46,734 research outputs found
Lateral transfer in Stochastic Dollo models
Lateral transfer, a process whereby species exchange evolutionary traits
through non-ancestral relationships, is a frequent source of model
misspecification in phylogenetic inference. Lateral transfer obscures the
phylogenetic signal in the data as the histories of affected traits are mosaics
of the overall phylogeny. We control for the effect of lateral transfer in a
Stochastic Dollo model and a Bayesian setting. Our likelihood is highly
intractable as the parameters are the solution of a sequence of large systems
of differential equations representing the expected evolution of traits along a
tree. We illustrate our method on a data set of lexical traits in Eastern
Polynesian languages and obtain an improved fit over the corresponding model
without lateral transfer.Comment: Improvements suggested by reviewer
Arkansas Small-Grain Cultivar Performance Tests 2004-2005
Small-grain cultivar performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. The tests provide information to companies developing cultivars and/or marketing seed within the state and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating cultivar recommendations for smallgrain producers
Well-Posedness And Accuracy Of The Ensemble Kalman Filter In Discrete And Continuous Time
The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is a method for combining a dynamical model
with data in a sequential fashion. Despite its widespread use, there has been
little analysis of its theoretical properties. Many of the algorithmic
innovations associated with the filter, which are required to make a useable
algorithm in practice, are derived in an ad hoc fashion. The aim of this paper
is to initiate the development of a systematic analysis of the EnKF, in
particular to do so in the small ensemble size limit. The perspective is to
view the method as a state estimator, and not as an algorithm which
approximates the true filtering distribution. The perturbed observation version
of the algorithm is studied, without and with variance inflation. Without
variance inflation well-posedness of the filter is established; with variance
inflation accuracy of the filter, with resepct to the true signal underlying
the data, is established. The algorithm is considered in discrete time, and
also for a continuous time limit arising when observations are frequent and
subject to large noise. The underlying dynamical model, and assumptions about
it, is sufficiently general to include the Lorenz '63 and '96 models, together
with the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation on a two-dimensional torus. The
analysis is limited to the case of complete observation of the signal with
additive white noise. Numerical results are presented for the Navier-Stokes
equation on a two-dimensional torus for both complete and partial observations
of the signal with additive white noise
Interface resistance of disordered magnetic multilayers
We study the effect of interface disorder on the spin-dependent interface
resistances of Co/Cu, Fe/Cr and Au/Ag multilayers using a newly developed
method for calculating transmission matrices from first-principles. The
efficient implementation using tight-binding linear-muffin-tin orbitals allows
us to model interface disorder using large lateral supercells whereby specular
and diffuse scattering are treated on an equal footing. Without introducing any
free parameters, quantitative agreement with experiment is obtained. We predict
that disorder {\it reduces} the majority-spin interface resistance of
Fe/Cr(100) multilayers by a factor 3.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR
Happiness as stable extraversion : internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire among undergraduate students
The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) was developed by Hills and Argyle (2002) to provide a more accessible equivalent measure of the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI). The aim of the present study was to examine the internal consistency reliability, and construct validity of this new instrument alongside the Eysenckian dimensional model of personality. The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was completed by a sample of 131 undergraduate students together with the abbreviated form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (alpha = .92) and good construct validity in terms of positive association with extraversion (r = .38 p < .001) and negative association with neuroticism (r = −.57 p < .001). The kind of happiness measured by the OHQ is clearly associated with stable extraversion
Spin-injection through an Fe/InAs Interface
The spin-dependence of the interface resistance between ferromagnetic Fe and
InAs is calculated from first-principles for specular and disordered (001)
interfaces. Because of the symmetry mismatch in the minority-spin channel, the
specular interface acts as an efficient spin filter with a transmitted current
polarisation between 98 an 89%.
The resistance of a specular interface in the diffusive regime is comparable
to the resistance of a few microns of bulk InAs.
Symmetry-breaking arising from interface disorder reduces the spin asymmetry
substantially and we conclude that efficient spin injection from Fe into InAs
can only be realized using high quality epitaxial interfaces.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Characterizing the metabolic phenotype of intestinal villus blunting in Zambian children with severe acute malnutrition and persistent diarrhea
Background: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is widespread throughout the tropics and in children is associated with stunting and other adverse health outcomes. One of the hallmarks of EED is villus damage. In children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) the severity of enteropathy is greater and short term mortality is high, but the metabolic consequences of enteropathy are unknown. Here, we characterize the urinary metabolic alterations associated with villus health, classic enteropathy biomarkers and anthropometric measurements in severely malnourished children in Zambia. Methods/Principal findings: We analysed 20 hospitalised children with acute malnutrition aged 6 to 23 months in Zambia. Small intestinal biopsies were assessed histologically (n = 15), anthropometric and gut function measurements were collected and the metabolic phenotypes were characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Endoscopy could not be performed on community controls children. Growth parameters were inversely correlated with enteropathy biomarkers (p = 0.011) and parameters of villus health were inversely correlated with translocation and permeability biomarkers (p = 0.000 and p = 0.015). Shorter villus height was associated with reduced abundance of metabolites related to gut microbial metabolism, energy and muscle metabolism (p = 0.034). Villus blunting was also related to increased sucrose excretion (p = 0.013). Conclusions/Significance: Intestinal villus blunting is associated with several metabolic perturbations in hospitalized children with severe undernutrition. Such alterations include altered muscle metabolism, reinforcing the link between EED and growth faltering, and a disruption in the biochemical exchange between the gut microbiota and host. These findings extend our understanding on the downstream consequences of villus blunting and provide novel non-invasive biomarkers of enteropathy dysfunction. The major limitations of this study are the lack of comparative control group and gut microbiota characterization
Flight investigation of manual and automatic VTOL decelerating instrument approaches and landings
A flight investigation was undertaken to study the problems associated with manual and automatic control of steep, decelerating instrument approaches and landings under simulated instrument conditions. The study was conducted with a research helicopter equipped with a three-cue flight-director indicator. The scope of the investigation included variations in the flight-director control laws, glide-path angle, deceleration profile, and control response characteristics. Investigation of the automatic-control problem resulted in the first automated approach and landing to a predetermined spot ever accomplished with a helicopter. Although well-controlled approaches and landings could be performed manually with the flight-director concept, pilot comments indicated the need for a better display which would more effectively integrate command and situation information
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