Not So Fast: Cultivating miRs as Kinks in the Chain of the Cell Cycle.

In this issue of Cancer Cell, Hydbring and colleagues define a novel class of microRNAs (miRNAs), deemed cell-cycle-targeting miRNAs, that target several cyclins/CDKs, reduce tumor cell growth, and induce apoptosis. These miRNAs effectively suppressed chemoresistant patient-derived xenograft growth in vivo, and efficacy could be prospectively predicted with an expression-based algorithm

Rational Fear of Floating: A Simple Model of Exchange Rates and Income Distribution

We consider a simple two-country model, where each country produces a consumption good from a single input. Production takes time, and the model is considered over two consecutive periods. There are three categories of economic agents, namely factor owners, entrepreneurs, and financial intermediaries. The latter offers credits to entrepreneurs and are funded by sale internationally transferable bonds. We assume that the national credit markets are monopolistic but that other markets are competitive. Exchange rate policy is introduced in two different ways, either as a market intervention by a government, sustained by intervention in the commodity market, and, more realistically, as a policy commitment by the monetary authorities, which in equilibrium is taken into consideration by the financial intermediary. The results of the simple model show that an increase in the value of the domestic currency from an equilibrium position will in most cases decrease aggregate welfare of the country, but it will improve welfare of the financial intermediaries. Thus, in the simple framework of our model, a specific sector – and one with a considerable influence on policy choices – stands to gain from this exchange rate policy.fear of floating; income distribution; financial intermediaries

Extending the redshift distribution of submm galaxies: Identification of a z~4 submm galaxy

We present the identification of a bright submillimeter galaxy (SMG) in the field of Abell 2218. The galaxy has a spectroscopic redshift of ~4, and is currently the highest redshift SMG known. It is detected at all wavelengths from optical to submm, including the Spitzer IRAC bands. We discuss the properties of this galaxy, which is undergoing intense star formation at a rate~600 Msun/yr. We also compare the properties to those of radio-preselected submm-bright galaxies. The z~4 result extends the redshift distribution of SMGs.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, uses asp2004.sty. To appear in the proceedings of the conference "Infrared Diagnostics of Galaxy Evolution", Pasadena, CA, 14-16 November 2005, ed. R. Char

Physical properties and morphology of a newly identified compact z=4.04 lensed submillimeter galaxy in Abell 2218

We present the identification of a bright submm source, SMMJ163555.5+661300, detected in the lensing cluster Abell2218, for which we have accurately determined the position using observations from the Submillimeter Array (SMA). The identified optical counterpart has a spectroscopic redshift of z=4.044+-0.001 if we attribute the single emission line detected at lambda=6140AA to Lyman-alpha. This redshift identification is in good agreement with the optical/near-infrared photometric redshift as well as the submm flux ratio S_450/S_850~1.6, the radio-submm flux ratio S_1.4/S_850 < 0.004, and the 24um to 850um flux ratio S_24/S_850 < 0.005. Correcting for the gravitational lensing amplification of ~5.5, we find that the source has a far-infrared luminosity of 1.3x10^12 Lsun, which implies a star formation rate of 230 Msun/yr. This makes it the lowest-luminosity SMG known at z>4 to date. Previous CO(4-3) emission line obserations yielded a non-detection, for which we derived an upper limit of the CO line luminosity of L'_CO = 0.3x10^10 K km/s/pc^2, which is not inconsistent with the L'_CO - L_FIR relation for starburst galaxies. The best fit model to the optical and near-infrared photometry give a stellar population with an age of 1.4 Gyr and a stellar mass of 1.6x10^10 Msun. The optical morphology is compact and in the source plane the galaxy has an extent of ~6kpc x 3kpc with individual star forming knots of <500 pc in size. J163556 is not resolved in the SMA data and we place a strict upper limit on the size of the starburst region of 8kpc x 3kpc, which implies a lower limit on the star formation rate surface density of 12 Msun/yr/kpc^2. The redshift of J163556 extends the redshift distribution of faint, lensed SMGs, and we find no evidence that these have a different redshift distribution than bright SMGs.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 11 pages, 7 figure

Integrating case-based reasoning and hypermedia documentation: an application for the diagnosis of a welding robot at Odense steel shipyard

Reliable and effective maintenance support is a vital consideration for the management within today's manufacturing environment. This paper discusses the development of a maintenance system for the world's largest robot welding facility. The development system combines a case-based reasoning approach for diagnosis with context information, as electronic on-line manuals, linked using open hypermedia technology. The work discussed in this paper delivers not only a maintenance system for the robot stations under consideration, but also a design framework for developing maintenance systems for other similar applications

School district consolidation in a club goods framework

The provision of school district services has been incorporated into the theoretical framework of a club good model. Within this model it is possible to show the potential for benefit or harm from consolidation;When considering school district consolidation it is important to consider the interaction of quality, expenditures, and preferences to analyze the potential for success. The club good model provides this framework;The model produces an ambiguity, however, and it is resolved by first estimating school quality with a multiple input, multiple cause model and then using ordinary least squares to estimate average expenditure curves for different quality levels. This estimation results in knowledge about the interaction of quality and efficiency

Institutional Stress and the Federal District Courts: Judicial Emergencies, Vertical Norms, and Pretrial Dismissals

This Article examines the effects of judicial emergencies on the federal district courts. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts declares judicial emergencies when a weighted statistic of filings and vacancy days exceeds certain thresholds. This Article presents evidence on the relationship between emergency status in a judicial circuit and the frequency of pretrial disposition in federal district courts within that circuit: a federal district court is statistically more likely to dismiss a case before trial if its corresponding circuit court is in emergency. This evidence suggests that emergency status may affect normative expectations between the federal district courts and the federal courts of appeals. Federal district courts in circuits under stress appear to increase their “gatekeeping” function by reducing the number of full trials that they hear. The evidence presented in this Article also suggests that the stability of vertical norms between the federal district courts and the federal circuit courts plays an important role in the federal district courts fulfilling their trial-like institutional role

An examination of the perceptions of the IEP process as a team plans for the potential reintegration of a student from an alternative setting to the resident district

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 determined that students with disabilities are to learn in the least restrictive environment (LRE). The IEP team has the responsibility to determine placement that is as non-restrictive as possible and yet appropriate. For students with Emotional Disturbances (ED) the concept of LRE is contentious. The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceptions of IEP team members as to the factors on which decisions are made throughout the IEP process for students with ED as the team planned for reintegration from an alternative setting into the student’s home district. This study focused on the legal requirements, as well as attitudes, perceptions and beliefs, in the development of the IEP when behavior is a factor as the IEP team planned for reintegration following placement in an alternative setting. As a result of IEP team member interviews and IEP document analysis nine themes emerged in response to the research questions. As IEP team members described the IEP process for students with ED, procedural compliance was understood, and yet participation in IEP meetings was not always be occurring as required. IEPs were not being developed according to key legal requirements. A collaborative team approach to IEP development was not prominent in decision making. A perceived factor on which IEP teams based placement decisions may be a result of the legal mandate for placement in the LRE affected by philosophical underpinnings, a lack of resources supporting a continuum of services, and logistical barriers. Possible resistance to reintegration may occur because of general philosophy and past experiences as well as questions related to the magnitude of the change in student behavior before reintegration was considered and tolerances of those behaviors in classrooms. Legitimate Position Power by Administrators was the predominant source of power and influence throughout the IEP planning process. Data Power was influential in the IEP process. The parent assumed a role of advocacy, on behalf of her child, as a source of influence throughout the IEP process. Expertise by Teachers was demonstrated, but stifled, as a source of influence. Although teachers demonstrated strong skills and vast knowledge along with clear evidence of working with and on behalf of the student, little evidence existed where this expertise was influential in the IEP process. Conclusions and recommendations from this study call for better understanding of the unique needs of students with ED and the importance of LRE. Furthermore, the IEP process must be enacted based upon the spirit of the law, not merely minimal compliance. Implementation of these recommendations would significantly improve outcomes

The lost sunspot cycle: New support from Be10 measurements

It has been suggested that the deficit in the number of spots on the surface of the Sun between 1790 and 1830, known as the Dalton minimum, contained an extra cycle that was not identified in the original sunspot record by Wolf. Though this cycle would be shorter and weaker than the average solar cycle, it would shift the magnetic parity of the solar magnetic field of the earlier cycles. This extra cycle is sometimes referred to as the 'lost solar cycle' or 'cycle 4b'. Here we reanalyse Be10 measurements with annual resolution from the NGRIP ice core in Greenland in order to investigate if the hypothesis regarding a lost sunspot cycle is supported by these measurements. Specifically, we make use of the fact that the Galactic cosmic rays, responsible for forming Be10 in the Earth's atmosphere, are affected differently by the open solar magnetic field during even and odd solar cycles. This fact enables us to evaluate if the numbering of cycles earlier than cycle 5 is correct. For the evaluation, we use Bayesian analysis, which reveals that the lost sunspot cycle hypothesis is likely to be correct. We also discuss if this cycle 4b is a real cycle, or a phase catastrophe, and what implications this has for our understanding of stellar activity cycles in general.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

ELA A NOTE ON THE CONVEXITY OF THE REALIZABLE SET OF EIGENVALUES FOR NONNEGATIVE SYMMETRIC MATRICES ∗

Abstract. Geometric properties of the set Rn of n–tuples of realizable spectra of nonnegative symmetric matrices, and the Soules set Sn introduced by McDonald and Neumann, are examined. It is established that S5 is properly contained in R5. Twointerestingexamplesarepresentedwhich show that neither Rn nor Sn need be convex. It is proved that Rn and Sn are star convex and centered at (1, 1,...,1). Key words. Symmetric matrices, inverse eigenvalue problem, realizable set, Soules set. AMS subject classifications. 15A18,15A29,15A57 1. Introduction, Definition