Determination of the standard deviation for proficiency assessment from past participant’s performances

The “uncertainty function” introduced by Thompson et al. estimates the reproducibility standard deviation (SR) as a function of concentration. This model was successfully applied to a data set derived from three proficiency testing schemes aiming at the quantification of three toxic elements (cadmium, lead and mercury) in blood and urine. A threshold concentration was determined for each element. Below this concentration SR is found to be constant, while above it the reproducibility relative standard deviation is constant. This model allows the a priori estimation of standard deviation for performance assessment for proficiency testing rounds.JRC.D.5-Standards for Food Bioscienc

Kinship, dear enemies, and costly combat:The effects of relatedness on territorial overlap and aggression in a cooperative breeder

Many species maintain territories, but the degree of overlap between territories and the level of aggression displayed in territorial conflicts can vary widely, even within species. Greater territorial overlap may occur when neighboring territory holders are close relatives. Animals may also differentiate neighbors from strangers, with more familiar neighbors eliciting less‐aggressive responses during territorial conflicts (the “dear enemy” effect). However, research is lacking in how both kinship and overlap affect territorial conflicts, especially in group‐living species. Here, we investigate kinship, territorial overlap, and territorial conflict in a habituated wild population of group‐living cooperatively breeding birds, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor. We find that close kin neighbors are beneficial. Territories overlap more when neighboring groups are close kin, and these larger overlaps with kin confer larger territories (an effect not seen for overlaps with unrelated groups). Overall, territorial conflict is costly, causing significant decreases in body mass, but conflicts with kin are shorter than those conducted with nonkin. Conflicts with more familiar unrelated neighbors are also shorter, indicating these neighbors are “dear enemies.” However, kinship modulates the “dear enemy” effect; even when kin are encountered less frequently, kin elicit less‐aggressive responses, similar to the “dear enemy” effect. Kin selection appears to be a main influence on territorial behavior in this species. Groups derive kin‐selected benefits from decreased conflicts and maintain larger territories when overlapping with kin, though not when overlapping with nonkin. More generally, it is possible that kinship extends the “dear enemy” effect in animal societies

Nonperturbative Effects from the Resummation of Perturbation Theory

Using the general argument in Borel resummation of perturbation theory that links the divergent perturbation theory to the nonperturbative effect we argue that the nonperturbative effect associated with the perturbation theory should have a branch cut only along the positive real axis in the complex coupling plane. The component in the weak coupling expansion of the nonperturbative amplitude, which usually includes the leading term in the weak coupling expansion, that gives rise to the branch cut can be calculated in principle from the perturbation theory combined with some exactly calculable properties of the nonperturbative effect. The realization of this mechanism is demonstrated in the double well potential and the two-dimensional O(N) nonlinear sigma model. In these models the leading term in weak coupling of the nonperturbative effect can be obtained with good accuracy from the first terms of the perturbation theory. Applying this mechanism to the infrared renormalon induced nonperturbative effect in QCD, we suggest some of the QCD condensate effects can be calculated in principle from the perturbation theory.Comment: 21 Pages, 1 Figure; To appear in Phys Rev

Does the continuum theory of dynamic fracture work?

We investigate the validity of the Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics approach to dynamic fracture. We first test the predictions in a lattice simulation, using a formula of Eshelby for the time-dependent Stress Intensity Factor. Excellent agreement with the theory is found. We then use the same method to analyze the experiment of Sharon and Fineberg. The data here is not consistent with the theoretical expectation.Comment: 4 page

Understanding Anthropological Understanding: for a merological anthropology

In this paper I argue for a merological anthropology in which ideas of ‘partiality’ and ‘practical adequacy’ provide a way out of the impasse of relativism which is implied by post-modernism and the related abandonment of a concern with ‘truth’. Ideas such as ‘aptness’ and ‘faithfulness’ enable us to re-establish empirical foundations without having to espouse a simple realism which has been rightly criticised. Ideas taken from ethnomethodology, particularly the way we bootstrap from ‘practical adequacy’ to ‘warrants for confidence’ point to a merological anthropology in which we recognize that we do not and cannot know everything, but that we can have reasons for being confident in the little we know

Coherence Resonance and Noise-Induced Synchronization in Globally Coupled Hodgkin-Huxley Neurons

The coherence resonance (CR) of globally coupled Hodgkin-Huxley neurons is studied. When the neurons are set in the subthreshold regime near the firing threshold, the additive noise induces limit cycles. The coherence of the system is optimized by the noise. A bell-shaped curve is found for the peak height of power spectra of the spike train, being significantly different from a monotonic behavior for the single neuron. The coupling of the network can enhance CR in two different ways. In particular, when the coupling is strong enough, the synchronization of the system is induced and optimized by the noise. This synchronization leads to a high and wide plateau in the local measure of coherence curve. The local-noise-induced limit cycle can evolve to a refined spatiotemporal order through the dynamical optimization among the autonomous oscillation of an individual neuron, the coupling of the network, and the local noise.Comment: five pages, five figure

Improving umbilical cord blood processing to increase total nucleated cell count yield and reduce cord input wastage by managing the consequences of input variation

Background aims: With the rising use of umbilical cord blood (UCB) as an alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells, storage inventories of UCB have grown, giving rise to genetically diverse inventories globally. In the absence of reliable markers such as CD34 or counts of colony-forming units, total nucleated cell (TNC) counts are often used as an indicator of potency, and transplant centers worldwide often select units with the largest counts of TNC. As a result, cord blood banks are driven to increase the quality of stored inventories by increasing the TNC count of products stored. However, these banks face challenges in recovering consistent levels of TNC with the use of the standard protocols of automated umbilical cord processing systems, particularly in the presence of input variation both of cord blood volume and TNC count, in which it is currently not possible to process larger but useable UCB units with consequent losses in TNC.Methods: This report addresses the challenge of recovering consistently high TNC yields in volume reduction by proposing and validating an alternative protocol capable of processing a larger range of units more reliably.Results: This work demonstrates improvements in plastic ware and tubing sets and in the recovery process protocol with consequent productivity gains in TNC yield and a reduction in standard deviation.Conclusions: This work could pave the way for cord blood banks to improve UCB processing and increase efficiency through higher yields and lower costs

QQˉQ{\bar Q} potential in the Schwinger model on curved space - time

We study the confining and screening aspects of the Schwinger model on curved static backgrounds.Comment: 14 pages, Latex. Typos corrected. Erratum submitte

Spallation reactions. A successful interplay between modeling and applications

The spallation reactions are a type of nuclear reaction which occur in space by interaction of the cosmic rays with interstellar bodies. The first spallation reactions induced with an accelerator took place in 1947 at the Berkeley cyclotron (University of California) with 200 MeV deuterons and 400 MeV alpha beams. They highlighted the multiple emission of neutrons and charged particles and the production of a large number of residual nuclei far different from the target nuclei. The same year R. Serber describes the reaction in two steps: a first and fast one with high-energy particle emission leading to an excited remnant nucleus, and a second one, much slower, the de-excitation of the remnant. In 2010 IAEA organized a worskhop to present the results of the most widely used spallation codes within a benchmark of spallation models. If one of the goals was to understand the deficiencies, if any, in each code, one remarkable outcome points out the overall high-quality level of some models and so the great improvements achieved since Serber. Particle transport codes can then rely on such spallation models to treat the reactions between a light particle and an atomic nucleus with energies spanning from few tens of MeV up to some GeV. An overview of the spallation reactions modeling is presented in order to point out the incomparable contribution of models based on basic physics to numerous applications where such reactions occur. Validations or benchmarks, which are necessary steps in the improvement process, are also addressed, as well as the potential future domains of development. Spallation reactions modeling is a representative case of continuous studies aiming at understanding a reaction mechanism and which end up in a powerful tool.Comment: 59 pages, 54 figures, Revie