Prediction Properties of Aitken's Iterated Delta^2 Process, of Wynn's Epsilon Algorithm, and of Brezinski's Iterated Theta Algorithm

The prediction properties of Aitken's iterated Delta^2 process, Wynn's epsilon algorithm, and Brezinski's iterated theta algorithm for (formal) power series are analyzed. As a first step, the defining recursive schemes of these transformations are suitably rearranged in order to permit the derivation of accuracy-through-order relationships. On the basis of these relationships, the rational approximants can be rewritten as a partial sum plus an appropriate transformation term. A Taylor expansion of such a transformation term, which is a rational function and which can be computed recursively, produces the predictions for those coefficients of the (formal) power series which were not used for the computation of the corresponding rational approximant.Comment: 34 pages, LaTe

Scalar Levin-Type Sequence Transformations

Sequence transformations are important tools for the convergence acceleration of slowly convergent scalar sequences or series and for the summation of divergent series. Transformations that depend not only on the sequence elements or partial sums $s_n$ but also on an auxiliary sequence of so-called remainder estimates $\omega_n$ are of Levin-type if they are linear in the $s_n$, and nonlinear in the $\omega_n$. Known Levin-type sequence transformations are reviewed and put into a common theoretical framework. It is discussed how such transformations may be constructed by either a model sequence approach or by iteration of simple transformations. As illustration, two new sequence transformations are derived. Common properties and results on convergence acceleration and stability are given. For important special cases, extensions of the general results are presented. Also, guidelines for the application of Levin-type sequence transformations are discussed, and a few numerical examples are given.Comment: 59 pages, LaTeX, invited review for J. Comput. Applied Math., abstract shortene

Restoring speech following total removal of the larynx by a learned transformation from sensor data to acoustics

Total removal of the larynx may be required to treat laryngeal cancer: speech is lost. This article shows that it may be possible to restore speech by sensing movement of the remaining speech articulators and use machine learning algorithms to derive a transformation to convert this sensor data into an acoustic signal. The resulting “silent speech,” which may be delivered in real time, is intelligible and sounds natural. The identity of the speaker is recognisable. The sensing technique involves attaching small, unobtrusive magnets to the lips and tongue and monitoring changes in the magnetic field induced by their movement

Activation of Ventral Tegmental Area 5-HT2C Receptors Reduces Incentive Motivation

FUNDING AND DISCLOSURE The research was funded by Wellcome Trust (WT098012) to LKH; and National Institute of Health (DK056731) and the Marilyn H. Vincent Foundation to MGM. The University of Michigan Transgenic Core facility is partially supported by the NIH-funded University of Michigan Center for Gastrointestinal Research (DK034933). The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Dr Celine Cansell, Ms Raffaella Chianese and the staff of the Medical Research Facility for technical assistance. We thank Dr Vladimir Orduña for the scientific advice and technical assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The JCMT Gould Belt Survey: A First Look at the Auriga–California Molecular Cloud with SCUBA-2

We present 850 and 450 μm observations of the dense regions within the Auriga–California molecular cloud using SCUBA-2 as part of the JCMT Gould Belt Legacy Survey to identify candidate protostellar objects, measure the masses of their circumstellar material (disk and envelope), and compare the star formation to that in the Orion A molecular cloud. We identify 59 candidate protostars based on the presence of compact submillimeter emission, complementing these observations with existing Herschel/SPIRE maps. Of our candidate protostars, 24 are associated with young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Spitzer and Herschel/PACS catalogs of 166 and 60 YSOs, respectively (177 unique), confirming their protostellar nature. The remaining 35 candidate protostars are in regions, particularly around LkHα 101, where the background cloud emission is too bright to verify or rule out the presence of the compact 70 μm emission that is expected for a protostellar source. We keep these candidate protostars in our sample but note that they may indeed be prestellar in nature. Our observations are sensitive to the high end of the mass distribution in Auriga–Cal. We find that the disparity between the richness of infrared star-forming objects in Orion A and the sparsity in Auriga–Cal extends to the submillimeter, suggesting that the relative star formation rates have not varied over the Class II lifetime and that Auriga–Cal will maintain a lower star formation efficiency

Anisomycin activates JNK and sensitises DU 145 prostate carcinoma cells to Fas mediated apoptosis

Treatment of the hormone refractory prostate cancer cell line DU 145 with sublethal concentrations of chemotherapeutic drugs has been reported to sensitise these cells to Fas mediated apoptosis. However, the mechanism by which this occurs has not been determined. Our group has shown that inhibition of JNK activity completely abrogates the effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. Using anisomycin, a potent JNK agonist, we have demonstrated a role for JNK in Fas mediated apoptosis in DU 145 cells. Inhibition of Caspase 8 and Caspase 9 completely inhibits this process which suggests that DU 145 cells require mitochondrial amplification of the Fas apoptotic signal. Furthermore, we have shown that inhibition of Fas mediated apoptosis is an early event in DU 145 cells, occurring upstream of Caspase 8 cleavage. It is hoped that identifying the target of JNK will allow novel therapies to be developed for the treatment of hormone refractory prostate cancer. Such therapies are especially important because no single or combined treatment to date has significantly prolonged survival in patients with hormone refractory prostate cancer

The Nature of Knowledge in Composition and Literary Understanding: The Question of Specificity

↵PETER SMAGORINSKY is Assistant Professor, College of Education, University of Oklahoma, 820 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019-0. He specializes in classroom literacy.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Dispersal of Adult Black Marlin (Istiompax indica) from a Great Barrier Reef Spawning Aggregation

The black marlin (Istiompax indica) is one of the largest bony fishes in the world with females capable of reaching a mass of over 700 kg. This highly migratory predator occurs in the tropical regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and is the target of regional recreational and commercial fisheries. Through the sampling of ichthyoplankton and ovaries we provide evidence that the relatively high seasonal abundance of black marlin off the Great Barrier Reef is, in fact, a spawning aggregation. Furthermore, through the tracking of individual black marlin via satellite popup tags, we document the dispersal of adult black marlin away from the spawning aggregation, thereby identifying the catchment area for this spawning stock. Although tag shedding is an issue when studying billfish, we tentatively identify the catchment area for this stock of black marlin to extend throughout the Coral Sea, including the waters of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tuvalu and Nauru

Novel Association Strategy with Copy Number Variation for Identifying New Risk Loci of Human Diseases

Copy number variations (CNV) are important causal genetic variations for human disease; however, the lack of a statistical model has impeded the systematic testing of CNVs associated with disease in large-scale cohort.Here, we developed a novel integrated strategy to test CNV-association in genome-wide case-control studies. We converted the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) signal to copy number states using a well-trained hidden Markov model. We mapped the susceptible CNV-loci through SNP site-specific testing to cope with the physiological complexity of CNVs. We also ensured the credibility of the associated CNVs through further window-based CNV-pattern clustering. Genome-wide data with seven diseases were used to test our strategy and, in total, we identified 36 new susceptible loci that are associated with CNVs for the seven diseases: 5 with bipolar disorder, 4 with coronary artery disease, 1 with Crohn's disease, 7 with hypertension, 9 with rheumatoid arthritis, 7 with type 1 diabetes and 3 with type 2 diabetes. Fifteen of these identified loci were validated through genotype-association and physiological function from previous studies, which provide further confidence for our results. Notably, the genes associated with bipolar disorder converged in the phosphoinositide/calcium signaling, a well-known affected pathway in bipolar disorder, which further supports that CNVs have impact on bipolar disorder.Our results demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of our CNV-association analysis and provided an alternative avenue for discovering new associated loci of human diseases