235 research outputs found

    A new method of imposing boundary conditions for hyperbolic equations

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    A new method to impose boundary conditions for pseudospectral approximations to hyperbolic equations is suggested. This method involves the collocation of the equation at the boundary nodes as well as satisfying boundary conditions. Stability and convergence results are proven for the Chebyshev approximation of linear scalar hyperbolic equations. The eigenvalues of this method applied to parabolic equations are shown to be real and negative

    High-order discretization of backward anisotropic diffusion and application to image processing

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    Anisotropic diffusion is a well recognized tool in digital image processing, including edge detection and focusing. We present here a particular nonlinear time-dependent operator together with an appropriate high-order discretization for the space variable. In just a single step, the procedure emphasizes the contour lines encircling the objects, paving the way to accurate reconstructions at a very low cost. One of the main features of such an approach is the possibility of relying on a rather large set of invariant discontinuous images, whose edges can be determined without introducing any approximation

    Electromagnetic fields simulating a rotating sphere and its exterior with implications to the modeling of the heliosphere

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    Vector displacements expressed in spherical coordinates are proposed. They correspond to electromagnetic fields in vacuum that globally rotate about an axis and display many circular patterns on the surface of a ball. The fields satisfy the set of Maxwell's equations, and some connections with magnetohydrodynamics can also be established. The solutions are extended with continuity outside the ball. In order to avoid peripheral velocities of arbitrary magnitude, as it may happen for a rigid rotating body, they are organized to form successive encapsulated shells, with substructures recalling ball-bearing assemblies. A recipe for the construction of these solutions is provided by playing with the eigenfunctions of the vector Laplace operator. Some applications relative to astronomy are finally discussed

    Homoclinic snaking of localized states in doubly diffusive convection

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    Numerical continuation is used to investigate stationary spatially localized states in two-dimensional thermosolutal convection in a plane horizontal layer with no-slip boundary conditions at top and bottom. Convectons in the form of 1-pulse and 2-pulse states of both odd and even parity exhibit homoclinic snaking in a common Rayleigh number regime. In contrast to similar states in binary fluid convection, odd parity convectons do not pump concentration horizontally. Stable but time-dependent localized structures are present for Rayleigh numbers below the snaking region for stationary convectons. The computations are carried out for (inverse) Lewis number \tau = 1/15 and Prandtl numbers Pr = 1 and Pr >> 1

    A Decision-Making Machine Learning Approach in Hermite Spectral Approximations of Partial Differential Equations

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    The accuracy and effectiveness of Hermite spectral methods for the numerical discretization of partial differential equations on unbounded domains are strongly affected by the amplitude of the Gaussian weight function employed to describe the approximation space. This is particularly true if the problem is under-resolved, i.e., there are no enough degrees of freedom. The issue becomes even more crucial when the equation under study is time-dependent, forcing in this way the choice of Hermite functions where the corresponding weight depends on time. In order to adapt dynamically the approximation space, it is here proposed an automatic decision-making process that relies on machine learning techniques, such as deep neural networks and support vector machines. The algorithm is numerically tested with success on a simple 1D problem, but the main goal is its exportability in the context of more serious applications. As a matter of fact we also show at the end an application in the framework of plasma physics

    Effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition on left ventricular geometric patterns in patients with essential hypertension

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    Although angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have been shown to affect left ventricular (LV) remodeling favorably in several conditions, it remains unclear whether they can influence LV geometric pattern in hypertension. To address this issue, 122 patients (71 men and 51 women; mean age = 51 +/- 20 years) with mild to moderate hypertension were studied prospectively. All underwent clinical evaluation and Doppler echocardiography at entry and more than 2 years of quinapril therapy (10-40 mg/day). According to either LV mass (normal if <131 g/m(2) for men or <100 g/m(2) for women) or the ratio of LV posterior wall thickness to diastolic diameter (RWT; normal if <0.45) at baseline, 58 patients had normal mass and RWT, 18 patients had concentric remodeling (i.e., normal mass but increased RWT), 24 patients had eccentric hypertrophy (i.e., increased mass but normal RWT), and 22 patients had concentric hypertrophy (i.e., increase in both mass and RWT). After 6 months of quinapril therapy, all patients with normal left ventricles showed the maintenance of mass and RWT within normal limits. Patients with concentric remodeling showed no increase in mass but had a significant decrease in RWT. Patients with eccentric hypertrophy exhibited a significant reduction in mass with no substantial change in RWT. Patients with concentric hypertrophy had a significant reduction in both mass and RWT. Changes in LV mass and geometry were maintained during the 2-year period of treatment and were paralleled by improvements in Doppler in dices of LV diastolic function in each group. It is concluded that quinapril, with its well-known effects on LV hypertrophy, modifies the LV geometric pattern of hypertensive patients favorably, regardless of the presence of an abnormal LV mass or RWT

    Efecto de la densidad de plantas y distancia entre surcos sobre el rendimiento de materia seca de maíces forrajeros en Santa Rosa, La Pampa

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    Whole plant and its components dry matter of an experimental fodder corn population (crossing between Zea mays L. x Zea diploperennis I.) and a commercial hybrid was evaluated with respect to three plant densities (50.000; 65.000 y 80.000 plants.ha-1) and two row spacings (50 y 70 cm). No response to row spacing was found, and no interaction with plant density and genotype could be determined. The results showed interaction of plant density and genotype on dry matter production of whole and leaves. The experimental population responded to the lowest plant density (5 plant m^) with the highest whole plant and leaf dry matter, while the commercial hybrid produced higher dry matter at intermediate plant density (6.5 plant.m-2). Future studies will corroborate the information on dry matter production and evaluation of digestibility of plant material should be carried out to better characterize the potential of the experimental population.Se evalúa la producción de la materia seca de planta completa y sus componentes en una población forrajera experimental originada de la cruza entre Zea mays L. x Zea diploperennis I. y un híbrido comercial con respecto a tres densidades de siembra (50.000; 65.000 y 80.000 pl.ha-1) y en dos distancias entre hileras (50 y 70 cm). No se evidenció respuesta para el espaciamiento entre surcos como tampoco interacción con la densidad de siembra ni genotipos. Se encontró interacción entre la densidad de siembra y los genotipos para la producción de materia seca de la planta completa y de hojas. La población experimental respondió mejor en la densidad menor (5 pl. m-2) donde obtuvo el mayor rendimiento de planta completa y de hojas. El hibrido lo logra con una densidad de plantas intermedia (6.5 pl.m-2). La repetición del experimento y la evaluación de la digestibilidad ampliarían la información aportada con el rendimiento de la materia seca

    CD157 signaling promotes survival of acute myeloid leukemia cells and modulates sensitivity to cytarabine through regulation of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1.

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    CD157/BST-1 (a member of the ADP-ribosyl cyclase family) is expressed at variable levels in 97% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and is currently under investigation as a target for antibody-based immunotherapy. We used peripheral blood and bone marrow samples from patients with AML to analyse the impact of CD157-directed antibodies in AML survival and in response to cytarabine (AraC) ex vivo. The study was extended to the U937, THP1 and OCI-AML3 AML cell lines of which we engineered CD157-low versions by shRNA knockdown. CD157-targeting antibodies enhanced survival, decreased apoptosis and reduced AraC toxicity in AML blasts and cell lines. CD157 signaling activated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK pathways and increased expression of Mcl-1 and Bcl-XL anti-apoptotic proteins, while decreasing expression of Bax pro-apoptotic protein, thus preventing Caspase-3 activation. The primary CD157-mediated anti-apoptotic mechanism was Bak sequestration by Mcl-1. Indeed, the Mcl-1-specific inhibitor S63845 restored apoptosis by disrupting the interaction of Mcl-1 with Bim and Bak and significantly increased AraC toxicity in CD157-high but not in CD157-low AML cells. This study provides a new role for CD157 in AML cell survival, and indicates a potential role of CD157 as a predictive marker of response to therapies exploiting Mcl-1 pharmacological inhibition

    Numerical Approximations Using Chebyshev Polynomial Expansions

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    We present numerical solutions for differential equations by expanding the unknown function in terms of Chebyshev polynomials and solving a system of linear equations directly for the values of the function at the extrema (or zeros) of the Chebyshev polynomial of order N (El-gendi's method). The solutions are exact at these points, apart from round-off computer errors and the convergence of other numerical methods used in connection to solving the linear system of equations. Applications to initial value problems in time-dependent quantum field theory, and second order boundary value problems in fluid dynamics are presented.Comment: minor wording changes, some typos have been eliminate

    Characterization of urban pollution in two cities of the Puglia region in Southern Italy using field measurements and air quality (AQ) model approach

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    Abstract Passive air sampling (PAS) consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were deployed simultaneously over four periods of 2–5 months at four locations in urban and sub–urban sites of Bari and San Vito Taranto in Southern Italy. The purpose of the study was to characterize the urban pollution for two groups of semi volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), by using two different approaches consisting of PAS–PUF and air quality models (Flexible Air quality Regional Model, FARM). The concentrations in the air ranged from 20 to 200 pg m−3 for PCBs and from 5 to 48 ng m−3 for PAHs with the highest concentrations being detected at Bari center. PCB composition was dominated by the 3–Cl congeners (periods 1 and 2) and by 5–Cl (periods 3 and 4). PCB–28 and –37 were the most abundant congeners during the four periods. The PAHs profile was dominated by the 3–ring (70±6)%, with phenanthrene alone accounting for (49±2)%. On a seasonal basis opposite patterns were observed for PCBs and PAHs showing high PCB concentrations during the warm periods, period 3: summer and 2: spring, while PAHs were found during cool periods, period 4: autumn, and 1: winter. The results obtained from the application of the FARM model, during 2010, and limited to period 4 in this study, showed similar estimated levels for PCBs indicating a good performance for PCB modeled concentrations whilst for benzo[b]fluoranthene (B[b]F) the results showed a less better agreement. This study represents one of the few efforts at characterizing PCBs and PAHs compositions in ambient air in southern Italy and also represents one of the preliminary attempts at using PAS–PUF to give more insight into a modeling prediction in Italy. These results also provide useful information for the future development of the FARM model
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