4,416 research outputs found
A comparative study of Gaussian Graphical Model approaches for genomic data
The inference of networks of dependencies by Gaussian Graphical models on
high-throughput data is an open issue in modern molecular biology. In this
paper we provide a comparative study of three methods to obtain small sample
and high dimension estimates of partial correlation coefficients: the
Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse (PINV), residual correlation (RCM) and
covariance-regularized method . We first compare them on simulated
datasets and we find that PINV is less stable in terms of AUC performance when
the number of variables changes. The two regularized methods have comparable
performances but is much faster than RCM. Finally, we present the
results of an application of for the inference of a gene network
for isoprenoid biosynthesis pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, RevTex4, version to appear in the proceedings of
1st International Workshop on Pattern Recognition, Proteomics, Structural
Biology and Bioinformatics: PR PS BB 2011, Ravenna, Italy, 13 September 201
Two-photon decay of heavy quarkonium from heavy-quark spin symmetry
With the recent measurements on and at CLEO,
Babar and Belle, and with the prospect of finding the at the
Tevatron, it seems appropriate to have another look at the two-photon decay of
heavy quarkonium from the standpoint of an effective Lagrangian based on local
operator expansion and heavy-quark spin symmetry. In this talk, I would like to
discuss a recent work on the two-photon decay rates of ground states and
excited states of and using the local operator expansion
approach and heavy-quark spin symmetry and taking into account the
binding-energy. We find that the predicted two-photon width for agrees
well with experiment, but the predicted value for is twice larger
than the CLEO estimation. We point out that the essentially model-independent
ratio of two-photon width to the leptonic width and the
two-photon width could be used to extract the strong coupling
constant .Comment: 9 pages, Talk given at the QCD@Work 2007 International Workshop on
QCD: Theory and Experiment}, Martina Franca, Italy, 16--20 June 200
Signals of Warped Extra Dimensions at the LHC
We discuss the signatures of the spin-2 graviton excitations predicted by the
Randall-Sundrum model with one warped extra dimension, in dilepton and diphoton
production at LHC. By using a specific angular analysis, we assess the ranges
in mass and coupling constant where such gravitons can be discriminated against
competitor spin-1 and spin-0 objects, that potentially could manifest
themselves in these processes with the same mass and rate of events. Depending
on the value of the coupling constant to quarks and leptons, the numerical
results indicate graviton identification mass ranges up to 1.1-2.4 TeV and
1.6-3.2 TeV for LHC nominal energy of 14 TeV and time-integrated luminosity of
10 and 100~, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, Talk given at QCD@Work - International Workshop on QCD -
Theory and Experiment, 20 - 23 June, 2010, Martina Franca Ital
Linking the genomic signatures of human beat synchronization and learned song in birds
The development of rhythmicity is foundational to communicative and social behaviours in humans and many other species, and mechanisms of synchrony could be conserved across species. The goal of the current paper is to explore evolutionary hypotheses linking vocal learning and beat synchronization through genomic approaches, testing the prediction that genetic underpinnings of birdsong also contribute to the aetiology of human interactions with musical beat structure. We combined state-of-the-art-genomic datasets that account for underlying polygenicity of these traits: birdsong genome-wide transcriptomics linked to singing in zebra finches, and a human genome-wide association study of beat synchronization. Results of competitive gene set analysis revealed that the genetic architecture of human beat synchronization is significantly enriched for birdsong genes expressed in songbird Area X (a key nucleus for vocal learning, and homologous to human basal ganglia). These findings complement ethological and neural evidence of the relationship between vocal learning and beat synchronization, supporting a framework of some degree of common genomic substrates underlying rhythm-related behaviours in two clades, humans and songbirds (the largest evolutionary radiation of vocal learners). Future cross-species approaches investigating the genetic underpinnings of beat synchronization in a broad evolutionary context are discussed
Some topics in theoretical population genetics: Editorial commentaries on a selection of Marc Feldman's TPB papers.
This article consists of commentaries on a selected group of papers of Marc Feldman published in Theoretical Population Biology from 1970 to the present. The papers describe a diverse set of population-genetic models, covering topics such as cultural evolution, social evolution, and the evolution of recombination. The commentaries highlight Marc Feldman's role in providing mathematically rigorous formulations to explore qualitative hypotheses, in many cases generating surprising conclusions
Genome-wide association study of musical beat synchronization demonstrates high polygenicity
Moving in synchrony to the beat is a fundamental component of musicality. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study to identify common genetic variants associated with beat synchronization in 606,825 individuals. Beat synchronization exhibited a highly polygenic architecture, with 69 loci reaching genome-wide significance (Pâ<â5âĂâ10â8) and single-nucleotide-polymorphism-based heritability (on the liability scale) of 13%â16%. Heritability was enriched for genes expressed in brain tissues and for fetal and adult brain-specific gene regulatory elements, underscoring the role of central-nervous-system-expressed genes linked to the genetic basis of the trait. We performed validations of the self-report phenotype (through separate experiments) and of the genome-wide association study (polygenic scores for beat synchronization were associated with patients algorithmically classified as musicians in medical records of a separate biobank). Genetic correlations with breathing function, motor function, processing speed and chronotype suggest shared genetic architecture with beat synchronization and provide avenues for new phenotypic and genetic explorations
Charge collection measurements with p-type Magnetic Czochralski silicon single pad detectors
Abstract The charge collected from beta source particles in single pad detectors produced on p-type Magnetic Czochralski (MCz) silicon wafers has been measured before and after irradiation with 26 MeV protons. After a 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluence of 1 Ă 10 15 cm - 2 the collected charge is reduced to 77% at bias voltages below 900 V. This result is compared with previous results from charge collection measurements
Charge collection and capacitanceâvoltage analysis in irradiated n-type magnetic Czochralski silicon detectors
Abstract The depletion depth of irradiated n-type silicon microstrip detectors can be inferred from both the reciprocal capacitance and from the amount of collected charge. Capacitance voltage ( C â V ) measurements at different frequencies and temperatures are being compared with the bias voltage dependence of the charge collection on an irradiated n-type magnetic Czochralski silicon detector. Good agreement between the reciprocal capacitance and the median collected charge is found when the frequency of the C â V measurement is selected such that it scales with the temperature dependence of the leakage current. Measuring C â V characteristics at prescribed combinations of temperature and frequency allows then a realistic estimate of the depletion characteristics of irradiated silicon strip detectors based on C â V data alone
Behavioral Modernity and the Cultural Transmission of Structured Information: The Semantic Axelrod Model
Cultural transmission models are coming to the fore in explaining increases
in the Paleolithic toolkit richness and diversity. During the later
Paleolithic, technologies increase not only in terms of diversity but also in
their complexity and interdependence. As Mesoudi and O'Brien (2008) have shown,
selection broadly favors social learning of information that is hierarchical
and structured, and multiple studies have demonstrated that teaching within a
social learning environment can increase fitness. We believe that teaching also
provides the scaffolding for transmission of more complex cultural traits.
Here, we introduce an extension of the Axelrod (1997} model of cultural
differentiation in which traits have prerequisite relationships, and where
social learning is dependent upon the ordering of those prerequisites. We
examine the resulting structure of cultural repertoires as learning
environments range from largely unstructured imitation, to structured teaching
of necessary prerequisites, and we find that in combination with individual
learning and innovation, high probabilities of teaching prerequisites leads to
richer cultural repertoires. Our results point to ways in which we can build
more comprehensive explanations of the archaeological record of the Paleolithic
as well as other cases of technological change.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to "Learning Strategies and Cultural
Evolution during the Paleolithic", edited by Kenichi Aoki and Alex Mesoudi,
and presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, Austin TX. Revised 5/14/1
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