The Erdős-Sós conjecture states that the maximum number of edges in an $n$-vertex graph without a given $k$-vertex tree is at most $\frac {n(k-2)}{2}$. Despite significant interest, the conjecture remains unsolved. Recently, Caro, Patkós, and Tuza considered this problem for host graphs that are connected. Settling a problem posed by them, for a $k$-vertex tree $T$, we construct $n$-vertex connected graphs that are $T$-free with at least $(1/4-o_k(1))nk$ edges, showing that the additional connectivity condition can reduce the maximum size by at most a factor of 2. Furthermore, we show that this is optimal: there is a family of $k$-vertex brooms $T$ such that the maximum size of an $n$-vertex connected $T$-free graph is at most $(1/4+o_k(1))nk$.

We propose a kernel-based estimator to predict the mean response trajectory for sparse and irregularly measured longitudinal data. The kernel estimator is constructed by imposing weights based on the subject-wise similarity on L2 metric space between predictor trajectories, where we assume that an analogous fashion in predictor trajectories over time would result in a similar trend in the response trajectory among subjects. In order to deal with the curse of dimensionality caused by the multiple predictors, we propose an appealing multiplicative model with multivariate Gaussian kernels. This model is capable of achieving dimension reduction as well as selecting functional covariates with predictive significance. The asymptotic properties of the proposed nonparametric estimator are investigated under mild regularity conditions. We illustrate the robustness and flexibility of our proposed method via the simulation study and an application to Framingham Heart Study

Stochasticity in gene expression is an important source of cell-to-cell variability (or noise) in clonal cell populations. So far, this phenomenon has been studied using the Gillespie Algorithm, or the Chemical Master Equation, which implicitly assumes that cells are independent and do neither grow nor divide. This talk will discuss recent developments in modelling populations of growing and dividing cells through agent-based approaches. I will show how the lineage structure affects gene expression noise over time, which leads to a straightforward interpretation of cell-to-cell variability in population snapshots. I will also illustrate how cell cycle variability shapes extrinsic noise across lineage trees. Finally, I outline how to construct effective chemical master equation models based on dilution reactions and extrinsic variability that provide surprisingly accurate approximations of the noise statistics across growing populations. The results highlight that it is crucial to consider cell growth and division when quantifying cellular noise.

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ZOOM ID: 997 8258 4700 (Biomedical Mathematics Online Colloquium), (pw: 1234)

We study the fundamental problem of finding small dense subgraphs in a given graph. For a real number $s>2$, we prove that every graph on $n$ vertices with average degree at least $d$ contains a subgraph of average degree at least $s$ on at most $nd^{-\frac{s}{s-2}}(\log d)^{O_s(1)}$ vertices. This is optimal up to the polylogarithmic factor, and resolves a conjecture of Feige and Wagner. In addition, we show that every graph with $n$ vertices and average degree at least $n^{1-\frac{2}{s}+\varepsilon}$ contains a subgraph of average degree at least $s$ on $O_{\varepsilon,s}(1)$ vertices, which is also optimal up to the constant hidden in the $O(.)$ notation, and resolves a conjecture of Verstraëte. Joint work with Benny Sudakov and Istvan Tomon.

TBD

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ZOOM ID: 997 8258 4700 (Biomedical Mathematics Online Colloquium), (pw: 1234)

Recently, Letzter proved that any graph of order n contains a collection P of $O(n \log^*n)$ paths with the following property: for all distinct edges e and f there exists a path in P which contains e but not f. We improve this upper bound to 19n, thus answering a question of Katona and confirming a conjecture independently posed by Balogh, Csaba, Martin, and Pluhar and by Falgas-Ravry, Kittipassorn, Korandi, Letzter, and Narayanan. Our proof is elementary and self-contained.

The Ramsey number $R(k)$ is the minimum n such that every red-blue colouring of the edges of the complete graph on n vertices contains a monochromatic copy of $K_k$. It has been known since the work of Erdős and Szekeres in 1935, and Erdős in 1947, that $2^{k/2} < R(k) < 4^k$, but in the decades since the only improvements have been by lower order terms. In this talk I will sketch the proof of a very recent result, which improves the upper bound of Erdős and Szekeres by a (small) exponential factor. Based on joint work with Marcelo Campos, Simon Griffiths and Julian Sahasrabudhe.

The well-known two-process model of sleep regulation makes accurate predictions of sleep timing and duration, as well as neurobehavioral performance, for a variety of acute sleep deprivation and nap sleep scenarios, but it fails to predict the effects of chronic sleep restriction on neurobehavioral performance. The two-process model belongs to a broader class of coupled, non-homogeneous, first-order, ordinary differential equations (ODEs), which can capture the effects of chronic sleep restriction. These equations exhibit a bifurcation, which appears to be an essential feature of performance impairment due to sleep loss. The equations implicate a biological system analogous to two connected compartments containing interacting compounds with time-varying concentrations, such as the adenosinergic neuromodulator/receptor system, as a key mechanism for the regulation of neurobehavioral functioning under conditions of sleep loss. The equations account for dynamic interaction with circadian rhythmicity, and also provide a new approach to dynamically tracking the magnitude of sleep inertia upon awakening from restricted sleep. This presentation will describe the development of the ODE system and its experimental calibration and validation, and will discuss some novel predictions.

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ZOOM ID: 997 8258 4700 (Biomedical Mathematics Online Colloquium), (pw: 1234)

For a given graph $H$, we say that a graph $G$ has a perfect $H$-subdivision tiling if $G$ contains a collection of vertex-disjoint subdivisions of $H$ covering all vertices of $G.$ Let $\delta_{sub}(n, H)$ be the smallest integer $k$ such that any $n$-vertex graph $G$ with minimum degree at least $k$ has a perfect $H$-subdivision tiling. For every graph $H$, we asymptotically determined the value of $\delta_{sub}(n, H)$. More precisely, for every graph $H$ with at least one edge, there is a constant $1 < \xi^*(H)\leq 2$ such that $\delta_{sub}(n, H) = \left(1 - \frac{1}{\xi^*(H)} + o(1) \right)n$ if $H$ has a bipartite subdivision with two parts having different parities. Otherwise, the threshold depends on the parity of $n$.

Pivot-minors can be thought of as a dense analogue of graph minors. We shall discuss pivot-minors and two recent results for proper pivot-minor-closed classes of graphs. In particular, that for every graph H, the class of graphs containing no H-pivot-minor is 𝜒-bounded, and also satisfies the (strong) Erdős-Hajnal property.

We will present a new approach to develop a data-driven, learning-based framework for predicting outcomes of biophysical systems and for discovering hidden mechanisms and pathways from noisy data. We will introduce a deep learning approach based on neural networks (NNs) and on generative adversarial networks (GANs). Unlike other approaches that rely on big data, here we “learn” from small data by exploiting the information provided by the mathematical physics, e.g.., conservation laws, reaction kinetics, etc,. which are used to obtain informative priors or regularize the neural networks. We will demonstrate how we can train BINNs from multifidelity/multimodality data, and we will present several examples of inverse problems, e.g., in systems biology for diabetes and in biomechanics for non-invasive inference of thrombus material properties. We will also discuss how operator regression in the form of DeepOnet can be used to accelerate inference based on historical data and only a few new data, as well its generalization and transfer learning capacity.

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ZOOM ID: 997 8258 4700 (Biomedical Mathematics Online Colloquium), (pw: 1234)

Configurations of axis-parallel boxes in $\mathbb{R}^d$ are extensively studied in combinatorial geometry. Despite their perceived simplicity, there are many problems involving their structure that are not well understood. I will talk about a construction that shows that their structure might be more complicated than people conjectured.