2,032 research outputs found
Non-Negative Local Sparse Coding for Subspace Clustering
Subspace sparse coding (SSC) algorithms have proven to be beneficial to
clustering problems. They provide an alternative data representation in which
the underlying structure of the clusters can be better captured. However, most
of the research in this area is mainly focused on enhancing the sparse coding
part of the problem. In contrast, we introduce a novel objective term in our
proposed SSC framework which focuses on the separability of data points in the
coding space. We also provide mathematical insights into how this
local-separability term improves the clustering result of the SSC framework.
Our proposed non-linear local SSC algorithm (NLSSC) also benefits from the
efficient choice of its sparsity terms and constraints. The NLSSC algorithm is
also formulated in the kernel-based framework (NLKSSC) which can represent the
nonlinear structure of data. In addition, we address the possibility of having
redundancies in sparse coding results and its negative effect on graph-based
clustering problems. We introduce the link-restore post-processing step to
improve the representation graph of non-negative SSC algorithms such as ours.
Empirical evaluations on well-known clustering benchmarks show that our
proposed NLSSC framework results in better clusterings compared to the
state-of-the-art baselines and demonstrate the effectiveness of the
link-restore post-processing in improving the clustering accuracy via
correcting the broken links of the representation graph.Comment: 15 pages, IDA 2018 conferenc
Membrane Partitioning: âClassicalâ and âNonclassicalâ Hydrophobic Effects
The free energy of transfer of nonpolar solutes from water to lipid bilayers is often dominated by a large negative enthalpy rather than the large positive entropy expected from the hydrophobic effect. This common observation has led to the idea that membrane partitioning is driven by the ânonclassicalâ hydrophobic effect. We examined this phenomenon by characterizing the partitioning of the well-studied peptide melittin using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and circular dichroism (CD). We studied the temperature dependence of the entropic (âTÎS) and enthalpic (ÎH) components of free energy (ÎG) of partitioning of melittin into lipid membranes made of various mixtures of zwitterionic and anionic lipids. We found significant variations of the entropic and enthalpic components with temperature, lipid composition and vesicle size but only small changes in ÎG (entropyâenthalpy compensation). The heat capacity associated with partitioning had a large negative value of about â0.5 kcal molâ1 Kâ1. This hallmark of the hydrophobic effect was found to be independent of lipid composition. The measured heat capacity values were used to calculate the hydrophobic-effect free energy ÎGhΊ, which we found to dominate melittin partitioning regardless of lipid composition. In the case of anionic membranes, additional free energy comes from coulombic attraction, which is characterized by a small effective peptide charge due to the lack of additivity of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions in membrane interfaces [Ladokhin and White J Mol Biol 309:543â552, 2001]. Our results suggest that there is no need for a special effectâthe nonclassical hydrophobic effectâto describe partitioning into lipid bilayers
Diagn?stico del uso del fideicomiso como herramienta eficiente para promover proyectos de vivienda social masiva
La presente investigaci?n se propone los siguientes objetivos: - Proponer alternativas para mitigar el d?ficit habitacional a trav?s de lineamientos y pol?ticas de vivienda social masiva mejorando y ampliando los esquemas de financiamiento para los proyectos de vivienda social masiva. - Analizar la normativa peruana, identificar posibles deficiencias y proponer el uso de la figura del fideicomiso como mecanismo de acceso a la vivienda social para las mayor?as. - Proponer a trav?s del fideicomiso la construcci?n de viviendas para disminuir la autoconstrucci?n, las invasiones que permitan construcciones a menos costos, en zonas seguras y asegurar la calidad de vida de los pobladores de menos recursos
ViolĂȘncia autoinfligida por intoxicação exĂłgena em um serviço de urgĂȘncia e emergĂȘncia
RESUMO Objetivo Analisar as violĂȘncias autoinfligidas por intoxicação exĂłgena notificadas em um serviço de saĂșde. MĂ©todos Estudo epidemiolĂłgico, retrospectivo e analĂtico realizado em um serviço de urgĂȘncia e emergĂȘncia do municĂpio de Teresina, PiauĂ. Procedeu-se nos meses de janeiro e fevereiro de 2015, mediante anĂĄlise de todos os casos de violĂȘncia autoinfligida por intoxicação exĂłgena notificados no Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação, no perĂodo de 2009 a 2014. O teste qui-quadrado de Pearson foi utilizado na anĂĄlise. Resultados Foram notificadas 277 vĂtimas de violĂȘncia autoinfligida por intoxicação exĂłgena, sendo que 10,5% morreram por suicĂdio. Houve associação entre o Ăłbito e as variĂĄveis idade, escolaridade, zona de ocorrĂȘncia e tipo de exposição, assim como entre o tipo de exposição e a quantidade de agentes utilizados. ConclusĂŁo Os resultados fornecem subsĂdios para a definição de estratĂ©gias de prevenção considerando os grupos vulnerĂĄveis e a complexidade dos fatores associados Ă violĂȘncia autoinfligida
Quantum Simulation of Antiferromagnetic Spin Chains in an Optical Lattice
Understanding exotic forms of magnetism in quantum mechanical systems is a
central goal of modern condensed matter physics, with implications from high
temperature superconductors to spintronic devices. Simulating magnetic
materials in the vicinity of a quantum phase transition is computationally
intractable on classical computers due to the extreme complexity arising from
quantum entanglement between the constituent magnetic spins. Here we employ a
degenerate Bose gas confined in an optical lattice to simulate a chain of
interacting quantum Ising spins as they undergo a phase transition. Strong spin
interactions are achieved through a site-occupation to pseudo-spin mapping. As
we vary an applied field, quantum fluctuations drive a phase transition from a
paramagnetic phase into an antiferromagnetic phase. In the paramagnetic phase
the interaction between the spins is overwhelmed by the applied field which
aligns the spins. In the antiferromagnetic phase the interaction dominates and
produces staggered magnetic ordering. Magnetic domain formation is observed
through both in-situ site-resolved imaging and noise correlation measurements.
By demonstrating a route to quantum magnetism in an optical lattice, this work
should facilitate further investigations of magnetic models using ultracold
atoms, improving our understanding of real magnetic materials.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
The Quantum Internet
Quantum networks offer a unifying set of opportunities and challenges across
exciting intellectual and technical frontiers, including for quantum
computation, communication, and metrology. The realization of quantum networks
composed of many nodes and channels requires new scientific capabilities for
the generation and characterization of quantum coherence and entanglement.
Fundamental to this endeavor are quantum interconnects that convert quantum
states from one physical system to those of another in a reversible fashion.
Such quantum connectivity for networks can be achieved by optical interactions
of single photons and atoms, thereby enabling entanglement distribution and
quantum teleportation between nodes.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures Higher resolution versions of the figures can be
downloaded from the following link:
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~hjkimble/QNet-figures-high-resolutio
Coulomb Interactions between Cytoplasmic Electric Fields and Phosphorylated Messenger Proteins Optimize Information Flow in Cells
Normal cell function requires timely and accurate transmission of information from receptors on the cell membrane (CM) to the nucleus. Movement of messenger proteins in the cytoplasm is thought to be dependent on random walk. However, Brownian motion will disperse messenger proteins throughout the cytosol resulting in slow and highly variable transit times. We propose that a critical component of information transfer is an intracellular electric field generated by distribution of charge on the nuclear membrane (NM). While the latter has been demonstrated experimentally for decades, the role of the consequent electric field has been assumed to be minimal due to a Debye length of about 1 nanometer that results from screening by intracellular Cl- and K+. We propose inclusion of these inorganic ions in the Debye-Huckel equation is incorrect because nuclear pores allow transit through the membrane at a rate far faster than the time to thermodynamic equilibrium. In our model, only the charged, mobile messenger proteins contribute to the Debye length.Using this revised model and published data, we estimate the NM possesses a Debye-Huckel length of a few microns and find this is consistent with recent measurement using intracellular nano-voltmeters. We demonstrate the field will accelerate isolated messenger proteins toward the nucleus through Coulomb interactions with negative charges added by phosphorylation. We calculate transit times as short as 0.01 sec. When large numbers of phosphorylated messenger proteins are generated by increasing concentrations of extracellular ligands, we demonstrate they generate a self-screening environment that regionally attenuates the cytoplasmic field, slowing movement but permitting greater cross talk among pathways. Preliminary experimental results with phosphorylated RAF are consistent with model predictions.This work demonstrates that previously unrecognized Coulomb interactions between phosphorylated messenger proteins and intracellular electric fields will optimize information transfer from the CM to the NM in cells
The porin and the permeating antibiotic: A selective diffusion barrier in gram-negative bacteria
Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for a large proportion of antibiotic resistant bacterial diseases. These bacteria have a complex cell envelope that comprises an outer membrane and an inner membrane that delimit the periplasm. The outer membrane contains various protein channels, called porins, which are involved in the influx of various compounds, including several classes of antibiotics. Bacterial adaptation to reduce influx through porins is an increasing problem worldwide that contributes, together with efflux systems, to the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. An exciting challenge is to decipher the genetic and molecular basis of membrane impermeability as a bacterial resistance mechanism. This Review outlines the bacterial response towards antibiotic stress on altered membrane permeability and discusses recent advances in molecular approaches that are improving our knowledge of the physico-chemical parameters that govern the translocation of antibiotics through porin channel
A continuum from clear to cloudy hot-Jupiter exoplanets without primordial water depletion
PublishedLetterThousands of transiting exoplanets have been discovered, but spectral analysis of their atmospheres has so far been dominated by a small number of exoplanets and data spanning relatively narrow wavelength ranges (such as 1.1 to 1.7 ÎŒm). Recent studies show that some hot- Jupiter exoplanets have much weaker water absorption features in their near-infrared spectra than predicted. The low amplitude of water signatures could be explained by very low water abundances, which may be a sign that water was depleted in the protoplanetary disk at the planetâs formation location, but it is unclear whether this level of depletion can actually occur. Alternatively, these weak signals could be the result of obscuration by clouds or hazes, as found in some optical spectra. Here we report results from a comparative study of ten hot Jupiters covering the wavelength range 0.3â5 micrometres, which allows us to resolve both the optical scattering and infrared molecular absorption spectroscopically. Our results reveal a diverse group of hot Jupiters that exhibit a continuum from clear to cloudy atmospheres. We find that the difference between the planetary radius measured at optical and infrared wavelengths is an effective metric for distinguishing different atmosphere types. The difference correlates with the spectral strength of water, so that strong water absorption lines are seen in clear-atmosphere planets and the weakest features are associated with clouds and hazes. This result strongly suggests that primordial water depletion during formation is unlikely and that clouds and hazes are the cause of weaker spectral signatures.European Research Council European Unionâs Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)NASACNES and the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)NSFTennessee State UniversityState of Tennesse
Broadband metamaterial for nonresonant matching of acoustic waves
Unity transmittance at an interface between bulk media is quite common for polarized electromagnetic waves incident at the Brewster angle, but it is rarely observed for sound waves at any angle of incidence. In the following, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate an acoustic metamaterial possessing a Brewster-like angle that is completely transparent to sound waves over an ultra-broadband frequency range with >100% bandwidth. The metamaterial, consisting of a hard metal with subwavelength apertures, provides a surface impedance matching mechanism that can be arbitrarily tailored to specific media. The nonresonant nature of the impedance matching effectively decouples the front and back surfaces of the metamaterial allowing one to independently tailor the acoustic impedance at each interface. On the contrary, traditional methods for acoustic impedance matching, for example in medical imaging, rely on resonant tunneling through a thin antireflection layer, which is inherently narrowband and angle specific
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