A communication-less parallel algorithm for tridiagonal Toeplitz systems

AbstractDiagonally dominant tridiagonal Toeplitz systems of linear equations arise in many application areas and have been well studied in the past. Modern interest in numerical linear algebra is often focusing on solving classic problems in parallel. In McNally [Fast parallel algorithms for tri-diagonal symmetric Toeplitz systems, MCS Thesis, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, 1999], an m processor Split & Correct algorithm was presented for approximating the solution to a symmetric tridiagonal Toeplitz linear system of equations. Nemani [Perturbation methods for circulant-banded systems and their parallel implementation, Ph.D. Thesis, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, 2001] and McNally (2003) adapted the works of Rojo [A new method for solving symmetric circulant tri-diagonal system of linear equations, Comput. Math. Appl. 20 (1990) 61–67], Yan and Chung [A fast algorithm for solving special tri-diagonal systems, Computing 52 (1994) 203–211] and McNally et al. [A split-correct parallel algorithm for solving tri-diagonal symmetric Toeplitz systems, Internat. J. Comput. Math. 75 (2000) 303–313] to the non-symmetric case. In this paper we present relevant background from these methods and then introduce an m processor scalable communication-less approximation algorithm for solving a diagonally dominant tridiagonal Toeplitz system of linear equations

Agenda-Setting With Local and National Issues

Three factors lead to the hypothesis that agenda-setting should be weaker at the local political level compared to the national level: (1) the more directly observable nature of local political problems, (2) the nature and strength of local interpersonal political communication networks, and (3) the relatively heavier media coverage of national political issues. This hypothesis was supported with data from respondents assigned at random to either local or national issue conditions and from a content analysis of television and newspaper coverage in Toledo, Ohio, of local and national issues. Contrary to the findings of certain previous studies, network television was found to exercise a stronger agenda-setting influence than newspapers at the national level. Newspapers, on the other hand, were the dominant agenda-setter at the local level. The relative agenda-setting influences of television versus newspapers are consistent with other data from this study concerning the relative strengths of the various media as sources of issue information.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67066/2/10.1177_009365027700400404.pd

Threshold Electrodisintegration of ^3He

Cross sections were measured for the near-threshold electrodisintegration of ^3He at momentum transfer values of q=2.4, 4.4, and 4.7 fm^{-1}. From these and prior measurements the transverse and longitudinal response functions R_T and R_L were deduced. Comparisons are made against previously published and new non-relativistic A=3 calculations using the best available NN potentials. In general, for q<2 fm^{-1} these calculations accurately predict the threshold electrodisintegration of ^3He. Agreement at increasing q demands consideration of two-body terms, but discrepancies still appear at the highest momentum transfers probed, perhaps due to the neglect of relativistic dynamics, or to the underestimation of high-momentum wave-function components.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, REVTEX4, submitted to Physical Review

Exome sequencing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis implicates a novel gene, DNAJC7, encoding a heat-shock protein

To discover novel genes underlying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we aggregated exomes from 3,864 cases and 7,839 ancestry-matched controls. We observed a significant excess of rare protein-truncating variants among ALS cases, and these variants were concentrated in constrained genes. Through gene level analyses, we replicated known ALS genes including SOD1, NEK1 and FUS. We also observed multiple distinct protein-truncating variants in a highly constrained gene, DNAJC7. The signal in DNAJC7 exceeded genome-wide significance, and immunoblotting assays showed depletion of DNAJC7 protein in fibroblasts in a patient with ALS carrying the p.Arg156Ter variant. DNAJC7 encodes a member of the heat-shock protein family, HSP40, which, along with HSP70 proteins, facilitates protein homeostasis, including folding of newly synthesized polypeptides and clearance of degraded proteins. When these processes are not regulated, misfolding and accumulation of aberrant proteins can occur and lead to protein aggregation, which is a pathological hallmark of neurodegeneration. Our results highlight DNAJC7 as a novel gene for ALS

Influence of Thermally Induced Chemorheological Changes on the Inflation of Spherical Elastomeric Membranes

When an elastomeric material is deformed and subjected to temperatures above some chemorheological value T cr (near 100°C for natural rubber), its macromolecular structure undergoes time and temperature dependent chemical changes. The process continues until the temperature decreases below T cr . Compared to the virgin material, the new material system has modified properties (often a reduced stiffness) and permanent set on removal of the applied load. A recently proposed constitutive theory is used to study the influence of chemorheological changes on the inflation of an initially isotropic spherical rubber membrane. The membrane is inflated while at a temperature below T cr . We then look at the pressure response assuming the sphere's radius is held fixed while the temperature is increased above T cr for a period of time and then returned to its original value. The inflation pressure during this process is expressed in terms of the temperature, representing entropic stiffening of the elastomer, and a time dependent property that represents the kinetics of the chemorheological change in the elastomer. When the membrane has been returned to its original temperature, it is shown to have a permanent set and a modified pressure-inflated radius relation. Their dependence on the initial inflated radius, material properties and kinetics of chemorheological change is studied when the underlying elastomeric networks are neo-Hookean or Mooney–Rivlin.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42688/1/10659_2005_Article_9020.pd

Rare Charm Decays in the Standard Model and Beyond

We perform a comprehensive study of a number of rare charm decays, incorporating the first evaluation of the QCD corrections to the short distance contributions, as well as examining the long range effects. For processes mediated by the $c\to u\ell^+\ell^-$ transitions, we show that sensitivity to short distance physics exists in kinematic regions away from the vector meson resonances that dominate the total rate. In particular, we find that $D\to\pi\ell^+\ell^-$ and $D\to\rho\ell^+\ell^-$ are sensitive to non-universal soft-breaking effects in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with R-parity conservation. We separately study the sensitivity of these modes to R-parity violating effects and derive new bounds on R-parity violating couplings. We also obtain predictions for these decays within extensions of the Standard Model, including extensions of the Higgs, gauge and fermion sectors, as well as models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking.Comment: 45 pages, typos fixed, discussions adde

Population-based genetic effects for developmental stuttering

Despite a lifetime prevalence of at least 5%, developmental stuttering, characterized by prolongations, blocks, and repetitions of speech sounds, remains a largely idiopathic speech disorder. Family, twin, and segregation studies overwhelmingly support a strong genetic influence on stuttering risk; however, its complex mode of inheritance combined with thus-far underpowered genetic studies contribute to the challenge of identifying and reproducing genes implicated in developmental stuttering susceptibility. We conducted a trans-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) and meta-analysis of developmental stuttering in two primary datasets: The International Stuttering Project comprising 1,345 clinically ascertained cases from multiple global sites and 6,759 matched population controls from the biobank at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), and 785 self-reported stuttering cases and 7,572 controls ascertained from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Meta-analysis of these genome-wide association studies identified a genome-wide significant (GWS) signal for clinically reported developmental stuttering in the general population: a protective variant in the intronic or genic upstream region of SSUH2 (rs113284510, protective allele frequency = 7.49%, Z = −5.576, p = 2.46 × 10−8) that acts as an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) in esophagus-muscularis tissue by reducing its gene expression. In addition, we identified 15 loci reaching suggestive significance (p < 5 × 10−6). This foundational population-based genetic study of a common speech disorder reports the findings of a clinically ascertained study of developmental stuttering and highlights the need for further research