2,683 research outputs found
Dynamical mean-filed approximation to small-world networks of spiking neurons: From local to global, and/or from regular to random couplings
By extending a dynamical mean-field approximation (DMA) previously proposed
by the author [H. Hasegawa, Phys. Rev. E {\bf 67}, 41903 (2003)], we have
developed a semianalytical theory which takes into account a wide range of
couplings in a small-world network. Our network consists of noisy -unit
FitzHugh-Nagumo (FN) neurons with couplings whose average coordination number
may change from local () to global couplings () and/or
whose concentration of random couplings is allowed to vary from regular
() to completely random (p=1). We have taken into account three kinds of
spatial correlations: the on-site correlation, the correlation for a coupled
pair and that for a pair without direct couplings. The original -dimensional {\it stochastic} differential equations are transformed to
13-dimensional {\it deterministic} differential equations expressed in terms of
means, variances and covariances of state variables. The synchronization ratio
and the firing-time precision for an applied single spike have been discussed
as functions of and . Our calculations have shown that with increasing
, the synchronization is {\it worse} because of increased heterogeneous
couplings, although the average network distance becomes shorter. Results
calculated by out theory are in good agreement with those by direct
simulations.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures: accepted in Phys. Rev. E with minor change
Algal problems of the estuary
The Peel-Harvey esturine system study began in 1976 because people living near Peel Inlet complained about the accumulation of water weeds and algae on the shores and the smell of hydrogen sulphide (rotton egg gas) that resulted from their decomposition. From 1974 efforts had been made to control this \u27algal problem\u27 by raking up the weed with tractors and carting it away. This \u27cosmetic activity had little impact on the problem.
The immediate cause was obvious: a carpet of green algae covering about 20square kilometres of the bottom of Peel Inlet. From time to time this \u27goat weed\u27 floated to the surface and was driven ashore by the wind. There it collected in huge piles that decomposed to an evil-smelling, black sludge that fouled the previously clean beaches.
During the past ten years the exxtent of the problem has varied with the seasons and its nature has changed according to the different kinds of algae present. With more and better equipment the PeelInlet Management Authority has succesfully kept the shores clean near the inhabited areas, but the problem remains. Weed accumulations are as great as ever along the uninhabited south-eastern shores
Forever Young: High Chromospheric Activity in M subdwarfs
We present spectroscopic observations of two halo M subdwarfs which have H
alpha emission lines. We show that in both cases close companions are the most
likely cause of the chromospheric activity in these old, metal-poor stars. We
argue that Gl 781 A's unseen companion is most likely a cool helium white
dwarf. Gl 455 is a near-equal-mass M subdwarf (sdM) system. Gl 781 A is rapidly
rotating with v sin i = 30 km/s. The properties of the chromospheres and X-ray
coronae of these systems are compared to M dwarfs with emission (dMe). The
X-ray hardness ratios and optical chromospheric lines emission ratios are
consistent with those seen in dMe stars. Comparison to active near-solar
metallicity stars indicates that despite their low metallicity ([m/H] = -1/2),
the sdMe stars are roughly as active in both X-rays and chromospheric emission.
Measured by L_X/L_bol, the activity level of Gl 781 A is no more than a factor
of 2.5 subluminous with respect to near-solar metallicity stars.Comment: 16 pages including 1 figure, AASTeX, to appear in May 1998 A.
Influence of Caloric Distribution on Weight Loss
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect timing of meals has on the rate of weight loss. Five hospitalized obese adults were placed on a 1200 Calorie reducing diet for approximately eight weeks.
For about a four-week period the 1200 Calories were divided into six meals per day of 200 Calories each. These same patients were given the 1200 Calories in three meals per day approximately another four-week period. With three meals per day, the calories were divided into 200 Calories for breakfast and lunch and 800 Calories for the evening meal. The former pattern represents ad libitum feedings or nibbling,” while the latter is characteristic of the typical working American\u27s dietary pattern of little or no breakfast, a light lunch, and a large evening meal.
Routine hospital fare for reducing regimens was used for these diets. The exchange system was followed to determine the portion size. A visual estimation of the amount of each serving of food left on the tray was made by the licensed vocational nurse in charge of the patient and recorded following each meal. This provided an accurate count of the actual caloric intake daily.
Laboratory analyses of blood samples included determinations of serum cholesterol, two-hour post prandial blood sugar, blood urea nitrogen, hematocrit, and hemoglobin. A t test showed no significant difference in the regression slope of the serum cholesterol on the two diets. The blood urea nitrogen, hematocrit and hemoglobin remained essentially constant throughout the experimental period. The two-hour post prandial blood sugar levels remained the same with the exception of the diabetic patient whose diabetes was brought into control on the calculated diet and an oral antidiabetic agent.
A t test performed on the regression slope of the weight loss showed no statistical difference between the three meal per day pattern and the six meal per day pattern. The loss in total body weight can be attributed to caloric restriction. The timing of the meals did not effect the rate of weight loss
Identification of Young Stellar Object candidates in the DR2 x AllWISE catalogue with machine learning methods
The second Data Release (DR2) contains astrometric and photometric
data for more than 1.6 billion objects with mean magnitude 20.7,
including many Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in different evolutionary stages.
In order to explore the YSO population of the Milky Way, we combined the
DR2 database with WISE and Planck measurements and made an all-sky
probabilistic catalogue of YSOs using machine learning techniques, such as
Support Vector Machines, Random Forests, or Neural Networks. Our input
catalogue contains 103 million objects from the DR2xAllWISE cross-match table.
We classified each object into four main classes: YSOs, extragalactic objects,
main-sequence stars and evolved stars. At a 90% probability threshold we
identified 1,129,295 YSO candidates. To demonstrate the quality and potential
of our YSO catalogue, here we present two applications of it. (1) We explore
the 3D structure of the Orion A star forming complex and show that the spatial
distribution of the YSOs classified by our procedure is in agreement with
recent results from the literature. (2) We use our catalogue to classify
published Science Alerts. As measures the sources at multiple
epochs, it can efficiently discover transient events, including sudden
brightness changes of YSOs caused by dynamic processes of their circumstellar
disk. However, in many cases the physical nature of the published alert sources
are not known. A cross-check with our new catalogue shows that about 30% more
of the published alerts can most likely be attributed to YSO activity.
The catalogue can be also useful to identify YSOs among future alerts.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, 3 table
Information Flow through a Chaotic Channel: Prediction and Postdiction at Finite Resolution
We reconsider the persistence of information under the dynamics of the
logistic map in order to discuss communication through a nonlinear channel
where the sender can set the initial state of the system with finite
resolution, and the recipient measures it with the same accuracy. We separate
out the contributions of global phase space shrinkage and local phase space
contraction and expansion to the uncertainty in predicting and postdicting the
state of the system. Thus, we determine how the amplification parameter, the
time lag, and the resolution influence the possibility for communication. A
novel representation for real numbers is introduced that allows for a
visualization of the flow of information between scales.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure
The Monitor Project: Stellar rotation at 13~Myr: I. A photometric monitoring survey of the young open cluster h~Per
We aim at constraining the angular momentum evolution of low mass stars by
measuring their rotation rates when they begin to evolve freely towards the
ZAMS, i.e. after the disk accretion phase has stopped. We conducted a
multi-site photometric monitoring of the young open cluster h Persei that has
an age of ~13 Myr. The observations were done in the I-band using 4 different
telescopes and the variability study is sensitive to periods from less than 0.2
day to 20 days. Rotation periods are derived for 586 candidate cluster members
over the mass range 0.4<=M/Msun<=1.4. The rotation period distribution
indicates a sligthly higher fraction of fast rotators for the lower mass
objects, although the lower and upper envelopes of the rotation period
distribution, located respectively at ~0.2-0.3d and ~10d, are remarkably flat
over the whole mass range. We combine this period distribution with previous
results obtained in younger and older clusters to model the angular momentum
evolution of low mass stars during the PMS. The h Per cluster provides the
first statistically robust estimate of the rotational period distribution of
solar-type and lower mass stars at the end of the PMS accretion phase (>10
Myr). The results are consistent with models that assume significant
core-envelope decoupling during the angular momentum evolution to the ZAMS.Comment: 39 pages, 19 figures, light curves in appendix, 1 long tabl
Monitoring young associations and open clusters with Kepler in two-wheel mode
We outline a proposal to use the Kepler spacecraft in two-wheel mode to
monitor a handful of young associations and open clusters, for a few weeks
each. Judging from the experience of similar projects using ground-based
telescopes and the CoRoT spacecraft, this program would transform our
understanding of early stellar evolution through the study of pulsations,
rotation, activity, the detection and characterisation of eclipsing binaries,
and the possible detection of transiting exoplanets. Importantly, Kepler's wide
field-of-view would enable key spatially extended, nearby regions to be
monitored in their entirety for the first time, and the proposed observations
would exploit unique synergies with the GAIA ESO spectroscopic survey and, in
the longer term, the GAIA mission itself. We also outline possible strategies
for optimising the photometric performance of Kepler in two-wheel mode by
modelling pixel sensitivity variations and other systematics.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, white paper submitted in response to NASA call
for community input for alternative science investigations for the Kepler
spacecraf
A photometric and astrometric investigation of the brown dwarfs in Blanco 1
We present the results of a photometric and astrometric study of the low mass
stellar and substellar population of the young open cluster Blanco 1. We have
exploited J band data, obtained recently with the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) on
the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT), and 10 year old I and z band
optical imaging from CFH12k and Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), to
identify 44 candidate low mass stellar and substellar members, in an area of 2
sq. degrees, on the basis of their colours and proper motions. This sample
includes five sources which are newly discovered. We also confirm the lowest
mass candidate member of Blanco 1 unearthed so far (29MJup). We determine the
cluster mass function to have a slope of alpha=+0.93, assuming it to have a
power law form. This is high, but nearly consistent with previous studies of
the cluster (to within the errors), and also that of its much better studied
northern hemisphere analogue, the Pleiades.Comment: 8 Pages, 5 Figures, 2 Tables and 1 Appendix. Accepted for publication
in MNRA
On the action potential as a propagating density pulse and the role of anesthetics
The Hodgkin-Huxley model of nerve pulse propagation relies on ion currents
through specific resistors called ion channels. We discuss a number of
classical thermodynamic findings on nerves that are not contained in this
classical theory. Particularly striking is the finding of reversible heat
changes, thickness and phase changes of the membrane during the action
potential. Data on various nerves rather suggest that a reversible density
pulse accompanies the action potential of nerves. Here, we attempted to explain
these phenomena by propagating solitons that depend on the presence of
cooperative phase transitions in the nerve membrane. These transitions are,
however, strongly influenced by the presence of anesthetics. Therefore, the
thermodynamic theory of nerve pulses suggests a explanation for the famous
Meyer-Overton rule that states that the critical anesthetic dose is linearly
related to the solubility of the drug in the membranes.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
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