1,814 research outputs found
FSEM: Functional Structural Equation Models for Twin Functional Data
The aim of this article is to develop a novel class of functional structural equation models (FSEMs) for dissecting functional genetic and environmental effects on twin functional data, while characterizing the varying association between functional data and covariates of interest. We propose a three-stage estimation procedure to estimate varying coefficient functions for various covariates (e.g., gender) as well as three covariance operators for the genetic and environmental effects. We develop an inference procedure based on weighted likelihood ratio statistics to test the genetic/environmental effect at either a fixed location or a compact region. We also systematically carry out the theoretical analysis of the estimated varying functions, the weighted likelihood ratio statistics, and the estimated covariance operators. We conduct extensive Monte Carlo simulations to examine the finite-sample performance of the estimation and inference procedures. We apply the proposed FSEM to quantify the degree of genetic and environmental effects on twin white matter tracts obtained from the UNC early brain development study. Supplementary materials for this article are available online
MHV Lagrangian for N=4 Super Yang-Mills
Here we formulate two field redefinitions for N=4 Super Yang-Mills in light
cone superspace that generates only MHV vertices in the new Lagrangian. After
careful consideration of the S-matrix equivalence theorem, we see that only the
canonical transformation gives the MHV Lagrangian that would correspond to the
CSW expansion. Being in superspace, it is easier to analyse the equivalence
theorem at loop level. We calculate the on shell amplitude for 4pt
MHV in the new lagrangian and
show that it reproduces the previously known form. We also briefly discuss the
relationship with the off-shell continuation prescription of CSW.Comment: 17 pages 4 figures, 2 sections and several references added typo
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Human lysozyme inhibits the in vitro aggregation of A beta peptides, which in vivo are associated with Alzheimer's disease
Biophysical Structural Chemistr
Coverage of harm reduction services and HIV infection: A multilevel analysis of five Chinese cities
__Background:__ Since 2003, a harm reduction program for injecting drug users has been rolled out countrywide in China. It entails services for condom promotion, a needle and syringe program (NSP), and methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). However, it remains unknown if and to what extent the coverage of these services at city level is related to a reduced risk of HIV infection among drug users.
__Methods:__ We wished to quantify the extent to which city-level characteristics (such as NSP and MMT service coverage) and individual-level determinants (e.g., self-reported exposure to NSP and MMT services, knowledge, motivation, and skills) were associated with the risk of HIV infection among drug users. In 2006, we conducted an integrated serological and behavioral survey among drug users in five cities of Yunnan Province, China (N = 685), constructing a multilevel logistic regression model with drug users clustered within these cities.
__Results:__ Drug users who reported having received NSP or MMT services were about 50% less likely to be infected with HIV than those who reported not having received them (OR 0.45, 95% CI, 0.26-0.83 for NSP and 0.48, 95% CI, 0.31-0.73 for MMT). Despite a between-city variation of HIV infection risk (ICC 0.24, 95% CI 0.08-0.54), none of the city-level factors could explain this difference. Individual-level determinants such as perceived risk of infection and use of condoms were not associated with HIV infection.
__Conclusions:__ Although people who had used NSP or MMT services were less likely to be HIV infected, this study found no relationship between city-level coverage of HIV prevention programs and variations in HIV infection between cities. This may have been due to the low number of cities in the analysis. Future research should include the analysis of data from a larger number of cities, which are collected widely in China through integrated behavioral and serological surveys
First principle study of intrinsic defects in hexagonal tungsten carbide
The characteristics of intrinsic defects are important for the understanding
of self-diffusion processes, mechanical strength, brittleness, and plasticity
of tungsten carbide, which present in the divertor of fusion reactors. Here, we
use first-principles calculations to investigate the stability of point defects
and their complexes in WC. Our calculation results confirm that the formation
energies of carbon defects are much lower than that of tungsten defects. The
outward relaxations around vacancy are found. Both interstitial carbon and
interstitial tungsten atom prefer to occupy the carbon basal plane projection
of octahedral interstitial site. The results of isolated carbon defect
diffusion show that the carbon vacancy stay for a wide range of temperature
because of extremely high diffusion barriers, while carbon interstitial
migration is activated at lower temperatures for its considerable lower
activation energy. These results provide evidence for the presumption that the
800K stage is attributed by the annealing out of carbon vacancies by long-range
migration.Comment: Submitted to Journal of Nuclear Material
Thermodynamic perturbation theory for dipolar superparamagnets
Thermodynamic perturbation theory is employed to derive analytical
expressions for the equilibrium linear susceptibility and specific heat of
lattices of anisotropic classical spins weakly coupled by the dipole-dipole
interaction. The calculation is carried out to the second order in the coupling
constant over the temperature, while the single-spin anisotropy is treated
exactly. The temperature range of applicability of the results is, for weak
anisotropy (A/kT << 1), similar to that of ordinary high-temperature
expansions, but for moderately and strongly anisotropic spins (A/kT > 1) it can
extend down to the temperatures where the superparamagnetic blocking takes
place (A/kT \sim 25), provided only the interaction strength is weak enough.
Besides, taking exactly the anisotropy into account, the results describe as
particular cases the effects of the interactions on isotropic (A = 0) as well
as strongly anisotropic (A \to \infty) systems (discrete orientation model and
plane rotators).Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Bergman Kernel from Path Integral
We rederive the expansion of the Bergman kernel on Kahler manifolds developed
by Tian, Yau, Zelditch, Lu and Catlin, using path integral and perturbation
theory, and generalize it to supersymmetric quantum mechanics. One physics
interpretation of this result is as an expansion of the projector of wave
functions on the lowest Landau level, in the special case that the magnetic
field is proportional to the Kahler form. This is relevant for the quantum Hall
effect in curved space, and for its higher dimensional generalizations. Other
applications include the theory of coherent states, the study of balanced
metrics, noncommutative field theory, and a conjecture on metrics in black hole
backgrounds. We give a short overview of these various topics. From a
conceptual point of view, this expansion is noteworthy as it is a geometric
expansion, somewhat similar to the DeWitt-Seeley-Gilkey et al short time
expansion for the heat kernel, but in this case describing the long time limit,
without depending on supersymmetry.Comment: 27 page
A straightforward and robust method for introducing human hair as a nucleant into high throughput crystallization trials
Biophysical Structural Chemistr
The Uncertainty in Newton's Constant and Precision Predictions of the Primordial Helium Abundance
The current uncertainty in Newton's constant, G_N, is of the order of 0.15%.
For values of the baryon to photon ratio consistent with both cosmic microwave
background observations and the primordial deuterium abundance, this
uncertainty in G_N corresponds to an uncertainty in the primordial 4He mass
fraction, Y_P, of +-1.3 x 10^{-4}. This uncertainty in Y_P is comparable to the
effect from the current uncertainty in the neutron lifetime, which is often
treated as the dominant uncertainty in calculations of Y_P. Recent measurements
of G_N seem to be converging within a smaller range; a reduction in the
estimated error on G_N by a factor of 10 would essentially eliminate it as a
source of uncertainty in the calculation of the primordial 4He abundance.Comment: 3 pages, no figures, fixed typos, to appear in Phys. Rev.
IBM-1 description of the fission products Ru
IBM-1} calculations for the fission products Ru have been
carried out. The even-even isotopes of Ru can be described as transitional
nuclei situated between the U(5) (spherical vibrator) and SO(6)
(-unstable rotor) symmetries of the Interacting Boson Model. At first,
a Hamiltonian with only one- and two-body terms has been used. Excitation
energies and (E2) ratios of gamma transitions have been calculated. A
satisfactory agreement has been obtained, with the exception of the odd-even
staggering in the quasi- bands of Ru. The observed pattern
is rather similar to the one for a rigid triaxial rotor. A calculation based on
a Hamiltonian with three-body terms was able to remove this discrepancy. The
relation between the IBM and the triaxial rotor model was also examined.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
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