1,387 research outputs found
Multiple Thresholds in a Model System of Noisy Ion Channels
Voltage-activated ion channels vary randomly between open and closed states,
influenced by the membrane potential and other factors. Signal transduction is
enhanced by noise in a simple ion channel model. The enhancement occurs in a
finite range of signals; the range can be extended using populations of
channels. The range increases more rapidly in multiple-threshold channel
populations than in single-threshold populations. The diversity of ion channels
may thus be present as a strategy to reduce the metabolic costs of handling a
broad class of electrochemical signals.Comment: REVTeX 4, 5 pages, 4 figures; added paragrap
Symbol of Turkish modernity and Bastion of the West: the Hilton Hotel in İstanbul
Middle Eastern Studie
The Missing Margin: How Sample Corruption Affects Distance to the Boundary in ANNs
Classification margins are commonly used to estimate the generalization
ability of machine learning models. We present an empirical study of these
margins in artificial neural networks. A global estimate of margin size is
usually used in the literature. In this work, we point out seldom considered
nuances regarding classification margins. Notably, we demonstrate that some
types of training samples are modelled with consistently small margins while
affecting generalization in different ways. By showing a link with the minimum
distance to a different-target sample and the remoteness of samples from one
another, we provide a plausible explanation for this observation. We support
our findings with an analysis of fully-connected networks trained on
noise-corrupted MNIST data, as well as convolutional networks trained on
noise-corrupted CIFAR10 data.Comment: This work is a preprint of a published paper by the same name, which
it subsumes. This preprint is an extended version: it contains additional
empirical evidence and discussio
Reconfigurable contour beam synthesis using a mechanical FEM surface description of dual offset reflector antenna surfaces
No abstract availableThesis (PhD (Electronic Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007.Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineeringunrestricte
The early identification of risk factors on the pathway to school dropout in the SIODO study:A sequential mixed-methods study
BACKGROUND: School dropout is a persisting problem with major socioeconomic consequences. Although poor health probably contributes to pathways leading to school dropout and health is likely negatively affected by dropout, these issues are relatively absent on the public health agenda. This emphasises the importance of integrative research aimed at identifying children at risk for school dropout at an early stage, discovering how socioeconomic status and gender affect health-related pathways that lead to dropout and developing a prevention tool that can be used in public health services for youth. METHODS/DESIGN: The SIODO study is a sequential mixed-methods study. A case–control study will be conducted among 18 to 24 year olds in the south of the Netherlands (n = 580). Data are currently being collected from compulsory education departments at municipalities (dropout data), regional public health services (developmental data from birth onwards) and an additional questionnaire has been sent to participants (e.g. personality data). Advanced analyses, including cluster and factor analyses, will be used to identify children at risk at an early stage. Using the quantitative data, we have planned individual interviews with participants and focus groups with important stakeholders such as parents, teachers and public health professionals. A thematic content analysis will be used to analyse the qualitative data. DISCUSSION: The SIODO study will use a life-course perspective, the ICF-CY model to group the determinants and a mixed-methods design. In this respect, the SIODO study is innovative because it both broadens and deepens the study of health-related determinants of school dropout. It examines how these determinants contribute to socioeconomic and gender differences in health and contributes to the development of a tool that can be used in public health practice to tackle the problem of school dropout at its roots
Vortex lattices in strong type-II superconducting two-dimensional strips
We show how to calculate semi-analytically the dense vortex state in strong
type-II superconducting nanostructures. For the specific case of a strip, we
find vortex lattice solutions which also incorporate surface superconductivity.
We calculate the energy cost to displace individual vortex rows parallel to the
surfaces and find that this energy oscillates with the magnetic field.
Remarkably, we also find that, at a critical field below , this
''shear'' energy becomes strictly zero for the surface rows due to an
unexpected mismatch with the bulk lattice.Comment: Title, abstract, and some text paragraphs have been rewritte
Effect of Pulsed or Continuous Delivery of Salt on Sensory Perception Over Short Time Intervals
Salt in the human diet is a major risk factor for hypertension and many countries have set targets to reduce
salt consumption. Technological solutions are being sought
to lower the salt content of processed foods without altering their taste. In this study, the approach was to deliver salt solutions in pulses of different concentrations to determine whether a pulsed delivery profile affected sensory perception of salt. Nine different salt profiles were delivered by a Dynataste device and a trained panel assessed their saltiness using time–intensity and single-score sensory techniques. The profile duration (15 s) was designed to match eating conditions and the effects of intensity and duration of the pulses on sensory perception were investigated. Sensory results from the profiles delivered in either water or in a bouillon base were not statistically different. Maximum perceived salt intensities and the area under the time–
intensity curves correlated well with the overall perceived
saltiness intensity despite the stimulus being delivered as
several pulses. The overall saltiness scores for profiles
delivering the same overall amount of sodium were statistically not different from one another suggesting that, in this system, pulsed delivery did not enhance salt
perception but the overall amount of salt delivered in each
profile did affect sensory perception
Nonlocal Conductivity in the Vortex-Liquid Regime of a Two-Dimensional Superconductor
We have simulated the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation with thermal
fluctuations, to study the nonlocal dc conductivity of a superconducting film.
Having examined points in the phase diagram at a wide range of temperatures and
fields below the mean-field upper critical field, we find a portion of the
vortex-liquid regime in which the nonlocal ohmic conductivity in real space is
negative over a distance several times the spacing between vortices. The effect
is suppressed when driven beyond linear response. Earlier work had predicted
the existence of such a regime, due to the high viscosity of a
strongly-correlated vortex liquid. This behavior is clearly distinguishable
from the monotonic spatial fall-off of the conductivity in the higher
temperature or field regimes approaching the normal state. The possibilities
for experimental study of the nonlocal transport properties are discussed.Comment: 18 pages, revtex, 6 postscript figure
Mode locking of vortex matter driven through mesoscopic channels
We investigated the driven dynamics of vortices confined to mesoscopic flow
channels by means of a dc-rf interference technique. The observed mode-locking
steps in the -curves provide detailed information on how the number of rows
and lattice structure in the channel change with magnetic field. Minima in flow
stress occur when an integer number of rows is moving coherently, while maxima
appear when incoherent motion of mixed and row configurations is
predominant. Simulations show that the enhanced pinning at mismatch originates
from quasi-static fault zones with misoriented edge dislocations induced by
disorder in the channel edges.Comment: some minor changes were made, 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for
publication in Phys. Rev. Let
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