3,026 research outputs found
Parallel algorithms for interactive manipulation of digital terrain models
Interactive three-dimensional graphics applications, such as terrain data representation and manipulation, require extensive arithmetic processing. Massively parallel machines are attractive for this application since they offer high computational rates, and grid connected architectures provide a natural mapping for grid based terrain models. Presented here are algorithms for data movement on the massive parallel processor (MPP) in support of pan and zoom functions over large data grids. It is an extension of earlier work that demonstrated real-time performance of graphics functions on grids that were equal in size to the physical dimensions of the MPP. When the dimensions of a data grid exceed the processing array size, data is packed in the array memory. Windows of the total data grid are interactively selected for processing. Movement of packed data is needed to distribute items across the array for efficient parallel processing. Execution time for data movement was found to exceed that for arithmetic aspects of graphics functions. Performance figures are given for routines written in MPP Pascal
An experimental evaluation of software redundancy as a strategy for improving reliability
The strategy of using multiple versions of independently developed software as a means to tolerate residual software design faults is suggested by the success of hardware redundancy for tolerating hardware failures. Although, as generally accepted, the independence of hardware failures resulting from physical wearout can lead to substantial increases in reliability for redundant hardware structures, a similar conclusion is not immediate for software. The degree to which design faults are manifested as independent failures determines the effectiveness of redundancy as a method for improving software reliability. Interest in multi-version software centers on whether it provides an adequate measure of increased reliability to warrant its use in critical applications. The effectiveness of multi-version software is studied by comparing estimates of the failure probabilities of these systems with the failure probabilities of single versions. The estimates are obtained under a model of dependent failures and compared with estimates obtained when failures are assumed to be independent. The experimental results are based on twenty versions of an aerospace application developed and certified by sixty programmers from four universities. Descriptions of the application, development and certification processes, and operational evaluation are given together with an analysis of the twenty versions
An experimental study of the rearrangements of valence protons and neutrons amongst single-particle orbits during double {\beta} decay in 100Mo
The rearrangements of protons and neutrons amongst the valence
single-particle orbitals during double {\beta} decay of 100Mo have been
determined by measuring cross sections in (d,p), (p,d), (3He,{\alpha}) and
(3He,d) reactions on 98,100Mo and 100,102Ru targets. The deduced nucleon
occupancies reveal significant discrepancies when compared with theoretical
calculations; the same calculations have previously been used to determine the
nuclear matrix element associated with the decay probability of double {\beta}
decay of the 100Mo system.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, 37 pages of supplemental informatio
An index for the Dirac operator on D3 branes with background fluxes
We study the problem of instanton generated superpotentials in Calabi-Yau
orientifold compactifications directly in type IIB string theory. To this end,
we derive the Dirac equation on a Euclidean D3 brane in the presence of
background fluxes. We propose an index which governs whether the generation of
a superpotential in the effective 4d theory by D3 brane instantons is possible.
Applying the formalism to various classes of examples, including the K3 x
T^2/Z_2 orientifold, in the absence and presence of fluxes, we show that our
results are consistent with conclusions attainable via duality from an M-theory
analysis.Comment: Fermion coupling to five-form restored, conclusions of the paper
unchange
A Two-Stage Iteration for Solving Nearly Uncoupled Markov Chains
This paper is concerned with an iteration for determining the
steady-state probability vector of a nearly uncoupled Markov Chain.
The states of these chains can be partitioned into aggregates with
low probabilities of transitions between aggregates. The iteration
consists of alternating block Gauss--Seidel iterations with
Rayleigh--Ritz refinements. Under natural regularity conditions, the
composite iteration reduces the error by a factor proportional to the
size of the coupling between aggregates, so that the more loosely the
chain is coupled, the faster the convergence
On D3-brane Potentials in Compactifications with Fluxes and Wrapped D-branes
We study the potential governing D3-brane motion in a warped throat region of
a string compactification with internal fluxes and wrapped D-branes. If the
Kahler moduli of the compact space are stabilized by nonperturbative effects, a
D3-brane experiences a force due to its interaction with D-branes wrapping
certain four-cycles. We compute this interaction, as a correction to the warped
four-cycle volume, using explicit throat backgrounds in supergravity. This
amounts to a closed-string channel computation of the loop corrections to the
nonperturbative superpotential that stabilizes the volume. We demonstrate for
warped conical spaces that the superpotential correction is given by the
embedding equation specifying the wrapped four-cycle, in agreement with the
general form proposed by Ganor. Our approach automatically provides a solution
to the problem of defining a holomorphic gauge coupling on wrapped D7-branes in
a background with D3-branes. Finally, our results have applications to
cosmological inflation models in which the inflaton is modeled by a D3-brane
moving in a warped throat.Comment: 45 pages, 1 figure; v2: added reference, clarified notatio
Bacterial and Fungal Characterization of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma From Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Biopsies
INTRODUCTION: The tumor microbiome (TM) has been linked to pancreatic cancer prognosis. Specific microbes can confer tumor resistance to therapies. Early knowledge of the TM at time of diagnosis would be clinically relevant for precision therapy based on microbial composition. However, it is difficult to define the TM prior to surgical resection.
METHODS: In this pilot feasibility study, patients underwent Endoscopic Ultrasound-Fine Needle Aspiration (EUS-FNA) biopsy of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. These samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing for characterization of the tumor bacteria and fungi.
RESULT: After in silico decontamination and comparison to non-matched tumor, we were able to characterize the TM in biopsies, which was comparable to the TM from surgical specimens.
DISCUSSION: EUS-FNA biopsy may represent a feasible modality to characterize the pancreatic TM prior to surgical resection with proper decontamination strategies and improvements in matched controls
Brane inflation and the WMAP data: a Bayesian analysis
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) constraints on string
inspired ''brane inflation'' are investigated. Here, the inflaton field is
interpreted as the distance between two branes placed in a flux-enriched
background geometry and has a Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) kinetic term. Our method
relies on an exact numerical integration of the inflationary power spectra
coupled to a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo exploration of the parameter space. This
analysis is valid for any perturbative value of the string coupling constant
and of the string length, and includes a phenomenological modelling of the
reheating era to describe the post-inflationary evolution. It is found that the
data favour a scenario where inflation stops by violation of the slow-roll
conditions well before brane annihilation, rather than by tachyonic
instability. Concerning the background geometry, it is established that log(v)
> -10 at 95% confidence level (CL), where "v" is the dimensionless ratio of the
five-dimensional sub-manifold at the base of the six-dimensional warped
conifold geometry to the volume of the unit five-sphere. The reheating energy
scale remains poorly constrained, Treh > 20 GeV at 95% CL, for an extreme
equation of state (wreh ~ -1/3) only. Assuming the string length is known, the
favoured values of the string coupling and of the Ramond-Ramond total
background charge appear to be correlated. Finally, the stochastic regime
(without and with volume effects) is studied using a perturbative treatment of
the Langevin equation. The validity of such an approximate scheme is discussed
and shown to be too limited for a full characterisation of the quantum effects.Comment: 65 pages, 15 figures, uses iopart. Shortened version, updated
references. Matches publication up to appendix B kept on the arXi
Opportunities in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus research: outcomes of the Hydrocephalus Association Posthemorrhagic Hydrocephalus Workshop
Abstract
The Hydrocephalus Association Posthemorrhagic Hydrocephalus Workshop was held on July 25 and 26, 2016 at the National Institutes of Health. The workshop brought together a diverse group of researchers including pediatric neurosurgeons, neurologists, and neuropsychologists with scientists in the fields of brain injury and development, cerebrospinal and interstitial fluid dynamics, and the bloodâbrain and bloodâCSF barriers. The goals of the workshop were to identify areas of opportunity in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus research and encourage scientific collaboration across a diverse set of fields. This report details the major themes discussed during the workshop and research opportunities identified for posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus. The primary areas include (1) preventing intraventricular hemorrhage, (2) stopping primary and secondary brain damage, (3) preventing hydrocephalus, (4) repairing brain damage, and (5) improving neurodevelopment outcomes in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142869/1/12987_2018_Article_96.pd
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