136879 research outputs found
Sort by
Federal Liabilities: 2024 Update
No full textThe 2023 Financial Report of the United States Government identifies total federal liabilities of 26.4 trillion comprised 62% of these liabilities. Federal employees�������� accrued benefits make up another 33%, and various other categories round out the remainder. However, current official liabilities exclude current retirees�������� expected Social Security and Medicare benefits �������� an additional 79.4 trillion, or 290.4% of GDP in 2023. This highlights the substantial fiscal challenge, as the total liabilities are nearly three times the size of the publicly held debt��������s share of GDP
On a Series Involving Euler's Function
No full textThe goal of this thesis is to provide an in-depth analysis and discussion of an equivalence to the Riemann Hypothesis (RH) proven by Jean-Louis Nicolas. Nicolas��� proof relates RH to an inequality of Euler���s totient function ��, and establishes a number-theoretic equivalence to RH. If Nicolas��� criterion holds for all primorial numbers, then RH is true. If not, then RH is false. This proof is given an original translation into English from French and annotated, with small corrections to computations and commentary when deemed necessary. His work is then extended by relating the equivalence to the convergence of an infinite series which is shown to converge to 1/2. Using this series and the related partial sum, consequences of the truth or falsehood of RH are explored in the context of Nicolas��� criterion. We assume both the truth and falsehood of RH, and in doing so underscore the extreme difficulty of this problem as well as the delicacy of the inequalities involved. Also provided are multiple programs which computationally verify expectations regarding different quantities from the analytic results section. Optimization of these programs are discussed as well as difficulties. These programs produce plots of the behavior of consequential arithmetic-valued functions, which are included in Chapter 4. The research results were limited by the nature of the problem. None of the analysis on the convergence criterion yielded a contradiction to an established result or conjecture, assuming either RH true or false. However, RH is known to be one of the most difficult problems in modern mathematics and significant progress was largely outside the scope of this thesis. The hope is that this research renews interest into Nicolas��� criterion specifically and arithmetic inequalities equivalent to RH in general
Reproductive Microbiomes and Cytokine Profiles of Beef Cattle in Relation to Fertility
No full textCytokines influence inflammatory signals that can upregulate immune responses and influence fertility. Additionally, shifts in commensal bacteria (for example, Lactobacillus in the phylum Firmicutes) in the bovine vaginal microbiome are associated with compromised fertility. Together, immune responses and the reproductive microbiome may result in nonproductive females that place financial burdens on ranchers. A more complete understanding of the immune system and reproductive microbiome may play an influential role in improving cattle reproduction and performance. Section 3 characterizes the reproductive microbiome and cytokine concentrations before artificial insemination (AI) in vaginal and uterine flushes from postpartum beef cows. Bos indicus-influenced beef cows were enrolled in the Bos indicus prostaglandin (PG) 5-day + controlled intervaginal drug-releasing (CIDR) estrus synchronization protocol. Pregnancy status was determined by transrectal ultrasonography, cows were identified as either Open or Pregnant. Uterine concentrations of interferon (IFN)Gamma, interleukin (IL)1Alpha, and IL21 were greater in Open than in Pregnant cows. Regardless of pregnancy status, uterine IL13 increased from d-3 to d-1. Uterine relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes decreased from d-3 to d-1 in Open cows and the phylum Tenericutes increased from d-3 to d-1 in Pregnant cows. In Section 4, our aim was to characterize the circulating cytokines and the vaginal microbiome of Bos indicus females prior to fixed-time AI (FTAI). Bos indicus females on four operations were subjected to the 7-day CO-Synch + CIDR protocol. Transrectal ultrasonography determined pregnancy status for resulting Open females and Pregnant females. Circulating concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines IFNGamma, IL1Alpha, and TNFAlpha were greater in Open females compared to Pregnant females. Interestingly, circulating concentrations of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL13, IL1F5, and IL21 were greater in Open females compared to Pregnant females. The vaginal relative abundance of Firmicutes differed between CIDR IN, CIDR OUT, and AI days. A shift in relative abundance between CIDR IN, CIDR OUT, and AI days was observed for the phylum of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Overall, for Section 3 and Section 4, a difference in cytokine profiles and the reproductive microbiome were found before FTAI. Additionally, relative abundances within the vagina differ between ranches of similar genetics and regions
Dissecting the Role of Ubiquitination and Deubiquitinating Enzyme in Plant Immunity
No full textProtein ubiquitination is a posttranslational modification regulating protein abundance and signaling specificity in diverse cellular pathways across eukaryotes. This highly reversible and dynamic process involves the attachment of ubiquitin to substrates by a three-enzyme cascade and its removal by deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). Plants defend against pathogen infection by activating a series of coordinated cellular and physiological defense responses. While ubiquitination is known to be important for buffering imbalance and regulating plant immunity, the role of deubiquitination in this process is not well-understood. To gain a proteome-wide appreciation of ubiquitylome dynamics during immune recognition, we employed a two-step affinity enrichment protocol to identify Arabidopsis proteins rapidly ubiquitylated upon plant perception of the microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) peptide flg22. The catalog from 2-week-old seedlings treated for 30 min with flg22 contained 690 conjugates and 64 Ub footprints with identification of proteins involving in plant immunity and ubiquitination. To explore the role of de-ubiquitination in regulating plant immunity, we focused on the characterization of how AMSH3, a DUB in Arabidopsis regulates plant immunity. We found that AMSH3 positively regulates immune responses to virulent bacterial pathogens, possibly modulating a later stage of immunity, while also contributing to the production of the critical plant defense hormone salicylic acid. Additionally, proteomic analysis reveals AMSH3 modulates the abundance of a wide variety of proteins in microbial pattern perception and signaling transduction in plant immunity. Collectively, this study further strengthened the connection between ubiquitylation and flg22- based immune signaling and sheds light on the potential pathways in which AMSH3 is involved in regulating plant immunity