Internship in Bioarchaeology & Forensic Anthropology: Bones!

This internship focuses on how human remains and skeletal analysis can tell us a great deal about an individual, such as age at death, sex, stature, population affinity, trauma and disease. Techniques learned in Loyola\u27s Human Osteology course have been key in my assistance at The Field Museum of Natural Science and Cook County Medical Examiner\u27s Office. I discuss my experience in working with forensic anthropology cases as well as studying and obtaining metrics on individuals from The Rush Medical Collection of 1898

The mix of international banks'foreign claims : determinants and implications

The authors analyze the determinants and implications for financial stability of the mix of international banks'claims countries receive. In particular, they distinguish between local claims, extended by international banks through their affiliates in a host (or claim recipient) country, and cross-border claims, booked from outside the host country, typically from banks'headquarters in their home countries. Using data on U.S., Spanish, and Italian banks'foreign claims across countries, the authors find that the share of local foreign claims is primarily driven by the degree of"freedom"in the host banking sector and by business opportunities in the local market. Entry requirements, startup and informational costs associated with international banking also play a role, but their influence is less robust. Finally, they find that the mix of international bank claims has implications for financial stability, since foreign claim volatility is lower in countries that receive a larger share of local claims.Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banking Law

Midguts, Microbes, and Mosquitoes: An Analysis of the Microbiomes of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus

Experiment 1: Mosquito microbiomes are influenced by the environment and diets of mosquitoes. There is great variability within and among mosquito populations with few microbe inhabitants being well established among mosquitoes of similar species and environments. By understanding the potential variation in midgut microbiomes in lab and wild populations, we may assess the effect that microbiomes have on vector competency. Experiment 2: Mosquito midgut microbes are essential for development and may influence the vector competency. Native and non-native strains of the midgut inhabitant, Cedecea, were introduced to laboratory colonies of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes to help elucidate the potential for microbiomes to influence vector competency and the potential for midgut bacteria being utilized as a biological control. Comparisons within and across species were performed across time series analysis, CFUs were quantified results. Overall, Ced-albo strains had a higher capacity for colonization in the mosquitoes

Linear feedback shift registers and the minimal realization problem

[EN] The Berlekamp-Massey algorithm solves the problem of finding the shortest linear feedback shift register which generates a given finite sequence of scalars. This problem is reinterpreted from the point of view of the realization theory and several extensions to sequences of matrices are analyzed. We give a generalization of the result on which the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm is based in terms of the partial Brunovsky indices of a sequence of matrices and propose an algorithm to obtain them for sequences of vectors. The results we obtain hold for arbitrary fields.The first author is partially supported by grants MINECO MTM2017-83624-P, MTM2017-90682-REDT, and UPV/EHU GIU16/42. The second author is partially supported by grants MINECO MTM2017-83624-P and MTM2017-90682-REDT.Baragana, I.; Roca Martinez, A. (2019). Linear feedback shift registers and the minimal realization problem. Linear Algebra and its Applications. 576:200-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.laa.2018.06.009S20022757

The Significance of Genetic Polymorphisms within and between Founder Populations of Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) from Argentina

BACKGROUND: The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis Capitata (DIPTERA: Tephritidae) is a major agricultural pest in Argentina. One main cause for the success of non-contaminant control programs based on genetic strategies is compatibility between natural and laboratory germplasms. A comprehensive characterization of the fruit fly based on genetic studies and compatibility analysis was undertaken on two founder populations from the provinces of Buenos Aires and Mendoza, used in pioneering sterile male technique control programmes in our country. The locations are 1,000 km apart from each other. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We compared the genetic composition of both populations based on cytological, physiological and morphological characterization. Compatibility studies were performed in order to determine the presence of isolation barriers. Results indicate that the Buenos Aires germplasm described previously is partially different from that of the Mendoza population. Both laboratory colonies are a reservoir of mutational and cytological polymorphisms. Some sexual chromosome variants such as the XL and the YL resulting from attachment of a B-chromosome to the X-chromosome or Y-chromosome behave as a lethal sex-linked factor. Our results also show incompatibility between both germplasms and pre-zygotic isolation barriers between them. Our evidence is consistent with the fact that polymorphisms are responsible for the lack of compatibility. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic control mechanism should be directly produced in the germplasm of the target population in order to favour mating conditions. This is an additional requirement for the biological as well as economic success of control programs based on genetic strategies such as the sterile insect technique. The analysis of representative samples also revealed natural auto-control mechanisms which could be used in modifying pest population dynamics

Weierstrass Structure and Eigenvalue Placement of Regular Matrix Pencils under Low Rank Perturbations

[EN] We solve the problem of determining the Weierstrass structure of a regular matrix pencil obtained by a low rank perturbation of another regular matrix pencil. We apply the result to find necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a low rank perturbation such that the perturbed pencil has prescribed eigenvalues and algebraic multiplicities. The results hold over fields with sufficient number of elements.The work of the first and second authors was partially supported by MINECO grants MTM2017-83624-P and MTM2017-90682-REDT. The work of the first author was also partially supported by UPV/EHU grant GIU16/42.Baragana Garate, I.; Roca Martinez, A. (2019). Weierstrass Structure and Eigenvalue Placement of Regular Matrix Pencils under Low Rank Perturbations. SIAM Journal on Matrix Analysis and Applications. 40(2):440-453. https://doi.org/10.1137/18M120024544045340