602 research outputs found
A new approach to automatically evaluate problems that are solved using diagrams
Automatic correction of problems that are solved using diagrams through educational platforms is of great importance, especially in the field of engineering studies. In this paper, we present a new strategy to automatically assess diagrams. The proposed approach is described in detail as well as its application to assess entity/relationship diagrams used in the conceptual design of databases. The results indicate that the differences between manual and automatic assessment is less than 075 points over a total of ten which confirms the validity of the proposed approach. As a conclusion, the validity of the proposed method to assess entity/relationship diagrams reducing teacher correction time and unifying applied correction criteria is corroborated
High-resolution DCE-MRI of the pituitary gland using radial k-space acquisition with compressed sensing reconstruction
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The pituitary gland is located outside of the blood-brain barrier. Dynamic T1 weighted contrast enhanced sequence is considered to be the gold standard to evaluate this region. However, it does not allow assessment of intrinsic permeability properties of the gland. Our aim was to demonstrate the utility of radial volumetric interpolated brain examination with the golden-angle radial sparse parallel technique to evaluate permeability characteristics of the individual components (anterior and posterior gland and the median eminence) of the pituitary gland and areas of differential enhancement and to optimize the study acquisition time.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed in 52 patients (group 1, 25 patients with normal pituitary glands; and group 2, 27 patients with a known diagnosis of microadenoma). Radial volumetric interpolated brain examination sequences with goldenangle radial sparse parallel technique were evaluated with an ROI-based method to obtain signal-time curves and permeability measures of individual normal structures within the pituitary gland and areas of differential enhancement. Statistical analyses were performed to assess differences in the permeability parameters of these individual regions and optimize the study acquisition time.
RESULTS: Signal-time curves from the posterior pituitary gland and median eminence demonstrated a faster wash-in and time of
maximum enhancement with a lower peak of enhancement compared with the anterior pituitary gland (P .005). Time-optimization
analysis demonstrated that 120 seconds is ideal for dynamic pituitary gland evaluation. In the absence of a clinical history, differences in the signal-time curves allow easy distinction between a simple cyst and a microadenoma.
CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study confirms the ability of the golden-angle radial sparse parallel technique to evaluate the
permeability characteristics of the pituitary gland and establishes 120 seconds as the ideal acquisition time for dynamic pituitary gland
imaging
Simulation of gauge transformations on systems of ultracold atoms
We show that gauge transformations can be simulated on systems of ultracold
atoms. We discuss observables that are invariant under these gauge
transformations and compute them using a tensor network ansatz that escapes the
phase problem. We determine that the Mott-insulator-to-superfluid critical
point is monotonically shifted as the induced magnetic flux increases. This
result is stable against the inclusion of a small amount of entanglement in the
variational ansatz.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
The Role of Bulge Formation in the Homogenization of Stellar Populations at as revealed by Internal Color Dispersion in CANDELS
We use data from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy
Survey to study how the spatial variation in the stellar populations of
galaxies relate to the formation of galaxies at . We use the
Internal Color Dispersion (ICD), measured between the rest-frame UV and optical
bands, which is sensitive to age (and dust attenuation) variations in stellar
populations. The ICD shows a relation with the stellar masses and morphologies
of the galaxies. Galaxies with the largest variation in their stellar
populations as evidenced by high ICD have disk-dominated morphologies (with
S\'{e}rsic indexes ) and stellar masses between . There is a marked decrease in the ICD as the stellar mass and/or
the S\'ersic index increases. By studying the relations between the ICD and
other galaxy properties including sizes, total colors, star-formation rate, and
dust attenuation, we conclude that the largest variations in stellar
populations occur in galaxies where the light from newly, high star-forming
clumps contrasts older stellar disk populations. This phase reaches a peak for
galaxies only with a specific stellar mass range, , and prior to the formation of a substantial bulge/spheroid. In contrast,
galaxies at higher or lower stellar masses, and/or higher S\'{e}rsic index () show reduced ICD values, implying a greater homogeneity of their stellar
populations. This indicates that if a galaxy is to have both a quiescent bulge
along with a star forming disk, typical of Hubble Sequence galaxies, this is
most common for stellar masses and when the
bulge component remains relatively small ().Comment: 15 pages, 14 figure
Immanent conditions determine imminent collapses: nutrient regimes define the resilience of macroalgal communities
Este artículo contiene 9 páginas, 5 figuras.Predicting where state-changing thresholds lie can be inherently complex in
ecosystems characterized by nonlinear dynamics. Unpacking the mechanisms
underlying these transitions can help considerably reduce this unpredictability.
We used empirical observations, field and laboratory experiments, and
mathematical models to examine how differences in nutrient regimes mediate
the capacity of macrophyte communities to sustain sea urchin grazing. In relatively
nutrient-rich conditions, macrophyte systems were more resilient to
grazing, shifting to barrens beyond 1 800 g m22 (urchin biomass), more than
twice the threshold of nutrient-poor conditions. The mechanisms driving
these differences are linked to how nutrients mediate urchin foraging and
algal growth: controlled experiments showed that low-nutrient regimes trigger
compensatory feeding and reduce plant growth, mechanisms supported by
our consumer–resource model. These mechanisms act together to halve
macrophyte community resilience. Our study demonstrates that by mediating
the underlying drivers, inherent conditions can strongly influence the buffer
capacity of nonlinear systems.The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation funded
this research (projects CMT2010-22273-C02-01-02 and CMT2013-
48027-C03-R) and supported J.B. (scholarship BES-2011-043630) and
D.A. (Ramon y Cajal fellowship). The Spanish National Research
Council supported R.A.’s visitorship (CSIC-201330E062).Peer reviewe
An Optical-Lattice-Based Quantum Simulator For Relativistic Field Theories and Topological Insulators
We present a proposal for a versatile cold-atom-based quantum simulator of
relativistic fermionic theories and topological insulators in arbitrary
dimensions. The setup consists of a spin-independent optical lattice that traps
a collection of hyperfine states of the same alkaline atom, to which the
different degrees of freedom of the field theory to be simulated are then
mapped. We show that the combination of bi-chromatic optical lattices with
Raman transitions can allow the engineering of a spin-dependent tunneling of
the atoms between neighboring lattice sites. These assisted-hopping processes
can be employed for the quantum simulation of various interesting models,
ranging from non-interacting relativistic fermionic theories to topological
insulators. We present a toolbox for the realization of different types of
relativistic lattice fermions, which can then be exploited to synthesize the
majority of phases in the periodic table of topological insulators.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure
Optical lattice quantum simulator for QED in strong external fields: spontaneous pair creation and the Sauter-Schwinger effect
Spontaneous creation of electron-positron pairs out of the vacuum due to a
strong electric field is a spectacular manifestation of the relativistic
energy-momentum relation for the Dirac fermions. This fundamental prediction of
Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) has not yet been confirmed experimentally as the
generation of a sufficiently strong electric field extending over a large
enough space-time volume still presents a challenge. Surprisingly, distant
areas of physics may help us to circumvent this difficulty. In condensed matter
and solid state physics (areas commonly considered as low energy physics), one
usually deals with quasi-particles instead of real electrons and positrons.
Since their mass gap can often be freely tuned, it is much easier to create
these light quasi-particles by an analogue of the Sauter-Schwinger effect. This
motivates our proposal of a quantum simulator in which excitations of
ultra-cold atoms moving in a bichromatic optical lattice represent particles
and antiparticles (holes) satisfying a discretized version of the Dirac
equation together with fermionic anti-commutation relations. Using the language
of second quantization, we are able to construct an analogue of the spontaneous
pair creation which can be realized in an (almost) table-top experiment.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figure
Indirect grazing-induced mechanisms contribute to the resilience of Mediterranean seagrass meadows to sea urchin herbivory
Plant–herbivore interactions are often regulated by a series of direct and indirect buffer mechanisms (compensatory or defensive plant responses, population control, alternative resources) that can determine the relative stability of the system. In plant-dominated marine environments, these mechanisms are particularly important given how vulnerable these systems are to strong consumer pressure. Here, we evaluate the presence and, where possible, the strength, of five mechanisms that get activated under high herbivory pressure and are capable of dampening their effects in a seagrass meadow ecosystem: 1) seagrass compensatory growth, 2) increase in plant resistance, 3) availability of alternative resources, 4) predatory control and 5) density-dependent control. We assessed these mechanisms for the interaction between the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica and the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus through a short-term series of controlled field and laboratory experiments after simulated or natural herbivory events. Of the five mechanisms tested, we found that three mechanisms – availability of alternative resources, increased predation rate and reduction in sea urchin numbers – effectively dampened herbivory and worked as potential buffering mechanisms. In contrast, plant compensatory growth and resistance did not show clear responses. While compensatory growth and plant resistance are direct plant mechanism to tolerate the effects of herbivory, the rest are indirect mechanisms that begin with a modification of a plant trait (i.e. canopy height) that influences other species preference and/or behaviour, which in turn influences plant consumption. These adaptive behaviours may be a crucial and often overlooked factor in the remarkable resilience that Mediterranean seagrass ecosystems show to herbivory
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