41,226 research outputs found
Of McKay Correspondence, Non-linear Sigma-model and Conformal Field Theory
The ubiquitous ADE classification has induced many proposals of often
mysterious correspondences both in mathematics and physics. The mathematics
side includes quiver theory and the McKay Correspondence which relates finite
group representation theory to Lie algebras as well as crepant resolutions of
Gorenstein singularities. On the physics side, we have the graph-theoretic
classification of the modular invariants of WZW models, as well as the relation
between the string theory nonlinear -models and Landau-Ginzburg
orbifolds. We here propose a unification scheme which naturally incorporates
all these correspondences of the ADE type in two complex dimensions. An
intricate web of inter-relations is constructed, providing a possible guideline
to establish new directions of research or alternate pathways to the standing
problems in higher dimensions.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figures; minor corrections, comments on toric geometry
and references adde
Estimation of Purcell factor from mode-splitting spectra in an optical microcavity
We investigate scattering process in an ultra-high-Q optical microcavity
coupled to subwavelength scatterers by introducing "splitting quality" Qsp, a
dimensionless parameter defined as the ratio of the scatterer-induced mode
splitting to the total loss of the coupled system. A simple relation is
introduced to directly estimate the Purcell factor from single-shot measurement
of transmission spectrum of scatterer-coupled cavity. Experiments with
polystyrene (PS) and gold (Au) nanoparticles, Erbium ions and Influenza A
virions show that Purcell-factor-enhanced preferential funneling of scattering
into the cavity mode takes place regardless of the scatterer type.
Experimentally determined highest Qsp for single PS and Au nanoparticles are
9.4 and 16.19 corresponding to Purcell factors with lower bounds of 353 and
1049, respectively. The highest observed Qsp was 31.2 for an ensemble of Au
particles. These values are the highest Qsp and Purcell factors reported up to
date.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 Figures, 12 Reference
Chemicals having estrogenic activity can be released from some bisphenol a-free, hard and clear, thermoplastic resins
Background: Chemicals that have estrogenic activity (EA) can potentially cause adverse health effects in mammals
including humans, sometimes at low doses in fetal through juvenile stages with effects detected in adults.
Polycarbonate (PC) thermoplastic resins made from bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that has EA, are now often
avoided in products used by babies. Other BPA-free thermoplastic resins, some hypothesized or advertised to be
EA-free, are replacing PC resins used to make reusable hard and clear thermoplastic products such as baby bottles.
Methods: We used two very sensitive and accurate in vitro assays (MCF-7 and BG1Luc human cell lines) to quantify
the EA of chemicals leached into ethanol or water/saline extracts of fourteen unstressed or stressed (autoclaving,
microwaving, UV radiation) thermoplastic resins. Estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent agonist responses were confirmed
by their inhibition with the ER antagonist ICI 182,780.
Results: Our data showed that some (4/14) unstressed and stressed BPA-free thermoplastic resins leached chemicals
having significant levels of EA, including one polystyrene (PS), and three Tritanâ„¢ resins, the latter reportedly
EA-free. Exposure to UV radiation in natural sunlight resulted in an increased release of EA from Tritanâ„¢ resins.
Triphenyl-phosphate (TPP), an additive used to manufacture some thermoplastic resins such as Tritanâ„¢, exhibited
EA in both MCF-7 and BG1Luc assays. Ten unstressed or stressed glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate
(PETG), cyclic olefin polymer (COP) or copolymer (COC) thermoplastic resins did not release chemicals with detectable
EA under any test condition.
Conclusions: This hazard survey study assessed the release of chemicals exhibiting EA as detected by two sensitive,
widely used and accepted, human cell line in vitro assays. Four PC replacement resins (Tritanâ„¢ and PS) released
chemicals having EA. However, ten other PC-replacement resins did not leach chemicals having EA (EA-free-resins).
These results indicate that PC-replacement plastic products could be made from EA-free resins (if appropriate EA-free
additives are chosen) that maintain advantages of re-usable plastic items (price, weight, shatter resistance) without
releasing chemicals having EA that potentially produce adverse health effects on current or future generations.This work was supported by the following NIH/NIEHS grants: R44 ES011469, 01–03 (CZY);
1R43/44 ES014806, 01–03 (CZY); subcontract (CZY, PI) on an NIH Grant 01–03
43/44ES018083-01. This work was also supported by NIH grants to MSD (P42
ES004699), and DJK and SIY (1R43ES018083-01-03, NIEHS 1R44ES019442-01-03
and NIEHS 2R44ES016964-01-03).Neuroscienc
Spatial imaging of Zn and other elements in Huanglongbing-affected grapefruit by synchrotron-based micro X-ray fluorescence investigation
Huanglongbing (HLB) is a highly destructive, fast-spreading disease of citrus, causing substantial economic losses to the citrus industry worldwide. Nutrient levels and their cellular distribution patterns in stems and leaves of grapefruit were analysed after graft-inoculation with lemon scions containing 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (Las), the heat-tolerant Asian type of the HLB bacterium. After 12 months, affected plants showed typical HLB symptoms and significantly reduced Zn concentrations in leaves. Micro-XRF imaging of Zn and other nutrients showed that preferential localization of Zn to phloem tissues was observed in the stems and leaves collected from healthy grapefruit plants, but was absent from HLB-affected samples. Quantitative analysis by using standard references revealed that Zn concentration in the phloem of veins in healthy leaves was more than 10 times higher than that in HLB-affected leaves. No significant variation was observed in the distribution patterns of other elements such as Ca in stems and leaves of grapefruit plants with or without graft-inoculation of infected lemon scions. These results suggest that reduced phloem transport of Zn is an important factor contributing to HLB-induced Zn deficiency in grapefruit. Our report provides the first in situ, cellular level visualization of elemental variations within the tissues of HLB-affected citrus. © 2014 © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology
Adversarial Attack and Defense on Graph Data: A Survey
Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely applied to various applications
including image classification, text generation, audio recognition, and graph
data analysis. However, recent studies have shown that DNNs are vulnerable to
adversarial attacks. Though there are several works studying adversarial attack
and defense strategies on domains such as images and natural language
processing, it is still difficult to directly transfer the learned knowledge to
graph structure data due to its representation challenges. Given the importance
of graph analysis, an increasing number of works start to analyze the
robustness of machine learning models on graph data. Nevertheless, current
studies considering adversarial behaviors on graph data usually focus on
specific types of attacks with certain assumptions. In addition, each work
proposes its own mathematical formulation which makes the comparison among
different methods difficult. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to survey
existing adversarial learning strategies on graph data and first provide a
unified formulation for adversarial learning on graph data which covers most
adversarial learning studies on graph. Moreover, we also compare different
attacks and defenses on graph data and discuss their corresponding
contributions and limitations. In this work, we systemically organize the
considered works based on the features of each topic. This survey not only
serves as a reference for the research community, but also brings a clear image
researchers outside this research domain. Besides, we also create an online
resource and keep updating the relevant papers during the last two years. More
details of the comparisons of various studies based on this survey are
open-sourced at
https://github.com/YingtongDou/graph-adversarial-learning-literature.Comment: In submission to Journal. For more open-source and up-to-date
information, please check our Github repository:
https://github.com/YingtongDou/graph-adversarial-learning-literatur
Cuckoo search for business optimization applications
Cuckoo search has become a popular and powerful metaheuristic algorithm for global optimization. In business optimization and applications, many studies have focused on support vector machine and neural networks. In this paper, we use cuckoo search to carry out optimization tasks and compare the performance of cuckoo search with support vector machine. By testing benchmarks such as project scheduling and bankruptcy predictions, we conclude that cuckoo search can perform better than support vector machine
Attraction and diffusion in nature-inspired optimization algorithms
Nature-inspired algorithms usually use some form of attraction and diffusion as a mechanism for exploitation and exploration. In this paper, we investigate the role of attraction and diffusion in algorithms and their ways in controlling the behaviour and performance of nature-inspired algorithms. We highlight different ways of the implementations of attraction in algorithms such as the firefly algorithm, charged system search, and the gravitational search algorithm. We also analyze diffusion mechanisms such as random walks for exploration in algorithms. It is clear that attraction can be an effective way for enhancing exploitation, while diffusion is a common way for exploration. Furthermore, we also discuss the role of parameter tuning and parameter control in modern metaheuristic algorithms, and then point out some key topics for further research
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