Supervised clustering of streaming data for email batch detection

We address the problem of detecting batches of emails that have been created according to the same template. This problem is motivated by the desire to filter spam more effectively by exploiting collective information about entire batches of jointly generated messages. The application matches the problem setting of supervised clustering, because examples of correct clusterings can be collected. Known decoding procedures for supervised clustering are cubic in the number of instances. When decisions cannot be reconsidered once they have been made – owing to the streaming nature of the data – then the decoding problem can be solved in linear time. We devise a sequential decoding procedure and derive the corresponding optimization problem of supervised clustering. We study the impact of collective attributes of email batches on the effectiveness of recognizing spam emails. 1

Environmental and Resource Economics: Some Recent Developments by

A first draft of this paper was prepared when the authors were visiting the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, during April-May 2004. The current version was completed in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in June 2004, while the authors were attending the bi-annual teaching and research workshop of the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE). We are most grateful to K. Sreenivasan (Director of ICTP), and Manik Duggar and Priya Shyamsundar (respectively, Programme Manager and Director of SANDEE), for making our visits both possible and most agreeable. Over the years, we have benefited greatly from discussions with Scott Barrett, William Brock, Stev

A variant of KCC2 from patients with febrile seizures impairs neuronal Cl- extrusion and dendritic spine formation

Genetic variation in SLC12A5 which encodes KCC2, the neuron‐specific cation‐chloride cotransporter that is essential for hyperpolarizing GABAergic signaling and formation of cortical dendritic spines, has not been reported in human disease. Screening of SLC12A5 revealed a co‐segregating variant (KCC2‐R952H) in an Australian family with febrile seizures. We show that KCC2‐R952H reduces neuronal Cl− extrusion and has a compromised ability to induce dendritic spines in vivo and in vitro. Biochemical analyses indicate a reduced surface expression of KCC2‐R952H which likely contributes to the functional deficits. Our data suggest that KCC2‐R952H is a bona fide susceptibility variant for febrile seizures.Peer reviewe

Psychographische Verortung von Menschen mit Diabetes: Auswirkungen auf die Produktgestaltung und Kommunikation

Für den Erfolg eines Produktes oder einer Dienstleistung ist die umfassende Kenntnis der Bedürfnisse, Wahrnehmungs- und Entscheidungsfilter von Zielgruppen entscheidend. Nur eine zielgerichtete, zur Zielgruppe passende Produktentwicklung und -vermarktung kann Auf Dauer erfolgreich sein. Da soziodemographische Zielgruppendefinitionen heute alleine nicht valide genug sind, um Zielgruppen umfassend zu verstehen, werden im Marketing zu-nehmend psychographische Verortungen von Zielgruppen verwendet. Auch bei chronisch Kranken reichen rein soziodemographische und medizinische Kriterien nicht aus, um Produkte und Dienstleistungen passend zu gestalten. Psychographische Erkenntnisse können die klassischen Kriterien sinnvoll ergänzen. Am Beispiel von Menschen mit Diabetes wird in einer internationalen empirischen Studie gezeigt, dass sich Menschen mit Diabetes mit Hilfe eines neuropsychologisch fundierten, visuellen Testverfahrens (dem u.a. an der NORD-AKADEMIE entwickelten Visual Questionnaire, ViQ) eindeutig psychographisch verorten lassen. Die Implikationen und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten dieser psychographischen Erkenntnisse für die Produktentwicklung, Kommunikation, Vertrieb und Marketing bei Krankenkassen, medizinischem Personal und der Pharmabranche werden aufgezeigt und kritisch diskutiert

ABCC5 supports osteoclast formation and promotes breast cancer metastasis to bone

INTRODUCTION: Bone is the most common site of breast cancer metastasis, and complications associated with bone metastases can lead to a significantly decreased patient quality of life. Thus, it is essential to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the emergence and growth of breast cancer skeletal metastases. METHODS: To search for novel molecular mediators that influence breast cancer bone metastasis, we generated gene-expression profiles from laser-capture microdissected trephine biopsies of both breast cancer bone metastases and independent primary breast tumors that metastasized to bone. Bioinformatics analysis identified genes that are differentially expressed in breast cancer bone metastases compared with primary, bone-metastatic breast tumors. RESULTS: ABCC5, an ATP-dependent transporter, was found to be overexpressed in breast cancer osseous metastases relative to primary breast tumors. In addition, ABCC5 was significantly upregulated in human and mouse breast cancer cell lines with high bone-metastatic potential. Stable knockdown of ABCC5 substantially reduced bone metastatic burden and osteolytic bone destruction in mice. The decrease in osteolysis was further associated with diminished osteoclast numbers in vivo. Finally, conditioned media from breast cancer cells with reduced ABCC5 expression failed to induce in vitro osteoclastogenesis to the same extent as conditioned media from breast cancer cells expressing ABCC5. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that ABCC5 functions as a mediator of breast cancer skeletal metastasis. ABCC5 expression in breast cancer cells is important for efficient osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. Hence, ABCC5 may be a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer bone metastasis

Efficiently Reconfiguring a Connected Swarm of Labeled Robots

When considering motion planning for a swarm of n labeled robots, we need to rearrange a given start configuration into a desired target configuration via a sequence of parallel, continuous, collision-free robot motions. The objective is to reach the new configuration in a minimum amount of time; an important constraint is to keep the swarm connected at all times. Problems of this type have been considered before, with recent notable results achieving constant stretch for not necessarily connected reconfiguration: If mapping the start configuration to the target configuration requires a maximum Manhattan distance of d, the total duration of an overall schedule can be bounded to ?(d), which is optimal up to constant factors. However, constant stretch could only be achieved if disconnected reconfiguration is allowed, or for scaled configurations (which arise by increasing all dimensions of a given object by the same multiplicative factor) of unlabeled robots. We resolve these major open problems by (1) establishing a lower bound of ?(?n) for connected, labeled reconfiguration and, most importantly, by (2) proving that for scaled arrangements, constant stretch for connected reconfiguration can be achieved. In addition, we show that (3) it is NP-hard to decide whether a makespan of 2 can be achieved, while it is possible to check in polynomial time whether a makespan of 1 can be achieved

Potential climatic transitions with profound impact on Europe

We discuss potential transitions of six climatic subsystems with large-scale impact on Europe, sometimes denoted as tipping elements. These are the ice sheets on Greenland and West Antarctica, the Atlantic thermohaline circulation, Arctic sea ice, Alpine glaciers and northern hemisphere stratospheric ozone. Each system is represented by co-authors actively publishing in the corresponding field. For each subsystem we summarize the mechanism of a potential transition in a warmer climate along with its impact on Europe and assess the likelihood for such a transition based on published scientific literature. As a summary, the ‘tipping’ potential for each system is provided as a function of global mean temperature increase which required some subjective interpretation of scientific facts by the authors and should be considered as a snapshot of our current understanding. <br/

Psychographische Verortung von Menschen mit Diabetes: Auswirkungen auf die Produktgestaltung und Kommunikation

Für den Erfolg eines Produktes oder einer Dienstleistung ist die umfassende Kenntnis der Bedürfnisse, Wahrnehmungs- und Entscheidungsfilter von Zielgruppen entscheidend. Nur eine zielgerichtete, zur Zielgruppe passende Produktentwicklung und -vermarktung kann Auf Dauer erfolgreich sein. Da soziodemographische Zielgruppendefinitionen heute alleine nicht valide genug sind, um Zielgruppen umfassend zu verstehen, werden im Marketing zu-nehmend psychographische Verortungen von Zielgruppen verwendet. Auch bei chronisch Kranken reichen rein soziodemographische und medizinische Kriterien nicht aus, um Produkte und Dienstleistungen passend zu gestalten. Psychographische Erkenntnisse können die klassischen Kriterien sinnvoll ergänzen. Am Beispiel von Menschen mit Diabetes wird in einer internationalen empirischen Studie gezeigt, dass sich Menschen mit Diabetes mit Hilfe eines neuropsychologisch fundierten, visuellen Testverfahrens (dem u.a. an der NORD-AKADEMIE entwickelten Visual Questionnaire, ViQ) eindeutig psychographisch verorten lassen. Die Implikationen und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten dieser psychographischen Erkenntnisse für die Produktentwicklung, Kommunikation, Vertrieb und Marketing bei Krankenkassen, medizinischem Personal und der Pharmabranche werden aufgezeigt und kritisch diskutiert. --

How are falls and fear of falling associated with objectively measured physical activity in a cohort of community-dwelling older men?

BACKGROUND: Falls affect approximately one third of community-dwelling older adults each year and have serious health and social consequences. Fear of falling (FOF) (lack of confidence in maintaining balance during normal activities) affects many older adults, irrespective of whether they have actually experienced falls. Both falls and fear of falls may result in restrictions of physical activity, which in turn have health consequences. To date the relation between (i) falls and (ii) fear of falling with physical activity have not been investigated using objectively measured activity data which permits examination of different intensities of activity and sedentary behaviour. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 1680 men aged 71-92 years recruited from primary care practices who were part of an on-going population-based cohort. Men reported falls history in previous 12 months, FOF, health status and demographic characteristics. Men wore a GT3x accelerometer over the hip for 7 days. RESULTS: Among the 12% of men who had recurrent falls, daily activity levels were lower than among non-fallers; 942 (95% CI 503, 1381) fewer steps/day, 12(95% CI 2, 22) minutes less in light activity, 10(95% CI 5, 15) minutes less in moderate to vigorous PA [MVPA] and 22(95% CI 9, 35) minutes more in sedentary behaviour. 16% (n = 254) of men reported FOF, of whom 52% (n = 133) had fallen in the past year. Physical activity deficits were even greater in the men who reported that they were fearful of falling than in men who had fallen. Men who were fearful of falling took 1766(95% CI 1391, 2142) fewer steps/day than men who were not fearful, and spent 27(95% CI 18, 36) minutes less in light PA, 18(95% CI 13, 22) minutes less in MVPA, and 45(95% CI 34, 56) minutes more in sedentary behaviour. The significant differences in activity levels between (i) fallers and non-fallers and (ii) men who were fearful of falling or not fearful, were mediated by similar variables; lower exercise self-efficacy, fewer excursions from home and more mobility difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: Falls and in particular fear of falling are important barriers to older people gaining health benefits of walking and MVPA. Future studies should assess the longitudinal associations between falls and physical activity

A variant of KCC2 from patients with febrile seizures impairs neuronal Cl- extrusion and dendritic spine formation

Genetic variation in SLC12A5 which encodes KCC2, the neuron‐specific cation‐chloride cotransporter that is essential for hyperpolarizing GABAergic signaling and formation of cortical dendritic spines, has not been reported in human disease. Screening of SLC12A5 revealed a co‐segregating variant (KCC2‐R952H) in an Australian family with febrile seizures. We show that KCC2‐R952H reduces neuronal Cl− extrusion and has a compromised ability to induce dendritic spines in vivo and in vitro. Biochemical analyses indicate a reduced surface expression of KCC2‐R952H which likely contributes to the functional deficits. Our data suggest that KCC2‐R952H is a bona fide susceptibility variant for febrile seizures.Peer reviewe