6,077 research outputs found
Supermassive black holes or boson stars? Hair counting with gravitational wave detectors
The evidence for supermassive Kerr black holes in galactic centers is strong
and growing, but only the detection of gravitational waves will convincingly
rule out other possibilities to explain the observations. The Kerr spacetime is
completely specified by the first two multipole moments: mass and angular
momentum. This is usually referred to as the ``no-hair theorem'', but it is
really a ``two-hair'' theorem. If general relativity is the correct theory of
gravity, the most plausible alternative to a supermassive Kerr black hole is a
rotating boson star. Numerical calculations indicate that the spacetime of
rotating boson stars is determined by the first three multipole moments
(``three-hair theorem''). LISA could accurately measure the oscillation
frequencies of these supermassive objects. We propose to use these measurements
to ``count their hair'', unambiguously determining their nature and properties.Comment: 8 pages. This essay received an honorable mention in the Gravity
Research Foundation Essay Competition, 200
Removing the influence of a group variable in high-dimensional predictive modelling
In many application areas, predictive models are used to support or make
important decisions. There is increasing awareness that these models may
contain spurious or otherwise undesirable correlations. Such correlations may
arise from a variety of sources, including batch effects, systematic
measurement errors, or sampling bias. Without explicit adjustment, machine
learning algorithms trained using these data can produce poor out-of-sample
predictions which propagate these undesirable correlations. We propose a method
to pre-process the training data, producing an adjusted dataset that is
statistically independent of the nuisance variables with minimum information
loss. We develop a conceptually simple approach for creating an adjusted
dataset in high-dimensional settings based on a constrained form of matrix
decomposition. The resulting dataset can then be used in any predictive
algorithm with the guarantee that predictions will be statistically independent
of the group variable. We develop a scalable algorithm for implementing the
method, along with theory support in the form of independence guarantees and
optimality. The method is illustrated on some simulation examples and applied
to two case studies: removing machine-specific correlations from brain scan
data, and removing race and ethnicity information from a dataset used to
predict recidivism. That the motivation for removing undesirable correlations
is quite different in the two applications illustrates the broad applicability
of our approach.Comment: Update. 18 pages, 3 figure
Mundus subterraneus. La representación del mundo subterráneo americano: del Barroco a la Ilustración
Co-digestion of macroalgae for biogas production: an LCA-based environmental evaluation
Algae represent a favourable and potentially sustainable source of biomass for bioenergy-based industrial pathways in the future.
The study, performed on a real pilot plant implemented in Augusta (Italy) within the frame of the BioWALK4Biofuels project,
aims to figure out whether seaweed (macroalgae) cultivated in near-shore open ponds could be considered a beneficial aspect as a
source of biomass for biogas production within the co-digestion with local agricultural biological waste. The LCA results
confirm that the analysed A and B scenarios (namely the algae-based co-digestion scenario and agricultural mix feedstock
scenario) present an environmental performance more favourable than that achieved with conventional non-renewable-based
technologies (specifically natural gas - Scenario C). Results show that the use of seaweed (Scenario A) represent a feasible
solution in order to replace classical biomass used for biofuel production from a land-based feedstock. The improvement of the
environmental performances is quantifiable on 10% respect to Scenario B, and 38 times higher than Scenario
The expected neutral frequency spectrum of linked sites
We present an exact, closed expression for the expected neutral Site
Frequency Spectrum for two neutral sites, 2-SFS, without recombination. This
spectrum is the immediate extension of the well known single site
neutral SFS. Similar formulae are also provided for the case of the expected
SFS of sites that are linked to a focal neutral mutation of known frequency.
Formulae for finite samples are obtained by coalescent methods and remarkably
simple expressions are derived for the SFS of a large population, which are
also solutions of the multi-allelic Kolmogorov equations. Besides the general
interest of these new spectra, they relate to interesting biological cases such
as structural variants and introgressions. As an example, we present the
expected neutral frequency spectrum of regions with a chromosomal inversion.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure
Adrenal cortex development and related disorders leading to adrenal insufficiency.
The adult human adrenal cortex produces steroid hormones that are crucial for life, supporting immune response, glucose homeostasis, salt balance and sexual maturation. It consists of three histologically distinct and functionally specialized zones. The fetal adrenal forms from mesodermal material and produces predominantly adrenal C19 steroids from its fetal zone, which involutes after birth. Transition to the adult cortex occurs immediately after birth for the formation of the zona glomerulosa and fasciculata for aldosterone and cortisol production and continues through infancy until the zona reticularis for adrenal androgen production is formed with adrenarche. The development of this indispensable organ is complex and not fully understood. This article gives an overview of recent knowledge gained of adrenal biology from two perspectives: one, from basic science studying adrenal development, zonation and homeostasis; and two, from adrenal disorders identified in persons manifesting with various isolated or syndromic forms of primary adrenal insufficiency
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