2,197 research outputs found
Hierarchical search strategy for the detection of gravitational waves from coalescing binaries: Extension to post-Newtonian wave forms
The detection of gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries would
be a computationally intensive process if a single bank of template wave forms
(i.e., a one step search) is used. In an earlier paper we had presented a
detection strategy, called a two step search}, that utilizes a hierarchy of
template banks. It was shown that in the simple case of a family of Newtonian
signals, an on-line two step search was about 8 times faster than an on-line
one step search (for initial LIGO). In this paper we extend the two step search
to the more realistic case of zero spin 1.5 post-Newtonian wave forms. We also
present formulas for detection and false alarm probabilities which take
statistical correlations into account. We find that for the case of a 1.5
post-Newtonian family of templates and signals, an on-line two step search
requires about 1/21 the computing power that would be required for the
corresponding on-line one step search. This reduction is achieved when signals
having strength S = 10.34 are required to be detected with a probability of
0.95, at an average of one false event per year, and the noise power spectral
density used is that of advanced LIGO. For initial LIGO, the reduction achieved
in computing power is about 1/27 for S = 9.98 and the same probabilities for
detection and false alarm as above.Comment: 30 page RevTeX file and 17 figures (postscript). Submitted to PRD Feb
21, 199
Head-on collision of unequal mass black holes: close-limit predictions
The close-limit method has given approximations in excellent agreement with
those of numerical relativity for collisions of equal mass black holes. We
consider here colliding holes with unequal mass, for which numerical relativity
results are not available. We try to ask two questions: (i) Can we get
approximate answers to astrophysical questions (ideal mass ratio for energy
production, maximum recoil velocity, etc.), and (ii) can we better understand
the limitations of approximation methods. There is some success in answering
the first type of question, but more with the second, especially in connection
with the issue of measures of the intrinsic mass of the colliding holes, and of
the range of validity of the method.Comment: 19 pages, RevTeX + 9 postscript figure
Enhancement of electroporation facilitated immunogene therapy via T-reg depletion
Regulatory T cells (T-regs) can negatively impact tumor antigen-specific immune responses after infiltration into tumor tissue. However, depletion of T-regs can facilitate enhanced anti-tumor responses, thus augmenting the potential for immunotherapies. Here we focus on treating a highly aggressive form of cancer using a murine melanoma model with a poor prognosis. We utilize a combination of T-reg depletion and immunotherapy plasmid DNA delivered into the B16F10 melanoma tumor model via electroporation. Plasmids encoding murine granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor and human B71 were transfected with electroporation into the tumor and transient elimination of T-regs was achieved with CD25-depleting antibodies (PC61). The combinational treatment effectively depleted T-regs compared to the untreated tumor and significantly reduced lung metastases. The combination treatment was not effective in increasing the survival, but only effective in suppression of metastases. These results indicate the potential for combining T-reg depletion with immunotherapy-based gene electrotransfer to decrease systemic metastasis and potentially enhance survival
Measuring gravitational waves from binary black hole coalescences: II. the waves' information and its extraction, with and without templates
We discuss the extraction of information from detected binary black hole
(BBH) coalescence gravitational waves, focusing on the merger phase that occurs
after the gradual inspiral and before the ringdown. Our results are: (1) If
numerical relativity simulations have not produced template merger waveforms
before BBH detections by LIGO/VIRGO, one can band-pass filter the merger waves.
For BBHs smaller than about 40 solar masses detected via their inspiral waves,
the band pass filtering signal to noise ratio indicates that the merger waves
should typically be just barely visible in the noise for initial and advanced
LIGO interferometers. (2) We derive an optimized (maximum likelihood) method
for extracting a best-fit merger waveform from the noisy detector output; one
"perpendicularly projects" this output onto a function space (specified using
wavelets) that incorporates our prior knowledge of the waveforms. An extension
of the method allows one to extract the BBH's two independent waveforms from
outputs of several interferometers. (3) If numerical relativists produce codes
for generating merger templates but running the codes is too expensive to allow
an extensive survey of the merger parameter space, then a coarse survey of this
parameter space, to determine the ranges of the several key parameters and to
explore several qualitative issues which we describe, would be useful for data
analysis purposes. (4) A complete set of templates could be used to test the
nonlinear dynamics of general relativity and to measure some of the binary
parameters. We estimate the number of bits of information obtainable from the
merger waves (about 10 to 60 for LIGO/VIRGO, up to 200 for LISA), estimate the
information loss due to template numerical errors or sparseness in the template
grid, and infer approximate requirements on template accuracy and spacing.Comment: 33 pages, Rextex 3.1 macros, no figures, submitted to Phys Rev
Expression microarray analysis of papillary thyroid carcinoma and benign thyroid tissue: emphasis on the follicular variant and potential markers of malignancy
The most common sub-variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the so-called follicular variant (FVPTC), which is a particularly problematic lesion and can be challenging from a diagnostic viewpoint even in resected lesions. Although fine needle aspiration cytology is very useful in the diagnosis of PTC, its accuracy and utility would be greatly facilitated by the development of specific markers for PTC and its common variants. We used the recently developed Applied Biosystems 1700 microarray system to interrogate a series of 11 benign thyroid lesions and conditions and 14 samples of PTC (six with classic morphology and eight with follicular variant morphology). TaqMan® reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the expression portfolios of 50 selected transcripts. Our data corroborates potential biomarkers previously identified in the literature, such as LGALS3, S100A11, LYN, BAX, and cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44). However, we have also identified numerous transcripts never previously implicated in thyroid carcinogenesis, and many of which are not represented on other microarray platforms. Diminished expression of metallothioneins featured strongly among these and suggests a possible role for this family as tumour suppressors in PTC. Fifteen transcripts were significantly associated with FVPTC morphology. Surprisingly, these genes were associated with an extremely narrow repertoire of functions, including the major histocompatibility complex and cathepsin families
Quasielastic 12C(e,e'p) Reaction at High Momentum Transfer
We measured the 12C(e,e'p) cross section as a function of missing energy in
parallel kinematics for (q,w) = (970 MeV/c, 330 MeV) and (990 MeV/c, 475 MeV).
At w=475 MeV, at the maximum of the quasielastic peak, there is a large
continuum (E_m > 50 MeV) cross section extending out to the deepest missing
energy measured, amounting to almost 50% of the measured cross section. The
ratio of data to DWIA calculation is 0.4 for both the p- and s-shells. At w=330
MeV, well below the maximum of the quasielastic peak, the continuum cross
section is much smaller and the ratio of data to DWIA calculation is 0.85 for
the p-shell and 1.0 for the s-shell. We infer that one or more mechanisms that
increase with transform some of the single-nucleon-knockout into
multinucleon knockout, decreasing the valence knockout cross section and
increasing the continuum cross section.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Revtex (multicol, prc and aps styles), to appear
in Phys Rev
Searching for the Nuclear Liquid-Gas Phase Transition in Au + Au Collisions at 35 MeV/nucleon
Within the framework of Classical Molecular Dynamics, we study the collision
Au + Au at an incident energy of 35 MeV/nucleon. It is found that the system
shows a critical behaviour at peripheral impact parameters, revealed through
the analysis of conditional moments of charge distributions, Campi Scatter
Plot, and the occurrence of large fluctuations in the region of the Campi plot
where this critical behaviour is expected. When applying the experimental
filters of the MULTICS-MINIBALL apparatus, it is found that criticality signals
can be hidden due to the inefficiency of the experimental apparatus. The
signals are then recovered by identifying semi-peripheral and peripheral
collisions looking to the velocity distribution of the largest fragment, then
by selecting the most complete events.Comment: RevTex file, 21 pages + 19 figures available upon request from
[email protected]
Phase transitions in nanosystems caused by interface motion: The Ising bi-pyramid with competing surface fields
The phase behavior of a large but finite Ising ferromagnet in the presence of
competing surface magnetic fields +/- H_s is studied by Monte Carlo simulations
and by phenomenological theory. Specifically, the geometry of a double pyramid
of height 2L is considered, such that the surface field is positive on the four
upper triangular surfaces of the bi-pyramid and negative on the lower ones. It
is shown that the total spontaneous magnetization vanishes (for L -> infinity)
at the temperature T_f(H), related to the "filling transition" of a
semi-infinite pyramid, which can be well below the critical temperature of the
bulk. The discontinuous vanishing of the magnetization is accompanied by a
susceptibility that diverges with a Curie-Weiss power law, when the transition
is approached from either side. A Landau theory with size-dependent critical
amplitudes is proposed to explain these observations, and confirmed by finite
size scaling analysis of the simulation results. The extension of these results
to other nanosystems (gas-liquid systems, binary mixtures, etc.) is briefly
discussed
Report on the first round of the Mock LISA Data Challenges
The Mock LISA Data Challenges (MLDCs) have the dual purpose of fostering the
development of LISA data analysis tools and capabilities, and demonstrating the
technical readiness already achieved by the gravitational-wave community in
distilling a rich science payoff from the LISA data output. The first round of
MLDCs has just been completed: nine data sets containing simulated
gravitational wave signals produced either by galactic binaries or massive
black hole binaries embedded in simulated LISA instrumental noise were released
in June 2006 with deadline for submission of results at the beginning of
December 2006. Ten groups have participated in this first round of challenges.
Here we describe the challenges, summarise the results, and provide a first
critical assessment of the entries.Comment: Proceedings report from GWDAW 11. Added author, added reference,
clarified some text, removed typos. Results unchanged; Removed author, minor
edits, reflects submitted versio
Circumstantial Evidence for a Critical Behavior in Peripheral Au + Au Collisions at 35 MeV/nucleon
The fragmentation resulting from peripheral Au + Au collisions at an incident
energy of E = 35 MeV/nucleon is investigated. A power-law charge distribution,
with , and an intermittency signal are observed
for events selected in the region of the Campi scatter plot where "critical"
behavior is expected.Comment: 11 pages, RevTex file, 4 postscript figures available upon request
from [email protected]
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