A class of quasi-sparse companion pencils

In this paper, we introduce a general class of quasi-sparse potential companion pencils for arbitrary square matrix polynomials over an arbitrary field, which extends the class introduced in [B. Eastman, I.-J. Kim, B. L. Shader, K.N. Vander Meulen, Companion matrix patterns. Linear Algebra Appl. 436 (2014) 255-272] for monic scalar polynomials. We provide a canonical form, up to permutation, for companion pencils in this class. We also relate these companion pencils with other relevant families of companion linearizations known so far. Finally, we determine the number of different sparse companion pencils in the class, up to permutation.This work has been partially supported by theMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain through grants MTM2015-68805-REDT and MTM2015-65798-P

Laboratorio clínico de citogenética

Objetivo. Detectar anomalías cromosómicas que afectantanto el número de cromosomas como su estructurapara definir la etiología de la enfermedad permitiéndoleal clínico establecer posteriores planes de manejo yasesoramiento genético.Materiales y métodos. Para reconocer y detectarvariaciones inusuales en la morfología cromosómica,se aplican distintas técnicas de cultivo celular y bandeocromosómico. Entre ellas el laboratorio de citogenéticade la Universidad Nacional presta el servicio de:Cariotipo convencional bandeo C y G, Cariotipo dealta resolución cromosómica con bandeo Q, G y R,Cariotipo para evaluación de fragilidad cromosómica delcromosoma X, Cariotipo para evaluación de fragilidadcromosómica en presencia de mitomicina C (MMC),Cariotipo para evaluación de estados leucémicos(cromosoma Philadelphia), Cariotipo de líquidoamniótico.Resultados. Entre 2005 y 2013 se han atendidoaproximadamente 3000 pacientes que gracias a losdiagnósticos citogenéticos realizados por medio detécnicas citogenéticas convencionales y molecularesy a la unión con estrategias de prevención primordialy primaria (asesoría preconcepcional, diagnostico ytamizaje prenatal y neonatal), secundaria (diagnósticooportuno) y terciaria (guías de manejo anticipatorio) seha comprobado la mejora en la mortalidad, morbilidad,discapacidad, reducción en costos de aseguramientoy promoción de una mejoría en la calidad de vida delos pacientes, sus familias y los perfiles en salud de lacomunidad.Conclusiones. El acceso a los servicios de análisiscitogenético ha permitido detectar anomalías ydesarrollar estrategias de manejo adecuadas paralos pacientes atendidos y ha servido de base para lainvestigación y la enseñanza en la institución

Analysis of the Promoters Involved in Enterocin AS-48 Expression

The enterocin AS-48 is the best characterized antibacterial circular protein in prokaryotes. It is a hydrophobic and cationic bacteriocin, which is ribosomally synthesized by enterococcal cells and post-translationally cyclized by a head-to-tail peptide bond. The production of and immunity towards AS-48 depend upon the coordinated expression of ten genes organized in two operons, as-48ABC (where genes encoding enzymes with processing, secretion, and immunity functions are adjacent to the structural as-48A gene) and as-48C1DD1EFGH. The current study describes the identification of the promoters involved in AS-48 expression. Seven putative promoters have been here amplified, and separately inserted into the promoter-probe vector pTLR1, to create transcriptional fusions with the mCherry gene used as a reporter. The activity of these promoter regions was assessed measuring the expression of the fluorescent mCherry protein using the constitutive pneumococcal promoter PX as a reference. Our results revealed that only three promoters PA, P2(2) and PD1 were recognized in Enterococcus faecalis, Lactococcus lactis and Escherichia coli, in the conditions tested. The maximal fluorescence was obtained with PX in all the strains, followed by the P2(2) promoter, which level of fluorescence was 2-fold compared to PA and 4-fold compared to PD1. Analysis of putative factors influencing the promoter activity in single and double transformants in E. faecalis JH2-2 demonstrated that, in general, a better expression was achieved in presence of pAM401-81. In addition, the P2(2) promoter could be regulated in a negative fashion by genes existing in the native pMB-2 plasmid other than those of the as-48 cluster, while the pH seems to affect differently the as-48 promoter expression.This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación project BIO2008-01708, the Plan Propio from the University of Granada (Spain) and by the Research Plan Group (BIO 160)

Rapid Effects of Marine Reserves via Larval Dispersal

Marine reserves have been advocated worldwide as conservation and fishery management tools. It is argued that they can protect ecosystems and also benefit fisheries via density-dependent spillover of adults and enhanced larval dispersal into fishing areas. However, while evidence has shown that marine reserves can meet conservation targets, their effects on fisheries are less understood. In particular, the basic question of if and over what temporal and spatial scales reserves can benefit fished populations via larval dispersal remains unanswered. We tested predictions of a larval transport model for a marine reserve network in the Gulf of California, Mexico, via field oceanography and repeated density counts of recently settled juvenile commercial mollusks before and after reserve establishment. We show that local retention of larvae within a reserve network can take place with enhanced, but spatially-explicit, recruitment to local fisheries. Enhancement occurred rapidly (2 yrs), with up to a three-fold increase in density of juveniles found in fished areas at the downstream edge of the reserve network, but other fishing areas within the network were unaffected. These findings were consistent with our model predictions. Our findings underscore the potential benefits of protecting larval sources and show that enhancement in recruitment can be manifested rapidly. However, benefits can be markedly variable within a local seascape. Hence, effects of marine reserve networks, positive or negative, may be overlooked when only focusing on overall responses and not considering finer spatially-explicit responses within a reserve network and its adjacent fishing grounds. Our results therefore call for future research on marine reserves that addresses this variability in order to help frame appropriate scenarios for the spatial management scales of interest

The 70-Gene Prognostic Signature for Korean Breast Cancer Patients

Purpose: A 70-gene prognostic signature has prognostic value in patients with node-negative breast cancer in Europe. This diagnostic test known as “MammaPrint TM (70-gene prognostic signature)” was recently validated and implementation was feasible. Therefore, we assessed the 70-gene prognostic signature in Korean patients with breast cancer. We compared the risk predicted by the 70-gene prognostic signature with commonly used clinicopathological guidelines among Korean patients with breast cancer. We also analyzed the 70-gene prognostic signature and clinicopathological feature of the patients in comparison with a previous validation study. Methods: Forty-eight eligible patients with breast cancer (clinical T1-2N0M0) were selected from four hospitals in Korea. Fresh tumor samples were analyzed with a customized microarray for the 70-gene prognostic signature. Concordance between the risk predicted by the 70-gene prognosti

“Early Rupture of Membranes” during Induced Labor as a Risk Factor for Cesarean Delivery in Term Nulliparas

OBJECTIVE: To determine if "early rupture of membranes" (early ROM) during induction of labor is associated with an increased risk of cesarean section in term nulliparas. STUDY DESIGN: The rate of cesarean section and the timing of ROM during the course of labor were examined in term singleton nulliparas whose labor was induced. Cases were divided into 2 groups according the timing of ROM: 1)"early ROM", defined as ROM at a cervical dilatation<4 cm during labor; and 2) "late ROM", ROM at a cervical dilatation≥4 cm during labor. Nonparametric techniques were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: 1) In a total of 500 cases of study population, "early ROM" occurred in 43% and the overall cesarean section rate was 15.8%; 2) patients with "early ROM" had a higher rate of cesarean section and cesarean section due to failure to progress than did those with "late ROM" (overall cesarean section rate: 24%[51/215] vs. 10%[28/285], p<0.01; cesarean section rate due to failure to progress: 18%[38/215] vs. 8%[22/285], p<0.01 for each) and this difference remained significant after adjusting for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: "Early ROM" during the course of induced labor is a risk factor for cesarean section in term singleton nulliparas

A new algorithm for computing the Geronimus transformations for large shifts

A monic Jacobi matrix is a tridiagonal matrix which contains the parameters of the three-term recurrence relation satisfied by the sequence of monic polynomials orthogonal with respect to a measure. The basic Geronimus transformation with shift ? transforms the monic Jacobi matrix associated with a measure d? into the monic Jacobi matrix associated with d?/(x????)?+?C?(x????), for some constant C. In this paper we examine the algorithms available to compute this transformation and we propose a more accurate algorithm, estimate its forward errors, and prove that it is forward stable. In particular, we show that for C?=?0 the problem is very ill-conditioned, and we present a new algorithm that uses extended precision

Independent and combined influence of healthy lifestyle factors on academic performance in adolescents: DADOS Study

BACKGROUND. Few studies have analyzed the combined effect of lifestyle factors on academic performance (AP) in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the independent and combined effects of weight status, screen time, sleep quality, daily meal frequency, cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity (PA) on AP in adolescents. METHODS. A total of 262 adolescents (13.9±0.3 years) from the DADOS study were included in the analysis. Weight status was assessed through body mass index (kg/m 2 ). Participants completed questionnaires to evaluate screen time, sleep quality and daily meal frequency. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by the 20-m shuttle run test. PA was evaluated by a wrist-worn GENEActiv accelerometer. AP was assessed through the final academic grades and a validated questionnaire. RESULTS. Non-overweight status, low screen time, good sleep quality and proper meal frequency showed independent, positive influence on AP. Moreover, adolescents achieving at least 3 healthy lifestyles were more likely to be in the high-performance group for academic grades than those achieving ≤ 1 (math OR: 3.02-9.51, language OR: 3.51-6.76 and grade point average OR: 4.22-9.36). CONCLUSIONS. Although individual healthy lifestyles are independently and positively associated with AP, the cumulative effect of multiple healthy lifestyles have a stronger impact

Insights from computational modeling in inflammation and acute rejection in limb transplantation

Acute skin rejection in vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) is the major obstacle for wider adoption in clinical practice. This study utilized computational modeling to identify biomarkers for diagnosis and targets for treatment of skin rejection. Protein levels of 14 inflammatory mediators in skin and muscle biopsies from syngeneic grafts [n = 10], allogeneic transplants without immunosuppression [n = 10] and allografts treated with tacrolimus [n = 10] were assessed by multiplexed analysis technology. Hierarchical Clustering Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, Random Forest Classification and Multinomial Logistic Regression models were used to segregate experimental groups. Based on Random Forest Classification, Multinomial Logistic Regression and Hierarchical Clustering Analysis models, IL-4, TNF-α and IL-12p70 were the best predictors of skin rejection and identified rejection well in advance of histopathological alterations. TNF-α and IL-12p70 were the best predictors of muscle rejection and also preceded histopathological alterations. Principal Component Analysis identified IL-1α, IL-18, IL-1β, and IL-4 as principal drivers of transplant rejection. Thus, inflammatory patterns associated with rejection are specific for the individual tissue and may be superior for early detection and targeted treatment of rejection. © 2014 Wolfram et al