An Optimal Medium Access Control with Partial Observations for Sensor Networks

We consider medium access control (MAC) in multihop sensor networks, where only partial information about the shared medium is available to the transmitter. We model our setting as a queuing problem in which the service rate of a queue is a function of a partially observed Markov chain representing the available bandwidth, and in which the arrivals are controlled based on the partial observations so as to keep the system in a desirable mildly unstable regime. The optimal controller for this problem satisfies a separation property: we first compute a probability measure on the state space of the chain, namely the information state, then use this measure as the new state on which the control decisions are based. We give a formal description of the system considered and of its dynamics, we formalize and solve an optimal control problem, and we show numerical simulations to illustrate with concrete examples properties of the optimal control law. We show how the ergodic behavior of our queuing model is characterized by an invariant measure over all possible information states, and we construct that measure. Our results can be specifically applied for designing efficient and stable algorithms for medium access control in multiple-accessed systems, in particular for sensor networks

Combined telovelar-minimal transvermian approach for a bleeding pontine cavernoma in a 48-year-old patient: Case report and review of literature

Symptomatic pontine cavernous malformations carry a high risk of recurrent bleeding, which may result in permanent neurological deficit. Such lesions require surgical management that can be challenging to the neurosurgeon due to their anatomical location and their proximity to delicate neural structures. An ideal surgical approach should provide maximal surgical resection with minimal morbidity. We present the case of a 48-year-old woman with a pontine cavernoma with repeated spontaneous intralesional hemorrhages, resected using a telovelar approach extended by a minimal incision of the inferior vermis, with good surgical outcome. The telovelar approach provided a good access to the lateral recesses and the foramen of Luschka, while the lower vermian incision provided a greater vertical working angle inside the ventricle

Taxonomic classification of asteroids based on MOVIS near-infrared colors

We aim to provide a taxonomic classification for asteroids observed by VISTA-VHS survey. We derive a method for assigning a compositional type to an object based on its (Y-J), (J-Ks), and (H-Ks) colors. We present a taxonomic classification for 18\,265 asteroids from the MOVIS catalog, using a probabilistic method and the k-nearest neighbors algorithm. Because our taxonomy is based only on NIR colors, several classes from Bus-DeMeo were clustered into groups and a slightly different notation was used (i.e. the superscript indicates that the classification was obtained based on the NIR colors and the subscript indicates possible miss-identifications with other types). Our results are compared with the information provided by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The two algorithms used in this study give a taxonomic type for all objects having at least (Y-J) and (J-Ks) observed colors. A final classification is reported for a set of 6\,496 asteroids based on the criteria that KNN and probabilistic algorithms gave the same result, (Y-J)$_{err}\leq$ 0.118 and (J-Ks)$_{err}\leq$0.136. This set includes 144 bodies classified as $B_k^{ni}$, 613 as $C^{ni}$, 197 as $C_{gx}^{ni}$, 91 as $X_t^{ni}$, 440 as $D_s^{ni}$, 665 as $K_l^{ni}$, 233 as $A_d^{ni}$, 3\,315 as $S^{ni}$, and 798 as $V^{ni}$. We report the albedo distribution for each taxonomic group and we compute new median values for the main types. We found that V-type and A-type candidates have identical size frequency distributions, but the V-types are five times more common than the A-types. Several particular cases, such as the A-type asteroid (11616) 1996 BQ2 and the S-type (3675) Kematsch, both in the Cybele population, are discussed. Files and codes available at: https://github.com/marcelpopescu/MOVIS-TaxonomyComment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A

Cross-continental emergence of Nannizziopsis barbatae disease may threaten wild Australian lizards

Members of the genus Nannizziopsis are emerging fungal pathogens of reptiles that have been documented as the cause of fatal mycoses in a wide range of reptiles in captivity. Cases of severe, proliferative dermatitis, debility and death have been detected in multiple free-living lizard species from locations across Australia, including a substantial outbreak among Eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) in Brisbane, Queensland. We investigated this disease in a subset of severely affected lizards and identified a clinically consistent syndrome characterized by hyperkeratosis, epidermal hyperplasia, dermal inflammation, necrosis, ulceration, and emaciation. Using a novel fungal isolation method, histopathology, and molecular techniques, we identified the etiologic agent as Nannizziopsis barbatae, a species reported only once previously from captive lizards in Australia. Here we report severe dermatomycosis caused by N. barbatae in five species of Australian lizard, representing the first cases of Nannizziopsis infection among free-living reptiles, globally. Further, we evaluate key pathogen and host characteristics that indicate N. barbatae-associated dermatomycosis may pose a concerning threat to Australian lizards

61MO Biomarker analysis of men with enzalutamide (enza)-resistant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treated with pembrolizumab (pembro) + enza in KEYNOTE-199

Background: In KEYNOTE-199 (NCT02787005), pembro + enza had durable antitumor activity in enza-refractory mCRPC. We evaluated the association between prespecified biomarkers and clinical outcomes. Methods: Cohorts 4 (C4; RECIST-measurable disease) and 5 (C5; nonmeasurable, bone-predominant disease) enrolled men with chemotherapy-naive mCRPC, irrespective of PD-L1 status, that progressed after initial response to enza. We evaluated TMB by whole exome sequencing (n = 64), PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) by IHC (n = 124), and 18-gene T-cell–inflamed gene expression profile (TcellinfGEP) by NanoString (n = 51). Outcomes were DCR, PFS, PSA response, PSA progression, OS, and ORR per blinded independent review (C4 only). Significance of continuous biomarkers (CPS, TMB, GEP) was prespecified at 0.05 for 1-sided P values from logistic (ORR, DCR, PSA response) and Cox proportional hazard (PFS, OS, PSA progression) regression adjusted for ECOG PS. Results: In C4, ORR was 10% (5/48) in pts with evaluable TMB data and 12% (10/81) in pts with CPS data. In C4 and C5, 16% (10/64) and 14% (17/124) of pts with TMB and CPS data, respectively, achieved a PSA response. TMB was significantly associated with DCR (P = 0.03) and trended toward an association with PSA response (P = 0.08). TMB (AUROC [95% CI]: 0.68 [0.51-0.86]), but not CPS (0.54 [0.41-0.67]) or TcellinfGEP (0.55 [0.37-0.74]), enriched for PSA response. TMB (P = 0.04), but not CPS (P = 0.57) or TcellinfGEP (P = 0.32), was significantly associated with PSA progression. There was 1 MSI-H pt (per Promega PCR assay); this pt achieved an objective and PSA response and had PFS \u3e6 months. TMB, CPS, and TcellinfGEP were not associated with PFS or OS. There was a low prevalence of TMB ≥175 mut/exome (11%) and TcellinfGEP-high (≥−0.318; 16%). Conclusions: In this biomarker analysis of KEYNOTE-199 C4-C5, PD-L1 CPS and TcellinfGEP were not significantly associated with clinical outcome. Despite the low prevalence of TMB ≥175 mut/exome, TMB was positively associated with outcomes of pembro + enza in pts with mCRPC. The sample sizes for the exploratory analyses were small, and results should be interpreted with caution

Event structures for the reversible early internal pi-calculus

The pi-calculus is a widely used process calculus, which models com-munications between processes and allows the passing of communication links.Various operational semantics of the pi-calculus have been proposed, which canbe classified according to whether transitions are unlabelled (so-called reductions)or labelled. With labelled transitions, we can distinguish early and late semantics.The early version allows a process to receive names it already knows from the en-vironment, while the late semantics and reduction semantics do not. All existingreversible versions of the pi-calculus use reduction or late semantics, despite theearly semantics of the (forward-only) pi-calculus being more widely used than thelate. We define piIH, the first reversible early pi-calculus, and give it a denotationalsemantics in terms of reversible bundle event structures. The new calculus is a re-versible form of the internal pi-calculus, which is a subset of the pi-calculus whereevery link sent by an output is private, yielding greater symmetry between inputsand outputs

Immune Biomarkers in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a heterogeneous disease in which molecular stratification is needed to improve clinical outcomes. The identification of predictive biomarkers can have a major impact on the care of these patients, but the availability of metastatic tissue samples for research in this setting is limited. OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of immune biomarkers of potential clinical utility to immunotherapy in mCRPC and to determine their association with overall survival (OS). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: From 100 patients, mCRPC biopsies were assayed by whole exome sequencing, targeted next-generation sequencing, RNA sequencing, tumor mutational burden, T-cell-inflamed gene expression profile (TcellinfGEP) score (Nanostring), and immunohistochemistry for programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1), ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM), phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), SRY homology box 2 (SOX2), and the presence of neuroendocrine features. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The phi coefficient determined correlations between biomarkers of interest. OS was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) from Cox regression. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: PD-L1 and SOX2 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry (combined positive score ≥1 and >5% cells, respectively) in 24 (33%) and 27 (27%) mCRPC biopsies, respectively; 23 (26%) mCRPC biopsies had high TcellinfGEP scores (>-0.318). PD-L1 protein expression and TcellinfGEP scores were positively correlated (phi 0.63 [0.45; 0.76]). PD-L1 protein expression (aHR: 1.90 [1.05; 3.45]), high TcellinfGEP score (aHR: 1.86 [1.04; 3.31]), and SOX2 expression (aHR: 2.09 [1.20; 3.64]) were associated with worse OS. CONCLUSIONS: PD-L1, TcellinfGEP score, and SOX2 are prognostic of outcome from the mCRPC setting. If validated, predictive biomarker studies incorporating survival endpoints need to take these findings into consideration. PATIENT SUMMARY: This study presents an analysis of immune biomarkers in biopsies from patients with metastatic prostate cancer. We describe tumor alterations that predict prognosis that can impact future studies

Removing krypton from xenon by cryogenic distillation to the ppq level

The XENON1T experiment aims for the direct detection of dark matter in a cryostat filled with 3.3 tons of liquid xenon. In order to achieve the desired sensitivity, the background induced by radioactive decays inside the detector has to be sufficiently low. One major contributor is the $\beta$-emitter $^{85}$Kr which is an intrinsic contamination of the xenon. For the XENON1T experiment a concentration of natural krypton in xenon $\rm{^{nat}}$Kr/Xe < 200 ppq (parts per quadrillion, 1 ppq = 10$^{-15}$ mol/mol) is required. In this work, the design of a novel cryogenic distillation column using the common McCabe-Thiele approach is described. The system demonstrated a krypton reduction factor of 6.4$\cdot$10$^5$ with thermodynamic stability at process speeds above 3 kg/h. The resulting concentration of $\rm{^{nat}}$Kr/Xe < 26 ppq is the lowest ever achieved, almost one order of magnitude below the requirements for XENON1T and even sufficient for future dark matter experiments using liquid xenon, such as XENONnT and DARWIN