691 research outputs found
Probing neutrino mass hierarchies and with supernova neutrinos
We investigate the feasibility of probing the neutrino mass hierarchy and the
mixing angle with the neutrino burst from a future supernova. An
inverse power-law density with varying is adopted in the
analysis as the density profile of a typical core-collapse supernova. The
survival probabilities of and are shown to reduce to
two-dimensional functions of and . It is found that in the
parameter space, the 3D plots of the probability
functions exhibit highly non-trivial structures that are sensitive to the mass
hierarchy, the mixing angle , and the value of . The conditions
that lead to observable differences in the 3D plots are established. With the
uncertainty of considered, a qualitative analysis of the Earth matter
effect is also included.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures. Ref [11] added, and some typos correcte
Lorentz transformation and vector field flows
The parameter changes resulting from a combination of Lorentz transformation
are shown to form vector field flows. The exact, finite Thomas rotation angle
is determined and interpreted intuitively. Using phase portraits, the
parameters evolution can be clearly visualized. In addition to identifying the
fixed points, we obtain an analytic invariant, which correlates the evolution
of parameters.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Section IV revised and title change
Spectral properties and magneto-optical excitations in semiconductor double-rings under Rashba spin-orbit interaction
We have numerically solved the Hamiltonian of an electron in a semiconductor
double ring subjected to the magnetic flux and Rashba spin-orbit interaction.
It is found that the Aharonov-Bohm energy spectrum reveals multi-zigzag
periodic structures. The investigations of spin-dependent electron dynamics via
Rabi oscillations in two-level and three-level systems demonstrate the
possibility of manipulating quantum states. Our results show that the optimal
control of photon-assisted inter-ring transitions can be achieved by employing
cascade-type and -type transition mechanisms. Under chirped pulse
impulsions, a robust and complete transfer of an electron to the final state is
shown to coincide with the estimation of the Landau-Zener formula.Comment: RevTex, 9 pages, 5 figure
Hermitian quark mass matrices with four texture zeros
We provide a complete and systematic analysis of hermitian, hierarchical
quark mass matrices with four texture zeros. Using triangular mass matrices,
each pattern of texture zeros is readily shown to lead to a definite relation
between the CKM parameters and the quark masses. Nineteen pairs are found to be
consistent with present data, and one other is marginally acceptable. In
particular, no parallel structure between the up and down mass matrices is
found to be favorable with data.Comment: 18 pages, no figure, references [8] and [10] adde
Lifetime Measurements in 120Xe
Lifetimes for the lowest three transitions in the nucleus Xe have
been measured using the Recoil Distance Technique. Our data indicate that the
lifetime for the transition is more than a factor of
two lower than the previously adopted value and is in keeping with more recent
measurements performed on this nucleus. The theoretical implications of this
discrepancy and the possible reason for the erroneous earlier results are
discussed. All measured lifetimes in Xe, as well as the systematics of
the lifetimes of the 2 states in Xe isotopes, are compared with
predictions of various models. The available data are best described by the
Fermion Dynamic Symmetry Model (FDSM).Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX, 3 figures with Postscript file available on request
at [email protected], [email protected]. Submitted to Phys.
Rev.
Overexpression of α-enolase correlates with poor survival in canine mammary carcinoma
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>α-Enolase (ENO1) is a key glycolytic enzyme implicated in the development of many human cancers including breast cancer. Increased expression of ENO1 has recently been reported in estrogen (ER)-positive human breast cancer patients. The present study examined the expression of ENO1 and assessed its significance in canine mammary carcinoma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Immunohistochemical staining was employed to investigate the expression of ENO1 in 82 cases of canine mammary tumor (32 benign tumors and 50 carcinomas). Quantification of immunohistochemistry was carried out using Quick score and the results showed cytoplasmic ENO1 overexpression in 9 of the 50 carcinomas (18%). Overexpression of ENO1 correlated significantly with shorter cause-specific survival (P = 0.019), but was not associated with ER positivity in canine mammary carcinoma.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that overexpression of ENO1 may be used as a prognostic marker for poor outcome in canine mammary carcinoma.</p
Cultural relativism and the discourse of intercultural communication: aporias of praxis in the intercultural public sphere
The premise of much intercultural communication pedagogy and research is to educate people from different cultures towards open and transformative positions of mutual understanding and respect. This discourse in the instance of its articulation realises and sustains Intercultural Communication epistemologically – as an academic field of social enquiry, and judgementally – as one which locates itself on a moral terrain. By adopting an ethical stance towards difference, the discourse of intercultural communication finds itself caught in a series of aporias, or performative contradictions, where interculturalists are projected simultaneously into positions of cultural relativism on the one hand and ideological totalism on the other. Such aporias arise because the theoretical premises upon which the discourse relies are problematic. We trace these thematics to a politics of presence operating within the discourse of intercultural communication and links this to questions of judgement and truth in the intercultural public sphere. We propose that the politics of presence be set aside in favour of an intercultural praxis which is oriented to responsibility rather than to truth
Safety Intelligence and Legal Machine Language: Do We Need the Three Laws of Robotics?
In this chapter we will describe a legal framework for Next Generation Robots (NGRs) that has safety as its central focus. The framework is offered in response to the current lack of clarity regarding robot safety guidelines, despite the development and impending release of tens of thousands of robots into workplaces and homes around the world. We also describ
Can We Distinguish Age-Related Frailty from Frailty Related to Diseases? Data from the MAPT Study
Abstract
Background
No study has tried to distinguish subjects that become frail due to diseases (frailty related to diseases) or in the absence of specific medical events; in this latter case, it is possible that aging process would act as the main frailty driver (age-related frailty).
Objectives
To classify subjects according to the origin of physical frailty: age-related frailty, frailty related to diseases, frailty of uncertain origin, and to compare their clinical characteristics.
Materials and methods
We performed a secondary analysis of the Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT), including 195 subjects ≥70 years non-frail at baseline who became frail during a 5-year follow-up (mean age 77.8 years ± 4.7; 70% female). Physical frailty was defined as presenting ≥3 of the 5 Fried criteria: weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slowness, low physical activity. Clinical files were independently reviewed by two different clinicians using a standardized assessment method in order to classify subjects as: "age-related frailty", "frailty related to diseases" or "frailty of uncertain origin". Inconsistencies among the two raters and cases of uncertain frailty were further assessed by two other experienced clinicians.
Results
From the 195 included subjects, 82 (42%) were classified as age-related frailty, 53 (27%) as frailty related to diseases, and 60 (31%) as frailty of uncertain origin. Patients who became frail due to diseases did not differ from the others groups in terms of functional, cognitive, psychological status and age at baseline, however they presented a higher burden of comorbidity as measured by the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) (8.20 ± 2.69; vs 6.22 ± 2.02 frailty of uncertain origin; vs. 3.25 ± 1.65 age-related frailty). Time to incident frailty (23.4 months ± 12.1 vs. 39.2 ± 19.3 months) and time spent in a pre-frailty condition (17.1 ± 11.4 vs 26.6 ± 16.6 months) were shorter in the group of frailty related to diseases compared to age-related frailty. Orthopedic diseases (n=14, 26%) were the most common pathologies leading to frailty related to diseases, followed by cardiovascular diseases (n=9, 17%) and neurological diseases (n = 8, 15%).
Conclusion
People classified as age-related frailty and frailty related to diseases presented different frailty-associated indicators. Future research should target the underlying biological cascades leading to these two frailty classifications, since they could ask for distinct strategies of prevention and management
SR4GN: A Species Recognition Software Tool for Gene Normalization
As suggested in recent studies, species recognition and disambiguation is one of the most critical and challenging steps in many downstream text-mining applications such as the gene normalization task and protein-protein interaction extraction. We report SR4GN: an open source tool for species recognition and disambiguation in biomedical text. In addition to the species detection function in existing tools, SR4GN is optimized for the Gene Normalization task. As such it is developed to link detected species with corresponding gene mentions in a document. SR4GN achieves 85.42% in accuracy and compares favorably to the other state-of-the-art techniques in benchmark experiments. Finally, SR4GN is implemented as a standalone software tool, thus making it convenient and robust for use in many text-mining applications. SR4GN can be downloaded at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/downloads/SR4G
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