Data-Discriminants of Likelihood Equations

Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a fundamental computational problem in statistics. The problem is to maximize the likelihood function with respect to given data on a statistical model. An algebraic approach to this problem is to solve a very structured parameterized polynomial system called likelihood equations. For general choices of data, the number of complex solutions to the likelihood equations is finite and called the ML-degree of the model. The only solutions to the likelihood equations that are statistically meaningful are the real/positive solutions. However, the number of real/positive solutions is not characterized by the ML-degree. We use discriminants to classify data according to the number of real/positive solutions of the likelihood equations. We call these discriminants data-discriminants (DD). We develop a probabilistic algorithm for computing DDs. Experimental results show that, for the benchmarks we have tried, the probabilistic algorithm is more efficient than the standard elimination algorithm. Based on the computational results, we discuss the real root classification problem for the 3 by 3 symmetric matrix~model.Comment: 2 table

Computing the Real Isolated Points of an Algebraic Hypersurface

Let $\mathbb{R}$ be the field of real numbers. We consider the problem of computing the real isolated points of a real algebraic set in $\mathbb{R}^n$ given as the vanishing set of a polynomial system. This problem plays an important role for studying rigidity properties of mechanism in material designs. In this paper, we design an algorithm which solves this problem. It is based on the computations of critical points as well as roadmaps for answering connectivity queries in real algebraic sets. This leads to a probabilistic algorithm of complexity $(nd)^{O(n\log(n))}$ for computing the real isolated points of real algebraic hypersurfaces of degree $d$. It allows us to solve in practice instances which are out of reach of the state-of-the-art.Comment: Conference paper ISSAC 202

Karak syndrome: a novel degenerative disorder of the basal ganglia and cerebellum

Two brothers are reported with early onset progressive cerebellar ataxia, dystonia, spasticity, and intellectual decline. • Neuroradiology showed cerebellar atrophy and features compatible with iron deposition in the putamen (including the “eye of the tiger sign”) and substantia nigra. • Diagnosis was compatible with pantothenate kinase associated neuropathy resulting from pantothenate kinase 2 mutation (PKAN due to PANK2) but linkage to PNAK2 was eliminated suggesting Karak syndrome to be a novel disorder. • The “eye of the tiger” sign has previously only been reported to occur in PKAN due to PKAN

Challenges That Hinder Parturients to Deliver in Health Facilities: a Qualitative Analysis in Two Districts of Indonesia

Background: There are many challenges women face to be able to give birth in health facilities in many parts of Indonesia. This study explores the roles and observations of close-to-community maternal health providers and other community members on potential barriers faced by women to deliver in health facilities in two districts within The Archipelago. Methods: Employing an explorative qualitative approach, 110 semi-structured interviews and 7 focus group discussions were conducted in 8 villages in Southwest Sumba, in the East Nusa Tenggara province, and in 8 villages in Cianjur, in the West Java province. The participants included village midwives, Posyandu volunteer (village health volunteers), traditional birth attendants (TBAs), mothers, men, village heads and district health officials. Results: The main findings were mostly similar in the two study areas. However, there were some key differences. Preference for TBA care, traditional beliefs, a lack of responsiveness of health providers to local traditions, distance, cost of travel and indirect costs of accompanying family members were all barriers to patients attending health facilities for the birth of their child. TBAs were the preferred health providers in most cases due to their close proximity at the time of childbirth and their adherence to traditional practices during pregnancy and delivery. Conclusions: Improving collaborations between midwives and TBAs, collaboration, and responsiveness to traditional practices within health facilities and effective health promotion campaigns about the benefits of giving birth in health facilities may increase the use of health facilities in both study areas.&nbsp

Inflammatory bowel disease-associated colorectal cancer: translational risks from mechanisms to medicines

The cumulative impact of chronic inflammation in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases predisposes to the development of inflammatory bowel disease-associated colorectal cancer [IBD-CRC]. Inflammation can induce mutagenesis, and the relapsing–remitting nature of this inflammation, together with epithelial regeneration, may exert selective pressure accelerating carcinogenesis. The molecular pathogenesis of IBD-CRC, termed the ‘inflammation–dysplasia–carcinoma’ sequence, is well described. However, the immunopathogenesis of IBD-CRC is less well understood. The impact of novel immunosuppressive therapies, which aim to achieve deep remission, is mostly unknown. Therefore, this timely review summarizes the clinical context of IBD-CRC, outlines the molecular and immunological basis of disease pathogenesis, and considers the impact of novel biological therapies

Robots, computer algebra and eight connected components

Answering connectivity queries in semi-algebraic sets is a long-standing and challenging computational issue with applications in robotics, in particular for the analysis of kinematic singularities. One task there is to compute the number of connected components of the complementary of the singularities of the kinematic map. Another task is to design a continuous path joining two given points lying in the same connected component of such a set. In this paper, we push forward the current capabilities of computer algebra to obtain computer-aided proofs of the analysis of the kinematic singularities of various robots used in industry. We first show how to combine mathematical reasoning with easy symbolic computations to study the kinematic singularities of an infinite family (depending on paramaters) modelled by the UR-series produced by the company ``Universal Robots''. Next, we compute roadmaps (which are curves used to answer connectivity queries) for this family of robots. We design an algorithm for ``solving'' positive dimensional polynomial system depending on parameters. The meaning of solving here means partitioning the parameter's space into semi-algebraic components over which the number of connected components of the semi-algebraic set defined by the input system is invariant. Practical experiments confirm our computer-aided proof and show that such an algorithm can already be used to analyze the kinematic singularities of the UR-series family. The number of connected components of the complementary of the kinematic singularities of generic robots in this family is $8$

Systematic Review of Artificial Intelligence for Abnormality Detection in High-volume Neuroimaging and Subgroup Meta-analysis for Intracranial Hemorrhage Detection

Purpose: Most studies evaluating artificial intelligence (AI) models that detect abnormalities in neuroimaging are either tested on unrepresentative patient cohorts or are insufficiently well-validated, leading to poor generalisability to real-world tasks. The aim was to determine the diagnostic test accuracy and summarise the evidence supporting the use of AI models performing first-line, high-volume neuroimaging tasks. Methods: Medline, Embase, Cochrane library and Web of Science were searched until September 2021 for studies that temporally or externally validated AI capable of detecting abnormalities in first-line computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) neuroimaging. A bivariate random effects model was used for meta-analysis where appropriate. This study was registered on PROSPERO as CRD42021269563. Results: Out of 42,870 records screened, and 5734 potentially eligible full texts, only 16 studies were eligible for inclusion. Included studies were not compromised by unrepresentative datasets or inadequate validation methodology. Direct comparison with radiologists was available in 4/16 studies and 15/16 had a high risk of bias. Meta-analysis was only suitable for intracranial hemorrhage detection in CT imaging (10/16 studies), where AI systems had a pooled sensitivity and specificity 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85–0.94) and 0.90 (95% CI 0.83–0.95), respectively. Other AI studies using CT and MRI detected target conditions other than hemorrhage (2/16), or multiple target conditions (4/16). Only 3/16 studies implemented AI in clinical pathways, either for pre-read triage or as post-read discrepancy identifiers. Conclusion: The paucity of eligible studies reflects that most abnormality detection AI studies were not adequately validated in representative clinical cohorts. The few studies describing how abnormality detection AI could impact patients and clinicians did not explore the full ramifications of clinical implementation

Mejora de la producción de lípidos de un prometedor hongo oleaginoso Aspergillus sp. cepa EM2018 para la formación de biodiesel: optimización de las condiciones de cultivo e identificación

Oleaginous fungi have recently gained increasing attention among different microorganisms due to their ability for lipid production for the preparation of biofuel. In the present study, a locally isolated fungus E45, identified genetically as Aspergillus sp. strain EM2018, was found to produce 25.2% of the total lipids content of its dry cell weight (DCW). Optimization of culture conditions was performed and lipid accumula­tion increased by about 2.4 fold (from 25.2% to 60.1% of DCW) when the fungus was grown for seven days in the potato dextrose (50 g/L) liquid medium at pH 5.0, incubation temperature at 30 ºC and inoculum size of 2 × 106 spore/mL. Supplementation of the medium with yeast extract and NaNO3 at a concentration of 0.05% as organic and inorganic nitrogen sources, respectively, increased lipid production (53.3% lipid/dry biomass). Gas chromatography analysis of fungal lipids revealed the presence of saturated (mainly palmitic acid C16:0 (33%) and lignoceric acid C24:0 (15%)) and unsaturated fatty acids in different proportions (mainly linoleic acid C18:2 (24.4%), oleica cid C18:1 (14%) and arachidonic C20:4 (7.4%). These findings suggest this new oleaginous fungus as a promising feedstock for various industrial applications and for the preparation of biodiesel.Los hongos oleagino­sos recientemente están ganando una creciente atención entre diferentes microorganismos debido a sus capaci­dades de producción de lípidos para la preparación de biocombustibles. En el presente estudio, se descubrió que un hongo E45 aislado localmente, identificado genéticamente como la cepa Aspergillus sp. EM2018, produce un 25,2% de lípidos totales de su peso de células secas (DCW). Se realizó la optimización de las condiciones de cultivo y la acumulación de lípidos se incrementó aproximadamente 2,4 veces (del 25,2% al 60,1% de DCW) cuando el hongo creció durante siete días en un medio líquido de dextrosa de papa (50 g/L) a pH 5.0, 30 °C de temperatura de incubación y 2 × 106 esporas/ml de tamaño de inóculo. La suplementación del medio con extracto de leva­dura y NaNO3 a una concentración de 0,05% como fuentes de nitrógeno orgánico e inorgánico, respectivamente, aumentó aún más la producción de lípidos (53,3% de lípidos/biomasa seca). El análisis mediante cromatografía de gases de los lípidos fúngicos reveló la presencia de ácidos grasos saturados (principalmente palmítico C16:0 (33%) y lignocérico C24:0 (15%)) y ácidos grasos insaturados en diferentes proporciones (principalmente linoleico C18:2 (24.4%), oleico C18:1 (14%) y araquidónico C20:4 (7,4%). Estos hallazgos sugieren que este nuevo hongo oleaginoso es una materia prima prometedora para diversas aplicaciones industriales y preparación de biodiésel

Variation in plasma oxidative status and testosterone level in relation to egg-eviction effort and age of brood-parasitic common cuckoo nestlings

To avoid competition for parental care, brood-parasitic Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) nestlings evict all of the host's eggs and nestlings within a few days after hatching. Little is known about the physiological effects of eviction behavior on the cuckoo nestling's oxidative balance or about age-related variation in plasma oxidative status and testosterone level of developing birds. We examined whether the cuckoo nestling's plasma oxidative status was related to prior effort in eviction and quantified variation in the level of reactive oxygen metabolites, of nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity, and of testosterone concentration in plasma at various phases of the cuckoo's development. Levels of both reactive oxygen metabolites and antioxidant capacity were greater in older than in younger nestlings, suggesting that younger nestlings effectively counterbalance their increased production of free radicals, whereas, near fledging, levels of reactive oxygen metabolites increase despite improved antioxidant capacity. Possibly, overall energy expenditure increases with age and elevates the production of reactive oxygen species to a rate higher than what the antioxidant system could eliminate. Plasma testosterone level was the highest at nestlings' intermediate phase of growth. High levels of testosterone may be required during the period of fastest growth, and when the growth rate levels off near fledging, testosterone levels may also decline. Cuckoo chicks that evicted more host eggs from steeper nests had higher plasma levels of reactive oxygen metabolites shortly after the eviction period, suggesting that eviction is costly in terms of an increased level of oxidative stress. Para evitar la competencia por el cuidado parental, los polluelos parásitos de nidada de Cuculus canorus desalojan todos los huevos y los polluelos del hospedador a los pocos días después de la eclosión. Se sabe poco sobre los efectos fisiológicos del comportamiento de desalojo en el balance oxidativo de los polluelos de C. canorus o sobre la variación en el estatus oxidativo del plasma y el nivel de testosterona relacionado con la edad de las aves en desarrollo. Examinamos si el estatus oxidativo del plasma de los polluelos de C. canorus se relacionaba con un esfuerzo previo de desalojo y cuantificamos la variación en el nivel de metabolitos reactivos de oxígeno, la capacidad antioxidante no enzimática y la concentración de testosterona en el plasma en varias fases del desarrollo de C. canorus. Tanto los niveles de metabolitos reactivos de oxígeno como la capacidad antioxidante fueron superiores en los polluelos de mayor edad que en los más jóvenes, lo que sugiere que los polluelos de menor edad contrarrestan eficazmente el aumento de la producción de radicales libres, mientras que, cuando se apróximan al abandono del nido, los niveles de metabolitos reactivos de oxígeno aumentan a pesar de una mejora en la capacidad antioxidante. Posiblemente, el gasto total de energía se incrementa con la edad, elevándose la producción de formas reactivas de oxígeno a una tasa mayor de la que el sistema antioxidante puede eliminar. El nivel de testosterona en el plasma fue máximo en la fase intermedia del crecimiento de los polluelos. Pueden requerirse altos niveles de testosterona durante el período de mayor crecimiento y, cuando la tasa de crecimiento se estabiliza cerca del abandono del nido, los niveles de testosterona también podrián disminuir. Los polluelos de C. canorus que desalojaron más huevos del hospedador en nidos con una estructura más empinada tuvieron niveles de plasma de metabolitos reactivos de oxígeno en plasma más altos poco después del período de desalojo, sugiriendo que el desalojo es costoso en términos de un incremento en el nivel de estrés oxidativo