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Sample records for unit normal vector

  1. Control-group feature normalization for multivariate pattern analysis of structural MRI data using the support vector machine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linn, Kristin A; Gaonkar, Bilwaj; Satterthwaite, Theodore D; Doshi, Jimit; Davatzikos, Christos; Shinohara, Russell T

    2016-05-15

    Normalization of feature vector values is a common practice in machine learning. Generally, each feature value is standardized to the unit hypercube or by normalizing to zero mean and unit variance. Classification decisions based on support vector machines (SVMs) or by other methods are sensitive to the specific normalization used on the features. In the context of multivariate pattern analysis using neuroimaging data, standardization effectively up- and down-weights features based on their individual variability. Since the standard approach uses the entire data set to guide the normalization, it utilizes the total variability of these features. This total variation is inevitably dependent on the amount of marginal separation between groups. Thus, such a normalization may attenuate the separability of the data in high dimensional space. In this work we propose an alternate approach that uses an estimate of the control-group standard deviation to normalize features before training. We study our proposed approach in the context of group classification using structural MRI data. We show that control-based normalization leads to better reproducibility of estimated multivariate disease patterns and improves the classifier performance in many cases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Normal equivariant forms of vector fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez Bringas, F.

    1992-07-01

    We prove a theorem of linearization of type Siegel and a theorem of normal forms of type Poincare-Dulac for germs of holomorphic vector fields in the origin of C 2 , Γ -equivariants, where Γ is a finite subgroup of GL (2,C). (author). 5 refs

  3. On the approximative normal values of multivalued operators in topological vector space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen Minh Chuong; Khuat van Ninh

    1989-09-01

    In this paper the problem of approximation of normal values of multivalued linear closed operators from topological vector Mackey space into E-space is considered. Existence of normal value and convergence of approximative values to normal value are proved. (author). 4 refs

  4. Reflection and transmission of normally incident full-vector X waves on planar interfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed; Bagci, Hakan

    2011-01-01

    The reflection and transmission of full-vector X waves normally incident on planar half-spaces and slabs are studied. For this purpose, X waves are expanded in terms of weighted vector Bessel beams; this new decomposition and reconstruction method

  5. An Investigation of the High Efficiency Estimation Approach of the Large-Scale Scattered Point Cloud Normal Vector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianglin Meng

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The normal vector estimation of the large-scale scattered point cloud (LSSPC plays an important role in point-based shape editing. However, the normal vector estimation for LSSPC cannot meet the great challenge of the sharp increase of the point cloud that is mainly attributed to its low computational efficiency. In this paper, a novel, fast method-based on bi-linear interpolation is reported on the normal vector estimation for LSSPC. We divide the point sets into many small cubes to speed up the local point search and construct interpolation nodes on the isosurface expressed by the point cloud. On the premise of calculating the normal vectors of these interpolated nodes, a normal vector bi-linear interpolation of the points in the cube is realized. The proposed approach has the merits of accurate, simple, and high efficiency, because the algorithm only needs to search neighbor and calculates normal vectors for interpolation nodes that are usually far less than the point cloud. The experimental results of several real and simulated point sets show that our method is over three times faster than the Elliptic Gabriel Graph-based method, and the average deviation is less than 0.01 mm.

  6. Normal forms of invariant vector fields under a finite group action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez Bringas, F.

    1992-07-01

    Let Γ be a finite subgroup of GL(n,C). This subgroup acts on the space of germs of holomorphic vector fields vanishing at the origin in C n . We prove a theorem of invariant conjugation to a normal form and linearization for the subspace of invariant elements and we give a description of these normal forms in dimension n=2. (author)

  7. Datum Feature Extraction and Deformation Analysis Method Based on Normal Vector of Point Cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, W.; Wang, J.; Jin, F.; Liang, Z.; Yang, Y.

    2018-04-01

    In order to solve the problem lacking applicable analysis method in the application of three-dimensional laser scanning technology to the field of deformation monitoring, an efficient method extracting datum feature and analysing deformation based on normal vector of point cloud was proposed. Firstly, the kd-tree is used to establish the topological relation. Datum points are detected by tracking the normal vector of point cloud determined by the normal vector of local planar. Then, the cubic B-spline curve fitting is performed on the datum points. Finally, datum elevation and the inclination angle of the radial point are calculated according to the fitted curve and then the deformation information was analyzed. The proposed approach was verified on real large-scale tank data set captured with terrestrial laser scanner in a chemical plant. The results show that the method could obtain the entire information of the monitor object quickly and comprehensively, and reflect accurately the datum feature deformation.

  8. An introduction to vectors, vector operators and vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Joag, Pramod S

    2016-01-01

    Ideal for undergraduate and graduate students of science and engineering, this book covers fundamental concepts of vectors and their applications in a single volume. The first unit deals with basic formulation, both conceptual and theoretical. It discusses applications of algebraic operations, Levi-Civita notation, and curvilinear coordinate systems like spherical polar and parabolic systems and structures, and analytical geometry of curves and surfaces. The second unit delves into the algebra of operators and their types and also explains the equivalence between the algebra of vector operators and the algebra of matrices. Formulation of eigen vectors and eigen values of a linear vector operator are elaborated using vector algebra. The third unit deals with vector analysis, discussing vector valued functions of a scalar variable and functions of vector argument (both scalar valued and vector valued), thus covering both the scalar vector fields and vector integration.

  9. Normal mammogram detection based on local probability difference transforms and support vector machines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiracharit, W.; Kumhom, P.; Chamnongthai, K.; Sun, Y.; Delp, E.J.; Babbs, C.F

    2007-01-01

    Automatic detection of normal mammograms, as a ''first look'' for breast cancer, is a new approach to computer-aided diagnosis. This approach may be limited, however, by two main causes. The first problem is the presence of poorly separable ''crossed-distributions'' in which the correct classification depends upon the value of each feature. The second problem is overlap of the feature distributions that are extracted from digitized mammograms of normal and abnormal patients. Here we introduce a new Support Vector Machine (SVM) based method utilizing with the proposed uncrossing mapping and Local Probability Difference (LPD). Crossed-distribution feature pairs are identified and mapped into a new features that can be separated by a zero-hyperplane of the new axis. The probability density functions of the features of normal and abnormal mammograms are then sampled and the local probability difference functions are estimated to enhance the features. From 1,000 ground-truth-known mammograms, 250 normal and 250 abnormal cases, including spiculated lesions, circumscribed masses or microcalcifications, are used for training a support vector machine. The classification results tested with another 250 normal and 250 abnormal sets show improved testing performances with 90% sensitivity and 89% specificity. (author)

  10. Method of dynamic fuzzy symptom vector in intelligent diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Hongyan; Jiang Xuefeng

    2010-01-01

    Aiming at the requirement of diagnostic symptom real-time updating brought from diagnostic knowledge accumulation and great gap in unit and value of diagnostic symptom in multi parameters intelligent diagnosis, the method of dynamic fuzzy symptom vector is proposed. The concept of dynamic fuzzy symptom vector is defined. Ontology is used to specify the vector elements, and the vector transmission method based on ontology is built. The changing law of symptom value is analyzed and fuzzy normalization method based on fuzzy membership functions is built. An instance proved method of dynamic fussy symptom vector is efficient to solve the problems of symptom updating and unify of symptom value and unit. (authors)

  11. A Note on the First Integrals of Vector Fields with Integrating Factors and Normalizers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaume Llibre

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available We prove a sufficient condition for the existence of explicit first integrals for vector fields which admit an integrating factor. This theorem recovers and extends previous results in the literature on the integrability of vector fields which are volume preserving and possess nontrivial normalizers. Our approach is geometric and coordinate-free and hence it works on any smooth orientable manifold.

  12. Reflection and transmission of normally incident full-vector X waves on planar interfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed

    2011-12-23

    The reflection and transmission of full-vector X waves normally incident on planar half-spaces and slabs are studied. For this purpose, X waves are expanded in terms of weighted vector Bessel beams; this new decomposition and reconstruction method offers a more lucid and intuitive interpretation of the physical phenomena observed upon the reflection or transmission of X waves when compared to the conventional plane-wave decomposition technique. Using the Bessel beam expansion approach, we have characterized changes in the field shape and the intensity distribution of the transmitted and reflected full-vector X waves. We have also identified a novel longitudinal shift, which is observed when a full-vector X wave is transmitted through a dielectric slab under frustrated total reflection condition. The results of our studies presented here are valuable in understanding the behavior of full-vector X waves when they are utilized in practical applications in electromagnetics, optics, and photonics, such as trap and tweezer setups, optical lithography, and immaterial probing. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

  13. Assessment of Climate Change and Vector-borne Diseases in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monaghan, A. J.; Beard, C. B.; Eisen, R. J.; Barker, C. M.; Garofalo, J.; Hahn, M.; Hayden, M.; Ogden, N.; Schramm, P.

    2016-12-01

    Vector-borne diseases are illnesses that are transmitted by vectors, which include mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. The seasonality, distribution, and prevalence of vector-borne diseases are influenced significantly by climate factors, primarily high and low temperature extremes and precipitation patterns. In this presentation we summarize key findings from Chapter 5 ("Vector-borne Diseases") of the recently published USGCRP Scientific Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States. Climate change is expected to alter geographic and seasonal distributions of vectors and vector-borne diseases, leading to earlier activity and northward range expansion of ticks capable of carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and other pathogens, and influencing the distribution, abundance and prevalence of infection in mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus and other pathogens. The emergence or reemergence of vector-borne pathogens is also likely.

  14. Reflection and transmission of full-vector X-waves normally incident on dielectric half spaces

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed

    2011-08-01

    The reflection and transmission of full-vector X-Waves incident normally on a planar interface between two lossless dielectric half-spaces are investigated. Full-vector X-Waves are obtained by superimposing transverse electric and magnetic polarization components, which are derived from the scalar X-Wave solution. The analysis of transmission and reflection is carried out via a straightforward but yet effective method: First, the X-Wave is decomposed into vector Bessel beams via the Bessel-Fourier transform. Then, the reflection and transmission coefficients of the beams are obtained in the spectral domain. Finally, the transmitted and reflected X-Waves are obtained via the inverse Bessel-Fourier transform carried out on the X-wave spectrum weighted with the corresponding coefficient. © 2011 IEEE.

  15. Precise on-machine extraction of the surface normal vector using an eddy current sensor array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Yongqing; Lian, Meng; Liu, Haibo; Ying, Yangwei; Sheng, Xianjun

    2016-01-01

    To satisfy the requirements of on-machine measurement of the surface normal during complex surface manufacturing, a highly robust normal vector extraction method using an Eddy current (EC) displacement sensor array is developed, the output of which is almost unaffected by surface brightness, machining coolant and environmental noise. A precise normal vector extraction model based on a triangular-distributed EC sensor array is first established. Calibration of the effects of object surface inclination and coupling interference on measurement results, and the relative position of EC sensors, is involved. A novel apparatus employing three EC sensors and a force transducer was designed, which can be easily integrated into the computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool spindle and/or robot terminal execution. Finally, to test the validity and practicability of the proposed method, typical experiments were conducted with specified testing pieces using the developed approach and system, such as an inclined plane and cylindrical and spherical surfaces. (paper)

  16. Precise on-machine extraction of the surface normal vector using an eddy current sensor array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yongqing; Lian, Meng; Liu, Haibo; Ying, Yangwei; Sheng, Xianjun

    2016-11-01

    To satisfy the requirements of on-machine measurement of the surface normal during complex surface manufacturing, a highly robust normal vector extraction method using an Eddy current (EC) displacement sensor array is developed, the output of which is almost unaffected by surface brightness, machining coolant and environmental noise. A precise normal vector extraction model based on a triangular-distributed EC sensor array is first established. Calibration of the effects of object surface inclination and coupling interference on measurement results, and the relative position of EC sensors, is involved. A novel apparatus employing three EC sensors and a force transducer was designed, which can be easily integrated into the computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool spindle and/or robot terminal execution. Finally, to test the validity and practicability of the proposed method, typical experiments were conducted with specified testing pieces using the developed approach and system, such as an inclined plane and cylindrical and spherical surfaces.

  17. Super Normal Vector for Human Activity Recognition with Depth Cameras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiaodong; Tian, YingLi

    2017-05-01

    The advent of cost-effectiveness and easy-operation depth cameras has facilitated a variety of visual recognition tasks including human activity recognition. This paper presents a novel framework for recognizing human activities from video sequences captured by depth cameras. We extend the surface normal to polynormal by assembling local neighboring hypersurface normals from a depth sequence to jointly characterize local motion and shape information. We then propose a general scheme of super normal vector (SNV) to aggregate the low-level polynormals into a discriminative representation, which can be viewed as a simplified version of the Fisher kernel representation. In order to globally capture the spatial layout and temporal order, an adaptive spatio-temporal pyramid is introduced to subdivide a depth video into a set of space-time cells. In the extensive experiments, the proposed approach achieves superior performance to the state-of-the-art methods on the four public benchmark datasets, i.e., MSRAction3D, MSRDailyActivity3D, MSRGesture3D, and MSRActionPairs3D.

  18. Local normal vector field formulation for periodic scattering problems formulated in the spectral domain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Beurden, M.C.; Setija, Irwan

    2017-01-01

    We present two adapted formulations, one tailored to isotropic media and one for general anisotropic media, of the normal vector field framework previously introduced to improve convergence near arbitrarily shaped material interfaces in spectral simulation methods for periodic scattering geometries.

  19. Calibration-measurement unit for the automation of vector network analyzer measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Rolfes

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available With the availability of multi-port vector network analyzers, the need for automated, calibrated measurement facilities increases. In this contribution, a calibration-measurement unit is presented which realizes a repeatable automated calibration of the measurement setup as well as a user-friendly measurement of the device under test (DUT. In difference to commercially available calibration units, which are connected to the ports of the vector network analyzer preceding a measurement and which are then removed so that the DUT can be connected, the presented calibration-measurement unit is permanently connected to the ports of the VNA for the calibration as well as for the measurement of the DUT. This helps to simplify the calibrated measurement of complex scattering parameters. Moreover, a full integration of the calibration unit into the analyzer setup becomes possible. The calibration-measurement unit is based on a multiport switch setup of e.g. electromechanical relays. Under the assumption of symmetry of a switch, on the one hand the unit realizes the connection of calibration standards like one-port reflection standards and two-port through connections between different ports and on the other hand it enables the connection of the DUT. The calibration-measurement unit is applicable for two-port VNAs as well as for multiport VNAs. For the calibration of the unit, methods with completely known calibration standards like SOLT (short, open, load, through as well as self-calibration procedures like TMR or TLR can be applied.

  20. GPU Accelerated Vector Median Filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aras, Rifat; Shen, Yuzhong

    2011-01-01

    Noise reduction is an important step for most image processing tasks. For three channel color images, a widely used technique is vector median filter in which color values of pixels are treated as 3-component vectors. Vector median filters are computationally expensive; for a window size of n x n, each of the n(sup 2) vectors has to be compared with other n(sup 2) - 1 vectors in distances. General purpose computation on graphics processing units (GPUs) is the paradigm of utilizing high-performance many-core GPU architectures for computation tasks that are normally handled by CPUs. In this work. NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) paradigm is used to accelerate vector median filtering. which has to the best of our knowledge never been done before. The performance of GPU accelerated vector median filter is compared to that of the CPU and MPI-based versions for different image and window sizes, Initial findings of the study showed 100x improvement of performance of vector median filter implementation on GPUs over CPU implementations and further speed-up is expected after more extensive optimizations of the GPU algorithm .

  1. Combined tangential-normal vector elements for computing electric and magnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sachdev, S.; Cendes, Z.J.

    1993-01-01

    A direct method for computing electric and magnetic fields in two dimensions is developed. This method determines both the fields and fluxes directly from Maxwell's curl and divergence equations without introducing potential functions. This allows both the curl and the divergence of the field to be set independently in all elements. The technique is based on a new type of vector finite element that simultaneously interpolates to the tangential component of the electric or the magnetic field and the normal component of the electric or magnetic flux. Continuity conditions are imposed across element edges simply by setting like variables to be the same across element edges. This guarantees the continuity of the field and flux at the mid-point of each edge and that for all edges the average value of the tangential component of the field and of the normal component of the flux is identical

  2. PGMA-Based Cationic Nanoparticles with Polyhydric Iodine Units for Advanced Gene Vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yue; Hu, Hao; Yu, Bingran; Xu, Fu-Jian

    2016-11-16

    It is crucial for successful gene delivery to develop safe, effective, and multifunctional polycations. Iodine-based small molecules are widely used as contrast agents for CT imaging. Herein, a series of star-like poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA)-based cationic vectors (II-PGEA/II) with abundant flanking polyhydric iodine units are prepared for multifunctional gene delivery systems. The proposed II-PGEA/II star vector is composed of one iohexol intermediate (II) core and five ethanolamine (EA) and II-difunctionalized PGMA arms. The amphipathic II-PGEA/II vectors readily self-assemble into well-defined cationic nanoparticles, where massive hydroxyl groups can establish a hydration shell to stabilize the nanoparticles. The II introduction improves cell viabilities of polycations. Moreover, by controlling the suitable amount of introduced II units, the resultant II-PGEA/II nanoparticles can produce fairly good transfection performances in different cell lines. Particularly, the II-PGEA/II nanoparticles induce much better in vitro CT imaging abilities in tumor cells than iohexol (one commonly used commercial CT contrast agent). The present design of amphipathic PGMA-based nanoparticles with CT contrast agents would provide useful information for the development of new multifunctional gene delivery systems.

  3. Practical utilization of recombinant AAV vector reference standards: focus on vector genomes titration by free ITR qPCR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan D'Costa

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Clinical trials using recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV vectors have demonstrated efficacy and a good safety profile. Although the field is advancing quickly, vector analytics and harmonization of dosage units are still a limitation for commercialization. AAV reference standard materials (RSMs can help ensure product safety by controlling the consistency of assays used to characterize rAAV stocks. The most widely utilized unit of vector dosing is based on the encapsidated vector genome. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR is now the most common method to titer vector genomes (vg; however, significant inter- and intralaboratory variations have been documented using this technique. Here, RSMs and rAAV stocks were titered on the basis of an inverted terminal repeats (ITRs sequence-specific qPCR and we found an artificial increase in vg titers using a widely utilized approach. The PCR error was introduced by using single-cut linearized plasmid as the standard curve. This bias was eliminated using plasmid standards linearized just outside the ITR region on each end to facilitate the melting of the palindromic ITR sequences during PCR. This new “Free-ITR” qPCR delivers vg titers that are consistent with titers obtained with transgene-specific qPCR and could be used to normalize in-house product-specific AAV vector standards and controls to the rAAV RSMs. The free-ITR method, including well-characterized controls, will help to calibrate doses to compare preclinical and clinical data in the field.

  4. Practical utilization of recombinant AAV vector reference standards: focus on vector genomes titration by free ITR qPCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Costa, Susan; Blouin, Veronique; Broucque, Frederic; Penaud-Budloo, Magalie; François, Achille; Perez, Irene C; Le Bec, Christine; Moullier, Philippe; Snyder, Richard O; Ayuso, Eduard

    2016-01-01

    Clinical trials using recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors have demonstrated efficacy and a good safety profile. Although the field is advancing quickly, vector analytics and harmonization of dosage units are still a limitation for commercialization. AAV reference standard materials (RSMs) can help ensure product safety by controlling the consistency of assays used to characterize rAAV stocks. The most widely utilized unit of vector dosing is based on the encapsidated vector genome. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is now the most common method to titer vector genomes (vg); however, significant inter- and intralaboratory variations have been documented using this technique. Here, RSMs and rAAV stocks were titered on the basis of an inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) sequence-specific qPCR and we found an artificial increase in vg titers using a widely utilized approach. The PCR error was introduced by using single-cut linearized plasmid as the standard curve. This bias was eliminated using plasmid standards linearized just outside the ITR region on each end to facilitate the melting of the palindromic ITR sequences during PCR. This new "Free-ITR" qPCR delivers vg titers that are consistent with titers obtained with transgene-specific qPCR and could be used to normalize in-house product-specific AAV vector standards and controls to the rAAV RSMs. The free-ITR method, including well-characterized controls, will help to calibrate doses to compare preclinical and clinical data in the field.

  5. Improved Inference on Cointegrating Vectors in the Presence of a near Unit Root Using Adjusted Quantiles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Franchi, Massimo; Johansen, Søren

    2017-01-01

    It is well known that inference on the cointegrating relations in a vector autoregression (CVAR) is difficult in the presence of a near unit root. The test for a given cointegration vector can have rejection probabilities under the null, which vary from the nominal size to more than 90%. This paper...... formulates a CVAR model allowing for multiple near unit roots and analyses the asymptotic properties of the Gaussian maximum likelihood estimator. Then two critical value adjustments suggested by McCloskey (2017) for the test on the cointegrating relations are implemented for the model with a single near...... unit root, and it is found by simulation that they eliminate the serious size distortions, with a reasonable power for moderate values of the near unit root parameter. The findings are illustrated with an analysis of a number of different bivariate DGPs....

  6. Conformal Killing vectors in Robertson-Walker spacetimes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maartens, R.; Maharaj, S.d.

    1986-01-01

    It is well known that Robertson-Walker spacetimes admit a conformal Killingl vector normal to the spacelike homogeneous hypersurfaces. Because these spacetimes are conformally flat, there are a further eight conformal Killing vectors, which are neither normal nor tangent to the homogeneous hypersurfaces. The authors find these further conformal Killing vectors and the Lie algebra of the full G 15 of conformal motions. Conditions on the metric scale factor are determined which reduce some of the conformal Killing vectors to homothetic Killing vectors or Killing vectors, allowing one to regain in a unified way the known special geometries. The non-normal conformal Killing vectors provide a counter-example to show that conformal motions do not, in general, map a fluid flow conformally. These non-normal vectors are also used to find the general solution of the null geodesic equation and photon Liouville equation. (author)

  7. Improved inference on cointegrating vectors in the presence of a near unit root using adjusted quantiles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Franchi, Massimo; Johansen, Søren

    2017-01-01

    It is well known that inference on the cointegrating relations in a vector autoregression (CVAR) is difficult in the presence of a near unit root. The test for a given cointegration vector can have rejection probabilities under the null, which vary from the nominal size to more than 90%. This paper...... formulates a CVAR model allowing for many near unit roots and analyses the asymptotic properties of the Gaussian maximum likelihood estimator. Then a critical value adjustment suggested by McCloskey for the test on the cointegrating relations is implemented, and it is found by simulation that it eliminates...... size distortions and has reasonable power for moderate values of the near unit root parameter. The findings are illustrated with an analysis of a number of different bivariate DGPs....

  8. Improved inference on cointegrating vectors in the presence of a near unit root using adjusted quantiles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Franchi, Massimo; Johansen, Søren

    It is well known that inference on the cointegrating relations in a vector autoregression (CVAR) is difficult in the presence of a near unit root. The test for a given cointegration vector can have rejection probabilities under the null, which vary from the nominal size to more than 90%. This paper...... formulates a CVAR model allowing for many near unit roots and analyses the asymptotic properties of the Gaussian maximum likelihood estimator. Then a critical value adjustment suggested by McCloskey for the test on the cointegrating relations is implemented, and it is found by simulation that it eliminates...... size distortions and has reasonable power for moderate values of the near unit root parameter. The findings are illustrated with an analysis of a number of different bivariate DGPs....

  9. The Levi-Civita Tensor and Identities in Vector Analysis. Vector Field Identities. Modules and Monographs in Undergraduate Mathematics and Its Applications Project. UMAP Unit 427.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yiu, Chang-li; Wilde, Carroll O.

    Vector analysis is viewed to play a key role in many branches of engineering and the physical sciences. This unit is geared towards deriving identities and establishing "machinery" to make derivations a routine task. It is noted that the module is not an applications unit, but has as its primary objective the goal of providing science,…

  10. Group vector space method for estimating enthalpy of vaporization of organic compounds at the normal boiling point.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenying, Wei; Jinyu, Han; Wen, Xu

    2004-01-01

    The specific position of a group in the molecule has been considered, and a group vector space method for estimating enthalpy of vaporization at the normal boiling point of organic compounds has been developed. Expression for enthalpy of vaporization Delta(vap)H(T(b)) has been established and numerical values of relative group parameters obtained. The average percent deviation of estimation of Delta(vap)H(T(b)) is 1.16, which show that the present method demonstrates significant improvement in applicability to predict the enthalpy of vaporization at the normal boiling point, compared the conventional group methods.

  11. Climate variability and change in the United States: potential impacts on vector- and rodent-borne diseases.

    OpenAIRE

    Gubler, D J; Reiter, P; Ebi, K L; Yap, W; Nasci, R; Patz, J A

    2001-01-01

    Diseases such as plague, typhus, malaria, yellow fever, and dengue fever, transmitted between humans by blood-feeding arthropods, were once common in the United States. Many of these diseases are no longer present, mainly because of changes in land use, agricultural methods, residential patterns, human behavior, and vector control. However, diseases that may be transmitted to humans from wild birds or mammals (zoonoses) continue to circulate in nature in many parts of the country. Most vector...

  12. The Cross Product of Two Vectors Is Not Just Another Vector--A Major Misconception Being Perpetuated in Calculus and Vector Analysis Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elk, Seymour B.

    1997-01-01

    Suggests that the cross product of two vectors can be more easily and accurately explained by starting from the perspective of dyadics because then the concept of vector multiplication has a simple geometrical picture that encompasses both the dot and cross products in any number of dimensions in terms of orthogonal unit vector components. (AIM)

  13. Classification of Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectra from Normal and Malignant bladder tissues using Learning Vector Quantization Neural Network in Bladder Cancer Diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karemore, Gopal Raghunath; Mascarenhas, Kim Komal; Patil, Choudhary

    2008-01-01

    In the present work we discuss the potential of recently developed classification algorithm, Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ), for the analysis of Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) Spectra, recorded from normal and malignant bladder tissue samples. The algorithm is prototype based and inherently...

  14. Estimating normal mixture parameters from the distribution of a reduced feature vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guseman, L. F.; Peters, B. C., Jr.; Swasdee, M.

    1976-01-01

    A FORTRAN computer program was written and tested. The measurements consisted of 1000 randomly chosen vectors representing 1, 2, 3, 7, and 10 subclasses in equal portions. In the first experiment, the vectors are computed from the input means and covariances. In the second experiment, the vectors are 16 channel measurements. The starting covariances were constructed as if there were no correlation between separate passes. The biases obtained from each run are listed.

  15. Hierarchal scalar and vector tetrahedra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webb, J.P.; Forghani, B.

    1993-01-01

    A new set of scalar and vector tetrahedral finite elements are presented. The elements are hierarchal, allowing mixing of polynomial orders; scalar orders up to 3 and vector orders up to 2 are defined. The vector elements impose tangential continuity on the field but not normal continuity, making them suitable for representing the vector electric or magnetic field. Further, the scalar and vector elements are such that they can easily be used in the same mesh, a requirement of many quasi-static formulations. Results are presented for two 50 Hz problems: the Bath Cube, and TEAM Problem 7

  16. Business cycles and fertility dynamics in the United States: a vector autoregressive model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mocan, N H

    1990-01-01

    "Using vector-autoregressions...this paper shows that fertility moves countercyclically over the business cycle....[It] shows that the United States fertility is not governed by a deterministic trend as was assumed by previous studies. Rather, fertility evolves around a stochastic trend. It is shown that a bivariate analysis between fertility and unemployment yields a procyclical picture of fertility. However, when one considers the effects on fertility of early marriages and the divorce behavior as well as economic activity, fertility moves countercyclically." excerpt

  17. Vector wind and vector wind shear models 0 to 27 km altitude for Cape Kennedy, Florida, and Vandenberg AFB, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, O. E.

    1976-01-01

    The techniques are presented to derive several statistical wind models. The techniques are from the properties of the multivariate normal probability function. Assuming that the winds can be considered as bivariate normally distributed, then (1) the wind components and conditional wind components are univariate normally distributed, (2) the wind speed is Rayleigh distributed, (3) the conditional distribution of wind speed given a wind direction is Rayleigh distributed, and (4) the frequency of wind direction can be derived. All of these distributions are derived from the 5-sample parameter of wind for the bivariate normal distribution. By further assuming that the winds at two altitudes are quadravariate normally distributed, then the vector wind shear is bivariate normally distributed and the modulus of the vector wind shear is Rayleigh distributed. The conditional probability of wind component shears given a wind component is normally distributed. Examples of these and other properties of the multivariate normal probability distribution function as applied to Cape Kennedy, Florida, and Vandenberg AFB, California, wind data samples are given. A technique to develop a synthetic vector wind profile model of interest to aerospace vehicle applications is presented.

  18. Understanding Vector Fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curjel, C. R.

    1990-01-01

    Presented are activities that help students understand the idea of a vector field. Included are definitions, flow lines, tangential and normal components along curves, flux and work, field conservation, and differential equations. (KR)

  19. 77 FR 38857 - Design, Inspection, and Testing Criteria for Air Filtration and Adsorption Units of Normal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-29

    ... Filtration and Adsorption Units of Normal Atmosphere Cleanup Systems in Light-Water- Cooled Nuclear Power... Criteria for Air Filtration and Adsorption Units of Normal Atmosphere Cleanup Systems in Light-Water-Cooled... draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1280, ``Design, Inspection, and Testing Criteria for Air Filtration and...

  20. Archimedeanization of ordered vector spaces

    OpenAIRE

    Emelyanov, Eduard Yu.

    2014-01-01

    In the case of an ordered vector space with an order unit, the Archimedeanization method has been developed recently by V.I Paulsen and M. Tomforde. We present a general version of the Archimedeanization which covers arbitrary ordered vector spaces.

  1. Unit cell determination of epitaxial thin films based on reciprocal space vectors by high-resolution X-ray diffractometry

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Ping; Liu, Huajun; Chen, Zuhuang; Chen, Lang; Wang, John

    2013-01-01

    A new approach, based on reciprocal space vectors (RSVs), is developed to determine Bravais lattice types and accurate lattice parameters of epitaxial thin films by high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HR-XRD). The lattice parameters of single crystal substrates are employed as references to correct the systematic experimental errors of RSVs of thin films. The general procedure is summarized, involving correction of RSVs, derivation of raw unit cell, subsequent conversion to the Niggli unit ...

  2. Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti in the continental United States: a vector at the cool margin of its geographic range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisen, Lars; Moore, Chester G

    2013-05-01

    After more than a half century without recognized local dengue outbreaks in the continental United States, there were recent outbreaks of autochthonous dengue in the southern parts of Texas (2004-2005) and Florida (2009-2011). This dengue reemergence has provoked interest in the extent of the future threat posed by the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.), the primary vector of dengue and yellow fever viruses in urban settings, to human health in the continental United States. Ae. aegypti is an intriguing example of a vector species that not only occurs in the southernmost portions of the eastern United States today but also is incriminated as the likely primary vector in historical outbreaks of yellow fever as far north as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, from the 1690s to the 1820s. For vector species with geographic ranges limited, in part, by low temperature and cool range margins occurring in the southern part of the continental United States, as is currently the case for Ae. aegypti, it is tempting to speculate that climate warming may result in a northward range expansion (similar to that seen for Ixodes tick vectors of Lyme borreliosis spirochetes in Scandinavia and southern Canada in recent decades). Although there is no doubt that climate conditions directly impact many aspects of the life history of Ae. aegypti, this mosquito also is closely linked to the human environment and directly influenced by the availability of water-holding containers for oviposition and larval development. Competition with other container-inhabiting mosquito species, particularly Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse), also may impact the presence and local abundance of Ae. aegypti. Field-based studies that focus solely on the impact of weather or climate factors on the presence and abundance of Ae. aegypti, including assessments of the potential impact of climate warming on the mosquito's future range and abundance, do not consider the potential confounding

  3. The US Air Force Aerial Spray Unit: a history of large area disease vector control operations, WWII through Katrina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breidenbaugh, Mark; Haagsma, Karl

    2008-01-01

    The US Air Force has had a long history of aerial applications of pesticides to fulfill a variety of missions, the most important being the protection of troops through the minimization of arthropod vectors capable of disease transmission. Beginning in World War II, aerial application of pesticides by the military has effectively controlled vector and nuisance pest populations in a variety of environments. Currently, the military aerial spray capability resides in the US Air Force Reserve (USAFR), which operates and maintains C-130 airplanes capable of a variety of missions, including ultra low volume applications for vector and nuisance pests, as well as higher volume aerial applications of herbicides and oil-spill dispersants. The USAFR aerial spray assets are the only such fixed-wing aerial spray assets within the Department of Defense. In addition to troop protection, the USAFR Aerial Spray Unit has participated in a number of humanitarian/relief missions, most recently in the response to the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which heavily damaged the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. This article provides historical background on the Air Force Aerial Spray Unit and describes the operations in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

  4. Midwives' experiences of facilitating normal birth in an obstetric-led unit: a feminist perspective.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Keating, Annette

    2012-01-31

    OBJECTIVE: to explore midwives\\' experiences of facilitating normal birth in an obstetric-led unit. DESIGN: a feminist approach using semi-structured interviews focusing on midwives\\' perceptions of normal birth and their ability to facilitate this birth option in an obstetric-led unit. SETTING: Ireland. PARTICIPATION: a purposeful sample of 10 midwives with 6-30 years of midwifery experience. All participants had worked for a minimum of 6 years in a labour ward setting, and had been in their current setting for the previous 2 years. FINDINGS: the midwives\\' narratives related to the following four concepts of patriarchy: \\'hierarchical thinking\\

  5. Effective SIMD Vectorization for Intel Xeon Phi Coprocessors

    OpenAIRE

    Tian, Xinmin; Saito, Hideki; Preis, Serguei V.; Garcia, Eric N.; Kozhukhov, Sergey S.; Masten, Matt; Cherkasov, Aleksei G.; Panchenko, Nikolay

    2015-01-01

    Efficiently exploiting SIMD vector units is one of the most important aspects in achieving high performance of the application code running on Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors. In this paper, we present several effective SIMD vectorization techniques such as less-than-full-vector loop vectorization, Intel MIC specific alignment optimization, and small matrix transpose/multiplication 2D vectorization implemented in the Intel C/C++ and Fortran production compilers for Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors. A ...

  6. RNA structure alignment by a unit-vector approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capriotti, Emidio; Marti-Renom, Marc A

    2008-08-15

    The recent discovery of tiny RNA molecules such as microRNAs and small interfering RNA are transforming the view of RNA as a simple information transfer molecule. Similar to proteins, the native three-dimensional structure of RNA determines its biological activity. Therefore, classifying the current structural space is paramount for functionally annotating RNA molecules. The increasing numbers of RNA structures deposited in the PDB requires more accurate, automatic and benchmarked methods for RNA structure comparison. In this article, we introduce a new algorithm for RNA structure alignment based on a unit-vector approach. The algorithm has been implemented in the SARA program, which results in RNA structure pairwise alignments and their statistical significance. The SARA program has been implemented to be of general applicability even when no secondary structure can be calculated from the RNA structures. A benchmark against the ARTS program using a set of 1275 non-redundant pairwise structure alignments results in inverted approximately 6% extra alignments with at least 50% structurally superposed nucleotides and base pairs. A first attempt to perform RNA automatic functional annotation based on structure alignments indicates that SARA can correctly assign the deepest SCOR classification to >60% of the query structures. The SARA program is freely available through a World Wide Web server http://sgu.bioinfo.cipf.es/services/SARA/. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  7. Application of Numerical Integration and Data Fusion in Unit Vector Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, J.

    2012-01-01

    The Unit Vector Method (UVM) is a series of orbit determination methods which are designed by Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) and have been applied extensively. It gets the conditional equations for different kinds of data by projecting the basic equation to different unit vectors, and it suits for weighted process for different kinds of data. The high-precision data can play a major role in orbit determination, and accuracy of orbit determination is improved obviously. The improved UVM (PUVM2) promoted the UVM from initial orbit determination to orbit improvement, and unified the initial orbit determination and orbit improvement dynamically. The precision and efficiency are improved further. In this thesis, further research work has been done based on the UVM: Firstly, for the improvement of methods and techniques for observation, the types and decision of the observational data are improved substantially, it is also asked to improve the decision of orbit determination. The analytical perturbation can not meet the requirement. So, the numerical integration for calculating the perturbation has been introduced into the UVM. The accuracy of dynamical model suits for the accuracy of the real data, and the condition equations of UVM are modified accordingly. The accuracy of orbit determination is improved further. Secondly, data fusion method has been introduced into the UVM. The convergence mechanism and the defect of weighted strategy have been made clear in original UVM. The problem has been solved in this method, the calculation of approximate state transition matrix is simplified and the weighted strategy has been improved for the data with different dimension and different precision. Results of orbit determination of simulation and real data show that the work of this thesis is effective: (1) After the numerical integration has been introduced into the UVM, the accuracy of orbit determination is improved obviously, and it suits for the high-accuracy data of

  8. Controllability of linear vector fields on Lie groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayala, V.; Tirao, J.

    1994-11-01

    In this paper, we shall deal with a linear control system Σ defined on a Lie group G with Lie algebra g. The dynamic of Σ is determined by the drift vector field which is an element in the normalizer of g in the Lie algebra of all smooth vector field on G and by the control vectors which are elements in g considered as left-invariant vector fields. We characterize the normalizer of g identifying vector fields on G with C ∞ -functions defined on G into g. For this class of control systems we study algebraic conditions for the controllability problem. Indeed, we prove that if the drift vector field has a singularity then the Lie algebra rank condition is necessary for the controllability property, but in general this condition does not determine this property. On the other hand, we show that the rank (ad-rank) condition is sufficient for the controllability of Σ. In particular, we extend the fundamental Kalman's theorem when G is an Abelian connected Lie group. Our work is related with a paper of L. Markus and we also improve his results. (author). 7 refs

  9. Unit Root Testing and Estimation in Nonlinear ESTAR Models with Normal and Non-Normal Errors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umair Khalil

    Full Text Available Exponential Smooth Transition Autoregressive (ESTAR models can capture non-linear adjustment of the deviations from equilibrium conditions which may explain the economic behavior of many variables that appear non stationary from a linear viewpoint. Many researchers employ the Kapetanios test which has a unit root as the null and a stationary nonlinear model as the alternative. However this test statistics is based on the assumption of normally distributed errors in the DGP. Cook has analyzed the size of the nonlinear unit root of this test in the presence of heavy-tailed innovation process and obtained the critical values for both finite variance and infinite variance cases. However the test statistics of Cook are oversized. It has been found by researchers that using conventional tests is dangerous though the best performance among these is a HCCME. The over sizing for LM tests can be reduced by employing fixed design wild bootstrap remedies which provide a valuable alternative to the conventional tests. In this paper the size of the Kapetanios test statistic employing hetroscedastic consistent covariance matrices has been derived and the results are reported for various sample sizes in which size distortion is reduced. The properties for estimates of ESTAR models have been investigated when errors are assumed non-normal. We compare the results obtained through the fitting of nonlinear least square with that of the quantile regression fitting in the presence of outliers and the error distribution was considered to be from t-distribution for various sample sizes.

  10. Preparing the United States for Zika Virus: Pre-emptive Vector Control and Personal Protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, James H

    2016-12-01

    Discovered in 1947 in a monkey in the Zika forest of Uganda, Zika virus was dismissed as a cause of a mild illness that was confined to Africa and Southeast Asia and transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. In 2007, Zika virus appeared outside of its endemic borders in an outbreak on the South Pacific Island of Yap. In 2013, Zika virus was associated with a major neurological complication, Guillain-Barré syndrome, in a larger outbreak in the French Polynesian Islands. From the South Pacific, Zika invaded Brazil in 2015 and caused another severe neurological complication, fetal microcephaly. The mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus can be propagated by sexual transmission and, possibly, by blood transfusions, close personal contacts, and organ transplants, like other flaviviruses. Since these combined mechanisms of infectious disease transmission could result in catastrophic incidences of severe neurological diseases in adults and children, the public should know what to expect from Zika virus, how to prevent infection, and what the most likely failures in preventive measures will be. With federal research funding stalled, a Zika vaccine is far away. The only national strategies to prepare the United States for Zika virus invasion now are effective vector control measures and personal protection from mosquito bites. In addition to a basic knowledge of Aedes mosquito vectors and their biting behaviors, an understanding of simple household vector control measures, and the selection of the best chemical and physical mosquito repellents will be required to repel the Zika threat. Copyright © 2016 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Data-driven identification of potential Zika virus vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Michelle V; Dallas, Tad A; Han, Barbara A; Murdock, Courtney C; Drake, John M

    2017-01-01

    Zika is an emerging virus whose rapid spread is of great public health concern. Knowledge about transmission remains incomplete, especially concerning potential transmission in geographic areas in which it has not yet been introduced. To identify unknown vectors of Zika, we developed a data-driven model linking vector species and the Zika virus via vector-virus trait combinations that confer a propensity toward associations in an ecological network connecting flaviviruses and their mosquito vectors. Our model predicts that thirty-five species may be able to transmit the virus, seven of which are found in the continental United States, including Culex quinquefasciatus and Cx. pipiens. We suggest that empirical studies prioritize these species to confirm predictions of vector competence, enabling the correct identification of populations at risk for transmission within the United States. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22053.001 PMID:28244371

  12. Seasonal relationship between normalized difference vegetation index and abundance of the Phlebotomus kala-azar vector in an endemic focus in Bihar, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gouri S. Bhunia

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Remote sensing was applied for the collection of spatio-temporal data to increase our understanding of the potential distribution of the kala-azar vector Phlebotomus argentipes in endemic areas of the Vaishali district of Bihar, India. We produced monthly distribution maps of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI based on data from the thematic mapper (TM sensor onboard the Landsat-5 satellite. Minimum, maximum and mean NDVI values were computed for each month and compared with the concurrent incidence of kala-azar and the vector density. Maximum and mean NDVI values (R2 = 0.55 and R2 = 0.60, respectively, as well as the season likelihood ratio (X2 = 17.51; P <0.001, were found to be strongly associated with kala-azar, while the correlation with between minimum NDVI values and kala-azar was weak (R2 = 0.25. Additionally, a strong association was found between the mean and maximum NDVI values with seasonal vector abundance (R2 = 0.60 and R2 = 0.55, respectively but there was only a marginal association between minimum NDVI value and the spatial distribution of kala-azar vis-à-vis P. argentipes density.

  13. Monitoring by Use of Clusters of Sensor-Data Vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iverson, David L.

    2007-01-01

    The inductive monitoring system (IMS) is a system of computer hardware and software for automated monitoring of the performance, operational condition, physical integrity, and other aspects of the health of a complex engineering system (e.g., an industrial process line or a spacecraft). The input to the IMS consists of streams of digitized readings from sensors in the monitored system. The IMS determines the type and amount of any deviation of the monitored system from a nominal or normal ( healthy ) condition on the basis of a comparison between (1) vectors constructed from the incoming sensor data and (2) corresponding vectors in a database of nominal or normal behavior. The term inductive reflects the use of a process reminiscent of traditional mathematical induction to learn about normal operation and build the nominal-condition database. The IMS offers two major advantages over prior computational monitoring systems: The computational burden of the IMS is significantly smaller, and there is no need for abnormal-condition sensor data for training the IMS to recognize abnormal conditions. The figure schematically depicts the relationships among the computational processes effected by the IMS. Training sensor data are gathered during normal operation of the monitored system, detailed computational simulation of operation of the monitored system, or both. The training data are formed into vectors that are used to generate the database. The vectors in the database are clustered into regions that represent normal or nominal operation. Once the database has been generated, the IMS compares the vectors of incoming sensor data with vectors representative of the clusters. The monitored system is deemed to be operating normally or abnormally, depending on whether the vector of incoming sensor data is or is not, respectively, sufficiently close to one of the clusters. For this purpose, a distance between two vectors is calculated by a suitable metric (e.g., Euclidean

  14. Production of glycosylated physiologically normal human α1-antitrypsin by mouse fibroblasts modified by insertion of a human α1-antitrypsin cDNA using a retroviral vector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garver, R.I. Jr.; Chytil, A.; Karlsson, S.

    1987-01-01

    α 2 -Antitrypsin (α 1 AT) deficiency is a hereditary disorder characterized by reduced serum levels of α 1 AT, resulting in destruction of the lower respiratory tract by neutrophil elastase. As an approach to augment α 1 AT levels in this disorder with physiologically normal human α 1 AT, the authors have integrated a full-length normal human α 1 AT cDNA into the genome of mouse fibroblasts. To accomplish this, the retroviral vector N2 was modified by inserting the simian virus 40 early promoter followed by the α 1 AT cDNA. Southern analysis demonstrated that the intact cDNA was present in the genome of selected clones of the transfected murine fibroblasts psi2 and infected NIH 3T3. The clones produced three mRNA transcripts containing human α 1 AT sequences, secreted an α 1 AT molecule recognized by an anti-human α 1 AT antibody, with the same molecular mass as normal human α 1 AT and that complexed with and inhibited human neutrophil elastase. The psi2 produced α 1 AT was glycosylated, and when infused intravenously into mice, it had a serum half-life similar to normal α 1 AT purified from human plasma and markedly longer than that of nonglycosylated human α 1 AT cDNA-directed yeast-produced α 1 AT. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of using a retroviral vector to insert the normal human α 1 AT cDNA into non-α 1 AT-producing cells, resulting in the synthesis and secretion of physiologically normal α 1 AT

  15. Perturbations and quasi-normal modes of black holes in Einstein-Aether theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konoplya, R.A.; Zhidenko, A.

    2007-01-01

    We develop a new method for calculation of quasi-normal modes of black holes, when the effective potential, which governs black hole perturbations, is known only numerically in some region near the black hole. This method can be applied to perturbations of a wide class of numerical black hole solutions. We apply it to the black holes in the Einstein-Aether theory, a theory where general relativity is coupled to a unit time-like vector field, in order to observe local Lorentz symmetry violation. We found that in the non-reduced Einstein-Aether theory, real oscillation frequency and damping rate of quasi-normal modes are larger than those of Schwarzschild black holes in the Einstein theory

  16. The principal part of plane vector fields with fixed Newton diagram

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berezovskaya, F.

    1991-09-01

    Considering the main part of a plane vector field in a neighbourhood of a singular point 0(0,0) it is well known that if the singularity real parts of eigenvalues are non-zero, the linear part of the vector field provides the topological normal form and tangents of all the o-curves. The problem is to find the main part of a plane vector field which would provide the topological orbital normal form in a neighbourhood of singular point and asymptotics of all characteristics trajectories. In this work the solution to the problem for the generic ease of so-called nondegenerate vector fields, using Newton diagram is given. 13 refs, 5 figs

  17. Image Coding Based on Address Vector Quantization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yushu

    Image coding is finding increased application in teleconferencing, archiving, and remote sensing. This thesis investigates the potential of Vector Quantization (VQ), a relatively new source coding technique, for compression of monochromatic and color images. Extensions of the Vector Quantization technique to the Address Vector Quantization method have been investigated. In Vector Quantization, the image data to be encoded are first processed to yield a set of vectors. A codeword from the codebook which best matches the input image vector is then selected. Compression is achieved by replacing the image vector with the index of the code-word which produced the best match, the index is sent to the channel. Reconstruction of the image is done by using a table lookup technique, where the label is simply used as an address for a table containing the representative vectors. A code-book of representative vectors (codewords) is generated using an iterative clustering algorithm such as K-means, or the generalized Lloyd algorithm. A review of different Vector Quantization techniques are given in chapter 1. Chapter 2 gives an overview of codebook design methods including the Kohonen neural network to design codebook. During the encoding process, the correlation of the address is considered and Address Vector Quantization is developed for color image and monochrome image coding. Address VQ which includes static and dynamic processes is introduced in chapter 3. In order to overcome the problems in Hierarchical VQ, Multi-layer Address Vector Quantization is proposed in chapter 4. This approach gives the same performance as that of the normal VQ scheme but the bit rate is about 1/2 to 1/3 as that of the normal VQ method. In chapter 5, a Dynamic Finite State VQ based on a probability transition matrix to select the best subcodebook to encode the image is developed. In chapter 6, a new adaptive vector quantization scheme, suitable for color video coding, called "A Self -Organizing

  18. Sharp Efficiency for Vector Equilibrium Problems on Banach Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Si-Huan Li

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The concept of sharp efficient solution for vector equilibrium problems on Banach spaces is proposed. Moreover, the Fermat rules for local efficient solutions of vector equilibrium problems are extended to the sharp efficient solutions by means of the Clarke generalized differentiation and the normal cone. As applications, some necessary optimality conditions and sufficient optimality conditions for local sharp efficient solutions of a vector optimization problem with an abstract constraint and a vector variational inequality are obtained, respectively.

  19. Nonlinear pre-coding apparatus of multi-antenna system, has pre-coding unit that extents original constellation points of modulated symbols to several constellation points by using limited perturbation vector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2008-01-01

    A Coding/Modulating units (200-1-200-N) outputs modulated symbols by modulating coding bit streams based on certain modulation scheme. The limited perturbation vector is calculated by using distribution of perturbation vectors. The original constellation points of modulated symbols are extended t...

  20. 3j Symbols: To Normalize or Not to Normalize?

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Veenendaal, Michel

    2011-01-01

    The systematic use of alternative normalization constants for 3j symbols can lead to a more natural expression of quantities, such as vector products and spherical tensor operators. The redefined coupling constants directly equate tensor products to the inner and outer products without any additional square roots. The approach is extended to…

  1. Vector fields on nonorientable surfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilie Barza

    2003-01-01

    X, and the space of vector fields on X are proved by using a symmetrisation process. An example related to the normal derivative on the border of the Möbius strip supports the nontriviality of the concepts introduced in this paper.

  2. Speaker Recognition from Emotional Speech Using I-vector Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MACKOVÁ Lenka

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available In recent years the concept of i-vectors become very popular and successful in the field of the speaker verification. The basic principle of i-vectors is that each utterance is represented by fixed-length feature vector of low-dimension. In the literature for purpose of speaker verification various recordings obtained from telephones or microphones were used. The aim of this experiment was to perform speaker verification using speaker model trained with emotional recordings on i-vector basis. The Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC, log energy, their deltas and acceleration coefficients were used in process of features extraction. As the classification methods of the verification system Mahalanobis distance metric in combination with Eigen Factor Radial normalization was used and in the second approach Cosine Distance Scoring (CSS metric with Within-class Covariance Normalization as a channel compensation was employed. This verification system used emotional recordings of male subjects from freely available German emotional database (Emo-DB.

  3. Effective SIMD Vectorization for Intel Xeon Phi Coprocessors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinmin Tian

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Efficiently exploiting SIMD vector units is one of the most important aspects in achieving high performance of the application code running on Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors. In this paper, we present several effective SIMD vectorization techniques such as less-than-full-vector loop vectorization, Intel MIC specific alignment optimization, and small matrix transpose/multiplication 2D vectorization implemented in the Intel C/C++ and Fortran production compilers for Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors. A set of workloads from several application domains is employed to conduct the performance study of our SIMD vectorization techniques. The performance results show that we achieved up to 12.5x performance gain on the Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor. We also demonstrate a 2000x performance speedup from the seamless integration of SIMD vectorization and parallelization.

  4. 40 CFR 503.25 - Operational standards-pathogens and vector attraction reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... vector attraction reduction. 503.25 Section 503.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... § 503.25 Operational standards—pathogens and vector attraction reduction. (a) Pathogens—sewage sludge... active sewage sludge unit, unless the vector attraction reduction requirement in § 503.33(b)(11) is met...

  5. Isometric Reflection Vectors and Characterizations of Hilbert Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donghai Ji

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A known characterization of Hilbert spaces via isometric reflection vectors is based on the following implication: if the set of isometric reflection vectors in the unit sphere SX of a Banach space X has nonempty interior in SX, then X is a Hilbert space. Applying a recent result based on well-known theorem of Kronecker from number theory, we improve this by substantial reduction of the set of isometric reflection vectors needed in the hypothesis.

  6. A Core Set Based Large Vector-Angular Region and Margin Approach for Novelty Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiusheng Chen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A large vector-angular region and margin (LARM approach is presented for novelty detection based on imbalanced data. The key idea is to construct the largest vector-angular region in the feature space to separate normal training patterns; meanwhile, maximize the vector-angular margin between the surface of this optimal vector-angular region and abnormal training patterns. In order to improve the generalization performance of LARM, the vector-angular distribution is optimized by maximizing the vector-angular mean and minimizing the vector-angular variance, which separates the normal and abnormal examples well. However, the inherent computation of quadratic programming (QP solver takes O(n3 training time and at least O(n2 space, which might be computational prohibitive for large scale problems. By (1+ε  and  (1-ε-approximation algorithm, the core set based LARM algorithm is proposed for fast training LARM problem. Experimental results based on imbalanced datasets have validated the favorable efficiency of the proposed approach in novelty detection.

  7. Efficient and Enhanced Diffusion of Vector Field for Active Contour Model

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Guoqi; Sun, Lin; Liu, Shangwang

    2015-01-01

    Gradient vector flow (GVF) is an important external force field for active contour models. Various vector fields based on GVF have been proposed. However, these vector fields are obtained with many iterations and have difficulty in capturing the whole image area. On the other hand, the ability to converge to deep and complex concavity with these vector fields is also needed to improve. In this paper, by analyzing the diffusion equation of GVF, a normalized set is defined and a dynamically nor...

  8. Delivery of viral vectors to tumor cells: extracellular transport, systemic distribution, and strategies for improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yong; Yuan, Fan

    2006-01-01

    It is a challenge to deliver therapeutic genes to tumor cells using viral vectors because (i) the size of these vectors are close to or larger than the space between fibers in extracellular matrix and (ii) viral proteins are potentially toxic in normal tissues. In general, gene delivery is hindered by various physiological barriers to virus transport from the site of injection to the nucleus of tumor cells and is limited by normal tissue tolerance of toxicity determined by local concentrations of transgene products and viral proteins. To illustrate the obstacles encountered in the delivery and yet limit the scope of discussion, this review focuses only on extracellular transport in solid tumors and distribution of viral vectors in normal organs after they are injected intravenously or intratumorally. This review also discusses current strategies for improving intratumoral transport and specificity of viral vectors.

  9. The Integration Order of Vector Autoregressive Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Franchi, Massimo

    We show that the order of integration of a vector autoregressive process is equal to the difference between the multiplicity of the unit root in the characteristic equation and the multiplicity of the unit root in the adjoint matrix polynomial. The equivalence with the standard I(1) and I(2...

  10. Normal mode-guided transition pathway generation in proteins.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byung Ho Lee

    Full Text Available The biological function of proteins is closely related to its structural motion. For instance, structurally misfolded proteins do not function properly. Although we are able to experimentally obtain structural information on proteins, it is still challenging to capture their dynamics, such as transition processes. Therefore, we need a simulation method to predict the transition pathways of a protein in order to understand and study large functional deformations. Here, we present a new simulation method called normal mode-guided elastic network interpolation (NGENI that performs normal modes analysis iteratively to predict transition pathways of proteins. To be more specific, NGENI obtains displacement vectors that determine intermediate structures by interpolating the distance between two end-point conformations, similar to a morphing method called elastic network interpolation. However, the displacement vector is regarded as a linear combination of the normal mode vectors of each intermediate structure, in order to enhance the physical sense of the proposed pathways. As a result, we can generate more reasonable transition pathways geometrically and thermodynamically. By using not only all normal modes, but also in part using only the lowest normal modes, NGENI can still generate reasonable pathways for large deformations in proteins. This study shows that global protein transitions are dominated by collective motion, which means that a few lowest normal modes play an important role in this process. NGENI has considerable merit in terms of computational cost because it is possible to generate transition pathways by partial degrees of freedom, while conventional methods are not capable of this.

  11. Bioreactor production of recombinant herpes simplex virus vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knop, David R; Harrell, Heather

    2007-01-01

    Serotypical application of herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors to gene therapy (type 1) and prophylactic vaccines (types 1 and 2) has garnered substantial clinical interest recently. HSV vectors and amplicons have also been employed as helper virus constructs for manufacture of the dependovirus adeno-associated virus (AAV). Large quantities of infectious HSV stocks are requisite for these therapeutic applications, requiring a scalable vector manufacturing and processing platform comprised of unit operations which accommodate the fragility of HSV. In this study, production of a replication deficient rHSV-1 vector bearing the rep and cap genes of AAV-2 (denoted rHSV-rep2/cap2) was investigated. Adaptation of rHSV production from T225 flasks to a packed bed, fed-batch bioreactor permitted an 1100-fold increment in total vector production without a decrease in specific vector yield (pfu/cell). The fed-batch bioreactor system afforded a rHSV-rep2/cap2 vector recovery of 2.8 x 10(12) pfu. The recovered vector was concentrated by tangential flow filtration (TFF), permitting vector stocks to be formulated at greater than 1.5 x 10(9) pfu/mL.

  12. Decoupled Vector-Fetch Architecture with a Scalarizing Compiler

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Yunsup

    2016-01-01

    As we approach the end of conventional technology scaling, computer architects are forced to incorporate specialized and heterogeneous accelerators into general-purpose processors for greater energy efficiency. Among the prominent accelerators that have recently become more popular are data-parallel processing units, such as classic vector units, SIMD units, and graphics processing units (GPUs). Surveying a wide range of data-parallel architectures and their parallel programming models and ...

  13. Quaternion normalization in additive EKF for spacecraft attitude determination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bar-Itzhack, I. Y.; Deutschmann, J.; Markley, F. L.

    1991-01-01

    This work introduces, examines, and compares several quaternion normalization algorithms, which are shown to be an effective stage in the application of the additive extended Kalman filter (EKF) to spacecraft attitude determination, which is based on vector measurements. Two new normalization schemes are introduced. They are compared with one another and with the known brute force normalization scheme, and their efficiency is examined. Simulated satellite data are used to demonstrate the performance of all three schemes. A fourth scheme is suggested for future research. Although the schemes were tested for spacecraft attitude determination, the conclusions are general and hold for attitude determination of any three dimensional body when based on vector measurements, and use an additive EKF for estimation, and the quaternion for specifying the attitude.

  14. An adeno-associated viral vector transduces the rat hypothalamus and amygdala more efficient than a lentiviral vector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vreugdenhil Erno

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study compared the transduction efficiencies of an adeno-associated viral (AAV vector, which was pseudotyped with an AAV1 capsid and encoded the green fluorescent protein (GFP, with a lentiviral (LV vector, which was pseudotyped with a VSV-G envelop and encoded the discosoma red fluorescent protein (dsRed, to investigate which viral vector transduced the lateral hypothalamus or the amygdala more efficiently. The LV-dsRed and AAV1-GFP vector were mixed and injected into the lateral hypothalamus or into the amygdala of adult rats. The titers that were injected were 1 × 108 or 1 × 109 genomic copies of AAV1-GFP and 1 × 105 transducing units of LV-dsRed. Results Immunostaining for GFP and dsRed showed that AAV1-GFP transduced significantly more cells than LV-dsRed in both the lateral hypothalamus and the amygdala. In addition, the number of LV particles that were injected can not easily be increased, while the number of AAV1 particles can be increased easily with a factor 100 to 1000. Both viral vectors appear to predominantly transduce neurons. Conclusions This study showed that AAV1 vectors are better tools to overexpress or knockdown genes in the lateral hypothalamus and amygdala of adult rats, since more cells can be transduced with AAV1 than with LV vectors and the titer of AAV1 vectors can easily be increased to transduce the area of interest.

  15. Complementary-relationship-based 30 year normals (1981-2010) of monthly latent heat fluxes across the contiguous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szilagyi, Jozsef

    2015-11-01

    Thirty year normal (1981-2010) monthly latent heat fluxes (ET) over the conterminous United States were estimated by a modified Advection-Aridity model from North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) radiation and wind as well as Parameter-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) air and dew-point temperature data. Mean annual ET values were calibrated with PRISM precipitation (P) and validated against United States Geological Survey runoff (Q) data. At the six-digit Hydrologic Unit Code level (sample size of 334) the estimated 30 year normal runoff (P - ET) had a bias of 18 mm yr-1, a root-mean-square error of 96 mm yr-1, and a linear correlation coefficient value of 0.95, making the estimates on par with the latest Land Surface Model results but without the need for soil and vegetation information or any soil moisture budgeting.

  16. Normalized cDNA libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Marcelo B.; Efstratiadis, Argiris

    1997-01-01

    This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form comprising: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3' noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to moderate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library.

  17. Evaluation of vectorization potential of Graph500 on Intel's Xeon Phi

    OpenAIRE

    Stanic, Milan; Palomar, Oscar; Ratkovic, Ivan; Duric, Milovan; Unsal, Osman; Cristal, Adrian; Valero, Mateo

    2014-01-01

    Graph500 is a data intensive application for high performance computing and it is an increasingly important workload because graphs are a core part of most analytic applications. So far there is no work that examines if Graph500 is suitable for vectorization mostly due a lack of vector memory instructions for irregular memory accesses. The Xeon Phi is a massively parallel processor recently released by Intel with new features such as a wide 512-bit vector unit and vector scatter/gather instru...

  18. Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Infections Among Urban Homeless and Marginalized People in the United States and Europe, 1990-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leibler, Jessica H; Zakhour, Christine M; Gadhoke, Preety; Gaeta, Jessie M

    2016-07-01

    In high-income countries, homeless individuals in urban areas often live in crowded conditions with limited sanitation and personal hygiene. The environment of homelessness in high-income countries may result in intensified exposure to ectoparasites and urban wildlife, which can transmit infections. To date, there have been no systematic evaluations of the published literature to assess vector-borne and zoonotic disease risk to these populations. The primary objectives of this study were to identify diversity, prevalence, and risk factors for vector-borne and zoonotic infections among people experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty in urban areas of high-income countries. We conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis of published epidemiologic studies of zoonotic and vector-borne infections among urban homeless and very poor people in the United States and Europe from 1990 to 2014. Thirty-one observational studies and 14 case studies were identified (n = 45). Seroprevalence to the human louse-borne pathogen Bartonella quintana (seroprevalence range: 0-37.5%) was identified most frequently, with clinical disease specifically observed among HIV-positive individuals. Seropositivity to Bartonella henselae (range: 0-10.3%) and Rickettsia akari (range: 0-16.2%) was noted in multiple studies. Serological evidence of exposure to Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia prowazekii, Bartonella elizabethae, West Nile virus, Borellia recurrentis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, Wohlfartiimonas chitiniclastica, Seoul hantavirus (SEOV), and Leptospira species was also identified in published studies, with SEOV associated with chronic renal disease later in life. HIV infection, injection drug use, and heavy drinking were noted across multiple studies as risk factors for infection with vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens. B. quintana was the most frequently reported vector-borne infection identified in our article. Delousing efforts and active surveillance among HIV

  19. Host and Potential Vector Susceptibility to an Emerging Orbivirus in the United States: Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotype 6.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruder, M G; Stallknecht, D E; Allison, A B; Mead, D G; Carter, D L; Howerth, E W

    2016-05-01

    Epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses (EHDVs) are orbiviruses transmitted by Culicoides biting midges to domestic and wild ruminants. EHDV-1 and EHDV-2 are endemic in the United States, where epizootic hemorrhagic disease is the most significant viral disease of white-tailed deer (WTD;Odocoileus virginianus) and reports of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in cattle are increasing. In 2006, a reassortant EHDV-6 was isolated from dead WTD in Indiana and has been detected each subsequent year over a wide geographic region. Since EHDV-6 is not a historically endemic serotype in the United States, it is important to understand infection outcome in potential hosts. Specifically, we aimed to evaluate the pathogenicity of the virus in 2 primary US ruminant hosts (WTD and cattle) and the susceptibility of a confirmed US vector (Culicoides sonorensis). Five WTD and 4 cattle were inoculated with >10(6)TCID50EHDV-6 by intradermal and subcutaneous injection. All 5 WTD exhibited moderate to severe disease, and 3 died. Viremia was first detected 3 to 5 days postinfection (dpi) with surviving animals seroconverting by 10 dpi. Two of 4 inoculated cattle had detectable viremia, 5 to 10 dpi and 7 to 24 dpi, respectively. No clinical, hematologic, or pathologic abnormalities were observed. Antibodies were detected by 10 dpi in 3 of 4 cows.C. sonorensis were fed on WTD blood spiked with EHDV-6 and held for 4 to 14 days postfeeding at 25°C. From 4 to 14 days postfeeding, 19 of 171 midges were virus isolation positive and 6 of 171 had ≥10(2.7)TCID50EHDV-6. Although outcomes varied, these studies demonstrate the susceptibility of ruminant and vector hosts in the United States for this recently emerged EHDV serotype. © The Author(s) 2015.

  20. Higher-dimensional generalizations of the Watanabe–Strogatz transform for vector models of synchronization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohe, M. A.

    2018-06-01

    We generalize the Watanabe–Strogatz (WS) transform, which acts on the Kuramoto model in d  =  2 dimensions, to a higher-dimensional vector transform which operates on vector oscillator models of synchronization in any dimension , for the case of identical frequency matrices. These models have conserved quantities constructed from the cross ratios of inner products of the vector variables, which are invariant under the vector transform, and have trajectories which lie on the unit sphere S d‑1. Application of the vector transform leads to a partial integration of the equations of motion, leaving independent equations to be solved, for any number of nodes N. We discuss properties of complete synchronization and use the reduced equations to derive a stability condition for completely synchronized trajectories on S d‑1. We further generalize the vector transform to a mapping which acts in and in particular preserves the unit ball , and leaves invariant the cross ratios constructed from inner products of vectors in . This mapping can be used to partially integrate a system of vector oscillators with trajectories in , and for d  =  2 leads to an extension of the Kuramoto system to a system of oscillators with time-dependent amplitudes and trajectories in the unit disk. We find an inequivalent generalization of the Möbius map which also preserves but leaves invariant a different set of cross ratios, this time constructed from the vector norms. This leads to a different extension of the Kuramoto model with trajectories in the complex plane that can be partially integrated by means of fractional linear transformations.

  1. Time-dependent London approach: Dissipation due to out-of-core normal excitations by moving vortices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogan, V. G.

    2018-03-01

    The dissipative currents due to normal excitations are included in the London description. The resulting time-dependent London equations are solved for a moving vortex and a moving vortex lattice. It is shown that the field distribution of a moving vortex loses its cylindrical symmetry. It experiences contraction that is stronger in the direction of the motion than in the direction normal to the velocity v . The London contribution of normal currents to dissipation is small relative to the Bardeen-Stephen core dissipation at small velocities, but it approaches the latter at high velocities, where this contribution is no longer proportional to v2. To minimize the London contribution to dissipation, the vortex lattice is oriented so as to have one of the unit cell vectors along the velocity. This effect is seen in experiments and predicted within the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory.

  2. pEPito: a significantly improved non-viral episomal expression vector for mammalian cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ogris Manfred

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The episomal replication of the prototype vector pEPI-1 depends on a transcription unit starting from the constitutively expressed Cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter (CMV-IEP and directed into a 2000 bp long matrix attachment region sequence (MARS derived from the human β-interferon gene. The original pEPI-1 vector contains two mammalian transcription units and a total of 305 CpG islands, which are located predominantly within the vector elements necessary for bacterial propagation and known to be counterproductive for persistent long-term transgene expression. Results Here, we report the development of a novel vector pEPito, which is derived from the pEPI-1 plasmid replicon but has considerably improved efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. The pEPito vector is significantly reduced in size, contains only one transcription unit and 60% less CpG motives in comparison to pEPI-1. It exhibits major advantages compared to the original pEPI-1 plasmid, including higher transgene expression levels and increased colony-forming efficiencies in vitro, as well as more persistent transgene expression profiles in vivo. The performance of pEPito-based vectors was further improved by replacing the CMV-IEP with the human CMV enhancer/human elongation factor 1 alpha promoter (hCMV/EF1P element that is known to be less affected by epigenetic silencing events. Conclusions The novel vector pEPito can be considered suitable as an improved vector for biotechnological applications in vitro and for non-viral gene delivery in vivo.

  3. Intra-operative Vector Flow Imaging Using Ultrasound of the Ascending Aorta among 40 Patients with Normal, Stenotic and Replaced Aortic Valves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kristoffer Lindskov; Møller-Sørensen, Hasse; Kjaergaard, Jesper

    2016-01-01

    Stenosis of the aortic valve gives rise to more complex blood flows with increased velocities. The angleindependent vector flow ultrasound technique transverse oscillation was employed intra-operatively on the ascending aorta of (I) 20 patients with a healthy aortic valve and 20 patients with aor...... replacement corrects some of these changes. Transverse oscillation may be useful for assessment of aortic stenosis and optimization of valve surgery. (E-mail: lindskov@gmail.com) 2016 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology...... with aortic stenosis before (IIa) and after (IIb) valve replacement. The results indicate that aortic stenosis increased flow complexity (p , 0.0001), induced systolic backflow (p , 0.003) and reduced systolic jet width (p , 0.0001). After valve replacement, the systolic backflow and jet width were normalized...

  4. Normalization in Lie algebras via mould calculus and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Thierry; Sauzin, David

    2017-11-01

    We establish Écalle's mould calculus in an abstract Lie-theoretic setting and use it to solve a normalization problem, which covers several formal normal form problems in the theory of dynamical systems. The mould formalism allows us to reduce the Lie-theoretic problem to a mould equation, the solutions of which are remarkably explicit and can be fully described by means of a gauge transformation group. The dynamical applications include the construction of Poincaré-Dulac formal normal forms for a vector field around an equilibrium point, a formal infinite-order multiphase averaging procedure for vector fields with fast angular variables (Hamiltonian or not), or the construction of Birkhoff normal forms both in classical and quantum situations. As a by-product we obtain, in the case of harmonic oscillators, the convergence of the quantum Birkhoff form to the classical one, without any Diophantine hypothesis on the frequencies of the unperturbed Hamiltonians.

  5. Revival of cloaking effect in a driven bilayer graphene vector barrier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maiti, S.; Panigrahi, A.; Biswas, R.; Sinha, C.

    2018-05-01

    Transmission profiles in bilayer graphene are studied theoretically through a rectangular vector potential (magnetic) barrier with and without the presence of an oscillatory potential. Unlike the electrostatic barrier, the Fano resonances (FR) are noted in the transmission spectra both for normal and glancing incidences due to non-conservation of chirality for a static vector barrier. The results for normal incidence indicate that the cloaking effect is a manifestation of the chirality conservation in charge transport through bilayer graphene scalar barriers. It is also noted that the aforesaid FR for a static vector barrier might disappear (photon induced electronic cloaking effect) due to the predominant photon exchange processes in presence of an external oscillating potential. The study of Fano resonances in transmission spectrum is in high demand in respect of localization of charge carriers in graphene nano structures for its potential applications in digital device fabrications.

  6. Telomerase-mediated life-span extension of human primary fibroblasts by human artificial chromosome (HAC) vector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shitara, Shingo; Kakeda, Minoru; Nagata, Keiko; Hiratsuka, Masaharu; Sano, Akiko; Osawa, Kanako; Okazaki, Akiyo; Katoh, Motonobu; Kazuki, Yasuhiro; Oshimura, Mitsuo; Tomizuka, Kazuma

    2008-01-01

    Telomerase-mediated life-span extension enables the expansion of normal cells without malignant transformation, and thus has been thought to be useful in cell therapies. Currently, integrating vectors including the retrovirus are used for human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)-mediated expansion of normal cells; however, the use of these vectors potentially causes unexpected insertional mutagenesis and/or activation of oncogenes. Here, we established normal human fibroblast (hPF) clones retaining non-integrating human artificial chromosome (HAC) vectors harboring the hTERT expression cassette. In hTERT-HAC/hPF clones, we observed the telomerase activity and the suppression of senescent-associated SA-β-galactosidase activity. Furthermore, the hTERT-HAC/hPF clones continued growing beyond 120 days after cloning, whereas the hPF clones retaining the silent hTERT-HAC senesced within 70 days. Thus, hTERT-HAC-mediated episomal expression of hTERT allows the extension of the life-span of human primary cells, implying that gene delivery by non-integrating HAC vectors can be used to control cellular proliferative capacity of primary cultured cells

  7. Emerging Vector-Borne Diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huntington, Mark K; Allison, Jay; Nair, Dilip

    2016-10-01

    Several mosquito-borne viral infections have recently emerged in North America; West Nile virus is the most common in the United States. Although West Nile virus generally causes a self-limited, flulike febrile illness, a serious neuroinvasive form may occur. Dengue is the most common vector-borne viral disease worldwide, and it has been a significant public health threat in the United States since 2009. Known as breakbone fever for its severe myalgias and arthralgias, dengue may cause a hemorrhagic syndrome. Chikungunya also causes flulike febrile illness and disabling arthralgias. Although meningoencephalitis may occur with chikungunya, bleeding is uncommon. Symptoms of Zika virus infection are similar to those of dengue, but milder. Zika virus increases the risk of fetal brain abnormalities, including microcephaly, if a pregnant woman is infected. Zika virus is spread through Aedes albopictus mosquito bites, is transmitted sexually, and may rarely spread nonsexually from person to person. Diagnosis of these vectorborne infections is clinical and serologic, and treatment is supportive. Other, well-established vector-borne diseases are also important. Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne bacterial disease that presents as a nonspecific syndrome of fever, headache, malaise, and myalgias. It is diagnosed via blood smear testing, with confirmatory serology. Ehrlichiosis is treated with doxycycline. Rickettsial infections are transmitted by fleas, mites, and ticks, and severity ranges from mild to life threatening. Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the most significant rickettsial infection, is primarily a clinical diagnosis that presents as fever, headache, myalgias, petechial rash, and tick exposure. Doxycycline is effective for rickettsial infections if administered promptly. Vector avoidance strategies are critical to the prevention of all of these infections.

  8. Reflection and transmission of full-vector X-waves normally incident on dielectric half spaces

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed; Bagci, Hakan

    2011-01-01

    polarization components, which are derived from the scalar X-Wave solution. The analysis of transmission and reflection is carried out via a straightforward but yet effective method: First, the X-Wave is decomposed into vector Bessel beams via the Bessel-Fourier

  9. The vector and parallel processing of MORSE code on Monte Carlo Machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, Yukihiro; Higuchi, Kenji.

    1995-11-01

    Multi-group Monte Carlo Code for particle transport, MORSE is modified for high performance computing on Monte Carlo Machine Monte-4. The method and the results are described. Monte-4 was specially developed to realize high performance computing of Monte Carlo codes for particle transport, which have been difficult to obtain high performance in vector processing on conventional vector processors. Monte-4 has four vector processor units with the special hardware called Monte Carlo pipelines. The vectorization and parallelization of MORSE code and the performance evaluation on Monte-4 are described. (author)

  10. Prediction of Spirometric Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1) Data Using Support Vector Regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kavitha, A.; Sujatha, C. M.; Ramakrishnan, S.

    2010-01-01

    In this work, prediction of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in pulmonary function test is carried out using the spirometer and support vector regression analysis. Pulmonary function data are measured with flow volume spirometer from volunteers (N=175) using a standard data acquisition protocol. The acquired data are then used to predict FEV1. Support vector machines with polynomial kernel function with four different orders were employed to predict the values of FEV1. The performance is evaluated by computing the average prediction accuracy for normal and abnormal cases. Results show that support vector machines are capable of predicting FEV1 in both normal and abnormal cases and the average prediction accuracy for normal subjects was higher than that of abnormal subjects. Accuracy in prediction was found to be high for a regularization constant of C=10. Since FEV1 is the most significant parameter in the analysis of spirometric data, it appears that this method of assessment is useful in diagnosing the pulmonary abnormalities with incomplete data and data with poor recording.

  11. Linearization of germs of hyperbolic vector fields

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bonckaert, P; Naudot, [No Value; Yang, JZ

    2003-01-01

    We develop a normal form to express asymptotically a conjugacy between a germ of resonant vector field and its linear part. We show that such an asymptotic expression can be written in terms of functions of the Logarithmic Mourtada type. To cite this article: P Bonckaert et al., C. R. Acad. Sci.

  12. Clinical outcomes of the first midwife-led normal birth unit in China: a retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Ngai Fen; Mander, Rosemary; Wang, Xiaoli; Fu, Wei; Zhou, Hong; Zhang, Liping

    2011-10-01

    to report the clinical outcomes of the first six months of operation of an innovative midwife-led normal birth unit (MNBU) in China in 2008, aiming to facilitate normal birth and enhance midwifery practice. an urban hospital with 2000-3000 deliveries per year. this study was part of a major action research project that led to implementation of the MNBU. A retrospective cohort and a questionnaire survey were used. The data were analysed thematically. the outcomes of the first 226 women accessing the MNBU were compared with a matched retrospective cohort of 226 women accessing standard care. In total, 128 participants completed a satisfaction questionnaire before discharge. mode of birth and model of care. the vaginal birth rate was 87.6% in the MNBU compared with 58.8% in the standard care unit. All women who accessed the MNBU were supported by both a midwife and a birth companion, referred to as 'two-to-one' care. None of the women labouring in the standard care unit were identified as having a birth companion. the concept of 'two-to-one' care emerged as fundamental to women's experiences and utilisation of midwives' skills to promote normal birth and decrease the likelihood of a caesarean section. the MNBU provides an environment where midwives can practice to the full extent of their role. The high vaginal birth rate in the MNBU indicates the potential of this model of care to reduce obstetric intervention and increase women's satisfaction with care within a context of extraordinary high caesarean section rates. midwife-led care implies a separation of obstetric care from maternity care, which has been advocated in many European countries. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. [Statistical (Poisson) motor unit number estimation. Methodological aspects and normal results in the extensor digitorum brevis muscle of healthy subjects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murga Oporto, L; Menéndez-de León, C; Bauzano Poley, E; Núñez-Castaín, M J

    Among the differents techniques for motor unit number estimation (MUNE) there is the statistical one (Poisson), in which the activation of motor units is carried out by electrical stimulation and the estimation performed by means of a statistical analysis based on the Poisson s distribution. The study was undertaken in order to realize an approximation to the MUNE Poisson technique showing a coprehensible view of its methodology and also to obtain normal results in the extensor digitorum brevis muscle (EDB) from a healthy population. One hundred fourteen normal volunteers with age ranging from 10 to 88 years were studied using the MUNE software contained in a Viking IV system. The normal subjects were divided into two age groups (10 59 and 60 88 years). The EDB MUNE from all them was 184 49. Both, the MUNE and the amplitude of the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) were significantly lower in the older age group (page than CMAP amplitude ( 0.5002 and 0.4142, respectively pphisiology of the motor unit. The value of MUNE correlates better with the neuromuscular aging process than CMAP amplitude does.

  14. Pore size determination using normalized J-function for different hydraulic flow units

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Abedini

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Pore size determination of hydrocarbon reservoirs is one of the main challenging areas in reservoir studies. Precise estimation of this parameter leads to enhance the reservoir simulation, process evaluation, and further forecasting of reservoir behavior. Hence, it is of great importance to estimate the pore size of reservoir rocks with an appropriate accuracy. In the present study, a modified J-function was developed and applied to determine the pore radius in one of the hydrocarbon reservoir rocks located in the Middle East. The capillary pressure data vs. water saturation (Pc–Sw as well as routine reservoir core analysis include porosity (φ and permeability (k were used to develop the J-function. First, the normalized porosity (φz, the rock quality index (RQI, and the flow zone indicator (FZI concepts were used to categorize all data into discrete hydraulic flow units (HFU containing unique pore geometry and bedding characteristics. Thereafter, the modified J-function was used to normalize all capillary pressure curves corresponding to each of predetermined HFU. The results showed that the reservoir rock was classified into five separate rock types with the definite HFU and reservoir pore geometry. Eventually, the pore radius for each of these HFUs was determined using a developed equation obtained by normalized J-function corresponding to each HFU. The proposed equation is a function of reservoir rock characteristics including φz, FZI, lithology index (J*, and pore size distribution index (ɛ. This methodology used, the reservoir under study was classified into five discrete HFU with unique equations for permeability, normalized J-function and pore size. The proposed technique is able to apply on any reservoir to determine the pore size of the reservoir rock, specially the one with high range of heterogeneity in the reservoir rock properties.

  15. Phase 2 clinical trial of a recombinant adeno-associated viral vector expressing α1-antitrypsin: interim results.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Flotte, Terence R

    2011-10-01

    Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors offer promise for the gene therapy of α(1)-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. In our prior trial, an rAAV vector expressing human AAT (rAAV1-CB-hAAT) provided sustained, vector-derived AAT expression for >1 year. In the current phase 2 clinical trial, this same vector, produced by a herpes simplex virus complementation method, was administered to nine AAT-deficient individuals by intramuscular injection at doses of 6.0×10(11), 1.9×10(12), and 6.0×10(12) vector genomes\\/kg (n=3 subjects\\/dose). Vector-derived expression of normal (M-type) AAT in serum was dose dependent, peaked on day 30, and persisted for at least 90 days. Vector administration was well tolerated, with only mild injection site reactions and no serious adverse events. Serum creatine kinase was transiently elevated on day 30 in five of six subjects in the two higher dose groups and normalized by day 45. As expected, all subjects developed anti-AAV antibodies and interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunospot responses to AAV peptides, and no subjects developed antibodies to AAT. One subject in the mid-dose group developed T cell responses to a single AAT peptide unassociated with any clinical effects. Muscle biopsies obtained on day 90 showed strong immunostaining for AAT and moderate to marked inflammatory cell infiltrates composed primarily of CD3-reactive T lymphocytes that were primarily of the CD8(+) subtype. These results support the feasibility and safety of AAV gene therapy for AAT deficiency, and indicate that serum levels of vector-derived normal human AAT >20 μg\\/ml can be achieved. However, further improvements in the design or delivery of rAAV-AAT vectors will be required to achieve therapeutic target serum AAT concentrations.

  16. Bioelectrical impedance vector distribution in the first year of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savino, Francesco; Grasso, Giulia; Cresi, Francesco; Oggero, Roberto; Silvestro, Leandra

    2003-06-01

    We assessed the bioelectrical impedance vector distribution in a sample of healthy infants in the first year of life, which is not available in literature. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study in 153 healthy Caucasian infants (90 male and 63 female) younger than 1 y, born at full term, adequate for gestational age, free from chronic diseases or growth problems, and not feverish. Z scores for weight, length, cranial circumference, and body mass index for the study population were within the range of +/-1.5 standard deviations according to the Euro-Growth Study references. Concurrent anthropometrics (weight, length, and cranial circumference), body mass index, and bioelectrical impedance (resistance and reactance) measurements were made by the same operator. Whole-body (hand to foot) tetrapolar measurements were performed with a single-frequency (50 kHz), phase-sensitive impedance analyzer. The study population was subdivided into three classes of age for statistical analysis: 0 to 3.99 mo, 4 to 7.99 mo, and 8 to 11.99 mo. Using the bivariate normal distribution of resistance and reactance components standardized by the infant's length, the bivariate 95% confidence limits for the mean impedance vector separated by sex and age groups were calculated and plotted. Further, the bivariate 95%, 75%, and 50% tolerance intervals for individual vector measurements in the first year of life were plotted. Resistance and reactance values often fluctuated during the first year of life, particularly as raw measurements (without normalization by subject's length). However, 95% confidence ellipses of mean vectors from the three age groups overlapped each other, as did confidence ellipses by sex for each age class, indicating no significant vector migration during the first year of life. We obtained an estimate of mean impedance vector in a sample of healthy infants in the first year of life and calculated the bivariate values for an individual vector (95%, 75%, and 50

  17. Quadrilateral mesh fitting that preserves sharp features based on multi-normals for Laplacian energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Imai

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Because the cost of performance testing using actual products is expensive, manufacturers use lower-cost computer-aided design simulations for this function. In this paper, we propose using hexahedral meshes, which are more accurate than tetrahedral meshes, for finite element analysis. We propose automatic hexahedral mesh generation with sharp features to precisely represent the corresponding features of a target shape. Our hexahedral mesh is generated using a voxel-based algorithm. In our previous works, we fit the surface of the voxels to the target surface using Laplacian energy minimization. We used normal vectors in the fitting to preserve sharp features. However, this method could not represent concave sharp features precisely. In this proposal, we improve our previous Laplacian energy minimization by adding a term that depends on multi-normal vectors instead of using normal vectors. Furthermore, we accentuate a convex/concave surface subset to represent concave sharp features.

  18. Scalar and vector vortex beams from the source

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Naidoo, Darryl

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available . Advanced Solid State Lasers 2016 (ASSL, LSC, LAC), OSA Technical Digest (online) (Optical Society of America, 2016), 30 October–3 November 2016, Boston, Massachusetts United States Scalar and vector vortex beams from the source Naidoo, Darryl Roux...

  19. Emerging Vector-Borne Diseases - Incidence through Vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savić, Sara; Vidić, Branka; Grgić, Zivoslav; Potkonjak, Aleksandar; Spasojevic, Ljubica

    2014-01-01

    Vector-borne diseases use to be a major public health concern only in tropical and subtropical areas, but today they are an emerging threat for the continental and developed countries also. Nowadays, in intercontinental countries, there is a struggle with emerging diseases, which have found their way to appear through vectors. Vector-borne zoonotic diseases occur when vectors, animal hosts, climate conditions, pathogens, and susceptible human population exist at the same time, at the same place. Global climate change is predicted to lead to an increase in vector-borne infectious diseases and disease outbreaks. It could affect the range and population of pathogens, host and vectors, transmission season, etc. Reliable surveillance for diseases that are most likely to emerge is required. Canine vector-borne diseases represent a complex group of diseases including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, and leishmaniosis. Some of these diseases cause serious clinical symptoms in dogs and some of them have a zoonotic potential with an effect to public health. It is expected from veterinarians in coordination with medical doctors to play a fundamental role at primarily prevention and then treatment of vector-borne diseases in dogs. The One Health concept has to be integrated into the struggle against emerging diseases. During a 4-year period, from 2009 to 2013, a total number of 551 dog samples were analyzed for vector-borne diseases (borreliosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, dirofilariosis, and leishmaniasis) in routine laboratory work. The analysis was done by serological tests - ELISA for borreliosis, dirofilariosis, and leishmaniasis, modified Knott test for dirofilariosis, and blood smear for babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis. This number of samples represented 75% of total number of samples that were sent for analysis for different diseases in dogs. Annually, on average more then half of the samples

  20. Adaptive track scheduling to optimize concurrency and vectorization in GeantV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Apostolakis, J; Brun, R; Carminati, F; Gheata, A; Novak, M; Wenzel, S; Bandieramonte, M; Bitzes, G; Canal, P; Elvira, V D; Jun, S Y; Lima, G; Licht, J C De Fine; Duhem, L; Sehgal, R; Shadura, O

    2015-01-01

    The GeantV project is focused on the R and D of new particle transport techniques to maximize parallelism on multiple levels, profiting from the use of both SIMD instructions and co-processors for the CPU-intensive calculations specific to this type of applications. In our approach, vectors of tracks belonging to multiple events and matching different locality criteria must be gathered and dispatched to algorithms having vector signatures. While the transport propagates tracks and changes their individual states, data locality becomes harder to maintain. The scheduling policy has to be changed to maintain efficient vectors while keeping an optimal level of concurrency. The model has complex dynamics requiring tuning the thresholds to switch between the normal regime and special modes, i.e. prioritizing events to allow flushing memory, adding new events in the transport pipeline to boost locality, dynamically adjusting the particle vector size or switching between vector to single track mode when vectorization causes only overhead. This work requires a comprehensive study for optimizing these parameters to make the behaviour of the scheduler self-adapting, presenting here its initial results. (paper)

  1. Vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Newell, Homer E

    2006-01-01

    When employed with skill and understanding, vector analysis can be a practical and powerful tool. This text develops the algebra and calculus of vectors in a manner useful to physicists and engineers. Numerous exercises (with answers) not only provide practice in manipulation but also help establish students' physical and geometric intuition in regard to vectors and vector concepts.Part I, the basic portion of the text, consists of a thorough treatment of vector algebra and the vector calculus. Part II presents the illustrative matter, demonstrating applications to kinematics, mechanics, and e

  2. Vector competence: Entomological considerations and its implications on the epidemiology of Dengue Competencia vectorial: consideraciones entomológicas y su influencia sobre la epidemiología del Dengue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Emilio Osorio Benítez

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available

    Normal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">Vector-borne diseases are a serious problem in public health, especially in tropical and subtropical areas where environmental conditions favor the survival and expansion of vectors into new habitats.

    Normal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"> 

    Normal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">Dengue fever is one of the most important vector-borne diseases transmitted by arthropods (arbovirosis worldwide. The etiologic agent of the disease is the dengue virus, which is transmitted by the bite of bloodsucking Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The virus-vector interaction is essential for the efficient transmission of the disease, and depends on both, viral factors and vector competence or intrinsic vector capacity to be infected with the virus. Vector competence allows virus replication and subsequent transmission to susceptible hosts. Factors that influence vector capacity include: natural barriers to infection, immunological defenses as well as the presence of receptors for the virus. All these factors in addition to the viral characteristics will determine the degree of transmission. There is a need for a better understanding of the virus-vector relationship and its epidemiological implications. These issues are addressed in this article.

    Normal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">Las enfermedades transmitidas por vectores constituyen un complejo problema de salud en el ámbito mundial, especialmente en áreas tropicales y

  3. Identification of environmental covariates of West Nile virus vector mosquito population abundance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trawinski, Patricia R; Mackay, D Scott

    2010-06-01

    The rapid spread of West Nile virus (WNv) in North America is a major public health concern. Culex pipiens-restuans is the principle mosquito vector of WNv in the northeastern United States while Aedes vexans is an important bridge vector of the virus in this region. Vector mosquito abundance is directly dependent on physical environmental factors that provide mosquito habitats. The objective of this research is to determine landscape elements that explain the population abundance and distribution of WNv vector mosquitoes using stepwise linear regression. We developed a novel approach for examining a large set of landscape variables based on a land use and land cover classification by selecting variables in stages to minimize multicollinearity. We also investigated the distance at which landscape elements influence abundance of vector populations using buffer distances of 200, 400, and 1000 m. Results show landscape effects have a significant impact on Cx. pipiens-estuans population distribution while the effects of landscape features are less important for prediction of Ae. vexans population distributions. Cx. pipiens-restuans population abundance is positively correlated with human population density, housing unit density, and urban land use and land cover classes and negatively correlated with age of dwellings and amount of forested land.

  4. Vector-Tensor and Vector-Vector Decay Amplitude Analysis of B0→φK*0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aubert, B.; Bona, M.; Boutigny, D.; Couderc, F.; Karyotakis, Y.; Lees, J. P.; Poireau, V.; Tisserand, V.; Zghiche, A.; Grauges, E.; Palano, A.; Chen, J. C.; Qi, N. D.; Rong, G.; Wang, P.; Zhu, Y. S.; Eigen, G.; Ofte, I.; Stugu, B.; Abrams, G. S.

    2007-01-01

    We perform an amplitude analysis of the decays B 0 →φK 2 * (1430) 0 , φK * (892) 0 , and φ(Kπ) S-wave 0 with a sample of about 384x10 6 BB pairs recorded with the BABAR detector. The fractions of longitudinal polarization f L of the vector-tensor and vector-vector decay modes are measured to be 0.853 -0.069 +0.061 ±0.036 and 0.506±0.040±0.015, respectively. Overall, twelve parameters are measured for the vector-vector decay and seven parameters for the vector-tensor decay, including the branching fractions and parameters sensitive to CP violation

  5. Pesticide Application and Khat Chewing as Predictors of the Neurological Health Outcomes among Pesticide Applicators in a Vector Control Unit, Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed A Ismail

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Pesticide applicators are at risk of developing neurological symptoms and neurobehavioral deficits. This risk may increase if the applicator chews stimulant plants like khat. Objective: To examine the sociodemographic and exposure determinants of neurological symptoms presentation, neurobehavioral performance, and cholinesterase activity among pesticide applicators in a vector control unit, Saudi Arabia. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 30 pesticide applicators and 32 non-applicators from a vector control unit in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia, were studied. The study participants completed an exposure and medical questionnaire, and a neurobehavioral test battery. Their blood samples were also tested for the measurement of butyryl cholinesterase (BChE. Results: The mean blood BChE level was no significantly different between the applicators and non-applicators. Working in pesticide application and chewing khat were significant predictors of the neurological symptoms presentation and neurobehavioral deficits among the study participants. Each factor was associated with about 40% of the symptoms included in the questionnaire. Exposure to pyrethroids was significantly associated with a decrement in symbol digit test latency, tapping (TAP non-preferred hand, and TAP alternating hands measures, representing the executive and motor speed/coordination functions. Khat chewing was associated with TAP preferred and non-preferred hands and serial digit learning measures, representing the memory and motor speed/coordination functions. Conclusions: It seems that being exposed to pyrethroids and chewing khat are associated with neurological and neurobehavioral drawbacks among pesticide applicators.

  6. About vectors

    CERN Document Server

    Hoffmann, Banesh

    1975-01-01

    From his unusual beginning in ""Defining a vector"" to his final comments on ""What then is a vector?"" author Banesh Hoffmann has written a book that is provocative and unconventional. In his emphasis on the unresolved issue of defining a vector, Hoffmann mixes pure and applied mathematics without using calculus. The result is a treatment that can serve as a supplement and corrective to textbooks, as well as collateral reading in all courses that deal with vectors. Major topics include vectors and the parallelogram law; algebraic notation and basic ideas; vector algebra; scalars and scalar p

  7. Mitral valve coaptation and its relationship to late diastolic flow: A color Doppler and vector flow map echocardiographic study in normal subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherrid, Mark V; Kushner, Josef; Yang, Georgiana; Ro, Richard

    2017-04-01

    Three competing theories about the mechanism of mitral coaptation in normal subjects were evaluated by color Doppler and vector flow mapping (VFM): (1) beginning of ventricular (LV) ejection, (2) "breaking of the jet" of diastolic LV inflow, and (3) returning diastolic vortices impacting the leaflets on their LV surfaces. We analyzed 80 color Doppler frames and 320 VFM measurements. In all 20 normal subjects, coaptation occurred before LV ejection, 78±16 ms before onset. On color Doppler frames the larger anterior, and smaller posterior vortices circle back and, in all cases, strike the ventricular surfaces of the leaflets. On the first closing-begins frame, for the first time, vortex velocity normal to the ventricular surface of the anterior leaflet (AML) is greater than that in the mitral orifice, and the angle of attack of LV vortical flow onto the AML is twice as high as the angle of flow onto the valve in orifice. Thus, at the moment coaptation begins, vortical flow strikes the mitral leaflet with higher velocity, and higher angle of attack than orifice flow, and thus with greater force. According to the "breaking of the jet" theory, one would expect to see de novo LV flow perpendicular to the leaflets beginning after transmitral flow terminates. Instead, the returning continuous LV vortical flow that impacts the valve builds continuously after the P-wave. Late diastolic vortices strike the ventricular surfaces of the mitral leaflets and contribute to valve coaptation, permitted by concomitant decline in transmitral flow. © 2017, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Correction of mutant Fanconi anemia gene by homologous recombination in human hematopoietic cells using adeno-associated virus vector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paiboonsukwong, Kittiphong; Ohbayashi, Fumi; Shiiba, Haruka; Aizawa, Emi; Yamashita, Takayuki; Mitani, Kohnosuke

    2009-11-01

    Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have been shown to correct a variety of mutations in human cells by homologous recombination (HR) at high rates, which can overcome insertional mutagenesis and transgene silencing, two of the major hurdles in conventional gene addition therapy of inherited diseases. We examined an ability of AAV vectors to repair a mutation in human hematopoietic cells by HR. We infected a human B-lymphoblastoid cell line (BCL) derived from a normal subject with an AAV, which disrupts the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase1 (HPRT1) locus, to measure the frequency of AAV-mediated HR in BCL cells. We subsequently constructed an AAV vector encoding the normal sequences from the Fanconi anemia group A (FANCA) locus to correct a mutation in the gene in BCL derived from a FANCA patient. Under optimal conditions, approximately 50% of BCL cells were transduced with an AAV serotype 2 (AAV-2) vector. In FANCA BCL cells, up to 0.016% of infected cells were gene-corrected by HR. AAV-mediated restoration of normal genotypic and phenotypic characteristics in FANCA-mutant cells was confirmed at the DNA, protein and functional levels. The results obtained in the present study indicate that AAV vectors may be applicable for gene correction therapy of inherited hematopoietic disorders.

  9. Normal foot and ankle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissman, S.D.

    1989-01-01

    The foot may be thought of as a bag of bones tied tightly together and functioning as a unit. The bones re expected to maintain their alignment without causing symptomatology to the patient. The author discusses a normal radiograph. The bones must have normal shape and normal alignment. The density of the soft tissues should be normal and there should be no fractures, tumors, or foreign bodies

  10. Vectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boeriis, Morten; van Leeuwen, Theo

    2017-01-01

    should be taken into account in discussing ‘reactions’, which Kress and van Leeuwen link only to eyeline vectors. Finally, the question can be raised as to whether actions are always realized by vectors. Drawing on a re-reading of Rudolf Arnheim’s account of vectors, these issues are outlined......This article revisits the concept of vectors, which, in Kress and van Leeuwen’s Reading Images (2006), plays a crucial role in distinguishing between ‘narrative’, action-oriented processes and ‘conceptual’, state-oriented processes. The use of this concept in image analysis has usually focused...

  11. A Lesson in Vectors "Plain" and Simple

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradshaw, David M.

    2004-01-01

    The United States Military Academy (USMA) has a four course core mathematics curriculum that is studied by all students. The third course is MA205, Calculus II; a multivariate calculus course filled with practical applications. During a Problem Solving Lab (PSL), students participated in a hands-on exercise with multiple vector operations,…

  12. Directional Transverse Oscillation Vector Flow Estimation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

    2017-01-01

    A method for estimating vector velocities using transverse oscillation (TO) combined with directional beamforming is presented. In Directional Transverse Oscillation (DTO) a normal focused field is emitted and the received signals are beamformed in the lateral direction transverse to the ultrasound...... beam to increase the amount of data for vector velocity estimation. The approach is self-calibrating as the lateral oscillation period is estimated from the directional signal through a Fourier transform to yield quantitative velocity results over a large range of depths. The approach was extensively...... simulated using Field IIpro and implemented on the experimental SARUS scanner in connection with a BK Medical 8820e convex array transducer. Velocity estimates for DTO are found for beam-to-flow angles of 60, 75, and 90, and vessel depths from 24 to 156 mm. Using 16 emissions the Standard Deviation (SD...

  13. Characterizations of Space Curves According to Bishop Darboux Vector in Euclidean 3-Space E3

    OpenAIRE

    Huseyin KOCAYIGIT; Ali OZDEMIR

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we obtained some characterizations of space curves according to Bihop frame in Euclidean 3-space E3 by using Laplacian operator and Levi-Civita connection. Furthermore, we gave the general differential equations which characterize the space curves according to the Bishop Darboux vector and the normal Bishop Darboux vector.

  14. Vector regression introduced

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mok Tik

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This study formulates regression of vector data that will enable statistical analysis of various geodetic phenomena such as, polar motion, ocean currents, typhoon/hurricane tracking, crustal deformations, and precursory earthquake signals. The observed vector variable of an event (dependent vector variable is expressed as a function of a number of hypothesized phenomena realized also as vector variables (independent vector variables and/or scalar variables that are likely to impact the dependent vector variable. The proposed representation has the unique property of solving the coefficients of independent vector variables (explanatory variables also as vectors, hence it supersedes multivariate multiple regression models, in which the unknown coefficients are scalar quantities. For the solution, complex numbers are used to rep- resent vector information, and the method of least squares is deployed to estimate the vector model parameters after transforming the complex vector regression model into a real vector regression model through isomorphism. Various operational statistics for testing the predictive significance of the estimated vector parameter coefficients are also derived. A simple numerical example demonstrates the use of the proposed vector regression analysis in modeling typhoon paths.

  15. Algebra of Complex Vectors and Applications in Electromagnetic Theory and Quantum Mechanics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kundeti Muralidhar

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available A complex vector is a sum of a vector and a bivector and forms a natural extension of a vector. The complex vectors have certain special geometric properties and considered as algebraic entities. These represent rotations along with specified orientation and direction in space. It has been shown that the association of complex vector with its conjugate generates complex vector space and the corresponding basis elements defined from the complex vector and its conjugate form a closed complex four dimensional linear space. The complexification process in complex vector space allows the generation of higher n-dimensional geometric algebra from (n — 1-dimensional algebra by considering the unit pseudoscalar identification with square root of minus one. The spacetime algebra can be generated from the geometric algebra by considering a vector equal to square root of plus one. The applications of complex vector algebra are discussed mainly in the electromagnetic theory and in the dynamics of an elementary particle with extended structure. Complex vector formalism simplifies the expressions and elucidates geometrical understanding of the basic concepts. The analysis shows that the existence of spin transforms a classical oscillator into a quantum oscillator. In conclusion the classical mechanics combined with zeropoint field leads to quantum mechanics.

  16. Kochen-Specker vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavicic, Mladen; Merlet, Jean-Pierre; McKay, Brendan; Megill, Norman D

    2005-01-01

    We give a constructive and exhaustive definition of Kochen-Specker (KS) vectors in a Hilbert space of any dimension as well as of all the remaining vectors of the space. KS vectors are elements of any set of orthonormal states, i.e., vectors in an n-dimensional Hilbert space, H n , n≥3, to which it is impossible to assign 1s and 0s in such a way that no two mutually orthogonal vectors from the set are both assigned 1 and that not all mutually orthogonal vectors are assigned 0. Our constructive definition of such KS vectors is based on algorithms that generate MMP diagrams corresponding to blocks of orthogonal vectors in R n , on algorithms that single out those diagrams on which algebraic (0)-(1) states cannot be defined, and on algorithms that solve nonlinear equations describing the orthogonalities of the vectors by means of statistically polynomially complex interval analysis and self-teaching programs. The algorithms are limited neither by the number of dimensions nor by the number of vectors. To demonstrate the power of the algorithms, all four-dimensional KS vector systems containing up to 24 vectors were generated and described, all three-dimensional vector systems containing up to 30 vectors were scanned, and several general properties of KS vectors were found

  17. Seasonal changes in the apparent position of the Sun as elementary applications of vector operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levine, Jonathan

    2014-01-01

    Many introductory courses in physics face an unpleasant chicken-and-egg problem. One might choose to introduce students to physical quantities such as velocity, acceleration, and momentum in over-simplified one-dimensional applications before introducing vectors and their manipulation; or one might first introduce vectors as mathematical objects and defer demonstration of their physical utility. This paper offers a solution to this pedagogical problem: elementary vector operations can be used without mechanics concepts to understand variations in the solar latitude, duration of daylight, and orientation of the rising and setting Sun. I show how sunrise and sunset phenomena lend themselves to exercises with scalar products, vector products, unit vectors, and vector projections that can be useful for introducing vector analysis in the context of physics. (paper)

  18. Elementary vectors

    CERN Document Server

    Wolstenholme, E Œ

    1978-01-01

    Elementary Vectors, Third Edition serves as an introductory course in vector analysis and is intended to present the theoretical and application aspects of vectors. The book covers topics that rigorously explain and provide definitions, principles, equations, and methods in vector analysis. Applications of vector methods to simple kinematical and dynamical problems; central forces and orbits; and solutions to geometrical problems are discussed as well. This edition of the text also provides an appendix, intended for students, which the author hopes to bridge the gap between theory and appl

  19. Magnetic concentration of a retroviral vector using magnetite cationic liposomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Akira; Takahashi, Tetsuya; Kameyama, Yujiro; Kawabe, Yoshinori; Kamihira, Masamichi

    2009-03-01

    For tissue engineering purposes, retroviral vectors represent an efficient method of delivering exogenous genes such as growth factors to injured tissues because gene-transduced cells can produce stable and constant levels of the gene product. However, retroviral vector technology suffers from low yields. In the present study, we used magnetite nanoparticles and magnetic force to concentrate the retroviral vectors to enhance the transduction efficiency and to enable their magnetic manipulation. Magnetite nanoparticles modified with cationic liposomes were added to a solution containing a retroviral vector pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein. The magnetic particles that captured the viral vectors were collected using a magnetic force and seeded into mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells. The viral titer was up to 55 times greater (up to 3 x 10(8) infectious units/mL). Additionally, the magnetically labeled retroviral vectors can be directed to the desired regions for infection by applying magnetic fields, and micro-patterns of gene-transduced cell regions could be created on a cellular monolayer using micro-patterned magnetic concentrators. These results suggest that this technique provides a promising approach to capturing and concentrating viral vectors, thus achieving high transduction efficiency and the ability to deliver genes to a specific injured site by applying a magnetic field.

  20. Vector control of three-phase AC/DC front-end converter

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    directional power flow capability. A design procedure for selection of control parameters is discussed. A simple algorithm for unit-vector generation is presented. Starting current transients are studied with particular emphasis on high-power ...

  1. Genetic manipulation of endosymbionts to control vector and vector borne diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay Prakash Gupta

    Full Text Available Vector borne diseases (VBD are on the rise because of failure of the existing methods of control of vector and vector borne diseases and the climate change. A steep rise of VBDs are due to several factors like selection of insecticide resistant vector population, drug resistant parasite population and lack of effective vaccines against the VBDs. Environmental pollution, public health hazard and insecticide resistant vector population indicate that the insecticides are no longer a sustainable control method of vector and vector-borne diseases. Amongst the various alternative control strategies, symbiont based approach utilizing endosymbionts of arthropod vectors could be explored to control the vector and vector borne diseases. The endosymbiont population of arthropod vectors could be exploited in different ways viz., as a chemotherapeutic target, vaccine target for the control of vectors. Expression of molecules with antiparasitic activity by genetically transformed symbiotic bacteria of disease-transmitting arthropods may serve as a powerful approach to control certain arthropod-borne diseases. Genetic transformation of symbiotic bacteria of the arthropod vector to alter the vector’s ability to transmit pathogen is an alternative means of blocking the transmission of VBDs. In Indian scenario, where dengue, chikungunya, malaria and filariosis are prevalent, paratransgenic based approach can be used effectively. [Vet World 2012; 5(9.000: 571-576

  2. EnviroAtlas - Average Direct Normal Solar resources kWh/m2/Day by 12-Digit HUC for the Conterminous United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The annual average direct normal solar resources by 12-Digit Hydrologic Unit (HUC) was estimated from maps produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for...

  3. Emerging vector borne diseases – incidence through vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara eSavic

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Vector borne diseases use to be a major public health concern only in tropical and subtropical areas, but today they are an emerging threat for the continental and developed countries also. Nowdays, in intercontinetal countries, there is a struggle with emerging diseases which have found their way to appear through vectors. Vector borne zoonotic diseases occur when vectors, animal hosts, climate conditions, pathogens and susceptible human population exist at the same time, at the same place. Global climate change is predicted to lead to an increase in vector borne infectious diseases and disease outbreaks. It could affect the range and popultion of pathogens, host and vectors, transmission season, etc. Reliable surveilance for diseases that are most likely to emerge is required. Canine vector borne diseases represent a complex group of diseases including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, erlichiosis, leishmaniosis. Some of these diseases cause serious clinical symptoms in dogs and some of them have a zoonotic potential with an effect to public health. It is expected from veterinarians in coordination with medical doctors to play a fudamental role at primeraly prevention and then treatment of vector borne diseases in dogs. The One Health concept has to be integrated into the struggle against emerging diseases.During a four year period, from 2009-2013, a total number of 551 dog samples were analysed for vector borne diseases (borreliosis, babesiosis, erlichiosis, anaplasmosis, dirofilariosis and leishmaniasis in routine laboratory work. The analysis were done by serological tests – ELISA for borreliosis, dirofilariosis and leishmaniasis, modified Knott test for dirofilariosis and blood smear for babesiosis, erlichiosis and anaplasmosis. This number of samples represented 75% of total number of samples that were sent for analysis for different diseases in dogs. Annually, on avarege more then half of the samples

  4. Bioengineering a non-genotoxic vector for genetic modification of mesenchymal stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuguang; Nomani, Alireza; Patel, Niket; Nouri, Faranak S; Hatefi, Arash

    2018-01-01

    Vectors used for stem cell transfection must be non-genotoxic, in addition to possessing high efficiency, because they could potentially transform normal stem cells into cancer-initiating cells. The objective of this research was to bioengineer an efficient vector that can be used for genetic modification of stem cells without any negative somatic or genetic impact. Two types of multifunctional vectors, namely targeted and non-targeted were genetically engineered and purified from E. coli. The targeted vectors were designed to enter stem cells via overexpressed receptors. The non-targeted vectors were equipped with MPG and Pep1 cell penetrating peptides. A series of commercial synthetic non-viral vectors and an adenoviral vector were used as controls. All vectors were evaluated for their efficiency and impact on metabolic activity, cell membrane integrity, chromosomal aberrations (micronuclei formation), gene dysregulation, and differentiation ability of stem cells. The results of this study showed that the bioengineered vector utilizing VEGFR-1 receptors for cellular entry could transfect mesenchymal stem cells with high efficiency without inducing genotoxicity, negative impact on gene function, or ability to differentiate. Overall, the vectors that utilized receptors as ports for cellular entry (viral and non-viral) showed considerably better somato- and genosafety profiles in comparison to those that entered through electrostatic interaction with cellular membrane. The genetically engineered vector in this study demonstrated that it can be safely and efficiently used to genetically modify stem cells with potential applications in tissue engineering and cancer therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Identifying saltcedar with hyperspectral data and support vector machines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) are a group of dense phreatophytic shrubs and trees that are invasive to riparian areas throughout the United States. This study determined the feasibility of using hyperspectral data and a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to discriminate saltcedar from other cover t...

  6. Body composition of chronic renal patients: anthropometry and bioimpedance vector analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viviane Soares

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: to compare the body composition of patients undergoing hemodialysis with that of healthy individuals using different methods. METHOD: cross-sectional study assessing male individuals using anthropometric markers, electrical bioimpedance and vector analysis. RESULTS: the healthy individuals presented larger triceps skinfold and arm circumference (p<0.001. The bioimpedance variables also presented significant higher values in this group. Significant difference was found in the confidence interval of the vector analysis performed for both the patients and healthy individuals (p<0.0001. The tolerance intervals showed that 55.20% of the patients were dehydrated, 10.30% presented visible edema, and 34.50% were within normal levels of hydration. Bioimpedance and vector analysis revealed that 52% of the patients presented decreased cell mass while 14.00% presented increased cell mass. CONCLUSIONS: the differences in the body composition of patients and healthy individuals were revealed through bioimpedance and vector analysis but not through their measures of arm circumference and arm muscle area.

  7. Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus Vectors Fully Retargeted to Tumor- Associated Antigens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchida, Hiroaki; Hamada, Hirofumi; Nakano, Kenji; Kwon, Heechung; Tahara, Hideaki; Cohen, Justus B; Glorioso, Joseph C

    2018-01-01

    Oncolytic virotherapy is a novel therapeutic modality for malignant diseases that exploits selective viral replication in cancer cells. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a promising agent for oncolytic virotherapy due to its broad cell tropism and the identification of mutations that favor its replication in tumor over normal cells. However, these attenuating mutations also tend to limit the potency of current oncolytic HSV vectors that have entered clinical studies. As an alternative, vector retargeting to novel entry receptors has the potential to achieve tumor specificity at the stage of virus entry, eliminating the need for replication-attenuating mutations. Here, we summarize the molecular mechanism of HSV entry and recent advances in the development of fully retargeted HSV vectors for oncolytic virotherapy. Retargeted HSV vectors offer an attractive platform for the creation of a new generation of oncolytic HSV with improved efficacy and specificity. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  8. Targeting of breast metastases using a viral gene vector with tumour-selective transcription.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Rajendran, Simon

    2012-01-31

    BACKGROUND: Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have significant potential as gene delivery vectors for cancer gene therapy. However, broad AAV2 tissue tropism results in nonspecific gene expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated use of the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) promoter to restrict AAV expression to tumour cells, in subcutaneous MCF-7 xenograft mouse models of breast cancer and in patient samples, using bioluminescent imaging and flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS: Higher transgene expression levels were observed in subcutaneous MCF-7 tumours relative to normal tissue (muscle) using the CXCR4 promoter, unlike a ubiquitously expressing Cytomegalovirus promoter construct, with preferential AAVCXCR4 expression in epithelial tumour and CXCR4-positive cells. Transgene expression following intravenously administered AAVCXCR4 in a model of liver metastasis was detected specifically in livers of tumour bearing mice. Ex vivo analysis using patient samples also demonstrated higher AAVCXCR4 expression in tumour compared with normal liver tissue. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates for the first time, the potential for systemic administration of AAV2 vector for tumour-selective gene therapy.

  9. Method for construction of normalized cDNA libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Marcelo B.; Efstratiadis, Argiris

    1998-01-01

    This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form comprising: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3' noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to appropriate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. This invention also provides normalized cDNA libraries generated by the above-described method and uses of the generated libraries.

  10. Testing the statistical isotropy of large scale structure with multipole vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zunckel, Caroline; Huterer, Dragan; Starkman, Glenn D.

    2011-01-01

    A fundamental assumption in cosmology is that of statistical isotropy - that the Universe, on average, looks the same in every direction in the sky. Statistical isotropy has recently been tested stringently using cosmic microwave background data, leading to intriguing results on large angular scales. Here we apply some of the same techniques used in the cosmic microwave background to the distribution of galaxies on the sky. Using the multipole vector approach, where each multipole in the harmonic decomposition of galaxy density field is described by unit vectors and an amplitude, we lay out the basic formalism of how to reconstruct the multipole vectors and their statistics out of galaxy survey catalogs. We apply the algorithm to synthetic galaxy maps, and study the sensitivity of the multipole vector reconstruction accuracy to the density, depth, sky coverage, and pixelization of galaxy catalog maps.

  11. Vector-vector production in photon-photon interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ronan, M.T.

    1988-01-01

    Measurements of exclusive untagged /rho/ 0 /rho/ 0 , /rho//phi/, K/sup *//bar K//sup */, and /rho/ω production and tagged /rho/ 0 /rho/ 0 production in photon-photon interactions by the TPC/Two-Gamma experiment are reviewed. Comparisons to the results of other experiments and to models of vector-vector production are made. Fits to the data following a four quark model prescription for vector meson pair production are also presented. 10 refs., 9 figs

  12. Effect of normalization methods on the performance of supervised learning algorithms applied to HTSeq-FPKM-UQ data sets: 7SK RNA expression as a predictor of survival in patients with colon adenocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahriyari, Leili

    2017-11-03

    One of the main challenges in machine learning (ML) is choosing an appropriate normalization method. Here, we examine the effect of various normalization methods on analyzing FPKM upper quartile (FPKM-UQ) RNA sequencing data sets. We collect the HTSeq-FPKM-UQ files of patients with colon adenocarcinoma from TCGA-COAD project. We compare three most common normalization methods: scaling, standardizing using z-score and vector normalization by visualizing the normalized data set and evaluating the performance of 12 supervised learning algorithms on the normalized data set. Additionally, for each of these normalization methods, we use two different normalization strategies: normalizing samples (files) or normalizing features (genes). Regardless of normalization methods, a support vector machine (SVM) model with the radial basis function kernel had the maximum accuracy (78%) in predicting the vital status of the patients. However, the fitting time of SVM depended on the normalization methods, and it reached its minimum fitting time when files were normalized to the unit length. Furthermore, among all 12 learning algorithms and 6 different normalization techniques, the Bernoulli naive Bayes model after standardizing files had the best performance in terms of maximizing the accuracy as well as minimizing the fitting time. We also investigated the effect of dimensionality reduction methods on the performance of the supervised ML algorithms. Reducing the dimension of the data set did not increase the maximum accuracy of 78%. However, it leaded to discovery of the 7SK RNA gene expression as a predictor of survival in patients with colon adenocarcinoma with accuracy of 78%. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  13. Support Vector Machine Classification of Drunk Driving Behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Huiqin; Chen, Lei

    2017-01-23

    Alcohol is the root cause of numerous traffic accidents due to its pharmacological action on the human central nervous system. This study conducted a detection process to distinguish drunk driving from normal driving under simulated driving conditions. The classification was performed by a support vector machine (SVM) classifier trained to distinguish between these two classes by integrating both driving performance and physiological measurements. In addition, principal component analysis was conducted to rank the weights of the features. The standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN), the root mean square value of the difference of the adjacent R-R interval series (RMSSD), low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), the ratio of the low and high frequencies (LF/HF), and average blink duration were the highest weighted features in the study. The results show that SVM classification can successfully distinguish drunk driving from normal driving with an accuracy of 70%. The driving performance data and the physiological measurements reported by this paper combined with air-alcohol concentration could be integrated using the support vector regression classification method to establish a better early warning model, thereby improving vehicle safety.

  14. Support Vector Machine Classification of Drunk Driving Behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiqin Chen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Alcohol is the root cause of numerous traffic accidents due to its pharmacological action on the human central nervous system. This study conducted a detection process to distinguish drunk driving from normal driving under simulated driving conditions. The classification was performed by a support vector machine (SVM classifier trained to distinguish between these two classes by integrating both driving performance and physiological measurements. In addition, principal component analysis was conducted to rank the weights of the features. The standard deviation of R–R intervals (SDNN, the root mean square value of the difference of the adjacent R–R interval series (RMSSD, low frequency (LF, high frequency (HF, the ratio of the low and high frequencies (LF/HF, and average blink duration were the highest weighted features in the study. The results show that SVM classification can successfully distinguish drunk driving from normal driving with an accuracy of 70%. The driving performance data and the physiological measurements reported by this paper combined with air-alcohol concentration could be integrated using the support vector regression classification method to establish a better early warning model, thereby improving vehicle safety.

  15. Accelerating Matrix-Vector Multiplication on Hierarchical Matrices Using Graphical Processing Units

    KAUST Repository

    Boukaram, W.

    2015-03-25

    Large dense matrices arise from the discretization of many physical phenomena in computational sciences. In statistics very large dense covariance matrices are used for describing random fields and processes. One can, for instance, describe distribution of dust particles in the atmosphere, concentration of mineral resources in the earth\\'s crust or uncertain permeability coefficient in reservoir modeling. When the problem size grows, storing and computing with the full dense matrix becomes prohibitively expensive both in terms of computational complexity and physical memory requirements. Fortunately, these matrices can often be approximated by a class of data sparse matrices called hierarchical matrices (H-matrices) where various sub-blocks of the matrix are approximated by low rank matrices. These matrices can be stored in memory that grows linearly with the problem size. In addition, arithmetic operations on these H-matrices, such as matrix-vector multiplication, can be completed in almost linear time. Originally the H-matrix technique was developed for the approximation of stiffness matrices coming from partial differential and integral equations. Parallelizing these arithmetic operations on the GPU has been the focus of this work and we will present work done on the matrix vector operation on the GPU using the KSPARSE library.

  16. Prediction of Machine Tool Condition Using Support Vector Machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Peigong; Meng Qingfeng; Zhao Jian; Li Junjie; Wang Xiufeng

    2011-01-01

    Condition monitoring and predicting of CNC machine tools are investigated in this paper. Considering the CNC machine tools are often small numbers of samples, a condition predicting method for CNC machine tools based on support vector machines (SVMs) is proposed, then one-step and multi-step condition prediction models are constructed. The support vector machines prediction models are used to predict the trends of working condition of a certain type of CNC worm wheel and gear grinding machine by applying sequence data of vibration signal, which is collected during machine processing. And the relationship between different eigenvalue in CNC vibration signal and machining quality is discussed. The test result shows that the trend of vibration signal Peak-to-peak value in surface normal direction is most relevant to the trend of surface roughness value. In trends prediction of working condition, support vector machine has higher prediction accuracy both in the short term ('One-step') and long term (multi-step) prediction compared to autoregressive (AR) model and the RBF neural network. Experimental results show that it is feasible to apply support vector machine to CNC machine tool condition prediction.

  17. Unit root vector autoregression with volatility induced stationarity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rahbek, Anders; Nielsen, Heino Bohn

    We propose a discrete-time multivariate model where lagged levels of the process enter both the conditional mean and the conditional variance. This way we allow for the empirically observed persistence in time series such as interest rates, often implying unit-roots, while at the same time maintain...... and geometrically ergodic. Interestingly, these conditions include the case of unit roots and a reduced rank structure in the conditional mean, known from linear co-integration to imply non-stationarity. Asymptotic theory of the maximum likelihood estimators for a particular structured case (so-called self...

  18. Unit Root Vector Autoregression with volatility Induced Stationarity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rahbek, Anders; Nielsen, Heino Bohn

    We propose a discrete-time multivariate model where lagged levels of the process enter both the conditional mean and the conditional variance. This way we allow for the empirically observed persistence in time series such as interest rates, often implying unit-roots, while at the same time maintain...... and geometrically ergodic. Interestingly, these conditions include the case of unit roots and a reduced rank structure in the conditional mean, known from linear co-integration to imply non-stationarity. Asymptotic theory of the maximum likelihood estimators for a particular structured case (so-called self...

  19. Viral vector-based tools advance knowledge of basal ganglia anatomy and physiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sizemore, Rachel J; Seeger-Armbruster, Sonja; Hughes, Stephanie M; Parr-Brownlie, Louise C

    2016-04-01

    Viral vectors were originally developed to deliver genes into host cells for therapeutic potential. However, viral vector use in neuroscience research has increased because they enhance interpretation of the anatomy and physiology of brain circuits compared with conventional tract tracing or electrical stimulation techniques. Viral vectors enable neuronal or glial subpopulations to be labeled or stimulated, which can be spatially restricted to a single target nucleus or pathway. Here we review the use of viral vectors to examine the structure and function of motor and limbic basal ganglia (BG) networks in normal and pathological states. We outline the use of viral vectors, particularly lentivirus and adeno-associated virus, in circuit tracing, optogenetic stimulation, and designer drug stimulation experiments. Key studies that have used viral vectors to trace and image pathways and connectivity at gross or ultrastructural levels are reviewed. We explain how optogenetic stimulation and designer drugs used to modulate a distinct pathway and neuronal subpopulation have enhanced our mechanistic understanding of BG function in health and pathophysiology in disease. Finally, we outline how viral vector technology may be applied to neurological and psychiatric conditions to offer new treatments with enhanced outcomes for patients. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  20. Investigation of support vector machine for the detection of architectural distortion in mammographic images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Q; Shao, J; Ruiz, V

    2005-01-01

    This paper investigates detection of architectural distortion in mammographic images using support vector machine. Hausdorff dimension is used to characterise the texture feature of mammographic images. Support vector machine, a learning machine based on statistical learning theory, is trained through supervised learning to detect architectural distortion. Compared to the Radial Basis Function neural networks, SVM produced more accurate classification results in distinguishing architectural distortion abnormality from normal breast parenchyma

  1. Investigation of support vector machine for the detection of architectural distortion in mammographic images

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Q [Department of Cybernetics, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AY (United Kingdom); Shao, J [Department of Electronics, University of Kent at Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NT (United Kingdom); Ruiz, V [Department of Cybernetics, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AY (United Kingdom)

    2005-01-01

    This paper investigates detection of architectural distortion in mammographic images using support vector machine. Hausdorff dimension is used to characterise the texture feature of mammographic images. Support vector machine, a learning machine based on statistical learning theory, is trained through supervised learning to detect architectural distortion. Compared to the Radial Basis Function neural networks, SVM produced more accurate classification results in distinguishing architectural distortion abnormality from normal breast parenchyma.

  2. Image processing unit with fall-back.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2011-01-01

    An image processing unit ( 100,200,300 ) for computing a sequence of output images on basis of a sequence of input images, comprises: a motion estimation unit ( 102 ) for computing a motion vector field on basis of the input images; a quality measurement unit ( 104 ) for computing a value of a

  3. Rare Hadronic B Decays to Vector, Axial-Vector and Tensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Y.Y.

    2011-01-01

    The authors review BABAR measurements of several rare B decays, including vector-axial-vector decays B ± → φK 1 ± (1270), B ± → φ K 1 ± (1400) and B ± → b 1 # -+ρ# ± , vector-vector decays B ± → φK* ± (1410), B 0 → K* 0 (bar K)* 0 , B 0 → K*0K*0 and B 0 → K*+K*-, vector-tensor decays B ± → φK* 2 (1430) ± and φK 2 (1770)/ ± (1820), and vector-scalar decays B ± → φK* 0 (1430) ± . Understanding the observed polarization pattern requires amplitude contributions from an uncertain source.

  4. Reporter gene expression in fish following cutaneous infection with pantropic retroviral vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, T A; Burns, J C; Shike, H; Getchell, R; Bowser, P R; Whitlock, K E; Casey, J W

    2001-06-01

    A central issue in gene delivery systems is choosing promoters that will direct defined and sustainable levels of gene expression. Pantropic retroviral vectors provide a means to insert genes into either somatic or germline cells. In this study, we focused on somatic cell infection by evaluating the activity of 3 promoters inserted by vectors into fish cell lines and fish skin using pantropic retroviruses. In bluegill and zebrafish cell lines, the highest levels of luciferase expression were observed from the 5' murine leukemia virus long terminal repeat of the retroviral vector. The Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat and cytomegalovirus early promoter, as internal promoters, generated lower levels of luciferase. Luciferase reporter vectors infected zebrafish skin, as measured by the presence of viral DNA, and expressed luciferase. We infected developing walleye dermal sarcomas with retroviral vectors to provide an environment with enhanced cell proliferation, a condition necessary for integration of the provirus into the host genome. We demonstrated a 4-fold to 7-fold increase in luciferase gene expression in tumor tissue over infections in normal walleye skin.

  5. Segmentation of Planar Surfaces from Laser Scanning Data Using the Magnitude of Normal Position Vector for Adaptive Neighborhoods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Changjae; Habib, Ayman; Pyeon, Muwook; Kwon, Goo-rak; Jung, Jaehoon; Heo, Joon

    2016-01-22

    Diverse approaches to laser point segmentation have been proposed since the emergence of the laser scanning system. Most of these segmentation techniques, however, suffer from limitations such as sensitivity to the choice of seed points, lack of consideration of the spatial relationships among points, and inefficient performance. In an effort to overcome these drawbacks, this paper proposes a segmentation methodology that: (1) reduces the dimensions of the attribute space; (2) considers the attribute similarity and the proximity of the laser point simultaneously; and (3) works well with both airborne and terrestrial laser scanning data. A neighborhood definition based on the shape of the surface increases the homogeneity of the laser point attributes. The magnitude of the normal position vector is used as an attribute for reducing the dimension of the accumulator array. The experimental results demonstrate, through both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, the outcomes' high level of reliability. The proposed segmentation algorithm provided 96.89% overall correctness, 95.84% completeness, a 0.25 m overall mean value of centroid difference, and less than 1° of angle difference. The performance of the proposed approach was also verified with a large dataset and compared with other approaches. Additionally, the evaluation of the sensitivity of the thresholds was carried out. In summary, this paper proposes a robust and efficient segmentation methodology for abstraction of an enormous number of laser points into plane information.

  6. Vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Brand, Louis

    2006-01-01

    The use of vectors not only simplifies treatments of differential geometry, mechanics, hydrodynamics, and electrodynamics, but also makes mathematical and physical concepts more tangible and easy to grasp. This text for undergraduates was designed as a short introductory course to give students the tools of vector algebra and calculus, as well as a brief glimpse into these subjects' manifold applications. The applications are developed to the extent that the uses of the potential function, both scalar and vector, are fully illustrated. Moreover, the basic postulates of vector analysis are brou

  7. Quaternion normalization in additive EKF for spacecraft attitude determination. [Extended Kalman Filters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bar-Itzhack, I. Y.; Deutschmann, J.; Markley, F. L.

    1991-01-01

    This work introduces, examines and compares several quaternion normalization algorithms, which are shown to be an effective stage in the application of the additive extended Kalman filter to spacecraft attitude determination, which is based on vector measurements. Three new normalization schemes are introduced. They are compared with one another and with the known brute force normalization scheme, and their efficiency is examined. Simulated satellite data are used to demonstate the performance of all four schemes.

  8. Building an Orthonormal Basis from a 3D Unit Vector Without Normalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frisvad, Jeppe Revall

    2012-01-01

    I present two tools that save the computation of a dot product and a reciprocal square root in operations that are used frequently in the core of many rendering programs. The first tool is a formula for rotating a direction sampled around the z -axis to a direction sampled around an arbitrary uni...

  9. Challenging assumptions of notational transparency: the case of vectors in engineering mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig, Tracy S.

    2017-11-01

    The notation for vector analysis has a contentious nineteenth century history, with many different notations describing the same or similar concepts competing for use. While the twentieth century has seen a great deal of unification in vector analysis notation, variation still remains. In this paper, the two primary notations used for expressing the components of a vector are discussed in historical and current context. Popular mathematical texts use the two notations as if they are transparent and interchangeable. In this research project, engineering students' proficiency at vector analysis was assessed and the data were analyzed using the Rasch measurement method. Results indicate that the students found items expressed in unit vector notation more difficult than those expressed in parenthesis notation. The expert experience of notation as transparent and unproblematically symbolic of underlying processes independent of notation is shown to contrast with the student experience where the less familiar notation is experienced as harder to work with.

  10. Some Algorithms for the Conditional Mean Vector and Covariance Matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John F. Monahan

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available We consider here the problem of computing the mean vector and covariance matrix for a conditional normal distribution, considering especially a sequence of problems where the conditioning variables are changing. The sweep operator provides one simple general approach that is easy to implement and update. A second, more goal-oriented general method avoids explicit computation of the vector and matrix, while enabling easy evaluation of the conditional density for likelihood computation or easy generation from the conditional distribution. The covariance structure that arises from the special case of an ARMA(p, q time series can be exploited for substantial improvements in computational efficiency.

  11. Vectors and Rotations in 3-Dimensions: Vector Algebra for the C++ Programmer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-01

    release; distribution is unlimited. 1. Introduction This report describes 2 C++ classes: a Vector class for performing vector algebra in 3-dimensional...ARL-TR-7894•DEC 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Vectors and Rotations in 3-Dimensions:Vector Algebra for the C++ Programmer by Richard Saucier...Army Research Laboratory Vectors and Rotations in 3-Dimensions:Vector Algebra for the C++ Programmer by Richard Saucier Survivability/Lethality

  12. A temporal subtraction method for thoracic CT images based on generalized gradient vector flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyake, Noriaki; Kim, H.; Maeda, Shinya; Itai, Yoshinori; Tan, J.K.; Ishikawa, Seiji; Katsuragawa, Shigehiko

    2010-01-01

    A temporal subtraction image, which is obtained by subtraction of a previous image from a current one, can be used for enhancing interval changes (such as formation of new lesions and changes in existing abnormalities) on medical images by removing most of the normal structures. If image registration is incorrect, not only the interval changes but also the normal structures would be appeared as some artifacts on the temporal subtraction image. In a temporal subtraction technique for 2-D X-ray image, the effectiveness is shown through a lot of clinical evaluation experiments, and practical use is advancing. Moreover, the MDCT (Multi-Detector row Computed Tomography) can easily introduced on medical field, the development of a temporal subtraction for thoracic CT Images is expected. In our study, a temporal subtraction technique for thoracic CT Images is developed. As the technique, the vector fields are described by use of GGVF (Generalized Gradient Vector Flow) from the previous and current CT images. Afterwards, VOI (Volume of Interest) are set up on the previous and current CT image pairs. The shift vectors are calculated by using nearest neighbor matching of the vector fields in these VOIs. The search kernel on previous CT image is set up from the obtained shift vector. The previous CT voxel which resemble standard the current voxel is detected by voxel value and vector of the GGVF in the kernel. And, the previous CT image is transformed to the same coordinate of standard voxel. Finally, temporal subtraction image is made by subtraction of a warping image from a current one. To verify the proposal method, the result of application to 7 cases and the effectiveness are described. (author)

  13. Deformation structure analysis of material at fatigue on the basis of the vector field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kibitkin, Vladimir V.; Solodushkin, Andrey I.; Pleshanov, Vasily S.

    2017-12-01

    In the paper, spatial distributions of deformation, circulation, and shear amplitudes and shear angles are obtained from the displacement vector field measured by the DIC technique. This vector field and its characteristics of shears and vortices are given as an example of such approach. The basic formulae are also given. The experiment shows that honeycomb deformation structures can arise in the center of a macrovortex at developed plastic flow. The spatial distribution of local circulation and shears is discovered, which coincides with the deformation structure but their amplitudes are different. The analysis proves that the spatial distribution of shear angles is a result of maximum tangential and normal stresses. The anticlockwise circulation of most local vortices obeys the normal Gaussian law in the area of interest.

  14. Measurement of Charmless B to Vector-Vector decays at BaBar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olaiya, Emmanuel

    2011-01-01

    The authors present results of B → vector-vector (VV) and B → vector-axial vector (VA) decays B 0 → φX(X = φ,ρ + or ρ 0 ), B + → φK (*)+ , B 0 → K*K*, B 0 → ρ + b 1 - and B + → K* 0 α 1 + . The largest dataset used for these results is based on 465 x 10 6 Υ(4S) → B(bar B) decays, collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B meson factory located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). Using larger datasets, the BABAR experiment has provided more precise B → VV measurements, further supporting the smaller than expected longitudinal polarization fraction of B → φK*. Additional B meson to vector-vector and vector-axial vector decays have also been studied with a view to shedding light on the polarization anomaly. Taking into account the available errors, we find no disagreement between theory and experiment for these additional decays.

  15. Finding a Hadamard matrix by simulated annealing of spin vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayu Suksmono, Andriyan

    2017-05-01

    Reformulation of a combinatorial problem into optimization of a statistical-mechanics system enables finding a better solution using heuristics derived from a physical process, such as by the simulated annealing (SA). In this paper, we present a Hadamard matrix (H-matrix) searching method based on the SA on an Ising model. By equivalence, an H-matrix can be converted into a seminormalized Hadamard (SH) matrix, whose first column is unit vector and the rest ones are vectors with equal number of -1 and +1 called SH-vectors. We define SH spin vectors as representation of the SH vectors, which play a similar role as the spins on Ising model. The topology of the lattice is generalized into a graph, whose edges represent orthogonality relationship among the SH spin vectors. Starting from a randomly generated quasi H-matrix Q, which is a matrix similar to the SH-matrix without imposing orthogonality, we perform the SA. The transitions of Q are conducted by random exchange of {+, -} spin-pair within the SH-spin vectors that follow the Metropolis update rule. Upon transition toward zeroth energy, the Q-matrix is evolved following a Markov chain toward an orthogonal matrix, at which the H-matrix is said to be found. We demonstrate the capability of the proposed method to find some low-order H-matrices, including the ones that cannot trivially be constructed by the Sylvester method.

  16. Normal modes of vibration in nickel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birgeneau, R J [Yale Univ., New Haven, Connecticut (United States); Cordes, J [Cambridge Univ., Cambridge (United Kingdom); Dolling, G; Woods, A D B

    1964-07-01

    The frequency-wave-vector dispersion relation, {nu}(q), for the normal vibrations of a nickel single crystal at 296{sup o}K has been measured for the [{zeta}00], [{zeta}00], [{zeta}{zeta}{zeta}], and [0{zeta}1] symmetric directions using inelastic neutron scattering. The results can be described in terms of the Born-von Karman theory of lattice dynamics with interactions out to fourth-nearest neighbors. The shapes of the dispersion curves are very similar to those of copper, the normal mode frequencies in nickel being about 1.24 times the corresponding frequencies in copper. The fourth-neighbor model was used to calculate the frequency distribution function g({nu}) and related thermodynamic properties. (author)

  17. Construction of RNAi lentiviral vector targeting mouse Islet-1 gene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shen-shen ZHI

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Objective To construct and select RNAi lentiviral vectors that can silence mouse Islet-1 gene effectively.Methods Three groups of RNAi-target of mouse Islet-1 gene were designed,and corresponding shRNA oligo(sh1,sh2 and sh3 were synthesized,and then they were respectively inserted to the PLVTHM vector that had been digested by endonuclease.Agarose gel electrophoresis and sequencing were used to select and indentify the positive clones.The positive clones were extracted and then mixed with E.coli to amplify positive clones.The amplified clones were then infected into 293T along with the other 3 helper plasmids to produce lentiviral vector.After the construction of the lentiviral vector,plaque formation test was performed to determine the titer of lentiviral vector.The lentiviral vectors were then infected into C3H10T1/2 cells.The transfect efficiency of the lentiviral vectors was determined with flow cytometry with detection of green fluorescent protein(GFP.Q-PCR was employed to detect the RNAi efficiency of the lentiviral vectors.Results Agarose gel electrophoresis analysis showed that the clones with right gene at the target size were successfully established;gene sequencing showed that the right DNA fragments had been inserted;plaque formation test showed that the titer of the virus solution was 3.87×108TU/ml;the transfect efficiency of the lentiviral vector infected into C3H10T1/2 cells was 90.36%.All the 3 groups of shRNA targets(sh1,sh2 and sh3 showed an inhibitory effect on Islet-1 gene,and the sh1 showed the highest inhibitory effect(76.8%,as compared with that of normal cells(P < 0.05.Conclusion The RNAi lentiviral vector that can effectively silence the mouse Islet-1 gene has been constructed successfully,which may lay a foundation for further investigation of Islet-1 gene.

  18. An adenovirus vector incorporating carbohydrate binding domains utilizes glycans for gene transfer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julius W Kim

    Full Text Available Vectors based on human adenovirus serotype 5 (HAdV-5 continue to show promise as delivery vehicles for cancer gene therapy. Nevertheless, it has become clear that therapeutic benefit is directly linked to tumor-specific vector localization, highlighting the need for tumor-targeted gene delivery. Aberrant glycosylation of cell surface glycoproteins and glycolipids is a central feature of malignant transformation, and tumor-associated glycoforms are recognized as cancer biomarkers. On this basis, we hypothesized that cancer-specific cell-surface glycans could be the basis of a novel paradigm in HAdV-5-based vector targeting.As a first step toward this goal, we constructed a novel HAdV-5 vector encoding a unique chimeric fiber protein that contains the tandem carbohydrate binding domains of the fiber protein of the NADC-1 strain of porcine adenovirus type 4 (PAdV-4. This glycan-targeted vector displays augmented CAR-independent gene transfer in cells with low CAR expression. Further, we show that gene transfer is markedly decreased in cells with genetic glycosylation defects and by inhibitors of glycosylation in normal cells.These data provide the initial proof-of-concept for HAdV-5 vector-mediated gene delivery based on the presence of cell-surface carbohydrates. Further development of this new targeting paradigm could provide targeted gene delivery based on vector recognition of disease-specific glycan biomarkers.

  19. Vibration vector monitoring of rotating machinery: A predictive/preventative maintenance technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Humes, B.R.

    1990-01-01

    Monitoring of overall vibration amplitudes to indicate machinery faults is a standard practice in most industries. The appearance of shaft cracks in machines retrofitted for extended life have prompted development of higher levels of machinery monitoring. Part 1 of this paper discusses vibration vector monitoring for machinery malfunction prediction and failure prevention. Machinery faults which can be diagnosed by this type of monitoring, such as rotor rubs, loose parts, shaft cracks, ..., are presented along with their most common characteristics. The newest, most effective methods of permanent machinery monitoring are presented and critiqued. An extensive case history is presented in Part 2 in which a potentially disastrous machinery fault was predicted using vibration vector monitoring and analysis. The addition of vector monitoring to the normal, overall vibration monitoring proved more effective in diagnosing the machinery fault and predicting impending failure

  20. Vectorization of KENO IV code and an estimate of vector-parallel processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asai, Kiyoshi; Higuchi, Kenji; Katakura, Jun-ichi; Kurita, Yutaka.

    1986-10-01

    The multi-group criticality safety code KENO IV has been vectorized and tested on FACOM VP-100 vector processor. At first the vectorized KENO IV on a scalar processor became slower than the original one by a factor of 1.4 because of the overhead introduced by the vectorization. Making modifications of algorithms and techniques for vectorization, the vectorized version has become faster than the original one by a factor of 1.4 and 3.0 on the vector processor for sample problems of complex and simple geometries, respectively. For further speedup of the code, some improvements on compiler and hardware, especially on addition of Monte Carlo pipelines to the vector processor, are discussed. Finally a pipelined parallel processor system is proposed and its performance is estimated. (author)

  1. GOOD AND EVIL AS VECTORS OF FREE WILL IN THE STRUCTURE OF ANTHROPIC TIME

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. B. Khanzhy

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The work is aimed at comprehending good and evil as vectors of free will in the structure of anthropic time. Methodology. The study is based on: 1 the general theory of systems (A. I. Uyomov, A. Yu. Tsofnas, L. N. Terentyeva – while justifying the possibility of representing the anthropic time as a system in general; 2 synergetics – while considering the anthropic time as a complex self-organizing system; 3 the concept of «а whole in a whole» (I. V. Yershova-Babenko – while identifying the optimal principle of correlation of the time units, taking into attention their ethical multi-vectority. Originality. In the context of the reconstruction of the concept of anthropic time: 1 the authors revealed ethical vectors of expansion of free will as the driving principle of human temporality (the vectors of «freedom for good» and «freedom for evil»; 2 the authors justified the optimality of using the principle of complementarity in solving the problem of harmonizing the coexistence of units of anthropic time («matryoshkas of time». Conclusion. 1 In a line with the tradition of anthropologization of the problem of good and evil, these intentions of human activity are interpreted as vectors of free will in the structure of anthropic time; 2 the paper represented anthropic time as a system in general (based on the general theory of systems and as a complex self-organizing system in particular (based on a synergetic methodology; 3 constituting of the system of anthropic time by the existential-actionable concept allowed to overcome the position of the one-vectored time, i.e.to reveal the ethical binarity of the anthropic time vectors prepared by the duality of expansion of free will as its driving principle; 4 formulation of the problem of discrepancy between the intentions of different temporal systems showed the optimality of the complementarity principle in solving the question how to harmonize the relations of anthropic time

  2. Procedure for normalization of cDNA libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonaldo, Maria DeFatima; Soares, Marcelo Bento

    1997-01-01

    This invention provides a method to normalize a cDNA library constructed in a vector capable of being converted to single-stranded circles and capable of producing complementary nucleic acid molecules to the single-stranded circles comprising: (a) converting the cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating complementary nucleic acid molecules to the single-stranded circles; (c) hybridizing the single-stranded circles converted in step (a) with complementary nucleic acid molecules of step (b) to produce partial duplexes to an appropriate Cot; (e) separating the unhybridized single-stranded circles from the hybridized single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library.

  3. When L1 of a vector measure is an AL-space

    OpenAIRE

    Curbera Costello, Guillermo

    1994-01-01

    We consider the space of real functions which are integrable with respect to a countably additive vector measure with values in a Banach space. In a previous paper we showed that this space can be any order continuous Banach lattice with weak order unit. We study a priori conditions on the vector measure in order to guarantee that the resulting L is order isomorphic to an AL-space. We prove that for separable measures with no atoms there exists a Co-valued measure that generates the same spac...

  4. Spacelike conformal Killing vectors and spacelike congruences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mason, D.P.; Tsamparlis, M.

    1985-01-01

    Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for space-time to admit a spacelike conformal motion with symmetry vector parallel to a unit spacelike vector field n/sup a/. These conditions are expressed in terms of the shear and expansion of the spacelike congruence generated by n/sup a/ and in terms of the four-velocity of the observer employed at any given point of the congruence. It is shown that either the expansion or the rotation of this spacelike congruence must vanish if Dn/sup a//dp = 0, where p denotes arc length measured along the integral curves of n/sup a/, and also that there exist no proper spacelike homothetic motions with constant expansion. Propagation equations for the projection tensor and the rotation tensor are derived and it is proved that every isometric spacelike congruence is rigid. Fluid space-times are studied in detail. A relation is established between spacelike conformal motions and material curves in the fluid: if a fluid space-time admits a spacelike conformal Killing vector parallel to n/sup a/ and n/sub a/u/sup a/ = 0, where u/sup a/ is the fluid four-velocity, then the integral curves of n/sup a/ are material curves in an irrotational fluid, while if the fluid vorticity is nonzero, then the integral curves of n/sup a/ are material curves if and only if they are vortex lines. An alternative derivation, based on the theory of spacelike congruences, of some of the results of Collins [J. Math. Phys. 25, 995 (1984)] on conformal Killing vectors parallel to the local vorticity vector in shear-free perfect fluids with zero magnetic Weyl tensor is given

  5. Versatile generation of optical vector fields and vector beams using a non-interferometric approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripathi, Santosh; Toussaint, Kimani C

    2012-05-07

    We present a versatile, non-interferometric method for generating vector fields and vector beams which can produce all the states of polarization represented on a higher-order Poincaré sphere. The versatility and non-interferometric nature of this method is expected to enable exploration of various exotic properties of vector fields and vector beams. To illustrate this, we study the propagation properties of some vector fields and find that, in general, propagation alters both their intensity and polarization distribution, and more interestingly, converts some vector fields into vector beams. In the article, we also suggest a modified Jones vector formalism to represent vector fields and vector beams.

  6. Adenovirus vector expressing keratinocyte growth factor using CAG promoter impairs pulmonary function of mice with elastase-induced emphysema.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oki, Hiroshi; Yazawa, Takuya; Baba, Yasuko; Kanegae, Yumi; Sato, Hanako; Sakamoto, Seiko; Goto, Takahisa; Saito, Izumu; Kurahashi, Kiyoyasu

    2017-07-01

    Pulmonary emphysema impairs quality of life and increases mortality. It has previously been shown that administration of adenovirus vector expressing murine keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) before elastase instillation prevents pulmonary emphysema in mice. We therefore hypothesized that therapeutic administration of KGF would restore damage to lungs caused by elastase instillation and thus improve pulmonary function in an animal model. KGF expressing adenovirus vector, which prevented bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in a previous study, was constructed. Adenovirus vector (1.0 × 10 9 plaque-forming units) was administered intratracheally one week after administration of elastase into mouse lungs. One week after administration of KGF-vector, exercise tolerance testing and blood gas analysis were performed, after which the lungs were removed under deep anesthesia. KGF-positive pneumocytes were more numerous, surfactant protein secretion in the airspace greater and mean linear intercept of lungs shorter in animals that had received KGF than in control animals. Unexpectedly, however, arterial blood oxygenation was worse in the KGF group and maximum running speed, an indicator of exercise capacity, had not improved after KGF in mice with elastase-induced emphysema, indicating that KGF-expressing adenovirus vector impaired pulmonary function in these mice. Notably, vector lacking KGF-expression unit did not induce such impairment, implying that the KGF expression unit itself may cause the damage to alveolar cells. Possible involvement of the CAG promoter used for KGF expression in impairing pulmonary function is discussed. © 2017 The Societies and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  7. Environmental assessment: Transfer of normal and low-enriched uranium billets to the United Kingdom, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-11-01

    Under the auspices of an agreement between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has an opportunity to transfer approximately 710,000 kilograms (1,562,000 pounds) of unneeded normal and low-enriched uranium (LEU) to the United Kingdom; thus, reducing long-term surveillance and maintenance burdens at the Hanford Site. The material, in the form of billets, is controlled by DOE's Defense Programs, and is presently stored as surplus material in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site. The United Kingdom has expressed a need for the billets. The surplus uranium billets are currently stored in wooden shipping containers in secured facilities in the 300 Area at the Hanford Site (the 303-B and 303-G storage facilities). There are 482 billets at an enrichment level (based on uranium-235 content) of 0.71 weight-percent. This enrichment level is normal uranium; that is, uranium having 0.711 as the percentage by weight of uranium-235 as occurring in nature. There are 3,242 billets at an enrichment level of 0.95 weight-percent (i.e., low-enriched uranium). This inventory represents a total of approximately 532 curies. The facilities are routinely monitored. The dose rate on contact of a uranium billet is approximately 8 millirem per hour. The dose rate on contact of a wooden shipping container containing 4 billets is approximately 4 millirem per hour. The dose rate at the exterior of the storage facilities is indistinguishable from background levels

  8. Segmentation of Planar Surfaces from Laser Scanning Data Using the Magnitude of Normal Position Vector for Adaptive Neighborhoods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changjae Kim

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Diverse approaches to laser point segmentation have been proposed since the emergence of the laser scanning system. Most of these segmentation techniques, however, suffer from limitations such as sensitivity to the choice of seed points, lack of consideration of the spatial relationships among points, and inefficient performance. In an effort to overcome these drawbacks, this paper proposes a segmentation methodology that: (1 reduces the dimensions of the attribute space; (2 considers the attribute similarity and the proximity of the laser point simultaneously; and (3 works well with both airborne and terrestrial laser scanning data. A neighborhood definition based on the shape of the surface increases the homogeneity of the laser point attributes. The magnitude of the normal position vector is used as an attribute for reducing the dimension of the accumulator array. The experimental results demonstrate, through both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, the outcomes’ high level of reliability. The proposed segmentation algorithm provided 96.89% overall correctness, 95.84% completeness, a 0.25 m overall mean value of centroid difference, and less than 1° of angle difference. The performance of the proposed approach was also verified with a large dataset and compared with other approaches. Additionally, the evaluation of the sensitivity of the thresholds was carried out. In summary, this paper proposes a robust and efficient segmentation methodology for abstraction of an enormous number of laser points into plane information.

  9. Normal forms of Hopf-zero singularity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gazor, Majid; Mokhtari, Fahimeh

    2015-01-01

    The Lie algebra generated by Hopf-zero classical normal forms is decomposed into two versal Lie subalgebras. Some dynamical properties for each subalgebra are described; one is the set of all volume-preserving conservative systems while the other is the maximal Lie algebra of nonconservative systems. This introduces a unique conservative–nonconservative decomposition for the normal form systems. There exists a Lie-subalgebra that is Lie-isomorphic to a large family of vector fields with Bogdanov–Takens singularity. This gives rise to a conclusion that the local dynamics of formal Hopf-zero singularities is well-understood by the study of Bogdanov–Takens singularities. Despite this, the normal form computations of Bogdanov–Takens and Hopf-zero singularities are independent. Thus, by assuming a quadratic nonzero condition, complete results on the simplest Hopf-zero normal forms are obtained in terms of the conservative–nonconservative decomposition. Some practical formulas are derived and the results implemented using Maple. The method has been applied on the Rössler and Kuramoto–Sivashinsky equations to demonstrate the applicability of our results. (paper)

  10. Normal forms of Hopf-zero singularity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazor, Majid; Mokhtari, Fahimeh

    2015-01-01

    The Lie algebra generated by Hopf-zero classical normal forms is decomposed into two versal Lie subalgebras. Some dynamical properties for each subalgebra are described; one is the set of all volume-preserving conservative systems while the other is the maximal Lie algebra of nonconservative systems. This introduces a unique conservative-nonconservative decomposition for the normal form systems. There exists a Lie-subalgebra that is Lie-isomorphic to a large family of vector fields with Bogdanov-Takens singularity. This gives rise to a conclusion that the local dynamics of formal Hopf-zero singularities is well-understood by the study of Bogdanov-Takens singularities. Despite this, the normal form computations of Bogdanov-Takens and Hopf-zero singularities are independent. Thus, by assuming a quadratic nonzero condition, complete results on the simplest Hopf-zero normal forms are obtained in terms of the conservative-nonconservative decomposition. Some practical formulas are derived and the results implemented using Maple. The method has been applied on the Rössler and Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equations to demonstrate the applicability of our results.

  11. Vectorized Monte Carlo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, F.B.

    1981-01-01

    Examination of the global algorithms and local kernels of conventional general-purpose Monte Carlo codes shows that multigroup Monte Carlo methods have sufficient structure to permit efficient vectorization. A structured multigroup Monte Carlo algorithm for vector computers is developed in which many particle events are treated at once on a cell-by-cell basis. Vectorization of kernels for tracking and variance reduction is described, and a new method for discrete sampling is developed to facilitate the vectorization of collision analysis. To demonstrate the potential of the new method, a vectorized Monte Carlo code for multigroup radiation transport analysis was developed. This code incorporates many features of conventional general-purpose production codes, including general geometry, splitting and Russian roulette, survival biasing, variance estimation via batching, a number of cutoffs, and generalized tallies of collision, tracklength, and surface crossing estimators with response functions. Predictions of vectorized performance characteristics for the CYBER-205 were made using emulated coding and a dynamic model of vector instruction timing. Computation rates were examined for a variety of test problems to determine sensitivities to batch size and vector lengths. Significant speedups are predicted for even a few hundred particles per batch, and asymptotic speedups by about 40 over equivalent Amdahl 470V/8 scalar codes arepredicted for a few thousand particles per batch. The principal conclusion is that vectorization of a general-purpose multigroup Monte Carlo code is well worth the significant effort required for stylized coding and major algorithmic changes

  12. Light Vector Mesons in the Nuclear Medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wood, Michael; Nasseripour, Rakhsha; Weygand, Dennis; Djalali, Chaden; Tur, Clarisse; Mosel, Ulrich; Muehlich, Pascal; Adams, Gary; Amaryan, Moscov; Amaryan, Moskov; Ambrozewicz, Pawel; Anghinolfi, Marco; Asryan, Gegham; Avagyan, Harutyun; Baghdasaryan, Hovhannes; Baillie, Nathan; Ball, James; Baltzell, Nathan; Barrow, Steve; Battaglieri, Marco; Bedlinskiy, Ivan; Bektasoglu, Mehmet; Bellis, Matthew; Benmouna, Nawal; Berman, Barry; Biselli, Angela; Blaszczyk, Lukasz; Bouchigny, Sylvain; Boyarinov, Sergey; Bradford, Robert; Branford, Derek; Briscoe, William; Brooks, William; Burkert, Volker; Butuceanu, Cornel; Calarco, John; Careccia, Sharon; Carman, Daniel; Carnahan, Bryan; Casey, Liam; Chen, Shifeng; Cheng, Lu; Cole, Philip; Collins, Patrick; Coltharp, Philip; Crabb, Donald; Crannell, Hall; Crede, Volker; Cummings, John; Dashyan, Natalya; De Vita, Raffaella; De Sanctis, Enzo; Degtiarenko, Pavel; Denizli, Haluk; Dennis, Lawrence; Deur, Alexandre; Dharmawardane, Kahanawita; Dickson, Richard; Dodge, Gail; Doughty, David; Dugger, Michael; Dytman, Steven; Dzyubak, Oleksandr; Egiyan, Hovanes; Egiyan, Kim; Elfassi, Lamiaa; Elouadrhiri, Latifa; Eugenio, Paul; Fedotov, Gleb; Feldman, Gerald; Feuerbach, Robert; Fradi, Ahmed; Funsten, Herbert; Garcon, Michel; Gavalian, Gagik; Gilfoyle, Gerard; Giovanetti, Kevin; Girod, Francois-Xavier; Goetz, John; Gordon, Christopher; Gothe, Ralf; Griffioen, Keith; Guidal, Michel; Guler, Nevzat; Guo, Lei; Gyurjyan, Vardan; Hadjidakis, Cynthia; Hafidi, Kawtar; Hakobyan, Hayk; Hakobyan, Rafael; Hanretty, Charles; Hardie, John; Hassall, Neil; Hersman, F.; Hicks, Kenneth; Hleiqawi, Ishaq; Holtrop, Maurik; Hyde, Charles; Ilieva, Yordanka; Ireland, David; Ishkhanov, Boris; Isupov, Evgeny; Ito, Mark; Jenkins, David; Jo, Hyon-Suk; Johnstone, John; Joo, Kyungseon; Juengst, Henry; Kalantarians, Narbe; Kellie, James; Khandaker, Mahbubul; Khetarpal, Puneet; Kim, Wooyoung; Klein, Andreas; Klein, Franz; Klimenko, Alexei; Kossov, Mikhail; Krahn, Zebulun; Kramer, Laird; Kubarovsky, Valery; Kuhn, Joachim; Kuhn, Sebastian; Kuleshov, Sergey; Lachniet, Jeff; Laget, Jean; Langheinrich, Jorn; Lawrence, David; Li, Ji; Livingston, Kenneth; Lu, Haiyun; MacCormick, Marion; Markov, Nikolai; Mattione, Paul; McAleer, Simeon; McKinnon, Bryan; McNabb, John; Mecking, Bernhard; Mehrabyan, Surik; Melone, Joseph; Mestayer, Mac; Meyer, Curtis; Mibe, Tsutomu; Mikhaylov, Konstantin; Minehart, Ralph; Mirazita, Marco; Miskimen, Rory; Mokeev, Viktor; Moriya, Kei; Morrow, Steven; Moteabbed, Maryam; Mueller, James; Munevar Espitia, Edwin; Mutchler, Gordon; Nadel-Turonski, Pawel; Niccolai, Silvia; Niculescu, Gabriel; Niculescu, Maria-Ioana; Niczyporuk, Bogdan; Niroula, Megh; Niyazov, Rustam; Nozar, Mina; Osipenko, Mikhail; Ostrovidov, Alexander; Park, Kijun; Pasyuk, Evgueni; Paterson, Craig; Pereira, Sergio; Pierce, Joshua; Pivnyuk, Nikolay; Pocanic, Dinko; Pogorelko, Oleg; Pozdnyakov, Sergey; Preedom, Barry; Price, John; Prok, Yelena; Protopopescu, Dan; Raue, Brian; Riccardi, Gregory; Ricco, Giovanni; Ripani, Marco; Ritchie, Barry; Ronchetti, Federico; Rosner, Guenther; Rossi, Patrizia; Sabatie, Franck; Salamanca, Julian; Salgado, Carlos; Santoro, Joseph; Sapunenko, Vladimir; Schumacher, Reinhard; Serov, Vladimir; Sharabian, Youri; Sharov, Dmitri; Shvedunov, Nikolay; Smith, Elton; Smith, Lee; Sober, Daniel; Sokhan, Daria; Stavinsky, Aleksey; Stepanyan, Stepan; Stepanyan, Samuel; Stokes, Burnham; Stoler, Paul; Strakovski, Igor; Strauch, Steffen; Taiuti, Mauro; Tedeschi, David; Tkabladze, Avtandil; Tkachenko, Svyatoslav; Todor, Luminita; Ungaro, Maurizio; Vineyard, Michael; Vlassov, Alexander; Watts, Daniel; Weinstein, Lawrence; Williams, Michael; Wolin, Elliott; Yegneswaran, Amrit; Zana, Lorenzo; Zhang, Bin; Zhang, Jixie; Zhao, Bo; Zhao, Zhiwen

    2008-07-01

    The light vector mesons ($\\rho$, $\\omega$, and $\\phi$) were produced in deuterium, carbon, titanium, and iron targets in a search for possible in-medium modifications to the properties of the $\\rho$ meson at normal nuclear densities and zero temperature. The vector mesons were detected with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) via their decays to $e^{+}e^{-}$. The rare leptonic decay was chosen to reduce final-state interactions. A combinatorial background was subtracted from the invariant mass spectra using a well-established event-mixing technique. The $\\rho$ meson mass spectrum was extracted after the $\\omega$ and $\\phi$ signals were removed in a nearly model-independent way. Comparisons were made between the $\\rho$ mass spectra from the heavy targets ($A > 2$) with the mass spectrum extracted from the deuterium target. With respect to the $\\rho$-meson mass, we obtain a small shift compatible with zero. Also, we measure widths consistent with standard nuclear many-body eff

  13. Vector-borne transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi among captive Neotropical primates in a Brazilian zoo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minuzzi-Souza, Thaís Tâmara Castro; Nitz, Nadjar; Knox, Monique Britto; Reis, Filipe; Hagström, Luciana; Cuba, César A Cuba; Hecht, Mariana Machado; Gurgel-Gonçalves, Rodrigo

    2016-01-26

    Neotropical primates are important sylvatic hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. Infection is often subclinical, but severe disease has been described in both free-ranging and captive primates. Panstrongylus megistus, a major T. cruzi vector, was found infesting a small-primate unit at Brasília zoo (ZooB), Brazil. ZooB lies close to a gallery-forest patch where T. cruzi circulates naturally. Here, we combine parasitological and molecular methods to investigate a focus of T. cruzi infection involving triatomine bugs and Neotropical primates at a zoo located in the Brazilian Savannah. We assessed T. cruzi infection in vectors using optical microscopy (n = 34) and nested PCR (n = 50). We used quantitative PCR (qPCR) to examine blood samples from 26 primates and necropsy samples from two primates that died during the study. We determined parasite lineages in five vectors and two primates by comparing glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (G6pi) gene sequences. Trypanosoma cruzi was found in 44 vectors and 17 primates (six genera and eight species); one Mico chrysoleucus and one Saguinus niger had high parasitaemias. Trypanosoma cruzi DNA was detected in three primates born to qPCR-negative mothers at ZooB and in the two dead specimens. One Callithrix geoffroyi became qPCR-positive over a two-year follow-up. All G6pi sequences matched T. cruzi lineage TcI. Our findings strongly suggest vector-borne T. cruzi transmission within a small-primate unit at ZooB - with vectors, and perhaps also parasites, presumably coming from nearby gallery forest. Periodic checks for vectors and parasites would help eliminate T. cruzi transmission foci in captive-animal facilities. This should be of special importance for captive-breeding programs involving endangered mammals, and would reduce the risk of accidental T. cruzi transmission to keepers and veterinarians.

  14. Vector Network Coding

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrahimi, Javad; Fragouli, Christina

    2010-01-01

    We develop new algebraic algorithms for scalar and vector network coding. In vector network coding, the source multicasts information by transmitting vectors of length L, while intermediate nodes process and combine their incoming packets by multiplying them with L X L coding matrices that play a similar role as coding coefficients in scalar coding. Our algorithms for scalar network jointly optimize the employed field size while selecting the coding coefficients. Similarly, for vector co...

  15. Culicoides-virus interactions: infection barriers and possible factors underlying vector competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    In the United States, Culicoides midges vector arboviruses of economic importance such as Bluetongue Virus and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus. A limited number of studies have demonstrated the complexities of midge-virus interactions, including dynamic changes in virus titer and prevalence over...

  16. Vector independent transmission of the vector-borne bluetongue virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluijs, Mirjam Tineke Willemijn; de Smit, Abraham J; Moormann, Rob J M

    2016-01-01

    Bluetongue is an economically important disease of ruminants. The causative agent, Bluetongue virus (BTV), is mainly transmitted by insect vectors. This review focuses on vector-free BTV transmission, and its epizootic and economic consequences. Vector-free transmission can either be vertical, from dam to fetus, or horizontal via direct contract. For several BTV-serotypes, vertical (transplacental) transmission has been described, resulting in severe congenital malformations. Transplacental transmission had been mainly associated with live vaccine strains. Yet, the European BTV-8 strain demonstrated a high incidence of transplacental transmission in natural circumstances. The relevance of transplacental transmission for the epizootiology is considered limited, especially in enzootic areas. However, transplacental transmission can have a substantial economic impact due to the loss of progeny. Inactivated vaccines have demonstrated to prevent transplacental transmission. Vector-free horizontal transmission has also been demonstrated. Since direct horizontal transmission requires close contact of animals, it is considered only relevant for within-farm spreading of BTV. The genetic determinants which enable vector-free transmission are present in virus strains circulating in the field. More research into the genetic changes which enable vector-free transmission is essential to better evaluate the risks associated with outbreaks of new BTV serotypes and to design more appropriate control measures.

  17. Analysis and classification of ECG-waves and rhythms using circular statistics and vector strength

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janßen Jan-Dirk

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The most common way to analyse heart rhythm is to calculate the RR-interval and the heart rate variability. For further evaluation, descriptive statistics are often used. Here we introduce a new and more natural heart rhythm analysis tool that is based on circular statistics and vector strength. Vector strength is a tool to measure the periodicity or lack of periodicity of a signal. We divide the signal into non-overlapping window segments and project the detected R-waves around the unit circle using the complex exponential function and the median RR-interval. In addition, we calculate the vector strength and apply circular statistics as wells as an angular histogram on the R-wave vectors. This approach enables an intuitive visualization and analysis of rhythmicity. Our results show that ECG-waves and rhythms can be easily visualized, analysed and classified by circular statistics and vector strength.

  18. VectorBase

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — VectorBase is a Bioinformatics Resource Center for invertebrate vectors. It is one of four Bioinformatics Resource Centers funded by NIAID to provide web-based...

  19. Custodial vector model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Becciolini, Diego; Franzosi, Diogo Buarque; Foadi, Roshan

    2015-01-01

    We analyze the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) phenomenology of heavy vector resonances with a $SU(2)_L\\times SU(2)_R$ spectral global symmetry. This symmetry partially protects the electroweak S-parameter from large contributions of the vector resonances. The resulting custodial vector model spectrum...

  20. Experimental demonstration of vector E x vector B plasma divertor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strait, E.J.; Kerst, D.W.; Sprott, J.C.

    1977-01-01

    The vector E x vector B drift due to an applied radial electric field in a tokamak with poloidal divertor can speed the flow of plasma out of the scrape-off region, and provide a means of externally controlling the flow rate and thus the width of the density fall-off. An experiment in the Wisconsin levitated toroidal octupole, using vector E x vector B drifts alone, demonstrates divertor-like behavior, including 70% reduction of plasma density near the wall and 40% reduction of plasma flux to the wall, with no adverse effects on confinement of the main plasma

  1. A vectorized Monte Carlo code for modeling photon transport in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, M.F.; Floyd, C.E. Jr.; Jaszczak, R.J.

    1993-01-01

    A vectorized Monte Carlo computer code has been developed for modeling photon transport in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The code models photon transport in a uniform attenuating region and photon detection by a gamma camera. It is adapted from a history-based Monte Carlo code in which photon history data are stored in scalar variables and photon histories are computed sequentially. The vectorized code is written in FORTRAN77 and uses an event-based algorithm in which photon history data are stored in arrays and photon history computations are performed within DO loops. The indices of the DO loops range over the number of photon histories, and these loops may take advantage of the vector processing unit of our Stellar GS1000 computer for pipelined computations. Without the use of the vector processor the event-based code is faster than the history-based code because of numerical optimization performed during conversion to the event-based algorithm. When only the detection of unscattered photons is modeled, the event-based code executes 5.1 times faster with the use of the vector processor than without; when the detection of scattered and unscattered photons is modeled the speed increase is a factor of 2.9. Vectorization is a valuable way to increase the performance of Monte Carlo code for modeling photon transport in SPECT

  2. Rotations with Rodrigues' vector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pina, E

    2011-01-01

    The rotational dynamics was studied from the point of view of Rodrigues' vector. This vector is defined here by its connection with other forms of parametrization of the rotation matrix. The rotation matrix was expressed in terms of this vector. The angular velocity was computed using the components of Rodrigues' vector as coordinates. It appears to be a fundamental matrix that is used to express the components of the angular velocity, the rotation matrix and the angular momentum vector. The Hamiltonian formalism of rotational dynamics in terms of this vector uses the same matrix. The quantization of the rotational dynamics is performed with simple rules if one uses Rodrigues' vector and similar formal expressions for the quantum operators that mimic the Hamiltonian classical dynamics.

  3. Real-Time GPU Implementation of Transverse Oscillation Vector Velocity Flow Imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bradway, David; Pihl, Michael Johannes; Krebs, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    Rapid estimation of blood velocity and visualization of complex flow patterns are important for clinical use of diagnostic ultrasound. This paper presents real-time processing for two-dimensional (2-D) vector flow imaging which utilizes an off-the-shelf graphics processing unit (GPU). In this work...... vector flow acquisition takes 2.3 milliseconds seconds on an Advanced Micro Devices Radeon HD 7850 GPU card. The detected velocities are accurate to within the precision limit of the output format of the display routine. Because this tool was developed as a module external to the scanner’s built...

  4. Calculation of normal modes of the closed waveguides in general vector case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malykh, M. D.; Sevastianov, L. A.; Tiutiunnik, A. A.

    2018-04-01

    The article is devoted to the calculation of normal modes of the closed waveguides with an arbitrary filling ɛ, μ in the system of computer algebra Sage. Maxwell equations in the cylinder are reduced to the system of two bounded Helmholtz equations, the notion of weak solution of this system is given and then this system is investigated as a system of ordinary differential equations. The normal modes of this system are an eigenvectors of a matrix pencil. We suggest to calculate the matrix elements approximately and to truncate the matrix by usual way but further to solve the truncated eigenvalue problem exactly in the field of algebraic numbers. This approach allows to keep the symmetry of the initial problem and in particular the multiplicity of the eigenvalues. In the work would be presented some results of calculations.

  5. Violation of vector dominance in the vector manifestation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasaki, Chihiro

    2003-01-01

    The vector manifestation (VM) is a new pattern for realizing the chiral symmetry in QCD. In the VM, the massless vector meson becomes the chiral partner of pion at the critical point, in contrast with the restoration based on the linear sigma model. Including the intrinsic temperature dependences of the parameters of the hidden local symmetry (HLS) Lagrangian determined from the underlying QCD through the Wilsonian matching together with the hadronic thermal corrections, we present a new prediction of the VM on the direct photon-π-π coupling which measures the validity of the vector dominance (VD) of the electromagnetic form factor of the pion. We find that the VD is largely violated at the critical temperature, which indicates that the assumption of the VD made in several analysis on the dilepton spectra in hot matter may need to be weakened for consistently including the effect of the dropping mass of the vector meson. (author)

  6. Improved Vector Velocity Estimation using Directional Transverse Oscillation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

    2015-01-01

    A method for estimating vector velocities using transverse oscillation (TO) combined with directional beamforming is presented. Directional Transverse Oscillation (DTO) is selfcalibrating, which increase the estimation accuracy and finds the lateral oscillation period automatically. A normal...... focused field is emitted and the received signals are beamformed in the lateral direction transverse to the ultrasound beam. A lateral oscillation is obtained by having a receive apodization waveform with two separate peaks. The IQ data are obtained by making a Hilbert transform of the directional signal...... transducer with a focal point at 105.6 mm (F#=5) for Vector Flow Imaging (VFI). A 6 mm radius tube in a circulating flow rig was scanned and the parabolic volume flow of 112.7 l/h (peak velocity 0.55 m/s) measured by a Danfoss Magnetic flow meter for reference. Velocity estimates for DTO are found for 32...

  7. Culicoides variipennis and bluetongue-virus epidemiology in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabachnick, W J

    1996-01-01

    The bluetongue viruses are transmitted to ruminants in North America by Culicoides variipennis. US annual losses of approximately $125 million are due to restrictions on the movement of livestock and germplasm to bluetongue-free countries. Bluetongue is the most economically important arthropod-borne animal disease in the United States. Bluetongue is absent in the northeastern United States because of the inefficient vector ability there of C. variipennis for bluetongue. The vector of bluetongue virus elsewhere in the United States is C. variipennis sonorensis. The three C. variipennis subspecies differ in vector competence for bluetongue virus in the laboratory. Understanding C. variipennis genetic variation controlling bluetongue transmission will help identify geographic regions at risk for bluetongue and provide opportunities to prevent virus transmission. Information on C. variipennis and bluetongue epidemiology will improve trade and provide information to protect US livestock from domestic and foreign arthropod-borne pathogens.

  8. Conservative rigid body dynamics by convected base vectors with implicit constraints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krenk, Steen; Nielsen, Martin Bjerre

    2014-01-01

    of differential equations without additional algebraic constraints on the base vectors. A discretized form of the equations of motion is obtained by starting from a finite time increment of the Hamiltonian, and retracing the steps of the continuous formulation in discrete form in terms of increments and mean...... of the base vectors. Orthogonality and unit length of the base vectors are imposed by constraining the equivalent Green strain components, and the kinetic energy is represented corresponding to rigid body motion. The equations of motion are obtained via Hamilton’s equations including the zero...... values over each integration time increment. In this discrete form the Lagrange multipliers are given in terms of a representative value within the integration time interval, and the equations of motion are recast into a conservative mean-value and finite difference format. The Lagrange multipliers...

  9. The United States and Iran: Prospects for Normalization

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Harris, William

    1999-01-01

    .... Even then, normalization will not come quickly or easily. It will require steady, long-term US effort and will be complicated by two decades of hostility and by domestic political dynamics in both countries that hinder rational policy debate.

  10. A Novel CSR-Based Sparse Matrix-Vector Multiplication on GPUs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guixia He

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Sparse matrix-vector multiplication (SpMV is an important operation in scientific computations. Compressed sparse row (CSR is the most frequently used format to store sparse matrices. However, CSR-based SpMVs on graphic processing units (GPUs, for example, CSR-scalar and CSR-vector, usually have poor performance due to irregular memory access patterns. This motivates us to propose a perfect CSR-based SpMV on the GPU that is called PCSR. PCSR involves two kernels and accesses CSR arrays in a fully coalesced manner by introducing a middle array, which greatly alleviates the deficiencies of CSR-scalar (rare coalescing and CSR-vector (partial coalescing. Test results on a single C2050 GPU show that PCSR fully outperforms CSR-scalar, CSR-vector, and CSRMV and HYBMV in the vendor-tuned CUSPARSE library and is comparable with a most recently proposed CSR-based algorithm, CSR-Adaptive. Furthermore, we extend PCSR on a single GPU to multiple GPUs. Experimental results on four C2050 GPUs show that no matter whether the communication between GPUs is considered or not PCSR on multiple GPUs achieves good performance and has high parallel efficiency.

  11. Measurement of K/sub NN/, K/sub LL/ in p vector d → n vector X and p vector 9Be → n vector X at 800 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riley, P.J.; Hollas, C.L.; Newsom, C.R.

    1980-01-01

    The spin transfer parameters, K/sub NN/ and K/sub LL/, have been measured in p vector d → n vector X and p vector 9 Be → n vector X at 0 0 and 800 MeV. The rather large values of K/sub LL/ demonstrate that this transfer mechanism will provide a useful source of polarized neutrons at LAMPF energies

  12. Raster images vectorization system

    OpenAIRE

    Genytė, Jurgita

    2006-01-01

    The problem of raster images vectorization was analyzed and researched in this work. Existing vectorization systems are quite expensive, the results are inaccurate, and the manual vectorization of a large number of drafts is impossible. That‘s why our goal was to design and develop a new raster images vectorization system using our suggested automatic vectorization algorithm and the way to record results in a new universal vectorial file format. The work consists of these main parts: analysis...

  13. Vectorization of phase space Monte Carlo code in FACOM vector processor VP-200

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miura, Kenichi

    1986-01-01

    This paper describes the vectorization techniques for Monte Carlo codes in Fujitsu's Vector Processor System. The phase space Monte Carlo code FOWL is selected as a benchmark, and scalar and vector performances are compared. The vectorized kernel Monte Carlo routine which contains heavily nested IF tests runs up to 7.9 times faster in vector mode than in scalar mode. The overall performance improvement of the vectorized FOWL code over the original scalar code reaches 3.3. The results of this study strongly indicate that supercomputer can be a powerful tool for Monte Carlo simulations in high energy physics. (Auth.)

  14. Microscopic prediction of speech intelligibility in spatially distributed speech-shaped noise for normal-hearing listeners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geravanchizadeh, Masoud; Fallah, Ali

    2015-12-01

    A binaural and psychoacoustically motivated intelligibility model, based on a well-known monaural microscopic model is proposed. This model simulates a phoneme recognition task in the presence of spatially distributed speech-shaped noise in anechoic scenarios. In the proposed model, binaural advantage effects are considered by generating a feature vector for a dynamic-time-warping speech recognizer. This vector consists of three subvectors incorporating two monaural subvectors to model the better-ear hearing, and a binaural subvector to simulate the binaural unmasking effect. The binaural unit of the model is based on equalization-cancellation theory. This model operates blindly, which means separate recordings of speech and noise are not required for the predictions. Speech intelligibility tests were conducted with 12 normal hearing listeners by collecting speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in the presence of single and multiple sources of speech-shaped noise. The comparison of the model predictions with the measured binaural SRTs, and with the predictions of a macroscopic binaural model called extended equalization-cancellation, shows that this approach predicts the intelligibility in anechoic scenarios with good precision. The square of the correlation coefficient (r(2)) and the mean-absolute error between the model predictions and the measurements are 0.98 and 0.62 dB, respectively.

  15. Vector flow mapping in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to assess the relationship of early systolic left ventricular flow and the mitral valve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ro, Richard; Halpern, Dan; Sahn, David J; Homel, Peter; Arabadjian, Milla; Lopresto, Charles; Sherrid, Mark V

    2014-11-11

    The hydrodynamic cause of systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve (SAM) is unresolved. This study hypothesized that echocardiographic vector flow mapping, a new echocardiographic technique, would provide insights into the cause of early SAM in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We analyzed the spatial relationship of left ventricular (LV) flow and the mitral valve leaflets (MVL) on 3-chamber vector flow mapping frames, and performed mitral valve measurements on 2-dimensional frames in patients with obstructive and nonobstructive HCM and in normal patients. We compared 82 patients (22 obstructive HCM, 23 nonobstructive HCM, and 37 normal) by measuring 164 LV pre- and post-SAM velocity vector flow maps, 82 maximum isovolumic vortices, and 328 2-dimensional frames. We observed color flow and velocity vector flow posterior to the MVL impacting them in the early systolic frames of 95% of obstructive HCM, 22% of nonobstructive HCM, and 11% of normal patients (p 60° of local vector flow onto the posterior surface of the leaflets whether the flow was ejection (59%) or the early systolic isovolumic vortex (41%). Ricochet of vector flow, rebounding off the leaflet into the cul-de-sac, was noted in 82% of the obstructed HCM, 9% of nonobstructive HCM, and none (0%) of the control patients (p Flow velocities in the LV outflow tract on the pre-SAM frame 1 and 2 mm from the tip of the anterior leaflet were low: 39 and 43 cm/s, respectively. Early systolic flow impacts the posterior surfaces of protruding MVL initiating SAM in obstructive HCM. Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Normal vibrations in gallium arsenide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dolling, G.; Waugh, J.L.T.

    1964-01-01

    The triple axis crystal spectrometer at Chalk River has been used to observe coherent slow neutron scattering from a single crystal of pure gallium arsenide at 296 o K. The frequencies of normal modes of vibration propagating in the [ζ00], (ζζζ], and (0ζζ] crystal directions have been determined with a precision of between 1 and 2·5 per cent. A limited number of normal modes have also been studied at 95 and 184 o K. Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining welt resolved neutron peaks corresponding to the two non-degenerate optic modes for very small wave-vector, particularly at 296 o K. However, from a comparison of results obtained under various experimental conditions at several different points in reciprocal space, frequencies (units 10 12 c/s) for these modes (at 296 o K) have been assigned: T 8·02±0·08 and L 8·55±02. Other specific normal modes, with their measured frequencies are (a) (1,0,0): TO 7·56 ± 008, TA 2·36 ± 0·015, LO 7·22 ± 0·15, LA 6·80 ± 0·06; (b) (0·5, 0·5, 0·5): TO 7·84 ± 0·12, TA 1·86 ± 0·02, LO 7·15 ± 0·07, LA 6·26 ± 0·10; (c) (0, 0·65, 0·65): optic 8·08 ±0·13, 7·54 ± 0·12 and 6·57 ± 0·11, acoustic 5·58 ± 0·08, 3·42 · 0·06 and 2·36 ± 004. These results are generally slightly lower than the corresponding frequencies for germanium. An analysis in terms of various modifications of the dipole approximation model has been carried out. A feature of this analysis is that the charge on the gallium atom appears to be very small, about +0·04 e. The frequency distribution function has been derived from one of the force models. (author)

  17. Vector network analyzer (VNA) measurements and uncertainty assessment

    CERN Document Server

    Shoaib, Nosherwan

    2017-01-01

    This book describes vector network analyzer measurements and uncertainty assessments, particularly in waveguide test-set environments, in order to establish their compatibility to the International System of Units (SI) for accurate and reliable characterization of communication networks. It proposes a fully analytical approach to measurement uncertainty evaluation, while also highlighting the interaction and the linear propagation of different uncertainty sources to compute the final uncertainties associated with the measurements. The book subsequently discusses the dimensional characterization of waveguide standards and the quality of the vector network analyzer (VNA) calibration techniques. The book concludes with an in-depth description of the novel verification artefacts used to assess the performance of the VNAs. It offers a comprehensive reference guide for beginners to experts, in both academia and industry, whose work involves the field of network analysis, instrumentation and measurements.

  18. Vector grammars and PN machines

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    蒋昌俊

    1996-01-01

    The concept of vector grammars under the string semantic is introduced.The dass of vector grammars is given,which is similar to the dass of Chomsky grammars.The regular vector grammar is divided further.The strong and weak relation between the vector grammar and scalar grammar is discussed,so the spectrum system graph of scalar and vector grammars is made.The equivalent relation between the regular vector grammar and Petri nets (also called PN machine) is pointed.The hybrid PN machine is introduced,and its language is proved equivalent to the language of the context-free vector grammar.So the perfect relation structure between vector grammars and PN machines is formed.

  19. Vector velocimeter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2012-01-01

    The present invention relates to a compact, reliable and low-cost vector velocimeter for example for determining velocities of particles suspended in a gas or fluid flow, or for determining velocity, displacement, rotation, or vibration of a solid surface, the vector velocimeter comprising a laser...

  20. Cloning vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilfoyle, Richard A.; Smith, Lloyd M.

    1994-01-01

    A vector comprising a filamentous phage sequence containing a first copy of filamentous phage gene X and other sequences necessary for the phage to propagate is disclosed. The vector also contains a second copy of filamentous phage gene X downstream from a promoter capable of promoting transcription in a bacterial host. In a preferred form of the present invention, the filamentous phage is M13 and the vector additionally includes a restriction endonuclease site located in such a manner as to substantially inactivate the second gene X when a DNA sequence is inserted into the restriction site.

  1. Cloning vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilfoyle, R.A.; Smith, L.M.

    1994-12-27

    A vector comprising a filamentous phage sequence containing a first copy of filamentous phage gene X and other sequences necessary for the phage to propagate is disclosed. The vector also contains a second copy of filamentous phage gene X downstream from a promoter capable of promoting transcription in a bacterial host. In a preferred form of the present invention, the filamentous phage is M13 and the vector additionally includes a restriction endonuclease site located in such a manner as to substantially inactivate the second gene X when a DNA sequence is inserted into the restriction site. 2 figures.

  2. Electromagnetic scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an impedance cone

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed; Bagci, Hakan

    2013-01-01

    The electromagnetic field scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an infinite circular cone with an impedance boundary on its surface is considered. The impinging field is normal to the tip of the cone and is expanded in terms

  3. Validation of methylation biomarkers that distinguish normal colon mucosa from cancer patients from normal colon mucosa of patients without cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cesaroni, Matteo; Powell, Jasmine; Sapienza, Carmen

    2014-01-01

    We have validated differences in DNA methylation levels of candidate genes previously reported to discriminate between normal colon mucosa of colon cancer patients and normal colon mucosa of individuals without cancer. Here, we report that CpG sites in 16 of the 30 candidate genes selected show significant differences in mean methylation level in normal colon mucosa of 24 cancer patients and 24 controls. A support vector machine trained on these data and data for an additional 66 CpGs yielded an 18-gene signature, composed of 10 of the validated candidate genes plus eight additional candidates. This model exhibited 96% sensitivity and 100% specificity in a 40-sample training set and classified all eight samples in the test set correctly. Moreover, we found a moderate-strong correlation (Pearson coefficients r=0.253-0.722) between methylation levels in colon mucosa and methylation levels in peripheral blood for seven of the 18 genes in the support vector model. These seven genes, alone, classified 44 of the 48 patients in the validation set correctly and five CpGs selected from only two of the seven genes classified 41 of the 48 patients in the discovery set correctly. These results suggest that methylation biomarkers may be developed that will, at minimum, serve as useful objective and quantitative diagnostic complements to colonoscopy as a cancer-screening tool. These data also suggest that it may be possible to monitor biomarker methylation levels in tissues collected much less invasively than by colonoscopy. PMID:24806665

  4. Validation of methylation biomarkers that distinguish normal colon mucosa of cancer patients from normal colon mucosa of patients without cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cesaroni, Matteo; Powell, Jasmine; Sapienza, Carmen

    2014-07-01

    We have validated differences in DNA methylation levels of candidate genes previously reported to discriminate between normal colon mucosa of patients with colon cancer and normal colon mucosa of individuals without cancer. Here, we report that CpG sites in 16 of the 30 candidate genes selected show significant differences in mean methylation level in normal colon mucosa of 24 patients with cancer and 24 controls. A support vector machine trained on these data and data for an additional 66 CpGs yielded an 18-gene signature, composed of ten of the validated candidate genes plus eight additional candidates. This model exhibited 96% sensitivity and 100% specificity in a 40-sample training set and classified all eight samples in the test set correctly. Moreover, we found a moderate-strong correlation (Pearson coefficients r = 0.253-0.722) between methylation levels in colon mucosa and methylation levels in peripheral blood for seven of the 18 genes in the support vector model. These seven genes, alone, classified 44 of the 48 patients in the validation set correctly and five CpGs selected from only two of the seven genes classified 41 of the 48 patients in the discovery set correctly. These results suggest that methylation biomarkers may be developed that will, at minimum, serve as useful objective and quantitative diagnostic complements to colonoscopy as a cancer-screening tool. These data also suggest that it may be possible to monitor biomarker methylation levels in tissues collected much less invasively than by colonoscopy. ©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.

  5. Vector 33: A reduce program for vector algebra and calculus in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, David

    1989-06-01

    This paper describes a package with enables REDUCE 3.3 to perform algebra and calculus operations upon vectors. Basic algebraic operations between vectors and between scalars and vectors are provided, including scalar (dot) product and vector (cross) product. The vector differential operators curl, divergence, gradient and Laplacian are also defined, and are valid in any orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system. The package is written in RLISP to allow algebra and calculus to be performed using notation identical to that for operations. Scalars and vectors can be mixed quite freely in the same expression. The package will be of interest to mathematicians, engineers and scientists who need to perform vector calculations in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates.

  6. Probing deformed orbitals with vector A( vector e, e' N)B reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garrido, E.; Caballero, J.A.; Moya de Guerra, E.; Sarriguren, P.; Udias, J.M.

    1995-01-01

    We present results for response functions and asymmetries in the nuclear reactions 37 vector Ar( vector e, e' n) 36 Ar and 37 vector K( vector e,e' p) 36 Ar at quasifree kinematics. We compare PWIA results obtained using deformed HF wave functions with PWIA and DWIA results obtained assuming a spherical mean field. We show that the complex structure of the deformed orbitals can be probed by coincidence measurements with polarized beam and targets. ((orig.))

  7. Learning word vector representations based on acoustic counts

    OpenAIRE

    Ribeiro, Sam; Watts, Oliver; Yamagishi, Junichi

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a simple count-based approach to learning word vector representations by leveraging statistics of cooccurrences between text and speech. This type of representation requires two discrete sequences of units defined across modalities. Two possible methods for the discretization of an acoustic signal are presented, which are then applied to fundamental frequency and energy contours of a transcribed corpus of speech, yielding a sequence of textual objects (e.g. words, syllable...

  8. Counting Subspaces of a Finite Vector Space – 1

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ply refer the reader to [2], where an exposition of Gauss's proof (among .... obtained. The above process can be easily reversed: let e1;:::;ek denote the k coordinate vectors in Fn, written as col- umns. Starting with a Ferrers diagram ¸ in a k×(n−k) grid, replace ... consists of n segments of unit length, of which k are vertical and ...

  9. Notes on power of normality tests of error terms in regression models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Střelec, Luboš

    2015-01-01

    Normality is one of the basic assumptions in applying statistical procedures. For example in linear regression most of the inferential procedures are based on the assumption of normality, i.e. the disturbance vector is assumed to be normally distributed. Failure to assess non-normality of the error terms may lead to incorrect results of usual statistical inference techniques such as t-test or F-test. Thus, error terms should be normally distributed in order to allow us to make exact inferences. As a consequence, normally distributed stochastic errors are necessary in order to make a not misleading inferences which explains a necessity and importance of robust tests of normality. Therefore, the aim of this contribution is to discuss normality testing of error terms in regression models. In this contribution, we introduce the general RT class of robust tests for normality, and present and discuss the trade-off between power and robustness of selected classical and robust normality tests of error terms in regression models

  10. Notes on power of normality tests of error terms in regression models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Střelec, Luboš [Department of Statistics and Operation Analysis, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, Brno, 61300 (Czech Republic)

    2015-03-10

    Normality is one of the basic assumptions in applying statistical procedures. For example in linear regression most of the inferential procedures are based on the assumption of normality, i.e. the disturbance vector is assumed to be normally distributed. Failure to assess non-normality of the error terms may lead to incorrect results of usual statistical inference techniques such as t-test or F-test. Thus, error terms should be normally distributed in order to allow us to make exact inferences. As a consequence, normally distributed stochastic errors are necessary in order to make a not misleading inferences which explains a necessity and importance of robust tests of normality. Therefore, the aim of this contribution is to discuss normality testing of error terms in regression models. In this contribution, we introduce the general RT class of robust tests for normality, and present and discuss the trade-off between power and robustness of selected classical and robust normality tests of error terms in regression models.

  11. Extending TF1: Argument parsing, function composition, and vectorization

    CERN Document Server

    Tsang Mang Kin, Arthur Leonard

    2017-01-01

    In this project, we extend the functionality of the TF1 function class in root. We add argument parsing, making it possible to freely pass variables and parameters into pre-defined and user-defined functions. We also introduce a syntax to use certain compositions of functions, namely normalized sums and convolutions, directly in TF1. Finally, we introduce some simple vectorization functionality to TF1 and demonstrate the potential to speed up parallelizable computations.

  12. New method for computing ideal MHD normal modes in axisymmetric toroidal geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wysocki, F.; Grimm, R.C.

    1984-11-01

    Analytic elimination of the two magnetic surface components of the displacement vector permits the normal mode ideal MHD equations to be reduced to a scalar form. A Galerkin procedure, similar to that used in the PEST codes, is implemented to determine the normal modes computationally. The method retains the efficient stability capabilities of the PEST 2 energy principle code, while allowing computation of the normal mode frequencies and eigenfunctions, if desired. The procedure is illustrated by comparison with earlier various of PEST and by application to tilting modes in spheromaks, and to stable discrete Alfven waves in tokamak geometry

  13. Multi-perspective views of students’ difficulties with one-dimensional vector and two-dimensional vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauzi, Ahmad; Ratna Kawuri, Kunthi; Pratiwi, Retno

    2017-01-01

    Researchers of students’ conceptual change usually collects data from written tests and interviews. Moreover, reports of conceptual change often simply refer to changes in concepts, such as on a test, without any identification of the learning processes that have taken place. Research has shown that students have difficulties with vectors in university introductory physics courses and high school physics courses. In this study, we intended to explore students’ understanding of one-dimensional and two-dimensional vector in multi perspective views. In this research, we explore students’ understanding through test perspective and interviews perspective. Our research study adopted the mixed-methodology design. The participants of this research were sixty students of third semester of physics education department. The data of this research were collected by testand interviews. In this study, we divided the students’ understanding of one-dimensional vector and two-dimensional vector in two categories, namely vector skills of the addition of one-dimensionaland two-dimensional vector and the relation between vector skills and conceptual understanding. From the investigation, only 44% of students provided correct answer for vector skills of the addition of one-dimensional and two-dimensional vector and only 27% students provided correct answer for the relation between vector skills and conceptual understanding.

  14. Custodial vector model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becciolini, Diego; Franzosi, Diogo Buarque; Foadi, Roshan; Frandsen, Mads T.; Hapola, Tuomas; Sannino, Francesco

    2015-07-01

    We analyze the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) phenomenology of heavy vector resonances with a S U (2 )L×S U (2 )R spectral global symmetry. This symmetry partially protects the electroweak S parameter from large contributions of the vector resonances. The resulting custodial vector model spectrum and interactions with the standard model fields lead to distinct signatures at the LHC in the diboson, dilepton, and associated Higgs channels.

  15. Vector Differential Calculus

    OpenAIRE

    HITZER, Eckhard MS

    2002-01-01

    This paper treats the fundamentals of the vector differential calculus part of universal geometric calculus. Geometric calculus simplifies and unifies the structure and notation of mathematics for all of science and engineering, and for technological applications. In order to make the treatment self-contained, I first compile all important geometric algebra relationships,which are necesssary for vector differential calculus. Then differentiation by vectors is introduced and a host of major ve...

  16. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes. Vectorization and parallelization. Progress report fiscal 1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adachi, Masaaki; Ogasawara, Shinobu; Kume, Etsuo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Ishizuki, Shigeru; Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Kawasaki, Nobuo; Kawai, Wataru [Fujitsu Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Yatake, Yo-ichi [Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2001-02-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and trans-ported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system, the AP3000 system, the SX-4 system and the Paragon system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. We dealt with 18 codes in fiscal 1999. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization and the parallelization part on vector processors, the parallelization part on scalar processors and the porting part. In this report, we describe the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors. In this vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the vectorization of Relativistic Molecular Orbital Calculation code RSCAT, a microscopic transport code for high energy nuclear collisions code JAM, three-dimensional non-steady thermal-fluid analysis code STREAM, Relativistic Density Functional Theory code RDFT and High Speed Three-Dimensional Nodal Diffusion code MOSRA-Light on the VPP500 system and the SX-4 system are described. (author)

  17. Elliptic-symmetry vector optical fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Yue; Li, Yongnan; Li, Si-Min; Ren, Zhi-Cheng; Kong, Ling-Jun; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

    2014-08-11

    We present in principle and demonstrate experimentally a new kind of vector fields: elliptic-symmetry vector optical fields. This is a significant development in vector fields, as this breaks the cylindrical symmetry and enriches the family of vector fields. Due to the presence of an additional degrees of freedom, which is the interval between the foci in the elliptic coordinate system, the elliptic-symmetry vector fields are more flexible than the cylindrical vector fields for controlling the spatial structure of polarization and for engineering the focusing fields. The elliptic-symmetry vector fields can find many specific applications from optical trapping to optical machining and so on.

  18. Chikungunya Virus–Vector Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lark L. Coffey

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Chikungunya virus (CHIKV is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes chikungunya fever, a severe, debilitating disease that often produces chronic arthralgia. Since 2004, CHIKV has emerged in Africa, Indian Ocean islands, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, causing millions of human infections. Central to understanding CHIKV emergence is knowledge of the natural ecology of transmission and vector infection dynamics. This review presents current understanding of CHIKV infection dynamics in mosquito vectors and its relationship to human disease emergence. The following topics are reviewed: CHIKV infection and vector life history traits including transmission cycles, genetic origins, distribution, emergence and spread, dispersal, vector competence, vector immunity and microbial interactions, and co-infection by CHIKV and other arboviruses. The genetics of vector susceptibility and host range changes, population heterogeneity and selection for the fittest viral genomes, dual host cycling and its impact on CHIKV adaptation, viral bottlenecks and intrahost diversity, and adaptive constraints on CHIKV evolution are also discussed. The potential for CHIKV re-emergence and expansion into new areas and prospects for prevention via vector control are also briefly reviewed.

  19. Extended vector-tensor theories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kimura, Rampei; Naruko, Atsushi; Yoshida, Daisuke, E-mail: rampei@th.phys.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: naruko@th.phys.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: yoshida@th.phys.titech.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)

    2017-01-01

    Recently, several extensions of massive vector theory in curved space-time have been proposed in many literatures. In this paper, we consider the most general vector-tensor theories that contain up to two derivatives with respect to metric and vector field. By imposing a degeneracy condition of the Lagrangian in the context of ADM decomposition of space-time to eliminate an unwanted mode, we construct a new class of massive vector theories where five degrees of freedom can propagate, corresponding to three for massive vector modes and two for massless tensor modes. We find that the generalized Proca and the beyond generalized Proca theories up to the quartic Lagrangian, which should be included in this formulation, are degenerate theories even in curved space-time. Finally, introducing new metric and vector field transformations, we investigate the properties of thus obtained theories under such transformations.

  20. Hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xu-Zhen; Pan, Yue; Cai, Meng-Qiang; Li, Yongnan; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

    2015-12-14

    We present and construct a new kind of orthogonal coordinate system, hyperbolic coordinate system. We present and design a new kind of local linearly polarized vector fields, which is defined as the hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields because the points with the same polarization form a series of hyperbolae. We experimentally demonstrate the generation of such a kind of hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields. In particular, we also study the modified hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields with the twofold and fourfold symmetric states of polarization when introducing the mirror symmetry. The tight focusing behaviors of these vector fields are also investigated. In addition, we also fabricate micro-structures on the K9 glass surfaces by several tightly focused (modified) hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields patterns, which demonstrate that the simulated tightly focused fields are in good agreement with the fabricated micro-structures.

  1. Supergravity inspired vector curvaton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dimopoulos, Konstantinos

    2007-01-01

    It is investigated whether a massive Abelian vector field, whose gauge kinetic function is growing during inflation, can be responsible for the generation of the curvature perturbation in the Universe. Particle production is studied and it is shown that the vector field can obtain a scale-invariant superhorizon spectrum of perturbations with a reasonable choice of kinetic function. After inflation the vector field begins coherent oscillations, during which it corresponds to pressureless isotropic matter. When the vector field dominates the Universe, its perturbations give rise to the observed curvature perturbation following the curvaton scenario. It is found that this is possible if, after the end of inflation, the mass of the vector field increases at a phase transition at temperature of order 1 TeV or lower. Inhomogeneous reheating, whereby the vector field modulates the decay rate of the inflaton, is also studied

  2. Constraining vectors and axial-vectors in walking technicolour by a holographic principle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    D. Dietrich, Dennis; Kouvaris, Christoforos

    2008-01-01

    We use a holographic principle to study the low-energy spectrum of walking technicolour models. In particular, we predict the masses of the axial vectors as well as the decay constants of vectors and axial vectors as functions of the mass of the techni-rho. Given that there are very few...

  3. Recommendation on vectors and vector-transmitted diseases

    OpenAIRE

    Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority

    2009-01-01

    In view of their increasing risk of introduction and their possible implications in causing major disease outbreaks, vectors, as well as vector-transmitted diseases like dengue, West Nile disease, Lyme disease and bluetongue need to be recognised as a threat to public and animal health and to the economy, also in the Netherlands. There has been an increase in the incidence of these diseases in the past two to three decades. Climate changes and changes in the use of land, water managemen...

  4. Gauge anomaly with vector and axial-vector fields in 6D curved space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yajima, Satoshi; Eguchi, Kohei; Fukuda, Makoto; Oka, Tomonori

    2018-03-01

    Imposing the conservation equation of the vector current for a fermion of spin 1/2 at the quantum level, a gauge anomaly for the fermion coupling with non-Abelian vector and axial-vector fields in 6D curved space is expressed in tensorial form. The anomaly consists of terms that resemble the chiral U(1) anomaly and the commutator terms that disappear if the axial-vector field is Abelian.

  5. Invasive Potential of Cattle Fever Ticks in the Southern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    For >100 years cattle production in the southern United States has been threatened by cattle fever. It is caused by an invasive parasite-vector complex that includes the protozoan hemoparasites Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, which are transmitted among domestic cattle via Rhipicephalus tick vectors ...

  6. Vector manifestation and violation of vector dominance in hot matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harada, Masayasu; Sasaki, Chihiro

    2004-01-01

    We show the details of the calculation of the hadronic thermal corrections to the two-point functions in the effective field theory of QCD for pions and vector mesons based on the hidden local symmetry (HLS) in hot matter using the background field gauge. We study the temperature dependence of the pion velocity in the low-temperature region determined from the hadronic thermal corrections, and show that, due to the presence of the dynamical vector meson, the pion velocity is smaller than the speed of the light already at one-loop level, in contrast to the result obtained in the ordinary chiral perturbation theory including only the pion at one-loop. Including the intrinsic temperature dependences of the parameters of the HLS Lagrangian determined from the underlying QCD through the Wilsonian matching, we show how the vector manifestation (VM), in which the massless vector meson becomes the chiral partner of pion, is realized at the critical temperature. We present a new prediction of the VM on the direct photon-π-π coupling which measures the validity of the vector dominance (VD) of the electromagnetic form factor of the pion: we find that the VD is largely violated at the critical temperature, which indicates that the assumption of the VD made in several analyses on the dilepton spectra in hot matter may need to be weakened for consistently including the effect of the dropping mass of the vector meson

  7. Activities of wildtype and mutant p53 in suppression of homologous recombination as measured by a retroviral vector system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Xiongbin; Lozano, Guillermina; Donehower, Lawrence A.

    2003-01-01

    DNA repair of double strand breaks, interstrand DNA cross-links, and other types of DNA damage utilizes the processes of homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining to repair the damage. Aberrant homologous recombination is likely to be responsible for a significant fraction of chromosomal deletions, duplications, and translocations that are observed in cancer cells. To facilitate measurement of homologous recombination frequencies in normal cells, mutant cells, and cancer cells, we have developed a high titer retroviral vector containing tandem repeats of mutant versions of a GFP-Zeocin resistance fusion gene and an intact neomycin resistance marker. Recombination between the tandem repeats regenerates a functional GFP-Zeo R marker that can be easily scored. This retroviral vector was used to assess homologous recombination frequencies in human cancer cells and rodent fibroblasts with differing dosages of wild type or mutant p53. Absence of wild type p53 stimulated spontaneous and ionizing radiation-induced homologous recombination, confirming previous studies. Moreover, p53 +/- mouse fibroblasts show elevated levels of homologous recombination compared to their p53 +/+ counterparts following retroviral vector infection, indicating that p53 is haploinsufficient for suppression of homologous recombination. Transfection of vector-containing p53 null Saos-2 cells with various human cancer-associated p53 mutants revealed that these altered p53 proteins retain some recombination suppression function despite being totally inactive for transcriptional transactivation. The retroviral vector utilized in these studies may be useful in performing recombination assays on a wide array of cell types, including those not readily transfected by normal vectors

  8. Long-Term Efficacy Following Readministration of an Adeno-Associated Virus Vector in Dogs with Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demaster, Amanda; Luo, Xiaoyan; Curtis, Sarah; Williams, Kyha D.; Landau, Dustin J.; Drake, Elizabeth J.; Kozink, Daniel M.; Bird, Andrew; Crane, Bayley; Sun, Francis; Pinto, Carlos R.; Brown, Talmage T.; Kemper, Alex R.

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD-Ia) is the inherited deficiency of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), primarily found in liver and kidney, which causes life-threatening hypoglycemia. Dogs with GSD-Ia were treated with double-stranded adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors encoding human G6Pase. Administration of an AAV9 pseudotyped (AAV2/9) vector to seven consecutive GSD-Ia neonates prevented hypoglycemia during fasting for up to 8 hr; however, efficacy eventually waned between 2 and 30 months of age, and readministration of a new pseudotype was eventually required to maintain control of hypoglycemia. Three of these dogs succumbed to acute hypoglycemia between 7 and 9 weeks of age; however, this demise could have been prevented by earlier readministration an AAV vector, as demonstrated by successful prevention of mortality of three dogs treated earlier in life. Over the course of this study, six out of nine dogs survived after readministration of an AAV vector. Of these, each dog required readministration on average every 9 months. However, two were not retreated until >34 months of age, while one with preexisting antibodies was re-treated three times in 10 months. Glycogen content was normalized in the liver following vector administration, and G6Pase activity was increased in the liver of vector-treated dogs in comparison with GSD-Ia dogs that received only with dietary treatment. G6Pase activity reached approximately 40% of normal in two female dogs following AAV2/9 vector administration. Elevated aspartate transaminase in absence of inflammation indicated that hepatocellular turnover in the liver might drive the loss of vector genomes. Survival was prolonged for up to 60 months in dogs treated by readministration, and all dogs treated by readministration continue to thrive despite the demonstrated risk for recurrent hypoglycemia and mortality from waning efficacy of the AAV2/9 vector. These preclinical data support the further translation of AAV

  9. Heavy Scalar, Vector, and Axial-Vector Mesons in Hot and Dense Nuclear Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arvind Kumar

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work we shall investigate the mass modifications of scalar mesons (D0; B0, vector mesons (D*; B*, and axial-vector mesons (D1; B1 at finite density and temperature of the nuclear medium. The above mesons are modified in the nuclear medium through the modification of quark and gluon condensates. We will find the medium modification of quark and gluon condensates within chiral SU(3 model through the medium modification of scalar-isoscalar fields σ and ζ at finite density and temperature. These medium modified quark and gluon condensates will further be used through QCD sum rules for the evaluation of in-medium properties of the above mentioned scalar, vector, and axial vector mesons. We will also discuss the effects of density and temperature of the nuclear medium on the scattering lengths of the above scalar, vector, and axial-vector mesons. The study of the medium modifications of the above mesons may be helpful for understanding their production rates in heavy-ion collision experiments. The results of present investigations of medium modifications of scalar, vector, and axial-vector mesons at finite density and temperature can be verified in the compressed baryonic matter (CBM experiment of FAIR facility at GSI, Germany.

  10. Vector Fields on Product Manifolds

    OpenAIRE

    Kurz, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    This short report establishes some basic properties of smooth vector fields on product manifolds. The main results are: (i) On a product manifold there always exists a direct sum decomposition into horizontal and vertical vector fields. (ii) Horizontal and vertical vector fields are naturally isomorphic to smooth families of vector fields defined on the factors. Vector fields are regarded as derivations of the algebra of smooth functions.

  11. Light scattering of rectangular slot antennas: parallel magnetic vector vs perpendicular electric vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Dukhyung; Kim, Dai-Sik

    2016-01-01

    We study light scattering off rectangular slot nano antennas on a metal film varying incident polarization and incident angle, to examine which field vector of light is more important: electric vector perpendicular to, versus magnetic vector parallel to the long axis of the rectangle. While vector Babinet’s principle would prefer magnetic field along the long axis for optimizing slot antenna function, convention and intuition most often refer to the electric field perpendicular to it. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that in accordance with vector Babinet’s principle, the incident magnetic vector parallel to the long axis is the dominant component, with the perpendicular incident electric field making a small contribution of the factor of 1/|ε|, the reciprocal of the absolute value of the dielectric constant of the metal, owing to the non-perfectness of metals at optical frequencies.

  12. Generalization of concurrence vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Changshui; Song Heshan

    2004-01-01

    In this Letter, based on the generalization of concurrence vectors for bipartite pure state with respect to employing tensor product of generators of the corresponding rotation groups, we generalize concurrence vectors to the case of mixed states; a new criterion of separability of multipartite pure states is given out, for which we define a concurrence vector; we generalize the vector to the case of multipartite mixed state and give out a good measure of free entanglement

  13. Vector Network Coding Algorithms

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrahimi, Javad; Fragouli, Christina

    2010-01-01

    We develop new algebraic algorithms for scalar and vector network coding. In vector network coding, the source multicasts information by transmitting vectors of length L, while intermediate nodes process and combine their incoming packets by multiplying them with L x L coding matrices that play a similar role as coding c in scalar coding. Our algorithms for scalar network jointly optimize the employed field size while selecting the coding coefficients. Similarly, for vector coding, our algori...

  14. Examination of muscle composition and motor unit behavior of the first dorsal interosseous of normal and overweight children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Jonathan D; Sterczala, Adam J; Trevino, Michael A; Herda, Trent J

    2018-05-01

    We examined differences between normal weight (NW) and overweight (OW) children aged 8-10 yr in strength, muscle composition, and motor unit (MU) behavior of the first dorsal interosseous. Ultrasonography was used to determine muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), subcutaneous fat (sFAT), and echo intensity (EI). MU behavior was assessed during isometric muscle actions at 20% and 50% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) by analyzing electromyography amplitude (EMG RMS ) and relationships between mean firing rates (MFR), recruitment thresholds (RT), and MU action potential amplitudes (MUAP size ) and durations (MUAP time ). The OW group had significantly greater EI than the NW group ( P = 0.002; NW, 47.99 ± 6.01 AU; OW, 58.90 ± 10.63 AU, where AU is arbitrary units) with no differences between groups for CSA ( P = 0.688) or MVC force ( P = 0.790). MUAP size was larger for NW than OW in relation to RT ( P = 0.002) and for MUs expressing similar MFRs ( P = 0.011). There were no significant differences ( P = 0.279-0.969) between groups for slopes or y-intercepts from the MFR vs. RT relationships. MUAP time was larger in OW ( P = 0.015) and EMG RMS was attenuated in OW compared with NW ( P = 0.034); however, there were no significant correlations ( P = 0.133-0.164, r = 0.270-0.291) between sFAT and EMG RMS . In a muscle that does not support body mass, the OW children had smaller MUAP size as well as greater EI, although anatomical CSA was similar. This contradicts previous studies examining larger limb muscles. Despite evidence of smaller MUs, the OW children had similar isometric strength compared with NW children. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Ultrasound data and motor unit action potential sizes suggest that overweight children have poorer muscle composition and smaller motor units in the first dorsal interosseous than normal weight children. Evidence is presented that suggests differences in action potential size cannot be explained

  15. Gaussian statistics for palaeomagnetic vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, J.J.; Constable, C.G.

    2003-01-01

    With the aim of treating the statistics of palaeomagnetic directions and intensities jointly and consistently, we represent the mean and the variance of palaeomagnetic vectors, at a particular site and of a particular polarity, by a probability density function in a Cartesian three-space of orthogonal magnetic-field components consisting of a single (unimoda) non-zero mean, spherically-symmetrical (isotropic) Gaussian function. For palaeomagnetic data of mixed polarities, we consider a bimodal distribution consisting of a pair of such symmetrical Gaussian functions, with equal, but opposite, means and equal variances. For both the Gaussian and bi-Gaussian distributions, and in the spherical three-space of intensity, inclination, and declination, we obtain analytical expressions for the marginal density functions, the cumulative distributions, and the expected values and variances for each spherical coordinate (including the angle with respect to the axis of symmetry of the distributions). The mathematical expressions for the intensity and off-axis angle are closed-form and especially manageable, with the intensity distribution being Rayleigh-Rician. In the limit of small relative vectorial dispersion, the Gaussian (bi-Gaussian) directional distribution approaches a Fisher (Bingham) distribution and the intensity distribution approaches a normal distribution. In the opposite limit of large relative vectorial dispersion, the directional distributions approach a spherically-uniform distribution and the intensity distribution approaches a Maxwell distribution. We quantify biases in estimating the properties of the vector field resulting from the use of simple arithmetic averages, such as estimates of the intensity or the inclination of the mean vector, or the variances of these quantities. With the statistical framework developed here and using the maximum-likelihood method, which gives unbiased estimates in the limit of large data numbers, we demonstrate how to

  16. Gaussian statistics for palaeomagnetic vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, J. J.; Constable, C. G.

    2003-03-01

    With the aim of treating the statistics of palaeomagnetic directions and intensities jointly and consistently, we represent the mean and the variance of palaeomagnetic vectors, at a particular site and of a particular polarity, by a probability density function in a Cartesian three-space of orthogonal magnetic-field components consisting of a single (unimodal) non-zero mean, spherically-symmetrical (isotropic) Gaussian function. For palaeomagnetic data of mixed polarities, we consider a bimodal distribution consisting of a pair of such symmetrical Gaussian functions, with equal, but opposite, means and equal variances. For both the Gaussian and bi-Gaussian distributions, and in the spherical three-space of intensity, inclination, and declination, we obtain analytical expressions for the marginal density functions, the cumulative distributions, and the expected values and variances for each spherical coordinate (including the angle with respect to the axis of symmetry of the distributions). The mathematical expressions for the intensity and off-axis angle are closed-form and especially manageable, with the intensity distribution being Rayleigh-Rician. In the limit of small relative vectorial dispersion, the Gaussian (bi-Gaussian) directional distribution approaches a Fisher (Bingham) distribution and the intensity distribution approaches a normal distribution. In the opposite limit of large relative vectorial dispersion, the directional distributions approach a spherically-uniform distribution and the intensity distribution approaches a Maxwell distribution. We quantify biases in estimating the properties of the vector field resulting from the use of simple arithmetic averages, such as estimates of the intensity or the inclination of the mean vector, or the variances of these quantities. With the statistical framework developed here and using the maximum-likelihood method, which gives unbiased estimates in the limit of large data numbers, we demonstrate how to

  17. Rapid construction of a Bacterial Artificial Chromosomal (BAC) expression vector using designer DNA fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chao; Zhao, Xinqing; Jin, Yingyu; Zhao, Zongbao Kent; Suh, Joo-Won

    2014-11-01

    Bacterial artificial chromosomal (BAC) vectors are increasingly being used in cloning large DNA fragments containing complex biosynthetic pathways to facilitate heterologous production of microbial metabolites for drug development. To express inserted genes using Streptomyces species as the production hosts, an integration expression cassette is required to be inserted into the BAC vector, which includes genetic elements encoding a phage-specific attachment site, an integrase, an origin of transfer, a selection marker and a promoter. Due to the large sizes of DNA inserted into the BAC vectors, it is normally inefficient and time-consuming to assemble these fragments by routine PCR amplifications and restriction-ligations. Here we present a rapid method to insert fragments to construct BAC-based expression vectors. A DNA fragment of about 130 bp was designed, which contains upstream and downstream homologous sequences of both BAC vector and pIB139 plasmid carrying the whole integration expression cassette. In-Fusion cloning was performed using the designer DNA fragment to modify pIB139, followed by λ-RED-mediated recombination to obtain the BAC-based expression vector. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this method by rapid construction of a BAC-based expression vector with an insert of about 120 kb that contains the entire gene cluster for biosynthesis of immunosuppressant FK506. The empty BAC-based expression vector constructed in this study can be conveniently used for construction of BAC libraries using either microbial pure culture or environmental DNA, and the selected BAC clones can be directly used for heterologous expression. Alternatively, if a BAC library has already been constructed using a commercial BAC vector, the selected BAC vectors can be manipulated using the method described here to get the BAC-based expression vectors with desired gene clusters for heterologous expression. The rapid construction of a BAC-based expression vector facilitates

  18. Complex Polynomial Vector Fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dias, Kealey

    vector fields. Since the class of complex polynomial vector fields in the plane is natural to consider, it is remarkable that its study has only begun very recently. There are numerous fundamental questions that are still open, both in the general classification of these vector fields, the decomposition...... of parameter spaces into structurally stable domains, and a description of the bifurcations. For this reason, the talk will focus on these questions for complex polynomial vector fields.......The two branches of dynamical systems, continuous and discrete, correspond to the study of differential equations (vector fields) and iteration of mappings respectively. In holomorphic dynamics, the systems studied are restricted to those described by holomorphic (complex analytic) functions...

  19. Gene therapy of Fanconi anemia: preclinical efficacy using lentiviral vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galimi, Francesco; Noll, Meenakshi; Kanazawa, Yoshiyuki; Lax, Timothy; Chen, Cindy; Grompe, Markus; Verma, Inder M

    2002-10-15

    Fanconi anemia (FA) is an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome caused by mutations in a DNA repair pathway including at least 6 genes (FANCA, FANCC, FANCD2, FANCE, FANCF, and FANCG). The clinical course of the disease is dominated by progressive, life-threatening bone marrow failure and high incidence of acute myelogenous leukemia and solid tumors. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a therapeutic option but requires HLA-matched donors. Gene therapy holds great promise for FA, but previous attempts to use retroviral vectors in humans have proven ineffective given the impaired proliferation potential of human FA hematopoietic progenitors (HPCs). In this work, we show that using lentiviral vectors efficient genetic correction can be achieved in quiescent hematopoietic progenitors from Fanca(-/-) and Fancc(-/-) mice. Long-term repopulating HPCs were transduced by a single exposure of unfractionated bone marrow mononuclear cells to lentivectors carrying the normal gene. Notably, no cell purification or cytokine prestimulation was necessary. Resistance to DNA- damaging agents was fully restored by lentiviral transduction, allowing for in vivo selection of the corrected cells with nonablative doses of cyclophosphamide. This study strongly supports the use of lentiviral vectors for FA gene therapy in humans.

  20. Validation of SplitVectors Encoding for Quantitative Visualization of Large-Magnitude-Range Vector Fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henan Zhao; Bryant, Garnett W; Griffin, Wesley; Terrill, Judith E; Jian Chen

    2017-06-01

    We designed and evaluated SplitVectors, a new vector field display approach to help scientists perform new discrimination tasks on large-magnitude-range scientific data shown in three-dimensional (3D) visualization environments. SplitVectors uses scientific notation to display vector magnitude, thus improving legibility. We present an empirical study comparing the SplitVectors approach with three other approaches - direct linear representation, logarithmic, and text display commonly used in scientific visualizations. Twenty participants performed three domain analysis tasks: reading numerical values (a discrimination task), finding the ratio between values (a discrimination task), and finding the larger of two vectors (a pattern detection task). Participants used both mono and stereo conditions. Our results suggest the following: (1) SplitVectors improve accuracy by about 10 times compared to linear mapping and by four times to logarithmic in discrimination tasks; (2) SplitVectors have no significant differences from the textual display approach, but reduce cluttering in the scene; (3) SplitVectors and textual display are less sensitive to data scale than linear and logarithmic approaches; (4) using logarithmic can be problematic as participants' confidence was as high as directly reading from the textual display, but their accuracy was poor; and (5) Stereoscopy improved performance, especially in more challenging discrimination tasks.

  1. Real-time PCR protocols for the quantification of the begomovirus tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus in tomato plants and in its insect vector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noris, Emanuela; Miozzi, Laura

    2015-01-01

    Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus (TYLCSV) (Geminiviridae) is an important pathogen, transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, that severely affects the tomato production in the Mediterranean basin. Here, we describe real-time PCR protocols suitable for relative and absolute quantification of TYLCSV in tomato plants and in whitefly extracts. Using primers and probe specifically designed for TYLCSV, the protocols for relative quantification allow to compare the amount of TYLCSV present in different plant or whitefly samples, normalized to the amount of DNA present in each sample using endogenous tomato or Bemisia genes as internal references. The absolute quantification protocol allows to calculate the number of genomic units of TYLCSV over the genomic units of the plant host (tomato), with a sensitivity of as few as ten viral genome copies per sample. The described protocols are potentially suitable for several applications, such as plant breeding for resistance, analysis of virus replication, and virus-vector interaction studies.

  2. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes (vectorization and parallelization). Progress report fiscal 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishizuki, Shigeru; Kawai, Wataru; Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Ogasawara, Shinobu; Kume, Etsuo; Adachi, Masaaki; Kawasaki, Nobuo; Yatake, Yo-ichi

    2000-03-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and transported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system, the AP3000 system and the Paragon system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. We dealt with 12 codes in fiscal 1998. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the parallelization on scalar processors part and the porting part. In this report, we describe the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors. In this vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the vectorization of General Tokamak Circuit Simulation Program code GTCSP, the vectorization and parallelization of Molecular Dynamics NTV (n-particle, Temperature and Velocity) Simulation code MSP2, Eddy Current Analysis code EDDYCAL, Thermal Analysis Code for Test of Passive Cooling System by HENDEL T2 code THANPACST2 and MHD Equilibrium code SELENEJ on the VPP500 are described. In the parallelization on scalar processors part, the parallelization of Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code MCNP4B2, Plasma Hydrodynamics code using Cubic Interpolated Propagation Method PHCIP and Vectorized Monte Carlo code (continuous energy model / multi-group model) MVP/GMVP on the Paragon are described. In the porting part, the porting of Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code MCNP4B2 and Reactor Safety Analysis code RELAP5 on the AP3000 are described. (author)

  3. Burgers vector content of an interfacial ledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnet, R.; Loubradou, M.; Pénisson, J. M.

    1992-07-01

    A new way of investigating the elastic field around a ledge of a faceted interface is proposed for crystalline materials. The length and/or angular misfits along two adjacent facets are accommodated by slightly deforming the atomic structural units with an appropriate distribution of translation dislocations. The Burgers vector content of the ledge is not defined as usual from a circuit crossing the interface twice, a method which proves to be sometimes misleading. An example treats, at the atomic scale, an unusual ledge of the interface TiAl/Ti3Al.

  4. Models of Disease Vector Control: When Can Aggressive Initial Intervention Lower Long-Term Cost?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oduro, Bismark; Grijalva, Mario J; Just, Winfried

    2018-04-01

    Insecticide spraying of housing units is an important control measure for vector-borne infections such as Chagas disease. As vectors may invade both from other infested houses and sylvatic areas and as the effectiveness of insecticide wears off over time, the dynamics of (re)infestations can be approximated by [Formula: see text]-type models with a reservoir, where housing units are treated as hosts, and insecticide spraying corresponds to removal of hosts. Here, we investigate three ODE-based models of this type. We describe a dual-rate effect where an initially very high spraying rate can push the system into a region of the state space with low endemic levels of infestation that can be maintained in the long run at relatively moderate cost, while in the absence of an aggressive initial intervention the same average cost would only allow a much less significant reduction in long-term infestation levels. We determine some sufficient and some necessary conditions under which this effect occurs and show that it is robust in models that incorporate some heterogeneity in the relevant properties of housing units.

  5. Equivalent Vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, Robert

    2004-01-01

    The cross-product is a mathematical operation that is performed between two 3-dimensional vectors. The result is a vector that is orthogonal or perpendicular to both of them. Learning about this for the first time while taking Calculus-III, the class was taught that if AxB = AxC, it does not necessarily follow that B = C. This seemed baffling. The…

  6. Speculative dynamic vectorization to assist static vectorization in a HW/SW co-designed environment

    OpenAIRE

    Kumar, R.; Martinez, A.; Gonzalez, A.

    2013-01-01

    Compiler based static vectorization is used widely to extract data level parallelism from computation intensive applications. Static vectorization is very effective in vectorizing traditional array based applications. However, compilers inability to reorder ambiguous memory references severely limits vectorization opportunities, especially in pointer rich applications. HW/SW co-designed processors provide an excellent opportunity to optimize the applications at runtime. The availability of dy...

  7. Parallel computation for distributed parameter system-from vector processors to Adena computer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nogi, T

    1983-04-01

    Research on advanced parallel hardware and software architectures for very high-speed computation deserves and needs more support and attention to fulfil its promise. Novel architectures for parallel processing are being made ready. Architectures for parallel processing can be roughly divided into two groups. One is a vector processor in which a single central processing unit involves multiple vector-arithmetic registers. The other is a processor array in which slave processors are connected to a host processor to perform parallel computation. In this review, the concept and data structure of the Adena (alternating-direction edition nexus array) architecture, which is conformable to distributed-parameter simulation algorithms, are described. 5 references.

  8. Very-short-term wind power probabilistic forecasts by sparse vector autoregression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dowell, Jethro; Pinson, Pierre

    2016-01-01

    A spatio-temporal method for producing very-shortterm parametric probabilistic wind power forecasts at a large number of locations is presented. Smart grids containing tens, or hundreds, of wind generators require skilled very-short-term forecasts to operate effectively, and spatial information...... is highly desirable. In addition, probabilistic forecasts are widely regarded as necessary for optimal power system management as they quantify the uncertainty associated with point forecasts. Here we work within a parametric framework based on the logit-normal distribution and forecast its parameters....... The location parameter for multiple wind farms is modelled as a vector-valued spatiotemporal process, and the scale parameter is tracked by modified exponential smoothing. A state-of-the-art technique for fitting sparse vector autoregressive models is employed to model the location parameter and demonstrates...

  9. Vectorization at the KENO-IV code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asai, K.; Higuchi, K.; Katakura, J.

    1986-01-01

    The multigroup criticality safety code KENO-IV has been vectorized and tested on the FACOM VP-100 vector processor. At first, the vectorized KENO-IV on a scalar processor was slower than the original one by a factor of 1.4 because of the overhead introduced by vectorization. Making modifications of algorithms and techniques for vectorization, the vectorized version has become faster than the original one by a factor of 1.4 on the vector processor. For further speedup of the code, some improvements on compiler and hardware, especially on addition of Monte Carlo pipelines to the vector processor, are discussed

  10. On the Use of Normalized Compression Distances for Image Similarity Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinu Coltuc

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the usefulness of the normalized compression distance (NCD for image similarity detection. Instead of the direct NCD between images, the paper considers the correlation between NCD based feature vectors extracted for each image. The vectors are derived by computing the NCD between the original image and sequences of translated (rotated versions. Feature vectors for simple transforms (circular translations on horizontal, vertical, diagonal directions and rotations around image center and several standard compressors are generated and tested in a very simple experiment of similarity detection between the original image and two filtered versions (median and moving average. The promising vector configurations (geometric transform, lossless compressor are further tested for similarity detection on the 24 images of the Kodak set subject to some common image processing. While the direct computation of NCD fails to detect image similarity even in the case of simple median and moving average filtering in 3 × 3 windows, for certain transforms and compressors, the proposed approach appears to provide robustness at similarity detection against smoothing, lossy compression, contrast enhancement, noise addition and some robustness against geometrical transforms (scaling, cropping and rotation.

  11. Reciprocity relationships in vector acoustics and their application to vector field calculations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deal, Thomas J; Smith, Kevin B

    2017-08-01

    The reciprocity equation commonly stated in underwater acoustics relates pressure fields and monopole sources. It is often used to predict the pressure measured by a hydrophone for multiple source locations by placing a source at the hydrophone location and calculating the field everywhere for that source. A similar equation that governs the orthogonal components of the particle velocity field is needed to enable this computational method to be used for acoustic vector sensors. This paper derives a general reciprocity equation that accounts for both monopole and dipole sources. This vector-scalar reciprocity equation can be used to calculate individual components of the received vector field by altering the source type used in the propagation calculation. This enables a propagation model to calculate the received vector field components for an arbitrary number of source locations with a single model run for each vector field component instead of requiring one model run for each source location. Application of the vector-scalar reciprocity principle is demonstrated with analytic solutions for a range-independent environment and with numerical solutions for a range-dependent environment using a parabolic equation model.

  12. Vectors and their applications

    CERN Document Server

    Pettofrezzo, Anthony J

    2005-01-01

    Geared toward undergraduate students, this text illustrates the use of vectors as a mathematical tool in plane synthetic geometry, plane and spherical trigonometry, and analytic geometry of two- and three-dimensional space. Its rigorous development includes a complete treatment of the algebra of vectors in the first two chapters.Among the text's outstanding features are numbered definitions and theorems in the development of vector algebra, which appear in italics for easy reference. Most of the theorems include proofs, and coordinate position vectors receive an in-depth treatment. Key concept

  13. Convexity and Marginal Vectors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Velzen, S.; Hamers, H.J.M.; Norde, H.W.

    2002-01-01

    In this paper we construct sets of marginal vectors of a TU game with the property that if the marginal vectors from these sets are core elements, then the game is convex.This approach leads to new upperbounds on the number of marginal vectors needed to characterize convexity.An other result is that

  14. Integrating Transgenic Vector Manipulation with Clinical Interventions to Manage Vector-Borne Diseases.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenichi W Okamoto

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Many vector-borne diseases lack effective vaccines and medications, and the limitations of traditional vector control have inspired novel approaches based on using genetic engineering to manipulate vector populations and thereby reduce transmission. Yet both the short- and long-term epidemiological effects of these transgenic strategies are highly uncertain. If neither vaccines, medications, nor transgenic strategies can by themselves suffice for managing vector-borne diseases, integrating these approaches becomes key. Here we develop a framework to evaluate how clinical interventions (i.e., vaccination and medication can be integrated with transgenic vector manipulation strategies to prevent disease invasion and reduce disease incidence. We show that the ability of clinical interventions to accelerate disease suppression can depend on the nature of the transgenic manipulation deployed (e.g., whether vector population reduction or replacement is attempted. We find that making a specific, individual strategy highly effective may not be necessary for attaining public-health objectives, provided suitable combinations can be adopted. However, we show how combining only partially effective antimicrobial drugs or vaccination with transgenic vector manipulations that merely temporarily lower vector competence can amplify disease resurgence following transient suppression. Thus, transgenic vector manipulation that cannot be sustained can have adverse consequences-consequences which ineffective clinical interventions can at best only mitigate, and at worst temporarily exacerbate. This result, which arises from differences between the time scale on which the interventions affect disease dynamics and the time scale of host population dynamics, highlights the importance of accounting for the potential delay in the effects of deploying public health strategies on long-term disease incidence. We find that for systems at the disease-endemic equilibrium, even

  15. Design, Assembly, Integration, and Testing of a Power Processing Unit for a Cylindrical Hall Thruster, the NORSAT-2 Flatsat, and the Vector Gravimeter for Asteroids Instrument Computer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svatos, Adam Ladislav

    This thesis describes the author's contributions to three separate projects. The bus of the NORSAT-2 satellite was developed by the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) for the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) and Space Norway. The author's contributions to the mission were performing unit tests for the components of all the spacecraft subsystems as well as designing and assembling the flatsat from flight spares. Gedex's Vector Gravimeter for Asteroids (VEGA) is an accelerometer for spacecraft. The author's contributions to this payload were modifying the instrument computer board schematic, designing the printed circuit board, developing and applying test software, and performing thermal acceptance testing of two instrument computer boards. The SFL's cylindrical Hall effect thruster combines the cylindrical configuration for a Hall thruster and uses permanent magnets to achieve miniaturization and low power consumption, respectively. The author's contributions were to design, build, and test an engineering model power processing unit.

  16. Complex Polynomial Vector Fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The two branches of dynamical systems, continuous and discrete, correspond to the study of differential equations (vector fields) and iteration of mappings respectively. In holomorphic dynamics, the systems studied are restricted to those described by holomorphic (complex analytic) functions...... or meromorphic (allowing poles as singularities) functions. There already exists a well-developed theory for iterative holomorphic dynamical systems, and successful relations found between iteration theory and flows of vector fields have been one of the main motivations for the recent interest in holomorphic...... vector fields. Since the class of complex polynomial vector fields in the plane is natural to consider, it is remarkable that its study has only begun very recently. There are numerous fundamental questions that are still open, both in the general classification of these vector fields, the decomposition...

  17. Design and optimization of stress centralized MEMS vector hydrophone with high sensitivity at low frequency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guojun; Ding, Junwen; Xu, Wei; Liu, Yuan; Wang, Renxin; Han, Janjun; Bai, Bing; Xue, Chenyang; Liu, Jun; Zhang, Wendong

    2018-05-01

    A micro hydrophone based on piezoresistive effect, "MEMS vector hydrophone" was developed for acoustic detection application. To improve the sensitivity of MEMS vector hydrophone at low frequency, we reported a stress centralized MEMS vector hydrophone (SCVH) mainly used in 20-500 Hz. Stress concentration area was actualized in sensitive unit of hydrophone by silicon micromachining technology. Then piezoresistors were placed in stress concentration area for better mechanical response, thereby obtaining higher sensitivity. Static analysis was done to compare the mechanical response of three different sensitive microstructure: SCVH, conventional micro-silicon four-beam vector hydrophone (CFVH) and Lollipop-shaped vector hydrophone (LVH) respectively. And fluid-structure interaction (FSI) was used to analyze the natural frequency of SCVH for ensuring the measurable bandwidth. Eventually, the calibration experiment in standing wave field was done to test the property of SCVH and verify the accuracy of simulation. The results show that the sensitivity of SCVH has nearly increased by 17.2 dB in contrast to CFVH and 7.6 dB in contrast to LVH during 20-500 Hz.

  18. Differing effects of attention in single-units and populations are well predicted by heterogeneous tuning and the normalization model of attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hara, Yuko; Pestilli, Franco; Gardner, Justin L

    2014-01-01

    Single-unit measurements have reported many different effects of attention on contrast-response (e.g., contrast-gain, response-gain, additive-offset dependent on visibility), while functional imaging measurements have more uniformly reported increases in response across all contrasts (additive-offset). The normalization model of attention elegantly predicts the diversity of effects of attention reported in single-units well-tuned to the stimulus, but what predictions does it make for more realistic populations of neurons with heterogeneous tuning? Are predictions in accordance with population-scale measurements? We used functional imaging data from humans to determine a realistic ratio of attention-field to stimulus-drive size (a key parameter for the model) and predicted effects of attention in a population of model neurons with heterogeneous tuning. We found that within the population, neurons well-tuned to the stimulus showed a response-gain effect, while less-well-tuned neurons showed a contrast-gain effect. Averaged across the population, these disparate effects of attention gave rise to additive-offsets in contrast-response, similar to reports in human functional imaging as well as population averages of single-units. Differences in predictions for single-units and populations were observed across a wide range of model parameters (ratios of attention-field to stimulus-drive size and the amount of baseline response modifiable by attention), offering an explanation for disparity in physiological reports. Thus, by accounting for heterogeneity in tuning of realistic neuronal populations, the normalization model of attention can not only predict responses of well-tuned neurons, but also the activity of large populations of neurons. More generally, computational models can unify physiological findings across different scales of measurement, and make links to behavior, but only if factors such as heterogeneous tuning within a population are properly accounted for.

  19. Vector financial rogue waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Zhenya

    2011-01-01

    The coupled nonlinear volatility and option pricing model presented recently by Ivancevic is investigated, which generates a leverage effect, i.e., stock volatility is (negatively) correlated to stock returns, and can be regarded as a coupled nonlinear wave alternative of the Black–Scholes option pricing model. In this Letter, we analytically propose vector financial rogue waves of the coupled nonlinear volatility and option pricing model without an embedded w-learning. Moreover, we exhibit their dynamical behaviors for chosen different parameters. The vector financial rogue wave (rogon) solutions may be used to describe the possible physical mechanisms for the rogue wave phenomena and to further excite the possibility of relative researches and potential applications of vector rogue waves in the financial markets and other related fields. -- Highlights: ► We investigate the coupled nonlinear volatility and option pricing model. ► We analytically present vector financial rogue waves. ► The vector financial rogue waves may be used to describe the extreme events in financial markets. ► This results may excite the relative researches and potential applications of vector rogue waves.

  20. Video Vectorization via Tetrahedral Remeshing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chuan; Zhu, Jie; Guo, Yanwen; Wang, Wenping

    2017-02-09

    We present a video vectorization method that generates a video in vector representation from an input video in raster representation. A vector-based video representation offers the benefits of vector graphics, such as compactness and scalability. The vector video we generate is represented by a simplified tetrahedral control mesh over the spatial-temporal video volume, with color attributes defined at the mesh vertices. We present novel techniques for simplification and subdivision of a tetrahedral mesh to achieve high simplification ratio while preserving features and ensuring color fidelity. From an input raster video, our method is capable of generating a compact video in vector representation that allows a faithful reconstruction with low reconstruction errors.

  1. Utilization of combined remote sensing techniques to detect environmental variables influencing malaria vector densities in rural West Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dambach Peter

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction The use of remote sensing has found its way into the field of epidemiology within the last decades. With the increased sensor resolution of recent and future satellites new possibilities emerge for high resolution risk modeling and risk mapping. Methods A SPOT 5 satellite image, taken during the rainy season 2009 was used for calculating indices by combining the image's spectral bands. Besides the widely used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI other indices were tested for significant correlation against field observations. Multiple steps, including the detection of surface water, its breeding appropriateness for Anopheles and modeling of vector imagines abundance, were performed. Data collection on larvae, adult vectors and geographic parameters in the field, was amended by using remote sensing techniques to gather data on altitude (Digital Elevation Model = DEM, precipitation (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission = TRMM, land surface temperatures (LST. Results The DEM derived altitude as well as indices calculations combining the satellite's spectral bands (NDTI = Normalized Difference Turbidity Index, NDWI Mac Feeters = Normalized Difference Water Index turned out to be reliable indicators for surface water in the local geographic setting. While Anopheles larvae abundance in habitats is driven by multiple, interconnected factors - amongst which the NDVI - and precipitation events, the presence of vector imagines was found to be correlated negatively to remotely sensed LST and positively to the cumulated amount of rainfall in the preceding 15 days and to the Normalized Difference Pond Index (NDPI within the 500 m buffer zone around capture points. Conclusions Remotely sensed geographical and meteorological factors, including precipitations, temperature, as well as vegetation, humidity and land cover indicators could be used as explanatory variables for surface water presence, larval development and imagines

  2. Hosts and vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units in the Chagas disease endemic region of the Paraguayan Chaco

    OpenAIRE

    ACOSTA, NIDIA; L?PEZ, ELSA; LEWIS, MICHAEL D.; LLEWELLYN, MARTIN S.; G?MEZ, ANA; ROM?N, FABIOLA; MILES, MICHAEL A.; YEO, MATTHEW

    2017-01-01

    SUMMARY Active Trypanosoma cruzi transmission persists in the Gran Chaco region, which is considered hyperendemic for Chagas disease. Understanding domestic and sylvatic transmission cycles and therefore the relationship between vectors and mammalian hosts is crucial to designing and implementing improved effective control strategies. Here we describe the species of triatomine vectors and the sylvatic mammal reservoirs of T. cruzi, in different localities of the Paraguayan and Bolivian Chaco....

  3. Normal vibrations in gallium arsenide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolling, G; Waugh, J L T

    1964-07-01

    The triple axis crystal spectrometer at Chalk River has been used to observe coherent slow neutron scattering from a single crystal of pure gallium arsenide at 296{sup o}K. The frequencies of normal modes of vibration propagating in the [{zeta}00], ({zeta}{zeta}{zeta}], and (0{zeta}{zeta}] crystal directions have been determined with a precision of between 1 and 2{center_dot}5 per cent. A limited number of normal modes have also been studied at 95 and 184{sup o}K. Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining welt resolved neutron peaks corresponding to the two non-degenerate optic modes for very small wave-vector, particularly at 296{sup o}K. However, from a comparison of results obtained under various experimental conditions at several different points in reciprocal space, frequencies (units 10{sup 12} c/s) for these modes (at 296{sup o}K) have been assigned: T 8{center_dot}02{+-}0{center_dot}08 and L 8{center_dot}55{+-}02. Other specific normal modes, with their measured frequencies are (a) (1,0,0): TO 7{center_dot}56 {+-} 008, TA 2{center_dot}36 {+-} 0{center_dot}015, LO 7{center_dot}22 {+-} 0{center_dot}15, LA 6{center_dot}80 {+-} 0{center_dot}06; (b) (0{center_dot}5, 0{center_dot}5, 0{center_dot}5): TO 7{center_dot}84 {+-} 0{center_dot}12, TA 1{center_dot}86 {+-} 0{center_dot}02, LO 7{center_dot}15 {+-} 0{center_dot}07, LA 6{center_dot}26 {+-} 0{center_dot}10; (c) (0, 0{center_dot}65, 0{center_dot}65): optic 8{center_dot}08 {+-}0{center_dot}13, 7{center_dot}54 {+-} 0{center_dot}12 and 6{center_dot}57 {+-} 0{center_dot}11, acoustic 5{center_dot}58 {+-} 0{center_dot}08, 3{center_dot}42 {center_dot} 0{center_dot}06 and 2{center_dot}36 {+-} 004. These results are generally slightly lower than the corresponding frequencies for germanium. An analysis in terms of various modifications of the dipole approximation model has been carried out. A feature of this analysis is that the charge on the gallium atom appears to be very small, about +0{center_dot}04 e. The

  4. Selection vector filter framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukac, Rastislav; Plataniotis, Konstantinos N.; Smolka, Bogdan; Venetsanopoulos, Anastasios N.

    2003-10-01

    We provide a unified framework of nonlinear vector techniques outputting the lowest ranked vector. The proposed framework constitutes a generalized filter class for multichannel signal processing. A new class of nonlinear selection filters are based on the robust order-statistic theory and the minimization of the weighted distance function to other input samples. The proposed method can be designed to perform a variety of filtering operations including previously developed filtering techniques such as vector median, basic vector directional filter, directional distance filter, weighted vector median filters and weighted directional filters. A wide range of filtering operations is guaranteed by the filter structure with two independent weight vectors for angular and distance domains of the vector space. In order to adapt the filter parameters to varying signal and noise statistics, we provide also the generalized optimization algorithms taking the advantage of the weighted median filters and the relationship between standard median filter and vector median filter. Thus, we can deal with both statistical and deterministic aspects of the filter design process. It will be shown that the proposed method holds the required properties such as the capability of modelling the underlying system in the application at hand, the robustness with respect to errors in the model of underlying system, the availability of the training procedure and finally, the simplicity of filter representation, analysis, design and implementation. Simulation studies also indicate that the new filters are computationally attractive and have excellent performance in environments corrupted by bit errors and impulsive noise.

  5. IDENTIFYING BANK LENDING CHANNEL IN INDONESIA: A VECTOR ERROR CORRECTION APPROACH WITH STRUCTURAL BREAK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akhsyim Afandi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available There was a question whether monetary policy works through bank lending channelrequired a monetary-induced change in bank loans originates from the supply side. Mostempirical studies that employed vector autoregressive (VAR models failed to fulfill thisrequirement. Aiming to offer a solution to this identification problem, this paper developed afive-variable vector error correction (VEC model of two separate bank credit markets inIndonesia. Departing from previous studies, the model of each market took account of onestructural break endogenously determined by implementing a unit root test. A cointegrationtest that took account of one structural break suggested two cointegrating vectors identifiedas bank lending supply and demand relations. The estimated VEC system for both marketssuggested that bank loans adjusted more strongly in the direction of the supply equation.

  6. Amblyomma cajennense is an intrastadial biological vector of Theileria equi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scoles, Glen A; Ueti, Massaro W

    2013-10-23

    The apicomplexan hemoprotozoan parasite Theileria equi is one of the etiologic agents causing equine piroplasmosis, a disease of equines that is endemic throughout large parts of the world. Before 2009 the United States had been considered to be free of this parasite. Occasional cases had occurred but there was no evidence for endemic vector-borne transmission in the U.S. until a 2009 outbreak in Texas in which Dermacentor variabilis and Amblyomma cajennense were implicated as vectors. Although D. variabilis has previously been shown to be a competent laboratory vector, studies suggested A. cajennense was not a competent transstadial vector, even though the presence of this tick species on horses in South American is epidemiologicaly correlated with higher a prevalence of infection. In this study we tested the transstadial and intrastadial vector competence of D. variabilis and A. cajennense for T. equi. A tick passaged T. equi strain from the Texas outbreak and ticks colonized from engorged females collected off horses on the outbreak ranch in Texas were used for these studies. Nymph or adult ticks were fed on infected horses and transmission fed on naïve horses. Infections were tracked with PCR and serology, dissected tick tissues were tested with PCR. A. cajennense transmitted T. equi intrastadially when adult ticks acquired infection by feeding on an infected horse, and transmitted to a naïve host on subsequent reattachment and feeding. D. variabilis failed to transmit in the same experiment. Transstadial transmission was not successful for either tick species. PCR on DNA isolated from eggs of females that had fed on an infected horse suggests that there is no transovarial passage of this parasite by either tick species. This work confirms that ticks from the Texas population of A. cajennense are competent intrastadial vectors of T. equi. We propose that the most likely natural mode of transmission for this parasite/vector combination in the Texas outbreak

  7. Symbolic computer vector analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoutemyer, D. R.

    1977-01-01

    A MACSYMA program is described which performs symbolic vector algebra and vector calculus. The program can combine and simplify symbolic expressions including dot products and cross products, together with the gradient, divergence, curl, and Laplacian operators. The distribution of these operators over sums or products is under user control, as are various other expansions, including expansion into components in any specific orthogonal coordinate system. There is also a capability for deriving the scalar or vector potential of a vector field. Examples include derivation of the partial differential equations describing fluid flow and magnetohydrodynamics, for 12 different classic orthogonal curvilinear coordinate systems.

  8. Vector continued fractions using a generalized inverse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haydock, Roger; Nex, C M M; Wexler, Geoffrey

    2004-01-01

    A real vector space combined with an inverse (involution) for vectors is sufficient to define a vector continued fraction whose parameters consist of vector shifts and changes of scale. The choice of sign for different components of the vector inverse permits construction of vector analogues of the Jacobi continued fraction. These vector Jacobi fractions are related to vector and scalar-valued polynomial functions of the vectors, which satisfy recurrence relations similar to those of orthogonal polynomials. The vector Jacobi fraction has strong convergence properties which are demonstrated analytically, and illustrated numerically

  9. Major vectors and vector-borne diseases in small ruminants in Ethiopia: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asmare, Kassahun; Abayneh, Takele; Sibhat, Berhanu; Shiferaw, Dessie; Szonyi, Barbara; Krontveit, Randi I; Skjerve, Eystein; Wieland, Barbara

    2017-06-01

    Vector-borne diseases are among major health constraints of small ruminant in Ethiopia. While various studies on single vector-borne diseases or presence of vectors have been conducted, no summarized evidence is available on the occurrence of these diseases and the related vectors. This systematic literature review provides a comprehensive summary on major vectors and vector-borne diseases in small ruminants in Ethiopia. Search for published and unpublished literature was conducted between 8th of January and 25th of June 2015. The search was both manual and electronic. The databases used in electronic search were PubMed, Web of Science, CAB Direct and AJOL. For most of the vector-borne diseases, the summary was limited to narrative synthesis due to lack of sufficient data. Meta-analysis was computed for trypanosomosis and dermatophilosis while meta-regression and sensitivity analysis was done only for trypanososmosis due to lack of sufficient reports on dermatophilosis. Owing emphasis to their vector role, ticks and flies were summarized narratively at genera/species level. In line with inclusion criteria, out of 106 initially identified research reports 43 peer-reviewed articles passed the quality assessment. Data on 7 vector-borne diseases were extracted at species and region level from each source. Accordingly, the pooled prevalence estimate of trypanosomosis was 3.7% with 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.8, 4.9), while that of dermatophilosis was 3.1% (95% CI: 1.6, 6.0). The in-between study variance noted for trypanosomosis was statistically significant (pparasitic presence in blood was documented for babesiosis (3.7% in goats); and anaplasmosis (3.9% in sheep). Serological evidence was retrieved for bluetongue ranging from 34.1% to 46.67% in sheep, and coxiellosis was 10.4% in goats. There was also molecular evidence on the presence of theileriosis in sheep (93%, n=160) and goats (1.9%, n=265). Regarding vectors of veterinary importance, 14 species of ticks in

  10. Estimation of 3-D conduction velocity vector fields from cardiac mapping data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnette, A R; Bayly, P V; Zhang, S; Walcott, G P; Ideker, R E; Smith, W M

    2000-08-01

    A method to estimate three-dimensional (3-D) conduction velocity vector fields in cardiac tissue is presented. The speed and direction of propagation are found from polynomial "surfaces" fitted to space-time (x, y, z, t) coordinates of cardiac activity. The technique is applied to sinus rhythm and paced rhythm mapped with plunge needles at 396-466 sites in the canine myocardium. The method was validated on simulated 3-D plane and spherical waves. For simulated data, conduction velocities were estimated with an accuracy of 1%-2%. In experimental data, estimates of conduction speeds during paced rhythm were slower than those found during normal sinus rhythm. Vector directions were also found to differ between different types of beats. The technique was able to distinguish between premature ventricular contractions and sinus beats and between sinus and paced beats. The proposed approach to computing velocity vector fields provides an automated, physiological, and quantitative description of local electrical activity in 3-D tissue. This method may provide insight into abnormal conduction associated with fatal ventricular arrhythmias.

  11. A method for attitude measurement of a test vehicle based on the tracking of vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Ning; Yang, Ming; Huo, Ju

    2015-01-01

    In the vehicle simulation test, in order to improve the measuring precision for the attitude of a test vehicle, a measuring method based on the vectors of light beams is presented, in which light beams are mounted on the test vehicle as the cooperation target, and the attitude of the test vehicle is calculated with the light beams’ vectors in the test vehicle’s coordinate system and the world coordinate system. Meanwhile, in order to expand the measuring range of the attitude parameters, cooperation targets and light beams in each cooperation target are increased. On this basis, the concept of an attitude calculation container is defined, and the selection method for the attitude calculation container that participates in the calculation is given. Simultaneously, the vectors of light beams are tracked so as to ensure the normal calculation of the attitude parameters. The experiments results show that this measuring method based on the tracking of vectors can achieve the high precision and wide range of measurement for the attitude of the test vehicle. (paper)

  12. Effects of Climate and Climate Change on Vectors and Vector-Borne Diseases: Ticks Are Different.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogden, Nick H; Lindsay, L Robbin

    2016-08-01

    There has been considerable debate as to whether global risk from vector-borne diseases will be impacted by climate change. This has focussed on important mosquito-borne diseases that are transmitted by the vectors from infected to uninfected humans. However, this debate has mostly ignored the biological diversity of vectors and vector-borne diseases. Here, we review how climate and climate change may impact those most divergent of arthropod disease vector groups: multivoltine insects and hard-bodied (ixodid) ticks. We contrast features of the life cycles and behaviour of these arthropods, and how weather, climate, and climate change may have very different impacts on the spatiotemporal occurrence and abundance of vectors, and the pathogens they transmit. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Generation of arbitrary vector fields based on a pair of orthogonal elliptically polarized base vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Danfeng; Gu, Bing; Rui, Guanghao; Zhan, Qiwen; Cui, Yiping

    2016-02-22

    We present an arbitrary vector field with hybrid polarization based on the combination of a pair of orthogonal elliptically polarized base vectors on the Poincaré sphere. It is shown that the created vector field is only dependent on the latitude angle 2χ but is independent on the longitude angle 2ψ on the Poincaré sphere. By adjusting the latitude angle 2χ, which is related to two identical waveplates in a common path interferometric arrangement, one could obtain arbitrary type of vector fields. Experimentally, we demonstrate the generation of such kind of vector fields and confirm the distribution of state of polarization by the measurement of Stokes parameters. Besides, we investigate the tight focusing properties of these vector fields. It is found that the additional degree of freedom 2χ provided by arbitrary vector field with hybrid polarization allows one to control the spatial structure of polarization and to engineer the focusing field.

  14. Mucosal vaccination with heterologous viral vectored vaccine targeting subdominant SIV accessory antigens strongly inhibits early viral replication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Huanbin; Andersson, Anne-Marie Carola; Ragonnaud, Emeline

    2017-01-01

    Conventional HIV T cell vaccine strategies have not been successful in containing acute peak viremia, nor in providing long-term control. We immunized rhesus macaques intramuscularly and rectally using a heterologous adenovirus vectored SIV vaccine regimen encoding normally weakly immunogenic tat...

  15. Controlling the vector of distraction osteogenesis in the management of obstructive sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shilo, Dekel; Emodi, Omri; Aizenbud, Dror; Rachmiel, Adi

    2016-01-01

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in individuals with craniofacial anomalies can compromise airway and is a serious life-threatening condition. In many cases, tracheostomy is carried out as the treatment of choice. Distraction osteogenesis of the mandible as a treatment modality for OSA is very useful and may spare the need for tracheostomy or allow decannulation, yet controlling the vector of distraction is still a major challenge. We present a method for controlling the vector of distraction. Eight patients with severe respiratory distress secondary to a micrognathic mandible were treated by mandibular distraction osteogenesis using either external or internal devices. Temporary anchorage devices (TADs) and orthodontic elastics were used to control the vector of distraction. Cephalometric X-rays, computed tomography, and polysomnographic sleep studies were used to analyze the results. A mean distraction of 22 mm using the internal devices and a mean of 30 mm using the external devices were achieved. Increase in the pharyngeal airway and hyoid bone advancement was also observed. Anterior-posterior advancement of the mandible was noted with no clockwise rotation. Most importantly, clinical improvement in symptoms of OSA, respiratory distress, and feeding was noted. We describe a method for controlling the vector of distraction used as a treatment for OSA. In these cases, TADs were used as an anchorage unit to control the vector of distraction. Our results show excellent clinical and radiographical results. TADs are a simple and nonexpensive method to control the vector of distraction.

  16. Calculus with vectors

    CERN Document Server

    Treiman, Jay S

    2014-01-01

    Calculus with Vectors grew out of a strong need for a beginning calculus textbook for undergraduates who intend to pursue careers in STEM. fields. The approach introduces vector-valued functions from the start, emphasizing the connections between one-variable and multi-variable calculus. The text includes early vectors and early transcendentals and includes a rigorous but informal approach to vectors. Examples and focused applications are well presented along with an abundance of motivating exercises. All three-dimensional graphs have rotatable versions included as extra source materials and may be freely downloaded and manipulated with Maple Player; a free Maple Player App is available for the iPad on iTunes. The approaches taken to topics such as the derivation of the derivatives of sine and cosine, the approach to limits, and the use of "tables" of integration have been modified from the standards seen in other textbooks in order to maximize the ease with which students may comprehend the material. Additio...

  17. Test of understanding of vectors: A reliable multiple-choice vector concept test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barniol, Pablo; Zavala, Genaro

    2014-06-01

    In this article we discuss the findings of our research on students' understanding of vector concepts in problems without physical context. First, we develop a complete taxonomy of the most frequent errors made by university students when learning vector concepts. This study is based on the results of several test administrations of open-ended problems in which a total of 2067 students participated. Using this taxonomy, we then designed a 20-item multiple-choice test [Test of understanding of vectors (TUV)] and administered it in English to 423 students who were completing the required sequence of introductory physics courses at a large private Mexican university. We evaluated the test's content validity, reliability, and discriminatory power. The results indicate that the TUV is a reliable assessment tool. We also conducted a detailed analysis of the students' understanding of the vector concepts evaluated in the test. The TUV is included in the Supplemental Material as a resource for other researchers studying vector learning, as well as instructors teaching the material.

  18. Application of Bred Vectors To Data Assimilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corazza, M.; Kalnay, E.; Patil, Dj

    We introduced a statistic, the BV-dimension, to measure the effective local finite-time dimensionality of the atmosphere. We show that this dimension is often quite low, and suggest that this finding has important implications for data assimilation and the accuracy of weather forecasting (Patil et al, 2001). The original database for this study was the forecasts of the NCEP global ensemble forecasting system. The initial differences between the control forecast and the per- turbed forecasts are called bred vectors. The control and perturbed initial conditions valid at time t=n(t are evolved using the forecast model until time t=(n+1) (t. The differences between the perturbed and the control forecasts are scaled down to their initial amplitude, and constitute the bred vectors valid at (n+1) (t. Their growth rate is typically about 1.5/day. The bred vectors are similar by construction to leading Lya- punov vectors except that they have small but finite amplitude, and they are valid at finite times. The original NCEP ensemble data set has 5 independent bred vectors. We define a local bred vector at each grid point by choosing the 5 by 5 grid points centered at the grid point (a region of about 1100km by 1100km), and using the north-south and east- west velocity components at 500mb pressure level to form a 50 dimensional column vector. Since we have k=5 global bred vectors, we also have k local bred vectors at each grid point. We estimate the effective dimensionality of the subspace spanned by the local bred vectors by performing a singular value decomposition (EOF analysis). The k local bred vector columns form a 50xk matrix M. The singular values s(i) of M measure the extent to which the k column unit vectors making up the matrix M point in the direction of v(i). We define the bred vector dimension as BVDIM={Sum[s(i)]}^2/{Sum[s(i)]^2} For example, if 4 out of the 5 vectors lie along v, and one lies along v, the BV- dimension would be BVDIM[sqrt(4), 1, 0

  19. Design, development and evaluation of an online grading system for peeled pistachios equipped with machine vision technology and support vector machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hosein Nouri-Ahmadabadi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, an intelligent system based on combined machine vision (MV and Support Vector Machine (SVM was developed for sorting of peeled pistachio kernels and shells. The system was composed of conveyor belt, lighting box, camera, processing unit and sorting unit. A color CCD camera was used to capture images. The images were digitalized by a capture card and transferred to a personal computer for further analysis. Initially, images were converted from RGB color space to HSV color ones. For segmentation of the acquired images, H-component in the HSV color space and Otsu thresholding method were applied. A feature vector containing 30 color features was extracted from the captured images. A feature selection method based on sensitivity analysis was carried out to select superior features. The selected features were presented to SVM classifier. Various SVM models having a different kernel function were developed and tested. The SVM model having cubic polynomial kernel function and 38 support vectors achieved the best accuracy (99.17% and then was selected to use in online decision-making unit of the system. By launching the online system, it was found that limiting factors of the system capacity were related to the hardware parts of the system (conveyor belt and pneumatic valves used in the sorting unit. The limiting factors led to a distance of 8 mm between the samples. The overall accuracy and capacity of the sorter were obtained 94.33% and 22.74 kg/h, respectively. Keywords: Pistachio kernel, Sorting, Machine vision, Sensitivity analysis, Support vector machine

  20. Leishmaniasis vector behaviour in Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mutinga, M.J.

    1980-01-01

    Leishmaniasis in Kenya exists in two forms: cutaneous and visceral. The vectors of visceral leishmaniasis have been the subject of investigation by various researchers since World War II, when the outbreak of the disease was first noticed. The vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis were first worked on only a decade ago after the discovery of the disease focus in Mt. Elgon. The vector behaviour of these diseases, namely Phlebotomus pedifer, the vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and Phlebotomus martini, the vector of visceral leishmaniasis, are discussed in detail. P. pedifer has been found to breed and bite inside caves, whereas P. martini mainly bites inside houses. (author)

  1. Combined evaluation of nutrition and hydration in dialysis patients with bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piccoli, Antonio; Codognotto, Marta; Piasentin, Paola; Naso, Agostino

    2014-08-01

    Body hydration changes continuously in hemodialysis patients. The Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) is used for the nutritional evaluation but it does not allow a direct evaluation of hydration. Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) is very sensitive to hydration. The potential of the combined evaluation of hydration and nutrition with SGA and BIVA is still lacking. Observational cross-sectional study on 130 (94 Male) uremic patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis three times a week. Nutritional status was evaluated with the SGA. Each subject was classified as SGA-A (normal nutritional status), SGA-B (moderate malnutrition), or SGA-C (severe malnutrition). Body hydration was evaluated with BIVA. The two vector components resistance (R) and reactance (Xc) were normalized by the subject's height and standardized as bivariate Z-score, i.e. Z(R) and Z(Xc). Undernutrition influenced impedance vector distribution both before and after a dialysis session. In pre-dialysis, the mean vector of SGA A was inside the 50% tolerance ellipse. In SGA B and C, Z(R) was increased and Z(Xc) decreased, indicating a progressive loss of soft tissue mass. Fluid removal with dialysis increased both Z(R) and Z(Xc) in SGA A and B but not in C. With ROC curve analysis on the slope of increase, we found the cutoff value of 27.8° below which undernutrition was present, either moderate or severe. The area under the ROC curve was 77.7° (95% CI 69.5-84.5, P hydration in each SGA category can be detected with BIVA. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

  2. Shear-coupled grain-boundary migration dependence on normal strain/stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Combe, N.; Mompiou, F.; Legros, M.

    2017-08-01

    In specific conditions, grain-boundary (GB) migration occurs in polycrystalline materials as an alternative vector of plasticity compared to the usual dislocation activity. The shear-coupled GB migration, the expected most efficient GB based mechanism, couples the GB motion to an applied shear stress. Stresses on GB in polycrystalline materials seldom have, however, a unique pure shear component. This work investigates the influence of a normal strain on the shear coupled migration of a Σ 13 (320 )[001 ] GB in a copper bicrystal using atomistic simulations. We show that the yield shear stress inducing the GB migration strongly depends on the applied normal stress. Beyond, the application of a normal stress on this GB qualitatively modifies the GB migration: while the Σ 13 (320 )[001 ] GB shear couples following the 〈110 〉 migration mode without normal stress, we report the observation of the 〈010 〉 mode under a sufficiently high tensile normal stress. Using the nudge elastic band method, we uncover the atomistic mechanism of this 〈010 〉 migration mode and energetically characterize it.

  3. Episomal Nonviral Gene Therapy Vectors Slow Progression of Atherosclerosis in a Model of Familial Hypercholesterolemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alastair G Kerr

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH is a life-threatening genetic disorder characterized by elevated levels of plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol. Current attempts at gene therapy for FH have been limited by the use of strong heterologous promoters which lack genomic DNA elements essential for regulated expression. Here, we have combined a minigene vector expressing the human LDLR cDNA from a 10 kb native human LDLR locus genomic DNA promoter element, with an efficient miRNA targeting 3-hydroxy-3-methylgutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (Hmgcr, to further enhance LDLR expression. We show that the combined vector suppresses endogenous Hmgcr transcripts in vivo, leading to an increase in LDLR transgene expression. In a diet-induced Ldlr-/- mouse model of FH, we show that administration of the combined vector reduces atherogenic plasma lipids by ≃32%. Finally, we demonstrate that our episomal nonviral vectors are able to reduce atherosclerosis by ≃40% after 12 weeks in vivo. Taken together, the vector system we describe exploits the normal cellular regulation of the LDLR to provide prolonged expression of LDLR through targeted knockdown of Hmgcr. This novel gene therapy system could act alone, or in synergy with current therapies that modulate intracellular cholesterol, such as statins, greatly enhancing its therapeutic application for FH.

  4. Hypergraph partitioning implementation for parallelizing matrix-vector multiplication using CUDA GPU-based parallel computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murni, Bustamam, A.; Ernastuti, Handhika, T.; Kerami, D.

    2017-07-01

    Calculation of the matrix-vector multiplication in the real-world problems often involves large matrix with arbitrary size. Therefore, parallelization is needed to speed up the calculation process that usually takes a long time. Graph partitioning techniques that have been discussed in the previous studies cannot be used to complete the parallelized calculation of matrix-vector multiplication with arbitrary size. This is due to the assumption of graph partitioning techniques that can only solve the square and symmetric matrix. Hypergraph partitioning techniques will overcome the shortcomings of the graph partitioning technique. This paper addresses the efficient parallelization of matrix-vector multiplication through hypergraph partitioning techniques using CUDA GPU-based parallel computing. CUDA (compute unified device architecture) is a parallel computing platform and programming model that was created by NVIDIA and implemented by the GPU (graphics processing unit).

  5. Hepatorenal correction in murine glycogen storage disease type I with a double-stranded adeno-associated virus vector.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Luo, Xiaoyan

    2011-11-01

    Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD-Ia) is caused by the deficiency of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase). Long-term complications of GSD-Ia include life-threatening hypoglycemia and proteinuria progressing to renal failure. A double-stranded (ds) adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2) vector encoding human G6Pase was pseudotyped with four serotypes, AAV2, AAV7, AAV8, and AAV9, and we evaluated efficacy in 12-day-old G6pase (-\\/-) mice. Hypoglycemia during fasting (plasma glucose <100 mg\\/dl) was prevented for >6 months by the dsAAV2\\/7, dsAAV2\\/8, and dsAAV2\\/9 vectors. Prolonged fasting for 8 hours revealed normalization of blood glucose following dsAAV2\\/9 vector administration at the higher dose. The glycogen content of kidney was reduced by >65% with both the dsAAV2\\/7 and dsAAV2\\/9 vectors, and renal glycogen content was stably reduced between 7 and 12 months of age for the dsAAV2\\/9 vector-treated mice. Every vector-treated group had significantly reduced glycogen content in the liver, in comparison with untreated G6pase (-\\/-) mice. G6Pase was expressed in many renal epithelial cells of with the dsAAV2\\/9 vector for up to 12 months. Albuminuria and renal fibrosis were reduced by the dsAAV2\\/9 vector. Hepatorenal correction in G6pase (-\\/-) mice demonstrates the potential of AAV vectors for the correction of inherited diseases of metabolism.

  6. A Novel Approach to Asynchronous MVP Data Interpretation Based on Elliptical-Vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruglyakov, M.; Trofimov, I.; Korotaev, S.; Shneyer, V.; Popova, I.; Orekhova, D.; Scshors, Y.; Zhdanov, M. S.

    2014-12-01

    We suggest a novel approach to asynchronous magnetic-variation profiling (MVP) data interpretation. Standard method in MVP is based on the interpretation of the coefficients of linear relation between vertical and horizontal components of the measured magnetic field.From mathematical point of view this pair of linear coefficients is not a vector which leads to significant difficulties in asynchronous data interpretation. Our approach allows us to actually treat such a pair of complex numbers as a special vector called an ellipse-vector (EV). By choosing the particular definitions of complex length and direction, the basic relation of MVP can be considered as the dot product. This considerably simplifies the interpretation of asynchronous data. The EV is described by four real numbers: the values of major and minor semiaxes, the angular direction of the major semiaxis and the phase. The notation choice is motivated by historical reasons. It is important that different EV's components have different sensitivity with respect to the field sources and the local heterogeneities. Namely, the value of major semiaxis and the angular direction are mostly determined by the field source and the normal cross-section. On the other hand, the value of minor semiaxis and the phase are responsive to local heterogeneities. Since the EV is the general form of complex vector, the traditional Schmucker vectors can be explicitly expressed through its components.The proposed approach was successfully applied to interpretation the results of asynchronous measurements that had been obtained in the Arctic Ocean at the drift stations "North Pole" in 1962-1976.

  7. Targeted Adenoviral Vector Demonstrates Enhanced Efficacy for In Vivo Gene Therapy of Uterine Leiomyoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelaziz, Mohamed; Sherif, Lotfy; ElKhiary, Mostafa; Nair, Sanjeeta; Shalaby, Shahinaz; Mohamed, Sara; Eziba, Noura; El-Lakany, Mohamed; Curiel, David; Ismail, Nahed; Diamond, Michael P; Al-Hendy, Ayman

    2016-04-01

    Gene therapy is a potentially effective non-surgical approach for the treatment of uterine leiomyoma. We demonstrated that targeted adenovirus vector, Ad-SSTR-RGD-TK/GCV, was highly effective in selectively inducing apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation of human leiomyoma cells in vitro while sparing normal myometrial cells. An in-vivo study, to compare efficacy and safety of modified adenovirus vector Ad-SSTR-RGD-TK/GCV versus untargeted vector for treatment of leiomyoma. Female nude mice were implanted with rat leiomyoma cells subcutaneously. Then mice were randomized into three groups. Group 1 received Ad-LacZ (marker gene), Group 2 received untargeted Ad-TK, and Group 3 received the targeted Ad-SSTR-RGD-TK. Tumors were measured weekly for 4 weeks. Then mice were sacrificed and tissue samples were collected. Evaluation of markers of apoptosis, proliferation, extracellular matrix, and angiogenesis was performed using Western Blot & Immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was done using ANOVA. Dissemination of adenovirus was assessed by PCR. In comparison with the untargeted vector, the targeted adenoviral vector significantly shrank leiomyoma size (P leiomyoma lesions with both targeted and untargeted adenovirus. Targeted adenovirus, effectively reduces tumor size in leiomyoma without dissemination to other organs. Further evaluation of this localized targeted strategy for gene therapy is needed in appropriate preclinical humanoid animal models in preparation for a future pilot human trial. © The Author(s) 2016.

  8. Analysis of the role of homology arms in gene-targeting vectors in human cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayako Ishii

    Full Text Available Random integration of targeting vectors into the genome is the primary obstacle in human somatic cell gene targeting. Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ, a major pathway for repairing DNA double-strand breaks, is thought to be responsible for most random integration events; however, absence of DNA ligase IV (LIG4, the critical NHEJ ligase, does not significantly reduce random integration frequency of targeting vector in human cells, indicating robust integration events occurring via a LIG4-independent mechanism. To gain insights into the mechanism and robustness of LIG4-independent random integration, we employed various types of targeting vectors to examine their integration frequencies in LIG4-proficient and deficient human cell lines. We find that the integration frequency of targeting vector correlates well with the length of homology arms and with the amount of repetitive DNA sequences, especially SINEs, present in the arms. This correlation was prominent in LIG4-deficient cells, but was also seen in LIG4-proficient cells, thus providing evidence that LIG4-independent random integration occurs frequently even when NHEJ is functionally normal. Our results collectively suggest that random integration frequency of conventional targeting vectors is substantially influenced by homology arms, which typically harbor repetitive DNA sequences that serve to facilitate LIG4-independent random integration in human cells, regardless of the presence or absence of functional NHEJ.

  9. Learning with LOGO: Logo and Vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lough, Tom; Tipps, Steve

    1986-01-01

    This is the first of a two-part series on the general concept of vector space. Provides tool procedures to allow investigation of vector properties, vector addition and subtraction, and X and Y components. Lists several sources of additional vector ideas. (JM)

  10. An analysis of longitudinal data with nonignorable dropout using the truncated multivariate normal distribution

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jolani, Shahab

    2014-01-01

    For a vector of multivariate normal when some elements, but not necessarily all, are truncated, we derive the moment generating function and obtain expressions for the first two moments involving the multivariate hazard gradient. To show one of many applications of these moments, we then extend the

  11. Vector disparity sensor with vergence control for active vision systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barranco, Francisco; Diaz, Javier; Gibaldi, Agostino; Sabatini, Silvio P; Ros, Eduardo

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents an architecture for computing vector disparity for active vision systems as used on robotics applications. The control of the vergence angle of a binocular system allows us to efficiently explore dynamic environments, but requires a generalization of the disparity computation with respect to a static camera setup, where the disparity is strictly 1-D after the image rectification. The interaction between vision and motor control allows us to develop an active sensor that achieves high accuracy of the disparity computation around the fixation point, and fast reaction time for the vergence control. In this contribution, we address the development of a real-time architecture for vector disparity computation using an FPGA device. We implement the disparity unit and the control module for vergence, version, and tilt to determine the fixation point. In addition, two on-chip different alternatives for the vector disparity engines are discussed based on the luminance (gradient-based) and phase information of the binocular images. The multiscale versions of these engines are able to estimate the vector disparity up to 32 fps on VGA resolution images with very good accuracy as shown using benchmark sequences with known ground-truth. The performances in terms of frame-rate, resource utilization, and accuracy of the presented approaches are discussed. On the basis of these results, our study indicates that the gradient-based approach leads to the best trade-off choice for the integration with the active vision system.

  12. Electromagnetic scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an impedance cone

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed

    2013-07-01

    The electromagnetic field scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an infinite circular cone with an impedance boundary on its surface is considered. The impinging field is normal to the tip of the cone and is expanded in terms of vector spherical wave functions; a Kontorovich-Lebedev (KL) transform is employed to expand the scattered fields. The problem is reduced to a singular integral equation with a variable coefficient of the non-convolution type. The singularities of the spectral function are deduced and representations for the field at the tip of the cone as well as other regions are given together with the conditions of validity of these representations. © 2013 IEEE.

  13. On a class of vector fields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galimzian G. Islamov

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available It is shown that a simple postulate “The displacement field of the vacuum is a normalized electric field”, is equivalent to three parametric representation of the displacement field of the vacuum: $$ u(x;t = P(x \\cos k(xt + Q(x \\sin k(xt. $$ Here $t$ — time; $k(x$ — frequency vibrations at the point of three-dimensional Euclidean space; $P(x, Q(x$ — a pair of stationary orthonormal vector fields; $(k,P, Q$ — parameter list of the displacement field. In this case, the normalization factor has dimension $T^{-2}$. The speed of the displacement field $$ v(x;t = \\frac{\\partial u(x;t}{\\partial t} = k(x(Q(x \\cos k(xt - P(x \\sin k(xt. $$ The electric field corresponding to this distribution of the displacement field of vacuum, is given by the formula $$ E(x;t = -\\frac{\\partial v(x;t}{\\partial t} = k^2(xu(x;t. $$ Moreover, the magnetic induction $$ B(x;t = \\mathop{\\mathrm{rot }} v(x; t. $$ These constructions are used in the determination of local and global solutions of Maxwell's equations describing the dynamics of electromagnetic fields.

  14. Differential transgene expression in brain cells in vivo and in vitro from AAV-2 vectors with small transcriptional control units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuegler, S.; Lingor, P.; Schoell, U.; Zolotukhin, S.; Baehr, M.

    2003-01-01

    Adeno-associated- (AAV) based vectors are promising tools for gene therapy applications in several organs, including the brain, but are limited by their small genome size. Two short promoters, the human synapsin 1 gene promoter (hSYN) and the murine cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter (mCMV), were evaluated in bicistronic AAV-2 vectors for their expression profiles in cultured primary brain cells and in the rat brain. Whereas transgene expression from the hSYN promoter was exclusively neuronal, the murine CMV promoter targeted expression mainly to astrocytes in vitro and showed weak transgene expression in vivo in retinal and cortical neurons, but strong expression in thalamic neurons. We propose that neuron specific transgene expression in combination with enhanced transgene capacity will further substantially improve AAV based vector technology

  15. Strangeness Vector and Axial-Vector Form Factors of the Nucleon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pate Stephen

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available A revised global fit of electroweak ep and vp elastic scattering data has been performed, with the goal of determining the strange quark contribution to the vector and axial-vector form factors of the nucleon in the momentum-transfer range 0 < Q2 < 1 GeV2. The two vector (electric and magnetic form factors GsE(Q2 and GsM(Q2 are strongly constrained by ep elastic scattering data, while the major source of information on the axial-vector form factor GsA(Q2 is vp scattering data. Combining the two kinds of data into a single global fit makes possible additional precision in the determination of these form factors, and provides a unique way to determine the strange quark contribution to the nucleon spin, ΔS , independently of leptonic deep-inelastic scattering. The fit makes use of data from the BNL-E734, SAMPLE, HAPPEx, G0, and PVA4 experiments; we will also compare the result of the fit with recent data from MiniBooNE, and anticipate how this fit can be improved when new data from MicroBooNE become available.

  16. Multi-task Vector Field Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Binbin; Yang, Sen; Zhang, Chiyuan; Ye, Jieping; He, Xiaofei

    2012-01-01

    Multi-task learning (MTL) aims to improve generalization performance by learning multiple related tasks simultaneously and identifying the shared information among tasks. Most of existing MTL methods focus on learning linear models under the supervised setting. We propose a novel semi-supervised and nonlinear approach for MTL using vector fields. A vector field is a smooth mapping from the manifold to the tangent spaces which can be viewed as a directional derivative of functions on the manifold. We argue that vector fields provide a natural way to exploit the geometric structure of data as well as the shared differential structure of tasks, both of which are crucial for semi-supervised multi-task learning. In this paper, we develop multi-task vector field learning (MTVFL) which learns the predictor functions and the vector fields simultaneously. MTVFL has the following key properties. (1) The vector fields MTVFL learns are close to the gradient fields of the predictor functions. (2) Within each task, the vector field is required to be as parallel as possible which is expected to span a low dimensional subspace. (3) The vector fields from all tasks share a low dimensional subspace. We formalize our idea in a regularization framework and also provide a convex relaxation method to solve the original non-convex problem. The experimental results on synthetic and real data demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach.

  17. Assessment of four shadow band correction models using beam normal irradiance data from the United Kingdom and Israel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, G.; Muneer, T.; Claywell, R.

    2004-01-01

    Diffuse irradiance is a fundamental factor for all solar resource considerations. Diffuse irradiance is accurately determined by calculation from global and beam normal (direct) measurements. However, beam solar measurements and related support can be very expensive, and therefore, shadow bands are often used, along with pyranometers, to block the solar disk. The errors that result from the use of shadow bands are well known and have been studied by many authors. The thrust of this article is to examine four recognized techniques for correcting shadow band based, diffuse irradiance and statistically evaluate their individual performance using data culled from two contrasting sites within the United Kingdom and Israel

  18. Integrating post-Newtonian equations on graphics processing units

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herrmann, Frank; Tiglio, Manuel [Department of Physics, Center for Fundamental Physics, and Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Silberholz, John [Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Bellone, Matias [Facultad de Matematica, Astronomia y Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Cordoba 5000 (Argentina); Guerberoff, Gustavo, E-mail: tiglio@umd.ed [Facultad de Ingenieria, Instituto de Matematica y Estadistica ' Prof. Ing. Rafael Laguardia' , Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo (Uruguay)

    2010-02-07

    We report on early results of a numerical and statistical study of binary black hole inspirals. The two black holes are evolved using post-Newtonian approximations starting with initially randomly distributed spin vectors. We characterize certain aspects of the distribution shortly before merger. In particular we note the uniform distribution of black hole spin vector dot products shortly before merger and a high correlation between the initial and final black hole spin vector dot products in the equal-mass, maximally spinning case. More than 300 million simulations were performed on graphics processing units, and we demonstrate a speed-up of a factor 50 over a more conventional CPU implementation. (fast track communication)

  19. Enhancing poxvirus vectors vaccine immunogenicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Arriaza, Juan; Esteban, Mariano

    2014-01-01

    Attenuated recombinant poxvirus vectors expressing heterologous antigens from pathogens are currently at various stages in clinical trials with the aim to establish their efficacy. This is because these vectors have shown excellent safety profiles, significant immunogenicity against foreign expressed antigens and are able to induce protective immune responses. In view of the limited efficacy triggered by some poxvirus strains used in clinical trials (i.e, ALVAC in the RV144 phase III clinical trial for HIV), and of the restrictive replication capacity of the highly attenuated vectors like MVA and NYVAC, there is a consensus that further improvements of these vectors should be pursuit. In this review we considered several strategies that are currently being implemented, as well as new approaches, to improve the immunogenicity of the poxvirus vectors. This includes heterologous prime/boost protocols, use of co-stimulatory molecules, deletion of viral immunomodulatory genes still present in the poxvirus genome, enhancing virus promoter strength, enhancing vector replication capacity, optimizing expression of foreign heterologous sequences, and the combined use of adjuvants. An optimized poxvirus vector triggering long-lasting immunity with a high protective efficacy against a selective disease should be sought.

  20. Stable piecewise polynomial vector fields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudio Pessoa

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Let $N={y>0}$ and $S={y<0}$ be the semi-planes of $mathbb{R}^2$ having as common boundary the line $D={y=0}$. Let $X$ and $Y$ be polynomial vector fields defined in $N$ and $S$, respectively, leading to a discontinuous piecewise polynomial vector field $Z=(X,Y$. This work pursues the stability and the transition analysis of solutions of $Z$ between $N$ and $S$, started by Filippov (1988 and Kozlova (1984 and reformulated by Sotomayor-Teixeira (1995 in terms of the regularization method. This method consists in analyzing a one parameter family of continuous vector fields $Z_{epsilon}$, defined by averaging $X$ and $Y$. This family approaches $Z$ when the parameter goes to zero. The results of Sotomayor-Teixeira and Sotomayor-Machado (2002 providing conditions on $(X,Y$ for the regularized vector fields to be structurally stable on planar compact connected regions are extended to discontinuous piecewise polynomial vector fields on $mathbb{R}^2$. Pertinent genericity results for vector fields satisfying the above stability conditions are also extended to the present case. A procedure for the study of discontinuous piecewise vector fields at infinity through a compactification is proposed here.

  1. Transversals of Complex Polynomial Vector Fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dias, Kealey

    Vector fields in the complex plane are defined by assigning the vector determined by the value P(z) to each point z in the complex plane, where P is a polynomial of one complex variable. We consider special families of so-called rotated vector fields that are determined by a polynomial multiplied...... by rotational constants. Transversals are a certain class of curves for such a family of vector fields that represent the bifurcation states for this family of vector fields. More specifically, transversals are curves that coincide with a homoclinic separatrix for some rotation of the vector field. Given...... a concrete polynomial, it seems to take quite a bit of work to prove that it is generic, i.e. structurally stable. This has been done for a special class of degree d polynomial vector fields having simple equilibrium points at the d roots of unity, d odd. In proving that such vector fields are generic...

  2. Vector optimization set-valued and variational analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, Guang-ya; Yang, Xiaogi

    2005-01-01

    This book is devoted to vector or multiple criteria approaches in optimization. Topics covered include: vector optimization, vector variational inequalities, vector variational principles, vector minmax inequalities and vector equilibrium problems. In particular, problems with variable ordering relations and set-valued mappings are treated. The nonlinear scalarization method is extensively used throughout the book to deal with various vector-related problems. The results presented are original and should be interesting to researchers and graduates in applied mathematics and operations research

  3. Implicit Real Vector Automata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-François Degbomont

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the symbolic representation of non-convex real polyhedra, i.e., sets of real vectors satisfying arbitrary Boolean combinations of linear constraints. We develop an original data structure for representing such sets, based on an implicit and concise encoding of a known structure, the Real Vector Automaton. The resulting formalism provides a canonical representation of polyhedra, is closed under Boolean operators, and admits an efficient decision procedure for testing the membership of a vector.

  4. Vectoring of parallel synthetic jets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berk, Tim; Ganapathisubramani, Bharathram; Gomit, Guillaume

    2015-11-01

    A pair of parallel synthetic jets can be vectored by applying a phase difference between the two driving signals. The resulting jet can be merged or bifurcated and either vectored towards the actuator leading in phase or the actuator lagging in phase. In the present study, the influence of phase difference and Strouhal number on the vectoring behaviour is examined experimentally. Phase-locked vorticity fields, measured using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), are used to track vortex pairs. The physical mechanisms that explain the diversity in vectoring behaviour are observed based on the vortex trajectories. For a fixed phase difference, the vectoring behaviour is shown to be primarily influenced by pinch-off time of vortex rings generated by the synthetic jets. Beyond a certain formation number, the pinch-off timescale becomes invariant. In this region, the vectoring behaviour is determined by the distance between subsequent vortex rings. We acknowledge the financial support from the European Research Council (ERC grant agreement no. 277472).

  5. Scattering states of the Klein-Gordon equation with Coulomb-like scalar plus vector potentials in arbitrary dimension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Changyuan; Sun Dongsheng; Lu Falin

    2004-01-01

    Properties of scattering states of the Klein-Gordon equation with Coulomb-like scalar plus vector potentials are investigated in an arbitrary dimension. Exact results of normalized wave functions of scattering states in the 'k/2π scale' and formula of phase shifts are presented

  6. Vectorization in quantum chemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saunders, V.R.

    1987-01-01

    It is argued that the optimal vectorization algorithm for many steps (and sub-steps) in a typical ab initio calculation of molecular electronic structure is quite strongly dependent on the target vector machine. Details such as the availability (or lack) of a given vector construct in the hardware, vector startup times and asymptotic rates must all be considered when selecting the optimal algorithm. Illustrations are drawn from: gaussian integral evaluation, fock matrix construction, 4-index transformation of molecular integrals, direct-CI methods, the matrix multiply operation. A cross comparison of practical implementations on the CDC Cyber 205, the Cray-IS and Cray-XMP machines is presented. To achieve portability while remaining optimal on a wide range of machines it is necessary to code all available algorithms in a machine independent manner, and to select the appropriate algorithm using a procedure which is based on machine dependent parameters. Most such parameters concern the timing of certain vector loop kernals, which can usually be derived from a 'bench-marking' routine executed prior to the calculation proper

  7. Properties of vector and axial-vector mesons from a generalized Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernard, V.; Meissner, U.G.; Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge; Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge

    1988-01-01

    We construct a generalized Nambu-Jona-Lasinio lagrangian including scalar, pseudoscalar, vector and axial-vector mesons. We specialize to the two-flavor case. The properties of the structured vacuum as well as meson masses and coupling constants are calculated giving an overall agreement within 20% of the experimental data. We investigate the meson properties at finite density. In contrast to the mass of the scalar σ-meson, which decreases sharply with increasing density, the vector meson masses are almost independent of density. Furthermore, the vector-meson-quark coupling constants are also stable against density changes. We point out that these results imply a softening of the nuclear equation of state at high densities. Furthermore, we discuss the breakdown of the KFSR relation on the quark level as well as other deviations from phenomenological concepts such as universality and vector meson dominance. (orig.)

  8. Vector geometry

    CERN Document Server

    Robinson, Gilbert de B

    2011-01-01

    This brief undergraduate-level text by a prominent Cambridge-educated mathematician explores the relationship between algebra and geometry. An elementary course in plane geometry is the sole requirement for Gilbert de B. Robinson's text, which is the result of several years of teaching and learning the most effective methods from discussions with students. Topics include lines and planes, determinants and linear equations, matrices, groups and linear transformations, and vectors and vector spaces. Additional subjects range from conics and quadrics to homogeneous coordinates and projective geom

  9. Electroproduction and photoproduction of vector mesons and generalized vector meson dominance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fraas, H.; Kuroda, M.

    1977-05-01

    Using generalized vector meson dominance, electro- and photoproduction of vector mesons is studied. The unnatural parity exchange part of ω(1.2) production is estimated to be about one fourth of that of ω-production. The off diagonal transition model suggests the suppression of diffractive rho(1.2) and ω(1.2) production. (orig.) [de

  10. Vector (two-dimensional) magnetic phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enokizono, Masato

    2002-01-01

    In this paper, some interesting phenomena were described from the viewpoint of two-dimensional magnetic property, which is reworded with the vector magnetic property. It shows imperfection of conventional magnetic property and some interested phenomena were discovered, too. We found magnetic materials had the strong nonlinearity both magnitude and spatial phase due to the relationship between the magnetic field strength H-vector and the magnetic flux density B-vector. Therefore, magnetic properties should be defined as the vector relationship. Furthermore, the new Barukhausen signal was observed under rotating flux. (Author)

  11. Quark-gluon plasma tomography by vector mesons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovas, I.; Schram, Zs.; Csernai, L.P.; Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest; Nyiri, A.

    2001-01-01

    The fireball formed in a heavy ion collision is characterized by the impact parameter vector b-vector, which can be determined from the multiplicity and the angular distribution of the reaction products. By appropriate rotations the b-vector vectors of each collision can be aligned into a fixed direction. Using the measured values of the momentum distributions independent integral equations can be formulated for the unknown emission densities (E M (r-vector)) and for the unknown absorption densities (Δμ(r-vector)) of the different vector mesons. (author)

  12. Normal-incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry for critical dimension monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Hsu-Ting; Kong, Wei; Terry, Fred Lewis

    2001-01-01

    In this letter, we show that normal-incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry can be used for high-accuracy topography measurements on surface relief gratings. We present both experimental and theoretical results which show that spectroscopic ellipsometry or reflectance-difference spectroscopy at near-normal incidence coupled with vector diffraction theory for data analysis is capable of high-accuracy critical dimension (CD), feature height, and sidewall angle measurements in the extreme submicron regime. Quantitative comparisons of optical and cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) topography measurements from a number of 350 nm line/space reactive-ion-etched Si gratings demonstrate the strong potential for in situ etching monitoring. This technique can be used for both ex situ and in situ applications and has the potential to replace the use of CD-SEM measurements in some applications. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

  13. The effectiveness of problem-based learning on students’ problem solving ability in vector analysis course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mushlihuddin, R.; Nurafifah; Irvan

    2018-01-01

    The student’s low ability in mathematics problem solving proved to the less effective of a learning process in the classroom. Effective learning was a learning that affects student’s math skills, one of which is problem-solving abilities. Problem-solving capability consisted of several stages: understanding the problem, planning the settlement, solving the problem as planned, re-examining the procedure and the outcome. The purpose of this research was to know: (1) was there any influence of PBL model in improving ability Problem solving of student math in a subject of vector analysis?; (2) was the PBL model effective in improving students’ mathematical problem-solving skills in vector analysis courses? This research was a quasi-experiment research. The data analysis techniques performed from the test stages of data description, a prerequisite test is the normality test, and hypothesis test using the ANCOVA test and Gain test. The results showed that: (1) there was an influence of PBL model in improving students’ math problem-solving abilities in vector analysis courses; (2) the PBL model was effective in improving students’ problem-solving skills in vector analysis courses with a medium category.

  14. Vector superconductivity in cosmic strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dvali, G.R.; Mahajan, S.M.

    1992-03-01

    We argue that in most realistic cases, the usual Witten-type bosonic superconductivity of the cosmic string is automatically (independent of the existence of superconducting currents) accompanied by the condensation of charged gauge vector bosons in the core giving rise to a new vector type superconductivity. The value of the charged vector condensate is related with the charged scalar expectation value, and vanishes only if the latter goes to zero. The mechanism for the proposed vector superconductivity, differing fundamentally from those in the literature, is delineated using the simplest realistic example of the two Higgs doublet standard model interacting with the extra cosmic string. It is shown that for a wide range of parameters, for which the string becomes scalarly superconducting, W boson condensates (the sources of vector superconductivity) are necessarily excited. (author). 14 refs

  15. Brane vector phenomenology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, T.E.; Love, S.T.; Nitta, Muneto; Veldhuis, T. ter; Xiong, C.

    2009-01-01

    Local oscillations of the brane world are manifested as massive vector fields. Their coupling to the Standard Model can be obtained using the method of nonlinear realizations of the spontaneously broken higher-dimensional space-time symmetries, and to an extent, are model independent. Phenomenological limits on these vector field parameters are obtained using LEP collider data and dark matter constraints

  16. Acute evaluation of transthoracic impedance vectors using ICD leads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottfridsson, Christer; Daum, Douglas; Kennergren, Charles; Ramuzat, Agnès; Willems, Roger; Edvardsson, Nils

    2009-06-01

    Minute ventilation (MV) has been proven to be very useful in rate responsive pacing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads as part of the MV detection system. At implant in 10 patients, the transthoracic impedance was measured from tripolar ICD, tetrapolar ICD, and atrial lead vectors during normal, deep, and shallow voluntary respiration. MV and respiration rate (RespR) were simultaneously measured through a facemask with a pneumotachometer (Korr), and the correlations with impedance-based measurements were calculated. Air sensitivity was the change in impedance per change in respiratory tidal volume, ohms (Omega)/liter (L), and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was the ratio of the respiratory and cardiac contraction components. The air sensitivity and SNR in tripolar ICD vector were 2.70 +/- 2.73 ohm/L and 2.19 +/- 1.31, respectively, and were not different from tetrapolar. The difference in RespR between tripolar ICD and Korr was 0.2 +/- 1.91 breaths/minute. The regressed correlation coefficient between impedance MV and Korr MV was 0.86 +/- 0.07 in tripolar ICD. The air sensitivity and SNR in tripolar and tetrapolar ICD lead vectors did not differ significantly and were in the range of the values in pacemaker leads currently used as MV sensors. The good correlations between impedance-based and Korr-based RespR and MV measurements imply that ICD leads may be used in MV sensor systems.

  17. Accelerating the explicitly restarted Arnoldi method with GPUs using an auto-tuned matrix vector product

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubois, J.; Calvin, Ch.; Dubois, J.; Petiton, S.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a parallelized hybrid single-vector Arnoldi algorithm for computing approximations to Eigen-pairs of a nonsymmetric matrix. We are interested in the use of accelerators and multi-core units to speed up the Arnoldi process. The main goal is to propose a parallel version of the Arnoldi solver, which can efficiently use multiple multi-core processors or multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) in a mixed coarse and fine grain fashion. In the proposed algorithms, this is achieved by an auto-tuning of the matrix vector product before starting the Arnoldi Eigen-solver as well as the reorganization of the data and global communications so that communication time is reduced. The execution time, performance, and scalability are assessed with well-known dense and sparse test matrices on multiple Nehalems, GT200 NVidia Tesla, and next generation Fermi Tesla. With one processor, we see a performance speedup of 2 to 3x when using all the physical cores, and a total speedup of 2 to 8x when adding a GPU to this multi-core unit, and hence a speedup of 4 to 24x compared to the sequential solver. (authors)

  18. Distribution of Brugia malayi larvae and DNA in vector and non-vector mosquitoes: implications for molecular diagnostics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christensen Bruce M

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to extend prior studies of molecular detection of Brugia malayi DNA in vector (Aedes aegypti- Liverpool and non-vector (Culex pipiens mosquitoes at different times after ingestion of infected blood. Results Parasite DNA was detected over a two week time course in 96% of pooled thoraces of vector mosquitoes. In contrast, parasite DNA was detected in only 24% of thorax pools from non-vectors; parasite DNA was detected in 56% of midgut pools and 47% of abdomen pools from non-vectors. Parasite DNA was detected in vectors in the head immediately after the blood meal and after 14 days. Parasite DNA was also detected in feces and excreta of the vector and non-vector mosquitoes which could potentially confound results obtained with field samples. However, co-housing experiments failed to demonstrate transfer of parasite DNA from infected to non-infected mosquitoes. Parasites were also visualized in mosquito tissues by immunohistololgy using an antibody to the recombinant filarial antigen Bm14. Parasite larvae were detected consistently after mf ingestion in Ae. aegypti- Liverpool. Infectious L3s were seen in the head, thorax and abdomen of vector mosquitoes 14 days after Mf ingestion. In contrast, parasites were only detected by histology shortly after the blood meal in Cx. pipiens, and these were not labeled by the antibody. Conclusion This study provides new information on the distribution of filarial parasites and parasite DNA in vector and non-vector mosquitoes. This information should be useful for those involved in designing and interpreting molecular xenomonitoring studies.

  19. Insecticide resistance in disease vectors from Mayotte: an opportunity for integrated vector management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pocquet, Nicolas; Darriet, Frédéric; Zumbo, Betty; Milesi, Pascal; Thiria, Julien; Bernard, Vincent; Toty, Céline; Labbé, Pierrick; Chandre, Fabrice

    2014-07-01

    Mayotte, a small island in the Indian Ocean, has been affected for many years by vector-borne diseases. Malaria, Bancroftian filariasis, dengue, chikungunya and Rift Valley fever have circulated or still circulate on the island. They are all transmitted by Culicidae mosquitoes. To limit the impact of these diseases on human health, vector control has been implemented for more than 60 years on Mayotte. In this study, we assessed the resistance levels of four major vector species (Anopheles gambiae, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) to two types of insecticides: i) the locally currently-used insecticides (organophosphates, pyrethroids) and ii) alternative molecules that are promising for vector control and come from different insecticide families (bacterial toxins or insect growth regulators). When some resistance was found to one of these insecticides, we characterized the mechanisms involved. Larval and adult bioassays were used to evaluate the level of resistance. When resistance was found, we tested for the presence of metabolic resistance through detoxifying enzyme activity assays, or for target-site mutations through molecular identification of known resistance alleles. Resistance to currently-used insecticides varied greatly between the four vector species. While no resistance to any insecticides was found in the two Aedes species, bioassays confirmed multiple resistance in Cx. p. quinquefasciatus (temephos: ~ 20 fold and deltamethrin: only 10% mortality after 24 hours). In An. gambiae, resistance was scarce: only a moderate resistance to temephos was found (~5 fold). This resistance appears to be due only to carboxyl-esterase overexpression and not to target modification. Finally, and comfortingly, none of the four species showed resistance to any of the new insecticides. The low resistance observed in Mayotte's main disease vectors is particularly interesting, because it leaves a range of tools useable by vector control

  20. Analysis of tandem repeat units of the promoter of capsanthin/capsorubin synthase (Ccs) gene in pepper fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Shi-Lin; Li, Zheng; Li, Li; Shah, S N M; Gong, Zhen-Hui

    2017-07-01

    Capsanthin/capsorubin synthase ( Ccs ) gene is a key gene that regulates the synthesis of capsanthin and the development of red coloration in pepper fruits. There are three tandem repeat units in the promoter region of Ccs , but the potential effects of the number of repetitive units on the transcriptional regulation of Ccs has been unclear. In the present study, expression vectors carrying different numbers of repeat units of the Ccs promoter were constructed, and the transient expression of the β-glucuronidase ( GUS ) gene was used to detect differences in expression levels associated with the promoter fragments. These repeat fragments and the plant expression vector PBI121 containing the 35s CaMV promoter were ligated to form recombinant vectors that were transfected into Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101. A fluorescence spectrophotometer was used to analyze the expression associated with the various repeat units. It was concluded that the constructs containing at least one repeat were associated with GUS expression, though they did not differ from one another. This repeating unit likely plays a role in transcription and regulation of Ccs expression.

  1. A comparison of foamy and lentiviral vector genotoxicity in SCID-repopulating cells shows foamy vectors are less prone to clonal dominance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth M Everson

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC gene therapy using retroviral vectors has immense potential, but vector-mediated genotoxicity limits use in the clinic. Lentiviral vectors are less genotoxic than gammaretroviral vectors and have become the vector of choice in clinical trials. Foamy retroviral vectors have a promising integration profile and are less prone to read-through transcription than gammaretroviral or lentiviral vectors. Here, we directly compared the safety and efficacy of foamy vectors to lentiviral vectors in human CD34+ repopulating cells in immunodeficient mice. To increase their genotoxic potential, foamy and lentiviral vectors with identical transgene cassettes with a known genotoxic spleen focus forming virus promoter were used. Both vectors resulted in efficient marking in vivo and a total of 825 foamy and 460 lentiviral vector unique integration sites were recovered in repopulating cells 19 weeks after transplantation. Foamy vector proviruses were observed less often near RefSeq gene and proto-oncogene transcription start sites than lentiviral vectors. The foamy vector group were also more polyclonal with fewer dominant clones (two out of six mice than the lentiviral vector group (eight out of eight mice, and only lentiviral vectors had integrants near known proto-oncogenes in dominant clones. Our data further support the relative safety of foamy vectors for HSC gene therapy.

  2. The normal holonomy group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olmos, C.

    1990-05-01

    The restricted holonomy group of a Riemannian manifold is a compact Lie group and its representation on the tangent space is a product of irreducible representations and a trivial one. Each one of the non-trivial factors is either an orthogonal representation of a connected compact Lie group which acts transitively on the unit sphere or it is the isotropy representation of a single Riemannian symmetric space of rank ≥ 2. We prove that, all these properties are also true for the representation on the normal space of the restricted normal holonomy group of any submanifold of a space of constant curvature. 4 refs

  3. Presencia en Isla Fuerte, Bolívar de Lutzomyia evansi vector de leishmaniosis visceral Presense of lutzomyia evansi vector of visceral leishmaniosis in Isla Fuerte, Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Darío Vélez

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available Se hizo un Inventario de fauna flebotomínea en Isla Fuerte, Bolívar, costa caribe colombiana. Se demostró por primera vez en dicha Isla la presencia de Lu. evansi, Lu. gomezi y Lu. trinidadensis. La presencia de Lu. Evansi (91.7% de las 73 capturas, vector principal de la leishmaniosis visceral en la costa caribe colombiana, convierte a Isla Fuerte en una zona de riesgo potencial de transmisión de leishmaniosis visceral.

    Normal">An inventory was made of phiebotomidae fauna in Isla Fuerte, Bolívar, on the caribbean colombian coast. The presence of Lu. evansi was demonstrated for the first time in that island and this species constituted 91.7% of 73 captures. Therefore the island becomes a potential risk for transmission of visceralleish. maniosis since Lu. evansi its main vector.

  4. NASF transposition network: A computing network for unscrambling p-ordered vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, R. S.

    1979-01-01

    The viewpoints of design, programming, and application of the transportation network (TN) is presented. The TN is a programmable combinational logic network that connects 521 memory modules to 512 processors. The unscrambling of p-ordered vectors to 1-ordered vectors in one cycle is described. The TN design is based upon the concept of cyclic groups from abstract algebra and primitive roots and indices from number theory. The programming of the TN is very simple, requiring only 20 bits: 10 bits for offset control and 10 bits for barrel switch shift control. This simple control is executed by the control unit (CU), not the processors. Any memory access by a processor must be coordinated with the CU and wait for all other processors to come to a synchronization point. These wait and synchronization events can be a degradation in performance to a computation. The TN application is for multidimensional data manipulation, matrix processing, and data sorting, and can also perform a perfect shuffle. Unlike other more complicated and powerful permutation networks, the TN cannot, if possible at all, unscramble non-p-ordered vectors in one cycle.

  5. Tensor Calculus: Unlearning Vector Calculus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Wha-Suck; Engelbrecht, Johann; Moller, Rita

    2018-01-01

    Tensor calculus is critical in the study of the vector calculus of the surface of a body. Indeed, tensor calculus is a natural step-up for vector calculus. This paper presents some pitfalls of a traditional course in vector calculus in transitioning to tensor calculus. We show how a deeper emphasis on traditional topics such as the Jacobian can…

  6. Molecular entomology: analyzing tiny molecules to answer big questions about disease vectors and their biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    The entomologists at the Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit at USDA-Agricultural Research Service are tasked with protecting the nation’s livestock from domestic, foreign and emerging vector-borne diseases. To accomplish this task, a vast array of molecular techniques are being used in pr...

  7. Volume-preserving normal forms of Hopf-zero singularity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gazor, Majid; Mokhtari, Fahimeh

    2013-01-01

    A practical method is described for computing the unique generator of the algebra of first integrals associated with a large class of Hopf-zero singularity. The set of all volume-preserving classical normal forms of this singularity is introduced via a Lie algebra description. This is a maximal vector space of classical normal forms with first integral; this is whence our approach works. Systems with a nonzero condition on their quadratic parts are considered. The algebra of all first integrals for any such system has a unique (modulo scalar multiplication) generator. The infinite level volume-preserving parametric normal forms of any nondegenerate perturbation within the Lie algebra of any such system is computed, where it can have rich dynamics. The associated unique generator of the algebra of first integrals are derived. The symmetry group of the infinite level normal forms are also discussed. Some necessary formulas are derived and applied to appropriately modified Rössler and generalized Kuramoto–Sivashinsky equations to demonstrate the applicability of our theoretical results. An approach (introduced by Iooss and Lombardi) is applied to find an optimal truncation for the first level normal forms of these examples with exponentially small remainders. The numerically suggested radius of convergence (for the first integral) associated with a hypernormalization step is discussed for the truncated first level normal forms of the examples. This is achieved by an efficient implementation of the results using Maple. (paper)

  8. Volume-preserving normal forms of Hopf-zero singularity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazor, Majid; Mokhtari, Fahimeh

    2013-10-01

    A practical method is described for computing the unique generator of the algebra of first integrals associated with a large class of Hopf-zero singularity. The set of all volume-preserving classical normal forms of this singularity is introduced via a Lie algebra description. This is a maximal vector space of classical normal forms with first integral; this is whence our approach works. Systems with a nonzero condition on their quadratic parts are considered. The algebra of all first integrals for any such system has a unique (modulo scalar multiplication) generator. The infinite level volume-preserving parametric normal forms of any nondegenerate perturbation within the Lie algebra of any such system is computed, where it can have rich dynamics. The associated unique generator of the algebra of first integrals are derived. The symmetry group of the infinite level normal forms are also discussed. Some necessary formulas are derived and applied to appropriately modified Rössler and generalized Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equations to demonstrate the applicability of our theoretical results. An approach (introduced by Iooss and Lombardi) is applied to find an optimal truncation for the first level normal forms of these examples with exponentially small remainders. The numerically suggested radius of convergence (for the first integral) associated with a hypernormalization step is discussed for the truncated first level normal forms of the examples. This is achieved by an efficient implementation of the results using Maple.

  9. Vector mesons on the light front

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naito, K.; Maedan, S.; Itakura, K.

    2004-01-01

    We apply the light-front quantization to the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with the vector interaction, and compute vector meson's mass and light-cone wavefunction in the large N limit. Following the same procedure as in the previous analyses for scalar and pseudo-scalar mesons, we derive the bound-state equations of a qq-bar system in the vector channel. We include the lowest order effects of the vector interaction. The resulting transverse and longitudinal components of the bound-state equation look different from each other. But eventually after imposing an appropriate cutoff, one finds these two are identical, giving the same mass and the same (spin-independent) light-cone wavefunction. Mass of the vector meson decreases as one increases the strength of the vector interaction

  10. Vector-free intracellular delivery by reversible permeabilization.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shirley O'Dea

    Full Text Available Despite advances in intracellular delivery technologies, efficient methods are still required that are vector-free, can address a wide range of cargo types and can be applied to cells that are difficult to transfect whilst maintaining cell viability. We have developed a novel vector-free method that uses reversible permeabilization to achieve rapid intracellular delivery of cargos with varying composition, properties and size. A permeabilizing delivery solution was developed that contains a low level of ethanol as the permeabilizing agent. Reversal of cell permeabilization is achieved by temporally and volumetrically controlling the contact of the target cells with this solution. Cells are seeded in conventional multi-well plates. Following removal of the supernatant, the cargo is mixed with the delivery solution and applied directly to the cells using an atomizer. After a short incubation period, permeabilization is halted by incubating the cells in a phosphate buffer saline solution that dilutes the ethanol and is non-toxic to the permeabilized cells. Normal culture medium is then added. The procedure lasts less than 5 min. With this method, proteins, mRNA, plasmid DNA and other molecules have been delivered to a variety of cell types, including primary cells, with low toxicity and cargo functionality has been confirmed in proof-of-principle studies. Co-delivery of different cargo types has also been demonstrated. Importantly, delivery occurs by diffusion directly into the cytoplasm in an endocytic-independent manner. Unlike some other vector-free methods, adherent cells are addressed in situ without the need for detachment from their substratum. The method has also been adapted to address suspension cells. This delivery method is gentle yet highly reproducible, compatible with high throughput and automated cell-based assays and has the potential to enable a broad range of research, drug discovery and clinical applications.

  11. Does the delta quench Gamow-Teller strength in (p,n)- and (p vector,p vector')-reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osterfeld, F.; Schulte, A.; Udagawa, T.; Yabe, M.

    1986-01-01

    Microscopic analyses of complete forward angle intermediate energy (p,n)-, ( 3 He,t)- and (p vector,p vector')-spin-flip spectra are presented for the reactions 90 Zr(p,n), 90 Zr( 3 He,t) and 90 Zr(p vector,p vector'). It is shown that the whole spectra up to high excitation energies (E X ∝50 MeV) are the result of correlated one-particle-one-hole (1p1h) spin-isospin transitions only. The spectra reflect, therefore, the linear spin-isospin response of the target nucleus to the probing external hadronic fields. Our results suggest that the measured (p,n)-, ( 3 He,t)- and (p vector,p vector')-cross sections are compatible with the transition strength predictions as obtained from random phase approximation (RPA) calculations. This means that the Δ isobar quenching mechanism is likely to be rather small. (orig.)

  12. On the Vectorization of FIR Filterbanks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbedo Jayme Garcia Arnal

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a vectorization technique to implement FIR filterbanks. The word vectorization, in the context of this work, refers to a strategy in which all iterative operations are replaced by equivalent vector and matrix operations. This approach allows that the increasing parallelism of the most recent computer processors and systems be properly explored. The vectorization techniques are applied to two kinds of FIR filterbanks (conventional and recursi ve, and are presented in such a way that they can be easily extended to any kind of FIR filterbanks. The vectorization approach is compared to other kinds of implementation that do not explore the parallelism, and also to a previous FIR filter vectorization approach. The tests were performed in Matlab and , in order to explore different aspects of the proposed technique.

  13. On the Vectorization of FIR Filterbanks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amauri Lopes

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a vectorization technique to implement FIR filterbanks. The word vectorization, in the context of this work, refers to a strategy in which all iterative operations are replaced by equivalent vector and matrix operations. This approach allows that the increasing parallelism of the most recent computer processors and systems be properly explored. The vectorization techniques are applied to two kinds of FIR filterbanks (conventional and recursi ve, and are presented in such a way that they can be easily extended to any kind of FIR filterbanks. The vectorization approach is compared to other kinds of implementation that do not explore the parallelism, and also to a previous FIR filter vectorization approach. The tests were performed in Matlab and C, in order to explore different aspects of the proposed technique.

  14. An improved exact inversion formula for solenoidal fields in cone beam vector tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsevich, Alexander; Rothermel, Dimitri; Schuster, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    In this paper we present an improved inversion formula for the 3D cone beam transform of vector fields supported in the unit ball which is exact for solenoidal fields. It is well known that only the solenoidal part of a vector field can be determined from the longitudinal ray transform of a vector field in cone beam geometry. The inversion formula, as it was developed in Katsevich and Schuster (2013 An exact inversion formula for cone beam vector tomography Inverse Problems 29 065013), consists of two parts. The first part is of the filtered backprojection type, whereas the second part is a costly 4D integration and very inefficient. In this article we tackle this second term and obtain an improved formula, which is easy to implement and saves one order of integration. We also show that the first part contains all information about the curl of the field, whereas the second part has information about the boundary values. More precisely, the second part vanishes if the solenoidal part of the original field is tangential at the boundary. A number of numerical tests presented in the paper confirm the theoretical results and the exactness of the formula. Also, we obtain an inversion algorithm that works for general convex domains.

  15. Two-hadron saturation for the pseudoscalar-vector-vector correlator and phenomenological applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Husek, Tomas [Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Leupold, Stefan [Uppsala Universitet, Institutionen foer Fysik och Astronomi, Box 516, Uppsala (Sweden)

    2015-12-15

    The pseudoscalar-vector-vector correlator is constructed using two meson multiplets in the vector and two in the pseudoscalar channel. The parameters are constrained by the operator product expansion at leading order where two or all three momenta are considered as large. Demanding in addition the Brodsky-Lepage limit one obtains (in the chiral limit) pion-vector-vector (πVV) correlator with only one free parameter. The singly virtual pion transition form factor F{sub π{sup 0}γγ*} and the decay width of ω → π{sup 0}γ are independent of this parameter and can serve as cross-checks of the results. The free parameter is determined from a fit of the ω-π transition form factor F{sub π{sup 0}ωγ*}. The resulting πVV correlator is used to calculate the decay widths ω → π{sup 0}e{sup +}e{sup -} and ω → π{sup 0}μ{sup +}μ{sup -} and finally the widths of the rare decay π{sup 0} → e{sup +}e{sup -} and of the Dalitz decay π{sup 0} → e{sup +}e{sup -}γ. Incorporating radiative QED corrections the calculations of π{sup 0} decays are compared to the KTeV results. We find a deviation of 2 σ or less for the rare pion decay. (orig.)

  16. Learning weighted sparse representation of encoded facial normal information for expression-robust 3D face recognition

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Huibin

    2011-10-01

    This paper proposes a novel approach for 3D face recognition by learning weighted sparse representation of encoded facial normal information. To comprehensively describe 3D facial surface, three components, in X, Y, and Z-plane respectively, of normal vector are encoded locally to their corresponding normal pattern histograms. They are finally fed to a sparse representation classifier enhanced by learning based spatial weights. Experimental results achieved on the FRGC v2.0 database prove that the proposed encoded normal information is much more discriminative than original normal information. Moreover, the patch based weights learned using the FRGC v1.0 and Bosphorus datasets also demonstrate the importance of each facial physical component for 3D face recognition. © 2011 IEEE.

  17. Vector borne diseases

    OpenAIRE

    Melillo Fenech, Tanya

    2010-01-01

    A vector-borne disease is one in which the pathogenic microorganism is transmitted from an infected individual to another individual by an arthropod or other agent. The transmission depends upon the attributes and requirements of at least three different Iiving organisms : the pathologic agent which is either a virus, protozoa, bacteria or helminth (worm); the vector, which is commonly an arthropod such as ticks or mosquitoes; and the human host.

  18. Scanning vector Hall probe microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cambel, V.; Gregusova, D.; Fedor, J.; Kudela, R.; Bending, S.J.

    2004-01-01

    We have developed a scanning vector Hall probe microscope for mapping magnetic field vector over magnetic samples. The microscope is based on a micromachined Hall sensor and the cryostat with scanning system. The vector Hall sensor active area is ∼5x5 μm 2 . It is realized by patterning three Hall probes on the tilted faces of GaAs pyramids. Data from these 'tilted' Hall probes are used to reconstruct the full magnetic field vector. The scanning area of the microscope is 5x5 mm 2 , space resolution 2.5 μm, field resolution ∼1 μT Hz -1/2 at temperatures 10-300 K

  19. Non-coaxial superposition of vector vortex beams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aadhi, A; Vaity, Pravin; Chithrabhanu, P; Reddy, Salla Gangi; Prabakar, Shashi; Singh, R P

    2016-02-10

    Vector vortex beams are classified into four types depending upon spatial variation in their polarization vector. We have generated all four of these types of vector vortex beams by using a modified polarization Sagnac interferometer with a vortex lens. Further, we have studied the non-coaxial superposition of two vector vortex beams. It is observed that the superposition of two vector vortex beams with same polarization singularity leads to a beam with another kind of polarization singularity in their interaction region. The results may be of importance in ultrahigh security of the polarization-encrypted data that utilizes vector vortex beams and multiple optical trapping with non-coaxial superposition of vector vortex beams. We verified our experimental results with theory.

  20. Detection of Gastric Cancer with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Support Vector Machine Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingbo Li

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Early diagnosis and early medical treatments are the keys to save the patients' lives and improve the living quality. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR spectroscopy can distinguish malignant from normal tissues at the molecular level. In this paper, programs were made with pattern recognition method to classify unknown samples. Spectral data were pretreated by using smoothing and standard normal variate (SNV methods. Leave-one-out cross validation was used to evaluate the discrimination result of support vector machine (SVM method. A total of 54 gastric tissue samples were employed in this study, including 24 cases of normal tissue samples and 30 cases of cancerous tissue samples. The discrimination results of SVM method showed the sensitivity with 100%, specificity with 83.3%, and total discrimination accuracy with 92.2%.

  1. Multiple spacecraft observations of interplanetary shocks Four spacecraft determination of shock normals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, C. T.; Mellott, M. M.; Smith, E. J.; King, J. H.

    1983-01-01

    ISEE 1, 2, 3, IMP 8, and Prognoz 7 observations of interplanetary shocks in 1978 and 1979 provide five instances where a single shock is observed by four spacecraft. These observations are used to determine best-fit normals for these five shocks. In addition to providing well-documented shocks for future investigations these data allow the evaluation of the accuracy of several shock normal determination techniques. When the angle between upstream and downstream magnetic field is greater than 20 deg, magnetic coplanarity can be an accurate single spacecraft method. However, no technique based solely on the magnetic measurements at one or multiple sites was universally accurate. Thus, the use of overdetermined shock normal solutions, utilizing plasma measurements, separation vectors, and time delays together with magnetic constraints, is recommended whenever possible.

  2. Fractal vector optical fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Yue; Gao, Xu-Zhen; Cai, Meng-Qiang; Zhang, Guan-Lin; Li, Yongnan; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

    2016-07-15

    We introduce the concept of a fractal, which provides an alternative approach for flexibly engineering the optical fields and their focal fields. We propose, design, and create a new family of optical fields-fractal vector optical fields, which build a bridge between the fractal and vector optical fields. The fractal vector optical fields have polarization states exhibiting fractal geometry, and may also involve the phase and/or amplitude simultaneously. The results reveal that the focal fields exhibit self-similarity, and the hierarchy of the fractal has the "weeding" role. The fractal can be used to engineer the focal field.

  3. Clifford Fourier transform on vector fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebling, Julia; Scheuermann, Gerik

    2005-01-01

    Image processing and computer vision have robust methods for feature extraction and the computation of derivatives of scalar fields. Furthermore, interpolation and the effects of applying a filter can be analyzed in detail and can be advantages when applying these methods to vector fields to obtain a solid theoretical basis for feature extraction. We recently introduced the Clifford convolution, which is an extension of the classical convolution on scalar fields and provides a unified notation for the convolution of scalar and vector fields. It has attractive geometric properties that allow pattern matching on vector fields. In image processing, the convolution and the Fourier transform operators are closely related by the convolution theorem and, in this paper, we extend the Fourier transform to include general elements of Clifford Algebra, called multivectors, including scalars and vectors. The resulting convolution and derivative theorems are extensions of those for convolution and the Fourier transform on scalar fields. The Clifford Fourier transform allows a frequency analysis of vector fields and the behavior of vector-valued filters. In frequency space, vectors are transformed into general multivectors of the Clifford Algebra. Many basic vector-valued patterns, such as source, sink, saddle points, and potential vortices, can be described by a few multivectors in frequency space.

  4. Vector-like quarks: t’ and partners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    PANIZZI, L.

    2014-01-01

    Vector-like quarks are predicted in various scenarios of new physics, and their peculiar signatures from both pair and single production have been already investigated in detail. However no signals of vector-like quarks have been detected so far, pushing limits on their masses above 600–700GeV, depending on assumptions on their couplings. Experimental searches consider specific final states to pose bounds on the mass of a vector-like quark, usually assuming it is the only particle that contributes to the signal of new physics in that specific final state. However, realistic scenarios predict the existence of multiple vector-like quarks, possibly with similar masses. The reinterpretation of mass bounds from experimental searches is therefore not always straightforward. In this analysis I briefly summarise the constraints on vector-like quarks and their possible signatures at the LHC, focusing in particular on a model-independent description of single production processes for vector-like quark that mix with all generations and on the development of a framework to study scenarios with multiple vector-like quarks.

  5. Correlated Topic Vector for Scene Classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Pengxu; Qin, Fei; Wan, Fang; Zhu, Yi; Jiao, Jianbin; Ye, Qixiang

    2017-07-01

    Scene images usually involve semantic correlations, particularly when considering large-scale image data sets. This paper proposes a novel generative image representation, correlated topic vector, to model such semantic correlations. Oriented from the correlated topic model, correlated topic vector intends to naturally utilize the correlations among topics, which are seldom considered in the conventional feature encoding, e.g., Fisher vector, but do exist in scene images. It is expected that the involvement of correlations can increase the discriminative capability of the learned generative model and consequently improve the recognition accuracy. Incorporated with the Fisher kernel method, correlated topic vector inherits the advantages of Fisher vector. The contributions to the topics of visual words have been further employed by incorporating the Fisher kernel framework to indicate the differences among scenes. Combined with the deep convolutional neural network (CNN) features and Gibbs sampling solution, correlated topic vector shows great potential when processing large-scale and complex scene image data sets. Experiments on two scene image data sets demonstrate that correlated topic vector improves significantly the deep CNN features, and outperforms existing Fisher kernel-based features.

  6. Charmless Hadronic B Decays into Vector, Axial Vector and Tensor Final States at BaBar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gandini, Paolo

    2012-01-01

    We present experimental measurements of branching fraction and longitudinal polarization fraction in charmless hadronic B decays into vector, axial vector and tensor final states with the final dataset of BABAR. Measurements of such kind of decays are a powerful tool both to test the Standard Model and search possible sources of new physics. In this document we present a short review of the last experimental results at BABAR concerning charmless quasi two-body decays in final states containing particles with spin 1 or spin 2 and different parities. This kind of decays has received considerable theoretical interest in the last few years and this particular attention has led to interesting experimental results at the current b-factories. In fact, the study of longitudinal polarization fraction f L in charmless B decays to vector vector (VV), vector axial-vector (VA) and axial-vector axial-vector (AA) mesons provides information on the underlying helicity structure of the decay mechanism. Naive helicity conservation arguments predict a dominant longitudinal polarization fraction f L ∼ 1 for both tree and penguin dominated decays and this pattern seems to be confirmed by tree-dominated B → ρρ and B + → (Omega)ρ + decays. Other penguin dominated decays, instead, show a different behavior: the measured value of f L ∼ 0.5 in B → φK* decays is in contrast with naive Standard Model (SM) calculations. Several solutions have been proposed such as the introduction of non-factorizable terms and penguin-annihilation amplitudes, while other explanations invoke new physics. New modes have been investigated to shed more light on the problem.

  7. Test of Understanding of Vectors: A Reliable Multiple-Choice Vector Concept Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barniol, Pablo; Zavala, Genaro

    2014-01-01

    In this article we discuss the findings of our research on students' understanding of vector concepts in problems without physical context. First, we develop a complete taxonomy of the most frequent errors made by university students when learning vector concepts. This study is based on the results of several test administrations of open-ended…

  8. CRISPR/Cas9 delivery with one single adenoviral vector devoid of all viral genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrke-Schulz, Eric; Schiwon, Maren; Leitner, Theo; Dávid, Stephan; Bergmann, Thorsten; Liu, Jing; Ehrhardt, Anja

    2017-12-07

    The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system revolutionized the field of gene editing but viral delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 system has not been fully explored. Here we adapted clinically relevant high-capacity adenoviral vectors (HCAdV) devoid of all viral genes for the delivery of the CRISPR/Cas9 machinery using a single viral vector. We present a platform enabling fast transfer of the Cas9 gene and gRNA expression units into the HCAdV genome including the option to choose between constitutive or inducible Cas9 expression and gRNA multiplexing. Efficacy and versatility of this pipeline was exemplified by producing different CRISPR/Cas9-HCAdV targeting the human papillomavirus (HPV) 18 oncogene E6, the dystrophin gene causing Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and the HIV co-receptor C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5). All CRISPR/Cas9-HCAdV proved to be efficient to deliver the respective CRISPR/Cas9 expression units and to introduce the desired DNA double strand breaks at their intended target sites in immortalized and primary cells.

  9. Local Patch Vectors Encoded by Fisher Vectors for Image Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuangshuang Chen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work is image classification, whose purpose is to group images into corresponding semantic categories. Four contributions are made as follows: (i For computational simplicity and efficiency, we directly adopt raw image patch vectors as local descriptors encoded by Fisher vector (FV subsequently; (ii For obtaining representative local features within the FV encoding framework, we compare and analyze three typical sampling strategies: random sampling, saliency-based sampling and dense sampling; (iii In order to embed both global and local spatial information into local features, we construct an improved spatial geometry structure which shows good performance; (iv For reducing the storage and CPU costs of high dimensional vectors, we adopt a new feature selection method based on supervised mutual information (MI, which chooses features by an importance sorting algorithm. We report experimental results on dataset STL-10. It shows very promising performance with this simple and efficient framework compared to conventional methods.

  10. Vector-Vector Scattering on the Lattice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero-López, Fernando; Urbach, Carsten; Rusetsky, Akaki

    2018-03-01

    In this work we present an extension of the LüScher formalism to include the interaction of particles with spin, focusing on the scattering of two vector particles. The derived formalism will be applied to Scalar QED in the Higgs Phase, where the U(1) gauge boson acquires mass.

  11. A generalized nonlocal vector calculus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alali, Bacim; Liu, Kuo; Gunzburger, Max

    2015-10-01

    A nonlocal vector calculus was introduced in Du et al. (Math Model Meth Appl Sci 23:493-540, 2013) that has proved useful for the analysis of the peridynamics model of nonlocal mechanics and nonlocal diffusion models. A formulation is developed that provides a more general setting for the nonlocal vector calculus that is independent of particular nonlocal models. It is shown that general nonlocal calculus operators are integral operators with specific integral kernels. General nonlocal calculus properties are developed, including nonlocal integration by parts formula and Green's identities. The nonlocal vector calculus introduced in Du et al. (Math Model Meth Appl Sci 23:493-540, 2013) is shown to be recoverable from the general formulation as a special example. This special nonlocal vector calculus is used to reformulate the peridynamics equation of motion in terms of the nonlocal gradient operator and its adjoint. A new example of nonlocal vector calculus operators is introduced, which shows the potential use of the general formulation for general nonlocal models.

  12. Fast Eigensolver for Computing 3D Earth's Normal Modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, J.; De Hoop, M. V.; Li, R.; Xi, Y.; Saad, Y.

    2017-12-01

    We present a novel parallel computational approach to compute Earth's normal modes. We discretize Earth via an unstructured tetrahedral mesh and apply the continuous Galerkin finite element method to the elasto-gravitational system. To resolve the eigenvalue pollution issue, following the analysis separating the seismic point spectrum, we utilize explicitly a representation of the displacement for describing the oscillations of the non-seismic modes in the fluid outer core. Effectively, we separate out the essential spectrum which is naturally related to the Brunt-Väisälä frequency. We introduce two Lanczos approaches with polynomial and rational filtering for solving this generalized eigenvalue problem in prescribed intervals. The polynomial filtering technique only accesses the matrix pair through matrix-vector products and is an ideal candidate for solving three-dimensional large-scale eigenvalue problems. The matrix-free scheme allows us to deal with fluid separation and self-gravitation in an efficient way, while the standard shift-and-invert method typically needs an explicit shifted matrix and its factorization. The rational filtering method converges much faster than the standard shift-and-invert procedure when computing all the eigenvalues inside an interval. Both two Lanczos approaches solve for the internal eigenvalues extremely accurately, comparing with the standard eigensolver. In our computational experiments, we compare our results with the radial earth model benchmark, and visualize the normal modes using vector plots to illustrate the properties of the displacements in different modes.

  13. Broad patterns in domestic vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission dynamics: synanthropic animals and vector control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Jennifer K; Bartsch, Sarah M; Lee, Bruce Y; Dobson, Andrew P

    2015-10-22

    Chagas disease (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi) is the most important neglected tropical disease (NTD) in Latin America, infecting an estimated 5.7 million people in the 21 countries where it is endemic. It is one of the NTDs targeted for control and elimination by the 2020 London Declaration goals, with the first goal being to interrupt intra-domiciliary vector-borne T. cruzi transmission. A key question in domestic T. cruzi transmission is the role that synanthropic animals play in T. cruzi transmission to humans. Here, we ask, (1) do synanthropic animals need to be targeted in Chagas disease prevention policies?, and (2) how does the presence of animals affect the efficacy of vector control? We developed a simple mathematical model to simulate domestic vector-borne T. cruzi transmission and to specifically examine the interaction between the presence of synanthropic animals and effects of vector control. We used the model to explore how the interactions between triatomine bugs, humans and animals impact the number and proportion of T. cruzi-infected bugs and humans. We then examined how T. cruzi dynamics change when control measures targeting vector abundance are introduced into the system. We found that the presence of synanthropic animals slows the speed of T. cruzi transmission to humans, and increases the sensitivity of T. cruzi transmission dynamics to vector control measures at comparable triatomine carrying capacities. However, T. cruzi transmission is amplified when triatomine carrying capacity increases with the abundance of syntathoropic hosts. Our results suggest that in domestic T. cruzi transmission scenarios where no vector control measures are in place, a reduction in synanthropic animals may slow T. cruzi transmission to humans, but it would not completely eliminate transmission. To reach the 2020 goal of interrupting intra-domiciliary T. cruzi transmission, it is critical to target vector populations. Additionally, where vector control measures

  14. Spin information from vector-meson decay in photoproduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kloet, W.M.; Chiang, W.; Tabakin, F.

    1998-01-01

    For the photoproduction of vector mesons, all single and double spin observables involving vector-meson two-body decays are defined consistently in the γN center-of-mass frame. These definitions yield a procedure for extracting physically meaningful single and double spin observables that are subject to known rules concerning their angle and energy evolution. As part of this analysis, we show that measuring the two-meson decay of a photo produced ρ or φ does not determine the vector meson's vector polarization, but only its tensor polarization. The vector meson decay into lepton pairs is also insensitive to the vector meson's vector polarization, unless one measures the spin of one of the leptons. Similar results are found for all double spin observables which involve observation of vector-meson decay. To access the vector meson's vector polarization, one therefore needs to either measure the spin of the decay leptons, make an analysis of the background interference effects, or relate the vector meson's vector polarization to other accessible spin observables. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

  15. [Effects of plant viruses on vector and non-vector herbivorous arthropods and their natural enemies: a mini review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xiao-Chan; Xu, Hong-Xing; Zhou, Xiao-Jun; Zheng, Xu-Song; Sun, Yu-Jian; Yang, Ya-Jun; Tian, Jun-Ce; Lü, Zhong-Xian

    2014-05-01

    Plant viruses transmitted by arthropods, as an important biotic factor, may not only directly affect the yield and quality of host plants, and development, physiological characteristics and ecological performances of their vector arthropods, but also directly or indirectly affect the non-vector herbivorous arthropods and their natural enemies in the same ecosystem, thereby causing influences to the whole agro-ecosystem. This paper reviewed the progress on the effects of plant viruses on herbivorous arthropods, including vector and non-vector, and their natural enemies, and on their ecological mechanisms to provide a reference for optimizing the management of vector and non-vector arthropod populations and sustainable control of plant viruses in agro-ecosystem.

  16. Brian hears: online auditory processing using vectorization over channels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontaine, Bertrand; Goodman, Dan F M; Benichoux, Victor; Brette, Romain

    2011-01-01

    The human cochlea includes about 3000 inner hair cells which filter sounds at frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. This massively parallel frequency analysis is reflected in models of auditory processing, which are often based on banks of filters. However, existing implementations do not exploit this parallelism. Here we propose algorithms to simulate these models by vectorizing computation over frequency channels, which are implemented in "Brian Hears," a library for the spiking neural network simulator package "Brian." This approach allows us to use high-level programming languages such as Python, because with vectorized operations, the computational cost of interpretation represents a small fraction of the total cost. This makes it possible to define and simulate complex models in a simple way, while all previous implementations were model-specific. In addition, we show that these algorithms can be naturally parallelized using graphics processing units, yielding substantial speed improvements. We demonstrate these algorithms with several state-of-the-art cochlear models, and show that they compare favorably with existing, less flexible, implementations.

  17. Fructose intake at current levels in the United States may cause gastrointestinal distress in normal adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyer, Peter L; Caviar, Elena M; McCallum, Richard W

    2005-10-01

    Fructose intake has increased considerably in the United States, primarily as a result of increased consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, fruits and juices, and crystalline fructose. The purpose was to determine how often fructose, in amounts commonly consumed, would result in malabsorption and/or symptoms in healthy persons. Fructose absorption was measured using 3-hour breath hydrogen tests and symptom scores were used to rate subjective responses for gas, borborygmus, abdominal pain, and loose stools. The study included 15 normal, free-living volunteers from a medical center community and was performed in a gastrointestinal specialty clinic. Subjects consumed 25- and 50-g doses of crystalline fructose with water after an overnight fast on separate test days. Mean peak breath hydrogen, time of peak, area under the curve (AUC) for breath hydrogen and gastrointestinal symptoms were measured during a 3-hour period after subjects consumed both 25- and 50-g doses of fructose. Differences in mean breath hydrogen, AUC, and symptom scores between doses were analyzed using paired t tests. Correlations among peak breath hydrogen, AUC, and symptoms were also evaluated. More than half of the 15 adults tested showed evidence of fructose malabsorption after 25 g fructose and greater than two thirds showed malabsorption after 50 g fructose. AUC, representing overall breath hydrogen response, was significantly greater after the 50-g dose. Overall symptom scores were significantly greater than baseline after each dose, but scores were only marginally greater after 50 g than 25 g. Peak hydrogen levels and AUC were highly correlated, but neither was significantly related to symptoms. Fructose, in amounts commonly consumed, may result in mild gastrointestinal distress in normal people. Additional study is warranted to evaluate the response to fructose-glucose mixtures (as in high-fructose corn syrup) and fructose taken with food in both normal people and those with

  18. Virus-Vectored Influenza Virus Vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripp, Ralph A.; Tompkins, S. Mark

    2014-01-01

    Despite the availability of an inactivated vaccine that has been licensed for >50 years, the influenza virus continues to cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. Constant evolution of circulating influenza virus strains and the emergence of new strains diminishes the effectiveness of annual vaccines that rely on a match with circulating influenza strains. Thus, there is a continued need for new, efficacious vaccines conferring cross-clade protection to avoid the need for biannual reformulation of seasonal influenza vaccines. Recombinant virus-vectored vaccines are an appealing alternative to classical inactivated vaccines because virus vectors enable native expression of influenza antigens, even from virulent influenza viruses, while expressed in the context of the vector that can improve immunogenicity. In addition, a vectored vaccine often enables delivery of the vaccine to sites of inductive immunity such as the respiratory tract enabling protection from influenza virus infection. Moreover, the ability to readily manipulate virus vectors to produce novel influenza vaccines may provide the quickest path toward a universal vaccine protecting against all influenza viruses. This review will discuss experimental virus-vectored vaccines for use in humans, comparing them to licensed vaccines and the hurdles faced for licensure of these next-generation influenza virus vaccines. PMID:25105278

  19. Vector Boson Scattering at High Mass

    CERN Document Server

    The ATLAS collaboration

    2009-01-01

    In the absence of a light Higgs boson, the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking will be best studied in processes of vector boson scattering at high mass. Various models predict resonances in this channel. Here, we investigate $WW $scalar and vector resonances, $WZ$ vector resonances and a $ZZ$ scalar resonance over a range of diboson centre-of-mass energies. Particular attention is paid to the application of forward jet tagging and to the reconstruction of dijet pairs with low opening angle resulting from the decay of highly boosted vector bosons. The performances of different jet algorithms are compared. We find that resonances in vector boson scattering can be discovered with a few tens of inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity.

  20. Quantification of vector and host competence for Japanese encephalitis virus: a systematic review of the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a virus of the Flavivirus genus that may result in encephalitis in human hosts. This vector-borne zoonosis occurs in Eastern and Southeastern Asia and an intentional or inadvertent introduction into the United States (US) will have major public health and economi...

  1. Automatic Detection of Retinal Exudates using a Support Vector Machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nualsawat HIRANSAKOLWONG

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Retinal exudates are among the preliminary signs of diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of vision loss in diabetic patients. Correct and efficient screening of exudates is very expensive in professional time and may cause human error. Nowadays, the digital retinal image is frequently used to follow-up and diagnoses eye diseases. Therefore, the retinal image is crucial and essential for experts to detect exudates. Unfortunately, it is a normal situation that retinal images in Thailand are poor quality images. In this paper, we present a series of experiments on feature selection and exudates classification using the support vector machine classifiers. The retinal images are segmented following key preprocessing steps, i.e., color normalization, contrast enhancement, noise removal and color space selection. On data sets of poor quality images, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy is 94.46%, 89.52% and 92.14%, respectively.

  2. Vectors of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zakkyeh Telmadarraiy

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Ticks are important vectors and reservoirs of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF virus. Human beings may be infected whenever the normal life cycle of the infected ticks on non- human vertebrate hosts is interrupted by the undesirable presence of humans in the cycle. A total of 26 species of Argasid and Ixodid ticks have been recorded in Iran; including nine Hyalomma, two Rhipicephalus, two Dermacentor, five Haemaphysalis, two Boophilus, one Ixodes and two Argas as well as three Ornithodoros species as blood sucking ectoparasites of livestock and poultries. The present paper reviews tick vectors of CCHF virus in Iran, focusing on the role of ticks in different provinces of Iran using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR assay.Methods: During ten years study, 1054 tick specimens; including two species of Argasidae and 17 species of Ixodidae were examined for their infection to CCHF virus genome. The output of all studies as well as related publications were discussed in the current paper.Results: The results show that Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Hyalomma marginatum, H. anatolicum, H. asiaticum and H. dromedarii were known as the most frequent species which were positive for CCHF virus.Conclusion: The status of ticks which were positive for CCHF virus revealed that unlike the most common idea that Hyalomma species are the most important vectors of CCHF virus, other ticks including Rhipicephalus,Haemaphysalis and Dermacentor can be reservoir of this virus; thus, considering geographical distribution, type of host and environmental conditions, different tick control measurements should be carried out in areas with high incidence of CCHF disease.

  3. Vectors of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telmadarraiy, Zakkyeh; Chinikar, Sadegh; Vatandoost, Hassan; Faghihi, Faezeh; Hosseini-Chegeni, Asadollah

    2015-01-01

    Background: Ticks are important vectors and reservoirs of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus. Human beings may be infected whenever the normal life cycle of the infected ticks on non-human vertebrate hosts is interrupted by the undesirable presence of humans in the cycle. A total of 26 species of Argasid and Ixodid ticks have been recorded in Iran; including nine Hyalomma, two Rhipicephalus, two Dermacentor, five Haemaphysalis, two Boophilus, one Ixodes and two Argas as well as three Ornithodoros species as blood sucking ectoparasites of livestock and poultries. The present paper reviews tick vectors of CCHF virus in Iran, focusing on the role of ticks in different provinces of Iran using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. Methods: During ten years study, 1054 tick specimens; including two species of Argasidae and 17 species of Ixodidae were examined for their infection to CCHF virus genome. The output of all studies as well as related publications were discussed in the current paper. Results: The results show that Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Hyalomma marginatum, H. anatolicum, H. asiaticum and H. dromedarii were known as the most frequent species which were positive for CCHF virus. Conclusion: The status of ticks which were positive for CCHF virus revealed that unlike the most common idea that Hyalomma species are the most important vectors of CCHF virus, other ticks including Rhipicephalus, Haemaphysalis and Dermacentor can be reservoir of this virus; thus, considering geographical distribution, type of host and environmental conditions, different tick control measurements should be carried out in areas with high incidence of CCHF disease. PMID:26623426

  4. Symmetric vectors and algebraic classification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leibowitz, E.

    1980-01-01

    The concept of symmetric vector field in Riemannian manifolds, which arises in the study of relativistic cosmological models, is analyzed. Symmetric vectors are tied up with the algebraic properties of the manifold curvature. A procedure for generating a congruence of symmetric fields out of a given pair is outlined. The case of a three-dimensional manifold of constant curvature (''isotropic universe'') is studied in detail, with all its symmetric vector fields being explicitly constructed

  5. Construction and expression of secreting type human TRAIL gene vector mediated by hypoxia/radiation double sensitive promoter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yanming; Jia Xiaojing; Qu Yaqin; Li Yanbo

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To construct secreting type human TRAIL (shTRAIL) gene vector pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL mediated by hypoxia/radiation double sensitive promoter, and observe the effect of hypoxia and radiation on shTRAIL. Methods: HRE upper and lower strands were gotten by chemical synthesis, double strands HRE was gotten by PCR; pMD19T-Egr1 was digested by Sac I and Hind III, then Egr1 was obtained, pshuttle-shTRAIL was digested by Kpn I and BamH I, then shTRAIL was obtained; HRE/Egr1 double sensitive promoter mediated shTRAIL expression vector pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL was constructed by gene recombination technique, it was identified correctly by enzyme digestion, PCR and sequencing. A549 cells were divided into normal, hypoxia (0.1%), irradiation (6 Gy) and hypoxia + irradiation groups. Results: After enzyme digestion by BamH I and Sma I, the fragments which lengths were 1284 bp and 4 998 bp, 2 292 bp and 3 990 bp were obtained; the vector was amplified by PCR with Egr1 and shTRAIL primer, the products which lengthens were 469 bp and 820 bp were obtained; pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL was sequenced, the result was same to designed, this demonstrated that the construction was right. The vectors were transfected into A549 cells of adenocarcinoma of lung, the expression levels of shTRAIL mRNA and protein were increased after treated with hypoxia and radiation, it had statistically significant differences compared with normal group (P<0.05), and when they were combinated, the effect was more obvious. Conclusion: Secreting type human TRAIL gene vector pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL mediated by hypoxia/radiation double sensitive promoter is constructed successfully, and hypoxia and radiation could increase the expression of TRAIL, and they have synergetic effect. (authors)

  6. Blood-feeding patterns of native mosquitoes and insights into their potential role as pathogen vectors in the Thames estuary region of the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brugman, V A; Hernández-Triana, L M; England, M E; Medlock, J M; Mertens, P P C; Logan, J G; Wilson, A J; Fooks, A R; Johnson, N; Carpenter, S

    2017-03-27

    The range of vertebrate hosts on which species of mosquito blood-feed is an important parameter for identifying potential vectors and in assessing the risk of incursion and establishment of vector-borne pathogens. In the United Kingdom, studies of mosquito host range have collected relatively few specimens and used techniques that could only broadly identify host species. This study conducted intensive collection and analysis of mosquitoes from a grazing marsh environment in southeast England. This site provides extensive wetland habitat for resident and migratory birds and has abundant human nuisance biting mosquitoes. The aim was to identify the blood-feeding patterns of mosquito species present at the site which could contribute to the transmission of pathogens. Twice-weekly collections of mosquitoes were made from Elmley Nature Reserve, Kent, between June and October 2014. Mosquitoes were collected using resting boxes, by aspiration from man-made structures and using a Mosquito Magnet Pro baited with 1-octen-3-ol. Blood-fed specimens were classified according to the degree of blood meal digestion using the Sella scale and vertebrate origin determined using sequencing of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I gene. Mosquitoes that were morphologically cryptic were identified to species level using multiplex PCR and sequencing methods. A total of 20,666 mosquitoes of 11 species were collected, and 2,159 (10.4%) were blood-fed (Sella scale II-VI); of these 1,341 blood-fed specimens were selected for blood meal analysis. Vertebrate origin was successfully identified in 964 specimens (72%). Collections of blood-fed individuals were dominated by Anopheles maculipennis complex (73.5%), Culiseta annulata (21.2%) and Culex pipiens form pipiens (10.4%). Nineteen vertebrate hosts comprising five mammals and 14 birds were identified as hosts for mosquitoes, including two migratory bird species. Feeding on birds by Culex modestus and Anopheles

  7. Ex vivo characterization of normal and adenocarcinoma colon samples by Mueller matrix polarimetry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Iftikhar; Ahmad, Manzoor; Khan, Karim; Ashraf, Sumara; Ahmad, Shakil; Ikram, Masroor

    2015-05-01

    Mueller matrix polarimetry along with polar decomposition algorithm was employed for the characterization of ex vivo normal and adenocarcinoma human colon tissues by polarized light in the visible spectral range (425-725 nm). Six derived polarization metrics [total diattenuation (DT ), retardance (RT ), depolarization(ΔT ), linear diattenuation (DL), retardance (δ), and depolarization (ΔL)] were compared for normal and adenocarcinoma colon tissue samples. The results show that all six polarimetric properties for adenocarcinoma samples were significantly higher as compared to the normal samples for all wavelengths. The Wilcoxon rank sum test illustrated that total retardance is a good candidate for the discrimination of normal and adenocarcinoma colon samples. Support vector machine classification for normal and adenocarcinoma based on the four polarization properties spectra (ΔT , ΔL, RT ,and δ) yielded 100% accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, while both DTa nd DL showed 66.6%, 33.3%, and 83.3% accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, respectively. The combination of polarization analysis and given classification methods provides a framework to distinguish the normal and cancerous tissues.

  8. [New strategy for RNA vectorization in mammalian cells. Use of a peptide vector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal, P; Morris, M C; Chaloin, L; Heitz, F; Divita, G

    1997-04-01

    A major barrier for gene delivery is the low permeability of nucleic acids to cellular membranes. The development of antisenses and gene therapy has focused mainly on improving methods of oligonucleotide or gene delivery to the cell. In this report we described a new strategy for RNA cell delivery, based on a short single peptide. This peptide vector is derived from both the fusion domain of the gp41 protein of HIV and the nuclear localization sequence of the SV40 large T antigen. This peptide vector localizes rapidly to the cytoplasm then to the nucleus of human fibroblasts (HS-68) within a few minutes and exhibits a high affinity for a single-stranded mRNA encoding the p66 subunit of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (in a 100 nM range). The peptide/RNA complex formation involves mainly electrostatic interactions between the basic residues of the peptide and the charges on the phosphate group of the RNA. In the presence of the peptide-vector fluorescently-labelled mRNA is delivered into the cytoplasm of mammalian cells (HS68 human fibroblasts) in less than 1 h with a relatively high efficiency (80%). This new concept based on a peptide-derived vector offers several advantages compared to other compounds commonly used in gene delivery. This vector is highly soluble and exhibits no cytotoxicity at the concentrations used for optimal gene delivery. This result clearly supports the fact that this peptide vector is a powerful tool and that it can be used widely, as much for laboratory research as for new applications and development in gene and/or antisense therapy.

  9. Attenuated Vector Tomography -- An Approach to Image Flow Vector Fields with Doppler Ultrasonic Imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Qiu; Peng, Qiyu; Huang, Bin; Cheryauka, Arvi; Gullberg, Grant T.

    2008-01-01

    The measurement of flow obtained using continuous wave Doppler ultrasound is formulated as a directional projection of a flow vector field. When a continuous ultrasound wave bounces against a flowing particle, a signal is backscattered. This signal obtains a Doppler frequency shift proportional to the speed of the particle along the ultrasound beam. This occurs for each particle along the beam, giving rise to a Doppler velocity spectrum. The first moment of the spectrum provides the directional projection of the flow along the ultrasound beam. Signals reflected from points further away from the detector will have lower amplitude than signals reflected from points closer to the detector. The effect is very much akin to that modeled by the attenuated Radon transform in emission computed tomography.A least-squares method was adopted to reconstruct a 2D vector field from directional projection measurements. Attenuated projections of only the longitudinal projections of the vector field were simulated. The components of the vector field were reconstructed using the gradient algorithm to minimize a least-squares criterion. This result was compared with the reconstruction of longitudinal projections of the vector field without attenuation. If attenuation is known, the algorithm was able to accurately reconstruct both components of the full vector field from only one set of directional projection measurements. A better reconstruction was obtained with attenuation than without attenuation implying that attenuation provides important information for the reconstruction of flow vector fields.This confirms previous work where we showed that knowledge of the attenuation distribution helps in the reconstruction of MRI diffusion tensor fields from fewer than the required measurements. In the application of ultrasound the attenuation distribution is obtained with pulse wave transmission computed tomography and flow information is obtained with continuous wave Doppler

  10. MATRIX-VECTOR ALGORITHMS OF LOCAL POSTERIORI INFERENCE IN ALGEBRAIC BAYESIAN NETWORKS ON QUANTA PROPOSITIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Zolotin

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Posteriori inference is one of the three kinds of probabilistic-logic inferences in the probabilistic graphical models theory and the base for processing of knowledge patterns with probabilistic uncertainty using Bayesian networks. The paper deals with a task of local posteriori inference description in algebraic Bayesian networks that represent a class of probabilistic graphical models by means of matrix-vector equations. The latter are essentially based on the use of tensor product of matrices, Kronecker degree and Hadamard product. Matrix equations for calculating posteriori probabilities vectors within posteriori inference in knowledge patterns with quanta propositions are obtained. Similar equations of the same type have already been discussed within the confines of the theory of algebraic Bayesian networks, but they were built only for the case of posteriori inference in the knowledge patterns on the ideals of conjuncts. During synthesis and development of matrix-vector equations on quanta propositions probability vectors, a number of earlier results concerning normalizing factors in posteriori inference and assignment of linear projective operator with a selector vector was adapted. We consider all three types of incoming evidences - deterministic, stochastic and inaccurate - combined with scalar and interval estimation of probability truth of propositional formulas in the knowledge patterns. Linear programming problems are formed. Their solution gives the desired interval values of posterior probabilities in the case of inaccurate evidence or interval estimates in a knowledge pattern. That sort of description of a posteriori inference gives the possibility to extend the set of knowledge pattern types that we can use in the local and global posteriori inference, as well as simplify complex software implementation by use of existing third-party libraries, effectively supporting submission and processing of matrices and vectors when

  11. 40 CFR 503.33 - Vector attraction reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Vector attraction reduction. 503.33... STANDARDS FOR THE USE OR DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE SLUDGE Pathogens and Vector Attraction Reduction § 503.33 Vector attraction reduction. (a)(1) One of the vector attraction reduction requirements in § 503.33 (b)(1) through...

  12. Vector Boson Scattering at High Mass

    CERN Document Server

    Sherwood, P

    2009-01-01

    In the absence of a light Higgs boson, the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking will be best studied in processes of vector boson scattering at high mass. Various models predict resonances in this channel. Here, we investigate W W scalar and vector resonances, W Z vector resonances and a Z Z scalar resonance over a range of diboson centre-of-mass energies. Particular attention is paid to the application reconstruction of dijet pairs with low opening angle resulting from the decay of highly boosted vector bosons.

  13. Optimality Conditions in Vector Optimization

    CERN Document Server

    Jiménez, Manuel Arana; Lizana, Antonio Rufián

    2011-01-01

    Vector optimization is continuously needed in several science fields, particularly in economy, business, engineering, physics and mathematics. The evolution of these fields depends, in part, on the improvements in vector optimization in mathematical programming. The aim of this Ebook is to present the latest developments in vector optimization. The contributions have been written by some of the most eminent researchers in this field of mathematical programming. The Ebook is considered essential for researchers and students in this field.

  14. Multineuronal vectorization is more efficient than time-segmental vectorization for information extraction from neuronal activities in the inferior temporal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaneko, Hidekazu; Tamura, Hiroshi; Tate, Shunta; Kawashima, Takahiro; Suzuki, Shinya S; Fujita, Ichiro

    2010-08-01

    In order for patients with disabilities to control assistive devices with their own neural activity, multineuronal spike trains must be efficiently decoded because only limited computational resources can be used to generate prosthetic control signals in portable real-time applications. In this study, we compare the abilities of two vectorizing procedures (multineuronal and time-segmental) to extract information from spike trains during the same total neuron-seconds. In the multineuronal vectorizing procedure, we defined a response vector whose components represented the spike counts of one to five neurons. In the time-segmental vectorizing procedure, a response vector consisted of components representing a neuron's spike counts for one to five time-segment(s) of a response period of 1 s. Spike trains were recorded from neurons in the inferior temporal cortex of monkeys presented with visual stimuli. We examined whether the amount of information of the visual stimuli carried by these neurons differed between the two vectorizing procedures. The amount of information calculated with the multineuronal vectorizing procedure, but not the time-segmental vectorizing procedure, significantly increased with the dimensions of the response vector. We conclude that the multineuronal vectorizing procedure is superior to the time-segmental vectorizing procedure in efficiently extracting information from neuronal signals. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Adenoviral vector immunity: its implications and circumvention strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahi, Yadvinder S; Bangari, Dinesh S; Mittal, Suresh K

    2011-08-01

    Adenoviral (Ad) vectors have emerged as a promising gene delivery platform for a variety of therapeutic and vaccine purposes during last two decades. However, the presence of preexisting Ad immunity and the rapid development of Ad vector immunity still pose significant challenges to the clinical use of these vectors. Innate inflammatory response following Ad vector administration may lead to systemic toxicity, drastically limit vector transduction efficiency and significantly abbreviate the duration of transgene expression. Currently, a number of approaches are being extensively pursued to overcome these drawbacks by strategies that target either the host or the Ad vector. In addition, significant progress has been made in the development of novel Ad vectors based on less prevalent human Ad serotypes and nonhuman Ad. This review provides an update on our current understanding of immune responses to Ad vectors and delineates various approaches for eluding Ad vector immunity. Approaches targeting the host and those targeting the vector are discussed in light of their promises and limitations.

  16. A Subdivision-Based Representation for Vector Image Editing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Zicheng; Hoppe, Hugues; Forsyth, David; Yu, Yizhou

    2012-11-01

    Vector graphics has been employed in a wide variety of applications due to its scalability and editability. Editability is a high priority for artists and designers who wish to produce vector-based graphical content with user interaction. In this paper, we introduce a new vector image representation based on piecewise smooth subdivision surfaces, which is a simple, unified and flexible framework that supports a variety of operations, including shape editing, color editing, image stylization, and vector image processing. These operations effectively create novel vector graphics by reusing and altering existing image vectorization results. Because image vectorization yields an abstraction of the original raster image, controlling the level of detail of this abstraction is highly desirable. To this end, we design a feature-oriented vector image pyramid that offers multiple levels of abstraction simultaneously. Our new vector image representation can be rasterized efficiently using GPU-accelerated subdivision. Experiments indicate that our vector image representation achieves high visual quality and better supports editing operations than existing representations.

  17. Generalized Selection Weighted Vector Filters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rastislav Lukac

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces a class of nonlinear multichannel filters capable of removing impulsive noise in color images. The here-proposed generalized selection weighted vector filter class constitutes a powerful filtering framework for multichannel signal processing. Previously defined multichannel filters such as vector median filter, basic vector directional filter, directional-distance filter, weighted vector median filters, and weighted vector directional filters are treated from a global viewpoint using the proposed framework. Robust order-statistic concepts and increased degree of freedom in filter design make the proposed method attractive for a variety of applications. Introduced multichannel sigmoidal adaptation of the filter parameters and its modifications allow to accommodate the filter parameters to varying signal and noise statistics. Simulation studies reported in this paper indicate that the proposed filter class is computationally attractive, yields excellent performance, and is able to preserve fine details and color information while efficiently suppressing impulsive noise. This paper is an extended version of the paper by Lukac et al. presented at the 2003 IEEE-EURASIP Workshop on Nonlinear Signal and Image Processing (NSIP '03 in Grado, Italy.

  18. Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vector Ebola Vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledgerwood, Julie E; DeZure, Adam D; Stanley, Daphne A; Coates, Emily E; Novik, Laura; Enama, Mary E; Berkowitz, Nina M; Hu, Zonghui; Joshi, Gyan; Ploquin, Aurélie; Sitar, Sandra; Gordon, Ingelise J; Plummer, Sarah A; Holman, LaSonji A; Hendel, Cynthia S; Yamshchikov, Galina; Roman, Francois; Nicosia, Alfredo; Colloca, Stefano; Cortese, Riccardo; Bailer, Robert T; Schwartz, Richard M; Roederer, Mario; Mascola, John R; Koup, Richard A; Sullivan, Nancy J; Graham, Barney S

    2017-03-09

    The unprecedented 2014 epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) prompted an international response to accelerate the availability of a preventive vaccine. A replication-defective recombinant chimpanzee adenovirus type 3-vectored ebolavirus vaccine (cAd3-EBO), encoding the glycoprotein from Zaire and Sudan species, that offers protection in the nonhuman primate model, was rapidly advanced into phase 1 clinical evaluation. We conducted a phase 1, dose-escalation, open-label trial of cAd3-EBO. Twenty healthy adults, in sequentially enrolled groups of 10 each, received vaccination intramuscularly in doses of 2×10 10 particle units or 2×10 11 particle units. Primary and secondary end points related to safety and immunogenicity were assessed throughout the first 8 weeks after vaccination; in addition, longer-term vaccine durability was assessed at 48 weeks after vaccination. In this small study, no safety concerns were identified; however, transient fever developed within 1 day after vaccination in two participants who had received the 2×10 11 particle-unit dose. Glycoprotein-specific antibodies were induced in all 20 participants; the titers were of greater magnitude in the group that received the 2×10 11 particle-unit dose than in the group that received the 2×10 10 particle-unit dose (geometric mean titer against the Zaire antigen at week 4, 2037 vs. 331; P=0.001). Glycoprotein-specific T-cell responses were more frequent among those who received the 2×10 11 particle-unit dose than among those who received the 2×10 10 particle-unit dose, with a CD4 response in 10 of 10 participants versus 3 of 10 participants (P=0.004) and a CD8 response in 7 of 10 participants versus 2 of 10 participants (P=0.07) at week 4. Assessment of the durability of the antibody response showed that titers remained high at week 48, with the highest titers in those who received the 2×10 11 particle-unit dose. Reactogenicity and immune responses to cAd3-EBO vaccine were dose-dependent. At

  19. Effects of gastrointestinal tissue structure on computed dipole vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pullan Andrew J

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Digestive diseases are difficult to assess without using invasive measurements. Non-invasive measurements of body surface electrical and magnetic activity resulting from underlying gastro-intestinal activity are not widely used, in large due to their difficulty in interpretation. Mathematical modelling of the underlying processes may help provide additional information. When modelling myoelectrical activity, it is common for the electrical field to be represented by equivalent dipole sources. The gastrointestinal system is comprised of alternating layers of smooth muscle (SM cells and Interstitial Cells of Cajal (ICC. In addition the small intestine has regions of high curvature as the intestine bends back upon itself. To eventually use modelling diagnostically, we must improve our understanding of the effect that intestinal structure has on dipole vector behaviour. Methods Normal intestine electrical behaviour was simulated on simple geometries using a monodomain formulation. The myoelectrical fields were then represented by their dipole vectors and an examination on the effect of structure was undertaken. The 3D intestine model was compared to a more computationally efficient 1D representation to determine the differences on the resultant dipole vectors. In addition, the conductivity values and the thickness of the different muscle layers were varied in the 3D model and the effects on the dipole vectors were investigated. Results The dipole vector orientations were largely affected by the curvature and by a transmural gradient in the electrical wavefront caused by the different properties of the SM and ICC layers. This gradient caused the dipoles to be oriented at an angle to the principal direction of electrical propagation. This angle increased when the ratio of the longitudinal and circular muscle was increased or when the the conductivity along and across the layers was increased. The 1D model was able to represent the

  20. Production of lentiviral vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Otto-Wilhelm Merten

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Lentiviral vectors (LV have seen considerably increase in use as gene therapy vectors for the treatment of acquired and inherited diseases. This review presents the state of the art of the production of these vectors with particular emphasis on their large-scale production for clinical purposes. In contrast to oncoretroviral vectors, which are produced using stable producer cell lines, clinical-grade LV are in most of the cases produced by transient transfection of 293 or 293T cells grown in cell factories. However, more recent developments, also, tend to use hollow fiber reactor, suspension culture processes, and the implementation of stable producer cell lines. As is customary for the biotech industry, rather sophisticated downstream processing protocols have been established to remove any undesirable process-derived contaminant, such as plasmid or host cell DNA or host cell proteins. This review compares published large-scale production and purification processes of LV and presents their process performances. Furthermore, developments in the domain of stable cell lines and their way to the use of production vehicles of clinical material will be presented.

  1. A Classification Detection Algorithm Based on Joint Entropy Vector against Application-Layer DDoS Attack

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuntao Zhao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The application-layer distributed denial of service (AL-DDoS attack makes a great threat against cyberspace security. The attack detection is an important part of the security protection, which provides effective support for defense system through the rapid and accurate identification of attacks. According to the attacker’s different URL of the Web service, the AL-DDoS attack is divided into three categories, including a random URL attack and a fixed and a traverse one. In order to realize identification of attacks, a mapping matrix of the joint entropy vector is constructed. By defining and computing the value of EUPI and jEIPU, a visual coordinate discrimination diagram of entropy vector is proposed, which also realizes data dimension reduction from N to two. In terms of boundary discrimination and the region where the entropy vectors fall in, the class of AL-DDoS attack can be distinguished. Through the study of training data set and classification, the results show that the novel algorithm can effectively distinguish the web server DDoS attack from normal burst traffic.

  2. First Report of Rickettsia Identical to R. slovaca in Colony-Originated D. variabilis in the United States: Detection, Laboratory Animal Model, and Vector Competence of Ticks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemtsova, Galina E; Killmaster, Lindsay F; Montgomery, Merrill; Schumacher, Lauren; Burrows, Matt; Levin, Michael L

    2016-02-01

    Ticks of the genus Dermacentor are known vectors of rickettsial pathogens in both the Old World and New World. In North America, Dermacentor variabilis and D. andersoni are vectors of Rickettsia rickettsii, while in Europe, D. marginatus and D. reticulatus transmit R. slovaca and R. raoultii, respectively. Neither the presence of R. slovaca in the Americas nor the ability of American tick species to maintain this pathogen have been reported. Here we describe detection of Rickettsia genetically identical to R. slovaca in D. variabilis, its molecular characterization, assessment of pathogenicity to guinea pigs, and vector competence of D. variabilis ticks. Ticks from a laboratory colony of D. variabilis, established from wild ticks and maintained on naïve NZW rabbits, tested positive for spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia by PCR. Analysis of 17 kDa gltA, rpoB, ompA, ompB, and sca4 genes revealed 100% identity to R. slovaca sequences available in the GenBank. New Zealand white rabbits fed upon by infected ticks seroconverted to SFG Rickettsia. Guinea pigs inoculated with the Rickettsia culture or infested by the infected ticks developed antibodies to SFG Rickettsia. The intensity of clinical signs and immune response were dependent on dose and route of infection. The identified Rickettsia was detected in all life stages of D. variabilis ticks, confirming transstadial and transovarial transmission. Thirty-six percent of uninfected larvae co-fed with infected nymphs on guinea pigs were PCR-positive and able to pass rickettsia to at least 11.7% of molted nymphs. To our knowledge, this is a first report of identification of a European pathogen R. slovaca or a highly similar agent in the American dog tick, D. variabilis. Considering pathogenicity of R. slovaca in humans, further laboratory and field studies are warranted to assess the relevance of the above findings to the public health and epidemiology of SFG rickettsioses in the United States.

  3. Inverse Operation of Four-dimensional Vector Matrix

    OpenAIRE

    H J Bao; A J Sang; H X Chen

    2011-01-01

    This is a new series of study to define and prove multidimensional vector matrix mathematics, which includes four-dimensional vector matrix determinant, four-dimensional vector matrix inverse and related properties. There are innovative concepts of multi-dimensional vector matrix mathematics created by authors with numerous applications in engineering, math, video conferencing, 3D TV, and other fields.

  4. Multiscale vector fields for image pattern recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Low, Kah-Chan; Coggins, James M.

    1990-01-01

    A uniform processing framework for low-level vision computing in which a bank of spatial filters maps the image intensity structure at each pixel into an abstract feature space is proposed. Some properties of the filters and the feature space are described. Local orientation is measured by a vector sum in the feature space as follows: each filter's preferred orientation along with the strength of the filter's output determine the orientation and the length of a vector in the feature space; the vectors for all filters are summed to yield a resultant vector for a particular pixel and scale. The orientation of the resultant vector indicates the local orientation, and the magnitude of the vector indicates the strength of the local orientation preference. Limitations of the vector sum method are discussed. Investigations show that the processing framework provides a useful, redundant representation of image structure across orientation and scale.

  5. Vector control of induction machines

    CERN Document Server

    Robyns, Benoit

    2012-01-01

    After a brief introduction to the main law of physics and fundamental concepts inherent in electromechanical conversion, ""Vector Control of Induction Machines"" introduces the standard mathematical models for induction machines - whichever rotor technology is used - as well as several squirrel-cage induction machine vector-control strategies. The use of causal ordering graphs allows systematization of the design stage, as well as standardization of the structure of control devices. ""Vector Control of Induction Machines"" suggests a unique approach aimed at reducing parameter sensitivity for

  6. Projected future distributions of vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi in North America under climate change scenarios.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miroslava Garza

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Chagas disease kills approximately 45 thousand people annually and affects 10 million people in Latin America and the southern United States. The parasite that causes the disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, can be transmitted by insects of the family Reduviidae, subfamily Triatominae. Any study that attempts to evaluate risk for Chagas disease must focus on the ecology and biogeography of these vectors. Expected distributional shifts of vector species due to climate change are likely to alter spatial patterns of risk of Chagas disease, presumably through northward expansion of high risk areas in North America.We forecast the future (2050 distributions in North America of Triatoma gerstaeckeri and T. sanguisuga, two of the most common triatomine species and important vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi in the southern United States. Our aim was to analyze how climate change might affect the future shift of Chagas disease in North America using a maximum entropy algorithm to predict changes in suitable habitat based on vector occurrence points and predictive environmental variables. Projections based on three different general circulation models (CCCMA, CSIRO, and HADCM3 and two IPCC scenarios (A2 and B2 were analyzed. Twenty models were developed for each case and evaluated via cross-validation. The final model averages result from all twenty of these models. All models had AUC >0.90, which indicates that the models are robust. Our results predict a potential northern shift in the distribution of T. gerstaeckeri and a northern and southern distributional shift of T. sanguisuga from its current range due to climate change.The results of this study provide baseline information for monitoring the northward shift of potential risk from Chagas disease in the face of climate change.

  7. A Novel Empirical Mode Decomposition With Support Vector Regression for Wind Speed Forecasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Ye; Suganthan, Ponnuthurai Nagaratnam; Srikanth, Narasimalu

    2016-08-01

    Wind energy is a clean and an abundant renewable energy source. Accurate wind speed forecasting is essential for power dispatch planning, unit commitment decision, maintenance scheduling, and regulation. However, wind is intermittent and wind speed is difficult to predict. This brief proposes a novel wind speed forecasting method by integrating empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and support vector regression (SVR) methods. The EMD is used to decompose the wind speed time series into several intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residue. Subsequently, a vector combining one historical data from each IMF and the residue is generated to train the SVR. The proposed EMD-SVR model is evaluated with a wind speed data set. The proposed EMD-SVR model outperforms several recently reported methods with respect to accuracy or computational complexity.

  8. Viral vector-based influenza vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Vries, Rory D.; Rimmelzwaan, Guus F.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Antigenic drift of seasonal influenza viruses and the occasional introduction of influenza viruses of novel subtypes into the human population complicate the timely production of effective vaccines that antigenically match the virus strains that cause epidemic or pandemic outbreaks. The development of game-changing vaccines that induce broadly protective immunity against a wide variety of influenza viruses is an unmet need, in which recombinant viral vectors may provide. Use of viral vectors allows the delivery of any influenza virus antigen, or derivative thereof, to the immune system, resulting in the optimal induction of virus-specific B- and T-cell responses against this antigen of choice. This systematic review discusses results obtained with vectored influenza virus vaccines and advantages and disadvantages of the currently available viral vectors. PMID:27455345

  9. Integrated optic vector-matrix multiplier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Michael R [Albuquerque, NM

    2011-09-27

    A vector-matrix multiplier is disclosed which uses N different wavelengths of light that are modulated with amplitudes representing elements of an N.times.1 vector and combined to form an input wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) light stream. The input WDM light stream is split into N streamlets from which each wavelength of the light is individually coupled out and modulated for a second time using an input signal representing elements of an M.times.N matrix, and is then coupled into an output waveguide for each streamlet to form an output WDM light stream which is detected to generate a product of the vector and matrix. The vector-matrix multiplier can be formed as an integrated optical circuit using either waveguide amplitude modulators or ring resonator amplitude modulators.

  10. 3D vector flow imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pihl, Michael Johannes

    The main purpose of this PhD project is to develop an ultrasonic method for 3D vector flow imaging. The motivation is to advance the field of velocity estimation in ultrasound, which plays an important role in the clinic. The velocity of blood has components in all three spatial dimensions, yet...... are (vx, vy, vz) = (-0.03, 95, 1.0) ± (9, 6, 1) cm/s compared with the expected (0, 96, 0) cm/s. Afterwards, 3D vector flow images from a cross-sectional plane of the vessel are presented. The out of plane velocities exhibit the expected 2D circular-symmetric parabolic shape. The experimental results...... verify that the 3D TO method estimates the complete 3D velocity vectors, and that the method is suitable for 3D vector flow imaging....

  11. Problems and worked solutions in vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Shorter, LR

    2014-01-01

    ""A handy book like this,"" noted The Mathematical Gazette, ""will fill a great want."" Devoted to fully worked out examples, this unique text constitutes a self-contained introductory course in vector analysis for undergraduate and graduate students of applied mathematics.Opening chapters define vector addition and subtraction, show how to resolve and determine the direction of two or more vectors, and explain systems of coordinates, vector equations of a plane and straight line, relative velocity and acceleration, and infinitely small vectors. The following chapters deal with scalar and vect

  12. Gauge structure of neutral-vector field theory. [Massive vector fields, massless limits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubo, R; Yokoyama, [Hiroshima univ., Takehara (Japan). Research Inst. for Theoretical Physics

    1975-03-01

    General aspects of gauge structure of neutral-vector field theory are investigated from an extended standpoint, where massive vector fields are treated in a form corresponding to the electromagnetic fields in a general gauge formalism reported previously. All results obtained are shown to have unique massless limits. It is shown that a generalized q-number gauge transformation for fields makes the theory invariant in cooperation with a simultaneous transformation for relevant gauge parameters. A method of differentiation with respect to a gauge variable is found to clarify some essential features of the gauge structure. Two possible types of gauge structure also emerge correspondingly to the massless case. A neutral-vector field theory proposed in a preceding paper is included in the present framework as the most preferable case.

  13. Public exposure from environmental release of radioactive material under normal operation of unit-1 Bushehr nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sohrabi, M.; Parsouzi, Z.; Amrollahi, R.; Khamooshy, C.; Ghasemi, M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The unit-1 Bushehr nuclear power plant is a VVER type reactor with 1000 MWe power. ► Doses of public critical groups living around the plant were assessed under normal reactor operation conditions. ► PC-CREAM 98 computer code developed by the HPA was applied to assess the public doses. ► Doses are comparable with those in the FSAR, in the ER and doses monitored. ► The doses assessed are lower than the dose constraint of 0.1 mSv/y associated with the plant. - Abstract: The Unit-1 Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP-1), constructed at the Hallileh site near Bushehr located at the coast of the Persian Gulf, Iran, is a VVER type reactor with 1000 MWe power. According to standard practices, under normal operation conditions of the plant, radiological assessment of atmospheric and aquatic releases to the environment and assessment of public exposures are considered essential. In order to assess the individual and collective doses of the critical groups of population who receive the highest dose from radioactive discharges into the environment (atmosphere and aquatic) under normal operation conditions, this study was conducted. To assess the doses, the PC-CREAM 98 computer code developed by the Radiation Protection Division of the Health Protection Agency (HPA; formerly called NRPB) was applied. It uses a standard Gaussian plume dispersion model and comprises a suite of models and data for estimation of the radiological impact assessments of routine and continuous discharges from an NPP. The input data include a stack height of 100 m annual radionuclides release of gaseous effluents from the stack and liquid effluents that are released from heat removal system, meteorological data from the Bushehr local meteorological station, and the data for agricultural products. To assess doses from marine discharges, consumption of sea fish, crustacean and mollusca were considered. According to calculation by PC-CREAM 98 computer code, the highest individual

  14. Matrix vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Eisenman, Richard L

    2005-01-01

    This outstanding text and reference applies matrix ideas to vector methods, using physical ideas to illustrate and motivate mathematical concepts but employing a mathematical continuity of development rather than a physical approach. The author, who taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy, dispenses with the artificial barrier between vectors and matrices--and more generally, between pure and applied mathematics.Motivated examples introduce each idea, with interpretations of physical, algebraic, and geometric contexts, in addition to generalizations to theorems that reflect the essential structur

  15. Declining Prevalence of Disease Vectors Under Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, Luis E.; Romero-Alvarez, Daniel; Leon, Renato; Lepe-Lopez, Manuel A.; Craft, Meggan E.; Borbor-Cordova, Mercy J.; Svenning, Jens-Christian

    2016-12-01

    More than half of the world population is at risk of vector-borne diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya, zika, yellow fever, leishmaniasis, chagas disease, and malaria, with highest incidences in tropical regions. In Ecuador, vector-borne diseases are present from coastal and Amazonian regions to the Andes Mountains; however, a detailed characterization of the distribution of their vectors has never been carried out. We estimate the distribution of 14 vectors of the above vector-borne diseases under present-day and future climates. Our results consistently suggest that climate warming is likely threatening some vector species with extinction, locally or completely. These results suggest that climate change could reduce the burden of specific vector species. Other vector species are likely to shift and constrain their geographic range to the highlands in Ecuador potentially affecting novel areas and populations. These forecasts show the need for development of early prevention strategies for vector species currently absent in areas projected as suitable under future climate conditions. Informed interventions could reduce the risk of human exposure to vector species with distributional shifts, in response to current and future climate changes. Based on the mixed effects of future climate on human exposure to disease vectors, we argue that research on vector-borne diseases should be cross-scale and include climatic, demographic, and landscape factors, as well as forces facilitating disease transmission at fine scales.

  16. West nile virus prevalence across landscapes is mediated by local effects of agriculture on vector and host communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowder, David W; Dykstra, Elizabeth A; Brauner, Jo Marie; Duffy, Anne; Reed, Caitlin; Martin, Emily; Peterson, Wade; Carrière, Yves; Dutilleul, Pierre; Owen, Jeb P

    2013-01-01

    Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) threaten the health of humans, livestock, and wildlife. West Nile virus (WNV), the world's most widespread arbovirus, invaded the United States in 1999 and rapidly spread across the county. Although the ecology of vectors and hosts are key determinants of WNV prevalence across landscapes, the factors shaping local vector and host populations remain unclear. Here, we used spatially-explicit models to evaluate how three land-use types (orchards, vegetable/forage crops, natural) and two climatic variables (temperature, precipitation) influence the prevalence of WNV infections and vector/host distributions at landscape and local spatial scales. Across landscapes, we show that orchard habitats were associated with greater prevalence of WNV infections in reservoirs (birds) and incidental hosts (horses), while increased precipitation was associated with fewer infections. At local scales, orchard habitats increased the prevalence of WNV infections in vectors (mosquitoes) and the abundance of mosquitoes and two key reservoir species, the American robin and the house sparrow. Thus, orchard habitats benefitted WNV vectors and reservoir hosts locally, creating focal points for the transmission of WNV at landscape scales in the presence of suitable climatic conditions.

  17. The Wallner Normal Fault: A new major tectonic structure within the Austroalpine Units south of the Tauern Window (Kreuzeck, Eastern Alps, Austria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griesmeier, Gerit E. U.; Schuster, Ralf; Grasemann, Bernhard

    2017-04-01

    The polymetamorphic Austroalpine Units of the Eastern Alps were derived from the northern Adriatic continental margin and have been significantly reworked during the Eoalpine intracontinental subduction. Several major basement/cover nappe systems, which experienced a markedly different tectono-metamorphic history, characterize the complex internal structure of the Austroalpine Units. This work describes a new major tectonic structure in the Kreuzeck Mountains, south of the famous Tauern Window - the Wallner Normal Fault. It separates the so called Koralpe-Wölz Nappe System in the footwall from the Drauzug-Gurktal Nappe System in the hanging wall. The Koralpe-Wölz Nappe System below the Wallner Normal Fault is dominated by monotonous paragneisses and minor mica schists, which are locally garnet bearing. Subordinated amphibolite bodies can be observed. The schistosity is homogeneously dipping steeply to the S and the partly mylonitic stretching lineation is typically moderately dipping to the ESE. The Alpine metamorphic peak reached eclogite facies further in the north and amphibolite facies in the study area. The metamorphic peak occurred in the Late Cretaceous followed by rapid cooling. The Drauzug-Gurktal Nappe System above the Wallner Normal Fault consists of various subunits. (i) Paragneisses and micaschists subunit (Gaugen Complex) with numerous quartz mobilisates are locally intercalated with amphibolites. Several millimeter large garnets together with staurolite and kyanite have been identified in thin sections. Even though the main striking direction is E-W, polyphase refolding resulted in strong local variations of the orientation of the main foliation. (ii) Garnet micaschists subunit (Strieden Complex) with garnets up to 15 mm are intercalated with up to tens of meters thick amphibolites. The lithologies are intensely folded with folding axes dipping moderately to the SSW and axial planes dipping steeply to the NW. (iii) A phyllites-marble subunit

  18. Microscopic theory of normal liquid 3He

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nafari, N.; Doroudi, A.

    1994-03-01

    We have used the self-consistent scheme proposed by Singwi, Tosi, Land and Sjoelander (STLS) to study the properties of normal liquid 3 He. By employing the Aziz potential (HFD-B) and some other realistic pairwise interactions, we have calculated the static structure factor, the pair-correlation function, the zero sound frequencies as a function of wave-vector, and the Landau parameter F s 0 for different densities. Our results show considerable improvement over the Ng-Singwi's model potential of a hard core plus an attractive tail. Agreement between our results and the experimental data for the static structure factor and the zero sound frequencies is fairly good. (author). 30 refs, 6 figs, 2 tabs

  19. Multiple spacecraft observations of interplanetary shocks: four spacecraft determination of shock normals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, C.T.; Mellott, M.M.; Smith, E.J.; King, J.H.

    1983-01-01

    ISEE 1,2,3 IMP8, and Prognoz 7 observations of interplanetary shocks in 1978 and 1979 provide five instances where a single shock is observed by four spacecraft. These observations are used to determine best-fit normals for these five shocks. In addition to providing well-documented shocks for furture techniques. When the angle between upstream and downstream magnetic field is greater than 20, magnetic coplanarity can be an accurate single spacecraft method. However, no technique based solely on the magnetic measurements at one or multiple sites was universally accurate. Thus, we recommend using overdetermined shock normal solutions whenever possible, utilizing plasma measurements, separation vectors, and time delays together with magnetic constraints

  20. Vector boson scattering at CLIC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilian, Wolfgang; Fleper, Christian [Department Physik, Universitaet Siegen, 57068 Siegen (Germany); Reuter, Juergen [DESY Theory Group, 22603 Hamburg (Germany); Sekulla, Marco [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    Linear colliders operating in a range of multiple TeV are able to investigate the details of vector boson scattering and electroweak symmetry breaking. We calculate cross sections with the Monte Carlo generator WHIZARD for vector boson scattering processes at the future linear e{sup +} e{sup -} collider CLIC. By finding suitable cuts, the vector boson scattering signal processes are isolated from the background. Finally, we are able to determine exclusion sensitivities on the non-Standard Model parameters of the relevant dimension eight operators.

  1. On the density of the sum of two independent Student t-random vectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berg, Christian; Vignat, Christophe

    2010-01-01

    -vector. In both cases the density is given as an infinite series $\\sum_{n=0}^\\infty c_nf_n$ where f_n is a sequence of probability densities on R^d and c_n is a sequence of positive numbers of sum 1, i.e. the distribution of a non-negative integer-valued random variable C, which turns out to be infinitely......In this paper, we find an expression for the density of the sum of two independent d-dimensional Student t-random vectors X and Y with arbitrary degrees of freedom. As a byproduct we also obtain an expression for the density of the sum N+X, where N is normal and X is an independent Student t...... divisible for d=1 and d=2.  When d=1 and the degrees of freedom of the Student variables are equal, we recover an old result of Ruben.  ...

  2. Simplified production and concentration of HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors using HYPERFlask vessels and anion exchange membrane chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutner, Robert H; Puthli, Sharon; Marino, Michael P; Reiser, Jakob

    2009-01-01

    Background During the past twelve years, lentiviral (LV) vectors have emerged as valuable tools for transgene delivery because of their ability to transduce nondividing cells and their capacity to sustain long-term transgene expression in target cells in vitro and in vivo. However, despite significant progress, the production and concentration of high-titer, high-quality LV vector stocks is still cumbersome and costly. Methods Here we present a simplified protocol for LV vector production on a laboratory scale using HYPERFlask vessels. HYPERFlask vessels are high-yield, high-performance flasks that utilize a multilayered gas permeable growth surface for efficient gas exchange, allowing convenient production of high-titer LV vectors. For subsequent concentration of LV vector stocks produced in this way, we describe a facile protocol involving Mustang Q anion exchange membrane chromatography. Results Our results show that unconcentrated LV vector stocks with titers in excess of 108 transduction units (TU) per ml were obtained using HYPERFlasks and that these titers were higher than those produced in parallel using regular 150-cm2 tissue culture dishes. We also show that up to 500 ml of an unconcentrated LV vector stock prepared using a HYPERFlask vessel could be concentrated using a single Mustang Q Acrodisc with a membrane volume of 0.18 ml. Up to 5.3 × 1010 TU were recovered from a single HYPERFlask vessel. Conclusion The protocol described here is easy to implement and should facilitate high-titer LV vector production for preclinical studies in animal models without the need for multiple tissue culture dishes and ultracentrifugation-based concentration protocols. PMID:19220915

  3. Decays of the vector glueball

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giacosa, Francesco; Sammet, Julia; Janowski, Stanislaus

    2017-06-01

    We calculate two- and three-body decays of the (lightest) vector glueball into (pseudo)scalar, (axial-)vector, as well as pseudovector and excited vector mesons in the framework of a model of QCD. While absolute values of widths cannot be predicted because the corresponding coupling constants are unknown, some interesting branching ratios can be evaluated by setting the mass of the yet hypothetical vector glueball to 3.8 GeV as predicted by quenched lattice QCD. We find that the decay mode ω π π should be one of the largest (both through the decay chain O →b1π →ω π π and through the direct coupling O →ω π π ). Similarly, the (direct and indirect) decay into π K K*(892 ) is sizable. Moreover, the decays into ρ π and K*(892 )K are, although subleading, possible and could play a role in explaining the ρ π puzzle of the charmonium state ψ (2 S ) thanks to a (small) mixing with the vector glueball. The vector glueball can be directly formed at the ongoing BESIII experiment as well as at the future PANDA experiment at the FAIR facility. If the width is sufficiently small (≲100 MeV ) it should not escape future detection. It should be stressed that the employed model is based on some inputs and simplifying assumptions: the value of glueball mass (at present, the quenched lattice value is used), the lack of mixing of the glueball with other quarkonium states, and the use of few interaction terms. It then represents a first step toward the identification of the main decay channels of the vector glueball, but shall be improved when corresponding experimental candidates and/or new lattice results will be available.

  4. Virtual-vector-based space vector pulse width modulation of the DC-AC multilevel-clamped multilevel converter (MLC2)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodriguez, Pedro; Busquets-Monge, Sergio; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2011-01-01

    This work presents the development of the space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) of a new multi-level converter topology. First, the proposed converter and its natural space vector diagram are presented. Secondly, a modified space vector diagram based on the virtual-vectors technique is show...

  5. Transcriptional Silencing of Retroviral Vectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Anders Henrik; Duch, M.; Pedersen, F.S.

    1996-01-01

    . Extinction of long-term vector expression has been observed after implantation of transduced hematopoietic cells as well as fibroblasts, myoblasts and hepatocytes. Here we review the influence of vector structure, integration site and cell type on transcriptional silencing. While down-regulation of proviral...... transcription is known from a number of cellular and animal models, major insight has been gained from studies in the germ line and embryonal cells of the mouse. Key elements for the transfer and expression of retroviral vectors, such as the viral transcriptional enhancer and the binding site for the t......RNA primer for reverse transcription may have a major influence on transcriptional silencing. Alterations of these elements of the vector backbone as well as the use of internal promoter elements from housekeeping genes may contribute to reduce transcriptional silencing. The use of cell culture and animal...

  6. Estimation of pure autoregressive vector models for revenue series ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper aims at applying multivariate approach to Box and Jenkins univariate time series modeling to three vector series. General Autoregressive Vector Models with time varying coefficients are estimated. The first vector is a response vector, while others are predictor vectors. By matrix expansion each vector, whether ...

  7. On the Witt vector Frobenius

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davis, Christopher James; Kedlaya, Kiran

    2014-01-01

    We study the kernel and cokernel of the Frobenius map on the p-typical Witt vectors of a commutative ring, not necessarily of characteristic p. We give many equivalent conditions to surjectivity of the Frobenius map on both finite and infinite length Witt vectors. In particular, surjectivity...... on finite Witt vectors turns out to be stable under certain integral extensions; this provides a clean formulation of a strong generalization of Faltings’s almost purity theorem from p-adic Hodge theory, incorporating recent improvements by Kedlaya–Liu and by Scholze....

  8. Design and Potential of Non-Integrating Lentiviral Vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron Shaw

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Lentiviral vectors have demonstrated promising results in clinical trials that target cells of the hematopoietic system. For these applications, they are the vectors of choice since they provide stable integration into cells that will undergo extensive expansion in vivo. Unfortunately, integration can have unintended consequences including dysregulated cell growth. Therefore, lentiviral vectors that do not integrate are predicted to have a safer profile compared to integrating vectors and should be considered for applications where transient expression is required or for sustained episomal expression such as in quiescent cells. In this review, the system for generating lentiviral vectors will be described and used to illustrate how alterations in the viral integrase or vector Long Terminal Repeats have been used to generate vectors that lack the ability to integrate. In addition to their safety advantages, these non-integrating lentiviral vectors can be used when persistent expression would have adverse consequences. Vectors are currently in development for use in vaccinations, cancer therapy, site-directed gene insertions, gene disruption strategies, and cell reprogramming. Preclinical work will be described that illustrates the potential of this unique vector system in human gene therapy.

  9. Efficient generation of rat induced pluripotent stem cells using a non-viral inducible vector.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Merkl

    Full Text Available Current methods of generating rat induced pluripotent stem cells are based on viral transduction of pluripotency inducing genes (Oct4, Sox2, c-myc and Klf4 into somatic cells. These activate endogenous pluripotency genes and reprogram the identity of the cell to an undifferentiated state. Epigenetic silencing of exogenous genes has to occur to allow normal iPS cell differentiation. To gain more control over the expression of exogenous reprogramming factors, we used a novel doxycycline-inducible plasmid vector encoding Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4. To ensure efficient and controlled generation of iPS cells by plasmid transfection we equipped the reprogramming vector with a bacteriophage φC31 attB site and used a φC31 integrase expression vector to enhance vector integration. A series of doxycycline-independent rat iPS cell lines were established. These were characterized by immunocytochemical detection of Oct4, SSEA1 and SSEA4, alkaline phosphatase staining, methylation analysis of the endogenous Oct4 promoter and RT-PCR analysis of endogenous rat pluripotency genes. We also determined the number of vector integrations and the extent to which reprogramming factor gene expression was controlled. Protocols were developed to generate embryoid bodies and rat iPS cells demonstrated as pluripotent by generating derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers in vitro, and teratoma formation in vivo. All data suggest that our rat iPS cells, generated by plasmid based reprogramming, are similar to rat ES cells. Methods of DNA transfection, protein transduction and feeder-free monolayer culture of rat iPS cells were established to enable future applications.

  10. How random is a random vector?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eliazar, Iddo

    2015-01-01

    Over 80 years ago Samuel Wilks proposed that the “generalized variance” of a random vector is the determinant of its covariance matrix. To date, the notion and use of the generalized variance is confined only to very specific niches in statistics. In this paper we establish that the “Wilks standard deviation” –the square root of the generalized variance–is indeed the standard deviation of a random vector. We further establish that the “uncorrelation index” –a derivative of the Wilks standard deviation–is a measure of the overall correlation between the components of a random vector. Both the Wilks standard deviation and the uncorrelation index are, respectively, special cases of two general notions that we introduce: “randomness measures” and “independence indices” of random vectors. In turn, these general notions give rise to “randomness diagrams”—tangible planar visualizations that answer the question: How random is a random vector? The notion of “independence indices” yields a novel measure of correlation for Lévy laws. In general, the concepts and results presented in this paper are applicable to any field of science and engineering with random-vectors empirical data.

  11. How random is a random vector?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eliazar, Iddo

    2015-12-01

    Over 80 years ago Samuel Wilks proposed that the "generalized variance" of a random vector is the determinant of its covariance matrix. To date, the notion and use of the generalized variance is confined only to very specific niches in statistics. In this paper we establish that the "Wilks standard deviation" -the square root of the generalized variance-is indeed the standard deviation of a random vector. We further establish that the "uncorrelation index" -a derivative of the Wilks standard deviation-is a measure of the overall correlation between the components of a random vector. Both the Wilks standard deviation and the uncorrelation index are, respectively, special cases of two general notions that we introduce: "randomness measures" and "independence indices" of random vectors. In turn, these general notions give rise to "randomness diagrams"-tangible planar visualizations that answer the question: How random is a random vector? The notion of "independence indices" yields a novel measure of correlation for Lévy laws. In general, the concepts and results presented in this paper are applicable to any field of science and engineering with random-vectors empirical data.

  12. Support vector machine based fault classification and location of a long transmission line

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Papia Ray

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates support vector machine based fault type and distance estimation scheme in a long transmission line. The planned technique uses post fault single cycle current waveform and pre-processing of the samples is done by wavelet packet transform. Energy and entropy are obtained from the decomposed coefficients and feature matrix is prepared. Then the redundant features from the matrix are taken out by the forward feature selection method and normalized. Test and train data are developed by taking into consideration variables of a simulation situation like fault type, resistance path, inception angle, and distance. In this paper 10 different types of short circuit fault are analyzed. The test data are examined by support vector machine whose parameters are optimized by particle swarm optimization method. The anticipated method is checked on a 400 kV, 300 km long transmission line with voltage source at both the ends. Two cases were examined with the proposed method. The first one is fault very near to both the source end (front and rear and the second one is support vector machine with and without optimized parameter. Simulation result indicates that the anticipated method for fault classification gives high accuracy (99.21% and least fault distance estimation error (0.29%.

  13. New classes of nonlinear vector coherent states of generalized spin-orbit Hamiltonians

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geloun, Joseph Ben; Norbert Hounkonnou, Mahouton

    2009-01-01

    This paper deals with an extension of our previous work (Ben Geloun and Hounkonnou 2007 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 F817) by considering an alternative construction of canonical and deformed vector coherent states (VCSs) of the Gazeau-Klauder type associated with generalized spin-orbit Hamiltonians. We define an annihilation operator which takes into account the finite-dimensional space of states induced by the k-photon transition processes of the two-level atom interacting with the single-mode radiation field. The class of nonlinear VCSs (NVCSs) corresponding to the action of the annihilation operator is deduced and expressed in terms of generalized displacement operators. Various NVCSs including their 'dual' counterparts are also discussed. Also, by using the Hilbert space structure, a new family of NVCSs parametrized by unit vectors of the S 3 sphere has been identified without making use of the annihilation operator.

  14. Projection correlation between two random vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Liping; Xu, Kai; Li, Runze; Zhong, Wei

    2017-12-01

    We propose the use of projection correlation to characterize dependence between two random vectors. Projection correlation has several appealing properties. It equals zero if and only if the two random vectors are independent, it is not sensitive to the dimensions of the two random vectors, it is invariant with respect to the group of orthogonal transformations, and its estimation is free of tuning parameters and does not require moment conditions on the random vectors. We show that the sample estimate of the projection correction is [Formula: see text]-consistent if the two random vectors are independent and root-[Formula: see text]-consistent otherwise. Monte Carlo simulation studies indicate that the projection correlation has higher power than the distance correlation and the ranks of distances in tests of independence, especially when the dimensions are relatively large or the moment conditions required by the distance correlation are violated.

  15. Decomposition of group-velocity-locked-vector-dissipative solitons and formation of the high-order soliton structure by the product of their recombination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xuan; Li, Lei; Geng, Ying; Wang, Hanxiao; Su, Lei; Zhao, Luming

    2018-02-01

    By using a polarization manipulation and projection system, we numerically decomposed the group-velocity-locked-vector-dissipative solitons (GVLVDSs) from a normal dispersion fiber laser and studied the combination of the projections of the phase-modulated components of the GVLVDS through a polarization beam splitter. Pulses with a structure similar to a high-order vector soliton could be obtained, which could be considered as a pseudo-high-order GVLVDS. It is found that, although GVLVDSs are intrinsically different from group-velocity-locked-vector solitons generated in fiber lasers operated in the anomalous dispersion regime, similar characteristics for the generation of pseudo-high-order GVLVDS are obtained. However, pulse chirp plays a significant role on the generation of pseudo-high-order GVLVDS.

  16. Acceleration of planes segmentation using normals from previous frame

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gritsenko, Pavel; Gritsenko, Igor; Seidakhmet, Askar; Abduraimov, Azizbek

    2017-12-01

    One of the major problem in integration process of robots is to make them able to function in a human environment. In terms of computer vision, the major feature of human made rooms is the presence of planes [1, 2, 20, 21, 23]. In this article, we will present an algorithm dedicated to increase speed of a plane segmentation. The algorithm uses information about location of a plane and its normal vector to speed up the segmentation process in the next frame. In conjunction with it, we will address such aspects of ICP SLAM as performance and map representation.

  17. Simplified Representation of Vector Fields

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Telea, Alexandru; Wijk, Jarke J. van

    1999-01-01

    Vector field visualization remains a difficult task. Although many local and global visualization methods for vector fields such as flow data exist, they usually require extensive user experience on setting the visualization parameters in order to produce images communicating the desired insight. We

  18. Problems of vector Lagrangians in field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krivsky, I.Yu.; Simulik, V.M.

    1997-01-01

    A vector Lagrange approach to the Dirac spinor field and the relationship between the vector Lagrangians for the spinor and electromagnetic fields are considered. A vector Lagrange approach for the system of interacting electromagnetic B=(B μ υ)=(E-bar,H-bar) and spinor Ψ fields is constructed. New Lagrangians (scalar and vector) for electromagnetic field in terms of field strengths are found. The foundations of two new QED models are formulated

  19. Support Vector Regression and Genetic Algorithm for HVAC Optimal Operation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ching-Wei Chen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This study covers records of various parameters affecting the power consumption of air-conditioning systems. Using the Support Vector Machine (SVM, the chiller power consumption model, secondary chilled water pump power consumption model, air handling unit fan power consumption model, and air handling unit load model were established. In addition, it was found that R2 of the models all reached 0.998, and the training time was far shorter than that of the neural network. Through genetic programming, a combination of operating parameters with the least power consumption of air conditioning operation was searched. Moreover, the air handling unit load in line with the air conditioning cooling load was predicted. The experimental results show that for the combination of operating parameters with the least power consumption in line with the cooling load obtained through genetic algorithm search, the power consumption of the air conditioning systems under said combination of operating parameters was reduced by 22% compared to the fixed operating parameters, thus indicating significant energy efficiency.

  20. A simple method of equine limb force vector analysis and its potential applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Jane Hobbs

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background Ground reaction forces (GRF measured during equine gait analysis are typically evaluated by analyzing discrete values obtained from continuous force-time data for the vertical, longitudinal and transverse GRF components. This paper describes a simple, temporo-spatial method of displaying and analyzing sagittal plane GRF vectors. In addition, the application of statistical parametric mapping (SPM is introduced to analyse differences between contra-lateral fore and hindlimb force-time curves throughout the stance phase. The overall aim of the study was to demonstrate alternative methods of evaluating functional (asymmetry within horses. Methods GRF and kinematic data were collected from 10 horses trotting over a series of four force plates (120 Hz. The kinematic data were used to determine clean hoof contacts. The stance phase of each hoof was determined using a 50 N threshold. Vertical and longitudinal GRF for each stance phase were plotted both as force-time curves and as force vector diagrams in which vectors originating at the centre of pressure on the force plate were drawn at intervals of 8.3 ms for the duration of stance. Visual evaluation was facilitated by overlay of the vector diagrams for different limbs. Summary vectors representing the magnitude (VecMag and direction (VecAng of the mean force over the entire stance phase were superimposed on the force vector diagram. Typical measurements extracted from the force-time curves (peak forces, impulses were compared with VecMag and VecAng using partial correlation (controlling for speed. Paired samples t-tests (left v. right diagonal pair comparison and high v. low vertical force diagonal pair comparison were performed on discrete and vector variables using traditional methods and Hotelling’s T2 tests on normalized stance phase data using SPM. Results Evidence from traditional statistical tests suggested that VecMag is more influenced by the vertical force and impulse, whereas

  1. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE OF VECTOR WITH HOUSEHOLD INSECTICIDE USAGE BEHAVIOR IN DENGUE HEMORRHAGIC FEVER ENDEMIC AREAS IN BALI PROVINCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Andriyani Pratamawati

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Bali Province has a case fatality rate (CFR of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF 56.16 per100,000 populations in 2011. Data of Riskesdas 2010 showed that anti mosquito (householdinsecticides was the most widely used by people to prevent vector borne diseases. This studyaimed to describe behavior by using household insecticides to prevent DHF and determinewhether this behavior was based on dengue vector knowledge. This research was a descriptivestudy using survey methods. Unit analysis was households in DHF endemic area in DenpasarCity, Gianyar and Badung Regency which had highest dengue cases until August 2011. Resultsshowed that 54.5% of the 88 respondents has high level in dengue vector knowledge. Mostrespondents (59.1% has good category in household insecticide usage behavior. Kendall taucorrelation test (t showed no significant relation between knowledge of dengue vectors withhousehold insecticide usage behavior for dengue vector control (t = 0,076, p value= 0,479.Keywords: Knowledge, Vector, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, HouseholdInsecticides Provinsi Bali memiliki case fatality rate (CFR Demam Berdarah Dengue (DBD 56,16 per100.000 penduduk pada tahun 2011. Data Riskesdas 2010 menunjukkan bahwa obat antinyamuk (insektisida rumah tangga merupakan cara yang paling banyak digunakan olehmasyarakat untuk mencegah penyakit tular vektor. Studi ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikanperilaku dalam menggunakan insektisida rumah tangga untuk mencegah DBDserta mengetahuiapakah perilaku ini didasari oleh pengetahuanmengenai vektor DBD. Penelitian ini merupakanstudi deskriptif dengan menggunakan metode survei. Unit analisis adalah rumah tangga didaerah endemis DBD di Kota Denpasar, Kabupaten Gianyar, dan Kabupaten Badung yangmemiliki kasus DBD tertinggi hingga bulan Agustus tahun 2011. Hasil penelitianmenunjukkan bahwa 54,5% dari 88 responden memiliki tingkat pengetahuan yang tinggitentang vektor DBD. Sebagian besar responden (59,1% memiliki perilaku

  2. Estimation of the wind turbine yaw error by support vector machines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sheibat-Othman, Nida; Othman, Sami; Tayari, Raoaa

    2015-01-01

    Wind turbine yaw error information is of high importance in controlling wind turbine power and structural load. Normally used wind vanes are imprecise. In this work, the estimation of yaw error in wind turbines is studied using support vector machines for regression (SVR). As the methodology...... is data-based, simulated data from a high fidelity aero-elastic model is used for learning. The model simulates a variable speed horizontal-axis wind turbine composed of three blades and a full converter. Both partial load (blade angles fixed at 0 deg) and full load zones (active pitch actuators...

  3. Anomalous scaling of a passive vector advected by the Navier-Stokes velocity field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jurcisinova, E; Jurcisin, M; Remecky, R

    2009-01-01

    Using the field theoretic renormalization group and the operator-product expansion, the model of a passive vector field (a weak magnetic field in the framework of the kinematic MHD) advected by the velocity field which is governed by the stochastic Navier-Stokes equation with the Gaussian random stirring force δ-correlated in time and with the correlator proportional to k 4-d-2ε is investigated to the first order in ε (one-loop approximation). It is shown that the single-time correlation functions of the advected vector field have anomalous scaling behavior and the corresponding exponents are calculated in the isotropic case, as well as in the case with the presence of large-scale anisotropy. The hierarchy of the anisotropic critical dimensions is briefly discussed and the persistence of the anisotropy inside the inertial range is demonstrated on the behavior of the skewness and hyperskewness (dimensionless ratios of correlation functions) as functions of the Reynolds number Re. It is shown that even though the present model of a passive vector field advected by the realistic velocity field is mathematically more complicated than, on one hand, the corresponding models of a passive vector field advected by 'synthetic' Gaussian velocity fields and, on the other hand, than the corresponding model of a passive scalar quantity advected by the velocity field driven by the stochastic Navier-Stokes equation, the final one-loop approximate asymptotic scaling behavior of the single-time correlation or structure functions of the advected fields of all models are defined by the same anomalous dimensions (up to normalization)

  4. Vectors of rickettsiae in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitam, Idir

    2012-12-01

    Vector-borne diseases are caused by parasites, bacteria, or viruses transmitted by the bites of hematophagous arthropods. In Africa, there has been a recent emergence of new diseases and the re-emergence of existing diseases, usually with changes in disease epidemiology (e.g., geographical distribution, prevalence, and pathogenicity). In Africa, rickettsioses are recognized as important emerging vector-borne infections in humans. Rickettsial diseases are transmitted by different types of arthropods, ticks, fleas, lice, and mites. This review will examine the roles of these different arthropod vectors and their geographical distributions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  5. Modeling vector nonlinear time series using POLYMARS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Gooijer, J.G.; Ray, B.K.

    2003-01-01

    A modified multivariate adaptive regression splines method for modeling vector nonlinear time series is investigated. The method results in models that can capture certain types of vector self-exciting threshold autoregressive behavior, as well as provide good predictions for more general vector

  6. Postprocedural pain in shoulder arthrography: differences between using preservative-free normal saline and normal saline with benzyl alcohol as an intraarticular contrast diluent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storey, Troy F; Gilbride, George; Clifford, Kelly

    2014-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the effect of benzyl alcohol, a common preservative in normal saline, on postprocedural pain after intraarticular injection for direct shoulder MR arthrography. From April 2011 through January 2013, 138 patients underwent direct shoulder MR arthrography. Using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale, patients were asked to report their shoulder pain level immediately before and immediately after the procedure and then were contacted by telephone 6, 24, and 48 hours after the procedure. Fourteen patients did not receive the prescribed amount of contrast agent for diagnostic reasons or did not complete follow-up. Sixty-two patients received an intraarticular solution including preservative-free normal saline (control group) and 62 patients received an intraarticular solution including normal saline with 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a contrast diluent (test group). Patients were randomized as to which intraarticular diluent they received. Fluoroscopic and MR images were reviewed for extracapsular contrast agent administration or extravasation, full-thickness rotator cuff tears, and adhesive capsulitis. The effect of preservative versus control on pain level was estimated with multiple regression, which included time after procedure as the covariate and accounted for repeated measures over patients. Pain scale scores were significantly (p = 0.0382) higher (0.79 units; 95% CI, 0.034-1.154) with benzyl alcohol preservative compared with control (saline). In both study arms, the pain scale scores decreased slightly after the procedure, increased by roughly 1 unit over baseline for the test group and 0.3 unit over baseline for the control group by 6 hours after the procedure, were 0.50 unit over baseline for the test group and 0.12 unit over baseline for the control group at 24 hours, then fell to be slightly greater than baseline at 48 hours with benzyl alcohol and slightly less than baseline without benzyl alcohol. These trends

  7. Visual attention and flexible normalization pools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Odelia; Coen-Cagli, Ruben

    2013-01-01

    Attention to a spatial location or feature in a visual scene can modulate the responses of cortical neurons and affect perceptual biases in illusions. We add attention to a cortical model of spatial context based on a well-founded account of natural scene statistics. The cortical model amounts to a generalized form of divisive normalization, in which the surround is in the normalization pool of the center target only if they are considered statistically dependent. Here we propose that attention influences this computation by accentuating the neural unit activations at the attended location, and that the amount of attentional influence of the surround on the center thus depends on whether center and surround are deemed in the same normalization pool. The resulting form of model extends a recent divisive normalization model of attention (Reynolds & Heeger, 2009). We simulate cortical surround orientation experiments with attention and show that the flexible model is suitable for capturing additional data and makes nontrivial testable predictions. PMID:23345413

  8. Support vector machines applications

    CERN Document Server

    Guo, Guodong

    2014-01-01

    Support vector machines (SVM) have both a solid mathematical background and good performance in practical applications. This book focuses on the recent advances and applications of the SVM in different areas, such as image processing, medical practice, computer vision, pattern recognition, machine learning, applied statistics, business intelligence, and artificial intelligence. The aim of this book is to create a comprehensive source on support vector machine applications, especially some recent advances.

  9. Innovative dengue vector control interventions in Latin America: what do they cost?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basso, César; Beltrán-Ayala, Efraín; Mitchell-Foster, Kendra; Cortés, Sebastián; Manrique-Saide, Pablo; Guillermo-May, Guillermo; Carvalho de Lima, Edilmar

    2016-01-01

    Background Five studies were conducted in Fortaleza (Brazil), Girardot (Colombia), Machala (Ecuador), Acapulco (Mexico), and Salto (Uruguay) to assess dengue vector control interventions tailored to the context. The studies involved the community explicitly in the implementation, and focused on the most productive breeding places for Aedes aegypti. This article reports the cost analysis of these interventions. Methods We conducted the costing from the perspective of the vector control program. We collected data on quantities and unit costs of the resources used to deliver the interventions. Comparable information was requested for the routine activities. Cost items were classified, analyzed descriptively, and aggregated to calculate total costs, costs per house reached, and incremental costs. Results Cost per house of the interventions were $18.89 (Fortaleza), $21.86 (Girardot), $30.61 (Machala), $39.47 (Acapulco), and $6.98 (Salto). Intervention components that focused mainly on changes to the established vector control programs seem affordable; cost savings were identified in Salto (−21%) and the clean patio component in Machala (−12%). An incremental cost of 10% was estimated in Fortaleza. On the other hand, there were also completely new components that would require sizeable financial efforts (installing insecticide-treated nets in Girardot and Acapulco costs $16.97 and $24.96 per house, respectively). Conclusions The interventions are promising, seem affordable and may improve the cost profile of the established vector control programs. The costs of the new components could be considerable, and should be assessed in relation to the benefits in reduced dengue burden. PMID:26924235

  10. Engineering BioBrick vectors from BioBrick parts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knight Thomas F

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The underlying goal of synthetic biology is to make the process of engineering biological systems easier. Recent work has focused on defining and developing standard biological parts. The technical standard that has gained the most traction in the synthetic biology community is the BioBrick standard for physical composition of genetic parts. Parts that conform to the BioBrick assembly standard are BioBrick standard biological parts. To date, over 2,000 BioBrick parts have been contributed to, and are available from, the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Results Here we extended the same advantages of BioBrick standard biological parts to the plasmid-based vectors that are used to provide and propagate BioBrick parts. We developed a process for engineering BioBrick vectors from BioBrick parts. We designed a new set of BioBrick parts that encode many useful vector functions. We combined the new parts to make a BioBrick base vector that facilitates BioBrick vector construction. We demonstrated the utility of the process by constructing seven new BioBrick vectors. We also successfully used the resulting vectors to assemble and propagate other BioBrick standard biological parts. Conclusion We extended the principles of part reuse and standardization to BioBrick vectors. As a result, myriad new BioBrick vectors can be readily produced from all existing and newly designed BioBrick parts. We invite the synthetic biology community to (1 use the process to make and share new BioBrick vectors; (2 expand the current collection of BioBrick vector parts; and (3 characterize and improve the available collection of BioBrick vector parts.

  11. Attributes for NHDPlus Catchments (Version 1.1) for the Conterminous United States: Normalized Atmospheric Deposition for 2002, Ammonium (NH4)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieczorek, Michael; LaMotte, Andrew E.

    2010-01-01

    This data set represents the average normalized atmospheric (wet) deposition, in kilograms, of Ammonium (NH4) for the year 2002 compiled for every catchment of NHDPlus for the conterminous United States. Estimates of NH4 deposition are based on National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) measurements (B. Larsen, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 2007). De-trending methods applied to the year 2002 are described in Alexander and others, 2001. NADP site selection met the following criteria: stations must have records from 1995 to 2002 and have a minimum of 30 observations. The NHDPlus Version 1.1 is an integrated suite of application-ready geospatial datasets that incorporates many of the best features of the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and the National Elevation Dataset (NED). The NHDPlus includes a stream network (based on the 1:100,00-scale NHD), improved networking, naming, and value-added attributes (VAAs). NHDPlus also includes elevation-derived catchments (drainage areas) produced using a drainage enforcement technique first widely used in New England, and thus referred to as "the New England Method." This technique involves "burning in" the 1:100,000-scale NHD and when available building "walls" using the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). The resulting modified digital elevation model (HydroDEM) is used to produce hydrologic derivatives that agree with the NHD and WBD. Over the past two years, an interdisciplinary team from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and contractors, found that this method produces the best quality NHD catchments using an automated process (USEPA, 2007). The NHDPlus dataset is organized by 18 Production Units that cover the conterminous United States. The NHDPlus version 1.1 data are grouped by the U.S. Geologic Survey's Major River Basins (MRBs, Crawford and others, 2006). MRB1, covering the New England and Mid-Atlantic River basins, contains NHDPlus

  12. Cosmological evolution in vector-tensor theories of gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beltran Jimenez, Jose; Maroto, Antonio L.

    2009-01-01

    We present a detailed study of the cosmological evolution in general vector-tensor theories of gravity without potential terms. We consider the evolution of the vector field throughout the expansion history of the Universe and carry out a classification of models according to the behavior of the vector field in each cosmological epoch. We also analyze the case in which the Universe is dominated by the vector field, performing a complete analysis of the system phase map and identifying those attracting solutions which give rise to accelerated expansion. Moreover, we consider the evolution in a universe filled with a pressureless fluid in addition to the vector field and study the existence of attractors in which we can have a transition from matter domination to vector domination with accelerated expansion so that the vector field may play the role of dark energy. We find that the existence of solutions with late-time accelerated expansion is a generic prediction of vector-tensor theories and that such solutions typically lead to the presence of future singularities. Finally, limits from local gravity tests are used to get constraints on the value of the vector field at small (Solar System) scales.

  13. n-Characteristic Vector Fields of Contact Manifoldss

    OpenAIRE

    Hassanzadeh, Babak

    2017-01-01

    In present paper we define and study $n$-characteristic vector fields. We present definition of Tanaka-Webster connection, then use it for studying the behavior of $n$-characteristic vector fields. Also we show some results about of these vector fields by Tanaka-Webster connection.

  14. Successful vectorization - reactor physics Monte Carlo code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, W.R.

    1989-01-01

    Most particle transport Monte Carlo codes in use today are based on the ''history-based'' algorithm, wherein one particle history at a time is simulated. Unfortunately, the ''history-based'' approach (present in all Monte Carlo codes until recent years) is inherently scalar and cannot be vectorized. In particular, the history-based algorithm cannot take advantage of vector architectures, which characterize the largest and fastest computers at the current time, vector supercomputers such as the Cray X/MP or IBM 3090/600. However, substantial progress has been made in recent years in developing and implementing a vectorized Monte Carlo algorithm. This algorithm follows portions of many particle histories at the same time and forms the basis for all successful vectorized Monte Carlo codes that are in use today. This paper describes the basic vectorized algorithm along with descriptions of several variations that have been developed by different researchers for specific applications. These applications have been mainly in the areas of neutron transport in nuclear reactor and shielding analysis and photon transport in fusion plasmas. The relative merits of the various approach schemes will be discussed and the present status of known vectorization efforts will be summarized along with available timing results, including results from the successful vectorization of 3-D general geometry, continuous energy Monte Carlo. (orig.)

  15. A study of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Jincang; Cheng Zhengxing; Chen Qingjiang

    2009-01-01

    The notion of vector-valued multiresolution analysis is introduced and the concept of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelets which are wavelets for vector fields, is introduced. It is proved that, like in the scalar and multiwavelet case, the existence of a pair of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued scaling functions guarantees the existence of a pair of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelet functions. An algorithm for constructing a class of compactly supported biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelets is presented. Their properties are investigated by means of operator theory and algebra theory and time-frequency analysis method. Several biorthogonality formulas regarding these wavelet packets are obtained.

  16. 3-D Vector Flow Imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holbek, Simon

    , if this significant reduction in the element count can still provide precise and robust 3-D vector flow estimates in a plane. The study concludes that the RC array is capable of estimating precise 3-D vector flow both in a plane and in a volume, despite the low channel count. However, some inherent new challenges...... ultrasonic vector flow estimation and bring it a step closer to a clinical application. A method for high frame rate 3-D vector flow estimation in a plane using the transverse oscillation method combined with a 1024 channel 2-D matrix array is presented. The proposed method is validated both through phantom...... hampers the task of real-time processing. In a second study, some of the issue with the 2-D matrix array are solved by introducing a 2-D row-column (RC) addressing array with only 62 + 62 elements. It is investigated both through simulations and via experimental setups in various flow conditions...

  17. Black holes in vector-tensor theories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heisenberg, Lavinia [Institute for Theoretical Studies, ETH Zurich, Clausiusstrasse 47, 8092 Zurich (Switzerland); Kase, Ryotaro; Tsujikawa, Shinji [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3, Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601 (Japan); Minamitsuji, Masato, E-mail: lavinia.heisenberg@eth-its.ethz.ch, E-mail: r.kase@rs.tus.ac.jp, E-mail: masato.minamitsuji@tecnico.ulisboa.pt, E-mail: shinji@rs.kagu.tus.ac.jp [Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofisica—CENTRA, Departamento de Fisica, Instituto Superior Tecnico—IST, Universidade de Lisboa—UL, Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)

    2017-08-01

    We study static and spherically symmetric black hole (BH) solutions in second-order generalized Proca theories with nonminimal vector field derivative couplings to the Ricci scalar, the Einstein tensor, and the double dual Riemann tensor. We find concrete Lagrangians which give rise to exact BH solutions by imposing two conditions of the two identical metric components and the constant norm of the vector field. These exact solutions are described by either Reissner-Nordström (RN), stealth Schwarzschild, or extremal RN solutions with a non-trivial longitudinal mode of the vector field. We then numerically construct BH solutions without imposing these conditions. For cubic and quartic Lagrangians with power-law couplings which encompass vector Galileons as the specific cases, we show the existence of BH solutions with the difference between two non-trivial metric components. The quintic-order power-law couplings do not give rise to non-trivial BH solutions regular throughout the horizon exterior. The sixth-order and intrinsic vector-mode couplings can lead to BH solutions with a secondary hair. For all the solutions, the vector field is regular at least at the future or past horizon. The deviation from General Relativity induced by the Proca hair can be potentially tested by future measurements of gravitational waves in the nonlinear regime of gravity.

  18. Investigation of Optimal Integrated Circuit Raster Image Vectorization Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonas Jasevičius

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Visual analysis of integrated circuit layer requires raster image vectorization stage to extract layer topology data to CAD tools. In this paper vectorization problems of raster IC layer images are presented. Various line extraction from raster images algorithms and their properties are discussed. Optimal raster image vectorization method was developed which allows utilization of common vectorization algorithms to achieve the best possible extracted vector data match with perfect manual vectorization results. To develop the optimal method, vectorized data quality dependence on initial raster image skeleton filter selection was assessed.Article in Lithuanian

  19. Environmental management: a re-emerging vector control strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ault, S K

    1994-01-01

    Vector control may be accomplished by environmental management (EM), which consists of permanent or long-term modification of the environment, temporary or seasonal manipulation of the environment, and modifying or changing our life styles and practices to reduce human contact with infective vectors. The primary focus of this paper is EM in the control of human malaria, filariasis, arboviruses, Chagas' disease, and schistosomiasis. Modern EM developed as a discipline based primarily in ecologic principles and lessons learned from the adverse environmental impacts of rural development projects. Strategies such as the suppression of vector populations through the provision of safe water supplies, proper sanitation, solid waste management facilities, sewerage and excreta disposal systems, water manipulation in dams and irrigation systems, vector diversion by zooprophylaxis, and vector exclusion by improved housing, are discussed with appropriate examples. Vectors of malaria, filariasis, Chagas' disease, and schistosomiasis have been controlled by drainage or filling aquatic breeding sites, improved housing and sanitation, the use of expanded polystyrene beads, zooprophylaxis, or the provision of household water supplies. Community participation has been effective in the suppression of dengue vectors in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Alone or combined with other vector control methods, EM has been proven to be a successful approach to vector control in a number of places. The future of EM in vector control looks promising.

  20. TimesVector: a vectorized clustering approach to the analysis of time series transcriptome data from multiple phenotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Inuk; Jo, Kyuri; Kang, Hyejin; Ahn, Hongryul; Yu, Youngjae; Kim, Sun

    2017-12-01

    Identifying biologically meaningful gene expression patterns from time series gene expression data is important to understand the underlying biological mechanisms. To identify significantly perturbed gene sets between different phenotypes, analysis of time series transcriptome data requires consideration of time and sample dimensions. Thus, the analysis of such time series data seeks to search gene sets that exhibit similar or different expression patterns between two or more sample conditions, constituting the three-dimensional data, i.e. gene-time-condition. Computational complexity for analyzing such data is very high, compared to the already difficult NP-hard two dimensional biclustering algorithms. Because of this challenge, traditional time series clustering algorithms are designed to capture co-expressed genes with similar expression pattern in two sample conditions. We present a triclustering algorithm, TimesVector, specifically designed for clustering three-dimensional time series data to capture distinctively similar or different gene expression patterns between two or more sample conditions. TimesVector identifies clusters with distinctive expression patterns in three steps: (i) dimension reduction and clustering of time-condition concatenated vectors, (ii) post-processing clusters for detecting similar and distinct expression patterns and (iii) rescuing genes from unclassified clusters. Using four sets of time series gene expression data, generated by both microarray and high throughput sequencing platforms, we demonstrated that TimesVector successfully detected biologically meaningful clusters of high quality. TimesVector improved the clustering quality compared to existing triclustering tools and only TimesVector detected clusters with differential expression patterns across conditions successfully. The TimesVector software is available at http://biohealth.snu.ac.kr/software/TimesVector/. sunkim.bioinfo@snu.ac.kr. Supplementary data are available at

  1. Vector assembly of colloids on monolayer substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Lingxiang; Yang, Shenyu; Tsang, Boyce; Tu, Mei; Granick, Steve

    2017-06-01

    The key to spontaneous and directed assembly is to encode the desired assembly information to building blocks in a programmable and efficient way. In computer graphics, raster graphics encodes images on a single-pixel level, conferring fine details at the expense of large file sizes, whereas vector graphics encrypts shape information into vectors that allow small file sizes and operational transformations. Here, we adapt this raster/vector concept to a 2D colloidal system and realize `vector assembly' by manipulating particles on a colloidal monolayer substrate with optical tweezers. In contrast to raster assembly that assigns optical tweezers to each particle, vector assembly requires a minimal number of optical tweezers that allow operations like chain elongation and shortening. This vector approach enables simple uniform particles to form a vast collection of colloidal arenes and colloidenes, the spontaneous dissociation of which is achieved with precision and stage-by-stage complexity by simply removing the optical tweezers.

  2. Herbivore arthropods benefit from vectoring plant viruses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Belliure, B.; Janssen, A.; Maris, P.C.; Peters, D.; Sabelis, M.W.

    2005-01-01

    Plants infected with pathogens often attract the pathogens' vectors, but it is not clear if this is advantageous to the vectors. We therefore quantified the direct and indirect (through the host plant) effects of a pathogen on its vector. A positive direct effect of the plant-pathogenic Tomato

  3. Fault size classification of rotating machinery using support vector machine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Y. S.; Lee, D. H.; Park, S. K. [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-03-15

    Studies on fault diagnosis of rotating machinery have been carried out to obtain a machinery condition in two ways. First is a classical approach based on signal processing and analysis using vibration and acoustic signals. Second is to use artificial intelligence techniques to classify machinery conditions into normal or one of the pre-determined fault conditions. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is well known as intelligent classifier with robust generalization ability. In this study, a two-step approach is proposed to predict fault types and fault sizes of rotating machinery in nuclear power plants using multi-class SVM technique. The model firstly classifies normal and 12 fault types and then identifies their sizes in case of predicting any faults. The time and frequency domain features are extracted from the measured vibration signals and used as input to SVM. A test rig is used to simulate normal and the well-know 12 artificial fault conditions with three to six fault sizes of rotating machinery. The application results to the test data show that the present method can estimate fault types as well as fault sizes with high accuracy for bearing an shaft-related faults and misalignment. Further research, however, is required to identify fault size in case of unbalance, rubbing, looseness, and coupling-related faults.

  4. Fault size classification of rotating machinery using support vector machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Y. S.; Lee, D. H.; Park, S. K.

    2012-01-01

    Studies on fault diagnosis of rotating machinery have been carried out to obtain a machinery condition in two ways. First is a classical approach based on signal processing and analysis using vibration and acoustic signals. Second is to use artificial intelligence techniques to classify machinery conditions into normal or one of the pre-determined fault conditions. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is well known as intelligent classifier with robust generalization ability. In this study, a two-step approach is proposed to predict fault types and fault sizes of rotating machinery in nuclear power plants using multi-class SVM technique. The model firstly classifies normal and 12 fault types and then identifies their sizes in case of predicting any faults. The time and frequency domain features are extracted from the measured vibration signals and used as input to SVM. A test rig is used to simulate normal and the well-know 12 artificial fault conditions with three to six fault sizes of rotating machinery. The application results to the test data show that the present method can estimate fault types as well as fault sizes with high accuracy for bearing an shaft-related faults and misalignment. Further research, however, is required to identify fault size in case of unbalance, rubbing, looseness, and coupling-related faults

  5. Genetic modification of hematopoietic cells using retroviral and lentiviral vectors: safety considerations for vector design and delivery into target cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dropulic, Boro

    2005-07-01

    The recent development of leukemia in three patients following retroviral vector gene transfer in hematopoietic stem cells, resulting in the death of one patient, has raised safety concerns for the use of integrating gene transfer vectors for human gene therapy. This review discusses these serious adverse events from the perspective of whether restrictions on vector design and vector-modified target cells are warranted at this time. A case is made against presently establishing specific restrictions for vector design and transduced cells; rather, their safety should be ascertained by empiric evaluation in appropriate preclinical models on a case-by-case basis. Such preclinical data, coupled with proper informed patient consent and a risk-benefit ratio analysis, provide the best available prospective evaluation of gene transfer vectors prior to their translation into the clinic.

  6. Lentiviral vectors and protocols for creation of stable hESC lines for fluorescent tracking and drug resistance selection of cardiomyocytes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroko Kita-Matsuo

    Full Text Available Developmental, physiological and tissue engineering studies critical to the development of successful myocardial regeneration therapies require new ways to effectively visualize and isolate large numbers of fluorescently labeled, functional cardiomyocytes.Here we describe methods for the clonal expansion of engineered hESCs and make available a suite of lentiviral vectors for that combine Blasticidin, Neomycin and Puromycin resistance based drug selection of pure populations of stem cells and cardiomyocytes with ubiquitous or lineage-specific promoters that direct expression of fluorescent proteins to visualize and track cardiomyocytes and their progenitors. The phospho-glycerate kinase (PGK promoter was used to ubiquitously direct expression of histone-2B fused eGFP and mCherry proteins to the nucleus to monitor DNA content and enable tracking of cell migration and lineage. Vectors with T/Brachyury and alpha-myosin heavy chain (alphaMHC promoters targeted fluorescent or drug-resistance proteins to early mesoderm and cardiomyocytes. The drug selection protocol yielded 96% pure cardiomyocytes that could be cultured for over 4 months. Puromycin-selected cardiomyocytes exhibited a gene expression profile similar to that of adult human cardiomyocytes and generated force and action potentials consistent with normal fetal cardiomyocytes, documenting these parameters in hESC-derived cardiomyocytes and validating that the selected cells retained normal differentiation and function.The protocols, vectors and gene expression data comprise tools to enhance cardiomyocyte production for large-scale applications.

  7. Meromorphic Vector Fields and Circle Packings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dias, Kealey

    The objective of the Ph.D. project is to initiate a classification of bifurcations of meromorphic vector fields and to clarify their relation to circle packings. Technological applications are to image analysis and to effective grid generation using discrete conformal mappings. The two branches...... of dynamical systems, continuous and discrete, correspond to the study of differential equations (vector fields) and iteration of mappings respectively. In holomorphic dynamics, the systems studied are restricted to those described by holomorphic (complex analytic) functions or meromorphic (allowing poles...... as singularities) functions. There already exists a well-developed theory for iterative holomorphic dynamical systems, and successful relations found between iteration theory and flows of vector fields have been one of the main motivations for the recent interest in holomorphic vector fields. Restricting...

  8. Characterizing Convexity of Games using Marginal Vectors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Velzen, S.; Hamers, H.J.M.; Norde, H.W.

    2003-01-01

    In this paper we study the relation between convexity of TU games and marginal vectors.We show that if specfic marginal vectors are core elements, then the game is convex.We characterize sets of marginal vectors satisfying this property, and we derive the formula for the minimum number of marginal

  9. Effects of Zika Virus Strain and Aedes Mosquito Species on Vector Competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bialosuknia, Sean M.; Zink, Steven D.; Brecher, Matthew; Ehrbar, Dylan J.; Morrissette, Madeline N.; Kramer, Laura D.

    2017-01-01

    In the Western Hemisphere, Zika virus is thought to be transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. To determine the extent to which Ae. albopictus mosquitoes from the United States are capable of transmitting Zika virus and the influence of virus dose, virus strain, and mosquito species on vector competence, we evaluated multiple doses of representative Zika virus strains in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Virus preparation (fresh vs. frozen) significantly affected virus infectivity in mosquitoes. We calculated 50% infectious doses to be 6.1–7.5 log10 PFU/mL; minimum infective dose was 4.2 log10 PFU/mL. Ae. albopictus mosquitoes were more susceptible to infection than Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, but transmission efficiency was higher for Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, indicating a transmission barrier in Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Results suggest that, although Zika virus transmission is relatively inefficient overall and dependent on virus strain and mosquito species, Ae. albopictus mosquitoes could become major vectors in the Americas. PMID:28430564

  10. Effects of Zika Virus Strain and Aedes Mosquito Species on Vector Competence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciota, Alexander T; Bialosuknia, Sean M; Zink, Steven D; Brecher, Matthew; Ehrbar, Dylan J; Morrissette, Madeline N; Kramer, Laura D

    2017-07-01

    In the Western Hemisphere, Zika virus is thought to be transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. To determine the extent to which Ae. albopictus mosquitoes from the United States are capable of transmitting Zika virus and the influence of virus dose, virus strain, and mosquito species on vector competence, we evaluated multiple doses of representative Zika virus strains in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Virus preparation (fresh vs. frozen) significantly affected virus infectivity in mosquitoes. We calculated 50% infectious doses to be 6.1-7.5 log 10 PFU/mL; minimum infective dose was 4.2 log 10 PFU/mL. Ae. albopictus mosquitoes were more susceptible to infection than Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, but transmission efficiency was higher for Ae. aegypti mosquitoes, indicating a transmission barrier in Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Results suggest that, although Zika virus transmission is relatively inefficient overall and dependent on virus strain and mosquito species, Ae. albopictus mosquitoes could become major vectors in the Americas.

  11. How effective is integrated vector management against malaria and lymphatic filariasis where the diseases are transmitted by the same vector?

    OpenAIRE

    Stone, C.; Lindsay, S.W.; Chitnis, N.

    2014-01-01

    Background: The opportunity to integrate vector management across multiple vector-borne diseases is particularly plausible for malaria and lymphatic filariasis (LF) control where both diseases are transmitted by the same vector. To date most examples of integrated control targeting these diseases have been unanticipated consequences of malaria vector control, rather than planned strategies that aim to maximize the efficacy and take the complex ecological and biological interactions between th...

  12. Two-dimensional gauge model with vector U(1) and axial-vector U(1) symmetries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watabiki, Y.

    1989-01-01

    We have succeeded in constructing a two-dimensional gauge model with both vector U(1) and axial-vector U(1) symmetries. This model is exactly solvable. The Schwinger term vanishes in this model as a consequence of the above symmetries, and negative-norm states appear. However, the norms of physical states are always positive semidefinite due to the gauge symmetries

  13. Alteration of intersubunit acid–base pair interactions at the quasi-threefold axis of symmetry of Cucumber mosaic virus disrupts aphid vector transmission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bricault, Christine A.; Perry, Keith L.

    2013-01-01

    In the atomic model of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), six amino acid residues form stabilizing salt bridges between subunits of the asymmetric unit at the quasi-threefold axis of symmetry. To evaluate the effects of these positions on virion stability and aphid vector transmissibility, six charged amino acid residues were individually mutated to alanine. All of the six engineered viruses were viable and exhibited near wild type levels of virion stability in the presence of urea. Aphid vector transmissibility was nearly or completely eliminated in the case of four of the mutants; two mutants demonstrated intermediate aphid transmissibility. For the majority of the engineered mutants, second-site mutations were observed following aphid transmission and/or mechanical passaging, and one restored transmission rates to that of the wild type. CMV capsids tolerate disruption of acid–base pairing interactions at the quasi-threefold axis of symmetry, but these interactions are essential for maintaining aphid vector transmissibility. - Highlights: ► Amino acids between structural subunits of Cucumber mosaic virus affect vector transmission. ► Mutant structural stability was retained, while aphid vector transmissibility was disrupted. ► Spontaneous, second-site mutations restored aphid vector transmissibility

  14. Alteration of intersubunit acid–base pair interactions at the quasi-threefold axis of symmetry of Cucumber mosaic virus disrupts aphid vector transmission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bricault, Christine A. [Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, 334 Plant Science Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850 (United States); Perry, Keith L., E-mail: KLP3@cornell.edu [Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, 334 Plant Science Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850 (United States)

    2013-06-05

    In the atomic model of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), six amino acid residues form stabilizing salt bridges between subunits of the asymmetric unit at the quasi-threefold axis of symmetry. To evaluate the effects of these positions on virion stability and aphid vector transmissibility, six charged amino acid residues were individually mutated to alanine. All of the six engineered viruses were viable and exhibited near wild type levels of virion stability in the presence of urea. Aphid vector transmissibility was nearly or completely eliminated in the case of four of the mutants; two mutants demonstrated intermediate aphid transmissibility. For the majority of the engineered mutants, second-site mutations were observed following aphid transmission and/or mechanical passaging, and one restored transmission rates to that of the wild type. CMV capsids tolerate disruption of acid–base pairing interactions at the quasi-threefold axis of symmetry, but these interactions are essential for maintaining aphid vector transmissibility. - Highlights: ► Amino acids between structural subunits of Cucumber mosaic virus affect vector transmission. ► Mutant structural stability was retained, while aphid vector transmissibility was disrupted. ► Spontaneous, second-site mutations restored aphid vector transmissibility.

  15. Air travel and vector-borne disease movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatem, A J; Huang, Z; Das, A; Qi, Q; Roth, J; Qiu, Y

    2012-12-01

    Recent decades have seen substantial expansions in the global air travel network and rapid increases in traffic volumes. The effects of this are well studied in terms of the spread of directly transmitted infections, but the role of air travel in the movement of vector-borne diseases is less well understood. Increasingly however, wider reaching surveillance for vector-borne diseases and our improving abilities to map the distributions of vectors and the diseases they carry, are providing opportunities to better our understanding of the impact of increasing air travel. Here we examine global trends in the continued expansion of air transport and its impact upon epidemiology. Novel malaria and chikungunya examples are presented, detailing how geospatial data in combination with information on air traffic can be used to predict the risks of vector-borne disease importation and establishment. Finally, we describe the development of an online tool, the Vector-Borne Disease Airline Importation Risk (VBD-Air) tool, which brings together spatial data on air traffic and vector-borne disease distributions to quantify the seasonally changing risks for importation to non-endemic regions. Such a framework provides the first steps towards an ultimate goal of adaptive management based on near real time flight data and vector-borne disease surveillance.

  16. Bunyavirus-Vector Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kate McElroy Horne

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The Bunyaviridae family is comprised of more than 350 viruses, of which many within the Hantavirus, Orthobunyavirus, Nairovirus, Tospovirus, and Phlebovirus genera are significant human or agricultural pathogens. The viruses within the Orthobunyavirus, Nairovirus, and Phlebovirus genera are transmitted by hematophagous arthropods, such as mosquitoes, midges, flies, and ticks, and their associated arthropods not only serve as vectors but also as virus reservoirs in many cases. This review presents an overview of several important emerging or re-emerging bunyaviruses and describes what is known about bunyavirus-vector interactions based on epidemiological, ultrastructural, and genetic studies of members of this virus family.

  17. Relating normalization to neuronal populations across cortical areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruff, Douglas A; Alberts, Joshua J; Cohen, Marlene R

    2016-09-01

    Normalization, which divisively scales neuronal responses to multiple stimuli, is thought to underlie many sensory, motor, and cognitive processes. In every study where it has been investigated, neurons measured in the same brain area under identical conditions exhibit a range of normalization, ranging from suppression by nonpreferred stimuli (strong normalization) to additive responses to combinations of stimuli (no normalization). Normalization has been hypothesized to arise from interactions between neuronal populations, either in the same or different brain areas, but current models of normalization are not mechanistic and focus on trial-averaged responses. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying normalization, we examined interactions between neurons that exhibit different degrees of normalization. We recorded from multiple neurons in three cortical areas while rhesus monkeys viewed superimposed drifting gratings. We found that neurons showing strong normalization shared less trial-to-trial variability with other neurons in the same cortical area and more variability with neurons in other cortical areas than did units with weak normalization. Furthermore, the cortical organization of normalization was not random: neurons recorded on nearby electrodes tended to exhibit similar amounts of normalization. Together, our results suggest that normalization reflects a neuron's role in its local network and that modulatory factors like normalization share the topographic organization typical of sensory tuning properties. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  18. Lyapunov, singular and bred vectors in a multi-scale system: an empirical exploration of vectors related to instabilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norwood, Adrienne; Kalnay, Eugenia; Ide, Kayo; Yang, Shu-Chih; Wolfe, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    We compute and compare the three types of vectors frequently used to explore the instability properties of dynamical models, namely Lyapunov vectors (LVs), singular vectors (SVs) and bred vectors (BVs) in two systems, using the Wolfe–Samelson (2007 Tellus A 59 355–66) algorithm to compute all of the Lyapunov vectors. The first system is the Lorenz (1963 J. Atmos. Sci. 20 130–41) three-variable model. Although the leading Lyapunov vector, LV1, grows fastest globally, the second Lyapunov vector, LV2, which has zero growth globally, often grows faster than LV1 locally. Whenever this happens, BVs grow closer to LV2, suggesting that in larger atmospheric or oceanic models where several instabilities can grow in different areas of the world, BVs will grow toward the fastest growing local unstable mode. A comparison of their growth rates at different times shows that all three types of dynamical vectors have the ability to predict regime changes and the duration of the new regime based on their growth rates in the last orbit of the old regime, as shown for BVs by Evans et al (2004 Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 520–4). LV1 and BVs have similar predictive skill, LV2 has a tendency to produce false alarms, and even LV3 shows that maximum decay is also associated with regime change. Initial and final SVs grow much faster and are the most accurate predictors of regime change, although the characteristics of the initial SVs are strongly dependent on the length of the optimization window. The second system is the toy ‘ocean-atmosphere’ model developed by Peña and Kalnay (2004 Nonlinear Process. Geophys. 11 319–27) coupling three Lorenz (1963 J. Atmos. Sci. 20 130–41) systems with different time scales, in order to test the effects of fast and slow modes of growth on the dynamical vectors. A fast ‘extratropical atmosphere’ is weakly coupled to a fast ‘tropical atmosphere’ which is, in turn, strongly coupled to a slow ‘ocean’ system, the latter coupling

  19. Generalized 2-vector spaces and general linear 2-groups

    OpenAIRE

    Elgueta, Josep

    2008-01-01

    In this paper a notion of {\\it generalized 2-vector space} is introduced which includes Kapranov and Voevodsky 2-vector spaces. Various kinds of generalized 2-vector spaces are considered and examples are given. The existence of non free generalized 2-vector spaces and of generalized 2-vector spaces which are non Karoubian (hence, non abelian) categories is discussed, and it is shown how any generalized 2-vector space can be identified with a full subcategory of an (abelian) functor category ...

  20. The charge form factor of the neutron from sup 2 H-vector, (e-vector, e' n)p

    CERN Document Server

    Passchier, I; Szczerba, D; Alarcon, R; Bauer, T S; Boersma, D J; Van der Brand, J F J; Bulten, H J; Ferro-Luzzi, M; Higinbotham, D W; Jager, C W D; Klous, S; Kolster, H; Lang, J; Nikolenko, D M; Nooren, G J; Norum, B E; Poolman, H R; Rachek, Igor A; Simani, M C; Six, E; Vries, H D; Wang, K; Zhou, Z L

    2000-01-01

    We report on the first measurement of spin-correlation parameters in quasifree electron scattering from vector-polarized deuterium. Polarized electrons were injected into an electron storage ring at a beam energy of 720 MeV. A Siberian snake was employed to preserve longitudinal polarization at the interaction point. Vector-polarized deuterium was produced by an atomic beam source and injected into an open-ended cylindrical cell, internal to the electron storage ring. The spin correlation parameter A sup V sub e sub d was measured for the reaction sup 2 H-vector, (e-vector, e'n)p at a four-momentum transfer squared of 0.21 (GeV/c) sup 2 from which a value for the charge form factor of the neutron was extracted.

  1. Natural Mosquito-Pathogen Hybrid IgG4 Antibodies in Vector Borne Diseases: A Hypothesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berlin L. Londono-Renteria

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Chronic exposure to antigens may favor the production of IgG4 antibodies over other antibody types. Recent studies have shown that up to a 30% of normal human IgG4 is bi-specific and is able to recognize two antigens of different nature. A requirement for this specificity is the presence of both eliciting antigens in the same time and at the same place where the immune response is induced. During transmission of most vector-borne diseases, the pathogen is delivered to the vertebrate host along with the arthropod saliva during blood feeding and previous studies have shown the existence of IgG4 antibodies against mosquito salivary allergens. However, there is very little ongoing research or information available regarding IgG4 bi-specificity with regards to infectious disease, particularly during immune responses to vector-borne diseases such as malaria, filariasis or dengue virus infection. Here, we provide background information and present our hypothesis that IgG4 may not only be a useful tool to measure exposure to infected mosquito bites, but that these bi-specific antibodies may also play an important role in modulation of the immune response against malaria and other vector-borne diseases in endemic settings.

  2. Performance of HESCO Bastion Units Under Combined Normal and Cyclic Lateral Loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-02-01

    4 vii Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1. HESCO bastion welded wire mesh (WWM) panels. .................................................. 3...in the testing program. The Commander of ERDC was COL Bryan S. Green and the Director was Dr. Jeffery P. Holland. ERDC/CERL TR-17-4 x Unit... welded wire mesh that is used with a geotextile liner. HESCO units are set up onsite and filled with soil or sand, as available at the construction

  3. A terrestrial lidar-based workflow for determining three-dimensional slip vectors and associated uncertainties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gold, Peter O.; Cowgill, Eric; Kreylos, Oliver; Gold, Ryan D.

    2012-01-01

    Three-dimensional (3D) slip vectors recorded by displaced landforms are difficult to constrain across complex fault zones, and the uncertainties associated with such measurements become increasingly challenging to assess as landforms degrade over time. We approach this problem from a remote sensing perspective by using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and 3D structural analysis. We have developed an integrated TLS data collection and point-based analysis workflow that incorporates accurate assessments of aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties using experimental surveys, Monte Carlo simulations, and iterative site reconstructions. Our scanning workflow and equipment requirements are optimized for single-operator surveying, and our data analysis process is largely completed using new point-based computing tools in an immersive 3D virtual reality environment. In a case study, we measured slip vector orientations at two sites along the rupture trace of the 1954 Dixie Valley earthquake (central Nevada, United States), yielding measurements that are the first direct constraints on the 3D slip vector for this event. These observations are consistent with a previous approximation of net extension direction for this event. We find that errors introduced by variables in our survey method result in <2.5 cm of variability in components of displacement, and are eclipsed by the 10–60 cm epistemic errors introduced by reconstructing the field sites to their pre-erosion geometries. Although the higher resolution TLS data sets enabled visualization and data interactivity critical for reconstructing the 3D slip vector and for assessing uncertainties, dense topographic constraints alone were not sufficient to significantly narrow the wide (<26°) range of allowable slip vector orientations that resulted from accounting for epistemic uncertainties.

  4. Construction of expression vectors carrying mouse peroxisomal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this study was to construct expression vectors carrying mouse peroxisomal protein gene (PEP-cDNA) in prokaryotic and mammalian expression vectors in ... pGEX6p2-PEP and pUcD3-FLAG-PEP constructed vectors were transformed into the one shot TOP10 and JM105 bacterial competent cells, respectively.

  5. Vector Fields and Flows on Differentiable Stacks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    A. Hepworth, Richard

    2009-01-01

    This paper introduces the notions of vector field and flow on a general differentiable stack. Our main theorem states that the flow of a vector field on a compact proper differentiable stack exists and is unique up to a uniquely determined 2-cell. This extends the usual result on the existence...... of vector fields....

  6. Extremal vectors and rectifiability | Enflo | Quaestiones Mathematicae

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Extremal vectors and rectifiability. ... The concept of extremal vectors of a linear operator with a dense range but not onto on a Hilbert space was introduced by P. Enflo in 1996 as a new approach to study invariant subspaces ... We show that in general curves that map numbers to backward minimal vectors are not rectifiable.

  7. Integrated vector management for malaria control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Impoinvil Daniel E

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Integrated vector management (IVM is defined as "a rational decision-making process for the optimal use of resources for vector control" and includes five key elements: 1 evidence-based decision-making, 2 integrated approaches 3, collaboration within the health sector and with other sectors, 4 advocacy, social mobilization, and legislation, and 5 capacity-building. In 2004, the WHO adopted IVM globally for the control of all vector-borne diseases. Important recent progress has been made in developing and promoting IVM for national malaria control programmes in Africa at a time when successful malaria control programmes are scaling-up with insecticide-treated nets (ITN and/or indoor residual spraying (IRS coverage. While interventions using only ITNs and/or IRS successfully reduce transmission intensity and the burden of malaria in many situations, it is not clear if these interventions alone will achieve those critical low levels that result in malaria elimination. Despite the successful employment of comprehensive integrated malaria control programmes, further strengthening of vector control components through IVM is relevant, especially during the "end-game" where control is successful and further efforts are required to go from low transmission situations to sustained local and country-wide malaria elimination. To meet this need and to ensure sustainability of control efforts, malaria control programmes should strengthen their capacity to use data for decision-making with respect to evaluation of current vector control programmes, employment of additional vector control tools in conjunction with ITN/IRS tactics, case-detection and treatment strategies, and determine how much and what types of vector control and interdisciplinary input are required to achieve malaria elimination. Similarly, on a global scale, there is a need for continued research to identify and evaluate new tools for vector control that can be integrated with

  8. A simple method of equine limb force vector analysis and its potential applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobbs, Sarah Jane; Robinson, Mark A; Clayton, Hilary M

    2018-01-01

    Ground reaction forces (GRF) measured during equine gait analysis are typically evaluated by analyzing discrete values obtained from continuous force-time data for the vertical, longitudinal and transverse GRF components. This paper describes a simple, temporo-spatial method of displaying and analyzing sagittal plane GRF vectors. In addition, the application of statistical parametric mapping (SPM) is introduced to analyse differences between contra-lateral fore and hindlimb force-time curves throughout the stance phase. The overall aim of the study was to demonstrate alternative methods of evaluating functional (a)symmetry within horses. GRF and kinematic data were collected from 10 horses trotting over a series of four force plates (120 Hz). The kinematic data were used to determine clean hoof contacts. The stance phase of each hoof was determined using a 50 N threshold. Vertical and longitudinal GRF for each stance phase were plotted both as force-time curves and as force vector diagrams in which vectors originating at the centre of pressure on the force plate were drawn at intervals of 8.3 ms for the duration of stance. Visual evaluation was facilitated by overlay of the vector diagrams for different limbs. Summary vectors representing the magnitude (VecMag) and direction (VecAng) of the mean force over the entire stance phase were superimposed on the force vector diagram. Typical measurements extracted from the force-time curves (peak forces, impulses) were compared with VecMag and VecAng using partial correlation (controlling for speed). Paired samples t -tests (left v. right diagonal pair comparison and high v. low vertical force diagonal pair comparison) were performed on discrete and vector variables using traditional methods and Hotelling's T 2 tests on normalized stance phase data using SPM. Evidence from traditional statistical tests suggested that VecMag is more influenced by the vertical force and impulse, whereas VecAng is more influenced by the

  9. Explicit isospectral flows for the AKNS operator on the unit interval

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amour, L

    2009-01-01

    We consider the AKNS operator on the unit interval. The boundary conditions are self-adjoint separated boundary conditions. For fixed boundary conditions, we make the formulae for flows induced by general tangent vector fields on isospectral sets explicit

  10. Applications of the conserved vector current theory and the partially conserved axial-vector current theory to nuclear beta-decays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tint, M.

    The contribution of the mesonic exchange effect to the conserved vector current in the first forbidden β-decay of Ra E is estimated under the headings: (1) The conserved vector current. (2) The CVC theory and the first forbidden β-decays. (3) Shell model calculations of some matrix-elements. (4) Direct calculation of the exchange term. Considering the mesonic exchange effect in the axial vector-current of β-decay the partially conserved axial vector current theory and experimental results of the process p + p → d + π + are examined. (U.K.)

  11. Feature Vector Construction Method for IRIS Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odinokikh, G.; Fartukov, A.; Korobkin, M.; Yoo, J.

    2017-05-01

    One of the basic stages of iris recognition pipeline is iris feature vector construction procedure. The procedure represents the extraction of iris texture information relevant to its subsequent comparison. Thorough investigation of feature vectors obtained from iris showed that not all the vector elements are equally relevant. There are two characteristics which determine the vector element utility: fragility and discriminability. Conventional iris feature extraction methods consider the concept of fragility as the feature vector instability without respect to the nature of such instability appearance. This work separates sources of the instability into natural and encodinginduced which helps deeply investigate each source of instability independently. According to the separation concept, a novel approach of iris feature vector construction is proposed. The approach consists of two steps: iris feature extraction using Gabor filtering with optimal parameters and quantization with separated preliminary optimized fragility thresholds. The proposed method has been tested on two different datasets of iris images captured under changing environmental conditions. The testing results show that the proposed method surpasses all the methods considered as a prior art by recognition accuracy on both datasets.

  12. A nonlinear support vector machine model with hard penalty function based on glowworm swarm optimization for forecasting daily global solar radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, He; Dong, Yao

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Eclat data mining algorithm is used to determine the possible predictors. • Support vector machine is converted into a ridge regularization problem. • Hard penalty selects the number of radial basis functions to simply the structure. • Glowworm swarm optimization is utilized to determine the optimal parameters. - Abstract: For a portion of the power which is generated by grid connected photovoltaic installations, an effective solar irradiation forecasting approach must be crucial to ensure the quality and the security of power grid. This paper develops and investigates a novel model to forecast 30 daily global solar radiation at four given locations of the United States. Eclat data mining algorithm is first presented to discover association rules between solar radiation and several meteorological factors laying a theoretical foundation for these correlative factors as input vectors. An effective and innovative intelligent optimization model based on nonlinear support vector machine and hard penalty function is proposed to forecast solar radiation by converting support vector machine into a regularization problem with ridge penalty, adding a hard penalty function to select the number of radial basis functions, and using glowworm swarm optimization algorithm to determine the optimal parameters of the model. In order to illustrate our validity of the proposed method, the datasets at four sites of the United States are split to into training data and test data, separately. The experiment results reveal that the proposed model delivers the best forecasting performances comparing with other competitors.

  13. Vectorization of Monte Carlo particle transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burns, P.J.; Christon, M.; Schweitzer, R.; Lubeck, O.M.; Wasserman, H.J.; Simmons, M.L.; Pryor, D.V.

    1989-01-01

    This paper reports that fully vectorized versions of the Los Alamos National Laboratory benchmark code Gamteb, a Monte Carlo photon transport algorithm, were developed for the Cyber 205/ETA-10 and Cray X-MP/Y-MP architectures. Single-processor performance measurements of the vector and scalar implementations were modeled in a modified Amdahl's Law that accounts for additional data motion in the vector code. The performance and implementation strategy of the vector codes are related to architectural features of each machine. Speedups between fifteen and eighteen for Cyber 205/ETA-10 architectures, and about nine for CRAY X-MP/Y-MP architectures are observed. The best single processor execution time for the problem was 0.33 seconds on the ETA-10G, and 0.42 seconds on the CRAY Y-MP

  14. Horizontal vectorization of electron repulsion integrals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pritchard, Benjamin P; Chow, Edmond

    2016-10-30

    We present an efficient implementation of the Obara-Saika algorithm for the computation of electron repulsion integrals that utilizes vector intrinsics to calculate several primitive integrals concurrently in a SIMD vector. Initial benchmarks display a 2-4 times speedup with AVX instructions over comparable scalar code, depending on the basis set. Speedup over scalar code is found to be sensitive to the level of contraction of the basis set, and is best for (lAlB|lClD) quartets when lD  = 0 or lB=lD=0, which makes such a vectorization scheme particularly suitable for density fitting. The basic Obara-Saika algorithm, how it is vectorized, and the performance bottlenecks are analyzed and discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. A vector lattice version of Radström's embedding theorem

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Radström's embedding theorem for 'near vector spaces', which are essentially vector spaces without additive inverses, is extended to embeddings of 'near vector lattices', which are essentially vector lattices without additive inverses, into vector lattices. If the 'near vector space' is endowed with a metric, properties on the ...

  16. Detection of Pathological Voice Using Cepstrum Vectors: A Deep Learning Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Shih-Hau; Tsao, Yu; Hsiao, Min-Jing; Chen, Ji-Ying; Lai, Ying-Hui; Lin, Feng-Chuan; Wang, Chi-Te

    2018-03-19

    Computerized detection of voice disorders has attracted considerable academic and clinical interest in the hope of providing an effective screening method for voice diseases before endoscopic confirmation. This study proposes a deep-learning-based approach to detect pathological voice and examines its performance and utility compared with other automatic classification algorithms. This study retrospectively collected 60 normal voice samples and 402 pathological voice samples of 8 common clinical voice disorders in a voice clinic of a tertiary teaching hospital. We extracted Mel frequency cepstral coefficients from 3-second samples of a sustained vowel. The performances of three machine learning algorithms, namely, deep neural network (DNN), support vector machine, and Gaussian mixture model, were evaluated based on a fivefold cross-validation. Collective cases from the voice disorder database of MEEI (Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary) were used to verify the performance of the classification mechanisms. The experimental results demonstrated that DNN outperforms Gaussian mixture model and support vector machine. Its accuracy in detecting voice pathologies reached 94.26% and 90.52% in male and female subjects, based on three representative Mel frequency cepstral coefficient features. When applied to the MEEI database for validation, the DNN also achieved a higher accuracy (99.32%) than the other two classification algorithms. By stacking several layers of neurons with optimized weights, the proposed DNN algorithm can fully utilize the acoustic features and efficiently differentiate between normal and pathological voice samples. Based on this pilot study, future research may proceed to explore more application of DNN from laboratory and clinical perspectives. Copyright © 2018 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Transfection of mouse cytotoxic T lymphocyte with an antisense granzyme A vector reduces lytic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talento, A; Nguyen, M; Law, S; Wu, J K; Poe, M; Blake, J T; Patel, M; Wu, T J; Manyak, C L; Silberklang, M

    1992-12-15

    Murine CTL have seven serine proteases, known as granzymes, in their lytic granules. Despite considerable effort, convincing evidence that these enzymes play an obligatory role in the lytic process has not been presented. To investigate the function of one of these proteases, granzyme A (GA), we utilized an antisense expression vector to lower the level of the enzyme in the cells. An expression vector containing antisense cDNA for GA and the gene for hygromycin B resistance was constructed and electroporated into the murine CTL line, AR1. Transfectants were selected based on resistance to hygromycin B, and a number of stable lines were developed. One of the antisense lines had greatly reduced levels of GA mRNA, when compared to the parental cells or to control lines transfected with the vector lacking the antisense DNA. The message levels for two other CTL granule proteins, granzyme B and perforin, were unaffected by the antisense vector. The amount of GA, as measured by enzymatic activity, was 3- to 10-fold lower in the transfectant. Most significantly, this line also consistently showed 50 to 70% lower ability to lyse nucleated target cells and to degrade their DNA. Furthermore, it exhibited 90 to 95% lower lytic activity to anti-CD3-coated SRBC. Conjugate formation with target cells, however, was normal. These data provide strong evidence that GA plays an important role in the cytolytic cycle, and that the quantity of enzyme is a limiting factor in these cytolytic cells.

  18. Leishmaniasis transmission: distribution and coarse-resolution ecology of two vectors and two parasites in Egypt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdallah M. Samy

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In past decades, leishmaniasis burden has been low across Egypt; however, changing environment and land use has placed several parts of the country at risk. As a consequence, leishmaniasis has become a particularly difficult health problem, both for local inhabitants and for multinational military personnel. Methods: To evaluate coarse-resolution aspects of the ecology of leishmaniasis transmission, collection records for sandflies and Leishmania species were obtained from diverse sources. To characterize environmental variation across the country, we used multitemporal Land Surface Temperature (LST and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS for 2005-2011. Ecological niche models were generated using MaxEnt, and results were analyzed using background similarity tests to assess whether associations among vectors and parasites (i.e., niche similarity can be detected across broad geographic regions. Results: We found niche similarity only between one vector species and its corresponding parasite species (i.e., Phlebotomus papatasi with Leishmania major, suggesting that geographic ranges of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis and its potential vector may overlap, but under distinct environmental associations. Other associations (e.g., P. sergenti with L. major were not supported. Mapping suitable areas for each species suggested that northeastern Egypt is particularly at risk because both parasites have potential to circulate. Conclusions: Ecological niche modeling approaches can be used as a first-pass assessment of vector-parasite interactions, offering useful insights into constraints on the geography of transmission patterns of leishmaniasis.

  19. Search for intermediate vector bosons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klajn, D.B.; Rubbia, K.; Meer, S.

    1983-01-01

    Problem of registration and search for intermediate vector bosons is discussed. According to weak-current theory there are three intermediate vector bosons with +1(W + )-1(W - ) and zero (Z 0 ) electric charges. It was suggested to conduct the investigation into particles in 1976 by cline, Rubbia and Makintair using proton-antiproton beams. Major difficulties of the experiment are related to the necessity of formation of sufficient amount of antiparticles and the method of antiproton beam ''cooling'' for the purpose of reduction of its random movements. The stochastic method was suggested by van der Meer in 1968 as one of possible cooling methods. Several large detectors were designed for searching intermediate vector bosons

  20. On vector fields having properties of Reeb fields

    OpenAIRE

    Hajduk, Boguslaw; Walczak, Rafal

    2011-01-01

    We study constructions of vector fields with properties which are characteristic to Reeb vector fields of contact forms. In particular, we prove that all closed oriented odd-dimensional manifold have geodesible vector fields.

  1. Groups, matrices, and vector spaces a group theoretic approach to linear algebra

    CERN Document Server

    Carrell, James B

    2017-01-01

    This unique text provides a geometric approach to group theory and linear algebra, bringing to light the interesting ways in which these subjects interact. Requiring few prerequisites beyond understanding the notion of a proof, the text aims to give students a strong foundation in both geometry and algebra. Starting with preliminaries (relations, elementary combinatorics, and induction), the book then proceeds to the core topics: the elements of the theory of groups and fields (Lagrange's Theorem, cosets, the complex numbers and the prime fields), matrix theory and matrix groups, determinants, vector spaces, linear mappings, eigentheory and diagonalization, Jordan decomposition and normal form, normal matrices, and quadratic forms. The final two chapters consist of a more intensive look at group theory, emphasizing orbit stabilizer methods, and an introduction to linear algebraic groups, which enriches the notion of a matrix group. Applications involving symm etry groups, determinants, linear coding theory ...

  2. Introduction to Matrix Algebra, Student's Text, Unit 23.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Frank B.; And Others

    Unit 23 in the SMSG secondary school mathematics series is a student text covering the following topics in matrix algebra: matrix operations, the algebra of 2 X 2 matrices, matrices and linear systems, representation of column matrices as geometric vectors, and transformations of the plane. Listed in the appendix are four research exercises in…

  3. Vector fields and gravity on the lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khatsymovsky, V.M.

    1988-01-01

    The problem of discretization of vector field on Regge lattice is considered. Our approach is based on geometrical interpretation of the vector field as the field of infinitesimal coordinate transformation. A discrete version of the vector field action is obtained as a particular case of the continuum action, and it is shown to have the true continuum limit

  4. Visualizing vector field topology in fluid flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helman, James L.; Hesselink, Lambertus

    1991-01-01

    Methods of automating the analysis and display of vector field topology in general and flow topology in particular are discussed. Two-dimensional vector field topology is reviewed as the basis for the examination of topology in three-dimensional separated flows. The use of tangent surfaces and clipping in visualizing vector field topology in fluid flows is addressed.

  5. [Orthogonal Vector Projection Algorithm for Spectral Unmixing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Mei-ping; Xu, Xing-wei; Chang, Chein-I; An, Ju-bai; Yao, Li

    2015-12-01

    Spectrum unmixing is an important part of hyperspectral technologies, which is essential for material quantity analysis in hyperspectral imagery. Most linear unmixing algorithms require computations of matrix multiplication and matrix inversion or matrix determination. These are difficult for programming, especially hard for realization on hardware. At the same time, the computation costs of the algorithms increase significantly as the number of endmembers grows. Here, based on the traditional algorithm Orthogonal Subspace Projection, a new method called. Orthogonal Vector Projection is prompted using orthogonal principle. It simplifies this process by avoiding matrix multiplication and inversion. It firstly computes the final orthogonal vector via Gram-Schmidt process for each endmember spectrum. And then, these orthogonal vectors are used as projection vector for the pixel signature. The unconstrained abundance can be obtained directly by projecting the signature to the projection vectors, and computing the ratio of projected vector length and orthogonal vector length. Compared to the Orthogonal Subspace Projection and Least Squares Error algorithms, this method does not need matrix inversion, which is much computation costing and hard to implement on hardware. It just completes the orthogonalization process by repeated vector operations, easy for application on both parallel computation and hardware. The reasonability of the algorithm is proved by its relationship with Orthogonal Sub-space Projection and Least Squares Error algorithms. And its computational complexity is also compared with the other two algorithms', which is the lowest one. At last, the experimental results on synthetic image and real image are also provided, giving another evidence for effectiveness of the method.

  6. Correction of Bowtie-Filter Normalization and Crescent Artifacts for a Clinical CBCT System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hong; Kong, Vic; Huang, Ke; Jin, Jian-Yue

    2017-02-01

    To present our experiences in understanding and minimizing bowtie-filter crescent artifacts and bowtie-filter normalization artifacts in a clinical cone beam computed tomography system. Bowtie-filter position and profile variations during gantry rotation were studied. Two previously proposed strategies (A and B) were applied to the clinical cone beam computed tomography system to correct bowtie-filter crescent artifacts. Physical calibration and analytical approaches were used to minimize the norm phantom misalignment and to correct for bowtie-filter normalization artifacts. A combined procedure to reduce bowtie-filter crescent artifacts and bowtie-filter normalization artifacts was proposed and tested on a norm phantom, CatPhan, and a patient and evaluated using standard deviation of Hounsfield unit along a sampling line. The bowtie-filter exhibited not only a translational shift but also an amplitude variation in its projection profile during gantry rotation. Strategy B was better than strategy A slightly in minimizing bowtie-filter crescent artifacts, possibly because it corrected the amplitude variation, suggesting that the amplitude variation plays a role in bowtie-filter crescent artifacts. The physical calibration largely reduced the misalignment-induced bowtie-filter normalization artifacts, and the analytical approach further reduced bowtie-filter normalization artifacts. The combined procedure minimized both bowtie-filter crescent artifacts and bowtie-filter normalization artifacts, with Hounsfield unit standard deviation being 63.2, 45.0, 35.0, and 18.8 Hounsfield unit for the best correction approaches of none, bowtie-filter crescent artifacts, bowtie-filter normalization artifacts, and bowtie-filter normalization artifacts + bowtie-filter crescent artifacts, respectively. The combined procedure also demonstrated reduction of bowtie-filter crescent artifacts and bowtie-filter normalization artifacts in a CatPhan and a patient. We have developed a step

  7. Measurement of food colour in L*a*b* units from RGB digital image using least squares support vector machine regression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Romaniello

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work is to evaluate the potential of least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM regression to develop an efficient method to measure the colour of food materials in L*a*b* units by means of a computer vision systems (CVS. A laboratory CVS, based on colour digital camera (CDC, was implemented and three LS-SVM models were trained and validated, one for each output variables (L*, a*, and b* required by this problem, using the RGB signals generated by the CDC as input variables to these models. The colour target-based approach was used to camera characterization and a standard reference target of 242 colour samples was acquired using the CVS and a colorimeter. This data set was split in two sets of equal sizes, for training and validating the LS-SVM models. An effective two-stage grid search process on the parameters space was performed in MATLAB to tune the regularization parameters γ and the kernel parameters σ2 of the three LS-SVM models. A 3-8-3 multilayer feed-forward neural network (MFNN, according to the research conducted by León et al. (2006, was also trained in order to compare its performance with those of LS-SVM models. The LS-SVM models developed in this research have been shown better generalization capability then the MFNN, allowed to obtain high correlations between L*a*b* data acquired using the colorimeter and the corresponding data obtained by transformation of the RGB data acquired by the CVS. In particular, for the validation set, R2 values equal to 0.9989, 0.9987, and 0.9994 for L*, a* and b* parameters were obtained. The root mean square error values were 0.6443, 0.3226, and 0.2702 for L*, a*, and b* respectively, and the average of colour differences ΔEab was 0.8232±0.5033 units. Thus, LS-SVM regression seems to be a useful tool to measurement of food colour using a low cost CVS.

  8. Applicability of vector processing to large-scale nuclear codes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishiguro, Misako; Harada, Hiroo; Matsuura, Toshihiko; Okuda, Motoi; Ohta, Fumio; Umeya, Makoto.

    1982-03-01

    To meet the growing trend of computational requirements in JAERI, introduction of a high-speed computer with vector processing faculty (a vector processor) is desirable in the near future. To make effective use of a vector processor, appropriate optimization of nuclear codes to pipelined-vector architecture is vital, which will pose new problems concerning code development and maintenance. In this report, vector processing efficiency is assessed with respect to large-scale nuclear codes by examining the following items: 1) The present feature of computational load in JAERI is analyzed by compiling the computer utilization statistics. 2) Vector processing efficiency is estimated for the ten heavily-used nuclear codes by analyzing their dynamic behaviors run on a scalar machine. 3) Vector processing efficiency is measured for the other five nuclear codes by using the current vector processors, FACOM 230-75 APU and CRAY-1. 4) Effectiveness of applying a high-speed vector processor to nuclear codes is evaluated by taking account of the characteristics in JAERI jobs. Problems of vector processors are also discussed from the view points of code performance and ease of use. (author)

  9. Estimation of Motion Vector Fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Rasmus

    1993-01-01

    This paper presents an approach to the estimation of 2-D motion vector fields from time varying image sequences. We use a piecewise smooth model based on coupled vector/binary Markov random fields. We find the maximum a posteriori solution by simulated annealing. The algorithm generate sample...... fields by means of stochastic relaxation implemented via the Gibbs sampler....

  10. Exotic composite vector boson

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akama, K.; Hattori, T.; Yasue, M.

    1991-01-01

    An exotic composite vector boson V is introduced in two dynamical models of composite quarks, leptons, W, and Z. One is based on four-Fermi interactions, in which composite vector bosons are regarded as fermion-antifermion bound states and the other is based on the confining SU(2) L gauge model, in which they are given by scalar-antiscalar bound states. Both approaches describe the same effective interactions for the sector of composite quarks, leptons, W, Z, γ, and V

  11. Construction of permanently inducible miRNA-based expression vectors using site-specific recombinases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garwick-Coppens Sara E

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background RNA interference (RNAi is a conserved gene silencing mechanism mediated by small inhibitory microRNAs (miRNAs. Promoter-driven miRNA expression vectors have emerged as important tools for delivering natural or artificially designed miRNAs to eukaryotic cells and organisms. Such systems can be used to query the normal or pathogenic functions of natural miRNAs or messenger RNAs, or to therapeutically silence disease genes. Results As with any molecular cloning procedure, building miRNA-based expression constructs requires a time investment and some molecular biology skills. To improve efficiency and accelerate the construction process, we developed a method to rapidly generate miRNA expression vectors using recombinases instead of more traditional cut-and-paste molecular cloning techniques. In addition to streamlining the construction process, our cloning strategy provides vectors with added versatility. In our system, miRNAs can be constitutively expressed from the U6 promoter, or inducibly expressed by Cre recombinase. We also engineered a built-in mechanism to destroy the vector with Flp recombinase, if desired. Finally, to further simplify the construction process, we developed a software package that automates the prediction and design of optimal miRNA sequences using our system. Conclusions We designed and tested a modular system to rapidly clone miRNA expression cassettes. Our strategy reduces the hands-on time required to successfully generate effective constructs, and can be implemented in labs with minimal molecular cloning expertise. This versatile system provides options that permit constitutive or inducible miRNA expression, depending upon the needs of the end user. As such, it has utility for basic or translational applications.

  12. Vector models in RETRAN-02 MOD 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinnersly, S.R.

    1985-06-01

    The vector momentum model in RETRAN-02 allows momentum flux to be modelled in two dimensions. Vector models in RETRAN-2 are described, including both the actual implementation in the code and the specification given in the code manual. The vector momentum model is described in detail. Other models which use vector quantities include models for volume average flow, volume average slip velocity, volume average phase velocities and fill junction flows. Both code implementations and code manual descriptions are described and inconsistencies noted. The differences between the standard RETRA-02 Mod 2 version and the Winfrith version RETN2204 are noted. (U.K.)

  13. Evaluation of vectorized Monte Carlo algorithms on GPUs for a neutron Eigenvalue problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, X.; Liu, T.; Ji, W.; Xu, X. G.; Brown, F. B.

    2013-01-01

    Conventional Monte Carlo (MC) methods for radiation transport computations are 'history-based', which means that one particle history at a time is tracked. Simulations based on such methods suffer from thread divergence on the graphics processing unit (GPU), which severely affects the performance of GPUs. To circumvent this limitation, event-based vectorized MC algorithms can be utilized. A versatile software test-bed, called ARCHER - Accelerated Radiation-transport Computations in Heterogeneous Environments - was used for this study. ARCHER facilitates the development and testing of a MC code based on the vectorized MC algorithm implemented on GPUs by using NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). The ARCHER GPU code was designed to solve a neutron eigenvalue problem and was tested on a NVIDIA Tesla M2090 Fermi card. We found that although the vectorized MC method significantly reduces the occurrence of divergent branching and enhances the warp execution efficiency, the overall simulation speed is ten times slower than the conventional history-based MC method on GPUs. By analyzing detailed GPU profiling information from ARCHER, we discovered that the main reason was the large amount of global memory transactions, causing severe memory access latency. Several possible solutions to alleviate the memory latency issue are discussed. (authors)

  14. Evaluation of vectorized Monte Carlo algorithms on GPUs for a neutron Eigenvalue problem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du, X.; Liu, T.; Ji, W.; Xu, X. G. [Nuclear Engineering Program, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States); Brown, F. B. [Monte Carlo Codes Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)

    2013-07-01

    Conventional Monte Carlo (MC) methods for radiation transport computations are 'history-based', which means that one particle history at a time is tracked. Simulations based on such methods suffer from thread divergence on the graphics processing unit (GPU), which severely affects the performance of GPUs. To circumvent this limitation, event-based vectorized MC algorithms can be utilized. A versatile software test-bed, called ARCHER - Accelerated Radiation-transport Computations in Heterogeneous Environments - was used for this study. ARCHER facilitates the development and testing of a MC code based on the vectorized MC algorithm implemented on GPUs by using NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). The ARCHER{sub GPU} code was designed to solve a neutron eigenvalue problem and was tested on a NVIDIA Tesla M2090 Fermi card. We found that although the vectorized MC method significantly reduces the occurrence of divergent branching and enhances the warp execution efficiency, the overall simulation speed is ten times slower than the conventional history-based MC method on GPUs. By analyzing detailed GPU profiling information from ARCHER, we discovered that the main reason was the large amount of global memory transactions, causing severe memory access latency. Several possible solutions to alleviate the memory latency issue are discussed. (authors)

  15. Vector fields satisfying the barycenter property

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee Manseob

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available We show that if a vector field X has the C1 robustly barycenter property then it does not have singularities and it is Axiom A without cycles. Moreover, if a generic C1-vector field has the barycenter property then it does not have singularities and it is Axiom A without cycles. Moreover, we apply the results to the divergence free vector fields. It is an extension of the results of the barycenter property for generic diffeomorphisms and volume preserving diffeomorphisms [1].

  16. Adenovirus Vector-Derived VA-RNA-Mediated Innate Immune Responses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroyuki Mizuguchi

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The major limitation of the clinical use of replication-incompetent adenovirus (Ad vectors is the interference by innate immune responses, including induction of inflammatory cytokines and interferons (IFN, following in vivo application of Ad vectors. Ad vector-induced production of inflammatory cytokines and IFNs also results in severe organ damage and efficient induction of acquired immune responses against Ad proteins and transgene products. Ad vector-induced innate immune responses are triggered by the recognition of Ad components by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs. In order to reduce the side effects by Ad vector-induced innate immune responses and to develop safer Ad vectors, it is crucial to clarify which PRRs and which Ad components are involved in Ad vector-induced innate immune responses. Our group previously demonstrated that myeloid differentiating factor 88 (MyD88 and toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9 play crucial roles in the Ad vector-induced inflammatory cytokine production in mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. Furthermore, our group recently found that virus associated-RNAs (VA-RNAs, which are about 160 nucleotide-long non-coding small RNAs encoded in the Ad genome, are involved in IFN production through the IFN-β promoter stimulator-1 (IPS-1-mediated signaling pathway following Ad vector transduction. The aim of this review is to highlight the Ad vector-induced innate immune responses following transduction, especially VA-RNA-mediated innate immune responses. Our findings on the mechanism of Ad vector-induced innate immune responses should make an important contribution to the development of safer Ad vectors, such as an Ad vector lacking expression of VA-RNAs.

  17. WEBnm@: a web application for normal mode analyses of proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reuter Nathalie

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Normal mode analysis (NMA has become the method of choice to investigate the slowest motions in macromolecular systems. NMA is especially useful for large biomolecular assemblies, such as transmembrane channels or virus capsids. NMA relies on the hypothesis that the vibrational normal modes having the lowest frequencies (also named soft modes describe the largest movements in a protein and are the ones that are functionally relevant. Results We developed a web-based server to perform normal modes calculations and different types of analyses. Starting from a structure file provided by the user in the PDB format, the server calculates the normal modes and subsequently offers the user a series of automated calculations; normalized squared atomic displacements, vector field representation and animation of the first six vibrational modes. Each analysis is performed independently from the others and results can be visualized using only a web browser. No additional plug-in or software is required. For users who would like to analyze the results with their favorite software, raw results can also be downloaded. The application is available on http://www.bioinfo.no/tools/normalmodes. We present here the underlying theory, the application architecture and an illustration of its features using a large transmembrane protein as an example. Conclusion We built an efficient and modular web application for normal mode analysis of proteins. Non specialists can easily and rapidly evaluate the degree of flexibility of multi-domain protein assemblies and characterize the large amplitude movements of their domains.

  18. Scalar-vector bootstrap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rejon-Barrera, Fernando [Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Amsterdam,Science Park 904, Postbus 94485, 1090 GL, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Robbins, Daniel [Department of Physics, Texas A& M University,TAMU 4242, College Station, TX 77843 (United States)

    2016-01-22

    We work out all of the details required for implementation of the conformal bootstrap program applied to the four-point function of two scalars and two vectors in an abstract conformal field theory in arbitrary dimension. This includes a review of which tensor structures make appearances, a construction of the projectors onto the required mixed symmetry representations, and a computation of the conformal blocks for all possible operators which can be exchanged. These blocks are presented as differential operators acting upon the previously known scalar conformal blocks. Finally, we set up the bootstrap equations which implement crossing symmetry. Special attention is given to the case of conserved vectors, where several simplifications occur.

  19. Magnetic vector field tag and seal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Roger G.; Garcia, Anthony R.

    2004-08-31

    One or more magnets are placed in a container (preferably on objects inside the container) and the magnetic field strength and vector direction are measured with a magnetometer from at least one location near the container to provide the container with a magnetic vector field tag and seal. The location(s) of the magnetometer relative to the container are also noted. If the position of any magnet inside the container changes, then the measured vector fields at the these locations also change, indicating that the tag has been removed, the seal has broken, and therefore that the container and objects inside may have been tampered with. A hollow wheel with magnets inside may also provide a similar magnetic vector field tag and seal. As the wheel turns, the magnets tumble randomly inside, removing the tag and breaking the seal.

  20. Design of 2D time-varying vector fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guoning; Kwatra, Vivek; Wei, Li-Yi; Hansen, Charles D; Zhang, Eugene

    2012-10-01

    Design of time-varying vector fields, i.e., vector fields that can change over time, has a wide variety of important applications in computer graphics. Existing vector field design techniques do not address time-varying vector fields. In this paper, we present a framework for the design of time-varying vector fields, both for planar domains as well as manifold surfaces. Our system supports the creation and modification of various time-varying vector fields with desired spatial and temporal characteristics through several design metaphors, including streamlines, pathlines, singularity paths, and bifurcations. These design metaphors are integrated into an element-based design to generate the time-varying vector fields via a sequence of basis field summations or spatial constrained optimizations at the sampled times. The key-frame design and field deformation are also introduced to support other user design scenarios. Accordingly, a spatial-temporal constrained optimization and the time-varying transformation are employed to generate the desired fields for these two design scenarios, respectively. We apply the time-varying vector fields generated using our design system to a number of important computer graphics applications that require controllable dynamic effects, such as evolving surface appearance, dynamic scene design, steerable crowd movement, and painterly animation. Many of these are difficult or impossible to achieve via prior simulation-based methods. In these applications, the time-varying vector fields have been applied as either orientation fields or advection fields to control the instantaneous appearance or evolving trajectories of the dynamic effects.