6,991 research outputs found
Online Searching with an Autonomous Robot
We discuss online strategies for visibility-based searching for an object
hidden behind a corner, using Kurt3D, a real autonomous mobile robot. This task
is closely related to a number of well-studied problems. Our robot uses a
three-dimensional laser scanner in a stop, scan, plan, go fashion for building
a virtual three-dimensional environment. Besides planning trajectories and
avoiding obstacles, Kurt3D is capable of identifying objects like a chair. We
derive a practically useful and asymptotically optimal strategy that guarantees
a competitive ratio of 2, which differs remarkably from the well-studied
scenario without the need of stopping for surveying the environment. Our
strategy is used by Kurt3D, documented in a separate video.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 12 photographs, 1 table, Latex, submitted for
publicatio
Generalizations of Tucker-Fan-Shashkin lemmas
Tucker and Ky Fan's lemma are combinatorial analogs of the Borsuk-Ulam
theorem (BUT). In 1996, Yu. A. Shashkin proved a version of Fan's lemma, which
is a combinatorial analog of the odd mapping theorem (OMT). We consider
generalizations of these lemmas for BUT-manifolds, i.e. for manifolds that
satisfy BUT. Proofs rely on a generalization of the OMT and on a lemma about
the doubling of manifolds with boundaries that are BUT-manifolds.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Imaging interactions between the immune and cardiovascular systems in vivo by multiphoton microscopy
Several recent studies in immunology have used multiphoton laser-scanning microscopy to visualise the induction of an immune response in real time in vivo. These experiments are illuminating the cellular and molecular interactions involved in the induction, maintenance and regulation of immune responses. Similar approaches are being applied in cardiovascular research where there is an increasing body of
evidence to support a significant role for the adaptive immune system in vascular disease. As such, we have begun to dissect the role of T lymphocytes in atherosclerosis in real time in vivo. Here, we provide step-by-step guides to the various stages involved in visualising the migration of T cells within a lymph node and their infiltration into inflamed tissues such as atherosclerotic arteries. These methods provide an insight into the mechanisms involved in the activation and function of immune cells in vivo
A Quantum Lovasz Local Lemma
The Lovasz Local Lemma (LLL) is a powerful tool in probability theory to show
the existence of combinatorial objects meeting a prescribed collection of
"weakly dependent" criteria. We show that the LLL extends to a much more
general geometric setting, where events are replaced with subspaces and
probability is replaced with relative dimension, which allows to lower bound
the dimension of the intersection of vector spaces under certain independence
conditions. Our result immediately applies to the k-QSAT problem: For instance
we show that any collection of rank 1 projectors with the property that each
qubit appears in at most of them, has a joint satisfiable
state.
We then apply our results to the recently studied model of random k-QSAT.
Recent works have shown that the satisfiable region extends up to a density of
1 in the large k limit, where the density is the ratio of projectors to qubits.
Using a hybrid approach building on work by Laumann et al. we greatly extend
the known satisfiable region for random k-QSAT to a density of
. Since our tool allows us to show the existence of joint
satisfying states without the need to construct them, we are able to penetrate
into regions where the satisfying states are conjectured to be entangled,
avoiding the need to construct them, which has limited previous approaches to
product states.Comment: 19 page
Potential core lengths of round jets in stagnant and moving environments
This paper investigates the change of velocity and concentration fields in the initial region of a round jet in stagnant fluid and in a moving environment of the co-flow, counter-flow or cross-flow situation. The aim was to discuss issues of flow establishment and in the initial region, to determine the potential core length, and to observe the effect of a moving ambient. Turbulent jet velocities and concentration were measured with the planar imaging techniques of particle-image velocimetry (PIV) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The mean flow fields were obtained and analyzed to investigate the validity of 1/. x decay relationship for jet centerline velocity and concentration. Values for the decay constant and jet virtual origin were obtained from the data. While the results show that the decay constant is increased by a co-flow but reduced by a counter-flow or a cross-flow, the virtual origin was found to be affected as well. The overall effect is that any situation of the moving environment leads to a slight reduction of the physical length of the potential core. The paper also suggests an intermittency function for the analysis of fluctuating jet concentration field in the potential core. The mean intermittency function provides a direct and reliable estimate of the potential core length of a jet in a moving environment. © 2011 International Association of Hydro-environment Engineering and Research, Asia Pacific Division.postprin
Reduction of Soil-Borne Plant Pathogens Using Lime and Ammonia Evolved from Broiler Litter
In laboratory and micro-plots simulations and in a commercial greenhouse, soil ammonia (NH3) and pH were manipulated as means to control soil-borne fungal pathogens and nematodes. Soil ammonification capacity was increased by applying low C/N ratio broiler litter at 1–8% (w/w). Soil pH was increased using lime at 0.5–1% (w/w). This reduced fungi (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi and Sclerotium rolfsii) and root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) in lab tests below detection. In a commercial greenhouse, broiler litter (25 Mg ha−1) and lime (12.5 Mg ha−1) addition to soil in combination with solarization significantly reduced M. javanica induced root galling of tomato test plants from 47% in the control plots (solarization only) to 7% in treated plots. Root galling index of pepper plants, measured 178 days after planting in the treated and control plots, were 0.8 and 1.5, respectively, which was statistically significantly different. However, the numbers of nematode juveniles in the root zone soil counted 83 and 127 days after pepper planting were not significantly different between treatments. Pepper fruit yield was not different between treatments. Soil disinfection and curing was completed within one month, and by the time of bell-pepper planting the pH and ammonia values were normal
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Binding to medium and long chain fatty acyls is a common property of HEAT and ARM repeat modules.
Covalent post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins with acyl groups of various carbon chain-lengths regulates diverse biological processes ranging from chromatin dynamics to subcellular localization. While the YEATS domain has been found to be a prominent reader of acetylation and other short acyl modifications, whether additional acyl-lysine reader domains exist, particularly for longer carbon chains, is unclear. Here, we employed a quantitative proteomic approach using various modified peptide baits to identify reader proteins of various acyl modifications. We discovered that proteins harboring HEAT and ARM repeats bind to lysine myristoylated peptides. Recombinant HEAT and ARM repeats bind to myristoylated peptides independent of the peptide sequence or the position of the myristoyl group. Indeed, HEAT and ARM repeats bind directly to medium- and long-chain free fatty acids (MCFA and LCFA). Lipidomic experiments suggest that MCFAs and LCFAs interact with HEAT and ARM repeat proteins in mammalian cells. Finally, treatment of cells with exogenous MCFAs and inhibitors of MCFA-CoA synthases increase the transactivation activity of the ARM repeat protein β-catenin. Taken together, our results suggest an unappreciated role for fatty acids in the regulation of proteins harboring HEAT or ARM repeats
Efficient one- and two-qubit pulsed gates for an oscillator stabilized Josephson qubit
We present theoretical schemes for performing high-fidelity one- and
two-qubit pulsed gates for a superconducting flux qubit. The "IBM qubit"
consists of three Josephson junctions, three loops, and a superconducting
transmission line. Assuming a fixed inductive qubit-qubit coupling, we show
that the effective qubit-qubit interaction is tunable by changing the applied
fluxes, and can be made negligible, allowing one to perform high fidelity
single qubit gates. Our schemes are tailored to alleviate errors due to 1/f
noise; we find gates with only 1% loss of fidelity due to this source, for
pulse times in the range of 20-30ns for one-qubit gates (Z rotations,
Hadamard), and 60ns for a two-qubit gate (controlled-Z). Our relaxation and
dephasing time estimates indicate a comparable loss of fidelity from this
source. The control of leakage plays an important role in the design of our
shaped pulses, preventing shorter pulse times. However, we have found that
imprecision in the control of the quantum phase plays the major role in the
limitation of the fidelity of our gates.Comment: Published version. Added references. Corrected minor typos. Added
discussion on how the influence of 1/f noise is modeled. 36 pages, 11 figure
Noisy Preprocessing and the Distillation of Private States
We provide a simple security proof for prepare & measure quantum key
distribution protocols employing noisy processing and one-way postprocessing of
the key. This is achieved by showing that the security of such a protocol is
equivalent to that of an associated key distribution protocol in which, instead
of the usual maximally-entangled states, a more general {\em private state} is
distilled. Besides a more general target state, the usual entanglement
distillation tools are employed (in particular, Calderbank-Shor-Steane
(CSS)-like codes), with the crucial difference that noisy processing allows
some phase errors to be left uncorrected without compromising the privacy of
the key.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in Physical Review Letters. Extensively rewritten,
with a more detailed discussion of coherent --> iid reductio
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