189 research outputs found
Neuropsychological research approaches in the epilepsies
The contributions of electro-encephalography to neurology and neurosurgery have tended to overshadow its value for the neuropsychologist as a tool for the study of instability of brain function in relation to the epilepsies and the borderlands of epilepsy. Studies of criminal behaviour have shown a high incidence of epilepsy and abnormal EEGs among murderers and some psychopaths, but no simple link between the epilepsies and criminal behaviour has been demonstrated. Alcohol has been shown not only to change the dominant frequency of the EEG but also to produce epileptic-type EEG discharges in some subjects, suggestive of brief disturbances of consciousness. Temporal lobe dysfunction as reflected in the EEG has been found in psychic mediums and in many members of a sample drawn from a low-intelligence isolated community, possibly a genetic trait in the latter case. A new project is aimed at studying the contingent negative variation in relation to epilepsy and to anticonvulsant medication.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 657 (1974)
From Social Data Mining to Forecasting Socio-Economic Crisis
Socio-economic data mining has a great potential in terms of gaining a better
understanding of problems that our economy and society are facing, such as
financial instability, shortages of resources, or conflicts. Without
large-scale data mining, progress in these areas seems hard or impossible.
Therefore, a suitable, distributed data mining infrastructure and research
centers should be built in Europe. It also appears appropriate to build a
network of Crisis Observatories. They can be imagined as laboratories devoted
to the gathering and processing of enormous volumes of data on both natural
systems such as the Earth and its ecosystem, as well as on human
techno-socio-economic systems, so as to gain early warnings of impending
events. Reality mining provides the chance to adapt more quickly and more
accurately to changing situations. Further opportunities arise by individually
customized services, which however should be provided in a privacy-respecting
way. This requires the development of novel ICT (such as a self- organizing
Web), but most likely new legal regulations and suitable institutions as well.
As long as such regulations are lacking on a world-wide scale, it is in the
public interest that scientists explore what can be done with the huge data
available. Big data do have the potential to change or even threaten democratic
societies. The same applies to sudden and large-scale failures of ICT systems.
Therefore, dealing with data must be done with a large degree of responsibility
and care. Self-interests of individuals, companies or institutions have limits,
where the public interest is affected, and public interest is not a sufficient
justification to violate human rights of individuals. Privacy is a high good,
as confidentiality is, and damaging it would have serious side effects for
society.Comment: 65 pages, 1 figure, Visioneer White Paper, see
http://www.visioneer.ethz.c
Quantum computing implementations with neutral particles
We review quantum information processing with cold neutral particles, that
is, atoms or polar molecules. First, we analyze the best suited degrees of
freedom of these particles for storing quantum information, and then we discuss
both single- and two-qubit gate implementations. We focus our discussion mainly
on collisional quantum gates, which are best suited for atom-chip-like devices,
as well as on gate proposals conceived for optical lattices. Additionally, we
analyze schemes both for cold atoms confined in optical cavities and hybrid
approaches to entanglement generation, and we show how optimal control theory
might be a powerful tool to enhance the speed up of the gate operations as well
as to achieve high fidelities required for fault tolerant quantum computation.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures; From the issue entitled "Special Issue on
Neutral Particles
Softening the Supersymmetric Flavor Problem in Orbifold GUTs
The infra-red attractive force of the bulk gauge interactions is applied to
soften the supersymmetric flavor problem in the orbifold SU(5) GUT of Kawamura.
Then this force aligns in the infra-red regime the soft supersymmetry breaking
terms out of their anarchical disorder at a fundamental scale, in such a way
that flavor-changing neutral currents as well as dangerous CP-violating phases
are suppressed at low energies. It is found that this dynamical alignment is
sufficiently good compared with the current experimental bounds, as long as the
diagonalization matrices of the Yukawa couplings are CKM-like.Comment: 15 pages,4 figure
Magnetic Field Amplification in Galaxy Clusters and its Simulation
We review the present theoretical and numerical understanding of magnetic
field amplification in cosmic large-scale structure, on length scales of galaxy
clusters and beyond. Structure formation drives compression and turbulence,
which amplify tiny magnetic seed fields to the microGauss values that are
observed in the intracluster medium. This process is intimately connected to
the properties of turbulence and the microphysics of the intra-cluster medium.
Additional roles are played by merger induced shocks that sweep through the
intra-cluster medium and motions induced by sloshing cool cores. The accurate
simulation of magnetic field amplification in clusters still poses a serious
challenge for simulations of cosmological structure formation. We review the
current literature on cosmological simulations that include magnetic fields and
outline theoretical as well as numerical challenges.Comment: 60 pages, 19 Figure
A class-wide phylogenetic assessment of Dothideomycetes
We present a comprehensive phylogeny derived from 5 genes, nucSSU, nucLSU
rDNA, TEF1, RPB1 and RPB2, for 356 isolates and 41
families (six newly described in this volume) in Dothideomycetes. All
currently accepted orders in the class are represented for the first time in
addition to numerous previously unplaced lineages. Subclass
Pleosporomycetidae is expanded to include the aquatic order
Jahnulales. An ancestral reconstruction of basic nutritional modes
supports numerous transitions from saprobic life histories to plant associated
and lichenised modes and a transition from terrestrial to aquatic habitats are
confirmed. Finally, a genomic comparison of 6 dothideomycete genomes with
other fungi finds a high level of unique protein associated with the class,
supporting its delineation as a separate taxon
A class-wide phylogenetic assessment of Dothideomycetes
We present a comprehensive phylogeny derived from 5 genes, nucSSU, nucLSU rDNA, TEF1, RPB1 and RPB2, for 356 isolates and 41 families (six newly described in this volume) in Dothideomycetes. All currently accepted orders in the class are represented for the first time in addition to numerous previously unplaced lineages. Subclass Pleosporomycetidae is expanded to include the aquatic order Jahnulales. An ancestral reconstruction of basic nutritional modes supports numerous transitions from saprobic life histories to plant associated and lichenised modes and a transition from terrestrial to aquatic habitats are confirmed. Finally, a genomic comparison of 6 dothideomycete genomes with other fungi finds a high level of unique protein associated with the class, supporting its delineation as a separate taxon
Large-Eddy Simulations of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in Heliophysics and Astrophysics
We live in an age in which high-performance computing is transforming the way we do science. Previously intractable problems are now becoming accessible by means of increasingly realistic numerical simulations. One of the most enduring and most challenging of these problems is turbulence. Yet, despite these advances, the extreme parameter regimes encountered in space physics and astrophysics (as in atmospheric and oceanic physics) still preclude direct numerical simulation. Numerical models must take a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach, explicitly computing only a fraction of the active dynamical scales. The success of such an approach hinges on how well the model can represent the subgrid-scales (SGS) that are not explicitly resolved. In addition to the parameter regime, heliophysical and astrophysical applications must also face an equally daunting challenge: magnetism. The presence of magnetic fields in a turbulent, electrically conducting fluid flow can dramatically alter the coupling between large and small scales, with potentially profound implications for LES/SGS modeling. In this review article, we summarize the state of the art in LES modeling of turbulent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) ows. After discussing the nature of MHD turbulence and the small-scale processes that give rise to energy dissipation, plasma heating, and magnetic reconnection, we consider how these processes may best be captured within an LES/SGS framework. We then consider several special applications in heliophysics and astrophysics, assessing triumphs, challenges,and future directions
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