Arbitrary Mean Research Articles

O-GlcNAcylation regulates angiotensin II-dependent induction of thrombospondin 1

O-Linked attachment of β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) on serine and threonine residues of nuclear, cytoplasmic, and mitochondrial proteins is a highly dynamic and ubiquitous post-translational modification that plays an important role in altering the function, activity, subcellular localization, and stability of target proteins. It has been proposed that physiologically, O-GlcNAcylation serves primarily to modulate cellular signaling and transcription regulatory pathways in response to nutrients and stress. However, in the vascular physiology literature, O-GlcNAc has predominantly been shown to be detrimental. Our preliminary data has shown that O-GlcNAcylation can cause aortic stiffness, however, the mechanisms underlying this phenotype remain to be elucidated. The predominant mechanisms by which O-GlcNAcylation contributes to alterations in proteostasis include competition with other post-translational modifications as well as regulation of gene expression. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) is a multifunctional matrix glycoprotein that impacts extracellular function (ECM) and cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and cell-cell interaction. Therefore, we hypothesized that TSP1 could be an important downstream mediator of O-GlcNAcylation in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). To test this hypothesis, primary VSMCs from the thoracic aorta were isolated from 12-week-old female Wistar rats and submitted to angiotensin (ANG) II treatment (100 nM, 3h). Some cells were also treated in the presence of ANG II type 1 (AT1)-receptor antagonist losartan (10−5 M, 30 min). ANG II was chosen because it is a physiological stressor known to cause arterial stiffening. O-GlcNAcylation (RL2 antibody), O-GlcNAcase (OGA), and TSP1 protein amounts were analyzed by Western blot, and the results were expressed in arbitrary units (AU) and mean ±standard error mean. Unpaired Student's test T was used and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of O-GlcNAc was achieved through OGT silencing and inhibition with a shRNA (FunGene6) and OSMI-4 (10−5 M, 30 min), respectively. As hypothesized, ANG II significantly increased O-GlcNAc in aortic VSMC (0.3±0.03 vs 0.5±0.03 AU n=8, p<0.05) which was inhibited by losartan (0.1±0.02). Moreover, ANG II significantly decreased OGA expression (0.16±0.04 vs 1.16±0.19 AU n=4, p<0.05), the enzyme responsible for removing O-GlcNAc motifs, supporting the observed increase in O-GlcNAc expression. Importantly, ANG II also increased TSP1 protein expression (0.2±0.04 vs 2.0±0.4 n=4, p<0.05), however, shRNA (0.7±0.05) for OGT and OSMI-4 (0.06±0.08) prevented this increase. Overall, these data indicate that Ang II-AT1R signaling can cause O-GlcNAcylation and that TSP1 could be an important downstream mediator of O-GlcNAc-mediated aortic stiffness. National Institutes of Health (R00HL151889, P20GM109091-Pilot Project, and P20GM103641-Pilot Project). University of South Carolina Offce of Research ASPIRE Award (180950-23-64136). American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellow (916031). This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

The time validity of Philip's two‐term infiltration equation: An elusive theoretical quantity?

AbstractThe two‐term infiltration equation is commonly used to determine the sorptivity, , and product, , of the dimensionless multiple and saturated soil hydraulic conductivity from cumulative vertical infiltration measurements (L) at times (T). This reduced form of the quasi‐analytical power series solution of Richardson's equation of Philip enjoys a solid physical underpinning but at the expense of a limited time validity. Using simulated infiltration data, Jaiswal et al. have shown this time validity to equal about 2.5 cm of cumulative infiltration. The goals of this work are twofold. First, we investigate the extent to which cumulative infiltration measurements larger than 2.5 cm bias the estimates of and . Second, we investigate the impact of epistemic errors on the inferred time validities and parameters. Partial infiltration curves up to 2.5 cm of cumulative vertical infiltration improve substantially the agreement between actual and least squares estimates of and . But this only holds if the data generating infiltration process follows Richardson's equation and experimental conditions satisfy assumptions of soil homogeneity and a uniform initial water content. Otherwise, autocorrelated cumulative infiltration residuals will bias the least squares estimates of and . Our findings reiterate and reinvigorate earlier conclusions of Haverkamp et al. and show that epistemic errors deteriorate the physical significance of the coefficients of infiltration functions. As a result, the parameters of infiltration functions cannot simply be used in storm water and vadose zone flow models to forecast runoff and recharge at field and landscape scales unless these predictions are accompanied by realistic uncertainty bounds. We conclude that the time validity of Philip's two‐term equation is an elusive theoretical quantity with arbitrary physical meaning.

Inherited terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides in landscapes of selective glacial erosion: lessons from Lochnagar, Eastern Grampian Mountains, Scotland

ABSTRACTInheritance from prior exposure often complicates the interpretation of terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) inventories in glaciated terrain. Lochnagar, a mountain in eastern Scotland, holds a clear geomorphological record of corrie glaciation and the thinning of the last Scottish ice sheet over the last ~15 ka. Yet attempts to date the main stages in deglaciation after sampling of 21 granite boulders for 10Be, 26Al and 14C from corrie moraines, an ice sheet lateral moraine and boulder spreads revealed widespread, but variable, TCN inheritance. Only the youngest boulder ages fit within the range of expected deglaciation ages. To identify the sources of geological uncertainty, we provide simple models of ice cover duration and erosion histories for plateau, corrie and strath landscape domains, identify the variable nuclide inheritance that derives from different sources for boulders in these domains, and outline the effects of rotation, splitting and erosion of boulders during glacial transport. The combined effects increase clustering around arbitrary mean TCN values that exceed deglaciation ages. A further implication is that boulders have survived beneath overriding ice sheets. Such boulder trapping at Lochnagar may have resulted from topographic controls on katabatic winds and surface ablation acting on a thinning, cold‐based ice sheet.

Arbitrary Triangle Structure Adaptive Mean PCA and Image Recognition

Arbitrary Triangle Structure Adaptive Mean PCA and Image Recognition

Local polynomial software reliability models and their application

In this paper, we propose local polynomial software reliability models (SRMs), which can be categorized into a semi-parametric modeling framework. Our models belong to the common non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP)-based SRMs, but possess a flexible structure to approximate an arbitrary mean value function by controlling the polynomial degree. More specifically, we develop two types of local polynomial NHPP-based SRMs; finite-failure (type-I) and infinite-failure (type-II) SRMs, which are substantial extensions of the existing NHPP-based SRMs in the similar categories. We also develop two maximum likelihood estimation algorithms in both estimation and prediction phases, where the former is used for the testing period experienced in the past, and the latter for the prediction in the future. In numerical experiments with actual 8 software fault count time-interval data sets, we compare our local polynomial NHPP-based SRMs with the well-known existing parametric NHPP-based SRMs in terms of goodness-of-fit and predictive performances. Finally, it can be concluded that our local polynomial NHPP-based SRMs with lower polynomial degrees could outperform the existing NHPP-based SRMs in several cases and should be listed as candidates for the representative NHPP-based SRMs in software reliability analysis.

On the Existence of Stationary Nash Equilibria for Mean Payoff Games on Graphs

In this paper we extend the classical concept of positional strategies for a mean payoff game to a general mixed stationary strategy approach, and prove the existence of mixed stationary Nash equilibria for an arbitrary m-player mean payoff game on graphs. Traditionally, a positional strategy represents a pure stationary strategy in a classical mean payoff game, where a Nash equilibrium in pure stationary strategies in general may not exist. Based on a constructive proof of the existence of specific equilibria for an m-player mean payoff game we propose a new approach for determining the optimal mixed stationary strategies. Additionally we characterize and extend the general problem of the existence of pure stationary Nash equilibria for some special classes of mean payoff games.

Unifying the stationary and convective Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings solutions for aeroacoustic predictions via a Lorentz transformation

The convective Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation and its integral solutions are often used for noise predictions of aeroacoustic phenomena in moving mediums. In this study, a set of unified integral solutions for stationary and convective FW-H equations are proposed by making use of the extended Lorentz transformation for arbitrary mean flow orientations. The new solutions in Euclidean coordinates have compact forms that resemble the well-known F1 and F1A solutions of Farassat, with the main differences from existing ones in the definitions of the equivalent monopole and dipole sources, and also their associated equivalent thickness noise and loading noise. Validations have been performed for two benchmark problems in moving mediums, one is a stationery monopole source and the other is a rotating dipole source. Apart from the well-recognized distorted acoustic fields due to the convective amplification, the results also show that the convective effects induce dipole-like acoustic components for a pure monopole source and monopole-like acoustic components for a pure dipole source. These are explained well by the newly-derived unified integral solutions and provide more insights on the noise source mechanisms.

A study on the prediction model of water column sound absorption coefficients considering the characteristics of the East Sea of South Korea

East Sea of Korea has the deepest water depth among Korean seas, and the water column changes are distinct in space and time, resulting in a wide range of water column sound absorption coefficients. In this study, we calculate and analysis the spatiotemporal variation of water column sound absorption coefficient in the East Sea of Korea, which has unique oceanographic characteristics. Using extensive CTD data from the Korea Oceanographic Data Centre (KODC) from 1991 to 2021, we calculate the sound absorption coefficient using the widely applied Francois–Garrison model and reveal the unique absorption characteristics of the East Sea. The derived coefficients are then used to calibrate and improve past multibeam echosounder system (MBES) data, which suffered from incomplete water column information and arbitrary mean values. To facilitate the calculation and development of sound absorption coefficient, a MATLAB-based graphical user interface (GUI) was developed. The results of this study contribute to the calculation and inference of sound absorption coefficients along spatial and temporal dimensions of the water column in the East Sea and to the extraction of more accurate seafloor information from MBES data. This study developed the way for future research focusing on algorithmic advances and new methodologies for the calculation of sound absorption coefficients in the West and South Seas of Korea.

Existence and non-existence of minimal graphs

We study the Dirichlet problem for minimal surface systems in arbitrary dimension and codimension via mean curvature flow, and obtain the existence of minimal graphs over arbitrary mean convex bounded C2 domains for a large class of prescribed boundary data. This result can be seen as a natural generalization of the classical sharp criterion for solvability of the minimal surface equation by Jenkins-Serrin. In contrast, we also construct a class of prescribed boundary data on just mean convex domains for which the Dirichlet problem in codimension 2 is not solvable. Moreover, we study existence and the uniqueness of minimal graphs by perturbation.

Parameterizing Lognormal state space models using moment matching

In ecology, it is common for processes to be bounded based on physical constraints of the system. One common example is the positivity constraint, which applies to phenomena such as duration times, population sizes, and total stock of a system’s commodity. In this paper, we propose a novel method for parameterizing Lognormal state space models using an approach based on moment matching. Our method enforces the positivity constraint, allows for arbitrary mean evolution and variance structure, and has a closed-form Markov transition density which allows for more flexibility in fitting techniques. We discuss two existing Lognormal state space models and examine how they differ from the method presented here. We use 180 synthetic datasets to compare the forecasting performance under model misspecification and assess the estimation of precision parameters between our method and existing methods. We find that our models perform well under misspecification, and that fixing the observation variance both helps to improve estimation of the process variance and improves forecast performance. To test our method on a difficult problem, we compare the predictive performance of two Lognormal state space models in predicting the Leaf Area Index over a 151 day horizon by using a process-based ecosystem model to describe the temporal dynamics. We find that our moment matching model performs better than its competitor, and is better suited for intermediate predictive horizons. Overall, our study helps to inform practitioners about the importance of incorporating sensible dynamics when using models of complex systems to predict out-of-sample.

A ground motion model for orientation-independent inelastic spectral displacements from shallow crustal earthquakes

The peak inelastic displacement of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system is an efficient ground motion (GM) intensity measure (IM) for estimating seismic demands in structures and infrastructures. Most ground motion models (GMMs) that predict this IM are developed to estimate the arbitrary or geometric mean of the horizontal GM components obtained from the two as-recorded orientations. In this study, the median and maximum directional inelastic spectral displacements, denoted as Sdi,RotD50and Sdi,RotD100, respectively, were considered as IMs to develop GMMs. These orientation-independent measures of horizontal motion were calculated by rotating the GMs through all non-redundant rotation angles and have the advantage of removing the sensor orientation as a contributor to overall uncertainty. To do this, several SDOF systems were considered using a subset of the NGA-West2 database to fit GMMs for these IMs. A set of functional forms was developed using a mixed-effects regression approach. The predictor variables were the elastic period, T, the strength ratio, R, and a set of seismological GM causal parameters (i.e. magnitude, distance, soil condition, and so on). Comparison with existing GMMs that consider either inelastic spectral displacement or directionality is provided to highlight key differences and developments. In addition, the response directionality, defined as the ratio Sdi,RotD100/ Sdi,RotD50, was observed to be notably impacted by the strength ratio and elastic period, which has not been discussed in the literature to date. Overall, this GMM has the advantage of quantifying ground motion intensity via an efficient IM in Sdi, which can better highlight some fundamental issues surrounding the directionality of GMs and allow for more informative risk estimates.

Plausible Intimacies

AbstractThis essay analyzes representations of Asia in the satirical 1911 short story “O homem que sabia javanês” (“The Man Who Knew Javanese”) by Brazilian author Lima Barreto. Like much of Barreto’s work, the short story critiques the deterministic categories of scientific racism popular in elite circles during the First Brazilian Republic. However, this essay asserts that the references to Java in the story are not arbitrary means through which to carry out that critique. Instead, drawing on Lisa Lowe’s concept of residual intimacies and Bruno Carvalho’s engagement of cartografia letrada (lettered cartography), it argues that Barreto crafts a fiction of plausible contact between Brazil and Java, revealing transpacific spatial and racial entanglements that categories of canonized knowledge at the turn of the twentieth century failed to manage and control. Barreto imagines Java on the streets of Rio, revealing the tangible closeness of two experiences categorized as different and distant. The essay considers how the plausible yet fictional intimacies in this literary counternarrative conceptually reorient readers toward both the Pacific and the Atlantic.

How to use GP: effects of the mean function and hyperparameter selection on Gaussian process regression

Gaussian processes have been widely used in cosmology to reconstruct cosmological quantities in a model-independent way. However, the validity of the adopted mean function and hyperparameters, and the dependence of the results on the choice have not been well explored.In this paper, we study the effects of the underlying mean function and the hyperparameter selection on the reconstruction of the distance moduli from type Ia supernovae.We show that the choice of an arbitrary mean function affects the reconstruction: a zero mean function leads to unphysical distance moduli and the best-fit ΛCDM to biased reconstructions.We propose to marginalize over a family of mean functions and over the hyperparameters to effectively remove their impact on the reconstructions. We further explore the validity and consistency of the results considering different kernel functions and show that our method is unbiased.

Beyond Elimination and Construction

As Zen took root in the West over the past century, there emerged a number of differing interpretations of one of its key facets, namely the question of the relationship between language and enlightenment. The two camps which came to garner the most attention in philosophical circles are eliminativism, which understands enlightenment as the cutting off of linguistic and socio-cultural categories, accomplished by arbitrary means, and constructivism, which identifies satori with the exercise of certain linguistic and cultural conventions. In the present paper, we first lay out some of the most important criticisms of these two positions, arguing that the two accounts fall into the error of either demonizing or fetishizing language, respectively, before outlining a different approach to the relationship between practice and realization, drawing on the largely neglected work of perennialist thinkers and a phenomenologically informed notion of symbolism. By taking the idea of the symbol in its double meaning, namely as that which “casts together” the culturally conditioned particularities of Zen into a unified tradition, and yet points beyond them as a “sign” of something that itself transcends all description, we propose an interpretation that can do justice both to the crucial role played by concrete practices and to the transcendent nature of their soteriological “end”.

On some conjectures on generalized quadratic Gauss sums and related problems

The main purpose of this article is to study higher power mean values of generalized quadratic Gauss sums using estimates for character sums, analytic methods and algebraic geometric methods. We prove two conjectures which were proposed recently by the above authors in a previous article (2022). Here we obtain an asymptotic formula for arbitrary power means of generalized quadratic Gauss sums and one corresponding power moment of a character sum.

Considerations on the meaning and translation of Englishheartidioms. Integrating the cognitive linguistic approach

AbstractIdioms have long been an intricate part of language both from a semantic and a translational point of view. According to Cognitive Linguistics, many idioms do not always have an arbitrary meaning, as postulated by their traditional definition. The purpose of this article is to bring into focus the contribution that the Cognitive Linguistic approach can make to the process of selecting appropriate target language counterparts of source language idioms while applying translation strategies. To this end, we attempt at identifying appropriate Romanian counterparts of several Englishheartidioms on the basis of the same cognitive mechanisms (conventional knowledge, conceptual metaphors and metonymies) which motivate, to a certain extent, their meanings. Moreover, considering its specificity, this study is structured by drawing on the first three strategies suggested by “Baker, Mona. 1992.In other words. A coursebook on translation. London & New York: Routledge,” which translators can make use of when being faced with the challenging task of rendering idioms from the source text into the target text. In addition, our analysis is exclusively concerned with systemic equivalent idioms in terms of language as a system (Kvetko, Pavol. 2009.An outline of English phraseology. 3rd revised edition. Trnava: Univerzita Sv. Cyrila a Metoda).

Finite element method for the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity

The Eilenberger-Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Eliashberg quasiclassical theory of superconductivity is a powerful method enabling studies of a wide range of equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena in conventional and unconventional superconductors. We introduce here a finite element method, based on a discontinuous Galerkin approach, to self-consistently solve the underlying transport equations for general device geometries, arbitrary mean free path and symmetry of the superconducting order parameter. We present exemplary results on i) the influence of scalar impurity scattering on phase crystals in $d$-wave superconducting grains at low temperatures and ii) the current flow and focusing in $d$-wave superconducting weak links, modeling recent experimental realizations of grooved high-temperature superconducting Dayem bridges. The high adaptability of this finite element method for quasiclassical theory paves the way for future investigations of superconducting devices and new physical phenomena in unconventional superconductors.

Simulated Photogrammetric Data for Testing the Performance of Photogrammetric Instruments and Systems

The generation of mathematical photograms (photos) as data is universally accepted as the basis for photogrammetric studies. New development in the field of computer technology has had a major influence on photogrammetry. This paper aims to describe the development of a computer system called SimuPhotos designed to produce simulated data in different forms for testing photogrammetric methodologies, software, and instruments. SimuPhotos is capable of generating photogrammetric blocks with different specifications. It generates the simulated data for the whole block, strips, or selected photos. The simulated free error data include the camera interior orientation parameters, ground coordinates of points, and for each photograph, camera exterior orientation parameters, and the photo coordinates of imaged points. To increase the capabilities of the developed system, it has a special error generator to get normally distributed error(s) with arbitrary mean(s) and standard deviation(s). The obtained errors are then, if required, applied to the error-free photo and ground coordinates of points. The developed system interfaces CAD technology to generate simulated photogrammetric data in DXF and raster formats which are suitable for testing the photogrammetric instruments and softcopy systems. SimuPhotos has been used for testing the analytical photogrammetric system PhotoMap. The results showed that PhotoMap is free of system error and is functional. Also, the results showed that SimuPhotos can effectively provide a convenient, economical, and accurate testing tool for photogrammetric systems. The developed system is quite versatile and affordable.

Consistency improved random flow generation method for large eddy simulation of atmospheric boundary layer

Realistic turbulence is the key component to obtain accurate simulations for large eddy simulation of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). At present, synthetic turbulence methods have been widely applied, but there are still some defects such that spatial correlations and cross-correlations between different velocity components cannot be strictly reproduced. Thus, we propose a new inflow turbulence generation (ITG) method, the consistency improved random flow generation (CIRFG) method. The proposed method is derived to model the spatial correlations and cross-correlations between different velocity components by explicitly embedding turbulence characteristics, thus it can be used widely in arbitrary situations without any empirical parameters. Meanwhile, the CIRFG method is maintained to satisfy arbitrary mean velocity, turbulence intensity, frequency spectra, temporal correlation, etc. Further, according to the simulation of ABL flows, it is verified that the new method has good self-sustainability of wind profiles. Finally, compared with the simulations of flow around high-rise building model with wind tunnel tests, it is demonstrated that the proposed method has high accuracy and feasibility.

Targeted detection of cancer cells during biopsy allows real-time diagnosis of pulmonary nodules

BackgroundThe diagnostic yield of biopsies of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) is low, particularly in sub-solid lesions. We developed a method (NIR-nCLE) to achieve cellular level cancer detection during biopsy by integrating (i) near-infrared (NIR) imaging using a cancer-targeted tracer (pafolacianine), and (ii) a flexible NIR confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) system that can fit within a biopsy needle. Our goal was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of NIR-nCLE ex vivo in SPNs.MethodsTwenty patients with SPNs were preoperatively infused with pafolacianine. Following resection, specimens were inspected to identify the lesion of interest. NIR-nCLE imaging followed by tissue biopsy was performed within the lesion and in normal lung tissue. All imaging sequences (n = 115) were scored by 5 blinded raters on the presence of fluorescent cancer cells and compared to diagnoses by a thoracic pathologist.ResultsMost lesions (n = 15, 71%) were adenocarcinoma-spectrum malignancies, including 7 ground glass opacities (33%). Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) by NIR-nCLE for tumor biopsy was 20.6 arbitrary units (A.U.) and mean MFI for normal lung was 6.4 A.U. (p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis yielded a high area under the curve for MFI (AUC = 0.951). Blinded raters scored the NIR-nCLE sequences on the presence of fluorescent cancer cells with sensitivity and specificity of 98% and 97%, respectively. Overall diagnostic accuracy was 97%. The inter-observer agreement of the five raters was excellent (κ = 0.95).ConclusionsNIR-nCLE allows sensitive and specific detection of cancer cells in SPNs. This technology has far-reaching implications for diagnostic needle biopsies and intraprocedural decision-making.