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Widening the scope of virtual reality and augmented reality in dermatology
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are making headlines, pushing the boundaries of educational experiences and applicability in a variety of fields. Medicine has seen a rapid growth of utilization of these devices for various educational and practical purposes. With respect to the field of dermatology, very few uses are discussed in the literature. We briefly present the current status of VR/AR with regard to this specialty
Modification of the pattern informatics method for forecasting large earthquake events using complex eigenvectors
Recent studies have shown that real-valued principal component analysis can
be applied to earthquake fault systems for forecasting and prediction. In
addition, theoretical analysis indicates that earthquake stresses may obey a
wave-like equation, having solutions with inverse frequencies for a given fault
similar to those that characterize the time intervals between the largest
events on the fault. It is therefore desirable to apply complex principal
component analysis to develop earthquake forecast algorithms. In this paper we
modify the Pattern Informatics method of earthquake forecasting to take
advantage of the wave-like properties of seismic stresses and utilize the
Hilbert transform to create complex eigenvectors out of measured time series.
We show that Pattern Informatics analyses using complex eigenvectors create
short-term forecast hot-spot maps that differ from hot-spot maps created using
only real-valued data and suggest methods of analyzing the differences and
calculating the information gain.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to Tectonophysics on 30 August 200
Sympatric speciation in an age-structured population living on a lattice
A square lattice is introduced into the Penna model for biological aging in
order to study the evolution of diploid sexual populations under certain
conditions when one single locus in the individual's genome is considered as
identifier of species. The simulation results show, after several generations,
the flourishing and coexistence of two separate species in the same
environment, i.e., one original species splits up into two on the same
territory (sympatric speciation). As well, the mortalities obtained are in a
good agreement with the Gompertz law of exponential increase of mortality with
age.Comment: 5 pages including 3 encapsulated postscript (*.eps) figures; To
appear in European Physical Journal
Near mean-field behavior in the generalized Burridge-Knopoff earthquake model with variable range stress transfer
Simple models of earthquake faults are important for understanding the
mechanisms for their observed behavior in nature, such as Gutenberg-Richter
scaling. Because of the importance of long-range interactions in an elastic
medium, we generalize the Burridge-Knopoff slider-block model to include
variable range stress transfer. We find that the Burridge-Knopoff model with
long-range stress transfer exhibits qualitatively different behavior than the
corresponding long-range cellular automata models and the usual
Burridge-Knopoff model with nearest-neighbor stress transfer, depending on how
quickly the friction force weakens with increasing velocity. Extensive
simulations of quasiperiodic characteristic events, mode-switching phenomena,
ergodicity, and waiting-time distributions are also discussed. Our results are
consistent with the existence of a mean-field critical point and have important
implications for our understanding of earthquakes and other driven dissipative
systems.Comment: 24 pages 12 figures, revised version for Phys. Rev.
Lophophore of the Eocene brachiopod Terebratulina wardenensis Elliott
8 p., 2 fig.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm
Correlated Avalanche-Burst Invasion Percolation: Multifractal Origins of a Characteristic Self-Organized Critical System
We extend our previous model, avalanche-burst invasion percolation (AIP)model
by introducing long-range correlations between sites described by fractional
Brownian statistics. In our previous models with independent, random site
strengths, we reproduced a unique set of power-laws consistent with some of the
b-values observed during induced seismicity. We expand upon these models to
produce a family of critical exponents which would be characterized by the
local long-range correlations inherent to host sediment. Further, in previous
correlated invasion percolation studies, fractal behavior was found in only a
subset of the range of Hurst exponent, . We find fractal behavior persists
for the entire range of Hurst exponent. Additionally, we show how multiple
cluster scaling power laws results from changing the generalized Hurst
parameter controlling long-range site correlations, and gives rise to a truly
multifractal system. This emergent multifractal behavior plays a central role
in allowing us to extend our model to better account for variations in the
observed Gutenber-Richter b-values of induced seismicity.Comment: To be Published in Phys. Rev. E 202
Breaking a one-dimensional chain: fracture in 1 + 1 dimensions
The breaking rate of an atomic chain stretched at zero temperature by a
constant force can be calculated in a quasiclassical approximation by finding
the localized solutions ("bounces") of the equations of classical dynamics in
imaginary time. We show that this theory is related to the critical cracks of
stressed solids, because the world lines of the atoms in the chain form a
two-dimensional crystal, and the bounce is a crack configuration in (unstable)
mechanical equilibrium. Thus the tunneling time, Action, and breaking rate in
the limit of small forces are determined by the classical results of Griffith.
For the limit of large forces we give an exact bounce solution that describes
the quantum fracture and classical crack close to the limit of mechanical
stability. This limit can be viewed as a critical phenomenon for which we
establish a Levanyuk-Ginzburg criterion of weakness of fluctuations, and
propose a scaling argument for the critical regime. The post-tunneling dynamics
is understood by the analytic continuation of the bounce solutions to real
time.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
Trait compensation in marine gastropods: shell shape, avoidance behavior, and susceptibility to predation
Many organisms have evolved morphological and behavioral traits that reduce their susceptibility to predation. However, few studies have explicitly investigated the relationships between defensive traits and susceptibility. Here we demonstrate a negative correlation between morphological defenses and behavioral avoidance across several species of marine gastropod that is linked to vulnerability to crab predation. Snails that had relatively taller shell spires (high aspect ratio) showed greater responsiveness when exposed to predation cues than did species with disc-like shells (low aspect ratio). Our results suggest that the snail species most vulnerable to predation compensated by showing the highest levels of behavioral avoidance, and hence may be at a disadvantage in competition with less vulnerable species. This has important implications because the behavioral response of herbivorous gastropods to predation cues may play a central role in structuring rocky intertidal communities through trait-mediated indirect effects
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