On Vague Computers

Vagueness is something everyone is familiar with. In fact, most people think that vagueness is closely related to language and exists only there. However, vagueness is a property of the physical world. Quantum computers harness superposition and entanglement to perform their computational tasks. Both superposition and entanglement are vague processes. Thus quantum computers, which process exact data without "exploiting" vagueness, are actually vague computers

Measuring Slepton Masses and Mixings at the LHC

Flavor physics may help us understand theories beyond the standard model. In the context of supersymmetry, if we can measure the masses and mixings of sleptons and squarks, we may learn something about supersymmetry and supersymmetry breaking. Here we consider a hybrid gauge-gravity supersymmetric model in which the observed masses and mixings of the standard model leptons are explained by a U(1) x U(1) flavor symmetry. In the supersymmetric sector, the charged sleptons have reasonably large flavor mixings, and the lightest is metastable. As a result, supersymmetric events are characterized not by missing energy, but by heavy metastable charged particles. Many supersymmetric events are therefore fully reconstructible, and we can reconstruct most of the charged sleptons by working up the long supersymmetric decay chains. We obtain promising results for both masses and mixings, and conclude that, given a favorable model, precise measurements at the LHC may help shed light not only on new physics, but also on the standard model flavor parameters.Comment: 24 pages; v2: fixed a typo in our computer program that led to some miscalculated branching ratios, various clarifications and minor improvements, conclusions unchanged, published versio

Pseudorehearsal in value function approximation

Catastrophic forgetting is of special importance in reinforcement learning, as the data distribution is generally non-stationary over time. We study and compare several pseudorehearsal approaches for Q-learning with function approximation in a pole balancing task. We have found that pseudorehearsal seems to assist learning even in such very simple problems, given proper initialization of the rehearsal parameters

An automated multiwell plate reading film microscope for live cell autofluorescence lifetime assays

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is increasingly used to read out cellular autofluorescence originating from the coenzyme NADH in the context of investigating cell metabolic state. We present here an automated multiwell plate reading FLIM microscope optimized for UV illumination with the goal of extending high content fluorescence lifetime assays to readouts of metabolism. We demonstrate its application to automated cellular autofluorescence lifetime imaging and discuss the key practical issues associated with its implementation. In particular, we illustrate its capability to read out the NADH-lifetime response of cells to metabolic modulators, thereby illustrating the potential of the instrument for cytotoxicity studies, assays for drug discovery and stratified medicine

Rings in the Solar System: a short review

Rings are ubiquitous around giant planets in our Solar System. They evolve jointly with the nearby satellite system. They could form either during the giant planet formation process or much later, as a result of large scale dynamical instabilities either in the local satellite system, or at the planetary scale. We review here the main characteristics of rings in our solar system, and discuss their main evolution processes and possible origin. We also discuss the recent discovery of rings around small bodies.Comment: Accepted for the Handbook of Exoplanet

Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock: 2016.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an update to "Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock: 2012." DESIGN: A consensus committee of 55 international experts representing 25 international organizations was convened. Nominal groups were assembled at key international meetings (for those committee members attending the conference). A formal conflict-of-interest (COI) policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. A stand-alone meeting was held for all panel members in December 2015. Teleconferences and electronic-based discussion among subgroups and among the entire committee served as an integral part of the development. METHODS: The panel consisted of five sections: hemodynamics, infection, adjunctive therapies, metabolic, and ventilation. Population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) questions were reviewed and updated as needed, and evidence profiles were generated. Each subgroup generated a list of questions, searched for best available evidence, and then followed the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to assess the quality of evidence from high to very low, and to formulate recommendations as strong or weak, or best practice statement when applicable. RESULTS: The Surviving Sepsis Guideline panel provided 93 statements on early management and resuscitation of patients with sepsis or septic shock. Overall, 32 were strong recommendations, 39 were weak recommendations, and 18 were best-practice statements. No recommendation was provided for four questions. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial agreement exists among a large cohort of international experts regarding many strong recommendations for the best care of patients with sepsis. Although a significant number of aspects of care have relatively weak support, evidence-based recommendations regarding the acute management of sepsis and septic shock are the foundation of improved outcomes for these critically ill patients with high mortality

Mathematical modeling of the metastatic process

Mathematical modeling in cancer has been growing in popularity and impact since its inception in 1932. The first theoretical mathematical modeling in cancer research was focused on understanding tumor growth laws and has grown to include the competition between healthy and normal tissue, carcinogenesis, therapy and metastasis. It is the latter topic, metastasis, on which we will focus this short review, specifically discussing various computational and mathematical models of different portions of the metastatic process, including: the emergence of the metastatic phenotype, the timing and size distribution of metastases, the factors that influence the dormancy of micrometastases and patterns of spread from a given primary tumor.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, Revie

Neanderthals on the Lower Danube: Middle Palaeolithic evidence in the Danube Gorges of the Balkans

The article presents evidence about the Middle Palaeolithic and Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition interval in the karst area of the Danube Gorges in the Lower Danube Basin. We review the extant data and present new evidence from two recently investigated sites found on the Serbian side of the Danube River – Tabula Traiana and Dubočka-Kozja caves. The two sites have yielded layers dating to both the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and have been investigated by the application of modern standards of excavation and recovery along with a suite of state-of-the-art analytical procedures. The presentation focuses on micromorphological analyses of the caves’ sediments, characterisation of cryptotephra, a suite of new radiometric dates (accelerator mass spectrometry and optically stimulated luminescence) as well as proteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry) and stable isotope data in discerning patterns of human occupation of these locales over the long term

Neanderthals on the Lower Danube: Middle Palaeolithic evidence in the Danube Gorges of the Balkans

The article presents evidence about the Middle Palaeolithic and Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition interval in the karst area of the Danube Gorges in the Lower Danube Basin. We review the extant data and present new evidence from two recently investigated sites found on the Serbian side of the Danube River – Tabula Traiana and Dubočka-Kozja caves. The two sites have yielded layers dating to both the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and have been investigated by the application of modern standards of excavation and recovery along with a suite of state-of-the-art analytical procedures. The presentation focuses on micromorphological analyses of the caves’ sediments, characterisation of cryptotephra, a suite of new radiometric dates (accelerator mass spectrometry and optically stimulated luminescence) as well as proteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry) and stable isotope data in discerning patterns of human occupation of these locales over the long term

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Suggest Ligand’s Binding to Nicotinamidase/Pyrazinamidase

The research on the binding process of ligand to pyrazinamidase (PncA) is crucial for elucidating the inherent relationship between resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and PncA’s activity. In the present study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods were performed to investigate the unbinding process of nicotinamide (NAM) from two PncA enzymes, which is the reverse of the corresponding binding process. The calculated potential of mean force (PMF) based on the steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations sheds light on an optimal binding/unbinding pathway of the ligand. The comparative analyses between two PncAs clearly exhibit the consistency of the binding/unbinding pathway in the two enzymes, implying the universality of the pathway in all kinds of PncAs. Several important residues dominating the pathway were also determined by the calculation of interaction energies. The structural change of the proteins induced by NAM’s unbinding or binding shows the great extent interior motion in some homologous region adjacent to the active sites of the two PncAs. The structure comparison substantiates that this region should be very important for the ligand’s binding in all PncAs. Additionally, MD simulations also show that the coordination position of the ligand is displaced by one water molecule in the unliganded enzymes. These results could provide the more penetrating understanding of drug resistance of M. tuberculosis and be helpful for the development of new antituberculosis drugs