Measurement-driven Quality Assessment of Nonlinear Systems by Exponential Replacement

We discuss the problem how to determine the quality of a nonlinear system with respect to a measurement task. Due to amplification, filtering, quantization and internal noise sources physical measurement equipment in general exhibits a nonlinear and random input-to-output behaviour. This usually makes it impossible to accurately describe the underlying statistical system model. When the individual operations are all known and deterministic, one can resort to approximations of the input-to-output function. The problem becomes challenging when the processing chain is not exactly known or contains nonlinear random effects. Then one has to approximate the output distribution in an empirical way. Here we show that by measuring the first two sample moments of an arbitrary set of output transformations in a calibrated setup, the output distribution of the actual system can be approximated by an equivalent exponential family distribution. This method has the property that the resulting approximation of the statistical system model is guaranteed to be pessimistic in an estimation theoretic sense. We show this by proving that an equivalent exponential family distribution in general exhibits a lower Fisher information measure than the original system model. With various examples and a model matching step we demonstrate how this estimation theoretic aspect can be exploited in practice in order to obtain a conservative measurement-driven quality assessment method for nonlinear measurement systems.Comment: IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC), Taipei, Taiwan, 201

Significance of tagl and mfd genes in the virulence of non-typeable Haemophilus infl uenzae

Non-typeable Haemophilus infl uenzae (NTHi) is an opportunist pathogen well adapted to the human upper respiratory tract and responsible for many respiratory diseases. In the human airway, NTHi is exposed to pollutants, such as alkylating agents, that damage its DNA. In this study, we examined the signifi cance of genes involved in the repair of DNA alkylation damage in NTHi virulence. Two knockout mutants, tagI and mfd, encoding N3methyladenine-DNA glycosylase I and the key protein involved in transcription-coupled repair, respectively, were constructed and their virulence in a BALB/c mice model was examined. This work shows that N3-methyladenine-DNA glycosylase I is constitutively expressed in NTHi and that it is relevant for its virulence. [Int Microbiol 2014; 17(3):159-164]Keywords: Haemophilus infl uenzae · alkylating agents · virulence · genes tagI and mf

Classical Limit of Demagnetization in a Field Gradient

We calculate the rate of decrease of the expectation value of the transverse component of spin for spin-1/2 particles in a magnetic field with a spatial gradient, to determine the conditions under which a previous classical description is valid. A density matrix treatment is required for two reasons. The first arises because the particles initially are not in a pure state due to thermal motion. The second reason is that each particle interacts with the magnetic field and the other particles, with the latter taken to be via a 2-body central force. The equations for the 1-body Wigner distribution functions are written in a general manner, and the places where quantum mechanical effects can play a role are identified. One that may not have been considered previously concerns the momentum associated with the magnetic field gradient, which is proportional to the time integral of the gradient. Its relative magnitude compared with the important momenta in the problem is a significant parameter, and if their ratio is not small some non-classical effects contribute to the solution. Assuming the field gradient is sufficiently small, and a number of other inequalities are satisfied involving the mean wavelength, range of the force, and the mean separation between particles, we solve the integro- partial differential equations for the Wigner functions to second order in the strength of the gradient. When the same reasoning is applied to a different problem with no field gradient, but having instead a gradient to the z-component of polarization, the connection with the diffusion coefficient is established, and we find agreement with the classical result for the rate of decrease of the transverse component of magnetization.Comment: 22 pages, no figure

Integrated transcriptomics establish macrophage polarization signatures and have potential applications for clinical health and disease

Growing evidence defines macrophages (Mφ) as plastic cells with wide-ranging states of activation and expression of different markers that are time and location dependent. Distinct from the simple M1/M2 dichotomy initially proposed, extensive diversity of macrophage phenotypes have been extensively demonstrated as characteristic features of monocyte-macrophage differentiation, highlighting the difficulty of defining complex profiles by a limited number of genes. Since the description of macrophage activation is currently contentious and confusing, the generation of a simple and reliable framework to categorize major Mφ phenotypes in the context of complex clinical conditions would be extremely relevant to unravel different roles played by these cells in pathophysiological scenarios. In the current study, we integrated transcriptome data using bioinformatics tools to generate two macrophage molecular signatures. We validated our signatures in in vitro experiments and in clinical samples. More importantly, we were able to attribute prognostic and predictive values to components of our signatures. Our study provides a framework to guide the interrogation of macrophage phenotypes in the context of health and disease. The approach described here could be used to propose new biomarkers for diagnosis in diverse clinical settings including dengue infections, asthma and sepsis resolution

Persistence with Partial Survival

We introduce a parameter $p$, called partial survival, in the persistence of stochastic processes and show that for smooth processes the persistence exponent $\theta(p)$ changes continuously with $p$, $\theta(0)$ being the usual persistence exponent. We compute $\theta(p)$ exactly for a one-dimensional deterministic coarsening model, and approximately for the diffusion equation. Finally we develop an exact, systematic series expansion for $\theta(p)$, in powers of $\epsilon=1-p$, for a general Gaussian process with finite density of zero crossings.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, references added, to appear in Phys.Rev.Let

Chemical composition and energy yield of elephant-grass biomass as function of five different production ages.

Abstract Elephant grass has high biomass production, with qualities suitable for conversion into bioenergy, but has long been used exclusively for animal feed and only in recent years has it become an energetic alternative. Therefore, it is necessary to select genotypes with potential for energy production. This study evaluated the effect of five harvest times (8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks) on the yield and chemical composition related to biomass quality through combined polynomial regression analyses of the following elephant grass genotypes: Cubano Pinda, Mercker 86-México, Pusa Napier n°1, Mole de Volta Grande, P-241-Piracicaba, and King Grass. A completely randomized design with three replicates, in a split-plot arrangement, was adopted, including two factors (plots = genotypes, subplots = harvest times). The evaluated variables were whole-plant dry matter yield, in t ha-1 (DMY), percentage of neutral detergent fiber (%NDF), and percentage of acid detergent fiber (%ADF). The elephant-grass genotypes Cubano de Pinda, Mercker 86-México, and P-241-Piracicaba showed a linear first-degree effect as a function of the harvest intervals, indicating that they did not reach their maximum production potential. Genotypes Pusa Napier n°1, Mole de Volta Grande, and King Grass, in turn, had a linear second-degree effect. For the NDF variable, all genotypes showed a significant linear second-degree effect as a function of the harvest intervals, except P-241-Piracicaba, for which no regression was observed. For this genotype, there was a significant linear first-degree effect on the %ADF variable

The pharmaceutical compounding: acquisition of competences by PBL and out of class strategie

La formulación magistral, una de las actividades profesionales más representativas del farmacéutico, consiste en la elaboración, de acuerdo con una prescripción médica, de un medicamento personalizado, adaptado a un paciente concreto, en un compromiso profesional de solucionar un problema de salud específico. La amplia oferta de medicamentos industriales ha reducido considerablemente esta actividad, que a pesar de todo, debe considerarse una herramienta de futuro en sintonía con la tendencia personalizadora actual de la medicina y las necesidades del paciente. Los conocimientos y competencias requeridas para dicha actividad profesional se introducen actualmente en la carrera de Farmacia mediante una asignatura optativa. En el presente trabajo se presenta el planteamiento metodológico diseñado por el Grupo de Innovación Docente de Tecnología Farmacéutica (GIDTF) y el grupo e-Galenica, ambos de la Universidad de Barcelona, para esta asignatura. Dicha metodología esta basada en el Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP) incluyendo tutorías y prácticas de campo, apoyada en estrategias no presenciales como foro de debate, recursos on-line, cuestionarios y tareas de autoevaluación a través de la plataforma Moodle del Campus Virtual de la UB. Se evalúan asimismo los resultados académicos y las respuestas de los estudiantes a las encuestas realizadas en relación al sistema de impartición de la asignatura.The pharmaceutical compounding, one of the most representative professional activities of pharmacists, involves the preparation of an individualized medicine tailored to a specific patient in a professional commitment to solve a specific health problem, according to a prescription. The wide range of industrial medicine has significantly reduced this activity, which nevertheless should be considered a tool of the future in line with the current trend of personalizing medicine and patient needs. The knowledge and competences required for this professional activity are introduced to the students of Pharmacy through an optional subject. In this paper we present the methodological approach developed for this subject by the Teaching Innovation Group of Pharmaceutical Technology (GIDTF) and e-Galenica group, both from the University of Barcelona. This methodology is based on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) including tutorials and practices in other centres, supported by out of class strategies as discussion forum, online resources, self-assessment questionnaires and work through the platform Moodle of Virtual Campus UB. The academic performance and student responses to surveys in relation to the didactic methodology are also assessed

Draft Genome Sequence of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. Fastidiosa Strain IVIA5235, Isolated from Prunus avium in Mallorca Island, Spain

We report the complete annotated genome sequence of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa strain IVIA5235. This strain was recovered from a cherry tree in Mallorca, Spain