267 research outputs found
Exact and approximate algorithms for computing a second Hamiltonian cycle.
A classic result by Stockmeyer [Stockmeyer, 1974] gives a non-elementary lower bound to the emptiness problem for star-free generalized regular expressions. This result is intimately connected to the satisfiability problem for interval temporal logic, notably for formulas that make use of the so-called chop operator. Such an operator can indeed be interpreted as the inverse of the concatenation operation on regular languages, and this correspondence enables reductions between non-emptiness of star-free generalized regular expressions and satisfiability of formulas of the interval temporal logic of the chop operator under the homogeneity assumption [Halpern et al., 1983]. In this paper, we study the complexity of the satisfiability problem for a suitable weakening of the chop interval temporal logic, that can be equivalently viewed as a fragment of Halpern and Shoham interval logic featuring the operators B, for "begins", corresponding to the prefix relation on pairs of intervals, and D, for "during", corresponding to the infix relation. The homogeneous models of the considered logic naturally correspond to languages defined by restricted forms of regular expressions, that use union, complementation, and the inverses of the prefix and infix relations
A new species group and two new species of freyine jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae, Aelurillini)
Wedoquella apnnea sp. nov. and W. karadya sp. nov., two new species of the jumping spider subtribe Freyina are described and illustrated from specimens recently collected in Misiones and Chaco provinces, Northeastern Argentina. The new species are placed into a new group of Wedoquella because, although in body morphology they resemble the Phiale gratiosa group, the genital structures of both sexes more closely resemble those of Wedoquella, and a preliminary analysis based on mitochondrial COI sequences places this new group as sister to Wedoquella rather than to Phiale. Both new species are similar, but can be distinguished mainly by differences in the retrolateral tibial apophysis of the male palp. Females have a slight intraspecific color variation.Un grupo nuevo de especies y dos especies nuevas de arañas saltarinas freyinas (Araneae, Salticidae, Aelurillini). Wedoquella apnnea sp. nov. y W. karadya sp. nov., son descriptas e ilustradas a partir de especĂmenes colectados recientemente en las provincias de Misiones y Chaco, Nordeste de Argentina. Las nuevas especies se asemejan morfolĂłgicamente a las del grupo gratiosa de Phiale, sin embargo, son colocadas dentro de un nuevo grupo de Wedoquella debido a que las estructuras reproductoras de ambos sexos se asemejan más estrechamente a las de Ă©ste gĂ©nero, y un análisis preliminar basado en secuencias mitocondriales de COI ubica a este nuevo grupo como hermano de Wedoquella en lugar de Phiale. Ambas especies nuevas son similares, pero pueden distinguirse principalmente por diferencias en la apĂłfisis retrolateral tibial del palpo masculino. Las hembras tienen una ligera variaciĂłn intraespecĂfica de color.EEA Cerro AzulFil: Rubio, Gonzalo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de TecnologĂa Agropecuaria (INTA). EstaciĂłn Experimental Agropecuaria Cerro Azul; ArgentinaFil: Nadal, MarĂa Florencia. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Laboratorio de BiologĂa de los ArtrĂłpodos; ArgentinaFil: Baigorria, Julián Emanuel MartĂn. FundaciĂłn de Historia Natural FĂ©lix de Azara; ArgentinaFil: Oklander, Luciana InĂ©s. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de BiologĂa Subtropical; ArgentinaFil: Edwards, G.B. Florida State Collection of Arthropods. Division of Plant Industry; Estados Unido
Palm pairs and the general mass-transport principle
We consider a lcsc group G acting properly on a Borel space S and measurably
on an underlying sigma-finite measure space. Our first main result is a
transport formula connecting the Palm pairs of jointly stationary random
measures on S. A key (and new) technical result is a measurable disintegration
of the Haar measure on G along the orbits. The second main result is an
intrinsic characterization of the Palm pairs of a G-invariant random measure.
We then proceed with deriving a general version of the mass-transport principle
for possibly non-transitive and non-unimodular group operations first in a
deterministic and then in its full probabilistic form.Comment: 26 page
Influence of the 6^1S_0-6^3P_1 Resonance on Continuous Lyman-alpha Generation in Mercury
Continuous coherent radiation in the vacuum-ultraviolet at 122 nm
(Lyman-alpha) can be generated using sum-frequency mixing of three fundamental
laser beams in mercury vapour. One of the fundamental beams is at 254 nm
wavelength, which is close to the 6^1S_0-6^3P_1 resonance in mercury.
Experiments have been performed to investigate the effect of this one-photon
resonance on phasematching, absorption and the nonlinear yield. The efficiency
of continuous Lyman-alpha generation has been improved by a factor of 4.5.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Quantitative evaluation of experimental choroidal neovascularization by confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy: fluorescein angiogram parallels heparan sulfate proteoglycan expression
The objective of the present study was to develop a quantitative method to evaluate laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in a rat model using Heidelberg Retina Angiograph 2 (HRA2) imaging. The expression of two heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) related to inflammation and angiogenesis was also investigated. CNV lesions were induced with argon laser in 21 heterozygous Zucker rats and after three weeks a fluorescein angiogram and autofluorescence exams were performed using HRA2. The area and greatest linear dimension were measured by two observers not aware of the protocol. Bland-Altman plots showed agreement between the observers, suggesting that the technique was reproducible. After fluorescein angiogram, HSPG (perlecan and syndecan-4) were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. There was a significant increase in the expression of perlecan and syndecan-4 (P < 0.0001) in retinas bearing CNV lesions compared to control retinas. The expression of these two HSPG increased with increasing CNV area. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the rat retina damaged with laser shots presented increased expression of perlecan and syndecan-4. Moreover, we observed that the overexpression occurred in the outer layer of the retina, which is related to choroidal damage. It was possible to develop a standardized quantitative method to evaluate CNV in a rat model using HRA2. In addition, we presented data indicating that the expression of HSPG parallels the area of CNV lesion. The understanding of these events offers opportunities for studies of new therapeutic interventions targeting these HSPG.Universidade Federal de SĂŁo Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de OftalmologiaUniversidade Federal de SĂŁo Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de BioquĂmicaUNIFESP, Depto. de OftalmologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de BioquĂmicaSciEL
Superconductor coupled to two Luttinger liquids as an entangler for electron spins
We consider an s-wave superconductor (SC) which is tunnel-coupled to two
spatially separated Luttinger liquid (LL) leads. We demonstrate that such a
setup acts as an entangler, i.e. it creates spin-singlets of two electrons
which are spatially separated, thereby providing a source of electronic
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pairs. We show that in the presence of a bias voltage,
which is smaller than the energy gap in the SC, a stationary current of
spin-entangled electrons can flow from the SC to the LL leads due to Andreev
tunneling events. We discuss two competing transport channels for Cooper pairs
to tunnel from the SC into the LL leads. On the one hand, the coherent
tunneling of two electrons into the same LL lead is shown to be suppressed by
strong LL correlations compared to single-electron tunneling into a LL. On the
other hand, the tunneling of two spin-entangled electrons into different leads
is suppressed by the initial spatial separation of the two electrons coming
from the same Cooper pair. We show that the latter suppression depends
crucially on the effective dimensionality of the SC. We identify a regime of
experimental interest in which the separation of two spin-entangled electrons
is favored. We determine the decay of the singlet state of two electrons
injected into different leads caused by the LL correlations. Although the
electron is not a proper quasiparticle of the LL, the spin information can
still be transported via the spin density fluctuations produced by the injected
spin-entangled electrons.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure
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Cultural facial expressions dynamically convey emotion category and intensity information
Communicating emotional intensity plays a vital ecological role because it provides valuable information about the nature and likelihood of the sender’s behavior.1,2,3 For example, attack often follows signals of intense aggression if receivers fail to retreat.4,5 Humans regularly use facial expressions to communicate such information.6,7,8,9,10,11 Yet how this complex signaling task is achieved remains unknown. We addressed this question using a perception-based, data-driven method to mathematically model the specific facial movements that receivers use to classify the six basic emotions—"happy,” “surprise,” “fear,” “disgust,” “anger,” and “sad”—and judge their intensity in two distinct cultures (East Asian, Western European; total n = 120). In both cultures, receivers expected facial expressions to dynamically represent emotion category and intensity information over time, using a multi-component compositional signaling structure. Specifically, emotion intensifiers peaked earlier or later than emotion classifiers and represented intensity using amplitude variations. Emotion intensifiers are also more similar across emotions than classifiers are, suggesting a latent broad-plus-specific signaling structure. Cross-cultural analysis further revealed similarities and differences in expectations that could impact cross-cultural communication. Specifically, East Asian and Western European receivers have similar expectations about which facial movements represent high intensity for threat-related emotions, such as “anger,” “disgust,” and “fear,” but differ on those that represent low threat emotions, such as happiness and sadness. Together, our results provide new insights into the intricate processes by which facial expressions can achieve complex dynamic signaling tasks by revealing the rich information embedded in facial expressions
Weak lensing, dark matter and dark energy
Weak gravitational lensing is rapidly becoming one of the principal probes of
dark matter and dark energy in the universe. In this brief review we outline
how weak lensing helps determine the structure of dark matter halos, measure
the expansion rate of the universe, and distinguish between modified gravity
and dark energy explanations for the acceleration of the universe. We also
discuss requirements on the control of systematic errors so that the
systematics do not appreciably degrade the power of weak lensing as a
cosmological probe.Comment: Invited review article for the GRG special issue on gravitational
lensing (P. Jetzer, Y. Mellier and V. Perlick Eds.). V3: subsection on
three-point function and some references added. Matches the published versio
Actes du Symposium International - Le livre, la Roumanie, l’Europe / Proceedings of the International Symposium Books, Romania, Europe - 5ème édition 24-26 septembre 2012
Tome 2 des actes du Symposium International "Le livre, la Roumanie, L\u27Europe" qui s\u27est tenu les 24, 25 et 26 septembre 2012 à Mamaia, Roumanie, organisé par la Bibliothèque Métropolitaine de Bucarest. / Tome 2 of the Proceedings of the International Symposium "Books, Romania, Europe" held on 24, 25 and 26 September 2012 in Mamaia, Romania, organized by the Bucharest Metropolitan Library.
Textes réunis et présentés par :
RĂ©jean Savard
Chantal Stanescu
Hermina G.B. Anghelescu
Cristina Io
Toward a 21st-century health care system: Recommendations for health care reform
The coverage, cost, and quality problems of the U.S. health care system are evident. Sustainable health care reform must go beyond financing expanded access to care to substantially changing the organization and delivery of care. The FRESH-Thinking Project (www.fresh-thinking.org) held a series of workshops during which physicians, health policy experts, health insurance executives, business leaders, hospital administrators, economists, and others who represent diverse perspectives came together. This group agreed that the following 8 recommendations are fundamental to successful reform: 1. Replace the current fee-for-service payment system with a payment system that encourages and rewards innovation in the efficient delivery of quality care. The new payment system should invest in the development of outcome measures to guide payment. 2. Establish a securely funded, independent agency to sponsor and evaluate research on the comparative effectiveness of drugs, devices, and other medical interventions. 3. Simplify and rationalize federal and state laws and regulations to facilitate organizational innovation, support care coordination, and streamline financial and administrative functions. 4. Develop a health information technology infrastructure with national standards of interoperability to promote data exchange. 5. Create a national health database with the participation of all payers, delivery systems, and others who own health care data. Agree on methods to make de-identified information from this database on clinical interventions, patient outcomes, and costs available to researchers. 6. Identify revenue sources, including a cap on the tax exclusion of employer-based health insurance, to subsidize health care coverage with the goal of insuring all Americans. 7. Create state or regional insurance exchanges to pool risk, so that Americans without access to employer-based or other group insurance could obtain a standard benefits package through these exchanges. Employers should also be allowed to participate in these exchanges for their employees' coverage. 8. Create a health coverage board with broad stakeholder representation to determine and periodically update the affordable standard benefit package available through state or regional insurance exchanges
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