Showing papers by "Rutgers University published in 2000"
TL;DR: The goals of the PDB are described, the systems in place for data deposition and access, how to obtain further information and plans for the future development of the resource are described.
Abstract: The Protein Data Bank (PDB; http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/ ) is the single worldwide archive of structural data of biological macromolecules. This paper describes the goals of the PDB, the systems in place for data deposition and access, how to obtain further information, and near-term plans for the future development of the resource.
34,239 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the holographic correspondence between field theories and string/M theory is discussed, focusing on the relation between compactifications of string theory on anti-de Sitter spaces and conformal field theories.
5,610 citations
TL;DR: The results support the reliability and psychometric (as well as clinical) validity of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in the assessment of key dimensions of female sexual function in clinical and nonclinical samples and suggest important gender differences in the patterning of femaleSexual function in comparison with similar questionnaire studies in males.
Abstract: This article presents the development of a brief, self-report measure of female sexual function. Initial face validity testing of questionnaire items, identified by an expert panel, was followed by a study aimed at further refining the questionnaire. It was administered to 131 normal controls and 128 age-matched subjects with female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) at five research centers. Based on clinical interpretations of a principal components analysis, a 6- domain structure was identified, which included desire, subjective arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Overall test-retest reliability coefficients were high for each of the individual domains (r=0.79 to 0.86) and a high degree of internal consistency was observed (Cronbachs alpha values of 0.82 and higher) Good construct validity was demonstrated by highly significant mean difference scores between the FSAD and control groups for each of the domains (p<0.001). Additionally, divergent validity with a scale of marital satisfactio...
5,183 citations
TL;DR: The mass of supermassive black holes correlate almost perfectly with the velocity dispersions of their host bulges, Mbh ∝ σα, where α = 48 ± 05.
Abstract: The masses of supermassive black holes correlate almost perfectly with the velocity dispersions of their host bulges, Mbh ∝ σα, where α = 48 ± 05 The relation is much tighter than the relation between Mbh and bulge luminosity, with a scatter no larger than expected on the basis of measurement error alone Black hole masses recently estimated by Magorrian et al lie systematically above the Mbh-σ relation defined by more accurate mass estimates, some by as much as 2 orders of magnitude The tightness of the Mbh-σ relation implies a strong link between black hole formation and the properties of the stellar bulge
4,557 citations
TL;DR: Adult marrow stromal cells can be induced to overcome their mesenchymal commitment and may constitute an abundant and accessible cellular reservoir for the treatment of a variety of neurologic diseases.
Abstract: Bone marrow stromal cells exhibit multiple traits of a stem cell population. They can be greatly expanded in vitro and induced to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal cell types. However, differentiation to non-mesenchymal fates has not been demonstrated. Here, adult rat stromal cells were expanded as undifferentiated cells in culture for more than 20 passages, indicating their proliferative capacity. A simple treatment protocol induced the stromal cells to exhibit a neuronal phenotype, expressing neuron-specific enolase, NeuN, neurofilament-M, and tau. With an optimal differentiation protocol, almost 80% of the cells expressed NSE and NF-M. The refractile cell bodies extended long processes terminating in typical growth cones and filopodia. The differentiating cells expressed nestin, characteristic of neuronal precursor stem cells, at 5 hr, but the trait was undetectable at 6 days. In contrast, expression of trkA, the nerve growth factor receptor, persisted from 5 hr through 6 days. Clonal cell lines, established from single cells, proliferated, yielding both undifferentiated and neuronal cells. Human marrow stromal cells subjected to this protocol also differentiated into neurons. Consequently, adult marrow stromal cells can be induced to overcome their mesenchymal commitment and may constitute an abundant and accessible cellular reservoir for the treatment of a variety of neurologic diseases.
2,600 citations
Carnegie Institution for Science1, California Institute of Technology2, Swinburne University of Technology3, Rutgers University4, Australian National University5, University of Arizona6, Johns Hopkins University7, Harvard University8, University of Cambridge9, University of California, Santa Cruz10, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics11
TL;DR: In this article, the final results of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project to measure the Hubble constant are presented, and the implications of these results for cosmology are discussed and compared with other, global methods for measuring the Hubble constants.
Abstract: We present here the final results of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project to measure the Hubble constant. We summarize our method, the results and the uncertainties, tabulate our revised distances, and give the implications of these results for cosmology. The analysis presented here benefits from a number of recent improvements and refinements, including (1) a larger LMC Cepheid sample to define the fiducial period-luminosity (PL) relations, (2) a more recent HST Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) photometric calibration, (3) a correction for Cepheid metallicity, and (4) a correction for incompleteness bias in the observed Cepheid PL samples. New, revised distances are given for the 18 spiral galaxies for which Cepheids have been discovered as part of the Key Project, as well as for 13 additional galaxies with published Cepheid data. The new calibration results in a Cepheid distance to NGC 4258 in better agreement with the maser distance to this galaxy. Based on these revised Cepheid distances, we find values (in km/sec/Mpc) of H0 = 71 +/- 2 (random) +/- 6 (systematic) (type Ia supernovae), 71 +/- 2 +/- 7 (Tully-Fisher relation), 70 +/- 5 +/- 6 (surface brightness fluctuations), 72 +/- 9 +/- 7 (type II supernovae), and 82 +/- 6 +/- 9 (fundamental plane). We combine these results for the different methods with 3 different weighting schemes, and find good agreement and consistency with H0 = 72 +/- 8. Finally, we compare these results with other, global methods for measuring the Hubble constant.
2,528 citations
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TL;DR: Systems T he Internet offers vast new opportunities to interact with total strangers, but these interactions can be fun, informative, even profitable, but they also involve risk.
Abstract: Systems T he Internet offers vast new opportunities to interact with total strangers. These interactions can be fun, informative, even profitable. But they also involve risk. Is the advice of a self-proclaimed expert at expertcentral.com reliable? Will an unknown dotcom site or eBay seller ship items promptly with appropriate packaging? Will the product be the same one described online? Prior to the Internet, such questions were answered, in part, through personal and corporate reputations. Vendors provided references, Better Business Bureaus tallied complaints, and past personal experience and person-to-person gossip told you on whom you could rely and on whom you could not. Participants’ standing in their communities, including their roles in church and civic organizations, served as a valuable hostage. Internet services operate on a vastly larger scale
2,410 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain the extent of exchange rate depreciation and stock market decline better than do standard macroeconomic measures using measures of corporate governance, particularly the effectiveness of protection for minority shareholders.
1,842 citations
Rutgers University1, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research2, Massachusetts Institute of Technology3, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation4, Odense University5, Arizona State University6, University of California, Los Angeles7, University of New Hampshire8, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences9, University of Hawaii10, University of British Columbia11, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research12, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences13
TL;DR: It is concluded that although natural processes can potentially slow the rate of increase in atmospheric CO2, there is no natural "savior" waiting to assimilate all the anthropogenically produced CO2 in the coming century.
Abstract: :Motivated by the rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 due to human activities since the Industrial Revolution, several international scientific research programs have analyzed the role of individual components of the Earth system in the global carbon cycle. Our knowledge of the carbon cycle within the oceans, terrestrial ecosystems, and the atmosphere is sufficiently extensive to permit us to conclude that although natural processes can potentially slow the rate of increase in atmospheric CO 2, there is no natural “savior” waiting to assimilate all the anthropogenically produced CO 2 in the coming century. Our knowledge is insufficient to describe the interactions between the components of the Earth system and the relationship between the carbon cycle and other biogeochemical and climatological processes. Overcoming this limitation requires a systems approach.
1,839 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors updated some of the author's thinking on the eclectic paradigm of international production, and related it to a number of mainstream, but context-specific economic and business theories.
1,532 citations
TL;DR: A failure analysis was conducted, identifying trends among user mistakes, and a summary of findings and a discussion of the implications of these findings were concluded.
Abstract: We analyzed transaction logs containing 51,473 queries posed by 18,113 users of Excite, a major Internet search service. We provide data on: (i) sessions — changes in queries during a session, number of pages viewed, and use of relevance feedback; (ii) queries — the number of search terms, and the use of logic and modifiers; and (iii) terms — their rank/frequency distribution and the most highly used search terms. We then shift the focus of analysis from the query to the user to gain insight to the characteristics of the Web user. With these characteristics as a basis, we then conducted a failure analysis, identifying trends among user mistakes. We conclude with a summary of findings and a discussion of the implications of these findings. # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
TL;DR: The laminins are a family of glycoproteins that provide an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue and have unique and shared cell interactions mediated by integrins, dystroglycan, and other receptors.
Abstract: The laminins are a family of glycoproteins that provide an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue. Each laminin is a heterotrimer assembled from alpha, beta, and gamma chain subunits, secreted and incorporated into cell-associated extracellular matrices. The laminins can self-assemble, bind to other matrix macromolecules, and have unique and shared cell interactions mediated by integrins, dystroglycan, and other receptors. Through these interactions, laminins critically contribute to cell differentiation, cell shape and movement, maintenance of tissue phenotypes, and promotion of tissue survival. Recent advances in the characterization of genetic disruptions in humans, mice, nematodes and flies have revealed developmental roles for the different laminin subunits in diverse cell types, affecting differentiation from blastocyst formation to the post-natal period. These genetic defects have challenged some of the previous concepts about basement membranes and have shed new light on the diversity and complexity of laminin functions as well as established the molecular basis of several human diseases.
TL;DR: It is hypothesized that automatic spike-sorting algorithms have the potential to significantly lower error rates, and implementation of a semi-automatic classification system confirms this suggestion, reducing errors close to the estimated optimum, in the range 0-8%.
Abstract: Simultaneous recording from large numbers of neurons is a prerequisite for understanding their cooperative behavior. Various recording techniques and spike separation methods are being used toward ...
TL;DR: Cationic antimicrobial peptides are found in all living species and can have broad-spectrum antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiprotozoan and antisepsis properties and interact directly with host cells to modulate the inflammatory process and innate defences.
TL;DR: Findings identify Eta-1 as a key cytokine that sets the stage for efficient type-1 immune responses through differential regulation of macrophage IL-12 and IL-10 cytokine expression.
Abstract: Cell-mediated (type-1) immunity is necessary for immune protection against most intracellular pathogens and, when excessive, can mediate organ-specific autoimmune destruction. Mice deficient in Eta-1 (also called osteopontin) gene expression have severely impaired type-1 immunity to viral infection [herpes simplex virus–type 1 (KOS strain)] and bacterial infection ( Listeria monocytogenes ) and do not develop sarcoid-type granulomas. Interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon-γ production is diminished, and IL-10 production is increased. A phosphorylation-dependent interaction between the amino-terminal portion of Eta-1 and its integrin receptor stimulated IL-12 expression, whereas a phosphorylation-independent interaction with CD44 inhibited IL-10 expression. These findings identify Eta-1 as a key cytokine that sets the stage for efficient type-1 immune responses through differential regulation of macrophage IL-12 and IL-10 cytokine expression.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors found that higher tax rates are associated with less unofficial activity as a percent of GDP but corruption is associated with more unofficial activity, and that corrupt governments become small governments and only relatively uncorrupt governments can sustain high tax rates.
TL;DR: In this paper, a construct called cooperative competency derived from related concepts of mutual adjustment, absorptive capacity, and relational capability is proposed as the key factor affecting new product development success, regardless of whether it is an intra- or interfirm endeavor.
Abstract: New products provide increased sales, profits, and competitive strength for most organizations. However, nearly 50% of the new products that are introduced each year fail. Organizations thus find themselves in a double bind. On the one hand they must innovate consistently to remain competitive, but on the other hand innovation is risky and expensive. Many organizations are forming business alliances to quicken the pace of and reduce risks associated with innovation. Yet by some estimates, 70% of these alliances fail. Many of the prescriptions for successful alliance management clash with recommendations for effective innovation management. The authors develop testable hypotheses by integrating the new products and alliance literature. A construct—cooperative competency—derived from related concepts of mutual adjustment, absorptive capacity, and relational capability is posited as the key factor affecting new product development success, regardless of whether it is an intra- or interfirm endeavor....
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the concept of double exposure as a framework for examining the simultaneous impacts of climate change and globalization, which refers to the fact that certain regions, sectors, ecosystems and social groups will be confronted both by climate change, and by the consequences of globalization.
Abstract: This paper considers synergisms between the impacts of two global processes, climate change and economic globalization. Both processes entail long-term changes that will have di!erential impacts throughout the world. Despite widespread recognition that there will be ‘winnersa and ‘losersa with both climate change and globalization, the two issues are rarely examined together. In this paper, we introduce the concept of double exposure as a framework for examining the simultaneous impacts of climate change and globalization. Double exposure refers to the fact that certain regions, sectors, ecosystems and social groups will be confronted both by the impacts of climate change, and by the consequences of globalization. By considering the joint impacts of the two processes, new sets of winners and losers emerge. ( 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
TL;DR: The authors examined whether comprehensive financial disclosures, used as a proxy for corporate board's responsiveness, are positively associated with the proportion of independent non-executive directors (INDs) on corporate boards, and whether family control of the firm has an impact on this association.
TL;DR: Transposon inactivation of Arabidopsis MAP kinase 4 produced the mpk4 mutant exhibiting constitutive systemic acquired resistance (SAR) including elevated salicylic acid levels, increased resistance to virulent pathogens, and constitutive pathogenesis-related gene expression shown by Northern and microarray hybridizations.
TL;DR: A review of the current state of organic aerosol sampling, analysis, and simulation, examines the limitations of current technology, and presents prospects for the future is provided in this article, where the emphasis is on distilling findings from recent atmospheric, smog chamber, and theoretical studies to provide a coherent picture of what has been accomplished, especially during the last five years.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the nature of business groups in emerging markets and examine whether Korean business groups (chaebols) add value to their member firms or provide the controlling shareholders with an opportunity for wealth transfer.
Abstract: Business groups in emerging markets have the potential to create either value or agency problems. Using Korean mergers, we investigate the nature of business groups in emerging markets and examine whether Korean business groups (chaebols) add value to their member firms or provide the controlling shareholders with an opportunity for wealth transfer (tunneling). We show that chaebol-affiliated firms that performed well prior to the merger realize significantly negative announcement returns. We also find that chaebol bidders who acquired poorly performing targets within the same group and/or had concentrated equity ownership by owner-managers experience significantly negative abnormal returns. These types of mergers, however, have a significantly positive effect on the market value of the portfolio of other firms in the group. Our results support the tunneling view that firms belonging to business groups pay less attention to the maximization of individual firm value and make takeover decisions that are beneficial to only controlling shareholders.
TL;DR: A large percentage of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells are silent in any given behavioral condition, and it is determined that a tetrode in hippocampal area CA1 theoretically should be able to record electrical signals from approximately 1, 000 neurons.
Abstract: Multichannel tetrode array recording in awake behaving animals provides a powerful method to record the activity of large numbers of neurons. The power of this method could be extended if further i...
10 Apr 2000
TL;DR: A very simple algorithm for the Least Common Ancestors problem is presented, dispelling the frequently held notion that optimal LCA computation is unwieldy and unimplementable.
Abstract: We present a very simple algorithm for the Least Common Ancestors problem. We thus dispel the frequently held notion that optimal LCA computation is unwieldy and unimplementable. Interestingly, this algorithm is a sequentialization of a previously known PRAM algorithm.
TL;DR: This research suggests that just as the visual system works to recover the physical structure of the world by inferring properties such as 3-D shape, so too does it work to recovery the causal and social structure ofThe world by inference properties suchAs causality and animacy.
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, and store loyalty within the retail department store context and empirically examined the relative attitude construct put forth by Dick and Basu.
Abstract: Using a national random telephone survey of 542 shoppers, examines the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, and store loyalty within the retail department store context. Tests two complementary models that examine this interrelationship. Empirically examines the relative attitude construct put forth by Dick and Basu. The results indicate that service quality influences relative attitude and satisfaction with department stores. Satisfaction influences relative attitude, repurchase, and recommendation but has no direct effect on store loyalty. Fostering favorable relative attitude and getting customers to recommend the product or service holds key to fostering store loyalty. Results also indicate support for Oliver’s four‐stage cognitive‐affective‐conative‐action model of loyalty.
TL;DR: The post-translational modification of Notch by Fringe represents a striking example of modulation of a signalling event by differential receptor glycosylation and identifies a mechanism that is likely to be relevant to other signalling pathways.
Abstract: Notch receptors function in highly conserved intercellular signalling pathways that direct cell-fate decisions, proliferation and apoptosis in metazoans. Fringe proteins can positively and negatively modulate the ability of Notch ligands to activate the Notch receptor. Here we establish the biochemical mechanism of Fringe action. Drosophila and mammalian Fringe proteins possess a fucose-specific β1,3 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase activity that initiates elongation of O-linked fucose residues attached to epidermal growth factor-like sequence repeats of Notch. We obtained biological evidence that Fringe-dependent elongation of O-linked fucose on Notch modulates Notch signalling by using co-culture assays in mammalian cells and by expression of an enzymatically inactive Fringe mutant in Drosophila . The post-translational modification of Notch by Fringe represents a striking example of modulation of a signalling event by differential receptor glycosylation and identifies a mechanism that is likely to be relevant to other signalling pathways.
TL;DR: The Global Soil Moisture Data Bank (GSOMoisture) as mentioned in this paper is a web site dedicated to collection, dissemination, and analysis of soil moisture data from around the globe.
Abstract: Soil moisture is an important variable in the climate system. Understanding and predicting variations of surface temperature, drought, and flood depend critically on knowledge of soil moisture variations, as do impacts of climate change and weather forecasting. An observational dataset of actual in situ measurements is crucial for climatological analysis, for model development and evaluation, and as ground truth for remote sensing. To that end, the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank, a Web site (http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/soil—moisture) dedicated to collection, dissemination, and analysis of soil moisture data from around the globe, is described. The data bank currently has soil moisture observations for over 600 stations from a large variety of global climates, including the former Soviet Union, China, Mongolia, India, and the United States. Most of the data are in situ gravimetric observations of soil moisture; all extend for at least 6 years and most for more than 15 years. Most of the stat...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a rigorous justification of such robust procedures through modern empirical process theory and present an approach to construct simultaneous confidence bands for the mean function and describe a class of graphical and numerical techniques for checking the adequacy of the fitted mean-rate model.
Abstract: The counting process with the Cox-type intensity function has been commonly used to analyse recurrent event data. This model essentially assumes that the underlying counting process is a time-transformed Poisson process and that the covariates have multiplicative effects on the mean and rate function of the counting process. Recently, Pepe and Cai, and Lawless and co-workers have proposed semiparametric procedures for making inferences about the mean and rate function of the counting process without the Poisson-type assumption. In this paper, we provide a rigorous justification of such robust procedures through modern empirical process theory. Furthermore, we present an approach to constructing simultaneous confidence bands for the mean function and describe a class of graphical and numerical techniques for checking the adequacy of the fitted mean–rate model. The advantages of the robust procedures are demonstrated through simulation studies. An illustration with multiple-infection data taken from a clinical study on chronic granulomatous disease is also provided.
TL;DR: The results suggest that lifestyle, menstrual status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status affect symptoms in this age group.
Abstract: A community-based survey was conducted during 1995-1997 of factors related to menopausal and other symptoms in a multi-racial/ethnic sample of 16,065 women aged 40-55 years. Each of seven sites comprising the Study of Women's Health across the Nation (SWAN) surveyed one of four minority populations and a Caucasian population. The largest adjusted prevalence odds ratios for all symptoms, particularly hot flashes or night sweats (odds ratios = 2.06-4.32), were for women who were peri- or postmenopausal. Most symptoms were reported least frequently by Japanese and Chinese (odds ratios = 0.47-0.67 compared with Caucasian) women. African-American women reported vasomotor symptoms and vaginal dryness more (odds ratios = 1.17-1.63) but urine leakage and difficulty sleeping less (odds ratios = 0.64-0.72) than Caucasians. Hispanic women reported urine leakage, vaginal dryness, heart pounding, and forgetfulness more (odds ratios = 1.22-1.85). Hot flashes or night sweats, urine leakage, and stiffness or soreness were associated with a high body mass index (odds ratios = 1.15-2.18 for women with a body mass index > or =27 vs. 19-26.9 kg/m2). Most symptoms were reported most frequently among women who had difficulty paying for basics (odds ratios = 1.15-2.05), who smoked (odds ratios = 1.21-1.78), and who rated themselves less physically active than other women their age (odds ratios = 1.24-2.33). These results suggest that lifestyle, menstrual status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status affect symptoms in this age group.