1,913 research outputs found
A general trimming approach to robust Cluster Analysis
We introduce a new method for performing clustering with the aim of fitting
clusters with different scatters and weights. It is designed by allowing to
handle a proportion of contaminating data to guarantee the robustness
of the method. As a characteristic feature, restrictions on the ratio between
the maximum and the minimum eigenvalues of the groups scatter matrices are
introduced. This makes the problem to be well defined and guarantees the
consistency of the sample solutions to the population ones. The method covers a
wide range of clustering approaches depending on the strength of the chosen
restrictions. Our proposal includes an algorithm for approximately solving the
sample problem.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-AOS515 the Annals of
Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical
Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
ALMA 690 GHz observations of IRAS 16293-2422B: Infall in a highly optically-thick disk
We present sensitive, high angular resolution ( 0.2 arcsec)
submillimeter continuum and line observations of IRAS 16293-2422B made with the
Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). The 0.45 mm continuum
observations reveal a single and very compact source associated with IRAS
16293-2422B. This submillimeter source has a deconvolved angular size of about
400 {\it milli-arcseconds} (50 AU), and does not show any inner structure
inside of this diameter. The HCN, HCN, and CHOH line
emission regions are about twice as large as the continuum emission and reveal
a pronounced inner depression or "hole" with a size comparable to that
estimated for the submillimeter continuum. We suggest that the presence of this
inner depression and the fact that we do not see inner structure (or a flat
structure) in the continuum is produced by very optically thick dust located in
the innermost parts of IRAS 16293-2422B. All three lines also show pronounced
inverse P-Cygni profiles with infall and dispersion velocities larger than
those recently reported from observations at lower frequencies, suggesting that
we are detecting faster, and more turbulent gas located closer to the central
object. Finally, we report a small east-west velocity gradient in IRAS
16293-2422B that suggests that its disk plane is likely located very close to
the plane of the sky.Comment: Accepted to ApJ
Do theoretical physicists care about the protein-folding problem?
The prediction of the biologically active native conformation of a protein is
one of the fundamental challenges of structural biology. This problem remains
yet unsolved mainly due to three factors: the partial knowledge of the
effective free energy function that governs the folding process, the enormous
size of the conformational space of a protein and, finally, the relatively
small differences of energy between conformations, in particular, between the
native one and the ones that make up the unfolded state.
Herein, we recall the importance of taking into account, in a detailed
manner, the many interactions involved in the protein folding problem (such as
steric volume exclusion, Ramachandran forces, hydrogen bonds, weakly polar
interactions, coulombic energy or hydrophobic attraction) and we propose a
strategy to effectively construct a free energy function that, including the
effects of the solvent, could be numerically tractable. It must be pointed out
that, since the internal free energy function that is mainly described does not
include the constraints of the native conformation, it could only help to reach
the 'molten globule' state. We also discuss about the limits and the lacks from
which suffer the simple models that we, physicists, love so much.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, LaTeX file, aipproc package. To be published in
the book: "Meeting on Fundamental Physics 'Alberto Galindo'", Alvarez-Estrada
R. F. et al. (Ed.), Madrid: Aula Documental, 200
Comportamiento catalÃtico de una Bentonita modificada con Manganeso en la oxidación en fase húmeda de naranja de metilo con peróxido de hidrógeno
En este trabajo se presenta un estudio comparativo en el que se introduce manganeso en una bentonita colombiana proveniente del Valle del Cauca (BVC) utilizando tres métodos: i) pilarización con Al 2 O 3 y posterior impregnación húmeda con una disolución acuosa de manganeso, ii) co-intercalación con una disolución oligomérica mixta de Al-Mn seguida de una etapa de calcinación y iii) homoionización con Mn 2+ y posterior formación in-situ de agregados tipo MnS. Los sólidos resultantes son caracterizados por espectroscopÃa de absorción atómica (EAA), capacidad de intercambio catiónico (CIC) y difracción de rayos X en polvo (DRX), y evaluados como catalizadores en la oxidación de naranja de metilo con peróxido de hidrógeno
Grazing on the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in the Marine Reserve of Tabarca, Spain
Fluctuaciones en la intensidad del herbivorismo sobre Posidonia
Confined photon modes with triangular symmetry in hexagonal microcavities in 2D photonic Crystals
We present theoretical and experimental studies of the size and thickness
dependencies of the optical emission spectra from microcavities with hexagonal
shape in films of two-dimensional photonic crystal. A semiclassical plane-wave
model, which takes into account the electrodynamic properties of quasi-2D
planar photonic microcavity, is developed to predict the eigenfrequencies of
the confined photon modes as a function of both the hexagon-cavity size and the
film thickness. Modes with two different symmetries, triangular and hexagonal,
are critically analyzed. It is shown that the model of confined photon modes
with triangular symmetry gives a better agreement between the predicted
eigenmodes and the observed resonances.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
A Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Seed Vicilins Hydrolysate Exhibits PPARγ Ligand Activity and Modulates Adipocyte Differentiation in a 3T3-L1 Cell Culture Model
© 2020 by the authors.Legume consumption has been reported to induce beneficial effects on obesity-associated metabolic disorders, but the underlying mechanisms have not been fully clarified. In the current work, pea (Pisum sativum L.) seed meal proteins (albumins, legumins and vicilins) were isolated, submitted to a simulated gastrointestinal digestion, and the effects of their hydrolysates (pea albumins hydrolysates (PAH), pea legumins hydrolysates (PLH) and pea vicilin hydrolysates (PVH), respectively) on 3T3-L1 murine pre-adipocytes were investigated. The pea vicilin hydrolysate (PVH), but not native pea vicilins, increased lipid accumulation during adipocyte differentiation. PVH also increased the mRNA expression levels of the adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (aP2) and decreased that of pre-adipocyte factor-1 (Pref-1) (a pre-adipocyte marker gene), suggesting that PVH promotes adipocyte differentiation. Moreover, PVH induced adiponectin and insulin-responsive glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) and stimulated glucose uptake. The expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a key regulator of adipocyte differentiation, were up-regulated in 3T3-L1 cells treated with PVH during adipocyte differentiation. Finally, PVH exhibited PPARγ ligand activity. Lactalbumin or other pea hydrolysates (PAH, PLH) did not exhibit such effects. These findings show that PVH stimulates adipocyte differentiation via, at least in part, the up-regulation of PPARγ expression levels and ligand activity. These effects of PVH might be relevant in the context of the beneficial health effects of legume consumption in obesity-associated metabolic disorders.This work was carried out with financial support from the Spanish MICIIN (PET2008-0311 and
AGL2017-83772-R). This research has been also partially supported by the FEDER and FSE funds from the European Union.Peer reviewe
Low-diffusion Xe-He gas mixtures for rare-event detection: electroluminescence yield
ArtÃculo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, los autores pertenecientes a la UAM y el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si lo hubiereHigh pressure xenon Time Projection Chambers (TPC) based on secondary scintillation (electroluminescence) signal amplification are being proposed for rare event detection such as directional dark matter, double electron capture and double beta decay detection. The discrimination of the rare event through the topological signature of primary ionisation trails is a major asset for this type of TPC when compared to single liquid or double-phase TPCs, limited mainly by the high electron diffusion in pure xenon. Helium admixtures with xenon can be an attractive solution to reduce the electron diffu- sion significantly, improving the discrimination efficiency of these optical TPCs. We have measured the electroluminescence (EL) yield of Xe–He mixtures, in the range of 0 to 30% He and demonstrated the small impact on the EL yield of the addition of helium to pure xenon. For a typical reduced electric field of 2.5 kV/cm/bar in the EL region, the EL yield is lowered by ∼ 2%, 3%, 6% and 10% for 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% of helium concentration, respectively. This decrease is less than what has been obtained from the most recent simulation framework in the literature. The impact of the addition of helium on EL statistical fluctuations is negligible, within the experimental uncertainties. The present results are an important benchmark for the simulation tools to be applied to future optical TPCs based on Xe-He mixturesThe NEXT Collaboration acknowledges support from the following agencies and institutions: the European Research Council (ERC) under the Advanced Grant 339787- NEXT; the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreements No. 674896, 690575 and 740055; the Ministerio de EconomÃa y Competitividad of Spain under grants FIS2014-53371-C04, RTI2018-095979, the Severo Ochoa Program SEV-2014-0398 and the MarÃa de Maetzu Program MDM-2016-0692; the GVA of Spain under grants PROMETEO/2016/120 and SEJI/2017/011; the Portuguese FCT under project PTDC/FIS-NUC/2525/2014, under project UID/FIS/04559/2013 to fund the activities of LIBPhys, and under grants PD/BD/105921/2014, SFRH/BPD/109180/2015; the U.S. Department of Energy under contracts number DEAC02-06CH11357 (Argonne National Laboratory), DE-AC02- 07CH11359 (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory), DE-FG02-13ER42020 (Texas A& M) and DE-SC0019223 / DESC0019054 (University of Texas at Arlington); and the University of Texas at Arlington. DGD acknowledges Ramón y Cajal program (Spain) under contract number RYC-2015-18820. We also warmly acknowledge the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) and the Dark Side collaboration for their help with TPB coating of various parts of the NEXT-White TPC. Finally, we are grateful to the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc for hosting and supporting the NEXT experimen
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