Creativity and Digital Research Methodologies

Digital research methods are relevant to both institutional and anthropological research, and there is a need to address discipline orientated creativity principles in this field. In institutional research, quantitative data has a stronghold – this results in a “Leaky Box’ theory, stating that quantitative only data collection does not address all cohorts present in the tested student population, and that a quantitative and qualitative combined creative method would be more inclusive. Likewise, anthropology research on video games shares similar adherence to accepted models; using video games to understand human interactions is presently accepted only in multiplayer online games with intrahuman interactions. However, research on single-player games with human and more-than human interactions are a valid, albeit novel, creative method in digital research. Creative research methodologies are not intended to be a silver bullet solution to paradigmatic flaws but rather it should guide us towards different disciplinary perspectives

Comparison of Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV)-a new method of carbamazepine analysis-with Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay (FPIA)

Carbamazepine is a widely used anti-epileptic drug with narrow therapeutic range. Many methods have been developed for monitoring the serum drug level. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), an electrochemical method advantaged by simple, inexpensive, and relatively short analysis time, has recently been developed for carbamazepine detection. We used a newly developed DPV method with glassy carbon as a working electrode to determine the carbamazepine level. The performance of DPV is compared with the widely used fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) technique in precision, accuracy, linearity and detection limit. The precision, linearity and accuracy of the DPV and FPIA techniques were comparable at most clinical used levels. The detection limit was 1 mu g/mL for the DPV technique and 0.5 mu g/mL for the FPIA technique. The performance of the DPV technique was within the FDA guidelines for bioanalytical methods, which ensures the clinical applicability of the DPV technique. The DPV technique may have the potential to be a good alternative for carbamazepine analysis

Canadians Should Travel Randomly

We study online algorithms for the Canadian Traveller Problem (CTP) introduced by Papadimitriou and Yannakakis in 1991. In this problem, a traveller knows the entire road network in advance, and wishes to travel as quickly as possible from a source vertex s to a destination vertex t, but discovers online that some roads are blocked (e.g., by snow) once reaching them. It is PSPACE-complete to achieve a bounded competitive ratio for this problem. Furthermore, if at most k roads can be blocked, then the optimal competitive ratio for a deterministic online algorithm is 2k + 1, while the only randomized result known is a lower bound of k + 1. In this paper, we show for the first time that a polynomial time randomized algorithm can beat the best deterministic algorithms, surpassing the 2k + 1 lower bound by an o(1) factor. Moreover, we prove the randomized algorithm achieving a competitive ratio of (1 + [√2 over 2])k + 1 in pseudo-polynomial time. The proposed techniques can also be applied to implicitly represent multiple near-shortest s-t paths.NSC Grant 102-2221-E-007-075-MY3Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI 23240002

Interface ferromagnetism and orbital reconstruction in BiFeO3- La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterostructures

We report the formation of a novel ferromagnetic state in the antiferromagnet BiFeO3 at the interface with La0.7Sr0.3MnO3. Using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism at Mn and Fe L2,3-edges, we discovered that the development of this ferromagnetic spin structure is strongly associated with the onset of a significant exchange bias. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic state is directly related with an electronic orbital reconstruction at the interface, which is supported by the linearly polarized x-ray absorption measurement at oxygen K-edge.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, PRL in pres

Mode oscillation and harmonic distortions associated with sinusoidal modulation of semiconductor lasers

This paper investigates mode dynamics, operation characteristics and signal distortions associated with sinusoidal modulation of semiconductor lasers. The study is based on intensive integrations of the multimode rate equation model of semiconductor lasers over wide ranges of the modulation frequency and depth. The rate equations take into account both spectral symmetric and asymmetric suppressions of modal gain. The higher harmonic distortions as well as the half harmonic distortion associated with the period doubling effect are investigated. The study is applied to both cases of single-mode and multimode oscillations of the non-modulated laser. The obtained results showed that the modulated signal has six distinct waveforms depending on the modulation conditions; three types have continuous periodic waveforms and the others have periodic pulsing waveforms. The modulated laser is found to oscillate in a single mode under weak modulation where the modulated signal is continuous, whereas the pulsing signals are associated with multimode oscillation. The higher harmonic distortions of single-mode laser are lower than those of two-mode lasers, and become serious at modulation frequencies around the relaxation oscillation frequency. These distortions are highest when the laser output is pulsating and the pulses are superposed by relaxation oscillations. © EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2012

Electroweak Symmetry Breaking at the LHC

One of the major goals of the Large Hadron Collider is to probe the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism and the generation of the masses of the elementary particles. We review the physics of the Higgs sector in the Standard Model and some of its extensions such as supersymmetric theories and models of extra dimensions. The prospects for discovering the Higgs particles at the LHC and the study of their fundamental properties are summarised.Comment: 27 pages, 45 figures, uses LaTeX (insa.sty). Invited review for volume on LHC physics to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of the Indian National Science Academy, edited by Amitava Datta, Biswarup Mukhopadhyaya and Amitava Raychaudhuri. Expanded the acronym in the title in the annoncement. No other change in the text or reference

Holographic Dark Energy in Brans-Dicke Theory

In this paper, the holographic dark energy model is considered in Brans-Dicke theory where the holographic dark energy density $\rho_{\Lambda} =3c^2 M^{2}_{pl} L^{-2}$ is replaced with $\rho_{h}=3c^2 \Phi(t)L^{-2}$. Here $\Phi(t)=\frac{1}{8\pi G}$ is a time variable Newton constant. With this replacement, it is found that no accelerated expansion universe will be achieved when the Hubble horizon is taken as the role of IR cut-off. When the event horizon is adopted as the IR cut-off, an accelerated expansion universe is obtained. In this case, the equation of state of holographic dark energy $w_h$ takes a modified form $w_h=-{1/3}(1+\alpha+\frac{2}{c}\sqrt{\Omega_{h}})$. In the limit $\alpha\to 0$, the 'standard' holographic dark energy is recovered. In the holographic dark energy dominated epoch, power-law and de Sitter time-space solutions are obtained.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, match the published versio

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters