1,904 research outputs found
The Definition and Measurement of the Topological Entropy per Unit Volume in Parabolic PDE's
We define the topological entropy per unit volume in parabolic PDE's such as
the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, and show that it exists, and is bounded
by the upper Hausdorff dimension times the maximal expansion rate. We then give
a constructive implementation of a bound on the inertial range of such
equations. Using this bound, we are able to propose a finite sampling algorithm
which allows (in principle) to measure this entropy from experimental data.Comment: 26 pages, 1 small figur
Using genotyping-by-sequencing to understand Musa diversity
Poster presented at Plant and Animal Genome, PAG XXII. San Diego (USA), 11-15 Jan 201
New Abundances for Old Stars - Atomic Diffusion at Work in NGC 6397
A homogeneous spectroscopic analysis of unevolved and evolved stars in the
metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6397 with FLAMES-UVES reveals systematic trends
of stellar surface abundances that are likely caused by atomic diffusion. This
finding helps to understand, among other issues, why the lithium abundances of
old halo stars are significantly lower than the abundance found to be produced
shortly after the Big Bang.Comment: 8 pages, 7 colour figures, 1 table; can also be downloaded via
http://www.eso.org/messenger
Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases: 2016 update.
Subclinical thyroid dysfunction comprises subclinical hypothyroidism (SHypo), defined as elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) by normal free thyroxine (FT4), and subclinical hyperthyroidism (SHyper) with decreased or undetectable TSH and normal FT4. Up to 10% of the elderly have SHypo, which is usually asymptomatic. Individual participant data (IPD) analyses of prospective cohort studies from the international Thyroid Studies Collaboration show that SHypo is associated with increased coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1,58 for TSH ≥ 10 mIU/L, 95% CI 1.10-2.27), as well as increased risk of stroke, and heart failure (HF) for both higher and lower TSH. Small studies found that SHypo affects carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), diastolic function, peripheral vascular resistance, endothelial function, and lipid profile. SHyper is associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.16-2.43) and CHD events (HR 1.21, 95% CI 0.99-1.46). The TSH threshold for initiating treatment is unclear. In the absence of large randomized controlled trials, the best evidence suggests SHypo therapy should be started at TSH ≥ 10 mIU/L, and SHyper therapy at TSH < 0.1 mIU/L. Recommendations on screening are discordant, but most guidelines advocate that thyroid function should be checked in those at risk for hypothyroidism, those over 60, and those with known CHD and HF. This review updates current evidence on the association between thyroid dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, as well as on screening and treatment of subclinical thyroid dysfunction
Phase Transition in a One-Dimensional Extended Peierls-Hubbard Model with a Pulse of Oscillating Electric Field: II. Linear Behavior in Neutral-to-Ionic Transition
Dynamics of charge density and lattice displacements after the neutral phase
is photoexcited is studied by solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation
for a one-dimensional extended Peierls-Hubbard model with alternating
potentials. In contrast to the ionic-to-neutral transition studied previously,
the neutral-to-ionic transition proceeds in an uncooperative manner as far as
the one-dimensional system is concerned. The final ionicity is a linear
function of the increment of the total energy. After the electric field is
turned off, the electronic state does not significantly change, roughly keeping
the ionicity, even if the transition is not completed, because the ionic
domains never proliferate. As a consequence, an electric field with frequency
just at the linear absorption peak causes the neutral-to-ionic transition the
most efficiently. These findings are consistent with the recent experiments on
the mixed-stack organic charge-transfer complex, TTF-CA. We artificially modify
or remove the electron-lattice coupling to discuss the origin of such
differences between the two transitions.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
Devroye Inequality for a Class of Non-Uniformly Hyperbolic Dynamical Systems
In this paper, we prove an inequality, which we call "Devroye inequality",
for a large class of non-uniformly hyperbolic dynamical systems (M,f). This
class, introduced by L.-S. Young, includes families of piece-wise hyperbolic
maps (Lozi-like maps), scattering billiards (e.g., planar Lorentz gas),
unimodal and H{\'e}non-like maps. Devroye inequality provides an upper bound
for the variance of observables of the form K(x,f(x),...,f^{n-1}(x)), where K
is any separately Holder continuous function of n variables. In particular, we
can deal with observables which are not Birkhoff averages. We will show in
\cite{CCS} some applications of Devroye inequality to statistical properties of
this class of dynamical systems.Comment: Corrected version; To appear in Nonlinearit
The joint influence of gender and amount of smoking on weight gain one year after smoking cessation.
Weight gain is often associated with smoking cessation and may discourage smokers from quitting. This study estimated the weight gained one year after smoking cessation and examined the risk factors associated with weight gain in order to identify socio-demographic groups at higher risk of increased weight after quitting. We analyzed data from 750 adults in two randomized controlled studies that included smokers motivated to quit and found a gradient in weight gain according to the actual duration of abstinence during follow-up. Subjects who were abstinent for at least 40 weeks gained 4.6 kg (SD = 3.8) on average, compared to 1.2 kg (SD = 2.6) for those who were abstinent less than 20 weeks during the 1-year follow-up. Considering the duration of abstinence as an exposure variable, we found an age effect and a significant interaction between sex and the amount of smoking before quitting: younger subjects gained more weight than older subjects; among light smokers, men gained more weight on average than women one year after quitting, while the opposite was observed among heavy smokers. Young women smoking heavily at baseline had the highest risk of weight gain after quitting
Viscoelastic impact between a cylindrical striker and a long cylindrical bar
International audienceAxial impact between a cylindrical striker of finite length and a long cylindrical bar, both of linearly viscoelastic materials, is considered under uni-axial conditions. General results are derived for the impact force, the particle velocity and the strain in the bar in terms of closed-contour integrals suitable for numerical evaluation. Such results are derived also for the transfer of momentum and energy from the striker to the bar. Numerical results for elastic and viscoelastic impact of a striker and a bar with different cross-sectional areas are compared. In viscoelastic impact, unlike elastic impact, the duration of impact may be finite but larger than two transit times for a wave front through the striker due to the for-mation of a tail after the main pulse. Furthermore, repeated contacts and separations of the striker and the bar may occur within a range of striker-to bar characteristic impedance ratios smaller than one. In viscoelastic impact, the duration of impact is at least as long and the momentum and energy transferred are at most as large as in elastic impact. Strains measured at three locations of a PMMA bar impacted by PMMA strikers of three different lengths agree well with the theoretical results
Behavior of the Escape Rate Function in Hyperbolic Dynamical Systems
For a fixed initial reference measure, we study the dependence of the escape
rate on the hole for a smooth or piecewise smooth hyperbolic map. First, we
prove the existence and Holder continuity of the escape rate for systems with
small holes admitting Young towers. Then we consider general holes for Anosov
diffeomorphisms, without size or Markovian restrictions. We prove bounds on the
upper and lower escape rates using the notion of pressure on the survivor set
and show that a variational principle holds under generic conditions. However,
we also show that the escape rate function forms a devil's staircase with jumps
along sequences of regular holes and present examples to elucidate some of the
difficulties involved in formulating a general theory.Comment: 21 pages. v2 differs from v1 only by additions to the acknowledgment
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