Monotone Proofs of the Pigeon Hole Principle

Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Geneva, Switzerland, July 9-15

Dissipative hydrodynamics of relativistic shock waves in a Quark Gluon Plasma: comparing and benchmarking alternate numerical methods

This paper presents numerical cross-comparisons and benchmark results for two different kinetic numerical methods, capable of describing relativistic dissipative fluid dynamics in a wide range of kinematic regimes, typical of relevant physics applications, such as transport phenomena in quark-gluon plasmas. We refer to relativistic lattice Boltzmann versus Montecarlo Test-Particle methods. Lacking any realistic option for accurate validation vis-a-vis experimental data, we check the consistency of our results against established simulation packages available in the literature. We successfully cross-compare the results of the two aforementioned numerical approaches for momentum integrated quantities like the hydrostatic and dynamical pressure profiles, the collective flow and the heat flux. These results corroborate the confidence on the robustness and correctness of these computational methods and on the accurate calibration of their numerical parameters with respect to the physical transport coefficients. Our numerical results are made available as supplemental material, with the aim of establishing a reference benchmark for other numerical approaches

SI-Lab Annual Research Report 2020

The Signal & Images Laboratory (http://si.isti.cnr.it/) is an interdisciplinary research group in computer vision, signal analysis, smart vision systems and multimedia data understanding. It is part of the Institute for Information Science and Technologies of the National Research Council of Italy. This report accounts for the research activities of the Signal and Images Laboratory of the Institute of Information Science and Technologies during the year 2020

Automatizability and Simple Stochastic Games

The complexity of simple stochastic games (SSGs) has been open since they were dened by Condon in 1992. Despite intensive eort, the complexity of this problem is still unresolved. In this paper, building on the results of [4], we establish a connection between the complexity of SSGs and the complexity of an important problem in proof complexity{the proof search problem for low depth Frege systems. We prove that if depth-3 Frege systems are weakly automatizable, then SSGs are solvable in polynomial-time. Moreover we identify a natural combinatorial principle, which is a version of the well-known Graph Ordering Principle (GOP), that we call the integer-valued GOP (IGOP). This principle states that for any graph G with nonnegative integer weights associated with each node, there exists a locally maximal vertex (a vertex whose weight is at least as large as its neighbors). We prove that if depth-2 Frege plus IGOP is weakly automatizable, then SSG is in P. Supported by NSERC.

Molecular Mechanisms Generating and Stabilizing Terminal 22q13 Deletions in 44 Subjects with Phelan/McDermid Syndrome

In this study, we used deletions at 22q13, which represent a substantial source of human pathology (Phelan/McDermid syndrome), as a model for investigating the molecular mechanisms of terminal deletions that are currently poorly understood. We characterized at the molecular level the genomic rearrangement in 44 unrelated patients with 22q13 monosomy resulting from simple terminal deletions (72%), ring chromosomes (14%), and unbalanced translocations (7%). We also discovered interstitial deletions between 17–74 kb in 9% of the patients. Haploinsufficiency of the SHANK3 gene, confirmed in all rearrangements, is very likely the cause of the major neurological features associated with PMS. SHANK3 mutations can also result in language and/or social interaction disabilities. We determined the breakpoint junctions in 29 cases, providing a realistic snapshot of the variety of mechanisms driving non-recurrent deletion and repair at chromosome ends. De novo telomere synthesis and telomere capture are used to repair terminal deletions; non-homologous end-joining or microhomology-mediated break-induced replication is probably involved in ring 22 formation and translocations; non-homologous end-joining and fork stalling and template switching prevail in cases with interstitial 22q13.3. For the first time, we also demonstrated that distinct stabilizing events of the same terminal deletion can occur in different early embryonic cells, proving that terminal deletions can be repaired by multistep healing events and supporting the recent hypothesis that rare pathogenic germline rearrangements may have mitotic origin. Finally, the progressive clinical deterioration observed throughout the longitudinal medical history of three subjects over forty years supports the hypothesis of a role for SHANK3 haploinsufficiency in neurological deterioration, in addition to its involvement in the neurobehavioral phenotype of PMS

Tuberculosis control program in the municipal context: performance evaluation

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Tuberculosis Control Program in municipalities of the State of São Paulo. METHODS This is a program evaluation research, with ecological design, which uses three non-hierarchical groups of the municipalities of the State of São Paulo according to their performance in relation to operational indicators. We have selected 195 municipalities with at least five new cases of tuberculosis notified in the Notification System of the State of São Paulo and with 20,000 inhabitants or more in 2010. The multiple correspondence analysis was used to identify the association between the groups of different performances, the epidemiological and demographic characteristics, and the characteristics of the health systems of the municipalities. RESULTS The group with the worst performance showed the highest rates of abandonment (average [avg] = 10.4, standard deviation [sd] = 9.4) and the lowest rates of supervision of Directly Observed Treatment (avg = 6.1, sd = 12.9), and it was associated with low incidence of tuberculosis, high tuberculosis and HIV, small population, high coverage of the Family Health Strategy/Program of Community Health Agents, and being located on the countryside. The group with the best performance presented the highest cure rate (avg = 83.7, sd = 10.5) and the highest rate of cases in Directly Observed Treatment (avg = 83.0, sd = 12.7); the group of regular performance showed regular results for outcome (avg cure = 79.8, sd = 13.2; abandonment avg = 9.5, sd = 8.3) and supervision of the Directly Observed Treatment (avg = 42.8, sd = 18.8). Large population, low coverage of the Family Health Strategy/Program of Community Health Agents, high incidence of tuberculosis and AIDS, and being located on the coast and in metropolitan areas were associated with these groups. CONCLUSIONS The findings highlight the importance of the Directly Observed Treatment in relation to the outcome for treatment and raise reflections on the structural and managerial capacity of municipalities in the implementation of the Tuberculosis Control Program