1,453 research outputs found
Schwinger Model Green functions with topological effects
The fermion propagator and the 4-fermion Green function in the massless QED2
are explicitly found with topological effects taken into account. The
corrections due to instanton sectors k=+1,-1, contributing to the propagator,
are shown to be just the homogenous terms admitted by the Dyson-Schwinger
equation for S. In the case of the 4-fermion function also sectors k=+2,-2 are
included into consideration. The quark condensates are then calculated and are
shown to satisfy cluster property. The theta-dependence exhibited by the Green
functions corresponds to and may be removed by performing certain chiral gauge
transformation.Comment: 16 pages, in REVTE
L-systems in Geometric Modeling
We show that parametric context-sensitive L-systems with affine geometry
interpretation provide a succinct description of some of the most fundamental
algorithms of geometric modeling of curves. Examples include the
Lane-Riesenfeld algorithm for generating B-splines, the de Casteljau algorithm
for generating Bezier curves, and their extensions to rational curves. Our
results generalize the previously reported geometric-modeling applications of
L-systems, which were limited to subdivision curves.Comment: In Proceedings DCFS 2010, arXiv:1008.127
Test your surrogate data before you test for nonlinearity
The schemes for the generation of surrogate data in order to test the null
hypothesis of linear stochastic process undergoing nonlinear static transform
are investigated as to their consistency in representing the null hypothesis.
In particular, we pinpoint some important caveats of the prominent algorithm of
amplitude adjusted Fourier transform surrogates (AAFT) and compare it to the
iterated AAFT (IAAFT), which is more consistent in representing the null
hypothesis. It turns out that in many applications with real data the
inferences of nonlinearity after marginal rejection of the null hypothesis were
premature and have to be re-investigated taken into account the inaccuracies in
the AAFT algorithm, mainly concerning the mismatching of the linear
correlations. In order to deal with such inaccuracies we propose the use of
linear together with nonlinear polynomials as discriminating statistics. The
application of this setup to some well-known real data sets cautions against
the use of the AAFT algorithm.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Defective Differentiation of Myeloid and Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Advanced Cancer Patients is not Normalized by Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor
Tumor-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has previously been identified as a causative factor in the disturbed differentiation of myeloid dendritic cells (DC) in advanced cancer patients. Here, we investigated the potential of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibition to overcome this defective DC differentiation. To this end, peripheral blood DC (PBDC) precursor and subset frequencies were measured in 13 patients with advanced cancer before and after treatment with AZD2171, a TK inhibitor (TKI) of VEGFR, coadministered with gefitinib, and an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) TKI. Of note, not only myeloid DC but also plasmacytoid DC frequencies were significantly reduced in the blood of the cancer patients prior to treatment, as compared to healthy controls. Moreover, besides an accumulated population of immature myeloid cells (ImC), a population of myeloid suppressor cells (MSC) was significantly increased. Upon systemic VEGFR TK inhibition, DC frequencies did not increase, whereas the rate of circulating MSC showed a slight, but not significant, decrease. In conclusion, TK inhibition of VEGFR with AZD2171 does not restore the defective PBDC differentiation observed in advanced cancer patients
Minimal Model for Sand Dunes
We propose a minimal model for aeolian sand dunes. It combines an analytical
description of the turbulent wind velocity field above the dune with a
continuum saltation model that allows for saturation transients in the sand
flux. The model provides a qualitative understanding of important features of
real dunes, such as their longitudinal shape and aspect ratio, the formation of
a slip face, the breaking of scale invariance, and the existence of a minimum
dune size.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, replaced with publishd versio
How the blood pool properties at onset affect the temporal behavior of simulated bruises
The influence of initial blood pool properties on the temporal behavior of bruises is currently unknown. We addressed this important issue by utilizing three typical classes of bruises in our three-layered finite compartment model. We simulated the effects of their initial shapes, regularity of boundaries and initial blood concentration distributions (gaussian vs. homogeneous) on the hemoglobin and bilirubin areas in the dermal top layer. Age determination of bruises with gaussian hemoglobin concentration was also addressed. We found that the initial blood pool properties strongly affect bruise behavior. We determined the age of a 200-h simulated bruise with gaussian hemoglobin concentration with 3 h uncertainty. In conclusion, bruise behavior depends non-intuitively on the initial blood pool properties; hence, a model that includes shape, area and concentration distribution at onset is indispensable. Future age determination, including inhomogeneous hemoglobin distributions, will likely be based on the presented method for gaussian distributions
In situ spatiotemporal characterization and analysis of chemical reactions using an ATR-integrated microfluidic reactor
A Continuum Saltation Model for Sand Dunes
We derive a phenomenological continuum saltation model for aeolian sand
transport that can serve as an efficient tool for geomorphological
applications. The coupled differential equations for the average density and
velocity of sand in the saltation layer reproduce both known equilibrium
relations for the sand flux and the time evolution of the sand flux as
predicted by microscopic saltation models. The three phenomenological
parameters of the model are a reference height for the grain-air interaction,
an effective restitution coefficient for the grain-bed interaction, and a
multiplication factor characterizing the chain reaction caused by the impacts
leading to a typical time or length scale of the saturation transients. We
determine the values of these parameters by comparing our model with wind
tunnel measurements. Our main interest are out of equilibrium situations where
saturation transients are important, for instance at phase boundaries
(ground/sand) or under unsteady wind conditions. We point out that saturation
transients are indispensable for a proper description of sand flux over
structured terrain, by applying the model to the windward side of an isolated
dune, thereby resolving recently reported discrepancies between field
measurements and theoretical predictions.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Risk communication in a patient decision aid for radiotherapy in breast cancer:How to deal with uncertainty?
Background and aim: Patient decision aids for oncological treatment options, provide information on the
effect on recurrence rates and/or survival benefit, and on side-effects and/or burden of different treatment options. However, often uncertainty exists around the probability estimates for recurrence/survival
and side-effects which is too relevant to be ignored. Evidence is lacking on the best way to communicate
these uncertainties. The aim of this study is to develop a method to incorporate uncertainties in a patient
decision aid for breast cancer patients to support their decision on radiotherapy.
Methods: Firstly, qualitative interviews were held with patients and health care professionals. Secondly,
in the development phase, thinking aloud sessions were organized with four patients and 12 health care
professionals, individual and group-wise.
Results: Consensus was reached on a pictograph illustrating the whole range of uncertainty for local
recurrence risks, in combination with textual explanation that a more exact personalized risk would be
given by their own physician. The pictograph consisted of 100 female icons in a 10 x 10 array. Icons with a
stepwise gradient color indicated the uncertainty margin. The prevalence and severity of possible sideeffects were explained using verbal labels.
Conclusions: We developed a novel way of visualizing uncertainties in recurrence rates in a patient
decision aid. The effect of this way of communicating risk uncertainty is currently being tested in the
BRASA study (NCT03375801)
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