Parking functions, labeled trees and DCJ sorting scenarios

In genome rearrangement theory, one of the elusive questions raised in recent years is the enumeration of rearrangement scenarios between two genomes. This problem is related to the uniform generation of rearrangement scenarios, and the derivation of tests of statistical significance of the properties of these scenarios. Here we give an exact formula for the number of double-cut-and-join (DCJ) rearrangement scenarios of co-tailed genomes. We also construct effective bijections between the set of scenarios that sort a cycle and well studied combinatorial objects such as parking functions and labeled trees.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

The f-vector of the descent polytope

For a positive integer n and a subset S of [n-1], the descent polytope DP_S is the set of points x_1, ..., x_n in the n-dimensional unit cube [0,1]^n such that x_i >= x_{i+1} for i in S and x_i <= x_{i+1} otherwise. First, we express the f-vector of DP_S as a sum over all subsets of [n-1]. Second, we use certain factorizations of the associated word over a two-letter alphabet to describe the f-vector. We show that the f-vector is maximized when the set S is the alternating set {1,3,5, ...}. We derive a generating function for the f-polynomial F_S(t) of DP_S, written as a formal power series in two non-commuting variables with coefficients in Z[t]. We also obtain the generating function for the Ehrhart polynomials of the descent polytopes.Comment: 14 pages; to appear in Discrete & Computational Geometr

Molecular and morphological characterization of Echinococcus granulosus of human and animal origin in Iran

Iran is an important endemic focus of cystic hydatid disease (CHD) where several species of intermediate host are commonly infected with Echinococcus granulosus. Isolates of E. granulosus were collected from humans and other animals from different geographical areas of Iran and characterized using both DNA (PCR-RFLP of ITS1) and morphological criteria (metacestode rostellar hook dimensions). The sheep and camel strains/genotypes were shown to occur in Iran. The sheep strain was shown to be the most common genotype of E. granulosus affecting sheep, cattle, goats and occasionally camels. The majority of camels were infected with the camel genotype as were 3 of 33 human cases. This is the first time that cases of CHD in humans have been identified in an area where a transmission cycle for the camel genotype exists. In addition, the camel genotype was found to cause infection in both sheep and cattle. Results also demonstrated that both sheep and camel strains can be readily differentiated on the basis of hook morphology alone

Memorandum: what can be done to avoid coronary heart disease?

Click on the link to view

Optimum Placement of Post-1PN GW Chirp Templates Made Simple at any Match Level via Tanaka-Tagoshi Coordinates

A simple recipe is given for constructing a maximally sparse regular lattice of spin-free post-1PN gravitational wave chirp templates subject to a given minimal match constraint, using Tanaka-Tagoshi coordinates.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

Production of reactive oxygen species in excised, desiccated and cryopreserved explants of Trichilia dregeana Sond

AbstractThe tropical tree Trichilia dregeana Sond. has recalcitrant seeds that cannot be stored by conventional seed banking methods that include drying and storage at low temperatures, or by using cryopreservation protocols that have been successfully applied to recalcitrant-seeded species such as Castanea sativa. We recently showed that in C. sativa both excision of the embryonic axes and subsequent dehydration cause transitory (5min) bursts of extracellular superoxide (O2−) production. Here we show that both excision and partial dehydration of the embryonic axes from seeds of T. dregeana cause large, prolonged extracellular bursts of O2−. Furthermore, during rehydration after cryopreservation, another burst of O2− occurs with slightly different kinetics. Compared with C. sativa, rates of O2− production in T. dregeana are approximately twice as great and decline much more slowly, suggesting that excessive radical formation may be responsible for poor survival of the axes following cryopreservation. Fractionating the cell wall proteins of embryonic axes and cotyledons in conjunction with electrophoretic analyses of the fractions showed that most O2− was produced by two peroxidases with molecular masses of c. 50 and 80kD that were loosely bound to the cell walls of the embryonic axes. Future successful cryopreservation of T. dregeana would appear to depend on manipulations of O2− production, and the discovery of peroxidases as the enzymes responsible described here may help in the development of more effective protocols

The Projectile Point Classification Project: The Classification of Projectile Points in Existing Archaeological Collections from North Carolina

Technical Report No. 19, Research Laboratories of Archaeology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Reports in this series present the findings of archaeological surveys and test excavations completed by the RLA between 1983 and present