Constructing lattice points for numerical integration by a reduced fast successive coordinate search algorithm

In this paper, we study an efficient algorithm for constructing node sets of high-quality quasi-Monte Carlo integration rules for weighted Korobov, Walsh, and Sobolev spaces. The algorithm presented is a reduced fast successive coordinate search (SCS) algorithm, which is adapted to situations where the weights in the function space show a sufficiently fast decay. The new SCS algorithm is designed to work for the construction of lattice points, and, in a modified version, for polynomial lattice points, and the corresponding integration rules can be used to treat functions in different kinds of function spaces. We show that the integration rules constructed by our algorithms satisfy error bounds of optimal convergence order. Furthermore, we give details on efficient implementation such that we obtain a considerable speed-up of previously known SCS algorithms. This improvement is illustrated by numerical results. The speed-up obtained by our results may be of particular interest in the context of QMC for PDEs with random coefficients, where both the dimension and the required numberof points are usually very large. Furthermore, our main theorems yield previously unknown generalizations of earlier results.Comment: 33 pages, 2 figure

UD Gheg Pear Stories

UD Gheg Pear Stories (GPS) contains renarrations of Wallace Chafe's Pear Stories video (pearstories.org) by heritage speakers of Gheg Albanian living in Switzerland and speakers from Prishtina

Validation of the German Revised Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination for Detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment, Mild Dementia in Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration

Background/Aims: The diagnostic accuracy of the German version of the revised Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-R) in identifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild dementia in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) in comparison with the conventional Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was assessed. Methods: The study encompasses 76 cognitively healthy elderly individuals, 75 patients with MCI, 56 with AD and 22 with FTLD. ACE-R and MMSE were validated against an expert diagnosis based on a comprehensive diagnostic procedure. Statistical analysis was performed using the receiver operating characteristic method and regression analyses. Results: The optimal cut-off score for the ACE-R for detecting MCI, AD, and FTLD was 86/87, 82/83 and 83/84, respectively. ACE-R was superior to MMSE only in the detection of patients with FTLD {[}area under the curve (AUC): 0.97 vs. 0.92], whilst the accuracy of the two instruments did not differ in identifying MCI and AD. The ratio of the scores of the memory ACE-R subtest to verbal fluency subtest contributed significantly to the discrimination between AD and FTLD (optimal cut-off score: 2.30/2.31, AUC: 0.77), whereas the MMSE and ACE-R total scores did not. Conclusion: The German ACE-R is superior to the most commonly employed MMSE in detecting mild dementia in FTLD and in the differential diagnosis between AD and FTLD. Thus it might serve as a valuable instrument as part of a comprehensive diagnostic workup in specialist centres/clinics contributing to the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of the cause of dementia. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Base

Labour standards provisions in EU free trade agreements: reflections on the European Commission's reform agenda

Abstract Labour standards provisions within the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters of EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are presented as a key element of the EU's commitment to a ‘value-based trade agenda’. But criticism of TSD chapters has led the European Commission to commit to improving their implementation and enforcement, creating a critical juncture in the evolution of the EU's trade–labour linkage. This contribution synthesizes findings from academic studies that have examined the effectiveness of labour standards provisions in EU FTAs. It then considers the reform agenda as presented by the European Commission, and explains how some of the proposals could tackle failures identified. However, it also argues that there are various limitations with the Commission's current proposals, and outlines how legal obligations and institutional mechanisms created by trade agreements could better be harnessed to improve working conditions and rights at work around the world

Gain and loss of function of P2X7 receptors: Mechanisms, pharmacology and relevance to diabetic neuropathic pain

Background: Genetic causes of exaggerated or reduced pain sensitivity in humans are well known. Recently, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene P2RX7, coding for the ATP-gated ion channel P2X7, have been described that cause gain-of-function (GOF) and loss-of-function (LOF), respectively of this channel. Importantly, P2RX7 SNPs have been associated with more or less severe pain scores in patient suffering of post-mastectomy pain and osteoarthritis. Results: The functional consequences of some P2RX7 SNPs (rs208294 (His155Tyr), rs1718119 (Ala348Thr) and rs3751143 (Glu496Ala)) were studied in recombinant cells in vitro. Our findings suggest a correlation between GOF and LOF of P2X7 and actual channel protein expression. Both channel and pore function for these mutant P2X7 receptors changed in parallel to protein levels. On the other hand, the mutant receptors did not differ in their sensitivity to known P2X7 agonists and antagonists. We further demonstrated that in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP), the presence of the GOF SNPs rs208294 (His155Tyr) and rs1718119 (Ala348Thr) is associated, in females, with higher pain intensity scores. Conclusions: Our present results confirm the physiological relevance of some of the SNPs in the P2RX7 gene and show that the presence of these genetic variants correlates with pain sensitivity also in a diabetic neuropathic pain patient population

Entwicklung einer fluidbeeinflussten Scherzone am Beispiel der Glarner Hauptüberschiebung (Schweiz)

Lokalisierung unter retrograden Deformationsbedingungen kann häufig in groß-maßstäblichen Scherzonen beobachtet werden. Dabei nimmt die Scherzonenbreite kontinuierlich ab. Gleichzeitig passt sich das Gefüge (Korngröße, Kornform, Kornorientierung, Zwillingsdichte, kristallographische Orientierung, usw.) den neuen Umgebungsbedingungen (Temperatur, Spannung und Verformungsrate) an. Die Glarner Hauptüberschiebung in den Ostschweizer Alpen ist ein gutes Beispiel, um das Ausmaß und die Entwicklung einer Verformungslokalisierung zu bestimmen. In der Vergangenheit wurde sie detailliert in Hinblick auf ihre Isotopenverteilung und daraus resultierenden Fluidbewegungen und Überprägungen untersucht. Dies erlaubt das Zusammenspiel der Lokalisierung und der Fluidüberprägung zur Zeit der Platznahme der Glarnerdecke zu bestimmen...conferenc