1,360 research outputs found
A Model of Cooperative Threads
We develop a model of concurrent imperative programming with threads. We
focus on a small imperative language with cooperative threads which execute
without interruption until they terminate or explicitly yield control. We
define and study a trace-based denotational semantics for this language; this
semantics is fully abstract but mathematically elementary. We also give an
equational theory for the computational effects that underlie the language,
including thread spawning. We then analyze threads in terms of the free algebra
monad for this theory.Comment: 39 pages, 5 figure
Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Assessment of Breast Cancer-Related Lymphoedema Tissue Composition.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to propose a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition and analysis protocol that uses image segmentation to measure and depict fluid, fat, and muscle volumes in breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL). This study also aims to compare affected and control (unaffected) arms of patients with diagnosed BCRL, providing an analysis of both the volume and the distribution of the different tissue components. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The entire arm was imaged with a fluid-sensitive STIR and a 2-point 3-dimensional T1W gradient-echo-based Dixon sequences, acquired in sagittal orientation and covering the same imaging volume. An automated image postprocessing procedure was developed to simultaneously (1) contour the external volume of the arm and the muscle fascia, allowing separation of the epifacial and subfascial volumes; and to (2) separate the voxels belonging to the muscle, fat, and fluid components. The total, subfascial, epifascial, muscle (subfascial), fluid (epifascial), and fat (epifascial) volumes were measured in 13 patients with unilateral BCRL. Affected versus unaffected volumes were compared using a 2-tailed paired t test; a value of P < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Pearson correlation was used to investigate the linear relationship between fat and fluid excess volumes. The distribution of fluid, fat, and epifascial excess volumes (affected minus unaffected) along the arm was also evaluated using dedicated tissue composition maps. RESULTS: Total arm, epifascial, epifascial fluid, and epifascial fat volumes were significantly different (P < 0.0005), with greater volume in the affected arms. The increase in epifascial volume (globally, 94% of the excess volume) constituted the bulk of the lymphoedematous swelling, with fat comprising the main component. The total fat excess volume summed over all patients was 2.1 times that of fluid. Furthermore, fat and fluid excess volumes were linearly correlated (Pearson r = 0.75), with the fat excess volume being greater than the fluid in 11 subjects. Differences in muscle compartment volume between affected and unaffected arms were not statistically significant, and contributed only 6% to the total excess volume. Considering the distribution of the different tissue excess volumes, fluid accumulated prevalently around the elbow, with substantial involvement of the upper arm in only 3 cases. Fat excess volume was generally greater in the upper arm; however, the relative increase in epifascial volume, which considers the total swelling relative to the original size of the arm, was in 9 cases maximal within the forearm. CONCLUSIONS: Our measurements indicate that excess of fat within the epifascial layer was the main contributor to the swelling, even when a substantial accumulation of fluid was present. The proposed approach could be used to monitor how the internal components of BCRL evolve after presentation, to stratify patients for treatment, and to objectively assess treatment response. This methodology provides quantitative metrics not currently available during the standard clinical assessment of BCRL and shows potential for implementation in clinical practice
A Station-Based Southern Annular Mode Index from 1884 to 2005
Atmospheric pressure observations from the Southern Hemisphere are used to estimate monthly and annually averaged indexes of the southern annular mode (SAM) back to 1884. This analysis groups all relevant observations in the following four regions: one for Antarctica and three in the subtropical zone. Continuous surface pressure observations are available at a number of locations in the subtropical regions since the end of the nineteenth century. However, year-round observations in the subpolar region near the Antarctic continent began only during the 1940-60 period. The shorter Antarctic records seriously compromise the length of a traditionally estimated SAM index. To improve the situation "proxy'' estimates of Antarctic sea level pressure anomalies are provided based on the concept of atmospheric mass conservation poleward of 208S. This allows deriving a longer SAM index back to 1884. Several aspects of the new record, its statistical properties, seasonal trends, and the regional pressure anomaly correlations, are presented
Spin Fluctuation and Persistent Current in a Mesoscopic Ring Coupled to a Quantum Dot
We investigate the persistent current influenced by the spin fluctuations in
a mesoscopic ring weakly coupled to a quantum dot. It is shown that the Kondo
effect gives rise to some unusual features of the persistent current in the
limit where the charge transfer between two subsystems is suppressed. Various
aspects of the crossover from a delocalized to a localized dot limit are
discussed in relation with the effect of the coherent response of the Kondo
cloud to the Aharonov-Bohm flux.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
A new method of measuring the cluster peculiar velocity power spectrum
We propose to use spatial correlations of the kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich (KSZ)
flux as an estimator of the peculiar velocity power spectrum. In contrast with
conventional techniques, our new method does not require measurements of the
thermal SZ signal or the X-ray temperature. Moreover, this method has the
special advantage that the expected systematic errors are always sub-dominant
to statistical errors on all scales and redshifts of interest. We show that
future large sky coverage KSZ surveys may allow a peculiar velocity power
spectrum estimates of an accuracy reaching ~10%.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, MNRAS in Press (doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13454.x
A new method for determining physician decision thresholds using empiric, uncertain recommendations
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The concept of risk thresholds has been studied in medical decision making for over 30 years. During that time, physicians have been shown to be poor at estimating the probabilities required to use this method. To better assess physician risk thresholds and to more closely model medical decision making, we set out to design and test a method that derives thresholds from actual physician treatment recommendations. Such an approach would avoid the need to ask physicians for estimates of patient risk when trying to determine individual thresholds for treatment. Assessments of physician decision making are increasingly relevant as new data are generated from clinical research. For example, recommendations made in the setting of ocular hypertension are of interest as a large clinical trial has identified new risk factors that should be considered by physicians. Precisely how physicians use this new information when making treatment recommendations has not yet been determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We derived a new method for estimating treatment thresholds using ordinal logistic regression and tested it by asking ophthalmologists to review cases of ocular hypertension before expressing how likely they would be to recommend treatment. Fifty-eight physicians were recruited from the American Glaucoma Society. Demographic information was collected from the participating physicians and the treatment threshold for each physician was estimated. The method was validated by showing that while treatment thresholds varied over a wide range, the most common values were consistent with the 10-15% 5-year risk of glaucoma suggested by expert opinion and decision analysis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This method has advantages over prior means of assessing treatment thresholds. It does not require physicians to explicitly estimate patient risk and it allows for uncertainty in the recommendations. These advantages will make it possible to use this method when assessing interventions intended to alter clinical decision making.</p
Contribution of regional aerosol nucleation to low-level CCN in an Amazonian deep convective environment: results from a regionally nested global model
Global model studies and observations have shown that downward transport of aerosol nucleated in the free troposphere is a major source of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) to the global boundary layer. In Amazonia, observations show that this downward transport can occur during strong convective activity. However, it is not clear from these studies over what spatial scale this cycle of aerosol formation and downward supply of CCN is occurring. Here, we aim to quantify the extent to which the supply of aerosol to the Amazonian boundary layer is generated from nucleation within a 1000 km regional domain or from aerosol produced further afield and the effectiveness of the transport by deep convection. We run the atmosphere-only configuration of the HadGEM3 climate model incorporating a 440 km × 1080 km regional domain over Amazonia with 4 km resolution. Simulations were performed over several diurnal cycles of convection. Below 2 km altitude in the regional domain, our results show that new particle formation within the regional domain accounts for only between 0.2 % and 3.4 % of all Aitken and accumulation mode aerosol particles, whereas nucleation that occurred outside the domain (in the global model) accounts for between 58 % and 81 %. The remaining aerosol is primary in origin. Above 10 km, the regional-domain nucleation accounts for up to 66 % of Aitken and accumulation mode aerosol, but over several days very few of these particles nucleated above 10 km in the regional domain are transported into the boundary layer within the 1000 km region, and in fact very little air is mixed that far down. Rather, particles transported downwards into the boundary layer originated from outside the regional domain and entered the domain at lower altitudes. Our model results show that CCN entering the Amazonian boundary layer are transported downwards gradually over multiple convective cycles on scales much larger than 1000 km. Therefore, on a 1000 km scale in the model (approximately one-third the size of Amazonia), trace gas emission, new particle formation, transport and CCN production do not form a “closed loop” regulated by the biosphere. Rather, on this scale, long-range transport of aerosol is a much more important factor controlling CCN in the boundary layer
Modeling the total and polarized emission in evolving galaxies: "spotty" magnetic structures
Future radio observations with the SKA and its precursors will be sensitive
to trace spiral galaxies and their magnetic field configurations up to redshift
. We suggest an evolutionary model for the magnetic configuration in
star-forming disk galaxies and simulate the magnetic field distribution, the
total and polarized synchrotron emission, and the Faraday rotation measures for
disk galaxies at z\la 3. Since details of dynamo action in young galaxies are
quite uncertain, we model the dynamo action heuristically relying only on
well-established ideas of the form and evolution of magnetic fields produced by
the mean-field dynamo in a thin disk. We assume a small-scale seed field which
is then amplified by the small-scale turbulent dynamo up to energy
equipartition with kinetic energy of turbulence. The large-scale galactic
dynamo starts from seed fields of 100 pc and an averaged regular field strength
of 0.02\,G, which then evolves to a "spotty" magnetic field configuration
in about 0.8\,Gyr with scales of about one kpc and an averaged regular field
strength of 0.6\,G. The evolution of these magnetic spots is simulated
under the influence of star formation, dynamo action, stretching by
differential rotation of the disk, and turbulent diffusion. The evolution of
the regular magnetic field in a disk of a spiral galaxy, as well as the
expected total intensity, linear polarization and Faraday rotation are
simulated in the rest frame of a galaxy at 5\,GHz and 150\,MHz and in the rest
frame of the observer at 150\,MHz. We present the corresponding maps for
several epochs after disk formation. (abridged)Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, revised version is accepted for
publication in Astronomische Nachrichte
Scattering phases in quantum dots: an analysis based on lattice models
The properties of scattering phases in quantum dots are analyzed with the
help of lattice models. We first derive the expressions relating the different
scattering phases and the dot Green functions. We analyze in detail the Friedel
sum rule and discuss the deviation of the phase of the transmission amplitude
from the Friedel phase at the zeroes of the transmission. The occurrence of
such zeroes is related to the parity of the isolated dot levels. A statistical
analysis of the isolated dot wave-functions reveals the absence of significant
correlations in the parity for large disorder and the appearance, for weak
disorder, of certain dot states which are strongly coupled to the leads. It is
shown that large differences in the coupling to the leads give rise to an
anomalous charging of the dot levels. A mechanism for the phase lapse observed
experimentally based on this property is discussed and illustrated with model
calculations.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures. to appear in Physical Review
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