Computational multi-depth single-photon imaging

We present an imaging framework that is able to accurately reconstruct multiple depths at individual pixels from single-photon observations. Our active imaging method models the single-photon detection statistics from multiple reflectors within a pixel, and it also exploits the fact that a multi-depth profile at each pixel can be expressed as a sparse signal. We interpret the multi-depth reconstruction problem as a sparse deconvolution problem using single-photon observations, create a convex problem through discretization and relaxation, and use a modified iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm to efficiently solve for the optimal multi-depth solution. We experimentally demonstrate that the proposed framework is able to accurately reconstruct the depth features of an object that is behind a partially-reflecting scatterer and 4 m away from the imager with root mean-square error of 11 cm, using only 19 signal photon detections per pixel in the presence of moderate background light. In terms of root mean-square error, this is a factor of 4.2 improvement over the conventional method of Gaussian-mixture fitting for multi-depth recovery.This material is based upon work supported in part by a Samsung Scholarship, the US National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1422034, and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Advanced Concepts Committee. We thank Dheera Venkatraman for his assistance with the experiments. (Samsung Scholarship; 1422034 - US National Science Foundation; MIT Lincoln Laboratory Advanced Concepts Committee)Accepted manuscrip

Survival in equilibrium step fluctuations

We report the results of analytic and numerical investigations of the time scale of survival or non-zero-crossing probability $S(t)$ in equilibrium step fluctuations described by Langevin equations appropriate for attachment/detachment and edge-diffusion limited kinetics. An exact relation between long-time behaviors of the survival probability and the autocorrelation function is established and numerically verified. $S(t)$ is shown to exhibit simple scaling behavior as a function of system size and sampling time. Our theoretical results are in agreement with those obtained from an analysis of experimental dynamical STM data on step fluctuations on Al/Si(111) and Ag(111) surfaces.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 3 figure

Client Service Receipt Inventory as a standardised tool for measurement of socio-economic costs in the rare genetic disease population (CSRI-Ra)

The measurement of costs is fundamental in healthcare decision-making, but it is often challenging. In particular, standardised methods have not been developed in the rare genetic disease population. A reliable and valid tool is critical for research to be locally meaningful yet internationally comparable. Herein, we sought to develop, contextualise, translate, and validate the Client Service Receipt Inventory for the RAre disease population (CSRI-Ra) to be used in cost-of-illness studies and economic evaluations for healthcare planning. Through expert panel discussions and focus group meetings involving 17 rare disease patients, carers, and healthcare and social care professionals from Hong Kong, we have developed the CSRI-Ra. Rounds of forward and backward translations were performed by bilingual researchers, and face validity and semantic equivalence were achieved through interviews and telephone communications with focus group participants and an additional of 13 healthcare professional and university students. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess criterion validity between CSRI-Ra and electronic patient record in a sample of 94 rare disease patients and carers, with overall ICC being 0.69 (95% CI 0.56–0.78), indicating moderate to good agreement. Following rounds of revision in the development, contextualisation, translation, and validation stages, the CSRI-Ra is ready for use in empirical research. The CSRI-Ra provides a sufficiently standardised yet adaptable method for collecting socio-economic data related to rare genetic diseases. This is important for near-term and long-term monitoring of the resource consequences of rare diseases, and it provides a tool for use in economic evaluations in the future, thereby helping to inform planning for efficient and effective healthcare. Adaptation of the CSRI-Ra to other populations would facilitate international research

Scale invariance in coarsening of binary and ternary fluids

Phase separation in binary and ternary fluids is studied using a two dimensional Lattice Gas Automata. The lengths, given by the the first zero crossing point of the correlation function and the total interface length is shown to exhibit power law dependence on time. In binary mixtures, our data clearly indicate the existence of a regime having more than one length scale where the coarsening process proceeds through the rupture and reassociation of domains. In ternary fluids; in the case of symmetric mixtures there exists a regime with a single length scale having dynamic exponent 1/2, while in asymmetric mixtures our data establish the break down of scale invariance.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figure

Cosmological Implications of Neutrinos

The lectures describe several cosmological effects produced by neutrinos. Upper and lower cosmological limits on neutrino mass are derived. The role that neutrinos may play in formation of large scale structure of the universe is described and neutrino mass limits are presented. Effects of neutrinos on cosmological background radiation and on big bang nucleosynthesis are discussed. Limits on the number of neutrino flavors and mass/mixing are given.Comment: 41 page, 7 figures; lectures presented at ITEP Winter School, February, 2002; to be published in the Proceeding

Evaluating the health-related quality of life of the rare disease population in Hong Kong using EQ-5D 3-level

Objectives This study aimed to establish a normative profile of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of the rare disease (RD) population in Hong Kong (HK) and identify potential predictors. Methods Between March 2020 and October 2020, patients with RD and caregivers were recruited through Rare Disease Hong Kong, the largest RD patient group alliance in HK. HRQOL was derived using the EQ-5D 3-Level with reference to the established HK value set. Utility scores were stratified according to demographics and disease-related information. Multiple linear regression was performed to explore the associations between patient characteristics and HRQOL. Results A total of 286 patients, covering 107 unique RDs, reported a mean utility score of 0.53 (SD 0.36). Thirty patients (10.5%) reported negative utility scores, indicating worse-than-death health states. More problems were recorded in the “usual activities” and “self-care” dimensions. Univariate analyses revealed that neurologic diseases, high out-of-pocket expenditure, home modification, and living in public housing or subdivided flats/units were significantly associated with lower HRQOL. A total of 99 caregivers reported a mean utility score of 0.78 (SD 0.17), which was significantly associated with the utility score of patients they took care of (r = 0.32; P = .001). Conclusions The normative profile of the RD population was established, which revealed lower HRQOL in the RD population than other chronic disease groups and general population in HK. Findings were corroborated by evidence from other cohorts using EQ-5D, combined as part of a meta-analysis. Identifying predictors highlight areas that should be prioritized to improve HRQOL of RD population through clinical and psychosocial dimensions

Scaling and Crossover in the Large-N Model for Growth Kinetics

The dependence of the scaling properties of the structure factor on space dimensionality, range of interaction, initial and final conditions, presence or absence of a conservation law is analysed in the framework of the large-N model for growth kinetics. The variety of asymptotic behaviours is quite rich, including standard scaling, multiscaling and a mixture of the two. The different scaling properties obtained as the parameters are varied are controlled by a structure of fixed points with their domains of attraction. Crossovers arising from the competition between distinct fixed points are explicitely obtained. Temperature fluctuations below the critical temperature are not found to be irrelevant when the order parameter is conserved. The model is solved by integration of the equation of motion for the structure factor and by a renormalization group approach.Comment: 48 pages with 6 figures available upon request, plain LaTe

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results