflammation and lipid metabolism is discussed