How to infer relative fitness from a sample of genomic sequences

Mounting evidence suggests that natural populations can harbor extensive fitness diversity with numerous genomic loci under selection. It is also known that genealogical trees for populations under selection are quantifiably different from those expected under neutral evolution and described statistically by Kingman's coalescent. While differences in the statistical structure of genealogies have long been used as a test for the presence of selection, the full extent of the information that they contain has not been exploited. Here we shall demonstrate that the shape of the reconstructed genealogical tree for a moderately large number of random genomic samples taken from a fitness diverse, but otherwise unstructured asexual population can be used to predict the relative fitness of individuals within the sample. To achieve this we define a heuristic algorithm, which we test in silico using simulations of a Wright-Fisher model for a realistic range of mutation rates and selection strength. Our inferred fitness ranking is based on a linear discriminator which identifies rapidly coalescing lineages in the reconstructed tree. Inferred fitness ranking correlates strongly with actual fitness, with a genome in the top 10% ranked being in the top 20% fittest with false discovery rate of 0.1-0.3 depending on the mutation/selection parameters. The ranking also enables to predict the genotypes that future populations inherit from the present one. While the inference accuracy increases monotonically with sample size, samples of 200 nearly saturate the performance. We propose that our approach can be used for inferring relative fitness of genomes obtained in single-cell sequencing of tumors and in monitoring viral outbreaks

First Law, Counterterms and Kerr-AdS_5 Black Holes

We apply the counterterm subtraction technique to calculate the action and other quantities for the Kerr--AdS black hole in five dimensions using two boundary metrics; the Einstein universe and rotating Einstein universe with arbitrary angular velocity. In both cases, the resulting thermodynamic quantities satisfy the first law of thermodynamics. We point out that the reason for the violation of the first law in previous calculations is that the rotating Einstein universe, used as a boundary metric, was rotating with an angular velocity that depends on the black hole rotation parameter. Using a new coordinate system with a boundary metric that has an arbitrary angular velocity, one can show that the resulting physical quantities satisfy the first law.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

PRIORITIZING STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR KAHRAMAA CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT: ANALYTIC NETWORK PROCESS AND SUPERMATRIX APPROACHt

Stress is a ubiquitous phenomenon that has several fiscal and practical consequences on both the employees and the employers. Implementing stress management strategy in the workplace is a critical issue for leaders and managers. Studying stress and reducing its impact on employees is very helpful for organizations. The aim of this paper is to present an applicable and reliable evaluation method to assess decision makers in Kahramaa Customer Service Department to prioritize and select the most appropriate stress reduction strategy. To meet the aims and objectives of the study, the Analytical Network Process (ANP) method is used to determine the best possible strategy to reduce stress based on reliable assessment criteria that are designed to suit the case of Kahramaa Customer Service Department. The research compared the best strategy out of four different stress reduction strategies which are problem-focused strategy, emotional focused strategy, job characteristics and role ambiguity strategy, and corporate wellness program. The study focused on the prioritization of those strategies by assessing the criteria and sub-criteria of each of the dimensions used for the assessment. The criteria importance and relativity were driven by a comprehensive literature review to support the pairwise comparisons using and utilizing experts’ and scholars’ opinions. The research concluded that the most effective strategies for stress reduction are social support strategies, problem-solving strategies, HR strategies, and environmental strategies. The ANP analysis shows that the corporate wellness program is the most effective and optimal strategy for stress reduction for Kahramaa Customer Service Department employees. The corporate wellness program received the highest scores among other strategies based on the criteria selection and prioritization. The assessment criteria, the sub-criteria, and the alternatives can be altered and customized to outfit any government or semi-government organization in Qatar. This study is focused and aims to assess decision makers. Such studies are not common in the Qatari market. Qatar market is rapidly growing. The government and semi-government organizations in Qatar are racing against time to cope with modern business strategies to fulfil their role in the growing eco-system of the country. Such studies can be a simple, straightforward, and reliable approach to assess managers in government and semi-government organizations on how to improve the working conditions of their employees and reduce stress. Reducing stress is an urging matter to organizations such as Kahramaa. Employees perform better when they are not stressed. Their productivity grows, as well as their commitment, dedication, and loyalty. On the other hand, stressed employees will not be creative enough and will not be effective members in the organization. Accordingly, all organizations in Qatar that have the same problem of Kahrama can highly benefit from this study

Una vida feta mestratge: Joan Fuster

Abstract not availabl

Integrating The E In E-Marketing

The domain of e-marketing is much greater than pure play and enterprise level dot-coms. E-marketing concerns the deployment of information technology to render marketing strategy and process more effective and efficient. Technology and the Internet also changed the way marketing is conducted. For example, the fundamental idea of digitizing data has transformed media and software delivery methods as well as created a new transaction channel. Also, the Internet as information equalizer has shifted the balance of power from marketer to consumer. As developed nations enter what Gartner Group calls the slope of enlightenment on the way to dropping the “e” from e-business, successful marketers will grasp the risks and rewards of various levels of information technology commitment. Fortunately, marketers do not have to personally develop the technologies, but they need to know enough to understand technology, select appropriate suppliers, and direct technology professionals in order to harness its power. In this article we define e-marketing, then present a framework for a menu of business models along with best practices. The framework is designed to ease the navigation and integration of technology in marketing strategy to fully capitalize on Internet properties and reap advantages of its role in marketing and business strategy

ON GRAVITATIONAL DRESSING OF 2D FIELD THEORIES IN CHIRAL GAUGE

After giving a pedagogical review of the chiral gauge approach to 2D gravity, with particular emphasis on the derivation of the gravitational Ward identities, we discuss in some detail the interpretation of matter correlation functions coupled to gravity in chiral gauge. We argue that in chiral gauge no {\it explicit} gravitational dressing factor, analogue to the Liouville exponential in conformal gauge, is necessary for left-right symmetric matter operators. In particular, we examine the gravitationally dressed four-point correlation function of products of left and right fermions. We solve the corresponding gravitational Ward identity exactly: in the presence of gravity this four-point function exhibits a logarithmic short-distance singularity, instead of the power-law singularity in the absence of gravity. This rather surprising effect is non-perturbative in the gravitational coupling and is a sign for logarithms in the gravitationally dressed operator product expansions. We also discuss some perturbative evidence that the chiral Gross-Neveu model may remain integrable when coupled to gravity.Comment: 19 pages, uses phyzz

Degenerate Bogdanov-Takens bifurcations in a bulk viscous cosmology

Using the dynamical system theory we show that the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmological model with bulk viscous fluid in the presence of cosmological constant is equivalent to a degenerate two dimensional Bogdanov-Takens normal form. The equation of state parameter, $\omega$, the bulk viscosity coefficient, $\xi$, and the cosmological constant, $\Lambda$, define the necessary parameters for unfolding the degenerate Bogdanov-Takens system. The fixed points of the system are discussed together with the variation of their stability properties upon changing the relevant parameters $\omega$, $\Lambda$ and $\xi$. The variation of the stability properties are visualized by the appropriate bifurcation diagrams. Phase portrait for finite domain and global phase portrait are displayed and the issue of the structural stability are discussed. Typical issues such as late acceleration or inflation that can be induced by viscosity and could have relevance to observational cosmology are also discussed.Comment: 46 pages, 21 figures, 4 tables, typos are corrected, new references are added, new material is adde