Conjoined Dirichlet Process

Biclustering is a class of techniques that simultaneously clusters the rows and columns of a matrix to sort heterogeneous data into homogeneous blocks. Although many algorithms have been proposed to find biclusters, existing methods suffer from the pre-specification of the number of biclusters or place constraints on the model structure. To address these issues, we develop a novel, non-parametric probabilistic biclustering method based on Dirichlet processes to identify biclusters with strong co-occurrence in both rows and columns. The proposed method utilizes dual Dirichlet process mixture models to learn row and column clusters, with the number of resulting clusters determined by the data rather than pre-specified. Probabilistic biclusters are identified by modeling the mutual dependence between the row and column clusters. We apply our method to two different applications, text mining and gene expression analysis, and demonstrate that our method improves bicluster extraction in many settings compared to existing approaches

Coulomb Corrections for Interferometry Analysis of Expanding Hadron Systems

The problem of the Coulomb corrections to the two-boson correlation functions for the systems formed in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions is considered for large effective system volumes. The modification of the standard zero-distance correction (so called Gamow or Coulomb factor) has been proposed for such a kind of systems. For the 1r+1r+ and [(+[(+ correlation functions the analytical calculations of the Coulomb correction are compared with the exact numerical results

Subchronic Hepatotoxicity Evaluation of 2,3,4,6-Tetrachlorophenol in Sprague Dawley Rats

Male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol (TCP) for 5 days, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or 13 weeks. TCP was administered by gavage at doses of 0, 10, 25, 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg/day. Endpoints evaluated included clinical observations, body weights, liver weights, serum chemistry, blood TCP, gross pathology, and liver histopathology. There were no TCP exposure-related clinical signs of toxicity. Mean body weight decreased 12–22% compared to control in the 100 and 200 mg/kg/day groups. Serum ALT concentrations were increased in rats of the 200 mg/k/day. Liver weight increases were both dose- and exposure time-related and statistically significant at ≥25 mg/kg/day. Incidence and severity of centrilobular hepatocytic vacuolation, hepatocyte hypertrophy, and single cell hepatocytic necrosis were related to dose and exposure time. Following 13 weeks of exposure, bile duct hyperplasia and centrilobular and/or periportal fibrosis were observed in rats primarily of the highest TCP dose group. Blood TCP concentrations increased with dose and at 13 weeks ranged from 1.3 to 8.5 μg/mL (10 to 200 mg/kg/day). A NOAEL of 10 mg/kg/day was selected based on the statistically significant incidence of hepatocyte hypertrophy at doses ≥25 mg/kg/day

Safety and Feasibility of Long-term Intravenous Sodium Nitrite Infusion in Healthy Volunteers

BACKGROUND: Infusion of sodium nitrite could provide sustained therapeutic concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) for the treatment of a variety of vascular disorders. The study was developed to determine the safety and feasibility of prolonged sodium nitrite infusion. METHODOLOGY: Healthy volunteers, aged 21 to 60 years old, were candidates for the study performed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH; protocol 05-N-0075) between July 2007 and August 2008. All subjects provided written consent to participate. Twelve subjects (5 males, 7 females; mean age, 38.8±9.2 years (range, 21-56 years)) were intravenously infused with increasing doses of sodium nitrite for 48 hours (starting dose at 4.2 µg/kg/hr; maximal dose of 533.8 µg/kg/hr). Clinical, physiologic and laboratory data before, during and after infusion were analyzed. FINDINGS: The maximal tolerated dose for intravenous infusion of sodium nitrite was 267 µg/kg/hr. Dose limiting toxicity occurred at 446 µg/kg/hr. Toxicity included a transient asymptomatic decrease of mean arterial blood pressure (more than 15 mmHg) and/or an asymptomatic increase of methemoglobin level above 5%. Nitrite, nitrate, S-nitrosothiols concentrations in plasma and whole blood increased in all subjects and returned to preinfusion baseline values within 12 hours after cessation of the infusion. The mean half-life of nitrite estimated at maximal tolerated dose was 45.3 minutes for plasma and 51.4 minutes for whole blood. CONCLUSION: Sodium nitrite can be safely infused intravenously at defined concentrations for prolonged intervals. These results should be valuable for developing studies to investigate new NO treatment paradigms for a variety of clinical disorders, including cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage, and ischemia of the heart, liver, kidney and brain, as well as organ transplants, blood-brain barrier modulation and pulmonary hypertension. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; NCT00103025

The STAR Silicon Strip Detector (SSD)

The STAR Silicon Strip Detector (SSD) completes the three layers of the Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT) to make an inner tracking system located inside the Time Projection Chamber (TPC). This additional fourth layer provides two dimensional hit position and energy loss measurements for charged particles, improving the extrapolation of TPC tracks through SVT hits. To match the high multiplicity of central Au+Au collisions at RHIC the double sided silicon strip technology was chosen which makes the SSD a half million channels detector. Dedicated electronics have been designed for both readout and control. Also a novel technique of bonding, the Tape Automated Bonding (TAB), was used to fullfill the large number of bounds to be done. All aspects of the SSD are shortly described here and test performances of produced detection modules as well as simulated results on hit reconstruction are given.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

A protocol for manual segmentation of medial temporal lobe subregions in 7 Tesla MRI

Recent advances in MRI and increasing knowledge on the characterization and anatomical variability of medial temporal lobe (MTL) anatomy have paved the way for more specific subdivisions of the MTL in humans. In addition, recent studies suggest that early changes in many neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases are better detected in smaller subregions of the MTL rather than with whole structure analyses. Here, we developed a new protocol using 7 Tesla (T) MRI incorporating novel anatomical findings for the manual segmentation of entorhinal cortex (ErC), perirhinal cortex (PrC; divided into area 35 and 36), parahippocampal cortex (PhC), and hippocampus; which includes the subfields subiculum (Sub), CA1, CA2, as well as CA3 and dentate gyrus (DG) which are separated by the endfolial pathway covering most of the long axis of the hippocampus. We provide detailed instructions alongside slice-by-slice segmentations to ease learning for the untrained but also more experienced raters. Twenty-two subjects were scanned (19–32 yrs, mean age = 26 years, 12 females) with a turbo spin echo (TSE) T2-weighted MRI sequence with high-resolution oblique coronal slices oriented orthogonal to the long axis of the hippocampus (in-plane resolution 0.44 × 0.44 mm2) and 1.0 mm slice thickness. The scans were manually delineated by two experienced raters, to assess intra- and inter-rater reliability. The Dice Similarity Index (DSI) was above 0.78 for all regions and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) were between 0.76 to 0.99 both for intra- and inter-rater reliability. In conclusion, this study presents a fine-grained and comprehensive segmentation protocol for MTL structures at 7 T MRI that closely follows recent knowledge from anatomical studies. More specific subdivisions (e.g. area 35 and 36 in PrC, and the separation of DG and CA3) may pave the way for more precise delineations thereby enabling the detection of early volumetric changes in dementia and neuropsychiatric diseases

Innovative Technologies for District Heating and Cooling: InDeal Project

The paper discusses the outcomes of the conference organized by the InDeal project. The conference took place on 12 December 2018 in Montpellier as part of the EnerGaia energy forum 2018. A holistic interdisciplinary approach for district heating and cooling (DHC) networks is presented that integrates heterogeneous innovative technologies from various scientific sectors. The solution is based on a multi-layer control and modelling framework that has been designed to minimize the total plant production costs and optimize heating/cooling distribution. Artificial intelligence tools are employed to model uncertainties associated with weather and energy demand forecasts, as well as quantify the energy storage capacity. Smart metering devices are utilized to collect information about all the crucial heat substations’ parameters, whereas a web-based platform offers a unique user environment for network operators. Three new technologies have been further developed to improve the efficiency of pipe design of DHC systems: (i) A new sustainable insulation material for reducing heat losses, (ii) a new quick-fit joint for an easy installation, and (iii) a new coating for reducing pressure head losses. The results of a study on the development and optimization of two energy harvesting systems are also provided. The assessment of the environmental, economic and social impact of the proposed holistic approach is performed through a life cycle analysis. The validation methodology of the integrated solution is also described, whereas conclusions and future work are finally given

Two-kaon correlations in central Pb + Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c

Two-particle interferometry of positive kaons is studied in Pb + Pb collisions at mean transverse momenta $\approx 0.25$ and 0.91 GeV/c. A three-dimensional analysis was applied to the lower $p_T$ data, while a two-dimensional analysis was used for the higher $p_T$ data. We find that the source size parameters are consistent with the $m_T$ scaling curve observed in pion correlation measurements in the same collisions, and that the duration time of kaon emission is consistent with zero within the experimental sensitivity.Comment: 4 pages incl. 1 table and 3 fig's; RevTeX; accepted for publication in PR

Two-Proton Correlations near Midrapidity in p+Pb and S+Pb Collisions at the CERN SPS

Correlations of two protons emitted near midrapidity in p+Pb collisions at 450 GeV/c and S+Pb collisions at 200A GeV/c are presented, as measured by the NA44 Experiment. The correlation effect, which arises as a result of final state interactions and Fermi-Dirac statistics, is related to the space-time characteristics of proton emission. The measured source sizes are smaller than the size of the target lead nucleus but larger than the sizes of the projectiles. A dependence on the collision centrality is observed; the source size increases with decreasing impact parameter. Proton source sizes near midrapidity appear to be smaller than those of pions in the same interactions. Quantitative agreement with the results of RQMD (v1.08) simulations is found for p+Pb collisions. For S+Pb collisions the measured correlation effect is somewhat weaker than that predicted by the model simulations, implying either a larger source size or larger contribution of protons from long-lived particle decays.Comment: 10 pages (LaTeX) text, 4 (EPS) figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.