Dielectronic Recombination of Fe XV forming Fe XIV: Laboratory Measurements and Theoretical Calculations

We have measured resonance strengths and energies for dielectronic recombination (DR) of Mg-like Fe XV forming Al-like Fe XIV via N=3 -> N' = 3 core excitations in the electron-ion collision energy range 0-45 eV. All measurements were carried out using the heavy-ion Test Storage Ring at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. We have also carried out new multiconfiguration Breit-Pauli (MCBP) calculations using the AUTOSTRUCTURE code. For electron-ion collision energies < 25 eV we find poor agreement between our experimental and theoretical resonance energies and strengths. From 25 to 42 eV we find good agreement between the two for resonance energies. But in this energy range the theoretical resonance strengths are ~ 31% larger than the experimental results. This is larger than our estimated total experimental uncertainty in this energy range of +/- 26% (at a 90% confidence level). Above 42 eV the difference in the shape between the calculated and measured 3s3p(^1P_1)nl DR series limit we attribute partly to the nl dependence of the detection probabilities of high Rydberg states in the experiment. We have used our measurements, supplemented by our AUTOSTRUCTURE calculations, to produce a Maxwellian-averaged 3 -> 3 DR rate coefficient for Fe XV forming Fe XIV. The resulting rate coefficient is estimated to be accurate to better than +/- 29% (at a 90% confidence level) for k_BT_e > 1 eV. At temperatures of k_BT_e ~ 2.5-15 eV, where Fe XV is predicted to form in photoionized plasmas, significant discrepancies are found between our experimentally-derived rate coefficient and previously published theoretical results. Our new MCBP plasma rate coefficient is 19-28% smaller than our experimental results over this temperature range

A fixed point theorem for multi-maps satisfying an implicit relation on metrically convex metric spaces

In this paper, we give a fixed point theorem for multi-valued mapping satisfying an implicit relation on metrically convex metric spaces. This result extends and generalizes some fixed point theorem in the literature

Using Sat solvers for synchronization issues in partial deterministic automata

We approach the task of computing a carefully synchronizing word of minimum length for a given partial deterministic automaton, encoding the problem as an instance of SAT and invoking a SAT solver. Our experimental results demonstrate that this approach gives satisfactory results for automata with up to 100 states even if very modest computational resources are used.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

Interference effects in the photorecombination of argonlike Sc3+ ions: Storage-ring experiment and theory

Absolute total electron-ion recombination rate coefficients of argonlike Sc3+(3s2 3p6) ions have been measured for relative energies between electrons and ions ranging from 0 to 45 eV. This energy range comprises all dielectronic recombination resonances attached to 3p -> 3d and 3p -> 4s excitations. A broad resonance with an experimental width of 0.89 +- 0.07 eV due to the 3p5 3d2 2F intermediate state is found at 12.31 +- 0.03 eV with a small experimental evidence for an asymmetric line shape. From R-Matrix and perturbative calculations we infer that the asymmetric line shape may not only be due to quantum mechanical interference between direct and resonant recombination channels as predicted by Gorczyca et al. [Phys. Rev. A 56, 4742 (1997)], but may partly also be due to the interaction with an adjacent overlapping DR resonance of the same symmetry. The overall agreement between theory and experiment is poor. Differences between our experimental and our theoretical resonance positions are as large as 1.4 eV. This illustrates the difficulty to accurately describe the structure of an atomic system with an open 3d-shell with state-of-the-art theoretical methods. Furthermore, we find that a relativistic theoretical treatment of the system under study is mandatory since the existence of experimentally observed strong 3p5 3d2 2D and 3p5 3d 4s 2D resonances can only be explained when calculations beyond LS-coupling are carried out.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, Phys. Rev. A (in print), see also: http://www.strz.uni-giessen.de/~k

Screening of DUB activity and specificity by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Deubiquitylases (DUBs) are key regulators of the ubiquitin system which cleave ubiquitin moieties from proteins and polyubiquitin chains. Several DUBs have been implicated in various diseases and are attractive drug targets. We have developed a sensitive and fast assay to quantify in vitro DUB enzyme activity using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Unlike other current assays, this method uses unmodified substrates, such as diubiquitin topoisomers. By analyzing 42 human DUBs against all diubiquitin topoisomers we provide an extensive characterization of DUB activity and specificity. Our results confirm the high specificity of many members of the OTU and JAMM DUB families and highlight that all USPs tested display low linkage selectivity. We also demonstrate that this assay can be deployed to assess the potency and specificity of DUB inhibitors by profiling 11 compounds against a panel of 32 DUBs

Speaker-independent emotion recognition exploiting a psychologically-inspired binary cascade classification schema

In this paper, a psychologically-inspired binary cascade classification schema is proposed for speech emotion recognition. Performance is enhanced because commonly confused pairs of emotions are distinguishable from one another. Extracted features are related to statistics of pitch, formants, and energy contours, as well as spectrum, cepstrum, perceptual and temporal features, autocorrelation, MPEG-7 descriptors, Fujisakis model parameters, voice quality, jitter, and shimmer. Selected features are fed as input to K nearest neighborhood classifier and to support vector machines. Two kernels are tested for the latter: Linear and Gaussian radial basis function. The recently proposed speaker-independent experimental protocol is tested on the Berlin emotional speech database for each gender separately. The best emotion recognition accuracy, achieved by support vector machines with linear kernel, equals 87.7%, outperforming state-of-the-art approaches. Statistical analysis is first carried out with respect to the classifiers error rates and then to evaluate the information expressed by the classifiers confusion matrices. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

A cost effectiveness analysis of salt reduction policies to reduce coronary heart disease in four Eastern Mediterranean countries.

BACKGROUND: Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is rising in middle income countries. Population based strategies to reduce specific CHD risk factors have an important role to play in reducing overall CHD mortality. Reducing dietary salt consumption is a potentially cost-effective way to reduce CHD events. This paper presents an economic evaluation of population based salt reduction policies in Tunisia, Syria, Palestine and Turkey. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Three policies to reduce dietary salt intake were evaluated: a health promotion campaign, labelling of food packaging and mandatory reformulation of salt content in processed food. These were evaluated separately and in combination. Estimates of the effectiveness of salt reduction on blood pressure were based on a literature review. The reduction in mortality was estimated using the IMPACT CHD model specific to that country. Cumulative population health effects were quantified as life years gained (LYG) over a 10 year time frame. The costs of each policy were estimated using evidence from comparable policies and expert opinion including public sector costs and costs to the food industry. Health care costs associated with CHDs were estimated using standardized unit costs. The total cost of implementing each policy was compared against the current baseline (no policy). All costs were calculated using 2010 PPP exchange rates. In all four countries most policies were cost saving compared with the baseline. The combination of all three policies (reducing salt consumption by 30%) resulted in estimated cost savings of $235,000,000 and 6455 LYG in Tunisia;$39,000,000 and 31674 LYG in Syria; $6,000,000 and 2682 LYG in Palestine and$1,3000,000,000 and 378439 LYG in Turkey. CONCLUSION: Decreasing dietary salt intake will reduce coronary heart disease deaths in the four countries. A comprehensive strategy of health education and food industry actions to label and reduce salt content would save both money and lives

Dielectronic Recombination In Active Galactic Nuclei

XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) show rich spectra of X-ray absorption lines. These observations have detected a broad unresolved transition array (UTA) between ˜ 15-17 Å. This is attributed to inner-shell photoexcitation of M-shell iron ions. Modeling these UTA features is currently limited by uncertainties in the low-temperature dielectronic recombination (DR) data for M-shell iron. In order to resolve this issue, and to provide reliable iron M-shell DR data for plasma modeling, we are carrying out a series of laboratory measurements using the heavy-ion Test Storage Ring (TSR) at the Max-Plank-Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. Currently, laboratory measurements of low temperature DR can only be performed at storage rings. We use the DR data obtained at TSR, to calculate rate coefficients for plasma modeling and to benchmark theoretical DR calculations. Here we report our recent experimental results for DR of Fe XIV forming Fe XIII

The Boundary Conditions of the Heliosphere: Photoionization Models Constrained by Interstellar and In Situ Data

The boundary conditions of the heliosphere are set by the ionization, density and composition of inflowing interstellar matter. Constraining the properties of the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) at the heliosphere requires radiative transfer ionization models. We model the background interstellar radiation field using observed stellar FUV and EUV emission and the diffuse soft X-ray background. We also model the emission from the boundary between the LIC and the hot Local Bubble (LB) plasma, assuming that the cloud is evaporating because of thermal conduction. We create a grid of models covering a plausible range of LIC and LB properties, and use the modeled radiation field as input to radiative transfer/thermal equilibrium calculations using the Cloudy code. Data from in situ observations of He^O, pickup ions and anomalous cosmic rays in the heliosphere, and absorption line measurements towards epsilon CMa were used to constrain the input parameters. A restricted range of assumed LIC HI column densities and LB plasma temperatures produce models that match all the observational constraints. The relative weakness of the constraints on N(HI) and T_h contrast with the narrow limits predicted for the H^O and electron density in the LIC at the Sun, n(H^0) = 0.19 - 0.20 cm^-3, and n(e) = 0.07 +/- 0.01 cm^-3. Derived abundances are mostly typical for low density gas, with sub-solar Mg, Si and Fe, possibly subsolar O and N, and S about solar; however C is supersolar. The interstellar gas at the Sun is warm, low density, and partially ionized, with n(H) = 0.23 - 0.27 cm^-3, T = 6300 K, X(H^+) ~ 0.2, and X(He^+) ~ 0.4. These results appear to be robust since acceptable models are found for substantially different input radiation fields. Our results favor low values for the reference solar abundances for the LIC composition.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics together with papers from the International Space Sciences Institute workshop on Interstellar Hydrogen in the Heliospher

Automated Home-Cage Behavioural Phenotyping of Mice

Neurobehavioral analysis of mouse phenotypes requires the monitoring of mouse behavior over long periods of time. Here, we describe a trainable computer vision system enabling the automated analysis of complex mouse behaviors. We provide software and an extensive manually annotated video database used for training and testing the system. Our system performs on par with human scoring, as measured from ground-truth manual annotations of thousands of clips of freely behaving mice. As a validation of the system, we characterized the home-cage behaviors of two standard inbred and two non-standard mouse strains. From this data we were able to predict in a blind test the strain identity of individual animals with high accuracy. Our video-based software will complement existing sensor based automated approaches and enable an adaptable, comprehensive, high-throughput, fine-grained, automated analysis of mouse behavior.McGovern Institute for Brain ResearchCalifornia Institute of Technology. Broad Fellows Program in Brain CircuitryNational Science Council (China) (TMS-094-1-A032