Identification of Piecewise Linear Models of Complex Dynamical Systems

The paper addresses the realization and identification problem or a subclass of piecewise-affine hybrid systems. The paper provides necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of a realization, a characterization of minimality, and an identification algorithm for this subclass of hybrid systems. The considered system class and the identification problem are motivated by applications in systems biology

Searching for ring-like structures in the Cosmic Microwave Background

In this research we present a new methodology to search for ring-like structures in the CMB. The particular context of this work is to investigate the presence of possible observational effects associated with Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC), known as Hawking points. Although our results are not conclusive due to the statistical disagreement between the CMB sky map and the simulated sky maps in accordance to $\Lambda CDM$, we are able to retrieve ring-like anomalies from an artificial data at $95 \%$ confidence level. Once this discrepancy has been assessed, our method may be able to provide evidence of the presence or absence of Hawking points in the CMB. Hence, we stress the need to continue the theoretical and experimental research in this direction

Physiology-based regularization of the electrocardiographic inverse problem

The inverse problem of electrocardiography aims at noninvasively reconstructing electrical activity of the heart from recorded body-surface electrocardiograms. A crucial step is regularization, which deals with ill-posedness of the problem by imposing constraints on the possible solutions. We developed a regularization method that includes electrophysiological input. Body-surface potentials are recorded and a computed tomography scan is performed to obtain the torso-heart geometry. Propagating waveforms originating from several positions at the heart are simulated and used to generate a set of basis vectors representing spatial distributions of potentials on the heart surface. The real heart-surface potentials are then reconstructed from the recorded body-surface potentials by finding a sparse representation in terms of this basis. This method, which we named 'physiology-based regularization' (PBR), was compared to traditional Tikhonov regularization and validated using in vivo recordings in dogs. PBR recovered details of heart-surface electrograms that were lost with traditional regularization, attained higher correlation coefficients and led to improved estimation of recovery times. The best results were obtained by including approximate knowledge about the beat origin in the PBR basis

Hybrid Quantum Singular Spectrum Decomposition for Time Series Analysis

Classical data analysis requires computational efforts that become intractable in the age of Big Data. An essential task in time series analysis is the extraction of physically meaningful information from a noisy time series. One algorithm devised for this very purpose is singular spectrum decomposition (SSD), an adaptive method that allows for the extraction of narrow-banded components from non-stationary and non-linear time series. The main computational bottleneck of this algorithm is the singular value decomposition (SVD). Quantum computing could facilitate a speedup in this domain through superior scaling laws. We propose quantum SSD by assigning the SVD subroutine to a quantum computer. The viability for implementation and performance of this hybrid algorithm on a near term hybrid quantum computer is investigated. In this work we show that by employing randomised SVD, we can impose a qubit limit on one of the circuits to improve scalibility. Using this, we efficiently perform quantum SSD on simulations of local field potentials recorded in brain tissue, as well as GW150914, the first detected gravitational wave event.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Determinants of Beat-to-Beat Variability of Repolarization Duration in the Canine Ventricular Myocyte: A Computational Analysis

Beat-to-beat variability of repolarization duration (BVR) is an intrinsic characteristic of cardiac function and a better marker of proarrhythmia than repolarization prolongation alone. The ionic mechanisms underlying baseline BVR in physiological conditions, its rate dependence, and the factors contributing to increased BVR in pathologies remain incompletely understood. Here, we employed computer modeling to provide novel insights into the subcellular mechanisms of BVR under physiological conditions and during simulated drug-induced repolarization prolongation, mimicking long-QT syndromes type 1, 2, and 3. We developed stochastic implementations of 13 major ionic currents and fluxes in a model of canine ventricular-myocyte electrophysiology. Combined stochastic gating of these components resulted in short- and long-term variability, consistent with experimental data from isolated canine ventricular myocytes. The model indicated that the magnitude of stochastic fluctuations is rate dependent due to the rate dependence of action-potential (AP) duration (APD). This process (the “active” component) and the intrinsic nonlinear relationship between membrane current and APD (“intrinsic component”) contribute to the rate dependence of BVR. We identified a major role in physiological BVR for stochastic gating of the persistent Na+ current (INa) and rapidly activating delayed-rectifier K+ current (IKr). Inhibition of IKr or augmentation of INa significantly increased BVR, whereas subsequent β-adrenergic receptor stimulation reduced it, similar to experimental findings in isolated myocytes. In contrast, β-adrenergic stimulation increased BVR in simulated long-QT syndrome type 1. In addition to stochastic channel gating, AP morphology, APD, and beat-to-beat variations in Ca2+ were found to modulate single-cell BVR. Cell-to-cell coupling decreased BVR and this was more pronounced when a model cell with increased BVR was coupled to a model cell with normal BVR. In conclusion, our results provide new insights into the ionic mechanisms underlying BVR and suggest that BVR reflects multiple potentially proarrhythmic parameters, including increased ion-channel stochasticity, prolonged APD, and abnormal Ca2+ handling

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening and follow-up investigations in Māori and non-Māori men in New Zealand

Text. Pairwise sequence alignment between human SCN9A and homologous genes. (DOCX 34 kb

Konseptual Framework Untuk Pengukuran Kualitas Website Pada Sistem Informasi Akademik Dengan Metode Gqm

Konseptual framework yang diusulkan dalam penelitian ini berupa model konseptual yang merupakan gambaran proses pengukuran kualitas beserta tahapan yang dilakukan dalam pengukuran kualitas website sistem informasi akademik. Model konseptual yang sudah ada selama ini masih bersifat luas dan tidak spesifik pada domain tertentu. Terdapat banyak website yang dibangun oleh web developer, namun masih sedikit yang dibangun sesuai dengan kebutuhan pengguna. Salah satu website online dibidang pendidikan adalah sistem informasi akademik. Sistem informasi akademik merupakan layanan website oleh universitas dalam menyediakan informasi dan pengelolaan data-data akademik. Karakteristik dari sistem informasi akademik adalah academic content, periodic acccessibility, level of user authority, precission dan accurateness. Beberapa dari karakteristik tersebut kemudian dipetakan kedalam faktor-faktor kualitas yang diadopsi dari berbagai model, seperti ISO-9126, Website quality Model, dan academic website quality model. akademik. Hasil pemetaan tersebut memperoleh 5 faktor kualitas yang diusulkan untuk melakukan pengukuran kualitas, yaitu USAbility, functionality, content, efficiency dan reliability. Kelima faktor kualitas ini dijadikan sebagai tujuan pengukuran. Metode GQM digunakan untuk memperoleh metric internal agar menghasilkan pengukuran yang objektif dan kuantitatif. Metric-metric yang dihasilkan dari metode GQM divalidasi dengan menggunakan validasi empiris. Metric internal produk diterapkan dalam studi kasus sistem informasi akademik berbasis web universitas di Pekanbaru. Hasil validasi dari framework pengukuran yang dibangun adalah memiliki nilai baik pada faktor kualitas functionality, content dan reliability, dan nilai cukup pada faktor kualitas USAbility dan efficiency

Mediation Analysis Demonstrates That Trans-eQTLs Are Often Explained by Cis-Mediation:A Genome-Wide Analysis among 1,800 South Asians

A large fraction of human genes are regulated by genetic variation near the transcribed sequence (cis-eQTL, expression quantitative trait locus), and many cis-eQTLs have implications for human disease. Less is known regarding the effects of genetic variation on expression of distant genes (trans-eQTLs) and their biological mechanisms. In this work, we use genome-wide data on SNPs and array-based expression measures from mononuclear cells obtained from a population-based cohort of 1,799 Bangladeshi individuals to characterize cis- and trans-eQTLs and determine if observed trans-eQTL associations are mediated by expression of transcripts in cis with the SNPs showing trans-association, using Sobel tests of mediation. We observed 434 independent trans-eQTL associations at a false-discovery rate of 0.05, and 189 of these transeQTLs were also cis-eQTLs (enrichment P</p

52 Genetic Loci Influencing Myocardial Mass.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial mass is a key determinant of cardiac muscle function and hypertrophy. Myocardial depolarization leading to cardiac muscle contraction is reflected by the amplitude and duration of the QRS complex on the electrocardiogram (ECG). Abnormal QRS amplitude or duration reflect changes in myocardial mass and conduction, and are associated with increased risk of heart failure and death. OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis sought to gain insights into the genetic determinants of myocardial mass. METHODS: We carried out a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 4 QRS traits in up to 73,518 individuals of European ancestry, followed by extensive biological and functional assessment. RESULTS: We identified 52 genomic loci, of which 32 are novel, that are reliably associated with 1 or more QRS phenotypes at p < 1 × 10(-8). These loci are enriched in regions of open chromatin, histone modifications, and transcription factor binding, suggesting that they represent regions of the genome that are actively transcribed in the human heart. Pathway analyses provided evidence that these loci play a role in cardiac hypertrophy. We further highlighted 67 candidate genes at the identified loci that are preferentially expressed in cardiac tissue and associated with cardiac abnormalities in Drosophila melanogaster and Mus musculus. We validated the regulatory function of a novel variant in the SCN5A/SCN10A locus in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings provide new insights into genes and biological pathways controlling myocardial mass and may help identify novel therapeutic targets