Convergence of REM flow control at a single link

Various TCP congestion control schemes can be interpreted as approximately carrying out a certain basic algorithm to maximize aggregate source utility, different schemes corresponding to different choices of utility functions. The basic algorithm consists of a link algorithm that updates a congestion measure based on its traffic load, and a source algorithm that adapts the source rate to congestion in its path. Though convergent, this algorithm can lead to large equilibrium backlogs. This problem can be eliminated by modifying the basic algorithm to include backlog in the update of the congestion measure. This article proves that the modified algorithm converges when the network can be modeled as a single bottleneck link. Moreover, in equilibrium, the source rates are matched to the link capacity while the buffer is cleared

Phytophthora sojae Avirulence Effector Avr3b is a Secreted NADH and ADP-ribose Pyrophosphorylase that Modulates Plant Immunity

Plants have evolved pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) to protect themselves from infection by diverse pathogens. Avirulence (Avr) effectors that trigger plant ETI as a result of recognition by plant resistance (R) gene products have been identified in many plant pathogenic oomycetes and fungi. However, the virulence functions of oomycete and fungal Avr effectors remain largely unknown. Here, we combined bioinformatics and genetics to identify Avr3b, a new Avr gene from Phytophthora sojae, an oomycete pathogen that causes soybean root rot. Avr3b encodes a secreted protein with the RXLR host-targeting motif and C-terminal W and Nudix hydrolase motifs. Some isolates of P. sojae evade perception by the soybean R gene Rps3b through sequence mutation in Avr3b and lowered transcript accumulation. Transient expression of Avr3b in Nicotiana benthamiana increased susceptibility to P. capsici and P. parasitica, with significantly reduced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) around invasion sites. Biochemical assays confirmed that Avr3b is an ADP-ribose/NADH pyrophosphorylase, as predicted from the Nudix motif. Deletion of the Nudix motif of Avr3b abolished enzyme activity. Mutation of key residues in Nudix motif significantly impaired Avr3b virulence function but not the avirulence activity. Some Nudix hydrolases act as negative regulators of plant immunity, and thus Avr3b might be delivered into host cells as a Nudix hydrolase to impair host immunity. Avr3b homologues are present in several sequenced Phytophthora genomes, suggesting that Phytophthora pathogens might share similar strategies to suppress plant immunity

Genome-Wide Mapping of DNA Methylation in Chicken

Cytosine DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification termed as the fifth base that functions in diverse processes. Till now, the genome-wide DNA methylation maps of many organisms has been reported, such as human, Arabidopsis, rice and silkworm, but the methylation pattern of bird remains rarely studied. Here we show the genome-wide DNA methylation map of bird, using the chicken as a model organism and an immunocapturing approach followed by high-throughput sequencing. In both of the red jungle fowl and the avian broiler, DNA methylation was described separately for the liver and muscle tissue. Generally, chicken displays analogous methylation pattern with that of animals and plants. DNA methylation is enriched in the gene body regions and the repetitive sequences, and depleted in the transcription start site (TSS) and the transcription termination site (TTS). Most of the CpG islands in the chicken genome are kept in unmethylated state. Promoter methylation is negatively correlated with the gene expression level, indicating its suppressive role in regulating gene transcription. This work contributes to our understanding of epigenetics in birds

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Fractals and sumsets / by Qinghe Yin

Bibliography : leaves 115-119Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Pure Mathematics, 199

beta-Transformation, Invariant Measure And Uniform Distribution

. Let T fi be the fi-transformation on [0,1). For ff 6= fi, when do T ff and T fi possess the same absolutely continuous invariant measure? For x 2 [0; 1), if we define yn (fi) = ( T n fi x if T n\Gamma1 fi x ! [fi]=fi; T n fi x=(fi \Gamma [fi]) if T n\Gamma1 fi x [fi]=fi; when is yn (fi) uniformly distributed for almost all x? We find that the answer to these two questions is that fi must satisfy a quadratic equation, x 2 = kx + `, where k; ` 2 Z, k 1, k ` 0. 1. Introduction and Results Let fi ? 1 be a real number. The fi-transformation is the map T fi : [0; 1) 7! [0; 1) given by T fi x = fix \Gamma [fix]; for all x 2 [0; 1) 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. 28D05, 11K31, 11K06. where [t] is the largest integer which is not greater than t. Ergodic properties of fi-transformations are studied by many authors(see [5], [4], [3], [8] and [1]). There is an invariant absolutely continuous measure, ¯ fi , associated with T fi and we ask when is ¯ ff = ¯ fi ? The re..