The knowledge-based software assistant

Where the Knowledge Based Software Assistant (KBSA) is now, four years after the initial report, is discussed. Also described is what the Rome Air Development Center expects at the end of the first contract iteration. What the second and third contract iterations will look like are characterized

Still flat after all these years

The Universe could be spatially flat, positively curved or negatively curved. Each option has been popular at various times, partly affected by an understanding that models tend to evolve away from flatness. The curvature of the Universe is amenable to measurement, through tests such as the determination of the angles of sufficiently large triangles. The angle subtended by the characteristic scale on the Cosmic Microwave sky provides a direct test, which has now been realised through a combination of exquisite results from a number of CMB experiments. After a long and detailed investigation, with many false clues, it seems that the mystery of the curvature of the Universe is now solved. It's an open and shut case: the Universe is flat.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to the Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition for 200

Mooney Award Committee Report

The Committee’s decision was unanimous in choosing Dr. Samuel Cook’s Monacans and Miners: Native American and Coal Mining Communities in Appalachia (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 2000) for the 2002 Mooney Award. Included with the report is a response letter from Cook

Velocity-Based Gain-Scheduled Lateral Auto-Pilot For An Agile Missile

This paper investigates the application of velocity-based gain-scheduling techniques to a demanding, highly nonlinear, missile control design task. Scheduling on instantaneous incidence (a rapidly varying quantity) is well known to lead to considerable difficulties with conventional gain-scheduling methods. Moreover, the missile dynamics do not have well-defined relative degree at operating points where the lateral velocity is zero and thus conventional feedback linearisation methods cannot be applied to design a controller

What have we already learned from the CMB?

The COBE satellite, and the DMR experiment in particular, was extraordinarily successful. However, the DMR results were announced about 7 years ago, during which time a great deal more has been learned about anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The CMB experiments currently being designed and built, including long-duration balloons, interferometers, and two space missions, promise to address several fundamental cosmological issues. We present our evaluation of what we already know, what we are beginning to learn now, and what the future may bring.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures. Changes to match version accepted by PAS

Predicting the points of interaction of small molecules in the NF-κB pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The similarity property principle has been used extensively in drug discovery to identify small compounds that interact with specific drug targets. Here we show it can be applied to identify the interactions of small molecules within the NF-κB signalling pathway.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Clusters that contain compounds with a predominant interaction within the pathway were created, which were then used to predict the interaction of compounds not included in the clustering analysis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The technique successfully predicted the points of interactions of compounds that are known to interact with the NF-κB pathway. The method was also shown to be successful when compounds for which the interaction points were unknown were included in the clustering analysis.</p

Qualitatively Different T Cell Phenotypic Responses to IL-2 versus IL-15 Are Unified by Identical Dependences on Receptor Signal Strength and Duration

IL-2 and IL-15 are common γ-chain family cytokines involved in regulation of T cell differentiation and homeostasis. Despite signaling through the same receptors, IL-2 and IL-15 have non-redundant roles in T cell biology, both physiologically and at the cellular level. The mechanisms by which IL-2 and IL-15 trigger distinct phenotypes in T cells remain elusive. To elucidate these mechanisms, we performed a quantitative comparison of the phosphotyrosine signaling network and resulting phenotypes triggered by IL-2 and IL-15. This study revealed that the signaling networks activated by IL-2 or IL-15 are highly similar and that T cell proliferation and metabolism are controlled in a quantitatively distinct manner through IL-2/15R signal strength independent of the cytokine identity. Distinct phenotypes associated with IL-2 or IL-15 stimulation therefore arise through differential regulation of IL-2/15R signal strength and duration because of differences in cytokine–receptor binding affinity, receptor expression levels, physiological cytokine levels, and cytokine–receptor intracellular trafficking kinetics. These results provide important insights into the function of other shared cytokine and growth factor receptors, quantitative regulation of cell proliferation and metabolism through signal transduction, and improved design of cytokine based clinical immunomodulatory therapies for cancer and infectious diseases.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant U54CA11927)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 AI065824)United States. Army Research Office (Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies Grant W911NF-09-0001

A Comparison of Patient Satisfaction with Emergency Department Opt-In and Opt-Out Rapid HIV Screening

Study objective. To compare patient satisfaction with emergency department (ED) opt-in and opt-out HIV screening. Methods. We conducted a survey in an urban ED that provided rapid HIV screening using opt-in (February 1, 2007–July 31, 2007) and opt-out (August 1, 2007–January 31, 2008) approaches. We surveyed a convenience sample of patients that completed screening in each phase. The primary outcome was patient satisfaction with HIV screening. Results. There were 207 and 188 completed surveys during the opt-in and opt-out phases, respectively. The majority of patients were satisfied with both opt-in screening (95%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 92–98) and opt-out screening (94%, 95% CI = 89–97). Satisfaction ratings were similar between opt-in and opt-out phases even after adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and test result (adjusted odds ratio 1.3, 95% CI = 0.5–3.1). Conclusions. Emergency department patient satisfaction with opt-in and opt-out HIV screening is similarly high