70 research outputs found
Unconstrained Hamiltonian formulation of General Relativity with thermo-elastic sources
A new formulation of the Hamiltonian dynamics of the gravitational field
interacting with(non-dissipative) thermo-elastic matter is discussed. It is
based on a gauge condition which allows us to encode the six degrees of freedom
of the ``gravity + matter''-system (two gravitational and four
thermo-mechanical ones), together with their conjugate momenta, in the
Riemannian metric q_{ij} and its conjugate ADM momentum P^{ij}. These variables
are not subject to constraints. We prove that the Hamiltonian of this system is
equal to the total matter entropy. It generates uniquely the dynamics once
expressed as a function of the canonical variables. Any function U obtained in
this way must fulfil a system of three, first order, partial differential
equations of the Hamilton-Jacobi type in the variables (q_{ij},P^{ij}). These
equations are universal and do not depend upon the properties of the material:
its equation of state enters only as a boundary condition. The well posedness
of this problem is proved. Finally, we prove that for vanishing matter density,
the value of U goes to infinity almost everywhere and remains bounded only on
the vacuum constraints. Therefore the constrained, vacuum Hamiltonian (zero on
constraints and infinity elsewhere) can be obtained as the limit of a ``deep
potential well'' corresponding to non-vanishing matter. This unconstrained
description of Hamiltonian General Relativity can be useful in numerical
calculations as well as in the canonical approach to Quantum Gravity.Comment: 29 pages, TeX forma
Genome of the marsupial Monodelphis domestica reveals innovation in non-coding sequences
We report a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of the grey, short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). As the first metatherian (\u27marsupial\u27) species to be sequenced, the opossum provides a unique perspective on the organization and evolution of mammalian genomes. Distinctive features of the opossum chromosomes provide support for recent theories about genome evolution and function, including a strong influence of biased gene conversion on nucleotide sequence composition, and a relationship between chromosomal characteristics and X chromosome inactivation. Comparison of opossum and eutherian genomes also reveals a sharp difference in evolutionary innovation between protein-coding and non-coding functional elements. True innovation in protein-coding genes seems to be relatively rare, with lineage-specific differences being largely due to diversification and rapid turnover in gene families involved in environmental interactions. In contrast, about 20% of eutherian conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) are recent inventions that postdate the divergence of Eutheria and Metatheria. A substantial proportion of these eutherian-specific CNEs arose from sequence inserted by transposable elements, pointing to transposons as a major creative force in the evolution of mammalian gene regulation. Š2007 Nature Publishing Group
Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severity
The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management. Š 2021, The Author(s)
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