1,130 research outputs found
The effect of molybdenum levels in sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.) on uric acid and copper excretion in man
1. The effect of various dietary levels of molybdenum on uric acid and copper excretion was studied in experiments with four adult men given diets based on two sorghum varieties (Sorghum vulgare Pers.) differing widely in Mo content. 2. With a Mo intake of 160, 540 or 1540 µg/d the urinary excretion of uric acid was unaltered. 3. The excretion of Cu in urine increased with increasing Mo intake. 4. Cu-balance studied with high- and low-Mo diets showed that with a high-Mo diet urinary Cu excretion increased but faecal Cu was unaffected. This indicates that dietary Mo had no effect on Cu absorption. 5. The high serum concentration of Cu with diets high in Mo indicates that Mo either mobilizes tissue Cu or inhibits Cu uptake, or both
Latent Space Model for Multi-Modal Social Data
With the emergence of social networking services, researchers enjoy the
increasing availability of large-scale heterogenous datasets capturing online
user interactions and behaviors. Traditional analysis of techno-social systems
data has focused mainly on describing either the dynamics of social
interactions, or the attributes and behaviors of the users. However,
overwhelming empirical evidence suggests that the two dimensions affect one
another, and therefore they should be jointly modeled and analyzed in a
multi-modal framework. The benefits of such an approach include the ability to
build better predictive models, leveraging social network information as well
as user behavioral signals. To this purpose, here we propose the Constrained
Latent Space Model (CLSM), a generalized framework that combines Mixed
Membership Stochastic Blockmodels (MMSB) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA)
incorporating a constraint that forces the latent space to concurrently
describe the multiple data modalities. We derive an efficient inference
algorithm based on Variational Expectation Maximization that has a
computational cost linear in the size of the network, thus making it feasible
to analyze massive social datasets. We validate the proposed framework on two
problems: prediction of social interactions from user attributes and behaviors,
and behavior prediction exploiting network information. We perform experiments
with a variety of multi-modal social systems, spanning location-based social
networks (Gowalla), social media services (Instagram, Orkut), e-commerce and
review sites (Amazon, Ciao), and finally citation networks (Cora). The results
indicate significant improvement in prediction accuracy over state of the art
methods, and demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed approach for
addressing a variety of different learning problems commonly occurring with
multi-modal social data.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 2 table
Quantum algorithm for the Boolean hidden shift problem
The hidden shift problem is a natural place to look for new separations
between classical and quantum models of computation. One advantage of this
problem is its flexibility, since it can be defined for a whole range of
functions and a whole range of underlying groups. In a way, this distinguishes
it from the hidden subgroup problem where more stringent requirements about the
existence of a periodic subgroup have to be made. And yet, the hidden shift
problem proves to be rich enough to capture interesting features of problems of
algebraic, geometric, and combinatorial flavor. We present a quantum algorithm
to identify the hidden shift for any Boolean function. Using Fourier analysis
for Boolean functions we relate the time and query complexity of the algorithm
to an intrinsic property of the function, namely its minimum influence. We show
that for randomly chosen functions the time complexity of the algorithm is
polynomial. Based on this we show an average case exponential separation
between classical and quantum time complexity. A perhaps interesting aspect of
this work is that, while the extremal case of the Boolean hidden shift problem
over so-called bent functions can be reduced to a hidden subgroup problem over
an abelian group, the more general case studied here does not seem to allow
such a reduction.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur
Preoperative serum sodium measurements and postoperative inpatient mortality: A casecontrol analysis of data from the South African Surgical Outcomes Study
Background. Abnormal preoperative serum sodium measurements have been shown to be associated with increased postoperative mortality in US and European surgical populations. It is possible that such measurements are also associated with increased postoperative mortality in a South African (SA) setting, but this is yet to be confirmed. Establishing whether preoperative serum sodium measurements are associated with postoperative mortality could have implications for perioperative risk stratification in SA settings.Objectives. To determine whether preoperative serum sodium measurements are associated with postoperative mortality in SA surgical patients.Methods. This was an unmatched case-control study of patient data (demographics, comorbidities, procedure-related variables, and preoperative serum sodium measurements) collected during the South African Surgical Outcomes Study. Data were analysed using recommended statistical methods for unmatched case-control studies.Results. The study population comprised 103 patients and 410 controls. Cases were defined as patients who suffered postoperative inpatient mortality, while controls were defined as patients who did not suffer postoperative inpatient mortality. Preoperative hypernatraemia (i.e. a preoperative serum sodium measurement >144 mEq/L) was independently associated with a four-fold higher risk of postoperative inpatient mortality compared with a normal preoperative serum sodium measurement of 135 - 144 mEq/L (odds ratio (OR) 4.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19 - 14.83, p=0.025). Preoperative hyponatraemia (i.e. a preoperative serum sodium measurement <135 mEq/L) was not independently associated with a higher or lower risk of postoperative inpatient mortality compared with a normal preoperative serum sodium measurement (OR 1.39, 95% CI 0.70 - 2.76, p=0.346).Conclusions. Preoperative hypernatraemia, but not preoperative hyponatraemia, is a risk factor for postoperative inpatient mortality in SA surgical patients
Bond Operator Mean Field Approach to the Magnetization Plateaux in Quantum Antiferromagnets -- Application to the S=1/2 Coupled Dimerized Zigzag Heisenberg Chains
The magnetization plateaux in two dimensionally coupled S=1/2 dimerized
zigzag Heisenberg chains are investigated by means of the bond operator mean
field approximation. In the absence of the interchain coupling, this model is
known to have a plateau at half of the saturation magnetization accompanied by
the spontanuous translational symmetry breakdown. The parameter regime in which
the plateau appears is reproduced well within the present approximation. In the
presence of the interchain coupling, this plateau is shown to be suppressed.
This result is also supported by the numerical diagonalization calculation.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Impact of the tip radius on the lateral resolution in piezoresponse force microscopy
We present a quantitative investigation of the impact of tip radius as well
as sample type and thickness on the lateral resolution in piezoresponse force
microscopy (PFM) investigating bulk single crystals. The observed linear
dependence of the width of the domain wall on the tip radius as well as the
independence of the lateral resolution on the specific crystal-type are
validated by a simple theoretical model. Using a Ti-Pt-coated tip with a
nominal radius of 15 nm the so far highest lateral resolution in bulk crystals
of only 17 nm was obtained
Temperature-dependent spin gap and singlet ground state in BaCuSi2O6
Bulk magnetic measurements and inelastic neutron scattering were used to
investigate the spin-singlet ground state and magnetic gap excitations in
BaCuSi2O6, a quasi-2-dimensional antiferromagnet with a bilayer structure. The
results are well described by a model based on weakly interacting
antiferromagnetic dimers. A strongly temperature-dependent dispersion in the
gap modes was found. We suggest that the observed excitations are analogous to
magneto-excitons in light rare-earth compounds, but are an intrinsic property
of a simple Heisenberg Hamiltonian for the S=1/2 magnetic bilayer.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX and PS for text, PS for figures direct
download: http://papillon.phy.bnl.gov/preprints/bacusio.htm
Nanoscale piezoelectric response across a single antiparallel ferroelectric domain wall
Surprising asymmetry in the local electromechanical response across a single
antiparallel ferroelectric domain wall is reported. Piezoelectric force
microscopy is used to investigate both the in-plane and out-of- plane
electromechanical signals around domain walls in congruent and
near-stoichiometric lithium niobate. The observed asymmetry is shown to have a
strong correlation to crystal stoichiometry, suggesting defect-domain wall
interactions. A defect-dipole model is proposed. Finite element method is used
to simulate the electromechanical processes at the wall and reconstruct the
images. For the near-stoichiometric composition, good agreement is found in
both form and magnitude. Some discrepancy remains between the experimental and
modeling widths of the imaged effects across a wall. This is analyzed from the
perspective of possible electrostatic contributions to the imaging process, as
well as local changes in the material properties in the vicinity of the wall
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