Field tuning Kitaev systems for spin fractionalization and topological order.

The honeycomb Kitaev model describes aZ2spin liquid with topological order and fractionalized excitations consisting of gapped π-fluxes and free Majorana fermions. Competing interactions, even when not very strong, are known to destabilize the Kitaev spin liquid. Magnetic fields are a convenient parameter for tuning between different phases of the Kitaev systems, and have even been investigated for potentially counteracting the effects of other destabilizing interactions leading to a revival of the topological phase. Here we review the progress in understanding the effects of magnetic fields on some of the perturbed Kitaev systems, particularly on fractionalization and topological order.

mitoPADdb: A database of mitochondrial proteins associated with diseases.

Mitochondrial protein/gene mutations and expression variations contribute to the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. Detailed studies on mitochondrial protein-encoding (MPE) genes across diseases can provide clues for novel therapeutic strategies. Here, we collected, compiled, and manually curated the MPE gene mutation and expression variations data and their association with diseases in a single platform named mitoPADdb. The database contains 810 genes with 18,356 mutations and 1284 qualitative expression variations associated with 1793 diseases, grouped into 15 categories. It allows users to perform a comparative quantitative gene expression analysis for 317 transcriptomic studies across disease categories. Further, it provides information on MPE genes-associated molecular pathways. The mitoPADdb is a valuable resource for investigating mitochondrial dysfunction-related diseases. It can be accessed via http://bicresources.jcbose.ac.in/ssaha4/mitopaddb/index.html.

Testing Equality of Multiple Population Means under Contaminated Normal Model Using the Density Power Divergence.

This paper considers the problem of comparing several means under the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) setup. In ANOVA, outliers and heavy-tailed error distribution can seriously hinder the treatment effect, leading to false positive or false negative test results. We propose a robust test of ANOVA using an M-estimator based on the density power divergence. Compared with the existing robust and non-robust approaches, the proposed testing procedure is less affected by data contamination and improves the analysis. The asymptotic properties of the proposed test are derived under some regularity conditions. The finite-sample performance of the proposed test is examined via a series of Monte-Carlo experiments and two empirical data examples-bone marrow transplant dataset and glucose level dataset. The results produced by the proposed testing procedure are favorably compared with the classical ANOVA and robust tests based on Huber's M-estimator and Tukey's MM-estimator.

Computational study of parameter sensitivity in DevR regulated gene expression.

The DevRS two-component system plays a pivotal role in signal transmission and downstream gene regulation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Under the hypoxic condition, phosphorylated DevR interacts with multiple binding sites at the promoter region of the target genes. In the present work, we carried out a detailed computational analysis to figure out the sensitivity of the kinetic parameters. The set of kinetic parameters takes care of the interaction among phosphorylated DevR and the binding sites, transcription and translation processes. We employ the method of stochastic optimization to quantitate the relevant kinetic parameter set necessary for DevR regulated gene expression. Measures of different correlation coefficients provide the relative ordering of kinetic parameters involved in gene regulation. Results obtained from correlation coefficients are further corroborated by sensitivity amplification.

Program of arithmetic improvement by means of cognitive enhancement: an intervention in children with special educational needs.

This study reports the cognitive and arithmetic improvement of a mathematical model based on the program PASS Remedial Program (PREP), which aims to improve specific cognitive processes underlying academic skills such as arithmetic. For this purpose, a group of 20 students from the last four grades of Primary Education was divided into two groups. One group (n=10) received training in the program and the other served as control. Students were assessed at pre and post intervention in the PASS cognitive processes (planning, attention, simultaneous and successive processing), general level of intelligence, and arithmetic performance in calculus and solving problems. Performance of children from the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group in cognitive process and arithmetic. This joint enhancement of cognitive and arithmetic processes was a result of the operationalization of training that promotes the encoding task, attention and planning, and learning by induction, mediation and verbalization. The implications of this are discussed.