Time-lagged autoencoders: Deep learning of slow collective variables for molecular kinetics

Inspired by the success of deep learning techniques in the physical and chemical sciences, we apply a modification of an autoencoder type deep neural network to the task of dimension reduction of molecular dynamics data. We can show that our time-lagged autoencoder reliably finds low-dimensional embeddings for high-dimensional feature spaces which capture the slow dynamics of the underlying stochastic processes - beyond the capabilities of linear dimension reduction techniques

What is the Relationship Between Maternal BMI \u3e 30 and Method of Delivery?

Maternal obesity and its correlation to method of delivery are important when determining risk factors and examining adverse events and complications during pregnancy and labor. This study was completed as a retrospective review of the Uniform Data Set (UDS) of midwifery deliveries. It examined maternal body mass indexes (BMIs) pre-pregnancy as well as the impact these BMIs had on the method of delivery. Results of this study determined that there was a relationship between maternal BMI \u3e 30 and the method of delivery. Women with a maternal BMI \u3e 30 are 1.93% more likely to have a Cesarean delivery rather than a vaginal birth

Inhomogeneous Chemical Evolution of r-process Elements in the Galactic Halo

For the production of r-process elements in our Galaxy, multiple sites have been discussed, among others, core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers. We use the observed elemental abundances of europium (Eu) in metal poor stars to reproduce the galactic chemical evolution of r-process elements. Our main findings are that additionally to neutron star mergers, a second, early acting site is necessary. We assume “magnetorotationally driven supernovae” act as this additional and earlier r-process site and conclude that our simulations with an adequate combination of these two sites successfully reproduces the observed r-process elemental abundances in the Galactic halo

Isolation, molecular characterization, and mapping of four rose MLO orthologs

Powdery mildew is a major disease of economic importance in cut and pot roses. As an alternative to conventional resistance breeding strategies utilizing single-dominant genes or QTLs, mildew resistance locus o (MLO)-based resistance might offer some advantages. In dicots such as Arabidopsis, pea, and tomato, loss-of-function mutations in MLO genes confer high levels of broad-spectrum resistance. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of four MLO homologs from a large rose EST collection isolated from leaves. These genes are phylogenetically closely related to other dicot MLO genes that are involved in plant powdery mildew interactions. Therefore, they are candidates for MLO genes involved in rose powdery mildew interactions. Two of the four isolated genes contain all of the sequence signatures considered to be diagnostic for MLO genes. We mapped all four genes to three linkage groups and conducted the first analysis of alternative alleles. This information is discussed in regards to a reverse genetics approach aimed at the selection of rose plants that are homozygous for loss-of-function in one or more MLO genes.BMBF/0315542ANatural Science Foundation of China/No31160403Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan/2011FB12