How good are your fits? Unbinned multivariate goodness-of-fit tests in high energy physics

Multivariate analyses play an important role in high energy physics. Such analyses often involve performing an unbinned maximum likelihood fit of a probability density function (p.d.f.) to the data. This paper explores a variety of unbinned methods for determining the goodness of fit of the p.d.f. to the data. The application and performance of each method is discussed in the context of a real-life high energy physics analysis (a Dalitz-plot analysis). Several of the methods presented in this paper can also be used for the non-parametric determination of whether two samples originate from the same parent p.d.f. This can be used, e.g., to determine the quality of a detector Monte Carlo simulation without the need for a parametric expression of the efficiency.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figure

Disease networks identify specific conditions and pleiotropy influencing multimorbidity in the general population

Multimorbidity is an emerging topic in public health policy because of its increasing prevalence and socio-economic impact. However, the age- and gender-dependent trends of disease associations at fine resolution, and the underlying genetic factors, remain incompletely understood. Here, by analyzing disease networks from electronic medical records of primary health care, we identify key conditions and shared genetic factors influencing multimorbidity. Three types of diseases are outlined: "central", which include chronic and non-chronic conditions, have higher cumulative risks of disease associations; "community roots" have lower cumulative risks, but inform on continuing clustered disease associations with age; and "seeds of bursts", which most are chronic, reveal outbreaks of disease associations leading to multimorbidity. The diseases with a major impact on multimorbidity are caused by genes that occupy central positions in the network of human disease genes. Alteration of lipid metabolism connects breast cancer, diabetic neuropathy and nutritional anemia. Evaluation of key disease associations by a genome-wide association study identifies shared genetic factors and further supports causal commonalities between nervous system diseases and nutritional anemias. This study also reveals many shared genetic signals with other diseases. Collectively, our results depict novel population-based multimorbidity patterns, identify key diseases within them, and highlight pleiotropy influencing multimorbidity

The impact of inflation risk on forward trading and production

This paper examines the behavior of a competitive firm that faces joint price and inflation risk. Given that the price risk is negatively correlated with the inflation risk in the sense of expectation dependence, we show that the firm optimally opts for an over-hedge (under-hedge) if the firm’s coefficient of relative risk aversion is everywhere no greater (no smaller) than unity. We show further that banning the firm from forward trading may induce the firm to produce more or less, depending on whether the price risk premium is positive or negative, respectively. While the price risk premium is unambiguously negative in the absence of the inflation risk, it is not the case when the inflation risk prevails. In contrast to the conventional wisdom, forward hedging needs not always promote production should firms take inflation seriously.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

On the Schoenberg Transformations in Data Analysis: Theory and Illustrations

The class of Schoenberg transformations, embedding Euclidean distances into higher dimensional Euclidean spaces, is presented, and derived from theorems on positive definite and conditionally negative definite matrices. Original results on the arc lengths, angles and curvature of the transformations are proposed, and visualized on artificial data sets by classical multidimensional scaling. A simple distance-based discriminant algorithm illustrates the theory, intimately connected to the Gaussian kernels of Machine Learning

The Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) Is Affected by Recent BCG Vaccination but Not by Exposure to Non-Tuberculosis Mycobacteria (NTM) during Early Life

The tuberculin skin test (TST) is widely used in TB clinics to aid Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) diagnosis, but the definition and the significance of a positive test in very young children is still unclear. This study compared the TST in Gambian children at 4½ months of age who either received BCG vaccination at birth (Group 1) or were BCG naïve (Group 2) in order to examine the role of BCG vaccination and/or exposure to environmental mycobacteria in TST reactivity at this age. Nearly half of the BCG vaccinated children had a positive TST (≥5 mm) whereas all the BCG naïve children were non-reactive, confirming that recent BCG vaccination affects TST reactivity. The BCG naïve children demonstrated in vitro PPD responses in peripheral blood in the absence of TST reactivity, supporting exposure to and priming by environmental mycobacterial antigens. Group 2 were then vaccinated at 4½ months of age and a repeat TST was performed at 20–28 months of age. Positive reactivity (≥5 mm) was evident in 11.1% and 12.5% infants from Group 1 and Group 2 respectively suggesting that the timing of BCG vaccination had little effect by this age. We further assessed for immune correlates in peripheral blood at 4½ months of age. Mycobacterial specific IFNγ responses were greater in TST responders than in non-responders, although the size of induration did not correlate with IFNγ. However the IFNγ: IL-10 ratio positively correlated with TST induration suggesting that the relationship between PPD induced IFNγ and IL-10 in the peripheral blood may be important in controlling TST reactivity. Collectively these data provide further insights into how the TST is regulated in early life, and how a positive response might be interpreted

Trophic niche partitioning of five skate species of genus Bathyraja in northern and central Patagonia, Argentina

Overexploitation of marine communities can lead to modifications in the structure of the food web and can force organisms like elasmobranchs to change their feeding habits. To evaluate the impact that fisheries have on food webs and on the interactions between species, it is necessary to describe and quantify the diet of the species involved and follow it through time. This study compares the diet of five skate species using the data obtained from the by-catch of the Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) fishery in north and central Patagonia, Argentina. Diet composition was assessed by analysing the digestive tract contents and trophic overlapping between species of the genus Bathyraja: Bathyraja albomaculata, Bathyraja brachyurops, Bathyraja macloviana, Bathyraja magellanica and Bathyraja multispinis. A total of 184 stomachs were analysed. The diets of B. albomaculata and B. macloviana mainly comprised annelids, whereas that of B. brachyurops primarily comprised fish, including hake heads discarded by the fishery. The diets of B. magellanica and B. multispinis were largely based on crustaceans. Despite the morphological similarities and their shared preference for benthic habitats, no complete diet overlaps were found between the different species. These results suggest that these skate species have undergone a process of diet specialisation. This is a common feeding strategy that occurs to successfully eliminate competition when resources are limited, which corresponds to the conditions found in an environment being affected by the pressures of overfishing.Fil: Tschopp, Ayelen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Cristiani, Franco. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Nestor Anibal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Crespo, Enrique Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Coscarella, Mariano Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; Argentin

Early transcriptional response in the jejunum of germ-free piglets after oral infection with virulent rotavirus

Germ-free piglets were orally infected with virulent rotavirus to collect jejunal mucosal scrapings at 12 and 18 hours post infection (two piglets per time point). IFN-gamma mRNA expression was stimulated in the mucosa of all four infected piglets, indicating that they all responded to the rotavirus infection. RNA pools prepared from two infected piglets were used to compare whole mucosal gene expression at 12 and 18 hpi to expression in uninfected germ-free piglets (n = 3) using a porcine intestinal cDNA microarray. Microarray analysis identified 13 down-regulated and 17 up-regulated genes. Northern blot analysis of a selected group of genes confirmed the data of the microarray. Genes were functionally clustered in interferon-regulated genes, proliferation/differentiation genes, apoptosis genes, cytoskeleton genes, signal transduction genes, and enterocyte digestive, absorptive, and transport genes. Down-regulation of the transport gene cluster reflected in part the loss of rotavirus-infected enterocytes from the villous tips. Data mining suggested that several genes were regulated in lower- or mid-villus immature enterocytes and goblet cells, probably to support repair of the damaged epithelial cell layer at the villous tips. Furthermore, up-regulation was observed for IFN-γ induced guanylate binding protein 2, a protein that effectively inhibited VSV and EMCV replication in vitro (Arch Virol 150:1213–1220, 2005). This protein may play a role in the small intestine’s innate defense against enteric viruses like rotavirus

Rotavirus NSP1 Inhibits NFκB Activation by Inducing Proteasome-Dependent Degradation of β-TrCP: A Novel Mechanism of IFN Antagonism

Mechanisms by which viruses counter innate host defense responses generally involve inhibition of one or more components of the interferon (IFN) system. Multiple steps in the induction and amplification of IFN signaling are targeted for inhibition by viral proteins, and many of the IFN antagonists have direct or indirect effects on activation of latent cytoplasmic transcription factors. Rotavirus nonstructural protein NSP1 blocks transcription of type I IFNα/β by inducing proteasome-dependent degradation of IFN-regulatory factors 3 (IRF3), IRF5, and IRF7. In this study, we show that rotavirus NSP1 also inhibits activation of NFκB and does so by a novel mechanism. Proteasome-mediated degradation of inhibitor of κB (IκBα) is required for NFκB activation. Phosphorylated IκBα is a substrate for polyubiquitination by a multisubunit E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, Skp1/Cul1/F-box, in which the F-box substrate recognition protein is β-transducin repeat containing protein (β-TrCP). The data presented show that phosphorylated IκBα is stable in rotavirus-infected cells because infection induces proteasome-dependent degradation of β-TrCP. NSP1 expressed in isolation in transiently transfected cells is sufficient to induce this effect. Targeted degradation of an F-box protein of an E3 ligase complex with a prominent role in modulation of innate immune signaling and cell proliferation pathways is a unique mechanism of IFN antagonism and defines a second strategy of immune evasion used by rotaviruses

Modelo cognitivo-motivacional para la promoción de la persistencia en Educación Superior: relación entre la organización docente, la competencia del alumnado y el «grit»

The teaching process and the success of learning are closely linked to cognitive and motivational factors. The purpose of this study was to test a multilevel model in higher education students on the relationship between the teaching organization and the dimensions of grit and perceived competence. Participated 3033 students, who answered utility dimension inventories and organization, competition and grit. The results show that at the individual level, the organization by the teaching staff focused on the utility and organization is positively related to the student's scream, this relationship being mediated by the perceived competence. The organizational improvement of the teacher generates student achievements through the positive impact on their competence.«El proceso de enseñanza y el éxito del aprendizaje están estrechamente vinculados a factores cognitivos y motivacionales. Este estudio tuvo como propósito poner a prueba un modelo multinivel en estudiantes de Educación Superior sobre la relación de la organización docente y las dimensiones del grit, mediada por la competencia percibida. Participaron 3.033 estudiantes de cinco países, a los que se les midió la utilidad y organización del docente, la competencia y el grit. Los resultados muestran que, a nivel individual, la organización por parte del profesorado centrada en la utilidad se relacionó positivamente con el grit del estudiante cuando estaba mediada por la competencia percibida. Se sugiere que el profesor mejore su tarea organizativa docente, pues genera mayores logros en el estudiante a través del impacto positivo sobre su competencia