Monotonic Distributive Semilattices

In the study of algebras related to non-classical logics, (distributive) semilattices are always present in the background. For example, the algebraic semantic of the {→, ∧, ⊤}-fragment of intuitionistic logic is the variety of implicative meet-semilattices (Chellas 1980; Hansen 2003). In this paper we introduce and study the class of distributive meet-semilattices endowed with a monotonic modal operator m. We study the representation theory of these algebras using the theory of canonical extensions and we give a topological duality for them. Also, we show how our new duality extends to some particular subclasses.Fil: Celani, Sergio Arturo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Matemática; ArgentinaFil: Menchón, María Paula. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Matemática; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Field performance of an all-semiconductor laser coherent Doppler lidar

We implement and test what, to our knowledge, is the first deployable coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) system based on a compact, inexpensive all-semiconductor laser (SL). To demonstrate the field performance of our SL-CDL remote sensor, we compare a 36 h time series of averaged radial wind speeds measured by our instrument at an 80 m dis-tance to those simultaneously obtained from an industry-standard sonic anemometer (SA). An excellent degree of correlation (R2 0.994 and slope 0.996) is achieved from a linear regression analysis of the CDL versus SA wind speed data. The lidar system is capable of providing high data availability, ranging from 85 % to 100 % even under varying outdoor (temperature and humidity) conditions during the test period. We also show the use of our SL-CDL for monitoring the dependence of aerosol backscatter on relative humidity. This work points to the feasibility of a more general class of low-cost, portable remote sensors based on all-SL emitters for applications that require demanding laser stability and coherence. © 2012 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 010.3640, 140.5960. Light detection and ranging (lidar) is a well-known laser technology for a variety of remote sensing applications. A common lidar variant is the so-called coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) [1], which collects a portion of laser back

Vegetation Cover Analysis of Hazardous Waste Sites in Utah and Arizona Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

This study investigated the usability of hyperspectral remote sensing for characterizing vegetation at hazardous waste sites. The specific objectives of this study were to: (1) estimate leaf-area-index (LAI) of the vegetation using three different methods (i.e., vegetation indices, red-edge positioning (REP), and machine learning regression trees), and (2) map the vegetation cover using machine learning decision trees based on either the scaled reflectance data or mixture tuned matched filtering (MTMF)-derived metrics and vegetation indices. HyMap airborne data (126 bands at 2.3 x 2.3 m spatial resolution), collected over the U. S. Department of Energy uranium processing sites near Monticello, Utah and Monument Valley, Arizona, were used. Grass and shrub species were mixed on an engineered disposal cell cover at the Monticello site while shrub species were dominant in the phytoremediation plantings at the Monument Valley site. Regression trees resulted in the best calibration performance of LAI estimation (R-2 > 0.80. The use of REPs failed to accurately predict LAI (R-2 < 0.2). The use of the MTMF-derived metrics (matched filter scores and infeasibility) and a range of vegetation indices in decision trees improved the vegetation mapping when compared to the decision tree classification using just the scaled reflectance. Results suggest that hyperspectral imagery are useful for characterizing biophysical characteristics (LAI) and vegetation cover on capped hazardous waste sites. However, it is believed that the vegetation mapping would benefit from the use of higher spatial resolution hyperspectral data due to the small size of many of the vegetation patches (<1 m) found on the sites.open111

Foreign capital in a growth model

Within an endogenous growth framework, this paper empirically investigates the impact of financial capital on economic growth for a panel of 60 developing countries, through the channel of domestic capital formation. By estimating the model for different income groups, it is found that while private FDI flows exert beneficial complementarity effects on the domestic capital formation across all income-group countries, the official financial flows contribute to increasing investment in the middle income economies, but not in the low income countries. The latter appears to demonstrate that the aid-growth nexus is supported in the middle income countries, whereas the misallocation of official inflows is more likely to exist in the low income countries, suggesting that aid effectiveness remains conditional on the domestic policy environment

K2: A new method for the detection of galaxy clusters based on CFHTLS multicolor images

We have developed a new method, K2, optimized for the detection of galaxy clusters in multicolor images. Based on the Red Sequence approach, K2 detects clusters using simultaneous enhancements in both colors and position. The detection significance is robustly determined through extensive Monte-Carlo simulations and through comparison with available cluster catalogs based on two different optical methods, and also on X-ray data. K2 also provides quantitative estimates of the candidate clusters' richness and photometric redshifts. Initially K2 was applied to 161 sq deg of two color gri images of the CFHTLS-Wide data. Our simulations show that the false detection rate, at our selected threshold, is only ~1%, and that the cluster catalogs are ~80% complete up to a redshift of 0.6 for Fornax-like and richer clusters and to z ~0.3 for poorer clusters. Based on Terapix T05 release gri photometric catalogs, 35 clusters/sq deg are detected, with 1-2 Fornax-like or richer clusters every two square degrees. Catalogs containing data for 6144 galaxy clusters have been prepared, of which 239 are rich clusters. These clusters, especially the latter, are being searched for gravitational lenses -- one of our chief motivations for cluster detection in CFHTLS. The K2 method can be easily extended to use additional color information and thus improve overall cluster detection to higher redshifts. The complete set of K2 cluster catalogs, along with the supplementary catalogs for the member galaxies, are available on request from the authors.Comment: Accepted in ApJ. 25 pages, including 10 figures. Latex with emulateapj v03/07/0

Adipokine Imbalance in the Pericardial Cavity of Cardiac and Vascular Disease Patients

Aim Obesity and especially hypertrophy of epicardial adipose tissue accelerate coronary atherogenesis. We aimed at comparing levels of inflammatory and atherogenic hormones from adipose tissue in the pericardial fluid and circulation of cardiovascular disease patients. Methods and Results Venous plasma (P) and pericardial fluid (PF) were obtained from elective cardiothoracic surgery patients (n = 37). Concentrations of leptin, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (AFABP) and adiponectin (APN) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The median concentration of leptin in PF (4.3 (interquartile range: 2.8-9.1) mu g/L) was comparable to that in P (5.9 (2.2-11) mu g/L) and these were significantly correlated to most of the same patient characteristics. The concentration of A-FABP was markedly higher (73 (28-124) versus 8.4 (5.2-14) mu g/L) and that of APN was markedly lower (2.8 (1.7-4.2) versus 13 (7.2-19) mg/L) in PF compared to P. APN in PF was unlike in P not significantly related to age, body mass index, plasma triglycerides or coronary artery disease. PF levels of APN, but not A-FABP, were related to the size of paracardial adipocytes. PF levels of APN and A-FABP were not related to the immunoreactivity of paracardial adipocytes for these proteins. Conclusion In cardiac and vascular disease patients, PF is enriched in A-FABP and poor in APN. This adipokine microenvironment is more likely determined by the heart than by the circulation or paracardial adipose tissue.published_or_final_versio

An update on the human and animal enteric pathogen Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium perfringens, a rapid-growing pathogen known to secrete an arsenal of >20 virulent toxins, has been associated with intestinal diseases in both animals and humans throughout the past century. Recent advances in genomic analysis and experimental systems make it timely to re-visit this clinically and veterinary important pathogen. This Review will summarise our understanding of the genomics and virulence-linked factors, including antimicrobial potentials and secreted toxins of this gut pathogen, and then its up-to-date clinical epidemiology and biological role in the pathogenesis of several important human and animal-associated intestinal diseases, including pre-term necrotising enterocolitis. Finally, we highlight some of the important unresolved questions in relation to C. perfringens-mediated infections, and implications for future research directions

Quality of treatment plans and accuracy of in vivo portal dosimetry in hybrid intensity-modulated radiation therapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy for prostate cancer.

Background and purpose Delivering selected parts of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans using step-and-shoot intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) beams has the potential to increase plan quality by allowing specific aperture positioning. This study investigates the quality of treatment plans and the accuracy of in vivo portal dosimetry in such a hybrid approach for the case of prostate radiotherapy.Material and methods Conformal and limited-modulation VMAT plans were produced, together with five hybrid IMRT/VMAT plans, in which 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the segments were sequenced for IMRT, while the remainder were sequenced for VMAT. Integrated portal images were predicted for the plans. The plans were then delivered as a single hybrid beam using an Elekta Synergy accelerator with Agility head to a water-equivalent phantom and treatment time, isocentric dose and portal images were measured.Results Increasing the IMRT percentage improves dose uniformity to the planning target volume (p<0.01 for 50% IMRT or more), substantially reduces the volume of rectum irradiated to 65Gy (p=0.02 for 25% IMRT) and increases the monitor units (p<0.001). Delivery time also increases substantially. All plans show accurate delivery of dose and reliable prediction of portal images.Conclusions Hybrid IMRT/VMAT can be efficiently planned and delivered as a single beam sequence. Beyond 25% IMRT, the delivery time becomes unacceptably long, with increased risk of intrafraction motion, but 25% IMRT is an attractive compromise. Integrated portal images can be used to perform in vivo dosimetry for this technique