Conditions for Posterior Contraction in the Sparse Normal Means Problem

The first Bayesian results for the sparse normal means problem were proven for spike-and-slab priors. However, these priors are less convenient from a computational point of view. In the meanwhile, a large number of continuous shrinkage priors has been proposed. Many of these shrinkage priors can be written as a scale mixture of normals, which makes them particularly easy to implement. We propose general conditions on the prior on the local variance in scale mixtures of normals, such that posterior contraction at the minimax rate is assured. The conditions require tails at least as heavy as Laplace, but not too heavy, and a large amount of mass around zero relative to the tails, more so as the sparsity increases. These conditions give some general guidelines for choosing a shrinkage prior for estimation under a nearly black sparsity assumption. We verify these conditions for the class of priors considered by Ghosh and Chakrabarti (2015), which includes the horseshoe and the normal-exponential gamma priors, and for the horseshoe+, the inverse-Gaussian prior, the normal-gamma prior, and the spike-and-slab Lasso, and thus extend the number of shrinkage priors which are known to lead to posterior contraction at the minimax estimation rate

PIRATA data system upgrade Report

Technical report mostly related to biogeochemical sensors (O2 and CO2 sensors) data, their real-time transmission and O2 and CO2 data control quality and their integration to existing systems, in relation with the WP

Explicit schemes for time propagating many-body wavefunctions

Accurate theoretical data on many time-dependent processes in atomic and molecular physics and in chemistry require the direct numerical solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation, thereby motivating the development of very efficient time propagators. These usually involve the solution of very large systems of first order differential equations that are characterized by a high degree of stiffness. We analyze and compare the performance of the explicit one-step algorithms of Fatunla and Arnoldi. Both algorithms have exactly the same stability function, therefore sharing the same stability properties that turn out to be optimum. Their respective accuracy however differs significantly and depends on the physical situation involved. In order to test this accuracy, we use a predictor-corrector scheme in which the predictor is either Fatunla's or Arnoldi's algorithm and the corrector, a fully implicit four-stage Radau IIA method of order 7. We consider two physical processes. The first one is the ionization of an atomic system by a short and intense electromagnetic pulse; the atomic systems include a one-dimensional Gaussian model potential as well as atomic hydrogen and helium, both in full dimensionality. The second process is the decoherence of two-electron quantum states when a time independent perturbation is applied to a planar two-electron quantum dot where both electrons are confined in an anharmonic potential. Even though the Hamiltonian of this system is time independent the corresponding differential equation shows a striking stiffness. For the one-dimensional Gaussian potential we discuss in detail the possibility of monitoring the time step for both explicit algorithms. In the other physical situations that are much more demanding in term of computations, we show that the accuracy of both algorithms depends strongly on the degree of stiffness of the problem.Comment: 24 pages, 14 Figure

Meaning in life and perceived quality of life in Switzerland: results of a representative survey in the German, French and Italian regions

Background: The concept of meaning in life (MIL) has become a central one in recent years, particularly in psycho-oncology and palliative care. The Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation (SMILE) has been developed to allow individuals to choose the life areas that they consider to be important for their own MIL. This approach relates to the "World Health Organisation" definition of quality of life (QOL) as an individual's perception of his own position. The aims of this study were (i) to assess MIL in a representative sample of the Swiss population according to the three linguistic regions and (ii) to evaluate whether MIL constitutes a significant determinant of the perceived QOL. Methods: A telephone survey of the Swiss population, performed by a professional survey company, was conducted between November and December 2013. The interview included the SMILE, perceived QOL (0-10) and health status (1-5),and various sociodemographic variables. In the SMILE, an index of weighting (IOW, 20-100),an index of satisfaction (IOS, 0-100),and a total SMILE index (IOWS, 0-100) are calculated from the areas mentioned by the participants as providing MIL. Results: Among the 6671 telephonic contacts realized, 1015 (15 %) participants completed the survey: 405 French, 400 German and 210 Italian participants. "Family" (80.2 %),"occupation/work" (51 %),and "social relations" (43.3 %) were the most cited MIL-relevant categories. Italian participants listed "health" more frequently than German and French participants (50.4 % vs 31.5 % and 24.8 % respectively, chi(2) = 12.229, p = .002). Age, gender, education, employment, and marital status significantly influenced either the MIL scores or the MIL-relevant categories. Linear regression analyses indicate that 24.3 % of the QOL variance (p = .000) is explained by health status (B = .609, IC = .490-.728, p = .000),MIL (B = .034, IC = .028-.041, p = .000) and socioeconomic status (F = 11.01, p = .000). Conclusion: The major finding of our analysis highlights the positive and significant influence of MIL on the perceived QOL in a representative sample of a general, multilingual and multicultural population. This result indicates that the existential dimension is not only determinant for QOL in some critical life events, as shown e.g. in psycho-oncology and palliative care, but also in everyday life

Liraglutide and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes

In a randomized, controlled trial that compared liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue, with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk who were receiving usual care, we found that liraglutide resulted in lower risks of the primary end point (nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes) and death. However, the long-term effects of liraglutide on renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes are unknown

Exome sequencing and in vitro studies identified podocalyxin as a candidate gene for focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis

Our understanding of focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) has advanced significantly from the studies of rare, monogenic forms of the disease. These studies have demonstrated the critical roles of multiple aspects of podocyte function in maintaining glomerular function. A substantial body of research has suggested that the integral membrane protein podocalyxin (PODXL) is required for proper function of podocytes, possibly by preserving the patency of the slit diaphragm by negative charge-based repulsion. Exome sequencing of affected cousins from an autosomal dominant pedigree with FSGS identified a co-segregating private variant, PODXL p.L442R, affecting the transmembrane region of the protein. Of the remaining 11 shared gene variants, two segregated with disease but their gene products were not detected in the glomerulus. In comparison to wild type, this disease-segregating PODXL variant facilitated dimerization. By contrast, this change does not alter protein stability, extracellular domain glycosylation, cell surface expression, global subcellular localization, or interaction with its intracellular binding partner ezrin. Thus, a variant form of PODXL remains the most likely candidate causing FSGS in one family with autosomal dominant inheritance, but its full effect on protein function remains unknown. Our work highlights the challenge faced in the clinical interpretation of whole exome data for small pedigrees with autosomal dominant diseases