Convergence rates in ℓ¹-regularization when the basis is not smooth enough

Sparsity promoting regularization is an important technique for signal reconstruction and several other ill-posed problems. Theoretical investigation typically bases on the assumption that the unknown solution has a sparse representation with respect to a fixed basis. We drop this sparsity assumption and provide error estimates for nonsparse solutions. After discussing a result in this direction published earlier by one of the authors and co-authors, we prove a similar error estimate under weaker assumptions. Two examples illustrate that this set of weaker assumptions indeed covers additional situations which appear in applications.J. Flemming was supported by the German Science Foundation (DFG) under grant FL 832/1-1. M. Hegland was partially supported by the Technische Universität München Institute of Advanced Study, funded by the German Excellence Initiative. Work on this article was partially conducted during a stay of M. Hegland at TU Chemnitz, supported by the German Science Foundation (DFG) under grant HO 1454/8-1

Comparison of high temperature chars of wheat straw and rice husk with respect to chemistry, morphology and reactivity

peer-reviewedFast pyrolysis of wheat straw and rice husk was carried out in an entrained flow reactor at high-temperatures (1000–1500) °C. The collected char was analyzed using X-ray diffractometry, N2-adsorption, scanning electron microscopy, particle size analysis with CAMSIZER XT, 29Si and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis to investigate the effect of inorganic matter on the char morphology and oxygen reactivity. The silicon compounds were dispersed throughout the turbostratic structure of rice husk char in an amorphous phase with a low melting temperature (≈730 °C), which led to the formation of a glassy char shell, resulting in a preserved particle size and shape of chars. The high alkali content in the wheat straw resulted in higher char reactivity, whereas the lower silicon content caused variations in the char shape from cylindrical to near-spherical char particles. The reactivities of pinewood and rice husk chars were similar with respect to oxidation, indicating less influence of silicon oxides on the char reactivity

The Residual Method for Regularizing Ill-Posed Problems

Although the \emph{residual method}, or \emph{constrained regularization}, is frequently used in applications, a detailed study of its properties is still missing. This sharply contrasts the progress of the theory of Tikhonov regularization, where a series of new results for regularization in Banach spaces has been published in the recent years. The present paper intends to bridge the gap between the existing theories as far as possible. We develop a stability and convergence theory for the residual method in general topological spaces. In addition, we prove convergence rates in terms of (generalized) Bregman distances, which can also be applied to non-convex regularization functionals. We provide three examples that show the applicability of our theory. The first example is the regularized solution of linear operator equations on $L^p$-spaces, where we show that the results of Tikhonov regularization generalize unchanged to the residual method. As a second example, we consider the problem of density estimation from a finite number of sampling points, using the Wasserstein distance as a fidelity term and an entropy measure as regularization term. It is shown that the densities obtained in this way depend continuously on the location of the sampled points and that the underlying density can be recovered as the number of sampling points tends to infinity. Finally, we apply our theory to compressed sensing. Here, we show the well-posedness of the method and derive convergence rates both for convex and non-convex regularization under rather weak conditions.Comment: 29 pages, one figur

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Pre–B cell receptor–mediated cell cycle arrest in Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia requires IKAROS function

B cell lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) arises in virtually all cases from B cell precursors that are arrested at pre–B cell receptor–dependent stages. The Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) subtype of ALL accounts for 25–30% of cases of adult ALL, has the most unfavorable clinical outcome among all ALL subtypes and is defined by the oncogenic BCR-ABL1 kinase and deletions of the IKAROS gene in >80% of cases. Here, we demonstrate that the pre–B cell receptor functions as a tumor suppressor upstream of IKAROS through induction of cell cycle arrest in Ph+ ALL cells. Pre–B cell receptor–mediated cell cycle arrest in Ph+ ALL cells critically depends on IKAROS function, and is reversed by coexpression of the dominant-negative IKAROS splice variant IK6. IKAROS also promotes tumor suppression through cooperation with downstream molecules of the pre–B cell receptor signaling pathway, even if expression of the pre–B cell receptor itself is compromised. In this case, IKAROS redirects oncogenic BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase signaling from SRC kinase-activation to SLP65, which functions as a critical tumor suppressor downstream of the pre–B cell receptor. These findings provide a rationale for the surprisingly high frequency of IKAROS deletions in Ph+ ALL and identify IKAROS-mediated cell cycle exit as the endpoint of an emerging pathway of pre–B cell receptor–mediated tumor suppression

EuReCa ONE—27 Nations, ONE Europe, ONE Registry A prospective one month analysis of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes in 27 countries in Europe

AbstractIntroductionThe aim of the EuReCa ONE study was to determine the incidence, process, and outcome for out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) throughout Europe.MethodsThis was an international, prospective, multi-centre one-month study. Patients who suffered an OHCA during October 2014 who were attended and/or treated by an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) were eligible for inclusion in the study. Data were extracted from national, regional or local registries.ResultsData on 10,682 confirmed OHCAs from 248 regions in 27 countries, covering an estimated population of 174 million. In 7146 (66%) cases, CPR was started by a bystander or by the EMS. The incidence of CPR attempts ranged from 19.0 to 104.0 per 100,000 population per year. 1735 had ROSC on arrival at hospital (25.2%), Overall, 662/6414 (10.3%) in all cases with CPR attempted survived for at least 30 days or to hospital discharge.ConclusionThe results of EuReCa ONE highlight that OHCA is still a major public health problem accounting for a substantial number of deaths in Europe.EuReCa ONE very clearly demonstrates marked differences in the processes for data collection and reported outcomes following OHCA all over Europe. Using these data and analyses, different countries, regions, systems, and concepts can benchmark themselves and may learn from each other to further improve survival following one of our major health care events

State of the climate in 2018

In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—continued their increase. The annual global average carbon dioxide concentration at Earth’s surface was 407.4 ± 0.1 ppm, the highest in the modern instrumental record and in ice core records dating back 800 000 years. Combined, greenhouse gases and several halogenated gases contribute just over 3 W m−2 to radiative forcing and represent a nearly 43% increase since 1990. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about 65% of this radiative forcing. With a weak La Niña in early 2018 transitioning to a weak El Niño by the year’s end, the global surface (land and ocean) temperature was the fourth highest on record, with only 2015 through 2017 being warmer. Several European countries reported record high annual temperatures. There were also more high, and fewer low, temperature extremes than in nearly all of the 68-year extremes record. Madagascar recorded a record daily temperature of 40.5°C in Morondava in March, while South Korea set its record high of 41.0°C in August in Hongcheon. Nawabshah, Pakistan, recorded its highest temperature of 50.2°C, which may be a new daily world record for April. Globally, the annual lower troposphere temperature was third to seventh highest, depending on the dataset analyzed. The lower stratospheric temperature was approximately fifth lowest. The 2018 Arctic land surface temperature was 1.2°C above the 1981–2010 average, tying for third highest in the 118-year record, following 2016 and 2017. June’s Arctic snow cover extent was almost half of what it was 35 years ago. Across Greenland, however, regional summer temperatures were generally below or near average. Additionally, a satellite survey of 47 glaciers in Greenland indicated a net increase in area for the first time since records began in 1999. Increasing permafrost temperatures were reported at most observation sites in the Arctic, with the overall increase of 0.1°–0.2°C between 2017 and 2018 being comparable to the highest rate of warming ever observed in the region. On 17 March, Arctic sea ice extent marked the second smallest annual maximum in the 38-year record, larger than only 2017. The minimum extent in 2018 was reached on 19 September and again on 23 September, tying 2008 and 2010 for the sixth lowest extent on record. The 23 September date tied 1997 as the latest sea ice minimum date on record. First-year ice now dominates the ice cover, comprising 77% of the March 2018 ice pack compared to 55% during the 1980s. Because thinner, younger ice is more vulnerable to melting out in summer, this shift in sea ice age has contributed to the decreasing trend in minimum ice extent. Regionally, Bering Sea ice extent was at record lows for almost the entire 2017/18 ice season. For the Antarctic continent as a whole, 2018 was warmer than average. On the highest points of the Antarctic Plateau, the automatic weather station Relay (74°S) broke or tied six monthly temperature records throughout the year, with August breaking its record by nearly 8°C. However, cool conditions in the western Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sector contributed to a low melt season overall for 2017/18. High SSTs contributed to low summer sea ice extent in the Ross and Weddell Seas in 2018, underpinning the second lowest Antarctic summer minimum sea ice extent on record. Despite conducive conditions for its formation, the ozone hole at its maximum extent in September was near the 2000–18 mean, likely due to an ongoing slow decline in stratospheric chlorine monoxide concentration. Across the oceans, globally averaged SST decreased slightly since the record El Niño year of 2016 but was still far above the climatological mean. On average, SST is increasing at a rate of 0.10° ± 0.01°C decade−1 since 1950. The warming appeared largest in the tropical Indian Ocean and smallest in the North Pacific. The deeper ocean continues to warm year after year. For the seventh consecutive year, global annual mean sea level became the highest in the 26-year record, rising to 81 mm above the 1993 average. As anticipated in a warming climate, the hydrological cycle over the ocean is accelerating: dry regions are becoming drier and wet regions rainier. Closer to the equator, 95 named tropical storms were observed during 2018, well above the 1981–2010 average of 82. Eleven tropical cyclones reached Saffir–Simpson scale Category 5 intensity. North Atlantic Major Hurricane Michael’s landfall intensity of 140 kt was the fourth strongest for any continental U.S. hurricane landfall in the 168-year record. Michael caused more than 30 fatalities and $25 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages. In the western North Pacific, Super Typhoon Mangkhut led to 160 fatalities and$6 billion (U.S. dollars) in damages across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Tropical Storm Son-Tinh was responsible for 170 fatalities in Vietnam and Laos. Nearly all the islands of Micronesia experienced at least moderate impacts from various tropical cyclones. Across land, many areas around the globe received copious precipitation, notable at different time scales. Rodrigues and Réunion Island near southern Africa each reported their third wettest year on record. In Hawaii, 1262 mm precipitation at Waipā Gardens (Kauai) on 14–15 April set a new U.S. record for 24-h precipitation. In Brazil, the city of Belo Horizonte received nearly 75 mm of rain in just 20 minutes, nearly half its monthly average. Globally, fire activity during 2018 was the lowest since the start of the record in 1997, with a combined burned area of about 500 million hectares. This reinforced the long-term downward trend in fire emissions driven by changes in land use in frequently burning savannas. However, wildfires burned 3.5 million hectares across the United States, well above the 2000–10 average of 2.7 million hectares. Combined, U.S. wildfire damages for the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons exceeded $40 billion (U.S. dollars)

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery