2,595 research outputs found
Entropy on Spin Factors
Recently it has been demonstrated that the Shannon entropy or the von Neuman
entropy are the only entropy functions that generate a local Bregman
divergences as long as the state space has rank 3 or higher. In this paper we
will study the properties of Bregman divergences for convex bodies of rank 2.
The two most important convex bodies of rank 2 can be identified with the bit
and the qubit. We demonstrate that if a convex body of rank 2 has a Bregman
divergence that satisfies sufficiency then the convex body is spectral and if
the Bregman divergence is monotone then the convex body has the shape of a
ball. A ball can be represented as the state space of a spin factor, which is
the most simple type of Jordan algebra. We also study the existence of recovery
maps for Bregman divergences on spin factors. In general the convex bodies of
rank 2 appear as faces of state spaces of higher rank. Therefore our results
give strong restrictions on which convex bodies could be the state space of a
physical system with a well-behaved entropy function.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure
Towards Emotion Recognition: A Persistent Entropy Application
Emotion recognition and classification is a very active area of research. In
this paper, we present a first approach to emotion classification using
persistent entropy and support vector machines. A topology-based model is
applied to obtain a single real number from each raw signal. These data are
used as input of a support vector machine to classify signals into 8 different
emotions (calm, happy, sad, angry, fearful, disgust and surprised)
Forces between clustered stereocilia minimize friction in the ear on a subnanometre scale
The detection of sound begins when energy derived from acoustic stimuli
deflects the hair bundles atop hair cells. As hair bundles move, the viscous
friction between stereocilia and the surrounding liquid poses a fundamental
challenge to the ear's high sensitivity and sharp frequency selectivity. Part
of the solution to this problem lies in the active process that uses energy for
frequency-selective sound amplification. Here we demonstrate that a
complementary part involves the fluid-structure interaction between the liquid
within the hair bundle and the stereocilia. Using force measurement on a
dynamically scaled model, finite-element analysis, analytical estimation of
hydrodynamic forces, stochastic simulation and high-resolution interferometric
measurement of hair bundles, we characterize the origin and magnitude of the
forces between individual stereocilia during small hair-bundle deflections. We
find that the close apposition of stereocilia effectively immobilizes the
liquid between them, which reduces the drag and suppresses the relative
squeezing but not the sliding mode of stereociliary motion. The obliquely
oriented tip links couple the mechanotransduction channels to this least
dissipative coherent mode, whereas the elastic horizontal top connectors
stabilize the structure, further reducing the drag. As measured from the
distortion products associated with channel gating at physiological stimulation
amplitudes of tens of nanometres, the balance of forces in a hair bundle
permits a relative mode of motion between adjacent stereocilia that encompasses
only a fraction of a nanometre. A combination of high-resolution experiments
and detailed numerical modelling of fluid-structure interactions reveals the
physical principles behind the basic structural features of hair bundles and
shows quantitatively how these organelles are adapted to the needs of sensitive
mechanotransduction.Comment: 21 pages, including 3 figures. For supplementary information, please
see the online version of the article at http://www.nature.com/natur
Information-theoretic postulates for quantum theory
Why are the laws of physics formulated in terms of complex Hilbert spaces?
Are there natural and consistent modifications of quantum theory that could be
tested experimentally? This book chapter gives a self-contained and accessible
summary of our paper [New J. Phys. 13, 063001, 2011] addressing these
questions, presenting the main ideas, but dropping many technical details. We
show that the formalism of quantum theory can be reconstructed from four
natural postulates, which do not refer to the mathematical formalism, but only
to the information-theoretic content of the physical theory. Our starting point
is to assume that there exist physical events (such as measurement outcomes)
that happen probabilistically, yielding the mathematical framework of "convex
state spaces". Then, quantum theory can be reconstructed by assuming that (i)
global states are determined by correlations between local measurements, (ii)
systems that carry the same amount of information have equivalent state spaces,
(iii) reversible time evolution can map every pure state to every other, and
(iv) positivity of probabilities is the only restriction on the possible
measurements.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. v3: some typos corrected and references updated.
Summarizes the argumentation and results of arXiv:1004.1483. Contribution to
the book "Quantum Theory: Informational Foundations and Foils", Springer
Verlag (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9789401773027), 201
FISH mapping of Philadelphia negative BCR/ABL1 positive CML
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens
Bisphenol A exposure in Mexico City and risk of prematurity: a pilot nested case control study
Abstract Background Presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) has been documented worldwide in a variety of human biological samples. There is growing evidence that low level BPA exposure may impact placental tissue development and thyroid function in humans. The aim of this present pilot study was to determine urinary concentrations of BPA during the last trimester of pregnancy among a small subset of women in Mexico City, Mexico and relate these concentrations to risk of delivering prematurely. Methods A nested case-control subset of 60 participants in the Early Life Exposure in Mexico to ENvironmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) study in Mexico City, Mexico were selected based on delivering less than or equal to 37 weeks of gestation and greater than 37 weeks of gestation. Third trimester archived spot urine samples were analyzed by online solid phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Results BPA was detected in 80.0% (N = 48) of the urine samples; total concentrations ranged from < 0.4 μg/L to 6.7 μg/L; uncorrected geometric mean was 1.52 μg/L. The adjusted odds ratio of delivering less than or equal to 37 weeks in relation to specific gravity adjusted third trimester BPA concentration was 1.91 (95%CI 0.93, 3.91, p-value = 0.08). When cases were further restricted to births occurring prior to the 37th week (n = 12), the odds ratio for specific-gravity adjusted BPA was larger and statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions This is the first study to document measurable levels of BPA in the urine of a population of Mexican women. This study also provides preliminary evidence, based on a single spot urine sample collected during the third trimester, that pregnant women who delivered less than or equal to 37 weeks of gestation and prematurely (< 37 weeks) had higher urinary concentrations of BPA compared to women delivering after 37 weeks.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78251/1/1476-069X-9-62.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78251/2/1476-069X-9-62.pdfPeer Reviewe
The Impact of Global Warming and Anoxia on Marine Benthic Community Dynamics: an Example from the Toarcian (Early Jurassic)
The Pliensbachian-Toarcian (Early Jurassic) fossil record is an archive of natural data of benthic community response to global warming and marine long-term hypoxia and anoxia. In the early Toarcian mean temperatures increased by the same order of magnitude as that predicted for the near future; laminated, organic-rich, black shales were deposited in many shallow water epicontinental basins; and a biotic crisis occurred in the marine realm, with the extinction of approximately 5% of families and 26% of genera. High-resolution quantitative abundance data of benthic invertebrates were collected from the Cleveland Basin (North Yorkshire, UK), and analysed with multivariate statistical methods to detect how the fauna responded to environmental changes during the early Toarcian. Twelve biofacies were identified. Their changes through time closely resemble the pattern of faunal degradation and recovery observed in modern habitats affected by anoxia. All four successional stages of community structure recorded in modern studies are recognised in the fossil data (i.e. Stage III: climax; II: transitional; I: pioneer; 0: highly disturbed). Two main faunal turnover events occurred: (i) at the onset of anoxia, with the extinction of most benthic species and the survival of a few adapted to thrive in low-oxygen conditions (Stages I to 0) and (ii) in the recovery, when newly evolved species colonized the re-oxygenated soft sediments and the path of recovery did not retrace of pattern of ecological degradation (Stages I to II). The ordination of samples coupled with sedimentological and palaeotemperature proxy data indicate that the onset of anoxia and the extinction horizon coincide with both a rise in temperature and sea level. Our study of how faunal associations co-vary with long and short term sea level and temperature changes has implications for predicting the long-term effects of “dead zones” in modern oceans
Diagn?stico del uso del fideicomiso como herramienta eficiente para promover proyectos de vivienda social masiva
La presente investigaci?n se propone los siguientes objetivos: - Proponer alternativas para mitigar el d?ficit habitacional a trav?s de lineamientos y pol?ticas de vivienda social masiva mejorando y ampliando los esquemas de financiamiento para los proyectos de vivienda social masiva. - Analizar la normativa peruana, identificar posibles deficiencias y proponer el uso de la figura del fideicomiso como mecanismo de acceso a la vivienda social para las mayor?as. - Proponer a trav?s del fideicomiso la construcci?n de viviendas para disminuir la autoconstrucci?n, las invasiones que permitan construcciones a menos costos, en zonas seguras y asegurar la calidad de vida de los pobladores de menos recursos
Chronic digital infection presenting with gross enlargement of the toes: two case reports and review of the literature
There are many conditions ranging from the benign to the malignant, which can present with enlargement of one or more digits. An understanding of the differential diagnosis is important such that the potentially serious aetiologies are not missed and patients can therefore be treated appropriately
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