75 research outputs found
Parking functions, labeled trees and DCJ sorting scenarios
In genome rearrangement theory, one of the elusive questions raised in recent
years is the enumeration of rearrangement scenarios between two genomes. This
problem is related to the uniform generation of rearrangement scenarios, and
the derivation of tests of statistical significance of the properties of these
scenarios. Here we give an exact formula for the number of double-cut-and-join
(DCJ) rearrangement scenarios of co-tailed genomes. We also construct effective
bijections between the set of scenarios that sort a cycle and well studied
combinatorial objects such as parking functions and labeled trees.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Applying Grover's algorithm to AES: quantum resource estimates
We present quantum circuits to implement an exhaustive key search for the
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and analyze the quantum resources required
to carry out such an attack. We consider the overall circuit size, the number
of qubits, and the circuit depth as measures for the cost of the presented
quantum algorithms. Throughout, we focus on Clifford gates as the
underlying fault-tolerant logical quantum gate set. In particular, for all
three variants of AES (key size 128, 192, and 256 bit) that are standardized in
FIPS-PUB 197, we establish precise bounds for the number of qubits and the
number of elementary logical quantum gates that are needed to implement
Grover's quantum algorithm to extract the key from a small number of AES
plaintext-ciphertext pairs.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 5 tables; to appear in: Proceedings of the 7th
International Conference on Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQCrypto 2016
Analysis of all available zodiacal light observations Final report
Interplanetary dust model ensemble derived for analysis of zodiacal light observation
An analysis of a class of telecommunications models
In this short note we outline a general method for characterizing the ergodicity and computing performance measures for a large class of telecommunications models. We also point out errors that have appeared in the literature when using the transform method to analyze such models.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31202/1/0000104.pd
Avalanche Polynomials of some Families of Graphs
We study the abelian sandpile model on different families of graphs. We introduced the avalanche polynomial which enumerates the size of the avalanches triggered by the addition of a particle on a recurrent configuration. This polynomial is calculated for several families of graphs. In the case of the complete graph, the result involves some known result on Parking function
The reporting of theoretical health risks by the media: Canadian newspaper reporting of potential blood transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
BACKGROUND: The media play an important role at the interface of science and policy by communicating scientific information to the public and policy makers. In issues of theoretical risk, in which there is scientific uncertainty, the media's role as disseminators of information is particularly important due to the potential to influence public perception of the severity of the risk. In this article we describe how the Canadian print media reported the theoretical risk of blood transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). METHODS: We searched 3 newspaper databases for articles published by 6 major Canadian daily newspapers between January 1990 and December 1999. We identified all articles relating to blood transmission of CJD. In duplicate we extracted information from the articles and entered the information into a qualitative software program. We compared the observations obtained from this content analysis with information obtained from a previous policy analysis examining the Canadian blood system's decision-making concerning the potential transfusion transmission of CJD. RESULTS: Our search identified 245 relevant articles. We observed that newspapers in one instance accelerated a policy decision, which had important resource and health implication, by communicating information on risk to the public. We also observed that newspapers primarily relied upon expert opinion (47 articles) as opposed to published medical evidence (28 articles) when communicating risk information. Journalists we interviewed described the challenges of balancing their responsibility to raise awareness of potential health threats with not unnecessarily arousing fear amongst the public. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our findings we recommend that journalists report information from both expert opinion sources and from published studies when communicating information on risk. We also recommend researchers work more closely with journalists to assist them in identifying and appraising relevant scientific information on risk
Allellic variants in regulatory regions of cyclooxygenase-2: association with advanced colorectal adenoma
Cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) is upregulated in colorectal adenomas and carcinomas. Polymorphisms in the Cox-2 gene may influence its function and/or its expression and may modify the protective effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), thereby impacting individuals' risk of developing colorectal cancer and response to prevention/intervention strategies. In a nested case–control study, four polymorphisms in the Cox-2 gene (two in the promoter, −663 insertion/deletion, GT/(GT) and −798 A/G; one in intron 5-5229, T/G; one in 3′untranslated region (UTR)-8494, T/C) were genotyped in 726 cases of colorectal adenomas and 729 age- and gender-matched controls in the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial. There was no significant association between the Cox-2 polymorphisms and adenoma development in the overall population. However, in males, the relatively rare heterozygous genotype GT/(GT) at −663 in the promoter and the variant homozygous genotype G/G at intron 5-5229 appeared to have inverse associations (odds ratio (OR)=0.59, confidence interval (CI): 0.34–1.02 and OR=0.48, CI: 0.24–0.99, respectively), whereas the heterozygous genotype T/C at 3′UTR-8494 had a positive association (OR=1.31, CI: 1.01–1.71) with adenoma development. Furthermore, the haplotype carrying the risk-conferring 3′UTR-8494 variant was associated with a 35% increase in the odds for adenoma incidence in males (OR=1.35, CI: 1.07–1.70), but the one with a risk allele at 3′UTR-8494 and a protective allele at intron 5-5229 had no effect on adenoma development (OR=0.85, CI: 0.66–1.09). Gender-related differences in adenoma risk were also noted with tobacco usage and protective effects of NSAIDs. Our analysis underscores the significance of the overall allelic architecture of Cox-2 as an important determinant for risk assessment
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