5,046 research outputs found
Comparison of PBO solvers in a dependency solving domain
Linux package managers have to deal with dependencies and conflicts of
packages required to be installed by the user. As an NP-complete problem, this
is a hard task to solve. In this context, several approaches have been pursued.
Apt-pbo is a package manager based on the apt project that encodes the
dependency solving problem as a pseudo-Boolean optimization (PBO) problem. This
paper compares different PBO solvers and their effectiveness on solving the
dependency solving problem.Comment: In Proceedings LoCoCo 2010, arXiv:1007.083
Line Bundles and Curves on a del Pezzo Order
Orders on surfaces provide a rich source of examples of noncommutative
surfaces. Other than some existence results, very little is known about the
various moduli spaces that can be associated to them. Even fewer examples have
been explicitly computed. In this paper we compute the Picard and Hilbert
schemes of an order on the projective plane ramified on a union of two conics.
Our main result is that, upon carefully selecting the right Chern classes, the
Hilbert scheme is a ruled surface over a genus two curve. Furthermore, this
genus two curve is, in itself, the Picard scheme of the order
A Dimension-Adaptive Multi-Index Monte Carlo Method Applied to a Model of a Heat Exchanger
We present an adaptive version of the Multi-Index Monte Carlo method,
introduced by Haji-Ali, Nobile and Tempone (2016), for simulating PDEs with
coefficients that are random fields. A classical technique for sampling from
these random fields is the Karhunen-Lo\`eve expansion. Our adaptive algorithm
is based on the adaptive algorithm used in sparse grid cubature as introduced
by Gerstner and Griebel (2003), and automatically chooses the number of terms
needed in this expansion, as well as the required spatial discretizations of
the PDE model. We apply the method to a simplified model of a heat exchanger
with random insulator material, where the stochastic characteristics are
modeled as a lognormal random field, and we show consistent computational
savings
Phospholipid Scramblase 4 (PLSCR4) Regulates Adipocyte Differentiation via PIP3-Mediated AKT Activation
Phospholipid scramblase 4 (PLSCR4) is a member of a conserved enzyme family with high relevance for the remodeling of phospholipid distribution in the plasma membrane and the regulation of cellular signaling. While PLSCR1 and -3 are involved in the regulation of adipose-tissue expansion, the role of PLSCR4 is so far unknown. PLSCR4 is significantly downregulated in an adipose-progenitor-cell model of deficiency for phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). PTEN acts as a tumor suppressor and antagonist of the growth and survival signaling phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT cascade by dephosphorylating phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3). Patients with PTEN germline deletion frequently develop lipomas. The underlying mechanism for this aberrant adipose-tissue growth is incompletely understood. PLSCR4 is most highly expressed in human adipose tissue, compared with other phospholipid scramblases, suggesting a specific role of PLSCR4 in adipose-tissue biology. In cell and mouse models of lipid accumulation, we found PLSCR4 to be downregulated. We observed increased adipogenesis in PLSCR4-knockdown adipose progenitor cells, while PLSCR4 overexpression attenuated lipid accumulation. PLSCR4 knockdown was associated with increased PIP3 levels and the activation of AKT. Our results indicated that PLSCR4 is a regulator of PI3K/AKT signaling and adipogenesis and may play a role in PTEN-associated adipose-tissue overgrowth and lipoma formation
Stellar population and kinematics of NGC404
NGC404 is a nearly face-on nearby low-luminosity lenticular galaxy. Probing
its characteristics provides a wealth of information on the details of possible
evolution processes of dS0 galaxies which may not be possible in other, more
distant objects. In order to study its kinematics and star formation history,
we obtained long slit spectroscopy at the OHP 1m93 telescope along the major
and minor axes of NGC404. The spectra have a resolution R = 3600 covering a
wavelength range from 4600 to 5500 A. The data are fitted against the Pegase.HR
stellar population models to derive simultaneously the internal stellar
kinematics, ages and metallicities. Firstly, the global properties of the
galaxy are analyzed by fitting a single model and to the data and looking at
the kinematic variations and SSP equivalent age and metallicities as a function
of radius. Afterwards, the stellar populations are decomposed into 4 components
that are individually analyzed. NGC404 clearly shows two radial velocity
inversions along its major axis. The kinematically decoupled core rotates in
the same direction as the neutral hydrogen shell that surrounds the galaxy. We
resolved the star formation history in the core of the galaxy ino 4 events: A
very young (< 150 Myr, and [Fe/H] = 0.4) component with constant on-going star
formation, a second young (430 Myr) component with [Fe/H] = 0.1, an
intermediate population (1.7 Gyr) which has [Fe/H] = -0.05 and, finally, an old
(12 Gyr) component with [Fe/H] = -1.26. The two young components fade very
quickly with radius, leaving only the intermediate and old population at a
radius of 25" (370 pc) from the centre. We conclude that NGC404 had a spiral
morphology about 1 Gyr ago and that one or many merger events has triggered a
morphological transition.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Curves on Heisenberg invariant quartic surfaces in projective 3-space
This paper is about the family of smooth quartic surfaces that are invariant under the Heisenberg group . For a
very general such surface , we show that the Picard number of is 16 and
determine its Picard group. It turns out that the general Heisenberg invariant
quartic contains 320 smooth conics and that in the very general case, this
collection of conics generates the Picard group.Comment: Updated references, corrected typo
Diabetes mellitus, microalbuminuria, and subclinical cardiac disease: Identification and monitoring of individuals at risk of heart failure
Background-Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and elevated urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR) have increased risk of heart failure. We hypothesized this was because of cardiac tissue changes rather than silent coronary artery disease. Methods and Results-In a case-controlled observational study 130 subjects including 50 ACR+ve diabetes mellitus patients with persistent microalbuminuria (ACR > 2.5 mg/mol in males and > 3.5 mg/mol in females, ≥2 measurements, no previous renin- angiotensin-aldosterone therapy, 50 ACR-ve diabetes mellitus patients and 30 controls underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance for investigation of myocardial fibrosis, ischemia and infarction, and echocardiography. Thirty ACR+ve patients underwent further testing after 1-year treatment with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blockade. Cardiac extracellular volume fraction, a measure of diffuse fibrosis, was higher in diabetes mellitus patients than controls (26.1±3.4% and 23.3±3.0% P=0.0002) and in ACR+ve than ACR-ve diabetes mellitus patients (27.2±4.1% versus 25.1±2.9%, P=0.004). ACR+ve patients also had lower E0 measured by echocardiography (8.2±1.9 cm/s versus 8.9±1.9 cm/s, P=0.04) and elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T 18% versus 4% ≥14 ng/L (P=0.05). Rate of silent myocardial ischemia or infarction were not influenced by ACR status. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blockade was associated with increased left ventricular ejection fraction (59.3±7.8 to 61.5±8.7%, P=0.03) and decreased extracellular volume fraction (26.5±3.6 to 25.2±3.1, P=0.01) but no changes in diastolic function or high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels. Conclusions-Asymptomatic diabetes mellitus patients with persistent microalbuminuria have markers of diffuse cardiac fibrosis including elevated extracellular volume fraction, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, and diastolic dysfunction, which may in part be reversible by renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blockade. Increased risk in these patients may be mediated by subclinical changes in tissue structure and function
A functorial construction of moduli of sheaves
We show how natural functors from the category of coherent sheaves on a
projective scheme to categories of Kronecker modules can be used to construct
moduli spaces of semistable sheaves. This construction simplifies or clarifies
technical aspects of existing constructions and yields new simpler definitions
of theta functions, about which more complete results can be proved.Comment: 52 pp. Dedicated to the memory of Joseph Le Potier. To appear in
Inventiones Mathematicae. Slight change in the definition of the Kronecker
algebra in Secs 1 (p3) and 2.2 (p6), with corresponding small alterations
elsewhere, to make the constructions work for non-reduced schemes. Section
6.5 rewritten. Remark 2.6 and new references adde
Social relations in crowds: recognition, validation and solidarity
Social identity research on crowds demonstrates how cognitive self-definition as a crowd member results in conformity to identity-relevant norms. Less research addresses the social-relational changes within a crowd and how these impact collective experience positively. The present study investigates these processes at a month-long mass gathering in India. Analysis of 37 interviews with participants attending the annual Magh Mela pilgrimage evidences the concept of shared identity as underpinning their understanding of this mass gathering. Moreover, a theoretically-derived thematic analysis of these interviews shows the value of the analytic concepts of recognition, validation, and solidarity in illuminating the ways in which social relations in the crowd were experienced and contributed to the experience of the event. Through exploring the multi-dimensional nature of relational connectedness in crowds we contribute to an understanding of crowd experience and group processes
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