9,814 research outputs found
Profile-Based Optimal Matchings in the Student-Project Allocation Problem
In the Student/Project Allocation problem (spa) we seek to assign students to individual or group projects offered by lecturers. Students provide a list of projects they find acceptable in order of preference. Each student can be assigned to at most one project and there are constraints on the maximum number of students that can be assigned to each project and lecturer. We seek matchings of students to projects that are optimal with respect to profile, which is a vector whose rth component indicates how many students have their rth-choice project. We present an efficient algorithm for finding agreedy maximum matching in the spa context â this is a maximum matching whose profile is lexicographically maximum. We then show how to adapt this algorithm to find a generous maximum matching â this is a matching whose reverse profile is lexicographically minimum. Our algorithms involve finding optimal flows in networks. We demonstrate how this approach can allow for additional constraints, such as lecturer lower quotas, to be handled flexibly
Climate and soil moisture content during development ofthe frst palaeosol in the southern Loess Plateau
The scientific problems concerning Quaternary soil water content and the water cycle have not been researched. This study examined the soil water content and depth of distribution of gravitational water in the south Loess Plateau during development of the first palaeosol layer (S1) by methods such as field investigation, electron microscopy, energy spectrum analysis, chemical analysis, and so on. The purpose was to reveal the climate, water balance and vegetation type at the time when S1 developed. The depth of migration of CaCO3 and Sr were 4.2 m below the upper boundary of the S1 palaeosol, and the depth of weathered loess beneath the argillic horizon was 4.0 m. Ferriâargillans developed well in the argillic horizon and their depth of migration was 1 m below the argillic horizon. These findings suggest that the climate during the last interglacial was subtropical and humid, and the soilâwater balance was positive. Gravitational water was present to a depth of least 4.2 m from the top of S1, and the water content was adequate for tree growth. The chemical weathering index showed that this palaeosol has been moderately weathered
Necrotic tumor growth: an analytic approach
The present paper deals with a free boundary problem modeling the growth
process of necrotic multi-layer tumors. We prove the existence of flat
stationary solutions and determine the linearization of our model at such an
equilibrium. Finally, we compute the solutions of the stationary linearized
problem and comment on bifurcation.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Pan-African metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Khanka Massif, NE China: Further evidence regarding their affinity
The Khanka Massif is a crustal block located along the eastern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) and bordered to the east by Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous circum-Pacific accretionary complexes of the Eastern Asian continental margin. It consists of graphite-, sillimanite- and cordierite-bearing gneisses, carbonates and felsic paragneisses, in association with various orthogneisses. Metamorphic zircons from a sillimanite gneiss from the Hutou complex yield a weighted mean 206Pb/ 238U age of 490 ± 4 Ma, whereas detrital zircons from the same sample give ages from 934-610 Ma. Magmatic zircon cores in two garnet-bearing granite gneiss samples, also collected from the Hutou complex, yield weighted mean 206Pb/ 238U ages of 522 ± 5 Ma and 515 ± 8 Ma, whereas their metamorphic rims record 206Pb/ 238U ages of 510-500 Ma. These data indicate that the Hutou complex in the Khanka Massif records early Palaeozoic magmatic and metamorphic events, identical in age to those in the Mashan Complex of the Jiamusi Massif to the west. The older zircon populations in the sillimanite gneiss indicate derivation from Neoproterozoic sources, as do similar rocks in the Jiamusi Massif. These data confirm that the Khanka Massif has a close affinity with other major components of the CAOB to the west of the Dun-Mi Fault. Based on these results and previously published data, the Khanka Massif is therefore confirmed as having formed a single crustal entity with the Jiamusi (and possibly the Bureya) massif since Neoproterozoic time. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010.published_or_final_versio
Efficacy optimization of plasma-activated water for food sanitization through two reactor design configurations
The chemistry, antimicrobial efficacy and energy consumption of plasma-activated water (PAW) was optimized by altering the discharge frequency, ground-electrode configuration, gas flow rate and initial water conductivity for two reactor configurations, i.e., air pin-to-liquid discharge and air plasma-bubble discharge in water. The ratio of NO2â and NO3â formation was altered to optimise the antimicrobial effects of PAW, tested against two Gram-negative bacteria. An initial solution conductivity of 0.2 S·mâ1 and 2000-Hz discharge frequency with the ground electrode positioned inside the pin reactor showed the highest antimicrobial effect resulting in a 3.99 ± 0.13-log10 reduction within 300 s against Escherichia coli and 5.90 ± 0.24-log10 reduction within 240 s for Salmonella Typhimurium. An excellent energy efficiency of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generation of 10.1 ± 0.1 g·kWâ1·hâ1 was achieved. Industrial relevance: Plasma-activated water (PAW) is deemed as an eco-friendly alternative to chemical disinfection because its bactericidal activity is temporary. Optimizing the design and operation of PAW reactors to achieve high inactivation rates of more than 5-log10 reductions, as demonstrated in this work, will support the industrial application of this technology and the scaleup at industrial level
Strategies used as spectroscopy of financial markets reveal new stylized facts
We propose a new set of stylized facts quantifying the structure of financial
markets. The key idea is to study the combined structure of both investment
strategies and prices in order to open a qualitatively new level of
understanding of financial and economic markets. We study the detailed order
flow on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange of China for the whole year of 2003. This
enormous dataset allows us to compare (i) a closed national market (A-shares)
with an international market (B-shares), (ii) individuals and institutions and
(iii) real investors to random strategies with respect to timing that share
otherwise all other characteristics. We find that more trading results in
smaller net return due to trading frictions. We unveiled quantitative power
laws with non-trivial exponents, that quantify the deterioration of performance
with frequency and with holding period of the strategies used by investors.
Random strategies are found to perform much better than real ones, both for
winners and losers. Surprising large arbitrage opportunities exist, especially
when using zero-intelligence strategies. This is a diagnostic of possible
inefficiencies of these financial markets.Comment: 13 pages including 5 figures and 1 tabl
Single to Double Hump Transition in the Equilibrium Distribution Function of Relativistic Particles
We unveil a transition from single peaked to bimodal velocity distribution in
a relativistic fluid under increasing temperature, in contrast with a
non-relativistic gas, where only a monotonic broadening of the bell-shaped
distribution is observed. Such transition results from the interplay between
the raise in thermal energy and the constraint of maximum velocity imposed by
the speed of light. We study the Bose-Einstein, the Fermi-Dirac, and the
Maxwell-J\"uttner distributions, all exhibiting the same qualitative behavior.
We characterize the nature of the transition in the framework of critical
phenomena and show that it is either continuous or discontinuous, depending on
the group velocity. We analyze the transition in one, two, and three
dimensions, with special emphasis on two-dimensions, for which a possible
experiment in graphene, based on the measurement of the Johnson-Nyquist noise,
is proposed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Facilitating Joint Chaos and Fractal Analysis of Biosignals through Nonlinear Adaptive Filtering
Background: Chaos and random fractal theories are among the most important for fully characterizing nonlinear dynamics of complicated multiscale biosignals. Chaos analysis requires that signals be relatively noise-free and stationary, while fractal analysis demands signals to be non-rhythmic and scale-free. Methodology/Principal Findings: To facilitate joint chaos and fractal analysis of biosignals, we present an adaptive algorithm, which: (1) can readily remove nonstationarities from the signal, (2) can more effectively reduce noise in the signals than linear filters, wavelet denoising, and chaos-based noise reduction techniques; (3) can readily decompose a multiscale biosignal into a series of intrinsically bandlimited functions; and (4) offers a new formulation of fractal and multifractal analysis that is better than existing methods when a biosignal contains a strong oscillatory component. Conclusions: The presented approach is a valuable, versatile tool for the analysis of various types of biological signals. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by offering new important insights into brainwave dynamics and the very high accuracy in automatically detecting epileptic seizures from EEG signals
Hemodynamic, Functional, and Clinical Responses to Pulmonary Artery Denervation in Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension of Different Causes: Phase II Results From the Pulmonary Artery Denervation-1 Study
BackgroundâThe mechanisms underlying pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are multifactorial. The efficacy of
pulmonary artery denervation (PADN) for idiopathic PAH treatment has been evaluated. This study aimed to analyze the
hemodynamic, functional, and clinical responses to PADN in patients with PAH of different causes.
Methods and ResultsâBetween April 2012 and April 2014, 66 consecutive patients with a resting mean pulmonary arterial
pressure â„25 mmHg treated with PADN were prospectively followed up. Target drugs were discontinued after the PADN
procedure. Hemodynamic response and 6-minute walk distance were repeatedly measured within the 1 year post PADN
follow-up. The clinical end point was the occurrence of PAH-related events at the 1-year follow-up. There were no PADNrelated
complications. Hemodynamic success (defined as the reduction in mean pulmonary arterial pressure by a minimal
10% post PADN) was achieved in 94% of all patients, with a mean absolute reduction in systolic pulmonary arterial
pressure and mean pulmonary arterial pressure within 24 hours of â10 mmHg and â7 mmHg, respectively. The average
increment in 6-minute walk distance after PADN was 94 m. Worse PAH-related events occurred in 10 patients (15%),
mostly driven by the worsening of PAH (12%). There were 8 (12%) all-cause deaths, with 6 (9%) PAH-related deaths.
ConclusionsâPADN was safe and feasible for the treatment of PAH. The PADN procedure was associated with significant
improvements in hemodynamic function, exercise capacity, and cardiac function and with less frequent PAH-related
events and death at 1 year after PADN treatment. Further randomized studies are required to confirm the efficacy of
PADN for PAH
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