Susceptibility analysis of complex systems

A study of electromagnetic coupling effects on systems containing distributed elements and lumped linear components is presented. The structure is decomposed into sections containing multiconductor transmission lines and interconnection blocks holding lumped elements. The external field is assumed to interfere with line sections, but mutual influences among different sections are neglected. Both the sections and the blocks are treated as multiport components and characterized by their scattering parameters. The analysis is based on a correspondence matrix that accounts for the topology of connections between sections and blocks. Closed-form solutions are derived in the Laplace domain, and the temporal evolution of voltages and currents at any of the system ports is obtained by a numerical inversion. This method makes it possible to predict the susceptibility of complex systems and to verify the intra-system compatibility (especially crosstalk). The relative influence of circuit components and of line layouts on the severity of interferences is evidenced by simulation result

Susceptibility of Myzus persicae, Brevicoryne brassicae and Nasonovia ribisnigri to fungal biopesticides in laboratory and field experiments

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) for the control of aphid pests of field vegetable crops. Four biopesticides based on the EPF Beauveria bassiana (Botanigard ES and Naturalis L), Cordyceps fumosorosea s.l. (Preferal WG), and Akanthomyces dipterigenus (Vertalec) were evaluated in a laboratory bioassay against peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae, cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae, and currant-lettuce aphid Nasonovia ribisnigri. There was significant variation in the spore dose provided by the products, with Botanigard ES producing the highest dose (639 viable spores per mm2). Botanigard ES also caused more mortality than the other products. Combining Vertalec with the vegetable oil-based adjuvant Addit had an additive effect on the mortality of B. brassicae. All fungal products reduced the number of progeny produced by M. persicae but there was no effect with B. brassicae or N. ribisnigri. When aphid nymphs were treated with Botanigard ES and Preferal WG, both products reduced population development, with up to 86% reduction occurring for Botanigard ES against M. persicae. In a field experiment, Botanigard ES sprayed twice, at seven-day intervals, against B. brassicae on cabbage plants, reduced aphid numbers by 73%. In a second field experiment with B. brassicae, M. persicae, and N. ribisnigri, Botanigard ES reduced populations of B. brassicae and N. ribisnigri but there was no significant effect on M. persicae

Analysis of rare disruptive germline mutations in 2,135 enriched BRCA-negative breast cancers excludes additional high-impact susceptibility genes

Acknowledgements We thank all the subjects and families that participated in the research. We thank those at the ICR, past and present, for their assistance in patient recruitment, sample management, and management of the sequencing facility. We are grateful to all the clinicians and counsellors in The Breast and Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility Collaboration who have contributed to the recruitment and collection of samples. The full list of contributors is provided in the Appendix. Funding This work was supported by Cancer Research UK [grants numbers C8620/A8372, C8620/A8857]; the Institute of Cancer Research (no grant number); NHS to the Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden ras part of a joint entity referred to as the National Institute of Health Research Specialist Biomedical Research Centre for Cancer.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fidelity susceptibility in the two-dimensional spin-orbit models

We study the quantum phase transitions in the two-dimensional spin-orbit models in terms of fidelity susceptibility and reduced fidelity susceptibility. An order-to-order phase transition is identified by fidelity susceptibility in the two-dimensional Heisenberg XXZ model with Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction on a square lattice. The finite size scaling of fidelity susceptibility shows a power-law divergence at criticality, which indicates the quantum phase transition is of second order. Two distinct types of quantum phase transitions are witnessed by fidelity susceptibility in Kitaev-Heisenberg model on a hexagonal lattice. We exploit the symmetry of two-dimensional quantum compass model, and obtain a simple analytic expression of reduced fidelity susceptibility. Compared with the derivative of ground-state energy, the fidelity susceptibility is a bit more sensitive to phase transition. The violation of power-law behavior for the scaling of reduced fidelity susceptibility at criticality suggests that the quantum phase transition belongs to a first-order transition. We conclude that fidelity susceptibility and reduced fidelity susceptibility show great advantage to characterize diverse quantum phase transitions in spin-orbit models.Comment: 11 pages. 11 figure

Probing white-matter microstructure with higher-order diffusion tensors and susceptibility tensor MRI.

Diffusion MRI has become an invaluable tool for studying white matter microstructure and brain connectivity. The emergence of quantitative susceptibility mapping and susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) has provided another unique tool for assessing the structure of white matter. In the highly ordered white matter structure, diffusion MRI measures hindered water mobility induced by various tissue and cell membranes, while susceptibility sensitizes to the molecular composition and axonal arrangement. Integrating these two methods may produce new insights into the complex physiology of white matter. In this study, we investigated the relationship between diffusion and magnetic susceptibility in the white matter. Experiments were conducted on phantoms and human brains in vivo. Diffusion properties were quantified with the diffusion tensor model and also with the higher order tensor model based on the cumulant expansion. Frequency shift and susceptibility tensor were measured with quantitative susceptibility mapping and susceptibility tensor imaging. These diffusion and susceptibility quantities were compared and correlated in regions of single fiber bundles and regions of multiple fiber orientations. Relationships were established with similarities and differences identified. It is believed that diffusion MRI and susceptibility MRI provide complementary information of the microstructure of white matter. Together, they allow a more complete assessment of healthy and diseased brains