1,475 research outputs found
Large Deviations Analysis for Distributed Algorithms in an Ergodic Markovian Environment
We provide a large deviations analysis of deadlock phenomena occurring in
distributed systems sharing common resources. In our model transition
probabilities of resource allocation and deallocation are time and space
dependent. The process is driven by an ergodic Markov chain and is reflected on
the boundary of the d-dimensional cube. In the large resource limit, we prove
Freidlin-Wentzell estimates, we study the asymptotic of the deadlock time and
we show that the quasi-potential is a viscosity solution of a Hamilton-Jacobi
equation with a Neumann boundary condition. We give a complete analysis of the
colliding 2-stacks problem and show an example where the system has a stable
attractor which is a limit cycle
Synthesis and reactivity of 4-oxo-5-trimethylsilanyl derived α-amino acids
A Lewis-acid promoted one-carbon homologation of an aspartic acid semialdehyde with trimethylsilyldiazomethane has led to the efficient synthesis of two silicon-containing α-amino acids. The use of trimethylaluminium or catalytic tin(II) chloride gave novel 4-oxo-5-trimethylsilanyl derived amino acids in yields of 71â88%. An investigation into the reactivity of these highly functional α-amino acids showed that selective cleavage of the CâSi bond could be achieved under mild basic conditions to give a protected derivative of the naturally occurring amino acid, 4-oxo-l-norvaline. Alternatively, Peterson olefination with aryl or alkyl aldehydes resulted in the formation of E-enone derived α-amino acids
Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems
Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution
of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the
associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local
management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef
fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions
and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the
1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites
and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure,
diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale
integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales,
with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas
still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance.
This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should
be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to
climate variation and change
BVRI Light Curves for 29 Type Ia Supernovae
BVRI light curves are presented for 27 Type Ia supernovae discovered during
the course of the Calan/Tololo Survey and for two other SNe Ia observed during
the same period. Estimates of the maximum light magnitudes in the B, V, and I
bands and the initial decline rate parameter m15(B) are also given.Comment: 17 pages, figures and tables are not included (contact first author
if needed), to appear in the Astronomical Journa
Observation of High-Energy Astrophysical Neutrinos in Three Years of IceCube Data
A search for high-energy neutrinos interacting within the IceCube detector
between 2010 and 2012 provided the first evidence for a high-energy neutrino
flux of extraterrestrial origin. Results from an analysis using the same
methods with a third year (2012-2013) of data from the complete IceCube
detector are consistent with the previously reported astrophysical flux in the
100 TeV - PeV range at the level of per flavor and reject a
purely atmospheric explanation for the combined 3-year data at .
The data are consistent with expectations for equal fluxes of all three
neutrino flavors and with isotropic arrival directions, suggesting either
numerous or spatially extended sources. The three-year dataset, with a livetime
of 988 days, contains a total of 37 neutrino candidate events with deposited
energies ranging from 30 to 2000 TeV. The 2000 TeV event is the highest-energy
neutrino interaction ever observed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by PRL. The event catalog, event
displays, and other data tables are included after the final page of the
article. Changed from the initial submission to reflect referee comments,
expanding the section on atmospheric backgrounds, and fixes offsets of up to
0.9 seconds in reported event times. Address correspondence to: J. Feintzeig,
C. Kopper, N. Whitehor
Differential limit on the extremely-high-energy cosmic neutrino flux in the presence of astrophysical background from nine years of IceCube data
We report a quasi-differential upper limit on the extremely-high-energy (EHE)
neutrino flux above GeV based on an analysis of nine years of
IceCube data. The astrophysical neutrino flux measured by IceCube extends to
PeV energies, and it is a background flux when searching for an independent
signal flux at higher energies, such as the cosmogenic neutrino signal. We have
developed a new method to place robust limits on the EHE neutrino flux in the
presence of an astrophysical background, whose spectrum has yet to be
understood with high precision at PeV energies. A distinct event with a
deposited energy above GeV was found in the new two-year sample, in
addition to the one event previously found in the seven-year EHE neutrino
search. These two events represent a neutrino flux that is incompatible with
predictions for a cosmogenic neutrino flux and are considered to be an
astrophysical background in the current study. The obtained limit is the most
stringent to date in the energy range between and GeV. This result constrains neutrino models predicting a three-flavor
neutrino flux of $E_\nu^2\phi_{\nu_e+\nu_\mu+\nu_\tau}\simeq2\times 10^{-8}\
{\rm GeV}/{\rm cm}^2\ \sec\ {\rm sr}10^9\ {\rm GeV}$. A significant part
of the parameter-space for EHE neutrino production scenarios assuming a
proton-dominated composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is excluded.Comment: The version accepted for publication in Physical Review
Comparative biogeography of Southeast Asia and the West Pacific region
The file attached is the accepted/final draft post-refereeing version of the articl
Does having a twin-brother make for a bigger brain?
Objective: Brain volume of boys is larger than that of girls by âŒ10%. Prenatal exposure to testosterone has been suggested in the masculinization of the brain. For example, in litter-bearing mammals intrauterine position increases prenatal testosterone exposure through adjacent male fetuses, resulting in masculinization of brain morphology. Design: The influence of intrauterine presence of a male co-twin on masculinization of human brain volume was studied in 9-year old twins. Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging brain scans, current testosterone, and estradiol levels were acquired from four groups of dizygotic (DZ) twins: boys from same-sex twin-pairs (SSM), boys from opposite-sex twin-pairs (OSM), girls from opposite-sex twin-pairs (OSF), and girls from same-sex twin-pairs (SSF; n=119 individuals). Data on total brain, cerebellum, gray and white matter volumes were examined. Results: Irrespective of their own sex, children with a male co-twin as compared to children with a female co-twin had larger total brain (+2.5%) and cerebellum (+5.5%) volumes. SSM, purportedly exposed to the highest prenatal testosterone levels, were found to have the largest volumes, followed by OSM, OSF and SSF children. Birth weight partly explained the effect on brain volumes. Current testosterone and estradiol levels did not account for the volumetric brain differences. However, the effects observed in children did not replicate in adult twins. Conclusions: Our study indicates that sharing the uterus with a DZ twin brother increases total brain volume in 9-year olds. The effect may be transient and limited to a critical period in childhood. © 2009 European Society of Endocrinology
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