Geodesic Warps by Conformal Mappings

In recent years there has been considerable interest in methods for diffeomorphic warping of images, with applications e.g.\ in medical imaging and evolutionary biology. The original work generally cited is that of the evolutionary biologist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, who demonstrated warps to deform images of one species into another. However, unlike the deformations in modern methods, which are drawn from the full set of diffeomorphism, he deliberately chose lower-dimensional sets of transformations, such as planar conformal mappings. In this paper we study warps of such conformal mappings. The approach is to equip the infinite dimensional manifold of conformal embeddings with a Riemannian metric, and then use the corresponding geodesic equation in order to obtain diffeomorphic warps. After deriving the geodesic equation, a numerical discretisation method is developed. Several examples of geodesic warps are then given. We also show that the equation admits totally geodesic solutions corresponding to scaling and translation, but not to affine transformations

Diffeomorphic random sampling using optimal information transport

In this article we explore an algorithm for diffeomorphic random sampling of nonuniform probability distributions on Riemannian manifolds. The algorithm is based on optimal information transport (OIT)---an analogue of optimal mass transport (OMT). Our framework uses the deep geometric connections between the Fisher-Rao metric on the space of probability densities and the right-invariant information metric on the group of diffeomorphisms. The resulting sampling algorithm is a promising alternative to OMT, in particular as our formulation is semi-explicit, free of the nonlinear Monge--Ampere equation. Compared to Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods, we expect our algorithm to stand up well when a large number of samples from a low dimensional nonuniform distribution is needed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Geometric Generalisations of SHAKE and RATTLE

A geometric analysis of the Shake and Rattle methods for constrained Hamiltonian problems is carried out. The study reveals the underlying differential geometric foundation of the two methods, and the exact relation between them. In addition, the geometric insight naturally generalises Shake and Rattle to allow for a strictly larger class of constrained Hamiltonian systems than in the classical setting. In order for Shake and Rattle to be well defined, two basic assumptions are needed. First, a nondegeneracy assumption, which is a condition on the Hamiltonian, i.e., on the dynamics of the system. Second, a coisotropy assumption, which is a condition on the geometry of the constrained phase space. Non-trivial examples of systems fulfilling, and failing to fulfill, these assumptions are given

Middleborns disadvantaged? testing birth-order effects on fitness in pre-industrial finns

Parental investment is a limited resource for which offspring compete in order to increase their own survival and reproductive success. However, parents might be selected to influence the outcome of sibling competition through differential investment. While evidence for this is widespread in egg-laying species, whether or not this may also be the case in viviparous species is more difficult to determine. We use pre-industrial Finns as our model system and an equal investment model as our null hypothesis, which predicts that (all else being equal) middleborns should be disadvantaged through competition. We found no overall evidence to suggest that middleborns in a family are disadvantaged in terms of their survival, age at first reproduction or lifetime reproductive success. However, when considering birth-order only among same-sexed siblings, first-, middle-and lastborn sons significantly differed in the number of offspring they were able to rear to adulthood, although there was no similar effect among females. Middleborn sons appeared to produce significantly less offspring than first-or lastborn sons, but they did not significantly differ from lastborn sons in the number of offspring reared to adulthood. Our results thus show that taking sex differences into account is important when modelling birth-order effects. We found clear evidence of firstborn sons being advantaged over other sons in the family, and over firstborn daughters. Therefore, our results suggest that parents invest differentially in their offspring in order to both preferentially favour particular offspring or reduce offspring inequalities arising from sibling competition

Twenty-five years study (1995–2019) of Food and Bioproducts Processing: An overview of research trends

In the current study, we presented an overview of the publication profile of Food and Bioproducts Processing (FBP), a leading international journal on food processing. The detailed analysis was made to measure its scientific progress from 1995 to 2019 by identifying publication trends, most cited articles, leading institutes, and profolic countries. The publication dataset and citations information were retrieved from the Scopus bibliographic database hosted by Elsevier. Several scientific achievements were observed in publications (n=1548), impact factor 3.726 or CiteScore 6.10, and the citations (a total of 33,663) over the 25-year time frame. The factorial analysis revealed that the journal research focuses on two clusters. The first cluster focused on moisture determination, spray drying, mathematical models, thermal processing foods, food products and food processing, and the second cluster focuses on research areas of the dimension of surface properties, organic solvents, response surface methodology, antioxidant activities, flavonoids, solvent extraction and fermentation. Although citations have increased significantly need wider publicity of the work. The most cited articles were identified with the interdisciplinary research within food science and technology and added to reinforce science advancement within the field. Overall, these findings highlighted the evolution, progress, quality, and efficiency of the journal and provided early-profession researchers/specialists with an opportunity to lead more inventive studies in food science and technology (FST)

Elucidation of the liquid-liquid distribution behavior of ion associates of metal-halogeno complex anions with quaternary ammonium counter cations and its application to separation and analysis

第四級アンモニウムイオンを対イオンとする一価, 二価金属ハロゲノ錯陰イオンのイオン会合抽出挙動を把握し, 分離・分析的応用を図るために, 炭素数及び形状の異なる第四級アンモニウム陽イオンを用いて, 水-各種抽出溶媒 {1,2-ジクロロエタン, クロロホルム (CF), クロロベンゼン (Cl-B), ベンゼン (B), トルエン (T) 及び四塩化炭素 (CTC)} 系での抽出定数を求めた. 得られた抽出定数から次の知見を得た. (1) 配位子の抽出性に及ぼす影響 : 配位子がCl-, Br-, I-と変わるにつれ, この順に抽出性は良くなる. (2) 配位子数の影響 : 配位子数が多くなるに従い, 抽出性も良くなる. (3) 中心金属の影響 : 配位子数が同じ場合には, 抽出性はほぼ中心金属イオンの大きさの順となる. (4) 金属錯陰イオンの電荷の影響 : 一般に二価陰イオンよりも一価陰イオンのほうが抽出されやすい. (5) 対陽イオンのアルキル鎖のメチレン基の寄与 : メチレン基一つ当たり, 大体0.4～0.8の抽出定数 (log K(ex)) の増大となる. (6) 抽出溶媒の影響 : 抽出溶媒の抽出能は次の順となる : CTC<T<B<Cl-B<CF. (7) 金属ハロゲノ錯陰イオンの配位子の違いによる抽出定数の差 (Δlog K(ex)) は溶媒によらず, ほぼ一定である. これらの知見を基に, 金属ハロゲノ錯陰イオンと疎水性陽イオンとのイオン会合抽出を利用する幾つかの金属の分離・定量法を開発した.The distribution behavior of ion associates of both monovalent and divalent metal-halogeno complex anions with various quaternary ammonium cations between the aqueous phase and several organic phases {1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform (CF), chlorobenzene (Cl-B), benzene (B), toluene (T) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC)} was examined, and the extraction constants (log Kex) were determined. The larger is the size of the ligand (Cl-<Br-<I-) and the coordination number, the greater is the ion associability. For the same coordination number, in general, the larger is the size of the metal ion, the greater is the ion associability. In general, the extractability of monovalent metal-halogeno complex anions is larger than that of divalent metal-halogeno complex anions. A linear relationship was obtained between log Kex and the number of carbon atoms in quaternary ammonium ion, and the contribution of a methylene group to the extraction constant (Δlog K(ex)/-CH(2-)) was found to be about 0.4∼0.8. Among the ion associates examined, the order of the extractability of the extracting solvent was generally CTC<T<B<Cl-B<CF. Also, the order of the extractability of the ion associates for dihalogenocuprate (I), tetrahalogenoaurate (III) and tetrahalogenothallate (III) complex ions was as follows, respectively : CuCl(2)-<CuBr(2)-<CuI(2)- ; AuCl(4)-<AuBr(4)- ; TlCl(4)-<TlBr(4)-<TlI(4-). The values of Δlog K(ex) between the complex anions were almost equal, even though the extracting solvents were changed. From these results, several extraction-spectrophotometric methods for the determination of metal based on the formation of an ion associate of metal-halogeno complex anion with hydrophobic cations were developed

Social origin, schooling and individual change in intelligence during childhood influence long-term mortality: a 68-year follow-up study

Background Intelligence at a single time-point has been linked to health outcomes. An individual's IQ increases with longer schooling, but the validity of such increase is unclear. In this study, we assess the hypothesis that individual change in the performance on IQ tests between ages 10 and 20 years is associated with mortality later in life

‘‘Beet-ing’’ the Mountain: A Review of the Physiological and Performance Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation at Simulated and Terrestrial Altitude

Exposure to altitude results in multiple physiological consequences. These include, but are not limited to, a reduced maximal oxygen consumption, drop in arterial oxygen saturation, and increase in muscle metabolic perturbations at a fixed sub-maximal work rate. Exercise capacity during fixed work rate or incremental exercise and time-trial performance are also impaired at altitude relative to sea-level. Recently, dietary nitrate (NO3-) supplementation has attracted considerable interest as a nutritional aid during altitude exposure. In this review, we summarise and critically evaluate the physiological and performance effects of dietary NO3- supplementation during exposure to simulated and terrestrial altitude. Previous investigations at simulated altitude indicate that NO3- supplementation may reduce the oxygen cost of exercise, elevate arterial and tissue oxygen saturation, improve muscle metabolic function, and enhance exercise capacity/ performance. Conversely, current evidence suggests that NO3- supplementation does not augment the training response at simulated altitude. Few studies have evaluated the effects of NO3- at terrestrial altitude. Current evidence indicates potential improvements in endothelial function at terrestrial altitude following NO3- supplementation. No effects of NO3- supplementation have been observed on oxygen consumption or arterial oxygen saturation at terrestrial altitude, although further research is warranted. Limitations of the present body of literature are discussed, and directions for future research are provided

Profiling social, emotional and behavioural difficulties of children involved in direct and indirect bullying behaviours

Being involved in bullying places a child at risk of poor psychosocial and educational outcomes. This study aimed to examine the profile of behavioural, emotional and social functioning for two subtypes of bullying; direct and indirect (relational). Pupils aged between seven and eleven years old completed sociometric measures of social inclusion and bullying behaviour to identify 192 pupils considered to be involved in either direct, indirect, both or neither types of bullying. These pupils and their teachers completed a battery of assessments relating to behaviour, social competence and self-perception. All bully-groups experienced similar levels of significant social rejection. ‘Direct’ and ‘both’ groups showed the greatest number of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, while the ‘indirect’ group showed weaknesses in self-perception, but no teacher-rated problems. Understanding the behavioural, emotional and social correlates of bullying is of particular importance for early identification of children at risk of becoming bullies and for developing targeted interventions

Family physicians' effort to stay in charge of the medical treatment when patients have home care by district nurses. A grounded theory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>District nurses (DNs) provide home care for old persons with a mixture of chronic diseases, symptoms and reduced functional ability. Family physicians (FPs) have been criticised for their lack of involvement in this care. The aim of this study was to obtain increased knowledge concerning the FP's experience of providing medical treatment for patients with home care provided by DNs by developing a theoretical model that elucidates how FPs handle the problems they encounter regarding the individual patients and their conditions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Swedish FPs concerning one of their registered patients with home care by a DN, and the treatment of this patient. Grounded theory methodology (GTM) was used in the analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The core category was the effort to stay in charge of the medical treatment. This involved three types of problems: gaining sufficient insight, making adequate decisions, and maintaining appropriate medical treatment. For three categories of patients, the FPs had problems staying in charge. Patients with reduced functional ability had problems providing information and maintaining treatment. Patients who were "fixed in their ways" did not provide information and did not comply with recommendations, and for patients with complex conditions, making adequate decisions could be problematic. To overcome the problems, four different strategies were used: relying on information from others, supporting close observation and follow-up by others, being constantly ready to change the goal of the treatment, and relying on others to provide treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The patients in this study differed from most other patients seen at the healthcare centre as the consultation with the patient could not provide the usual foundation for decisions concerning medical treatment. Information from and collaboration with the DN and other home care providers was essential for the FP's effort to stay in charge of the medical treatment. The complexity of the situation made it problematic for the FP to make adequate decisions about the goal of the medical treatment. The goal of the treatment had to be constantly evaluated based on information from the DN and other care providers, and thus this information was absolutely crucial.</p