Phase transitions for the cavity approach to the clique problem on random graphs

We give a rigorous proof of two phase transitions for a disordered system designed to find large cliques inside Erdos random graphs. Such a system is associated with a conservative probabilistic cellular automaton inspired by the cavity method originally introduced in spin glass theory.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figure

Free boson formulation of boundary states in W_3 minimal models and the critical Potts model

We develop a Coulomb gas formalism for boundary conformal field theory having a $W$ symmetry and illustrate its operation using the three state Potts model. We find that there are free-field representations for six $W$ conserving boundary states, which yield the fixed and mixed physical boundary conditions, and two $W$ violating boundary states which yield the free and new boundary conditions. Other $W$ violating boundary states can be constructed but they decouple from the rest of the theory. Thus we have a complete free-field realization of the known boundary states of the three state Potts model. We then use the formalism to calculate boundary correlation functions in various cases. We find that the conformal blocks arising when the two point function of $\phi_{2,3}$ is calculated in the presence of free and new boundary conditions are indeed the last two solutions of the sixth order differential equation generated by the singular vector.Comment: 25 page

Suelos volcanicos endurecidos

The agricultural rehabilitation of tepetates, indurated and sterile volcanic tuffs located along the mexican neovolcanic ridge, is technically possible. However, it is necessary to know in detail the agro-socioeconomical factors of the peasant communities which have these kind of lands, to give them technical answers appropiate to local realities. The studies of 4 communities located in the states of Mexico. Tlaxcala, Jalisco and Michoacan, show that the climatic conditions are mostly difficult (long dry season, irregular rains, early frosts). The use of irrigation is limited. Each producer family cultivates a small surface of land which is principally ejidal. Tepetates areas are the last pieces of land still not distributed and of common use (firewood ans pasture).Most peasants can survive with the help of an external job, while field production is mainly for self-consumption. During the last 20 years, capitalisation occured through the purchase of cattle. So, the number of animals is growing up and by consequence, the pressure on the natural pastures too, favouring the apparition and extension of tepetates. Breaking the tepetates to give them a new agricultural use means, in addition to technical help at the beginning, the creation and development of forage crops. Actually, this type of crops are not very common. It is also necessary to propose forest management and/or wood-fire plantations. The costs of this rehabilitation are too high (nearly 1,000 $/ha) for most peasants, in spite of the increasing value of the land after this work and a recuperation of the investment after 5 and 8 years in the production systems which use animal and mechanical tractions. So those investments require external help (State, NGOs, credits...) at the beginning. (Résumé d'auteur)

Diarrea vírica bovina: etiología, formas clínicas, distribución del virus y patogenia

El virus de la diarrea vírica bovina (vDVB) es un agente de distribución mundial y responsable de cuantiosas pérdidas económica a la cabaña bovina, estando clasificado dentro de la familia Flaviviridae junto a otros pestivirus como el virus de la peste porcina clásica, el virus de la enfermedad de la frontera de la oveja y el virus de la hepatitis C. Este virus se caracteriza por causar una amplia variedad de formas clínicas que van desde forma subagudas, que pasan desapercibidas, a formas caracterizadas por desarrollar una intensa leucopenia, trombocitopenia y hemorragias. Acorde con sus diferencias antigénicas y genéticas, los aislados del virus se pueden clasificar en 2 genotipos o especies: vDVB tipo 1 y vDVB tipo 2. El primero causa enfermedad leve pero en vacas preñadas, las infecciones fetales pueden inducir abortos y otras patologías reproductivas. El vDVB tipo 2 está asociado principalmente a la enfermedad respiratoria severa y a un cuadro hemorrágico agudo, caracterizado por trombocitopenia, diarrea hemorrágica, epistaxis, petequias, equimosis en mucosas, anemia, sangrado en zonas de inyección, pirexia, leucopenia y muerte.Independientemente del genotipo al que pertenezca, el vDVB puede ser clasificado en 2 biotipos acorde con su efecto sobre cultivos celulares: citopático (CP) y no citopático (NCP), siendo estos últimos los más comunes en la naturaleza. La infección del feto con cepas NCP entre los días 40 y 120 de la gestación, puede dar lugar al nacimiento de animales persistentemente infectados (PI). En estos animales el virus se distribuye ampliamente a través de todos los órganos, siendo el daño limitado, lo que permite que la gestación continúe. Estos animales están predispuestos a padecer infecciones secundarias, así como a desarrollar la denominada enfermedad de las mucosas cuando se infectan con cepas CP antigénicamente homólogas

Longitudinal deep learning clustering of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus trajectories using routinely collected health records

Altres ajuts: Networking Biomedical Research Centre in the subject area of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN); Instituto de Investigación Carlos III (ISCIII); CIBER of Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM).Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a highly heterogeneous chronic disease with different pathophysiological and genetic characteristics affecting its progression, associated complications and response to therapies. The advances in deep learning (DL) techniques and the availability of a large amount of healthcare data allow us to investigate T2DM characteristics and evolution with a completely new approach, studying common disease trajectories rather than cross sectional values. We used an Kernelized-AutoEncoder algorithm to map 5 years of data of 11,028 subjects diagnosed with T2DM in a latent space that embedded similarities and differences between patients in terms of the evolution of the disease. Once we obtained the latent space, we used classical clustering algorithms to create longitudinal clusters representing different evolutions of the diabetic disease. Our unsupervised DL clustering algorithm suggested seven different longitudinal clusters. Different mean ages were observed among the clusters (ranging from 65.3±11.6 to 72.8±9.4). Subjects in clusters B (Hypercholesteraemic) and E (Hypertensive) had shorter diabetes duration (9.2±3.9 and 9.5±3.9 years respectively). Subjects in Cluster G (Metabolic) had the poorest glycaemic control (mean glycated hemoglobin 7.99±1.42%), while cluster E had the best one (mean glycated hemoglobin 7.04±1.11%). Obesity was observed mainly in clusters A (Neuropathic), C (Multiple Complications), F (Retinopathy) and G. A dashboard is available at dm2.b2slab.upc.edu to visualize the different trajectories corresponding to the 7 clusters

Effects of very early start of norepinephrine in patients with septic shock: a propensity score-based analysis

BACKGROUND: Optimal timing for the start of vasopressors (VP) in septic shock has not been widely studied since it is assumed that fluids must be administered in advance. We sought to evaluate whether a very early start of VP, even without completing the initial fluid loading, might impact clinical outcomes in septic shock. METHODS: A total of 337 patients with sepsis requiring VP support for at least 6 h were initially selected from a prospectively collected database in a 90-bed mixed-ICU during a 24-month period. They were classified into very-early (VE-VPs) or delayed vasopressor start (D-VPs) categories according to whether norepinephrine was initiated or not within/before the next hour of the first resuscitative fluid load. Then, VE-VPs (n = 93) patients were 1:1 propensity matched to D-VPs (n = 93) based on age; source of admission (emergency room, general wards, intensive care unit); chronic and acute comorbidities; and lactate, heart rate, systolic, and diastolic pressure at vasopressor start. A risk-adjusted Cox proportional hazard model was fitted to assess the association between VE-VPs and day 28 mortality. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed also including those patients requiring VP support for less than 6 h. RESULTS: Patients subjected to VE-VPs received significantly less resuscitation fluids at vasopressor starting (0[0-510] vs. 1500[650-2300] mL, p < 0.001) and during the first 8 h of resuscitation (1100[500-1900] vs. 2600[1600-3800] mL, p < 0.001), with no significant increase in acute renal failure and/or renal replacement therapy requirements. VE-VPs was related with significant lower net fluid balances 8 and 24 h after VPs. VE-VPs was also associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death compared to D-VPs (HR 0.31, CI95% 0.17-0.57, p < 0.001) at day 28. Such association was maintained after including patients receiving vasopressors for < 6 h. CONCLUSION: A very early start of vasopressor support seems to be safe, might limit the amount of fluids to resuscitate septic shock, and could lead to better clinical outcomes

Magnetic Catalysis: A Review

We give an overview of the magnetic catalysis phenomenon. In the framework of quantum field theory, magnetic catalysis is broadly defined as an enhancement of dynamical symmetry breaking by an external magnetic field. We start from a brief discussion of spontaneous symmetry breaking and the role of a magnetic field in its a dynamics. This is followed by a detailed presentation of the essential features of the phenomenon. In particular, we emphasize that the dimensional reduction plays a profound role in the pairing dynamics in a magnetic field. Using the general nature of underlying physics and its robustness with respect to interaction types and model content, we argue that magnetic catalysis is a universal and model-independent phenomenon. In support of this claim, we show how magnetic catalysis is realized in various models with short-range and long-range interactions. We argue that the general nature of the phenomenon implies a wide range of potential applications: from certain types of solid state systems to models in cosmology, particle and nuclear physics. We finish the review with general remarks about magnetic catalysis and an outlook for future research.Comment: 37 pages, to appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Yee. Version 2: references adde

Investigation of Changing Pore Topology and Porosity during Matrix Acidizing using Different Chelating Agents

Core flooding acidizing experiments on sandstone/carbonate formation are usually performed in the laboratory to observe different physical phenomena and to design acidizing stimulation jobs for the field. During the tests, some key parameters are analyzed such as pore volume required for breakthrough as well as pressure. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is commonly used in the carbonate matrix acidizing while Mud acid (HF: HCl) is usually applied during the sandstone acidizing to remove damage around the well bore. However, many problems are associated with the application of these acids, such as fast reaction, corrosion and incompatibility of HCl with some minerals (illite). To overcome these problems, chelating agents (HEDTA, EDTA and GLDA) were used in this research. Colton tight sandstone and Guelph Dolomite core samples were used in this study. The experiments usually are defined in terms of porosity, permeability, dissolution and pore topology. Effluent samples were analyzed to determine dissolved iron, sodium, potassium, calcium and other positive ions using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP). Meanwhile Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was employed to determine porosity and pore structure of the core sample. Core flood experiments on Berea sandstone cores and dolomite samples with dimensions of 1.5 in × 3 in were conducted at a flow rate of 1 cc/min under 150oF temperature. NMR and porosity analysis concluded that applied chemicals are effective in creating fresh pore spaces. ICP analysis concluded that HEDTA showed good ability to chelate calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and iron. It can be established from the analysis that HEDTA can increase more amount of permeability as compared to other chelates