7,636 research outputs found
Detecting periodicity in experimental data using linear modeling techniques
Fourier spectral estimates and, to a lesser extent, the autocorrelation
function are the primary tools to detect periodicities in experimental data in
the physical and biological sciences. We propose a new method which is more
reliable than traditional techniques, and is able to make clear identification
of periodic behavior when traditional techniques do not. This technique is
based on an information theoretic reduction of linear (autoregressive) models
so that only the essential features of an autoregressive model are retained.
These models we call reduced autoregressive models (RARM). The essential
features of reduced autoregressive models include any periodicity present in
the data. We provide theoretical and numerical evidence from both experimental
and artificial data, to demonstrate that this technique will reliably detect
periodicities if and only if they are present in the data. There are strong
information theoretic arguments to support the statement that RARM detects
periodicities if they are present. Surrogate data techniques are used to ensure
the converse. Furthermore, our calculations demonstrate that RARM is more
robust, more accurate, and more sensitive, than traditional spectral
techniques.Comment: 10 pages (revtex) and 6 figures. To appear in Phys Rev E. Modified
styl
Reconstruction of ionization probabilities from spatially averaged data in N-dimensions
We present an analytical inversion technique which can be used to recover
ionization probabilities from spatially averaged data in an N-dimensional
detection scheme. The solution is given as a power series in intensity. For
this reason, we call this technique a multiphoton expansion (MPE). The MPE
formalism was verified with an exactly solvable inversion problem in 2D, and
probabilities in the postsaturation region, where the intensity-selective
scanning approach breaks down, were recovered. In 3D, ionization probabilities
of Xe were successfully recovered with MPE from simulated (using the ADK
tunneling theory) ion yields. Finally, we tested our approach with
intensity-resolved benzene ion yields showing a resonant multiphoton ionization
process. By applying MPE to this data (which was artificially averaged) the
resonant structure was recovered-suggesting that the resonance in benzene may
have been observable in spatially averaged data taken elsewhere.Comment: 19 pages and 3 figure
Evolution of accretion disks around massive black holes: constraints from the demography of active galactic nuclei
Observations have shown that the Eddington ratios (the ratio of the
bolometric luminosity to the Eddington luminosity) in QSOs/active galactic
nuclei (AGNs) cover a wide range. In this paper we connect the demography of
AGNs obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with the accretion physics around
massive black holes and propose that the diversity in the Eddington ratios is a
natural result of the long-term evolution of accretion disks in AGNs. The
observed accretion rate distribution of AGNs (with host galaxy velocity
dispersion sigma~70-200 km/s) in the nearby universe (z<0.3) is consistent with
the predictions of simple theoretical models in which the accretion rates
evolve in a self-similar way. We also discuss the implications of the results
for the issues related to self-gravitating disks, coevolution of galaxies and
QSOs/AGNs, and the unification picture of AGNs.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures; revised, main conclusions not changed; to appear
in ApJ, Oct., 200
Preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and outcome from coronary artery bypass grafting
Background: An elevated preoperative white blood cell count has been associated with a worse outcome after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Leukocyte subtypes, and particularly the neutrophil-lymphocyte (N/L) ratio, may however, convey superior prognostic information. We hypothesized that the N/L ratio would predict the outcome of patients undergoing surgical revascularization. Methods: Baseline clinical details were obtained prospectively in 1938 patients undergoing CABG. The differential leukocyte was measured before surgery, and patients were followed-up 3.6 years later. The primary end point was all-cause mortality. Results: The preoperative N/L ratio was a powerful univariable predictor of mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.13 per unit, P 3.36). Conclusion: An elevated N/L ratio is associated with a poorer survival after CABG. This prognostic utility is independent of other recognized risk factors.Peer reviewedAuthor versio
Recurrence-based time series analysis by means of complex network methods
Complex networks are an important paradigm of modern complex systems sciences
which allows quantitatively assessing the structural properties of systems
composed of different interacting entities. During the last years, intensive
efforts have been spent on applying network-based concepts also for the
analysis of dynamically relevant higher-order statistical properties of time
series. Notably, many corresponding approaches are closely related with the
concept of recurrence in phase space. In this paper, we review recent
methodological advances in time series analysis based on complex networks, with
a special emphasis on methods founded on recurrence plots. The potentials and
limitations of the individual methods are discussed and illustrated for
paradigmatic examples of dynamical systems as well as for real-world time
series. Complex network measures are shown to provide information about
structural features of dynamical systems that are complementary to those
characterized by other methods of time series analysis and, hence,
substantially enrich the knowledge gathered from other existing (linear as well
as nonlinear) approaches.Comment: To be published in International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos
(2011
Peroxisomes in intestinal and gallbladder epithelial cells of the stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. (Teleostei)
The occurrence of microbodies in the epithelial cells of the intestine and gallbladder of the stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., is described. In the intestine the organelles are predominantly located in the apical and perinuclear zone of the cells and may contain small crystalline cores. In gallbladder epithelial cells the microbodies are distributed randomly. The latter organdies are characterized by the presence of large crystalloids. Cytochemical and biochemical experiments show that catalase and D-amino acid oxidase are main matrix components of the microbodies in both the intestinal and gallbladder epithelia. These organelles therefore are considered peroxisomes. In addition, in intestinal mucosa but not in gallbladder epithelium a low activity of palmitoyl CoA oxidase was detected biochemically. Urate oxidase and L-α hydroxy acid oxidase activities could not be demonstrated.
Uncertainties on Central Exclusive Scalar Luminosities from the unintegrated gluon distributions
In a previous report we used the Linked Dipole Chain model unintegrated gluon
densities to investigate the uncertainties in the predictions for central
exclusive production of scalars at hadron colliders. Here we expand this
investigation by also looking at other parameterizations of the unintegrated
gluon density, and look in more detail on the behavior of these at small k_T.
We confirm our conclusions that the luminosity function for central exclusive
production is very sensitive to this behavior. However, we also conclude that
the available densities based on the CCFM and LDC evolutions are not
constrained enough to give reliable predictions even for inclusive Higgs
production at the LHC
Gluon Distribution Functions in the kT-factorization Approach
At small x, the effects of finite transverse momenta of partons inside a
hadron become increasingly important, especially in analyses of jets and
heavy-quark production. These effects can be systematically accounted for in a
formalism based on kT-factorization and unintegrated distribution functions. We
present results for the unintegrated distribution function, together with the
corresponding integrated one, obtained within the framework of the Linked
Dipole Chain model. Comparisons are made to results obtained within other
approaches
Search for Chargino and Neutralino Production at sqrt(s) = 192-209 GeV at LEP
Approximately 438 pb-1 of e+e- data from the OPAL detector, taken with the
LEP collider running at centre-of-mass energies of 192-209 Gev, are analyzed to
search for evidence of chargino pair production, e+e- -> tilde chi^+_1 tilde
chi^-_1, or neutralino associated production, e+e- -> tilde chi^0_2 tilde
chi^0_1. Limits are set at the 95% confidence level on the product of the
cross-section for the process e+e- -> tilde chi^+_1 tilde chi^-_1 and its
branching ratios to topologies containing jets and missing energy, of jest with
a lepton and missing energy, and on the product of the cross-section for e+e-
-> tilde chi^0_2 tilde chi^0_1 and its branching ratio to jets. R-parity
conservation is assumed throughout this paper. When these results are
interpreted in the context of the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard
Model, limits are also set on the masses of the tilde chi^+-_1, tilde chi^0_1
and tilde chi^0_2, and regions of the parameter space of the model are ruled
out. Nearly model-independent limits are also set at the 95% confidence level
on sigma(e+e- -> tilde chi^+_1 tilde chi^-_1) with the assumption that each
chargino decays via a W boson, and on sigma(e+e- -> tilde chi^0_2 tilde
chi^0_1) with the tilde chi^0_2 assumed to decay via a Z^0.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, Submitted to Eur Phys J.
On the Cosmological Evolution of the Luminosity Function and the Accretion Rate of Quasars
We consider a class of models for the redshift evolution (between 0\lsim z
\lsim 4) of the observed optical and X-ray quasar luminosity functions (LFs),
with the following assumptions: (i) the mass-function of dark matter halos
follows the Press-Schechter theory, (ii) the black hole (BH) mass scales
linearly with the halo mass, (iii) quasars have a constant universal lifetime,
and (iv) a thin accretion disk provides the optical luminosity of quasars,
while the X-ray/optical flux ratio is calibrated from a sample of observed
quasars. The mass accretion rate onto quasar BHs is a free parameter
of the models, that we constrain using the observed LFs. The accretion rate
inferred from either the optical or X-ray data under these assumptions
generally decreases as a function of cosmic time from to . We find that a comparable accretion rate is inferred from the X-ray and
optical LF only if the X-ray/optical flux ratio decreases with BH mass. Near
, drops to substantially sub-Eddington values at which
advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs) exist. Such a decline of ,
possibly followed by a transition to radiatively inefficient ADAFs, could
explain both the absence of bright quasars in the local universe and the
faintness of accreting BHs at the centers of nearby galaxies. We argue that a
decline of the accretion rate of the quasar population is indeed expected in
cosmological structure formation models.Comment: Latex, 23 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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