752 research outputs found
Mapping dynamic social networks in real life using participants' own smartphones
AbstractInterpersonal relationships are vital for our daily functioning and wellbeing. Social networks may form the primary means by which environmental influences determine individual traits. Several studies have shown the influence of social networks on decision-making, behaviors and wellbeing. Smartphones have great potential for measuring social networks in a real world setting. Here we tested the feasibility of using people's own smartphones as a data collection platform for face-to-face interactions. We developed an application for iOS and Android to collect Bluetooth data and acquired one week of data from 14 participants in our organization. The Bluetooth scanning statistics were used to quantify the time-resolved connection strength between participants and define the weights of a dynamic social network. We used network metrics to quantify changes in network topology over time and non-negative matrix factorization to identify cliques or subgroups that reoccurred during the week. The scanning rate varied considerably between smartphones running Android and iOS and egocentric networks metrics were correlated with the scanning rate. The time courses of two identified subgroups matched with two meetings that took place that week. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using participants' own smartphones to map social network, whilst identifying current limitations of using generic smartphones. The bias introduced by variations in scanning rate and missing data is an important limitation that needs to be addressed in future studies
Some Aspects of Rotational and Magnetic Energies for a Hierarchy of Celestial Objects
Celestial objects, from earth like planets to clusters of galaxies, possess
angular momentum and magnetic fields. Here we compare the rotational and
magnetic energies of a whole range of these celestial objects together with
their gravitational self energies and find a number of interesting
relationships. The celestial objects, due to their magnetic fields, also posses
magnetic moments. The ratio of magnetic moments of these objects with the
nuclear magnetic moments also exhibits interesting trends. We also compare
their gyromagnetic ratio which appears to fall in a very narrow range for the
entire hierarchy of objects. Here we try to understand the physical aspects
implied by these observations and the origin of these properties in such a wide
range of celestial objects, spanning some twenty orders in mass, magnetic field
and other parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 37 equation
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Isotopic Studies of Contaminant Transport at the Hanford Site,WA
Processes of fluid flow and chemical transport through thevadose zone can be characterized through the isotopic systematics ofnatural soils, minerals, pore fluids and groundwater. In thiscontribution, we first review our research using measured isotopicvariations, due both to natural and site related processes, of theelements H, O, N, Sr and U, to study the interconnection between vadosezone and groundwater contamination at the Hanford Site in south-centralWashington. We follow this brief review with a presentation of new datapertaining to vadose zone and groundwater contamination in the WMAT-TX-TY vicinity. Uranium (U) isotopic data for the C3832 core (WMA TX)indicates the involvement of processed natural U fuel, and links theobserved U contamination to the nearby single shelled tank TX-104. Thedata also precludes contamination from an early 1970 s TX-107 leak. Inthe case of the C4104 core (WMA T), the U isotopic data indicates amixture of processed natural and enriched U fuels consistent with themajor leak from T-106 in 1973. Uranium and Strontium isotopic data forthe cores also provides direct evidence for chemical interaction betweenhigh-pH waste fluid and sediment. Isotopic data for groundwater nitratecontamination in the vicinity of WMA-T strongly suggests high-level tankwaste (most likely from T-106) as the source of very high 99Tcconcentrations recently observed at the NE corner of WMAT
A serendipitous all sky survey for bright objects in the outer solar system
We use seven yearʌs worth of observations from the Catalina Sky Survey and the Siding Spring Survey covering most of the northern and southern hemisphere at galactic latitudes higher than 20° to search for serendipitously imaged moving objects in the outer solar system. These slowly moving objects would appear as stationary transients in these fast cadence asteroids surveys, so we develop methods to discover objects in the outer solar system using individual observations spaced by months, rather than spaced by hours, as is typically done. While we independently discover eight known bright objects in the outer solar system, the faintest having no new objects are discovered. We find that the survey is nearly 100% efficient at detecting objects beyond 25 AU for ( in the southern hemisphere) and that the probability that there is one or more remaining outer solar system object of this brightness left to be discovered in the unsurveyed regions of the galactic plane is approximately 32%
Proposed minimal standards for the use of genome data for the taxonomy of prokaryotes
Advancement of DNA sequencing technology allows the routine use of genome sequences in the various fields of microbiology. The information held in genome sequences proved to provide objective and reliable means in the taxonomy of prokaryotes. Here, we describe the minimal standards for the quality of genome sequences and how they can be applied for taxonomic purposes
Complete Classification of the String-like Solutions of the Gravitating Abelian Higgs Model
The static cylindrically symmetric solutions of the gravitating Abelian Higgs
model form a two parameter family. In this paper we give a complete
classification of the string-like solutions of this system. We show that the
parameter plane is composed of two different regions with the following
characteristics: One region contains the standard asymptotically conic cosmic
string solutions together with a second kind of solutions with Melvin-like
asymptotic behavior. The other region contains two types of solutions with
bounded radial extension. The border between the two regions is the curve of
maximal angular deficit of .Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Punctuated equilibria and 1/f noise in a biological coevolution model with individual-based dynamics
We present a study by linear stability analysis and large-scale Monte Carlo
simulations of a simple model of biological coevolution. Selection is provided
through a reproduction probability that contains quenched, random interspecies
interactions, while genetic variation is provided through a low mutation rate.
Both selection and mutation act on individual organisms. Consistent with some
current theories of macroevolutionary dynamics, the model displays
intermittent, statistically self-similar behavior with punctuated equilibria.
The probability density for the lifetimes of ecological communities is well
approximated by a power law with exponent near -2, and the corresponding power
spectral densities show 1/f noise (flicker noise) over several decades. The
long-lived communities (quasi-steady states) consist of a relatively small
number of mutualistically interacting species, and they are surrounded by a
``protection zone'' of closely related genotypes that have a very low
probability of invading the resident community. The extent of the protection
zone affects the stability of the community in a way analogous to the height of
the free-energy barrier surrounding a metastable state in a physical system.
Measures of biological diversity are on average stationary with no discernible
trends, even over our very long simulation runs of approximately 3.4x10^7
generations.Comment: 20 pages RevTex. Minor revisions consistent with published versio
Pseudo Goldstone Bosons Phenomenology in Minimal Walking Technicolor
We construct the non-linear realized Lagrangian for the Goldstone Bosons
associated to the breaking pattern of SU(4) to SO(4). This pattern is expected
to occur in any Technicolor extension of the standard model featuring two Dirac
fermions transforming according to real representations of the underlying gauge
group. We concentrate on the Minimal Walking Technicolor quantum number
assignments with respect to the standard model symmetries. We demonstrate that
for, any choice of the quantum numbers, consistent with gauge and Witten
anomalies the spectrum of the pseudo Goldstone Bosons contains electrically
doubly charged states which can be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure
On the Detection of a Scalar Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves
In the near future we will witness the coming to a full operational regime of
laser interferometers and resonant mass detectors of spherical shape. In this
work we study the sensitivity of pairs of such gravitational wave detectors to
a scalar stochastic background of gravitational waves. Our computations are
carried out both for minimal and non minimal coupling of the scalar fields.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figure
Does Solar Physics Provide Constraints to Weakly Interacting Massive Particles?
We investigate whether present data on helioseismology and solar neutrino
fluxes may constrain WIMP--matter interactions in the range of WIMP parameters
under current exploration in WIMP searches. We find that, for a WIMP mass of 30
GeV, once the effect of the presence of WIMPs in the Sun's interior is
maximized, the squared isothermal sound speed is modified, with respect to the
standard solar model, by at most 0.4% at the Sun's center. The maximal effect
on the Boron-8 solar neutrino flux is a reduction of 4.5%. Larger masses lead
to smaller effects. These results imply that present sensitivities in the
measurements of solar properties, though greatly improved in recent years, do
not provide information or constraints on WIMP properties of relevance for dark
matter. Furthermore, we show that, when current bounds from direct WIMP
searches are taken into account, the effect induced by WIMPs with dominant
coherent interactions are drastically reduced as compared to the values quoted
above. The case of neutralinos in the minimal supersymmetric standard model is
also discussed.Comment: 31 pages, 2 tables and 9 figures, typeset with ReVTeX4. The paper may
also be found at http://www.to.infn.it/~fornengo/papers/helio.ps.gz or
through http://www.to.infn.it/astropart/index.htm
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