6,173 research outputs found
Lower Bound for Convex Hull Area and Universal Cover Problems
In this paper, we provide a lower bound for an area of the convex hull of
points and a rectangle in a plane. We then apply this estimate to establish a
lower bound for a universal cover problem. We showed that a convex universal
cover for a unit length curve has area at least 0.232239. In addition, we show
that a convex universal cover for a unit closed curve has area at least
0.0879873.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
The Elephant in the Room: An Analysis of New Academic Librarian Orientations in Scholarly Library & Information Science Journals (2011-2015)
Academic librarian training for new faculty members is an essential yet tedious effort on the part of all stakeholders (trainer and trainee). An analysis of the large gaps in training experiences demonstrates that a variety of training programs exist for new academic librarians during their orientation. This poster will serve as a visual representation on how new academic librarian training functions as “the elephant in the room” for experienced librarians and new hires as discussed in major library journals from 2011-2015. The poster will explore questions such as: (1) What constitutes formal vs. informal training programs? (2) To what frequency is library terminology used to describe the new academic librarian training process? (3) What does the literature reveal about a new hire\u27s perspectives towards their training process? Through the use of graphs and charts, the authors will illustrate trends and gaps in librarian orientations. The goal of this poster is provide all visitors a blueprint to best practices and make recommendations for future new academic librarian orientations. The authors hope this poster initiates a dialogue amongst library science professionals regarding new hires’ orientations; it functions as a progression towards eliminating the elephant in the room
Production of a Beet chlorosis virus full-length cDNA clone by means of Gibson assembly and analysis of biological properties
Beet chlorosis virus (genus Polerovirus, family Luteoviridae), which is persistently transmitted by the aphid Myzus persicae, is part of virus yellows in sugar beet and causes interveinal yellowing as well as significant yield loss in Beta vulgaris. To allow reverse genetic studies and replace vector transmission, an infectious cDNA clone under cauliflower mosaic virus 35S control in a binary vector for agrobacterium-mediated infection was constructed using Gibson assembly. Following agroinoculation, the BChV full-length clone was able to induce a systemic infection of the cultivated B. vulgaris. The engineered virus was successfully aphid-transmitted when acquired from infected B. vulgaris and displayed the same host plant spectrum as wild-type virus. This new polerovirus infectious clone is a valuable tool to identify the viral determinants involved in host range and study BChV protein function, and can be used to screen sugar beet for BChV resistance
The problem of analytical calculation of barrier crossing characteristics for Levy flights
By using the backward fractional Fokker-Planck equation we investigate the
barrier crossing event in the presence of Levy noise. After shortly review
recent results obtained with different approaches on the time characteristics
of the barrier crossing, we derive a general differential equation useful to
calculate the nonlinear relaxation time. We obtain analytically the nonlinear
relaxation time for free Levy flights and a closed expression in quadrature of
the same characteristics for cubic potential.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, presented at 5th International Conference on
Unsolved Problems on Noise, Lyon, France, 2008, to appear in J. Stat. Mech.:
Theory and Experimen
TECPR1 promotes aggrephagy by direct recruitment of LC3C autophagosomes to lysosomes
The accumulation of protein aggregates is involved in the onset of many neurodegenerative diseases. Aggrephagy is a selective type of autophagy that counteracts neurodegeneration by degrading such aggregates. In this study, we found that LC3C cooperates with lysosomal TECPR1 to promote the degradation of disease-related protein aggregates in neural stem cells. The N-terminal WD-repeat domain of TECPR1 selectively binds LC3C which decorates matured autophagosomes. The interaction of LC3C and TECPR1 promotes the recruitment of autophagosomes to lysosomes for degradation. Augmented expression of TECPR1 in neural stem cells reduces the number of protein aggregates by promoting their autophagic clearance, whereas knockdown of LC3C inhibits aggrephagy. The PH domain of TECPR1 selectively interacts with PtdIns(4)P to target TECPR1 to PtdIns(4)P containing lysosomes. Exchanging the PH against a tandem-FYVE domain targets TECPR1 ectopically to endosomes. This leads to an accumulation of LC3C autophagosomes at endosomes and prevents their delivery to lysosomes. Many neurodegenerative disorders are characterised by the accumulation of protein aggregates in neurons. Here, the authors show that the lysosomal protein TECPR1 selectively recruits mature autophagosomes via an interaction with LC3C to break down protein aggregates in neural stem cells
Congenital deafness is associated with specific somatosensory deficits in adolescents
Hearing and touch represent two distinct sensory systems that both rely on the transformation of mechanical force into electrical signals. Here we used a battery of quantitative sensory tests to probe touch, thermal and pain sensitivity in a young control population (14-20 years old) compared to age-matched individuals with congenital hearing loss. Sensory testing was performed on the dominant hand of 111 individuals with normal hearing and 36 with congenital hearing loss. Subjects with congenital deafness were characterized by significantly higher vibration detection thresholds at 10 Hz (2-fold increase, P < 0.001) and 125 Hz (P < 0.05) compared to controls. These sensory changes were not accompanied by any major change in measures of pain perception. We also observed a highly significant reduction (30% compared to controls p < 0.001) in the ability of hearing impaired individual's ability to detect cooling which was not accompanied by changes in warm detection. At least 60% of children with non-syndromic hearing loss showed very significant loss of vibration detection ability (at 10 Hz) compared to age-matched controls. We thus propose that many pathogenic mutations that cause childhood onset deafness may also play a role in the development or functional maintenance of somatic mechanoreceptors
A Non-Perturbative Approach to the Random-Bond Ising Model
We study the N -> 0 limit of the O(N) Gross-Neveu model in the framework of
the massless form-factor approach. This model is related to the continuum limit
of the Ising model with random bonds via the replica method. We discuss how
this method may be useful in calculating correlation functions of physical
operators. The identification of non-perturbative fixed points of the O(N)
Gross-Neveu model is pursued by its mapping to a WZW model.Comment: 17 pages LaTeX, 1 PostScript figure included using psfig.st
U(3) chiral perturbation theory with infrared regularization
We include the eta-prime in chiral perturbation theory without employing
1/N_c counting rules. The method is illustrated by calculating the masses and
decay constants of the Goldstone boson octet (pions, kaons, eta) and the
singlet eta-prime up to one-loop order. The effective Lagrangian describing the
interactions of the eta-prime with the Goldstone boson octet is presented up to
fourth chiral order and the loop integrals are evaluated using infrared
regularization, which preserves Lorentz and chiral symmetry.Comment: 29 page
The Excursion Set Theory of Halo Mass Functions, Halo Clustering, and Halo Growth
I review the excursion set theory (EST) of dark matter halo formation and
clustering. I recount the Press-Schechter argument for the mass function of
bound objects and review the derivation of the Press-Schechter mass function in
EST. The EST formalism is powerful and can be applied to numerous problems. I
review the EST of halo bias and the properties of void regions. I spend
considerable time reviewing halo growth in the EST. This section culminates
with descriptions of two Monte Carlo methods for generating halo mass accretion
histories. In the final section, I emphasize that the standard EST approach is
the result of several simplifying assumptions. Dropping these assumptions can
lead to more faithful predictions and a more versatile formalism. One such
assumption is the constant height of the barrier for nonlinear collapse. I
review implementations of the excursion set approach with arbitrary barrier
shapes. An application of this is the now well-known improvement to standard
EST that follows from the ellipsoidal-collapse barrier. Additionally, I
emphasize that the statement that halo accretion histories are independent of
halo environments is a simplifying assumption, rather than a prediction of the
theory. I review the method for constructing correlated random walks of the
density field in more general cases. I construct a simple toy model with
correlated walks and I show that excursion set theory makes a qualitatively
simple and general prediction for the relation between halo accretion histories
and halo environments: regions of high density preferentially contain
late-forming halos and conversely for regions of low density. I conclude with a
brief discussion of this prediction in the context of recent numerical studies
of the environmental dependence of halo properties. (Abridged)Comment: 62 pages, 19 figures. Review article based on lectures given at the
Sixth Summer School of the Helmholtz Institute for Supercomputational
Physics. Accepted for Publication in IJMPD. Comments Welcom
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