Hypergeometric Functions over Finite Fields and their relations to Algebraic Curves

In this work we present an explicit relation between the number of points on a family of algebraic curves over \F_{q} and sums of values of certain hypergeometric functions over \F_{q}. Moreover, we show that these hypergeometric functions can be explicitly related to the roots of the zeta function of the curve over \F_{q} in some particular cases. A general conjecture relating these last two is presented and advances toward its proof are shown in the last section.Comment: 24 page

A COMPARISON OF OPTION-THEORETIC AND CHOICE-THEORETIC APPROACHES TO EVALUATING ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR MORTGAGE LOANS TO LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

This paper evaluates the efficacy of two alternative lending technologies - the traditional banking technology and a cash flow based counseling program - by using competing risks (option-based) and choice theoretic approaches. We find evidence to support the notion that low-income borrowers have some degree of financial sophistication, as they prepay the mortgage loan by considering the current value of the call option. The evidence also suggests that borrower heterogeneity and insolvency affect mortgage termination.credit counseling, competing risks, low-income mortgage loans., Financial Economics, Q140 (Agricultural Finance), Q140,

Anomalous dimensions of finite size field strength operators in N=4 SYM

In the N=4 super Yang-Mills theory, we consider the higher order anomalous dimensions gamma_L(g) of purely gluonic operators Tr(F^L) where F is a component of the self-dual field strength. We propose compact closed expressions depending parametrically on L that reproduce the prediction of Bethe Ansatz equations up to five loop order, including transcendental dressing corrections. The size dependence follows a simple pattern as the perturbative order is increased and suggests hidden relations for these special operators.Comment: 26 pages, 3 eps figures. v2: published version, minor changes, references adde

The dual string sigma-model of the SU_q(3) sector

In four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills (SYM) the SU(3) sub-sector spanned by purely holomorphic fields is isomorphic to the corresponding mixed one spanned by both holomorphic and antiholomorphic fields. This is no longer the case when one considers the marginally deformed N=4 SYM. The mixed SU(3) sector marginally deformed by a complex parameter beta, i.e. SU_q(3) with q=e^{2 i\pi\beta}, has been shown to be integrable at one-loop hep-th/0703150, while it is not the case for the corresponding purely holomorphic one. Moreover, the marginally deformed N=4 SYM also has a gravity dual constructed by Lunin and Maldacena in hep-th/0502086. However, the mixed SU_q(3) sector has not been studied from the supergravity point of view. Hence in this note, for the case of purely imaginary marginal $\beta$-deformations, we compute the superstring SU_q(3) \sigma-model in the fast spinning string limit and show that, for rational spinning strings, it reproduces the energy computed via Bethe equations.Comment: 20 page

Tracking kelp-type seaweed fuel in the archaeological record through Raman spectroscopy of charred particles: examples from the Atacama Desert coast

The use of seaweed as fuel has been mentioned in ethnographic and historical sources of different coastal regions. Nevertheless, the archaeological record of seaweed burning is still limited to contexts where preservation is exceptional and macroscopic discrimination of charred remains is possible. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of Raman spectroscopy in discriminating seaweed vs. plant/wood char. Our dataset (N = 92) consists of modern and archaeological seaweed and plant/wood charred remains, including specimens of unknown origin from the Atacama Desert coast, Northern Chile. The charred samples were processed to obtain 13 parameters which were then fed into five supervised machine learning models. The models, built on samples of known origin (seaweed and plant/wood), performed remarkably well in terms of accuracy, kappa, sensitivity, and specificity. The models were used for final predictions on 10 non-identified archaeological charcoals. Our results suggest that Raman spectroscopy combined with machine learning techniques is a robust methodology for discriminating seaweed and plant/wood charred remains in the archaeological record. The predictions on unknown samples confirm that seaweed was used as fuel in a specific funerary ritual in the southern Atacama Desert coast around 5000 cal BP. Furthermore, charred specimens of Lessonia spp. recovered from combustion features in other northern Chile coastal settlements, suggest that seaweed pyrotechnology developed by Atacama Desert coast people is likely a long-term process. As for coastal archaeology, this work encourages new research on seaweed as an alternative/main fuel in coastal deserts and evaluates possible bias for chronologies from coastal archaeological settlements around the globe.The present study was supported by the Universidad de Tarapacá (Chile) through the research grants UTA MAYOR 3754 (2021–2022) – “Uso de algas como combustible en sitios arqueológicos de la costa desértica de Atacama: una aproximación arqueomética” and UTA MAYOR 367122 (2022–2024) – “Estudio multiproxy para el reconocimiento de algas en rasgos de combustión arqueológicos de la costa del Desierto de Atacama” (Universidad de Tarapacá, Chile). D.Z. received financial support from the Arqueología, desiertos costeros y visibilización de recursos naturales Project (PIE 190405, CSIC) and ARVCODA – Arqueología de los Recursos Vegetales en la Costa del Desierto de Atacama project (Fundación PALARQ, CSIC). The studied samples were obtained during archaeological excavations or samplings performed in the following projects: FONDECYT 1151203; FONDECYT POSTDOC 3150664; and Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 (QB2) project – Compañía Minera Teck Quebrada Blanca S.A

Estrogen-dependent dynamic profile of eNOS-DNA associations in prostate cancer

In previous work we have documented the nuclear translocation of endothelial NOS (eNOS) and its participation in combinatorial complexes with Estrogen Receptor Beta (ERβ) and Hypoxia Inducible Factors (HIFs) that determine localized chromatin remodeling in response to estrogen (E2) and hypoxia stimuli, resulting in transcriptional regulation of genes associated with adverse prognosis in prostate cancer (PCa). To explore the role of nuclear eNOS in the acquisition of aggressive phenotype in PCa, we performed ChIP-Sequencing on chromatin-associated eNOS from cells from a primary tumor with poor outcome and from metastatic LNCaP cells. We found that: 1. the eNOS-bound regions (peaks) are widely distributed across the genome encompassing multiple transcription factors binding sites, including Estrogen Response Elements. 2. E2 increased the number of peaks, indicating hormone-dependent eNOS re-localization. 3. Peak distribution was similar with/without E2 with ≈ 55% of them in extragenic DNA regions and an intriguing involvement of the 5′ domain of several miRs deregulated in PCa. Numerous potentially novel eNOS-targeted genes have been identified suggesting that eNOS participates in the regulation of large gene sets. The parallel finding of downregulation of a cluster of miRs, including miR-34a, in PCa cells associated with poor outcome led us to unveil a molecular link between eNOS and SIRT1, an epigenetic regulator of aging and tumorigenicity, negatively regulated by miR-34a and in turn activating eNOS. E2 potentiates miR-34a downregulation thus enhancing SIRT1 expression, depicting a novel eNOS/SIRT1 interplay fine-tuned by E2-activated ER signaling, and suggesting that eNOS may play an important role in aggressive PCa

Epstein-Barr-virus-positive large B-cell lymphoma associated with breast implants: an analysis of eight patients suggesting a possible pathogenetic relationship.

Breast implant anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a T-cell neoplasm arising around textured breast implants that was recognized recently as a distinct entity by the World Health Organization. Rarely, other types of lymphoma have been reported in patients with breast implants, raising the possibility of a pathogenetic relationship between breast implants and other types of lymphoma. We report eight cases of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive large B-cell lymphoma associated with breast implants. One of these cases was invasive, and the other seven neoplasms were noninvasive and showed morphologic overlap with breast implant ALCL. All eight cases expressed B-cell markers, had a non-germinal center B-cell immunophenotype, and were EBV+ with a latency type III pattern of infection. We compared the noninvasive EBV+ large B-cell lymphoma cases with a cohort of breast implant ALCL cases matched for clinical and pathologic stage. The EBV+ large B-cell lymphoma cases more frequently showed a thicker capsule, and more often were associated with calcification and prominent lymphoid aggregates outside of the capsule. The EBV+ B-cell lymphoma cells were more often arranged within necrotic fibrinoid material in a layered pattern. We believe that this case series highlights many morphologic similarities between EBV+ large B-cell lymphoma and breast implant ALCL. The data presented suggest a pathogenetic role for breast implants (as well as EBV) in the pathogenesis of EBV+ large B-cell lymphoma. We also provide some histologic findings useful for distinguishing EBV+ large B-cell lymphoma from breast implant ALCL in this clinical setting

The Oncogenic EWS-FLI1 Protein Binds In Vivo GGAA Microsatellite Sequences with Potential Transcriptional Activation Function

The fusion between EWS and ETS family members is a key oncogenic event in Ewing tumors and important EWS-FLI1 target genes have been identified. However, until now, the search for EWS-FLI1 targets has been limited to promoter regions and no genome-wide comprehensive analysis of in vivo EWS-FLI1 binding sites has been undertaken. Using a ChIP-Seq approach to investigate EWS-FLI1-bound DNA sequences in two Ewing cell lines, we show that this chimeric transcription factor preferentially binds two types of sequences including consensus ETS motifs and microsatellite sequences. Most bound sites are found outside promoter regions. Microsatellites containing more than 9 GGAA repeats are very significantly enriched in EWS-FLI1 immunoprecipitates. Moreover, in reporter gene experiments, the transcription activation is highly dependent upon the number of repeats that are included in the construct. Importantly, in vivo EWS-FLI1-bound microsatellites are significantly associated with EWS-FLI1-driven gene activation. Put together, these results point out the likely contribution of microsatellite elements to long-distance transcription regulation and to oncogenesis

Two-dimensional S-matrices from unitarity cuts

Using unitarity methods, we compute, for several massive two-dimensional models, the cut-constructible part of the one-loop 2 → 2 scattering S-matrices from the tree-level amplitudes. We apply our method to various integrable theories, finding evidence that for supersymmetric models the one-loop S-matrix is cut-constructible, while for models without supersymmetry (but with integrability) the missing rational terms are proportional to the tree-level S-matrix and therefore can be interpreted as a shift in the coupling. Finally, applying our procedure to the world-sheet theory for the light-cone gauge-fixed AdS5 × S 5 superstring we reproduce, at one-loop in the near-BMN expansion, the S-matrix known from integrability techniques

On Coalition Formation with Heterogeneous Agents

We propose a framework to analyze coalition formation with heterogeneous agents. Existing literature defines stability conditions that do not ensure that, once an agent decides to sign an agreement, the enlarged coalition is feasible. Defining the concepts of refraction and exchanging, we set up conditions of existence and enlargement of a coalition with heterogeneous agents. We use the concept of exchanging agents to give necessary conditions for internal stability and show that refraction is a sufficient condition for the failure of an enlargement of the coalition. With heterogeneous agents we can get a situation where a group of members of an unstable coalition does not deviate, neither within the coalition nor within the extended coalition. Hence, the possibilities of agreement are richer than in the standard analysis with homogeneous agents. Examples of industrial economics are used for illustration, and an application to climate change negotiations is discussed in more detail