4,796 research outputs found
Spectral Measures for Derivative Powers via Matrix-Valued Clark Theory
The theory of finite-rank perturbations allows for the determination of
spectral information for broad classes of operators using the tools of analytic
function theory. In this work, finite-rank perturbations are applied to powers
of the derivative operator, providing a full account from self-adjoint boundary
conditions to computing aspects of the operators' matrix-valued spectral
measures. In particular, the support and weights of the Clark (spectral)
measures are computed via the connection between matrix-valued contractive
analytic functions and matrix-valued nonnegative measures through the Herglotz
Representation Theorem. For several powers of the derivative operator, explicit
expressions are included. While eigenfunctions and eigenvalues for these
operators with fixed boundary conditions can often be computed using direct
methods from ordinary differential equations, this approach provides a more
complete picture of the spectral information
HypTrails: A Bayesian Approach for Comparing Hypotheses About Human Trails on the Web
When users interact with the Web today, they leave sequential digital trails
on a massive scale. Examples of such human trails include Web navigation,
sequences of online restaurant reviews, or online music play lists.
Understanding the factors that drive the production of these trails can be
useful for e.g., improving underlying network structures, predicting user
clicks or enhancing recommendations. In this work, we present a general
approach called HypTrails for comparing a set of hypotheses about human trails
on the Web, where hypotheses represent beliefs about transitions between
states. Our approach utilizes Markov chain models with Bayesian inference. The
main idea is to incorporate hypotheses as informative Dirichlet priors and to
leverage the sensitivity of Bayes factors on the prior for comparing hypotheses
with each other. For eliciting Dirichlet priors from hypotheses, we present an
adaption of the so-called (trial) roulette method. We demonstrate the general
mechanics and applicability of HypTrails by performing experiments with (i)
synthetic trails for which we control the mechanisms that have produced them
and (ii) empirical trails stemming from different domains including website
navigation, business reviews and online music played. Our work expands the
repertoire of methods available for studying human trails on the Web.Comment: Published in the proceedings of WWW'1
Vitrification of a monatomic 2D simple liquid
A monatomic simple liquid in two dimensions, where atoms interact
isotropically through the Lennard-Jones-Gauss potential [M. Engel and H.-R.
Trebin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 225505 (2007)], is vitrified by the use of a rapid
cooling technique in a molecular dynamics simulation. Transformation to a
crystalline state is investigated at various temperatures and the
time-temperature-transformation (TTT) curve is determined. It is found that the
transformation time to a crystalline state is the shortest at a temerature 14%
below the melting temperature Tm and that at temperatures below Tv = 0.6 Tm the
transformation time is much longer than the available CPU time. This indicates
that a long-lived glassy state is realized for T < Tv.Comment: 5pages,5figures,accepted for publication in CEJ
Parasite infections in a social carnivore: Evidence of their fitness consequences and factors modulating infection load
There are substantial individual differences in parasite composition and infection load in wildlife populations. Few studies have investigated the factors shaping this heterogeneity in large wild mammals or the impact of parasite infections on Darwinian fitness, particularly in juveniles. A host's parasite composition and infection load can be shaped by factors that determine contact with infective parasite stages and those that determine the host's resistance to infection, such as abiotic and social environmental factors, and age. Host–parasite interactions and synergies between coinfecting parasites may also be important. We test predictions derived from these different processes to investigate factors shaping infection loads (fecal egg/oocyte load) of two energetically costly gastrointestinal parasites: the hookworm Ancylostoma and the intracellular Cystoisospora, in juvenile spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in the Serengeti National Park, in Tanzania. We also assess whether parasite infections curtail survival to adulthood and longevity. Ancylostoma and Cystoisospora infection loads declined as the number of adult clan members increased, a result consistent with an encounter‐reduction effect whereby adults reduced encounters between juveniles and infective larvae, but were not affected by the number of juveniles in a clan. Infection loads decreased with age, possibly because active immune responses to infection improved with age. Differences in parasite load between clans possibly indicate variation in abiotic environmental factors between clan den sites. The survival of juveniles (<365 days old) to adulthood decreased with Ancylostoma load, increased with age, and was modulated by maternal social status. High‐ranking individuals with low Ancylostoma loads had a higher survivorship during the first 4 years of life than high‐ranking individuals with high Ancylostoma loads. These findings suggest that high infection loads with energetically costly parasites such as hookworms during early life can have negative fitness consequences
Two new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from emerald tree skinks, Lamprolepis smaragdina (Lesson) (Sauria: Scincidae) from Papua New Guinea and the Philippines
Two new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875, from emerald tree skinks, Lamprolepis smaragdina (Lesson) are described from specimens collected in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Philippines. Oöcysts of Eimeria nuiailan n. sp. from the only L. smaragdina from PNG are ovoidal, with a smooth, colourless, bi-layered wall, measure 23.7 × 19.1 μm, and have a length/width (L/W) ratio of 1.3; both micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent, but a fragmented polar granule is present. Sporocysts are ovoidal to ellipsoidal, 11.9 × 7.0 μm, L/W 1.7, and the wall is composed of two valves joined by a longitudinal suture; neither Stieda nor sub-Stieda bodies are present; a sporocyst residuum is present as a compact mass of granules. Sporozoites are elongate, 14.6 × 2.6 μm, and contain anterior and posterior refractile bodies with a nucleus between them. Oöcysts of Eimeria auffenbergi n. sp. from L. smaragdina collected in the Philippines are ovoidal, with a smooth, colourless, bi-layered wall, measure 19.9 × 15.8 μm, L/W 1.3; both micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent, but one to four polar granules are present. Sporocysts are ovoidal to ellipsoidal, 10.3 × 5.8 μm, L/W 1.8, and the wall is composed of two valves joined by a longitudinal suture; neither Stieda nor sub-Stieda bodies are present; a sporocyst residuum is composed of dispersed granules. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Image Quality of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
We describe the imaging quality of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) as measured during the ground calibration of the instrument. We describe the calibration techniques and report our results for the final configuration of HMI. We present the distortion, modulation transfer function, stray light,image shifts introduced by moving parts of the instrument, best focus, field curvature, and the relative alignment of the two cameras. We investigate the gain and linearity of the cameras, and present the measured flat field
Measurement of Angular Distributions of Drell-Yan Dimuons in Interactions at 800 GeV/c
We report a measurement of the angular distributions of Drell-Yan dimuons
produced using an 800 GeV/c proton beam on a hydrogen target. The polar and
azimuthal angular distribution parameters have been extracted over the
kinematic range GeV/c (excluding the
resonance region), GeV/c, and . The angular
distributions are similar to those of , and both data sets are compared
with models which attribute the distribution either to the
presence of the transverse-momentum-dependent Boer-Mulders structure function
or to QCD effects. The data indicate the presence of both
mechanisms. The validity of the Lam-Tung relation in Drell-Yan is also
tested.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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