Multivariate phase space reconstruction by nearest neighbor embedding with different time delays

A recently proposed nearest neighbor based selection of time delays for phase space reconstruction is extended to multivariate time series, with an iterative selection of variables and time delays. A case study of numerically generated solutions of the x- and z coordinates of the Lorenz system, and an application to heart rate and respiration data, are used for illustration.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Chromosome Segregation Is Biased by Kinetochore Size

Chromosome missegregation during mitosis or meiosis is a hallmark of cancer and the main cause of prenatal death in humans. The gain or loss of specific chromosomes is thought to be random, with cell viability being essentially determined by selection. Several established pathways including centrosome amplification, sister-chromatid cohesion defects, or a compromised spindle assembly checkpoint can lead to chromosome missegregation. However, how specific intrinsic features of the kinetochore—the critical chromosomal interface with spindle microtubules—impact chromosome segregation remains poorly understood. Here we used the unique cytological attributes of female Indian muntjac, the mammal with the lowest known chromosome number (2n = 6), to characterize and track individual chromosomes with distinct kinetochore size throughout mitosis. We show that centromere and kinetochore functional layers scale proportionally with centromere size. Measurement of intra-kinetochore distances, serial-section electron microscopy, and RNAi against key kinetochore proteins confirmed a standard structural and functional organization of the Indian muntjac kinetochores and revealed that microtubule binding capacity scales with kinetochore size. Surprisingly, we found that chromosome segregation in this species is not random. Chromosomes with larger kinetochores bi-oriented more efficiently and showed a 2-fold bias to congress to the equator in a motor-independent manner. Despite robust correction mechanisms during unperturbed mitosis, chromosomes with larger kinetochores were also strongly biased to establish erroneous merotelic attachments and missegregate during anaphase. This bias was impervious to the experimental attenuation of polar ejection forces on chromosome arms by RNAi against the chromokinesin Kif4a. Thus, kinetochore size is an important determinant of chromosome segregation fidelity

Traumatic Neuroma Following Sagittal Split Osteotomy of the Mandible

A 16-year-old male underwent bilateral sagittal split osteotomy of the mandible to correct a mandibular deficiency. Twenty-one years later, a routine panoramic radiograph revealed a radiolucent lesion on the left side of the mandible. The lesion was biopsied. As the patient did not have symptoms and the lesion was connected to the inferior alveolar nerve, the lesion was not totally excised in order to preserve nerve function. The histological features were consistent with traumatic neuroma, and no further surgical procedure was planned

Significance of Ghost Orbit Bifurcations in Semiclassical Spectra

Gutzwiller's trace formula for the semiclassical density of states in a chaotic system diverges near bifurcations of periodic orbits, where it must be replaced with uniform approximations. It is well known that, when applying these approximations, complex predecessors of orbits created in the bifurcation ("ghost orbits") can produce pronounced signatures in the semiclassical spectra in the vicinity of the bifurcation. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that these ghost orbits themselves can undergo bifurcations, resulting in complex, nongeneric bifurcation scenarios. We do so by studying an example taken from the Diamagnetic Kepler Problem, viz. the period quadrupling of the balloon orbit. By application of normal form theory we construct an analytic description of the complete bifurcation scenario, which is then used to calculate the pertinent uniform approximation. The ghost orbit bifurcation turns out to produce signatures in the semiclassical spectrum in much the same way as a bifurcation of real orbits would.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, LATEX (IOP style), submitted to J. Phys.