10,848 research outputs found
Threshold effects for two pathogens spreading on a network
Diseases spread through host populations over the networks of contacts
between individuals, and a number of results about this process have been
derived in recent years by exploiting connections between epidemic processes
and bond percolation on networks. Here we investigate the case of two pathogens
in a single population, which has been the subject of recent interest among
epidemiologists. We demonstrate that two pathogens competing for the same hosts
can both spread through a population only for intermediate values of the bond
occupation probability that lie above the classic epidemic threshold and below
a second higher value, which we call the coexistence threshold, corresponding
to a distinct topological phase transition in networked systems.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
The state of MIIND
MIIND (Multiple Interacting Instantiations of Neural Dynamics) is a highly modular multi-level C++ framework, that aims to shorten the development time for models in Cognitive Neuroscience (CNS). It offers reusable code modules (libraries of classes and functions) aimed at solving problems that occur repeatedly in modelling, but tries not to impose a specific modelling philosophy or methodology. At the lowest level, it offers support for the implementation of sparse networks. For example, the library SparseImplementationLib supports sparse random networks and the library LayerMappingLib can be used for sparse regular networks of filter-like operators. The library DynamicLib, which builds on top of the library SparseImplementationLib, offers a generic framework for simulating network processes. Presently, several specific network process implementations are provided in MIIND: the Wilson–Cowan and Ornstein–Uhlenbeck type, and population density techniques for leaky-integrate-and-fire neurons driven by Poisson input. A design principle of MIIND is to support detailing: the refinement of an originally simple model into a form where more biological detail is included. Another design principle is extensibility: the reuse of an existing model in a larger, more extended one. One of the main uses of MIIND so far has been the instantiation of neural models of visual attention. Recently, we have added a library for implementing biologically-inspired models of artificial vision, such as HMAX and recent successors. In the long run we hope to be able to apply suitably adapted neuronal mechanisms of attention to these artificial models
Nonperiodic echoes from mushroom billiard hats
Mushroom billiards have the remarkable property to show one or more clear cut
integrable islands in one or several chaotic seas, without any fractal
boundaries. The islands correspond to orbits confined to the hats of the
mushrooms, which they share with the chaotic orbits. It is thus interesting to
ask how long a chaotic orbit will remain in the hat before returning to the
stem. This question is equivalent to the inquiry about delay times for
scattering from the hat of the mushroom into an opening where the stem should
be. For fixed angular momentum we find that no more than three different delay
times are possible. This induces striking nonperiodic structures in the delay
times that may be of importance for mesoscopic devices and should be accessible
to microwave experiments.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. E without the appendi
Data Center Site Redundancy
Commonly, disaster contingency calls for separation of location for redundant locations to maintain the needed redundancy. This document addresses issues for the data center redundancy, including limits to the distribution, distance and location that may impact on the efficiency or energy
Geometric Analysis of Particular Compactly Constructed Time Machine Spacetimes
We formulate the concept of time machine structure for spacetimes exhibiting
a compactely constructed region with closed timelike curves. After reviewing
essential properties of the pseudo Schwarzschild spacetime introduced by A.
Ori, we present an analysis of its geodesics analogous to the one conducted in
the case of the Schwarzschild spacetime. We conclude that the pseudo
Schwarzschild spacetime is geodesically incomplete and not extendible to a
complete spacetime. We then introduce a rotating generalization of the pseudo
Schwarzschild metric, which we call the the pseudo Kerr spacetime. We establish
its time machine structure and analyze its global properties.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Lifshitz and Excited State Quantum Phase Transitions in Microwave Dirac Billiards
We present experimental results for the density of states (DOS) of a
superconducting microwave Dirac billiard which serves as an idealized model for
the electronic properties of graphene. The DOS exhibits two sharp peaks which
evolve into van Hove singularities with increasing system size. They divide the
band structure into regions governed by the \emph{relativistic} Dirac equation
and by the \emph{non-relativistic} Schr\"odinger equation, respectively. We
demonstrate that in the thermodynamic limit a topological transition appears as
a neck-disrupting Lifshitz transition in the number susceptibility and as an
excited state transition in the electronic excitations. Furthermore, we recover
the finite-size scaling typical for excited state quantum phase transitions
involving logarithmic divergences and identify a quasi-order parameter
Teaching Aids in Botany. I - The Placement Test
The written placement test has proven a valuable teaching aid in General Botany at Iowa State College, particularly when used to segregate students into high, medium, or low sections. In the fall of 1938 it was used to segregate 350 students into 5 high, 2 medium and 5 low sections. The administrative difficulties of sectioning were met by placing the 90 students who were classified for the same class period into 3 sections of about 30 each. This test has been evolved over a period of ten years; and is composed of ten comprehensive questions of the following types: information, interpretation of data, testing of hypotheses, methods of proof and deductive reasoning. The effectiveness of the placement test is indicated by a correlation of .57 between it and the comprehensive final examination administered to 323 students in the fall of 1938
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