541 research outputs found
Induced Crystallization of Polyelectrolyte-Surfactant Complexes at the Gas-Water Interface
Synchrotron-X-ray and surface tension studies of a strong polyelectrolyte
(PE) in the semi-dilute regime (~ 0.1M monomer-charges) with varying surfactant
concentrations show that minute surfactant concentrations induce the formation
of a PE-surfactant complex at the gas/solution interface. X-ray reflectivity
and grazing angle X-ray diffraction (GIXD) provide detailed information of the
top most layer, where it is found that the surfactant forms a two-dimensional
liquid-like monolayer, with a noticeable disruption of the structure of water
at the interface. With the addition of salt (NaCl) columnar-crystals with
distorted-hexagonal symmetry are formed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figure
The effect of interferon beta-1b treatment on MRI measures of cerebral atrophy in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
The recently completed European trial of interferon beta-1b (IFN beta -1b) in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SP multiple sclerosis) has given an opportunity to assess the impact of treatment on cerebral atrophy using serial MRI. Unenhanced T-1-weighted brain imaging was acquired in a subgroup of 95 patients from five of the European centres; imaging was performed at 6-month intervals from month 0 to month 36. A blinded observer measured cerebral volume on four contiguous 5 mm cerebral hemisphere slices at each time point, using an algorithm with a high level of reproducibility and automation. There was a significant and progressive reduction in cerebral volume in both placebo and treated groups, with a mean reduction of 3.9 and 2.9%, respectively, by month 36 (P = 0.34 between groups). Exploratory subgroup analyses indicated that patients without gadolinium (Gd) enhancement at the baseline had a greater reduction of cerebral volume in the placebo group (mean reduction at month 36: placebo 5.1%, IFN beta -1b 1.8%, P < 0.05) whereas those with Gd-enhancing lesions showed a trend to greater reduction of cerebral volume if the patient was on IFN<beta>-1b (placebo 2.6%, IFN beta -1b, 3.7%; P > 0.05). These results are consistent with ongoing tissue loss in both arms of this study of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. This finding is concordant with previous observations that disease progression, although delayed, is not halted by IFN beta. The different pattern seen in patients with and without baseline gadolinium enhancement suggests that part of the cerebral volume reduction observed in IFN beta -treated patients may be due to the anti-inflammatory/antioedematous effect of the drug. Longer periods of observation and larger groups of patients may be needed to detect the effects of treatment on cerebral atrophy in this population of patients with advanced disease
Accelerated Projected Gradient Method for Linear Inverse Problems with Sparsity Constraints
Regularization of ill-posed linear inverse problems via penalization
has been proposed for cases where the solution is known to be (almost) sparse.
One way to obtain the minimizer of such an penalized functional is via
an iterative soft-thresholding algorithm. We propose an alternative
implementation to -constraints, using a gradient method, with
projection on -balls. The corresponding algorithm uses again iterative
soft-thresholding, now with a variable thresholding parameter. We also propose
accelerated versions of this iterative method, using ingredients of the
(linear) steepest descent method. We prove convergence in norm for one of these
projected gradient methods, without and with acceleration.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures. v2: added reference, some amendments, 27 page
Thermodynamic Properties and Elementary Excitations in Quantum Sine-Gordon Spin System KCuGaF6
Thermodynamic properties and elementary excitations in
one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet KCuGaF were investigated by
magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and ESR measurements. Due to the
Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction with alternating -vectors and/or the
staggered -tensor, the staggered magnetic field is induced when subjected to
external magnetic field. Specific heat in magnetic field clearly shows the
formation of excitation gap, which is attributed to the staggered magnetic
field. The specific heat data was analyzed on the basis of the quantum
sine-Gordon (SG) model. We observed many ESR modes including one soliton and
three breather excitations characteristic of the quantum SG model.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn., vol. 76, no.
Beyond convergence rates: Exact recovery with Tikhonov regularization with sparsity constraints
The Tikhonov regularization of linear ill-posed problems with an
penalty is considered. We recall results for linear convergence rates and
results on exact recovery of the support. Moreover, we derive conditions for
exact support recovery which are especially applicable in the case of ill-posed
problems, where other conditions, e.g. based on the so-called coherence or the
restricted isometry property are usually not applicable. The obtained results
also show that the regularized solutions do not only converge in the
-norm but also in the vector space (when considered as the
strict inductive limit of the spaces as tends to infinity).
Additionally, the relations between different conditions for exact support
recovery and linear convergence rates are investigated.
With an imaging example from digital holography the applicability of the
obtained results is illustrated, i.e. that one may check a priori if the
experimental setup guarantees exact recovery with Tikhonov regularization with
sparsity constraints
Using Real-Time Ultrasound During the Feeding Period to Predict Cattle Composition.
A feedlot trial to monitor ribeye area growth, 12th rib backfat, and intramuscular fat accretion was conducted. Data were collected using 112 yearling beef steers. The steers were fed at three intake levels (ad libitum, 95% of ad libitum, or 90% of ad libitum), which when combined with three feeding times (once daily in the morning, once daily in the afternoon, or twice daily), produced nine dietary treatments. Feedlot performance and carcass composition of beef steers was also determined. After analysis of ultrasound measures and animal performance data, equations were developed that described the ribeye area development (R2 = .97), 12th rib fat accretion (R2 = .81), and changes in intramuscular fat percentage (R2 = .79)
A Guide to Localized Frames and Applications to Galerkin-like Representations of Operators
This chapter offers a detailed survey on intrinsically localized frames and
the corresponding matrix representation of operators. We re-investigate the
properties of localized frames and the associated Banach spaces in full detail.
We investigate the representation of operators using localized frames in a
Galerkin-type scheme. We show how the boundedness and the invertibility of
matrices and operators are linked and give some sufficient and necessary
conditions for the boundedness of operators between the associated Banach
spaces.Comment: 32 page
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Dose-dependent T-cell Dynamics and Cytokine Cascade Following rVSV-ZEBOV Immunization.
BACKGROUND: The recent West African Ebola epidemic led to accelerated efforts to test Ebola vaccine candidates. As part of the World Health Organisation-led VSV Ebola Consortium (VEBCON), we performed a phase I clinical trial investigating rVSV-ZEBOV (a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-vectored Ebola vaccine), which has recently demonstrated protection from Ebola virus disease (EVD) in phase III clinical trials and is currently in advanced stages of licensing. So far, correlates of immune protection are incompletely understood and the role of cell-mediated immune responses has not been comprehensively investigated to date. METHODS: We recruited 30 healthy subjects aged 18-55 into an open-label, dose-escalation phase I trial testing three doses of rVSV-ZEBOV (3Ă—105 plaque-forming units (PFU), 3Ă—106 PFU, 2Ă—107 PFU) (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02283099). Main study objectives were safety and immunogenicity, while exploratory objectives included lymphocyte dynamics, cell-mediated immunity and cytokine networks, which were assessed using flow cytometry, ELISpot and LUMINEX assay. FINDINGS: Immunization with rVSV-ZEBOV was well tolerated without serious vaccine-related adverse events. Ebola virus-specific neutralizing antibodies were induced in nearly all individuals. Additionally, vaccinees, particularly within the highest dose cohort, generated Ebola glycoprotein (GP)-specific T cells and initiated a cascade of signaling molecules following stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with Ebola GP peptides. INTERPRETATION: In addition to a benign safety and robust humoral immunogenicity profile, subjects immunized with 2Ă—107 PFU elicited higher cellular immune responses and stronger interlocked cytokine networks compared to lower dose groups. To our knowledge these data represent the first detailed cell-mediated immuneprofile of a clinical trial testing rVSV-ZEBOV, which is of particular interest in light of its potential upcoming licensure as the first Ebola vaccine. VEBCON trial Hamburg, Germany (NCT02283099)
Technical note: An open-source, low-cost system for continuous monitoring of low nitrate concentrations in soil and open water
Nitrate (NO3-), mainly leaching with soil porewater, is the primary nonpoint source pollutant of groundwater worldwide. Obtaining real-time information on nitrate levels in soils would allow for gaining a better understanding of the sources and transport dynamics of nitrate through the unsaturated zone. However, conventional nitrate detection techniques (e.g., soil sample analysis) necessitate costly, laboratory-grade equipment for analysis, along with human resources, resulting in a laborious and time-intensive procedure. These drawbacks raise the need to develop cost-effective and automated systems for in situ nitrate measurements in field conditions. This study presents the development of a low-cost, portable, automated system for field measurements of nitrate in soil porewater and open water bodies. The system is based on the spectrophotometric determination of nitrate using a single reagent. The system design and processing software are openly accessible, including a building guide, to allow duplicating or changing the system according to user-specific needs. Three field tests, conducted over 5 weeks, validated the system's measurement capabilities within the range of 0–10 ppm NO3-–N with a low RMSE of <0.2 ppm NO3-–N when comparing the results to standard laboratory nitrate analysis. Data derived from such a system allow for tracking of the temporal variation in soil nitrate, thus opening new possibilities for diverse soil and nutrient management studies.</p
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