184 research outputs found
On a problem of A. Weil
A topological invariant of the geodesic laminations on a modular surface is
constructed. The invariant has a continuous part (the tail of a continued
fraction) and a combinatorial part (the singularity data). It is shown, that
the invariant is complete, i.e. the geodesic lamination can be recovered from
the invariant. The continuous part of the invariant has geometric meaning of a
slope of lamination on the surface.Comment: to appear Beitr\"age zur Algebra und Geometri
Pictorial Representation for Antisymmetric Eigenfunctions of PS-3 Integral Equations
Eigenvalue problem for Poincare-Steklov-3 integral equation is reduced to the
solution of three transcendential equations for three unknown numbers, moduli
of pants. The complete list of antisymmetric eigenfunctions of integral
equation in terms of Kleinian membranes is given.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures. This paper is an extended version of CV/061173
Modular differential equations for characters of RCFT
We discuss methods, based on the theory of vector-valued modular forms, to
determine all modular differential equations satisfied by the conformal
characters of RCFT; these modular equations are related to the null vector
relations of the operator algebra. Besides describing effective algorithmic
procedures, we illustrate our methods on an explicit example.Comment: 13 page
The Effect of Insecticide Synergists on the Response of Scabies Mites to Pyrethroid Acaricides
Synergists are commonly used in combination with pesticides to suppress metabolism-based resistance and increase the efficacy of the agents. They are also useful as tools for laboratory investigation of specific resistance mechanisms based on their ability to inhibit specific metabolic pathways. To determine the role of metabolic degradation as a mechanism for acaricide resistance in human scabies, PBO (piperonyl butoxide), DEF (S,S,S-tributyl phosphorotrithioate) and DEM (diethyl maleate) were used with permethrin as synergists in a bioassay of mite killing. A statistically significant difference in survival time of permethrin-resistant Sarcoptes scabiei variety canis was noted when any of the three synergists were used in combination with permethrin compared to survival time of mites exposed to permethrin alone (p<0.0001). These results indicate the potential utility of synergists in reversing tolerance to pyrethroid-based acaricides (i.e. the addition of synergists to permethrin-containing topical acaricide cream commonly used to treat scabies). To further verify specific metabolic pathways being inhibited by these synergists, enzyme assays were developed to measure esterase, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and cytochrome P450 monooxygenase activity in scabies mites. Results of in vitro enzyme inhibition experiments showed lower levels of esterase activity with DEF; lower levels of GST activity with DEM and lower levels of cytochrome monooxygenase activity with PBO. These findings indicate a metabolic mechanism as mediating pyrethroid resistance in scabies mites
Transparency and Trust in Human-AI-Interaction: The Role of Model-Agnostic Explanations in Computer Vision-Based Decision Support
Computer Vision, and hence Artificial Intelligence-based extraction of
information from images, has increasingly received attention over the last
years, for instance in medical diagnostics. While the algorithms' complexity is
a reason for their increased performance, it also leads to the "black box"
problem, consequently decreasing trust towards AI. In this regard, "Explainable
Artificial Intelligence" (XAI) allows to open that black box and to improve the
degree of AI transparency. In this paper, we first discuss the theoretical
impact of explainability on trust towards AI, followed by showcasing how the
usage of XAI in a health-related setting can look like. More specifically, we
show how XAI can be applied to understand why Computer Vision, based on deep
learning, did or did not detect a disease (malaria) on image data (thin blood
smear slide images). Furthermore, we investigate, how XAI can be used to
compare the detection strategy of two different deep learning models often used
for Computer Vision: Convolutional Neural Network and Multi-Layer Perceptron.
Our empirical results show that i) the AI sometimes used questionable or
irrelevant data features of an image to detect malaria (even if correctly
predicted), and ii) that there may be significant discrepancies in how
different deep learning models explain the same prediction. Our theoretical
discussion highlights that XAI can support trust in Computer Vision systems,
and AI systems in general, especially through an increased understandability
and predictability
An extension result for maps admitting and algebraic addition theorem
We prove that if an analytic map : U [flecha] Cn, where U [incluye] C [elevado a ] n is an open neighborhood of the origin, admits an algebraic addition theorem then, there exists a meromorphic map g : C [elevado a]n [flecha] C [elevado a]n admitting an algebraic addition theorem such that each coordinate function of f is algebraic over C(g) on U (this was proved by K. Weierstrass for n = 1). Furthermore, g admits a rational addition theorem
Asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes in the white matter in the healthy elderly: a tract-based study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes have been reported for the human brain. Meanwhile it was still unclear the presence of the asymmetry or sex differences in the human brain occurred whether as a normal development or as consequences of any pathological changes. The aim of this study was to investigate hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes by using a tract-based analysis in the nerve bundles.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>40 healthy elderly subjects underwent magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, and we calculated fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values along the major white matter bundles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified hemispherical asymmetry in the ADC values for the cingulate fasciculus in the total subject set and in males, and a sex difference in the FA values for the right uncinate fasciculus. For age-related changes, we demonstrated a significant increase in ADC values with advancing age in the right cingulum, left temporal white matter, and a significant decrease in FA values in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study, we found hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes in particular regions of the white matter in the healthy elderly. Our results suggest considering these differences can be important in imaging studies.</p
Recognition Profile of Emotions in Natural and Virtual Faces
BACKGROUND: Computer-generated virtual faces become increasingly realistic including the simulation of emotional expressions. These faces can be used as well-controlled, realistic and dynamic stimuli in emotion research. However, the validity of virtual facial expressions in comparison to natural emotion displays still needs to be shown for the different emotions and different age groups. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty-two healthy volunteers between the age of 20 and 60 rated pictures of natural human faces and faces of virtual characters (avatars) with respect to the expressed emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and neutral. Results indicate that virtual emotions were recognized comparable to natural ones. Recognition differences in virtual and natural faces depended on specific emotions: whereas disgust was difficult to convey with the current avatar technology, virtual sadness and fear achieved better recognition results than natural faces. Furthermore, emotion recognition rates decreased for virtual but not natural faces in participants over the age of 40. This specific age effect suggests that media exposure has an influence on emotion recognition. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Virtual and natural facial displays of emotion may be equally effective. Improved technology (e.g. better modelling of the naso-labial area) may lead to even better results as compared to trained actors. Due to the ease with which virtual human faces can be animated and manipulated, validated artificial emotional expressions will be of major relevance in future research and therapeutic applications
Accessory parameters for Liouville theory on the torus
We give an implicit equation for the accessory parameter on the torus which
is the necessary and sufficient condition to obtain the monodromy of the
conformal factor. It is shown that the perturbative series for the accessory
parameter in the coupling constant converges in a finite disk and give a
rigorous lower bound for the radius of convergence. We work out explicitly the
perturbative result to second order in the coupling for the accessory parameter
and to third order for the one-point function. Modular invariance is discussed
and exploited. At the non perturbative level it is shown that the accessory
parameter is a continuous function of the coupling in the whole physical region
and that it is analytic except at most a finite number of points. We also prove
that the accessory parameter as a function of the modulus of the torus is
continuous and real-analytic except at most for a zero measure set. Three
soluble cases in which the solution can be expressed in terms of hypergeometric
functions are explicitly treated.Comment: 30 pages, LaTex; typos corrected, discussion of eq.(74) improve
Some geometric invariants from resolutions of Hilbert modules
The model theory of Sz.-Nagy and Foias for contractions was reformulated in [15, chapter 3]. The existence of a unique minimal unitary dilation amounts to the exis-tence of a Silov resolution for contractive Hilbert modulesM over the disc algebra A(D) along with the fact that any two minimal Silov resolutions are isomorphic
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