210 research outputs found
Stationary solutions of driven fourth- and sixth-order Cahn-Hilliard type equations
New types of stationary solutions of a one-dimensional driven sixth-order
Cahn-Hilliard type equation that arises as a model for epitaxially growing
nano-structures such as quantum dots, are derived by an extension of the method
of matched asymptotic expansions that retains exponentially small terms. This
method yields analytical expressions for far-field behavior as well as the
widths of the humps of these spatially non-monotone solutions in the limit of
small driving force strength which is the deposition rate in case of epitaxial
growth. These solutions extend the family of the monotone kink and antikink
solutions. The hump spacing is related to solutions of the Lambert
function. Using phase space analysis for the corresponding fifth-order
dynamical system, we use a numerical technique that enables the efficient and
accurate tracking of the solution branches, where the asymptotic solutions are
used as initial input. Additionally, our approach is first demonstrated for the
related but simpler driven fourth-order Cahn-Hilliard equation, also known as
the convective Cahn-Hilliard equation
Bayesian Learning of Gas Transport in Three-Dimensional Fracture Networks
Modeling gas flow through fractures of subsurface rock is a particularly
challenging problem because of the heterogeneous nature of the material.
High-fidelity simulations using discrete fracture network (DFN) models are one
methodology for predicting gas particle breakthrough times at the surface, but
are computationally demanding. We propose a Bayesian machine learning method
that serves as an efficient surrogate model, or emulator, for these
three-dimensional DFN simulations. Our model trains on a small quantity of
simulation data and, using a graph/path-based decomposition of the fracture
network, rapidly predicts quantiles of the breakthrough time distribution. The
approach, based on Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), outputs predictions that
are within 20-30% of high-fidelity DFN simulation results. Unlike previously
proposed methods, it also provides uncertainty quantification, outputting
confidence intervals that are essential given the uncertainty inherent in
subsurface modeling. Our trained model runs within a fraction of a second,
which is considerably faster than other methods with comparable accuracy and
multiple orders of magnitude faster than high-fidelity simulations
The return of the four- and five-dimensional preons
We prove the existence of 3/4-BPS preons in four- and five-dimensional gauged
supergravities by explicitly constructing them as smooth quotients of the AdS_4
and AdS_5 maximally supersymmetric backgrounds, respectively. This result
illustrates how the spacetime topology resurrects a fraction of supersymmetry
previously ruled out by the local analysis of the Killing spinor equations.Comment: 10 pages (a minor imprecision has been corrected
On the maximal superalgebras of supersymmetric backgrounds
In this note we give a precise definition of the notion of a maximal
superalgebra of certain types of supersymmetric supergravity backgrounds,
including the Freund-Rubin backgrounds, and propose a geometric construction
extending the well-known construction of its Killing superalgebra. We determine
the structure of maximal Lie superalgebras and show that there is a finite
number of isomorphism classes, all related via contractions from an
orthosymplectic Lie superalgebra. We use the structure theory to show that
maximally supersymmetric waves do not possess such a maximal superalgebra, but
that the maximally supersymmetric Freund-Rubin backgrounds do. We perform the
explicit geometric construction of the maximal superalgebra of AdS_4 x S^7 and
find that is isomorphic to osp(1|32). We propose an algebraic construction of
the maximal superalgebra of any background asymptotic to AdS_4 x S^7 and we
test this proposal by computing the maximal superalgebra of the M2-brane in its
two maximally supersymmetric limits, finding agreement.Comment: 17 page
Microbial Lag Phase can be Indicative of, or Independent From, Cellular Stress
Measures of microbial growth, used as indicators of cellular stress, are sometimes quantified at a single time-point. In reality, these measurements are compound representations of length of lag, exponential growth-rate, and other factors. Here, we investigate whether length of lag phase can act as a proxy for stress, using a number of model systems (Aspergillus penicillioides; Bacillus subtilis; Escherichia coli; Eurotium amstelodami, E. echinulatum, E. halophilicum, and E. repens; Mrakia frigida; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Xerochrysium xerophilum; Xeromyces bisporus) exposed to mechanistically distinct types of cellular stress including low water activity, other solute-induced stresses, and dehydration-rehydration cycles. Lag phase was neither proportional to germination rate for X. bisporus (FRR3443) in glycerol-supplemented media (r2 = 0.012), nor to exponential growth-rates for other microbes. In some cases, growth-rates varied greatly with stressor concentration even when lag remained constant. By contrast, there were strong correlations for B. subtilis in media supplemented with polyethylene-glycol 6000 or 600 (r2 = 0.925 and 0.961), and for other microbial species. We also analysed data from independent studies of food-spoilage fungi under glycerol stress (Aspergillus aculeatinus and A. sclerotiicarbonarius); mesophilic/psychrotolerant bacteria under diverse, solute-induced stresses (Brochothrix thermosphacta, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus); and fungal enzymes under acid-stress (Terfezia claveryi lipoxygenase and Agaricus bisporus tyrosinase). These datasets also exhibited diversity, with some strong- and moderate correlations between length of lag and exponential growth-rates; and sometimes none. In conclusion, lag phase is not a reliable measure of stress because length of lag and growth-rate inhibition are sometimes highly correlated, and sometimes not at all
Towards transnational feminist queer methodologies
This article introduces the possibilities of transnational feminist queer research as seeking to conceptualise the transnational as a methodology composed of a series of flows that can augment feminist and queer research. Transnational feminist queer methodologies can contest long-standing configurations of power between researcher and researched, subject and object, academics and activists across places, typically those which are embedded in the hierarchies of the Global North/Global South. Beginning with charting our roots in, and routes through, the diverse arenas of transnational, feminist, participatory and queer methodologies, the article uses a transcribed and edited conversation between members of the Liveable Lives research team in Kolkata and Brighton, to start an exploration of transnational feminist queer methodologies. Understanding the difficult, yet constructive moments of collaborative work and dialogue, we argue for engagements with the multiplicities of ‘many-many' lives that recognise local specificities, and the complexities of lives within transnational research, avoiding creating a currency of comparison between places. We seek to work toward methodologies that take seriously the politics of place, namely by creating research that answers the same question in different places, using methods that are created in context and may not be ‘comparable'. Using a dialogue across the boundaries of activism/academia, as well as across geographical locations, the article contends that there are potentials, as well as challenges, in thinking ourselves through transnational research praxis. This seeks complexities and spatial nuances within as well as between places
Bodies on the margins: regulating bodies, regulatory bodies
Sport is all about bodies, but some bodies are seen as on the margins and policies are directed at re-situating them into the mainstream. This article explores some of the ways in which embodied selves are the target of diversity policies and practices, especially those implemented by fan-based, anti-racist organisations. I use the phenomenological concepts of lived bodies and embodied selves to explore some of the processes involved in addressing 'bodies on the margins' in sport. Sport has long been considered a site for the creation of healthy citizens, a tradition which has been rearticulated to encompass diverse groups of people who are seen as under-represented in sport. This article looks at which embodied selves are encouraged to participate by non-governmental regulatory bodies in sport, to investigate the tension between the positive and negative dimensions of diversity politics in sport, as an example of what Paul Gilroy calls 'conviviality'
Audit and feedback and clinical practice guideline adherence: Making feedback actionable
BACKGROUND: As a strategy for improving clinical practice guideline (CPG) adherence, audit and feedback (A&F) has been found to be variably effective, yet A&F research has not investigated the impact of feedback characteristics on its effectiveness. This paper explores how high performing facilities (HPF) and low performing facilities (LPF) differ in the way they use clinical audit data for feedback purposes. METHOD: Descriptive, qualitative, cross-sectional study of a purposeful sample of six Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) with high and low adherence to six CPGs, as measured by external chart review audits. One-hundred and two employees involved with outpatient CPG implementation across the six facilities participated in one-hour semi-structured interviews where they discussed strategies, facilitators and barriers to implementing CPGs. Interviews were analyzed using techniques from the grounded theory method. RESULTS: High performers provided timely, individualized, non-punitive feedback to providers, whereas low performers were more variable in their timeliness and non-punitiveness and relied on more standardized, facility-level reports. The concept of actionable feedback emerged as the core category from the data, around which timeliness, individualization, non-punitiveness, and customizability can be hierarchically ordered. CONCLUSION: Facilities with a successful record of guideline adherence tend to deliver more timely, individualized and non-punitive feedback to providers about their adherence than facilities with a poor record of guideline adherence. Consistent with findings from organizational research, feedback intervention characteristics may influence the feedback's effectiveness at changing desired behaviors
Limits of JT gravity
We construct various limits of JT gravity, including Newton-Cartan and
Carrollian versions of dilaton gravity in two dimensions as well as a theory on
the three-dimensional light cone. In the BF formulation our boundary conditions
relate boundary connection with boundary scalar, yielding as boundary action
the particle action on a group manifold or some Hamiltonian reduction thereof.
After recovering in our formulation the Schwarzian for JT, we show that
AdS-Carroll gravity yields a twisted warped boundary action. We comment on
numerous applications and generalizations.Comment: 41 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; v2: Matches published version +
Footnote 11; v3: Corrected typo in Carrollian/Galilean generalized dilaton
potentia
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