An Exact No Free Lunch Theorem for Community Detection

A precondition for a No Free Lunch theorem is evaluation with a loss function which does not assume a priori superiority of some outputs over others. A previous result for community detection by Peel et al. (2017) relies on a mismatch between the loss function and the problem domain. The loss function computes an expectation over only a subset of the universe of possible outputs; thus, it is only asymptotically appropriate with respect to the problem size. By using the correct random model for the problem domain, we provide a stronger, exact No Free Lunch theorem for community detection. The claim generalizes to other set-partitioning tasks including core/periphery separation, $k$-clustering, and graph partitioning. Finally, we review the literature of proposed evaluation functions and identify functions which (perhaps with slight modifications) are compatible with an exact No Free Lunch theorem

Study of 2 beta-decay of Mo-100 and Se-82 using the NEMO3 detector

After analysis of 5797 h of data from the detector NEMO3, new limits on neutrinoless double beta decay of Mo-100 (T-1/2 > 3.1 x 10(23) y, 90% CL) and Se-82 (T-1/2 > 1.4 x 10(23) y, 90% CL) have been obtained. The corresponding limits on the effective majorana neutrino mass are: 1.4 x 10(22) y (90% CL) for Mo-100 and T-1/2 > 1.2 x 10(22) y (90% CL) for Se-82. Corresponding bounds on the Majoron-neutrino coupling constant are < (0.5-0.9) x 10(- 4) and <(0.7-1.6) x 10(- 4). Two-neutrino 2beta-decay half-lives have been measured with a high accuracy, (T1/2Mo)-Mo-100 = [7.68 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.54(syst)] x 10(18) y and (T1/2Se)-Se-82 = [10.3 +/- 0.3(stat) +/- 0.7(syst)] x 10(19) y. (C) 2004 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica"

Measurement of double beta decay of ¹⁰⁰Mo to excited states in the NEMO 3 experiment

The double beta decay of ¹⁰⁰Mo to the 0_{1}^{+} and 2_{1}^{+} excited states of ¹⁰⁰Ru is studied using the NEMO 3 data. After the analysis of 8024 h of data the half-life for the two-neutrino double beta decay of ¹⁰⁰Mo to the excited 0_{1}^{+} state is measured to be T_{1/2}^{2v} = [5.7_{-0.9}^{+1.3} (stat.) ± 0.8 (syst.)] x 10²⁰ y. The signal-to-background ratio is equal to 3. Information about energy and angular distributions of emitted electrons is also obtained. No evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay to the excited 0_{1}^{+} state has been found. The corresponding half-life limit is T_{1/2}^{0v} (0⁺→0_{1}^{+}) > 8.9 x 10²² y (at 90% C.L.). The search for the double beta decay to the 2_{1}^{+} excited state has allowed the determination of limits on the half-life for the two neutrino mode T_{1/2}^{0v} (0⁺→2_{1}^{+}) > 1.1 x 10²¹ y (at 90% C.L.) and for the neutrinoless mode T_{1/2}^{0v} (0⁺→2_{1}^{+}) > 1.6 x 10²³ y (at 90% C.L.)

Impaired perception of facial motion in autism spectrum disorder

Copyright: © 2014 O’Brien et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Facial motion is a special type of biological motion that transmits cues for socio-emotional communication and enables the discrimination of properties such as gender and identity. We used animated average faces to examine the ability of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to perceive facial motion. Participants completed increasingly difficult tasks involving the discrimination of (1) sequences of facial motion, (2) the identity of individuals based on their facial motion and (3) the gender of individuals. Stimuli were presented in both upright and upside-down orientations to test for the difference in inversion effects often found when comparing ASD with controls in face perception. The ASD group’s performance was impaired relative to the control group in all three tasks and unlike the control group, the individuals with ASD failed to show an inversion effect. These results point to a deficit in facial biological motion processing in people with autism, which we suggest is linked to deficits in lower level motion processing we have previously reported

Comparison of bacterial microbiota of the predatory mite Neoseiulus cucumeris (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and its factitious prey Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acari: Acaridae)

Neoseiulus cucumeris is a predatory mite used for biological control of arthropod pests. Mass-reared predators are fed with factitious prey mites such as Tyrophagus putrescentiae. Although some information on certain endosymbionts of N. cucumeris and T. putrescentiae exists, it is unclear whether both species share bacterial communities. The bacterial communities in populations of predator and prey mites, as well as the occurence of potential acaropathogenic bacteria were analyzed. The comparisons were based on the following groups: (i) N. cucumeris mass-production; (ii) N. cucumeris laboratory population with disease symptoms; (iii) T. putrescentiae pure populations and; (iv) T. putrescentiae from rearing units of N. cucumeris. Only 15% of OTUs were present in all samples from predatory and prey mite populations (core OTUs): the intracellular symbionts Wolbachia, Cardinium, plus other Blattabacterium-like, Solitalea-like, and Bartonella-like symbionts. Environmental bacteria were more abundant in predatory mites, while symbiotic bacteria prevailed in prey mites. Relative numbers of certain bacterial taxa were significantly different between the microbiota of prey mites reared with and without N. cucumeris. No significant differences were found in the bacterial communities of healthy N. cucumeris compared to N. cucumeris showing disease symptoms. We did not identify any confirmed acaropathogenic bacteria among microbiota

Genetic Crossovers Are Predicted Accurately by the Computed Human Recombination Map

Hotspots of meiotic recombination can change rapidly over time. This instability and the reported high level of inter-individual variation in meiotic recombination puts in question the accuracy of the calculated hotspot map, which is based on the summation of past genetic crossovers. To estimate the accuracy of the computed recombination rate map, we have mapped genetic crossovers to a median resolution of 70 Kb in 10 CEPH pedigrees. We then compared the positions of crossovers with the hotspots computed from HapMap data and performed extensive computer simulations to compare the observed distributions of crossovers with the distributions expected from the calculated recombination rate maps. Here we show that a population-averaged hotspot map computed from linkage disequilibrium data predicts well present-day genetic crossovers. We find that computed hotspot maps accurately estimate both the strength and the position of meiotic hotspots. An in-depth examination of not-predicted crossovers shows that they are preferentially located in regions where hotspots are found in other populations. In summary, we find that by combining several computed population-specific maps we can capture the variation in individual hotspots to generate a hotspot map that can predict almost all present-day genetic crossovers

Hierarchical information clustering by means of topologically embedded graphs

We introduce a graph-theoretic approach to extract clusters and hierarchies in complex data-sets in an unsupervised and deterministic manner, without the use of any prior information. This is achieved by building topologically embedded networks containing the subset of most significant links and analyzing the network structure. For a planar embedding, this method provides both the intra-cluster hierarchy, which describes the way clusters are composed, and the inter-cluster hierarchy which describes how clusters gather together. We discuss performance, robustness and reliability of this method by first investigating several artificial data-sets, finding that it can outperform significantly other established approaches. Then we show that our method can successfully differentiate meaningful clusters and hierarchies in a variety of real data-sets. In particular, we find that the application to gene expression patterns of lymphoma samples uncovers biologically significant groups of genes which play key-roles in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of some of the most relevant human lymphoid malignancies.Comment: 33 Pages, 18 Figures, 5 Table

Chemical Safety Assessment Using Read-Across: Assessing the Use of Novel Testing Methods to Strengthen the Evidence Base for Decision Making

Background: Safety assessment for repeated dose toxicity is one of the largest challenges in the process to replace animal testing. This is also one of the proof of concept ambitions of SEURAT-1, the largest ever European Union research initiative on alternative testing, co-funded by the European Commission and Cosmetics Europe. This review is based on the discussion and outcome of a workshop organized on initiative of the SEURAT-1 consortium joined by a group of international experts with complementary knowledge to further develop traditional read-across and include new approach data. Objectives: The aim of the suggested strategy for chemical read-across is to show how a traditional read-across based on structural similarities between source and target substance can be strengthened with additional evidence from new approach data—for example, information from in vitro molecular screening, “-omics” assays and computational models—to reach regulatory acceptance. Methods: We identified four read-across scenarios that cover typical human health assessment situations. For each such decision context, we suggested several chemical groups as examples to prove when read-across between group members is possible, considering both chemical and biological similarities. Conclusions: We agreed to carry out the complete read-across exercise for at least one chemical category per read-across scenario in the context of SEURAT-1, and the results of this exercise will be completed and presented by the end of the research initiative in December 2015

Dose finding of melatonin for chronic idiopathic childhood sleep onset insomnia: an RCT

Contains fulltext : 86695.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Rationale Pharmacokinetics of melatonin in children might differ from that in adults. Objectives This study aims to establish a dose–response relationship for melatonin in advancing dim light melatonin onset (DLMO), sleep onset (SO), and reducing sleep onset latency (SOL) in children between 6 and 12 years with chronic sleep onset insomnia (CSOI). Methods The method used for this study is the randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Children with CSOI (n=72) received either melatonin 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 mg/kg or placebo during 1 week. Sleep was assessed with log and actigraphy during this week and the week before. Outcomes were the shifts in DLMO, SO, and SOL. Results Treatment with melatonin significantly advanced SO and DLMO by approximately 1 h and decreased SOL by 35 min. Within the three melatonin groups, effect size was not different, but the circadian time of administration (TOA) correlated significantly with treatment effect on DLMO (rs=-0.33, p=0.022) and SO (rs=-0.38, p=0.004), whereas clock TOA was correlated with SO shift (r=-0.35, p=0.006) and not with DLMO shift. Conclusions No dose–response relationship of melatonin with SO, SOL, and DLMO is found within a dosage range of 0.05–0.15 mg/kg. The effect of exogenous melatonin on SO, SOL, and DLMO increases with an earlier circadian TOA. The soporific effects of melatonin enhance the SO shift. This study demonstrates that melatonin for treatment of CSOI in children is effective in a dosage of 0.05 mg/kg given at least 1 to 2 h before DLMO and before desired bedtime.13 p