3,831 research outputs found
Huffman Coding with Letter Costs: A Linear-Time Approximation Scheme
We give a polynomial-time approximation scheme for the generalization of
Huffman Coding in which codeword letters have non-uniform costs (as in Morse
code, where the dash is twice as long as the dot). The algorithm computes a
(1+epsilon)-approximate solution in time O(n + f(epsilon) log^3 n), where n is
the input size
Increased Risk for Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome in Individuals Lacking Glutathione S-Transferase Genes
BACKGROUND: Aplastic anemia (AA) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are marrow failure states that may be associated with chromosomal instability. An absence of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme may genetically predispose individuals to AA or MDS. PROCEDURE AND RESULTS: To test this hypothesis, we determined the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes in a total of 196 patients using multiplex PCR. The GSTT1 null genotype was found to be overrepresented in Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic patients with either AA or MDS. We confirmed a difference in the expected frequency of the GSTM1 null genotype in Caucasian MDS patients. The double null GSTM1/GSTT1 genotype was also overrepresented in Caucasian AA and MDS patients. In our population, 26% of AA patients and 40% of MDS patients had a chromosomal abnormality identified by karyotype or FISH analyses for chromosomes 7 and 8. Patients with AA and the GSTT1 null genotype had an increased frequency of chromosomal abnormalities (P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: There seems to be an increased risk for AA and MDS in individuals lacking GSTT1 or both GSTM1/GSTT1
Nonequilibrium work on spin glasses in longitudinal and transverse fields
We derive a number of exact relations between equilibrium and nonequilibrium
quantities for spin glasses in external fields using the Jarzynski equality and
gauge symmetry. For randomly-distributed longitudinal fields, a lower bound is
established for the work done on the system in nonequilibrium processes, and
identities are proven to relate equilibrium and nonequilibrium quantities. In
the case of uniform transverse fields, identities are proven between physical
quantities and exponentiated work done to the system at different parts of the
phase diagram with the context of quantum annealing in mind. Additional
relations are given, which relate the exponentiated work in quantum and
simulated (classical) annealing. It is also suggested that the Jarzynski
equality may serve as a guide to develop a method to perform quantum annealing
under non-adiabatic conditions.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, submitted to JPS
On a Linear Program for Minimum-Weight Triangulation
Minimum-weight triangulation (MWT) is NP-hard. It has a polynomial-time
constant-factor approximation algorithm, and a variety of effective polynomial-
time heuristics that, for many instances, can find the exact MWT. Linear
programs (LPs) for MWT are well-studied, but previously no connection was known
between any LP and any approximation algorithm or heuristic for MWT. Here we
show the first such connections: for an LP formulation due to Dantzig et al.
(1985): (i) the integrality gap is bounded by a constant; (ii) given any
instance, if the aforementioned heuristics find the MWT, then so does the LP.Comment: To appear in SICOMP. Extended abstract appeared in SODA 201
A Nearly Linear-Time PTAS for Explicit Fractional Packing and Covering Linear Programs
We give an approximation algorithm for packing and covering linear programs
(linear programs with non-negative coefficients). Given a constraint matrix
with n non-zeros, r rows, and c columns, the algorithm computes feasible primal
and dual solutions whose costs are within a factor of 1+eps of the optimal cost
in time O((r+c)log(n)/eps^2 + n).Comment: corrected version of FOCS 2007 paper: 10.1109/FOCS.2007.62. Accepted
to Algorithmica, 201
Functional characterization of telomerase RNA variants found in patients with hematologic disorders
Human telomerase uses a specific cellular RNA, called hTERC, as the template to synthesize telomere repeats at chromosome ends. Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with aplastic anemia or other bone marrow failure syndromes are carriers of hTERC sequence variants whose functional significance, in most cases, is unknown. We screened 10 reported and 2 newly discovered hTERC variants from such patients and found that 10 of these negatively affected telomerase enzymatic function when they were used to reconstitute telomerase enzymatic function in human cells. Most functional deficits were due to perturbations of hTERC secondary structure and correlated well with the degrees of telomere shortening and reduced telomerase activity observed in peripheral blood lymphocytes of the representative patients. We also found no evidence of dominant-negative activity in any of the mutants. Therefore, loss of telomerase activity and of telomere maintenance resulting from inherited hTERC mutations may limit marrow stem cell renewal and predispose some patients to bone marrow failure. (Blood. 2005;105: 2332-2339
Discovery of a Low Mass Bipolar Molecular Outflow from L1014-IRS with the Submillimeter Array
Using the Submillimeter Array we report the discovery of a compact low mass
bipolar molecular outflow from L1014-IRS and confirm its association with the
L1014 dense core at 200 pc. Consequently, L1014-IRS is the lowest luminosity (L
\~0.09 Lsun) and perhaps the lowest mass source known to be driving a bipolar
molecular outflow, which is one of the smallest known in size (~500 AU), mass
(< 10^{-4} Msun), and energetics (e.g., force < 10^{-7} Msun km/s/yr).Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, to appear in ApJ Letter
The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey: Survey Description and Data Reduction
We present the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS), a 1.1 mm continuum
survey at 33" effective resolution of 170 square degrees of the Galactic Plane
visible from the northern hemisphere. The survey is contiguous over the range
-10.5 < l < 90.5, |b| < 0.5 and encompasses 133 square degrees, including some
extended regions |b| < 1.5. In addition to the contiguous region, four targeted
regions in the outer Galaxy were observed: IC1396, a region towards the Perseus
Arm, W3/4/5, and Gem OB1. The BGPS has detected approximately 8400 clumps over
the entire area to a limiting non-uniform 1-sigma noise level in the range 11
to 53 mJy/beam in the inner Galaxy. The BGPS source catalog is presented in a
companion paper (Rosolowsky et al. 2010). This paper details the survey
observations and data reduction methods for the images. We discuss in detail
the determination of astrometric and flux density calibration uncertainties and
compare our results to the literature. Data processing algorithms that separate
astronomical signals from time-variable atmospheric fluctuations in the data
time-stream are presented. These algorithms reproduce the structure of the
astronomical sky over a limited range of angular scales and produce artifacts
in the vicinity of bright sources. Based on simulations, we find that extended
emission on scales larger than about 5.9' is nearly completely attenuated (>
90%) and the linear scale at which the attenuation reaches 50% is 3.8'.
Comparison with other millimeter-wave data sets implies a possible systematic
offset in flux calibration, for which no cause has been discovered. This
presentation serves as a companion and guide to the public data release through
NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) Infrared Science Archive
(IRSA). New data releases will be provided through IPAC IRSA with any future
improvements in the reduction.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplemen
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