Databib: IMLS LG-46-11-0091-11 Final Report (White Paper)

The final report and white paper to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for Databib, which was funded by a Sparks! Ignition National Leadership Grant (LG-46-11-0091-11). It gives an overview of the project, its rationale, development process, results, assessment, outreach, challenges and opportunities, and resources. Databib is a open, online catalog of research data repositories that can be found at http://databib.org

Modeling time delay in the NFκB signaling pathway following low dose IL-1 stimulation

Stimulation of human epithelial cells with IL-1 (10 ng/ml) + UVB radiation results in sustained NFκB activation caused by continuous IKKβ phosphorylation. We have recently published a strictly reduced ordinary differential equation model elucidating the involved mechanisms. Here, we compare model extensions for low IL-1 doses (0.5 ng/ml), where delayed IKKβ phosphorylation is observed. The extended model including a positive regulatory element, most likely auto-ubiquitination of TRAF6, reproduces the observed experimental data most convincingly. The extension is shown to be consistent with the original model and contains very sensitive processes which may serve as potential intervention targets

Satellite tracking highlights difficulties in the design of effective protected areas for Critically Endangered leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea during the inter-nesting period

The globally distributed leatherback turtle Der- mochelys coriacea is subject to fisheries bycatch throughout its range. Protection from fisheries within pelagic foraging habitats is difficult to achieve but may be more tractable when populations are concentrated near neritic breeding and nesting grounds. We used satellite telemetry to de- scribe patterns of habitat utilization during the inter- nesting period for seven leatherback turtles nesting at Mayumba National Park in Gabon on the equatorial West African coast. The National Park includes critical nesting grounds and a marine protected area to 15 km offshore. Turtles dispersed widely from the nesting beach spending a mean of 62 - SD 26% of tracking time outside the confines of the National Park. This propensity to disperse is likely to increase the chance of deleterious interactions with fisheries in the region. Patterns of habitat utilization indicate the need for wider spatial scale planning on the West African continental shelf to enhance protection of leatherback turtles when they are seasonally occupying these habitats in great numbers for breeding and nesting

The Role of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ultraviolet Extinction. I. Probing small molecular PAHs

We have obtained new STIS/HST spectra to search for structure in the ultraviolet interstellar extinction curve, with particular emphasis on a search for absorption features produced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The presence of these molecules in the interstellar medium has been postulated to explain the infrared emission features seen in the 3-13 $\mu$m spectra of numerous sources. UV spectra are uniquely capable of identifying specific PAH molecules. We obtained high S/N UV spectra of stars which are significantly more reddened than those observed in previous studies. These data put limits on the role of small (30-50 carbon atoms) PAHs in UV extinction and call for further observations to probe the role of larger PAHs. PAHs are of importance because of their ubiquity and high abundance inferred from the infrared data and also because they may link the molecular and dust phases of the interstellar medium. A presence or absence of ultraviolet absorption bands due to PAHs could be a definitive test of this hypothesis. We should be able to detect a 20 \AA wide feature down to a 3$\sigma$ limit of $\sim$0.02 A$_V$. No such absorption features are seen other than the well-known 2175 \AA bump.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure, ApJ in pres

Accounting for the effect of degree of milling on rice protein extraction in an industrial setting

The by-products of rice milling (BRM), which are predominately rice bran, are a potential source of soluble protein that has been underexploited due to difficulties in extraction. Significant advances have been made understanding how protein content changes with degree of milling (DOM) at the laboratory scale. However, these results cannot be compared due to the lack of information on how DOM affects protein extractability in industrially produced BRM. The colorimetry or particle size analysis may estimate milling degree in industrial scale, and protein extractability changes due to a series of abrasive milling passes. Both colorimetry and particle size could differentiate the industrial abrasive passes and correlated with the amount of bran/protein present. Both the 1st and 2nd pass of milling were suitable sources for the extraction. While the relative amount of protein extracted in each fraction changed, the protein profile of the major fractions was conserved between mill passes

Influence of Motor Planning on Distance Perception within the Peripersonal Space

We examined whether movement costs as defined by movement magnitude have an impact on distance perception in near space. In Experiment 1, participants were given a numerical cue regarding the amplitude of a hand movement to be carried out. Before the movement execution, the length of a visual distance had to be judged. These visual distances were judged to be larger, the larger the amplitude of the concurrently prepared hand movement was. In Experiment 2, in which numerical cues were merely memorized without concurrent movement planning, this general increase of distance with cue size was not observed. The results of these experiments indicate that visual perception of near space is specifically affected by the costs of planned hand movements

Long-term use of Everolimus in patients with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex: final results from the EXIST-1 study

BACKGROUND: Everolimus, a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, has demonstrated efficacy in treating subependymal giant cell astrocytomas (SEGAs) and other manifestations of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). However, long-term use of mTOR inhibitors might be necessary. This analysis explored long-term efficacy and safety of everolimus from the conclusion of the EXIST-1 study (NCT00789828). Methods and FINDINGS: EXIST-1 was an international, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial examining everolimus in patients with new or growing TSC-related SEGA. After a double-blind core phase, all remaining patients could receive everolimus in a long-term, open-label extension. Everolimus was initiated at a dose (4.5 mg/m 2 /day) titrated to a target blood trough of 5-15 ng/mL. SEGA response rate (primary end point) was defined as the proportion of patients achieving confirmed ≥50% reduction in the sum volume of target SEGA lesions from baseline in the absence of worsening nontarget SEGA lesions, new target SEGA lesions, and new or worsening hydrocephalus. Of 111 patients (median age, 9.5 years) who received ≥1 dose of everolimus (median duration, 47.1 months), 57.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 47.9-67.0) achieved SEGA response. Of 41 patients with target renal angiomyolipomas at baseline, 30 (73.2%) achieved renal angiomyolipoma response. In 105 patients with ≥1 skin lesion at baseline, skin lesion response rate was 58.1%. Incidence of adverse events (AEs) was comparable with that of previous reports, and occurrence of emergent AEs generally decreased over time. The most common AEs (≥30% incidence) suspected to be treatment-related were stomatitis (43.2%) and mouth ulceration (32.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Everolimus use led to sustained reduction in tumor volume, and new responses were observed for SEGA and renal angiomyolipoma from the blinded core phase of the study. These findings support the hypothesis that everolimus can safely reverse multisystem manifestations of TSC in a significant proportion of patients. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0078982

Gravitational lensing magnification without multiple imaging

Gravitational lensing can amplify the apparent brightness of distant sources. Images that are highly magnified are often part of multiply-imaged systems, but we consider the possibility of having large magnifications without additional detectable images. In rare but non-negligible situations, lensing can produce a singly highly magnified image; this phenomenon is mainly associated with massive cluster-scale halos (>~1e13.5 Msun). Alternatively, lensing can produce multiply-imaged systems in which the extra images are either unresolved or too faint to be detectable. This phenomenon is dominated by galaxies and lower-mass halos (<~1e12 Msun), and is very sensitive to the inner density profile of the halos. Although we study the general problem, we customize our calculations to four quasars at redshift z~6 in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), for which Richards et al. (2004) have ruled out the presence of extra images down to an image splitting of 0.3" and a flux ratio of f=0.01. We predict that 9-29% of all z~6 quasars that are magnified by a factor of mu>10 would lack detectable extra images, with 5-10% being true singly-imaged systems. The maximum of 29% is reached only in the unlikely event that all low-mass (<~1e10 Msun) halos have highly concentrated (isothermal) profiles. In more realistic models where dwarf halos have flatter (NFW) inner profiles, the maximum probability is ~10%. We conclude that the probability that all four SDSS quasars are magnified by a factor of 10 is <~1e-4. The only escape from this conclusion is if there are many (>10) multiply-imaged z~6 quasars in the SDSS database that have not yet been identified, which seems unlikely. In other words, lensing cannot explain the brightnesses of the z~6 quasars, and models that invoke lensing to avoid having billion-Msun black holes in the young universe are not viable.Comment: accepted in ApJ; 15 emulateapj pages; small revisions to clarify the tex