Representability problems for coarse-grained water potentials

The use of an effective intermolecular potential often involves a compromise between more accurate, complex functional forms and more tractable simple representations. To study this choice in detail, we systematically derive coarse-grained isotropic pair potentials that accurately reproduce the oxygen-oxygen radial distribution function of the TIP4P-Ew water model at state points over density ranges from 0.88-1.30g/cc and temperature ranges from 235K-310K. Although by construction these effective potentials correctly represent the isothermal compressibility of TIP4P-Ew water, they do not accurately resolve other thermodynamic properties such as the virial pressure, the internal energy or thermodynamic anomalies. Because at a given state point the pair potential that reproduces the pair structure is unique, we have therefore explicitly demonstrated that it is impossible to simultaneously represent the pair-structure and several key equilibrium thermodynamic properties of water with state-point dependent radially symmetric pair potentials. We argue that such representability problems are related to, but different from, more widely acknowledged transferability problems, and discuss in detail the implications this has for the modeling of water and other liquids by coarse-grained potentials. Nevertheless, regardless of thermodynamic inconsistencies, the state-point dependent effective potentials for water do generate structural and dynamical anomalies.Comment: 22 page

Hormone and Adpokine Alterations across Eleven Weeks of Training in Division I Collegiate Throwers: an Exploratory Study

Conceptually, it is important to understand the underlying physiological mechanisms of any training program model. This understanding aids the coach/sport scientist in making better choices in manipulating variables in formulating the training model. These underlying mechanisms can be associated with training variable manipulation and fatigue management aspects as well as the overall health of the athlete. Hormone and cytokine concentrations can be linked to alterations resulting from the manipulation of training variables and to subsequent alterations in performance (Haff et al., 2008; Ishigaki et al., 2005; Jurimae et al., 2010; Stone et al., 2007). For example, alterations in the testosterone: cortisol ratio (T:C) has been associated with alterations in training volume as well as physiological aspects such as lean body mass (LBM), fat content and strength/power performance (Haff et al., 2008; Häkkinen, 1989; Stone et al., 2007). Although cytokine production is part of the adaptive process, markedly increased/excessive cytokine production has been related poor fatigue management and over training (Angeli et al., 2004; Jurimae et al., 2010; Smith, 2000). The present study followed NCAA division 1 (D-1) collegiate throwers over a period of an 11 week fall semester preparation-phase block form of periodized training. Volume and intensity alterations and their effects on physiological variables (e.g. neuromuscular, hormonal, cytokine) are a key component in understanding the effects of a training process. Alterations in these physiological variables were tracked over time in Division-1 collegiate throwers

Nurses\u27 Alumnae Association Bulletin, June 1970

Alumnae President\u27s Message Congratulations Alumni Association Portrait of Samuel D. Gross Officers and Chairmen of Committees Financial Report Progress of Jefferson 1969-1970 School of Nursing Annual Report School of Practical Nursing Report Emergency Department Patient Services Department Annual Luncheon Pictures Committee Reports Progress of the Alumnae Association Crossword Puzzle Missing Graduates Resume of Alumnae Meetings Minutes Class News Student Nurses Section Crossword Puzzle Answers Notice

Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata

BACKGROUND: Sirenia (manatees, dugongs and Stellar's sea cow) have no evolutionary relationship with other marine mammals, despite similarities in adaptations and body shape. Recent phylogenomic results place Sirenia in Afrotheria and with elephants and rock hyraxes in Paenungulata. Sirenia and Hyracoidea are the two afrotherian orders as yet unstudied by comparative molecular cytogenetics. Here we report on the chromosome painting of the Florida manatee. RESULTS: The human autosomal and X chromosome paints delimited a total of 44 homologous segments in the manatee genome. The synteny of nine of the 22 human autosomal chromosomes (4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14, 17, 18 and 20) and the X chromosome were found intact in the manatee. The syntenies of other human chromosomes were disrupted in the manatee genome into two to five segments. The hybridization pattern revealed that 20 (15 unique) associations of human chromosome segments are found in the manatee genome: 1/15, 1/19, 2/3 (twice), 3/7 (twice), 3/13, 3/21, 5/21, 7/16, 8/22, 10/12 (twice), 11/20, 12/22 (three times), 14/15, 16/19 and 18/19. CONCLUSION: There are five derived chromosome traits that strongly link elephants with manatees in Tethytheria and give implicit support to Paenungulata: the associations 2/3, 3/13, 8/22, 18/19 and the loss of the ancestral eutherian 4/8 association. It would be useful to test these conclusions with chromosome painting in hyraxes. The manatee chromosome painting data confirm that the associations 1/19 and 5/21 phylogenetically link afrotherian species and show that Afrotheria is a natural clade. The association 10/12/22 is also ubiquitous in Afrotheria (clade I), present in Laurasiatheria (clade IV), only partially present in Xenarthra (10/12, clade II) and absent in Euarchontoglires (clade III). If Afrotheria is basal to eutherians, this association could be part of the ancestral eutherian karyotype. If afrotherians are not at the root of the eutherian tree, then the 10/12/22 association could be one of a suite of derived associations linking afrotherian taxa

Nurses\u27 Alumnae Association Bulletin, June 1969

Alumnae President\u27s Message Officers and Chairmen Financial Report Progressive Changes at Jefferson School of Nursing Report Student Activities School of Practical Nursing Report Jefferson Expansion Report Clerk-Typist Report Committee Reports Resume of Alumnae Meetings Class News 1969 CLINIC Correspondence Notice

Plucking enhanced beneath ice sheet margins: evidence from the Grampian Mountains, Scotland

Concentrations of boulders are a common feature of landscapes modified by former mid-latitude ice sheets. In many cases, the origin of the boulders can be traced in the up-ice direction to a cliff only tens to hundreds of metres distant. The implication is that a pulse of plucking and short boulder transport occurred beneath thin ice at the end of the last glacial cycle. Here we use a case study in granite bedrock in the Dee Valley, Scotland, to constrain theory and explore the factors involved in such a late phase of plucking. Plucking is influenced by ice velocity, hydrology, effective ice pressure, the extent of subglacial cavities and bedrock characteristics. The balance between these factors favours block removal beneath thin ice near a glacier margin. At Ripe Hill in the Dee Valley, a mean exposure age of 14.2 ka on blocks supports the view that the boulder train formed at the end of ice sheet glaciation. The late pulse of plucking was further enhanced by ice flowing obliquely across vertical joints and by fluctuations in sub-marginal meltwater conditions. An implication of the study is that there is the potential for a wave of ice-marginal plucking to sweep across a landscape as an ice sheet retreats

"Women's rights, the European Court and Supranational Constitutionalism"

This analysis examines supranational constitutionalism in the European Union. In particular, the study focuses on the role of the European Court of Justice in the creation of women’s rights. I examine the interaction between the Court and member state governments in legal integration, and also the integral role that women’s advocates – both individual activists and groups – have played in the development of EU social provisions. The findings suggest that this litigation dynamic can have the effect of fueling the integration process by creating new rights that may empower social actors and EU organizations, with the ultimate effect of diminishing member state government control over the scope and direction of EU law. This study focuses specifically on gender equality law, yet provides a general framework for examining the case law in subsequent legal domains, with the purpose of providing a more nuanced understanding of supranational governance and constitutionalism

Community screening for left ventricular systolic dysfunction using plasma and urinary natriuretic peptides

ObjectivesWe sought to compare urinary and plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (N-BNP) in left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) diagnosis.BackgroundPlasma N-BNP is elevated in LVSD. Renal tubule cells produce BNP. We tested the incremental value of urinary N-BNP in LVSD diagnosis.MethodsIn this prospective, community-screening study of undiagnosed LVSD, 1,360 subjects (45 to 80 years of age) were invited, and 1,308 had analyzable echocardiographic scans and urine and plasma specimens. The criterion standard for LVSD was defined as a wall motion score over 1.8 (ejection fraction ≤40%).ResultsTwenty-eight patients with LVSD had elevated urinary and plasma N-BNP levels compared with normal subjects (p < 0.0005). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) areas under the curve (AUCs) for urinary and plasma N-BNP were 0.831 and 0.840, respectively. Both tests had high negative predictive values (>99%) for excluding LVSD. Urinary N-BNP was more specific (67.2%) than plasma N-BNP (41%). The plasma/urinary N-BNP product yielded a higher ROC-AUC (0.923) and specificity (78%), reducing the number of cases to scan to detect one case of LVSD to 11.4 (compared with 16.6 [urinary N-BNP] and 29.0 [plasma N-BNP]). Sequential application of tests (urinary N-BNP, then plasma N-BNP in the urine-“positive” cases) achieved similar reductions in the number of cases to scan (10.8), while limiting the number of N-BNP tests to be performed. Urinary N-BNP performed poorly in detection of other cardiac abnormalities with preserved systolic function. It was less costly to test urinary N-BNP in the whole population as compared with other strategies, including scanning high-risk cases with N-BNP testing in the remainder.ConclusionsUrinary N-BNP used together with plasma N-BNP could reduce the echocardiographic burden in screening programs

Improved Imputation of Common and Uncommon Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) with a New Reference Set

Statistical imputation of genotype data is an important technique for analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We have built a reference dataset to improve imputation accuracy for studies of individuals of primarily European descent using genotype data from the Hap1, Omni1, and Omni2.5 human SNP arrays (Illumina). Our dataset contains 2.5-3.1 million variants for 930 European, 157 Asian, and 162 African/African-American individuals. Imputation accuracy of European data from Hap660 or OmniExpress array content, measured by the proportion of variants imputed with R^2^&#x3e;0.8, improved by 34%, 23% and 12% for variants with MAF of 3%, 5% and 10%, respectively, compared to imputation using publicly available data from 1,000 Genomes and International HapMap projects. The improved accuracy with the use of the new dataset could increase the power for GWAS by as much as 8% relative to genotyping all variants. This reference dataset is available to the scientific community through the NCBI dbGaP portal. Future versions will include additional genotype data as well as non-European populations

On the uncertainty of long-period return values of extreme daily precipitation

Methods for calculating return values of extreme precipitation and their uncertainty are compared using daily precipitation rates over the Western U.S. and Southwestern Canada from a large ensemble of climate model simulations. The roles of return-value estimation procedures and sample size in uncertainty are evaluated for various return periods. We compare two different generalized extreme value (GEV) parameter estimation techniques, namely L-moments and maximum likelihood (MLE), as well as empirical techniques. Even for very large datasets, confidence intervals calculated using GEV techniques are narrower than those calculated using empirical methods. Furthermore, the more efficient L-moments parameter estimation techniques result in narrower confidence intervals than MLE parameter estimation techniques at small sample sizes, but similar best estimates. It should be noted that we do not claim that either parameter fitting technique is better calibrated than the other to estimate long period return values. While a non-stationary MLE methodology is readily available to estimate GEV parameters, it is not for the L-moments method. Comparison of uncertainty quantification methods are found to yield significantly different estimates for small sample sizes but converge to similar results as sample size increases. Finally, practical recommendations about the length and size of climate model ensemble simulations and the choice of statistical methods to robustly estimate long period return values of extreme daily precipitation statistics and quantify their uncertainty