8,171 research outputs found
On factorisation at small x
We investigate factorisation at small x using a variety of analytical and
numerical techniques. Previous results on factorisation in collinear models are
generalised to the case of the full BFKL equation, and illustrated in the
example of a collinear model which includes higher twist terms. Unlike the
simplest collinear model, the BFKL equation leads to effective anomalous
dimensions containing higher-twist pieces which grow as a (non-perturbative)
power at small x. While these pieces dominate the effective splitting function
at very small x they do not lead to a break-down of factorisation insofar as
their effect on the predicted scaling violations remains strongly suppressed.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX. Updated version corrects some small misprints and
adds extra preprint number
Integrated Support for Handoff Management and Context-Awareness in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks
The overwhelming success of mobile devices and wireless
communications is stressing the need for the development of
mobility-aware services. Device mobility requires services
adapting their behavior to sudden context changes and being
aware of handoffs, which introduce unpredictable delays and
intermittent discontinuities. Heterogeneity of wireless
technologies (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G) complicates the situation,
since a different treatment of context-awareness and handoffs is
required for each solution. This paper presents a middleware
architecture designed to ease mobility-aware service
development. The architecture hides technology-specific
mechanisms and offers a set of facilities for context awareness
and handoff management. The architecture prototype works with
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which today represent two of the most
widespread wireless technologies. In addition, the paper discusses
motivations and design details in the challenging context of
mobile multimedia streaming applications
Genetic typing of Candida albicans strains isolated from the oral cavity of patients with denture stomatitis before and after itraconazole therapy
This study determined, by molecular typing of C. albicans species isolated from denture stomatitis patients with a mycological relapse six
months after successful itraconazole therapy, whether there had been recurrence of infection with the same strain(s), selection of particular
strains or infection with new strains of C. albicans. Forty patients with long-standing Candida-associated denture stomatitis were assigned
either cyclodextrin itraconazole solution or itraconazole capsules (100mg b.d. for 15 days). Palatal erythema was measured and imprint
cultures undertaken at baseline and at 15 days, four weeks and six months after treatment commenced. Yeast isolates were formally
identified and chromosomal DNA was extracted from pairs of isolates from those patients with C. albicans present at baseline and six
months after treatment commenced. Southern blotting of EcoRI-digested chromosomal DNA was performed using the C. albicans-specific
27A repetitive element as a probe. Eighteen of 36 patients were infected with C. albicans at baseline and six months after treatment
commenced. Overall, 13 genetically different strains of C. albicans were found. However, in 17 of 18 patients, the C. albicans strains
isolated prior to itraconazole therapy and six months later were the same. Thus recurrence of denture stomatitis in these individuals was
due to re-colonisation by the original strain, rather than re-infection with a different strain. Key words: Genotyping, C. albicans, denture
stomatitis
Thermal boundary resistance at Si/Ge interfaces determined by approach-to-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations
The thermal boundary resistance of Si/Ge interfaces as been determined using
approach-to-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. Assuming a reciprocal
linear dependence of the thermal boundary resistance, a length-independent bulk
thermal boundary resistance could be extracted from the calculation resulting
in a value of 3.76x10 m K/W for a sharp Si/Ge interface and thermal
transport from Si to Ge. Introducing an interface with finite thickness of 0.5
nm consisting of a SiGe alloy, the bulk thermal resistance slightly decreases
compared to the sharp Si/Ge interface. Further growth of the boundary leads to
an increase in the bulk thermal boundary resistance. When the heat flow is
inverted (Ge to Si), the thermal boundary resistance is found to be higher.
From the differences in the thermal boundary resistance for different heat flow
direction, the rectification factor of the Si/Ge has been determined and is
found to significantly decrease when the sharp interface is moderated by
introduction of a SiGe alloy in the boundary layer.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
The gluon splitting function at moderately small x
It is widely believed that at small x, the BFKL resummed gluon splitting
function should grow as a power of 1/x. But in several recent calculations it
has been found to decrease for moderately small-x before eventually rising. We
show that this `dip' structure is a rigorous feature of the P_gg splitting
function for sufficiently small alpha_s, the minimum occurring formally at ln
1/x of order 1/sqrt(alpha_s). We calculate the properties of the dip, including
corrections of relative order sqrt(alpha_s), and discuss how this expansion in
powers of sqrt(alpha_s), which is poorly convergent, can be qualitatively
matched to the fully resummed result of a recent calculation, for realistic
values of alpha_s. Finally, we note that the dip position, as a function of
alpha_s, provides a lower bound in x below which the NNLO fixed-order expansion
of the splitting function breaksdown and the resummation of small-x terms is
mandatory.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 3 figure
Colour reverse learning and animal personalities: the advantage of behavioural diversity assessed with agent-based simulations
Foraging bees use colour cues to help identify rewarding from unrewarding flowers, but as conditions change, bees may require behavioural flexibility to reverse their learnt preferences. Perceptually similar colours are learnt slowly by honeybees and thus potentially pose a difficult task to reverse-learn. Free-flying honeybees (N = 32) were trained to learn a fine colour discrimination task that could be resolved at ca. 70% accuracy following extended differential conditioning, and were then tested for their ability to reverse-learn this visual problem multiple times. Subsequent analyses identified three different strategies: ‘Deliberative-decisive’ bees that could, after several flower visits, decisively make a large change to learnt preferences; ‘Fickle- circumspect’ bees that changed their preferences by a small amount every time they encountered evidence in their environment; and ‘Stay’ bees that did not change from their initially learnt preference. The next aim was to determine if there was any advantage to a colony in maintaining bees with a variety of decision-making strategies. To understand the potential benefits of the observed behavioural diversity agent-based computer simulations were conducted by systematically varying parameters for flower reward switch oscillation frequency, flower handling time, and fraction of defective ‘target’ stimuli. These simulations revealed that when there is a relatively high frequency of reward reversals, fickle-circumspect bees are more efficient at nectar collection. However, as the reward reversal frequency decreases the performance of deliberative-decisive bees becomes most efficient. These findings show there to be an evolutionary benefit for honeybee colonies with individuals exhibiting these different strategies for managing resource change. The strategies have similarities to some complex decision-making processes observed in humans, and algorithms implemented in artificial intelligence systems
A Non-Local Mean Curvature Flow and its semi-implicit time-discrete approximation
We address in this paper the study of a geometric evolution, corresponding to
a curvature which is non-local and singular at the origin. The curvature
represents the first variation of the energy recently proposed as a variant of
the standard perimeter penalization for the denoising of nonsmooth curves.
To deal with such degeneracies, we first give an abstract existence and
uniqueness result for viscosity solutions of non-local degenerate Hamiltonians,
satisfying suitable continuity assumption with respect to Kuratowsky
convergence of the level sets. This abstract setting applies to an approximated
flow. Then, by the method of minimizing movements, we also build an "exact"
curvature flow, and we illustrate some examples, comparing the results with the
standard mean curvature flow
Exit Risks and Contagion in the Euro Area
This paper aims to assess the possible impact that the depreciation of a common currency can have on the stability of the related monetary union. It shows that, other things being equal, this depreciation reduces the probability of the weakest Member States leaving the monetary union when hit by a specific and negative demand shock, and the probability of other Member States, which belong to the same area but are not directly hit by any shock, deciding to leave due to the contagion effect. Obviously, the depreciation of the common currency is not the only variable affecting the stability of a monetary area. In this respect, it is sufficient to recall that competition in the international markets is not just price competition. Hence, the paper also analyzes the role played by trade balance elasticities. In our framework, it emerges that higher (lower) elasticities of the weakest countries hit by the specific shock make their exit more (less) likely. Moreover, given the elasticities of these same countries, there is a threshold value in the elasticities of the other Member States under which contagion can never happen.
It is apparent that this framework applies to the possible behavior of \u2018peripheral\u2019 countries in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and to their interactions with the rest of the area. Hence, this paper can be read as a strategic interaction between two representative countries of the euro area in order to identify the selection mechanisms between good and bad equilibria
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