Parallel processing for digital picture comparison

In picture processing an important problem is to identify two digital pictures of the same scene taken under different lighting conditions. This kind of problem can be found in remote sensing, satellite signal processing and the related areas. The identification can be done by transforming the gray levels so that the gray level histograms of the two pictures are closely matched. The transformation problem can be solved by using the packing method. Researchers propose a VLSI architecture consisting of m x n processing elements with extensive parallel and pipelining computation capabilities to speed up the transformation with the time complexity 0(max(m,n)), where m and n are the numbers of the gray levels of the input picture and the reference picture respectively. If using uniprocessor and a dynamic programming algorithm, the time complexity will be 0(m(3)xn). The algorithm partition problem, as an important issue in VLSI design, is discussed. Verification of the proposed architecture is also given

Two-Dimensional Inversion Asymmetric Topological Insulators in Functionalized III-Bi Bilayers

The search for inversion asymmetric topological insulators (IATIs) persists as an effect for realizing new topological phenomena. However, so for only a few IATIs have been discovered and there is no IATI exhibiting a large band gap exceeding 0.6 eV. Using first-principles calculations, we predict a series of new IATIs in saturated Group III-Bi bilayers. We show that all these IATIs preserve extraordinary large bulk band gaps which are well above room-temperature, allowing for viable applications in room-temperature spintronic devices. More importantly, most of these systems display large bulk band gaps that far exceed 0.6 eV and, part of them even are up to ~1 eV, which are larger than any IATIs ever reported. The nontrivial topological situation in these systems is confirmed by the identified band inversion of the band structures and an explicit demonstration of the topological edge states. Interestingly, the nontrivial band order characteristics are intrinsic to most of these materials and are not subject to spin-orbit coupling. Owning to their asymmetric structures, remarkable Rashba spin splitting is produced in both the valence and conduction bands of these systems. These predictions strongly revive these new systems as excellent candidates for IATI-based novel applications.Comment: 17 pages,5figure

Quantum spin Hall states in graphene interacting with WS2_2 or WSe2_2

In the framework of first-principles calculations, we investigate the structural and electronic properties of graphene in contact with as well as sandwiched between WS$_2$ and WSe$_2$ monolayers. We report the modification of the band characteristics due to the interaction at the interface and demonstrate that the presence of the dichalcogenides results in quantum spin Hall states in the absence of a magnetic field

Quench dynamics of topological quantum phase transition in Wen-plaquette model

We study the quench dynamics of the topological quantum phase transition in the two-dimensional transverse Wen-plaquette model, which has a phase transition from a Z2 topologically ordered to a spin-polarized state. By mapping the Wen-plaquette model onto a one-dimensional quantum Ising model, we calculate the expectation value of the plaquette operator Fi during a slowly quenching process from a topologically ordered state. A logarithmic scaling law of quench dynamics near the quantum phase transition is found, which is analogous to the well-known static critical behavior of the specific heat in the one-dimensional quantum Ising model.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures,add new conten

The colonic macrophage transcription factor RBP-J orchestrates intestinal immunity against bacterial pathogens

Macrophages play pleiotropic roles in maintaining the balance between immune tolerance and inflammatory responses in the gut. Here, we identified transcription factor RBP-J as a crucial regulator of colonic macrophage-mediated immune responses against the enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. In the immune response phase, RBP-J promoted pathogen clearance by enhancing intestinal macrophage-elicited Th17 cell immune responses, which was achieved by maintenance of C/EBPβ-dependent IL-6 production by overcoming miRNA-17∼92-mediated suppressive effects. RBP-J deficiency-associated phenotypes could be genetically corrected by further deleting miRNA-17∼92 in macrophages. In the late phase, noneradicated pathogens in RBP-J KO mice recruited abundant IL-1β-expressing CD64+Ly6C+ colonic macrophages and thereby promoted persistence of ILC3-derived IL-22 to compensate for the impaired innate and adaptive immune responses, leading to ultimate clearance of pathogens. These results demonstrated that colonic macrophage-intrinsic RBP-J dynamically orchestrates intestinal immunity against pathogen infections by interfacing with key immune cells of T and innate lymphoid cell lineages

Coexistence of Itinerant Electrons and Local Moments in Iron-Based Superconductors

In view of the recent experimental facts in the iron-pnictides, we make a proposal that the itinerant electrons and local moments are simultaneously present in such multiband materials. We study a minimal model composed of coupled itinerant electrons and local moments to illustrate how a consistent explanation of the experimental measurements can be obtained in the leading order approximation. In this mean-field approach, the spin-density-wave (SDW) order and superconducting pairing of the itinerant electrons are not directly driven by the Fermi surface nesting, but are mainly induced by their coupling to the local moments. The presence of the local moments as independent degrees of freedom naturally provides strong pairing strength for superconductivity and also explains the normal-state linear-temperature magnetic susceptibility above the SDW transition temperature. We show that this simple model is supported by various anomalous magnetic properties and isotope effect which are in quantitative agreement with experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; an expanded versio

Female-specific intergenerational transmission patterns of the human corticolimbic circuitry

Parents have large genetic and environmental influences on offspring’s cognition, behavior, and brain. These intergenerational effects are observed in mood disorders, with particularly robust association in depression between mothers and daughters. No studies have thus far examined the neural bases of these intergenerational effects in humans. Corticolimbic circuitry is known to be highly relevant in a wide range of processes including mood regulation and depression. These findings suggest that corticolimbic circuitry may also show matrilineal transmission patterns. We therefore examined human parent-offspring association in this neurocircuitry, and investigated the degree of association in gray matter volume between parent and offspring. We used voxel-wise correlation analysis in a total of 35 healthy families, consisting of parents and their biological offspring. We found positive associations of regional grey matter volume in the corticolimbic circuit including the amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex between biological mothers and daughters. This association was significantly greater than mother-son, father-daughter, and father-son associations. The current study suggests that the corticolimbic circuitry, which has been implicated in mood regulation, shows a matrilineal specific transmission patterns. Our preliminary findings are consistent with what has been found behaviorally in depression, and may have clinical implications for disorders known to have dysfunction in mood regulation such as depression. Studies such as ours will likely bridge animal work examining gene expression in the brains and clinical symptom-based observations, and provide promising ways to investigate intergenerational transmission patterns in the human brain

Possible large direct CP asymmetry in hadronic B+- -> \pi+- \eta' decays

We calculate the branching ratio and direct CP asymmetry in nonleptonic two body B decays B^+- ->\pi^+- \eta'. It is shown that the tree diagram and gluon fusion mechanism via penguin diagram have comparable contributions to these decays which, as a result, could provide an interesting venue for investigating CP violation. Our estimate shows that the direct CP asymmetry in the above decays could be as large as 75% which along with a branching ratio B(B^- ->\pi^- \eta')=3.4 X 10^{-6} should be accessible to experiment in the near future.Comment: 13 pages, Revtex, 4 figures (included