The Astronomical Orientation of Ancient Greek Temples

Despite its appearing to be a simple question to answer, there has been no consensus as to whether or not the alignments of ancient Greek temples reflect astronomical intentions. Here I present the results of a survey of archaic and classical Greek temples in Sicily and compare them with temples in Greece. Using a binomial test I show strong evidence that there is a preference for solar orientations. I then speculate that differences in alignment patterns between Sicily and Greece reflect differing pressures in the expression of ethnic identity

A new method for obtaining sharp compound Poisson approximation error estimates for sums of locally dependent random variables

Let X1, X2,..., Xn be a sequence of independent or locally dependent random variables taking values in ℤ+. In this paper, we derive sharp bounds, via a new probabilistic method, for the total variation distance between the distribution of the sum Σni=1 Xi and an appropriate Poisson or compound Poisson distribution. These bounds include a factor which depends on the smoothness of the approximating Poisson or compound Poisson distribution. This "smoothness factor" is of order O(σ-2), according to a heuristic argument, where σ-2 denotes the variance of the approximating distribution. In this way, we offer sharp error estimates for a large range of values of the parameters. Finally, specific examples concerning appearances of rare runs in sequences of Bernoulli trials are presented by way of illustration. © 2010 ISI/BS

Study of bone metabolism and angiogenesis in patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy/autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Objectives: As the interaction between hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and endosteal and endothelial niches in HSCs homing is essential, we aimed to study bone turnover and angiogenesis in 29 patients with lymphoma/multiple myeloma undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods: Serum samples were collected before high-dose chemotherapy (HDT), at the end of HDT, after HSC infusion, at the nadir of myelotoxicity, and at engraftment. Bone metabolism (CTX, TRACP-5b, bALP, OC, DKK1, RANKL, OPG), and angiogenesis (Ang1, Ang2) markers were measured. These markers were also measured in 21 control patients before and after conventional chemotherapy. Results and Conclusions: Bone resorption declined during HSCT (decrease in TRACP-5b [P <.001] and CTX [P =.006]). Bone formation declined as well (decrease in bALP and OC [P <.001 for both]). RANKL/OPG ratio, an indicator of osteoclastic activation, did not change significantly (P =.5). Ang1/Ang2 ratio, a vessel equilibrium marker, decreased significantly (P <.001) suggesting endothelial destabilization. The changes observed in the control group were similar except of bALP and RANKL/OPG ratio. Moreover, Ang1/Ang2 ratio on the day after HSC infusion strongly correlated with time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment (P <.001 for both). Conclusively, bone turnover and vessel destabilization represent important events during HSCT probably reflecting the effect of chemotherapy. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Lt