University of Lisbon

About: University of Lisbon is a education organization based out in Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 19122 authors who have published 48503 publications receiving 1102623 citations. The organization is also known as: Universidade de Lisboa & Lisbon University.

The HARPS survey for southern extra-solar planets. II. A 14 Earth-masses exoplanet around μ Arae

Abstract: In this letter we present the discovery of a very light planetary companion to the star mu Ara (HD160691). The planet orbits its host once every 9.5days, and induces a sinusoidal radial velocity signal with a semi-amplitude of 4.1 m/s, the smallest Doppler amplitude detected so far. These values imply a mass of m2 sini = 14 earth-masses. This detection represents the discovery of a planet with a mass slightly smaller than that of Uranus, the smallest ``ice giant" in our Solar System. Whether this planet can be considered an ice giant or a super-earth planet is discussed in the context of the core-accretion and migration models.

Beyond Gaussian Statistical Modeling in Geophysical Data Assimilation

Abstract: This review discusses recent advances in geophysical data assimilation beyond Gaussian statistical modeling, in the fields of meteorology, oceanography, as well as atmospheric chemistry. The non-Gaussian features are stressed rather than the nonlinearity of the dynamical models, although both aspects are entangled. Ideas recently proposed to deal with these non-Gaussian issues, in order to improve the state or parameter estimation, are emphasized. The general Bayesian solution to the estimation problem and the techniques to solve it are first presented, as well as the obstacles that hinder their use in high-dimensional and complex systems. Approximations to the Bayesian solution relying on Gaussian, or on second-order moment closure, have been wholly adopted in geophysical data assimilation (e.g., Kalman filters and quadratic variational solutions). Yet, nonlinear and non-Gaussian effects remain. They essentially originate in the nonlinear models and in the non-Gaussian priors. How these effects are handled within algorithms based on Gaussian assumptions is then described. Statistical tools that can diagnose them and measure deviations from Gaussianity are recalled. The following advanced techniques that seek to handle the estimation problem beyond Gaussianity are reviewed: maximum entropy filter, Gaussian anamorphosis, non-Gaussian priors, particle filter with an ensemble Kalman filter as a proposal distribution, maximum entropy on the mean, or strictly Bayesian inferences for large linear models, etc. Several ideas are illustrated with recent or original examples that possess some features of high-dimensional systems. Many of the new approaches are well understood only in special cases and have difficulties that remain to be circumvented. Some of the suggested approaches are quite promising, and sometimes already successful for moderately large though specific geophysical applications. Hints are given as to where progress might come from.

TAP (NXF1) Belongs to a Multigene Family of Putative RNA Export Factors with a Conserved Modular Architecture

Abstract: Vertebrate TAP (also called NXF1) and its yeast orthologue, Mex67p, have been implicated in the export of mRNAs from the nucleus. The TAP protein includes a noncanonical RNP-type RNA binding domain, four leucine-rich repeats, an NTF2-like domain that allows heterodimerization with p15 (also called NXT1), and a ubiquitin-associated domain that mediates the interaction with nucleoporins. Here we show that TAP belongs to an evolutionarily conserved family of proteins that has more than one member in higher eukaryotes. Not only the overall domain organization but also residues important for p15 and nucleoporin interaction are conserved in most family members. We characterize two of four human TAP homologues and show that one of them, NXF2, binds RNA, localizes to the nuclear envelope, and exhibits RNA export activity. NXF3, which does not bind RNA or localize to the nuclear rim, has no RNA export activity. Database searches revealed that although only one p15 (nxt) gene is present in the Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans genomes, there is at least one additional p15 homologue (p15-2 [also called NXT2]) encoded by the human genome. Both human p15 homologues bind TAP, NXF2, and NXF3. Together, our results indicate that the TAP-p15 mRNA export pathway has diversified in higher eukaryotes compared to yeast, perhaps reflecting a greater substrate complexity.

Stability of phantom wormholes

Abstract: It has recently been shown that traversable wormholes may be supported by phantom energy. In this work phantom wormhole geometries are modeled by matching an interior traversable wormhole solution, governed by the equation of state $p=\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\rho}$ with $\ensuremath{\omega}l\ensuremath{-}1$, to an exterior vacuum spacetime at a finite junction interface. The stability analysis of these phantom wormholes to linearized spherically symmetric perturbations about static equilibrium solutions is carried out. A master equation dictating the stability regions is deduced, and by separating the cases of a positive and a negative surface energy density, it is found that the respective stable equilibrium configurations may be increased by strategically varying the wormhole throat radius. The first model considered, in the absence of a thin shell, is that of an asymptotically flat phantom wormhole spacetime. The second model constructed is that of an isotropic pressure phantom wormhole, which is of particular interest, as the notion of phantom energy is that of a spatially homogeneous cosmic fluid, although it may be extended to inhomogeneous spherically symmetric spacetimes.

The AgreementMakerLight Ontology Matching System

Abstract: AgreementMaker is one of the leading ontology matching systems, thanks to its combination of a flexible and extensible framework with a comprehensive user interface. In many domains, such as the biomedical, ontologies are becoming increasingly large thus presenting new challenges. We have developed a new core framework, AgreementMakerLight, focused on computational efficiency and designed to handle very large ontologies, while preserving most of the flexibility and extensibility of the original AgreementMaker framework. We evaluated the efficiency of AgreementMakerLight in two OAEI tracks: Anatomy and Large Biomedical Ontologies, obtaining excellent run time results. In addition, for the Anatomy track, AgreementMakerLight is now the best system as measured in terms of F-measure. Also in terms of F-measure, AgreementMakerLight is competitive with the best OAEI performers in two of the three tasks of the Large Biomedical Ontologies track that match whole ontologies.