1978 Clinic Yearbook

The Clinic is the yearbook of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (formerly Jefferson Medical College) at Thomas Jefferson University

Rapid And Homogenous Detection Of Apple Stem Pitting Virus By Rt-Pcr And A Fluorogenic 3 ' Minor Groove Binder-Dna Probe

peer reviewe

High-Dimensional Private Empirical Risk Minimization by Greedy Coordinate Descent

In this paper, we study differentially private empirical risk minimization (DP-ERM). It has been shown that the worst-case utility of DP-ERM reduces polynomially as the dimension increases. This is a major obstacle to privately learning large machine learning models. In high dimension, it is common for some model's parameters to carry more information than others. To exploit this, we propose a differentially private greedy coordinate descent (DP-GCD) algorithm. At each iteration, DP-GCD privately performs a coordinate-wise gradient step along the gradients' (approximately) greatest entry. We show theoretically that DP-GCD can achieve a logarithmic dependence on the dimension for a wide range of problems by naturally exploiting their structural properties (such as quasi-sparse solutions). We illustrate this behavior numerically, both on synthetic and real datasets

The Enigma of B-type Pulsators in the SMC

Since the early nineties it is accepted that the excitation mechanism of B-type pulsators on the main sequence is due to the opacity peak in the iron-group elements at $T\approx 200,000$ K. The Fe content plays then a major role in the excitation of $\beta$ Cep and SPB pulsations. While theoretical non-adiabatic computations predict no $\beta$ Cep pulsators and only a small number of SPBs for low metallicity environments such as that of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs), recent variability surveys of B stars in the SMC have reported the detection of a significant number of SPB and $\beta$ Cep candidates. Since the SMC is the metal poorest (Z$\approx$0.001-0.004) of the MCs, it constitutes an interesting object for investigating the disagreement between theory and observations. We approach the problem by calling into question some of the hypotheses made in previous studies: given the different chemical evolution of the SMC compared with our local galactic environment, is it appropriate to describe the chemical composition of SMC B stars by scaling the solar mixture to lower $Z$? Is that composition uniform in space and time? In this paper we present the results of a stability analysis of B-type stellar models computed with a revised chemical composition and metallicity specific to the SMC.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, proceeding for "Stellar Pulsation: Challenges for Theory and Observation", Santa Fe 200

Determining the metallicity of the solar envelope using seismic inversion techniques

peer reviewedThe solar metallicity issue is a long-lasting problem of astrophysics, impacting multi- ple fields and still subject to debate and uncertainties. While spectroscopy has mostly been used to determine the solar heavy elements abundance, helioseismologists at- tempted providing a seismic determination of the metallicity in the solar convective enveloppe. However, the puzzle remains since two independent groups prodived two radically different values for this crucial astrophysical parameter. We aim at provid- ing an independent seismic measurement of the solar metallicity in the convective enveloppe. Our main goal is to help provide new information to break the current stalemate amongst seismic determinations of the solar heavy element abundance. We start by presenting the kernels, the inversion technique and the target function of the inversion we have developed. We then test our approach in multiple hare-and-hounds exercises to assess its reliability and accuracy. We then apply our technique to solar data using calibrated solar models and determine an interval of seismic measurements for the solar metallicity. We show that our inversion can indeed be used to estimate the solar metallicity thanks to our hare-and-hounds exercises. However, we also show that further dependencies in the physical ingredients of solar models lead to a low accuracy. Nevertheless, using various physical ingredients for our solar models, we determine metallicity values between 0.008 and 0.014

Pathogenesis of Junonia coenia densovirus in Spodoptera frugiperda: A route of infection that leads to hypoxia

AbstractTo evaluate densovirus potential against lepidopteran pests and their capacity to invade new hosts, we have characterised in vivo the infection and pathogenesis of the Junonia coenia densovirus (JcDNV) in the noctuid pest Spodoptera frugiperda. Here we show that infection starts with the ingestion of viral particles that cross the midgut epithelium without replicating. By quantitative PCR we established the kinetic and the route of infection, from virus ingestion to replication in visceral tracheae and hemocytes. JcDNV has a high particle-to-infection ratio mostly due to the barrier function of the midgut. Pathology and cytopathology suggested that infection of tracheal cells impairs oxygen delivery to demanding tissues leading to cytopathic effects in all the tissues. Finally, larval death results from several physiological shocks, including molting arrest and anoxia

Augmented reality for emergency situations in buildings with the support of indoor localization

Augmented reality is showing a continuous evolution due to the increasing number of smart glasses that are being used for different applications (e.g. training, marketing, industry, risk avoidance, etc.). In this paper, we present an implementation that uses augmented reality (AR) for emergency situations in smart buildings by means of indoor localization through the use of subGHz beacons. This also includes the mapping of emergency elements in the three-dimensional building, together with some example cases