University of Tennessee at Knoxville

GROMACS is one of the most widely used open-source and free software codes in chemistry, used primarily for dynamical simulations of biomolecules. It provides a rich set of calculation types, preparation and analysis tools. Several advanced techniques for free-energy calculations are supported. In version 5, it reaches new performance heights, through several new and enhanced parallelization algorithms. These work on every level; SIMD registers inside cores, multithreading, heterogeneous CPU-GPU acceleration, state-of-the-art 3D domain decomposition, and ensemble-level parallelization through built-in replica exchange and the separate Copernicus framework. The latest best-in-class compressed trajectory storage format is supported.

BACKGROUND: The quality of automated gene prediction in microbial organisms has improved steadily over the past decade, but there is still room for improvement. Increasing the number of correct identifications, both of genes and of the translation initiation sites for each gene, and reducing the overall number of false positives, are all desirable goals. RESULTS: With our years of experience in manually curating genomes for the Joint Genome Institute, we developed a new gene prediction algorithm called Prodigal (PROkaryotic DYnamic programming Gene-finding ALgorithm). With Prodigal, we focused specifically on the three goals of improved gene structure prediction, improved translation initiation site recognition, and reduced false positives. We compared the results of Prodigal to existing gene-finding methods to demonstrate that it met each of these objectives. CONCLUSION: We built a fast, lightweight, open source gene prediction program called Prodigal http://compbio.ornl.gov/prodigal/. Prodigal achieved good results compared to existing methods, and we believe it will be a valuable asset to automated microbial annotation pipelines.

A measure is presented which indicates the similarity of clusters which are assumed to have a data density which is a decreasing function of distance from a vector characteristic of the cluster. The measure can be used to infer the appropriateness of data partitions and can therefore be used to compare relative appropriateness of various divisions of the data. The measure does not depend on either the number of clusters analyzed nor the method of partitioning of the data and can be used to guide a cluster seeking algorithm.

1. CONCEPTS AND EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH. Concepts. Examples. Concluding Remarks. References. 2. CLASSIFICATION OF VARIABLES AND THE CHOICE OF ANALYSIS. Classification of Variables. Overlapping of Classification Schemes. Choice of Analysis. References. 3. BASIC STATISTICS: A REVIEW. Preview. Descriptive Statistics. Random Variables and Distributions. Sampling Distributions of t, ?O2, and F. Statistical Inference: Estimation. Statistical Inference: Hypothesis Testing. Error Rate, Power, and Sample Size. Problems. References. 4. INTRODUCTION TO REGRESSION ANALYSIS. Preview. Association versus Causality. Statistical versus Deterministic Models. Concluding Remarks. References. 5. STRAIGHT-LINE REGRESSION ANALYSIS. Preview. Regression with a Single Independent Variable. Mathematical Properties of a Straight Line. Statistical Assumptions for a Straight-line Model. Determining the Best-fitting Straight Line. Measure of the Quality of the Straight-line Fit and Estimate ?a2. Inferences About the Slope and Intercept. Interpretations of Tests for Slope and Intercept. Inferences About the Regression Line ?YY|X = ?O0 + ?O1X . Prediction of a New Value of Y at X0. Problems. References. 6. THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENT AND STRAIGHT-LINE REGRESSION ANALYSIS. Definition of r. r as a Measure of Association. The Bivariate Normal Distribution. r and the Strength of the Straight-line Relationship. What r Does Not Measure. Tests of Hypotheses and Confidence Intervals for the Correlation Coefficient. Testing for the Equality of Two Correlations. Problems. References. 7. THE ANALYSIS-OF-VARIANCE TABLE. Preview. The ANOVA Table for Straight-line Regression. Problems. 8. MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. Preview. Multiple Regression Models. Graphical Look at the Problem. Assumptions of Multiple Regression. Determining the Best Estimate of the Multiple Regression Equation. The ANOVA Table for Multiple Regression. Numerical Examples. Problems. References. 9. TESTING HYPOTHESES IN MULTIPLE REGRESSION. Preview. Test for Significant Overall Regression. Partial F Test. Multiple Partial F Test. Strategies for Using Partial F Tests. Tests Involving the Intercept. Problems. References. 10. CORRELATIONS: MULTIPLE, PARTIAL, AND MULTIPLE PARTIAL. Preview. Correlation Matrix. Multiple Correlation Coefficient. Relationship of RY|X1, X2, !KXk to the Multivariate Normal Distribution. Partial Correlation Coefficient. Alternative Representation of the Regression Model. Multiple Partial Correlation. Concluding Remarks. Problems. References. 11. CONFOUNDING AND INTERACTION IN REGRESSION. Preview. Overview. Interaction in Regression. Confounding in Regression. Summary and Conclusions. Problems. References. 12. DUMMY VARIABLES IN REGRESSION. Preview. Definitions. Rule for Defining Dummy Variables. Comparing Two Straight-line Regression Equations: An Example. Questions for Comparing Two Straight Lines. Methods of Comparing Two Straight Lines. Method I: Using Separate Regression Fits to Compare Two Straight Lines. Method II: Using a Single Regression Equation to Compare Two Straight Lines. Comparison of Methods I and II. Testing Strategies and Interpretation: Comparing Two Straight Lines. Other Dummy Variable Models. Comparing Four Regression Equations. Comparing Several Regression Equations Involving Two Nominal Variables. Problems. References. 13. ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE AND OTHER METHODS FOR ADJUSTING CONTINUOUS DATA. Preview. Adjustment Problem. Analysis of Covariance. Assumption of Parallelism: A Potential Drawback. Analysis of Covariance: Several Groups and Several Covariates. Comments and Cautions. Summary Problems. Reference. 14. REGRESSION DIAGNOSTICS. Preview. Approaches to Diagnosing Problems in Data. Residual Analysis: Detecting Outliers and Violations of Model Assumptions. Strategies of Analysis. Collinearity. Scaling Problems. Diagnostics Example. An Important Caution. Problems. References. 15. POLYNOMIAL REGRESSION. Preview. Polynomial Models. Least-squares Procedure for Fitting a Parabola. ANOVA Table for Second-order Polynomial Regression. Inferences Associated with Second-order Polynomial Regression. Example Requiring a Second-order Model. Fitting and Testing Higher-order Model. Lack-of-fit Tests. Orthogonal Polynomials. Strategies for Choosing a Polynomial Model. Problems. 16. SELECTING THE BEST REGRESSION EQUATION. Preview. Steps in Selecting the Best Regression Equation. Step 1: Specifying the Maximum Model. Step 2: Specifying a Criterion for Selecting a Model. Step 3: Specifying a Strategy for Selecting Variables. Step 4: Conducting the Analysis. Step 5: Evaluating Reliability with Split Samples. Example Analysis of Actual Data. Issues in Selecting the Most Valid Model. Problems. References. 17. ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE. Preview. One-way ANOVA: The Problem, Assumptions, and Data Configuration. for One-way Fixed-effects ANOVA. Regression Model for Fixed-effects One-way ANOVA Fixed-effects Model for One-way ANOVA. Random-effects Model for One-way ANOVA. -comparison Procedures for Fixed-effects One-way ANOVA. a Multiple-comparison Technique. Orthogonal Contrasts and Partitioning an ANOVA Sum of Squares. Problems. References. 18. RANDOMIZED BLOCKS: SPECIAL CASE OF TWO-WAY ANOVA. Preview. Equivalent Analysis of a Matched-pairs Experiment. Principle of Blocking. Analysis of a Randomized-blocks Experiment. ANOVA Table for a Randomized-blocks Experiment. Models for a Randomized-blocks Experiment. Fixed-effects ANOVA Model for a Randomized-blocks Experiment. Problems. References. 19. TWO-WAY ANOVA WITH EQUAL CELL NUMBERS. Preview. Using a Table of Cell Means. General Methodology. F Tests for Two-way ANOVA. Regression Model for Fixed-effects Two-way ANOVA. Interactions in Two-way ANOVA. Random- and Mixed-effects Two-way ANOVA Models. Problems. References. 20. TWO-WAY ANOVA WITH UNEQUAL CELL NUMBERS. Preview. Problem with Unequal Cell Numbers: Nonorthogonality. Regression Approach for Unequal Cell Sample Sizes. Higher-way ANOVA. Problems. References. 21. THE METHOD OF MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD. Preview. The Principle of Maximum Likelihood. Statistical Inference Using Maximum Likelihood. Summary. Problems. 22. LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS. Preview. The Logistic Model. Estimating the Odds Ratio Using Logistic Regression. A Numerical Example of Logistic Regression. Theoretical Considerations. An Example of Conditional ML Estimation Involving Pair-matched Data with Unmatched Covariates. Summary. Problems. References. 23. POLYTOMOUS AND ORDINAL LOGISTIC REGRESSION. Preview. Why Not Use Binary Regression? An Example of Polytomous Logistic Regression: One Predictor, Three Outcome Categories. An Example: Extending the Polytomous Logistic Model to Several Predictors. Ordinal Logistic Regression: Overview. A Simple Hypothetical Example: Three Ordinal Categories and One Dichotomous Exposure Variable. Ordinal Logistic Regression Example Using Real Data with Four Ordinal Categories and Three Predictor Variables. Summary. Problems. References. 24. POISSON REGRESSION ANALYSIS. Preview. The Poisson Distribution. Example of Poisson Regression. Poisson Regression: General Considerations. Measures of Goodness of Fit. Continuation of Skin Cancer Data Example. A Second Illustration of Poisson Regression Analysis. Summary. Problems. References. 25. ANALYSIS OF CORRELATED DATA PART 1: THE GENERAL LINEAR MIXED MODEL. Preview. Examples. General Linear Mixed Model Approach. Example: Study of Effects of an Air Polluion Episode on FEV1 Levels. Summary!XAnalysis of Correlated Data: Part 1. Problems. References. 26. ANALYSIS OF CORRELATED DATA PART 2: RANDOM EFFECTS AND OTHER ISSUES. Preview. Random Effects Revisited. Results for Random Effects Models Applied to Air Pollution Study Data. Second Example!XAnalysis of Posture Measurement Data. Recommendations about Choice of Correlation Structure. Analysis of Data for Discrete Outcomes. Problems. References. 27. SAMPLE SIZE PLANNING FOR LINEAR AND LOGISTIC REGRESSION AND ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE. Preview. Review: Sample Size Calculations for Comparisons of Means and Proportions. Sample Size Planning for Linear Regression. Sample Size Planning for Logistic Regression. Power and Sample Size Determination for Linear Models: A General Approach. Sample Size Determination for Matched Case-control Studies with a Dichotomous Outcome. Practical Considerations and Cautions. Problems. References. Appendix A. Appendix B. Appendix C. Solutions to Exercises. Index.

Hypertension is the most common condition seen in primary care and leads to myocardial infarction, stroke, renal failure, and death if not detected early and treated appropriately. Patients want to be assured that blood pressure (BP) treatment will reduce their disease burden, while clinicians want guidance on hypertension management using the best scientific evidence. This report takes a rigorous, evidence-based approach to recommend treatment thresholds, goals, and medications in the management of hypertension in adults. Evidence was drawn from randomized controlled trials, which represent the gold standard for determining efficacy and effectiveness. Evidence quality and recommendations were graded based on their effect on important outcomes. There is strong evidence to support treating hypertensive persons aged 60 years or older to a BP goal of less than 150/90 mm Hg and hypertensive persons 30 through 59 years of age to a diastolic goal of less than 90 mm Hg; however, there is insufficient evidence in hypertensive persons younger than 60 years for a systolic goal, or in those younger than 30 years for a diastolic goal, so the panel recommends a BP of less than 140/90 mm Hg for those groups based on expert opinion. The same thresholds and goals are recommended for hypertensive adults with diabetes or nondiabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) as for the general hypertensive population younger than 60 years. There is moderate evidence to support initiating drug treatment with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, angiotensin receptor blocker, calcium channel blocker, or thiazide-type diuretic in the nonblack hypertensive population, including those with diabetes. In the black hypertensive population, including those with diabetes, a calcium channel blocker or thiazide-type diuretic is recommended as initial therapy. There is moderate evidence to support initial or add-on antihypertensive therapy with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker in persons with CKD to improve kidney outcomes. Although this guideline provides evidence-based recommendations for the management of high BP and should meet the clinical needs of most patients, these recommendations are not a substitute for clinical judgment, and decisions about care must carefully consider and incorporate the clinical characteristics and circumstances of each individual patient.

MOTIVATION: Molecular simulation has historically been a low-throughput technique, but faster computers and increasing amounts of genomic and structural data are changing this by enabling large-scale automated simulation of, for instance, many conformers or mutants of biomolecules with or without a range of ligands. At the same time, advances in performance and scaling now make it possible to model complex biomolecular interaction and function in a manner directly testable by experiment. These applications share a need for fast and efficient software that can be deployed on massive scale in clusters, web servers, distributed computing or cloud resources. RESULTS: Here, we present a range of new simulation algorithms and features developed during the past 4 years, leading up to the GROMACS 4.5 software package. The software now automatically handles wide classes of biomolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids and lipids, and comes with all commonly used force fields for these molecules built-in. GROMACS supports several implicit solvent models, as well as new free-energy algorithms, and the software now uses multithreading for efficient parallelization even on low-end systems, including windows-based workstations. Together with hand-tuned assembly kernels and state-of-the-art parallelization, this provides extremely high performance and cost efficiency for high-throughput as well as massively parallel simulations. AVAILABILITY: GROMACS is an open source and free software available from http://www.gromacs.org. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 2,873 new measurements from 758 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. Particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Among the 118 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised, including a new review on Neutrinos in Cosmology.Starting with this edition, the Review is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 includes the Summary Tables and all review articles. Volume 2 consists of the Particle Listings. Review articles that were previously part of the Listings are now included in volume 1.The complete Review (both volumes) is published online on the website of the Particle Data Group (http://pdg.lbl.gov) and in a journal. Volume 1 is available in print as the PDG Book. A Particle Physics Booklet with the Summary Tables and essential tables, figures, and equations from selected review articles is also available.The 2018 edition of the Review of Particle Physics should be cited as: M. Tanabashi et al. (Particle Data Group), Phys. Rev. D 98, 030001 (2018).

Abstract The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 2,143 new measurements from 709 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. Particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Among the 120 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised, including a new review on Machine Learning, and one on Spectroscopy of Light Meson Resonances. The Review is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 includes the Summary Tables and 97 review articles. Volume 2 consists of the Particle Listings and contains also 23 reviews that address specific aspects of the data presented in the Listings. The complete Review (both volumes) is published online on the website of the Particle Data Group (pdg.lbl.gov) and in a journal. Volume 1 is available in print as the PDG Book. A Particle Physics Booklet with the Summary Tables and essential tables, figures, and equations from selected review articles is available in print, as a web version optimized for use on phones, and as an Android app.

PURPOSE: The Compendium of Physical Activities was developed to enhance the comparability of results across studies using self-report physical activity (PA) and is used to quantify the energy cost of a wide variety of PA. We provide the second update of the Compendium, called the 2011 Compendium. METHODS: The 2011 Compendium retains the previous coding scheme to identify the major category headings and specific PA by their rate of energy expenditure in MET. Modifications in the 2011 Compendium include cataloging measured MET values and their source references, when available; addition of new codes and specific activities; an update of the Compendium tracking guide that links information in the 1993, 2000, and 2011 compendia versions; and the creation of a Web site to facilitate easy access and downloading of Compendium documents. Measured MET values were obtained from a systematic search of databases using defined key words. RESULTS: The 2011 Compendium contains 821 codes for specific activities. Two hundred seventeen new codes were added, 68% (561/821) of which have measured MET values. Approximately half (317/604) of the codes from the 2000 Compendium were modified to improve the definitions and/or to consolidate specific activities and to update estimated MET values where measured values did not exist. Updated MET values accounted for 73% of all code changes. CONCLUSIONS: The Compendium is used globally to quantify the energy cost of PA in adults for surveillance activities, research studies, and, in clinical settings, to write PA recommendations and to assess energy expenditure in individuals. The 2011 Compendium is an update of a system for quantifying the energy cost of adult human PA and is a living document that is moving in the direction of being 100% evidence based.

Biotic invaders are species that establish a new range in which they proliferate, spread, and persist to the detriment of the environment. They are the most important ecological outcomes from the unprecedented alterations in the distribution of the earth's biota brought about largely through human transport and commerce. In a world without borders, few if any areas remain sheltered from these immigrations. The fate of immigrants is decidedly mixed. Few survive the hazards of chronic and stochastic forces, and only a small fraction become naturalized. In turn, some naturalized species do become invasive. There are several potential reasons why some immigrant species prosper: some escape from the constraints of their native predators or parasites; others are aided by human-caused disturbance that disrupts native communities. Ironically, many biotic invasions are apparently facilitated by cultivation and husbandry, unintentional actions that foster immigrant populations until they are self-perpetuating and uncontrollable. Whatever the cause, biotic invaders can in many cases inflict enormous environmental damage: (1) Animal invaders can cause extinctions of vulnerable native species through predation, grazing, competition, and habitat alteration. (2) Plant invaders can completely alter the fire regime, nutrient cycling, hydrology, and energy budgets in a native ecosystem and can greatly diminish the abundance or survival of native species. (3) In agriculture, the principal pests of temperate crops are nonindigenous, and the combined expenses of pest control and crop losses constitute an onerous “tax” on food, fiber, and forage production. (4) The global cost of virulent plant and animal diseases caused by parasites transported to new ranges and presented with susceptible new hosts is currently incalculable. Identifying future invaders and taking effective steps to prevent their dispersal and establishment constitutes an enormous challenge to both conservation and international commerce. Detection and management when exclusion fails have proved daunting for varied reasons: (1) Efforts to identify general attributes of future invaders have often been inconclusive. (2) Predicting susceptible locales for future invasions seems even more problematic, given the enormous differences in the rates of arrival among potential invaders. (3) Eradication of an established invader is rare, and control efforts vary enormously in their efficacy. Successful control, however, depends more on commitment and continuing diligence than on the efficacy of specific tools themselves. (4) Control of biotic invasions is most effective when it employs a long-term, ecosystem-wide strategy rather than a tactical approach focused on battling individual invaders. (5) Prevention of invasions is much less costly than post-entry control. Revamping national and international quarantine laws by adopting a “guilty until proven innocent” approach would be a productive first step. Failure to address the issue of biotic invasions could effectively result in severe global consequences, including wholesale loss of agricultural, forestry, and fishery resources in some regions, disruption of the ecological processes that supply natural services on which human enterprise depends, and the creation of homogeneous, impoverished ecosystems composed of cosmopolitan species. Given their current scale, biotic invasions have taken their place alongside human-driven atmospheric and oceanic alterations as major agents of global change. Left unchecked, they will influence these other forces in profound but still unpredictable ways.

This biennial Review summarizes much of particle physics. Using data from previous editions, plus 2658 new measurements from 644 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as Higgs bosons, heavy neutrinos, and supersymmetric particles. All the particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We also give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as the Standard Model, particle detectors, probability, and statistics. Among the 112 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised including those on Heavy-Quark and Soft-Collinear Effective Theory, Neutrino Cross Section Measurements, Monte Carlo Event Generators, Lattice QCD, Heavy Quarkonium Spectroscopy, Top Quark, Dark Matter, ${V}_{\mathit{cb}}$ ${V}_{\mathit{ub}}$, Quantum Chromodynamics, High-Energy Collider Parameters, Astrophysical Constants, Cosmological Parameters, and Dark Matter.A booklet is available containing the Summary Tables and abbreviated versions of some of the other sections of this full Review. All tables, listings, and reviews (and errata) are also available on the Particle Data Group website: http://pdg.lbl.gov/.The 2012 edition of Review of Particle Physics is published for the Particle Data Group as article 010001 in volume 86 of Physical Review D.This edition should be cited as: J. Beringer et al. (Particle Data Group), Phys. Rev. D 86, 010001 (2012).

High-entropy alloys are equiatomic, multi-element systems that can crystallize as a single phase, despite containing multiple elements with different crystal structures. A rationale for this is that the configurational entropy contribution to the total free energy in alloys with five or more major elements may stabilize the solid-solution state relative to multiphase microstructures. We examined a five-element high-entropy alloy, CrMnFeCoNi, which forms a single-phase face-centered cubic solid solution, and found it to have exceptional damage tolerance with tensile strengths above 1 GPa and fracture toughness values exceeding 200 MPa·m(1/2). Furthermore, its mechanical properties actually improve at cryogenic temperatures; we attribute this to a transition from planar-slip dislocation activity at room temperature to deformation by mechanical nanotwinning with decreasing temperature, which results in continuous steady strain hardening.

Dunlap and Van Liere's New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale, published in 1978, has become a widely used measure of proenvironmental orientation. This article develops a revised NEP Scale designed to improve upon the original one in several respects: (1) It taps a wider range of facets of an ecological worldview, (2) It offers a balanced set of pro‐ and anti‐NEP items, and (3) It avoids outmoded terminology. The new scale, termed the New Ecological Paradigm Scale, consists of 15 items. Results of a 1990 Washington State survey suggest that the items can be treated as an internally consistent summated ratingscale and also indicate a modest growth in pro‐NEP responses among Washington residents over the 14 years since the original study.

Abstract The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 3,324 new measurements from 878 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. Particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Among the 120 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised, including a new review on High Energy Soft QCD and Diffraction and one on the Determination of CKM Angles from B Hadrons. The Review is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 includes the Summary Tables and 98 review articles. Volume 2 consists of the Particle Listings and contains also 22 reviews that address specific aspects of the data presented in the Listings. The complete Review (both volumes) is published online on the website of the Particle Data Group (pdg.lbl.gov) and in a journal. Volume 1 is available in print as the PDG Book. A Particle Physics Booklet with the Summary Tables and essential tables, figures, and equations from selected review articles is available in print and as a web version optimized for use on phones as well as an Android app.

Six DNA regions were evaluated as potential DNA barcodes for Fungi, the second largest kingdom of eukaryotic life, by a multinational, multilaboratory consortium. The region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 used as the animal barcode was excluded as a potential marker, because it is difficult to amplify in fungi, often includes large introns, and can be insufficiently variable. Three subunits from the nuclear ribosomal RNA cistron were compared together with regions of three representative protein-coding genes (largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, and minichromosome maintenance protein). Although the protein-coding gene regions often had a higher percent of correct identification compared with ribosomal markers, low PCR amplification and sequencing success eliminated them as candidates for a universal fungal barcode. Among the regions of the ribosomal cistron, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region has the highest probability of successful identification for the broadest range of fungi, with the most clearly defined barcode gap between inter- and intraspecific variation. The nuclear ribosomal large subunit, a popular phylogenetic marker in certain groups, had superior species resolution in some taxonomic groups, such as the early diverging lineages and the ascomycete yeasts, but was otherwise slightly inferior to the ITS. The nuclear ribosomal small subunit has poor species-level resolution in fungi. ITS will be formally proposed for adoption as the primary fungal barcode marker to the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, with the possibility that supplementary barcodes may be developed for particular narrowly circumscribed taxonomic groups.

We show that inversion symmetry breaking together with spin-orbit coupling leads to coupled spin and valley physics in monolayers of MoS2 and other group-VI dichalcogenides, making possible controls of spin and valley in these 2D materials. The spin-valley coupling at the valence-band edges suppresses spin and valley relaxation, as flip of each index alone is forbidden by the valley-contrasting spin splitting. Valley Hall and spin Hall effects coexist in both electron-doped and hole-doped systems. Optical interband transitions have frequency-dependent polarization selection rules which allow selective photoexcitation of carriers with various combination of valley and spin indices. Photoinduced spin Hall and valley Hall effects can generate long lived spin and valley accumulations on sample boundaries. The physics discussed here provides a route towards the integration of valleytronics and spintronics in multivalley materials with strong spin-orbit coupling and inversion symmetry breaking.

A management construct cannot be used effectively by practitioners and researchers if a common agreement on its definition is lacking. Such is the case with the term “supply chain management”—so many definitions are used that there is little consensus on what it means. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the existing research in an effort to understand the concept of “supply chain management.” Various definitions of SCM and “supply chain” are reviewed, categorized, and synthesized. Definitions of supporting constructs of SCM and a framework are then offered to establish a consistent means to conceptualize SCM. Antecedents and consequences of SCM are identified, and the boundaries of SCM in terms of business functions and organizations are proposed. A conceptual model and unified definition of SCM are then presented that indicate the nature, antecedents, and consequences of the phenomena.

We report the draft genome of the black cottonwood tree, Populus trichocarpa. Integration of shotgun sequence assembly with genetic mapping enabled chromosome-scale reconstruction of the genome. More than 45,000 putative protein-coding genes were identified. Analysis of the assembled genome revealed a whole-genome duplication event; about 8000 pairs of duplicated genes from that event survived in the Populus genome. A second, older duplication event is indistinguishably coincident with the divergence of the Populus and Arabidopsis lineages. Nucleotide substitution, tandem gene duplication, and gross chromosomal rearrangement appear to proceed substantially more slowly in Populus than in Arabidopsis. Populus has more protein-coding genes than Arabidopsis, ranging on average from 1.4 to 1.6 putative Populus homologs for each Arabidopsis gene. However, the relative frequency of protein domains in the two genomes is similar. Overrepresented exceptions in Populus include genes associated with lignocellulosic wall biosynthesis, meristem development, disease resistance, and metabolite transport.

A biorefinery that supplements its manufacture of low value biofuels with high value biobased chemicals can enable efforts to reduce nonrenewable fuel consumption while simultaneously providing the necessary financial incentive to stimulate expansion of the biorefining industry. However, the choice of appropriate products for addition to the biorefinery's portfolio is challenged by a lack of broad-based conversion technology coupled with a plethora of potential targets. In 2004, the US Department of Energy (DOE) addressed these challenges by describing a selection process for chemical products that combined identification of a small group of compounds derived from biorefinery carbohydrates with the research and technology needs required for their production. The intent of the report was to catalyze research efforts to synthesize multiple members of this group, or, ideally, structures not yet on the list. In the six years since DOE's original report, considerable progress has been made in the use of carbohydrates as starting materials for chemical production. This review presents an updated evaluation of potential target structures using similar selection methodology, and an overview of the technology developments that led to the inclusion of a given compound. The list provides a dynamic guide to technology development that could realize commercial success through the proper integration of biofuels with biobased products.

During the next 50 years, which is likely to be the final period of rapid agricultural expansion, demand for food by a wealthier and 50% larger global population will be a major driver of global environmental change. Should past dependences of the global environmental impacts of agriculture on human population and consumption continue, 10(9) hectares of natural ecosystems would be converted to agriculture by 2050. This would be accompanied by 2.4- to 2.7-fold increases in nitrogen- and phosphorus-driven eutrophication of terrestrial, freshwater, and near-shore marine ecosystems, and comparable increases in pesticide use. This eutrophication and habitat destruction would cause unprecedented ecosystem simplification, loss of ecosystem services, and species extinctions. Significant scientific advances and regulatory, technological, and policy changes are needed to control the environmental impacts of agricultural expansion.