We describe atmospheric validation of 1.61μm and 2.06μm CO2 absorption coefficient databases for use by the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2). The OCO-2 mission will collect the measurements needed ...to estimate column-averaged CO2 dry air mole fraction within 1ppm accuracy without the region- or airmass-dependent biases that would significantly degrade efforts to understand carbon sources and sinks on a global scale. To accomplish this, the forward radiative transfer model used to generate synthetic atmospheric spectra for retrievals must achieve unprecedented spectroscopic fidelity within the short wave infrared CO2 bands sampled by the sensors. The failure of Voigt line shapes and conventional line mixing formulations for such objectives has motivated significant revisions to line shape models used to generate the gas absorption cross sections for the OCO-2 forward model. In this paper, we test line mixing and speed dependent line shapes combined with improved experimental line parameters. We evaluate pre-computed absorption coefficients in the two spectral regions of CO2 absorbtion using high resolution FT-IR laboratory spectra, atmospheric spectra from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON), and medium resolution soundings from the space-based Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT).
► We evaluate 1.61 and 2.06μm CO2 absorption cross sections for OCO-2 retrievals. ► A new database uses a speed-dependent profile and nearest-neighbor Line Mixing (LM). ► We compare results to a benchmark using Voigt line shapes and an alternative LM model. ► Atmospheric retrievals show consistent benefits to orbital and uplooking spectra.
Staircases or Treadmills? is the first comprehensive study documenting the prevalence of all types of labor market intermediaries and investigating how these intermediaries affect workers’ employment ...opportunities. Benner, Leete, and Pastor draw on years of research in two distinct regional labor markets—“old economy” Milwaukee and “new economy” Silicon Valley—including a first-of-its-kind random survey of the prevalence and impacts of intermediaries, and a wide range of interviews with intermediary agencies’ staff and clients. One of the main obstacles that disadvantaged workers face is that social networks of families and friends are less effective in connecting job-seekers to stable, quality employment. Intermediaries often serve as a substitute method for finding a job. Which substitute is chosen, however, matters: The authors find that the most effective organizations—including many unions, community colleges, and local non-profits—actively foster contacts between workers and employers, tend to make long-term investments in training for career development, and seek to transform as well as satisfy market demands. But without effective social networks to help workers locate the best intermediaries, most rely on private temporary agencies and other organizations that offer fewer services and, statistical analysis shows, often channel their participants into jobs with low wages and few benefits. Staircases or Treadmills? suggests that, to become more effective, intermediary organizations of all types need to focus more on training workers, teaching networking skills, and fostering contact between workers and employers in the same industries. A generation ago, rising living standards were broadly distributed and coupled with relatively secure employment. Today, many Americans fear that heightened job insecurity is overshadowing the benefits of dynamic economic growth. Staircases or Treadmills? is a stimulating guide to how private and public job-matching institutions can empower disadvantaged workers to share in economic progress.
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a leading cause of cirrhosis in the United States, which is characterized by extensive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins and formation of a fibrous scar. ...Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the major source of collagen type 1 producing myofibroblasts in ALD fibrosis. However, the mechanism of alcohol‐induced activation of human and mouse HSCs is not fully understood. We compared the gene‐expression profiles of primary cultured human HSCs (hHSCs) isolated from patients with ALD (n = 3) or without underlying liver disease (n = 4) using RNA‐sequencing analysis. Furthermore, the gene‐expression profile of ALD hHSCs was compared with that of alcohol‐activated mHSCs (isolated from intragastric alcohol‐fed mice) or CCl4‐activated mouse HSCs (mHSCs). Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that ALD hHSCs, in addition to alcohol‐activated and CCl4‐activated mHSCs, share the expression of common HSC activation (Col1a1 collagen type I alpha 1 chain, Acta1 actin alpha 1, skeletal muscle, PAI1 plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1, TIMP1 tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1, and LOXL2 lysyl oxidase homolog 2), indicating that a common mechanism underlies the activation of human and mouse HSCs. Furthermore, alcohol‐activated mHSCs most closely recapitulate the gene‐expression profile of ALD hHSCs. We identified the genes that are similarly and uniquely up‐regulated in primary cultured alcohol‐activated hHSCs and freshly isolated mHSCs, which include CSF1R (macrophage colony‐stimulating factor 1 receptor), PLEK (pleckstrin), LAPTM5 (lysosmal‐associated transmembrane protein 5), CD74 (class I transactivator, the invariant chain), CD53, MMP9 (matrix metallopeptidase 9), CD14, CTSS (cathepsin S), TYROBP (TYRO protein tyrosine kinase‐binding protein), and ITGB2 (integrin beta‐2), and other genes (compared with CCl4‐activated mHSCs). Conclusion: We identified genes in alcohol‐activated mHSCs from intragastric alcohol‐fed mice that are largely consistent with the gene‐expression profile of primary cultured hHSCs from patients with ALD. These genes are unique to alcohol‐induced HSC activation in two species, and therefore may become targets or readout for antifibrotic therapy in experimental models of ALD.
We identified genes in alcohol‐activated mHSCs from IG alcohol‐fed mice that are largely consistent with the gene‐expression profile of primary cultured hHSCs from patients with ALD. These genes are unique to alcohol‐induced HSC activation in two species, and therefore may become targets or readout for antifibrotic therapy in experimental models of ALD.
The LIPID MAPS Consortium (www.lipidmaps.org) is developing comprehensive procedures for identifying all lipids of the macrophage, following activation by endotoxin. The goal is to quantify temporal ...and spatial changes in lipids that occur with cellular metabolism and to develop bioinformatic approaches that establish dynamic lipid networks. To achieve these aims, an endotoxin of the highest possible analytical specification is crucial. We now report a large-scale preparation of 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid (Kdo)2-Lipid A, a nearly homogeneous Re lipopolysaccharide (LPS) sub-structure with endotoxin activity equal to LPS. Kdo2-Lipid A was extracted from 2 kg cell paste of a heptose-deficient Escherichia coli mutant. It was purified by chromatography on silica, DEAE-cellulose, and C18 reverse-phase resin. Structure and purity were evaluated by electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and 1H-NMR. Its bioactivity was compared with LPS in RAW 264.7 cells and bone marrow macrophages from wild-type and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4)-deficient mice. Cytokine and eicosanoid production, in conjunction with gene expression profiling, were employed as readouts. Kdo2-Lipid A is comparable to LPS by these criteria. Its activity is reduced by >103 in cells from TLR-4-deficient mice. The purity of Kdo2-Lipid A should facilitate structural analysis of complexes with receptors like TLR-4/MD2.
This paper describes the status circa 2001, of the HITRAN compilation that comprises the public edition available through 2001. The HITRAN compilation consists of several components useful for ...radiative transfer calculation codes: high-resolution spectroscopic parameters of molecules in the gas phase, absorption cross-sections for molecules with very dense spectral features, aerosol refractive indices, ultraviolet line-by-line parameters and absorption cross-sections, and associated database management software. The line-by-line portion of the database contains spectroscopic parameters for 38 molecules and their isotopologues and isotopomers suitable for calculating atmospheric transmission and radiance properties. Many more molecular species are presented in the infrared cross-section data than in the previous edition, especially the chlorofluorocarbons and their replacement gases. There is now sufficient representation so that quasi-quantitative simulations can be obtained with the standard radiance codes.
In addition to the description and justification of new or modified data that have been incorporated since the last edition of HITRAN (1996), future modifications are indicated for cases considered to have a significant impact on remote-sensing experiments.
ChIP coupled with microarray provides a powerful tool to determine in vivo binding profiling of transcription factors to deduce regulatory circuitries in mammalian cells. Aiming at improving the ...specificity and sensitivity of such analysis, we developed a new technology called ChIP-DSL using the DNA selection and ligation (DSL) strategy, permitting robust analysis with much reduced materials compared with standard procedures. We profiled general and sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factors using a full human genome promoter array based on the ChIP-DSL technology, revealing an unprecedented number of the estrogen receptor (ERα) target genes in MCF-7 cells. Coupled with gene expression profiling, we found that only a fraction of these direct ERα target genes were highly responsive to estrogen and that the expression of those ERα-bound, estrogen-inducible genes was associated with breast cancer progression in humans. This study demonstrates the power of the ChIP-DSL technology in revealing regulatory gene expression programs that have been previously invisible in the human genome.
Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is required during most cardiac surgeries. CBP drives systemic inflammation and multiorgan dysfunction that is especially severe in neonatal patients. Limited ...understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying CPB-associated inflammation presents a significant barrier to improve clinical outcomes. To better understand these clinical issues, we performed mRNA sequencing on total circulating leukocytes from neonatal patients undergoing CPB. Our data identify myeloid cells, particularly monocytes, as the major cell type driving transcriptional responses to CPB. Furthermore, IL-8 and TNF-α were inflammatory cytokines robustly upregulated in leukocytes from both patients and piglets exposed to CPB. To delineate the molecular mechanism, we exposed THP-1 human monocytic cells to CPB-like conditions, including artificial surfaces, high shear stress, and cooling/rewarming. Shear stress was found to drive cytokine upregulation via calcium-dependent signaling pathways. We also observed that a subpopulation of THP-1 cells died via TNF-α-mediated necroptosis, which we hypothesize contributes to post-CPB inflammation. Our study identifies a shear stress-modulated molecular mechanism that drives systemic inflammation in pediatric CPB patients. These are also the first data to our knowledge to demonstrate that shear stress causes necroptosis. Finally, we observe that calcium and TNF-α signaling are potentially novel targets to ameliorate post-CPB inflammation.
Finding the right jobs-housing balance has long been an important concern for urban planners. More recently, attention has turned to jobs-housing fit - the extent to which housing price is well ...matched to local job quality. Prior analyses have been constrained by a lack of local data on job quality, making it difficult to identify the geography and scale of the problem. We introduce a new methodology for calculating the low-wage jobs-housing fit at both a jurisdiction and neighborhood scale that was designed in collaboration with affordable housing advocates and has been directly applied in urban planning and affordable housing policy efforts. Low-wage fit is particularly important because of ongoing difficulties with affordable housing provision and the disproportionate benefits of reducing transportation costs for low-income earners. We use the calculated metric at both a city and neighborhood scale to identify what can be learned from a low-wage jobs-housing fit metric that is not evident in traditional measures of jobs-housing balance. In contrast to jobs-housing balance, the low-wage fit analysis clearly highlights those jurisdictions and neighborhoods where there is a substantial shortage of affordable housing in relation to the number of low-wage jobs. Because of the geographic coverage of the data sources used, the results can be widely applied across the United States by affordable housing advocates, land-use planners, and policy makers.
Just Growth Benner, Chris; Pastor, Manuel
2012, 20130301, 2013-03-01, 20120101, Letnik:
50
eBook
Breaking new ground in its innovative blend of quantitative and qualitative methods, the book essentially argues that another sort of growth is indeed possible. While offering specific insights for ...regional leaders and analysts of metropolitan areas, the authors also draw a broader - and quite timely - set of conclusions about how to scale up these efforts to address a U.S. economy still seeking to recover from economic crisis and ameliorate distributional divisions.
Understanding the factors and processes that help regions sustain economic growth has become a topic of increasing interest in recent years. We examine factors associated with the length of 'growth ...spells' for the 184 largest regions in the United States from the period 1990–2011. We find that growth duration is positively related to a number of factors one might expect, including lower levels of reliance on manufacturing and a higher proportion of the population with middle education levels. However, we also find that the length of growth spells is strongly related to lower levels of metropolitan income inequality and to measures of social and spatial segregation, suggesting that more equitable and more integrated regions are better able to sustain growth.
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