2,956 research outputs found
Analytical solution of a model for complex food webs
We investigate numerically and analytically a recently proposed model for
food webs [Nature {\bf 404}, 180 (2000)] in the limit of large web sizes and
sparse interaction matrices. We obtain analytical expressions for several
quantities with ecological interest, in particular the probability
distributions for the number of prey and the number of predators. We find that
these distributions have fast-decaying exponential and Gaussian tails,
respectively. We also find that our analytical expressions are robust to
changes in the details of the model.Comment: 4 pages (RevTeX). Final versio
Invariant and polynomial identities for higher rank matrices
We exhibit explicit expressions, in terms of components, of discriminants,
determinants, characteristic polynomials and polynomial identities for matrices
of higher rank. We define permutation tensors and in term of them we construct
discriminants and the determinant as the discriminant of order , where
is the dimension of the matrix. The characteristic polynomials and the
Cayley--Hamilton theorem for higher rank matrices are obtained there from
The invariant-comb approach and its relation to the balancedness of multipartite entangled states
The invariant-comb approach is a method to construct entanglement measures
for multipartite systems of qubits. The essential step is the construction of
an antilinear operator that we call {\em comb} in reference to the {\em
hairy-ball theorem}. An appealing feature of this approach is that for qubits
(or spins 1/2) the combs are automatically invariant under SL(2,\CC), which
implies that the obtained invariants are entanglement monotones by
construction. By asking which property of a state determines whether or not it
is detected by a polynomial SL(2,\CC) invariant we find that it is the
presence of a {\em balanced part} that persists under local unitary
transformations. We present a detailed analysis for the maximally entangled
states detected by such polynomial invariants, which leads to the concept of
{\em irreducibly balanced} states. The latter indicates a tight connection with
SLOCC classifications of qubit entanglement. \\ Combs may also help to define
measures for multipartite entanglement of higher-dimensional subsystems.
However, for higher spins there are many independent combs such that it is
non-trivial to find an invariant one. By restricting the allowed local
operations to rotations of the coordinate system (i.e. again to the
SL(2,\CC)) we manage to define a unique extension of the concurrence to
general half-integer spin with an analytic convex-roof expression for mixed
states.Comment: 17 pages, revtex4. Substantially extended manuscript (e.g. proofs
have been added); title and abstract modified
Comparing Static and Dynamic Weighted Software Coupling Metrics
Coupling metrics that count the number of inter-module connections in a software system
are an established way to measure internal software quality with respect to modularity. In addition to
static metrics, which are obtained from the source or compiled code of a program, dynamic metrics
use runtime data gathered, e.g., by monitoring a system in production. Dynamic metrics have been
used to improve the accuracy of static metrics for object-oriented software. We study weighted
dynamic coupling that takes into account how often a connection (e.g., a method call) is executed
during a system’s run. We investigate the correlation between dynamic weighted metrics and their
static counterparts. To compare the different metrics, we use data collected from four different
experiments, each monitoring production use of a commercial software system over a period of four
weeks. We observe an unexpected level of correlation between the static and the weighted dynamic
case as well as revealing differences between class- and package-level analyses
Hematological Changes in Women and Infants Exposed to an AZT-Containing Regimen for Prevention of Mother-to-child-transmission of HIV in Tanzania.
Tanzanian guidelines for prevention of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV (PMTCT) recommend an antiretroviral combination regimen involving zidovudine (AZT) during pregnancy, single-dosed nevirapine at labor onset, AZT plus Lamivudine (3TC) during delivery, and AZT/3TC for 1-4 weeks postpartum. As drug toxicities are a relevant concern, we assessed hematological alterations in AZT-exposed women and their infants. A cohort of HIV-positive women, either with AZT intake (n = 82, group 1) or without AZT intake (n = 62, group 2) for PMTCT during pregnancy, was established at Kyela District Hospital, Tanzania. The cohort also included the infants of group 1 with an in-utero AZT exposure ≥4 weeks, receiving AZT for 1 week postpartum (n = 41), and infants of group 2 without in-utero AZT exposure, receiving a prolonged 4-week AZT tail (n = 58). Complete blood counts were evaluated during pregnancy, birth, weeks 4-6 and 12. For women of group 1 with antenatal AZT intake, we found a statistically significant decrease in hemoglobin level, red blood cells, white blood cells, granulocytes, as well as an increase in red cell distribution width and platelet count. At delivery, the median red blood cell count was significantly lower and the median platelet count was significantly higher in women of group 1 compared to group 2. At birth, infants from group 1 showed a lower median hemoglobin level and granulocyte count and a higher frequency of anemia and granulocytopenia. At 4-6 weeks postpartum, the mean neutrophil granulocyte count was significantly lower and neutropenia was significantly more frequent in infants of group 2. AZT exposure during pregnancy as well as after birth resulted in significant hematological alterations for women and their newborns, although these changes were mostly mild and transient in nature. Research involving larger cohorts is needed to further analyze the impact of AZT-containing regimens on maternal and infant health
Production of intense highly charged ion beams with SERSE
The source SERSE is operational at LNS since June 1998 and many improvements have been carried out in this period. The frequency has been increased from 14.5 GHz to 18 GHz and the use of two frequency heating has given positive results. Metallic ion production has been tested by means of a high temperature oven and the preliminary results are described. Tests of magnetic field scaling and frequency scaling have confirmed the results of previous tests with SC-ECRIS at lower frequency and seems to suggest that the upgrading of the source to higher frequency may be considered
Can we avoid high coupling?
It is considered good software design practice to organize source code into modules and to favour within-module connections (cohesion) over between-module connections (coupling), leading to the oft-repeated maxim "low coupling/high cohesion". Prior research into network theory and its application to software systems has found evidence that many important properties in real software systems exhibit approximately scale-free structure, including coupling; researchers have claimed that such scale-free structures are ubiquitous. This implies that high coupling must be unavoidable, statistically speaking, apparently contradicting standard ideas about software structure. We present a model that leads to the simple predictions that approximately scale-free structures ought to arise both for between-module connectivity and overall connectivity, and not as the result of poor design or optimization shortcuts. These predictions are borne out by our large-scale empirical study. Hence we conclude that high coupling is not avoidable--and that this is in fact quite reasonable
Classification of qubit entanglement: SL(2,C) versus SU(2) invariance
The role of SU(2) invariants for the classification of multiparty
entanglement is discussed and exemplified for the Kempe invariant I_5 of pure
three-qubit states. It is found to being an independent invariant only in
presence of both W-type entanglement and threetangle. In this case, constant
I_5 admits for a wide range of both threetangle and concurrences. Furthermore,
the present analysis indicates that an SL^3 orbit of states with equal tangles
but continuously varying I_5 must exist. This means that I_5 provides no
information on the entanglement in the system in addition to that contained in
the tangles (concurrences and threetangle) themselves. Together with the
numerical evidence that I_5 is an entanglement monotone this implies that SU(2)
invariance or the monotone property are too weak requirements for the
characterization and quantification of entanglement for systems of three
qubits, and that SL(2,C) invariance is required. This conclusion can be
extended to general multipartite systems (including higher local dimension)
because the entanglement classes of three-qubit systems appear as subclasses.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, revtex
On the Black-Hole/Qubit Correspondence
The entanglement classification of four qubits is related to the extremal
black holes of the 4-dimensional STU model via a time-like reduction to three
dimensions. This correspondence is generalised to the entanglement
classification of a very special four-way entanglement of eight qubits and the
black holes of the maximally supersymmetric N = 8 and exceptional magic N = 2
supergravity theories.Comment: 32 pages, very minor changes at the start of Sec. 4.1. Version to
appear in The European Physical Journal - Plu
Dense active matter model of motion patterns in confluent cell monolayers
Epithelial cell monolayers show remarkable displacement and velocity
correlations over distances of ten or more cell sizes that are reminiscent of
supercooled liquids and active nematics. We show that many observed features
can be described within the framework of dense active matter, and argue that
persistent uncoordinated cell motility coupled to the collective elastic modes
of the cell sheet is sufficient to produce swirl-like correlations. We obtain
this result using both continuum active linear elasticity and a normal modes
formalism, and validate analytical predictions with numerical simulations of
two agent-based cell models, soft elastic particles and the self-propelled
Voronoi model together with in-vitro experiments of confluent corneal
epithelial cell sheets. Simulations and normal mode analysis perfectly match
when tissue-level reorganisation occurs on times longer than the persistence
time of cell motility. Our analytical model quantitatively matches measured
velocity correlation functions over more than a decade with a single fitting
parameter.Comment: updated version accepted for publication in Nat. Com
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