DANE Trusted Email for Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is critically dependent on trusted email mechanisms that address forgery, confidentiality, and sender authenticity. The IETF protocol ‘Domain Authentication of Named Entities’ (DANE) described in this paper has been extended from its initial goal of providing TLS web site validation to also offer a foundation for globally scalable and interoperable email security. Widespread deployment of DANE will require more than raw technology standards, however. Workflow automation mechanisms will need to emerge in order to simplify the publishing and retrieval of cryptographic credentials that are applicable for general audiences. Security policy enforcement will also need to be addressed. This paper gives a descriptive tutorial of trusted email technologies, shows how DANE solves key distribution logistics, and then suggests desirable automation components that could accelerate deployment of DANE-based trusted email. Pilot deployments are briefly described

Color, 3D simulated images with shapelets

We present a method to simulate color, 3-dimensional images taken with a space-based observatory by building off of the established shapelets pipeline. The simulated galaxies exhibit complex morphologies, which are realistically correlated between, and include, known redshifts. The simulations are created using galaxies from the 4 optical and near-infrared bands (B, V, i and z) of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF) as a basis set to model morphologies and redshift. We include observational effects such as sky noise and pixelization and can add astronomical signals of interest such as weak gravitational lensing. The realism of the simulations is demonstrated by comparing their morphologies to the original UDF galaxies and by comparing their distribution of ellipticities as a function of redshift and magnitude to wider HST COSMOS data. These simulations have already been useful for calibrating multicolor image analysis techniques and for better optimizing the design of proposed space telescopes.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures, accepted to Astroparticle Physic

Efficacy and safety of tiotropium Respimat® SMI in COPD in two 1-year randomized studies

Two 1-year studies evaluated the long-term efficacy and safety of tiotropium 5 or 10 μg versus placebo, inhaled via the Respimat® Soft Mist™ Inhaler (SMI). The two studies were combined and had 4 co-primary endpoints (trough FEV1 response, Mahler Transition Dyspnea Index [TDI] and St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire scores all at week 48, and COPD exacerbations per patient-year). A total of 1990 patients with COPD participated (mean FEV1: 1.09 L). The mean trough FEV1 response of tiotropium 5 or 10 μg relative to placebo was 127 or 150 mL, respectively (both P < 0.0001). The COPD exacerbation rate was significantly lower with tiotropium 5 μg (RR = 0.78; P = 0.002) and tiotropium 10 μg (RR = 0.73; P = 0.0008); the health-related quality of life and Mahler TDI co-primary endpoints were significantly improved with both doses (both P < 0.0001). Adverse events were generally balanced except anticholinergic class effects, which were more frequent with active treatment. Fatal events occurred in 2.4% (5 μg), 2.7% (10 μg), and 1.6% (placebo) of patients; these differences were not significant. Tiotropium Respimat® SMI 5 μg demonstrated sustained improvements in patients with COPD relative to placebo and similar to the 10 μg dose but with a lower frequency of anticholinergic adverse events

Co- evolving wing spots and mating displays are genetically separable traits in Drosophila

The evolution of sexual traits often involves correlated changes in morphology and behavior. For example, in Drosophila, divergent mating displays are often accompanied by divergent pigment patterns. To better understand how such traits co- evolve, we investigated the genetic basis of correlated divergence in wing pigmentation and mating display between the sibling species Drosophila elegans and Drosophila gunungcola. Drosophila elegans males have an area of black pigment on their wings known as a wing spot and appear to display this spot to females by extending their wings laterally during courtship. By contrast, D. gunungcola lost both of these traits. Using Multiplexed Shotgun Genotyping (MSG), we identified a - ¼440 kb region on the X chromosome that behaves like a genetic switch controlling the presence or absence of male- specific wing spots. This region includes the candidate gene optomotor- blind (omb), which plays a critical role in patterning the Drosophila wing. The genetic basis of divergent wing display is more complex, with at least two loci on the X chromosome and two loci on autosomes contributing to its evolution. Introgressing the X- linked region affecting wing spot development from D. gunungcola into D. elegans reduced pigmentation in the wing spots but did not affect the wing display, indicating that these are genetically separable traits. Consistent with this observation, broader sampling of wild D. gunungcola populations confirmed that the wing spot and wing display are evolving independently: some D. gunungcola males performed wing displays similar to D. elegans despite lacking wing spots. These data suggest that correlated selection pressures rather than physical linkage or pleiotropy are responsible for the coevolution of these morphological and behavioral traits. They also suggest that the change in morphology evolved prior to the change in behavior.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155953/1/evolution2019submissionsupplementaryfigurescompiledcompressed.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155953/2/evo13990_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155953/3/evo13990.pd

The Shortest Period Detached Binary White Dwarf System

We identify SDSS J010657.39-100003.3 (hereafter J0106-1000) as the shortest period detached binary white dwarf (WD) system currently known. We targeted J0106-1000 as part of our radial velocity program to search for companions around known extremely low-mass (ELM, ~ 0.2 Msol) WDs using the 6.5m MMT. We detect peak-to-peak radial velocity variations of 740 km/s with an orbital period of 39.1 min. The mass function and optical photometry rule out a main-sequence star companion. Follow-up high-speed photometric observations obtained at the McDonald 2.1m telescope reveal ellipsoidal variations from the distorted primary but no eclipses. This is the first example of a tidally distorted WD. Modeling the lightcurve, we constrain the inclination angle of the system to be 67 +- 13 deg. J0106-1000 contains a pair of WDs (0.17 Msol primary + 0.43 Msol invisible secondary) at a separation of 0.32 Rsol. The two WDs will merge in 37 Myr and most likely form a core He-burning single subdwarf star. J0106-1000 is the shortest timescale merger system currently known. The gravitational wave strain from J0106-1000 is at the detection limit of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). However, accurate ephemeris and orbital period measurements may enable LISA to detect J0106-1000 above the Galactic background noise.Comment: MNRAS Letters, in pres

IKK phosphorylates Huntingtin and targets it for degradation by the proteasome and lysosome

Expansion of the polyglutamine repeat within the protein Huntingtin (Htt) causes Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disease associated with aging and the accumulation of mutant Htt in diseased neurons. Understanding the mechanisms that influence Htt cellular degradation may target treatments designed to activate mutant Htt clearance pathways. We find that Htt is phosphorylated by the inflammatory kinase IKK, enhancing its normal clearance by the proteasome and lysosome. Phosphorylation of Htt regulates additional post-translational modifications, including Htt ubiquitination, SUMOylation, and acetylation, and increases Htt nuclear localization, cleavage, and clearance mediated by lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2A and Hsc70. We propose that IKK activates mutant Htt clearance until an age-related loss of proteasome/lysosome function promotes accumulation of toxic post-translationally modified mutant Htt. Thus, IKK activation may modulate mutant Htt neurotoxicity depending on the cell's ability to degrade the modified species