Parrondo games as lattice gas automata

Parrondo games are coin flipping games with the surprising property that alternating plays of two losing games can produce a winning game. We show that this phenomenon can be modelled by probabilistic lattice gas automata. Furthermore, motivated by the recent introduction of quantum coin flipping games, we show that quantum lattice gas automata provide an interesting definition for quantum Parrondo games.Comment: 12 pages, plain TeX, 10 PostScript figures included with epsf.tex (ignore the under/overfull \vbox error messages); for related work see http://math.ucsd.edu/~dmeyer/research.htm

Becoming the best mom that I can: women's experiences of managing depression during pregnancy – a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this constructivist grounded theory study was to develop a theoretical model that explains women's processes of managing diagnosed depression when pregnant.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We explored the experiences of 19 women in Ontario who were diagnosed with depression during their pregnancy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The model that emerged from the analysis was becoming the best mom that I can. Becoming the best mom that I can explains the complex process of the women's journey as they travel from the depths of despair, where the depression is perceived to threaten their pregnancy and their ability to care for the coming baby, to arrive at knowing the self and being in a better place. In order to reground the self and regain control of their lives, the women had to recognize the problem, overcome shame and embarrassment, identify an understanding healthcare provider, and consider the consequences of the depression and its management. When confronting and confining the threat of depression, the women employed strategies of overcoming barriers, gaining knowledge, and taking control. As a result of counseling, medication, or a combination of both, women felt that they had arrived at a better place.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>For many women, the idea that depression could occur during pregnancy was antithetical to their vision of the pregnant self. The challenge for a pregnant woman who is diagnosed with depression, is that effective care for her may jeopardize her baby's future health. This provides a dilemma for about-to-be parents and their healthcare providers. Improved awareness of depression during pregnancy on the part of healthcare professionals is needed to improve the women's understanding of this disorder and their ability to recognize and seek help with depression should it occur during the prenatal period. Further qualitative research is needed to determine the specific aspects that need to be addressed in such classes.</p

Genomic diversity of bacteriophages infecting Microbacterium spp

The bacteriophage population is vast, dynamic, old, and genetically diverse. The genomics of phages that infect bacterial hosts in the phylum Actinobacteria show them to not only be diverse but also pervasively mosaic, and replete with genes of unknown function. To further explore this broad group of bacteriophages, we describe here the isolation and genomic characterization of 116 phages that infect Microbacterium spp. Most of the phages are lytic, and can be grouped into twelve clusters according to their overall relatedness; seven of the phages are singletons with no close relatives. Genome sizes vary from 17.3 kbp to 97.7 kbp, and their G+C% content ranges from 51.4% to 71.4%, compared to ~67% for their Microbacterium hosts. The phages were isolated on five different Microbacterium species, but typically do not efficiently infect strains beyond the one on which they were isolated. These Microbacterium phages contain many novel features, including very large viral genes (13.5 kbp) and unusual fusions of structural proteins, including a fusion of VIP2 toxin and a MuF-like protein into a single gene. These phages and their genetic components such as integration systems, recombineering tools, and phage-mediated delivery systems, will be useful resources for advancing Microbacterium genetics

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Genomic diversity of bacteriophages infecting Microbacterium spp

The bacteriophage population is vast, dynamic, old, and genetically diverse. The genomics of phages that infect bacterial hosts in the phylum Actinobacteria show them to not only be diverse but also pervasively mosaic, and replete with genes of unknown function. To further explore this broad group of bacteriophages, we describe here the isolation and genomic characterization of 116 phages that infect Microbacterium spp. Most of the phages are lytic, and can be grouped into twelve clusters according to their overall relatedness; seven of the phages are singletons with no close relatives. Genome sizes vary from 17.3 kbp to 97.7 kbp, and their G+C% content ranges from 51.4% to 71.4%, compared to ~67% for their Microbacterium hosts. The phages were isolated on five different Microbacterium species, but typically do not efficiently infect strains beyond the one on which they were isolated. These Microbacterium phages contain many novel features, including very large viral genes (13.5 kbp) and unusual fusions of structural proteins, including a fusion of VIP2 toxin and a MuF-like protein into a single gene. These phages and their genetic components such as integration systems, recombineering tools, and phage-mediated delivery systems, will be useful resources for advancing Microbacterium genetics