NO emission prediction using virtual optimized chemistry

A reduced order kinetic model for NO (Nitric Oxide) prediction, based on the recently developed virtual chemistry methodology, is proposed in this article. Temperature and heat release are resolved through the optimization of a virtual main mechanism whereas NO emissions are reproduced through the optimization of a dedicated sub-mechanism. The proposed NO sub-mechanism is optimized over a learning database made of 1D-premixed and 1D opposed jet diusion flames. The approach is further assessed in a premixed 2D CFD laminar flame computation proposing a direct comparison against fully detailed chemistry

How Polarized Have We Become? A Multimodal Classification of Trump Followers and Clinton Followers

Polarization in American politics has been extensively documented and analyzed for decades, and the phenomenon became all the more apparent during the 2016 presidential election, where Trump and Clinton depicted two radically different pictures of America. Inspired by this gaping polarization and the extensive utilization of Twitter during the 2016 presidential campaign, in this paper we take the first step in measuring polarization in social media and we attempt to predict individuals' Twitter following behavior through analyzing ones' everyday tweets, profile images and posted pictures. As such, we treat polarization as a classification problem and study to what extent Trump followers and Clinton followers on Twitter can be distinguished, which in turn serves as a metric of polarization in general. We apply LSTM to processing tweet features and we extract visual features using the VGG neural network. Integrating these two sets of features boosts the overall performance. We are able to achieve an accuracy of 69%, suggesting that the high degree of polarization recorded in the literature has started to manifest itself in social media as well.Comment: 16 pages, SocInfo 2017, 9th International Conference on Social Informatic

A term-by-term direct numerical simulation validation study of the multi-environment conditional probability-density-function model for turbulent reacting flows

The multi-environment conditional probability-density-function (MECPDF) approach for modeling extinction and re-ignition in turbulent nonpremixed reacting flows in analyzed. A unique derivation of the model is given, which makes use of numerical Gaussian quadrature in addition to physical assumptions. The new derivation offers insight into the physical meaning of model terms and offers a more rigorous method for model validation. The assumptions required to close the dissipation terms are validated term by term using data from direct numerical simulations of an inert and a reacting scalar in decaying isotropic turbulence. Results show convergence of the numerical quadrature with an increasing number of quadrature points. Also, good agreement is shown for the physical model assumptions required to close the mixed dissipation and the progress-variable dissipation terms. The MECPDF methods is also demonstrated to offer the flexibility to incorporate either micromixing or otherwise more sophisticated models for the mixing between regions of the flow that exhibit differing degrees of extinction

Presidential Influence on Parliamentary Election Timing and the Electoral Fate of Prime Ministers

Most presidential heads of state in parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies have constitutional powers to influence early election calling. They can therefore affect under which conditions prime ministers are held accountable by the electorate. Do these presidents use their powers to shape the timing of early elections for partisan advantage and to influence the electoral performance of incumbent prime ministers? We examine this question using data from 193 elections in eighteen European democracies (1945-2013). Our results indicate that presidents use their dissolution powers to shape the frequency of early elections and to influence under which conditions elections occur, affecting the electoral success of prime ministers. Presidents with significant influence on the dissolution of parliament enable prime ministers of governments that include the president's party to realize a significant electoral bonus compared to governments that exclude the party of the president

It is Hobbes, not Rousseau:an experiment on voting and redistribution

We perform an experiment which provides a laboratory replica of some important features of the welfare state. In the experiment, all individuals in a group decide whether to make a costly effort, which produces a random (independent) outcome for each one of them. The group members then vote on whether to redistribute the resulting and commonly known total sum of earnings equally amongst themselves. This game has two equilibria, if played once. In one of them, all players make effort and there is little redistribution. In the other one, there is no effort and nothingWe thank Iris Bohnet, Tim Cason, David Cooper, John Duffy, Maia Guell, John Van Huyck and Robin Mason for helpful conversations and encouragement. The comments of the Editor and two referees helped improve the paper. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation under grants CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 CSD2006-0016 (all authors), ECO2009-10531 (Cabrales), ECO2008-01768 (Nagel) and the Comunidad de Madrid under grant Excelecon (Cabrales), the Generalitat de Catalunya and the CREA program (Nagel), and project SEJ2007-64340 of Spain’s Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Rodríguez Mora).Publicad

Hereditary thrombocytosis caused by MPLSer505Asn is associated with a high thrombotic risk, splenomegaly and progression to bone marrow fibrosis.

Background The MPL(Ser505Asn) mutation has been reported to be a cause of hereditary thrombocythemia. Recently, we detected this mutation in a large proportion of children with familial thrombocythemia, suggesting that in Italy the incidence of MPL(Ser505Asn) mutation could be underestimated. DESIGN AND METHODS: We extended the search for this mutation to all patients with essential thrombocythemia who had a positive family history for thrombocytosis or essential thrombocythemia. We identified eight Italian families positive for the MPL(Ser505Asn) mutation. Clinical and hematologic data were available for members of seven families, including 21 patients with a proven mutation and 20 relatives with thrombocytosis. RESULTS: Fifteen major thrombotic episodes, nine of which were fatal, were recorded among 41 patients. The thrombotic manifestation was stroke in four cases, myocardial infarction in seven cases, fetal loss in two cases, deep vein thrombosis of the leg in one case and Budd Chiari syndrome in one case. Almost all patients over 20 years old had splenomegaly and bone marrow fibrosis, while these were rarely observed in patients under 20 years old, suggesting that these manifestations are associated with aging. Finally, the life expectancy of family members with thrombocytosis was significantly shorter than that of members without thrombocytosis (P=0.003). Conclusions Patients with familial thrombocytosis caused by a MPL(Ser505Asn) mutation have a high risk of thrombosis and, with aging, develop splenomegaly and bone marrow fibrosis, significantly affecting their life expectancy

Weight Loss Improves Cardio-Metabolic and Inflammatory State in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a condition characterized by a constellation of reversible major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). While it has been widely demonstrated that weight reduction by 5\u201310% decreases CVD and T2DM risk factors, including atherogenic dyslipidemia, on the other hand, its effects on comprehensive serum cytokine profile and endotoxemia are less investigated. Furthermore, the impact of weight loss on these parameters was studied especially in subjects with morbid obesity, often after bariatric surgery; while the studies on the effects of a physiological weight reduction with a balanced hypocaloric diet in overweight and moderately obese subjects showed contradictory results

Cognitive profile in idiopathic autonomic failure: relation with white matter hyperintensities and neurofilament levels

To disclose the nature of cognitive deficits in a cohort of patients with idiopathic autonomic failure (IAF) by exploring the relation among cognitive functions, cardiovascular autonomic failure (AF) and clinical progression to another α-synucleinopathy (phenoconversion)