631 research outputs found
Accurate light-time correction due to a gravitating mass
This work arose as an aftermath of Cassini's 2002 experiment \cite{bblipt03},
in which the PPN parameter was measured with an accuracy
and found consistent with the prediction
of general relativity. The Orbit Determination Program (ODP) of
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which was used in the data analysis, is based
on an expression for the gravitational delay which differs from the standard
formula; this difference is of second order in powers of -- the sun's
gravitational radius -- but in Cassini's case it was much larger than the
expected order of magnitude , where is the ray's closest approach
distance. Since the ODP does not account for any other second-order terms, it
is necessary, also in view of future more accurate experiments, to
systematically evaluate higher order corrections and to determine which terms
are significant. Light propagation in a static spacetime is equivalent to a
problem in ordinary geometrical optics; Fermat's action functional at its
minimum is just the light-time between the two end points A and B. A new and
powerful formulation is thus obtained. Asymptotic power series are necessary to
provide a safe and automatic way of selecting which terms to keep at each
order. Higher order approximations to the delay and the deflection are
obtained. We also show that in a close superior conjunction, when is much
smaller than the distances of A and B from the Sun, of order , say, the
second-order correction has an \emph{enhanced} part of order , which
corresponds just to the second-order terms introduced in the ODP. Gravitational
deflection of the image of a far away source, observed from a finite distance
from the mass, is obtained to .Comment: 4 figure
Hysteresis loops of magnetic thin films with perpendicular anisotropy
We model the magnetization of quasi two-dimensional systems with easy
perpendicular (z-)axis anisotropy upon change of external magnetic field along
z. The model is derived from the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation for
magnetization evolution, written in closed form in terms of the z component of
the magnetization only. The model includes--in addition to the external
field--magnetic exchange, dipolar interactions and structural disorder. The
phase diagram in the disorder/interaction strength plane is presented, and the
different qualitative regimes are analyzed. The results compare very well with
observed experimental hysteresis loops and spatial magnetization patterns, as
for instance for the case of Co-Pt multilayers.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Effect of the reservoir size on gas adsorption in inhomogeneous porous media
We study the influence of the relative size of the reservoir on the
adsorption isotherms of a fluid in disordered or inhomogeneous mesoporous
solids. We consider both an atomistic model of a fluid in a simple, yet
structured pore, whose adsorption isotherms are computed by molecular
simulation, and a coarse-grained model for adsorption in a disordered
mesoporous material, studied by a density functional approach in a local
mean-field approximation. In both cases, the fluid inside the porous solid
exchanges matter with a reservoir of gas that is at the same temperature and
chemical potential and whose relative size can be varied, and the control
parameter is the total number of molecules present in the porous sample and in
the reservoir. Varying the relative sizes of the reservoir and the sample may
change the shape of the hysteretic isotherms, leading to a "reentrant" behavior
compared to the grand-canonical isotherm when the latter displays a jump in
density. We relate these phenomena to the organization of the metastable states
that are accessible for the adsorbed fluid at a given chemical potential or
density.Comment: 16 page
Stochastic model of hysteresis
The methods of the probability theory have been used in order to build up a
new model of hysteresis. It turns out that the reversal points of the control
parameter (e. g., the magnetic field) are Markov points which determine the
stochastic evolution of the process. It has been shown that the branches of the
hysteresis loop are converging to fixed limit curves when the number of cyclic
back-and-forth variations of the control parameter between two consecutive
reversal points is large enough. This convergence to limit curves gives a clear
explanation of the accommodation process. The accommodated minor loops show the
return-point memory property but this property is obviously absent in the case
of non-accommodated minor loops which are not congruent and generally not
closed. In contrast to the traditional Preisach model the reversal point
susceptibilities are non-zero finite values. The stochastic model can provide a
good approximation of the Raylaigh quadratic law when the external parameter
varies between two sufficiently small values.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figure
Do people perceive benefits in the use of social prescribing to address loneliness and/or social isolation? A qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature
Social prescribing is a means by which clinical services can link individuals who have psychological, social and/or practical needs with non-clinical services within their local community. There is a lack of empirical evidence investigating whether social prescribing helps such individuals and which interventions are the most effective and accepted by them to address their loneliness. This meta-synthesis aimed to synthesise findings from qualitative studies exploring experiences of people (of any age) who participated in any social prescribing intervention aimed at loneliness and/or social isolation to ascertain whether they felt it helped address loneliness/isolation and the potential mechanisms by which this might occur. We conducted a systematic search of 5 electronic databases and 4 other databases that would yield grey literature in April 2021 to identify qualitative articles on this topic written in English or French. We assessed the quality of the included studies using recognised tools, and synthesised findings using the approach of thematic analysis. We identified 19 records analysed (e.g. journal articles) from 18 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Our analysis identified three themes: (1) increased sense of wellbeing (with six subthemes), (2) factors that engendered an ongoing desire to connect with others, and (3) perceived drawbacks of social prescribing. These themes illustrate the benefits and difficulties people perceive in social prescribing programmes addressing loneliness and social isolation, with an overall balance of more benefits than drawbacks in social prescribing participation. However, given the unhelpful aspects of social prescribing identified by some participants, greater thought should be given to potential harms. Moreover, further qualitative and quantitative research is needed to better understand mechanisms and effectiveness, and how different components of social prescribing might be best matched to individual participants
Immunogenomics of Colorectal Tumors: Facts and Hypotheses on an Evolving Saga
Different mutational burden only partially explains the different response of MSI and MSS CRCs to immunotherapy.
Neoantigen load, as measured using available prediction algorithms, is not sufficiently accurate for implementation into clinical decision making.
Abundant immune infiltration in the tumor tissue is likely to have high prognostic value, but not an equally high predictive value in terms of response to immunotherapy.
The intrinsic characteristics of MSI and MSS CRCs determine differences in their evolutionary paths, which inevitably influence the way the immune system sculpts tumor clonal and subclonal dynamics.
Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors is an approved treatment option for a subpopulation of patients with colorectal cancers that display microsatellite instability. However, not all individuals within this subgroup respond to immunotherapy, and molecular biomarkers for effective patient stratification are still lacking. In this opinion article, we provide an overview of the different biological parameters that contribute to rendering colorectal cancers with microsatellite instability potentially sensitive to immunotherapy. We critically discuss the reasons why such parameters have limited predictive value and the implications therein. We also consider that a more informed knowledge of response determinants in this tumor subtype could help understand the mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance in microsatellite stable tumors. We conclude that the dynamic nature of the interactions between cancer and immune cells complicates conventional biomarker development and argue that a new generation of adaptive metrics, borrowed from evolutionary genetics, may improve the effectiveness and reliability of clinical decision making
Synthetic LISA: Simulating Time Delay Interferometry in a Model LISA
We report on three numerical experiments on the implementation of Time-Delay
Interferometry (TDI) for LISA, performed with Synthetic LISA, a C++/Python
package that we developed to simulate the LISA science process at the level of
scientific and technical requirements. Specifically, we study the laser-noise
residuals left by first-generation TDI when the LISA armlengths have a
realistic time dependence; we characterize the armlength-measurements
accuracies that are needed to have effective laser-noise cancellation in both
first- and second-generation TDI; and we estimate the quantization and
telemetry bitdepth needed for the phase measurements. Synthetic LISA generates
synthetic time series of the LISA fundamental noises, as filtered through all
the TDI observables; it also provides a streamlined module to compute the TDI
responses to gravitational waves according to a full model of TDI, including
the motion of the LISA array and the temporal and directional dependence of the
armlengths. We discuss the theoretical model that underlies the simulation, its
implementation, and its use in future investigations on system characterization
and data-analysis prototyping for LISA.Comment: 18 pages, 14 EPS figures, REVTeX 4. Accepted PRD version. See
http://www.vallis.org/syntheticlisa for information on the Synthetic LISA
software packag
Functional Integration Approach to Hysteresis
A general formulation of scalar hysteresis is proposed. This formulation is
based on two steps. First, a generating function g(x) is associated with an
individual system, and a hysteresis evolution operator is defined by an
appropriate envelope construction applied to g(x), inspired by the overdamped
dynamics of systems evolving in multistable free energy landscapes. Second, the
average hysteresis response of an ensemble of such systems is expressed as a
functional integral over the space G of all admissible generating functions,
under the assumption that an appropriate measure m has been introduced in G.
The consequences of the formulation are analyzed in detail in the case where
the measure m is generated by a continuous, Markovian stochastic process. The
calculation of the hysteresis properties of the ensemble is reduced to the
solution of the level-crossing problem for the stochastic process. In
particular, it is shown that, when the process is translationally invariant
(homogeneous), the ensuing hysteresis properties can be exactly described by
the Preisach model of hysteresis, and the associated Preisach distribution is
expressed in closed analytic form in terms of the drift and diffusion
parameters of the Markovian process. Possible applications of the formulation
are suggested, concerning the interpretation of magnetic hysteresis due to
domain wall motion in quenched-in disorder, and the interpretation of critical
state models of superconducting hysteresis.Comment: 36 pages, 9 figures, to be published on Phys. Rev.
The average shape of a fluctuation: universality in excursions of stochastic processes
We study the average shape of a fluctuation of a time series x(t), that is
the average value _T before x(t) first returns, at time T, to its
initial value x(0). For large classes of stochastic processes we find that a
scaling law of the form _T = T^\alpha f(t/T) is obeyed. The
scaling function f(s) is to a large extent independent of the details of the
single increment distribution, while it encodes relevant statistical
information on the presence and nature of temporal correlations in the process.
We discuss the relevance of these results for Barkhausen noise in magnetic
systems.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Neural Biclustering in Gene Expression Analysis
Clustering in high dimensional spaces is a very difficult task. Dealing with DNA microarrays is even more difficult because gene subsets are coregulated and coexpressed only under specific conditions. Biclusterng addresses the problem of finding such submanifolds by exploiting both gene and condition (tissue) clustering. The paper proposes a self-organizing neural network, GH EXIN, which builds a hierarchical tree by adapting its architecture to data. It is integrated in a framework in which gene and tissue clustering are alternated and controlled by the quality of the bicluster. Examples of the approach and a biological validation of results are also given
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