Some recent work on the thermodynamic behavior of the matrix model of M-theory on a pp-wave background is reviewed. We examine a weak coupling limit where computations can be done explicitly. In the large N limit, we find a phase transition between two distinct phases which resembles a “confinement-deconfinement” transition in gauge theory and which we speculate must be related to a geometric t...

Matrix concentration inequalities give bounds for the spectral-norm deviation of a random matrix from its expected value. These results have a weak dimensional dependence that is sometimes, but not always, necessary. This paper identifies one of the sources of the dimensional term and exploits this insight to develop sharper matrix concentration inequalities. In particular, this analysis delive...

The common problems in machine learning from omics data are the scarcity of samples, the high number of features and their complex interaction structure. The models built solely from measured data often suffer from overfitting. One of possible methods dealing with overfitting is to use prior knowledge for regularization. This work analyzes contribution of feature interaction networks in regular...

Drosophila, Wnt, FGF, Jak/Stat, Rho, Rac, RhoGEF, Pebble, Naked Cuticle The site for the latest installment of the Fly Meeting (March 7–11) was downtown Philadelphia. The conference offered an illustration of all that is great about the Drosophila field bringing together evolutionary biologists, immunologists and everyone in between. Here I will provide a small sample of several advances from t...

We show that the oscillatory driving of crystal surfaces can induce pattern formation or smoothening. Depending on driving conditions, step bunching and meandering, mound formation, or surface smoothening may be seen in the presence of a kinetic asymmetry at the steps or kinks. We employ a step model to calculate the induced mass flux along misoriented surfaces, which accounts for surface dynam...

We study the control of modulational instability and pattern formation in a nonlinear dissipative feedback system with a periodic modulation of the material refractive index. We use a one-dimensional photonic lattice in a single-mirror feedback configuration and identify three mechanisms for pattern control: bandgap suppression of instability modes, periodicity induced pattern modes, and orient...

We present some numerical results obtained from a simple individual-based model that describes clustering of organisms caused by competition. Our aim is to show that, even when a deterministic description developed for continuum models predicts no pattern formation, an individual-based model displays well-defined patterns, as a consequence of fluctuation effects caused by the discrete nature of...