Data management for JGOFS: Theory and design

The Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), currently being organized under the auspices of the Scientific Committee for Ocean Research (SCOR), is intended to be a decade long internationally coordinated program. The main goal of JGOFS is to determine and understand on a global scale the processes controlling the time-varying fluxes of carbon and associated biogenic elements in the ocean and to evaluate the related exchanges with the atmosphere, sea floor and continental boundaries. 'A long-term goal of JGOFS will be to establish strategies for observing, on long time scales, changes in ocean biogeochemical cycles in relation to climate change'. Participation from a large number of U.S. and foreign institutions is expected. JGOFS investigators have begun a set of time-series measurements and global surveys of a wide variety of biological, chemical and physical quantities, detailed process-oriented studies, satellite observations of ocean color and wind stress and modeling of the bio-geochemical processes. These experiments will generate data in amounts unprecedented in the biological and chemical communities; rapid and effortless exchange of these data will be important to the success of JGOFS

Possible soliton motion in ac-driven damped nonlinear lattices

We study the possibility of kink motion induced by pure ac driving in damped nonlinear lattices, focusing on the Frenkel-Kontorova and Toda models. Numerical simulations of the Frenkel-Kontorova model show no evidence for steady kink motion. We point out that momentum-balance in addition to energy-balance arguments are needed to understand the translation of the collective excitation. Finally, our result is discussed in view of related theoretical predictions and numerical simulations.Support from a MEC/Fulbright grant, from DGICyT (Spain) under Project No. PB92-0248, and from the European Union Network ERBCHRXCT930413. Work at Zaragoza was supported by DGICyT (Spain) under Project No. PB92-0361, and by the European Union (NETWORK on Nonlinear Approaches to Coherent and Fluctuating Processes in Condensed Matter and Optical Physics). Work at Los Alamos was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy.Publicad

Zero temperature landscape of the random sine-Gordon model

Proceeding of: 16th Annual International Conference of the Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos, NM, USA, 13–17 May 1996We present a preliminary summary of the zero temperature properties of the two-dimensional random sine-Gordon model of surface growth on disordered substrates. We found that the properties of this model can be accurately computed by using lattices of moderate size as the behavior of the model turns out to be independent of the size above certain length (~ 128 x 128 lattices). Subsequently, we show that the behavior of the height difference correlation function is of (log r) 2 type up to a certain correlation length (~ ~ 20), which roles out predictions of log r behavior for all temperatures obtained by replica-variational techniques. Our results open the way to a better understanding of the complex landscape presented by this system, which has been the subject of very many (contradictory) analyses.CICyT (Spain) under grant no. MAT95-0325.Publicad

Association between childhood adversities and long-term suicidality among South Africans from the results of the South African Stress and Health study: a cross-sectional study

Objective: Suicide and suicidal behaviours are significant public health problems and a leading cause of death worldwide and in South Africa. We examined the association between childhood adversities and suicidal behaviour over the life course. Methods: A national probability sample of 4351 South African adult participants (aged 18 years and older) in the South African Stress and Health (SASH) study was interviewed as part of the World Mental Health Surveys initiative. Respondents provided sociodemographic and diagnostic information, as well as an account of suicide-related thoughts and behaviours. Suicidality or suicidal behaviour were defined as were defined as suicide attempts and suicidal ideation in the total sample, and suicide plans and attempts among ideators. Childhood adversities included physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental death, parental divorce, other parental loss, family violence, physical illness and financial adversity. The association between suicidality and childhood adversities was examined using discrete-time survival models. Results: More than a third of the respondents with suicidal behaviour experienced at least one childhood adversity, with physical abuse, parental death and parental divorce being the most prevalent adversities. Physical abuse, sexual abuse and parental divorce were identified as significant risk markers for lifetime suicide attempts, while physical abuse and parental divorce were significantly correlated with suicidal ideation. Two or more childhood adversities were associated with a twofold higher risk of lifetime suicide attempts. Sexual abuse (OR 9.3), parental divorce (OR 3.1) and childhood physical abuse (OR 2.2) had the strongest associations with lifetime suicide attempts. The effect of childhood adversities on suicidal tendencies varied over the life course. For example, sexual abuse was significantly associated with suicide attempts during childhood and teen years, but not during young and later adulthood. Conclusions: Childhood adversities, especially sexual abuse, physical abuse and parental divorce, are important risk factors for the onset and persistence of suicidal behaviour, with this risk being greatest in childhood and adolescence

Quantum machine learning: a classical perspective

Recently, increased computational power and data availability, as well as algorithmic advances, have led machine learning techniques to impressive results in regression, classification, data-generation and reinforcement learning tasks. Despite these successes, the proximity to the physical limits of chip fabrication alongside the increasing size of datasets are motivating a growing number of researchers to explore the possibility of harnessing the power of quantum computation to speed-up classical machine learning algorithms. Here we review the literature in quantum machine learning and discuss perspectives for a mixed readership of classical machine learning and quantum computation experts. Particular emphasis will be placed on clarifying the limitations of quantum algorithms, how they compare with their best classical counterparts and why quantum resources are expected to provide advantages for learning problems. Learning in the presence of noise and certain computationally hard problems in machine learning are identified as promising directions for the field. Practical questions, like how to upload classical data into quantum form, will also be addressed.Comment: v3 33 pages; typos corrected and references adde

Klein-Gordon Solutions on Non-Globally Hyperbolic Standard Static Spacetimes

We construct a class of solutions to the Cauchy problem of the Klein-Gordon equation on any standard static spacetime. Specifically, we have constructed solutions to the Cauchy problem based on any self-adjoint extension (satisfying a technical condition: "acceptability") of (some variant of) the Laplace-Beltrami operator defined on test functions in an $L^2$-space of the static hypersurface. The proof of the existence of this construction completes and extends work originally done by Wald. Further results include the uniqueness of these solutions, their support properties, the construction of the space of solutions and the energy and symplectic form on this space, an analysis of certain symmetries on the space of solutions and of various examples of this method, including the construction of a non-bounded below acceptable self-adjoint extension generating the dynamics

Roughening transitions of driven surface growth

A model of surface growth given by a two-dimensional discrete, driven, damped sine-Gordon equation is studied using Langevin dynamics. Our large-scale simulations show that the equilibrium Kosterlitz-Thouless roughening transition splits into two crossovers (or transitions) under the external force of, e.g., vapor-surface chemical potential difference. Three different regimes are characterized in terms of roughness, growth rate, and height-height correlations-the onset of a rough phase is accompanied by the suppresion of oscillatory growth. Our results are interpreted consistently within a renormalization group framework. We discuss the generality of our conclusions and propose specific comparisons with experimentsPartially supported by DGICyT (Spain) Grant No. PB92-0248, by MEC (Spain)/Fulbright, and by the European Union Network ERBCHRXCT930413. Work at Los Alamos is performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE.Publicad

Sports review: A content analysis of the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, the Journal of Sport and Social Issues and the Sociology of Sport Journal across 25 years

The International Review for the Sociology of Sport, the Journal of Sport and Social Issues and Sociology of Sport Journal have individually and collectively been subject to a systematic content analysis. By focusing on substantive research papers published in these three journals over a 25-year time period it is possible to identify the topics that have featured within the sociology of sport. The purpose of the study was to identify the dominant themes, sports, countries, methodological frameworks and theoretical perspectives that have appeared in the research papers published in these three journals. Using the terms, identified by the author(s), that appear in the paper’s title, abstract and/or listed as a key word, subject term or geographical term, a baseline is established to reflect on the development of the sub-discipline as represented by the content of these three journals. It is suggested that the findings illustrate what many of the more experienced practitioners in the field may have felt subjectively. On the basis of this systematic, empirical study it is now possible to identify those areas have received extensive coverage and those which are under-researched within the sociology of sport. The findings are used to inform a discussion of the role of academic journals and the recent contributions made by Michael Silk, David Andrews, Michael Atkinson and Dominic Malcolm on the past, present and future of the ‘sociology of sport’