1,533 research outputs found
Thermalization at intermediate coupling
We use the AdS/CFT conjecture to investigate the thermalization of large-N_c
N=4 Super Yang-Mills plasma in the limit of large but finite 't Hooft coupling.
On the gravity side, we supplement the type IIB supergravity action by the full
set of O(\alpha'^3) operators, which enables us to derive O(\lambda^{-3/2})
corrections to the emission spectrum of prompt photons in one model of
holographic thermalization. Decreasing the coupling strength from the
\lambda=\infty limit, we observe a qualitative change in the way the photon
spectral density approaches its thermal limit as a function of the photon
energy. We interpret this behavior as a sign of the thermalization pattern of
the plasma shifting from top/down towards bottom/up.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor corrections, added reference
A variable neurodegenerative phenotype with polymerase gamma mutation
mtDNA replication and repair, causes mitochondrial diseases including autosomal dominant
progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO),1 childhood hepato-encephalopathy (Alpers–
Huttenlocher syndrome), adult-onset spinocerebellar ataxia, and sensory nerve degeneration with
dysarthria and ophthalmoparesis (SANDO)
Maximum growth and decay rates of autotrophic biomass to simulate nitrogen removal at 10°C with municipal activated sludge plants
The present study aims at determining most likely values for the maximum growth rate (μA, max) and the endogenous decay rate (bA) of nitrifiers for activated sludge processes treating municipal wastewater operated at low temperature (10°C). The work used nitrification rate data measured on 10 full-scale plants and 2 pilot plants fed with domestic sewage. This set of data was combined with a modelling and a theoretical approach. The unified values (μA, max = 0.45·d-1 and bA = 0.13·d-1) were obtained at 10°C for the kinetic parameters of the autotrophic biomass in the SRT range 10 to 50 d. In addition, the factors affecting the expected nitrification rate (rv, nit) were established by a theoretical approach and confirmed by experimental results. For a given SRT, a linear relationship with the nitrogen volumetric loading rate was shown. The COD/TKN ratio of the influent on the nitrification rate was demonstrated. Finally, an operational tool for the verification of the nitrification rate in the design procedure of activated sludge processes is proposed.Keywords: nitrification; kinetics; low temperature; autotrophic biomass, maximum growth rate; decay rat
Anoxic and aerobic values for the yield coefficient of the heterotrophic biomass: Determination at full-scale plants and consequences on simulations
The present study aims at optimising the nitrification and denitrification phases at intermittently aerated process (activated sludge) removing nitrogen from municipal wastewater. The nitrogen removal performance recorded at 22 intermittently aerated plants was compared to the results obtained from the simulations given by the widely used ASM1. It is shown that simulations with a single value for the heterotrophic yield with any electron acceptor over-predict the nitrate concentration in the effluent of treatment plants. The reduction of this coefficient by 20% for anoxic conditions reduces the nitrate concentration by 10 g N·m-3. It significantly improves the accuracy of the predictions of nitrate concentrations in treatedeffluents compare to real data. Simulations with dual values (aerobic and anoxic conditions) for heterotrophic yield (modified ASM1) were then used to determine the practical daily aerobic time interval to meet a given nitrogen discharge objective. Finally, to support design decisions, the relevance of a pre-denitrification configuration in front of an intermittently aerated tank was studied. It is shown that when the load of BOD5 is below the conventional design value, a small contribution of the anoxic zone to nitrate removal occurs, except for over-aerated plants. When plants receive a higher load of BOD5, the modified ASM1 suggests that the anoxic zone has a higher contribution to nitrogen removal, for both correctly and over-aerated plants
Pion-nucleus optical potential valid up to the DELTA-resonance region
We present in this article an optical potential for the -nucleus
interaction that can be used in various studies involving -nucleus
channels. Based on earlier treatments of the low energy -nucleus optical
potential, we have derived a potential expression applicable from threshold up
to the -resonance region. We extracted the impulse approximation form
for this potential from the scattering amplitude and then added to it
kinematical and physical corrections. The kinematic corrections arise from
transforming the impulse approximation expression from the center of
mass frame to the -nucleus center of mass frame, while the physical
corrections arise mostly from the many-body nature of the -nucleus
interaction. By taking advantage of the experimental progress in our knowledge
of the process, we have updated earlier treatments with parameters
calculated from state-of-the-art experimental measurements.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Detection and classification of buried dielectric anomalies using a separated aperture sensor and a neural network discriminator
Includes bibliographical references.The problem of detection and classification of buried dielectric anomalies using a separated aperture microwave sensor and an artificial neural network discriminator was considered. Several methods for training and data representation were developed to study the trainability and generalization capabilities of the networks. The effect of the architectural variation on the network performance was also studied. The principal component method was used to reduce the volume of the data and also the dimension of the weight space. Simulation results on two types of targets were obtained which indicated superior detection and classification performance when compared with the conventional methods
The worrying mind in control: an investigation of adaptive working memory training and cognitive bias modification in worry-prone individuals
Worry refers to the experience of uncontrollable negative thoughts. Cognitive models suggest that the combination of negative information processing biases along with diminished attentional control contribute to worry. In the current study we investigate whether promoting a) adaptive interpretation bias and b) efficient deployment of attentional control would influence the tendency to worry. Worry-prone individuals (n = 60) received either active cognitive bias modification for interpretation bias (CBM-I) combined with sham working memory training (WMT), adaptive WMT combined with sham CBM-I, or sham WMT combined with sham CBM-I. Neither of the active training conditions reduced worry during a breathing focus task relative to the control condition. However, when considering inter-individual differences in training-related improvements, we observed a relation between increases in positive interpretation bias and a decrease in negative intrusions. Moreover, increases in working memory performance were related to a reduction in reactivity of negative intrusions to a worry period. Our findings show that facilitating a more benign interpretation bias and improving working memory capacity can have beneficial effects in terms of worry, but also highlight that transfer related gains from existing training procedures can be dependent upon improvement levels on the training task
Progressive ataxia with oculo-palatal tremor and optic atrophy
The final publication is available at Springer via doi: 10.1007/s00415-013-7136-
Holographic dilepton production in a thermalizing plasma
We determine the out-of-equilibrium production rate of dileptons at rest in
strongly coupled N=4 Super Yang-Mills plasma using the AdS/CFT correspondence.
Thermalization is achieved via the gravitational collapse of a thin shell of
matter in AdS_5 space and the subsequent formation of a black hole, which we
describe in a quasistatic approximation. Prior to thermalization, the dilepton
spectral function is observed to oscillate as a function of frequency, but the
amplitude of the oscillations decreases when thermal equilibrium is approached.
At the same time, we follow the flow of the quasinormal spectrum of the
corresponding U(1) vector field towards its equilibrium limit.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures. v2: Version accepted for publication in JHEP;
minor modifications, added reference
Quasifree Pion Electroproduction from Nuclei in the Region
We present calculations of the reaction in the
distorted wave impulse approximation. The reaction allows for the study of the
production process in the nuclear medium without being obscured by the details
of nuclear transition densities. First, a pion electroproduction operator
suitable for nuclear calculations is obtained by extending the Blomqvist-Laget
photoproduction operator to the virtual photon case. The operator is gauge
invariant, unitary, reference frame independent, and describes the existing
data reasonably well. Then it is applied in nuclei to predict nuclear cross
sections under a variety of kinematic arrangements. Issues such as the effects
of gauge-fixing, the interference of the resonance with the
background, sensitivities to the quadrupole component of the
excitation and to the electromagnetic form factors, the role of final-state
interactions, are studied in detail. Methods on how to experimentally separate
the various pieces in the coincidence cross section are suggested. Finally, the
model is compared to a recent SLAC experiment.Comment: 27 pages in REVTEX, plus 22 PS figures embedded using psfig.sty
(included), uuencode
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