Efficient adaptive integration of functions with sharp gradients and cusps in n-dimensional parallelepipeds

In this paper, we study the efficient numerical integration of functions with sharp gradients and cusps. An adaptive integration algorithm is presented that systematically improves the accuracy of the integration of a set of functions. The algorithm is based on a divide and conquer strategy and is independent of the location of the sharp gradient or cusp. The error analysis reveals that for a $C^0$ function (derivative-discontinuity at a point), a rate of convergence of $n+1$ is obtained in $R^n$. Two applications of the adaptive integration scheme are studied. First, we use the adaptive quadratures for the integration of the regularized Heaviside function---a strongly localized function that is used for modeling sharp gradients. Then, the adaptive quadratures are employed in the enriched finite element solution of the all-electron Coulomb problem in crystalline diamond. The source term and enrichment functions of this problem have sharp gradients and cusps at the nuclei. We show that the optimal rate of convergence is obtained with only a marginal increase in the number of integration points with respect to the pure finite element solution with the same number of elements. The adaptive integration scheme is simple, robust, and directly applicable to any generalized finite element method employing enrichments with sharp local variations or cusps in $n$-dimensional parallelepiped elements.Comment: 22 page

Tropical rainforest bird community structure in relation to altitude, tree species composition, and null models in the Western Ghats, India

Studies of species distributions on elevational gradients are essential to understand principles of community organisation as well as to conserve species in montane regions. This study examined the patterns of species richness, abundance, composition, range sizes, and distribution of rainforest birds at 14 sites along an elevational gradient (500-1400 m) in the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) of the Western Ghats, India. In contrast to theoretical expectation, resident bird species richness did not change significantly with elevation although the species composition changed substantially (<10% similarity) between the lowest and highest elevation sites. Constancy in species richness was possibly due to relative constancy in productivity and lack of elevational trends in vegetation structure. Elevational range size of birds, expected to increase with elevation according to Rapoport's rule, was found to show a contrasting inverse U-shaped pattern because species with narrow elevational distributions, including endemics, occurred at both ends of the gradient (below 800 m and above 1,200 m). Bird species composition also did not vary randomly along the gradient as assessed using a hierarchy of null models of community assembly, from completely unconstrained models to ones with species richness and range-size distribution restrictions. Instead, bird community composition was significantly correlated with elevation and tree species composition of sites, indicating the influence of deterministic factors on bird community structure. Conservation of low- and high-elevation areas and maintenance of tree species composition against habitat alteration are important for bird conservation in the southern Western Ghats rainforests.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figures, two tables (including one in the appendix) Submitted to the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS

Hybrid preconditioning for iterative diagonalization of ill-conditioned generalized eigenvalue problems in electronic structure calculations

The iterative diagonalization of a sequence of large ill-conditioned generalized eigenvalue problems is a computational bottleneck in quantum mechanical methods employing a nonorthogonal basis for {\em ab initio} electronic structure calculations. We propose a hybrid preconditioning scheme to effectively combine global and locally accelerated preconditioners for rapid iterative diagonalization of such eigenvalue problems. In partition-of-unity finite-element (PUFE) pseudopotential density-functional calculations, employing a nonorthogonal basis, we show that the hybrid preconditioned block steepest descent method is a cost-effective eigensolver, outperforming current state-of-the-art global preconditioning schemes, and comparably efficient for the ill-conditioned generalized eigenvalue problems produced by PUFE as the locally optimal block preconditioned conjugate-gradient method for the well-conditioned standard eigenvalue problems produced by planewave methods

Detection of Arsenic in Skin In Vivo Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (PXRF) Device

Arsenic is an element that is highly toxic in its inorganic form. It is widely distributed especially in water that becomes a primary source of exposure for human consumption. Chronic exposure can cause a variety of diseases such as lung cancer, bladder cancer, skin cancer, vascular diseases, and diabetes mellitus. Biomarkers for arsenic exposure are tissues that contain keratin such as hair, nails, and skin. Skin is an ideal biomarker due to its cumulative property that provides information about the individual long-term exposure to arsenic. Hence, a method for measuring arsenic levels in vivo will be useful to study the harmful effects of arsenic exposure. In this research, a portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) device was used to determine its feasibility of detecting and quantifying arsenic in human skin. Arsenic-doped skin phantoms were used to calibrate the system. These phantoms were made using a mixture of fiberglass resin, salt solution, arsenic standard solution, and liquid hardener. In order to simulate in vivo measurement setting, lucite was used as a backing material that mimics the underlying soft tissue. The device was set at its maximum tube voltage of 50kV, 40μA, and silver filter. Each fluorescence data was measured for 180 seconds. The instrumental minimum detection limit (MDL) obtained using the phantoms alone is 0.17ppm. Meanwhile, the MDL obtained for a setup involving phantoms and lucite thickness of 4.44mm and 9.78mm are 0.21ppm and 0.23ppm respectively

Stabilization-free virtual element method for plane elasticity

We present the construction and application of a first order stabilization-free virtual element method to problems in plane elasticity. Well-posedness and error estimates of the discrete problem are established. The method is assessed on a series of well-known benchmark problems from linear elasticity and numerical results are presented that affirm the optimal convergence rate of the virtual element method in the $L^2$ norm and the energy seminorm.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figure