Busy Beaver Scores and Alphabet Size

We investigate the Busy Beaver Game introduced by Rado (1962) generalized to non-binary alphabets. Harland (2016) conjectured that activity (number of steps) and productivity (number of non-blank symbols) of candidate machines grow as the alphabet size increases. We prove this conjecture for any alphabet size under the condition that the number of states is sufficiently large. For the measure activity we show that increasing the alphabet size from two to three allows an increase. By a classical construction it is even possible to obtain a two-state machine increasing activity and productivity of any machine if we allow an alphabet size depending on the number of states of the original machine. We also show that an increase of the alphabet by a factor of three admits an increase of activity

A Challenging Combination: Anomalous Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery, Myocardial Bridging, and Endothelial Dysfunction

50 years old female patient with a medical history of hypertension presented to the clinic with chest pain, palpitations, and dyspnea on exertion of 2 years duration. Extensive workup in search of the culprit etiology of her chest pain revealed a challenging combination of an anomalous left anterior descending artery with myocardial bridging and endothelial dysfunction. She was treated medically with long acting nitrates, L-arginine and calcium channel blockers, and remains asymptomatic after 12 months of follow up

Audio Cartography: Visual Encoding of Acoustic Parameters

Our sonic environment is the matter of subject in multiple domains which developed individual means of its description. As a result, it lacks an established visual language through which knowledge can be connected and insights shared. We provide a visual communication framework for the systematic and coherent documentation of sound in large-scale environments. This consists of visual encodings and mappings of acoustic parameters into distinct graphic variables that present plausible solutions for the visualization of sound. These candidate encodings are assembled into an application-independent, multifunctional, and extensible design guide. We apply the guidelines and show example maps that acts as a basis for the exploration of audio cartography

Localization of a bacterial group II intron-encoded protein in human cells

Group II introns are mobile retroelements that self-splice from precursor RNAs to form ribonucleoparticles (RNP), which can invade new specific genomic DNA sites. This specificity can be reprogrammed, for insertion into any desired DNA site, making these introns useful tools for bacterial genetic engineering. However, previous studies have suggested that these elements may function inefficiently in eukaryotes. We investigated the subcellular distribution, in cultured human cells, of the protein encoded by the group II intron RmInt1 (IEP) and several mutants. We created fusions with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and with a FLAG epitope. We found that the IEP was localized in the nucleus and nucleolus of the cells. Remarkably, it also accumulated at the periphery of the nuclear matrix. We were also able to identify spliced lariat intron RNA, which co-immunoprecipitated with the IEP, suggesting that functional RmInt1 RNPs can be assembled in cultured human cells.This work was supported by research grants CSD 2009–0006 from the Consolider-Ingenio, BIO2011-24401 and BIO2014-51953-P from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad all including ERDF (European Regional Development Funds). We thank Dr. Antonio Barrientos Durán for technical advice. MRC was supported by an FPI Ph.D grant. J.L.G.P´s laboratory is supported by CICE-FEDER-P09-CTS-4980, CICE-FEDER-P12-CTS-2256, Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008–2011 and 2013–2016 (FIS-FEDER-PI11/01489 and FIS-FEDER-PI14/02152), PCIN-2014-115-ERA-NET NEURON II, the European Research Council (ERC-Consolidator ERC-STG-2012-233764) and by an International Early Career Scientist grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (IECS-55007420).Peer Reviewe

Which activities threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic : inspiration for meaningful service robot functionality

Purpose: In light of the increasing elderly population and the growing demand for home care, the potential of robot support is given increasing attention. In this paper, an inventory of activities was made that threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic. Results will guide the further development of an existing service robot, the Care-O-bot®. Method: A systematic literature search of PubMed was performed, focused on the risk factors for institutionalization. Additionally, focus group sessions were conducted in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. In these focus group sessions, problematic activities threatening the independence of elderly people were discussed. Three separate target groups were included in the focus group sessions: (1) elderly persons (n = 41), (2) formal caregivers (n = 40) and (3) informal caregivers (n = 32). Results: Activities within the International Classification of Functioning domains mobility, self-care, and interpersonal interaction and relationships were found to be the most problematic. Conclusions: A distinct set of daily activities was identified that may threaten independent living, but no single activity could be selected as the main activity causing a loss of independence as it is often a combination of problematic activities that is person-specific. Supporting the problematic activities need not involve a robotic solution Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17483107.2013.840861Peer reviewe

Diagnostic performance and reference values of novel biomarkers of paediatric heart failure

Objective: Biomarkers play a pivotal role in heart failure (HF) management. Reference values and insights from studies in adults cannot be extrapolated to the paediatric population due to important differences in pathophysiology and compensatory reserve. We assessed the diagnostic utility of four novel biomarkers in paediatric HF. Methods: Midregional (MR) pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (proANP), soluble ST2 (sST2), growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), MR-pro-adrenomedullin (proADM) and N-terminal pro-B natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured in 114 patients and 89 controls. HF was defined as the presence of HF symptoms and/or abnormal systolic ventricular function. Receiver-operating characteristics were plotted, and the area under the curve (AUC) was measured. This was repeated for subgroups with cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease (CHD). Ventricular systolic function was measured by magnetic resonance or echocardiography. Reference values were calculated according to the current guidelines. Results: The AUC for diagnosing HF was 0.76 for MR-proANP (CI 0.70 to 0.84) and 0.82 for NT-proBNP (CI 0.75 to 0.88). These parameters performed similarly in the subgroups with CHD and cardiomyopathy. By contrast, MR-proADM, GDF-15 and sST2 performed poorly. When used in conjunction with NT-proBNP, no parameter added significantly to its diagnostic accuracy. NT-proBNP, MR-proANP, GDF-15 and sST2 could accurately discriminate between patients with preserved and patients with poor functional status. In a subset of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, NT-proBNP, MR-proANP, MR-proADM and GDF-15 were associated with poor LV function. Conclusions: MR-proANP could accurately detect HF in children and adolescents. Its diagnostic performance was comparable with that of NT-proBNP, regardless of the underlying condition. Reference values are presented

Dynamics of open quantum systems

The coupling between the states of a system and the continuum into which it is embedded, induces correlations that are especially large in the short time scale. These correlations cannot be calculated by using a statistical or perturbational approach. They are, however, involved in an approach describing structure and reaction aspects in a unified manner. Such a model is the SMEC (shell model embedded in the continuum). Some characteristic results obtained from SMEC as well as some aspects of the correlations induced by the coupling to the continuum are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Varying efficacy of artesunate+amodiaquine and artesunate+sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo: a report of two in-vivo studies

BACKGROUND: Very few data on anti-malarial efficacy are available from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). DRC changed its anti-malarial treatment policy to amodiaquine (AQ) and artesunate (AS) in 2005. METHODS: The results of two in vivo efficacy studies, which tested AQ and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) monotherapies and AS+SP and AS+AQ combinations in Boende (Equatorial province), and AS+SP, AS+AQ and SP in Kabalo (Katanga province), between 2003 and 2004 are presented. The methodology followed the WHO 2003 protocol for assessing the efficacy of anti-malarials in areas of high transmission. RESULTS: Out of 394 included patients in Boende, the failure rates on day 28 after PCR-genotyping adjustment of AS+SP and AS+AQ were estimated as 24.6% [95% CI: 16.6-35.5] and 15.1% [95% CI: 8.6-25.7], respectively. For the monotherapies, failure rates were 35.9% [95% CI: 27.0-46.7] for SP and 18.3% [95% CI: 11.6-28.1] for AQ. Out of 207 patients enrolled in Kabalo, the failure rate on day 28 after PCR-genotyping adjustment was 0 [1-sided 95% CI: 5.8] for AS+SP and AS+AQ [1-sided 95% CI: 6.2]. It was 19.6% [95% CI: 11.4-32.7] for SP monotherapy. CONCLUSION: The finding of varying efficacy of the same combinations at two sites in one country highlights one difficulty of implementing a uniform national treatment policy in a large country. The poor efficacy of AS+AQ in Boende should alert the national programme to foci of resistance and emphasizes the need for systems for the prospective monitoring of treatment efficacy at sentinel sites in the country

Ferredoxin containing bacteriocins suggest a novel mechanism of iron uptake in <i>Pectobacterium spp</i>

In order to kill competing strains of the same or closely related bacterial species, many bacteria produce potent narrow-spectrum protein antibiotics known as bacteriocins. Two sequenced strains of the phytopathogenic bacterium &lt;i&gt;Pectobacterium carotovorum&lt;/i&gt; carry genes encoding putative bacteriocins which have seemingly evolved through a recombination event to encode proteins containing an N-terminal domain with extensive similarity to a [2Fe-2S] plant ferredoxin and a C-terminal colicin M-like catalytic domain. In this work, we show that these genes encode active bacteriocins, pectocin M1 and M2, which target strains of &lt;i&gt;Pectobacterium carotovorum&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;Pectobacterium atrosepticum&lt;/i&gt; with increased potency under iron limiting conditions. The activity of pectocin M1 and M2 can be inhibited by the addition of spinach ferredoxin, indicating that the ferredoxin domain of these proteins acts as a receptor binding domain. This effect is not observed with the mammalian ferredoxin protein adrenodoxin, indicating that &lt;i&gt;Pectobacterium spp.&lt;/i&gt; carries a specific receptor for plant ferredoxins and that these plant pathogens may acquire iron from the host through the uptake of ferredoxin. In further support of this hypothesis we show that the growth of strains of &lt;i&gt;Pectobacterium carotovorum&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;atrosepticum&lt;/i&gt; that are not sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of pectocin M1 is enhanced in the presence of pectocin M1 and M2 under iron limiting conditions. A similar growth enhancement under iron limiting conditions is observed with spinach ferrodoxin, but not with adrenodoxin. Our data indicate that pectocin M1 and M2 have evolved to parasitise an existing iron uptake pathway by using a ferredoxin-containing receptor binding domain as a Trojan horse to gain entry into susceptible cells

Statistical Laws Governing Fluctuations in Word Use from Word Birth to Word Death

We analyze the dynamic properties of 10^7 words recorded in English, Spanish and Hebrew over the period 1800--2008 in order to gain insight into the coevolution of language and culture. We report language independent patterns useful as benchmarks for theoretical models of language evolution. A significantly decreasing (increasing) trend in the birth (death) rate of words indicates a recent shift in the selection laws governing word use. For new words, we observe a peak in the growth-rate fluctuations around 40 years after introduction, consistent with the typical entry time into standard dictionaries and the human generational timescale. Pronounced changes in the dynamics of language during periods of war shows that word correlations, occurring across time and between words, are largely influenced by coevolutionary social, technological, and political factors. We quantify cultural memory by analyzing the long-term correlations in the use of individual words using detrended fluctuation analysis.Comment: Version 1: 31 pages, 17 figures, 3 tables. Version 2 is streamlined, eliminates substantial material and incorporates referee comments: 19 pages, 14 figures, 3 table