792 research outputs found
Recent Progress in Shearlet Theory: Systematic Construction of Shearlet Dilation Groups, Characterization of Wavefront Sets, and New Embeddings
The class of generalized shearlet dilation groups has recently been developed
to allow the unified treatment of various shearlet groups and associated
shearlet transforms that had previously been studied on a case-by-case basis.
We consider several aspects of these groups: First, their systematic
construction from associative algebras, secondly, their suitability for the
characterization of wavefront sets, and finally, the question of constructing
embeddings into the symplectic group in a way that intertwines the
quasi-regular representation with the metaplectic one. For all questions, it is
possible to treat the full class of generalized shearlet groups in a
comprehensive and unified way, thus generalizing known results to an infinity
of new cases. Our presentation emphasizes the interplay between the algebraic
structure underlying the construction of the shearlet dilation groups, the
geometric properties of the dual action, and the analytic properties of the
associated shearlet transforms.Comment: 28 page
Mathematical modelling of contact dermatitis from nickel and chromium
Dermal exposure to metal allergens can lead to irritant (ICD) and allergic contact dermatitis
(ACD). In this paper we present a mathematical model of the absorption of metal ions, hexavalent
chromium and nickel, into the viable epidermis and compare the localised irritant and T-lymphocyte
(T-cell) mediated immune responses. The model accounts for the spatial-temporal variation of skin
health, extra and intracellular allergen concentrations, innate immune cells, T-cells, cytokine signalling and lymph node activity up to about 6 days after contact with these metals; repair processes
associated with withdrawal of exposure to both metals is not considered in the current model, being
assumed secondary during the initial phases of exposure. Simulations of the resulting system of PDEs
are studied in one-dimension, i.e. across skin depth, and three-dimensional scenarios with the aim of
comparing the responses to the two ions in the cases of first contact (no T-cells initially present) and
second contact (T-cells initially present). The results show that on continuous contact, chromium ions
elicit stronger skin inflammation, but for nickel, subsequent re-exposure stimulates stronger responses
due to an accumulation of cytotoxic T-cell mediated responses which characterise ACD. Furthermore,
the surface area of contact to these metals has little effect on the speed of response, whilst sensitivity
is predicted to increase with the thickness of skin. The modelling approach is generic and should be
applicable to describe contact dermatitis from a wide range of allergens
From public to volunteer library provision in the UK: lesson to be learnt – one size does not fit all
This paper reports on research findings on the transfer of public library services to volunteer delivery in the UK between 2014 and 2016, as a result of austerity and budget cuts by local government. The research asked two key questions: are libraries sustainable after their transfer and what lessons can be learnt from these transfers that will ensure success and sustainability? Initial findings indicate that cases in different locations vary and that 'one size does not fit all'
The influence of seat backrest angle on perceived discomfort during exposure to vertical whole-body vibration
National and International Standards (e.g. BS 6841 and ISO 2631-1) provide methodologies for the measurement and assessment of whole-body vibration in terms of comfort and health. The EU Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive (PAVD) provides criteria by which vibration magnitudes can be assessed. However, these standards only consider upright seated (90°) and recumbent (0°) backrest angles, and do not provide guidance for semi-recumbent postures. This article reports an experimental programme that investigated the effects of backrest angle on comfort during vertical whole-body vibration. The series of experiments showed that a relationship exists between seat backrest angle, whole-body vibration frequency and perceived levels of discomfort. The recumbent position (0°) was the most uncomfortable and the semi-recumbent positions of 67.5° and 45° were the least uncomfortable. A new set of frequency weighting curves are proposed which use the same topology as the existing BS and ISO standards. These curves could be applied to those exposed to whole-body vibration in semi-recumbent postures to augment the existing standardised methods.
Practitioner Summary: Current vibration standards provide guidance for assessing exposures for seated, standing and recumbent positions, but not for semi-recumbent postures. This article reports new experimental data systematically investigating the effect of backrest angle on discomfort experienced. It demonstrates that most discomfort is caused in a recumbent posture and that least was caused in a semi-recumbent posture
Heating and decoherence suppression using decoupling techniques
We study the application of decoupling techniques to the case of a damped
vibrational mode of a chain of trapped ions, which can be used as a quantum bus
in linear ion trap quantum computers. We show that vibrational heating could be
efficiently suppressed using appropriate ``parity kicks''. We also show that
vibrational decoherence can be suppressed by this decoupling procedure, even
though this is generally more difficult because the rate at which the parity
kicks have to applied increases with the effective bath temperature.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures. Typos corrected, references adde
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Surveillance and maintenance report on decontamination and decommissioning and remedial action activities at the Oak Ridge Y-12 plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Fiscal year 1996
The Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) and Remedial Action (RA) programs are part of the Environmental Restoration (ER) Division and are funded by the Office of Environmental Management (EM-40). Building 9201-4 (known as Alpha-4), three sites located within Building 9201-3 (the Oil Storage Tank, the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment Fuel Handling Facility, and the Coolant Salt Technology Facility), and Building 9419-1 (the Decontamination Facility) are currently the facilities at the Y-12 Plant included in the D&D program. The RA program provides surveillance and maintenance (S&M) and program management of ER sites at the Y-12 Plant, including selected sites listed in Appendix C of the Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA), sites listed in the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendment (HSWA) permit Solid Waste Management Unit (SWM-U) list, and sites currently closed or undergoing post-closure activities under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). This report communicates the status of the program plans and specific S&M activities for the D&D and RA programs
MYCN expression induces replication stress and sensitivity to PARP inhibition in neuroblastoma
This study investigates the influence expression of the MYCN oncogene has on the DNA damage response, replication fork progression and sensitivity to PARP inhibition in neuroblastoma. In a panel of neuroblastoma cell lines, MYCN amplification or MYCN expression resulted in increased cell death in response to a range of PARP inhibitors (niraparib, veliparib, talazoparib and olaparib) compared to the response seen in non-expressing/amplified cells. MYCN expression slowed replication fork speed and increased replication fork stalling, an effect that was amplified by PARP inhibition or PARP1 depletion. Increased DNA damage seen was specifically induced in S-phase cells. Importantly, PARP inhibition caused a significant increase in the survival of mice bearing MYCN expressing tumours in a transgenic murine model of MYCN expressing neuroblastoma. Olaparib also sensitized MYCN expressing cells to camptothecin- and temozolomide-induced cell death to a greater degree than non-expressing cells. In summary, MYCN expression leads to increased replication stress in neuroblastoma cells. This effect is exaggerated by inhibition of PARP, resulting in S-phase specific DNA damage and ultimately increased tumour cell death. PARP inhibition alone or in combination with classical chemotherapeutics is therefore a potential therapeutic strategy for neuroblastoma and may be more effective in MYCN expressing tumours
Non-linear regression models for Approximate Bayesian Computation
Approximate Bayesian inference on the basis of summary statistics is
well-suited to complex problems for which the likelihood is either
mathematically or computationally intractable. However the methods that use
rejection suffer from the curse of dimensionality when the number of summary
statistics is increased. Here we propose a machine-learning approach to the
estimation of the posterior density by introducing two innovations. The new
method fits a nonlinear conditional heteroscedastic regression of the parameter
on the summary statistics, and then adaptively improves estimation using
importance sampling. The new algorithm is compared to the state-of-the-art
approximate Bayesian methods, and achieves considerable reduction of the
computational burden in two examples of inference in statistical genetics and
in a queueing model.Comment: 4 figures; version 3 minor changes; to appear in Statistics and
Computin
Search for Exotic Mesons in pi- P Interactions at 18 GeV/c
The recent search for non mesons in interactions at
Brookhaven National Laboratory is summarized. Many final states such as , , , , , ,
which are favored decay modes of exotics, are under investigation.Comment: 9 pages, PostScript, Presented at the International School of Nuclear
Physics, Erice, Sicily, Italy, September 199
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