712 research outputs found
Theory of Phase Ordering Kinetics
The theory of phase ordering dynamics -- the growth of order through domain
coarsening when a system is quenched from the homogeneous phase into a
broken-symmetry phase -- is reviewed, with the emphasis on recent developments.
Interest will focus on the scaling regime that develops at long times after the
quench. How can one determine the growth laws that describe the time-dependence
of characteristic length scales, and what can be said about the form of the
associated scaling functions? Particular attention will be paid to systems
described by more complicated order parameters than the simple scalars usually
considered, e.g. vector and tensor fields. The latter are needed, for example,
to describe phase ordering in nematic liquid crystals, on which there have been
a number of recent experiments. The study of topological defects (domain walls,
vortices, strings, monopoles) provides a unifying framework for discussing
coarsening in these different systems.Comment: To appear in Advances in Physics. 85 pages, latex, no figures. For a
hard copy with figures, email [email protected]
A method for quantitative analysis of regional lung ventilation using deformable image registration of CT and hybrid hyperpolarized gas/H-1 MRI
Hyperpolarized gas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) generates highly detailed maps of lung ventilation and physiological function while CT provides corresponding anatomical and structural information. Fusion of such complementary images enables quantitative analysis of pulmonary structure-function. However, direct image registration of hyperpolarized gas MRI to CT is problematic, particularly in lungs whose boundaries are difficult to delineate due to ventilation heterogeneity. This study presents a novel indirect method of registering hyperpolarized gas MRI to CT utilizing 1H-structural MR images that are acquired in the same breath-hold as the gas MRI. The feasibility of using this technique for regional quantification of ventilation of specific pulmonary structures is demonstrated for the lobes.
The direct and indirect methods of hyperpolarized gas MRI to CT image registration were compared using lung images from 15 asthma patients. Both affine and diffeomorphic image transformations were implemented. Registration accuracy was evaluated using the target registration error (TRE) of anatomical landmarks identified on 1H MRI and CT. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to test statistical significance.
For the affine transformation, the indirect method of image registration was significantly more accurate than the direct method (TRE = 14.7  ±  3.2 versus 19.6  ±  12.7 mm, p = 0.036). Using a deformable transformation, the indirect method was also more accurate than the direct method (TRE = 13.5  ±  3.3 versus 20.4  ±  12.8 mm, p = 0.006).
Accurate image registration is critical for quantification of regional lung ventilation with hyperpolarized gas MRI within the anatomy delineated by CT. Automatic deformable image registration of hyperpolarized gas MRI to CT via same breath-hold 1H MRI is more accurate than direct registration. Potential applications include improved multi-modality image fusion, functionally weighted radiotherapy planning, and quantification of lobar ventilation in obstructive airways disease
Evaluating G2G for use in Rapid Response Catchments: Final Report
Flood impacts can be severe for rapid response catchments (RRCs). Providing targeted flood warnings is challenging using existing methodologies and on account of the typical absence of river flow gauging. The Pitt Review of the Summer 2007 floods recognised the need for new alert procedures for RRCs able to exploit the new distributed flood forecasting capability being progressed from research into operations. Work on the G2G (Grid-to-Grid) distributed hydrological model was accelerated into operational practice to support 5-day countrywide flood outlooks, a major recommendation of the Pitt Review. The present study aims to explore the potential of G2G to support more frequent and detailed alerts relevant to flood warning in RRCs. Integral to this study is the use of emerging rainfall forecast products, in deterministic and ensemble form, which allow the lead-time of G2G flow forecasts to be extended and given an uncertainty context.
This Report sets down the overall scope of the project, provides an introduction to G2G by way of background and then reports on the outcomes of the R&D study. This includes extensive preparatory work on collating historical datasets to support G2G model assessment, both relating to hydrometry and new rainfall forecast products. A framework is developed for assessing G2G in both simulation-mode and forecast-mode (as a function of lead-time) targeted at the RRC requirement. Relevant to the requirement is the RRC Register of points and areas of interest compiled by the Environment Agency, and the characteristics of RRCs (occurring in isolation or in combination): small catchment area, urban/sub-urban land-cover and steep slopes. The assessment framework is first applied assuming perfect knowledge of rainfall observations for past and future times, so as not to confound the analysis with errors from rainfall forecasts. Variability of performance measures across groups of sites is summarised through box and whisker plots, groups being differentiated on size of catchment area and nature of G2G run (simulation, and with the addition of state updating and flow insertion in turn). Skill scores judge how well the model performs in detecting a flood event exceeding a flow threshold, taken as the median annual flood (as an indicator of bankfull flow exceedance for natural channels) and fractional multipliers of it. The skill scores include POD (Probability of Detection) and FAR (False Alarm Ratio). Performance maps of R2 Efficiency, indicating the variability in the observations accounted for by the model, are used to portray the spatial variability of G2G accuracy across the country.
G2G performance in small catchments, relevant to the RRC requirement, is best over South West, North East and North West regions; also median performance appears robust from one year to the next. Larger catchments benefit most in forecast-mode from flow insertion, whilst smaller headwater catchments gain particularly from ARMA (AutoRegressive Moving Average) error-prediction. An assessment is made of using deterministic rainfall forecasts from NWP UKV - the Numerical Weather Prediction UK Variable Resolution form of the Met Office Unified Model - in a full emulation of G2G in real-time, and using foreknowledge of rainfall observations as a reference baseline. Forecast quality can deteriorate strongly beyond 12 hours, especially for smaller catchments, whilst for some locations good performance is maintained even for long lead-times. Diagnostic analysis reveals that the UKV rainfall forecasts have patterns of overestimation in some lowland areas (e.g. over London) and leeward of high elevation areas (e.g. north and south Pennines). Overall performance is better in Scotland although there is evidence of UKV overestimating rainfall near the coast at Edinburgh and Elgin in the north.
The assessment framework is extended to include rainfall forecast ensembles and probabilistic flood forecasting, using a combination of case-study and longer-term analyses. Blended Ensemble rainfall forecasts are assessed in two forms: forecasts out to 24 hours updated 4 times a day, and nowcasts out to 7 hours updated every 15 minutes. The 24 hour forecasts generally perform well as input to G2G in the case studies, the G2G flow forecasts typically signalling a flood peak 12 to 18 hours in advance and ahead of any observed response for small catchments. New regional summary map displays of the probability of flow threshold exceedances over a forecast horizon, and for increasing levels of severity, are developed to highlight evolving hotspots of flood risk over time.
The first ever continuous assessment of G2G probability flow forecasts is reported using national maps of probabilistic skill scores - Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) Skill Score and Brier Skill Score (BSS) - to spatially assess their performance. It is noted that the short periods available for assessment - a 7½ month period over England & Wales and 4 ½ months over Scotland - limit the analyses to low return period flow thresholds. Half the median (2-year) flood is used although a regional pooled analysis allows some assessment up to 5-year. The G2G probability forecast assessed is the probability of the chosen flow threshold being exceeded at any time over the forecast horizon (taken to be 24 hours). Comparison of these scores when applied to deterministic and probabilistic forecasts from G2G provides strong evidence of the value of G2G ensemble forecasts as an indicator of flood risk over Britain. Noticeably poorer performance indicated by the BSS across Scotland is in part attributed to the short, summer-dominated assessment period.
Operational tools available to FFC and the SFFS for using G2G flow ensembles are reviewed and options for improvement identified drawing on the experience and findings of the study. This leads to identifying some work of an operational nature for consideration in Phase 3 of the project. The report closes with a summary of project achievements grouped thematically, a set of recommendations both of a general nature and specific to FFC and SFFS needs, and finally some proposals for consideration under Phase 3 of the G2G for Rapid Response Catchments project.
Some key benefits arising from the project are summarised below.
• Evidence has been produced that shows G2G has good skill in providing strategic forecasts for RRCs. The evidence is stratified by catchment type (area, urbanisation, headwater), form of forecast (simulation or forecast mode) and nature of rainfall input (raingauge, deterministic forecast, ensemble forecast).
• Strong evidence has been presented on the advantage of using an ensemble rainfall forecast as input to G2G to obtain a probabilistic flood forecast for an RRC, relative to an approach where only a single deterministic rainfall and flood forecast is obtained. This indicates better guidance can be given on forecast flood risk for RRCs, improving the level of service provision for such catchments which are currently not well served.
• An improved G2G model configuration, exploiting gauged flows from 912 sites and including new locally calibrated parameters, has been delivered and made operational for the FFC with England & Wales coverage. The benefit is improved operational flood forecast accuracy. For Scotland, an enhanced configuration will be delivered to SFFS in Spring 2014.
• Detailed recommendations on how the visual presentation of G2G ensemble results could be improved are set down in this report. When further developed and implemented, these will prove of benefit to the preparation of Flood Guidance Statements issued by FFC and the SFFS across Britain
Characterization of human cytomegalovirus genome diversity in immunocompromised hosts by whole genomic sequencing directly from clinical specimens
Background:
Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies allow comprehensive studies of genetic diversity over the entire genome of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a significant pathogen for immunocompromised individuals.
Methods:
NGS was performed on target-enriched sequence libraries prepared directly from a variety of clinical specimens (blood, urine, breast-milk, respiratory samples, biopsies and vitreous humor) obtained longitudinally or from different anatomical compartments from 20 HCMV-infected patients (renal transplant recipients, stem cell transplant recipients and congenitally infected children).
Results:
De novo assembled HCMV genome sequences were obtained for 57/68 sequenced samples. Analysis of longitudinal or compartmental HCMV diversity revealed various patterns: no major differences were detected among longitudinal, intra-individual blood samples from 9/15 patients and in most of the patients with compartmental samples, whereas a switch of the major HCMV population was observed in six individuals with sequential blood samples and upon compartmental analysis of one patient with HCMV retinitis. Variant analysis revealed additional aspects of minor virus population dynamics and antiviral resistance mutations.
Conclusions:
In immunosuppressed patients, HCMV can remain relatively stable or undergo drastic genomic changes that are suggestive of the emergence of minor resident strains or de novo infection
Field theory conjecture for loop-erased random walks
We give evidence that the functional renormalization group (FRG), developed
to study disordered systems, may provide a field theoretic description for the
loop-erased random walk (LERW), allowing to compute its fractal dimension in a
systematic expansion in epsilon=4-d. Up to two loop, the FRG agrees with
rigorous bounds, correctly reproduces the leading logarithmic corrections at
the upper critical dimension d=4, and compares well with numerical studies. We
obtain the universal subleading logarithmic correction in d=4, which can be
used as a further test of the conjecture.Comment: 5 page
Radioactive stents delay but do not prevent in-stent neointimal hyperplasia
BACKGROUND: Restenosis after conventional stenting is almost exclusively caused by neointimal hyperplasia. Beta-particle-emitting radioactive stents decrease in-stent neointimal hyperplasia at 6-month follow-up. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 1-year outcome of (32)P radioactive stents with an initial activity of 6 to 12 microCi using serial quantitative coronary angiography and volumetric ECG-gated 3D intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Of 40 patients undergoing initial stent implantation, 26 were event-free after the 6-month follow-up period and 22 underwent repeat catheterization and IVUS at 1 year; they comprised half of the study population. Significant luminal deterioration was observed within the stents between 6 months and 1 year, as evidenced by a decrease in the angiographic minimum lumen diameter (-0.43+/-0.56 mm; P:=0.028) and in the mean lumen diameter in the stent (-0.55+/-0. 63 mm; P:=0.001); a significant increase in in-stent neointimal hyperplasia by IVUS (18.16+/-12.59 mm(3) at 6 months to 27.75+/-11. 99 mm(3) at 1 year; P:=0.001) was also observed. Target vessel revascularization was performed in 5 patients (23%). No patient experienced late occlusion, myocardial infarction, or death. By 1 year, 21 of the initial 40 patients (65%) remained event-free. CONCLUSIONS: Neointimal proliferation is delayed rather than prevented by radioactive stent implantation. Clinical outcome 1 year after the implantation of stents with an initial activity of 6 to 12 microCi is not favorable when compared with conventional stenting
Fermionic NNLL corrections to b -> s \gamma
In this paper we take the first step towards a complete
next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL) calculation of the inclusive decay
rate for . We consider the virtual corrections of order
\alphas^2 n_f to the matrix elements of the operators , and
and evaluate the real and virtual contributions to . These
corrections are expected to be numerically important. We observe a strong
cancelation between the contributions from the current-current operators and
and obtain, after applying naive non-abelianization, a reduction of the
branching ratio of 3.9% (for GeV) and an increase of 3.4% (for
GeV).Comment: 38 pages, result extended to allow for an explicit photon energy
cut-off, appendix and references added, final result and conlclusions
unchange
The Taming of Closed Time-like Curves
We consider a orbifold, where acts by time and space
reversal, also known as the embedding space of the elliptic de Sitter space.
The background has two potentially dangerous problems: time-nonorientability
and the existence of closed time-like curves. We first show that closed causal
curves disappear after a proper definition of the time function. We then
consider the one-loop vacuum expectation value of the stress tensor. A naive
QFT analysis yields a divergent result. We then analyze the stress tensor in
bosonic string theory, and find the same result as if the target space would be
just the Minkowski space , suggesting a zero result for the
superstring. This leads us to propose a proper reformulation of QFT, and
recalculate the stress tensor. We find almost the same result as in Minkowski
space, except for a potential divergence at the initial time slice of the
orbifold, analogous to a spacelike Big Bang singularity. Finally, we argue that
it is possible to define local S-matrices, even if the spacetime is globally
time-nonorientable.Comment: 37 pages, LaTeX2e, uses amssymb, amsmath and epsf macros, 8 eps and 3
ps figures; (v2): Two additional comments + one reference added; (v3):
corrections in discussion of CTCs + some clarification
Molecular dynamics simulation of the order-disorder phase transition in solid NaNO
We present molecular dynamics simulations of solid NaNO using pair
potentials with the rigid-ion model. The crystal potential surface is
calculated by using an \emph{a priori} method which integrates the \emph{ab
initio} calculations with the Gordon-Kim electron gas theory. This approach is
carefully examined by using different population analysis methods and comparing
the intermolecular interactions resulting from this approach with those from
the \emph{ab initio} Hartree-Fock calculations. Our numerics shows that the
ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition in solid NaNO is triggered by
rotation of the nitrite ions around the crystallographical c axis, in agreement
with recent X-ray experiments [Gohda \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{63},
14101 (2000)]. The crystal-field effects on the nitrite ion are also addressed.
Remarkable internal charge-transfer effect is found.Comment: RevTeX 4.0, 11 figure
Positive geometric vascular remodeling is seen after catheter-based radiation followed by conventional stent implantation but not after radioactive stent implantation
BACKGROUND: Recent reports demonstrate that intracoronary radiation
affects not only neointimal formation but also vascular remodeling.
Radioactive stents and catheter-based techniques deliver radiation in
different ways, suggesting that different patterns of remodeling after
each technique may be expected. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed
remodeling in 18 patients after conventional stent implantation, 16
patients after low-activity radioactive stent implantation, 16 patients
after higher activity radioactive stent implantation, and, finally, 17
patients who underwent catheter-based radiation followed by conventional
stent implantation. Intravascular ultrasound with 3D reconstruction was
used after stent implantation and at the 6-month follow-up to assess
remodeling within the stent margins and at its edges. Preprocedural
characteristics were similar between groups. In-stent neointimal
hyperplasia (NIH) was inhibited by high-activity radioactive stent
implantation (NIH 9.0 mm(3)) and by catheter-based radiation followed by
conventional stent implantation (NIH 6.9 mm(3)) compared with low-activity
radioactive stent implantation (NIH 21.2 mm(3)) and conventional stent
implantation (NIH 20.8 mm(3)) (P:=0.008). No difference in plaque or total
vessel volume was seen behind the stent in the conventional, low-activity,
or high-activity stent implantation groups. However, significant increases
in plaque behind the stent (15%) and in total vessel volume (8%) were seen
in the group that underwent catheter-based radiation followed by
conventional stent implantation. All 4 groups demonstrated significant
late lumen loss at the stent edges; however, edge restenosis was seen only
in the group subjected to high-activity stent implantation and appeared to
be due to an increase in plaque and, to a lesser degree, to negative
remodeling. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct differences in the patterns of
remodeling exist between conventional, radioactive, and catheter-based
radiotherapy with stenting
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