Some Additive Combinatorics Problems in Matrix Rings

We study the distribution of singular and unimodular matrices in sumsets in matrix rings over finite fields. We apply these results to estimate the largest prime divisor of the determinants in sumsets in matrix rings over the integers

Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste (RHLLW) Disposal Project Code of Record

The Remote-Handled Low-Level Waste Disposal Project addresses an anticipated shortfall in remote-handled LLW disposal capability following cessation of operations at the existing facility, which will continue until it is full or until it must be closed in preparation for final remediation of the Subsurface Disposal Area (approximately at the end of fiscal year 2015). Development of a new onsite disposal facility, the highest ranked alternative, will provide necessary remote handled LLW disposal capability and will ensure continuity of operations that generate remote-handled LLW. This report documents the Code of Record for design of a new LLW disposal capability

The UDF05 follow-up of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. I. The faint-end slope of the Lyman Break Galaxy Population at z ~ 5

We present the UDF05 HST program, which consists of three disjoint fields—NICP12, NICP34, plus the HUDF—with deep ACS (F606W, F775W, and F850LP) and NICMOS (F110W and F160W) imaging. Here we use the ACS data for the NICP12 and HUDF fields to implement a (V − i) − (i − z) selection criterion that allows us to identify a sample of 101 (133) z ~ 5 Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) down to z850 = 28.5 (29.25) mag in NICP12 (HUDF). We construct the rest-frame 1400 Å LBG luminosity function (LF) over the range M1400 = [ − 21.4, − 17.1] , i.e. down to ~0.04L* at z ~ 5, and use Subaru Deep Field results (Yoshida et al. 2006) to constrain our LF at the bright end (M1400 ≥ − 22.2). We show that (1) different assumptions regarding the LBG SED distribution, dust properties, and intergalactic absorption result in a 25% variation in the number density of LBGs at z ~ 5; (2) under consistent assumptions for dust properties and intergalactic absorption, the HUDF is ~30% underdense in z ~ 5 LBGs relative to the NICP12 field, a variation which is well explained by cosmic variance; and (3) the faint-end slope of the LF does not depend on the input parameters, and has a value of α ~ − 1.6, similar to the faint-end slope of the LF of z ~ 3 and z ~ 6 LBGs. Our study therefore supports no variation in the faint end of the LBG LF over the whole redshift range z ~ 3 to z ~ 6. Based on a comparison with semianalytical models, we speculate that the z ~ 5 LBGs might have a top-heavy IMF

The dual phosphodiesterase 3 and 4 inhibitor RPL554 stimulates CFTR and ciliary beating in primary cultures of bronchial epithelia

Cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease caused by mutations in the CFTR gene, is a life-limiting disease characterized by chronic bacterial airway infection and severe inflammation. Some CFTR mutants have reduced responsiveness to cAMP/PKA signaling; hence, pharmacological agents that elevate intracellular cAMP are potentially useful for the treatment of CF. By inhibiting cAMP breakdown, phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors stimulate CFTR in vitro and in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that PDE inhibition by RPL554, a drug that has been shown to cause bronchodilation in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, stimulates CFTR-dependent ion secretion across bronchial epithelial cells isolated from patients carrying the R117H/F508del CF genotype. RPL554-induced CFTR activity was further increased by the potentiator VX-770, suggesting an additional benefit by the drug combination. RPL554 also increased cilia beat frequency in primary human bronchial epithelial cells. The results indicate RPL554 may increase mucociliary clearance through stimulation of CFTR and increasing ciliary beat frequency and thus could provide a novel therapeutic option for CF

Crises and collective socio-economic phenomena: simple models and challenges

Financial and economic history is strewn with bubbles and crashes, booms and busts, crises and upheavals of all sorts. Understanding the origin of these events is arguably one of the most important problems in economic theory. In this paper, we review recent efforts to include heterogeneities and interactions in models of decision. We argue that the Random Field Ising model (RFIM) indeed provides a unifying framework to account for many collective socio-economic phenomena that lead to sudden ruptures and crises. We discuss different models that can capture potentially destabilising self-referential feedback loops, induced either by herding, i.e. reference to peers, or trending, i.e. reference to the past, and account for some of the phenomenology missing in the standard models. We discuss some empirically testable predictions of these models, for example robust signatures of RFIM-like herding effects, or the logarithmic decay of spatial correlations of voting patterns. One of the most striking result, inspired by statistical physics methods, is that Adam Smith's invisible hand can badly fail at solving simple coordination problems. We also insist on the issue of time-scales, that can be extremely long in some cases, and prevent socially optimal equilibria to be reached. As a theoretical challenge, the study of so-called "detailed-balance" violating decision rules is needed to decide whether conclusions based on current models (that all assume detailed-balance) are indeed robust and generic.Comment: Review paper accepted for a special issue of J Stat Phys; several minor improvements along reviewers' comment

MCMC implementation for Bayesian hidden semi-Markov models with illustrative applications

Copyright © Springer 2013. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11222-013-9399-zHidden Markov models (HMMs) are flexible, well established models useful in a diverse range of applications. However, one potential limitation of such models lies in their inability to explicitly structure the holding times of each hidden state. Hidden semi-Markov models (HSMMs) are more useful in the latter respect as they incorporate additional temporal structure by explicit modelling of the holding times. However, HSMMs have generally received less attention in the literature, mainly due to their intensive computational requirements. Here a Bayesian implementation of HSMMs is presented. Recursive algorithms are proposed in conjunction with Metropolis-Hastings in such a way as to avoid sampling from the distribution of the hidden state sequence in the MCMC sampler. This provides a computationally tractable estimation framework for HSMMs avoiding the limitations associated with the conventional EM algorithm regarding model flexibility. Performance of the proposed implementation is demonstrated through simulation experiments as well as an illustrative application relating to recurrent failures in a network of underground water pipes where random effects are also included into the HSMM to allow for pipe heterogeneity

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types

Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study

A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4

Paleobiology of titanosaurs: reproduction, development, histology, pneumaticity, locomotion and neuroanatomy from the South American fossil record

Fil: García, Rodolfo A.. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Museo Provincial Carlos Ameghino. Cipolletti; ArgentinaFil: Salgado, Leonardo. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. General Roca. Río Negro; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Mariela. Inibioma-Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Bariloche. Río Negro; ArgentinaFil: Cerda, Ignacio A.. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Museo Provincial Carlos Ameghino. Cipolletti; ArgentinaFil: Carabajal, Ariana Paulina. Museo Carmen Funes. Plaza Huincul. Neuquén; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Alejandro. Museo de La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Coria, Rodolfo A.. Instituto de Paleobiología y Geología. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Neuquén; ArgentinaFil: Fiorelli, Lucas E.. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica. Anillaco. La Rioja; Argentin