66 research outputs found
Performability evaluation of the SIFT computer
Performability modeling and evaluation techniques are applied to the SIFT computer as it might operate in the computational evironment of an air transport mission. User-visible performance of the total system (SIFT plus its environment) is modeled as a random variable taking values in a set of levels of accomplishment. These levels are defined in terms of four attributes of total system behavior: safety, no change in mission profile, no operational penalties, and no economic process whose states describe the internal structure of SIFT as well as relavant conditions of the environment. Base model state trajectories are related to accomplishment levels via a capability function which is formulated in terms of a 3-level model hierarchy. Performability evaluation algorithms are then applied to determine the performability of the total system for various choices of computer and environment parameter values. Numerical results of those evaluations are presented and, in conclusion, some implications of this effort are discussed
Molecular imaging of glycan chains couples cell-wall polysaccharide architecture to bacterial cell
Biopolymer composite cell walls maintain cell shape and resist forces in plants, fungi and
bacteria. Peptidoglycan, a crucial antibiotic target and immunomodulator, performs this role
in bacteria. The textbook structural model of peptidoglycan is a highly ordered, crystalline
material. Here we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to image individual glycan chains in
peptidoglycan from Escherichia coli in unprecedented detail. We quantify and map the extent
to which chains are oriented in a similar direction (orientational order), showing it is much
less ordered than previously depicted. Combining AFM with size exclusion chromatography,
we reveal glycan chains up to 200 nm long. We show that altered cell shape is associated
with substantial changes in peptidoglycan biophysical properties. Glycans from E. coli in its
normal rod shape are long and circumferentially oriented, but when a spheroid shape is
induced (chemically or genetically) glycans become short and disordered
Fueling the gender gap? Oil and women's labor and marriage market outcomes
This paper analyzes the effect of resource-based economic specialization on women's labor market outcomes. Using information on the location and discovery of major oil fields in the Southern United States coupled with a county-level panel derived from US Census data for 1900-1940, we specifically test the hypothesis that the presence of mineral resources can induce changes in the sectoral composition of the local economy that are detrimental to women's labor market outcomes. We find evidence that the discovery of oil at the county level may constitute a substantial male biased demand shock to local labor markets, as it is associated with a higher gender pay gap. However, we find no evidence that oil wealth lowers female labor force participation or has any impact on local marriage and fertility patterns. While our results are consistent with oil shocks limiting female labor market opportunities in some sectors (mainly manufacturing), this effect tends to be compensated by the higher availability of service sector jobs for women who are therefore not driven out of the labor market
Systems analysis of non-parenchymal cell modulation of liver repair across multiple regeneration modes
Differential heart rate reactivity and recovery after psychosocial stress (TSST) in healthy children, younger adults, and elderly adults: The impact of age and gender
Biological proton pumping in an oscillating electric field
Time-dependent external perturbations provide powerful probes of the function of molecular machines. Here we study biological proton pumping in an oscillating electric field. The protein cytochrome c oxidase is the main energy transducer in aerobic life, converting chemical energy into an electric potential by pumping protons across a membrane. With the help of master-equation descriptions that recover the key thermodynamic and kinetic properties of this biological "fuel cell," we show that the proton pumping efficiency and the electronic currents in steady state depend significantly on the frequency and amplitude of the applied field, allowing us to distinguish between different microscopic mechanisms of the machine. A spectral analysis reveals dominant reaction steps consistent with an electron-gated pumping mechanism
Sex differences in the activity wheel and open field as a function of fetal x-irradiation
The bacterial actin MreB rotates, and rotation depends on cell-wall assembly
Bacterial cells possess multiple cytoskeletal proteins involved in a wide range of cellular processes. These cytoskeletal proteins are dynamic, but the driving forces and cellular functions of these dynamics remain poorly understood. Eukaryotic cytoskeletal dynamics are often driven by motor proteins, but in bacteria no motors that drive cytoskeletal motion have been identified to date. Here, we quantitatively study the dynamics of the Escherichia coli actin homolog MreB, which is essential for the maintenance of rod-like cell shape in bacteria. We find that MreB rotates around the long axis of the cell in a persistent manner. Whereas previous studies have suggested that MreB dynamics are driven by its own polymerization, we show that MreB rotation does not depend on its own polymerization but rather requires the assembly of the peptidoglycan cell wall. The cell-wall synthesis machinery thus either constitutes a novel type of extracellular motor that exerts force on cytoplasmic MreB, or is indirectly required for an as-yet-unidentified motor. Biophysical simulations suggest that one function of MreB rotation is to ensure a uniform distribution of new peptidoglycan insertion sites, a necessary condition to maintain rod shape during growth. These findings both broaden the view of cytoskeletal motors and deepen our understanding of the physical basis of bacterial morphogenesis
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