567 research outputs found
Double-Mode Stellar Pulsations
The status of the hydrodynamical modelling of nonlinear multi-mode stellar
pulsations is discussed. The hydrodynamical modelling of steady double-mode
(DM) pulsations has been a long-standing quest that is finally being concluded.
Recent progress has been made thanks to the introduction of turbulent
convection in the numerical hydrodynamical codes which provide detailed results
for individual models. An overview of the modal selection problem in the HR
diagram can be obtained in the form of bifurcation diagrams with the help of
simple nonresonant amplitude equations that capture the DM phenomenon.Comment: 34 pages, to appear as a chapter in Nonlinear Stellar Pulsation in
the Astrophysics and Space Science Library (ASSL), Editors: M. Takeuti & D.
Sasselov (prints double column with pstops
'2:[email protected](22.0cm,-2cm)[email protected](22.0cm,11.0cm)' in.ps out.ps
A Neural Spiking Approach Compared to Deep Feedforward Networks on Stepwise Pixel Erasement
In real world scenarios, objects are often partially occluded. This requires
a robustness for object recognition against these perturbations. Convolutional
networks have shown good performances in classification tasks. The learned
convolutional filters seem similar to receptive fields of simple cells found in
the primary visual cortex. Alternatively, spiking neural networks are more
biological plausible. We developed a two layer spiking network, trained on
natural scenes with a biologically plausible learning rule. It is compared to
two deep convolutional neural networks using a classification task of stepwise
pixel erasement on MNIST. In comparison to these networks the spiking approach
achieves good accuracy and robustness.Comment: Published in ICANN 2018: Artificial Neural Networks and Machine
Learning - ICANN 2018
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-01418-6_25 The final
authenticated publication is available online at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01418-6_2
The contribution of microlensing surveys to the distance scale
In the early nineties several teams started large scale systematic surveys of
the Magellanic Clouds and the Galactic Bulge to search for microlensing
effects. As a by product, these groups have created enormous time-series
databases of photometric measurements of stars with a temporal sampling
duration and accuracy which are unprecedented. They provide the opportunity to
test the accuracy of primary distance indicators, such as Cepheids, RRLyrae
stars, the detached eclipsing binaries, or the luminosity of the red clump. We
will review the contribution of the microlensing surveys to the understanding
of the physics of the primary distance indicators, recent differential studies
and direct distance determinations to the Magellanic Clouds and the Galactic
Bulge.Comment: Invited review article to appear in: `Post-Hipparcos Cosmic Candles',
A. Heck & F. Caputo (Eds), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in press. 21
pages; uses Kluwer's crckapb.sty LaTeX style file, enclose
The association between histamine 2 receptor antagonist use and Clostridium difficile infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Background
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major health problem. Epidemiological evidence suggests that there is an association between acid suppression therapy and development of CDI.
Purpose
We sought to systematically review the literature that examined the association between histamine 2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) and CDI.
Data source
We searched Medline, Current Contents, Embase, ISI Web of Science and Elsevier Scopus from 1990 to 2012 for all analytical studies that examined the association between H2RAs and CDI.
Study selection
Two authors independently reviewed the studies for eligibility.
Data extraction
Data about studies characteristics, adjusted effect estimates and quality were extracted.
Data synthesis
Thirty-five observations from 33 eligible studies that included 201834 participants were analyzed. Studies were performed in 6 countries and nine of them were multicenter. Most studies did not specify the type or duration of H2RAs therapy. The pooled effect estimate was 1.44, 95% CI (1.22–1.7), I2 = 70.5%. This association was consistent across different subgroups (by study design and country) and there was no evidence of publication bias. The pooled effect estimate for high quality studies was 1.39 (1.15–1.68), I2 = 72.3%. Meta-regression analysis of 10 study-level variables did not identify sources of heterogeneity. In a speculative analysis, the number needed to harm (NNH) with H2RAs at 14 days after hospital admission in patients receiving antibiotics or not was 58, 95% CI (37, 115) and 425, 95% CI (267, 848), respectively. For the general population, the NNH at 1 year was 4549, 95% CI (2860, 9097).
Conclusion
In this rigorous systematic review and meta-analysis, we observed an association between H2RAs and CDI. The absolute risk of CDI associated with H2RAs is highest in hospitalized patients receiving antibiotics
Liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear multifragmentation
The equation of state of nuclear matter suggests that at suitable beam
energies the disassembling hot system formed in heavy ion collisions will pass
through a liquid-gas coexistence region. Searching for the signatures of the
phase transition has been a very important focal point of experimental
endeavours in heavy ion collisions, in the last fifteen years. Simultaneously
theoretical models have been developed to provide information about the
equation of state and reaction mechanisms consistent with the experimental
observables. This article is a review of this endeavour.Comment: 63 pages, 27 figures, submitted to Adv. Nucl. Phys. Some typos
corrected, minor text change
c-Src Regulates Akt Signaling in Response to Ghrelin via β-Arrestin Signaling-Independent and -Dependent Mechanisms
The aim of the present study was to identify the signaling mechanisms to ghrelin-stimulated activation of the serine/threonine kinase Akt. In human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells transfected with GHS-R1a, ghrelin leads to the activation of Akt through the interplay of distinct signaling mechanisms: an early Gi/o protein-dependent pathway and a late pathway mediated by β-arrestins. The starting point is the Gi/o-protein dependent PI3K activation that leads to the membrane recruitment of Akt, which is phosphorylated at Y by c-Src with the subsequent phosphorylation at A-loop (T308) and HM (S473) by PDK1 and mTORC2, respectively. Once the receptor is activated, a second signaling pathway is mediated by β-arrestins 1 and 2, involving the recruitment of at least β-arrestins, c-Src and Akt. This β-arrestin-scaffolded complex leads to full activation of Akt through PDK1 and mTORC2, which are not associated to the complex. In agreement with these results, assays performed in 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells indicate that β-arrestins and c-Src are implicated in the activation of Akt in response to ghrelin through the GHS-R1a. In summary this work reveals that c-Src is crucially involved in the ghrelin-mediated Akt activation. Furthermore, the results support the view that β-arrestins act as both scaffolding proteins and signal transducers on Akt activation
Transiting extrasolar planetary candidates in the Galactic bulge
More than 200 extrasolar planets have been discovered around relatively
nearby stars, primarily through the Doppler line shifts owing to the reflex
motions of their host stars, and more recently through transits of some planets
across the face of the host stars. The detection of planets with the shortest
known periods, 1.2 to 2.5 days, has mainly resulted from transit surveys which
have generally targeted stars more massive than 0.75 M_sun. Here we report the
results from a planetary transit search performed in a rich stellar field
towards the Galactic bulge. We discovered 16 candidates with orbital periods
between 0.4 and 4.2 days, five of which orbit stars of 0.44 to 0.75 M_sun. In
two cases, radial-velocity measurements support the planetary nature of the
companions. Five candidates have orbital periods below 1.0 day, constituting a
new class of ultra-short-period planets (USPPs), which occur only around stars
of less than 0.88 M_sun. This indicates that those orbiting very close to more
luminous stars might be evaporatively destroyed, or that jovian planets around
lower-mass stars might migrate to smaller radii.Comment: To appear in October 5, 2006 issue of Natur
The Distances of the Magellanic Clouds
The present status of our knowledge of the distances to the Magellanic Clouds
is evaluated from a post-Hipparcos perspective. After a brief summary of the
effects of structure, reddening, age and metallicity, the primary distance
indicators for the Large Magellanic Cloud are reviewed: The SN 1987A ring,
Cepheids, RR Lyraes, Mira variables, and Eclipsing Binaries. Distances derived
via these methods are weighted and combined to produce final "best" estimates
for the Magellanic Clouds distance moduli.Comment: Invited review article to appear in ``Post Hipparcos Cosmic
Candles'', F. Caputo & A. Heck (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in
pres
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