A faster horse on a safer trail: generalized inference for the efficient reconstruction of weighted networks

Due to the interconnectedness of financial entities, estimating certain key properties of a complex financial system (e.g. the implied level of systemic risk) requires detailed information about the structure of the underlying network. However, since data about financial linkages are typically subject to confidentiality, network reconstruction techniques become necessary to infer both the presence of connections and their intensity. Recently, several "horse races" have been conducted to compare the performance of the available financial network reconstruction methods. These comparisons, however, were based on arbitrarily-chosen similarity metrics between the real and the reconstructed network. Here we establish a generalised maximum-likelihood approach to rigorously define and compare weighted reconstruction methods. Our generalization maximizes the conditional entropy to solve the problem represented by the fact that the density-dependent constraints required to reliably reconstruct the network are typically unobserved. The resulting approach admits as input any reconstruction method for the purely binary topology and, conditionally on the latter, exploits the available partial information to infer link weights. We find that the most reliable method is obtained by "dressing" the best-performing binary method with an exponential distribution of link weights having a properly density-corrected and link-specific mean value and propose two unbiased (in the sense of maximum conditional entropy) variants of it. While the one named CReMA is perfectly general (as a particular case, it can place optimal weights on a network whose topology is known), the one named CReMB is recommended both in case of full uncertainty about the network topology and if the existence of some links is certain. In these cases, the CReMB is faster and reproduces empirical networks with highest generalised likelihood.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Iginio Tansini revisited

The origin of the muscolocutaneous latissimus dorsi flap dates back to 1906 when Igino Tansini, an Italian surgeon, described a procedure to reconstruct the mastectomy defect. After a detailed study of Tansini's original description and drawings, new insights about the pedicle of its compound flap have been found, showing that it has the same pedicle of the scapular flap. In the end, Tansini's flap should be more correctly considered as a compound musculocutaneous scapular flap

Visual electrophysiological responses in subjects with cerebral autosomal arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL)

Objectives: To evaluate visual electrophysiological responses in subjects with cerebral autosomal arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). Methods: Three subjects tone male and two females, mean age 55.3 +/- 2.9 years) belonging to an Italian family already diagnosed with CADASIL through clinicopathological and genetic studies and 14 control subjects (6 males and 8 females, mean age 52.7 +/- 3.6 years) were enrolled in the study. Flash electroretinogram (ERG), oscillatory potentials (OPs) and simultaneous recordings of pattern electroretinogram (PERG) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were assessed in all 3 subjects with CADASIL and age-matched controls. Results: Subjects with CADASIL showed: reduced ERG, OP and PERG (N35-P50, P50-N95) amplitudes with respect to our normal limits; delayed PERG (N35, P50) and VEP (P100) implicit times when compared with our normal limits; and VEP (N75-P100) amplitudes and retinocortical times within our normal limits. Conclusions: Subjects with CADASIL present a dysfunction in the outer, middle and innermost retinal layers when the index of neural conduction in the postretinal visual pathways is normal. The delay in visual cortical responses observed in subjects with CADASIL may be ascribable to retinal impairment with a possible functional sparing of the postretinal visual structures. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

How is structural divergence related to evolutionary information?

The analysis of evolutionary information in a protein family, such as conservation and covariation, is often linked to its structural information. Multiple sequence alignments of distant homologous sequences are used to measure evolutionary variables. Although high structural differences between proteins can be expected in such divergent alignments, most works linking evolutionary and structural information use a single structure ignoring the structural variability within protein families. The goal of this work is to elucidate the relevance of structural divergence when sequence-based measures are integrated with structural information. We found that inter-residue contacts and solvent accessibility undergo large variations in protein families. Our results show that high covariation scores tend to reveal residue contacts that are conserved in the family, instead of protein or conformer specific contacts. We also found that residue accessible surface area shows a high variability between structures of the same family. As a consequence, the mean relative solvent accessibility of multiple structures correlates better with the conservation pattern than the relative solvent accessibility of a single structure. We conclude that the use of comprehensive structural information allows a more accurate interpretation of the information computed from sequence alignments. Therefore, considering structural divergence would lead to a better understanding of protein function, dynamics, and evolution.Fil: Zea, Diego Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Monzón, Alexander. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Parisi, Gustavo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Marino, Cristina Ester. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Oral implant-prostheses: New teeth for a brighter brain

Several studies have demonstrated that chewing can be regarded as a preventive measure for cognitive impairment, whereas masticatory deficiency, associated with soft-diet feeding, is a risk factor for the development of dementia. At present the link between orofacial sensorimotor activity and cognitive functions is unknown. In subjects with unilateral molar loss we have shown asymmetries in both pupil size and masticatory muscles electromyographic (EMG) activity during clenching: the molar less side was characterized by a lower EMG activity and a smaller pupil. Since implant-prostheses, greatly reduced both the asymmetry in EMG activity and in pupil's size, trigeminal unbalance, leading to unbalance in the activity of the Locus Coeruleus (LC), may be responsible for the pupil's asymmetry. According to the findings obtained in animal models, we propose that the different activity of the right and left LC may induce an asymmetry in brain activity, thus leading to cognitive impairment. According to this hypothesis, prostheses improved the performance in a complex sensorimotor task and increased the mydriasis associated with haptic tasks. In conclusion, the present study indicates that the implant-prosthesis therapy, which reduces the unbalance of trigeminal proprioceptive afferents and the asymmetry in pupil's size, may improve arousal, boosting performance in a complex sensorimotor task

Estratégias de marketing digital: estudo multicaso dos clubes catarinenses da série a do campeonato brasileiro de futebol 2015

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Sócio Econômico, Curso de Administração.O presente estudo visa analisar as estratégias de marketing digital dos clubes catarinenses da Série A do Campeonato Brasileiro 2015, por meio da identificação das estratégias de marketing digital elaboradas pelos gestores dos clubes estudados e pela comparação entre essas estratégias de marketing digital. Sendo assim, fez-se levantamento bibliográfico baseado nas duas principais vertentes do estudo: marketing digital e marketing esportivo, assim como a relação de tais conceitos por meio da inserção do marketing digital no esporte. Posteriormente ao levantamento, realizou-se entrevistas com os principais responsáveis pelo marketing dos clubes: Avaí, Chapecoense, Figueirense e Joinville, em que utilizou-se o roteiro de entrevista a fim de identificar e posteriormente analisar as estratégias e ações dos clubes nas perspectivas de perfil dos gestores de marketing, ações de marketing e estratégias de marketing digital. Diante disso, pode-se verificar que o marketing dos clubes analisados atua de forma semelhante e, mesmo não obtendo vastos recursos financeiros para grandes ações, estão em constante busca por ações e estratégias de marketing que visam valorizar e melhorar cada vez mais o relacionamento com seus associados, assim como atrair novos sócios-torcedores, que são alguns dos principais geradores de receita regular. Verificou-se que os clubes enxergam a importância de estarem presentes e atuantes no ambiente digital, e que o Facebook tornou-se uma das principais ferramentas de interação e relacionamento com seus torcedores, fazendo do site oficial do clube um instrumento mais institucional e informativo. Ainda assim, os clubes também estão presentes e ativos nas outras principais redes sociais, como marketing direto no Twitter, vídeo marketing no YouTube, e conteúdo visual no Instagram. Além disso, pode-se verificar que também estão iniciando a expansão para redes sociais menos populares, mas com grande potencial de crescimento e possibilidades de atuação, como Whatsapp e Snapchat, assim como investindo em aplicativos. Por fim, percebe-se que os clubes analisados ainda tem muito a ser desenvolvido no marketing digital, embora venham atuando de maneira consistente e de acordo com as finalidades das ferramentas com o grande objetivo de satisfazer as necessidades e desejos de seus principais clientes, os torcedores.This monography aims to analyze the digital marketing strategy of Santa Catarina’s soccer clubs First Division in the Brazilian Championship 2015 through the identification of digital marketing strategies created by the marketing managers of the studied soccer clubs and also through the comparison between these digital marketing strategies. Therefore, the literature is based on two main fields of study: digital marketing and sports marketing, as well as the relationship of these concepts through the application of digital marketing in sports. Posteriorly, some interviews were held with the main responsible person of the marketing department at the following soccer clubs: Avaí, Chapecoense, Figueirense and Joinville. They were used as a guide in order to identify and analyze the clubs’ strategies and marketing actions profile through the marketing managers’ perspectives, marketing campaigns and digital marketing strategies.Therefore, can be perceived that the marketing of the analyzed soccer clubs operates similarly and even though they don’t get significant financial resources for investing on big marketing actions, they are constantly using marketing actions and strategies aiming to enhance and continuously improve the relationship between the soccer clubs and its associates, as well as attracting new members-supporters, who are among the main regular income generators. It was found that the soccer clubs perceive the importance of being present and active in the digital environment and that Facebook has become one of the main tools of interaction and relationship between the soccer clubs and its fans,making the soccer clubs’ official websites an institutional and informative resource. Besides that, the soccer clubs are also present and active in other major social networks such as Twitter’s direct marketing, video marketing on YouTube, and visual content on Instagram. Moreover, it is realized that the soccer clubs are starting to expand into less popular social networks, but with high growth potential and possibilities for marketing actions, such as Whatsapp and Snapchat, as well as investing in apps. Ultimately, although the analyzed soccer clubs still have a lot to develop in digital marketing, they have been consistently acting according to the purposes of the digital marketing tools with the ultimate goal of satisfying the wants and needs of its main customers, the fans

Recurrent extreme bilateral gigantomastia caused by pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) syndrome: a case report

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) of the breast is a rare and benign medical condition in which the breast tissue is affected by an abnormal myofibroblastic proliferation, which mimics a low-grade sarcoma angiomatous proliferation. PASH usually presents itself either as a palpable mass or as an incidental diagnosis during breast specimens' histological examination. A few cases have been reported in the literature of a diffuse form of breast PASH syndrome in which the clinical presentation is a bilateral form of gigantomastia without palpable masses. In such cases, the optimal surgical management is still debated due to a significant risk of relapse after breast reduction. Mastectomy seems to be the endpoint of this condition in relapsing cases. Recent studies report a good outcome with a Tamoxifen regimen when surgery cannot be performed, supporting a hormonal component for the etiology of the condition. This study reports on an extremely rare case of bilateral, rapid, and severe PASH in a young patient, presenting as a truly disabling gigantomastia that forced the patient to use a wheelchair due to the excessive breast weights (25 kg the right breast and 21 kg the left). We describe her complicated medical history, her diagnosis, and our course of treatment

Outer membrane protein OmpQ of <i>Bordetella bronchiseptica</i> is required for mature biofilm formation

Bordetella bronchiseptica, an aerobic Gram-negative bacterium, is capable of colonizing the respiratory tract of diverse animals and chronically persists inside the hosts by forming biofilm. Most known virulence factors in Bordetella species are regulated by the BvgAS two-component transduction system. The Bvg-activated proteins play a critical role during host infection. OmpQ is an outer membrane porin protein which is expressed under BvgAS control. Here, we studied the contribution of OmpQ to the biofilm formation process by B. bronchiseptica. We found that the lack of expression of OmpQ did not affect the growth kinetics and final biomass of B. bronchiseptica under planktonic growth conditions. The DompQ mutant strain displayed no differences in attachment level and in early steps of biofilm formation. However, deletion of the ompQ gene attenuated the ability of B. bronchiseptica to form a mature biofilm. Analysis of ompQ gene expression during the biofilm formation process by B. bronchiseptica showed a dynamic expression pattern, with an increase of biofilm culture at 48 h. Moreover, we demonstrated that the addition of serum anti-OmpQ had the potential to reduce the biofilm biomass formation in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, we showed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, evidence of the contribution of OmpQ to a process of importance for B. bronchiseptica pathobiology. Our results indicate that OmpQ plays a role during the biofilm development process, particularly at later stages of development, and that this porin could be a potential target for strategies of biofilm formation inhibition.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones IndustrialesInstituto de Biotecnologia y Biologia Molecula