Restrictions and extensions of semibounded operators

We study restriction and extension theory for semibounded Hermitian operators in the Hardy space of analytic functions on the disk D. Starting with the operator zd/dz, we show that, for every choice of a closed subset F in T=bd(D) of measure zero, there is a densely defined Hermitian restriction of zd/dz corresponding to boundary functions vanishing on F. For every such restriction operator, we classify all its selfadjoint extension, and for each we present a complete spectral picture. We prove that different sets F with the same cardinality can lead to quite different boundary-value problems, inequivalent selfadjoint extension operators, and quite different spectral configurations. As a tool in our analysis, we prove that the von Neumann deficiency spaces, for a fixed set F, have a natural presentation as reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, with a Hurwitz zeta-function, restricted to FxF, as reproducing kernel.Comment: 63 pages, 11 figure

Runtime analysis of non-elitist populations: from classical optimisation to partial information

Although widely applied in optimisation, relatively little has been proven rigorously about the role and behaviour of populations in randomised search processes. This paper presents a new method to prove upper bounds on the expected optimisation time of population-based randomised search heuristics that use non-elitist selection mechanisms and unary variation operators. Our results follow from a detailed drift analysis of the population dynamics in these heuristics. This analysis shows that the optimisation time depends on the relationship between the strength of the selective pressure and the degree of variation introduced by the variation operator. Given limited variation, a surprisingly weak selective pressure suffices to optimise many functions in expected polynomial time. We derive upper bounds on the expected optimisation time of non-elitist Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) using various selection mechanisms, including fitness proportionate selection. We show that EAs using fitness proportionate selection can optimise standard benchmark functions in expected polynomial time given a sufficiently low mutation rate. As a second contribution, we consider an optimisation scenario with partial information, where fitness values of solutions are only partially available. We prove that non-elitist EAs under a set of specific conditions can optimise benchmark functions in expected polynomial time, even when vanishingly little information about the fitness values of individual solutions or populations is available. To our knowledge, this is the first runtime analysis of randomised search heuristics under partial information

IL-2 Regulates SEB Induced Toxic Shock Syndrome in BALB/c Mice

BACKGROUND:Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is characterized by fever, rash, hypotension, constitutional symptoms, and multi-organ involvement and is caused by Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins such as Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (SEB). SEB binds to the MHC-IIalpha chain and is recognized by the TCRbeta chain of the Vbeta8 TCR(+) T cells. The binding of SEB to Vbeta chain results in rapid activation of T cells and production of inflammatory cytokines, such as Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interferon-gamma and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha which mediate TSS. Although IL2 was originally identified as the T cell growth factor and was proposed to contribute to T cell differentiation, its role in TSS remains unexplored. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Mice were injected with D-Gal (25 mg/mouse). One hour after D-Galactosamine (D-Gal) injection each mouse was injected with SEB (20 microg/mouse. Mice were then observed for 72 hrs and death was recorded at different times. We tested Interleukin-12, IFNgamma, and IL-2 deficient mice (IL-2(-/-)), but only the IL-2 deficient mice were resistant to SEB induced toxic shock syndrome. More importantly reconstitution of IL-2 in IL-2 deficient mice restored the shock. Interestingly, SEB induced IL-2 production from T cells was dependent on p38MAPK activation in macrophages as inhibition of it in macrophages significantly inhibited IL-2 production from T cells. CONCLUSION:This study shows the importance of IL -2 in TSS which has not been previously explored and it also shows that regulating macrophages function can regulate T cells and TSS

Spontaneous regression of congenital epulis: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Congenital epulis is a rare lesion found on the alveolar process of a newborn child, diagnosed soon after birth. The lesion has a site predilection for the anterior maxillary alveolar process and a 9:1 sex predilection for females. Once diagnosed the traditional management of the lesion has been surgical excision under general anesthesia.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>The purpose of this case report is to describe spontaneous regression of congenital epulis in a three week old healthy African American female child. She presented with a 1.5 cm bilobed sessile nodular lesion in the region of the right maxillary cuspid. The clinical impression was congenital epulis. Since the lesion was not interfering with feeding and respiration, a conservative approach was taken. The child was followed-up for 18 months, during which the lesion progressively regressed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Conservative management prevented unnecessary surgery and anesthesia exposure in a neonate.</p

Teste de Morisky-Green e Brief Medication Questionnaire para avaliar adesão a medicamentos

OBJETIVO: Analisar a confiabilidade e o desempenho da versão em português de instrumentos de avaliação da adesão ao tratamento anti-hipertensivo. MÉTODOS: Pacientes hipertensos atendidos de janeiro a setembro de 2010 em uma unidade de atenção primária em Porto Alegre, RS, foram selecionados aleatoriamente (n = 206). Na avaliação da adesão foram utilizadas versões em português do Teste de Morisky-Green (TMG) e do Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ). Foram analisados consistência interna, estabilidade temporal e desempenho com relação a três padrões-ouro: controle inadequado da pressão arterial (&gt; 140/90 mmHg); taxa insuficiente de retirada de medicação na farmácia da Unidade Básica de Saúde (< 80%); e a combinação de ambos. RESULTADOS: Dos pacientes avaliados, 97 utilizavam medicamentos dispensados somente pela farmácia da Unidade Básica de Saúde. Os testes apresentaram boa consistência interna: BMQ &#945; de Cronbach de 0,66 (IC95% 0,60;0,73) e o TMG 0,73 (IC95% 0,67;0,79). O desempenho do BMQ no domínio regime apresentou sensibilidade de 77%, especificidade de 58% e área sob a curva ROC de 0,70 (IC95% 0,55;0,86), e o TMG sensibilidade de 61%, especificidade de 36% e área sob a curva ROC de 0,46 (IC95% 0,30;0,62). A correlação entre o BMQ e o TMG foi de r = 0,28, p &gt; 0,001. A baixa adesão ao BMQ está associada a maiores níveis tensionais quando comparada com pacientes aderentes (148,4 [dp 20,1] vs 128,8 [dp 17,8], p < 0,001), mas não para o TMG. CONCLUSÕES: O BMQ apresentou melhor desempenho que o TMG, com maiores sensibilidade e especificidade. A avaliação da adesão pode auxiliar o clinico na discriminação entre uso inadequado da medicação e esquema terapêutico insuficiente.OBJETIVO: Analizar la confiabilidad y el desempeño de la versión en portugués de instrumentos de evaluación de la adherencia al tratamiento antihipertensivo. MÉTODOS: Pacientes hipertensos atendidos de enero a septiembre de 2010 en una unidad de atención primaria en Porto Alegre, Sur de Brasil, fueron seleccionados aleatoriamente (n=206). En la evaluación de la adherencia fueron utilizadas versiones en portugués de la Prueba de Morisky-Green (TMG) y del Brief Medication Questionnarie (BMQ). Se analizaron consistencia interna, estabilidad temporal y desempeño con relación a tres patrones-oro: control inadecuado de la presión arterial (&gt; 140/90 mmHg); tasa insuficiente de retirada de medicación en la farmacia de la Unidad Básica de Salud (< 80%) y la combinación de ambos. RESULTADOS: De los pacientes evaluados, 97 utilizaban medicamentos dispensados solamente por la farmacia de la Unidad Básica de Salud. Las pruebas presentaron buena consistencia interna: BMQ &#945; de Cronbach de 0,66 (IC95% 0,60;0,73) y el TMG 0,73 (IC95% 0,67;0,79). El desempeño del BMQ en el dominio régimen presentó sensibilidad de 77%, especificidad de 58%, y área bajo la curva ROC de 0,70 (IC95% 0,55;0,86) y el TMG sensibilidad de 61%, especificidad de 36% y área bajo la curva ROC de 0,46 (IC95% 0,30;0,62). La correlación entre el BMQ y el TMG fue de r=0,28, p&gt;0,001. La baja adherencia al BMQ está asociada a mayores niveles tensionales al compararlo con pacientes adherentes 148,4 [de 0,1] vs 128,8 [de 17,8], pOBJECTIVE: To analyze the reliability and performance of the Portuguese version of questionnaires used to evaluate adherence to hypertensive treatment. METHODS: Hypertensive patients attending a primary healthcare unit in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, from January to September 2010, were randomly selected (n = 206). To evaluate adherence, Portuguese versions of the Morisky-Green test (MGT) and the Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) were used. The analysis considered internal consistency, temporal stability and performance compared to three gold standards, which are: inadequate control of blood pressure (BP &gt; 140/90 mmHg); insufficient rate of medication acquisition at the institution's pharmacy

The living microarray: a high-throughput platform for measuring transcription dynamics in single cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current methods of measuring transcription in high-throughput have led to significant improvements in our knowledge of transcriptional regulation and Systems Biology. However, endpoint measurements obtained from methods that pool populations of cells are not amenable to studying time-dependent processes that show cell heterogeneity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we describe a high-throughput platform for measuring transcriptional changes in real time in single mammalian cells. By using reverse transfection microarrays we are able to transfect fluorescent reporter plasmids into 600 independent clusters of cells plated on a single microscope slide and image these clusters every 20 minutes. We use a fast-maturing, destabilized and nuclear-localized reporter that is suitable for automated segmentation to accurately measure promoter activity in single cells. We tested this platform with synthetic drug-inducible promoters that showed robust induction over 24 hours. Automated segmentation and tracking of over 11 million cell images during this period revealed that cells display substantial heterogeneity in their responses to the applied treatment, including a large proportion of transfected cells that do not respond at all.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results from our single-cell analysis suggest that methods that measure average cellular responses, such as DNA microarrays, RT-PCR and chromatin immunoprecipitation, characterize a response skewed by a subset of cells in the population. Our method is scalable and readily adaptable to studying complex systems, including cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis.</p

Genetic Analysis of Genome-Scale Recombination Rate Evolution in House Mice

The rate of meiotic recombination varies markedly between species and among individuals. Classical genetic experiments demonstrated a heritable component to population variation in recombination rate, and specific sequence variants that contribute to recombination rate differences between individuals have recently been identified. Despite these advances, the genetic basis of species divergence in recombination rate remains unexplored. Using a cytological assay that allows direct in situ imaging of recombination events in spermatocytes, we report a large (∼30%) difference in global recombination rate between males of two closely related house mouse subspecies (Mus musculus musculus and M. m. castaneus). To characterize the genetic basis of this recombination rate divergence, we generated an F2 panel of inter-subspecific hybrid males (n = 276) from an intercross between wild-derived inbred strains CAST/EiJ (M. m. castaneus) and PWD/PhJ (M. m. musculus). We uncover considerable heritable variation for recombination rate among males from this mapping population. Much of the F2 variance for recombination rate and a substantial portion of the difference in recombination rate between the parental strains is explained by eight moderate- to large-effect quantitative trait loci, including two transgressive loci on the X chromosome. In contrast to the rapid evolution observed in males, female CAST/EiJ and PWD/PhJ animals show minimal divergence in recombination rate (∼5%). The existence of loci on the X chromosome suggests a genetic mechanism to explain this male-biased evolution. Our results provide an initial map of the genetic changes underlying subspecies differences in genome-scale recombination rate and underscore the power of the house mouse system for understanding the evolution of this trait

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for neutral Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were recorded in 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 to 4.8 fb-1. Higgs boson decays into oppositely-charged muon or τ lepton pairs are considered for final states requiring either the presence or absence of b-jets. No statistically significant excess over the expected background is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived. The exclusion limits are for the production cross-section of a generic neutral Higgs boson, φ, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for h/A/H production in the MSSM as a function of the parameters mA and tan β in the mhmax scenario for mA in the range of 90GeV to 500 GeV. Copyright CERN

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV