Actions of arithmetic groups on homology spheres and acyclic homology manifolds

We establish lower bounds on the dimensions in which arithmetic groups with torsion can act on acyclic manifolds and homology spheres. The bounds rely on the existence of elementary p-groups in the groups concerned. In some cases, including Sp(2n,Z), the bounds we obtain are sharp: if X is a generalized Z/3-homology sphere of dimension less than 2n-1 or a Z/3-acyclic Z/3-homology manifold of dimension less than 2n, and if n \geq 3, then any action of Sp(2n,Z) by homeomorphisms on X is trivial; if n = 2, then every action of Sp(2n,Z) on X factors through the abelianization of Sp(4,Z), which is Z/2.Comment: Final version, to appear in Math Zeitschrif

Tree-irreducible automorphisms of free groups

We introduce a new class of automorphisms $\varphi$ of the non-abelian free group $F_N$ of finite rank $N \geq 2$ which contains all iwips (= fully irreducible automorphisms), but also any automorphism induced by a pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism of a surface with arbitrary many boundary components. More generally, there may be subgroups of $F_N$ of rank $\geq 2$ on which $\varphi$ restricts to the identity. We prove some basic facts about such {\em tree-irreducible} automorphisms, and show that, together with Dehn twist automorphisms, they are the natural basic building blocks from which any automorphism of \FN can be constructed in a train track set-up. We then show: {\bf Theorem:} {\it Every tree-irreducible automorphism of $F_N$ has induced North-South dynamics on the Thurston compactification $\bar{\rm CV}_N$ of Outer space.} Finally, we define a "blow-up" construction on the vertices of a train track map, which, starting from iwips, produces tree-irreducible automorphisms which in general are not iwip

Oral Bisphosphonate Exposure and the Risk of Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers

The association between oral bisphosphonate use and upper gastrointestinal cancer has been controversial. Therefore, we examined the association with esophageal and gastric cancer within the Kaiser Permanente, Northern California population. A total of 1,011 cases of esophageal (squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma) and 1,923 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma (cardia, non-cardia and other) diagnosed between 1997 and 2011 from the Kaiser Permanente, Northern California cancer registry were matched to 49,886 and 93,747 controls, respectively. Oral bisphosphonate prescription fills at least one year prior to the index date were extracted. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations between prospectively evaluated oral bisphosphonate use with incident esophageal and gastric cancer diagnoses with adjustment for potential confounders. After adjustment for potential confounders, no significant associations were found for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OR 0.88; 95% CI: 0.51, 1.52), esophageal adenocarcinoma (OR 0.68; 95% CI: 0.37, 1.24), or gastric non-cardia adenocarcinoma (OR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.59, 1.18), but we observed an adverse association with gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (OR 1.64; 95% CI: 1.07, 2.50). In conclusion, we observed no association between oral bisphosphonate use and esophageal cancer risk within a large community-based population. A significant association was detected with gastric cardia and other adenocarcinoma risk, although this needs to be replicated

Dimension of the Torelli group for Out(F_n)

Let T_n be the kernel of the natural map from Out(F_n) to GL(n,Z). We use combinatorial Morse theory to prove that T_n has an Eilenberg-MacLane space which is (2n-4)-dimensional and that H_{2n-4}(T_n,Z) is not finitely generated (n at least 3). In particular, this recovers the result of Krstic-McCool that T_3 is not finitely presented. We also give a new proof of the fact, due to Magnus, that T_n is finitely generated.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figure

Circulating bile acids and adenoma recurrence in the context of adherence to a high-fiber, high-fruit and vegetable, and low-fat dietary intervention

INTRODUCTION: Diet may affect bile acid (BA) metabolism and signaling. In turn, BA concentrations may be associated with cancer risk. We investigated (i) associations of BA concentrations with adenoma recurrence and (ii) the effect of a high-fiber, high-fruit and vegetable, and low-fat dietary intervention on serum BA concentrations. METHODS: The Polyp Prevention Trial is a 4-year randomized, controlled trial that investigated the effect of a high-fiber, high-fruit and vegetable, and low-fat diet on colorectal adenoma recurrence. Among 170 participants who reported adhering to the intervention and 198 comparable control arm participants, we measured 15 BAs in baseline, year 2, and year 3 serum using targeted, quantitative liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We estimated associations of BAs with adenoma recurrence using multivariable logistic regression and the effect of the dietary intervention on BA concentrations using repeated-measures linear mixed-effects models. In a subset (N = 65), we investigated associations of BAs with 16S rRNA gene sequenced rectal tissue microbiome characteristics. RESULTS: Baseline total BA concentrations were positively associated with adenoma recurrence (odds ratio Q3 vs Q1 = 2.17; 95% confidence interval = 1.19-4.04; Ptrend = 0.03). Although we found no effect of the dietary intervention on BA concentrations, pretrial dietary fiber intake was inversely associated with total baseline BAs (Spearman = -0.15; PFDR = 0.02). BA concentrations were associated with potential colorectal neoplasm-related microbiome features (lower alpha diversity and higher Bacteroides abundance). DISCUSSION: Baseline circulating BAs were positively associated with adenoma recurrence. Although the dietary intervention did not modify BA concentrations, long-term fiber intake may be associated with lower concentrations of BAs that are associated with higher risk of adenoma recurrence

Classical and quantum mechanical plane switching in CO2

Classical plane switching takes place in systems with a pronounced 1:2 resonance, where the degree of freedom with lowest frequency is doubly-degenerate. Under appropriate conditions, one observes a periodic and abrupt precession of the plane in which the doubly-degenerate motion takes place. In this article, we show that quantum plane switching exists in CO2 : Based on our analytical solutions of the classical Hamilton's equations of motion, we describe the dependence on vibrational angular momentum and energy of the frequency of switches and the plane switching angle. Using these results, we find optimal initial wave packet conditions for CO2 and show, through quantum mechanical propagation, that such a wave packet indeed displays plane switching at energies around 10000 cm-1 above the ground state on time scales of about 100 fs.Comment: accepted for publication in the Journal of Chemical Physic

“Are Machines Better Than Humans in Image Tagging?” - A User Study Adds to the Puzzle

“Do machines perform better than humans in visual recognition tasks?” Not so long ago, this question would have been considered even somewhat provoking and the answer would have been clear: “No”. In this paper, we present a comparison of human and machine performance with respect to annotation for multimedia retrieval tasks. Going beyond recent crowdsourcing studies in this respect, we also report results of two extensive user studies. In total, 23 participants were asked to annotate more than 1000 images of a benchmark dataset, which is the most comprehensive study in the field so far. Krippendorff’s α is used to measure inter-coder agreement among several coders and the results are compared with the best machine results. The study is preceded by a summary of studies which compared human and machine performance in different visual and auditory recognition tasks. We discuss the results and derive a methodology in order to compare machine performance in multimedia annotation tasks at human level. This allows us to formally answer the question whether a recognition problem can be considered as solved. Finally, we are going to answer the initial question

Intersection form, laminations and currents on free groups

Let $F_N$ be a free group of rank $N\ge 2$, let $\mu$ be a geodesic current on $F_N$ and let $T$ be an $\mathbb R$-tree with a very small isometric action of $F_N$. We prove that the geometric intersection number $$ is equal to zero if and only if the support of $\mu$ is contained in the dual algebraic lamination $L^2(T)$ of $T$. Applying this result, we obtain a generalization of a theorem of Francaviglia regarding length spectrum compactness for currents with full support. As another application, we define the notion of a \emph{filling} element in $F_N$ and prove that filling elements are "nearly generic" in $F_N$. We also apply our results to the notion of \emph{bounded translation equivalence} in free groups.Comment: revised version, to appear in GAF

Associations of Circulating Estrogens and Estrogen Metabolites with Fecal and Oral Microbiome in Postmenopausal Women in the Ghana Breast Health Study

ABSTRACT The human fecal and oral microbiome may play a role in the etiology of breast cancer through modulation of endogenous estrogen metabolism. This study aimed to investigate associations of circulating estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the fecal and oral microbiome in postmenopausal African women. A total of 117 women with fecal (N = 110) and oral (N = 114) microbiome data measured by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and estrogens and estrogen metabolites data measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry were included. The outcomes were measures of the microbiome and the independent variables were the estrogens and estrogen metabolites. Estrogens and estrogen metabolites were associated with the fecal microbial Shannon index (global P < 0.01). In particular, higher levels of estrone (β = 0.36, P = 0.03), 2-hydroxyestradiol (β = 0.30, P = 0.02), 4-methoxyestrone (β = 0.51, P = 0.01), and estriol (β = 0.36, P = 0.04) were associated with higher levels of the Shannon index, while 16alpha-hydroxyestrone (β = −0.57, P < 0.01) was inversely associated with the Shannon index as indicated by linear regression. Conjugated 2-methoxyestrone was associated with oral microbial unweighted UniFrac as indicated by MiRKAT (P < 0.01) and PERMANOVA, where conjugated 2-methoxyestrone explained 2.67% of the oral microbial variability, but no other estrogens or estrogen metabolites were associated with any other beta diversity measures. The presence and abundance of multiple fecal and oral genera, such as fecal genera from families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae, were associated with several estrogens and estrogen metabolites as indicated by zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Overall, we found several associations of specific estrogens and estrogen metabolites and the fecal and oral microbiome. IMPORTANCE Several epidemiologic studies have found associations of urinary estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the fecal microbiome. However, urinary estrogen concentrations are not strongly correlated with serum estrogens, a known risk factor for breast cancer. To better understand whether the human fecal and oral microbiome were associated with breast cancer risk via the regulation of estrogen metabolism, we conducted this study to investigate the associations of circulating estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the fecal and oral microbiome in postmenopausal African women. We found several associations of parent estrogens and several estrogen metabolites with the microbial communities, and multiple individual associations of estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the presence and abundance of multiple fecal and oral genera, such as fecal genera from families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae, which have estrogen metabolizing properties. Future large, longitudinal studies to investigate the dynamic changes of the fecal and oral microbiome and estrogen relationship are needed

Clinical and virological characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in a German tertiary care centre during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a prospective observational study

Purpose: Adequate patient allocation is pivotal for optimal resource management in strained healthcare systems, and requires detailed knowledge of clinical and virological disease trajectories. The purpose of this work was to identify risk factors associated with need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), to analyse viral kinetics in patients with and without IMV and to provide a comprehensive description of clinical course. Methods: A cohort of 168 hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients enrolled in a prospective observational study at a large European tertiary care centre was analysed. Results: Forty-four per cent (71/161) of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Shorter duration of symptoms before admission (aOR 1.22 per day less, 95% CI 1.10-1.37, p < 0.01) and history of hypertension (aOR 5.55, 95% CI 2.00-16.82, p < 0.01) were associated with need for IMV. Patients on IMV had higher maximal concentrations, slower decline rates, and longer shedding of SARS-CoV-2 than non-IMV patients (33 days, IQR 26-46.75, vs 18 days, IQR 16-46.75, respectively, p < 0.01). Median duration of hospitalisation was 9 days (IQR 6-15.5) for non-IMV and 49.5 days (IQR 36.8-82.5) for IMV patients. Conclusions: Our results indicate a short duration of symptoms before admission as a risk factor for severe disease that merits further investigation and different viral load kinetics in severely affected patients. Median duration of hospitalisation of IMV patients was longer than described for acute respiratory distress syndrome unrelated to COVID-19