The output of gravitational-wave interferometers, such as LIGO and Virgo, can be highly non-stationary. Broadband detector noise can affect the detector sensitivity on the order of tens of seconds. ...Gravitational-wave transient searches, such as those for colliding black holes, estimate this noise in order to identify gravitational-wave events. During times of non-stationarity we see a higher rate of false events being reported. To accurately separate signal from noise, it is imperative to incorporate the changing detector state into gravitational-wave searches. We develop a new statistic which estimates the variation of the interferometric detector noise. We use this statistic to re-rank candidate events identified during LIGO-Virgo's second observing run by the PyCBC search pipeline. This results in a 5% improvement in the sensitivity volume for low mass binaries, particularly binary neutron stars mergers.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that utilizes heme as a primary iron source within the host. Extracellular heme is sensed via a heme assimilation system (has) that encodes an ...extracytoplasmic function (ECF) σ factor system. Herein, using has deletion mutants, quantitative PCR analyses, and immunoblotting, we show that the activation of the σ factor HasI requires heme release from the hemophore HasAp to the outer-membrane receptor HasR. Using RT-PCR and 5′-RACE, we observed that following transcriptional activation of the co-transcribed hasRAp, it is further processed into specific mRNAs varying in stability. We noted that the processing and variation in stability of the hasAp and hasR mRNAs in response to heme provide a mechanism for differential expression from co-transcribed genes. The multiple layers of post-transcriptional regulation of the ECF signaling cascade, including the previously reported post-transcriptional regulation of HasAp by the heme metabolites biliverdin IXβ and IXδ, allow fine-tuning of the cell-surface signaling system in response to extracellular heme levels. We hypothesize that the complex post-transcriptional regulation of the Has system provides P. aeruginosa an advantage in colonizing a variety of physiological niches in the host.
This is the first of two articles reviewing recent findings about the risk of coronary heart disease. This paper is concerned with conventional risk factors; the second will review novel molecular ...biomarkers, genetic markers of risk and the future of risk prediction. Predicting exactly the future occurrence of coronary heart disease (CHD) is not possible, but the risk can be estimated with models based on cohort studies. Most existing models are based on long-standing research on the residents of Framingham, Massachusetts. The findings from Framingham yield inaccurate results when applied to contemporary populations elsewhere. In particular, they may exacerbate health inequalities. This is because the incidence of and mortality from CHD have fallen recently, the Framingham cohort differs from many groups to which findings from it have been applied, important risk factors such as ethnicity, socio-economic deprivation and family history are absent from the Framingham equations and susceptibility to risk factors varies between populations. Attempts to recalibrate or adjust the Framingham equations to improve their performance have not been shown to overcome these problems. SCORE, QRISK, PROCAM and ASSIGN are risk prediction models that have been developed based on different cohorts. The group developing NICE's guideline on lipid modification was uncertain about which risk prediction model to recommend for use in the NHS. Eventually they selected a modified version of the Framingham equation. However, QRISK appears to offer the best long-term promise.
We derive a Bayesian criterion for assessing whether signals observed in two separate data sets originate from a common source. The Bayes factor for a common versus unrelated origin of signals ...includes an overlap integral of the posterior distributions over the common-source parameters. Focusing on multimessenger gravitational-wave astronomy, we apply the method to the spatial and temporal association of independent gravitational-wave and electromagnetic (or neutrino) observations. As an example, we consider the coincidence between the recently discovered gravitational-wave signal GW170817 from a binary neutron star merger and the gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A: we find that the common-source model is enormously favored over a model describing them as unrelated signals.
Abstract This is the second of two articles reviewing recent findings about the risk of coronary heart disease. This paper is concerned with novel molecular biomarkers, genetic markers of risk and ...the future of risk prediction.