@article{11732,
  abstract     = {We study the BCS energy gap Ξ in the high–density limit and derive an asymptotic formula, which strongly depends on the strength of the interaction potential V on the Fermi surface. In combination with the recent result by one of us (Math. Phys. Anal. Geom. 25, 3, 2022) on the critical temperature Tc at high densities, we prove the universality of the ratio of the energy gap and the critical temperature.},
  author       = {Henheik, Sven Joscha and Lauritsen, Asbjørn Bækgaard},
  issn         = {1572-9613},
  journal      = {Journal of Statistical Physics},
  keywords     = {Mathematical Physics, Statistical and Nonlinear Physics},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{The BCS energy gap at high density}},
  doi          = {10.1007/s10955-022-02965-9},
  volume       = {189},
  year         = {2022},
}

@inproceedings{11775,
  abstract     = {Quantitative monitoring can be universal and approximate: For every finite sequence of observations, the specification provides a value and the monitor outputs a best-effort approximation of it. The quality of the approximation may depend on the resources that are available to the monitor. By taking to the limit the sequences of specification values and monitor outputs, we obtain precision-resource trade-offs also for limit monitoring. This paper provides a formal framework for studying such trade-offs using an abstract interpretation for monitors: For each natural number n, the aggregate semantics of a monitor at time n is an equivalence relation over all sequences of at most n observations so that two equivalent sequences are indistinguishable to the monitor and thus mapped to the same output. This abstract interpretation of quantitative monitors allows us to measure the number of equivalence classes (or “resource use”) that is necessary for a certain precision up to a certain time, or at any time. Our framework offers several insights. For example, we identify a family of specifications for which any resource-optimal exact limit monitor is independent of any error permitted over finite traces. Moreover, we present a specification for which any resource-optimal approximate limit monitor does not minimize its resource use at any time. },
  author       = {Henzinger, Thomas A and Mazzocchi, Nicolas Adrien and Sarac, Naci E},
  booktitle    = {22nd International Conference on Runtime Verification},
  issn         = {0302-9743},
  location     = {Tbilisi, Georgia},
  pages        = {200--220},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Abstract monitors for quantitative specifications}},
  doi          = {10.1007/978-3-031-17196-3_11},
  volume       = {13498},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{11777,
  abstract     = {In this dissertation we study coboundary expansion of simplicial complex with a view of giving geometric applications.
Our main novel tool is an equivariant version of Gromov's celebrated Topological Overlap Theorem. The equivariant topological overlap theorem leads to various geometric applications including a quantitative non-embeddability result for sufficiently thick buildings (which partially resolves a conjecture of Tancer and Vorwerk) and an improved lower bound on the pair-crossing number of (bounded degree) expander graphs. Additionally, we will give new proofs for several known lower bounds for geometric problems such as the number of Tverberg partitions or the crossing number of complete bipartite graphs.
For the aforementioned applications one is naturally lead to study expansion properties of joins of simplicial complexes. In the presence of a special certificate for expansion (as it is the case, e.g., for spherical buildings), the join of two expanders is an expander. On the flip-side, we report quite some evidence that coboundary expansion exhibits very non-product-like behaviour under taking joins. For instance, we exhibit infinite families of graphs $(G_n)_{n\in \mathbb{N}}$ and $(H_n)_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ whose join $G_n*H_n$ has expansion of lower order than the product of the expansion constant of the graphs. Moreover, we show an upper bound of $(d+1)/2^d$ on the normalized coboundary expansion constants for the complete multipartite complex $[n]^{*(d+1)}$ (under a mild divisibility condition on $n$).
Via the probabilistic method the latter result extends to an upper bound of $(d+1)/2^d+\varepsilon$ on the coboundary expansion constant of the spherical building associated with $\mathrm{PGL}_{d+2}(\mathbb{F}_q)$ for any $\varepsilon>0$ and sufficiently large $q=q(\varepsilon)$. This disproves a conjecture of Lubotzky, Meshulam and Mozes -- in a rather strong sense.
By improving on existing lower bounds we make further progress towards closing the gap between the known lower and upper bounds on the coboundary expansion constants of $[n]^{*(d+1)}$. The best improvements we achieve using computer-aided proofs and flag algebras. The exact value even for the complete $3$-partite $2$-dimensional complex $[n]^{*3}$ remains unknown but we are happy to conjecture a precise value for every $n$. %Moreover, we show that a previously shown lower bound on the expansion constant of the spherical building associated with $\mathrm{PGL}_{2}(\mathbb{F}_q)$ is not tight.
In a loosely structured, last chapter of this thesis we collect further smaller observations related to expansion. We point out a link between discrete Morse theory and a technique for showing coboundary expansion, elaborate a bit on the hardness of computing coboundary expansion constants, propose a new criterion for coboundary expansion (in a very dense setting) and give one way of making the folklore result that expansion of links is a necessary condition for a simplicial complex to be an expander precise.},
  author       = {Wild, Pascal},
  isbn         = {978-3-99078-021-3},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {170},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{High-dimensional expansion and crossing numbers of simplicial complexes}},
  doi          = {10.15479/at:ista:11777},
  year         = {2022},
}

@inproceedings{11839,
  abstract     = {It is a highly desirable property for deep networks to be robust against
small input changes. One popular way to achieve this property is by designing
networks with a small Lipschitz constant. In this work, we propose a new
technique for constructing such Lipschitz networks that has a number of
desirable properties: it can be applied to any linear network layer
(fully-connected or convolutional), it provides formal guarantees on the
Lipschitz constant, it is easy to implement and efficient to run, and it can be
combined with any training objective and optimization method. In fact, our
technique is the first one in the literature that achieves all of these
properties simultaneously. Our main contribution is a rescaling-based weight
matrix parametrization that guarantees each network layer to have a Lipschitz
constant of at most 1 and results in the learned weight matrices to be close to
orthogonal. Hence we call such layers almost-orthogonal Lipschitz (AOL).
Experiments and ablation studies in the context of image classification with
certified robust accuracy confirm that AOL layers achieve results that are on
par with most existing methods. Yet, they are simpler to implement and more
broadly applicable, because they do not require computationally expensive
matrix orthogonalization or inversion steps as part of the network
architecture. We provide code at https://github.com/berndprach/AOL.},
  author       = {Prach, Bernd and Lampert, Christoph},
  booktitle    = {Computer Vision – ECCV 2022},
  isbn         = {9783031198021},
  location     = {Tel Aviv, Israel},
  pages        = {350--365},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Almost-orthogonal layers for efficient general-purpose Lipschitz networks}},
  doi          = {10.1007/978-3-031-19803-8_21},
  volume       = {13681},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{11945,
  abstract     = {G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) respond to specific ligands and regulate multiple processes ranging from cell growth and immune responses to neuronal signal transmission. However, ligands for many GPCRs remain unknown, suffer from off-target effects or have poor bioavailability. Additional challenges exist to dissect cell-type specific responses when the same GPCR is expressed on several cell types within the body. Here, we overcome these limitations by engineering DREADD-based GPCR chimeras that selectively bind their agonist clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) and mimic a GPCR-of-interest in a desired cell type.
We validated our approach with β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR/ADRB2) and show that our chimeric DREADD-β2AR triggers comparable responses on second messenger and kinase activity, post-translational modifications, and protein-protein interactions. Since β2AR is also enriched in microglia, which can drive inflammation in the central nervous system, we expressed chimeric DREADD-β2AR in primary microglia and successfully recapitulate β2AR-mediated filopodia formation through CNO stimulation. To dissect the role of selected GPCRs during microglial inflammation, we additionally generated DREADD-based chimeras for microglia-enriched GPR65 and GPR109A/HCAR2. In a microglia cell line, DREADD-β2AR and DREADD-GPR65 both modulated the inflammatory response with a similar profile as endogenously expressed β2AR, while DREADD-GPR109A showed no impact.
Our DREADD-based approach provides the means to obtain mechanistic and functional insights into GPCR signaling on a cell-type specific level.},
  author       = {Schulz, Rouven},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {133},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Chimeric G protein-coupled receptors mimic distinct signaling pathways and modulate microglia function}},
  doi          = {10.15479/at:ista:11945},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{12072,
  abstract     = {In this thesis, we study two of the most important questions in Arithmetic geometry: that of the existence and density of solutions to Diophantine equations. In order for a Diophantine equation to have any solutions over the rational numbers, it must have solutions everywhere locally, i.e., over R and over Qp for every prime p. The converse, called the Hasse principle, is known to fail in general. However, it is still a central question in Arithmetic geometry to determine for which varieties the Hasse principle does hold. In this work, we establish the Hasse principle for a wide new family of varieties of the form f(t) = NK/Q(x) ̸= 0, where f is a polynomial with integer coefficients and NK/Q denotes the norm
form associated to a number field K. Our results cover products of arbitrarily many linear, quadratic or cubic factors, and generalise an argument of Irving [69], which makes use of the beta sieve of Rosser and Iwaniec. We also demonstrate how our main sieve results can be applied to treat new cases of a conjecture of Harpaz and Wittenberg on locally split values of polynomials over number fields, and discuss consequences for rational points in fibrations.
In the second question, about the density of solutions, one defines a height function and seeks to estimate asymptotically the number of points of height bounded by B as B → ∞. Traditionally, one either counts rational points, or
integral points with respect to a suitable model. However, in this thesis, we study an emerging area of interest in Arithmetic geometry known as Campana points, which in some sense interpolate between rational and integral points.
More precisely, we count the number of nonzero integers z1, z2, z3 such that gcd(z1, z2, z3) = 1, and z1, z2, z3, z1 + z2 + z3 are all squareful and bounded by B. Using the circle method, we obtain an asymptotic formula which agrees in
the power of B and log B with a bold new generalisation of Manin’s conjecture to the setting of Campana points, recently formulated by Pieropan, Smeets, Tanimoto and Várilly-Alvarado [96]. However, in this thesis we also provide the first known counterexamples to leading constant predicted by their conjecture. },
  author       = {Shute, Alec L},
  isbn         = {978-3-99078-023-7},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {208},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Existence and density problems in Diophantine geometry: From norm forms to Campana points}},
  doi          = {10.15479/at:ista:12072},
  year         = {2022},
}

@inproceedings{12102,
  abstract     = {Given a Markov chain M = (V, v_0, δ), with state space V and a starting state v_0, and a probability threshold ε, an ε-core is a subset C of states that is left with probability at most ε. More formally, C ⊆ V is an ε-core, iff ℙ[reach (V\C)] ≤ ε. Cores have been applied in a wide variety of verification problems over Markov chains, Markov decision processes, and probabilistic programs, as a means of discarding uninteresting and low-probability parts of a probabilistic system and instead being able to focus on the states that are likely to be encountered in a real-world run. In this work, we focus on the problem of computing a minimal ε-core in a Markov chain. Our contributions include both negative and positive results: (i) We show that the decision problem on the existence of an ε-core of a given size is NP-complete. This solves an open problem posed in [Jan Kretínský and Tobias Meggendorfer, 2020]. We additionally show that the problem remains NP-complete even when limited to acyclic Markov chains with bounded maximal vertex degree; (ii) We provide a polynomial time algorithm for computing a minimal ε-core on Markov chains over control-flow graphs of structured programs. A straightforward combination of our algorithm with standard branch prediction techniques allows one to apply the idea of cores to find a subset of program lines that are left with low probability and then focus any desired static analysis on this core subset.},
  author       = {Ahmadi, Ali and Chatterjee, Krishnendu and Goharshady, Amir Kafshdar and Meggendorfer, Tobias and Safavi Hemami, Roodabeh and Zikelic, Dorde},
  booktitle    = {42nd IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science},
  isbn         = {9783959772617},
  issn         = {1868-8969},
  location     = {Madras, India},
  publisher    = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik},
  title        = {{Algorithms and hardness results for computing cores of Markov chains}},
  doi          = {10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2022.29},
  volume       = {250},
  year         = {2022},
}

@article{12117,
  abstract     = {To understand how potential gene manipulations affect in vitro microglia, we provide a set of short protocols to evaluate microglia identity and function. We detail steps for immunostaining to determine microglia identity. We describe three functional assays for microglia: phagocytosis, calcium response following ATP stimulation, and cytokine expression upon inflammatory stimuli. We apply these protocols to human induced-pluripotent-stem-cell (hiPSC)-derived microglia, but they can be also applied to other in vitro microglial models including primary mouse microglia.
For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Bartalska et al. (2022).1},
  author       = {Hübschmann, Verena and Korkut, Medina and Siegert, Sandra},
  issn         = {2666-1667},
  journal      = {STAR Protocols},
  keywords     = {General Immunology and Microbiology, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, General Neuroscience},
  number       = {4},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Assessing human iPSC-derived microglia identity and function by immunostaining, phagocytosis, calcium activity, and inflammation assay}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101866},
  volume       = {3},
  year         = {2022},
}

@article{12291,
  abstract     = {The phytohormone auxin triggers transcriptional reprogramming through a well-characterized perception machinery in the nucleus. By contrast, mechanisms that underlie fast effects of auxin, such as the regulation of ion fluxes, rapid phosphorylation of proteins or auxin feedback on its transport, remain unclear1,2,3. Whether auxin-binding protein 1 (ABP1) is an auxin receptor has been a source of debate for decades1,4. Here we show that a fraction of Arabidopsis thaliana ABP1 is secreted and binds auxin specifically at an acidic pH that is typical of the apoplast. ABP1 and its plasma-membrane-localized partner, transmembrane kinase 1 (TMK1), are required for the auxin-induced ultrafast global phospho-response and for downstream processes that include the activation of H+-ATPase and accelerated cytoplasmic streaming. abp1 and tmk mutants cannot establish auxin-transporting channels and show defective auxin-induced vasculature formation and regeneration. An ABP1(M2X) variant that lacks the capacity to bind auxin is unable to complement these defects in abp1 mutants. These data indicate that ABP1 is the auxin receptor for TMK1-based cell-surface signalling, which mediates the global phospho-response and auxin canalization.},
  author       = {Friml, Jiří and Gallei, Michelle C and Gelová, Zuzana and Johnson, Alexander J and Mazur, Ewa and Monzer, Aline and Rodriguez Solovey, Lesia and Roosjen, Mark and Verstraeten, Inge and Živanović, Branka D. and Zou, Minxia and Fiedler, Lukas and Giannini, Caterina and Grones, Peter and Hrtyan, Mónika and Kaufmann, Walter and Kuhn, Andre and Narasimhan, Madhumitha and Randuch, Marek and Rýdza, Nikola and Takahashi, Koji and Tan, Shutang and Teplova, Anastasiia and Kinoshita, Toshinori and Weijers, Dolf and Rakusová, Hana},
  issn         = {1476-4687},
  journal      = {Nature},
  number       = {7927},
  pages        = {575--581},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{ABP1–TMK auxin perception for global phosphorylation and auxin canalization}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41586-022-05187-x},
  volume       = {609},
  year         = {2022},
}

@article{12307,
  abstract     = {Point-set topology is among the most abstract branches of mathematics in that it lacks tangible notions of distance, length, magnitude, order, and size. There is no shape, no geometry, no algebra, and no direction. Everything we are used to visualizing is gone. In the teaching and learning of mathematics, this can present a conundrum. Yet, this very property makes point set topology perfect for teaching and learning abstract mathematical concepts. It clears our minds of preconceived intuitions and expectations and forces us to think in new and creative ways. In this paper, we present guided investigations into topology through questions and thinking strategies that open up fascinating problems. They are intended for faculty who already teach or are thinking about teaching a class in topology or abstract mathematical reasoning for undergraduates. They can be used to build simple to challenging projects in topology, proofs, honors programs, and research experiences.},
  author       = {Shipman, Barbara A. and Stephenson, Elizabeth R},
  issn         = {1935-4053},
  journal      = {PRIMUS},
  keywords     = {Education, General Mathematics},
  number       = {5},
  pages        = {593--609},
  publisher    = {Taylor & Francis},
  title        = {{Tangible topology through the lens of limits}},
  doi          = {10.1080/10511970.2021.1872750},
  volume       = {32},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{12358,
  abstract     = {The complex yarn structure of knitted and woven fabrics gives rise to both a mechanical and
visual complexity. The small-scale interactions of yarns colliding with and pulling on each
other result in drastically different large-scale stretching and bending behavior, introducing
anisotropy, curling, and more. While simulating cloth as individual yarns can reproduce this
complexity and match the quality of real fabric, it may be too computationally expensive for
large fabrics. On the other hand, continuum-based approaches do not need to discretize the
cloth at a stitch-level, but it is non-trivial to find a material model that would replicate the
large-scale behavior of yarn fabrics, and they discard the intricate visual detail. In this thesis,
we discuss three methods to try and bridge the gap between small-scale and large-scale yarn
mechanics using numerical homogenization: fitting a continuum model to periodic yarn simulations, adding mechanics-aware yarn detail onto thin-shell simulations, and quantitatively
fitting yarn parameters to physical measurements of real fabric.
To start, we present a method for animating yarn-level cloth effects using a thin-shell solver.
We first use a large number of periodic yarn-level simulations to build a model of the potential
energy density of the cloth, and then use it to compute forces in a thin-shell simulator. The
resulting simulations faithfully reproduce expected effects like the stiffening of woven fabrics
and the highly deformable nature and anisotropy of knitted fabrics at a fraction of the cost of
full yarn-level simulation.
While our thin-shell simulations are able to capture large-scale yarn mechanics, they lack
the rich visual detail of yarn-level simulations. Therefore, we propose a method to animate
yarn-level cloth geometry on top of an underlying deforming mesh in a mechanics-aware
fashion in real time. Using triangle strains to interpolate precomputed yarn geometry, we are
able to reproduce effects such as knit loops tightening under stretching at negligible cost.
Finally, we introduce a methodology for inverse-modeling of yarn-level mechanics of cloth,
based on the mechanical response of fabrics in the real world. We compile a database from
physical tests of several knitted fabrics used in the textile industry spanning diverse physical
properties like stiffness, nonlinearity, and anisotropy. We then develop a system for approximating these mechanical responses with yarn-level cloth simulation, using homogenized
shell models to speed up computation and adding some small-but-necessary extensions to
yarn-level models used in computer graphics.
},
  author       = {Sperl, Georg},
  isbn         = {978-3-99078-020-6},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {138},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Homogenizing yarn simulations: Large-scale mechanics, small-scale detail, and quantitative fitting}},
  doi          = {10.15479/at:ista:12103},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{12368,
  abstract     = {Metazoan development relies on the formation and remodeling of cell-cell contacts. The 
binding of adhesion receptors and remodeling of the actomyosin cell cortex at cell-cell 
interaction sites have been implicated in cell-cell contact formation. Yet, how these two 
processes functionally interact to drive cell-cell contact expansion and strengthening 
remains unclear. Here, we study how primary germ layer progenitor cells from zebrafish 
bind to supported lipid bilayers (SLB) functionalized with E-cadherin ectodomains as an 
assay system for monitoring cell-cell contact formation at high spatiotemporal resolution. 
We show that cell-cell contact formation represents a two-tiered process: E-cadherinmediated downregulation of the small GTPase RhoA at the forming contact leads to both 
depletion of Myosin-2 and decrease of F-actin. This is followed by centrifugal actin 
network flows at the contact triggered by a sharp gradient of Myosin-2 at the rim of the 
contact zone, with Myosin-2 displaying higher cortical localization outside than inside of 
the contact. These centrifugal cortical actin flows, in turn, not only further dilute the actin 
network at the contact disc, but also lead to an accumulation of both F-actin and Ecadherin at the contact rim. Eventually, this combination of actomyosin downregulation 
and flows at the contact contribute to the characteristic molecular organization implicated 
in contact formation and maintenance: depletion of cortical actomyosin at the contact disc, 
driving contact expansion by lowering interfacial tension at the contact, and accumulation 
of both E-cadherin and F-actin at the contact rim, mechanically linking the contractile 
cortices of the adhering cells. Thus, using a biomimetic assay, we exemplify how 
adhesion signaling and cell mechanics function together to modulate the spatial 
organization of cell-cell contacts.},
  author       = {Arslan, Feyza N},
  isbn         = {978-3-99078-025-1 },
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {113},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Remodeling of E-cadherin-mediated contacts via cortical  flows}},
  doi          = {10.15479/at:ista:12153},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{12390,
  abstract     = {The scope of this thesis is to study quantum systems exhibiting a continuous symmetry that
is broken on the level of the corresponding effective theory. In particular we are going to
investigate translation-invariant Bose gases in the mean field limit, effectively described by
the Hartree functional, and the Fröhlich Polaron in the regime of strong coupling, effectively
described by the Pekar functional. The latter is a model describing the interaction between a
charged particle and the optical modes of a polar crystal. Regarding the former, we assume in
addition that the particles in the gas are unconfined, and typically we will consider particles
that are subject to an attractive interaction. In both cases the ground state energy of the
Hamiltonian is not a proper eigenvalue due to the underlying translation-invariance, while on
the contrary there exists a whole invariant orbit of minimizers for the corresponding effective
functionals. Both, the absence of proper eigenstates and the broken symmetry of the effective
theory, make the study significantly more involved and it is the content of this thesis to
develop a frameworks which allows for a systematic way to circumvent these issues.
It is a well-established result that the ground state energy of Bose gases in the mean field limit,
as well as the ground state energy of the Fröhlich Polaron in the regime of strong coupling, is
to leading order given by the minimal energy of the corresponding effective theory. As part
of this thesis we identify the sub-leading term in the expansion of the ground state energy,
which can be interpreted as the quantum correction to the classical energy, since the effective
theories under consideration can be seen as classical counterparts.
We are further going to establish an asymptotic expression for the energy-momentum relation
of the Fröhlich Polaron in the strong coupling limit. In the regime of suitably small momenta,
this asymptotic expression agrees with the energy-momentum relation of a free particle having
an effectively increased mass, and we find that this effectively increased mass agrees with the
conjectured value in the physics literature.
In addition we will discuss two unrelated papers written by the author during his stay at ISTA
in the appendix. The first one concerns the realization of anyons, which are quasi-particles
acquiring a non-trivial phase under the exchange of two particles, as molecular impurities.
The second one provides a classification of those vector fields defined on a given manifold
that can be written as the gradient of a given functional with respect to a suitable metric,
provided that some mild smoothness assumptions hold. This classification is subsequently
used to identify those quantum Markov semigroups that can be written as a gradient flow of
the relative entropy.
},
  author       = {Brooks, Morris},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {196},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Translation-invariant quantum systems with effectively broken symmetry}},
  doi          = {10.15479/at:ista:12390},
  year         = {2022},
}

@unpublished{12677,
  abstract     = {In modern sample-driven Prophet Inequality, an adversary chooses a sequence of n items with values v1,v2,…,vn to be presented to a decision maker (DM). The process follows in two phases. In the first phase (sampling phase), some items, possibly selected at random, are revealed to the DM, but she can never accept them. In the second phase, the DM is presented with the other items in a random order and online fashion. For each item, she must make an irrevocable decision to either accept the item and stop the process or reject the item forever and proceed to the next item. The goal of the DM is to maximize the expected value as compared to a Prophet (or offline algorithm) that has access to all information. In this setting, the sampling phase has no cost and is not part of the optimization process. However, in many scenarios, the samples are obtained as part of the decision-making process.
We model this aspect as a two-phase Prophet Inequality where an adversary chooses a sequence of 2n items with values v1,v2,…,v2n and the items are randomly ordered. Finally, there are two phases of the Prophet Inequality problem with the first n-items and the rest of the items, respectively. We show that some basic algorithms achieve a ratio of at most 0.450. We present an algorithm that achieves a ratio of at least 0.495. Finally, we show that for every algorithm the ratio it can achieve is at most 0.502. Hence our algorithm is near-optimal.},
  author       = {Chatterjee, Krishnendu and Mohammadi, Mona and Saona Urmeneta, Raimundo J},
  booktitle    = {arXiv},
  title        = {{Repeated prophet inequality with near-optimal bounds}},
  doi          = {10.48550/ARXIV.2209.14368},
  year         = {2022},
}

@unpublished{12750,
  abstract     = {Quantum kinetically constrained models have recently attracted significant attention due to their anomalous dynamics and thermalization. In this work, we introduce a hitherto unexplored family of kinetically constrained models featuring a conserved particle number and strong inversion-symmetry breaking due to facilitated hopping. We demonstrate that these models provide a generic example of so-called quantum Hilbert space fragmentation, that is manifested in disconnected sectors in the Hilbert space that are not apparent in the computational basis. Quantum Hilbert space fragmentation leads to an exponential in system size number of eigenstates with exactly zero entanglement entropy across several bipartite cuts. These eigenstates can be probed dynamically using quenches from simple initial product states. In addition, we study the particle spreading under unitary dynamics launched from the domain wall state, and find faster than diffusive dynamics at high particle densities, that crosses over into logarithmically slow relaxation at smaller densities. Using a classically simulable cellular automaton, we reproduce the logarithmic dynamics observed in the quantum case. Our work suggests that particle conserving constrained models with inversion symmetry breaking realize so far unexplored universality classes of dynamics and invite their further theoretical and experimental studies.},
  author       = {Brighi, Pietro and Ljubotina, Marko and Serbyn, Maksym},
  booktitle    = {arXiv},
  title        = {{Hilbert space fragmentation and slow dynamics in particle-conserving quantum East models}},
  doi          = {10.48550/arXiv.2210.15607},
  year         = {2022},
}

@unpublished{12860,
  abstract     = {Memorization of the relation between entities in a dataset can lead to privacy issues when using a trained model for question answering. We introduce Relational Memorization (RM) to understand, quantify and control this phenomenon. While bounding general memorization can have detrimental effects on the performance of a trained model, bounding RM does not prevent effective learning. The difference is most pronounced when the data distribution is long-tailed, with many queries having only few training examples: Impeding general memorization prevents effective learning, while impeding only relational memorization still allows learning general properties of the underlying concepts. We formalize the notion of Relational Privacy (RP) and, inspired by Differential Privacy (DP), we provide a possible definition of Differential Relational Privacy (DrP). These notions can be used to describe and compute bounds on the amount of RM in a trained model. We illustrate Relational Privacy concepts in experiments with large-scale models for Question Answering.},
  author       = {Bombari, Simone and Achille, Alessandro and Wang, Zijian and Wang, Yu-Xiang and Xie, Yusheng and Singh, Kunwar Yashraj and Appalaraju, Srikar and Mahadevan, Vijay and Soatto, Stefano},
  booktitle    = {arXiv},
  title        = {{Towards differential relational privacy and its use in question answering}},
  doi          = {10.48550/arXiv.2203.16701},
  year         = {2022},
}

@article{14355,
  abstract     = {Purpose: The mediator (MED) multisubunit-complex modulates the activity of the transcriptional machinery, and genetic defects in different MED subunits (17, 20, 27) have been implicated in neurologic diseases. In this study, we identified a recurrent homozygous variant in MED11 (c.325C>T; p.Arg109Ter) in 7 affected individuals from 5 unrelated families. Methods: To investigate the genetic cause of the disease, exome or genome sequencing were performed in 5 unrelated families identified via different research networks and Matchmaker Exchange. Deep clinical and brain imaging evaluations were performed by clinical pediatric neurologists and neuroradiologists. The functional effect of the candidate variant on both MED11 RNA and protein was assessed using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and western blotting using fibroblast cell lines derived from 1 affected individual and controls and through computational approaches. Knockouts in zebrafish were generated using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9. Results: The disease was characterized by microcephaly, profound neurodevelopmental impairment, exaggerated startle response, myoclonic seizures, progressive widespread neurodegeneration, and premature death. Functional studies on patient-derived fibroblasts did not show a loss of protein function but rather disruption of the C-terminal of MED11, likely impairing binding to other MED subunits. A zebrafish knockout model recapitulates key clinical phenotypes. Conclusion: Loss of the C-terminal of MED subunit 11 may affect its binding efficiency to other MED subunits, thus implicating the MED-complex stability in brain development and neurodegeneration. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics.},
  author       = {Cali, Elisa and Lin, Sheng-Jia and Rocca, Clarissa and Sahin, Yavuz and Al Shamsi, Aisha and El Chehadeh, Salima and Chaabouni, Myriam and Mankad, Kshitij and Galanaki, Evangelia and Efthymiou, Stephanie and Sudhakar, Sniya and Athanasiou-Fragkouli, Alkyoni and Celik, Tamer and Narli, Nejat and Bianca, Sebastiano and Murphy, David and Moreira, Francisco Martins De Carvalho and Accogli, Andrea and Petree, Cassidy and Huang, Kevin and Monastiri, Kamel and Edizadeh, Masoud and Nardello, Rosaria and Ognibene, Marzia and De Marco, Patrizia and Ruggieri, Martino and Zara, Federico and Striano, Pasquale and Sahin, Yavuz and Al-Gazali, Lihadh and Warde, Marie Therese Abi and Gerard, Benedicte and Zifarelli, Giovanni and Beetz, Christian and Fortuna, Sara and Soler, Miguel and Valente, Enza Maria and Varshney, Gaurav and Maroofian, Reza and Salpietro, Vincenzo and Houlden, Henry and Grp, SYNaPS Study},
  issn         = {1098-3600},
  journal      = {Genetics in Medicine},
  keywords     = {Human mediator complex, MED11, MEDopathies},
  number       = {10},
  pages        = {2194--2203},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{A homozygous MED11 C-terminal variant causes a lethal neurodegenerative disease}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.gim.2022.07.013},
  volume       = {24},
  year         = {2022},
}

@unpublished{17157,
  abstract     = {An action of a complex reductive group G on a smooth projective variety X is regular when all regular unipotent elements in G act with finitely many fixed points. Then the complex G-equivariant cohomology ring of X is isomorphic to the coordinate ring of a certain regular fixed point scheme. Examples include partial flag varieties, smooth Schubert varieties and Bott-Samelson varieties. We also show that a more general version of the fixed point scheme allows a generalisation to GKM spaces, such as toric varieties.},
  author       = {Hausel, Tamás and Rychlewicz, Kamil P},
  booktitle    = {arXiv},
  title        = {{Spectrum of equivariant cohomology as a fixed point scheme}},
  doi          = {10.48550/arXiv.2212.11836},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{10727,
  abstract     = {Social insects are a common model to study disease dynamics in social animals. Even though pathogens should thrive in social insect colonies as the hosts engage in frequent social interactions, are closely related and live in a pathogen-rich environment, disease outbreaks are rare. This is because social insects have evolved mechanisms to keep pathogens at bay – and fight disease as a collective. Social insect colonies are often viewed as “superorganisms” with division of labor between reproductive “germ-like” queens and males and “somatic” workers, which together form an interdependent reproductive unit that parallels a multicellular body. Superorganisms possess a “social immune system” that comprises of collective disease defenses performed by the workers - summarized as “social immunity”. In social groups immunization (reduced susceptibility to a parasite upon secondary exposure to the same parasite) can e.g. be triggered by social interactions (“social immunization”). Social immunization can be caused by (i) asymptomatic low-level infections that are acquired during caregiving to a contagious individual that can give an immune boost, which can induce protection upon later encounter with the same pathogen (active immunization) or (ii) by transfer of immune effectors between individuals (passive immunization).
In the second chapter, I built up on a study that I co-authored that found that low-level infections can not only be protective, but also be costly and make the host more susceptible to detrimental superinfections after contact to a very dissimilar pathogen. I here now tested different degrees of phylogenetically-distant fungal strains of M. brunneum and M. robertsii in L. neglectus and can describe the occurrence of cross-protection of social immunization if the first and second pathogen are from the same level. Interestingly, low-level infections only provided protection when the first strain was less virulent than the second strain and elicited higher immune gene expression.
In the third and fourth chapters, I expanded on the role of social immunity in sexual selection, a so far unstudied field. I used the fungus Metarhizium robertsii and the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior as a model, as in this species mating occurs in the presence of workers and can be studied under laboratory conditions. Before males mate with virgin queens in the nest they engage in fierce combat over the access to their mating partners.
First, I focused on male-male competition in the third chapter and found that fighting with a contagious male is costly as it can lead to contamination of the rival, but that workers can decrease the risk of disease contraction by performing sanitary care.
In the fourth chapter, I studied the effect of fungal infection on survival and mating success of sexuals (freshly emerged queens and males) and found that worker-performed sanitary care can buffer the negative effect that a pathogenic contagion would have on sexuals by spore removal from the exposed individuals. When social immunity was prevented and queens could contract spores from their mating partner, very low dosages led to negative consequences: their lifespan was reduced and they produced fewer offspring with poor immunocompetence compared to healthy queens. Interestingly, cohabitation with a late-stage infected male where no spore transfer was possible had a positive effect on offspring immunity – male offspring of mothers that apparently perceived an infected partner in their vicinity reacted more sensitively to fungal challenge than male offspring without paternal pathogen history.},
  author       = {Metzler, Sina},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Pathogen-mediated sexual selection and immunization in ant colonies}},
  doi          = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:10727},
  year         = {2022},
}

@phdthesis{11193,
  abstract     = {The infiltration of immune cells into tissues underlies the establishment of tissue-resident
macrophages and responses to infections and tumors. However, the mechanisms immune
cells utilize to collectively migrate through tissue barriers in vivo are not yet well understood.
In this thesis, I describe two mechanisms that Drosophila immune cells (hemocytes) use to
overcome the tissue barrier of the germband in the embryo. One strategy is the strengthening
of the actin cortex through developmentally controlled transcriptional regulation induced by
the Drosophila proto-oncogene family member Dfos, which I show in Chapter 2. Dfos induces
expression of the tetraspanin TM4SF and the filamin Cher leading to higher levels of the
activated formin Dia at the cortex and increased cortical F-actin. This enhanced cortical
strength allows hemocytes to overcome the physical resistance of the surrounding tissue and
translocate their nucleus to move forward. This mechanism affects the speed of migration
when hemocytes face a confined environment in vivo.
Another aspect of the invasion process is the initial step of the leading hemocytes entering
the tissue, which potentially guides the follower cells. In Chapter 3, I describe a novel
subpopulation of hemocytes activated by BMP signaling prior to tissue invasion that leads
penetration into the germband. Hemocytes that are deficient in BMP signaling activation
show impaired persistence at the tissue entry, while their migration speed remains
unaffected.
This suggests that there might be different mechanisms controlling immune cell migration
within the confined environment in vivo, one of these being the general ability to overcome
the resistance of the surrounding tissue and another affecting the order of hemocytes that
collectively invade the tissue in a stream of individual cells.
Together, my findings provide deeper insights into transcriptional changes in immune
cells that enable efficient tissue invasion and pave the way for future studies investigating the
early colonization of tissues by macrophages in higher organisms. Moreover, they extend the
current view of Drosophila immune cell heterogeneity and point toward a potentially
conserved role for canonical BMP signaling in specifying immune cells that lead the migration
of tissue resident macrophages during embryogenesis.},
  author       = {Wachner, Stephanie},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {170},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{Transcriptional regulation by Dfos and BMP-signaling support tissue invasion of Drosophila immune cells}},
  doi          = {10.15479/at:ista:11193},
  year         = {2022},
}