1,593 research outputs found
A Comparative Study between Two Regression Methods on LiDAR Data: A Case Study
Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) has become
an excellent tool for accurately assessing vegetation characteristics in
forest environments. Previous studies showed empirical relationships between
LiDAR and field-measured biophysical variables. Multiple linear
regression (MLR) with stepwise feature selection is the most common
method for building estimation models. Although this technique has provided
very interesting results, many other data mining techniques may
be applied. The overall goal of this study is to compare different methodologies
for assessing biomass fractions at stand level using airborne Li-
DAR data in forest settings. In order to choose the best methodology, a
comparison between two different feature selection techniques (stepwise
selection vs. genetic-based selection) is presented. In addition, classical
MLR is also compared with regression trees (M5P). The results when
each methodology is applied to estimate stand biomass fractions from
an area of northern Spain show that genetically-selected M5P obtains
the best results
Network Analysis Reveals Distinct Clinical Syndromes Underlying Acute Mountain Sickness
Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is a common problem among visitors at high altitude, and may progress to life-threatening pulmonary and cerebral oedema in a minority of cases. International consensus defines AMS as a constellation of subjective, non-specific symptoms. Specifically, headache, sleep disturbance, fatigue and dizziness are given equal diagnostic weighting. Different pathophysiological mechanisms are now thought to underlie headache and sleep disturbance during acute exposure to high altitude. Hence, these symptoms may not belong together as a single syndrome. Using a novel visual analogue scale (VAS), we sought to undertake a systematic exploration of the symptomatology of AMS using an unbiased, data-driven approach originally designed for analysis of gene expression. Symptom scores were collected from 292 subjects during 1110 subject-days at altitudes between 3650 m and 5200 m on Apex expeditions to Bolivia and Kilimanjaro. Three distinct patterns of symptoms were consistently identified. Although fatigue is a ubiquitous finding, sleep disturbance and headache are each commonly reported without the other. The commonest pattern of symptoms was sleep disturbance and fatigue, with little or no headache. In subjects reporting severe headache, 40% did not report sleep disturbance. Sleep disturbance correlates poorly with other symptoms of AMS (Mean Spearman correlation 0.25). These results challenge the accepted paradigm that AMS is a single disease process and describe at least two distinct syndromes following acute ascent to high altitude. This approach to analysing symptom patterns has potential utility in other clinical syndromes
Statistical distribution of quantum entanglement for a random bipartite state
We compute analytically the statistics of the Renyi and von Neumann entropies
(standard measures of entanglement), for a random pure state in a large
bipartite quantum system. The full probability distribution is computed by
first mapping the problem to a random matrix model and then using a Coulomb gas
method. We identify three different regimes in the entropy distribution, which
correspond to two phase transitions in the associated Coulomb gas. The two
critical points correspond to sudden changes in the shape of the Coulomb charge
density: the appearance of an integrable singularity at the origin for the
first critical point, and the detachement of the rightmost charge (largest
eigenvalue) from the sea of the other charges at the second critical point.
Analytical results are verified by Monte Carlo numerical simulations. A short
account of some of these results appeared recently in Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf
104}, 110501 (2010).Comment: 7 figure
Auditory network connectivity in tinnitus patients: a resting-state fMRI study
Objective: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) uncovers correlated activity between spatially distinct functionally related brain regions and offers clues about the integrity of functional brain circuits in people with chronic subjective tinnitus. We chose to investigate auditory network connectivity, adopting and extending previously used analyses methods to provide an independent evaluation of replicability. Design: Independent components analysis (ICA) was used to identify coherent patterns arising from spontaneous brain signals within the resting-state data. The auditory network component was extracted and evaluated. Bivariate and partial correlation analyses were performed on pre-defined regions of bilateral auditory cortex to assess functional connectivity. Study sample: Our design carefully matched participant groups for possible confounds, such as hearing status. Twelve patients (seven male, five female; mean age 66 years) all with chronic constant tinnitus and eleven controls (eight male, three female; mean age 68 years) took part. Results: No significant differences were found in auditory network connectivity between groups after correcting for multiple statistical comparisons in the analysis. This contradicts previous findings reporting reduced auditory network connectivity; albeit at a less stringent statistical threshold. Conclusions: Auditory network connectivity does not appear to be reliably altered by the experience of chronic subjective tinnitus
Slepton and Neutralino/Chargino Coannihilations in MSSM
Within the low-energy effective Minimal Supersymmetric extension of Standard
Model (effMSSM) we calculated the neutralino relic density taking into account
slepton-neutralino and neutralino-chargino/neutralino coannihilation channels.
We performed comparative study of these channels and obtained that both of them
give sizable contributions to the reduction of the relic density. Due to these
coannihilation processes some models (mostly with large neutralino masses)
enter into the cosmologically interesting region for relic density, but other
models leave this region. Nevertheless, in general, the predictions for direct
and indirect dark matter detection rates are not strongly affected by these
coannihilation channels in the effMSSM.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, revte
Squark-, Slepton- and Neutralino-Chargino coannihilation effects in the low-energy effective MSSM
Within the low-energy effective Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the
Standard Model (effMSSM) we calculate the neutralino relic density taking into
account slepton-neutralino, squark-neutralino and neutralino/chargino-
neutralino coannihilation channels. By including squark (stop and sbottom)
coannihilation channels we extend our comparative study to all allowed
coannihilations and obtain the general result that all of them give sizable
contributions to the reduction of the neutralino relic density. Due to these
coannihilation processes some models (mostly with large neutralino masses)
enter into the cosmologically interesting region for relic density, but other
models leave this region. Nevertheless, in general, the predictions for direct
and indirect dark matter detection rates are not strongly affected by these
coannihilation channels in the effMSSM.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, corrected and to be published in Phys. Rev.
Calsequestrin as a risk factor in Graves’ hyperthyroidism and Graves’ ophthalmopathy patients
Background: The pathogenesis of Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO), Graves’ hyperthyroidism (GH) and the mechanisms for its link to thyroid autoimmunity are poorly understood. Our research focuses on the role of the skeletal muscle calcium binding protein calsequestrin (CASQ1) in thyroid. We measured the concentration of the CASQ1 protein correlating levels with parameters of the eye signs, CASQ1 antibody levels and CASQ1 gene polymorphism rs3838284. Methods: CASQ1 protein was measured by quantitative Western Blotting. The protein concentrations were expressed as pmol/mg total protein by reference to CASQ1 standards. Results: Western blot analysis showed the presence of two forms of CASQ1 in the thyroid. The mean concentration of CASQ1 protein was significantly reduced in patients with Graves’ disease, compared to thyroid from control subjects with multi-nodular goitre or thyroid cancer. Although in patients with GO it was lower than that, compared with patients with GH this difference was not significant. Reduced CASQ1 in Graves’ thyroid correlated with the homozygous genotype of the rs3838284 CASQ1 polymorphism. Conclusions: Decreased CASQ1 in the thyroid of patients with Graves’ disease compared to thyroid from control subjects is not explained but may reflect consumption of the protein during an autoimmune reaction against CASQ1 in the thyroid
Search for lepton-flavor violation at HERA
A search for lepton-flavor-violating interactions and has been performed with the ZEUS detector using the entire HERA I
data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 130 pb^{-1}. The data
were taken at center-of-mass energies, , of 300 and 318 GeV. No
evidence of lepton-flavor violation was found, and constraints were derived on
leptoquarks (LQs) that could mediate such interactions. For LQ masses below
, limits were set on , where
is the coupling of the LQ to an electron and a
first-generation quark , and is the branching ratio of
the LQ to the final-state lepton ( or ) and a quark . For
LQ masses much larger than , limits were set on the four-fermion
interaction term for LQs that couple to an electron and a quark
and to a lepton and a quark , where and are
quark generation indices. Some of the limits are also applicable to
lepton-flavor-violating processes mediated by squarks in -Parity-violating
supersymmetric models. In some cases, especially when a higher-generation quark
is involved and for the process , the ZEUS limits are the most
stringent to date.Comment: 37 pages, 10 figures, Accepted by EPJC. References and 1 figure (Fig.
6) adde
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