27,479 research outputs found
Large amplitude gravitational waves
We derive an asymptotic solution of the Einstein field equations which
describes the propagation of a thin, large amplitude gravitational wave into a
curved space-time. The resulting equations have the same form as the colliding
plane wave equations without one of the usual constraint equations
Towards Large-scale Inconsistency Measurement
We investigate the problem of inconsistency measurement on large knowledge
bases by considering stream-based inconsistency measurement, i.e., we
investigate inconsistency measures that cannot consider a knowledge base as a
whole but process it within a stream. For that, we present, first, a novel
inconsistency measure that is apt to be applied to the streaming case and,
second, stream-based approximations for the new and some existing inconsistency
measures. We conduct an extensive empirical analysis on the behavior of these
inconsistency measures on large knowledge bases, in terms of runtime, accuracy,
and scalability. We conclude that for two of these measures, the approximation
of the new inconsistency measure and an approximation of the contension
inconsistency measure, large-scale inconsistency measurement is feasible.Comment: International Workshop on Reactive Concepts in Knowledge
Representation (ReactKnow 2014), co-located with the 21st European Conference
on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 2014). Proceedings of the International
Workshop on Reactive Concepts in Knowledge Representation (ReactKnow 2014),
pages 63-70, technical report, ISSN 1430-3701, Leipzig University, 2014.
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-15056
Combustion synthesis of ceramic and metal-matrix composites
Combustion synthesis or self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) is effected by heating a reactant mixture, to above the ignition temperature (Tig) whereupon an exothermic reaction is initiated which produces a maximum or combustion temperature, Tc. These SHS reactions are being used to produce ceramics, intermetallics, and composite materials. One of the major limitations of this process is that relatively high levels of porosity, e.g., 50 percent, remain in the product. Conducting these SHS reactions under adiabatic conditions, the maximum temperature is the adiabatic temperature, Tad, and delta H (Tad) = 0, Tad = Tc. If the reactants or products go through a phase change, the latent heat of transformation needs to be taken into account
The Elite Brain Drain
We collect data on the movement and productivity of elite scientists. Their mobility is remarkable: nearly half of the world's most-cited physicists work outside their country of birth. We show they migrate systematically towards nations with large R&D spending. Our study cannot adjudicate on whether migration improves scientists' productivity, but we find that movers and stayers have identical h-index citations scores. Immigrants in the UK and US now win Nobel Prizes proportionately less often than earlier. US residents' h-indexes are relatively high. We describe a framework where a key role is played by low mobility costs in the modern world.mobility, science, brain drain, citations
Cluster phases of membrane proteins
A physical scenario accounting for the existence of size-limited
submicrometric domains in cell membranes is proposed. It is based on the
numerical investigation of the counterpart, in lipidic membranes where proteins
are diffusing, of the recently discovered cluster phases in colloidal
suspensions. I demonstrate that the interactions between proteins, namely
short-range attraction and longer-range repulsion, make possible the existence
of stable small clusters. The consequences are explored in terms of membrane
organization and diffusion properties. The connection with lipid rafts is
discussed and the apparent protein diffusion coefficient as a function of their
concentration is analyzed.Comment: 5 pages - enhanced versio
Individualisation of time-motion analysis : a method comparison and case report series
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG. This study compared the intensity distribution of time-motion analysis data, when speed zones were categorized by different methods. 12 U18 players undertook a routine battery of laboratory- and field-based assessments to determine their running speed corresponding to the respiratory compensation threshold (RCT), maximal aerobic speed (MAS), maximal oxygen consumption (vVO 2max ) and maximal sprint speed (MSS). Players match-demands were tracked using 5 Hz GPS units in 22 fixtures (50 eligible match observations). The percentage of total distance covered running at high-speed (%HSR), very-high speed (%VHSR) and sprinting were determined using the following speed thresholds: 1) arbitrary; 2) individualised (IND) using RCT, vVO 2max and MSS; 3) individualised via MAS per se; 4) individualised via MSS per se; and 5) individualised using MAS and MSS as measures of locomotor capacities (LOCO). Using MSS in isolation resulted in 61 % and 39 % of player's % HSR and % VHSR, respectively, being incorrectly interpreted, when compared to the IND technique. Estimating the RCT from fractional values of MAS resulted in erroneous interpretations of % HSR in 50 % of cases. The present results suggest that practitioners and researchers should avoid using singular fitness characteristics to individualise the intensity distribution of time-motion analysis data. A combination of players' anaerobic threshold, MAS, and MSS characteristics are recommended to individualise player-tracking data
Label-free proteomics identifies Calreticulin and GRP75/Mortalin as peripherally accessible protein biomarkers for spinal muscular atrophy
BACKGROUND: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease resulting from mutations in the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. Recent breakthroughs in preclinical research have highlighted several potential novel therapies for SMA, increasing the need for robust and sensitive clinical trial platforms for evaluating their effectiveness in human patient cohorts. Given that most clinical trials for SMA are likely to involve young children, there is a need for validated molecular biomarkers to assist with monitoring disease progression and establishing the effectiveness of therapies being tested. Proteomics technologies have recently been highlighted as a potentially powerful tool for such biomarker discovery. METHODS: We utilized label-free proteomics to identify individual proteins in pathologically-affected skeletal muscle from SMA mice that report directly on disease status. Quantitative fluorescent western blotting was then used to assess whether protein biomarkers were robustly changed in muscle, skin and blood from another mouse model of SMA, as well as in a small cohort of human SMA patient muscle biopsies. RESULTS: By comparing the protein composition of skeletal muscle in SMA mice at a pre-symptomatic time-point with the muscle proteome at a late-symptomatic time-point we identified increased expression of both Calreticulin and GRP75/Mortalin as robust indicators of disease progression in SMA mice. We report that these protein biomarkers were consistently modified in different mouse models of SMA, as well as across multiple skeletal muscles, and were also measurable in skin biopsies. Furthermore, Calreticulin and GRP75/Mortalin were measurable in muscle biopsy samples from human SMA patients. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that label-free proteomics technology provides a powerful platform for biomarker identification in SMA, revealing Calreticulin and GRP75/Mortalin as peripherally accessible protein biomarkers capable of reporting on disease progression in samples of muscle and skin
Maximal-entropy random walk unifies centrality measures
In this paper analogies between different (dis)similarity matrices are
derived. These matrices, which are connected to path enumeration and random
walks, are used in community detection methods or in computation of centrality
measures for complex networks. The focus is on a number of known centrality
measures, which inherit the connections established for similarity matrices.
These measures are based on the principal eigenvector of the adjacency matrix,
path enumeration, as well as on the stationary state, stochastic matrix or mean
first-passage times of a random walk. Particular attention is paid to the
maximal-entropy random walk, which serves as a very distinct alternative to the
ordinary random walk used in network analysis.
The various importance measures, defined both with the use of ordinary random
walk and the maximal-entropy random walk, are compared numerically on a set of
benchmark graphs. It is shown that groups of centrality measures defined with
the two random walks cluster into two separate families. In particular, the
group of centralities for the maximal-entropy random walk, connected to the
eigenvector centrality and path enumeration, is strongly distinct from all the
other measures and produces largely equivalent results.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
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