Last Night a Shrinkage Saved My Life: Economic Growth,Model Uncertainty and Correlated Regressors

We compare the predictive ability of Bayesian methods which deal simultaneously with model uncertainty and correlated regressors in the framework of cross‐country growth regressions. In particular, we assess methods with spike and slab priors combined with different prior specifications for the slope parameters in the slab. Our results indicate that moving away from Gaussian g‐priors towards Bayesian ridge, LASSO or elastic net specifications has clear advantages for prediction when dealing with datasets of (potentially highly) correlated regressors, a pervasive characteristic of the data used hitherto in the econometric literature. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Les propriétés mécaniques du caoutchouc

Summary A survey of recent work on the theories of the peculiar mechanical behaviour of substances with rubber-like properties is given. All the theories are based on the assumption that these substances (including rubber itself) are composed of very long, flexible chainmolecules. Any segment of a chain is linked to two neighbouring segments by bonds similar to those which are present in typical solids and to all other neighbours by linkages like the bonds prevailing between the particles of liquids. The chain molecules are intermingled so as to form a kind of a felt.This state of aggregation is intermediate between the solid and the liquid; it is called the rubber-like state (état gommoïdal). Elasticity, viscosity and plastic flow as well as the influence of crystallization, vulcanization and degradation are discussed in terms of this theory.     

The evolution of the marine phosphate reservoir

Phosphorus is a biolimiting nutrient that has an important role in regulating the burial of organic matter and the redox state of the ocean-atmosphere system. The ratio of phosphorus to iron in iron-oxide-rich sedimentary rocks can be used to track dissolved phosphate concentrations if the dissolved silica concentration of sea water is estimated. Here we present iron and phosphorus concentration ratios from distal hydrothermal sediments and iron formations through time to study the evolution of the marine phosphate reservoir. The data suggest that phosphate concentrations have been relatively constant over the Phanerozoic eon, the past 542 million years (Myr) of Earth's history. In contrast, phosphate concentrations seem to have been elevated in Precambrian oceans. Specifically, there is a peak in phosphorus-to-iron ratios in Neoproterozoic iron formations dating from ～750 to ～635?Myr ago, indicating unusually high dissolved phosphate concentrations in the aftermath of widespread, low-latitude 'snowball Earth' glaciations. An enhanced postglacial phosphate flux would have caused high rates of primary productivity and organic carbon burial and a transition to more oxidizing conditions in the ocean and atmosphere. The snowball Earth glaciations and Neoproterozoic oxidation are both suggested as triggers for the evolution and radiation of metazoans. We propose that these two factors are intimately linked; a glacially induced nutrient surplus could have led to an increase in atmospheric oxygen, paving the way for the rise of metazoan life.     

以决定为基础的软件开发:设计和维护

软件维护是由一系列活动组成的:对所需改变的理解、评价、分析、实现和检验等等。我们为软件维护提出了一种以决定为基础的开发方法.在这个方法中,根据各种软件实体所涉及的决定把这些实体联系在一起。用决定把问题与结论相连,给出开发、维护过程中考虑过的各种选择方案,并对特定的选择做出评价.一个决定,或者相关的一组决定,提供了与那个决定有关的软件系统的一个视图,并且可以让用户获取根据那个决定产生的原程序.这篇文章介绍以决定为基础的越级软件工程工具(D-HyperCase)的设计.D-HyperCase是以决定为基础的软件开发支撑系统的原型。由于我们正在使用以决定为基础的方法开发这个系统,所以,也介绍一下我们使用这种方法的体验.     

GABA regulates synaptic integration of newly generated neurons in the adult brain

Adult neurogenesis, the birth and integration of new neurons from adult neural stem cells, is a striking form of structural plasticity and highlights the regenerative capacity of the adult mammalian brain. Accumulating evidence suggests that neuronal activity regulates adult neurogenesis and that new neurons contribute to specific brain functions. The mechanism that regulates the integration of newly generated neurons into the pre-existing functional circuitry in the adult brain is unknown. Here we show that newborn granule cells in the dentate gyrus of the adult hippocampus are tonically activated by ambient GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) before being sequentially innervated by GABA- and glutamate-mediated synaptic inputs. GABA, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult brain, initially exerts an excitatory action on newborn neurons owing to their high cytoplasmic chloride ion content. Conversion of GABA-induced depolarization (excitation) into hyperpolarization (inhibition) in newborn neurons leads to marked defects in their synapse formation and dendritic development in vivo. Our study identifies an essential role for GABA in the synaptic integration of newly generated neurons in the adult brain, and suggests an unexpected mechanism for activity-dependent regulation of adult neurogenesis, in which newborn neurons may sense neuronal network activity through tonic and phasic GABA activation.     

Human chromosome 11 DNA sequence and analysis including novel gene identification

Chromosome 11, although average in size, is one of the most gene- and disease-rich chromosomes in the human genome. Initial gene annotation indicates an average gene density of 11.6 genes per megabase, including 1,524 protein-coding genes, some of which were identified using novel methods, and 765 pseudogenes. One-quarter of the protein-coding genes shows overlap with other genes. Of the 856 olfactory receptor genes in the human genome, more than 40% are located in 28 single- and multi-gene clusters along this chromosome. Out of the 171 disorders currently attributed to the chromosome, 86 remain for which the underlying molecular basis is not yet known, including several mendelian traits, cancer and susceptibility loci. The high-quality data presented here--nearly 134.5 million base pairs representing 99.8% coverage of the euchromatic sequence--provide scientists with a solid foundation for understanding the genetic basis of these disorders and other biological phenomena.