8,257 research outputs found

    A Spectral Algorithm with Additive Clustering for the Recovery of Overlapping Communities in Networks

    Get PDF
    This paper presents a novel spectral algorithm with additive clustering designed to identify overlapping communities in networks. The algorithm is based on geometric properties of the spectrum of the expected adjacency matrix in a random graph model that we call stochastic blockmodel with overlap (SBMO). An adaptive version of the algorithm, that does not require the knowledge of the number of hidden communities, is proved to be consistent under the SBMO when the degrees in the graph are (slightly more than) logarithmic. The algorithm is shown to perform well on simulated data and on real-world graphs with known overlapping communities.Comment: Journal of Theoretical Computer Science (TCS), Elsevier, A Para\^itr

    Pleosporales

    Get PDF
    One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae

    Flavor Phenomenology in General 5D Warped Spaces

    Get PDF
    We have considered a general 5D warped model with SM fields propagating in the bulk and computed explicit expressions for oblique and non-oblique electroweak observables as well as for flavor and CP violating effective four-fermion operators. We have compared the resulting lower bounds on the Kaluza-Klein (KK) scale in the RS model and a recently proposed model with a metric modified towards the IR brane, which is consistent with oblique parameters without the need for a custodial symmetry. We have randomly generated 40,000 sets of O(1) 5D Yukawa couplings and made a fit of the quark masses and CKM matrix elements in both models. This method allows to identify the percentage of points consistent with a given KK mass, which in turn provides us with a measure for the required fine-tuning. Comparison with current experimental data on Rb, FCNC and CP violating operators exhibits an improved behavior of our model with respect to the RS model. In particular, allowing 10% fine-tuning the combined results point towards upper bounds on the KK gauge boson masses around 3.3 TeV in our model as compared with 13 TeV in the RS model. One reason for this improvement is that fermions in our model are shifted, with respect to fermions in the RS model, towards the UV brane thus decreasing the strength of the modifications of electroweak observables.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures, 4 table

    Quality Of Antenatal Care In Rural Southern Tanzania: A Reality Check.

    Get PDF
    Counselling on the danger signs of unpredictable obstetric complications and the appropriate management of such complications are crucial in reducing maternal mortality. The objectives of this study were to identify gaps in the provision of ANC services and knowledge of danger signs as well as the quality of care women receive in case of complications. The study took place in the Rufiji District of Tanzania in 2008 and was conducted in seven health facilities. The study used (1) observations from 63 antenatal care (ANC) sessions evaluated with an ANC checklist, (2) self-assessments of 11 Health workers, (3) interviews with 28 pregnant women and (4) follow-up of 12 women hospitalized for pregnancy-related conditions.Blood pressure measurements and abdominal examinations were common during ANC visits while urine testing for albumin or sugar or haemoglobin levels was rare which was often explained as due to a lack of supplies. The reasons for measuring blood pressure or abdominal examinations were usually not explained to the women. Only 15/28 (54%) women were able to mention at least one obstetric danger sign requiring medical attention. The outcomes of ten complicated cases were five stillbirths and three maternal complications. There was a considerable delay in first contact with a health professional or the start of timely interventions including checking vital signs, using a partograph, and detailed record keeping. Linking danger signs to clinical and laboratory examination results during ANC with the appropriate follow up and avoiding delays in emergency obstetric care are crucial to the delivery of coordinated, effective care interventions

    Outcome of ATP-based tumor chemosensitivity assay directed chemotherapy in heavily pre-treated recurrent ovarian carcinoma

    Get PDF
    BACKGROUND: We wished to evaluate the clinical response following ATP-Tumor Chemosensitivity Assay (ATP-TCA) directed salvage chemotherapy in a series of UK patients with advanced ovarian cancer. The results are compared with that of a similar assay used in a different country in terms of evaluability and clinical endpoints. METHODS: From November 1998 to November 2001, 46 patients with pre-treated, advanced ovarian cancer were given a total of 56 courses of chemotherapy based on in-vitro ATP-TCA responses obtained from fresh tumor samples or ascites. Forty-four patients were evaluable for results. Of these, 18 patients had clinically platinum resistant disease (relapse < 6 months after first course of chemotherapy). There was evidence of cisplatin resistance in 31 patients from their first ATP-TCA. Response to treatment was assessed by radiology, clinical assessment and tumor marker level (CA 125). RESULTS: The overall response rate was 59% (33/56) per course of chemotherapy, including 12 complete responses, 21 partial responses, 6 with stable disease, and 15 with progressive disease. Two patients were not evaluable for response having received just one cycle of chemotherapy: if these were excluded the response rate is 61%. Fifteen patients are still alive. Median progression free survival (PFS) was 6.6 months per course of chemotherapy; median overall survival (OAS) for each patient following the start of TCA-directed therapy was 10.4 months (95% confidence interval 7.9-12.8 months). CONCLUSION: The results show similar response rates to previous studies using ATP-TCA directed therapy in recurrent ovarian cancer. The assay shows high evaluability and this study adds weight to the reproducibility of results from different centre

    Active Electric Imaging: Body-Object Interplay and Object's “Electric Texture”

    Get PDF
    This article deals with the role of fish's body and object's geometry on determining the image spatial shape in pulse Gymnotiforms. This problem was explored by measuring local electric fields along a line on the skin in the presence and absence of objects. We depicted object's electric images at different regions of the electrosensory mosaic, paying particular attention to the perioral region where a fovea has been described. When sensory surface curvature increases relative to the object's curvature, the image details depending on object's shape are blurred and finally disappear. The remaining effect of the object on the stimulus profile depends on the strength of its global polarization. This depends on the length of the object's axis aligned with the field, in turn depending on fish body geometry. Thus, fish's body and self-generated electric field geometries are embodied in this “global effect” of the object. The presence of edges or local changes in impedance at the nearest surface of closely located objects adds peaks to the image profiles (“local effect” or “object's electric texture”). It is concluded that two cues for object recognition may be used by active electroreceptive animals: global effects (informing on object's dimension along the field lines, conductance, and position) and local effects (informing on object's surface). Since the field has fish's centered coordinates, and electrosensory fovea is used for exploration of surfaces, fish fine movements are essential to perform electric perception. We conclude that fish may explore adjacent objects combining active movements and electrogenesis to represent them using electrosensory information

    HER2 and ESR1 mRNA expression levels and response to neoadjuvant trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in patients with primary breast cancer

    Get PDF
    Introduction: Recent data suggest that benefit from trastuzumab and chemotherapy might be related to expression of HER2 and estrogen receptor (ESR1). Therefore, we investigated HER2 and ESR1 mRNA levels in core biopsies of HER2-positive breast carcinomas from patients treated within the neoadjuvant GeparQuattro trial. Methods: HER2 levels were centrally analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC), silver in-situ hybridization (SISH) and qRT-PCR in 217 pretherapeutic formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) core biopsies. All tumors had been HER2-positive by local pathology and had been treated with neoadjuvant trastuzumab/ chemotherapy in GeparQuattro. Results: Only 73% of the tumors (158 of 217) were centrally HER2-positive (cHER2-positive) by IHC/SISH, with cHER2-positive tumors showing a significantly higher pCR rate (46.8% vs. 20.3%, p<0.0005). HER2 status by qRT-PCR showed a concordance of 88.5% with the central IHC/SISH status, with a low pCR rate in those tumors that were HER2-negative by mRNA analysis (21.1% vs. 49.6%, p<0.0005). The level of HER2 mRNA expression was linked to response rate in ESR1-positive tumors, but not in ESR1-negative tumors. HER2 mRNA expression was significantly associated with pCR in the HER2-positive/ESR1-positive tumors (p=0.004), but not in HER2-positive/ESR1-negative tumors. Conclusions: Only patients with cHER2-positive tumors - irrespective of the method used - have an increased pCR rate with trastuzumab plus chemotherapy. In patients with cHER2-negative tumors the pCR rate is comparable to the pCR rate in the non-trastuzumab treated HER-negative population. Response to trastuzumab is correlated to HER2 mRNA levels only in ESR1-positive tumors. This study adds further evidence to the different biology of both subsets within the HER2-positive group

    Differential patterns of PMN-elastase and type III procollagen peptide in knee joint effusions due to acute and chronic sports injuries

    Get PDF
    In 38 traumatic knee joint effusions the proteolytic enzyme PMN-elastase (PMN-E) and the repair marker procollagen III aminoterminal peptide (PIIINP) were determined. According to the period between trauma and first aspiration of the effusion, the patients were divided into 3 groups. Group I (17 patients; period between trauma and first aspiration not longer than 72 hours) showed high concentrations of PMN-E (up to 5400 ng/ml) and low concentrations of PIIINP (<13 U/ml). Group II (11 patients; aspiration within 4 to 14 days) had mean PMN-E and PIIINP concentrations of 125.6 ng/ml and 52.1 U/ ml, respectively. In group III (10 patients, aspiration after 14 days) mean PMN-E concentration was 123.8 ng/ml and mean PIIINP concentration was 63.4 U/ml. Graphic depiction of PMN-E and PIIINP levels in each individual sample as a function of time between trauma and fluid collection revealed highly increasing PMN-E levels during the first 24 posttraumatic hours, followed by rapidly decreasing levels within 72 hours post trauma, and no change after the 4th posttraumatic day. In contrast, PIIINP increased continuously up to the first posttraumatic week and stayed at high levels up to 90 days (end of the observation period). The differential patterns of PMN-E and PIIINP concentration in knee joint effusions may be useful in estimating the period between trauma and first treatment (aspiration of effusion) and should, therefore, be helpful in detecting degenerative lesions, which seem to be characterized by low PMN-E concomitantly with high PIIINP levels

    Strong Water Absorption in the Dayside Emission Spectrum of the Planet HD 189733b

    Full text link
    Recent observations of the extrasolar planet HD 189733b did not reveal the presence of water in the emission spectrum of the planet. Yet models of such 'Hot Jupiter' planets predict an abundance of atmospheric water vapour. Validating and constraining these models is crucial for understanding the physics and chemistry of planetary atmospheres in extreme environments. Indications of the presence of water in the atmosphere of HD 189733b have recently been found in transmission spectra, where the planet's atmosphere selectively absorbs the light of the parent star, and in broadband photometry. Here we report on the detection of strong water absorption in a high signal-to-noise, mid-infrared emission spectrum of the planet itself. We find both a strong downturn in the flux ratio below 10 microns and discrete spectral features that are characteristic of strong absorption by water vapour. The differences between these and previous observations are significant and admit the possibility that predicted planetary-scale dynamical weather structures might alter the emission spectrum over time. Models that match the observed spectrum and the broadband photometry suggest that heat distribution from the dayside to the night side is weak. Reconciling this with the high night side temperature will require a better understanding of atmospheric circulation or possible additional energy sources.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, published in Natur
    corecore