Temperature in nonequilibrium systems with conserved energy

We study a class of nonequilibrium lattice models which describe local redistributions of a globally conserved energy. A particular subclass can be solved analytically, allowing to define a temperature T_{th} along the same lines as in the equilibrium microcanonical ensemble. The fluctuation-dissipation relation is explicitely found to be linear, but its slope differs from the inverse temperature T_{th}^{-1}. A numerical renormalization group procedure suggests that, at a coarse-grained level, all models behave similarly, leading to a two-parameter description of their macroscopic properties.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, final versio

Taking the Temperature of Health Sciences IRs: A Survey and Analysis of Medical Schools’ Institutional Repositories

Background: The proposal authors are health sciences librarians from three different medical schools who are conducting a survey of institutional repositories (IRs) in medical libraries and academic health centers. This presentation will highlight survey findings, identify challenges of sustaining open repositories for the health sciences community, and pinpoint trends in the medical and non-medical IR landscape. Problem: The purpose of the authors’ research study is to establish a snapshot view of the institutional repository landscape specific to medical schools and academic health centers. We hope to gain a deeper understanding of the role, characteristics, and future plans of IRs in this setting, and share these findings with the wider repository community. Approach: We submitted a 21-question REDCap survey to the member libraries of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL). AAHSL was chosen as the survey group because its member libraries serve the accredited U.S. and Canadian medical schools belonging to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The survey opened on December 7, 2017, with data collection to continue through January 8, 2018. Conclusions: Results will be analyzed in early 2018 and findings will be highlighted in this presentation

`They don't want us to become them': Brand Local Integration and consumer ethnocentrism

This paper investigates whether positioning strategies of foreign brands that integrate both foreign and 'localised' dimensions of country-of-origin (COO) appeals shape perceptions and attitudes of domestically biased consumers. Ethnocentric consumers hold strong favourable attitudes towards local-perceived brands. At the same time, brand positioning strategies of local brands acquired by multinational corporations and of foreign brands entering the local market often integrate foreign COO appeals with locally relevant manufacturing and/or symbolic appeals. The results indicate that foreign brand identities that integrate 'localised' appeals communicating respect of local traditions (through the use of local images, symbols, and recipes) and contribution to the local society's well-being (through local manufacture, employment, use of local ingredients) lead to more favourable consumer perceptions. In distinguishing between 'purely foreign' and 'locally integrated foreign brands', consumers perceive the latter to be more acceptable for consumption. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the findings and outlining directions for further research.No Full Tex

Coupling Control Variates for Markov Chain Monte Carlo

We show that Markov couplings can be used to improve the accuracy of Markov chain Monte Carlo calculations in some situations where the steady-state probability distribution is not explicitly known. The technique generalizes the notion of control variates from classical Monte Carlo integration. We illustrate it using two models of nonequilibrium transport

CLTs and asymptotic variance of time-sampled Markov chains

For a Markov transition kernel P and a probability distribution μ on nonnegative integers, a time-sampled Markov chain evolves according to the transition kernel Pμ = Σkμ(k)Pk. In this note we obtain CLT conditions for time-sampled Markov chains and derive a spectral formula for the asymptotic variance. Using these results we compare efficiency of Barker's and Metropolis algorithms in terms of asymptotic variance

Dynamical phase transition in slowed exclusion processes

In this work, we present symmetric simple exclusion processes with a finite number of bonds whose dynamics is slowed down in order to difficult the passage of particles at those bonds. We study the influence of the rate of passage of mass at those bonds in the macroscopic hydrodynamic equation. As a consequence, we exhibit a dynamical phase transition that goes from smooth profiles to the development of discontinuities.FC

Invariant Measures and Convergence for Cellular Automaton 184 and Related Processes

For a class of one-dimensional cellular automata, we review and complete the characterization of the invariant measures (in particular, all invariant phase separation measures), the rate of convergence to equilibrium, and the derivation of the hydrodynamic limit. The most widely known representatives of this class of automata are: Automaton 184 from the classification of S. Wolfram, an annihilating particle system and a surface growth model.Comment: 18 page

Quorum-sensing activity and related virulence factor expression in clinically pathogenic isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

AbstractRespiratory isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from 58 critically-ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia. Expression of elastase and pyocyanin was assessed semi-quantitatively, while quorum-sensing activity was assessed by quantifying the levels of the autoinducers N-3-oxododecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) and N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL). Correlations were sought between quorum-sensing activity and the expression of these two virulence factors, and all results were compared to those obtained with the laboratory reference strains PA103, a strain defective in quorum-sensing, and PAO1, a functional quorum-sensing strain. More than two-thirds of clinically pathogenic isolates had increased levels of elastase and/or pyocyanin, and high quorum-sensing activity, as assessed by autoinducer levels. However, a strong correlation between quorum-sensing activity and virulence factor production was revealed only for elastase and not for pyocyanin (C12-HSL/elastase, r = 0.7, p 2 × 10−9; C4-HSL/elastase, r = 0.7, p 2 × 10−9). These data suggest that the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa isolates from critically-ill patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia is caused, at least in part, by an increase in elastase production regulated by quorum-sensing, while increased pyocyanin production in these isolates may be regulated predominantly by mechanisms other than quorum-sensing

Current Fluctuations of the One Dimensional Symmetric Simple Exclusion Process with Step Initial Condition

For the symmetric simple exclusion process on an infinite line, we calculate exactly the fluctuations of the integrated current $Q_t$ during time $t$ through the origin when, in the initial condition, the sites are occupied with density $\rho_a$ on the negative axis and with density $\rho_b$ on the positive axis. All the cumulants of $Q_t$ grow like $\sqrt{t}$. In the range where $Q_t \sim \sqrt{t}$, the decay $\exp [-Q_t^3/t]$ of the distribution of $Q_t$ is non-Gaussian. Our results are obtained using the Bethe ansatz and several identities recently derived by Tracy and Widom for exclusion processes on the infinite line.Comment: 2 figure