15,467 research outputs found
Continuous-time average-preserving opinion dynamics with opinion-dependent communications
We study a simple continuous-time multi-agent system related to Krause's
model of opinion dynamics: each agent holds a real value, and this value is
continuously attracted by every other value differing from it by less than 1,
with an intensity proportional to the difference.
We prove convergence to a set of clusters, with the agents in each cluster
sharing a common value, and provide a lower bound on the distance between
clusters at a stable equilibrium, under a suitable notion of multi-agent system
stability.
To better understand the behavior of the system for a large number of agents,
we introduce a variant involving a continuum of agents. We prove, under some
conditions, the existence of a solution to the system dynamics, convergence to
clusters, and a non-trivial lower bound on the distance between clusters.
Finally, we establish that the continuum model accurately represents the
asymptotic behavior of a system with a finite but large number of agents.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, 11 tex files and 2 eps file
Chemical modification of poly(p-phenylene) for use in ablative compositions
Development of ablative materials based on modification of polyphenylene compounds is discussed. Chemical and physical properties are analyzed for application as heat resistant materials. Synthesis of linear polyphenylenes is described. Effects of exposure to oxyacetylene flame and composition of resultant char layer are presented
Analysis and Geometric Optimization of Single Electron Transistors for Read-Out in Solid-State Quantum Computing
The single electron transistor (SET) offers unparalled opportunities as a
nano-scale electrometer, capable of measuring sub-electron charge variations.
SETs have been proposed for read-out schema in solid-state quantum computing
where quantum information processing outcomes depend on the location of a
single electron on nearby quantum dots. In this paper we investigate various
geometries of a SET in order to maximize the device's sensitivity to charge
transfer between quantum dots. Through the use of finite element modeling we
model the materials and geometries of an Al/Al2O3 SET measuring the state of
quantum dots in the Si substrate beneath. The investigation is motivated by the
quest to build a scalable quantum computer, though the methodology used is
primarily that of circuit theory. As such we provide useful techniques for any
electronic device operating at the classical/quantum interface.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figure
A comprehensive study of electric, thermoelectric and thermal conductivities of Graphene with short range unitary and charged impurities
Motivated by the experimental measurement of electrical and hall
conductivity, thermopower and Nernst effect, we calculate the longitudinal and
transverse electrical and heat transport in graphene in the presence of unitary
scatterers as well as charged impurities. The temperature and carrier density
dependence in this system display a number of anomalous features that arise due
to the relativistic nature of the low energy fermionic degrees of freedom. We
derive the properties in detail including the effect of unitary and charged
impurities self-consistently, and present tables giving the analytic
expressions for all the transport properties in the limit of small and large
temperature compared to the chemical potential and the scattering rates. We
compare our results with the available experimental data. While the qualitative
variations with temperature and density of carriers or chemical potential of
all transport properties can be reproduced, we find that a given set of
parameters of the impurities fits the Hall conductivity, Thermopower and the
Nernst effect quantitatively but cannot fit the conductivity quantitatively. On
the other hand a single set of parameters for scattering from Coulomb
impurities fits conductivity, hall resistance and thermopower but not Nernst
Antibodies to acetylcholine receptor in parous women with myasthenia: evidence for immunization by fetal antigen
The weakness in myasthenia gravis (MG) is mediated by autoantibodies against adult muscle acetylcholine receptors (AChR) at the neuromuscular junction; most of these antibodies also bind to fetal AChR, which is present in the thymus. In rare cases, babies of mothers with MG, or even of asymptomatic mothers, develop a severe developmental condition, arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, caused by antibodies that inhibit the ion channel function of the fetal AChR while not affecting the adult AChR. Here we show that these fetal AChR inhibitory antibodies are significantly more common in females sampled after pregnancy than in those who present before pregnancy, suggesting that they may be induced by the fetus. Moreover, we were able to clone high-affinity combinatorial Fab antibodies from thymic cells of two mothers with MG who had babies with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. These Fabs were highly specific for fetal AChR and did not bind the main immunogenic region that is common to fetal and adult AChR. The Fabs show strong biases to VH3 heavy chains and to a single Vk1 light chain in one mother. Nevertheless, they each show extensive intraclonal diversification from a highly mutated consensus sequence, consistent with antigen-driven selection in successive steps. Collectively, our results suggest that, in some cases of MG, initial immunization against fetal AChR is followed by diversification and expansion of B cells in the thymus; maternal autoimmunity will result if the immune response spreads to the main immunogenic region and other epitopes common to fetal and adult AChR
The Community Reinvestment Act: Questionable Premises and Perverse Incentives
Having just passed the twentieth anniversary of the enactment of the Community Reinvestment Act ( CRA or Act ), this is an appropriate time to take stock of the effectiveness of the legislation and to consider whether it continues to be useful as a tool for addressing the problems of neighborhood decline and discrimination in the lending market. Although discrimination in lending and the decline of certain inner-city neighborhoods is a problem that the CRA has not been able to solve, most observers would agree that the situation has improved since the mid-1970s. In particular, there has been notable progress toward the elimination of explicit redlining - a problem the CRA was designed to address. Perhaps it is impossible to demonstrate what portion of that progress is due to the CRA itself and what is a result of broader economic and social change that has occurred in this country over the last twenty years. Nevertheless, both supporters and opponents of the CRA generally agree that the Act has been an important factor in pushing banks to lend in previously under-served areas.
In this paper we will argue that the CRA as it is currently understood and enforced is no longer an appropriate tool for dealing with discrimination in the lending market and the lack of access to credit in neighborhoods dominated by minorities and people of modest, or minimal, means. The statute is based on premises that are questionable in today\u27s lending market, and thus it is not clear that the social benefits provided by the statute are significant. Further, enforcement of the statute generates certain perverse incentives that are costly to society. We emphasize the costly incentive effects in this paper.6 While the goals of the CRA remain desirable, the current enforcement framework should be reformed
Memory and superposition in a spin glass
Non-equilibrium dynamics in a Ag(Mn) spin glass are investigated by
measurements of the temperature dependence of the remanent magnetisation. Using
specific cooling protocols before recording the thermo- or isothermal remanent
magnetisations on re-heating, it is found that the measured curves effectively
disclose non-equilibrium spin glass characteristics such as ageing and memory
phenomena as well as an extended validity of the superposition principle for
the relaxation. The usefulness of this "simple" dc-method is discussed, as well
as its applicability to other disordered magnetic systems.Comment: REVTeX style; 8 pages, 4 figure
Antigenic and genetic evolution of contemporary swine H1 influenza viruses in the United States
Several lineages of influenza A viruses (IAV) currently circulate in North American pigs. Genetic diversity is further increased by transmission of IAV between swine and humans and subsequent evolution. Here, we characterized the genetic and antigenic evolution of contemporary swine H1N1 and H1N2 viruses representing clusters H1-α (1A.1), H1-β (1A.2), H1pdm (1A.3.3.2), H1-γ (1A.3.3.3), H1-δ1 (1B.2.2), and H1-δ2 (1B.2.1) currently circulating in pigs in the United States. The δ1-viruses diversified into two new genetic clades, H1-δ1a (1B.2.2.1) and H1-δ1b (1B.2.2.2), which were also antigenically distinct from the earlier H1-δ1-viruses. Further characterization revealed that a few key amino acid changes were associated with antigenic divergence in these groups. The continued genetic and antigenic evolution of contemporary H1 viruses might lead to loss of vaccine cross-protection that could lead to significant economic impact to the swine industry, and represents a challenge to public health initiatives that attempt to minimize swine-to-human IAV transmission
Anomalous diffusion in correlated continuous time random walks
We demonstrate that continuous time random walks in which successive waiting
times are correlated by Gaussian statistics lead to anomalous diffusion with
mean squared displacement ~t^{2/3}. Long-ranged correlations of the
waiting times with power-law exponent alpha (0<alpha<=2) give rise to
subdiffusion of the form ~t^{alpha/(1+alpha)}. In contrast correlations
in the jump lengths are shown to produce superdiffusion. We show that in both
cases weak ergodicity breaking occurs. Our results are in excellent agreement
with simulations.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. Slightly revised version, accepted to J Phys A as
a Fast Track Communicatio
The Hot R Coronae Borealis Star DY Centauri is a Binary
The remarkable hot R Coronae Borealis (RCB) star DY Cen is revealed to be the first and only binary system to be found among the RCB stars and their likely relatives, including the extreme helium stars and the hydrogen-deficient carbon stars. Radial velocity determinations from 1982 to 2010 have shown that DY Cen is a single-lined spectroscopic binary in an eccentric orbit with a period of 39.67 days. It is also one of the hottest and most H-rich member of the class of RCB stars. The system may have evolved from a common envelope to its current form.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness AYA-2011-27754McDonald Observator
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