Shift Equivalence in the Generalized Factor Order

We provide a geometric condition that guarantees strong Wilf equivalence in the generalized factor order. This provides a powerful tool for proving specific and general Wilf equivalence results, and several such examples are given

World university ranking methodologies: stability and variability

There has been a steady growth in the number of national university league tables over the last 25 years. By contrast, ‘World University Rankings’ are a more recent development and have received little serious academic scrutiny in peer-reviewed publications. Few researchers have evaluated the sources of data and the statistical approaches used. The present article seeks to address this gap. The authors explain and evaluate the methodologies used by the Times Higher Education Supplement 1 and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, highlighting differences in their outcomes and in their degree of stability over time. A range of concerns must be addressed if such rankings are to inspire a level of confidence which transcends the established ‘infotainment’ value of league tables (Bowden, 2000)

The Ursinus Weekly, May 2, 1974

Two faculty members receive promotions • Committee of USGA proposes rule changes • Henry and Perreten get study grants • Dr. Parsons and Dr. Snyder to run Pa. Dutch course • Japanese will join U.C. summer school • U.C. to honor Rep. Ware at commencement • Dave Liscom to attend St. Andrews • Editorial: So what else is new?; Say something good • Italian philosopher is reborn • Alumni corner: The Ruby in debt • The ghost of Ursinus past • Ursinus students view unicorns • New 3-plus-3 plan: Degree in 3 years • Pi Gamma Mu names 10 to membership • Brazilians say “Saudade!” • U.C. students plan summers in Europe • Review: Springsteen’s rock rocks U.C. campus • ‘Chap’ resigns his U.C posts • Lacrosse trials select players • Bear runners looking good • Faculty focus: Georgia Ferrell leads winning gymnasts • Baseball squad facing tough competition • Two Ursinus basketball stars honoredhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1015/thumbnail.jp

Suppression of IL-1β Promotes Beneficial Accumulation of Fibroblast-Like Cells in Atherosclerotic Plaques in Clonal Hematopoiesis

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Murine models of CH suggest a central role of inflammasomes and IL-1β in accelerated atherosclerosis and plaque destabilization. Here we show using single-cell RNA sequencing in human carotid plaques that inflammasome components are enriched in macrophages, while the receptor for IL-1β is enriched in fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). To address the role of inflammatory crosstalk in features of plaque destabilization, we conducted SMC fate mapping in Ldlr-/- mice modeling Jak2VF or Tet2 CH treated with IL-1β antibodies. Unexpectedly, this treatment minimally affected SMC differentiation, leading instead to a prominent expansion of fibroblast-like cells. Depletion of fibroblasts from mice treated with IL-1β antibody resulted in thinner fibrous caps. Conversely, genetic inactivation of Jak2VF during plaque regression promoted fibroblast accumulation and fibrous cap thickening. Our studies suggest that suppression of inflammasomes promotes plaque stabilization by recruiting fibroblast-like cells to the fibrous cap

Replicability, Robustness, and Reproducibility in Psychological Science

Replication—an important, uncommon, and misunderstood practice—is gaining appreciation in psychology. Achieving replicability is important for making research progress. If findings are not replicable, then prediction and theory development are stifled. If findings are replicable, then interrogation of their meaning and validity can advance knowledge. Assessing replicability can be productive for generating and testing hypotheses by actively confronting current understandings to identify weaknesses and spur innovation. For psychology, the 2010s might be characterized as a decade of active confrontation. Systematic and multi-site replication projects assessed current understandings and observed surprising failures to replicate many published findings. Replication efforts highlighted sociocultural challenges such as disincentives to conduct replications and a tendency to frame replication as a personal attack rather than a healthy scientific practice, and they raised awareness that replication contributes to self-correction. Nevertheless, innovation in doing and understanding replication and its cousins, reproducibility and robustness, has positioned psychology to improve research practices and accelerate progress

The AIM2 inflammasome exacerbates atherosclerosis in clonal haematopoiesis

Clonal haematopoiesis, which is highly prevalent in older individuals, arises from somatic mutations that endow a proliferative advantage to haematopoietic cells. Clonal haematopoiesis increases the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke independently of traditional risk factors(1). Among the common genetic variants that give rise to clonal haematopoiesis, the JAK2(V617F) (JAK2(VF)) mutation, which increases JAK-STAT signalling, occurs at a younger age and imparts the strongest risk of premature coronary heart disease(1,2). Here we show increased proliferation of macrophages and prominent formation of necrotic cores in atherosclerotic lesions in mice that express Jak2(VF) selectively in macrophages, and in chimeric mice that model clonal haematopoiesis. Deletion of the essential inflammasome components caspase 1 and 11, or of the pyroptosis executioner gasdermin D, reversed these adverse changes. Jak2(VF) lesions showed increased expression of AIM2, oxidative DNA damage and DNA replication stress, and Aim2 deficiency reduced atherosclerosis. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of Jak2(VF) lesions revealed a landscape that was enriched for inflammatory myeloid cells, which were suppressed by deletion of Gsdmd. Inhibition of the inflammasome product interleukin-1 beta reduced macrophage proliferation and necrotic formation while increasing the thickness of fibrous caps, indicating that it stabilized plaques. Our findings suggest that increased proliferation and glycolytic metabolism in Jak2(VF) macrophages lead to DNA replication stress and activation of the AIM2 inflammasome, thereby aggravating atherosclerosis. Precise application of therapies that target interleukin-1 beta or specific inflammasomes according to clonal haematopoiesis status could substantially reduce cardiovascular risk