Bayesian Inference of Arrival Rate and Substitution Behavior from Sales Transaction Data with Stockouts

When an item goes out of stock, sales transaction data no longer reflect the original customer demand, since some customers leave with no purchase while others substitute alternative products for the one that was out of stock. Here we develop a Bayesian hierarchical model for inferring the underlying customer arrival rate and choice model from sales transaction data and the corresponding stock levels. The model uses a nonhomogeneous Poisson process to allow the arrival rate to vary throughout the day, and allows for a variety of choice models. Model parameters are inferred using a stochastic gradient MCMC algorithm that can scale to large transaction databases. We fit the model to data from a local bakery and show that it is able to make accurate out-of-sample predictions, and to provide actionable insight into lost cookie sales

Discovery Of Ethanol-Responsive Small Rnas In Zymomonas Mobilis

Zymomonas mobilis is a bacterium that can produce ethanol by fermentation. Due to its unique metabolism and efficient ethanol production, Z. mobilis has attracted special interest for biofuel energy applications; an important area of study is the regulation of those specific metabolic pathways. Small RNAs (sRNAs) have been studied as molecules that function as transcriptional regulators in response to cellular stresses. While sRNAs have been discovered in various organisms by computational prediction and experimental approaches, their discovery in Z. mobilis has not yet been reported. In this study, we have applied transcriptome analysis and computational predictions to facilitate identification and validation of 15 novel sRNAs in Z. mobilis. We furthermore characterized their expression in the context of high and low levels of intracellular ethanol. Here, we report that 3 of the sRNAs (Zms2, Zms4, and Zms6) are differentially expressed under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, when low and high ethanol productions are observed, respectively. Importantly, when we tested the effect of ethanol stress on the expression of sRNAs in Z. mobilis, Zms2, Zms6, and Zms18 showed differential expression under 5% ethanol stress conditions. These data suggest that in this organism regulatory RNAs can be associated with metabolic functions involved in ethanol stress responses.NSF CBET-1254754Welch Foundation F-1756Cellular and Molecular BiologyChemical Engineerin

Letter from Matilde M. de Soto and Maria Lydia Sanchez de Roman, Deputies of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly, to Geraldine Ferraro

Letter from Matilde M. de Soto and Maria Lydia Sanchez de Roman, Deputies of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly, to Geraldine Ferraro. Letter has handwritten notes and includes a Library of Congress translation.https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vice_presidential_campaign_correspondence_1984_international/1344/thumbnail.jp

The wind of rotating B supergiants, I : domains of slow and fast solution regimes

In the scenario of rotating radiation-driven wind theory for massive stars, three types of stationary hydrodynamic solutions are currently known: the classical ( fast) m-CAK solution, the Ω-slow solution that arises for fast rotators, and the so-called δ-slow solution if high values of the δ line-force parameter are allowed independently of the rotation speed. Compared to the fast solution, both ?slow solutions? have lower terminal velocities. As the study ofthe parameter domain for the slow solution is still incomplete, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the distinctive flow regimes for B supergiants that emerge from a fine grid of rotation values, Ω, and various ionizationconditions in the wind (δ) parameter. The wind ionization defines two domains: one for fast outflowing winds and the other for slow expanding flows. Both domains are clear-cut by a gap, where a kink/plateau structure of thevelocity law could exist for a finite interval of δ. The location and width of the gap depend on Teff and Ω. There is a smooth and continuous transition between the Ω-slow and δ-slow regimes, a single Ω δ-slow regime. We discussdifferent situations where the slow solutions can be found and the possibility of a switch between fast and slow solutions in B supergiant winds. We compare the theoretical terminal velocity with observations of B and Asupergiants and find that the fast regime prevails mostly for early B supergiants while the slow wind regime matches better for A and B mid- and late-type supergiants.Fil: Venero, Roberto Oscar José. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Curé, M.. Universidad de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Cidale, Lydia Sonia. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Araya, I.. Universidad de Valparaíso; Chil

Protective Effects of Calcium Against Chronic Waterborne Cadmium Exposure to Juvenile Rainbow Trout

Juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss [Walbaum]) on 1% daily ration were exposed to 0 (control) or 2 μg of cadmium as Cd(NO3)2·4H2O per liter added to four different calcium (Ca) concentrations: 260 (background), 470 (low), 770 (medium), or 1200 (high) μM of Ca added as Cd(NO3)2·4H2O in synthetic soft water for 30 d. Mortality was highest (;80%) in the background 1 Cd treatment. Approximately 40% mortality was observed in the low 1 Cd exposure; mortality was 10% or less for all other treatments. No growth effects were seen for any of the exposures. Kidneys accumulated the greatest concentration of Cd during the 30 d, followed by gills and livers. Accumulation of Cd in gills, kidney, and liver decreased at higher water Ca concentrations. No differences in whole-body or plasma Ca concentrations were found. Swimming performance was impaired in the low + Cd-exposed fish. Influx of Ca2+ into whole bodies decreased as water Ca concentrations increased; influx of Ca2+ into background + Cd–treated fish was significantly reduced compared to that in control fish. Experiments that measured uptake of new Cd into gills showed that the affinity of gills for Cd (KCd-gill) and the number of binding sites for Cd decreased as water Ca concentrations increased. Acute accumulation of new Cd into gills and number of gill Cd-binding sites increased with chronic Cd exposure, whereas the affinity of gills for Cd decreased with chronic Cd exposure. Longer-term gill binding (72 h) showed reduced uptake of new Cd at higher water Ca levels and increased uptake with chronic Cd exposure. Complications were found in applying the biotic ligand model to fish that were chronically exposed to Cd because of discrepancies in the maximum number of gill Cd-binding sites among different studies

The signature of river- and wind-borne materials exported from Patagonia to the southern latitudes: a view from REEs and implications for paleoclimatic interpretations

Riverine and wind-borne materials transferred from Patagonia to the SW Atlantic exhibit a homogeneous rare earth element (REE) signature. They match well with the REE composition of Recent tephra from the Hudson volcano,and hence this implies a dominance of material supplied by this source and other similar Andean volcanoes. Due to the trapping effect of proglacial and reservoir lakes,the larger Patagonian rivers deliver to the ocean a suspended load with a slightly modified Andean signature,that shows a REE composition depleted in heavy REEs. In this paper we redefine Patagonia as a source of sediments,which is in contrast with other sources located in southern South America. Quaternary sediments deposited in the northern and,to a lesser extent, in the southern Scotia Sea, and most of the dust in ice cores of east Antarctica have REE compositions very similar to the loess from Buenos Aires Province and to Patagonian eolian dust. However,we rule out Buenos Aires province as a Holocene major source of sediments. Similarly to Buenos Aires loess (a proximal facies),it is likely that the REE compositions of most sediment cores of the Scotia Sea and Antarctica reflect a distal transport of dust with an admixed composition from two main sources: a major contribution from Patagonia,and a minor proportion from source areas containing sediments with a clear upper crustal signature (e.g.,western Argentina) or from Bolivia’s Altiplano. Evidence indicates that only during the Last Glacial Maximum,Patagonian materials were the predominant sediment source to the southern latitudes