500 Cities Project: Local Data for Better Health 2014

The 500 Cities Project-Local Data for Better Health-is a collaboration among the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDC Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose purpose is to provide high quality small area estimates for behavioral risk factors that influence health status, for health outcomes, and the use of clinical preventive services. These estimates can be used to identify emerging health problems and to develop and implement of effective, targeted public health prevention activities. This report is specific to Buffalo, NY

Structured Prediction of Sequences and Trees using Infinite Contexts

Linguistic structures exhibit a rich array of global phenomena, however commonly used Markov models are unable to adequately describe these phenomena due to their strong locality assumptions. We propose a novel hierarchical model for structured prediction over sequences and trees which exploits global context by conditioning each generation decision on an unbounded context of prior decisions. This builds on the success of Markov models but without imposing a fixed bound in order to better represent global phenomena. To facilitate learning of this large and unbounded model, we use a hierarchical Pitman-Yor process prior which provides a recursive form of smoothing. We propose prediction algorithms based on A* and Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling. Empirical results demonstrate the potential of our model compared to baseline finite-context Markov models on part-of-speech tagging and syntactic parsing

The performance of the baldcypress leafroller (Archips goyerana Kruse, Lepidoptera: Torticidae) in response to fertilization, thinning, and genetic variation in host baldcypress (Taxodium distichum L. Richard)

Mississippi River diversions into coastal Louisiana wetlands aim to provide nutrient inputs and slow the impacts resulting from saltwater intrusion. Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum L. Richard) exhibits significant intraspecific tolerance to salinity and is being developed for restoration projects. Two studies were conducted using five half-sibling families of baldcypress planted at two locations in southeast Louisiana to investigate the effects of nutrient additions, thinning, and phenology on the growth of the baldcypress leafroller (Archips goyerana Kruse, BCLR). In the Jeanfreau study, families were subjected to a control, low, and high level of fertilization simulating two-four years’ effects, respectively, from a Mississippi River diversion. In the Delacroix study, an area impacted by a river diversion, these same families were subjected to control and thinned treatments. BCLR larval bioassays were conducted in the laboratory to ascertain relative growth rate (RGR), development time, and pupal weights, a surrogate for potential fecundity. Tree growth and foliage nutrients, phenolics (Jeanfreau only), moisture, length and width were measured. Fertilization did not consistently influence tree growth. Dry pupal weights and relative growth rates in most families were greater, and development times shorter, each year in the low fertilization treatment. Phenology differences among families were consistent across fertilization treatments and significantly affected BCLR growth. Pupal weights were lower on early-leafing families due to the decreasing suitability of the foliage at time of larval emergence. Thinning did not have a clear effect on BCLR development during the time of study. Phenological effects on larval growth and foliar nutrient samples were experimentally removed by allowing the foliage among families to reach comparable stages of growth in 2003. Females reared on family cb3 in the thinned treatment exhibited significantly heavier pupae than the control, implying a potentially greater fecundity, but foliage analyses revealed total nutrients and moisture content were less concentrated in the thinned treatment. There were no other significant differences in larval performance. Overall, this evidence suggests a more nutritious food resulting from limited fertilization inputs may lead to a BCLR population increase. Larval growth and performance may not be affected immediately by thinning. Phenological variation in budburst among families was found to be a significant factor affecting leafroller performance

Performance Factors and Management Practices Related to Earnings of East Central North Dakota Crop Farms

Agricultural Finance, Farm Management,

Fast physical models for Si LDMOS power transistor characterization

A new nonlinear, process-oriented, quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) model is described for microwave laterally diffused MOS (LDMOS) power transistors. A set of one-dimensional energy transport equations are solved across a two-dimensional cross-section in a “current-driven” form. The model accounts for avalanche breakdown and gate conduction, and accurately predicts DC and microwave characteristics at execution speeds sufficiently fast for circuit simulation applications

Extreme distributions of ground winds /3 to 150 meters/ at Cape Kennedy, Florida

Statistical analysis of wind distribution probabilities at Cape Kenned

Eccentric Ellipsoidal Red Giant Binaries in the LMC: Complete Orbital Solutions and Comments on Interaction at Periastron

Modelling ellipsoidal variables with known distances can lead to exact determination of the masses of both components, even in the absence of eclipses. We present such modelling using light and radial velocity curves of ellipsoidal red giant binaries in the LMC, where they are also known as sequence E stars. Stars were selected as likely eccentric systems on the basis of light curve shape alone. We have confirmed their eccentric nature and obtained system parameters using the Wilson-Devinney code. Most stars in our sample exhibit unequal light maxima as well as minima, a phenomenon not observed in sequence E variables with circular orbits. We find evidence that the shape of the red giant changes throughout the orbit due to the high eccentricity and the varying influence of the companion. Brief intervals of pulsation are apparent in two of the red giants. We determine pulsation modes and comment on their placement in the period-luminosity plane. Defining the parameters of these systems paves the way for modelling to determine by what mechanism eccentricity is maintained in evolved binaries.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures. Accepted to MNRAS 2012 January

Ev\u27ry Night I Cry Myself : To Sleep Over You

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/4775/thumbnail.jp

VAPB/ALS8 interacts with FFAT-like proteins including the p97 cofactor FAF1 and the ASNA1 ATPase

BACKGROUND: FAF1 is a ubiquitin-binding adaptor for the p97 ATPase and belongs to the UBA-UBX family of p97 cofactors. p97 converts the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis into conformational changes of the p97 hexamer, which allows the dissociation of its targets from cellular structures or from larger protein complexes to facilitate their ubiquitin-dependent degradation. VAPB and the related protein VAPA form homo- and heterodimers that are anchored in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and can interact with protein partners carrying a FFAT motif. Mutations in either VAPB or p97 can cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects upper and lower motor neurons. RESULTS: We show that FAF1 contains a non-canonical FFAT motif that allows it to interact directly with the MSP domain of VAPB and, thereby, to mediate VAPB interaction with p97. This finding establishes a link between two proteins that can cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis when mutated, VAPB/ALS8 and p97/ALS14. Subsequently, we identified a similar FFAT-like motif in the ASNA1 subunit of the transmembrane-domain recognition complex (TRC), which in turn mediates ASNA1 interaction with the MSP domain of VAPB. Proteasome inhibition leads to the accumulation of ubiquitinated species in VAPB immunoprecipitates and this correlates with an increase in FAF1 and p97 binding. We found that VAPB interaction with ubiquitinated proteins is strongly reduced in cells treated with FAF1 siRNA. Our efforts to determine the identity of the ubiquitinated targets common to VAPB and FAF1 led to the identification of RPN2, a subunit of an oligosaccharyl-transferase located at the endoplasmic reticulum, which may be regulated by ubiquitin-mediated degradation. CONCLUSIONS: The FFAT-like motifs we identified in FAF1 and ASNA1 demonstrate that sequences containing a single phenylalanine residue with the consensus (D/E)(D/E)FEDAx(D/E) are also proficient to mediate interaction with VAPB. Our findings indicate that the repertoire of VAPB interactors is more diverse than previously anticipated and link VAPB to the function of ATPase complexes such as p97/FAF1 and ASNA1/TRC