1,224 research outputs found
The Einstein-Vlasov sytem/Kinetic theory
The main purpose of this article is to guide the reader to theorems on global
properties of solutions to the Einstein-Vlasov system. This system couples
Einstein's equations to a kinetic matter model. Kinetic theory has been an
important field of research during several decades where the main focus has
been on nonrelativistic- and special relativistic physics, e.g. to model the
dynamics of neutral gases, plasmas and Newtonian self-gravitating systems. In
1990 Rendall and Rein initiated a mathematical study of the Einstein-Vlasov
system. Since then many theorems on global properties of solutions to this
system have been established. The Vlasov equation describes matter
phenomenologically and it should be stressed that most of the theorems
presented in this article are not presently known for other such matter models
(e.g. fluid models). The first part of this paper gives an introduction to
kinetic theory in non-curved spacetimes and then the Einstein-Vlasov system is
introduced. We believe that a good understanding of kinetic theory in
non-curved spacetimes is fundamental in order to get a good comprehension of
kinetic theory in general relativity.Comment: 31 pages. This article has been submitted to Living Rev. Relativity
(http://www.livingreviews.org
Three-year tracking of fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids in healthy children
Objectives: The fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids reflects the dietary fatty acid intake as well as endogenous turnover. We aimed at investigating the potential tracking of plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition in children that participated in a prospective cohort study. Methods: 26 healthy children participated in a longitudinal study on health risks and had been enrolled after birth. All children were born at term with birth weights appropriate for gestational age. Follow-up took place at ages 24, 36 and 60 months. At each time point a 24-hour dietary recall was obtained, anthropometric parameters were measured and a blood sample for phospholipid fatty acid analysis was taken. Results: Dietary intake of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids at the three time points were not correlated. We found lower values for plasma MUFA and the MUFA/SFA ratio at 60 months compared to 24 months. In contrast, total PUFA, total n-6 and n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) were higher at 60 months. Significant averaged correlation coefficients (average of Pearson's R for 24 versus 36 months and 36 versus 60 months) were found for n-6 LC-PUFA (r = 0.67), n-6/n-3 LC-PUFA ratio (r = 0.59) and arachidonic acid/linoleic acid ratio (r = 0.64). Partial tracking was found for the docosahexaenoic acid/alpha-linolenic acid ratio (r = 0.33). Body mass index and sum of skinfolds Z-scores were similar in the three evaluations. Conclusions: A significant tracking of n-6 LC-PUFA, n-6 LC-PUFA/n-3 LC-PUFA ratio, arachidonic acid/ linoleic acid ratio and docosahexaenoic acid/alpha-linolenic acid ratio may reflect an influence of individual endogenous fatty acid metabolism on plasma concentrations of some, but not all, fatty acids. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel
Wall Crossing, Quivers and Crystals
We study the spectrum of BPS D-branes on a Calabi-Yau manifold using the 0+1
dimensional quiver gauge theory that describes the dynamics of the branes at
low energies. The results of Kontsevich and Soibelman predict how the
degeneracies change. We argue that Seiberg dualities of the quiver gauge
theories, which change the basis of BPS states, correspond to crossing the
"walls of the second kind." There is a large class of examples, including local
del Pezzo surfaces, where the BPS degeneracies of quivers corresponding to one
D6 brane bound to arbitrary numbers of D4, D2 and D0 branes are counted by
melting crystal configurations. We show that the melting crystals that arise
are a discretization of the Calabi-Yau geometry. The shape of the crystal is
determined by the Calabi-Yau geometry and the background B-field, and its
microscopic structure by the quiver Q. We prove that the BPS degeneracies
computed from Q and Q' are related by the Kontsevich Soibelman formula, using a
geometric realization of the Seiberg duality in the crystal. We also show that,
in the limit of infinite B-field, the combinatorics of crystals arising from
the quivers becomes that of the topological vertex. We thus re-derive the
Gromov-Witten/Donaldson-Thomas correspondence
Mapping quantitative trait loci in line cross with repeat records
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phenotypes with repeat records from one individual or multiple individuals were often encountered in practices of mapping QTL in linecross. The current genetic mapping method for a trait with repeat records is adopted by simply replacing the phenotype by the average value of the repeat records. This simple treatment has not sufficiently utilized the information from the replication and ignored the impacts of the permanent environmental effects on the accuracy of the estimated QTL.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose to map QTL by using the repeatability model to directly analyze the repeat records rather than simply analyze the mean phenotype, improving the efficiency of QTL detecting because of adequately utilizing the information from data and allowing for the permanent environmental effects. A maximum likelihood method implemented via the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm is applied to perform the parameter estimation of the repeatability model. The superiority of the mapping method based on the repeatability model over simple analysis using the mean phenotype was demonstrated by a series of simulations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that the proposed method can serve as a powerful alternative to existing methods. By mean of the repeatability model, utilizing the repeat records on individual may improve the efficiency of QTL detecting in line cross.</p
Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans secretome containing a newly described lipoprotein Licanantase enhances chalcopyrite bioleaching rate
The nature of the mineral–bacteria interphase where electron and mass transfer processes occur is a key element of the bioleaching processes of sulfide minerals. This interphase is composed of proteins, metabolites, and other compounds embedded in extracellular polymeric substances mainly consisting of sugars and lipids (Gehrke et al., Appl Environ Microbiol 64(7):2743–2747, 1998). On this respect, despite Acidithiobacilli—a ubiquitous bacterial genera in bioleaching processes (Rawlings, Microb Cell Fact 4(1):13, 2005)—has long been recognized as secreting bacteria (Jones and Starkey, J Bacteriol 82:788–789, 1961; Schaeffer and Umbreit, J Bacteriol 85:492–493, 1963), few studies have been carried out in order to clarify the nature and the role of the secreted protein component: the secretome. This work characterizes for the first time the sulfur (meta)secretome of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans strain DSM 17318 in pure and mixed cultures with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans DSM 16786, identifying the major component of these secreted fractions as a single lipoprotein named here as Licanantase. Bioleaching assays with the addition of Licanantase-enriched concentrated secretome fractions show that this newly found lipoprotein as an active protein additive exerts an increasing effect on chalcopyrite bioleaching rate
Dynamic sea level changes following changes in the thermohaline circulation
Using the coupled climate model CLIMBER-3a, we investigate changes in sea
surface elevation due to a weakening of the thermohaline circulation (THC). In
addition to a global sea level rise due to a warming of the deep sea, this
leads to a regional dynamic sea level change which follows
quasi-instantaneously any change in the ocean circulation. We show that the
magnitude of this dynamic effect can locally reach up to ~1m, depending on the
initial THC strength. In some regions the rate of change can be up to 20-25
mm/yr. The emerging patterns are discussed with respect to the oceanic
circulation changes. Most prominent is a south-north gradient reflecting the
changes in geostrophic surface currents. Our results suggest that an analysis
of observed sea level change patterns could be useful for monitoring the THC
strength.Comment: Climate Dynamics (2004), submitted. See also
http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~ander
Reaction rates and transport in neutron stars
Understanding signals from neutron stars requires knowledge about the
transport inside the star. We review the transport properties and the
underlying reaction rates of dense hadronic and quark matter in the crust and
the core of neutron stars and point out open problems and future directions.Comment: 74 pages; commissioned for the book "Physics and Astrophysics of
Neutron Stars", NewCompStar COST Action MP1304; version 3: minor changes,
references updated, overview graphic added in the introduction, improvements
in Sec IV.A.
Quantitative conversations: the importance of developing rapport in standardised interviewing
© 2014, The Author(s). When developing household surveys, much emphasis is understandably placed on developing survey instruments that can elicit accurate and comparable responses. In order to ensure that carefully crafted questions are not undermined by ‘interviewer effects’, standardised interviewing tends to be utilised in preference to conversational techniques. However, by drawing on a behaviour coding analysis of survey paradata arising from the 2012 UK Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey we show that in practice standardised survey interviewing often involves extensive unscripted conversation between the interviewer and the respondent. Whilst these interactions can enhance response accuracy, cooperation and ethicality, unscripted conversations can also be problematic in terms of survey reliability and the ethical conduct of survey interviews, as well as raising more basic epistemological questions concerning the degree of standardisation typically assumed within survey research. We conclude that better training in conversational techniques is necessary, even when applying standardised interviewing methodologies. We also draw out some theoretical implications regarding the usefulness of the qualitative–quantitative dichotomy
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