436 research outputs found
Heterogeneous Face Recognition with CNNs
International audienceHeterogeneous face recognition aims to recognize faces across different sensor modalities. Typically, gallery images are normal visible spectrum images, and probe images are infrared images or sketches. Recently significant improvements in visible spectrum face recognition have been obtained by CNNs learned from very large training datasets. In this paper, we are interested in the question to what extent the features from a CNN pre-trained on visible spectrum face images can be used to perform heterogeneous face recognition. We explore different metric learning strategies to reduce the discrepancies between the different modalities. Experimental results show that we can use CNNs trained on visible spectrum images to obtain results that are on par or improve over the state-of-the-art for heterogeneous recognition with near-infrared images and sketches
Dynamics of Line-Driven Winds from Disks in Cataclysmic Variables. I. Solution Topology and Wind Geometry
We analyze the dynamics of 2-D stationary, line-driven winds from accretion
disks in cataclysmic variable stars. The driving force is that of line
radiation pressure, in the formalism developed by Castor, Abbott & Klein for O
stars. Our main assumption is that wind helical streamlines lie on straight
cones. We find that the Euler equation for the disk wind has two eigenvalues,
the mass loss rate and the flow tilt angle with the disk. Both are calculated
self-consistently. The wind is characterized by two distinct regions, an outer
wind launched beyond four white dwarf radii from the rotation axis, and an
inner wind launched within this radius. The inner wind is very steep, up to 80
degrees with the disk plane, while the outer wind has a typical tilt of 60
degrees. In both cases the ray dispersion is small. We, therefore, confirm the
bi-conical geometry of disk winds as suggested by observations and kinematical
modeling. The wind collimation angle appears to be robust and depends only on
the disk temperature stratification. The flow critical points lie high above
the disk for the inner wind, but close to the disk photosphere for the outer
wind. Comparison with existing kinematical and dynamical models is provided.
Mass loss rates from the disk as well as wind velocity laws are discussed in a
subsequent paper.Comment: 21 pages, 10 Postscript figures; available also from
http://www.pa.uky.edu/~shlosman/publ.html. Astrophysical Journal, submitte
IS element IS16 as a molecular screening tool to identify hospital-associated strains of Enterococcus faecium
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hospital strains of <it>Enterococcus faecium </it>could be characterized and typed by various molecular methods (MLST, AFLP, MLVA) and allocated to a distinct clonal complex known as MLST CC17. However, these techniques are laborious, time-consuming and cost-intensive. Our aim was to identify hospital <it>E. faecium </it>strains and differentiate them from colonizing and animal variants by a simple, inexpensive and reliable PCR-based screening assay. We describe here performance and predictive value of a single PCR detecting the insertion element, IS<it>16</it>, to identify hospital <it>E. faecium </it>isolates within a collection of 260 strains of hospital, animal and human commensal origins.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Specific primers were selected amplifying a 547-bp fragment of IS<it>16</it>. Presence of IS<it>16 </it>was determined by PCR screenings among the 260 <it>E. faecium </it>isolates. Distribution of IS<it>16 </it>was compared with a prevalence of commonly used markers for hospital strains, <it>esp </it>and <it>hyl</it><sub><it>Efm</it></sub>. All isolates were typed by MLST and partly by PFGE. Location of IS<it>16 </it>was analysed by Southern hybridization of plasmid and chromosomal DNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IS<it>16 </it>was exclusively distributed only among 155 invasive strains belonging to the clonal complex of hospital-associated strains ("CC17"; 28 MLST types) and various vancomycin resistance genotypes (<it>van</it>A/B/negative). The five invasive IS<it>16</it>-negative strains did not belong to the clonal complex of hospital-associated strains (CC17). IS<it>16 </it>was absent in all but three isolates from 100 livestock, food-associated and human commensal strains ("non-CC17"; 64 MLST types). The three IS<it>16</it>-positive human commensal isolates revealed MLST types belonging to the clonal complex of hospital-associated strains (CC17). The values predicting a hospital-associated strain ("CC17") deduced from presence and absence of IS<it>16 </it>was 100% and thus superior to screening for the presence of <it>esp </it>(66%) and/or <it>hyl</it><sub><it>Efm </it></sub>(46%). Southern hybridizations revealed chromosomal as well as plasmid localization of IS<it>16</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This simple screening assay for insertion element IS<it>16 </it>is capable of differentiating hospital-associated from human commensal, livestock- and food-associated <it>E. faecium </it>strains and thus allows predicting the epidemic strengths or supposed pathogenic potential of a given <it>E. faecium </it>isolate identified within the nosocomial setting.</p
IS element IS16 as a molecular screening tool to identify hospital-associated strains of Enterococcus faecium
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hospital strains of <it>Enterococcus faecium </it>could be characterized and typed by various molecular methods (MLST, AFLP, MLVA) and allocated to a distinct clonal complex known as MLST CC17. However, these techniques are laborious, time-consuming and cost-intensive. Our aim was to identify hospital <it>E. faecium </it>strains and differentiate them from colonizing and animal variants by a simple, inexpensive and reliable PCR-based screening assay. We describe here performance and predictive value of a single PCR detecting the insertion element, IS<it>16</it>, to identify hospital <it>E. faecium </it>isolates within a collection of 260 strains of hospital, animal and human commensal origins.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Specific primers were selected amplifying a 547-bp fragment of IS<it>16</it>. Presence of IS<it>16 </it>was determined by PCR screenings among the 260 <it>E. faecium </it>isolates. Distribution of IS<it>16 </it>was compared with a prevalence of commonly used markers for hospital strains, <it>esp </it>and <it>hyl</it><sub><it>Efm</it></sub>. All isolates were typed by MLST and partly by PFGE. Location of IS<it>16 </it>was analysed by Southern hybridization of plasmid and chromosomal DNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IS<it>16 </it>was exclusively distributed only among 155 invasive strains belonging to the clonal complex of hospital-associated strains ("CC17"; 28 MLST types) and various vancomycin resistance genotypes (<it>van</it>A/B/negative). The five invasive IS<it>16</it>-negative strains did not belong to the clonal complex of hospital-associated strains (CC17). IS<it>16 </it>was absent in all but three isolates from 100 livestock, food-associated and human commensal strains ("non-CC17"; 64 MLST types). The three IS<it>16</it>-positive human commensal isolates revealed MLST types belonging to the clonal complex of hospital-associated strains (CC17). The values predicting a hospital-associated strain ("CC17") deduced from presence and absence of IS<it>16 </it>was 100% and thus superior to screening for the presence of <it>esp </it>(66%) and/or <it>hyl</it><sub><it>Efm </it></sub>(46%). Southern hybridizations revealed chromosomal as well as plasmid localization of IS<it>16</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This simple screening assay for insertion element IS<it>16 </it>is capable of differentiating hospital-associated from human commensal, livestock- and food-associated <it>E. faecium </it>strains and thus allows predicting the epidemic strengths or supposed pathogenic potential of a given <it>E. faecium </it>isolate identified within the nosocomial setting.</p
All solutions of the localization equations for N=2 quantum black hole entropy
We find the most general bosonic solution to the localization equations
describing the contributions to the quantum entropy of supersymmetric black
holes in four-dimensional N=2 supergravity coupled to n_v vector multiplets.
This requires the analysis of the BPS equations of the corresponding off-shell
supergravity (including fluctuations of the auxiliary fields) with AdS2 \times
S2 attractor boundary conditions. Our work completes and extends the results of
arXiv:1012.0265 that were obtained for the vector multiplet sector, to include
the fluctuations of all the fields of the off-shell supergravity. We find that,
when the auxiliary SU(2) gauge field strength vanishes, the most general
supersymmetric configuration preserving four supercharges is labelled by n_v+1
real parameters corresponding to the excitations of the conformal mode of the
graviton and the scalars of the n_v vector multiplets. In the general case, the
localization manifold is labelled by an additional SU(2) triplet of one-forms
and a scalar function.Comment: 27 page
Exploring Curved Superspace
We systematically analyze Riemannian manifolds M that admit rigid
supersymmetry, focusing on four-dimensional N=1 theories with a U(1)_R
symmetry. We find that M admits a single supercharge, if and only if it is a
Hermitian manifold. The supercharge transforms as a scalar on M. We then
consider the restrictions imposed by the presence of additional supercharges.
Two supercharges of opposite R-charge exist on certain fibrations of a
two-torus over a Riemann surface. Upon dimensional reduction, these give rise
to an interesting class of supersymmetric geometries in three dimensions. We
further show that compact manifolds admitting two supercharges of equal
R-charge must be hyperhermitian. Finally, four supercharges imply that M is
locally isometric to M_3 x R, where M_3 is a maximally symmetric space.Comment: 39 pages; minor change
Gravity duals of supersymmetric gauge theories on three-manifolds
We study gravity duals to a broad class of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories
defined on a general class of three-manifold geometries. The gravity
backgrounds are based on Euclidean self-dual solutions to four-dimensional
gauged supergravity. As well as constructing new examples, we prove in general
that for solutions defined on the four-ball the gravitational free energy
depends only on the supersymmetric Killing vector, finding a simple closed
formula when the solution has U(1) x U(1) symmetry. Our result agrees with the
large N limit of the free energy of the dual gauge theory, computed using
localization. This constitutes an exact check of the gauge/gravity
correspondence for a very broad class of gauge theories with a large N limit,
defined on a general class of background three-manifold geometries.Comment: 74 pages, 2 figures; v2: minor change
The Large N Limit of Toric Chern-Simons Matter Theories and Their Duals
We compute the large N limit of the localized three dimensional free energy
of various field theories with known proposed AdS duals. We show that
vector-like theories agree with the expected supergravity results, and with the
conjectured F-theorem. We also check that the large N free energy is preserved
by the three dimensional Seiberg duality for general classes of vector like
theories. Then we analyze the behavior of the free energy of chiral-like
theories by applying a new proposal. The proposal is based on the restoration
of a discrete symmetry on the free energy before the extremization. We apply
this procedure at strong coupling in some examples and we discuss the results.
We conclude the paper by proposing an alternative geometrical expression for
the free energy.Comment: 40 pages, 7 figures, using jheppub.sty, references adde
Oil elite networks in a transforming global oil market
This article analyses oil elite formation in light of the wider transformation that is taking place in the global oil order due to the rise of powers from the Global South, including Russia: in particular, the expansion and integration of the state-owned oil companies into the global oil market. This is done by analysing the networks that the directors of the world's largest oil companies create through their affiliations with a) other corporations, b) policy planning bodies and c) with the state. The most important finding is that the increased cooperation between the Western private oil companies and the non-Western state-owned oil companies has not yet translated into increased integration between their respective elite networks. It is argued that this indicates we are witnessing a transition towards a more multi-polar global oil order that increasingly needs to take into account the rising powers of the Global South. © The Author(s) 2012
Holographic renormalization and supersymmetry
Holographic renormalization is a systematic procedure for regulating
divergences in observables in asymptotically locally AdS spacetimes. For dual
boundary field theories which are supersymmetric it is natural to ask whether
this defines a supersymmetric renormalization scheme. Recent results in
localization have brought this question into sharp focus: rigid supersymmetry
on a curved boundary requires specific geometric structures, and general
arguments imply that BPS observables, such as the partition function, are
invariant under certain deformations of these structures. One can then ask if
the dual holographic observables are similarly invariant. We study this
question in minimal N = 2 gauged supergravity in four and five dimensions. In
four dimensions we show that holographic renormalization precisely reproduces
the expected field theory results. In five dimensions we find that no choice of
standard holographic counterterms is compatible with supersymmetry, which leads
us to introduce novel finite boundary terms. For a class of solutions
satisfying certain topological assumptions we provide some independent tests of
these new boundary terms, in particular showing that they reproduce the
expected VEVs of conserved charges.Comment: 70 pages; corrected typo
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