Evaluating the reliability of NAND multiplexing with PRISM

Probabilistic-model checking is a formal verification technique for analyzing the reliability and performance of systems exhibiting stochastic behavior. In this paper, we demonstrate the applicability of this approach and, in particular, the probabilistic-model-checking tool PRISM to the evaluation of reliability and redundancy of defect-tolerant systems in the field of computer-aided design. We illustrate the technique with an example due to von Neumann, namely NAND multiplexing. We show how, having constructed a model of a defect-tolerant system incorporating probabilistic assumptions about its defects, it is straightforward to compute a range of reliability measures and investigate how they are affected by slight variations in the behavior of the system. This allows a designer to evaluate, for example, the tradeoff between redundancy and reliability in the design. We also highlight errors in analytically computed reliability bounds, recently published for the same case study

Factores de riesgo cardiovascular y anomalías electrocardiográficas en estudiantes universitarios de Itá, Paraguay

Introducción: La determinación de los factores de riesgo cardiovascular debe realizarse enetapas precoces como en la edad universitaria. Esto tiene como propósito identificar los factoresmodificables, sobre todo en edades tempranas de la vida. Objetivos: Determinar la frecuencia dealteraciones antropométricas, hipertensión arterial, hiperglicemia, hábito de fumar, sedentarismo,ingesta de alcohol y alteraciones electrocardiográficas en los alumnos de la Universidad GranAsunción (Itá, Paraguay) en los años 2017 y 2018. Materiales y métodos: Estudio observacionalprospectivo realizado en varones y mujeres, mayores de 18 años, estudiantes de todas lascarreras universitarias, que acudieron en los años 2017 y 2018. Se realizó examen clínico yelectrocardiográfico previo consentimiento informado. Se aplicó estadística descriptiva para ladescripción de las variables. Resultados: Se incluyeron 121 mujeres (edad media 21±4 años) y 62varones (edad media 20±3 años). Se hallaron las siguientes frecuencias: sobrepeso 27%, obesidad14%, circunferencia abdominal aumentada 26%, índice de conicidad aumentado 45%, hipertensiónarterial 18%, sedentarismo 80%, hábito de fumar 0,5% e ingesta de alcohol 15%. Las anomalíaselectrocardiográficas se detectaron en 19% siendo la más frecuente la bradicardia sinusal. Sedetectaron dos casos de síndrome QTc prolongado en pacientes asintomáticos. Conclusión:Los factores de riesgo cardiovascular más frecuentes fueron el sedentarismo, el sobrepeso y lahipertensión arterial. Las anomalías electrocardiográficas se detectaron en 19% siendo la bradicardiasinusal la más frecuent

Comportamiento agronómico de poblaciones de maíz (Zea mays L.) que segregan al mutante poliembrionía

The maize polyembryony (PEm) is phenotypically expressed when the seed germinates in two or more seedlings simultaneously, which in turn develops the capacity to overcome the close competition among sisters and neighboring plants. Because of that, it is thought that the inclusion of PEm in some new maize varieties can be useful looking for high yields and corn grain quality as a response to the global food demand. This research is about the PEm inheritance, the inclusion, recovery of polyembryony in segregating populations, and exploring their performance capacity. The foundation populations were the progenies from crosses among polyembryonic sources and inbred lines, producing several F1 groups, and from each the proper F2, and G3 and G4 generations. The latter two were developed through successive positive assortative matings (AM+). G3 populations were used to generate diallel crossings, Griffing’s method 4, and part of them were evaluated in a performance assay, using a complete block design with a split-split plot arrangement. Results supported a validation of the inheritance model proposed for this sort of polyembryony, which states that the trait is controlled by two independent loci, under epistatic interaction of the type "duplicate gene action". Moreover, the arbitrarily handling of sexual reproduction in F2 plants and in G3 and G4 generations through positive assortative matings (AM+) increased the PEm frequency on an average up to 40 % in G4, departing from the 4.9 % in F2. Also, the performance assay shown a yield potential of the trait. The PEm mutant might be useful in maize production.La poliembrionía de maíz (PEm) se expresa fenotípicamente cuando la semilla germina en dos o más plántulas simultáneamente, lo que a su vez desarrolla la capacidad de superar la competencia cercana entre hermanas y plantas vecinas. Por eso, se cree que la inclusión de PEm en algunas variedades de maíz nuevas puede ser útil en busca de altos rendimientos y calidad de grano de maíz como respuesta a la demanda global de alimentos. Esta investigación trata sobre la herencia de PEm, la inclusión, la recuperación de la poliembrionía en poblaciones segregantes y la exploración de su capacidad de rendimiento. Las poblaciones de base fueron las progenies de cruzamientos entre fuentes poliembriónicas y líneas puras, produciendo varios grupos F1, F2, G3 y G4 apropiados. Los dos últimos se desarrollaron a través de apareamiento preferencial positivo (AM +). Las poblaciones G3 se utilizaron para generar cruzas dialélicas, método 4 de Griffing, y parte de ellas fueron evaluadas en un ensayo de rendimiento, utilizando un diseño de bloques completos al azar con arreglo en parcelas subdivididas. Los resultados respaldaron una validación del modelo de herencia propuesto para este tipo de poliembrionía, en el cual se establece que el rasgo está controlado por dos loci independientes, bajo una interacción epistática del tipo "acción genética duplicada". Además, el manejo arbitrario de la reproducción sexual en plantas F2 y en generaciones G3 y G4 mediante apareamiento preferencial positivo (AM +) aumentó la frecuencia de PEm en un promedio de hasta 40% en G4, partiendo del 4,9% en F2. Además, el ensayo de rendimiento mostró potencial en los rasgos relacionados con el rendimiento. El mutante PEm podría ser útil en la producción de maíz.Fil: Alcalá-Rico, Juan Samuel Guadalupe Jesús. Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro (México)Fil: Espinoza-Velázquez, José. Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro (México)Fil: López-Benítez, Alfonso. Colegio de Postgraduados. Campus Puebla (México)Fil: Borrego-Escalante, Fernando. Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro (México)Fil: Rodriguez-Herrera, Raul. Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila (México)Fil: Hernández-Martínez, Rosendo. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (México

Agronomic performance of maize (Zea mays L.) populations segregating the polyembryony mutant

The maize polyembryony (PEm) is phenotypically expressed when the seed germinates in two or more seedlings simultaneously, which in turn develops the capacity to overcome the close competition among sisters and neighboring plants. Because of that, it is thought that the inclusion of PEm in some new maize varieties can be useful looking for high yields and corn grain quality as a response to the global food demand. This research is about the PEm inheritance, the inclusion, recovery of polyembryony in segregating populations, and exploring their performance capacity. The foundation populations were the progenies from crosses among polyembryonic sources and inbred lines, producing several F1 groups, and from each the proper F2, and G3 and G4 generations. The latter two were developed through successive positive assortative matings (AM+). G3 populations were used to generate diallel crossings, Griffing’s method 4, and part of them were evaluated in a performance assay, using a complete block design with a split-split plot arrangement. Results supported a validation of the inheritance model proposed for this sort of polyembryony, which states that the trait is controlled by two independent loci, under epistatic interaction of the type "duplicate gene action". Moreover, the arbitrarily handling of sexual reproduction in F2 plants and in G3 and G4 generations through positive assortative matings (AM+) increased the PEm frequency on an average up to 40 % in G4, departing from the 4.9 % in F2. Also, the performance assay shown a yield potential of the trait. The PEm mutant might be useful in maize production. The maize polyembryony (PEm) is phenotypically expressed when the seed germinates in two or more seedlings simultaneously, which in turn develops the capacity to overcome the close competition among sisters and neighboring plants. Because of that, it is thought that the inclusion of PEm in some new maize varieties can be useful looking for high yields and corn grain quality as a response to the global food demand. This research is about the PEm inheritance, the inclusion, recovery of polyembryony in segregating populations, and exploring their performance capacity. The foundation populations were the progenies from crosses among polyembryonic sources and inbred lines, producing several F1 groups, and from each the proper F2, and G3 and G4 generations. The latter two were developed through successive positive assortative matings (AM+). G3 populations were used to generate diallel crossings, Griffing’s method 4, and part of them were evaluated in a performance assay, using a complete block design with a split-split plot arrangement. Results supported a validation of the inheritance model proposed for this sort of polyembryony, which states that the trait is controlled by two independent loci, under epistatic interaction of the type "duplicate gene action". Moreover, the arbitrarily handling of sexual reproduction in F2 plants and in G3 and G4 generations through positive assortative matings (AM+) increased the PEm frequency on an average up to 40 % in G4, departing from the 4.9 % in F2. Also, the performance assay shown a yield potential of the trait. The PEm mutant might be useful in maize production.&nbsp

Dissecting quasars with the J-PAS narrow-band photometric survey

Nuclear Activity in Galaxies Across Cosmic Time, Proceedings of the conference held 7-11 October 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Edited by Mirjana Pović et al. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, Volume 356, pp. 12-16The J-PAS survey will soon start observing thousands of square degrees of the Northern Sky with its unique set of 56 narrow band filters covering the entire optical wavelength range, providing, effectively, a low resolution spectra for every object detected. Active galaxies and quasars, thanks to their strong emission lines, can be easily identified and characterized with J-PAS data. A variety of studies can be performed, from IFU-like analysis of local AGN, to clustering of high-z quasars. We also expect to be able to extract intrinsic physical quasar properties from the J-PAS pseudo-spectra, including continuum slope and emission line luminosities. Here we show the first attempts of using the QSFit software package to derive the properties for 22 quasars at 0.8 < z < 2 observed by the miniJPAS survey, the first deg2 of J-PAS data obtained with an interim camera. Results are compared with the ones obtained by applying the same software to SDSS quasar spectra.Financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709

Cardiac electrical defects in progeroid mice and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome patients with nuclear lamina alterations

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare genetic disease caused by defective prelamin A processing, leading to nuclear lamina alterations, severe cardiovascular pathology, and premature death. Prelamin A alterations also occur in physiological aging. It remains unknown how defective prelamin A processing affects the cardiac rhythm. We show age-dependent cardiac repolarization abnormalities in HGPS patients that are also present in the Zmpste24−/− mouse model of HGPS. Challenge of Zmpste24−/− mice with the β-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol did not trigger ventricular arrhythmia but caused bradycardia-related premature ventricular complexes and slow-rate polymorphic ventricular rhythms during recovery. Patch-clamping in Zmpste24−/− cardiomyocytes revealed prolonged calcium-transient duration and reduced sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium loading and release, consistent with the absence of isoproterenol-induced ventricular arrhythmia. Zmpste24−/− progeroid mice also developed severe fibrosis-unrelated bradycardia and PQ interval and QRS complex prolongation. These conduction defects were accompanied by overt mislocalization of the gap junction protein connexin43 (Cx43). Remarkably, Cx43 mislocalization was also evident in autopsied left ventricle tissue from HGPS patients, suggesting intercellular connectivity alterations at late stages of the disease. The similarities between HGPS patients and progeroid mice reported here strongly suggest that defective cardiac repolarization and cardiomyocyte connectivity are important abnormalities in the HGPS pathogenesis that increase the risk of arrhythmia and premature death

The miniJPAS survey quasar selection II: Machine learning classification with photometric measurements and uncertainties

International audienceAstrophysical surveys rely heavily on the classification of sources as stars, galaxies or quasars from multi-band photometry. Surveys in narrow-band filters allow for greater discriminatory power, but the variety of different types and redshifts of the objects present a challenge to standard template-based methods. In this work, which is part of larger effort that aims at building a catalogue of quasars from the miniJPAS survey, we present a Machine Learning-based method that employs Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to classify point-like sources including the information in the measurement errors. We validate our methods using data from the miniJPAS survey, a proof-of-concept project of the J-PAS collaboration covering $\sim$ 1 deg$^2$ of the northern sky using the 56 narrow-band filters of the J-PAS survey. Due to the scarcity of real data, we trained our algorithms using mocks that were purpose-built to reproduce the distributions of different types of objects that we expect to find in the miniJPAS survey, as well as the properties of the real observations in terms of signal and noise. We compare the performance of the CNNs with other well-established Machine Learning classification methods based on decision trees, finding that the CNNs improve the classification when the measurement errors are provided as inputs. The predicted distribution of objects in miniJPAS is consistent with the putative luminosity functions of stars, quasars and unresolved galaxies. Our results are a proof-of-concept for the idea that the J-PAS survey will be able to detect unprecedented numbers of quasars with high confidence

The miniJPAS survey quasar selection I: Mock catalogues for classification

In this series of papers, we employ several machine learning (ML) methods to classify the point-like sources from the miniJPAS catalogue, and identify quasar candidates. Since no representative sample of spectroscopically confirmed sources exists at present to train these ML algorithms, we rely on mock catalogues. In this first paper we develop a pipeline to compute synthetic photometry of quasars, galaxies and stars using spectra of objects targeted as quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. To match the same depths and signal-to-noise ratio distributions in all bands expected for miniJPAS point sources in the range $17.5\leq r<24$, we augment our sample of available spectra by shifting the original $r$-band magnitude distributions towards the faint end, ensure that the relative incidence rates of the different objects are distributed according to their respective luminosity functions, and perform a thorough modeling of the noise distribution in each filter, by sampling the flux variance either from Gaussian realizations with given widths, or from combinations of Gaussian functions. Finally, we also add in the mocks the patterns of non-detections which are present in all real observations. Although the mock catalogues presented in this work are a first step towards simulated data sets that match the properties of the miniJPAS observations, these mocks can be adapted to serve the purposes of other photometric surveys