Measurement of plasma unbound unconjugated bilirubin.

PubMed

Ahlfors, C E

2000-03-15

A method is described for measuring the unconjugated fraction of the unbound bilirubin concentration in plasma by combining the peroxidase method for determining unbound bilirubin with a diazo method for measuring conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin. The accuracy of the unbound bilirubin determination is improved by decreasing sample dilution, eliminating interference by conjugated bilirubin, monitoring changes in bilirubin concentration using diazo derivatives, and correcting for rate-limiting dissociation of bilirubin from albumin. The unbound unconjugated bilirubin concentration by the combined method in plasma from 20 jaundiced newborns was significantly greater than and poorly correlated with the unbound bilirubin determined by the existing peroxidase method (r = 0.7), possibly due to differences in sample dilution between the methods. The unbound unconjugated bilirubin was an unpredictable fraction of the unbound bilirubin in plasma samples from patients with similar total bilirubin concentrations but varying levels of conjugated bilirubin. A bilirubin-binding competitor was readily detected at a sample dilution typically used for the combined test but not at the dilution used for the existing peroxidase method. The combined method is ideally suited to measuring unbound unconjugated bilirubin in jaundiced human newborns or animal models of kernicterus. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Calculation of Relative Binding Free Energy in the Water-Filled Active Site of Oligopeptide-Binding Protein A.

PubMed

Maurer, Manuela; de Beer, Stephanie B A; Oostenbrink, Chris

2016-04-15

The periplasmic oligopeptide binding protein A (OppA) represents a well-known example of water-mediated protein-ligand interactions. Here, we perform free-energy calculations for three different ligands binding to OppA, using a thermodynamic integration approach. The tripeptide ligands share a high structural similarity (all have the sequence KXK), but their experimentally-determined binding free energies differ remarkably. Thermodynamic cycles were constructed for the ligands, and simulations conducted in the bound and (freely solvated) unbound states. In the unbound state, it was observed that the difference in conformational freedom between alanine and glycine leads to a surprisingly slow convergence, despite their chemical similarity. This could be overcome by increasing the softness parameter during alchemical transformations. Discrepancies remained in the bound state however, when comparing independent simulations of the three ligands. These difficulties could be traced to a slow relaxation of the water network within the active site. Fluctuations in the number of water molecules residing in the binding cavity occur mostly on a timescale larger than the simulation time along the alchemical path. After extensive simulations, relative binding free energies that were converged to within thermal noise could be obtained, which agree well with available experimental data.

Calculation of Relative Binding Free Energy in the Water-Filled Active Site of Oligopeptide-Binding Protein A

PubMed Central

Maurer, Manuela; de Beer, Stephanie B. A.; Oostenbrink, Chris

2018-01-01

The periplasmic oligopeptide binding protein A (OppA) represents a well-known example of water-mediated protein-ligand interactions. Here, we perform free-energy calculations for three different ligands binding to OppA, using a thermodynamic integration approach. The tripeptide ligands share a high structural similarity (all have the sequence KXK), but their experimentally-determined binding free energies differ remarkably. Thermodynamic cycles were constructed for the ligands, and simulations conducted in the bound and (freely solvated) unbound states. In the unbound state, it was observed that the difference in conformational freedom between alanine and glycine leads to a surprisingly slow convergence, despite their chemical similarity. This could be overcome by increasing the softness parameter during alchemical transformations. Discrepancies remained in the bound state however, when comparing independent simulations of the three ligands. These difficulties could be traced to a slow relaxation of the water network within the active site. Fluctuations in the number of water molecules residing in the binding cavity occur mostly on a timescale larger than the simulation time along the alchemical path. After extensive simulations, relative binding free energies that were converged to within thermal noise could be obtained, which agree well with available experimental data. PMID:27092480

CABS-dock web server for the flexible docking of peptides to proteins without prior knowledge of the binding site

PubMed Central

Kurcinski, Mateusz; Jamroz, Michal; Blaszczyk, Maciej; Kolinski, Andrzej; Kmiecik, Sebastian

2015-01-01

Protein–peptide interactions play a key role in cell functions. Their structural characterization, though challenging, is important for the discovery of new drugs. The CABS-dock web server provides an interface for modeling protein–peptide interactions using a highly efficient protocol for the flexible docking of peptides to proteins. While other docking algorithms require pre-defined localization of the binding site, CABS-dock does not require such knowledge. Given a protein receptor structure and a peptide sequence (and starting from random conformations and positions of the peptide), CABS-dock performs simulation search for the binding site allowing for full flexibility of the peptide and small fluctuations of the receptor backbone. This protocol was extensively tested over the largest dataset of non-redundant protein–peptide interactions available to date (including bound and unbound docking cases). For over 80% of bound and unbound dataset cases, we obtained models with high or medium accuracy (sufficient for practical applications). Additionally, as optional features, CABS-dock can exclude user-selected binding modes from docking search or to increase the level of flexibility for chosen receptor fragments. CABS-dock is freely available as a web server at http://biocomp.chem.uw.edu.pl/CABSdock. PMID:25943545

Formal Definitions of Unbounded Evolution and Innovation Reveal Universal Mechanisms for Open-Ended Evolution in Dynamical Systems.

PubMed

Adams, Alyssa; Zenil, Hector; Davies, Paul C W; Walker, Sara Imari

2017-04-20

Open-ended evolution (OEE) is relevant to a variety of biological, artificial and technological systems, but has been challenging to reproduce in silico. Most theoretical efforts focus on key aspects of open-ended evolution as it appears in biology. We recast the problem as a more general one in dynamical systems theory, providing simple criteria for open-ended evolution based on two hallmark features: unbounded evolution and innovation. We define unbounded evolution as patterns that are non-repeating within the expected Poincare recurrence time of an isolated system, and innovation as trajectories not observed in isolated systems. As a case study, we implement novel variants of cellular automata (CA) where the update rules are allowed to vary with time in three alternative ways. Each is capable of generating conditions for open-ended evolution, but vary in their ability to do so. We find that state-dependent dynamics, regarded as a hallmark of life, statistically out-performs other candidate mechanisms, and is the only mechanism to produce open-ended evolution in a scalable manner, essential to the notion of ongoing evolution. This analysis suggests a new framework for unifying mechanisms for generating OEE with features distinctive to life and its artifacts, with broad applicability to biological and artificial systems.

Statistical Study between Solar Wind, Magnetosheath and Plasma Sheet Fluctuation Properties and Correlation with Magnetotail Bursty Bulk Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, C. S.; Nykyri, K.; Dimmock, A. P.

2017-12-01

In this paper we test a hypothesis that magnetotail reconnection in the thin current sheet could be initiated by external fluctuations. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) has been observed during southward IMF and it can produce, cold, dense plasma transport and compressional fluctuations that can move further into the magnetosphere. The properties of the KHI depend on the magnetosheath seed fluctuation spectrum (Nykyri et al., JGR, 2017). In this paper we present a statistical correlation study between Solar Wind, Magnetosheath and Plasma sheet fluctuation properties using 9+ years of THEMIS data in aberrated GSM frame, and in a normalized coordinate system that takes into account the changes of the magnetopause and bow shock location with respect to changing solar wind conditions. We present statistical results of the plasma sheet fluctuation properties (dn, dV and dB) and their dependence on IMF orientation and fluctuation properties and resulting magnetosheath state. These statistical maps are compared with spatial distribution of magnetotail Bursty Bulk Flows to study possible correlations with magnetotail reconnection and these fluctuations.

Neutron unbound states in 28 Ne and 25 F

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, J. K.; Baumann, T.; Brown, B. A.

2012-11-01

Unbound states in Ne-28 and F-25 were populated in the reaction of a 102 MeV/nucleon Na-29 beam on a beryllium target. The measured decay energy of 32(22) keV in the Ne-27+n system corresponds to an unbound excited state in Ne-28 at 3.86(11) MeV. This is the first measured unbound state of Ne-28. The decay energy of the F-24+n system was measured as 300(170) keV. This places the second measured unbound state of F-25 at 4.66(17) MeV.

Population pharmacokinetics of unbound hydrocortisone in critically ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension.

PubMed

Vezina, Heather E; Ng, Chee M; Vazquez, Delia M; Barks, John D; Bhatt-Mehta, Varsha

2014-07-01

To determine the population pharmacokinetics of unbound hydrocortisone in critically ill neonates and infants receiving IV hydrocortisone for treatment of vasopressor-resistant hypotension and to identify patient-specific sources of pharmacokinetic variability. Prospective observational cohort study. Level 3 neonatal ICU. Sixty-two critically ill neonates and infants receiving IV hydrocortisone as part of standard of care for the treatment of vasopressor-resistant hypotension: median gestational age 28 weeks (range, 23-41), median weight 1.2 kg (range, 0.5-4.4), and 29 females. None. Unbound baseline cortisol and postdose hydrocortisone concentrations measured from blood samples being drawn for routine laboratory tests. A one-compartment model best described the data. Allometric weight and postmenstrual age were significant covariates on unbound hydrocortisone clearance and volume of distribution. Final population estimates for clearance, volume of distribution, and baseline cortisol concentration were 20.2 L/hr, 244 L, and 1.37 ng/mL, respectively. Using the median weight and postmenstrual age of our subjects (i.e., 1.2 kg and 28 wk) in the final model, the typical unbound hydrocortisone clearance and volume of distribution were 1.0 L/hr and 4.2 L, respectively. The typical half-life for unbound hydrocortisone was 2.9 hours. A sharp and continuous increase in unbound hydrocortisone clearance was observed at 35 weeks postmenstrual age. We report the first pharmacokinetic data for unbound hydrocortisone, the pharmacologically active moiety, in critically ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension. Unbound hydrocortisone clearance increased with body weight and was faster in children with an older postmenstrual age. Unbound hydrocortisone clearance increased sharply at 35 weeks postmenstrual age and continued to mature thereafter. This study lays the groundwork for evaluating unbound hydrocortisone exposure-response relationships and drawing definitive conclusions about the dosing of IV hydrocortisone in critically ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension.

Population pharmacokinetics of unbound hydrocortisone in critically ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension

PubMed Central

Vezina, Heather E.; Ng, Chee M.; Vazquez, Delia M.; Barks, John D.; Bhatt-Mehta, Varsha

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the population pharmacokinetics of unbound hydrocortisone (HC) in critically ill neonates and infants receiving intravenous HC for treatment of vasopressor-resistant hypotension and to identify patient-specific sources of pharmacokinetic variability. Design Prospective observational cohort study. Setting Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit. Patients Sixty-two critically ill neonates and infants receiving intravenous HC as part of standard of care for the treatment of vasopressor-resistant hypotension: median gestational age 28 weeks (range, 23 to 41), median weight 1.2 kg (range, 0.5 to 4.4), 29 females. Interventions None. Measurements Unbound baseline cortisol and post-dose HC concentrations measured from blood samples being drawn for routine laboratory tests. Main Results A one compartment model best described the data. Allometric weight and postmenstrual age (PMA) were significant covariates on unbound HC clearance (CL) and volume of distribution (V). Final population estimates for CL, V, and baseline cortisol concentration were 20.2 L/h, 244 L, and 1.37 ng/mL, respectively. Using the median weight and PMA of our subjects (i.e. 1.2 kg and 28 weeks) in the final model, the typical unbound HC CL and V were 1.0 L/h and 4.2 L, respectively. The typical half-life for unbound HC was 2.9 hours. A sharp and continuous increase in unbound HC CL was observed at 35 weeks PMA. Conclusions We report the first pharmacokinetic data for unbound HC, the pharmacologically active moiety, in critically ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension. Unbound HC CL increased with body weight and was faster in children with an older PMA. Unbound HC CL increased sharply at 35 weeks PMA and continued to mature thereafter. This study lays the groundwork for evaluating unbound HC exposure-response relationships and drawing definitive conclusions about the dosing of intravenous HC in critically-ill neonates and infants with vasopressor-resistant hypotension. PMID:24797719

Electron transfer statistics and thermal fluctuations in molecular junctions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goswami, Himangshu Prabal; Harbola, Upendra

2015-02-28

We derive analytical expressions for probability distribution function (PDF) for electron transport in a simple model of quantum junction in presence of thermal fluctuations. Our approach is based on the large deviation theory combined with the generating function method. For large number of electrons transferred, the PDF is found to decay exponentially in the tails with different rates due to applied bias. This asymmetry in the PDF is related to the fluctuation theorem. Statistics of fluctuations are analyzed in terms of the Fano factor. Thermal fluctuations play a quantitative role in determining the statistics of electron transfer; they tend tomore » suppress the average current while enhancing the fluctuations in particle transfer. This gives rise to both bunching and antibunching phenomena as determined by the Fano factor. The thermal fluctuations and shot noise compete with each other and determine the net (effective) statistics of particle transfer. Exact analytical expression is obtained for delay time distribution. The optimal values of the delay time between successive electron transfers can be lowered below the corresponding shot noise values by tuning the thermal effects.« less

Output power fluctuations due to different weights of macro particles used in particle-in-cell simulations of Cerenkov devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bao, Rong; Li, Yongdong; Liu, Chunliang

2016-07-15

The output power fluctuations caused by weights of macro particles used in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a backward wave oscillator and a travelling wave tube are statistically analyzed. It is found that the velocities of electrons passed a specific slow-wave structure form a specific electron velocity distribution. The electron velocity distribution obtained in PIC simulation with a relative small weight of macro particles is considered as an initial distribution. By analyzing this initial distribution with a statistical method, the estimations of the output power fluctuations caused by different weights of macro particles are obtained. The statistical method is verified bymore » comparing the estimations with the simulation results. The fluctuations become stronger with increasing weight of macro particles, which can also be determined reversely from estimations of the output power fluctuations. With the weights of macro particles optimized by the statistical method, the output power fluctuations in PIC simulations are relatively small and acceptable.« less

Self-adjointness of deformed unbounded operators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Much, Albert

2015-09-15

We consider deformations of unbounded operators by using the novel construction tool of warped convolutions. By using the Kato-Rellich theorem, we show that unbounded self-adjoint deformed operators are self-adjoint if they satisfy a certain condition. This condition proves itself to be necessary for the oscillatory integral to be well-defined. Moreover, different proofs are given for self-adjointness of deformed unbounded operators in the context of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory.

CABS-dock web server for the flexible docking of peptides to proteins without prior knowledge of the binding site.

PubMed

Kurcinski, Mateusz; Jamroz, Michal; Blaszczyk, Maciej; Kolinski, Andrzej; Kmiecik, Sebastian

2015-07-01

Protein-peptide interactions play a key role in cell functions. Their structural characterization, though challenging, is important for the discovery of new drugs. The CABS-dock web server provides an interface for modeling protein-peptide interactions using a highly efficient protocol for the flexible docking of peptides to proteins. While other docking algorithms require pre-defined localization of the binding site, CABS-dock does not require such knowledge. Given a protein receptor structure and a peptide sequence (and starting from random conformations and positions of the peptide), CABS-dock performs simulation search for the binding site allowing for full flexibility of the peptide and small fluctuations of the receptor backbone. This protocol was extensively tested over the largest dataset of non-redundant protein-peptide interactions available to date (including bound and unbound docking cases). For over 80% of bound and unbound dataset cases, we obtained models with high or medium accuracy (sufficient for practical applications). Additionally, as optional features, CABS-dock can exclude user-selected binding modes from docking search or to increase the level of flexibility for chosen receptor fragments. CABS-dock is freely available as a web server at http://biocomp.chem.uw.edu.pl/CABSdock. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Two Person Zero-Sum Semi-Markov Games with Unknown Holding Times Distribution on One Side: A Discounted Payoff Criterion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Minjarez-Sosa, J. Adolfo, E-mail: aminjare@gauss.mat.uson.mx; Luque-Vasquez, Fernando

This paper deals with two person zero-sum semi-Markov games with a possibly unbounded payoff function, under a discounted payoff criterion. Assuming that the distribution of the holding times H is unknown for one of the players, we combine suitable methods of statistical estimation of H with control procedures to construct an asymptotically discount optimal pair of strategies.

Density by moduli and Wijsman lacunary statistical convergence of sequences of sets.

PubMed

Bhardwaj, Vinod K; Dhawan, Shweta

2017-01-01

The main object of this paper is to introduce and study a new concept of f -Wijsman lacunary statistical convergence of sequences of sets, where f is an unbounded modulus. The definition of Wijsman lacunary strong convergence of sequences of sets is extended to a definition of Wijsman lacunary strong convergence with respect to a modulus for sequences of sets and it is shown that, under certain conditions on a modulus f , the concepts of Wijsman lacunary strong convergence with respect to a modulus f and f -Wijsman lacunary statistical convergence are equivalent on bounded sequences. We further characterize those θ for which [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] denote the sets of all f -Wijsman lacunary statistically convergent sequences and f -Wijsman statistically convergent sequences, respectively.

Dynamical decoupling of unbounded Hamiltonians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arenz, Christian; Burgarth, Daniel; Facchi, Paolo; Hillier, Robin

2018-03-01

We investigate the possibility to suppress interactions between a finite dimensional system and an infinite dimensional environment through a fast sequence of unitary kicks on the finite dimensional system. This method, called dynamical decoupling, is known to work for bounded interactions, but physical environments such as bosonic heat baths are usually modeled with unbounded interactions; hence, here, we initiate a systematic study of dynamical decoupling for unbounded operators. We develop a sufficient decoupling criterion for arbitrary Hamiltonians and a necessary decoupling criterion for semibounded Hamiltonians. We give examples for unbounded Hamiltonians where decoupling works and the limiting evolution as well as the convergence speed can be explicitly computed. We show that decoupling does not always work for unbounded interactions and we provide both physically and mathematically motivated examples.

Permutation entropy and statistical complexity analysis of turbulence in laboratory plasmas and the solar wind.

PubMed

Weck, P J; Schaffner, D A; Brown, M R; Wicks, R T

2015-02-01

The Bandt-Pompe permutation entropy and the Jensen-Shannon statistical complexity are used to analyze fluctuating time series of three different turbulent plasmas: the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the plasma wind tunnel of the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX), drift-wave turbulence of ion saturation current fluctuations in the edge of the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), and fully developed turbulent magnetic fluctuations of the solar wind taken from the Wind spacecraft. The entropy and complexity values are presented as coordinates on the CH plane for comparison among the different plasma environments and other fluctuation models. The solar wind is found to have the highest permutation entropy and lowest statistical complexity of the three data sets analyzed. Both laboratory data sets have larger values of statistical complexity, suggesting that these systems have fewer degrees of freedom in their fluctuations, with SSX magnetic fluctuations having slightly less complexity than the LAPD edge I(sat). The CH plane coordinates are compared to the shape and distribution of a spectral decomposition of the wave forms. These results suggest that fully developed turbulence (solar wind) occupies the lower-right region of the CH plane, and that other plasma systems considered to be turbulent have less permutation entropy and more statistical complexity. This paper presents use of this statistical analysis tool on solar wind plasma, as well as on an MHD turbulent experimental plasma.

Temporal scaling and spatial statistical analyses of groundwater level fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, H.; Yuan, L., Sr.; Zhang, Y.

2017-12-01

Natural dynamics such as groundwater level fluctuations can exhibit multifractionality and/or multifractality due likely to multi-scale aquifer heterogeneity and controlling factors, whose statistics requires efficient quantification methods. This study explores multifractionality and non-Gaussian properties in groundwater dynamics expressed by time series of daily level fluctuation at three wells located in the lower Mississippi valley, after removing the seasonal cycle in the temporal scaling and spatial statistical analysis. First, using the time-scale multifractional analysis, a systematic statistical method is developed to analyze groundwater level fluctuations quantified by the time-scale local Hurst exponent (TS-LHE). Results show that the TS-LHE does not remain constant, implying the fractal-scaling behavior changing with time and location. Hence, we can distinguish the potentially location-dependent scaling feature, which may characterize the hydrology dynamic system. Second, spatial statistical analysis shows that the increment of groundwater level fluctuations exhibits a heavy tailed, non-Gaussian distribution, which can be better quantified by a Lévy stable distribution. Monte Carlo simulations of the fluctuation process also show that the linear fractional stable motion model can well depict the transient dynamics (i.e., fractal non-Gaussian property) of groundwater level, while fractional Brownian motion is inadequate to describe natural processes with anomalous dynamics. Analysis of temporal scaling and spatial statistics therefore may provide useful information and quantification to understand further the nature of complex dynamics in hydrology.

The statistics of primordial density fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrow, John D.; Coles, Peter

1990-05-01

The statistical properties of the density fluctuations produced by power-law inflation are investigated. It is found that, even the fluctuations present in the scalar field driving the inflation are Gaussian, the resulting density perturbations need not be, due to stochastic variations in the Hubble parameter. All the moments of the density fluctuations are calculated, and is is argued that, for realistic parameter choices, the departures from Gaussian statistics are small and would have a negligible effect on the large-scale structure produced in the model. On the other hand, the model predicts a power spectrum with n not equal to 1, and this could be good news for large-scale structure.

Study of the statistical physics bases on superstatistics from the β-fluctuated to the T-fluctuated form

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sargolzaeipor, S.; Hassanabadi, H.; Chung, W. S.

2018-04-01

In this paper, we study the T -fluctuated form of superstatistics. In this form, some thermodynamic quantities such as the Helmholtz energy, the entropy and the internal energy, are expressed in terms of the T -fluctuated form for a canonical ensemble. In addition, the partition functions in the formalism for 2-level and 3-level distributions are derived. Then we make use of the T -fluctuated superstatistics for a quantum harmonic oscillator problem and the thermal properties of the system for three statistics of the Bose-Einstein, Maxwell-Boltzmann and Fermi-Dirac statistics are calculated. The effect of the deformation parameter on these properties is examined. All the results recover the well-known results by removing the deformation parameter.

Finite-data-size study on practical universal blind quantum computation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qiang; Li, Qiong

2018-07-01

The universal blind quantum computation with weak coherent pulses protocol is a practical scheme to allow a client to delegate a computation to a remote server while the computation hidden. However, in the practical protocol, a finite data size will influence the preparation efficiency in the remote blind qubit state preparation (RBSP). In this paper, a modified RBSP protocol with two decoy states is studied in the finite data size. The issue of its statistical fluctuations is analyzed thoroughly. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that two-decoy-state case with statistical fluctuation is closer to the asymptotic case than the one-decoy-state case with statistical fluctuation. Particularly, the two-decoy-state protocol can achieve a longer communication distance than the one-decoy-state case in this statistical fluctuation situation.

Population pharmacokinetics of phenytoin in critically ill children.

PubMed

Hennig, Stefanie; Norris, Ross; Tu, Quyen; van Breda, Karin; Riney, Kate; Foster, Kelly; Lister, Bruce; Charles, Bruce

2015-03-01

The objective was to study the population pharmacokinetics of bound and unbound phenytoin in critically ill children, including influences on the protein binding profile. A population pharmacokinetic approach was used to analyze paired protein-unbound and total phenytoin plasma concentrations (n = 146 each) from 32 critically ill children (0.08-17 years of age) who were admitted to a pediatric hospital, primarily intensive care unit. The pharmacokinetics of unbound and bound phenytoin and the influence of possible influential covariates were modeled and evaluated using visual predictive checks and bootstrapping. The pharmacokinetics of protein-unbound phenytoin was described satisfactorily by a 1-compartment model with first-order absorption in conjunction with a linear partition coefficient parameter to describe the binding of phenytoin to albumin. The partitioning coefficient describing protein binding and distribution to bound phenytoin was estimated to be 8.22. Nonlinear elimination of unbound phenytoin was not supported in this patient group. Weight, allometrically scaled for clearance and volume of distribution for the unbound and bound compartments, and albumin concentration significantly influenced the partition coefficient for protein binding of phenytoin. The population model can be applied to estimate the fraction of unbound phenytoin in critically ill children given an individual's albumin concentration. © 2014, The American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

THE Role OF Anisotropy AND Intermittency IN Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jankovicova, D.; Voros, Z.

2006-12-01

Turbulent fluctuations are common in the solar wind as well as in the Earth's magnetosphere. The fluctuations of both magnetic field and plasma parameters exhibit non-Gaussian statistics. Neither the amplitude of these fluctuations nor their spectral characteristics can provide a full statistical description of multi-scale features in turbulence. It substantiates a statistical approach including the estimation of experimentally accessible statistical moments. In this contribution, we will directly estimate the third (skewness) and the fourth (kurtosis) statistical moments from the available time series of magnetic measurements in the solar wind (ACE and WIND spacecraft) and in the Earth's magnetosphere (SYM-H index). Then we evaluate how the statistical moments change during strong and weak solar wind/magnetosphere coupling intervals.

Etravirine in CSF is highly protein bound

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Anh; Rossi, Steven; Croteau, David; Best, Brookie M.; Clifford, David; Collier, Ann C.; Gelman, Benjamin; Marra, Christina; McArthur, Justin; McCutchan, J. Allen; Morgello, Susan; Simpson, David; Ellis, Ronald J.; Grant, Igor; Capparelli, Edmund; Letendre, Scott; Ellis, Ronald J.; Letendre, Scott; Abramson, Ian; Al-Lozi, Muhammad; Atkinson, J. Hampton; Capparelli, Edmund; Clifford, David; Collier, Ann C.; Fennema-Notestine, Christine; Gamst, Anthony C.; Gelman, Benjamin; Heaton, Robert K.; Marcotte, Thomas D.; Marra, Christina; McCutchan, J. Allen; McArthur, Justin; Morgello, Susan; Simpson, David; Smith, Davey M.; Taylor, Michael J.; Theilmann, Rebecca; Vaida, Florin; Paul Woods, Steven; Cushman, Clint; Dawson, Matthew; Franklin, Donald; Jones, Trudy; Lewis, Kristen; Mintz, Letty; Teshome, Mengesha; Toperoff, Will

2013-01-01

Objectives Etravirine has high affinity for plasma drug-binding proteins, such as albumin and α1-acid glycoprotein, which limits the amount of unbound etravirine available to enter the CNS. The objective of this study was to compare total and unbound etravirine concentrations in CSF with plasma concentrations and the in vitro median inhibitory concentration (IC50) for wild-type HIV (0.9 ng/mL). Methods Total and bound etravirine concentrations were measured in 17 CSF and plasma pairs by isotope-dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy, radioligand displacement and ultracentrifugation. Unbound etravirine concentrations were calculated from the bound fraction. The dynamic range of the assay was 7.8–2000 (plasma) and 0.78–200 (CSF) ng/mL. Results Subjects were mostly middle-aged (median 43 years) white (78%) men (89%). All CSF etravirine concentrations were above the limit of quantification. Total and unbound median etravirine concentrations in CSF were 9.5 (IQR 6.4, 26.4) and 0.13 (IQR 0.08, 0.27) ng/mL, respectively. Etravirine was 96% (IQR 94.5, 97.2) protein bound in plasma and 98.4% (IQR 97.8, 98.8) in CSF. Total etravirine in CSF was 4.3% (IQR 3, 5.9) of total and 101% (IQR 76, 160) of unbound etravirine in plasma. There were no significant correlations between unbound etravirine concentrations and concentrations of albumin in plasma or CSF. Unbound etravirine concentrations in CSF did not reach the wild-type IC50 in any of the specimens. Conclusions Unbound etravirine may not achieve optimal concentrations to inhibit HIV replication in the CNS. PMID:23335197

Exploration of Toeplitz-like matrices with unbounded symbols is not a purely academic journey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böttcher, A.; Garoni, C.; Serra-Capizzano, S.

2017-11-01

It is often asked why Toeplitz-like matrices with unbounded symbols are worth studying. This paper gives an answer by presenting several concrete problems that motivate such studies. It surveys the central results of the theory of Generalized Locally Toeplitz (GLT) sequences in a self-contained tool-kit fashion, and gives a new extension from bounded Riemann integrable functions to unbounded almost everywhere continuous functions. The emergence of unbounded symbols is illustrated by local grid refinements in finite difference and finite element discretizations and also by preconditioning strategies. Bibliography: 40 titles.

Fractional superstatistics from a kinetic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ourabah, Kamel; Tribeche, Mouloud

2018-03-01

Through a kinetic approach, in which temperature fluctuations are taken into account, we obtain generalized fractional statistics interpolating between Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics. The latter correspond to the superstatistical analogues of the Polychronakos and Haldane-Wu statistics. The virial coefficients corresponding to these statistics are worked out and compared to those of an ideal two-dimensional anyon gas. It is shown that the obtained statistics reproduce correctly the second and third virial coefficients of an anyon gas. On this basis, a link is established between the statistical parameter and the strength of fluctuations. A further generalization is suggested by allowing the statistical parameter to fluctuate. As a by-product, superstatistics of ewkons, introduced recently to deal with dark energy [Phys. Rev. E 94, 062115 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevE.94.062115], are also obtained within the same method.

Directionality theory and the evolution of body size.

PubMed

Demetrius, L

2000-12-07

Directionality theory, a dynamic theory of evolution that integrates population genetics with demography, is based on the concept of evolutionary entropy, a measure of the variability in the age of reproducing individuals in a population. The main tenets of the theory are three principles relating the response to the ecological constraints a population experiences, with trends in entropy as the population evolves under mutation and natural selection. (i) Stationary size or fluctuations around a stationary size (bounded growth): a unidirectional increase in entropy; (ii) prolonged episodes of exponential growth (unbounded growth), large population size: a unidirectional decrease in entropy; and (iii) prolonged episodes of exponential growth (unbounded growth), small population size: random, non-directional change in entropy. We invoke these principles, together with an allometric relationship between entropy, and the morphometric variable body size, to provide evolutionary explanations of three empirical patterns pertaining to trends in body size, namely (i) Cope's rule, the tendency towards size increase within phyletic lineages; (ii) the island rule, which pertains to changes in body size that occur as species migrate from mainland populations to colonize island habitats; and (iii) Bergmann's rule, the tendency towards size increase with increasing latitude. The observation that these ecotypic patterns can be explained in terms of the directionality principles for entropy underscores the significance of evolutionary entropy as a unifying concept in forging a link between micro-evolution, the dynamics of gene frequency change, and macro-evolution, dynamic changes in morphometric variables.

Numerical bias in bounded and unbounded number line tasks.

PubMed

Cohen, Dale J; Blanc-Goldhammer, Daryn

2011-04-01

The number line task is often used to assess children's and adults' underlying representations of integers. Traditional bounded number line tasks, however, have limitations that can lead to misinterpretation. Here we present a new task, an unbounded number line task, that overcomes these limitations. In Experiment 1, we show that adults use a biased proportion estimation strategy to complete the traditional bounded number line task. In Experiment 2, we show that adults use a dead-reckoning integer estimation strategy in our unbounded number line task. Participants revealed a positively accelerating numerical bias in both tasks, but showed scalar variance only in the unbounded number line task. We conclude that the unbounded number line task is a more pure measure of integer representation than the bounded number line task, and using these results, we present a preliminary description of adults' underlying representation of integers.

New approach to statistical description of fluctuating particle fluxes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saenko, V. V.

2009-01-15

The probability density functions (PDFs) of the increments of fluctuating particle fluxes are investigated. It is found that the PDFs have heavy power-law tails decreasing as x{sup -{alpha}-1} at x {yields} {infinity}. This makes it possible to describe these PDFs in terms of fractionally stable distributions (FSDs) q(x; {alpha}, {beta}, {theta}, {lambda}). The parameters {alpha}, {beta}, {gamma}, and {lambda} were estimated statistically using as an example the time samples of fluctuating particle fluxes measured in the edge plasma of the L-2M stellarator. Two series of fluctuating fluxes measured before and after boronization of the vacuum chamber were processed. It ismore » shown that the increments of fluctuating fluxes are well described by DSDs. The effect of boronization on the parameters of FSDs is analyzed. An algorithm for statistically estimating the FSD parameters and a procedure for processing experimental data are described.« less

Simulation of spatially evolving turbulence and the applicability of Taylor's hypothesis in compressible flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sangsan; Lele, Sanjiva K.; Moin, Parviz

1992-01-01

For the numerical simulation of inhomogeneous turbulent flows, a method is developed for generating stochastic inflow boundary conditions with a prescribed power spectrum. Turbulence statistics from spatial simulations using this method with a low fluctuation Mach number are in excellent agreement with the experimental data, which validates the procedure. Turbulence statistics from spatial simulations are also compared to those from temporal simulations using Taylor's hypothesis. Statistics such as turbulence intensity, vorticity, and velocity derivative skewness compare favorably with the temporal simulation. However, the statistics of dilatation show a significant departure from those obtained in the temporal simulation. To directly check the applicability of Taylor's hypothesis, space-time correlations of fluctuations in velocity, vorticity, and dilatation are investigated. Convection velocities based on vorticity and velocity fluctuations are computed as functions of the spatial and temporal separations. The profile of the space-time correlation of dilatation fluctuations is explained via a wave propagation model.

Unbound particles in dark matter halos

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Behroozi, Peter S.; Wechsler, Risa H.; Loeb, Abraham, E-mail: behroozi@stanford.edu, E-mail: aloeb@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: rwechsler@stanford.edu

2013-06-01

We investigate unbound dark matter particles in halos by tracing particle trajectories in a simulation run to the far future (a = 100). We find that the traditional sum of kinetic and potential energies is a very poor predictor of which dark matter particles will eventually become unbound from halos. We also study the mass fraction of unbound particles, which increases strongly towards the edges of halos, and decreases significantly at higher redshifts. We discuss implications for dark matter detection experiments, precision calibrations of the halo mass function, the use of baryon fractions to constrain dark energy, and searches formore » intergalactic supernovae.« less

Unbound particles in dark matter halos

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Behroozi, Peter S.; Loeb, Abraham; Wechsler, Risa H.

2013-06-13

We investigate unbound dark matter particles in halos by tracing particle trajectories in a simulation run to the far future (a = 100). We find that the traditional sum of kinetic and potential energies is a very poor predictor of which dark matter particles will eventually become unbound from halos. We also study the mass fraction of unbound particles, which increases strongly towards the edges of halos, and decreases significantly at higher redshifts. We discuss implications for dark matter detection experiments, precision calibrations of the halo mass function, the use of baryon fractions to constrain dark energy, and searches formore » intergalactic supernovae.« less

MMT HYPERVELOCITY STAR SURVEY. II. FIVE NEW UNBOUND STARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Warren R.; Geller, Margaret J.; Kenyon, Scott J., E-mail: wbrown@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: mgeller@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: skenyon@cfa.harvard.edu

2012-05-20

We present the discovery of five new unbound hypervelocity stars (HVSs) in the outer Milky Way halo. Using a conservative estimate of Galactic escape velocity, our targeted spectroscopic survey has now identified 16 unbound HVSs as well as a comparable number of HVSs ejected on bound trajectories. A Galactic center origin for the HVSs is supported by their unbound velocities, the observed number of unbound stars, their stellar nature, their ejection time distribution, and their Galactic latitude and longitude distribution. Other proposed origins for the unbound HVSs, such as runaway ejections from the disk or dwarf galaxy tidal debris, cannotmore » be reconciled with the observations. An intriguing result is the spatial anisotropy of HVSs on the sky, which possibly reflects an anisotropic potential in the central 10-100 pc region of the Galaxy. Further progress requires measurement of the spatial distribution of HVSs over the southern sky. Our survey also identifies seven B supergiants associated with known star-forming galaxies; the absence of B supergiants elsewhere in the survey implies there are no new star-forming galaxies in our survey footprint to a depth of 1-2 Mpc.« less

Concentration fluctuations and dilution in aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapoor, Vivek; Kitanidis, Peter K.

1998-05-01

The concentration of solute undergoing advection and local dispersion in a random hydraulic conductivity field is analyzed to quantify its variability and dilution. Detailed numerical evaluations of the concentration variance σc2 are compared to an approximate analytical description, which is based on a characteristic variance residence time (VRT), over which local dispersion destroys concentration fluctuations, and effective dispersion coefficients that quantify solute spreading rates. Key features of the analytical description for a finite size impulse input of solute are (1) initially, the concentration fields become more irregular with time, i.e., coefficient of variation, CV=σc/, increases with time ( being the mean concentration); (2) owing to the action of local dispersion, at large times (t > VRT), σc2 is a linear combination of 2 and (∂/∂xi)2, and the CV decreases with time (at the center, CV ≅ (N)1/2 VRT/t, N being the macroscopic dimensionality of the plume); (3) at early time, dilution and spreading can be severely disconnected; however, at large time the volume occupied by solute approaches that apparent from its spatial second moments; and (4) in contrast to the advection-local dispersion case, under advection alone, the CV grows unboundedly with time (at the center, CV ∝ tN/4), and spatial second moment is increasingly disconnected from dilution, as time progresses. The predicted large time evolution of dilution and concentration fluctuation measures is observed in the numerical simulations.

Statistical properties of radiation power levels from a high-gain free-electron laser at and beyond saturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroeder, C. B.; Fawley, W. M.; Esarey, E.

2003-07-01

We investigate the statistical properties (e.g., shot-to-shot power fluctuations) of the radiation from a high-gain free-electron laser (FEL) operating in the nonlinear regime. We consider the case of an FEL amplifier reaching saturation whose shot-to-shot fluctuations in input radiation power follow a gamma distribution. We analyze the corresponding output power fluctuations at and beyond saturation, including beam energy spread effects, and find that there are well-characterized values of undulator length for which the fluctuations reach a minimum.

Enhanced γ -Ray Emission from Neutron Unbound States Populated in β Decay

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tain, J. L.; Valencia, E.; Algora, A.

2015-08-01

Total absorption spectroscopy was used to investigate the β -decay intensity to states above the neutron separation energy followed by γ -ray emission in 87,88Br and 94Rb. Accurate results were obtained thanks to the careful control of systematic errors. An unexpectedly large γ intensity was observed in all three cases extending well beyond the excitation energy region where neutron penetration is hindered by low neutron energy. The γ branching as a function of excitation energy was compared to Hauser-Feshbach model calculations. For 87Br and 88Br the branching reaches 57% and 20% respectively, and could be explained as a nuclear structuremore » effect. Some of the states populated in the daughter can only decay through the emission of a large orbital angular momentum neutron with a strongly reduced barrier penetrability. In the case of neutron-rich 94Rb the observed 4.5% branching is much larger than the calculations performed with standard nuclear statistical model parameters, even after proper correction for fluctuation effects on individual transition widths. The difference can be reconciled introducing an enhancement of one order-of-magnitude in the photon strength to neutron strength ratio. An increase in the photon strength function of such magnitude for very neutron-rich nuclei, if it proved to be correct, leads to a similar increase in the (n, γ) cross section that would have an impact on r process abundance calculations.« less

Role of excited state solvent fluctuations on time-dependent fluorescence Stokes shift

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Tanping, E-mail: tanping@lsu.edu, E-mail: revatik@lsu.edu; Kumar, Revati, E-mail: tanping@lsu.edu, E-mail: revatik@lsu.edu

2015-11-07

We explore the connection between the solvation dynamics of a chromophore upon photon excitation and equilibrium fluctuations of the solvent. Using molecular dynamics simulations, fluorescence Stokes shift for the tryptophan in Staphylococcus nuclease was examined using both nonequilibrium calculations and linear response theory. When the perturbed and unperturbed surfaces exhibit different solvent equilibrium fluctuations, the linear response approach on the former surface shows agreement with the nonequilibrium process. This agreement is excellent when the perturbed surface exhibits Gaussian statistics and qualitative in the case of an isomerization induced non-Gaussian statistics. However, the linear response theory on the unperturbed surface breaksmore » down even in the presence of Gaussian fluctuations. Experiments also provide evidence of the connection between the excited state solvent fluctuations and the total fluorescence shift. These observations indicate that the equilibrium statistics on the excited state surface characterize the relaxation dynamics of the fluorescence Stokes shift. Our studies specifically analyze the Gaussian fluctuations of the solvent in the complex protein environment and further confirm the role of solvent fluctuations on the excited state surface. The results are consistent with previous investigations, found in the literature, of solutes dissolved in liquids.« less

Statistics of velocity fluctuations of Geldart A particles in a circulating fluidized bed riser

DOE PAGES

Vaidheeswaran, Avinash; Shaffer, Franklin; Gopalan, Balaji

2017-11-21

Here, the statistics of fluctuating velocity components are studied in the riser of a closed-loop circulating fluidized bed with fluid catalytic cracking catalyst particles. Our analysis shows distinct similarities as well as deviations compared to existing theories and bench-scale experiments. The study confirms anisotropic and non-Maxwellian distribution of fluctuating velocity components. The velocity distribution functions (VDFs) corresponding to transverse fluctuations exhibit symmetry, and follow a stretched-exponential behavior up to three standard deviations. The form of the transverse VDF is largely determined by interparticle interactions. The tails become more overpopulated with an increase in particle loading. The observed deviations from themore » Gaussian distribution are represented using the leading order term in the Sonine expansion, which is commonly used to approximate the VDFs in kinetic theory for granular flows. The vertical fluctuating VDFs are asymmetric and the skewness shifts as the wall is approached. In comparison to transverse fluctuations, the vertical VDF is determined by the local hydrodynamics. This is an observation of particle velocity fluctuations in a large-scale system and their quantitative comparison with the Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics.« less

The Relationship between Children's Familiarity with Numbers and Their Performance in Bounded and Unbounded Number Line Estimations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebersbach, Mirjam; Luwel, Koen; Verschaffel, Lieven

2015-01-01

Children's estimation skills on a bounded and unbounded number line task were assessed in the light of their familiarity with numbers. Kindergartners, first graders, and second graders (N = 120) estimated the position of numbers on a 1--100 number line, marked with either two reference points (i.e., 1 and 10: unbounded condition) or three…

A limited sampling model for estimation of total and unbound mycophenolic acid (MPA) area under the curve (AUC) in hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT).

PubMed

Ng, Juki; Rogosheske, John; Barker, Juliet; Weisdorf, Daniel; Jacobson, Pamala A

2006-06-01

Renal transplant patients with suboptimal mycophenolic acid (MPA) areas under the curves (AUCs) are at greater risk of acute rejection. In hematopoietic cell transplantation, a low MPA AUC is also associated with a higher incidence of acute graft versus host disease. Therefore, a limited sampling model was developed and validated to simultaneously estimate total and unbound MPA AUC0-12 in hematopoietic cell transplantation patients. Intensive pharmacokinetic sampling was performed at steady state between days 3 to 7 posttransplant in 73 adult subjects while receiving prophylactic mycophenolate mofetil 1 g per 12 hours orally or intravenously plus cyclosporine. Total and unbound MPA plasma concentrations were measured, and total and unbound AUC0-12 was determined using noncompartmental analysis. Regression analysis was then performed to build IV and PO, total and unbound AUC0-12 models from the first 34 subjects. The predictive performance of these models was tested in the next 39 subjects. Trough concentrations poorly estimate observed total and unbound AUC0-12 (r<0.48). A model with 3 concentrations (2-, 4-, and 6-hour post start of infusion) best estimated observed total and unbound AUC0-12 after IV dosing (r>0.99). Oral total and unbound AUC0-12 was more difficult to estimate and required at least 4 concentrations (0-, 1-, 2-, and 6-hour post dose) in the model (r>0.85). The predictive performance of the final models was good. Eighty-three percent of IV and 70% of PO AUC0-12 predictions fell within +/-20% of the observed values without significant bias. Trough MPA concentrations do not accurately describe MPA AUC0-12. Three intravenous (2-, 4-, 6-hour post start of infusion) or 4 oral (0-, 1-, 2-, and 6-hour post dose) MPA plasma concentrations measured over a 12-hour dosing interval will estimate the total and unbound AUC0-12 nearly as well as intensive pharmacokinetic sampling with good precision and low bias. This approach simplifies AUC0-12 targeting of MPA post hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Immunization of complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastor-Satorras, Romualdo; Vespignani, Alessandro

2002-03-01

Complex networks such as the sexual partnership web or the Internet often show a high degree of redundancy and heterogeneity in their connectivity properties. This peculiar connectivity provides an ideal environment for the spreading of infective agents. Here we show that the random uniform immunization of individuals does not lead to the eradication of infections in all complex networks. Namely, networks with scale-free properties do not acquire global immunity from major epidemic outbreaks even in the presence of unrealistically high densities of randomly immunized individuals. The absence of any critical immunization threshold is due to the unbounded connectivity fluctuations of scale-free networks. Successful immunization strategies can be developed only by taking into account the inhomogeneous connectivity properties of scale-free networks. In particular, targeted immunization schemes, based on the nodes' connectivity hierarchy, sharply lower the network's vulnerability to epidemic attacks.

Statistical fluctuations of an ocean surface inferred from shoes and ships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lerche, Ian; Maubeuge, Frédéric

1995-12-01

This paper shows that it is possible to roughly estimate some ocean properties using simple time-dependent statistical models of ocean fluctuations. Based on a real incident, the loss by a vessel of a Nike shoes container in the North Pacific Ocean, a statistical model was tested on data sets consisting of the Nike shoes found by beachcombers a few months later. This statistical treatment of the shoes' motion allows one to infer velocity trends of the Pacific Ocean, together with their fluctuation strengths. The idea is to suppose that there is a mean bulk flow speed that can depend on location on the ocean surface and time. The fluctuations of the surface flow speed are then treated as statistically random. The distribution of shoes is described in space and time using Markov probability processes related to the mean and fluctuating ocean properties. The aim of the exercise is to provide some of the properties of the Pacific Ocean that are otherwise calculated using a sophisticated numerical model, OSCURS, where numerous data are needed. Relevant quantities are sharply estimated, which can be useful to (1) constrain output results from OSCURS computations, and (2) elucidate the behavior patterns of ocean flow characteristics on long time scales.

Unbound bilirubin measurements by a novel probe in preterm infants.

PubMed

Hegyi, Thomas; Kleinfeld, Alan; Huber, Andrew; Weinberger, Barry; Memon, Naureen; Shih, Weichung; Carayannopoulos, Mary; Oh, William

2018-03-12

Hyperbilirubinemia occurs in over 80% of newborns and severe bilirubin toxicity can lead to neurological dysfunction and death, especially in preterm infants. Currently, the risk of bilirubin toxicity is assessed by measuring the levels of total serum bilirubin (TSB), which are used to direct treatments including immunoglobulin administration, phototherapy, and exchange transfusion. However, free, unbound bilirubin levels (Bf) predict the risk of bilirubin neurotoxicity more accurately than TSB. To examine Bf levels in preterm infants and determine the frequency with which they exceed reported neurotoxic thresholds. One hundred thirty preterm infants (BW 500-2000 g; GA 23-34 weeks) were enrolled and Bf levels measured during the first week of life by the fluorescent Bf sensor BL22P1B11-Rh. TSB and plasma albumin were measured by standard techniques. Bilirubin-albumin dissociation constants (K d ) were calculated based on Bf and plasma albumin. Five hundred eighty samples were measured during the first week of life, with an overall mean Bf of 13.6 ± 9.0 nM. A substantial number of measurements exceeded potential toxic thresholds levels as reported in the literature. The correlation between Bf and TSB was statistically significant (r 2 0.17), but this weak relationship was lost at high Bf levels. Infants <28-week gestations had more hearing screening failures than infants ≥28-week gestation. Unbound (free) bilirubin values are extremely variable during the first week of life in preterm infants. A significant proportion of these values exceeded reported neurotoxic thresholds.

The quantitative effect of serum albumin, serum urea, and valproic acid on unbound phenytoin concentrations in children.

PubMed

ter Heine, Rob; van Maarseveen, Erik M; van der Westerlaken, Monique M L; Braun, Kees P J; Koudijs, Suzanne M; Berg, Maarten J Ten; Malingré, Mirte M

2014-06-01

Dosing of phenytoin is difficult in children because of its variable pharmacokinetics and protein binding. Possible covariates for this protein binding have mostly been univariately investigated in small, and often adult, adult populations. We conducted a study to identify and quantify these covariates in children. We extracted data on serum phenytoin concentrations, albumin, triglycerides, urea, total bilirubin and creatinine concentrations and data on coadministration of valproic acid or carbamazepine in 186 children. Using nonlinear mixed effects modeling the effects of covariates on the unbound phenytoin fraction were investigated. Serum albumin, serum urea concentrations, and concomitant valproic acid use significantly influenced the unbound phenytoin fraction. For clinical practice, we recommend that unbound phenytoin concentrations are measured routinely. However, if this is impossible, we suggest to use our model to calculate the unbound concentration. In selected children, close treatment monitoring and dose reductions should be considered to prevent toxicity. © The Author(s) 2013.

The spectral theorem for quaternionic unbounded normal operators based on the S-spectrum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alpay, Daniel, E-mail: dany@math.bgu.ac.il; Kimsey, David P., E-mail: dpkimsey@gmail.com; Colombo, Fabrizio, E-mail: fabrizio.colombo@polimi.it

In this paper we prove the spectral theorem for quaternionic unbounded normal operators using the notion of S-spectrum. The proof technique consists of first establishing a spectral theorem for quaternionic bounded normal operators and then using a transformation which maps a quaternionic unbounded normal operator to a quaternionic bounded normal operator. With this paper we complete the foundation of spectral analysis of quaternionic operators. The S-spectrum has been introduced to define the quaternionic functional calculus but it turns out to be the correct object also for the spectral theorem for quaternionic normal operators. The lack of a suitable notion ofmore » spectrum was a major obstruction to fully understand the spectral theorem for quaternionic normal operators. A prime motivation for studying the spectral theorem for quaternionic unbounded normal operators is given by the subclass of unbounded anti-self adjoint quaternionic operators which play a crucial role in the quaternionic quantum mechanics.« less

Development of a Simple and Rapid Method to Measure the Free Fraction of Tacrolimus in Plasma Using Ultrafiltration and LC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Stienstra, Nicolaas A; Sikma, Maaike A; van Dapperen, Anouk L; de Lange, Dylan W; van Maarseveen, Erik M

2016-12-01

Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressant mainly used in the prophylaxis of solid organ transplant rejection. Therapeutic drug monitoring of tacrolimus is essential for avoiding toxicity related to overexposure and transplant rejection from underexposure. Previous studies suggest that unbound tacrolimus concentrations in the plasma may serve as a better predictor of tacrolimus-associated nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity compared to tacrolimus concentration in whole blood. Monitoring the plasma concentrations of unbound tacrolimus might be of interest in preventing tacrolimus-related toxicity. Therefore, the aim was to develop a method for the measurement of total and unbound tacrolimus concentrations in plasma. The sample preparation for the determination of the plasma concentrations of unbound tacrolimus consisted of an easy-to-use ultrafiltration method followed by solid-phase extraction. To determine the total concentration of tacrolimus in plasma, a simple method based on protein precipitation was developed. The extracts were injected into a Thermo Scientific HyPurity C18 column using gradient elution. The analytes were detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with positive ionization. The method was validated over a linear range of 1.00-200 ng/L for unbound tacrolimus concentrations in plasma and 100-3200 ng/L for total plasma concentrations. The lower limit of quantification was 1.00 ng/L in ultrafiltrate and 100 ng/L in plasma. The inaccuracy and imprecision for the determination of unbound tacrolimus concentrations in ultrafiltrate and plasma showed a maximum coefficients of variation (CV) of 11.7% and a maximum bias of 3.8%. A rapid and easy method based on ultrafiltration and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was established to measure the total and unbound tacrolimus concentrations in plasma. This method can facilitate further investigations on the relationship between plasma concentrations of unbound tacrolimus and clinical outcomes in transplant recipients.

Complicated asymptotic behavior of solutions for porous medium equation in unbounded space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Liangwei; Yin, Jingxue; Zhou, Yong

2018-05-01

In this paper, we find that the unbounded spaces Yσ (RN) (0 < σ <2/m-1 ) can provide the work spaces where complicated asymptotic behavior appears in the solutions of the Cauchy problem of the porous medium equation. To overcome the difficulties caused by the nonlinearity of the equation and the unbounded solutions, we establish the propagation estimates, the growth estimates and the weighted L1-L∞ estimates for the solutions.

Statistical fluctuations as the origin of nontopological solitons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griest, Kim; Kolb, Edward W.; Masarotti, Alessandro

1989-01-01

Nontopological solitons can be formed during a phase transition in the early universe as long as some net charge can be trapped in regions of false vacuum. It has been previously suggested that a particle-antiparticle asymmetry would provide a source for such trapped charge. It is pointed out that, for the model and parameters considered, statistical fluctuations provide a much larger concentration of charge, and are therefore, the dominant source of charge fluctuations in solitogenesis.

Statistical properties of MHD fluctuations associated with high speed streams from HELIOS 2 observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bavassano, B.; Dobrowolny, H.; Fanfoni, G.; Mariani, F.; Ness, N. F.

1981-01-01

Helios 2 magnetic data were used to obtain several statistical properties of MHD fluctuations associated with the trailing edge of a given stream served in different solar rotations. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the variance matrix, total power and degree of compressibility of the fluctuations were derived and discussed both as a function of distance from the Sun and as a function of the frequency range included in the sample. The results obtained add new information to the picture of MHD turbulence in the solar wind. In particular, a dependence from frequency range of the radial gradients of various statistical quantities is obtained.

Probing the statistics of primordial fluctuations and their evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaztanaga, Enrique; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

1993-01-01

The statistical distribution of fluctuations on various scales is analyzed in terms of the counts in cells of smoothed density fields, using volume-limited samples of galaxy redshift catalogs. It is shown that the distribution on large scales, with volume average of the two-point correlation function of the smoothed field less than about 0.05, is consistent with Gaussian. Statistics are shown to agree remarkably well with the negative binomial distribution, which has hierarchial correlations and a Gaussian behavior at large scales. If these observed properties correspond to the matter distribution, they suggest that our universe started with Gaussian fluctuations and evolved keeping hierarchial form.

Carprofen pharmacokinetics in plasma and in control and inflamed canine tissue fluid using in vivo ultrafiltration.

PubMed

Messenger, K M; Wofford, J A; Papich, M G

2016-02-01

Measurement of unbound drug concentrations at their sites of action is necessary for accurate PK/PD modeling. The objective of this study was to determine the unbound concentration of carprofen in canine interstitial fluid (ISF) using in vivo ultrafiltration and to compare pharmacokinetic parameters of free carprofen concentrations between inflamed and control tissue sites. We hypothesized that active concentrations of carprofen would exhibit different dispositions in ISF between inflamed vs. normal tissues. Bilateral ultrafiltration probes were placed subcutaneously in six healthy Beagle dogs 12 h prior to induction of inflammation. Two milliliters of either 2% carrageenan or saline control was injected subcutaneously at each probe site, 12 h prior to intravenous carprofen (4 mg/kg) administration. Plasma and ISF samples were collected at regular intervals for 72 h, and carprofen concentrations were determined using HPLC. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) concentrations were quantified in ISF using ELISA. Unbound carprofen concentrations were higher in ISF compared with predicted unbound plasma drug concentrations. Concentrations were not significantly higher in inflamed ISF compared with control ISF. Compartmental modeling was used to generate pharmacokinetic parameter estimates, which were not significantly different between sites. Terminal half-life (T½) was longer in the ISF compared with plasma. PGE2 in ISF decreased following administration of carprofen. In vivo ultrafiltration is a reliable method to determine unbound carprofen in ISF, and that disposition of unbound drug into tissue is much higher than predicted from unbound drug concentration in plasma. However, concentrations and pharmacokinetic parameter estimates are not significantly different in inflamed vs. un-inflamed tissues. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Unbounding the mental number line—new evidence on children's spatial representation of numbers

PubMed Central

Link, Tanja; Huber, Stefan; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph; Moeller, Korbinian

2014-01-01

Number line estimation (i.e., indicating the position of a given number on a physical line) is a standard assessment of children's spatial representation of number magnitude. Importantly, there is an ongoing debate on the question in how far the bounded task version with start and endpoint given (e.g., 0 and 100) might induce specific estimation strategies and thus may not allow for unbiased inferences on the underlying representation. Recently, a new unbounded version of the task was suggested with only the start point and a unit fixed (e.g., the distance from 0 to 1). In adults this task provided a less biased index of the spatial representation of number magnitude. Yet, so far there are no children data available for the unbounded number line estimation task. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study on primary school children performing both, the bounded and the unbounded version of the task. We observed clear evidence for systematic strategic influences (i.e., the consideration of reference points) in the bounded number line estimation task for children older than grade two whereas there were no such indications for the unbounded version for any one of the age groups. In summary, the current data corroborate the unbounded number line estimation task to be a valuable tool for assessing children's spatial representation of number magnitude in a systematic and unbiased manner. Yet, similar results for the bounded and the unbounded version of the task for first- and second-graders may indicate that both versions of the task might assess the same underlying representation for relatively younger children—at least in number ranges familiar to the children assessed. This is of particular importance for inferences about the nature and development of children's magnitude representation. PMID:24478734

Quantifying nonstationary radioactivity concentration fluctuations near Chernobyl: A complete statistical description

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanathan, G. M.; Buldyrev, S. V.; Garger, E. K.; Kashpur, V. A.; Lucena, L. S.; Shlyakhter, A.; Stanley, H. E.; Tschiersch, J.

2000-09-01

We analyze nonstationary 137Cs atmospheric activity concentration fluctuations measured near Chernobyl after the 1986 disaster and find three new results: (i) the histogram of fluctuations is well described by a log-normal distribution; (ii) there is a pronounced spectral component with period T=1yr, and (iii) the fluctuations are long-range correlated. These findings allow us to quantify two fundamental statistical properties of the data: the probability distribution and the correlation properties of the time series. We interpret our findings as evidence that the atmospheric radionuclide resuspension processes are tightly coupled to the surrounding ecosystems and to large time scale weather patterns.

Time-resolved measurements of statistics for a Nd:YAG laser.

PubMed

Hubschmid, W; Bombach, R; Gerber, T

1994-08-20

Time-resolved measurements of the fluctuating intensity of a multimode frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser have been performed. For various operating conditions the enhancement factors in nonlinear optical processes that use a fluctuating instead of a single-mode laser have been determined up to the sixth order. In the case of reduced flash-lamp excitation and a switched-off laser amplifier, the intensity fluctuations agree with the normalized Gaussian model for the fluctuations of the fundamental frequency, whereas strong deviations are found under usual operating conditions. The frequencydoubled light has in the latter case enhancement factors not so far from values of Gaussian statistics.

Effect of protein binding on unbound atazanavir and darunavir cerebrospinal fluid concentrations.

PubMed

Delille, Cecile A; Pruett, Sarah T; Marconi, Vincent C; Lennox, Jeffrey L; Armstrong, Wendy S; Arrendale, Richard F; Sheth, Anandi N; Easley, Kirk A; Acosta, Edward P; Vunnava, Aswani; Ofotokun, Ighovwerha

2014-09-01

HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs) exhibit different protein binding affinities and achieve variable plasma and tissue concentrations. Degree of plasma protein binding may impact central nervous system penetration. This cross-sectional study assessed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) unbound PI concentrations, HIV-1 RNA, and neopterin levels in subjects receiving either ritonavir-boosted darunavir (DRV), 95% plasma protein bound, or atazanavir (ATV), 86% bound. Unbound PI trough concentrations were measured using rapid equilibrium dialysis and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma and CSF HIV-1 RNA and neopterin were measured by Ampliprep/COBAS® Taqman® 2.0 assay (Roche) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ALPCO), respectively. CSF/plasma unbound drug concentration ratio was higher for ATV, 0.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06-0.12] than DRV, 0.04 (95%CI 0.03-0.06). Unbound CSF concentrations were lower than protein adjusted wild-type inhibitory concentration-50 (IC50 ) in all ATV and 1 DRV-treated subjects (P < 0.001). CSF HIV-1 RNA was detected in 2/15 ATV and 4/15 DRV subjects (P = 0.65). CSF neopterin levels were low and similar between arms. ATV relative to DRV had higher CSF/plasma unbound drug ratio. Low CSF HIV-1 RNA and neopterin suggest that both regimens resulted in CSF virologic suppression and controlled inflammation. © 2014, The American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

Effect of Protein Binding on Unbound Atazanavir and Darunavir Cerebrospinal Fluid Concentrations

PubMed Central

Delille, Cecile A.; Pruett, Sarah T.; Marconi, Vincent C.; Lennox, Jeffrey L.; Armstrong, Wendy S.; Arrendale, Richard F.; Sheth, Anandi N.; Easley, Kirk A.; Acosta, Edward P.; Vunnava, Aswani; Ofotokun, Ighovwerha

2015-01-01

HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs) exhibit different protein binding affinities and achieve variable plasma and tissue concentrations. Degree of plasma protein binding may impact central nervous system penetration. This cross-sectional study assessed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) unbound PI concentrations, HIV-1 RNA, and neopterin levels in subjects receiving either ritonavir-boosted darunavir (DRV), 95% plasma protein bound, or atazanavir (ATV), 86% bound. Unbound PI trough concentrations were measured using rapid equilibrium dialysis and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma and CSF HIV-1 RNA and neopterin were measured by Ampliprep/COBAS® Taqman® 2.0 assay (Roche) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ALPCO), respectively. CSF/plasma unbound drug concentration ratio was higher for ATV, 0.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06–0.12] than DRV, 0.04 (95%CI 0.03–0.06). Unbound CSF concentrations were lower than protein adjusted wild-type inhibitory concentration-50 (IC50) in all ATV and 1 DRV-treated subjects (P < 0.001). CSF HIV-1 RNA was detected in 2/15 ATV and 4/15 DRV subjects (P = 0.65). CSF neopterin levels were low and similar between arms. ATV relative to DRV had higher CSF/plasma unbound drug ratio. Low CSF HIV-1 RNA and neopterin suggest that both regimens resulted in CSF virologic suppression and controlled inflammation. PMID:24691856

Unbound Bilirubin and Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in Late Preterm and Term Infants with Severe Jaundice

PubMed Central

Amin, Sanjiv B; Wang, Hongyue; Laroia, Nirupama; Orlando, Mark

2016-01-01

Objective To evaluate if unbound bilirubin is a better predictor of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) than total serum bilirubin (TSB) or the bilirubin albumin molar ratio (BAMR) in late preterm and term neonates with severe jaundice (TSB ≥ 20 mg/dL or TSB that met exchange transfusion criteria). Study design Infants ≥ 34 weeks gestational age with severe jaundice during the first two weeks of life were eligible for the prospective observational study. A comprehensive auditory evaluation was performed within 72 hours of peak TSB. ANSD was defined as absent or abnormal auditory brainstem evoked response waveform morphology at 80 decibel click intensity in the presence of normal outer hair cell function. TSB, serum albumin, and unbound bilirubin were measured using the colorimetric, bromocresol green, and modified peroxidase method, respectively. Results Five of 44 infants developed ANSD. By logistic regression, peak unbound bilirubin but not peak TSB or peak BAMR was associated with ANSD (odds ratio 4.6, 95% CI: 1.6-13.5, p = 0.002). On comparing receiver operating characteristic curves, the area under the curve (AUC) for unbound bilirubin (0.92) was significantly greater (p = 0.04) compared with the AUC for TSB (0.50) or BAMR (0.62). Conclusions Unbound bilirubin is a more sensitive and specific predictor of ANSD than TSB or BAMR in late preterm and term infants with severe jaundice. PMID:26952116

A novel method to analyze social transmission in chronologically sequenced assemblages, implemented on cultural inheritance of the art of cooking.

PubMed

Isaksson, Sven; Funcke, Alexander; Envall, Ida; Enquist, Magnus; Lindenfors, Patrik

2015-01-01

Here we present an analytical technique for the measurement and evaluation of changes in chronologically sequenced assemblages. To illustrate the method, we studied the cultural evolution of European cooking as revealed in seven cook books dispersed over the past 800 years. We investigated if changes in the set of commonly used ingredients were mainly gradual or subject to fashion fluctuations. Applying our method to the data from the cook books revealed that overall, there is a clear continuity in cooking over the ages--cooking is knowledge that is passed down through generations, not something (re-)invented by each generation on its own. Looking at three main categories of ingredients separately (spices, animal products and vegetables), however, disclosed that all ingredients do not change according to the same pattern. While choice of animal products was very conservative, changing completely sequentially, changes in the choices of spices, but also of vegetables, were more unbounded. We hypothesize that this may be due a combination of fashion fluctuations and changes in availability due to contact with the Americas during our study time period. The presented method is also usable on other assemblage type data, and can thus be of utility for analyzing sequential archaeological data from the same area or other similarly organized material.

Blood collection techniques, heparin and quinidine protein binding.

PubMed

Kessler, K M; Leech, R C; Spann, J F

1979-02-01

With the use of glass syringes without heparin and all glass equipment, the percent of unbound quinidine was measured by ultrafiltration and a double-extraction assay method after addition of 2 microgram/ml of quinidine sulfate. Compared to the all-glass method, collection of blood using Vacutainers resulted in an erroneous and variable decrease in quinidine binding related to blood to rubber-stopper contact. With glass, the unbound quinidine fraction was (mean +/- standard error) 10 +/- 1% in 10 normal volunteers, 8.5 +/- 1.5% in 10 patients with congestive heart failure, and 11 +/- 2% in 11 patients with chronic renal failure (although in 8 of the latter 11 patients the percent of unbound quinidine was 4 or more standard errors from the mean of the normal group). During cardiac catheterization, patients had markedly elevated unbound quinidine fractions: 24 +/- 2% (p less than 0.001). This abnormality coincided with the addition of heparin in vivo and was less apparent after the addition of up to 10 U/ml of heparin in vitro (120% and 29% increase in unbound quinidine fractions, respectively). Quinidine binding should be measured with all glass or equivalent equipment.

Event-by-event fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum in 40, 80, and 158 A GeV/c PbAu collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamová, D.; Agakichiev, G.; Appelshäuser, H.; Belaga, V.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Campagnolo, R.; Castillo, A.; Cherlin, A.; Damjanović, S.; Dietel, T.; Dietrich, L.; Drees, A.; Esumi, S.; Filimonov, K.; Fomenko, K.; Fraenkel, Z.; Garabatos, C.; Glässel, P.; Hering, G.; Holeczek, J.; Kushpil, V.; Lenkeit, B.; Ludolphs, W.; Maas, A.; MaríN, A.; Milošević, J.; Milov, A.; Miśkowiec, D.; Musa, L.; Panebrattsev, Yu.; Petchenova, O.; Petráček, V.; Pfeiffer, A.; Rak, J.; Ravinovich, I.; Rehak, P.; Richter, M.; Sako, H.; Schmitz, W.; Schukraft, J.; Sedykh, S.; Seipp, W.; Sharma, A.; Shimansky, S.; SlíVová, J.; Specht, H. J.; Stachel, J.; Šumbera, M.; Tilsner, H.; Tserruya, I.; Wessels, J. P.; Wienold, T.; Windelband, B.; Wurm, J. P.; Xie, W.; Yurevich, S.; Yurevich, V.; Ceres Collaboration

2003-11-01

Measurements of event-by-event fluctuations of the mean transverse momentum in PbAu collisions at 40, 80, and 158 A GeV/c are presented. A significant excess of mean pT fluctuations at mid-rapidity is observed over the expectation from statistically independent particle emission. The results are somewhat smaller than recent measurements at RHIC. A possible non-monotonic behavior of the mean pT fluctuations as function of collision energy, which may have indicated that the system has passed the critical point of the QCD phase diagram in the range of μB under investigation, has not been observed. The centrality dependence of mean pT fluctuations in PbAu is consistent with an extrapolation from pp collisions assuming that the non-statistical fluctuations scale with multiplicity. The results are compared to calculations by the RQMD and URQMD event generators.

An Experimental Study of the Effect of Streamwise Vortices on Unsteady Turbulent Boundary-Layer Separation

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-09

Measurement of Second Order Statistics .... .............. .54 5.4 Measurement of Triple Products ...... ................. .58 5.6 Uncertainty Analysis...deterministic fluctuations, u/ 2 , were 25 times larger than the mean fluctuations, u𔃼, there were no significant variations in the mean statistical ...input signals, the three velocity components are cal- culated, Awn in ,i-;dual phase ensembles are collected for the appropriate statistical 3

Power-rate synchronization of coupled genetic oscillators with unbounded time-varying delay.

PubMed

Alofi, Abdulaziz; Ren, Fengli; Al-Mazrooei, Abdullah; Elaiw, Ahmed; Cao, Jinde

2015-10-01

In this paper, a new synchronization problem for the collective dynamics among genetic oscillators with unbounded time-varying delay is investigated. The dynamical system under consideration consists of an array of linearly coupled identical genetic oscillators with each oscillators having unbounded time-delays. A new concept called power-rate synchronization, which is different from both the asymptotical synchronization and the exponential synchronization, is put forward to facilitate handling the unbounded time-varying delays. By using a combination of the Lyapunov functional method, matrix inequality techniques and properties of Kronecker product, we derive several sufficient conditions that ensure the coupled genetic oscillators to be power-rate synchronized. The criteria obtained in this paper are in the form of matrix inequalities. Illustrative example is presented to show the effectiveness of the obtained results.

Non-Gaussian statistics and nanosecond dynamics of electrostatic fluctuations affecting optical transitions in proteins.

PubMed

Martin, Daniel R; Matyushov, Dmitry V

2012-08-30

We show that electrostatic fluctuations of the protein-water interface are globally non-Gaussian. The electrostatic component of the optical transition energy (energy gap) in a hydrated green fluorescent protein is studied here by classical molecular dynamics simulations. The distribution of the energy gap displays a high excess in the breadth of electrostatic fluctuations over the prediction of the Gaussian statistics. The energy gap dynamics include a nanosecond component. When simulations are repeated with frozen protein motions, the statistics shifts to the expectations of linear response and the slow dynamics disappear. We therefore suggest that both the non-Gaussian statistics and the nanosecond dynamics originate largely from global, low-frequency motions of the protein coupled to the interfacial water. The non-Gaussian statistics can be experimentally verified from the temperature dependence of the first two spectral moments measured at constant-volume conditions. Simulations at different temperatures are consistent with other indicators of the non-Gaussian statistics. In particular, the high-temperature part of the energy gap variance (second spectral moment) scales linearly with temperature and extrapolates to zero at a temperature characteristic of the protein glass transition. This result, violating the classical limit of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, leads to a non-Boltzmann statistics of the energy gap and corresponding non-Arrhenius kinetics of radiationless electronic transitions, empirically described by the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law.

Fast antibody fragment motion: flexible linkers act as entropic spring

PubMed Central

Stingaciu, Laura R.; Ivanova, Oxana; Ohl, Michael; Biehl, Ralf; Richter, Dieter

2016-01-01

A flexible linker region between three fragments allows antibodies to adjust their binding sites to an antigen or receptor. Using Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy we observed fragment motion on a timescale of 7 ns with motional amplitudes of about 1 nm relative to each other. The mechanistic complexity of the linker region can be described by a spring model with Brownian motion of the fragments in a harmonic potential. Displacements, timescale, friction and force constant of the underlying dynamics are accessed. The force constant exhibits a similar strength to an entropic spring, with friction of the fragment matching the unbound state. The observed fast motions are fluctuations in pre-existing equilibrium configurations. The Brownian motion of domains in a harmonic potential is the appropriate model to examine functional hinge motions dependent on the structural topology and highlights the role of internal forces and friction to function. PMID:27020739

Elevator mode convection in flows with strong magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Li; Zikanov, Oleg

2015-04-01

Instability modes in the form of axially uniform vertical jets, also called "elevator modes," are known to be the solutions of thermal convection problems for vertically unbounded systems. Typically, their relevance to the actual flow state is limited by three-dimensional breakdown caused by rapid growth of secondary instabilities. We consider a flow of a liquid metal in a vertical duct with a heated wall and strong transverse magnetic field and find elevator modes that are stable and, thus, not just relevant, but a dominant feature of the flow. We then explore the hypothesis suggested by recent experimental data that an analogous instability to modes of slow axial variation develops in finite-length ducts, where it causes large-amplitude fluctuations of temperature. The implications for liquid metal blankets for tokamak fusion reactors that potentially invalidate some of the currently pursued design concepts are discussed.

Fast antibody fragment motion: flexible linkers act as entropic spring.

PubMed

Stingaciu, Laura R; Ivanova, Oxana; Ohl, Michael; Biehl, Ralf; Richter, Dieter

2016-03-29

A flexible linker region between three fragments allows antibodies to adjust their binding sites to an antigen or receptor. Using Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy we observed fragment motion on a timescale of 7 ns with motional amplitudes of about 1 nm relative to each other. The mechanistic complexity of the linker region can be described by a spring model with Brownian motion of the fragments in a harmonic potential. Displacements, timescale, friction and force constant of the underlying dynamics are accessed. The force constant exhibits a similar strength to an entropic spring, with friction of the fragment matching the unbound state. The observed fast motions are fluctuations in pre-existing equilibrium configurations. The Brownian motion of domains in a harmonic potential is the appropriate model to examine functional hinge motions dependent on the structural topology and highlights the role of internal forces and friction to function.

Elevator mode convection in flows with strong magnetic fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Li; Zikanov, Oleg, E-mail: zikanov@umich.edu

2015-04-15

Instability modes in the form of axially uniform vertical jets, also called “elevator modes,” are known to be the solutions of thermal convection problems for vertically unbounded systems. Typically, their relevance to the actual flow state is limited by three-dimensional breakdown caused by rapid growth of secondary instabilities. We consider a flow of a liquid metal in a vertical duct with a heated wall and strong transverse magnetic field and find elevator modes that are stable and, thus, not just relevant, but a dominant feature of the flow. We then explore the hypothesis suggested by recent experimental data that anmore » analogous instability to modes of slow axial variation develops in finite-length ducts, where it causes large-amplitude fluctuations of temperature. The implications for liquid metal blankets for tokamak fusion reactors that potentially invalidate some of the currently pursued design concepts are discussed.« less

Quantifying economic fluctuations by adapting methods of statistical physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plerou, Vasiliki

2001-09-01

The first focus of this thesis is the investigation of cross-correlations between the price fluctuations of different stocks using the conceptual framework of random matrix theory (RMT), developed in physics to describe the statistical properties of energy-level spectra of complex nuclei. RMT makes predictions for the statistical properties of matrices that are universal, i.e., do not depend on the interactions between the elements comprising the system. In physical systems, deviations from the predictions of RMT provide clues regarding the mechanisms controlling the dynamics of a given system so this framework is of potential value if applied to economic systems. This thesis compares the statistics of cross-correlation matrix C-whose elements Cij are the correlation coefficients of price fluctuations of stock i and j-against the ``null hypothesis'' of a random matrix having the same symmetry properties. It is shown that comparison of the eigenvalue statistics of C with RMT results can be used to distinguish random and non-random parts of C. The non-random part of C which deviates from RMT results, provides information regarding genuine cross-correlations between stocks. The interpretations and potential practical utility of these deviations are also investigated. The second focus is the characterization of the dynamics of stock price fluctuations. The statistical properties of the changes G Δt in price over a time interval Δ t are quantified and the statistical relation between G Δt and the trading activity-measured by the number of transactions NΔ t in the interval Δt is investigated. The statistical properties of the volatility, i.e., the time dependent standard deviation of price fluctuations, is related to two microscopic quantities: NΔt and the variance W2Dt of the price changes for all transactions in the interval Δ t. In addition, the statistical relationship between G Δt and the number of shares QΔt traded in Δ t is investigated.

Analysis of Noise Mechanisms in Cell-Size Control.

PubMed

Modi, Saurabh; Vargas-Garcia, Cesar Augusto; Ghusinga, Khem Raj; Singh, Abhyudai

2017-06-06

At the single-cell level, noise arises from multiple sources, such as inherent stochasticity of biomolecular processes, random partitioning of resources at division, and fluctuations in cellular growth rates. How these diverse noise mechanisms combine to drive variations in cell size within an isoclonal population is not well understood. Here, we investigate the contributions of different noise sources in well-known paradigms of cell-size control, such as adder (division occurs after adding a fixed size from birth), sizer (division occurs after reaching a size threshold), and timer (division occurs after a fixed time from birth). Analysis reveals that variation in cell size is most sensitive to errors in partitioning of volume among daughter cells, and not surprisingly, this process is well regulated among microbes. Moreover, depending on the dominant noise mechanism, different size-control strategies (or a combination of them) provide efficient buffering of size variations. We further explore mixer models of size control, where a timer phase precedes/follows an adder, as has been proposed in Caulobacter crescentus. Although mixing a timer and an adder can sometimes attenuate size variations, it invariably leads to higher-order moments growing unboundedly over time. This results in a power-law distribution for the cell size, with an exponent that depends inversely on the noise in the timer phase. Consistent with theory, we find evidence of power-law statistics in the tail of C. crescentus cell-size distribution, although there is a discrepancy between the observed power-law exponent and that predicted from the noise parameters. The discrepancy, however, is removed after data reveal that the size added by individual newborns in the adder phase itself exhibits power-law statistics. Taken together, this study provides key insights into the role of noise mechanisms in size homeostasis, and suggests an inextricable link between timer-based models of size control and heavy-tailed cell-size distributions. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistical properties of fluctuations of time series representing appearances of words in nationwide blog data and their applications: An example of modeling fluctuation scalings of nonstationary time series.

PubMed

Watanabe, Hayafumi; Sano, Yukie; Takayasu, Hideki; Takayasu, Misako

2016-11-01

To elucidate the nontrivial empirical statistical properties of fluctuations of a typical nonsteady time series representing the appearance of words in blogs, we investigated approximately 3×10^{9} Japanese blog articles over a period of six years and analyze some corresponding mathematical models. First, we introduce a solvable nonsteady extension of the random diffusion model, which can be deduced by modeling the behavior of heterogeneous random bloggers. Next, we deduce theoretical expressions for both the temporal and ensemble fluctuation scalings of this model, and demonstrate that these expressions can reproduce all empirical scalings over eight orders of magnitude. Furthermore, we show that the model can reproduce other statistical properties of time series representing the appearance of words in blogs, such as functional forms of the probability density and correlations in the total number of blogs. As an application, we quantify the abnormality of special nationwide events by measuring the fluctuation scalings of 1771 basic adjectives.

Dynamic properties of small-scale solar wind plasma fluctuations.

PubMed

Riazantseva, M O; Budaev, V P; Zelenyi, L M; Zastenker, G N; Pavlos, G P; Safrankova, J; Nemecek, Z; Prech, L; Nemec, F

2015-05-13

The paper presents the latest results of the studies of small-scale fluctuations in a turbulent flow of solar wind (SW) using measurements with extremely high temporal resolution (up to 0.03 s) of the bright monitor of SW (BMSW) plasma spectrometer operating on astrophysical SPECTR-R spacecraft at distances up to 350,000 km from the Earth. The spectra of SW ion flux fluctuations in the range of scales between 0.03 and 100 s are systematically analysed. The difference of slopes in low- and high-frequency parts of spectra and the frequency of the break point between these two characteristic slopes was analysed for different conditions in the SW. The statistical properties of the SW ion flux fluctuations were thoroughly analysed on scales less than 10 s. A high level of intermittency is demonstrated. The extended self-similarity of SW ion flux turbulent flow is constantly observed. The approximation of non-Gaussian probability distribution function of ion flux fluctuations by the Tsallis statistics shows the non-extensive character of SW fluctuations. Statistical characteristics of ion flux fluctuations are compared with the predictions of a log-Poisson model. The log-Poisson parametrization of the structure function scaling has shown that well-defined filament-like plasma structures are, as a rule, observed in the turbulent SW flows. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Quantum communication complexity advantage implies violation of a Bell inequality

PubMed Central

Buhrman, Harry; Czekaj, Łukasz; Grudka, Andrzej; Horodecki, Michał; Horodecki, Paweł; Markiewicz, Marcin; Speelman, Florian; Strelchuk, Sergii

2016-01-01

We obtain a general connection between a large quantum advantage in communication complexity and Bell nonlocality. We show that given any protocol offering a sufficiently large quantum advantage in communication complexity, there exists a way of obtaining measurement statistics that violate some Bell inequality. Our main tool is port-based teleportation. If the gap between quantum and classical communication complexity can grow arbitrarily large, the ratio of the quantum value to the classical value of the Bell quantity becomes unbounded with the increase in the number of inputs and outputs. PMID:26957600

21 CFR 862.1113 - Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1113 Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system. (a...

21 CFR 862.1113 - Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1113 Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system. (a...

21 CFR 862.1113 - Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1113 Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system. (a...

21 CFR 862.1113 - Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1113 Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system. (a...

21 CFR 862.1113 - Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1113 Bilirubin (total and unbound) in the neonate test system. (a...

Unbound Bilirubin and Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in Late Preterm and Term Infants with Severe Jaundice.

PubMed

Amin, Sanjiv B; Wang, Hongyue; Laroia, Nirupama; Orlando, Mark

2016-06-01

This study evaluates whether unbound bilirubin is a better predictor of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) than total serum bilirubin (TSB) or the bilirubin:albumin molar ratio (BAMR) in late preterm and term neonates with severe jaundice (TSB ≥20 mg/dL or TSB that met exchange transfusion criteria). Infants ≥34 weeks' gestation with severe jaundice during the first 2 weeks of life were eligible for the prospective observational study. A comprehensive auditory evaluation was performed within 72 hours of peak TSB. ANSD was defined as absent or abnormal auditory brainstem evoked response waveform morphology at 80-decibel click intensity in the presence of normal outer hair cell function. TSB, serum albumin, and unbound bilirubin were measured using the colorimetric, bromocresol green, and modified peroxidase method, respectively. Five of 44 infants developed ANSD. By logistic regression, peak unbound bilirubin but not peak TSB or peak BAMR was associated with ANSD (OR, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.6-13.5; P = .002). On comparing receiver operating characteristic curves, the area under the curve for unbound bilirubin (0.92) was significantly greater (P = .04) compared with the area under the curve for TSB (0.50) or BAMR (0.62). Unbound bilirubin is a more sensitive and specific predictor of ANSD than TSB or BAMR in late preterm and term infants with severe jaundice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Weight Vector Fluctuations in Adaptive Antenna Arrays Tuned Using the Least-Mean-Square Error Algorithm with Quadratic Constraint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimina, S. V.

2015-06-01

We present the results of statistical analysis of an adaptive antenna array tuned using the least-mean-square error algorithm with quadratic constraint on the useful-signal amplification with allowance for the weight-coefficient fluctuations. Using the perturbation theory, the expressions for the correlation function and power of the output signal of the adaptive antenna array, as well as the formula for the weight-vector covariance matrix are obtained in the first approximation. The fluctuations are shown to lead to the signal distortions at the antenna-array output. The weight-coefficient fluctuations result in the appearance of additional terms in the statistical characteristics of the antenna array. It is also shown that the weight-vector fluctuations are isotropic, i.e., identical in all directions of the weight-coefficient space.

Entropic Repulsion Between Fluctuating Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janke, W.

The statistical mechanics of fluctuating surfaces plays an important role in a variety of physical systems, ranging from biological membranes to world sheets of strings in theories of fundamental interactions. In many applications it is a good approximation to assume that the surfaces possess no tension. Their statistical properties are then governed by curvature energies only, which allow for gigantic out-of-plane undulations. These fluctuations are the “entropic” origin of long-range repulsive forces in layered surface systems. Theoretical estimates of these forces for simple model surfaces are surveyed and compared with recent Monte Carlo simulations.

Rigorous Statistical Bounds in Uncertainty Quantification for One-Layer Turbulent Geophysical Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Di; Majda, Andrew J.

2018-04-01

Statistical bounds controlling the total fluctuations in mean and variance about a basic steady-state solution are developed for the truncated barotropic flow over topography. Statistical ensemble prediction is an important topic in weather and climate research. Here, the evolution of an ensemble of trajectories is considered using statistical instability analysis and is compared and contrasted with the classical deterministic instability for the growth of perturbations in one pointwise trajectory. The maximum growth of the total statistics in fluctuations is derived relying on the statistical conservation principle of the pseudo-energy. The saturation bound of the statistical mean fluctuation and variance in the unstable regimes with non-positive-definite pseudo-energy is achieved by linking with a class of stable reference states and minimizing the stable statistical energy. Two cases with dependence on initial statistical uncertainty and on external forcing and dissipation are compared and unified under a consistent statistical stability framework. The flow structures and statistical stability bounds are illustrated and verified by numerical simulations among a wide range of dynamical regimes, where subtle transient statistical instability exists in general with positive short-time exponential growth in the covariance even when the pseudo-energy is positive-definite. Among the various scenarios in this paper, there exist strong forward and backward energy exchanges between different scales which are estimated by the rigorous statistical bounds.

Impact of neutral density fluctuations on gas puff imaging diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wersal, C.; Ricci, P.

2017-11-01

A three-dimensional turbulence simulation of the SOL and edge regions of a toroidally limited tokamak is carried out. The simulation couples self-consistently the drift-reduced two-fluid Braginskii equations to a kinetic equation for neutral atoms. A diagnostic neutral gas puff on the low-field side midplane is included and the impact of neutral density fluctuations on D_α light emission investigated. We find that neutral density fluctuations affect the D_α emission. In particular, at a radial distance from the gas puff smaller than the neutral mean free path, neutral density fluctuations are anti-correlated with plasma density, electron temperature, and D_α fluctuations. It follows that the neutral fluctuations reduce the D_α emission in most of the observed region and, therefore, have to be taken into account when interpreting the amplitude of the D_α emission. On the other hand, higher order statistical moments (skewness, kurtosis) and turbulence characteristics (such as correlation length, or the autocorrelation time) are not significantly affected by the neutral fluctuations. At distances from the gas puff larger than the neutral mean free path, a non-local shadowing effect influences the neutral density fluctuations. There, the D_α fluctuations are correlated with the neutral density fluctuations, and the high-order statistical moments and measurements of other turbulence properties are strongly affected by the neutral density fluctuations.

Coexistence of bounded and unbounded motions in a bouncing ball model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marò, Stefano

2013-05-01

We consider the model describing the vertical motion of a ball falling with constant acceleration on a wall and elastically reflected. The wall is supposed to move in the vertical direction according to a given periodic function f. We apply the Aubry-Mather theory to the generating function in order to prove the existence of bounded motions with prescribed mean time between the bounces. As the existence of unbounded motions is known, it is possible to find a class of functions f that allow both bounded and unbounded motions.

Boundary Approximation Methods for Sloving Elliptic Problems on Unbounded Domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zi-Cai; Mathon, Rudolf

1990-08-01

Boundary approximation methods with partial solutions are presented for solving a complicated problem on an unbounded domain, with both a crack singularity and a corner singularity. Also an analysis of partial solutions near the singular points is provided. These methods are easy to apply, have good stability properties, and lead to highly accurate solutions. Hence, boundary approximation methods with partial solutions are recommended for the treatment of elliptic problems on unbounded domains provided that piecewise solution expansions, in particular, asymptotic solutions near the singularities and infinity, can be found.

Detecting temperature fluctuations at equilibrium.

PubMed

Dixit, Purushottam D

2015-05-21

The Gibbs and the Boltzmann definition of temperature agree only in the macroscopic limit. The ambiguity in identifying the equilibrium temperature of a finite-sized 'small' system exchanging energy with a bath is usually understood as a limitation of conventional statistical mechanics. We interpret this ambiguity as resulting from a stochastically fluctuating temperature coupled with the phase space variables giving rise to a broad temperature distribution. With this ansatz, we develop the equilibrium statistics and dynamics of small systems. Numerical evidence using an analytically tractable model shows that the effects of temperature fluctuations can be detected in the equilibrium and dynamical properties of the phase space of the small system. Our theory generalizes statistical mechanics to small systems relevant in biophysics and nanotechnology.

Use of Inert Gases and Carbon Monoxide to Study the Possible Influence of Countercurrent Exchange on Passive Absorption from the Small Bowel

PubMed Central

Bond, John H.; Levitt, David G.; Levitt, Michael D.

1974-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to quantitate the influence of countercurrent exchange on passive absorption of highly diffusible substances from the small intestine of the rabbit. The absorption of carbon monoxide, which is tightly bound to hemoglobin and therefore cannot exchange, was compared to the absorption of four unbound gases (H2, He, CH4, and 133Xe), which should exchange freely. The degree to which the observed absorption of the unbound gases falls below that predicted from CO absorption should provide a quantitative measure of countercurrent exchange. CO uptake at high luminal Pco is flow-limited and, assuming that villus and central hemoglobin concentrations are equal, the flow that equilibrates with CO (Fco) was calculated to equal 7.24 ml/min/100 g. The observed absorption rate of the unbound gases was from two to four times greater than would have been predicted had their entire uptake been accounted for by equilibration with Fco. This is the opposite of what would occur if countercurrent exchange retarded absorption of the unbound gases. The unbound gases have both flow- and diffusion-limited components, and Fco should account for only the fraction of absorption that is flow limited. A simple model of perfusion and diffusion made it possible to calculate the fraction of the total uptake of unbound gases that was flow limited. This fraction of the total observed absorption rate was still about 1.8 times greater than predicted by CO absorption. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that plasma skimming reduces the hemoglobin of villus blood to about 60% of that of central blood. Thus, Fco is actually about 1.7 times greater than initially calculated, and with this correction, there is close agreement between the predicted and observed rates of absorption of each of the unbound gases. We conclude that countercurrent exchange does not influence passive absorption under the conditions of this study. PMID:4436431

Exposure to Total and Protein-Unbound Rifampin Is Not Affected by Malnutrition in Indonesian Tuberculosis Patients

PubMed Central

Ruslami, R.; Later-Nijland, H.; Mooren, F.; Teulen, M.; Apriani, L.; Koenderink, J. B.; Russel, F. G.; Burger, D. M.; Alisjahbana, B.; Wieringa, F.; van Crevel, R.; Aarnoutse, R. E.

2015-01-01

Nutritional status may have a profound impact on the pharmacokinetics of drugs, yet only few data are available for tuberculosis (TB) drugs. As malnutrition occurs frequently among TB patients, we assessed the effect of malnutrition on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of total and protein-unbound rifampin during the intensive phase of TB treatment. In a descriptive pharmacokinetic study in Bandung, Indonesia, patients received a fixed standard rifampin dose of 450 mg once daily during the intensive phase of TB treatment. A full pharmacokinetic curve for rifampin was recorded, and total and unbound concentrations of rifampin were analyzed in all samples. Rifampin pharmacokinetic parameters were compared between severely malnourished (BMI of <16.0 kg/m2), malnourished (BMI of <18.5 kg/m2), and well-nourished (BMI of ≥18.5 kg/m2) individuals. No difference in total and protein-unbound pharmacokinetic parameters between severely malnourished (n = 7), malnourished (n = 11), and well-nourished (n = 25) patients could be demonstrated. In addition, no significant correlation between BMI and exposure (area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h [AUC0–24] and maximum concentration of drug in serum [Cmax]) was found. Females had significantly higher total AUC0–24 (geometric mean, 59.2 versus 48.2 h · mg/liter; P = 0.02) and higher unbound AUC0–24 (geometric mean, 6.2 versus 4.8 h · mg/liter; P = 0.02) than males. Overall, a marked 2-fold interindividual variation in the free fraction was observed (7.6 to 15.0%; n = 36). Nutritional status and BMI do not appear to have a major effect on total and protein-unbound pharmacokinetic parameters of rifampin in Indonesian subjects. The large interindividual variability in the free fraction of rifampin suggests that protein-unbound rather than total rifampin concentrations should preferably be used to study exposure-response relationships. PMID:25801554

Exposure–effect relationship of mycophenolic acid and prednisolone in adult patients with lupus nephritis

PubMed Central

Abd Rahman, Azrin N; Tett, Susan E; Abdul Gafor, Halim A; McWhinney, Brett C; Staatz, Christine E

2015-01-01

Aims The aim was to examine relationships between total and unbound mycophenolic acid (MPA) and prednisolone exposure and clinical outcomes in patients with lupus nephritis. Methods Six blood samples were drawn pre- and at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h post-dose and total and unbound MPA and prednisolone pre-dose (C0), maximum concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration–time curve (AUC) were determined using non-compartmental analysis in 25 patients. The analyses evaluated drug exposures in relation to treatment response since starting MPA and drug-related adverse events. Results Dose-normalized AUC varied 10-, 8-, 7- and 19-fold for total MPA, unbound MPA, total prednisolone and unbound prednisolone, respectively. Median values (95% CI) of total MPA AUC(0,8 h) (21.5 [15.0, 42.0] vs. 11.2 [4.8, 30.0] mg l–1 h, P= 0.048) and Cmax (11.9 [6.7, 26.3] vs. 6.1 [1.6, 9.2] mg l–1, P = 0.016) were significantly higher in responders than non-responders. Anaemia was significantly associated with higher total (37.8 [14.1, 77.5] vs. 18.5 [11.7, 32.7] mg l–1 h, P = 0.038) and unbound MPA AUC(0,12 h) (751 [214, 830] vs. 227 [151, 389] mg l–1 h, P = 0.004). Unbound prednisolone AUC(0,24 h) was significantly higher in patients with Cushingoid appearance (unbound: 1372 [1242, 1774] vs. 846 [528, 1049] nmol l–1 h, P = 0.019) than in those without. Poorer treatment response was observed in patients with lowest tertile exposure to both total MPA and prednisolone as compared with patients with middle and higher tertile exposure (17% vs. 74%, P = 0.023). Conclusions This study suggests a potential role for therapeutic drug monitoring in individualizing immunosuppressant therapy in patients with lupus nephritis. PMID:25959850

Exposure-effect relationship of mycophenolic acid and prednisolone in adult patients with lupus nephritis.

PubMed

Abd Rahman, Azrin N; Tett, Susan E; Abdul Gafor, Halim A; McWhinney, Brett C; Staatz, Christine E

2015-11-01

The aim was to examine relationships between total and unbound mycophenolic acid (MPA) and prednisolone exposure and clinical outcomes in patients with lupus nephritis. Six blood samples were drawn pre- and at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h post-dose and total and unbound MPA and prednisolone pre-dose (C0 ), maximum concentration (Cmax ) and area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) were determined using non-compartmental analysis in 25 patients. The analyses evaluated drug exposures in relation to treatment response since starting MPA and drug-related adverse events. Dose-normalized AUC varied 10-, 8-, 7- and 19-fold for total MPA, unbound MPA, total prednisolone and unbound prednisolone, respectively. Median values (95% CI) of total MPA AUC(0,8 h) (21.5 [15.0, 42.0] vs. 11.2 [4.8, 30.0] mg l(-1) h, P= 0.048) and Cmax (11.9 [6.7, 26.3] vs. 6.1 [1.6, 9.2] mg l(-1) , P = 0.016) were significantly higher in responders than non-responders. Anaemia was significantly associated with higher total (37.8 [14.1, 77.5] vs. 18.5 [11.7, 32.7] mg l(-1) h, P = 0.038) and unbound MPA AUC(0,12 h) (751 [214, 830] vs. 227 [151, 389] mg l(-1) h, P = 0.004). Unbound prednisolone AUC(0,24 h) was significantly higher in patients with Cushingoid appearance (unbound: 1372 [1242, 1774] vs. 846 [528, 1049] nmol l(-1) h, P = 0.019) than in those without. Poorer treatment response was observed in patients with lowest tertile exposure to both total MPA and prednisolone as compared with patients with middle and higher tertile exposure (17% vs. 74%, P = 0.023). This study suggests a potential role for therapeutic drug monitoring in individualizing immunosuppressant therapy in patients with lupus nephritis. © 2015 The British Pharmacological Society.

Charged particle dynamics in the presence of non-Gaussian Lévy electrostatic fluctuations

DOE PAGES

Del-Castillo-Negrete, Diego B.; Moradi, Sara; Anderson, Johan

2016-09-01

Full orbit dynamics of charged particles in a 3-dimensional helical magnetic field in the presence of -stable Levy electrostatic fluctuations and linear friction modeling collisional Coulomb drag is studied via Monte Carlo numerical simulations. The Levy fluctuations are introduced to model the effect of non-local transport due to fractional diffusion in velocity space resulting from intermittent electrostatic turbulence. The probability distribution functions of energy, particle displacements, and Larmor radii are computed and showed to exhibit a transition from exponential decay, in the case of Gaussian fluctuations, to power law decay in the case of Levy fluctuations. The absolute value ofmore » the power law decay exponents are linearly proportional to the Levy index. Furthermore, the observed anomalous non-Gaussian statistics of the particles' Larmor radii (resulting from outlier transport events) indicate that, when electrostatic turbulent fluctuations exhibit non-Gaussian Levy statistics, gyro-averaging and guiding centre approximations might face limitations and full particle orbit effects should be taken into account.« less

Charged particle dynamics in the presence of non-Gaussian Lévy electrostatic fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moradi, Sara; del-Castillo-Negrete, Diego; Anderson, Johan

2016-09-01

Full orbit dynamics of charged particles in a 3-dimensional helical magnetic field in the presence of α-stable Lévy electrostatic fluctuations and linear friction modeling collisional Coulomb drag is studied via Monte Carlo numerical simulations. The Lévy fluctuations are introduced to model the effect of non-local transport due to fractional diffusion in velocity space resulting from intermittent electrostatic turbulence. The probability distribution functions of energy, particle displacements, and Larmor radii are computed and showed to exhibit a transition from exponential decay, in the case of Gaussian fluctuations, to power law decay in the case of Lévy fluctuations. The absolute value of the power law decay exponents is linearly proportional to the Lévy index α. The observed anomalous non-Gaussian statistics of the particles' Larmor radii (resulting from outlier transport events) indicate that, when electrostatic turbulent fluctuations exhibit non-Gaussian Lévy statistics, gyro-averaging and guiding centre approximations might face limitations and full particle orbit effects should be taken into account.

Rogue waves and entropy consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadjihoseini, Ali; Lind, Pedro G.; Mori, Nobuhito; Hoffmann, Norbert P.; Peinke, Joachim

2017-11-01

Based on data from the Sea of Japan and the North Sea the occurrence of rogue waves is analyzed by a scale-dependent stochastic approach, which interlinks fluctuations of waves for different spacings. With this approach we are able to determine a stochastic cascade process, which provides information of the general multipoint statistics. Furthermore the evolution of single trajectories in scale, which characterize wave height fluctuations in the surroundings of a chosen location, can be determined. The explicit knowledge of the stochastic process enables to assign entropy values to all wave events. We show that for these entropies the integral fluctuation theorem, a basic law of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, is valid. This implies that positive and negative entropy events must occur. Extreme events like rogue waves are characterized as negative entropy events. The statistics of these entropy fluctuations changes with the wave state, thus for the Sea of Japan the statistics of the entropies has a more pronounced tail for negative entropy values, indicating a higher probability of rogue waves.

Are EUR and GBP different words for the same currency?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, K.; Ausloos, M.

2002-05-01

The British Pound (GBP) is not part of the Euro (EUR) monetary system. In order to find out arguments on whether GBP should join the EUR or not correlations are calculated between GBP exchange rates with respect to various currencies: USD, JPY, CHF, DKK, the currencies forming EUR and a reconstructed EUR for the time interval from 1993 till June 30, 2000. The distribution of fluctuations of the exchange rates is Gaussian for the central part of the distribution, but has fat tails for the large size fluctuations. Within the Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) statistical method the power law behavior describing the root-mean-square deviation from a linear trend of the exchange rate fluctuations is obtained as a function of time for the time interval of interest. The time-dependent exponent evolution of the exchange rate fluctuations is given. Statistical considerations imply that the GBP is already behaving as a true EUR.

Determination of total and unbound concentrations of lopinavir in plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and ultrafiltration methods.

PubMed

Illamola, S M; Labat, L; Benaboud, S; Tubiana, R; Warszawski, J; Tréluyer, J M; Hirt, D

2014-08-15

Lopinavir is an HIV protease inhibitor with high protein binding (98-99%) in human plasma. This study was designed to develop an ultrafiltration method to measure the unbound concentrations of lopinavir overcoming the non-specific binding issue. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of total concentrations of lopinavir in plasma was developed and validated, and an adaptation was also optimized and validated for the determination of unbound concentrations. The chromatographic separation was performed with a C18 column (100 mm × 2.1mm i.d., 5 μm particle size) using a mobile phase containing deionized water with formic acid, and acetonitrile, with gradient elution at a flow-rate of 350 μL min(-1). Identification of the compounds was performed by multiple reaction monitoring, using electrospray ionization in positive ion mode. The method was validated over a clinical range of 0.01-1 μg/mL for human plasma ultrafiltrate and 0.1-15 μg/mL in human plasma. The inter and intra-assay accuracies and precisions were between 0.23% and 11.37% for total lopinavir concentrations, and between 3.50% and 13.30% for plasma ultrafiltrate (unbound concentration). The ultrafiltration method described allows an accurate separation of the unbound fraction of lopinavir, circumscribing the loss of drug by nonspecific binding (NSB), and the validated LC-MS/MS methodology proposed is suitable for the determination of total and unbound concentrations of lopinavir in clinical practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Feasibility Study of Nonlinear Spectroscopic Measurement of Magnetic Nanoparticles Targeted to Cancer Cells.

PubMed

Ficko, Bradley W; NDong, Christian; Giacometti, Paolo; Griswold, Karl E; Diamond, Solomon G

2017-05-01

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are an emerging platform for targeted diagnostics in cancer. An important component needed for translation of MNPs is the detection and quantification of targeted MNPs bound to tumor cells. This study explores the feasibility of a multifrequency nonlinear magnetic spectroscopic method that uses excitation and pickup coils and is capable of discriminating between quantities of bound and unbound MNPs in 0.5 ml samples of KB and Igrov human cancer cell lines. The method is tested over a range of five concentrations of MNPs from 0 to 80 μg/ml and five concentrations of cells from 50 to 400 000 count per ml. A linear model applied to the magnetic spectroscopy data was able to simultaneously measure bound and unbound MNPs with agreement between the model-fit and lab assay measurements (p < 0.001). The detectable iron of the presented method to bound and unbound MNPs was < 2 μg in a 0.5 ml sample. The linear model parameters used to determine the quantities of bound and unbound nanoparticles in KB cells were also used to measure the bound and unbound MNP in the Igrov cell line and vice versa. Nonlinear spectroscopic measurement of MNPs may be a useful method for studying targeted MNPs in oncology. Determining the quantity of bound and unbound MNP in an unknown sample using a linear model represents an exciting opportunity to translate multifrequency nonlinear spectroscopy methods to in vivo applications where MNPs could be targeted to cancer cells.

Statistical properties and correlation functions for drift waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horton, W.

1986-01-01

The dissipative one-field drift wave equation is solved using the pseudospectral method to generate steady-state fluctuations. The fluctuations are analyzed in terms of space-time correlation functions and modal probability distributions. Nearly Gaussian statistics and exponential decay of the two-time correlation functions occur in the presence of electron dissipation, while in the absence of electron dissipation long-lived vortical structures occur. Formulas from renormalized, Markovianized statistical turbulence theory are given in a local approximation to interpret the dissipative turbulence.

Stationary transport processes with unbounded collision operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenberg, William; van der Mee, C. V. M.

1984-01-01

An abstract Hilbert space equation is studied, which models many of the stationary, one-dimensional transport equations with partial-range boundary conditions. In particular, the collision term may be unbounded and nondissipative. A complete existence and uniqueness theory is presented.

Information flow and quantum cryptography using statistical fluctuations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Home, D.; Whitaker, M.A.B.

2003-02-01

A procedure is formulated, using the quantum teleportation arrangement, that communicates knowledge of an apparatus setting between the wings of the experiment, using statistical fluctuations in a sequence of measurement results. It requires an entangled state, and transmission of classical information totally unrelated to the apparatus setting actually communicated. Our procedure has conceptual interest, and has applications to quantum cryptography.

Radar measurement of L-band signal fluctuations caused by propagation through trees

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Durden, Stephen L.; Klein, Jeffrey D.; Zebker, Howard A.

1991-01-01

Fluctuations of an L-band, horizontally polarized signal that was transmitted from the ground through a coniferous forest canopy to an airborne radar are examined. The azimuth synthetic aperture radar (SAR) impulse response in the presence of the measured magnitude fluctuations shows increased sidelobes over the case with no trees. Statistics of the observed fluctuations are similar to other observations.

Statistical theory of dynamo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, E.; Newton, A. P.

2012-04-01

One major problem in dynamo theory is the multi-scale nature of the MHD turbulence, which requires statistical theory in terms of probability distribution functions. In this contribution, we present the statistical theory of magnetic fields in a simplified mean field α-Ω dynamo model by varying the statistical property of alpha, including marginal stability and intermittency, and then utilize observational data of solar activity to fine-tune the mean field dynamo model. Specifically, we first present a comprehensive investigation into the effect of the stochastic parameters in a simplified α-Ω dynamo model. Through considering the manifold of marginal stability (the region of parameter space where the mean growth rate is zero), we show that stochastic fluctuations are conductive to dynamo. Furthermore, by considering the cases of fluctuating alpha that are periodic and Gaussian coloured random noise with identical characteristic time-scales and fluctuating amplitudes, we show that the transition to dynamo is significantly facilitated for stochastic alpha with random noise. Furthermore, we show that probability density functions (PDFs) of the growth-rate, magnetic field and magnetic energy can provide a wealth of useful information regarding the dynamo behaviour/intermittency. Finally, the precise statistical property of the dynamo such as temporal correlation and fluctuating amplitude is found to be dependent on the distribution the fluctuations of stochastic parameters. We then use observations of solar activity to constrain parameters relating to the effect in stochastic α-Ω nonlinear dynamo models. This is achieved through performing a comprehensive statistical comparison by computing PDFs of solar activity from observations and from our simulation of mean field dynamo model. The observational data that are used are the time history of solar activity inferred for C14 data in the past 11000 years on a long time scale and direct observations of the sun spot numbers obtained in recent years 1795-1995 on a short time scale. Monte Carlo simulations are performed on these data to obtain PDFs of the solar activity on both long and short time scales. These PDFs are then compared with predicted PDFs from numerical simulation of our α-Ω dynamo model, where α is assumed to have both mean α0 and fluctuating α' parts. By varying the correlation time of fluctuating α', the ratio of the amplitude of the fluctuating to mean alpha <α'2>/α02 (where angular brackets <> denote ensemble average), and the ratio of poloidal to toroidal magnetic fields, we show that the results from our stochastic dynamo model can match the PDFs of solar activity on both long and short time scales. In particular, a good agreement is obtained when the fluctuation in alpha is roughly equal to the mean part with a correlation time shorter than the solar period.

Interplanetary Alfvenic fluctuations: A statistical study of the directional variations of the magnetic field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bavassano, B.; Mariani, F.

1983-01-01

Magnetic field data from HELIOS 1 and 2 are used to test a stochastic model for Alfvenic fluctuations recently proposed. A reasonable matching between observations and predictions is found. A rough estimate of the correlation length of the observed fluctuations is inferred.

Parameter optimization in biased decoy-state quantum key distribution with both source errors and statistical fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jian-Rong; Li, Jian; Zhang, Chun-Mei; Wang, Qin

2017-10-01

The decoy-state method has been widely used in commercial quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. In view of the practical decoy-state QKD with both source errors and statistical fluctuations, we propose a universal model of full parameter optimization in biased decoy-state QKD with phase-randomized sources. Besides, we adopt this model to carry out simulations of two widely used sources: weak coherent source (WCS) and heralded single-photon source (HSPS). Results show that full parameter optimization can significantly improve not only the secure transmission distance but also the final key generation rate. And when taking source errors and statistical fluctuations into account, the performance of decoy-state QKD using HSPS suffered less than that of decoy-state QKD using WCS.

Statistical physics and economic fluctuations: do outliers exist?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanley, H. Eugene

2003-02-01

We present an overview of recent research applying ideas of statistical physics to try to better understand puzzles regarding economic fluctuations. One of these puzzles is how to describe outliers, phenomena that lie outside of patterns of statistical regularity. We review evidence consistent with the possibility that such outliers may not exist. This possibility is supported by recent analysis by Plerou et al. of a database containing the bid, ask, and sale price of each trade of every stock. Further, the data support the picture of economic fluctuations, due to Plerou et al., in which a financial market alternates between being in an “equilibrium phase” where market behavior is split roughly equally between buying and selling, and an “out-of-equilibrium phase” where the market is mainly either buying or selling.

Seasonal variations in the moduli of unbound pavement layers.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-07-01

The in situ moduli of unbound pavement materials vary on a seasonal basis as a function of temperature and moisture conditions. : Knowledge of these variations is required for accurate prediction of pavement life for pavement design and other pavemen...

Effect of drainage in unbound aggregate bases on flexible pavement performance.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-03-01

The main objective of this study is to optimize the gradation of Mexican limestone aggregate for use as an unbound drainable base material that has adequate permeability while staying structurally stable during the construction time and the pavement...

Determination of resilient properties of unbound materials with repeated load triaxial and diametral test systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-12-01

Repeated load diametral test systems are experiencing increased use to determine resilient properties of asphalt concrete and admixture stabilized materials; they have not been used extensively to determine the resilient properties of unbound materia...

Resilient moduli of typical Missouri soils and unbound granular base materials.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

The objective of this project was to determine the resilient moduli for common Missouri subgrade soils and typical unbound granular base materials in accordance with the AASHTO T 307 test method. The results allow Missouri Department of Transportatio...

Verifying Multi-Agent Systems via Unbounded Model Checking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kacprzak, M.; Lomuscio, A.; Lasica, T.; Penczek, W.; Szreter, M.

2004-01-01

We present an approach to the problem of verification of epistemic properties in multi-agent systems by means of symbolic model checking. In particular, it is shown how to extend the technique of unbounded model checking from a purely temporal setting to a temporal-epistemic one. In order to achieve this, we base our discussion on interpreted systems semantics, a popular semantics used in multi-agent systems literature. We give details of the technique and show how it can be applied to the well known train, gate and controller problem. Keywords: model checking, unbounded model checking, multi-agent systems

What kind of noise is brain noise: anomalous scaling behavior of the resting brain activity fluctuations

PubMed Central

Fraiman, Daniel; Chialvo, Dante R.

2012-01-01

The study of spontaneous fluctuations of brain activity, often referred as brain noise, is getting increasing attention in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Despite important efforts, much of the statistical properties of such fluctuations remain largely unknown. This work scrutinizes these fluctuations looking at specific statistical properties which are relevant to clarify its dynamical origins. Here, three statistical features which clearly differentiate brain data from naive expectations for random processes are uncovered: First, the variance of the fMRI mean signal as a function of the number of averaged voxels remains constant across a wide range of observed clusters sizes. Second, the anomalous behavior of the variance is originated by bursts of synchronized activity across regions, regardless of their widely different sizes. Finally, the correlation length (i.e., the length at which the correlation strength between two regions vanishes) as well as mutual information diverges with the cluster's size considered, such that arbitrarily large clusters exhibit the same collective dynamics than smaller ones. These three properties are known to be exclusive of complex systems exhibiting critical dynamics, where the spatio-temporal dynamics show these peculiar type of fluctuations. Thus, these findings are fully consistent with previous reports of brain critical dynamics, and are relevant for the interpretation of the role of fluctuations and variability in brain function in health and disease. PMID:22934058

Extracting Galaxy Cluster Gas Inhomogeneity from X-Ray Surface Brightness: A Statistical Approach and Application to Abell 3667

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawahara, Hajime; Reese, Erik D.; Kitayama, Tetsu; Sasaki, Shin; Suto, Yasushi

2008-11-01

Our previous analysis indicates that small-scale fluctuations in the intracluster medium (ICM) from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations follow the lognormal probability density function. In order to test the lognormal nature of the ICM directly against X-ray observations of galaxy clusters, we develop a method of extracting statistical information about the three-dimensional properties of the fluctuations from the two-dimensional X-ray surface brightness. We first create a set of synthetic clusters with lognormal fluctuations around their mean profile given by spherical isothermal β-models, later considering polytropic temperature profiles as well. Performing mock observations of these synthetic clusters, we find that the resulting X-ray surface brightness fluctuations also follow the lognormal distribution fairly well. Systematic analysis of the synthetic clusters provides an empirical relation between the three-dimensional density fluctuations and the two-dimensional X-ray surface brightness. We analyze Chandra observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 3667, and find that its X-ray surface brightness fluctuations follow the lognormal distribution. While the lognormal model was originally motivated by cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, this is the first observational confirmation of the lognormal signature in a real cluster. Finally we check the synthetic cluster results against clusters from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. As a result of the complex structure exhibited by simulated clusters, the empirical relation between the two- and three-dimensional fluctuation properties calibrated with synthetic clusters when applied to simulated clusters shows large scatter. Nevertheless we are able to reproduce the true value of the fluctuation amplitude of simulated clusters within a factor of 2 from their two-dimensional X-ray surface brightness alone. Our current methodology combined with existing observational data is useful in describing and inferring the statistical properties of the three-dimensional inhomogeneity in galaxy clusters.

A Novel Method to Analyze Social Transmission in Chronologically Sequenced Assemblages, Implemented on Cultural Inheritance of the Art of Cooking

PubMed Central

Isaksson, Sven; Funcke, Alexander; Envall, Ida; Enquist, Magnus; Lindenfors, Patrik

2015-01-01

Here we present an analytical technique for the measurement and evaluation of changes in chronologically sequenced assemblages. To illustrate the method, we studied the cultural evolution of European cooking as revealed in seven cook books dispersed over the past 800 years. We investigated if changes in the set of commonly used ingredients were mainly gradual or subject to fashion fluctuations. Applying our method to the data from the cook books revealed that overall, there is a clear continuity in cooking over the ages – cooking is knowledge that is passed down through generations, not something (re-)invented by each generation on its own. Looking at three main categories of ingredients separately (spices, animal products and vegetables), however, disclosed that all ingredients do not change according to the same pattern. While choice of animal products was very conservative, changing completely sequentially, changes in the choices of spices, but also of vegetables, were more unbounded. We hypothesize that this may be due a combination of fashion fluctuations and changes in availability due to contact with the Americas during our study time period. The presented method is also usable on other assemblage type data, and can thus be of utility for analyzing sequential archaeological data from the same area or other similarly organized material. PMID:25970578

Heat capacity of the neutron star inner crust within an extended nuclear statistical equilibrium model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrello, S.; Gulminelli, F.; Aymard, F.; Colonna, M.; Raduta, Ad. R.

2015-11-01

Background: Superfluidity in the crust is a key ingredient for the cooling properties of proto-neutron stars. Present theoretical calculations employ the quasiparticle mean-field Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory with temperature-dependent occupation numbers for the quasiparticle states. Purpose: Finite temperature stellar matter is characterized by a whole distribution of different nuclear species. We want to assess the importance of this distribution on the calculation of heat capacity in the inner crust. Method: Following a recent work, the Wigner-Seitz cell is mapped into a model with cluster degrees of freedom. The finite temperature distribution is then given by a statistical collection of Wigner-Seitz cells. We additionally introduce pairing correlations in the local density BCS approximation both in the homogeneous unbound neutron component, and in the interface region between clusters and neutrons. Results: The heat capacity is calculated in the different baryonic density conditions corresponding to the inner crust, and in a temperature range varying from 100 KeV to 2 MeV. We show that accounting for the cluster distribution has a small effect at intermediate densities, but it considerably affects the heat capacity both close to the outer crust and close to the core. We additionally show that it is very important to consider the temperature evolution of the proton fraction for a quantitatively reliable estimation of the heat capacity. Conclusions: We present the first modelization of stellar matter containing at the same time a statistical distribution of clusters at finite temperature, and pairing correlations in the unbound neutron component. The effect of the nuclear distribution on the superfluid properties can be easily added in future calculations of the neutron star cooling curves. A strong influence of resonance population on the heat capacity at high temperature is observed, which deserves to be further studied within more microscopic calculations.

Resilient moduli of typical Missouri soils and unbound granular base materials

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-03-01

The objective of this project is to accurately determine the resilient moduli for common Missouri subgrade soils and unbound granular base materials in accordance with the AASHTO T 307 test method. The test results included moduli data from 27 common...

Measurement of seasonal changes and spatial variations in pavement unbound base and subgrade properties.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

Soils often undergo cyclic wetting/drying, but there is very limited research on unsaturated : soils subjected to variations in moisture content. More specifically, field moisture variation : over time in highway unbound bases and subgrade soils is a...

A statistical physics view of pitch fluctuations in the classical music from Bach to Chopin: evidence for scaling.

PubMed

Liu, Lu; Wei, Jianrong; Zhang, Huishu; Xin, Jianhong; Huang, Jiping

2013-01-01

Because classical music has greatly affected our life and culture in its long history, it has attracted extensive attention from researchers to understand laws behind it. Based on statistical physics, here we use a different method to investigate classical music, namely, by analyzing cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) and autocorrelation functions of pitch fluctuations in compositions. We analyze 1,876 compositions of five representative classical music composers across 164 years from Bach, to Mozart, to Beethoven, to Mendelsohn, and to Chopin. We report that the biggest pitch fluctuations of a composer gradually increase as time evolves from Bach time to Mendelsohn/Chopin time. In particular, for the compositions of a composer, the positive and negative tails of a CDF of pitch fluctuations are distributed not only in power laws (with the scale-free property), but also in symmetry (namely, the probability of a treble following a bass and that of a bass following a treble are basically the same for each composer). The power-law exponent decreases as time elapses. Further, we also calculate the autocorrelation function of the pitch fluctuation. The autocorrelation function shows a power-law distribution for each composer. Especially, the power-law exponents vary with the composers, indicating their different levels of long-range correlation of notes. This work not only suggests a way to understand and develop music from a viewpoint of statistical physics, but also enriches the realm of traditional statistical physics by analyzing music.

Electric Field Fluctuations in Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorpe, Dayton; Limmer, David; Chandler, David

2013-03-01

Charge transfer in solution, such as autoionization and ion pair dissociation in water, is governed by rare electric field fluctuations of the solvent. Knowing the statistics of such fluctuations can help explain the dynamics of these rare events. Trajectories short enough to be tractable by computer simulation are virtually certain not to sample the large fluctuations that promote rare events. Here, we employ importance sampling techniques with classical molecular dynamics simulations of liquid water to study statistics of electric field fluctuations far from their means. We find that the distributions of electric fields located on individual water molecules are not in general gaussian. Near the mean this non-gaussianity is due to the internal charge distribution of the water molecule. Further from the mean, however, there is a previously unreported Bjerrum-like defect that stabilizes certain large fluctuations out of equilibrium. As expected, differences in electric fields acting between molecules are gaussian to a remarkable degree. By studying these differences, though, we are able to determine what configurations result not only in large electric fields, but also in electric fields with long spatial correlations that may be needed to promote charge separation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vaidheeswaran, Avinash; Shaffer, Franklin; Gopalan, Balaji

Here, the statistics of fluctuating velocity components are studied in the riser of a closed-loop circulating fluidized bed with fluid catalytic cracking catalyst particles. Our analysis shows distinct similarities as well as deviations compared to existing theories and bench-scale experiments. The study confirms anisotropic and non-Maxwellian distribution of fluctuating velocity components. The velocity distribution functions (VDFs) corresponding to transverse fluctuations exhibit symmetry, and follow a stretched-exponential behavior up to three standard deviations. The form of the transverse VDF is largely determined by interparticle interactions. The tails become more overpopulated with an increase in particle loading. The observed deviations from themore » Gaussian distribution are represented using the leading order term in the Sonine expansion, which is commonly used to approximate the VDFs in kinetic theory for granular flows. The vertical fluctuating VDFs are asymmetric and the skewness shifts as the wall is approached. In comparison to transverse fluctuations, the vertical VDF is determined by the local hydrodynamics. This is an observation of particle velocity fluctuations in a large-scale system and their quantitative comparison with the Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics.« less

Financial time series: A physics perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopikrishnan, Parameswaran; Plerou, Vasiliki; Amaral, Luis A. N.; Rosenow, Bernd; Stanley, H. Eugene

2000-06-01

Physicists in the last few years have started applying concepts and methods of statistical physics to understand economic phenomena. The word ``econophysics'' is sometimes used to refer to this work. One reason for this interest is the fact that Economic systems such as financial markets are examples of complex interacting systems for which a huge amount of data exist and it is possible that economic problems viewed from a different perspective might yield new results. This article reviews the results of a few recent phenomenological studies focused on understanding the distinctive statistical properties of financial time series. We discuss three recent results-(i) The probability distribution of stock price fluctuations: Stock price fluctuations occur in all magnitudes, in analogy to earthquakes-from tiny fluctuations to very drastic events, such as market crashes, eg., the crash of October 19th 1987, sometimes referred to as ``Black Monday''. The distribution of price fluctuations decays with a power-law tail well outside the Lévy stable regime and describes fluctuations that differ by as much as 8 orders of magnitude. In addition, this distribution preserves its functional form for fluctuations on time scales that differ by 3 orders of magnitude, from 1 min up to approximately 10 days. (ii) Correlations in financial time series: While price fluctuations themselves have rapidly decaying correlations, the magnitude of fluctuations measured by either the absolute value or the square of the price fluctuations has correlations that decay as a power-law and persist for several months. (iii) Correlations among different companies: The third result bears on the application of random matrix theory to understand the correlations among price fluctuations of any two different stocks. From a study of the eigenvalue statistics of the cross-correlation matrix constructed from price fluctuations of the leading 1000 stocks, we find that the largest 5-10% of the eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors show systematic deviations from the predictions for a random matrix, whereas the rest of the eigenvalues conform to random matrix behavior-suggesting that these 5-10% of the eigenvalues contain system-specific information about correlated behavior. .

Active control on high-order coherence and statistic characterization on random phase fluctuation of two classical point sources.

PubMed

Hong, Peilong; Li, Liming; Liu, Jianji; Zhang, Guoquan

2016-03-29

Young's double-slit or two-beam interference is of fundamental importance to understand various interference effects, in which the stationary phase difference between two beams plays the key role in the first-order coherence. Different from the case of first-order coherence, in the high-order optical coherence the statistic behavior of the optical phase will play the key role. In this article, by employing a fundamental interfering configuration with two classical point sources, we showed that the high- order optical coherence between two classical point sources can be actively designed by controlling the statistic behavior of the relative phase difference between two point sources. Synchronous position Nth-order subwavelength interference with an effective wavelength of λ/M was demonstrated, in which λ is the wavelength of point sources and M is an integer not larger than N. Interestingly, we found that the synchronous position Nth-order interference fringe fingerprints the statistic trace of random phase fluctuation of two classical point sources, therefore, it provides an effective way to characterize the statistic properties of phase fluctuation for incoherent light sources.

Reaction Event Counting Statistics of Biopolymer Reaction Systems with Dynamic Heterogeneity.

PubMed

Lim, Yu Rim; Park, Seong Jun; Park, Bo Jung; Cao, Jianshu; Silbey, Robert J; Sung, Jaeyoung

2012-04-10

We investigate the reaction event counting statistics (RECS) of an elementary biopolymer reaction in which the rate coefficient is dependent on states of the biopolymer and the surrounding environment and discover a universal kinetic phase transition in the RECS of the reaction system with dynamic heterogeneity. From an exact analysis for a general model of elementary biopolymer reactions, we find that the variance in the number of reaction events is dependent on the square of the mean number of the reaction events when the size of measurement time is small on the relaxation time scale of rate coefficient fluctuations, which does not conform to renewal statistics. On the other hand, when the size of the measurement time interval is much greater than the relaxation time of rate coefficient fluctuations, the variance becomes linearly proportional to the mean reaction number in accordance with renewal statistics. Gillespie's stochastic simulation method is generalized for the reaction system with a rate coefficient fluctuation. The simulation results confirm the correctness of the analytic results for the time dependent mean and variance of the reaction event number distribution. On the basis of the obtained results, we propose a method of quantitative analysis for the reaction event counting statistics of reaction systems with rate coefficient fluctuations, which enables one to extract information about the magnitude and the relaxation times of the fluctuating reaction rate coefficient, without a bias that can be introduced by assuming a particular kinetic model of conformational dynamics and the conformation dependent reactivity. An exact relationship is established between a higher moment of the reaction event number distribution and the multitime correlation of the reaction rate for the reaction system with a nonequilibrium initial state distribution as well as for the system with the equilibrium initial state distribution.

Unbounded orbits of a swinging Atwood's machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tufillaro, N.; Nunes, A.; Casasayas, J.

1988-12-01

The motion of a swinging Atwood's machine is examined when the orbits are unbounded. Expressions for the asymptotic behavior of the orbits are derived that exhibit either an infinite number of oscillations or no oscillations, depending only on a critical value of the mass ratio.

Unbounded and revocable hierarchical identity-based encryption with adaptive security, decryption key exposure resistant, and short public parameters

PubMed Central

Wang, Baosheng; Tao, Jing

2018-01-01

Revocation functionality and hierarchy key delegation are two necessary and crucial requirements to identity-based cryptosystems. Revocable hierarchical identity-based encryption (RHIBE) has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, many RHIBE schemes have been proposed but shown to be either insecure or bounded where they have to fix the maximum hierarchical depth of RHIBE at setup. In this paper, we propose a new unbounded RHIBE scheme with decryption key exposure resilience and with short public system parameters, and prove our RHIBE scheme to be adaptively secure. Our system model is scalable inherently to accommodate more levels of user adaptively with no adding workload or restarting the system. By carefully designing the hybrid games, we overcome the subtle obstacle in applying the dual system encryption methodology for the unbounded and revocable HIBE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first construction of adaptively secure unbounded RHIBE scheme. PMID:29649326

Plasma protein binding of phenytoin in 100 epileptic patients.

PubMed Central

Peterson, G M; McLean, S; Aldous, S; Von Witt, R J; Millingen, K S

1982-01-01

The plasma protein binding of phenytoin was investigated in 100 epileptic patients, using equilibrium dialysis at 37 degrees C. The unbound fractions of phenytoin in plasma formed a skewed distribution, with a range of 9.7 to 24.7% and a median value of 12.3%. Most (80%) patients appeared to form one group with free phenytoin fractions from 9.7 to 14.5%, while the remainder formed a group with elevated free fractions (greater than 14.5%). Total and unbound plasma concentrations of phenytoin were strongly correlated (r=0.95, P less than 0.0001). There was a weak correlation between increasing age and the unbound phenytoin fraction (r=0.28, P less than 0.01). The results indicate that measurement of the total phenytoin concentration in plasma should usually provide a reliable index of anticonvulsant effect. However, determination of the unbound phenytoin fraction would be beneficial in the management of those patients in whom this fraction may be elevated, due to interacting drugs or biochemical abnormalities. PMID:7104186

Protein Binding of Lopinavir and Ritonavir During Four Phases of Pregnancy: Implications for Treatment Guidelines

PubMed Central

Patterson, Kristine B.; Dumond, Julie B.; Prince, Heather A.; Jenkins, Amanda J.; Scarsi, Kimberly K.; Wang, Ruili; Malone, Stephanie; Hudgens, Michael G.; Kashuba, Angela DM.

2013-01-01

Objective To investigate the intraindividual pharmacokinetics of total (protein bound + unbound) and unbound lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/RTV) and to assess whether the pediatric formulation (100mg/25mg) can overcome any pregnancy-associated changes. Design Prospective longitudinal pharmacokinetic (PK) study Methods HIV-infected pregnant antiretroviral therapy-naïve and experienced women receiving LPV/RTV 400mg/100mg tablets twice daily. Intensive PK evaluations were performed at 20–24 weeks (PK1), 30 weeks (PK2) followed by empiric dose increase using the pediatric formulation (100mg/25mg twice daily), 32 weeks (PK3), and 8 weeks postpartum (PK4). Results Twelve women completed pre-specified PK evaluations. Median (range) age was 28 (1–35) years and baseline BMI was 32 (19–41) kg/m2. During pregnancy, total area under the time concentration (AUC0–12hr) for LPV was significantly lower than postpartum [PK1, PK2 or PK3 vs. PK4, p= 0.005]. Protein unbound LPV AUC0–12hr remained unchanged during pregnancy [PK1: 1.6 (1.3–1.9) vs. PK2: 1.6 (1.3–1.9) µg*hr/mL, p=0.4] despite a 25% dose increase [PK2 vs. PK3: 1.8 (1.3–2.1) µg*hr/mL, p=0.5]. Protein unbound LPV predose concentrations (C12h) did not significantly change despite dose increase [PK2: 0.10 (0.08–0.15) vs. PK3: 0.12 (0.10–0.15) µg/mL, p=0.09]. Albumin and LPV AUC0–12h fraction unbound were correlated (rs=0.3, p=0.03). Conclusions Total LPV exposure was significantly decreased throughout pregnancy despite the increased dose. However, the exposure of unbound LPV did not change significantly regardless of trimester or dose. Predose concentrations of unbound LPV were not affected by the additional dose and were 70-fold greater than the minimum efficacy concentration. These findings suggest dose adjustments may not be necessary in all HIV-infected pregnant women. PMID:23221983

Meteor localization via statistical analysis of spatially temporal fluctuations in image sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukal, Jaromír.; Klimt, Martin; Šihlík, Jan; Fliegel, Karel

2015-09-01

Meteor detection is one of the most important procedures in astronomical imaging. Meteor path in Earth's atmosphere is traditionally reconstructed from double station video observation system generating 2D image sequences. However, the atmospheric turbulence and other factors cause spatially-temporal fluctuations of image background, which makes the localization of meteor path more difficult. Our approach is based on nonlinear preprocessing of image intensity using Box-Cox and logarithmic transform as its particular case. The transformed image sequences are then differentiated along discrete coordinates to obtain statistical description of sky background fluctuations, which can be modeled by multivariate normal distribution. After verification and hypothesis testing, we use the statistical model for outlier detection. Meanwhile the isolated outlier points are ignored, the compact cluster of outliers indicates the presence of meteoroids after ignition.

Superposed epoch analysis of physiological fluctuations: possible space weather connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wanliss, James; Cornélissen, Germaine; Halberg, Franz; Brown, Denzel; Washington, Brien

2018-03-01

There is a strong connection between space weather and fluctuations in technological systems. Some studies also suggest a statistical connection between space weather and subsequent fluctuations in the physiology of living creatures. This connection, however, has remained controversial and difficult to demonstrate. Here we present support for a response of human physiology to forcing from the explosive onset of the largest of space weather events—space storms. We consider a case study with over 16 years of high temporal resolution measurements of human blood pressure (systolic, diastolic) and heart rate variability to search for associations with space weather. We find no statistically significant change in human blood pressure but a statistically significant drop in heart rate during the main phase of space storms. Our empirical findings shed light on how human physiology may respond to exogenous space weather forcing.

Superposed epoch analysis of physiological fluctuations: possible space weather connections.

PubMed

Wanliss, James; Cornélissen, Germaine; Halberg, Franz; Brown, Denzel; Washington, Brien

2018-03-01

There is a strong connection between space weather and fluctuations in technological systems. Some studies also suggest a statistical connection between space weather and subsequent fluctuations in the physiology of living creatures. This connection, however, has remained controversial and difficult to demonstrate. Here we present support for a response of human physiology to forcing from the explosive onset of the largest of space weather events-space storms. We consider a case study with over 16 years of high temporal resolution measurements of human blood pressure (systolic, diastolic) and heart rate variability to search for associations with space weather. We find no statistically significant change in human blood pressure but a statistically significant drop in heart rate during the main phase of space storms. Our empirical findings shed light on how human physiology may respond to exogenous space weather forcing.

Bridging stylized facts in finance and data non-stationarities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camargo, Sabrina; Duarte Queirós, Sílvio M.; Anteneodo, Celia

2013-04-01

Employing a recent technique which allows the representation of nonstationary data by means of a juxtaposition of locally stationary paths of different length, we introduce a comprehensive analysis of the key observables in a financial market: the trading volume and the price fluctuations. From the segmentation procedure we are able to introduce a quantitative description of statistical features of these two quantities, which are often named stylized facts, namely the tails of the distribution of trading volume and price fluctuations and a dynamics compatible with the U-shaped profile of the volume in a trading section and the slow decay of the autocorrelation function. The segmentation of the trading volume series provides evidence of slow evolution of the fluctuating parameters of each patch, pointing to the mixing scenario. Assuming that long-term features are the outcome of a statistical mixture of simple local forms, we test and compare different probability density functions to provide the long-term distribution of the trading volume, concluding that the log-normal gives the best agreement with the empirical distribution. Moreover, the segmentation of the magnitude price fluctuations are quite different from the results for the trading volume, indicating that changes in the statistics of price fluctuations occur at a faster scale than in the case of trading volume.

Generalized Categorial Grammar for Unbounded Dependencies Recovery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Luan Viet

2014-01-01

Accurate recovery of predicate-argument dependencies is vital for interpretation tasks like information extraction and question answering, and unbounded dependencies may account for a significant portion of the dependencies in any given text. This thesis describes a Generalized Categorial Grammar (GCG) which, like other categorial grammars,…

Quantum Markov Semigroups with Unbounded Generator and Time Evolution of the Support Projection of a State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gliouez, Souhir; Hachicha, Skander; Nasroui, Ikbel

We characterize the support projection of a state evolving under the action of a quantum Markov semigroup with unbounded generator represented in the generalized GKSL form and a quantum version of the classical Lévy-Austin-Ornstein theorem.

Intermittency in two-dimensional Ekman-Navier-Stokes turbulence.

PubMed

Boffetta, G; Celani, A; Musacchio, S; Vergassola, M

2002-08-01

We study the statistics of the vorticity field in two-dimensional Navier-Stokes turbulence with linear Ekman friction. We show that the small-scale vorticity fluctuations are intermittent, as conjectured by Bernard [Europhys. Lett. 50, 333 (2000)] and Nam et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5134 (2000)]. The small-scale statistics of vorticity fluctuations coincide with that of a passive scalar with finite lifetime transported by the velocity field itself.

Long-range correlation in cosmic microwave background radiation.

PubMed

Movahed, M Sadegh; Ghasemi, F; Rahvar, Sohrab; Tabar, M Reza Rahimi

2011-08-01

We investigate the statistical anisotropy and gaussianity of temperature fluctuations of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe survey, using the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, Rescaled Range, and Scaled Windowed Variance methods. Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis shows that CMB fluctuations has a long-range correlation function with a multifractal behavior. By comparing the shuffled and surrogate series of CMB data, we conclude that the multifractality nature of the temperature fluctuation of CMB radiation is mainly due to the long-range correlations, and the map is consistent with a gaussian distribution.

Adaptive estimation of a time-varying phase with coherent states: Smoothing can give an unbounded improvement over filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laverick, Kiarn T.; Wiseman, Howard M.; Dinani, Hossein T.; Berry, Dominic W.

2018-04-01

The problem of measuring a time-varying phase, even when the statistics of the variation is known, is considerably harder than that of measuring a constant phase. In particular, the usual bounds on accuracy, such as the 1 /(4 n ¯) standard quantum limit with coherent states, do not apply. Here, by restricting to coherent states, we are able to analytically obtain the achievable accuracy, the equivalent of the standard quantum limit, for a wide class of phase variation. In particular, we consider the case where the phase has Gaussian statistics and a power-law spectrum equal to κp -1/|ω| p for large ω , for some p >1 . For coherent states with mean photon flux N , we give the quantum Cramér-Rao bound on the mean-square phase error as [psin(π /p ) ] -1(4N /κ ) -(p -1 )/p . Next, we consider whether the bound can be achieved by an adaptive homodyne measurement in the limit N /κ ≫1 , which allows the photocurrent to be linearized. Applying the optimal filtering for the resultant linear Gaussian system, we find the same scaling with N , but with a prefactor larger by a factor of p . By contrast, if we employ optimal smoothing we can exactly obtain the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. That is, contrary to previously considered (p =2 ) cases of phase estimation, here the improvement offered by smoothing over filtering is not limited to a factor of 2 but rather can be unbounded by a factor of p . We also study numerically the performance of these estimators for an adaptive measurement in the limit where N /κ is not large and find a more complicated picture.

Probability Distributions over Cryptographic Protocols

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

Artificial Immune Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3 Design Decisions 11 3.1 Common Ground...creation algorithm for unbounded distribution . . . . . . . 24 4.2 Message creation algorithm for unbounded naive distribution . . . . 24 4.3 Protocol...creation algorithm for intended-run distributions . . . . . . 26 4.4 Protocol and message creation algorithm for realistic distribution . . 32 ix THIS

Quantum key distribution with an efficient countermeasure against correlated intensity fluctuations in optical pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshino, Ken-ichiro; Fujiwara, Mikio; Nakata, Kensuke; Sumiya, Tatsuya; Sasaki, Toshihiko; Takeoka, Masahiro; Sasaki, Masahide; Tajima, Akio; Koashi, Masato; Tomita, Akihisa

2018-03-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two distant parties to share secret keys with the proven security even in the presence of an eavesdropper with unbounded computational power. Recently, GHz-clock decoy QKD systems have been realized by employing ultrafast optical communication devices. However, security loopholes of high-speed systems have not been fully explored yet. Here we point out a security loophole at the transmitter of the GHz-clock QKD, which is a common problem in high-speed QKD systems using practical band-width limited devices. We experimentally observe the inter-pulse intensity correlation and modulation pattern-dependent intensity deviation in a practical high-speed QKD system. Such correlation violates the assumption of most security theories. We also provide its countermeasure which does not require significant changes of hardware and can generate keys secure over 100 km fiber transmission. Our countermeasure is simple, effective and applicable to wide range of high-speed QKD systems, and thus paves the way to realize ultrafast and security-certified commercial QKD systems.

Lower Current Large Deviations for Zero-Range Processes on a Ring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chleboun, Paul; Grosskinsky, Stefan; Pizzoferrato, Andrea

2017-04-01

We study lower large deviations for the current of totally asymmetric zero-range processes on a ring with concave current-density relation. We use an approach by Jensen and Varadhan which has previously been applied to exclusion processes, to realize current fluctuations by travelling wave density profiles corresponding to non-entropic weak solutions of the hyperbolic scaling limit of the process. We further establish a dynamic transition, where large deviations of the current below a certain value are no longer typically attained by non-entropic weak solutions, but by condensed profiles, where a non-zero fraction of all the particles accumulates on a single fixed lattice site. This leads to a general characterization of the rate function, which is illustrated by providing detailed results for four generic examples of jump rates, including constant rates, decreasing rates, unbounded sublinear rates and asymptotically linear rates. Our results on the dynamic transition are supported by numerical simulations using a cloning algorithm.

Virtual-system-coupled adaptive umbrella sampling to compute free-energy landscape for flexible molecular docking.

PubMed

Higo, Junichi; Dasgupta, Bhaskar; Mashimo, Tadaaki; Kasahara, Kota; Fukunishi, Yoshifumi; Nakamura, Haruki

2015-07-30

A novel enhanced conformational sampling method, virtual-system-coupled adaptive umbrella sampling (V-AUS), was proposed to compute 300-K free-energy landscape for flexible molecular docking, where a virtual degrees of freedom was introduced to control the sampling. This degree of freedom interacts with the biomolecular system. V-AUS was applied to complex formation of two disordered amyloid-β (Aβ30-35 ) peptides in a periodic box filled by an explicit solvent. An interpeptide distance was defined as the reaction coordinate, along which sampling was enhanced. A uniform conformational distribution was obtained covering a wide interpeptide distance ranging from the bound to unbound states. The 300-K free-energy landscape was characterized by thermodynamically stable basins of antiparallel and parallel β-sheet complexes and some other complex forms. Helices were frequently observed, when the two peptides contacted loosely or fluctuated freely without interpeptide contacts. We observed that V-AUS converged to uniform distribution more effectively than conventional AUS sampling did. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Application of the quantum spin glass theory to image restoration.

PubMed

Inoue, J I

2001-04-01

Quantum fluctuation is introduced into the Markov random-field model for image restoration in the context of a Bayesian approach. We investigate the dependence of the quantum fluctuation on the quality of a black and white image restoration by making use of statistical mechanics. We find that the maximum posterior marginal (MPM) estimate based on the quantum fluctuation gives a fine restoration in comparison with the maximum a posteriori estimate or the thermal fluctuation based MPM estimate.

Economic Fluctuations and Statistical Physics: Quantifying Extremely Rare and Much Less Rare Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanley, H. Eugene

2008-03-01

Recent analysis of truly huge quantities of empirical data suggests that classic economic theories not only fail for a few outliers, but that there occur similar outliers of every possible size. In fact, if one analyzes only a small data set (say 10^4 data points), then outliers appear to occur as ``rare events.'' However, when we analyze orders of magnitude more data (10^8 data points!), we find orders of magnitude more outliers---so ignoring them is not a responsible option, and studying their properties becomes a realistic goal. We find that the statistical properties of these ``outliers'' are identical to the statistical properties of everyday fluctuations. For example, a histogram giving the number of fluctuations of a given magnitude x for fluctuations ranging in magnitude from everyday fluctuations to extremely rare fluctuations that occur with a probability of only 10-8 is a perfect straight line in a double-log plot. Quantitative analogies between financial fluctuations and earthquakes will be discussed. Two unifying principles that underlie much of the finance analysis we will present are scale invariance and universality [R. N. Mantegna and H. E. Stanley, Introduction to Econophysics: Correlations & Complexity in Finance/ (Cambridge U. Press, 2000)]. Scale invariance is a property not about algebraic equations but rather about functional equations, which have as their solutions not numbers but rather functional forms. The key idea of universality is that the identical set of laws hold across diverse markets, and over diverse time periods. This work was carried out in collaboration with a number of students and colleagues, chief among whom are X. Gabaix (MIT and Princeton) and V. Plerou (Boston University).

Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with source state errors and statistical fluctuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Cong; Yu, Zong-Wen; Wang, Xiang-Bin

2017-03-01

We show how to calculate the secure final key rate in the four-intensity decoy-state measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution protocol with both source errors and statistical fluctuations with a certain failure probability. Our results rely only on the range of only a few parameters in the source state. All imperfections in this protocol have been taken into consideration without assuming any specific error patterns of the source.

Approximation methods for control of structural acoustics models with piezoceramic actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, H. T.; Fang, W.; Silcox, R. J.; Smith, R. C.

1993-01-01

The active control of acoustic pressure in a 2-D cavity with a flexible boundary (a beam) is considered. Specifically, this control is implemented via piezoceramic patches on the beam which produces pure bending moments. The incorporation of the feedback control in this manner leads to a system with an unbounded input term. Approximation methods in this manner leads to a system with an unbounded input term. Approximation methods in this manner leads to a system with an unbounded input team. Approximation methods in the context of linear quadratic regulator (LQR) state space control formulation are discussed and numerical results demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in computing feedback controls for noise reduction are presented.

The damped wave equation with unbounded damping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freitas, Pedro; Siegl, Petr; Tretter, Christiane

2018-06-01

We analyze new phenomena arising in linear damped wave equations on unbounded domains when the damping is allowed to become unbounded at infinity. We prove the generation of a contraction semigroup, study the relation between the spectra of the semigroup generator and the associated quadratic operator function, the convergence of non-real eigenvalues in the asymptotic regime of diverging damping on a subdomain, and we investigate the appearance of essential spectrum on the negative real axis. We further show that the presence of the latter prevents exponential estimates for the semigroup and turns out to be a robust effect that cannot be easily canceled by adding a positive potential. These analytic results are illustrated by examples.

Wind profiling based on the optical beam intensity statistics in a turbulent atmosphere.

PubMed

Banakh, Victor A; Marakasov, Dimitrii A

2007-10-01

Reconstruction of the wind profile from the statistics of intensity fluctuations of an optical beam propagating in a turbulent atmosphere is considered. The equations for the spatiotemporal correlation function and the spectrum of weak intensity fluctuations of a Gaussian beam are obtained. The algorithms of wind profile retrieval from the spatiotemporal intensity spectrum are described and the results of end-to-end computer experiments on wind profiling based on the developed algorithms are presented. It is shown that the developed algorithms allow retrieval of the wind profile from the turbulent optical beam intensity fluctuations with acceptable accuracy in many practically feasible laser measurements set up in the atmosphere.

Out-of-time-order fluctuation-dissipation theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuji, Naoto; Shitara, Tomohiro; Ueda, Masahito

2018-01-01

We prove a generalized fluctuation-dissipation theorem for a certain class of out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) with a modified statistical average, which we call bipartite OTOCs, for general quantum systems in thermal equilibrium. The difference between the bipartite and physical OTOCs defined by the usual statistical average is quantified by a measure of quantum fluctuations known as the Wigner-Yanase skew information. Within this difference, the theorem describes a universal relation between chaotic behavior in quantum systems and a nonlinear-response function that involves a time-reversed process. We show that the theorem can be generalized to higher-order n -partite OTOCs as well as in the form of generalized covariance.

Detecting the chaotic nature in a transitional boundary layer using symbolic information-theory quantifiers.

PubMed

Zhang, Wen; Liu, Peiqing; Guo, Hao; Wang, Jinjun

2017-11-01

The permutation entropy and the statistical complexity are employed to study the boundary-layer transition induced by the surface roughness. The velocity signals measured in the transition process are analyzed with these symbolic quantifiers, as well as the complexity-entropy causality plane, and the chaotic nature of the instability fluctuations is identified. The frequency of the dominant fluctuations has been found according to the time scales corresponding to the extreme values of the symbolic quantifiers. The laminar-turbulent transition process is accompanied by the evolution in the degree of organization of the complex eddy motions, which is also characterized with the growing smaller and flatter circles in the complexity-entropy causality plane. With the help of the permutation entropy and the statistical complexity, the differences between the chaotic fluctuations detected in the experiments and the classical Tollmien-Schlichting wave are shown and discussed. It is also found that the chaotic features of the instability fluctuations can be approximated with a number of regular sine waves superimposed on the fluctuations of the undisturbed laminar boundary layer. This result is related to the physical mechanism in the generation of the instability fluctuations, which is the noise-induced chaos.

Detecting the chaotic nature in a transitional boundary layer using symbolic information-theory quantifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wen; Liu, Peiqing; Guo, Hao; Wang, Jinjun

2017-11-01

The permutation entropy and the statistical complexity are employed to study the boundary-layer transition induced by the surface roughness. The velocity signals measured in the transition process are analyzed with these symbolic quantifiers, as well as the complexity-entropy causality plane, and the chaotic nature of the instability fluctuations is identified. The frequency of the dominant fluctuations has been found according to the time scales corresponding to the extreme values of the symbolic quantifiers. The laminar-turbulent transition process is accompanied by the evolution in the degree of organization of the complex eddy motions, which is also characterized with the growing smaller and flatter circles in the complexity-entropy causality plane. With the help of the permutation entropy and the statistical complexity, the differences between the chaotic fluctuations detected in the experiments and the classical Tollmien-Schlichting wave are shown and discussed. It is also found that the chaotic features of the instability fluctuations can be approximated with a number of regular sine waves superimposed on the fluctuations of the undisturbed laminar boundary layer. This result is related to the physical mechanism in the generation of the instability fluctuations, which is the noise-induced chaos.

REINVENTING PERSONAL EXPOSURE TO PARTICULATE MATTER

EPA Science Inventory

Recent epidemiologic studies of modern air pollution show statistically significant relationships between fluctuations of daily non-trauma mortality and fluctuations of daily ambient particulate matter (PM) levels at low concentrations. A review of historic smoke-fog (smog)episo...

"University Unbound" Rebounds: Can MOOCs "Educate" as Well as Train?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCully, George

2012-01-01

In the days since NEBHE convened hundreds of educators and opinion leaders in Boston for the "University Unbound" conference, people have received a surge of reactions including the one from George McCully, founder of the "Catalogue for Philanthropy." NEBHE has begun focusing the attention of New England institutions on the…

Ordered phase and non-equilibrium fluctuation in stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maskawa, Jun-ichi

2002-08-01

We analyze the statistics of daily price change of stock market in the framework of a statistical physics model for the collective fluctuation of stock portfolio. In this model the time series of price changes are coded into the sequences of up and down spins, and the Hamiltonian of the system is expressed by spin-spin interactions as in spin glass models of disordered magnetic systems. Through the analysis of Dow-Jones industrial portfolio consisting of 30 stock issues by this model, we find a non-equilibrium fluctuation mode on the point slightly below the boundary between ordered and disordered phases. The remaining 29 modes are still in disordered phase and well described by Gibbs distribution. The variance of the fluctuation is outlined by the theoretical curve and peculiarly large in the non-equilibrium mode compared with those in the other modes remaining in ordinary phase.

Extreme current fluctuations in lattice gases: Beyond nonequilibrium steady states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meerson, Baruch; Sasorov, Pavel V.

2014-01-01

We use the macroscopic fluctuation theory (MFT) to study large current fluctuations in nonstationary diffusive lattice gases. We identify two universality classes of these fluctuations, which we call elliptic and hyperbolic. They emerge in the limit when the deterministic mass flux is small compared to the mass flux due to the shot noise. The two classes are determined by the sign of compressibility of effective fluid, obtained by mapping the MFT into an inviscid hydrodynamics. An example of the elliptic class is the symmetric simple exclusion process, where, for some initial conditions, we can solve the effective hydrodynamics exactly. This leads to a super-Gaussian extreme current statistics conjectured by Derrida and Gerschenfeld [J. Stat. Phys. 137, 978 (2009), 10.1007/s10955-009-9830-1] and yields the optimal path of the system. For models of the hyperbolic class, the deterministic mass flux cannot be neglected, leading to a different extreme current statistics.

Graphene Statistical Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowick, Mark; Kosmrlj, Andrej; Nelson, David; Sknepnek, Rastko

2015-03-01

Graphene provides an ideal system to test the statistical mechanics of thermally fluctuating elastic membranes. The high Young's modulus of graphene means that thermal fluctuations over even small length scales significantly stiffen the renormalized bending rigidity. We study the effect of thermal fluctuations on graphene ribbons of width W and length L, pinned at one end, via coarse-grained Molecular Dynamics simulations and compare with analytic predictions of the scaling of width-averaged root-mean-squared height fluctuations as a function of distance along the ribbon. Scaling collapse as a function of W and L also allows us to extract the scaling exponent eta governing the long-wavelength stiffening of the bending rigidity. A full understanding of the geometry-dependent mechanical properties of graphene, including arrays of cuts, may allow the design of a variety of modular elements with desired mechanical properties starting from pure graphene alone. Supported by NSF grant DMR-1435794

Unbound free fatty acids from preterm infants treated with intralipid decouples unbound from total bilirubin potentially making phototherapy ineffective.

PubMed

Hegyi, Thomas; Kathiravan, Suganya; Stahl, Gary E; Huber, Andrew H; Kleinfeld, Alan

2013-01-01

Extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1,000 g) infants have poor outcomes, often compromised by bilirubin neurotoxicity. We measured unbound bilirubin (Bf) and unbound free fatty acid (FFAu) levels in 5 ELBW infants in a trial examining the effects of pharmacologic ductal closure on infants treated with Intralipid infusion (3 g/kg/day). The levels for all infants (mean ± SD) were: total serum bilirubin (TSB) 4.6 ± 1.7 mg/dl, FFAu 376 ± 496 nM, and Bf 42 ± 30 nM. Of the 3 infants who died, 2 had TSB <5.9 mg/dl but FFAu >580 nM and Bf >75 nM. Multiple regression revealed a major effect on Bf levels due to FFAu, indicating that Intralipid elevated levels of FFAu and Bf. Indomethacin or ibuprofen reduced Bf levels, most likely by reducing FFAu levels through lipase inhibition. Because displacement of Bf by FFAu decouples Bf from TSB, phototherapy may not reduce the risk of bilirubin or FFAu toxicity in Intralipid-treated ELBW infants. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The distinct character of anisotropy and intermittency in inertial and kinetic range solar wind plasma turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiyani, Khurom; Chapman, Sandra; Osman, Kareem; Sahraoui, Fouad; Hnat, Bogdan

2014-05-01

The anisotropic nature of the scaling properties of solar wind magnetic turbulence fluctuations is investigated scale by scale using high cadence in situ magnetic field measurements from the Cluster, ACE and STEREO spacecraft missions in both fast and slow quiet solar wind conditions. The data span five decades in scales from the inertial range to the electron Larmor radius. We find a clear transition in scaling behaviour between the inertial and kinetic range of scales, which provides a direct, quantitative constraint on the physical processes that mediate the cascade of energy through these scales. In the inertial (magnetohydrodynamic) range the statistical nature of turbulent fluctuations are known to be anisotropic, both in the vector components of the magnetic field fluctuations (variance anisotropy) and in the spatial scales of these fluctuations (wavevector or k-anisotropy). We show for the first time that, when measuring parallel to the local magnetic field direction, the full statistical signature of the magnetic and Elsasser field fluctuations is that of a non-Gaussian globally scale-invariant process. This is distinct from the classic multi-exponent statistics observed when the local magnetic field is perpendicular to the flow direction. These observations suggest the weakness, or absence, of a parallel magnetofluid turbulence energy cascade. In contrast to the inertial range, there is a successive increase toward isotropy between parallel and transverse power at scales below the ion Larmor radius, with isotropy being achieved at the electron Larmor radius. Computing higher-order statistics, we show that the full statistical signature of both parallel, and perpendicular fluctuations at scales below the ion Larmor radius are that of an isotropic globally scale-invariant non-Gaussian process. Lastly, we perform a survey of multiple intervals of quiet solar wind sampled under different plasma conditions (fast, slow wind; plasma beta etc.) and find that the above results on the scaling transition between inertial and kinetic range scales are qualitatively robust, and that quantitatively, there is a spread in the values of the scaling exponents.

Wind velocity profile reconstruction from intensity fluctuations of a plane wave propagating in a turbulent atmosphere.

PubMed

Banakh, V A; Marakasov, D A

2007-08-01

Reconstruction of a wind profile based on the statistics of plane-wave intensity fluctuations in a turbulent atmosphere is considered. The algorithm for wind profile retrieval from the spatiotemporal spectrum of plane-wave weak intensity fluctuations is described, and the results of end-to-end computer experiments on wind profiling based on the developed algorithm are presented. It is shown that the reconstructing algorithm allows retrieval of a wind profile from turbulent plane-wave intensity fluctuations with acceptable accuracy.

Spermatozoa with high mitochondrial membrane potential and low tyrosine phosphorylation preferentially bind to oviduct explants in the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

PubMed

Saraf, Kaustubh Kishor; Kumaresan, Arumugam; Chhillar, Shivani; Nayak, Samiksha; Lathika, Sreela; Datta, Tirtha Kumar; Gahlot, Subhash Chand; Karan, Prabha; Verma, Kiran; Mohanty, Tushar Kumar

2017-05-01

Although it is understood that spermatozoa are subjected to selection processes to form a functional sperm reservoir in the oviduct, the mechanism remains obscure. With the aim to understand the sperm selection process in the oviduct, in the present in vitro study, we analyzed mitochondrial membrane potential and tyrosine phosphorylation status in oviduct-explants bound and unbound spermatozoa. Frozen semen from Murrah buffalo bulls (n=10) used under progeny testing programme were utilized for the study. Oviduct explants were prepared by overnight culture of epithelial cells in TCM- 199 and washed spermatozoa were added to the oviduct explants and incubated for 4h. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and tyrosine phosphorylation status of bound and unbound spermatozoa were assessed at 1h and 4h of incubation. The proportion of spermatozoa with high MMP was significantly higher (P<0.001) among the bound spermatozoa (range 84.67-96.56%) compared to unbound (range 8.70-21.03%) spermatozoa. The proportion of tyrosine phosphorylated spermatozoa was significantly higher (P<0.001) among unbound population as compared to bound population. The proportion of spermatozoa displaying tyrosine phosphorylation at acrosomal area was significantly (P<0.05) lower in bound sperm population compared to unbound population. It was inferred that spermatozoa with high MMP and low tyrosine phosphorylation were preferred for oviduct-explants binding in the buffalo. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Population approach to analyze the pharmacokinetics of free and total lopinavir in HIV-infected pregnant women and consequences for dose adjustment.

PubMed

Fauchet, Floris; Treluyer, Jean-Marc; Illamola, Silvia M; Pressiat, Claire; Lui, Gabrielle; Valade, Elodie; Mandelbrot, Laurent; Lechedanec, Jerome; Delmas, Sandrine; Blanche, Stéphane; Warszawski, Josiane; Urien, Saik; Tubiana, Roland; Hirt, Déborah

2015-09-01

The aims of this study were to describe the unbound and total lopinavir (LPV) pharmacokinetics in pregnant women in order to evaluate if a dosing adjustment is necessary during pregnancy. Lopinavir placental transfer is described, and several genetic covariates were tested to explain its variability. A total of 400 maternal, 79 cord blood, and 48 amniotic fluid samples were collected from 208 women for LPV concentration determinations and pharmacokinetics analysis. Among the maternal LPV concentrations, 79 samples were also used to measure the unbound LPV concentrations. Population pharmacokinetics models were developed by using NONMEM software. Two models were developed to describe (i) unbound and total LPV pharmacokinetics and (ii) LPV placental transfer. The pharmacokinetics was best described by a one-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination. A pregnancy effect was found on maternal clearance (39% increase), whereas the treatment group (monotherapy versus triple therapy) or the genetic polymorphisms did not explain the pharmacokinetics or placental transfer of LPV. Efficient unbound LPV concentrations in nonpregnant women were similar to those measured during the third trimester of pregnancy. Our study showed a 39% increase of maternal total LPV clearance during pregnancy, whereas unbound LPV concentrations were similar to those simulated in nonpregnant women. The genetic polymorphisms selected did not influence the LPV pharmacokinetics or placental transfer. Thus, we suggest that the LPV dosage should not be increased during pregnancy. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Population Approach To Analyze the Pharmacokinetics of Free and Total Lopinavir in HIV-Infected Pregnant Women and Consequences for Dose Adjustment

PubMed Central

Treluyer, Jean-Marc; Illamola, Silvia M.; Pressiat, Claire; Lui, Gabrielle; Valade, Elodie; Mandelbrot, Laurent; Lechedanec, Jerome; Delmas, Sandrine; Blanche, Stéphane; Warszawski, Josiane; Urien, Saik; Tubiana, Roland; Hirt, Déborah

2015-01-01

The aims of this study were to describe the unbound and total lopinavir (LPV) pharmacokinetics in pregnant women in order to evaluate if a dosing adjustment is necessary during pregnancy. Lopinavir placental transfer is described, and several genetic covariates were tested to explain its variability. A total of 400 maternal, 79 cord blood, and 48 amniotic fluid samples were collected from 208 women for LPV concentration determinations and pharmacokinetics analysis. Among the maternal LPV concentrations, 79 samples were also used to measure the unbound LPV concentrations. Population pharmacokinetics models were developed by using NONMEM software. Two models were developed to describe (i) unbound and total LPV pharmacokinetics and (ii) LPV placental transfer. The pharmacokinetics was best described by a one-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination. A pregnancy effect was found on maternal clearance (39% increase), whereas the treatment group (monotherapy versus triple therapy) or the genetic polymorphisms did not explain the pharmacokinetics or placental transfer of LPV. Efficient unbound LPV concentrations in nonpregnant women were similar to those measured during the third trimester of pregnancy. Our study showed a 39% increase of maternal total LPV clearance during pregnancy, whereas unbound LPV concentrations were similar to those simulated in nonpregnant women. The genetic polymorphisms selected did not influence the LPV pharmacokinetics or placental transfer. Thus, we suggest that the LPV dosage should not be increased during pregnancy. PMID:26149996

Capillary fluctuations of surface steps: An atomistic simulation study for the model Cu(111) system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freitas, Rodrigo; Frolov, Timofey; Asta, Mark

2017-10-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to investigate the capillary fluctuations of steps on the surface of a model metal system. The fluctuation spectrum, characterized by the wave number (k ) dependence of the mean squared capillary-wave amplitudes and associated relaxation times, is calculated for 〈110 〉 and 〈112 〉 steps on the {111 } surface of elemental copper near the melting temperature of the classical potential model considered. Step stiffnesses are derived from the MD results, yielding values from the largest system sizes of (37 ±1 ) meV/A ˚ for the different line orientations, implying that the stiffness is isotropic within the statistical precision of the calculations. The fluctuation lifetimes are found to vary by approximately four orders of magnitude over the range of wave numbers investigated, displaying a k dependence consistent with kinetics governed by step-edge mediated diffusion. The values for step stiffness derived from these simulations are compared to step free energies for the same system and temperature obtained in a recent MD-based thermodynamic-integration (TI) study [Freitas, Frolov, and Asta, Phys. Rev. B 95, 155444 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.155444]. Results from the capillary-fluctuation analysis and TI calculations yield statistically significant differences that are discussed within the framework of statistical-mechanical theories for configurational contributions to step free energies.

Population Pharmacokinetic Modeling of the Unbound Levofloxacin Concentrations in Rat Plasma and Prostate Tissue Measured by Microdialysis

PubMed Central

Hurtado, Felipe K.; Weber, Benjamin; Derendorf, Hartmut; Hochhaus, Guenther

2014-01-01

Levofloxacin is a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone used in the treatment of both acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis. Currently, the treatment of bacterial prostatitis is still difficult, especially due to the poor distribution of many antimicrobials into the prostate, thus preventing the drug to reach effective interstitial concentrations at the infection site. Newer fluoroquinolones show a greater penetration into the prostate. In the present study, we compared the unbound levofloxacin prostate concentrations measured by microdialysis to those in plasma after a 7-mg/kg intravenous bolus dose to Wistar rats. Plasma and dialysate samples were analyzed using a validated high-pressure liquid chromatography-fluorescence method. Both noncompartmental analysis (NCA) and population-based compartmental modeling (NONMEM 6) were performed. Unbound prostate tissue concentrations represented 78% of unbound plasma levels over a period of 12 h by comparing the extent of exposure (unbound AUC0–∞) of 6.4 and 4.8 h·μg/ml in plasma and tissue, respectively. A three-compartment model with simultaneous passive diffusion and saturable distribution kinetics from the prostate to the central compartment gave the best results in terms of curve fitting, precision of parameter estimates, and model stability. The following parameter values were estimated by the population model: V1 (0.38 liter; where V1 represents the volume of the central compartment), CL (0.22 liter/h), k12 (2.27 h−1), k21 (1.44 h−1), k13 (0.69 h−1), Vmax (7.19 μg/h), kM (0.35 μg/ml), V3/fuprostate (0.05 liter; where fuprostate represents the fraction unbound in the prostate), and k31 (3.67 h−1). The interindividual variability values for V1, CL, Vmax, and kM were 21, 37, 42, and 76%, respectively. Our results suggest that levofloxacin is likely to be substrate for efflux transporters in the prostate. PMID:24217697

Search for unbound 15Be states in the 3 n +12Be channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuchera, A. N.; Spyrou, A.; Smith, J. K.; Baumann, T.; Christian, G.; DeYoung, P. A.; Finck, J. E.; Frank, N.; Jones, M. D.; Kohley, Z.; Mosby, S.; Peters, W. A.; Thoennessen, M.

2015-01-01

Background: 15Be is expected to have low-lying 3 /2+ and 5 /2+ states. A first search did not find the 3 /2+ [A. Spyrou et al., Phys. Rev. C 84, 044309 (2011), 10.1103/PhysRevC.84.044309]; however, a resonance in 15Be was populated in a second attempt and determined to be unbound with respect to 14Be by 1.8(1) MeV with a tentative spin-parity assignment of 5 /2+ [J. Snyder et al., Phys. Rev. C 88, 031303(R) (2013), 10.1103/PhysRevC.88.031303]. Purpose: Search for the predicted 15Be 3 /2+ state in the three-neutron decay channel. Method: A two-proton removal reaction from a 55 MeV/u 17C beam was used to populate neutron-unbound states in 15Be. The two-, three-, and four-body decay energies of the 12Be + neutron(s) detected in coincidence were reconstructed using invariant mass spectroscopy. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to extract the resonance and decay properties from the observed spectra. Results: The low-energy regions of the decay energy spectra can be described with the first excited unbound state of 14Be (Ex=1.54 MeV, Er=0.28 MeV). Including a state in 15Be that decays through the first excited 14Be state slightly improves the fit at higher energies though the cross section is small. Conclusions: A 15Be component is not needed to describe the data. If the 3 /2+ state in 15Be is populated, the decay by three-neutron emission through 14Be is weak, ≤11 % up to 4 MeV. In the best fit, 15Be is unbound with respect to 12Be by 1.4 MeV (unbound with respect to 14Be by 2.66 MeV) with a strength of 7 % .

Identification of p53 unbound to T-antigen in human cells transformed by simian virus 40 T-antigen.

PubMed

O'Neill, F J; Hu, Y; Chen, T; Carney, H

1997-02-27

In several clones of SV40-transformed human cells, we investigated the relative amounts of large T-Antigen (T-Ag) and p53 proteins, both unbound and associated within complexes, with the goal of identifying changes associated with transformation and immortalization. Cells were transformed by wild type (wt) T-Ag, a functionally temperature sensitive T-Ag (tsA58) and other T-Ag variants. Western analysis showed that while most of the T-Ag was ultimately bound by p53, most of the p53 remained unbound to T-Ag. Unbound p53 remained in the supernatant after a T-Ag immunoprecipitation and p53 was present in two to fourfold excess of T-Ag. In one transformant there was five to tenfold more p53 than T-Ag. p53 was present in transformants in amounts at least 200-fold greater than in untransformed human cells. In wt and variant T-Ag transformants, including those generated with tsA58 T-Ag, large amounts of unbound p53 were present in both pre-crisis and immortal cells and when the cells were grown at permissive or non-permissive temperatures. We also found that in transformants produced by tsA58, an SV40/JCV chimeric T-Ag and other variants, T-Ag appeared to form a complex with p53 slowly perhaps because one or both proteins matured slowly. The presence in transformed human cells of large amounts of unbound p53 and in excess of T-Ag suggests that sequestration of p53 by T-Ag, resulting from complex formation, is required neither for morphological transformation nor immortalization of human cells. Rather, these results support the proposal that high levels of p53, the T-Ag/p53 complexes, or other biochemical event(s), lead to transformation and immortalization of human cells by T-Ag.

Short-term memory binding deficits in Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Parra, Mario A; Abrahams, Sharon; Fabi, Katia; Logie, Robert; Luzzi, Simona; Della Sala, Sergio

2009-04-01

Alzheimer's disease impairs long term memories for related events (e.g. faces with names) more than for single events (e.g. list of faces or names). Whether or not this associative or 'binding' deficit is also found in short-term memory has not yet been explored. In two experiments we investigated binding deficits in verbal short-term memory in Alzheimer's disease. Experiment 1: 23 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 23 age and education matched healthy elderly were recruited. Participants studied visual arrays of objects (six for healthy elderly and four for Alzheimer's disease patients), colours (six for healthy elderly and four for Alzheimer's disease patients), unbound objects and colours (three for healthy elderly and two for Alzheimer's disease patients in each of the two categories), or objects bound with colours (three for healthy elderly and two for Alzheimer's disease patients). They were then asked to recall the items verbally. The memory of patients with Alzheimer's disease for objects bound with colours was significantly worse than for single or unbound features whereas healthy elderly's memory for bound and unbound features did not differ. Experiment 2: 21 Alzheimer's disease patients and 20 matched healthy elderly were recruited. Memory load was increased for the healthy elderly group to eight items in the conditions assessing memory for single or unbound features and to four items in the condition assessing memory for the binding of these features. For Alzheimer's disease patients the task remained the same. This manipulation permitted the performance to be equated across groups in the conditions assessing memory for single or unbound features. The impairment in Alzheimer's disease patients in recalling bound objects reported in Experiment 1 was replicated. The binding cost was greater than that observed in the healthy elderly group, who did not differ in their performance for bound and unbound features. Alzheimer's disease grossly impairs the mechanisms responsible for holding integrated objects in verbal short-term memory.

Impact of fraction unbound, CYP3A, and CYP2D6 in vivo activities, and other potential covariates to the clearance of tramadol enantiomers in patients with neuropathic pain.

PubMed

de Moraes, Natália V; Lauretti, Gabriela R; Coelho, Eduardo B; Godoy, Ana Leonor P C; Neves, Daniel V; Lanchote, Vera L

2016-04-01

The pharmacokinetics of tramadol is characterized by a large interindividual variability, which is partially attributed to polymorphic CYP2D6 metabolism. The contribution of CYP3A, CYP2B6, fraction unbound, and other potential covariates remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of in vivo activities of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 and 3A as well as other potential covariates (CYP2B6 genotype to the SNP g.15631G>T, fraction unbound, age, body weight, creatinine clearance) to the enantioselective pharmacokinetics of tramadol. Thirty patients with neuropathic pain and phenotyped as CYP2D6 extensive metabolizers were treated with a single oral dose of 100 mg tramadol. Multiple linear regressions were performed to determine the contribution of CYP activities and other potential covariates to the clearance of tramadol enantiomers. The apparent total clearances were 44.9 (19.1-102-2) L/h and 55.2 (14.8-126.0) L/h for (+)- and (-)-tramadol, respectively [data presented as median (minimum-maximum)]. Between 79 and 83% of the overall variation in apparent clearance of tramadol enantiomers was explained by fraction unbound, CYP2D6, and CYP3A in vivo activities and body weight. Fraction unbound explained 47 and 41% of the variation in clearance of (+)-tramadol and (-)-tramadol, respectively. Individually, CYP2D6 and CYP3A activities were shown to have moderate contribution on clearance of tramadol enantiomers (11-16% and 11-18%, respectively). In conclusion, factors affecting fraction unbound of drugs (such as hyperglycemia or co-administration of drugs highly bound to plasma proteins) should be monitored, because this parameter dominates the elimination of tramadol enantiomers. © 2015 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

Critical Fluctuations in Cortical Models Near Instability

PubMed Central

Aburn, Matthew J.; Holmes, C. A.; Roberts, James A.; Boonstra, Tjeerd W.; Breakspear, Michael

2012-01-01

Computational studies often proceed from the premise that cortical dynamics operate in a linearly stable domain, where fluctuations dissipate quickly and show only short memory. Studies of human electroencephalography (EEG), however, have shown significant autocorrelation at time lags on the scale of minutes, indicating the need to consider regimes where non-linearities influence the dynamics. Statistical properties such as increased autocorrelation length, increased variance, power law scaling, and bistable switching have been suggested as generic indicators of the approach to bifurcation in non-linear dynamical systems. We study temporal fluctuations in a widely-employed computational model (the Jansen–Rit model) of cortical activity, examining the statistical signatures that accompany bifurcations. Approaching supercritical Hopf bifurcations through tuning of the background excitatory input, we find a dramatic increase in the autocorrelation length that depends sensitively on the direction in phase space of the input fluctuations and hence on which neuronal subpopulation is stochastically perturbed. Similar dependence on the input direction is found in the distribution of fluctuation size and duration, which show power law scaling that extends over four orders of magnitude at the Hopf bifurcation. We conjecture that the alignment in phase space between the input noise vector and the center manifold of the Hopf bifurcation is directly linked to these changes. These results are consistent with the possibility of statistical indicators of linear instability being detectable in real EEG time series. However, even in a simple cortical model, we find that these indicators may not necessarily be visible even when bifurcations are present because their expression can depend sensitively on the neuronal pathway of incoming fluctuations. PMID:22952464

Human movement stochastic variability leads to diagnostic biomarkers In Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Di; Torres, Elizabeth B.; Jose, Jorge V.

2015-03-01

ASD is a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders. The high heterogeneity of the symptoms associated with the disorder impedes efficient diagnoses based on human observations. Recent advances with high-resolution MEM wearable sensors enable accurate movement measurements that may escape the naked eye. It calls for objective metrics to extract physiological relevant information from the rapidly accumulating data. In this talk we'll discuss the statistical analysis of movement data continuously collected with high-resolution sensors at 240Hz. We calculated statistical properties of speed fluctuations within the millisecond time range that closely correlate with the subjects' cognitive abilities. We computed the periodicity and synchronicity of the speed fluctuations' from their power spectrum and ensemble averaged two-point cross-correlation function. We built a two-parameter phase space from the temporal statistical analyses of the nearest neighbor fluctuations that provided a quantitative biomarker for ASD and adult normal subjects and further classified ASD severity. We also found age related developmental statistical signatures and potential ASD parental links in our movement dynamical studies. Our results may have direct clinical applications.

ARE MALES MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO AMBIENT PM THAN FEMALES?

EPA Science Inventory

Recent epidemiologic studies of modern air pollution show statistically significant relationships between fluctuations of daily non-trauma mortality and fluctuations of daily ambient particulate matter (PM) levels at low concentrations. A review of historic smoke-fog (smog)episo...

Statistical properties and condensate fluctuation of attractive Bose gas with finite number of particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bera, Sangita; Lekala, Mantile Leslie; Chakrabarti, Barnali; Bhattacharyya, Satadal; Rampho, Gaotsiwe Joel

2017-09-01

'We study the condensate fluctuation and several statistics of weakly interacting attractive Bose gas of 7 Li atoms in harmonic trap. Using exact recursion relation we calculate canonical ensemble partition function and study the thermal evolution of the condensate. As 7 Li condensate is associated with collapse, the number of condensate atom is truly finite and it facilitates to study the condensate in mesoscopic region. Being highly correlated, we utilize the two-body correlated basis function to get the many-body effective potential which is further used to calculate the energy levels. Taking van der Waals interaction as interatomic interaction we calculate several quantities like condensate fraction N, root-mean-square fluctuation δn0 and different orders of central moments. We observe the effect of finite size on the calculation of condensate fluctuations and the effect of attractive interaction over the noninteracting limit. We observe the depletion of the condensate with increase in temperature. The calculated moments nicely exhibit the mesoscopic effect. The sharp fall in the root-mean-square fluctuation near the critical point signifies the possibility of phase transition.

Analysis of swarm behaviors based on an inversion of the fluctuation theorem.

PubMed

Hamann, Heiko; Schmickl, Thomas; Crailsheim, Karl

2014-01-01

A grand challenge in the field of artificial life is to find a general theory of emergent self-organizing systems. In swarm systems most of the observed complexity is based on motion of simple entities. Similarly, statistical mechanics focuses on collective properties induced by the motion of many interacting particles. In this article we apply methods from statistical mechanics to swarm systems. We try to explain the emergent behavior of a simulated swarm by applying methods based on the fluctuation theorem. Empirical results indicate that swarms are able to produce negative entropy within an isolated subsystem due to frozen accidents. Individuals of a swarm are able to locally detect fluctuations of the global entropy measure and store them, if they are negative entropy productions. By accumulating these stored fluctuations over time the swarm as a whole is producing negative entropy and the system ends up in an ordered state. We claim that this indicates the existence of an inverted fluctuation theorem for emergent self-organizing dissipative systems. This approach bears the potential of general applicability.

Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenthood without Marriage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawhill, Isabel V.

2014-01-01

Over half of all births to young adults in the United States now occur outside of marriage, and many are unplanned. The result is increased poverty and inequality for children. The left argues for more social support for unmarried parents; the right argues for a return to traditional marriage. In "Generation Unbound," Isabel V. Sawhill…

Semistable extremal ground states for nonlinear evolution equations in unbounded domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez-Bernal, Aníbal; Vidal-López, Alejandro

2008-02-01

In this paper we show that dissipative reaction-diffusion equations in unbounded domains posses extremal semistable ground states equilibria, which bound asymptotically the global dynamics. Uniqueness of such positive ground state and their approximation by extremal equilibria in bounded domains is also studied. The results are then applied to the important case of logistic equations.

A Unified Framework for Bounded and Unbounded Numerical Estimation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Dan; Opfer, John E.

2017-01-01

Representations of numerical value have been assessed by using bounded (e.g., 0-1,000) and unbounded (e.g., 0-?) number-line tasks, with considerable debate regarding whether 1 or both tasks elicit unique cognitive strategies (e.g., addition or subtraction) and require unique cognitive models. To test this, we examined how well a mixed log-linear…

Noise-Driven Phenotypic Heterogeneity with Finite Correlation Time in Clonal Populations.

PubMed

Lee, UnJin; Skinner, John J; Reinitz, John; Rosner, Marsha Rich; Kim, Eun-Jin

2015-01-01

There has been increasing awareness in the wider biological community of the role of clonal phenotypic heterogeneity in playing key roles in phenomena such as cellular bet-hedging and decision making, as in the case of the phage-λ lysis/lysogeny and B. Subtilis competence/vegetative pathways. Here, we report on the effect of stochasticity in growth rate, cellular memory/intermittency, and its relation to phenotypic heterogeneity. We first present a linear stochastic differential model with finite auto-correlation time, where a randomly fluctuating growth rate with a negative average is shown to result in exponential growth for sufficiently large fluctuations in growth rate. We then present a non-linear stochastic self-regulation model where the loss of coherent self-regulation and an increase in noise can induce a shift from bounded to unbounded growth. An important consequence of these models is that while the average change in phenotype may not differ for various parameter sets, the variance of the resulting distributions may considerably change. This demonstrates the necessity of understanding the influence of variance and heterogeneity within seemingly identical clonal populations, while providing a mechanism for varying functional consequences of such heterogeneity. Our results highlight the importance of a paradigm shift from a deterministic to a probabilistic view of clonality in understanding selection as an optimization problem on noise-driven processes, resulting in a wide range of biological implications, from robustness to environmental stress to the development of drug resistance.

Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless crossover in a trapped atomic gas.

PubMed

Hadzibabic, Zoran; Krüger, Peter; Cheneau, Marc; Battelier, Baptiste; Dalibard, Jean

2006-06-29

Any state of matter is classified according to its order, and the type of order that a physical system can possess is profoundly affected by its dimensionality. Conventional long-range order, as in a ferromagnet or a crystal, is common in three-dimensional systems at low temperature. However, in two-dimensional systems with a continuous symmetry, true long-range order is destroyed by thermal fluctuations at any finite temperature. Consequently, for the case of identical bosons, a uniform two-dimensional fluid cannot undergo Bose-Einstein condensation, in contrast to the three-dimensional case. However, the two-dimensional system can form a 'quasi-condensate' and become superfluid below a finite critical temperature. The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) theory associates this phase transition with the emergence of a topological order, resulting from the pairing of vortices with opposite circulation. Above the critical temperature, proliferation of unbound vortices is expected. Here we report the observation of a BKT-type crossover in a trapped quantum degenerate gas of rubidium atoms. Using a matter wave heterodyning technique, we observe both the long-wavelength fluctuations of the quasi-condensate phase and the free vortices. At low temperatures, the gas is quasi-coherent on the length scale set by the system size. As the temperature is increased, the loss of long-range coherence coincides with the onset of proliferation of free vortices. Our results provide direct experimental evidence for the microscopic mechanism underlying the BKT theory, and raise new questions regarding coherence and superfluidity in mesoscopic systems.

Intermittent electron density and temperature fluctuations and associated fluxes in the Alcator C-Mod scrape-off layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kube, R.; Garcia, O. E.; Theodorsen, A.; Brunner, D.; Kuang, A. Q.; LaBombard, B.; Terry, J. L.

2018-06-01

The Alcator C-Mod mirror Langmuir probe system has been used to sample data time series of fluctuating plasma parameters in the outboard mid-plane far scrape-off layer. We present a statistical analysis of one second long time series of electron density, temperature, radial electric drift velocity and the corresponding particle and electron heat fluxes. These are sampled during stationary plasma conditions in an ohmically heated, lower single null diverted discharge. The electron density and temperature are strongly correlated and feature fluctuation statistics similar to the ion saturation current. Both electron density and temperature time series are dominated by intermittent, large-amplitude burst with an exponential distribution of both burst amplitudes and waiting times between them. The characteristic time scale of the large-amplitude bursts is approximately 15 μ {{s}}. Large-amplitude velocity fluctuations feature a slightly faster characteristic time scale and appear at a faster rate than electron density and temperature fluctuations. Describing these time series as a superposition of uncorrelated exponential pulses, we find that probability distribution functions, power spectral densities as well as auto-correlation functions of the data time series agree well with predictions from the stochastic model. The electron particle and heat fluxes present large-amplitude fluctuations. For this low-density plasma, the radial electron heat flux is dominated by convection, that is, correlations of fluctuations in the electron density and radial velocity. Hot and dense blobs contribute only a minute fraction of the total fluctuation driven heat flux.

Repulsive Effect for Unbound High Energy Particles Along Rotation Axis in Kerr-Taub-NUT Spacetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lu; Chen, Song-Bai

2018-04-01

We have investigated the acceleration of the unbound high energy particles moving along the rotation axis in the Kerr-Taub-NUT spacetime, and then study the dependence of the repulsive effects on the NUT charge for the particles in the spacetime. Whether the repulsive effects with the NUT charge become stronger depends on the Carter constant, the position and velocity of the particles themselves. We also present numerically the changes of the observable velocity and acceleration with the NUT charge for the unbound particles in the Kerr-Taub-NUT spacetime. Supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department under Grant No. 17A124, and the Construct Program of Key Disciplines in Hunan Province

Numerical Study of Pressure Fluctuations due to High-Speed Turbulent Boundary Layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duan, Lian; Choudhari, Meelan M.; Wu, Minwei

2012-01-01

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to examine the pressure fluctuations generated by fully developed turbulence in supersonic turbulent boundary layers with an emphasis on both pressure fluctuations at the wall and the acoustic fluctuations radiated into the freestream. The wall and freestream pressure fields are first analyzed for a zero pressure gradient boundary layer with Mach 2.5 and Reynolds number based on momentum thickness of approximately 2835. The single and multi-point statistics reported include the wall pressure fluctuation intensities, frequency spectra, space-time correlations, and convection velocities. Single and multi-point statistics of surface pressure fluctuations show good agreement with measured data and previously published simulations of turbulent boundary layers under similar flow conditions. Spectral analysis shows that the acoustic fluctuations outside the boundary layer region have much lower energy content within the high-frequency region. The space-time correlations reflect the convective nature of the pressure field both at the wall and in the freestream, which is characterized by the downstream propagation of pressure-carrying eddies. Relative to those at the wall, the pressure-carrying eddies associated with the freestream signal are larger and convect at a significantly lower speed. The preliminary DNS results of a Mach 6 boundary layer show that the pressure rms in the freestream region is significantly higher than that of the lower Mach number case.

Correlation techniques and measurements of wave-height statistics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guthart, H.; Taylor, W. C.; Graf, K. A.; Douglas, D. G.

1972-01-01

Statistical measurements of wave height fluctuations have been made in a wind wave tank. The power spectral density function of temporal wave height fluctuations evidenced second-harmonic components and an f to the minus 5th power law decay beyond the second harmonic. The observations of second harmonic effects agreed very well with a theoretical prediction. From the wave statistics, surface drift currents were inferred and compared to experimental measurements with satisfactory agreement. Measurements were made of the two dimensional correlation coefficient at 15 deg increments in angle with respect to the wind vector. An estimate of the two-dimensional spatial power spectral density function was also made.

A model for characterizing residential ground current and magnetic field fluctuations.

PubMed

Mader, D L; Peralta, S B; Sherar, M D

1994-01-01

The current through the residential grounding circuit is an important source for magnetic fields; field variations near the grounding circuit accurately track fluctuations in this ground current. In this paper, a model is presented which permits calculation of the range of these fluctuations. A discrete network model is used to simulate a local distribution system for a single street, and a statistical model to simulate unbalanced currents in the system. Simulations of three-house and ten-house networks show that random appliance operation leads to ground current fluctuations which can be quite large, on the order of 600%. This is consistent with measured fluctuations in an actual house.

Melanin targeting for intracellular drug delivery: Quantification of bound and free drug in retinal pigment epithelial cells.

PubMed

Rimpelä, Anna-Kaisa; Hagström, Marja; Kidron, Heidi; Urtti, Arto

2018-05-31

Melanin binding affects drug distribution and retention in pigmented ocular tissues, thereby affecting drug response, duration of activity and toxicity. Therefore, it is a promising possibility for drug targeting and controlled release in the pigmented cells and tissues. Intracellular unbound drug concentrations determine pharmacological and toxicological actions, but analyses of unbound vs. total drug concentrations in pigmented cells are lacking. We studied intracellular binding and cellular drug uptake in pigmented retinal pigment epithelial cells and in non-pigmented ARPE-19 cells with five model drugs (chloroquine, propranolol, timolol, diclofenac, methotrexate). The unbound drug fractions in pigmented cells were 0.00016-0.73 and in non-pigmented cells 0.017-1.0. Cellular uptake (i.e. distribution ratio Kp), ranged from 1.3 to 6300 in pigmented cells and from 1.0 to 25 in non-pigmented cells. Values for intracellular bioavailability, F ic , were similar in both cells types (although larger variation in pigmented cells). In vitro melanin binding parameters were used to predict intracellular unbound drug fraction and cell uptake. Comparison of predictions with experimental data indicates that other factors (e.g. ion-trapping, lipophilicity-related binding to other cell components) also play a role. Melanin binding is a major factor that leads to cellular uptake and unbound drug fractions of a range of 3-4 orders of magnitude indicating that large reservoirs of melanin bound drug can be generated in the cells. Understanding melanin binding has important implications on retinal drug targeting, efficacy and toxicity. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Root mean square fluctuation of a weak magnetic field in an infinite medium of homogeneous stationary turbulence.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Low, B.-C.

1972-01-01

The generation of a magnetic field by statistically homogeneous, stationary velocity turbulence is considered. The generation of rms magnetic fluctuation is explicitly demonstrated in the limit of short turbulence correlation time. It is shown that the fluctuation associated with a growing or stationary mean field grows with time such that the ratio of the fluctuation and the square of the mean field tends to a steady value, which is a monotonically decreasing function of the growth rate of the mean field.

Local infiltration analgesia in knee and hip arthroplasty efficacy and safety.

PubMed

Affas, Fatin

2016-10-01

This is a secondary publication of a PhD thesis. Local infiltration analgesia (LIA) is a new multimodal wound infiltration method for treating postoperative pain after knee and hip arthroplasty. This method is based on systematic infiltration of a mixture of ropivacaine, a long acting local anaesthetic, ketorolac, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor (NSAID), and adrenalin around all structures subject to surgical trauma in knee and hip arthroplasty. Paper I: to assess whether pain relief after LIA in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is as effective as femoral block. Paper II: to assess whether the plasma concentration of ropivacaine and ketorolac after LIA in TKA reaches levels linked to toxicity. Paper III: to assess whether the plasma concentration of unbound ropivacaine after LIA in THA reaches levels linked to toxicity and if it is higher in THA as compared to TKA. Paper IV: to assess whether the plasma concentration of ketorolac after LIA in THA reaches levels linked to toxicity, and whether administration of ketorolac in LIA is safer as compared to the intramuscular route. Two patient cohorts of 40 patients scheduled for elective total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and 15 patients scheduled for total hip arthroplasty (THA) contributed to this work. In a randomized trial the efficacy of LIA in TKA with regard to pain at rest and upon movement was compared to femoral block. Both methods result in a high quality pain relief and similar morphine consumption during the 24h monitoring period. In the same patient cohort the maximal total plasma concentration of ropivacaine was below the established toxic threshold for most patients. All patients in the THA cohort were subjected to the routine LIA protocol. In these patients both the total and unbound plasma concentration of ropivacaine was determined. The concentration was below the established toxic threshold. As ropivacaine binds to α-1 acid glycoprotein (AAG) we assessed the possibility that increased AAG may decrease the unbound concentration of ropivacaine. A 40% increase in AAG was detected during the first 24h after surgery, however the fraction of unbound ropivacaine remained the same. There was a trend towards increased C max of ropivacaine with increasing age and decreasing creatinine clearance but the statistical power was too low to draw any conclusion. Administration of 30mg ketorolac according to the LIA protocol both in TKA and THA resulted in a similar C max as previously reported after 10mg intramuscular ketorolac. Neither age, nor body weight or BMI, nor creatinine clearance, correlates to maximal ketorolac plasma concentration or total exposure to ketorolac (AUC). LIA provides good postoperative analgesia which is similar to femoral block after total knee arthroplasty. The plasma concentration of ropivacaine seems to be below toxic levels in most TKA patients. The unbound plasma concentration of ropivacaine in THA seems to be below the toxic level. The use of ketorolac in LIA may not be safer than other routes of administration, and similar restrictions should be applied in patients at risk of developing side effects. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Characterizing multi-scale self-similar behavior and non-statistical properties of fluctuations in financial time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Sayantan; Manimaran, P.; Panigrahi, Prasanta K.

2011-11-01

We make use of wavelet transform to study the multi-scale, self-similar behavior and deviations thereof, in the stock prices of large companies, belonging to different economic sectors. The stock market returns exhibit multi-fractal characteristics, with some of the companies showing deviations at small and large scales. The fact that, the wavelets belonging to the Daubechies’ (Db) basis enables one to isolate local polynomial trends of different degrees, plays the key role in isolating fluctuations at different scales. One of the primary motivations of this work is to study the emergence of the k-3 behavior [X. Gabaix, P. Gopikrishnan, V. Plerou, H. Stanley, A theory of power law distributions in financial market fluctuations, Nature 423 (2003) 267-270] of the fluctuations starting with high frequency fluctuations. We make use of Db4 and Db6 basis sets to respectively isolate local linear and quadratic trends at different scales in order to study the statistical characteristics of these financial time series. The fluctuations reveal fat tail non-Gaussian behavior, unstable periodic modulations, at finer scales, from which the characteristic k-3 power law behavior emerges at sufficiently large scales. We further identify stable periodic behavior through the continuous Morlet wavelet.

Aerodynamic stiffness of an unbound eccentric whirling centrifugal impeller with an infinite number of blades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allaire, P. E.; Branagan, L. A.; Kocur, J. A.

1982-01-01

An unbounded eccentric centrifugal impeller with an infinite number of log spiral blades undergoing synchronous whirling in an incompressible fluid is considered. The forces acting on it due to coriolis forces, centripetal forces, changes in linear momentum, changes in pressure due to rotating and changes in pressure due to changes in linear momentum are evaluated.

Different Formulations of the Orthogonal Array Problem and Their Symmetries

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-19

t). Note that OAP(k, s, t, λ) is a polytope not an unbounded polyhedron because it can be embedded inside the hypercube [0, λ]m. Theorem 5. The OAP(k...3.1) is a facet since otherwise OAP(k, s, t, λ) would be an unbounded polyhedron . Then there exists Ny ∈ Rm satisfying all but the 28 facet defining

Weak Compactness and Control Measures in the Space of Unbounded Measures

PubMed Central

Brooks, James K.; Dinculeanu, Nicolae

1972-01-01

We present a synthesis theorem for a family of locally equivalent measures defined on a ring of sets. This theorem is then used to exhibit a control measure for weakly compact sets of unbounded measures. In addition, the existence of a local control measure for locally strongly bounded vector measures is proved by means of the synthesis theorem. PMID:16591980

Analysis of Unbound Aggregate Layer Deformation Behavior from Full Scale Aircraft Gear Loading with Wander

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donovan, Phillip Raymond

2009-01-01

This study focuses on the analysis of the behavior of unbound aggregates to offset wheel loads. Test data from full-scale aircraft gear loading conducted at the National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF) by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are used to investigate the effects of wander (offset loads) on the deformation behavior of…

Information integration and diagnosis analysis of equipment status and production quality for machining process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zan, Tao; Wang, Min; Hu, Jianzhong

2010-12-01

Machining status monitoring technique by multi-sensors can acquire and analyze the machining process information to implement abnormity diagnosis and fault warning. Statistical quality control technique is normally used to distinguish abnormal fluctuations from normal fluctuations through statistical method. In this paper by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods, the necessity and feasibility of integration and fusion is introduced. Then an approach that integrates multi-sensors status monitoring and statistical process control based on artificial intelligent technique, internet technique and database technique is brought forward. Based on virtual instrument technique the author developed the machining quality assurance system - MoniSysOnline, which has been used to monitoring the grinding machining process. By analyzing the quality data and AE signal information of wheel dressing process the reason of machining quality fluctuation has been obtained. The experiment result indicates that the approach is suitable for the status monitoring and analyzing of machining process.

Statistical assessment of optical phase fluctuations through turbulent mixing layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardner, Patrick J.; Roggemann, Michael C.; Welsh, Byron M.; Bowersox, Rodney D.

1995-09-01

A lateral shearing interferometer is used to measure the slope of perturbed wavefronts after propagating through turbulent shear flows. This provides a two-dimensional flow visualization technique which is nonintrusive. The slope measurements are used to reconstruct the phase of the turbulence-corrupted wave front. Experiments were performed on a plane shear mixing layer of helium and nitrogen gas at fixed velocities, for five locations in the flow development. The two gases, having a density ratio of approximately seven, provide an effective means of simulating compressible shear layers. Statistical autocorrelation functions and structure functions are computed on the reconstructed phase maps. The autocorrelation function results indicate that the turbulence-induced phase fluctuations are not wide-sense stationary. The structure functions exhibit statistical homogeneity, indicating the phase fluctuation are stationary in first increments. However, the turbulence-corrupted phase is not isotropic. A five-thirds power law is shown to fit one-dimensional, orthogonal slices of the structure function, with scaling coefficients related to the location in the flow.

Asymmetric statistical features of the Chinese domestic and international gold price fluctuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Guangxi; Zhao, Yingchao; Han, Yan

2015-05-01

Analyzing the statistical features of fluctuation is remarkably significant for financial risk identification and measurement. In this study, the asymmetric detrended fluctuation analysis (A-DFA) method was applied to evaluate asymmetric multifractal scaling behaviors in the Shanghai and New York gold markets. Our findings showed that the multifractal features of the Chinese and international gold spot markets were asymmetric. The gold return series persisted longer in an increasing trend than in a decreasing trend. Moreover, the asymmetric degree of multifractals in the Chinese and international gold markets decreased with the increase in fluctuation range. In addition, the empirical analysis using sliding window technology indicated that multifractal asymmetry in the Chinese and international gold markets was characterized by its time-varying feature. However, the Shanghai and international gold markets basically shared a similar asymmetric degree evolution pattern. The American subprime mortgage crisis (2008) and the European debt crisis (2010) enhanced the asymmetric degree of the multifractal features of the Chinese and international gold markets. Furthermore, we also make statistical tests for the results of multifractatity and asymmetry, and discuss the origin of them. Finally, results of the empirical analysis using the threshold autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (TARCH) and exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (EGARCH) models exhibited that good news had a more significant effect on the cyclical fluctuation of the gold market than bad news. Moreover, good news exerted a more significant effect on the Chinese gold market than on the international gold market.

SHAREv2: fluctuations and a comprehensive treatment of decay feed-down

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torrieri, G.; Jeon, S.; Letessier, J.; Rafelski, J.

2006-11-01

This the user's manual for SHARE version 2. SHARE [G. Torrieri, S. Steinke, W. Broniowski, W. Florkowski, J. Letessier, J. Rafelski, Comput. Phys. Comm. 167 (2005) 229] (Statistical Hadronization with Resonances) is a collection of programs designed for the statistical analysis of particle production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. While the structure of the program remains similar to v1.x, v2 provides several new features such as evaluation of statistical fluctuations of particle yields, and a greater versatility, in particular regarding decay feed-down and input/output structure. This article describes all the new features, with emphasis on statistical fluctuations. Program summaryTitle of program:SHAREv2 Catalogue identifier:ADVD_v2_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADVD_v2_0 Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University of Belfast, N. Ireland Computer:PC, Pentium III, 512 MB RAM not hardware dependent Operating system:Linux: RedHat 6.1, 7.2, FEDORA, etc. not system dependent Programming language:FORTRAN77 Size of the package:167 KB directory, without libraries (see http://wwwasdoc.web.cern.ch/wwwasdoc/minuit/minmain.html, http://wwwasd.web.cern.ch/wwwasd/cernlib.html for details on library requirements) Number of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.:26 101 Number of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.:170 346 Distribution format:tar.gzip file Computer:Any computer with an f77 compiler Nature of the physical problem:Event-by-event fluctuations have been recognized to be the physical observable capable to constrain particle production models. Therefore, consideration of event-by-event fluctuations is required for a decisive falsification or constraining of (variants of) particle production models based on (grand-, micro-) canonical statistical mechanics phase space, the so called statistical hadronization models (SHM). As in the case of particle yields, to properly compare model calculations to data it is necessary to consistently take into account resonance decays. However, event-by-event fluctuations are more sensitive than particle yields to experimental acceptance issues, and a range of techniques needs to be implemented to extract 'physical' fluctuations from an experimental event-by-event measurement. Method of solving the problem:The techniques used within the SHARE suite of programs [G. Torrieri, S. Steinke, W. Broniowski, W. Florkowski, J. Letessier, J. Rafelski, Comput. Phys. Comm. 167 (2005) 229; SHAREv1] are updated and extended to fluctuations. A full particle data-table, decay tree, and set of experimental feed-down coefficients are provided. Unlike SHAREv1.x, experimental acceptance feed-down coefficients can be entered for any resonance decay. SHAREv2 can calculate yields, fluctuations, and bulk properties of the fireball from provided thermal parameters; alternatively, parameters can be obtained from fits to experimental data, via the MINUIT fitting algorithm [F. James, M. Roos, Comput. Phys. Comm. 10 (1975) 343]. Fits can also be analyzed for significance, parameter and data point sensitivity. Averages and fluctuations at freeze-out of both the stable particles and the hadronic resonances are set according to a statistical prescription, calculated via a series of Bessel functions, using CERN library programs. We also have the option of including finite particle widths of the resonances. A χ minimization algorithm, also from the CERN library programs, is used to perform and analyze the fit. Please see SHAREv1 for more details on these. Purpose:The vast amount of high quality soft hadron production data, from experiments running at the SPS, RHIC, in past at the AGS, and in the near future at the LHC, offers the opportunity for statistical particle production model falsification. This task has turned out to be difficult when considering solely particle yields addressed in the context of SHAREv1.x. For this reason physical conditions at freeze-out remain contested. Inclusion in the analysis of event-by-event fluctuations appears to resolve this issue. Similarly, a thorough analysis including both fluctuations and average multiplicities gives a way to explore the presence and strength of interactions following hadronization (when hadrons form), ending with thermal freeze-out (when all interactions cease). SHAREv2 with fluctuations will also help determine which statistical ensemble (if any), e.g., canonical or grand-canonical, is more physically appropriate for analyzing a given system. Together with resonances, fluctuations can also be used for a direct estimate of the extent the system re-interacts between chemical and thermal freeze-out. We hope and expect that SHAREv2 will contribute to decide if any of the statistical hadronization model variants has a genuine physical connection to hadron particle production. Computation time survey:We encounter, in the FORTRAN version computation, times up to seconds for evaluation of particle yields. These rise by up to a factor of 300 in the process of minimization and a further factor of a few when χ/N profiles and contours with chemical non-equilibrium are requested. Summary of new features (w.r.t. SHAREv1.x)Fluctuations:In addition to particle yields, ratios and bulk quantities SHAREv2 can calculate, fit and analyze statistical fluctuations of particles and particle ratios Decays:SHAREv2 has the flexibility to account for any experimental method of allowing for decay feed-downs to the particle yields Charm flavor:Charmed particles have been added to the decay tree, allowing as an option study of statistical hadronization of J/ψ, χ, D, etc. Quark chemistry:Chemical non-equilibrium yields for both u and d flavors, as opposed to generically light quarks q, are considered; η- η mixing, etc., are properly dealt with, and chemical non-equilibrium can be studied for each flavor separately Misc:Many new commands and features have been introduced and added to the basic user interface. For example, it is possible to study combinations of particles and their ratios. It is also possible to combine all the input files into one file. SHARE compatibility and manual:This write-up is an update and extension of SHAREv1. The user should consult SHAREv1 regarding the principles of user interface and for all particle yield related physics and program instructions, other than the parameter additions and minor changes described here. SHAREv2 is downward compatible for the changes of the user interface, offering the user of SHAREv1 a computer generated revised input files compatible with SHAREv2.

Statistical characterization of fluctuations of a laser beam transmitted through a random air-water interface: new results from a laboratory experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majumdar, Arun K.; Land, Phillip; Siegenthaler, John

2014-10-01

New results for characterizing laser intensity fluctuation statistics of a laser beam transmitted through a random air-water interface relevant to underwater communications are presented. A laboratory watertank experiment is described to investigate the beam wandering effects of the transmitted beam. Preliminary results from the experiment provide information about histograms of the probability density functions of intensity fluctuations for different wind speeds measured by a CMOS camera for the transmitted beam. Angular displacements of the centroids of the fluctuating laser beam generates the beam wander effects. This research develops a probabilistic model for optical propagation at the random air-water interface for a transmission case under different wind speed conditions. Preliminary results for bit-error-rate (BER) estimates as a function of fade margin for an on-off keying (OOK) optical communication through the air-water interface are presented for a communication system where a random air-water interface is a part of the communication channel.

Correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic and improved calculation of turbulent temperature fluctuation levels on ASDEX Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creely, A. J.; Freethy, S. J.; Burke, W. M.; Conway, G. D.; Leccacorvi, R.; Parkin, W. C.; Terry, D. R.; White, A. E.

2018-05-01

A newly upgraded correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic has been installed on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak and has begun to perform experimental measurements of electron temperature fluctuations. CECE diagnostics measure small amplitude electron temperature fluctuations by correlating closely spaced heterodyne radiometer channels. This upgrade expanded the system from six channels to thirty, allowing simultaneous measurement of fluctuation level radial profiles without repeat discharges, as well as opening up the possibility of measuring radial turbulent correlation lengths. Newly refined statistical techniques have been developed in order to accurately analyze the fluctuation data collected from the CECE system. This paper presents the hardware upgrades for this system and the analysis techniques used to interpret the raw data, as well as measurements of fluctuation spectra and fluctuation level radial profiles.

On the statistical properties and tail risk of violent conflicts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cirillo, Pasquale; Taleb, Nassim Nicholas

2016-06-01

We examine statistical pictures of violent conflicts over the last 2000 years, providing techniques for dealing with the unreliability of historical data. We make use of a novel approach to deal with fat-tailed random variables with a remote but nonetheless finite upper bound, by defining a corresponding unbounded dual distribution (given that potential war casualties are bounded by the world population). This approach can also be applied to other fields of science where power laws play a role in modeling, like geology, hydrology, statistical physics and finance. We apply methods from extreme value theory on the dual distribution and derive its tail properties. The dual method allows us to calculate the real tail mean of war casualties, which proves to be considerably larger than the corresponding sample mean for large thresholds, meaning severe underestimation of the tail risks of conflicts from naive observation. We analyze the robustness of our results to errors in historical reports. We study inter-arrival times between tail events and find that no particular trend can be asserted. All the statistical pictures obtained are at variance with the prevailing claims about ;long peace;, namely that violence has been declining over time.

A Bayesian perspective on Markovian dynamics and the fluctuation theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virgo, Nathaniel

2013-08-01

One of E. T. Jaynes' most important achievements was to derive statistical mechanics from the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) method. I re-examine a relatively new result in statistical mechanics, the Evans-Searles fluctuation theorem, from a MaxEnt perspective. This is done in the belief that interpreting such results in Bayesian terms will lead to new advances in statistical physics. The version of the fluctuation theorem that I will discuss applies to discrete, stochastic systems that begin in a non-equilibrium state and relax toward equilibrium. I will show that for such systems the fluctuation theorem can be seen as a consequence of the fact that the equilibrium distribution must obey the property of detailed balance. Although the principle of detailed balance applies only to equilibrium ensembles, it puts constraints on the form of non-equilibrium trajectories. This will be made clear by taking a novel kind of Bayesian perspective, in which the equilibrium distribution is seen as a prior over the system's set of possible trajectories. Non-equilibrium ensembles are calculated from this prior using Bayes' theorem, with the initial conditions playing the role of the data. I will also comment on the implications of this perspective for the question of how to derive the second law.

What can we learn from noise? — Mesoscopic nonequilibrium statistical physics —

PubMed Central

KOBAYASHI, Kensuke

2016-01-01

Mesoscopic systems — small electric circuits working in quantum regime — offer us a unique experimental stage to explorer quantum transport in a tunable and precise way. The purpose of this Review is to show how they can contribute to statistical physics. We introduce the significance of fluctuation, or equivalently noise, as noise measurement enables us to address the fundamental aspects of a physical system. The significance of the fluctuation theorem (FT) in statistical physics is noted. We explain what information can be deduced from the current noise measurement in mesoscopic systems. As an important application of the noise measurement to statistical physics, we describe our experimental work on the current and current noise in an electron interferometer, which is the first experimental test of FT in quantum regime. Our attempt will shed new light in the research field of mesoscopic quantum statistical physics. PMID:27477456

What can we learn from noise? - Mesoscopic nonequilibrium statistical physics.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Kensuke

2016-01-01

Mesoscopic systems - small electric circuits working in quantum regime - offer us a unique experimental stage to explorer quantum transport in a tunable and precise way. The purpose of this Review is to show how they can contribute to statistical physics. We introduce the significance of fluctuation, or equivalently noise, as noise measurement enables us to address the fundamental aspects of a physical system. The significance of the fluctuation theorem (FT) in statistical physics is noted. We explain what information can be deduced from the current noise measurement in mesoscopic systems. As an important application of the noise measurement to statistical physics, we describe our experimental work on the current and current noise in an electron interferometer, which is the first experimental test of FT in quantum regime. Our attempt will shed new light in the research field of mesoscopic quantum statistical physics.

Rectifying full-counting statistics in a spin Seebeck engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Gaomin; Chen, Xiaobin; Ren, Jie; Wang, Jian

2018-02-01

In terms of the nonequilibrium Green's function framework, we formulate the full-counting statistics of conjugate thermal spin transport in a spin Seebeck engine, which is made by a metal-ferromagnet insulator interface driven by a temperature bias. We obtain general expressions of scaled cumulant generating functions of both heat and spin currents that hold special fluctuation symmetry relations, and demonstrate intriguing properties, such as rectification and negative differential effects of high-order fluctuations of thermal excited spin current, maximum output spin power, and efficiency. The transport and noise depend on the strongly fluctuating electron density of states at the interface. The results are relevant for designing an efficient spin Seebeck engine and can broaden our view in nonequilibrium thermodynamics and the nonlinear phenomenon in quantum transport systems.

Emergent Irreversibility and Entanglement Spectrum Statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamon, Claudio; Hamma, Alioscia; Mucciolo, Eduardo R.

2014-06-01

We study the problem of irreversibility when the dynamical evolution of a many-body system is described by a stochastic quantum circuit. Such evolution is more general than a Hamiltonian one, and since energy levels are not well defined, the well-established connection between the statistical fluctuations of the energy spectrum and irreversibility cannot be made. We show that the entanglement spectrum provides a more general connection. Irreversibility is marked by a failure of a disentangling algorithm and is preceded by the appearance of Wigner-Dyson statistical fluctuations in the entanglement spectrum. This analysis can be done at the wave-function level and offers an alternative route to study quantum chaos and quantum integrability.

Transport Coefficients from Large Deviation Functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Chloe; Limmer, David

2017-10-01

We describe a method for computing transport coefficients from the direct evaluation of large deviation function. This method is general, relying on only equilibrium fluctuations, and is statistically efficient, employing trajectory based importance sampling. Equilibrium fluctuations of molecular currents are characterized by their large deviation functions, which is a scaled cumulant generating function analogous to the free energy. A diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm is used to evaluate the large deviation functions, from which arbitrary transport coefficients are derivable. We find significant statistical improvement over traditional Green-Kubo based calculations. The systematic and statistical errors of this method are analyzed in the context of specific transport coefficient calculations, including the shear viscosity, interfacial friction coefficient, and thermal conductivity.

Random dopant fluctuations and statistical variability in n-channel junctionless FETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akhavan, N. D.; Umana-Membreno, G. A.; Gu, R.; Antoszewski, J.; Faraone, L.

2018-01-01

The influence of random dopant fluctuations on the statistical variability of the electrical characteristics of n-channel silicon junctionless nanowire transistor (JNT) has been studied using three dimensional quantum simulations based on the non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism. Average randomly distributed body doping densities of 2 × 1019, 6 × 1019 and 1 × 1020 cm-3 have been considered employing an atomistic model for JNTs with gate lengths of 5, 10 and 15 nm. We demonstrate that by properly adjusting the doping density in the JNT, a near ideal statistical variability and electrical performance can be achieved, which can pave the way for the continuation of scaling in silicon CMOS technology.

Effective field theory of statistical anisotropies for primordial bispectrum and gravitational waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rostami, Tahereh; Karami, Asieh; Firouzjahi, Hassan, E-mail: t.rostami@ipm.ir, E-mail: karami@ipm.ir, E-mail: firouz@ipm.ir

2017-06-01

We present the effective field theory studies of primordial statistical anisotropies in models of anisotropic inflation. The general action in unitary gauge is presented to calculate the leading interactions between the gauge field fluctuations, the curvature perturbations and the tensor perturbations. The anisotropies in scalar power spectrum and bispectrum are calculated and the dependence of these anisotropies to EFT couplings are presented. In addition, we calculate the statistical anisotropy in tensor power spectrum and the scalar-tensor cross correlation. Our EFT approach incorporates anisotropies generated in models with non-trivial speed for the gauge field fluctuations and sound speed for scalar perturbationsmore » such as in DBI inflation.« less

Accelerated testing for studying pavement design and performance (FY 2001) : evaluation of the performance of permeable and semi-permeable unbound granular bases under Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP) slabs and alternate load transfer devices for

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-11-01

The objectives of this research are to determine the effect of unbound drainable base types on the performance of PCCP and the efficiency of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) dowels, compared to epoxy coated steel dowels, when retrofitted to re-establis...

Unbalanced Nature, Unbounded Bodies, and Unlimited Technology: Ecocriticism and Karen Traviss' Wess'har Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Heather I.

2010-01-01

While nature is often claimed to be a space of harmonized balance or an antidote to the chaos of the modern world, we need a more grounded assessment of nature as endlessly changing and much less predictable than we like to assume. In this essay, I explore Karen Traviss' provocative exploration of unbalanced nature and unbounded bodies in her…

Altered disposition and effect of lerisetron in rats with elevated alpha 1-acid glycoprotein levels.

PubMed

Jauregizar, N; Calvo, R; Suarez, E; Quintana, A; Raczka, E; Lukas, J C

2001-06-01

To examine the effect of changes in plasma alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) levels on the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of lerisetron, a novel serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, in the rat. After subcutaneous administration of turpentine oil, AAG was significantly elevated compared with controls. The PK of unchanged lerisetron (UL; high-performance liquid chromatography with radioactivity monitoring) and total lerisetron (TL; unchanged + changed, scintillation counting) was characterized post intravenous (i.v.) 14C lerisetron (50 microg/kg) in control and turpentine oil pretreated rats. The PK (0-180 min) was described by a two-compartmental model. Protein binding of lerisetron in vitro was measured using an ultrafiltration technique. The effect of lerisetron (5 microg/kg, i.v.) over 180 min was measured in anesthetized rats (control and pretreated) with the Bezold-Jarisch reflex (inhibition of bradycardia after 16 microg/kg serotonin i.v.) as the endpoint. PD parameters were estimated by sigmoid Emax models. The unbound fraction was significantly diminished in pretreated rats (mean +/- SEM) (6.60 +/- 1.23% vs. control 14.4 +/- 1.40%, P < 0.05). Volume of distribution (V) and clearance for UL and TL were significantly decreased when compared to the controls (P < 0.0001 for UL and P < 0.05 for TL). Plasma clearance based on unbound concentration for UL did not differ between groups but the unbound V and steady-state unbound V remained decreased (P < 0.05 and P < 0.0001). Pretreated rats showed a significantly diminished drug effect: the area under the E-t curve over 180 min was (mean +/- SEM) 5,189 +/- 657.7 in control animals vs. 3,486 +/- 464.4 in the pretreated group (P < 0.05). The EC50 (concentration at half maximum effect) for UL and TL were increased in pretreated rats and were not compensated when the unbound concentration was used. An increase in AAG causes alterations in the PK and PD of lerisetron, and because this is not compensated with the unbound concentration, we suggest that mechanisms not linked to protein binding may be involved.

INTERPRETATION OF THE STRUCTURE FUNCTION OF ROTATION MEASURE IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Siyao; Zhang, Bing, E-mail: syxu@pku.edu.cn, E-mail: zhang@physics.unlv.edu

2016-06-20

The observed structure function (SF) of rotation measure (RM) varies as a broken power-law function of angular scales. The systematic shallowness of its spectral slope is inconsistent with the standard Kolmogorov scaling. This motivates us to examine the statistical analysis on RM fluctuations. The correlations of RM constructed by Lazarian and Pogosyan are demonstrated to be adequate in explaining the observed features of RM SFs through a direct comparison between the theoretically obtained and observationally measured SF results. By segregating the density and magnetic field fluctuations and adopting arbitrary indices for their respective power spectra, we find that when themore » SFs of RM and emission measure have a similar form over the same range of angular scales, the statistics of the RM fluctuations reflect the properties of density fluctuations. RM SFs can be used to evaluate the mean magnetic field along the line of sight, but cannot serve as an informative source on the properties of turbulent magnetic field in the interstellar medium. We identify the spectral break of RM SFs as the inner scale of a shallow spectrum of electron density fluctuations, which characterizes the typical size of discrete electron density structures in the observed region.« less

Average is Over

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliazar, Iddo

2018-02-01

The popular perception of statistical distributions is depicted by the iconic bell curve which comprises of a massive bulk of 'middle-class' values, and two thin tails - one of small left-wing values, and one of large right-wing values. The shape of the bell curve is unimodal, and its peak represents both the mode and the mean. Thomas Friedman, the famous New York Times columnist, recently asserted that we have entered a human era in which "Average is Over" . In this paper we present mathematical models for the phenomenon that Friedman highlighted. While the models are derived via different modeling approaches, they share a common foundation. Inherent tipping points cause the models to phase-shift from a 'normal' bell-shape statistical behavior to an 'anomalous' statistical behavior: the unimodal shape changes to an unbounded monotone shape, the mode vanishes, and the mean diverges. Hence: (i) there is an explosion of small values; (ii) large values become super-large; (iii) 'middle-class' values are wiped out, leaving an infinite rift between the small and the super large values; and (iv) "Average is Over" indeed.

Large fluctuations of the macroscopic current in diffusive systems: a numerical test of the additivity principle.

PubMed

Hurtado, Pablo I; Garrido, Pedro L

2010-04-01

Most systems, when pushed out of equilibrium, respond by building up currents of locally conserved observables. Understanding how microscopic dynamics determines the averages and fluctuations of these currents is one of the main open problems in nonequilibrium statistical physics. The additivity principle is a theoretical proposal that allows to compute the current distribution in many one-dimensional nonequilibrium systems. Using simulations, we validate this conjecture in a simple and general model of energy transport, both in the presence of a temperature gradient and in canonical equilibrium. In particular, we show that the current distribution displays a Gaussian regime for small current fluctuations, as prescribed by the central limit theorem, and non-Gaussian (exponential) tails for large current deviations, obeying in all cases the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem. In order to facilitate a given current fluctuation, the system adopts a well-defined temperature profile different from that of the steady state and in accordance with the additivity hypothesis predictions. System statistics during a large current fluctuation is independent of the sign of the current, which implies that the optimal profile (as well as higher-order profiles and spatial correlations) are invariant upon current inversion. We also demonstrate that finite-time joint fluctuations of the current and the profile are well described by the additivity functional. These results suggest the additivity hypothesis as a general and powerful tool to compute current distributions in many nonequilibrium systems.

Mass action at the single-molecule level.

PubMed

Shon, Min Ju; Cohen, Adam E

2012-09-05

We developed a system to reversibly encapsulate small numbers of molecules in an array of nanofabricated "dimples". This system enables highly parallel, long-term, and attachment-free studies of molecular dynamics via single-molecule fluorescence. In studies of bimolecular reactions of small numbers of confined molecules, we see phenomena that, while expected from basic statistical mechanics, are not observed in bulk chemistry. Statistical fluctuations in the occupancy of sealed reaction chambers lead to steady-state fluctuations in reaction equilibria and rates. These phenomena are likely to be important whenever reactions happen in confined geometries.

New estimates of asymmetric decomposition of racemic mixtures by natural beta-radiation sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hegstrom, R. A.; Rich, A.; Van House, J.

1985-01-01

Some recent calculations that appeared to invalidate the Vester-Ulbricht hypothesis, which suggests that the chirality of biological molecules originates from the beta-radiolysis of prebiotic racemic mixtures, are reexamined. These calculations apparently showed that the radiolysis-induced chiral polarization can never exceed the chiral polarization produced by statistical fluctuations. It is here shown that several overly restrictive conditions were imposed on these calculations which, when relaxed, allow the radiolysis-induced polarization to exceed that produced by statistical fluctuations, in accordance with the Vester-Ulbricht hypothesis.

Computing physical properties with quantum Monte Carlo methods with statistical fluctuations independent of system size.

PubMed

Assaraf, Roland

2014-12-01

We show that the recently proposed correlated sampling without reweighting procedure extends the locality (asymptotic independence of the system size) of a physical property to the statistical fluctuations of its estimator. This makes the approach potentially vastly more efficient for computing space-localized properties in large systems compared with standard correlated methods. A proof is given for a large collection of noninteracting fragments. Calculations on hydrogen chains suggest that this behavior holds not only for systems displaying short-range correlations, but also for systems with long-range correlations.

Fluctuations of conserved charges in relativistic heavy ion collisions: An introduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asakawa, Masayuki; Kitazawa, Masakiyo

2016-09-01

Bulk fluctuations of conserved charges measured by event-by-event analysis in relativistic heavy ion collisions are observables which are believed to carry significant amount of information on the hot medium created by the collisions. Active studies have been done recently experimentally, theoretically, and on the lattice. In particular, non-Gaussianity of the fluctuations has acquired much attention recently. In this review, we give a pedagogical introduction to these issues, and survey recent developments in this field of research. Starting from the definition of cumulants, basic concepts in fluctuation physics, such as thermal fluctuations in statistical mechanics and time evolution of fluctuations in diffusive systems, are described. Phenomena which are expected to occur in finite temperature and/or density QCD matter and their measurement by event-by-event analyses are also elucidated.

Distribution of lacosamide in the rat brain assessed by in vitro slice technique.

PubMed

Gáll, Zsolt; Vancea, Szende

2018-01-01

Lacosamide is a newer anticonvulsant and is the only one that enhances the slow inactivation of voltage gated sodium channels. It is also claimed to have disease-modifying potential, but its pharmacokinetic properties have been much less discussed in the literature. In rats, lacosamide shows restricted distribution to tissues, and the brain-to-plasma partition coefficient (K p ) is only 0.553. In this study, the brain disposition of lacosamide was evaluated in rat brains, and its neuropharmacokinetic parameters (i.e., protein binding and intracellular accumulation) were assessed using in vitro methods. Brain slice experiments and brain homogenate binding studies were performed for several drugs acting on the central nervous system, and drugs were assayed by using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system. By applying a combined approach, it was found that (1) the unbound volume of distribution in the brain for lacosamide (V u,brain  = 1.37) was lower than that of other classical anticonvulsants; (2) the unbound fraction of lacosamide in the brain (0.899) was slightly lower than its unbound fraction in plasma (0.96); (3) the unbound intracellular-to-extracellular concentration ratio of lacosamide was 1.233, meaning that lacosamide was accumulated in the intracellular space because of its physicochemical properties and zwitterionic structure; and (4) the unbound brain-to-plasma concentration ratio of lacosamide was lower than the total brain-to-plasma concentration ratio (K p,uu,brain  = 0.42 vs. K p  = 0.553). In conclusion, the limited brain distribution of lacosamide is not related to its nonspecific protein-binding capacity; rather, an active transport mechanism across the blood-brain barrier may be involved, which reduces the anticonvulsant and/or antiepileptogenic actions of this drug.

Measurements of the driving forces of bio-motors using the fluctuation theorem

PubMed Central

Hayashi, Kumiko; Tanigawara, Mizue; Kishikawa, Jun-ichi

2012-01-01

The fluctuation theorem (FT), which is a recent achievement in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, has been suggested to be useful for measuring the driving forces of motor proteins. As an example of this application, we performed single-molecule experiments on F1-ATPase, which is a rotary motor protein, in which we measured its rotary torque by taking advantage of FT. Because fluctuation is inherent nature in biological small systems and because FT is a non-destructive force measurement method using fluctuation, it will be applied to a wide range of biological small systems in future. PMID:27857609

Elasticity and Fluctuations of Frustrated Nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grossman, Doron; Sharon, Eran; Diamant, Haim

2016-06-01

We derive a reduced quasi-one-dimensional theory of geometrically frustrated elastic ribbons. Expressed in terms of geometric properties alone, it applies to ribbons over a wide range of scales, allowing the study of their elastic equilibrium, as well as thermal fluctuations. We use the theory to account for the twisted-to-helical transition of ribbons with spontaneous negative curvature and the effect of fluctuations on the corresponding critical exponents. The persistence length of such ribbons changes nonmonotonically with the ribbon's width, dropping to zero at the transition. This and other statistical properties qualitatively differ from those of nonfrustrated fluctuating filaments.

Quenching methods for background reduction in luminescence-based probe-target binding assays

DOEpatents

Cai, Hong [Los Alamos, NM; Goodwin, Peter M [Los Alamos, NM; Keller, Richard A [Los Alamos, NM; Nolan, Rhiannon L [Santa Fe, NM

2007-04-10

Background luminescence is reduced from a solution containing unbound luminescent probes, each having a first molecule that attaches to a target molecule and having an attached luminescent moiety, and luminescent probe/target adducts. Quenching capture reagent molecules are formed that are capable of forming an adduct with the unbound luminescent probes and having an attached quencher material effective to quench luminescence of the luminescent moiety. The quencher material of the capture reagent molecules is added to a solution of the luminescent probe/target adducts and binds in a proximity to the luminescent moiety of the unbound luminescent probes to quench luminescence from the luminescent moiety when the luminescent moiety is exposed to exciting illumination. The quencher capture reagent does not bind to probe molecules that are bound to target molecules and the probe/target adduct emission is not quenched.

Turbulent pressure fluctuations measured during CHATS

Treesearch

Steven P. Oncley; William J. Massman; Edward G. Patton

2008-01-01

Fast-response pressure fluctuations were included in the Canopy Horizontal Array of Turbulence Study (CHATS) at several heights within and just above the canopy in a walnut orchard. Two independent systems were intercompared and then separated. We present an evaluation of turbulence statistics - including the pressure transport term in the turbulence kinetic energy...

Characterizing the Free-Energy Landscape of MDM2 Protein-Ligand Interactions by Steered Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

PubMed

Hu, Guodong; Xu, Shicai; Wang, Jihua

2015-12-01

Inhibition of p53-MDM2 interaction by small molecules is considered to be a promising approach to re-activate wild-type p53 for tumor suppression. Several inhibitors of the MDM2-p53 interaction were designed and studied by the experimental methods and the molecular dynamics simulation. However, the unbinding mechanism was still unclear. The steered molecular dynamics simulations combined with Brownian dynamics fluctuation-dissipation theorem were employed to obtain the free-energy landscape of unbinding between MDM2 and their four ligands. It was shown that compounds 4 and 8 dissociate faster than compounds 5 and 7. The absolute binding free energies for these four ligands are in close agreement with experimental results. The open movement of helix II and helix IV in the MDM2 protein-binding pocket upon unbinding is also consistent with experimental MDM2-unbound conformation. We further found that different binding mechanisms among different ligands are associated with H-bond with Lys51 and Glu25. These mechanistic results may be useful for improving ligand design. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Chandrasekhar equations for infinite dimensional systems. Part 2: Unbounded input and output case

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ito, Kazufumi; Powers, Robert K.

1987-01-01

A set of equations known as Chandrasekhar equations arising in the linear quadratic optimal control problem is considered. In this paper, we consider the linear time-invariant system defined in Hilbert spaces involving unbounded input and output operators. For a general class of such systems, the Chandrasekhar equations are derived and the existence, uniqueness, and regularity of the results of their solutions established.

Helicons in Unbounded Plasmas.

PubMed

Stenzel, R L; Urrutia, J M

2015-05-22

Helicons are whistler modes with helical phase fronts. They have been studied in solid state plasmas and in discharge tubes where boundaries and nonuniformities are ever present. The present work shows that helicons also exist in unbounded and uniform plasmas, thereby bridging the fields of laboratory and space plasma physics. First measurements of helicon field lines in three dimensional space are presented. Helicons with negative and positive mode numbers can propagate with equal amplitudes.

On the Composition of Public-Coin Zero-Knowledge Protocols

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-31

only languages in BPP have public-coin black-box zero-knowledge protocols that are secure under an unbounded (polynomial) number of parallel...only languages in BPP have public-coin black-box zero-knowledge protocols that are secure under an unbounded (polynomial) number of parallel repetitions...and Krawczyk [GK96b] show that only languages in BPP have constant-round public-coin (stand-alone) black-box ZK protocols with negligible soundness

Convergence of the flow of a chemically reacting gaseous mixture to incompressible Euler equations in a unbounded domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Young-Sam

2017-12-01

The flow of chemically reacting gaseous mixture is associated with a variety of phenomena and processes. We study the combined quasineutral and inviscid limit from the flow of chemically reacting gaseous mixture governed by Poisson equation to incompressible Euler equations with the ill-prepared initial data in the unbounded domain R^2× T. Furthermore, the convergence rates are obtained.

Metronidazole and hydroxymetronidazole central nervous system distribution: 1. microdialysis assessment of brain extracellular fluid concentrations in patients with acute brain injury.

PubMed

Frasca, Denis; Dahyot-Fizelier, Claire; Adier, Christophe; Mimoz, Olivier; Debaene, Bertrand; Couet, William; Marchand, Sandrine

2014-01-01

The distribution of metronidazole in the central nervous system has only been described based on cerebrospinal fluid data. However, extracellular fluid (ECF) concentrations may better predict its antimicrobial effect and/or side effects. We sought to explore by microdialysis brain ECF metronidazole distribution in patients with acute brain injury. Four brain-injured patients monitored by cerebral microdialysis received 500 mg of metronidazole over 0.5 h every 8 h. Brain dialysates and blood samples were collected at steady state over 8 h. Probe recoveries were evaluated by in vivo retrodialysis in each patient for metronidazole. Metronidazole and OH-metronidazole were assayed by high-pressure liquid chromatography, and a noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was performed. Probe recovery was equal to 78.8% ± 1.3% for metronidazole in patients. Unbound brain metronidazole concentration-time curves were delayed compared to unbound plasma concentration-time curves but with a mean metronidazole unbound brain/plasma AUC0-τ ratio equal to 102% ± 19% (ranging from 87 to 124%). The unbound plasma concentration-time profiles for OH-metronidazole were flat, with mean average steady-state concentrations equal to 4.0 ± 0.7 μg ml(-1). This microdialysis study describes the steady-state brain distribution of metronidazole in patients and confirms its extensive distribution.

Measurement and data processing approach for detecting anisotropic spatial statistics of the turbulence-induced index of refraction fluctuations in the upper atmosphere.

PubMed

Havens, Timothy C; Roggemann, Michael C; Schulz, Timothy J; Brown, Wade W; Beyer, Jeff T; Otten, L John

2002-05-20

We discuss a method of data reduction and analysis that has been developed for a novel experiment to detect anisotropic turbulence in the tropopause and to measure the spatial statistics of these flows. The experimental concept is to make measurements of temperature at 15 points on a hexagonal grid for altitudes from 12,000 to 18,000 m while suspended from a balloon performing a controlled descent. From the temperature data, we estimate the index of refraction and study the spatial statistics of the turbulence-induced index of refraction fluctuations. We present and evaluate the performance of a processing approach to estimate the parameters of an anisotropic model for the spatial power spectrum of the turbulence-induced index of refraction fluctuations. A Gaussian correlation model and a least-squares optimization routine are used to estimate the parameters of the model from the measurements. In addition, we implemented a quick-look algorithm to have a computationally nonintensive way of viewing the autocorrelation function of the index fluctuations. The autocorrelation of the index of refraction fluctuations is binned and interpolated onto a uniform grid from the sparse points that exist in our experiment. This allows the autocorrelation to be viewed with a three-dimensional plot to determine whether anisotropy exists in a specific data slab. Simulation results presented here show that, in the presence of the anticipated levels of measurement noise, the least-squares estimation technique allows turbulence parameters to be estimated with low rms error.

Effect of the collective motions of molecules inside a condensed phase on fluctuations in the density of small bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tovbin, Yu. K.

2017-11-01

An approach to calculating the effects of fluctuations in density that considers the collective motions of molecules in small condensed phases (e.g., droplets, microcrystals, adsorption at microcrystal faces) is proposed. Statistical sums of the vibrational, rotational, and translational motions of molecules are of a collective character expressed in the dependences of these statistical sums on the local configurations of neighboring molecules. This changes their individual contributions to the free energy and modifies fluctuations in density in the inner homogeneous regions of small bodies. Interactions between nearest neighbors are considered in a quasi-chemical approximation that reflects the effects of short-range direct correlations. Expressions for isotherms relating the densities of mixture components to the chemical potentials in a thermostat are obtained, along with equations for pair distribution functions.

Graphic analysis and multifractal on percolation-based return interval series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pei, A. Q.; Wang, J.

2015-05-01

A financial time series model is developed and investigated by the oriented percolation system (one of the statistical physics systems). The nonlinear and statistical behaviors of the return interval time series are studied for the proposed model and the real stock market by applying visibility graph (VG) and multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). We investigate the fluctuation behaviors of return intervals of the model for different parameter settings, and also comparatively study these fluctuation patterns with those of the real financial data for different threshold values. The empirical research of this work exhibits the multifractal features for the corresponding financial time series. Further, the VGs deviated from both of the simulated data and the real data show the behaviors of small-world, hierarchy, high clustering and power-law tail for the degree distributions.

Statistical and temporal irradiance fluctuations modeling for a ground-to-geostationary satellite optical link.

PubMed

Camboulives, A-R; Velluet, M-T; Poulenard, S; Saint-Antonin, L; Michau, V

2018-02-01

An optical communication link performance between the ground and a geostationary satellite can be impaired by scintillation, beam wandering, and beam spreading due to its propagation through atmospheric turbulence. These effects on the link performance can be mitigated by tracking and error correction codes coupled with interleaving. Precise numerical tools capable of describing the irradiance fluctuations statistically and of creating an irradiance time series are needed to characterize the benefits of these techniques and optimize them. The wave optics propagation methods have proven their capability of modeling the effects of atmospheric turbulence on a beam, but these are known to be computationally intensive. We present an analytical-numerical model which provides good results on the probability density functions of irradiance fluctuations as well as a time series with an important saving of time and computational resources.

Chemodetection in fluctuating environments: receptor coupling, buffering, and antagonism.

PubMed

Lalanne, Jean-Benoît; François, Paul

2015-02-10

Variability in the chemical composition of the extracellular environment can significantly degrade the ability of cells to detect rare cognate ligands. Using concepts from statistical detection theory, we formalize the generic problem of detection of small concentrations of ligands in a fluctuating background of biochemically similar ligands binding to the same receptors. We discover that in contrast with expectations arising from considerations of signal amplification, inhibitory interactions between receptors can improve detection performance in the presence of substantial environmental variability, providing an adaptive interpretation to the phenomenon of ligand antagonism. Our results suggest that the structure of signaling pathways responsible for chemodetection in fluctuating and heterogeneous environments might be optimized with respect to the statistics and dynamics of environmental composition. The developed formalism stresses the importance of characterizing nonspecific interactions to understand function in signaling pathways.

Economic fluctuations and statistical physics: Quantifying extremely rare and less rare events in finance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanley, H. E.; Gabaix, Xavier; Gopikrishnan, Parameswaran; Plerou, Vasiliki

2007-08-01

One challenge of economics is that the systems treated by these sciences have no perfect metronome in time and no perfect spatial architecture-crystalline or otherwise. Nonetheless, as if by magic, out of nothing but randomness one finds remarkably fine-tuned processes in time. We present an overview of recent research joining practitioners of economic theory and statistical physics to try to better understand puzzles regarding economic fluctuations. One of these puzzles is how to describe outliers, phenomena that lie outside of patterns of statistical regularity. We review evidence consistent with the possibility that such outliers may not exist. This possibility is supported by recent analysis of databases containing information about each trade of every stock.

A flexible docking scheme to explore the binding selectivity of PDZ domains.

PubMed

Gerek, Z Nevin; Ozkan, S Banu

2010-05-01

Modeling of protein binding site flexibility in molecular docking is still a challenging problem due to the large conformational space that needs sampling. Here, we propose a flexible receptor docking scheme: A dihedral restrained replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD), where we incorporate the normal modes obtained by the Elastic Network Model (ENM) as dihedral restraints to speed up the search towards correct binding site conformations. To our knowledge, this is the first approach that uses ENM modes to bias REMD simulations towards binding induced fluctuations in docking studies. In our docking scheme, we first obtain the deformed structures of the unbound protein as initial conformations by moving along the binding fluctuation mode, and perform REMD using the ENM modes as dihedral restraints. Then, we generate an ensemble of multiple receptor conformations (MRCs) by clustering the lowest replica trajectory. Using ROSETTALIGAND, we dock ligands to the clustered conformations to predict the binding pose and affinity. We apply this method to postsynaptic density-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ) domains; whose dynamics govern their binding specificity. Our approach produces the lowest energy bound complexes with an average ligand root mean square deviation of 0.36 A. We further test our method on (i) homologs and (ii) mutant structures of PDZ where mutations alter the binding selectivity. In both cases, our approach succeeds to predict the correct pose and the affinity of binding peptides. Overall, with this approach, we generate an ensemble of MRCs that leads to predict the binding poses and specificities of a protein complex accurately.

A flexible docking scheme to explore the binding selectivity of PDZ domains

PubMed Central

Gerek, Z Nevin; Ozkan, S Banu

2010-01-01

Modeling of protein binding site flexibility in molecular docking is still a challenging problem due to the large conformational space that needs sampling. Here, we propose a flexible receptor docking scheme: A dihedral restrained replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD), where we incorporate the normal modes obtained by the Elastic Network Model (ENM) as dihedral restraints to speed up the search towards correct binding site conformations. To our knowledge, this is the first approach that uses ENM modes to bias REMD simulations towards binding induced fluctuations in docking studies. In our docking scheme, we first obtain the deformed structures of the unbound protein as initial conformations by moving along the binding fluctuation mode, and perform REMD using the ENM modes as dihedral restraints. Then, we generate an ensemble of multiple receptor conformations (MRCs) by clustering the lowest replica trajectory. Using RosettaLigand, we dock ligands to the clustered conformations to predict the binding pose and affinity. We apply this method to postsynaptic density-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ) domains; whose dynamics govern their binding specificity. Our approach produces the lowest energy bound complexes with an average ligand root mean square deviation of 0.36 Å. We further test our method on (i) homologs and (ii) mutant structures of PDZ where mutations alter the binding selectivity. In both cases, our approach succeeds to predict the correct pose and the affinity of binding peptides. Overall, with this approach, we generate an ensemble of MRCs that leads to predict the binding poses and specificities of a protein complex accurately. PMID:20196074

Selectivity by Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Protein Interactions Can Be Driven by Protein Surface Fluctuations

PubMed Central

Johnson, David K.; Karanicolas, John

2015-01-01

Small-molecules that inhibit interactions between specific pairs of proteins have long represented a promising avenue for therapeutic intervention in a variety of settings. Structural studies have shown that in many cases, the inhibitor-bound protein adopts a conformation that is distinct from its unbound and its protein-bound conformations. This plasticity of the protein surface presents a major challenge in predicting which members of a protein family will be inhibited by a given ligand. Here, we use biased simulations of Bcl-2-family proteins to generate ensembles of low-energy conformations that contain surface pockets suitable for small molecule binding. We find that the resulting conformational ensembles include surface pockets that mimic those observed in inhibitor-bound crystal structures. Next, we find that the ensembles generated using different members of this protein family are overlapping but distinct, and that the activity of a given compound against a particular family member (ligand selectivity) can be predicted from whether the corresponding ensemble samples a complementary surface pocket. Finally, we find that each ensemble includes certain surface pockets that are not shared by any other family member: while no inhibitors have yet been identified to take advantage of these pockets, we expect that chemical scaffolds complementing these “distinct” pockets will prove highly selective for their targets. The opportunity to achieve target selectivity within a protein family by exploiting differences in surface fluctuations represents a new paradigm that may facilitate design of family-selective small-molecule inhibitors of protein-protein interactions. PMID:25706586

Higher-order correlations for fluctuations in the presence of fields.

PubMed

Boer, A; Dumitru, S

2002-10-01

The higher-order moments of the fluctuations for thermodynamic systems in the presence of fields are investigated in the framework of a theoretical method. The method uses a generalized statistical ensemble consistent with an adequate expression for the internal energy. The applications refer to the case of a system in a magnetoquasistatic field. In the case of linear magnetic media, one finds that, for the description of the magnetic induction fluctuations, the Gaussian approximation is satisfactory. For nonlinear media, the corresponding fluctuations are non-Gaussian, having a non-null asymmetry. Furthermore, the respective fluctuations have characteristics of leptokurtic, mesokurtic and platykurtic type, depending on the value of the magnetic field strength as compared with a scaling factor of the magnetization curve.

Fluctuations of the flux of energy on the apparent horizon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mimoso, José P.; Pavón, Diego

2018-05-01

Adopting the Landau-Lifshiftz method of classical fluctuations, we determine the statistical average strength of the fluctuations of the energy flux on the apparent horizon of a homogeneous and isotropic universe described by Einstein gravity. We find that the fluctuations increase with the temperature of the horizon and decrease with its area, in accordance with the features of systems where gravity can be neglected. We further find, on the one hand, that the fluctuations vanish in the cosmological constant dominated de Sitter expansion and, on the other hand, that the domination of phantom fields is excluded. The reasonableness of the results we have obtained lend support to the view that the Universe behaves as a normal thermodynamic system.

Analysis of the statistic al properties of pulses in atmospheric corona discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aubrecht, L.; Koller, J.; Plocek, J.; Stanék, Z.

2000-03-01

The properties of the negative corona current pulses in a single point-to-plane configuration have been extensively studied by many investigators. The amplitude and the interval of these pulses are not generally constant and depend on many variables. The repetition rate and the amplitude of the pulses fluctuate in time. Since these fluctuations are subject to a certain probability distribution, the statistical processing was used for the analysis of the pulse fluctuations. The behavior of the pulses has been also investigated in a multipoint geometry configuration. The dependence of the behavior of the corona pulses on the gap lengths, the material, the shape of the point electrode, the number and separation of electrodes (in the multiple-point mode) has been investigated, too. No detailed study has been carried out up to now for this case. The attention has been devoted also to the study of the pulses on the points of live materials (needles of coniferous trees). This contribution describes recent studies of the statistical properties of the pulses for various conditions.

Temporal fluctuations after a quantum quench: Many-particle dephasing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marquardt, Florian; Kiendl, Thomas

After a quantum quench, the expectation values of observables continue to fluctuate in time. In the thermodynamic limit, one expects such fluctuations to decrease to zero, in order for standard statistical physics to hold. However, it is a challenge to determine analytically how the fluctuations decay as a function of system size. So far, there have been analytical predictions for integrable models (which are, naturally, somewhat special), analytical bounds for arbitrary systems, and numerical results for moderate-size systems. We have discovered a dynamical regime where the decrease of fluctuations is driven by many-particle dephasing, instead of a redistribution of occupation numbers. On the basis of this insight, we are able to provide exact analytical expressions for a model with weak integrability breaking (transverse Ising chain with additional terms). These predictions explicitly show how fluctuations are exponentially suppressed with system size.

Large-scale fluctuations in the diffusive decomposition of solid solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karpov, V. G.; Grimsditch, M.

1995-04-01

The concept of an instability in the classic Ostwald ripening theory with respect to compositional fluctuations is suggested. We show that small statistical fluctuations in the precipitate phase lead to gigantic Coulomb-like fluctuations in the solute concentration which in turn affect the ripening. As a result large-scale fluctuations in both the precipitate and solute concentrations appear. These fluctuations are characterized by amplitudes of the order of the average values of the corresponding quantities and by a space scale L~(na)-1/2 which is considerably greater than both the average nuclear radius and internuclear distance. The Lifshitz-Slyozov theory of ripening is shown to remain locally applicable, over length scales much less than L. The implications of these findings for elastic light scattering in solid solutions that have undergone Ostwald ripening are considered.

Measurements of surface-pressure and wake-flow fluctuations in the flow field of a whitcomb supercritical airfoil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roos, F. W.; Riddle, D. W.

1977-01-01

Measurements of surface pressure and wake flow fluctuations were made as part of a transonic wind tunnel investigation into the nature of a supercritical airfoil flow field. Emphasis was on a range of high subsonic Mach numbers and moderate lift coefficients corresponding to the development of drag divergence and buffeting. Fluctuation data were analyzed statistically for intensity, frequency content, and spatial coherence. Variations in these parameters were correlated with changes in the mean airfoil flow field.

Effect of Oxide Interface Roughness on the Threshold Voltage Fluctuations in Decanano MOSFETs with Ultrathin Gate Oxides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asenov, Asen; Kaya, S.

2000-01-01

In this paper we use the Density Gradient (DG) simulation approach to study, in 3-D, the effect of local oxide thickness fluctuations on the threshold voltage of decanano MOSFETs on a statistical scale. The random 2-D surfaces used to represent the interface are constructed using the standard assumptions for the auto-correlation function of the interface. The importance of the Quantum Mechanical effects when studying oxide thickness fluctuations are illustrated in several simulation examples.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Yong, E-mail: 83229994@qq.com; Ge, Hao, E-mail: haoge@pku.edu.cn; Xiong, Jie, E-mail: jiexiong@umac.mo

Fluctuation theorem is one of the major achievements in the field of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics during the past two decades. There exist very few results for steady-state fluctuation theorem of sample entropy production rate in terms of large deviation principle for diffusion processes due to the technical difficulties. Here we give a proof for the steady-state fluctuation theorem of a diffusion process in magnetic fields, with explicit expressions of the free energy function and rate function. The proof is based on the Karhunen-Loève expansion of complex-valued Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process.

A fast numerical method for the valuation of American lookback put options

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Haiming; Zhang, Qi; Zhang, Ran

2015-10-01

A fast and efficient numerical method is proposed and analyzed for the valuation of American lookback options. American lookback option pricing problem is essentially a two-dimensional unbounded nonlinear parabolic problem. We reformulate it into a two-dimensional parabolic linear complementary problem (LCP) on an unbounded domain. The numeraire transformation and domain truncation technique are employed to convert the two-dimensional unbounded LCP into a one-dimensional bounded one. Furthermore, the variational inequality (VI) form corresponding to the one-dimensional bounded LCP is obtained skillfully by some discussions. The resulting bounded VI is discretized by a finite element method. Meanwhile, the stability of the semi-discrete solution and the symmetric positive definiteness of the full-discrete matrix are established for the bounded VI. The discretized VI related to options is solved by a projection and contraction method. Numerical experiments are conducted to test the performance of the proposed method.

On the definition of the time evolution operator for time-independent Hamiltonians in non-relativistic quantum mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amaku, Marcos; Coutinho, Francisco A. B.; Masafumi Toyama, F.

2017-09-01

The usual definition of the time evolution operator e-i H t /ℏ=∑n=0∞1/n ! (-i/ℏHt ) n , where H is the Hamiltonian of the system, as given in almost every book on quantum mechanics, causes problems in some situations. The operators that appear in quantum mechanics are either bounded or unbounded. Unbounded operators are not defined for all the vectors (wave functions) of the Hilbert space of the system; when applied to some states, they give a non-normalizable state. Therefore, if H is an unbounded operator, the definition in terms of the power series expansion does not make sense because it may diverge or result in a non-normalizable wave function. In this article, we explain why this is so and suggest, as an alternative, another definition used by mathematicians.

Socioeconomic Status Is Not Related with Facial Fluctuating Asymmetry: Evidence from Latin-American Populations

PubMed Central

Quinto-Sánchez, Mirsha; Cintas, Celia; Silva de Cerqueira, Caio Cesar; Ramallo, Virginia; Acuña-Alonzo, Victor; Adhikari, Kaustubh; Castillo, Lucía; Gomez-Valdés, Jorge; Everardo, Paola; De Avila, Francisco; Hünemeier, Tábita; Jaramillo, Claudia; Arias, Williams; Fuentes, Macarena; Gallo, Carla; Poletti, Giovani; Schuler-Faccini, Lavinia; Bortolini, Maria Cátira; Canizales-Quinteros, Samuel; Rothhammer, Francisco; Bedoya, Gabriel; Rosique, Javier; Ruiz-Linares, Andrés; González-José, Rolando

2017-01-01

The expression of facial asymmetries has been recurrently related with poverty and/or disadvantaged socioeconomic status. Departing from the developmental instability theory, previous approaches attempted to test the statistical relationship between the stress experienced by individuals grown in poor conditions and an increase in facial and corporal asymmetry. Here we aim to further evaluate such hypothesis on a large sample of admixed Latin Americans individuals by exploring if low socioeconomic status individuals tend to exhibit greater facial fluctuating asymmetry values. To do so, we implement Procrustes analysis of variance and Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) to estimate potential associations between facial fluctuating asymmetry values and socioeconomic status. We report significant relationships between facial fluctuating asymmetry values and age, sex, and genetic ancestry, while socioeconomic status failed to exhibit any strong statistical relationship with facial asymmetry. These results are persistent after the effect of heterozygosity (a proxy for genetic ancestry) is controlled in the model. Our results indicate that, at least on the studied sample, there is no relationship between socioeconomic stress (as intended as low socioeconomic status) and facial asymmetries. PMID:28060876

Do Serum Creatinine Levels Show Clinically Significant Fluctuations on Serial Determinations on the Siemens Advia 1800 Analyzer?

PubMed

Levitan, Daniel; Harper, Aaron E; Sun, Yi; Scarpa Carniello, Jose V; Momeni, Amir; Kagan, Joshua; Alexis, Herol; Eid, Ikram; Harris, Loretta; Marshal, Barbara; Tafani, Edlira; Pincus, Matthew

2017-01-01

The goal of this work was to determine whether there are clinically significant fluctuations in the level of serum creatinine on serial determinations, especially in the borderline range (1.1-1.3 mg/dl), after specimen storage. Sixty-one serum samples were analyzed. They were divided into three categories based on the initial serum creatinine measurement: low (≤1.0 mg/dl), borderline (1.1-1.3 mg/dl), and high (≥1.4 mg/dl). The specimens were stored at 4°C and run on the Siemens Advia 1800 chemistry analyzer on days 1, 3, and 11. Statistical comparisons of the three groups were made using the unpaired t-test, yielding a two-tailed P-value for each group comparison. The P-values ranged from 0.0829 to 0.3892, indicating no statistically significant difference between the standard deviations of each group. Mild-to-moderate fluctuations in precision occur in successive serum creatinine determinations. The overwhelming majority of these fluctuations should not affect clinical decision making. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluating a linearized Euler equations model for strong turbulence effects on sound propagation.

PubMed

Ehrhardt, Loïc; Cheinet, Sylvain; Juvé, Daniel; Blanc-Benon, Philippe

2013-04-01

Sound propagation outdoors is strongly affected by atmospheric turbulence. Under strongly perturbed conditions or long propagation paths, the sound fluctuations reach their asymptotic behavior, e.g., the intensity variance progressively saturates. The present study evaluates the ability of a numerical propagation model based on the finite-difference time-domain solving of the linearized Euler equations in quantitatively reproducing the wave statistics under strong and saturated intensity fluctuations. It is the continuation of a previous study where weak intensity fluctuations were considered. The numerical propagation model is presented and tested with two-dimensional harmonic sound propagation over long paths and strong atmospheric perturbations. The results are compared to quantitative theoretical or numerical predictions available on the wave statistics, including the log-amplitude variance and the probability density functions of the complex acoustic pressure. The match is excellent for the evaluated source frequencies and all sound fluctuations strengths. Hence, this model captures these many aspects of strong atmospheric turbulence effects on sound propagation. Finally, the model results for the intensity probability density function are compared with a standard fit by a generalized gamma function.

Socioeconomic Status Is Not Related with Facial Fluctuating Asymmetry: Evidence from Latin-American Populations.

PubMed

Quinto-Sánchez, Mirsha; Cintas, Celia; Silva de Cerqueira, Caio Cesar; Ramallo, Virginia; Acuña-Alonzo, Victor; Adhikari, Kaustubh; Castillo, Lucía; Gomez-Valdés, Jorge; Everardo, Paola; De Avila, Francisco; Hünemeier, Tábita; Jaramillo, Claudia; Arias, Williams; Fuentes, Macarena; Gallo, Carla; Poletti, Giovani; Schuler-Faccini, Lavinia; Bortolini, Maria Cátira; Canizales-Quinteros, Samuel; Rothhammer, Francisco; Bedoya, Gabriel; Rosique, Javier; Ruiz-Linares, Andrés; González-José, Rolando

2017-01-01

The expression of facial asymmetries has been recurrently related with poverty and/or disadvantaged socioeconomic status. Departing from the developmental instability theory, previous approaches attempted to test the statistical relationship between the stress experienced by individuals grown in poor conditions and an increase in facial and corporal asymmetry. Here we aim to further evaluate such hypothesis on a large sample of admixed Latin Americans individuals by exploring if low socioeconomic status individuals tend to exhibit greater facial fluctuating asymmetry values. To do so, we implement Procrustes analysis of variance and Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) to estimate potential associations between facial fluctuating asymmetry values and socioeconomic status. We report significant relationships between facial fluctuating asymmetry values and age, sex, and genetic ancestry, while socioeconomic status failed to exhibit any strong statistical relationship with facial asymmetry. These results are persistent after the effect of heterozygosity (a proxy for genetic ancestry) is controlled in the model. Our results indicate that, at least on the studied sample, there is no relationship between socioeconomic stress (as intended as low socioeconomic status) and facial asymmetries.

Effect of Contraction on Turbulence and Temperature Fluctuations Generated by a Warm Grid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mills, Robert R., Jr.; Corrsin, Stanley

1959-01-01

Hot-wire anemometer measurements were made of several statistical properties of approximately homogeneous and isotropic fields of turbulence and temperature fluctuations generated by a warm grid in a uniform airstream sent through a 4-to-1 contraction. These measurements were made both in the contraction and in the axisymmetric domain farther downstream. In addition to confirming the well-known turbulence anisotropy induced by strain, the data show effects on the skewnesses of both longitudinal velocity fluctuation (which has zero skewness in isotropic turbulence) and its derivative. The concomitant anisotropy in the temperature field accelerates the decay of temperature fluctuations.

Negative Binomial Fits to Multiplicity Distributions from Central Collisions of (16)O+Cu at 14.6A GeV/c and Intermittency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tannenbaum, M. J.

1994-01-01

The concept of "Intermittency" was introduced by Bialas and Peschanski to try to explain the "large" fluctuations of multiplicity in restricted intervals of rapidity or pseudorapidity. A formalism was proposed to to study non-statistical (more precisely, non-Poisson) fluctuations as a function of the size of rapidity interval, and it was further suggested that the "spikes" in the rapidity fluctuations were evidence of fractal or intermittent behavior, in analogy to turbulence in fluid dynamics which is characterized by self-similar fluctuations at all scales-the absence of well defined scale of length.

Statistical physics and physiology: monofractal and multifractal approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanley, H. E.; Amaral, L. A.; Goldberger, A. L.; Havlin, S.; Peng, C. K.

1999-01-01

Even under healthy, basal conditions, physiologic systems show erratic fluctuations resembling those found in dynamical systems driven away from a single equilibrium state. Do such "nonequilibrium" fluctuations simply reflect the fact that physiologic systems are being constantly perturbed by external and intrinsic noise? Or, do these fluctuations actually, contain useful, "hidden" information about the underlying nonequilibrium control mechanisms? We report some recent attempts to understand the dynamics of complex physiologic fluctuations by adapting and extending concepts and methods developed very recently in statistical physics. Specifically, we focus on interbeat interval variability as an important quantity to help elucidate possibly non-homeostatic physiologic variability because (i) the heart rate is under direct neuroautonomic control, (ii) interbeat interval variability is readily measured by noninvasive means, and (iii) analysis of these heart rate dynamics may provide important practical diagnostic and prognostic information not obtainable with current approaches. The analytic tools we discuss may be used on a wider range of physiologic signals. We first review recent progress using two analysis methods--detrended fluctuation analysis and wavelets--sufficient for quantifying monofractual structures. We then describe recent work that quantifies multifractal features of interbeat interval series, and the discovery that the multifractal structure of healthy subjects is different than that of diseased subjects.

Scaling Features of High-Latitude Geomagnetic Field Fluctuations at Swarm Altitude: Impact of IMF Orientation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Michelis, Paola; Consolini, Giuseppe; Tozzi, Roberta; Marcucci, Maria Federica

2017-10-01

This paper attempts to explore the statistical scaling features of high-latitude geomagnetic field fluctuations at Swarm altitude. Data for this study are low-resolution (1 Hz) magnetic data recorded by the vector field magnetometer on board Swarm A satellite over 1 year (from 15 April 2014 to 15 April 2015). The first- and second-order structure function scaling exponents and the degree of intermittency of the fluctuations of the intensity of the horizontal component of the magnetic field at high northern latitudes have been evaluated for different interplanetary magnetic field orientations in the GSM Y-Z plane and seasons. In the case of the first-order structure function scaling exponent, a comparison between the average spatial distributions of the obtained values and the statistical convection patterns obtained using a Super Dual Auroral Radar Network dynamic model (CS10 model) has been also considered. The obtained results support the idea that the knowledge of the scaling features of the geomagnetic field fluctuations can help in the characterization of the different ionospheric turbulence regimes of the medium crossed by Swarm A satellite. This study shows that different turbulent regimes of the geomagnetic field fluctuations exist in the regions characterized by a double-cell convection pattern and in those regions near the border of the convective structures.

Spatial, spectral and statistical properties of the electrostatic fluctuations and measurements of the scattering of the beam in a strongly turbulent plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarland, Michael Duane

The purpose of this investigation is to measure the spatial, spectral and statistical properties of the high (/omega/ ~/ ω pe) and low (/omega/ ~/ ωpi) frequency electrostatic fluctuations in an unmagnetized, statistically stable, beam-driven, strongly turbulent plasma and compare the results to theoretical predictions. In addition the scattering of the electron beam in both angle and energy is measured and compared to theory. This study is motivated by the recent advances in statistical theories of strong Langmuir turbulence and the glaring lack of confirmatory experimental data. With the advent of modern computers and electronics, enormous data sets are now routinely digitize and subjected to sophisticated statistical and spectral analysis. These methods, along with traditional procedures and an innovative technique known as a 'conditional trigger', are used to extract ensemble averages from the turbulent system for comparison with the theoretical models. It is found that the high-frequency fluctuations consist of low-level wave activity /langle W/rangle/ ~/ 10-2 - 103 punctuated by semi-periodic, intense, spiky field events /langle W/rangle/ ~/ 1, where /langle W/rangle is the normalized intensity. The low- level wave activity has a spectral spread Δ k/k/ ~/ /Delta/omega//omega/ ~ 30%, dispersion relation v beam/ ~/ /omega/k, and correlation length lc/ /approx/ 3λES, where λES is the electrostatic wavelength, and shows evidence of low-intensity parametric decay products. The intense field events, on the other hand, show little correlation for l/ >/ λES, have a full-width-at-half-maximum of 1 f/ < 40/ λ D, where λ D is the Debye length, and are non-propagating. The statistical properties of the fluctuations compares well with the predictions of the two-component model of strong Langmuir turbulence. In addition, freely traveling waves, 'free modes', are observed to be produced by the localized wave structures for the first time. The peak of the low frequency fluctuations is found to scale inversely with the average time between collapse events. The magnitude of the low-frequency fluctuations Δ n/n is compared to the two-component model of strong Langmuir turbulence. It is found that /n2/ /propto/ < W>β where β ~/ 1.3 for the experiment and is predicted to be β ~/ 1.98 by the model. The scattering of the electron beam in angle for a typical wave intensity level /langle W/rangle/ ~/ 0.04 is Θ ~/ 3o, and in energy is Δ U/ ~/ 25 eV for a 400 eV beam. The scattering of the beam in both angle and energy is found to agree well with theory.

Toughness and strength of nanocrystalline graphene

DOE PAGES

Shekhawat, Ashivni; Ritchie, Robert O.

2016-01-28

Pristine monocrystalline graphene is claimed to be the strongest material known with remarkable mechanical and electrical properties. However, graphene made with scalable fabrication techniques is polycrystalline and contains inherent nanoscale line and point defects—grain boundaries and grain-boundary triple junctions—that lead to significant statistical fluctuations in toughness and strength. These fluctuations become particularly pronounced for nanocrystalline graphene where the density of defects is high. Here we use large-scale simulation and continuum modelling to show that the statistical variation in toughness and strength can be understood with ‘weakest-link’ statistics. We develop the first statistical theory of toughness in polycrystalline graphene, and elucidatemore » the nanoscale origins of the grain-size dependence of its strength and toughness. Lastly, our results should lead to more reliable graphene device design, and provide a framework to interpret experimental results in a broad class of two-dimensional materials.« less

Non-Gaussian statistics of extreme events in stimulated Raman scattering: The role of coherent memory and source noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monfared, Yashar E.; Ponomarenko, Sergey A.

2017-10-01

We explore theoretically and numerically extreme event excitation in stimulated Raman scattering in gases. We consider gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers as a particular system realization. We show that moderate amplitude pump fluctuations obeying Gaussian statistics lead to the emergence of heavy-tailed non-Gaussian statistics as coherent seed Stokes pulses are amplified on propagation along the fiber. We reveal the crucial role that coherent memory effects play in causing non-Gaussian statistics of the system. We discover that extreme events can occur even at the initial stage of stimulated Raman scattering when one can neglect energy depletion of an intense, strongly fluctuating Gaussian pump source. Our analytical results in the undepleted pump approximation explicitly illustrate power-law probability density generation as the input pump noise is transferred to the output Stokes pulses.

On the Mathematical Consequences of Binning Spike Trains.

PubMed

Cessac, Bruno; Le Ny, Arnaud; Löcherbach, Eva

2017-01-01

We initiate a mathematical analysis of hidden effects induced by binning spike trains of neurons. Assuming that the original spike train has been generated by a discrete Markov process, we show that binning generates a stochastic process that is no longer Markov but is instead a variable-length Markov chain (VLMC) with unbounded memory. We also show that the law of the binned raster is a Gibbs measure in the DLR (Dobrushin-Lanford-Ruelle) sense coined in mathematical statistical mechanics. This allows the derivation of several important consequences on statistical properties of binned spike trains. In particular, we introduce the DLR framework as a natural setting to mathematically formalize anticipation, that is, to tell "how good" our nervous system is at making predictions. In a probabilistic sense, this corresponds to condition a process by its future, and we discuss how binning may affect our conclusions on this ability. We finally comment on the possible consequences of binning in the detection of spurious phase transitions or in the detection of incorrect evidence of criticality.

Quantifying fluctuations in economic systems by adapting methods of statistical physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanley, H. E.; Gopikrishnan, P.; Plerou, V.; Amaral, L. A. N.

2000-12-01

The emerging subfield of econophysics explores the degree to which certain concepts and methods from statistical physics can be appropriately modified and adapted to provide new insights into questions that have been the focus of interest in the economics community. Here we give a brief overview of two examples of research topics that are receiving recent attention. A first topic is the characterization of the dynamics of stock price fluctuations. For example, we investigate the relation between trading activity - measured by the number of transactions NΔ t - and the price change GΔ t for a given stock, over a time interval [t, t+ Δt] . We relate the time-dependent standard deviation of price fluctuations - volatility - to two microscopic quantities: the number of transactions NΔ t in Δ t and the variance WΔ t2 of the price changes for all transactions in Δ t. Our work indicates that while the pronounced tails in the distribution of price fluctuations arise from WΔ t, the long-range correlations found in ∣ GΔ t∣ are largely due to NΔ t. We also investigate the relation between price fluctuations and the number of shares QΔ t traded in Δ t. We find that the distribution of QΔ t is consistent with a stable Lévy distribution, suggesting a Lévy scaling relationship between QΔ t and NΔ t, which would provide one explanation for volume-volatility co-movement. A second topic concerns cross-correlations between the price fluctuations of different stocks. We adapt a conceptual framework, random matrix theory (RMT), first used in physics to interpret statistical properties of nuclear energy spectra. RMT makes predictions for the statistical properties of matrices that are universal, that is, do not depend on the interactions between the elements comprising the system. In physics systems, deviations from the predictions of RMT provide clues regarding the mechanisms controlling the dynamics of a given system, so this framework can be of potential value if applied to economic systems. We discuss a systematic comparison between the statistics of the cross-correlation matrix C - whose elements Cij are the correlation-coefficients between the returns of stock i and j - and that of a random matrix having the same symmetry properties. Our work suggests that RMT can be used to distinguish random and non-random parts of C; the non-random part of C, which deviates from RMT results provides information regarding genuine cross-correlations between stocks.

Unbound Young Stellar Systems: Star Formation on the Loose

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouliermis, Dimitrios A.

2018-07-01

Unbound young stellar systems, the loose ensembles of physically related young bright stars, trace the typical regions of recent star formation in galaxies. Their morphologies vary from small few pc-size associations of newly formed stars to enormous few kpc-size complexes composed of stars few 100 Myr old. These stellar conglomerations are located within the disks and along the spiral arms and rings of star-forming disk galaxies, and they are the active star-forming centers of dwarf and starburst galaxies. Being associated with star-forming regions of various sizes, these stellar structures trace the regions where stars form at various length- and timescales, from compact clusters to whole galactic disks. Stellar associations, the prototypical unbound young systems, and their larger counterparts, stellar aggregates, and stellar complexes, have been the focus of several studies for quite a few decades, with special interest on their demographics, classification, and structural morphology. The compiled surveys of these loose young stellar systems demonstrate that the clear distinction of these systems into well-defined classes is not as straightforward as for stellar clusters, due to their low densities, asymmetric shapes and variety in structural parameters. These surveys also illustrate that unbound stellar structures follow a clear hierarchical pattern in the clustering of their stars across various scales. Stellar associations are characterized by significant sub-structure with bound stellar clusters being their most compact parts, while associations themselves are the brighter denser parts of larger stellar aggregates and stellar complexes, which are members of larger super-structures up to the scale of a whole star-forming galaxy. This structural pattern, which is usually characterized as self-similar or fractal, appears to be identical to that of star-forming giant molecular clouds and interstellar gas, driven mainly by turbulence cascade. In this short review, I make a concise compilation of our understanding of unbound young stellar systems across various environments in the local universe, as it is developed during the last 60 years. I present a factual assessment of the clustering behavior of star formation, as revealed from the assembling pattern of stars across loose stellar structures and its relation to the interstellar medium and the environmental conditions. I also provide a consistent account of the processes that possibly play important role in the formation of unbound stellar systems, compiled from both theoretical and observational investigations on the field.

Electrostatics in protein–protein docking

PubMed Central

Heifetz, Alexander; Katchalski-Katzir, Ephraim; Eisenstein, Miriam

2002-01-01

A novel geometric-electrostatic docking algorithm is presented, which tests and quantifies the electrostatic complementarity of the molecular surfaces together with the shape complementarity. We represent each molecule to be docked as a grid of complex numbers, storing information regarding the shape of the molecule in the real part and information regarding the electrostatic character of the molecule in the imaginary part. The electrostatic descriptors are derived from the electrostatic potential of the molecule. Thus, the electrostatic character of the molecule is represented as patches of positive, neutral, or negative values. The potential for each molecule is calculated only once and stored as potential spheres adequate for exhaustive rotation/translation scans. The geometric-electrostatic docking algorithm is applied to 17 systems, starting form the structures of the unbound molecules. The results—in terms of the complementarity scores of the nearly correct solutions, their ranking in the lists of sorted solutions, and their statistical uniqueness—are compared with those of geometric docking, showing that the inclusion of electrostatic complementarity in docking is very important, in particular in docking of unbound structures. Based on our results, we formulate several "good electrostatic docking rules": The geometric-electrostatic docking procedure is more successful than geometric docking when the potential patches are large and when the potential extends away from the molecular surface and protrudes into the solvent. In contrast, geometric docking is recommended when the electrostatic potential around the molecules to be docked appears homogenous, that is, with a similar sign all around the molecule. PMID:11847280

Universal Inverse Power-Law Distribution for Fractal Fluctuations in Dynamical Systems: Applications for Predictability of Inter-Annual Variability of Indian and USA Region Rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selvam, A. M.

2017-01-01

Dynamical systems in nature exhibit self-similar fractal space-time fluctuations on all scales indicating long-range correlations and, therefore, the statistical normal distribution with implicit assumption of independence, fixed mean and standard deviation cannot be used for description and quantification of fractal data sets. The author has developed a general systems theory based on classical statistical physics for fractal fluctuations which predicts the following. (1) The fractal fluctuations signify an underlying eddy continuum, the larger eddies being the integrated mean of enclosed smaller-scale fluctuations. (2) The probability distribution of eddy amplitudes and the variance (square of eddy amplitude) spectrum of fractal fluctuations follow the universal Boltzmann inverse power law expressed as a function of the golden mean. (3) Fractal fluctuations are signatures of quantum-like chaos since the additive amplitudes of eddies when squared represent probability densities analogous to the sub-atomic dynamics of quantum systems such as the photon or electron. (4) The model predicted distribution is very close to statistical normal distribution for moderate events within two standard deviations from the mean but exhibits a fat long tail that are associated with hazardous extreme events. Continuous periodogram power spectral analyses of available GHCN annual total rainfall time series for the period 1900-2008 for Indian and USA stations show that the power spectra and the corresponding probability distributions follow model predicted universal inverse power law form signifying an eddy continuum structure underlying the observed inter-annual variability of rainfall. On a global scale, man-made greenhouse gas related atmospheric warming would result in intensification of natural climate variability, seen immediately in high frequency fluctuations such as QBO and ENSO and even shorter timescales. Model concepts and results of analyses are discussed with reference to possible prediction of climate change. Model concepts, if correct, rule out unambiguously, linear trends in climate. Climate change will only be manifested as increase or decrease in the natural variability. However, more stringent tests of model concepts and predictions are required before applications to such an important issue as climate change. Observations and simulations with climate models show that precipitation extremes intensify in response to a warming climate (O'Gorman in Curr Clim Change Rep 1:49-59, 2015).

The effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on VLBI measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, R. N.; Lanyi, G. E.

1986-01-01

Calculations using a statistical model of water vapor fluctuations yield the effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) measurements. The statistical model arises from two primary assumptions: (1) the spatial structure of refractivity fluctuations can be closely approximated by elementary (Kolmogorov) turbulence theory, and (2) temporal fluctuations are caused by spatial patterns which are moved over a site by the wind. The consequences of these assumptions are outlined for the VLBI delay and delay rate observables. For example, wet troposphere induced rms delays for Deep Space Network (DSN) VLBI at 20-deg elevation are about 3 cm of delay per observation, which is smaller, on the average, than other known error sources in the current DSN VLBI data set. At 20-deg elevation for 200-s time intervals, water vapor induces approximately 1.5 x 10 to the minus 13th power s/s in the Allan standard deviation of interferometric delay, which is a measure of the delay rate observable error. In contrast to the delay error, the delay rate measurement error is dominated by water vapor fluctuations. Water vapor induced VLBI parameter errors and correlations are calculated. For the DSN, baseline length parameter errors due to water vapor fluctuations are in the range of 3 to 5 cm. The above physical assumptions also lead to a method for including the water vapor fluctuations in the parameter estimation procedure, which is used to extract baseline and source information from the VLBI observables.

Turbulent solutions of equations of fluid motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deissler, R. G.

1985-01-01

Some turbulent solutions of the unaveraged Navier-Stokes equations (equations of fluid motion) are reviewed. Those equations are solved numerically in order to study the nonlinear physics of incompressible turbulent flow. The three components of the mean-square velocity fluctuations are initially equal for the conditions chosen. The resulting solutions show characteristics of turbulence, such as the linear and nonlinear excitation of small-scale fluctuations. For the stronger fluctuations the initially nonrandom flow develops into an apparently random turbulence. The cases considered include turbulence that is statistically homogeneous or inhomogeneous and isotropic or anisotropic. A statistically steady-state turbulence is obtained by using a spatially periodic body force. Various turbulence processes, including the transfer of energy between eddy sizes and between directional components and the production, dissipation, and spatial diffusion of turbulence, are considered. It is concluded that the physical processes occurring in turbulence can be profitably studied numerically.

Maximum one-shot dissipated work from Rényi divergences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yunger Halpern, Nicole; Garner, Andrew J. P.; Dahlsten, Oscar C. O.; Vedral, Vlatko

2018-05-01

Thermodynamics describes large-scale, slowly evolving systems. Two modern approaches generalize thermodynamics: fluctuation theorems, which concern finite-time nonequilibrium processes, and one-shot statistical mechanics, which concerns small scales and finite numbers of trials. Combining these approaches, we calculate a one-shot analog of the average dissipated work defined in fluctuation contexts: the cost of performing a protocol in finite time instead of quasistatically. The average dissipated work has been shown to be proportional to a relative entropy between phase-space densities, to a relative entropy between quantum states, and to a relative entropy between probability distributions over possible values of work. We derive one-shot analogs of all three equations, demonstrating that the order-infinity Rényi divergence is proportional to the maximum possible dissipated work in each case. These one-shot analogs of fluctuation-theorem results contribute to the unification of these two toolkits for small-scale, nonequilibrium statistical physics.

Maximum one-shot dissipated work from Rényi divergences.

PubMed

Yunger Halpern, Nicole; Garner, Andrew J P; Dahlsten, Oscar C O; Vedral, Vlatko

2018-05-01

Thermodynamics describes large-scale, slowly evolving systems. Two modern approaches generalize thermodynamics: fluctuation theorems, which concern finite-time nonequilibrium processes, and one-shot statistical mechanics, which concerns small scales and finite numbers of trials. Combining these approaches, we calculate a one-shot analog of the average dissipated work defined in fluctuation contexts: the cost of performing a protocol in finite time instead of quasistatically. The average dissipated work has been shown to be proportional to a relative entropy between phase-space densities, to a relative entropy between quantum states, and to a relative entropy between probability distributions over possible values of work. We derive one-shot analogs of all three equations, demonstrating that the order-infinity Rényi divergence is proportional to the maximum possible dissipated work in each case. These one-shot analogs of fluctuation-theorem results contribute to the unification of these two toolkits for small-scale, nonequilibrium statistical physics.

Statistical parameters of thermally driven turbulent anabatic flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilel, Roni; Liberzon, Dan

2016-11-01

Field measurements of thermally driven turbulent anabatic flow over a moderate slope are reported. A collocated hot-films-sonic anemometer (Combo) obtained the finer scales of the flow by implementing a Neural Networks based in-situ calibration technique. Eight days of continuous measurements of the wind and temperature fluctuations reviled a diurnal pattern of unstable stratification that forced development of highly turbulent unidirectional up slope flow. Empirical fits of important turbulence statistics were obtained from velocity fluctuations' time series alongside fully resolved spectra of velocity field components and characteristic length scales. TKE and TI showed linear dependence on Re, while velocity derivative skewness and dissipation rates indicated the anisotropic nature of the flow. Empirical fits of normalized velocity fluctuations power density spectra were derived as spectral shapes exhibited high level of similarity. Bursting phenomenon was detected at 15% of the total time. Frequency of occurrence, spectral characteristics and possible generation mechanism are discussed. BSF Grant #2014075.

Non-Gaussian power grid frequency fluctuations characterized by Lévy-stable laws and superstatistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schäfer, Benjamin; Beck, Christian; Aihara, Kazuyuki; Witthaut, Dirk; Timme, Marc

2018-02-01

Multiple types of fluctuations impact the collective dynamics of power grids and thus challenge their robust operation. Fluctuations result from processes as different as dynamically changing demands, energy trading and an increasing share of renewable power feed-in. Here we analyse principles underlying the dynamics and statistics of power grid frequency fluctuations. Considering frequency time series for a range of power grids, including grids in North America, Japan and Europe, we find a strong deviation from Gaussianity best described as Lévy-stable and q-Gaussian distributions. We present a coarse framework to analytically characterize the impact of arbitrary noise distributions, as well as a superstatistical approach that systematically interprets heavy tails and skewed distributions. We identify energy trading as a substantial contribution to today's frequency fluctuations and effective damping of the grid as a controlling factor enabling reduction of fluctuation risks, with enhanced effects for small power grids.

Structure of 10 N in 9 C+p resonance scattering

DOE PAGES

Hooker, J.; Rogachev, G. V.; Goldberg, V. Z.; ...

2017-03-17

We studied the structure of exotic nucleus 10N using 9C+p resonance scattering. Two ℓ=0 resonances were found to be the lowest states in 10N. Furthermore, the ground state of 10N is unbound with respect to proton decay by 2.2(2) or 1.9(2) MeV depending on the 2 -or 1 -spin-parity assignment, and the first excited state is unbound by 2.8(2) MeV.

Super-Penrose process due to collisions inside ergosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaslavskii, O. B.

If two particles collide inside the ergosphere, the energy in the center of mass frame can be made unbound provided at least one of particles has a large negative angular momentum [A. A. Grib and Yu. V. Pavlov, Europhys. Lett. 101 (2013) 20004]. We show that the same condition can give rise to unbounded Killing energy of debris at infinity, i.e. super-Penrose process. Proximity of the point of collision to the black hole horizon is not required.

The Incidence of Sixteenth Century Cosmic Models in Modern Texts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maene, S. A.; Best, J. S.; Usher, P. D.

1999-12-01

In the sixteenth century, the bounded cosmological models of Copernicus (1543) and Tycho Brahe (1588), and the unbounded model of Thomas Digges (1576), vied with the bounded geocentric model of Ptolemy (c. 140 AD). The work of the philosopher Giordano Bruno in 1584 lent further support to the Digges model. Despite the eventual acceptance of the unbounded universe, analysis of over 100 modern introductory astronomy texts reveals that these early unbounded models are mentioned infrequently. The ratio of mentions of Digges' model to Copernicus' model has the surprisingly low value of R = 0.08. The philosophical speculation of Bruno receives mention more than twice as often (R = 0.17). The expectation that these early unbounded models warrant inclusion in astronomy texts is supported both by modern hindsight and by the literature of the time. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet" of c. 1601, Prince Hamlet suffers from two transformations. According to the cosmic allegorical model, one transformation changes the bounded geocentricism of Ptolemy to the bounded heliocentricism of Copernicus, while the other completes the change to Digges' model of the infinite universe of suns. This interpretation and the modern world view suggest that both transformations should receive equal mention and thus that the ratio R in introductory texts should be close to unity. This work was supported in part by the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

Metronidazole and Hydroxymetronidazole Central Nervous System Distribution: 1. Microdialysis Assessment of Brain Extracellular Fluid Concentrations in Patients with Acute Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Frasca, Denis; Dahyot-Fizelier, Claire; Adier, Christophe; Mimoz, Olivier; Debaene, Bertrand; Couet, William

2014-01-01

The distribution of metronidazole in the central nervous system has only been described based on cerebrospinal fluid data. However, extracellular fluid (ECF) concentrations may better predict its antimicrobial effect and/or side effects. We sought to explore by microdialysis brain ECF metronidazole distribution in patients with acute brain injury. Four brain-injured patients monitored by cerebral microdialysis received 500 mg of metronidazole over 0.5 h every 8 h. Brain dialysates and blood samples were collected at steady state over 8 h. Probe recoveries were evaluated by in vivo retrodialysis in each patient for metronidazole. Metronidazole and OH-metronidazole were assayed by high-pressure liquid chromatography, and a noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was performed. Probe recovery was equal to 78.8% ± 1.3% for metronidazole in patients. Unbound brain metronidazole concentration-time curves were delayed compared to unbound plasma concentration-time curves but with a mean metronidazole unbound brain/plasma AUC0–τ ratio equal to 102% ± 19% (ranging from 87 to 124%). The unbound plasma concentration-time profiles for OH-metronidazole were flat, with mean average steady-state concentrations equal to 4.0 ± 0.7 μg ml−1. This microdialysis study describes the steady-state brain distribution of metronidazole in patients and confirms its extensive distribution. PMID:24277041

A multi-layered active target for the study of neutron-unbound nuclides at NSCL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freeman, Jessica; Gueye, Paul; Redpath, Thomas; MoNA Collaboration

2017-01-01

The characteristics of neutron-unbound nuclides were investigated using a multi-layered Si/Be active target designed for use with the MoNA/LISA setup at the National Superconducting Cyclotron (NSCL). The setup consists of the MoNA/LISA arrays (for neutron detection) and a superconducting sweeper magnet (for charged separation) to identify products following the decay of neutron unbound states. The segmented target consisted of three 700 mg/cm2 beryllium targets and four 0.14 mm thick 62x62 mm2 silicon detectors. As a commissioning experiment for the target the decay of two-neutron unbound 26O populated in a one-proton removal reaction from a radioactive 27F beam was performed. The 27F secondary radioactive beam from the NSCL's Coupled Cyclotron Facility was produced from the fragmentation of a 140 MeV/u 48Ca beam incident on a thick beryllium target and then cleanly selected by the A1900 fragment separator. The energy loss and position spectra of the incoming beam and reaction products were used to calibrate the Silicon detectors to within 1.5% in both energy and position. A dedicated Geant4 model of the target was developed to simulate the energy loss within the target. A description of the experimental setup, simulation work, and energy and position calibration will be presented. DoE/NNSA - DE-NA0000979.

On one-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations for a reacting mixture in unbounded domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Siran

2017-10-01

In this paper we consider the one-dimensional Navier-Stokes system for a heat-conducting, compressible reacting mixture which describes the dynamic combustion of fluids of mixed kinds on unbounded domains. This model has been discussed on bounded domains by Chen (SIAM J Math Anal 23:609-634, 1992) and Chen-Hoff-Trivisa (Arch Ration Mech Anal 166:321-358, 2003), among others, in which the reaction rate function is a discontinuous function obeying the Arrhenius' law of thermodynamics. We prove the global existence of weak solutions to this model on one-dimensional unbounded domains with large initial data in H^1. Moreover, the large-time behaviour of the weak solution is identified. In particular, the uniform-in-time bounds for the temperature and specific volume have been established via energy estimates. For this purpose we utilise techniques developed by Kazhikhov-Shelukhin (cf. Kazhikhov in Siber Math J 23:44-49, 1982; Solonnikov and Kazhikhov in Annu Rev Fluid Mech 13:79-95, 1981) and refined by Jiang (Commun Math Phys 200:181-193, 1999, Proc R Soc Edinb Sect A 132:627-638, 2002), as well as a crucial estimate in the recent work by Li-Liang (Arch Ration Mech Anal 220:1195-1208, 2016). Several new estimates are also established, in order to treat the unbounded domain and the reacting terms.

Item Analysis Appropriate for Domain-Referenced Classroom Testing. (Project Technical Report Number 1).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nitko, Anthony J.; Hsu, Tse-chi

Item analysis procedures appropriate for domain-referenced classroom testing are described. A conceptual framework within which item statistics can be considered and promising statistics in light of this framework are presented. The sampling fluctuations of the more promising item statistics for sample sizes comparable to the typical classroom…

Quantum Mechanical Enhancement of the Random Dopant Induced Threshold Voltage Fluctuations and Lowering in Sub 0.1 Micron MOSFETs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asenov, Asen; Slavcheva, G.; Brown, A. R.; Davies, J. H.; Saini, Subhash

1999-01-01

A detailed study of the influence of quantum effects in the inversion layer on the random dopant induced threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering in sub 0.1 micron MOSFETs has been performed. This has been achieved using a full 3D implementation of the density gradient (DG) formalism incorporated in our previously published 3D 'atomistic' simulation approach. This results in a consistent, fully 3D, quantum mechanical picture which implies not only the vertical inversion layer quantisation but also the lateral confinement effects manifested by current filamentation in the 'valleys' of the random potential fluctuations. We have shown that the net result of including quantum mechanical effects, while considering statistical fluctuations, is an increase in both threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering.

Code-division multiple-access multiuser demodulator by using quantum fluctuations.

PubMed

Otsubo, Yosuke; Inoue, Jun-Ichi; Nagata, Kenji; Okada, Masato

2014-07-01

We examine the average-case performance of a code-division multiple-access (CDMA) multiuser demodulator in which quantum fluctuations are utilized to demodulate the original message within the context of Bayesian inference. The quantum fluctuations are built into the system as a transverse field in the infinite-range Ising spin glass model. We evaluate the performance measurements by using statistical mechanics. We confirm that the CDMA multiuser modulator using quantum fluctuations achieve roughly the same performance as the conventional CDMA multiuser modulator through thermal fluctuations on average. We also find that the relationship between the quality of the original information retrieval and the amplitude of the transverse field is somehow a "universal feature" in typical probabilistic information processing, viz., in image restoration, error-correcting codes, and CDMA multiuser demodulation.

Code-division multiple-access multiuser demodulator by using quantum fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otsubo, Yosuke; Inoue, Jun-ichi; Nagata, Kenji; Okada, Masato

2014-07-01

We examine the average-case performance of a code-division multiple-access (CDMA) multiuser demodulator in which quantum fluctuations are utilized to demodulate the original message within the context of Bayesian inference. The quantum fluctuations are built into the system as a transverse field in the infinite-range Ising spin glass model. We evaluate the performance measurements by using statistical mechanics. We confirm that the CDMA multiuser modulator using quantum fluctuations achieve roughly the same performance as the conventional CDMA multiuser modulator through thermal fluctuations on average. We also find that the relationship between the quality of the original information retrieval and the amplitude of the transverse field is somehow a "universal feature" in typical probabilistic information processing, viz., in image restoration, error-correcting codes, and CDMA multiuser demodulation.

The Missing Link Coupling the Foreshock to the Magnetosphere?: Impact of the Magnetosheath Velocity Fluctuations on the Growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nykyri, K.; Dimmock, A. P.; Pulkkinen, T. I.; Otto, A.; Ma, X.

2014-12-01

Our statistical study of magnetosheath velocity fluctuations using 6+ years of THEMIS spacecraft measurements in Magnetosheath InterPlanetary Medium (MIPM) reference frame show that amplitudes of the velocity fluctuations are enhanced in the magnetosheath downstream of the quasi-parallel shock. The fluctuation amplitudes can be substantial and frequencies of these flcutuations can vary. We have examined the role of the i) amplitude, ii) frequency, iii) number of the modes, iv) as well as mode combinations of magnetosheath velocity fluctuations on the growth of Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI) using high-resolution macro-scale MHD simulations in magnetospheric inertial frame. The results show that even for the same magnetic field and plasma parameters across the magnetopause there can be major differences due to 'magnetosheath fluctuation state' on the growth and dynamical evolution of the KHI. This may provide the missing link how foreshock fluctuations couple to the magnetosphere and into the ionosphere

Charged-to-neutral correlation at forward rapidity in Au+Au collisions at s NN = 200 GeV

DOE PAGES

Adamczyk, L.; Adkins, J. K.; Agakishiev, G.; ...

2015-03-20

Event-by-event fluctuations of the ratio of inclusive charged to photon multiplicities at forward rapidity in Au+Au collision at √s NN=200 GeV have been studied. Dominant contribution to such fluctuations is expected to come from correlated production of charged and neutral pions. We search for evidences of dynamical fluctuations of different physical origins. Observables constructed out of moments of multiplicities are used as measures of fluctuations. Mixed events and model calculations are used as baselines. Results are compared to the dynamical net-charge fluctuations measured in the same acceptance. A non-zero statistically significant signal of dynamical fluctuations is observed in excess tomore » the model prediction when charged particles and photons are measured in the same acceptance. Thus, we find that, unlike dynamical net-charge fluctuation, charge-neutral fluctuation is not dominated by correlation due to particle decay. Results are compared to the expectations based on the generic production mechanism of pions due to isospin symmetry, for which no significant (< 1%) deviation is observed.« less

Influence of Clinical Status on the Association Between Plasma Total and Unbound Bilirubin and Death or Adverse Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

PubMed Central

Oh, William; Stevenson, David K.; Tyson, Jon E.; Morris, Brenda H.; Ahlfors, Charles E.; Bender, G. Jesse; Wong, Ronald J.; Perritt, Rebecca; Vohr, Betty R.; Van Meurs, Krista P.; Vreman, Hendrik J.; Das, Abhik; Phelps, Dale L.; O’Shea, T. Michael; Higgins, Rosemary D.

2010-01-01

Objectives To assess the influence of clinical status on the association between total plasma bilirubin and unbound bilirubin on death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18–22 months corrected age in extremely low birth weight infants. Method Total plasma biirubin and unbound biirubin were measured in 1,101 extremely low birth weight infants at 5±1 day of age. Clinical criteria were used to classify infants as clinically stable or unstable. Survivors were examined at 18–22 months corrected age by certified examiners. Outcome variables were death or neurodevelopmental impairment, death or cerebral palsy, death or hearing loss, and death prior to follow-up. For all outcomes, the interaction between bilirubin variables and clinical status was assessed in logistic regression analyses adjusted for multiple risk factors. Results Regardless of clinical status, an increasing level of unbound bilirubin was associated with higher rates of death or neurodevelopmental impairment, death or cerebral palsy, death or hearing loss and death before follow-up. Total plasma bilirubin values were directly associated with death or neurodevelopmental impairment, death or cerebral palsy, death or hearing loss, and death before follow-up in unstable infants, but not in stable infants. An inverse association between total plasma bilirubin and death or cerebral palsy was found in stable infants. Conclusions In extremely low birth weight infants, clinical status at 5 days of age affects the association between total plasma and unbound bilirubin and death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18–22 months of corrected age. An increasing level of UB is associated a higher risk of death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes regardless of clinical status. Increasing levels of total plasma bilirubin are directly associated with increasing risk of death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in unstable, but not in stable infants. PMID:20105142

Effect of racemic ibuprofen dose on the magnitude and duration of platelet cyclo-oxygenase inhibition: relationship between inhibition of thromboxane production and the plasma unbound concentration of S(+)-ibuprofen.

PubMed

Evans, A M; Nation, R L; Sansom, L N; Bochner, F; Somogyi, A A

1991-02-01

1. Four healthy male subjects received racemic ibuprofen (200, 400, 800 and 1200 mg), orally, on four occasions, 2 weeks apart, according to a four-way Latin-square design, in order to investigate the influence of increasing dose of ibuprofen on the magnitude and duration of its antiplatelet effect as well as on the relationship between such effect and drug concentration. 2. The antiplatelet effect of ibuprofen was assessed by measuring the inhibition of platelet thromboxane B2 (TXB2) generation during the controlled clotting of whole blood. The plasma unbound concentration of S(+)-ibuprofen, the enantiomer shown in an in vitro study to be responsible for the inhibitory effect of platelet TXB2 generation, was measured using an enantioselective method. 3. The maximum percentage inhibition of TXB2 generation increased significantly with dose from a mean +/- s.d. of 93.4 +/- 1.2% after the 200 mg dose to 98.8 +/- 0.3% after the 1200 mg dose, and there was an increase with dose in the duration of inhibition of TXB2 generation. The effect of ibuprofen on platelet TXB2 generation was transient and mirrored the time-course of unbound S(+)-ibuprofen in plasma; on all but one of the 16 occasions, serum TXB2 concentrations returned to at least within 10% of the pretreatment concentrations within 24 h of ibuprofen administration. 4. For each subject, the relationship between the percentage inhibition of TXB2 generation and the unbound concentration of S(+)-ibuprofen in plasma was modelled according to a sigmoidal Emax equation. The mean plasma unbound concentration of S(+)-ibuprofen required to inhibit platelet TXB2 generation by 50% (EC50) was 9.8 +/- 1.0 micrograms l-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Condensate fluctuations of interacting Bose gases within a microcanonical ensemble.

PubMed

Wang, Jianhui; He, Jizhou; Ma, Yongli

2011-05-01

Based on counting statistics and Bogoliubov theory, we present a recurrence relation for the microcanonical partition function for a weakly interacting Bose gas with a finite number of particles in a cubic box. According to this microcanonical partition function, we calculate numerically the distribution function, condensate fraction, and condensate fluctuations for a finite and isolated Bose-Einstein condensate. For ideal and weakly interacting Bose gases, we compare the condensate fluctuations with those in the canonical ensemble. The present approach yields an accurate account of the condensate fluctuations for temperatures close to the critical region. We emphasize that the interactions between excited atoms turn out to be important for moderate temperatures.

Integer lattice gas with Monte Carlo collision operator recovers the lattice Boltzmann method with Poisson-distributed fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blommel, Thomas; Wagner, Alexander J.

2018-02-01

We examine a new kind of lattice gas that closely resembles modern lattice Boltzmann methods. This new kind of lattice gas, which we call a Monte Carlo lattice gas, has interesting properties that shed light on the origin of the multirelaxation time collision operator, and it derives the equilibrium distribution for an entropic lattice Boltzmann. Furthermore these lattice gas methods have Galilean invariant fluctuations given by a Poisson statistics, giving further insight into the properties that we should expect for fluctuating lattice Boltzmann methods.

Green’s Functions for an Anisotropic Medium: Part 1. Unbounded Case

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

AA 2 - x • , - a or b (41a) td A -2 A-- ’ -L x " " - , -a or b (41b) 13 4. DISCUSSION Having now derived the DGF of the unbounded biaxially...B 2 A3 121/3 b s- - + (_ + )A + [ (_ L_1/ + - (A13) A - 1 (3q - b) (Al4a) (3q B - -L (-2b 3 + 9bq + 27r) (Al4b) q - Ac - 4d (Al5a) r - - Ad 2 + 4bd - C

Polyhedral sweeping processes with unbounded nonconvex-valued perturbation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolstonogov, A. A.

2017-12-01

A polyhedral sweeping process with a multivalued perturbation whose values are nonconvex unbounded sets is studied in a separable Hilbert space. Polyhedral sweeping processes do not satisfy the traditional assumptions used to prove existence theorems for convex sweeping processes. We consider the polyhedral sweeping process as an evolution inclusion with subdifferential operators depending on time. The widely used assumption of Lipschitz continuity for the multivalued perturbation term is replaced by a weaker notion of (ρ - H) Lipschitzness. The existence of solutions is proved for this sweeping process.

Sound-absorbing slabs and structures based on granular materials (bound and unbound). [energy absorbing efficiency of porous material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petre-Lazar, S.; Popeea, G.

1974-01-01

Sound absorbing slabs and structures made up of bound or unbound granular materials are considered and how to manufacture these elements at the building site. The raw material is a single grain powder (sand, expanded blast furnace slag, etc.) that imparts to the end products an apparent porosity of 25-45% and an energy dissipation within the structure leading to absorption coefficients that can be compared with those of mineral wool and urethane.

Localized basis sets for unbound electrons in nanoelectronics.

PubMed

Soriano, D; Jacob, D; Palacios, J J

2008-02-21

It is shown how unbound electron wave functions can be expanded in a suitably chosen localized basis sets for any desired range of energies. In particular, we focus on the use of Gaussian basis sets, commonly used in first-principles codes. The possible usefulness of these basis sets in a first-principles description of field emission or scanning tunneling microscopy at large bias is illustrated by studying a simpler related phenomenon: The lifetime of an electron in a H atom subjected to a strong electric field.

New insights into time series analysis. II - Non-correlated observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira Lopes, C. E.; Cross, N. J. G.

2017-08-01

Context. Statistical parameters are used to draw conclusions in a vast number of fields such as finance, weather, industrial, and science. These parameters are also used to identify variability patterns on photometric data to select non-stochastic variations that are indicative of astrophysical effects. New, more efficient, selection methods are mandatory to analyze the huge amount of astronomical data. Aims: We seek to improve the current methods used to select non-stochastic variations on non-correlated data. Methods: We used standard and new data-mining parameters to analyze non-correlated data to find the best way to discriminate between stochastic and non-stochastic variations. A new approach that includes a modified Strateva function was performed to select non-stochastic variations. Monte Carlo simulations and public time-domain data were used to estimate its accuracy and performance. Results: We introduce 16 modified statistical parameters covering different features of statistical distribution such as average, dispersion, and shape parameters. Many dispersion and shape parameters are unbound parameters, I.e. equations that do not require the calculation of average. Unbound parameters are computed with single loop and hence decreasing running time. Moreover, the majority of these parameters have lower errors than previous parameters, which is mainly observed for distributions with few measurements. A set of non-correlated variability indices, sample size corrections, and a new noise model along with tests of different apertures and cut-offs on the data (BAS approach) are introduced. The number of mis-selections are reduced by about 520% using a single waveband and 1200% combining all wavebands. On the other hand, the even-mean also improves the correlated indices introduced in Paper I. The mis-selection rate is reduced by about 18% if the even-mean is used instead of the mean to compute the correlated indices in the WFCAM database. Even-statistics allows us to improve the effectiveness of both correlated and non-correlated indices. Conclusions: The selection of non-stochastic variations is improved by non-correlated indices. The even-averages provide a better estimation of mean and median for almost all statistical distributions analyzed. The correlated variability indices, which are proposed in the first paper of this series, are also improved if the even-mean is used. The even-parameters will also be useful for classifying light curves in the last step of this project. We consider that the first step of this project, where we set new techniques and methods that provide a huge improvement on the efficiency of selection of variable stars, is now complete. Many of these techniques may be useful for a large number of fields. Next, we will commence a new step of this project regarding the analysis of period search methods.

Non-gaussianity versus nonlinearity of cosmological perturbations.

PubMed

Verde, L

2001-06-01

Following the discovery of the cosmic microwave background, the hot big-bang model has become the standard cosmological model. In this theory, small primordial fluctuations are subsequently amplified by gravity to form the large-scale structure seen today. Different theories for unified models of particle physics, lead to different predictions for the statistical properties of the primordial fluctuations, that can be divided in two classes: gaussian and non-gaussian. Convincing evidence against or for gaussian initial conditions would rule out many scenarios and point us toward a physical theory for the origin of structures. The statistical distribution of cosmological perturbations, as we observe them, can deviate from the gaussian distribution in several different ways. Even if perturbations start off gaussian, nonlinear gravitational evolution can introduce non-gaussian features. Additionally, our knowledge of the Universe comes principally from the study of luminous material such as galaxies, but galaxies might not be faithful tracers of the underlying mass distribution. The relationship between fluctuations in the mass and in the galaxies distribution (bias), is often assumed to be local, but could well be nonlinear. Moreover, galaxy catalogues use the redshift as third spatial coordinate: the resulting redshift-space map of the galaxy distribution is nonlinearly distorted by peculiar velocities. Nonlinear gravitational evolution, biasing, and redshift-space distortion introduce non-gaussianity, even in an initially gaussian fluctuation field. I investigate the statistical tools that allow us, in principle, to disentangle the above different effects, and the observational datasets we require to do so in practice.

Statistics and topology of the COBE differential microwave radiometer first-year sky maps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smoot, G. F.; Tenorio, L.; Banday, A. J.; Kogut, A.; Wright, E. L.; Hinshaw, G.; Bennett, C. L.

1994-01-01

We use statistical and topological quantities to test the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR) first-year sky maps against the hypothesis that the observed temperature fluctuations reflect Gaussian initial density perturbations with random phases. Recent papers discuss specific quantities as discriminators between Gaussian and non-Gaussian behavior, but the treatment of instrumental noise on the data is largely ignored. The presence of noise in the data biases many statistical quantities in a manner dependent on both the noise properties and the unknown cosmic microwave background temperature field. Appropriate weighting schemes can minimize this effect, but it cannot be completely eliminated. Analytic expressions are presented for these biases, and Monte Carlo simulations are used to assess the best strategy for determining cosmologically interesting information from noisy data. The genus is a robust discriminator that can be used to estimate the power-law quadrupole-normalized amplitude, Q(sub rms-PS), independently of the two-point correlation function. The genus of the DMR data is consistent with Gaussian initial fluctuations with Q(sub rms-PS) = (15.7 +/- 2.2) - (6.6 +/- 0.3)(n - 1) micro-K, where n is the power-law index. Fitting the rms temperature variations at various smoothing angles gives Q(sub rms-PS) = 13.2 +/- 2.5 micro-K and n = 1.7(sup (+0.3) sub (-0.6)). While consistent with Gaussian fluctuations, the first year data are only sufficient to rule out strongly non-Gaussian distributions of fluctuations.

Fluctuation Relations for Currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinitsyn, Nikolai; Akimov, Alexei; Chernyak, Vladimir; Chertkov, Michael

2011-03-01

We consider a non-equilibrium statistical system on a graph or a network. Identical particles are injected, interact with each other, traverse, and leave the graph in a stochastic manner described in terms of Poisson rates, possibly strongly dependent on time and instantaneous occupation numbers at the nodes of the graph. We show that the system demonstrates a profound statistical symmetry, leading to new Fluctuation Relations that originate from the supersymmetry and the principle of the geometric universality of currents rather than from the relations between probabilities of forward and reverse trajectories. NSF/ECCS-0925618, NSF/CHE-0808910 and DOE at LANL under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396.

Scaling laws and fluctuations in the statistics of word frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerlach, Martin; Altmann, Eduardo G.

2014-11-01

In this paper, we combine statistical analysis of written texts and simple stochastic models to explain the appearance of scaling laws in the statistics of word frequencies. The average vocabulary of an ensemble of fixed-length texts is known to scale sublinearly with the total number of words (Heaps’ law). Analyzing the fluctuations around this average in three large databases (Google-ngram, English Wikipedia, and a collection of scientific articles), we find that the standard deviation scales linearly with the average (Taylor's law), in contrast to the prediction of decaying fluctuations obtained using simple sampling arguments. We explain both scaling laws (Heaps’ and Taylor) by modeling the usage of words using a Poisson process with a fat-tailed distribution of word frequencies (Zipf's law) and topic-dependent frequencies of individual words (as in topic models). Considering topical variations lead to quenched averages, turn the vocabulary size a non-self-averaging quantity, and explain the empirical observations. For the numerous practical applications relying on estimations of vocabulary size, our results show that uncertainties remain large even for long texts. We show how to account for these uncertainties in measurements of lexical richness of texts with different lengths.

Quantum work in the Bohmian framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sampaio, R.; Suomela, S.; Ala-Nissila, T.; Anders, J.; Philbin, T. G.

2018-01-01

At nonzero temperature classical systems exhibit statistical fluctuations of thermodynamic quantities arising from the variation of the system's initial conditions and its interaction with the environment. The fluctuating work, for example, is characterized by the ensemble of system trajectories in phase space and, by including the probabilities for various trajectories to occur, a work distribution can be constructed. However, without phase-space trajectories, the task of constructing a work probability distribution in the quantum regime has proven elusive. Here we use quantum trajectories in phase space and define fluctuating work as power integrated along the trajectories, in complete analogy to classical statistical physics. The resulting work probability distribution is valid for any quantum evolution, including cases with coherences in the energy basis. We demonstrate the quantum work probability distribution and its properties with an exactly solvable example of a driven quantum harmonic oscillator. An important feature of the work distribution is its dependence on the initial statistical mixture of pure states, which is reflected in higher moments of the work. The proposed approach introduces a fundamentally different perspective on quantum thermodynamics, allowing full thermodynamic characterization of the dynamics of quantum systems, including the measurement process.

Motor Variability Arises from a Slow Random Walk in Neural State

PubMed Central

Chaisanguanthum, Kris S.; Shen, Helen H.

2014-01-01

Even well practiced movements cannot be repeated without variability. This variability is thought to reflect “noise” in movement preparation or execution. However, we show that, for both professional baseball pitchers and macaque monkeys making reaching movements, motor variability can be decomposed into two statistical components, a slowly drifting mean and fast trial-by-trial fluctuations about the mean. The preparatory activity of dorsal premotor cortex/primary motor cortex neurons in monkey exhibits similar statistics. Although the neural and behavioral drifts appear to be correlated, neural activity does not account for trial-by-trial fluctuations in movement, which must arise elsewhere, likely downstream. The statistics of this drift are well modeled by a double-exponential autocorrelation function, with time constants similar across the neural and behavioral drifts in two monkeys, as well as the drifts observed in baseball pitching. These time constants can be explained by an error-corrective learning processes and agree with learning rates measured directly in previous experiments. Together, these results suggest that the central contributions to movement variability are not simply trial-by-trial fluctuations but are rather the result of longer-timescale processes that may arise from motor learning. PMID:25186752

Temperature in and out of equilibrium: A review of concepts, tools and attempts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puglisi, A.; Sarracino, A.; Vulpiani, A.

2017-11-01

We review the general aspects of the concept of temperature in equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. Although temperature is an old and well-established notion, it still presents controversial facets. After a short historical survey of the key role of temperature in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, we tackle a series of issues which have been recently reconsidered. In particular, we discuss different definitions and their relevance for energy fluctuations. The interest in such a topic has been triggered by the recent observation of negative temperatures in condensed matter experiments. Moreover, the ability to manipulate systems at the micro and nano-scale urges to understand and clarify some aspects related to the statistical properties of small systems (as the issue of temperature's ;fluctuations;). We also discuss the notion of temperature in a dynamical context, within the theory of linear response for Hamiltonian systems at equilibrium and stochastic models with detailed balance, and the generalized fluctuation-response relations, which provide a hint for an extension of the definition of temperature in far-from-equilibrium systems. To conclude we consider non-Hamiltonian systems, such as granular materials, turbulence and active matter, where a general theoretical framework is still lacking.

Improved Statistical Model Of 10.7-cm Solar Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vedder, John D.; Tabor, Jill L.

1993-01-01

Improved mathematical model simulates short-term fluctuations of flux of 10.7-cm-wavelength solar radiation during 91-day averaging period. Called "F10.7 flux", important as measure of solar activity and because it is highly correlated with ultraviolet radiation causing fluctuations in heating and density of upper atmosphere. F10.7 flux easily measureable at surface of Earth.

Propagation of Multiwavelength Laser Radiation through Atmospheric Turbulence

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-11-01

be applied. The fundamental determining factor in data spread is shown to be the two-point correlation of he microthermal envelope fluctuations...Engineer li / Jt M^ ^^w Summary This report reviews in detail our progress on understanding the short-term statistics of microthermal turbulence...fluctuations and optical/ infrared scintillations, and their interrelationship. A complete analytical understanding of microthermal and scintillation

Turbulent solutions of the equations of fluid motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deissler, R. G.

1984-01-01

Some turbulent solutions of the unaveraged Navier-Stokes equations (equations of fluid motion) are reviewed. Those equations are solved numerically in order to study the nonlinear physics of incompressible turbulent flow. Initial three-dimensional cosine velocity fluctuations and periodic boundary conditions are used in most of the work considered. The three components of the mean-square velocity fluctuations are initially equal for the conditions chosen. The resulting solutions show characteristics of turbulence such as the linear and nonlinear excitation of small-scale fluctuations. For the stronger fluctuations, the initially nonrandom flow develops into an apparently random turbulence. Thus randomness or turbulence can arise as a consequence of the structure of the Navier-Stokes equations. The cases considered include turbulence which is statistically homogeneous or inhomogeneous and isotropic or anisotropic. A mean shear is present in some cases. A statistically steady-state turbulence is obtained by using a spatially periodic body force. Various turbulence processes, including the transfer of energy between eddy sizes and between directional components, and the production, dissipation, and spatial diffusion of turbulence, are considered. It is concluded that the physical processes occurring in turbulence can be profitably studied numerically.

Fluctuation-dissipation theory of input-output interindustrial relations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iyetomi, Hiroshi; Nakayama, Yasuhiro; Aoyama, Hideaki; Fujiwara, Yoshi; Ikeda, Yuichi; Souma, Wataru

2011-01-01

In this study, the fluctuation-dissipation theory is invoked to shed light on input-output interindustrial relations at a macroscopic level by its application to indices of industrial production (IIP) data for Japan. Statistical noise arising from finiteness of the time series data is carefully removed by making use of the random matrix theory in an eigenvalue analysis of the correlation matrix; as a result, two dominant eigenmodes are detected. Our previous study successfully used these two modes to demonstrate the existence of intrinsic business cycles. Here a correlation matrix constructed from the two modes describes genuine interindustrial correlations in a statistically meaningful way. Furthermore, it enables us to quantitatively discuss the relationship between shipments of final demand goods and production of intermediate goods in a linear response framework. We also investigate distinctive external stimuli for the Japanese economy exerted by the current global economic crisis. These stimuli are derived from residuals of moving-average fluctuations of the IIP remaining after subtracting the long-period components arising from inherent business cycles. The observation reveals that the fluctuation-dissipation theory is applicable to an economic system that is supposed to be far from physical equilibrium.

Diphytanyl glycerol ether distributions in sediments of the Orca Basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pease, T.K.; VanVleet, E.S.; Barre, J.S.

1992-09-01

Archaebacterially produced diphytanyl glycerol ether (DPGE) was examined in core sediments from the Orca Basin, an anoxic hypersaline basin in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, to observe its spatial variability and potential origin. A differential extraction protocol was employed to quantify the isopranyl glycerol ethers associated with unbound, intermediate-bound, and kerogen-bound lipid fractions. Archaebacterial lipids were evident at all depths for the unbound and intermediate-bound fractions. Concentrations of DPGE ranged from 0.51 to 2.91 [mu]g/g dry sediment at the surface and showed secondary maxima deeper in basin sediments. Intermediate-bound DPGE concentrations exhibited an inverse relationship to unbound DPGE concentrations. Kerogen-boundmore » DPGE concentrations were normally below detection limits. Earlier studies describing the general homogeneity of lipid components within the overlying brine and at the brine/seawater interface suggest that the large-scale sedimentary DPGE variations observed in this study result from spatial and temporal variations in in-situ production by methanogenic or extremely halophilic archaebacteria.« less

Uptake and metabolism of cisplatin by rat kidney.

PubMed

Safirstein, R; Miller, P; Guttenplan, J B

1984-05-01

Cisplatin, an effective antineoplastic agent, is toxic to the kidney. Since the kidney's vulnerability to cisplatin may originate in its ability to accumulate and retain platinum to a greater degree than other organs, we studied the characteristics of the renal accumulation of platinum and investigated the nature of intracellular platinum. Cisplatin and ethylenediamminedichloroplatinum, nephrotoxic and antineoplastic liganded platinum compounds, were concentrated in rat renal cortical slices fivefold above medium concentration. Platinum uptake was energy- and temperature-dependent and could be inhibited by drugs which inhibit base transport. The organic anions para-aminohippurate and pyrazinoate did not reduce renal slice platinum uptake. Unbound platinum in the blood and urine was predominantly cisplatin but unbound platinum in kidney cytosol was not. This latter compound, in contrast to cisplatin, was not active as a mutagen. These studies suggest that the kidney accumulates platinum in part by transport or specific binding to the base transport system in the kidney and biotransforms it intracellularly. Unbound platinum in the cell is not cisplatin and may no longer be toxic.

Brine Convection, Temperature Fluctuations, and Permeability in Winter Antarctic Land-Fast Sea Ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wongpan, P.; Hughes, K. G.; Langhorne, P. J.; Smith, I. J.

2018-01-01

Vertical temperature strings are used in sea ice research to study heat flow, ice growth rate, and ocean-ice-atmosphere interaction. We demonstrate the feasibility of using temperature fluctuations as a proxy for fluid movement, a key process for supplying nutrients to Antarctic sea ice algal communities. Four strings were deployed in growing, land-fast sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. By smoothing temperature data with the robust LOESS method, we obtain temperature fluctuations that cannot be explained by insolation or atmospheric heat loss. Statistical distributions of these temperature fluctuations are investigated with sensitivities to the distance from the ice-ocean interface, average ice temperature, and sea ice structure. Fluctuations are greatest close to the base (<50 mm) at temperatures >-3°C, and are discrete events with an average active period of 43% compared to 11% when the ice is colder (-3°C to -5°C). Assuming fluctuations occur when the Rayleigh number, derived from mushy layer theory, exceeds a critical value of 10 we approximate the harmonic mean permeability of this thick (>1 m) sea ice in terms of distance from the ice-ocean interface. Near the base, we obtain values in the same range as those measured by others in Arctic spring and summer. The permeability between the ice-ocean interface and 0.05 ± 0.04 m above it is of order 10-9 m2. Columnar and incorporated platelet ice permeability distributions in the bottom 0.1 m of winter Antarctic sea ice are statistically significantly different although their arithmetic means are indistinguishable.

Long-term variability of global statistical properties of epileptic brain networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuhnert, Marie-Therese; Elger, Christian E.; Lehnertz, Klaus

2010-12-01

We investigate the influence of various pathophysiologic and physiologic processes on global statistical properties of epileptic brain networks. We construct binary functional networks from long-term, multichannel electroencephalographic data recorded from 13 epilepsy patients, and the average shortest path length and the clustering coefficient serve as global statistical network characteristics. For time-resolved estimates of these characteristics we observe large fluctuations over time, however, with some periodic temporal structure. These fluctuations can—to a large extent—be attributed to daily rhythms while relevant aspects of the epileptic process contribute only marginally. Particularly, we could not observe clear cut changes in network states that can be regarded as predictive of an impending seizure. Our findings are of particular relevance for studies aiming at an improved understanding of the epileptic process with graph-theoretical approaches.

Stress-induced electric current fluctuations in rocks: a superstatistical model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartwright-Taylor, Alexis; Vallianatos, Filippos; Sammonds, Peter

2017-04-01

We recorded spontaneous electric current flow in non-piezoelectric Carrara marble samples during triaxial deformation. Mechanical data, ultrasonic velocities and acoustic emissions were acquired simultaneously with electric current to constrain the relationship between electric current flow, differential stress and damage. Under strain-controlled loading, spontaneous electric current signals (nA) were generated and sustained under all conditions tested. In dry samples, a detectable electric current arises only during dilatancy and the overall signal is correlated with the damage induced by microcracking. Our results show that fracture plays a key role in the generation of electric currents in deforming rocks (Cartwright-Taylor et al., in prep). We also analysed the high-frequency fluctuations of these electric current signals and found that they are not normally distributed - they exhibit power-law tails (Cartwright-Taylor et al., 2014). We modelled these distributions with q-Gaussian statistics, derived by maximising the Tsallis entropy. This definition of entropy is particularly applicable to systems which are strongly correlated and far from equilibrium. Good agreement, at all experimental conditions, between the distributions of electric current fluctuations and the q-Gaussian function with q-values far from one, illustrates the highly correlated, fractal nature of the electric source network within the samples and provides further evidence that the source of the electric signals is the developing fractal network of cracks. It has been shown (Beck, 2001) that q-Gaussian distributions can arise from the superposition of local relaxations in the presence of a slowly varying driving force, thus providing a dynamic reason for the appearance of Tsallis statistics in systems with a fluctuating energy dissipation rate. So, the probability distribution for a dynamic variable, u under some external slow forcing, β, can be obtained as a superposition of temporary local equilibrium processes whose variance fluctuates over time. The appearance of q-Gaussian statistics are caused by the fluctuating β parameter, which effectively models the fluctuating energy dissipation rate in the system. This concept is known as superstatistics and is physically relevant for modelling driven non-equilibrium systems where the environmental conditions fluctuate on a large scale. The idea is that the environmental variable, such as temperature or pressure, changes so slowly that a rapidly fluctuating variable within that environment has time to relax back to equilibrium between each change in the environment. The application of superstatistical techniques to our experimental electric current fluctuations show that they can indeed be described, to good approximation, by the superposition of local Gaussian processes with fluctuating variance. We conclude, then, that the measured electric current fluctuates in response to intermittent energy dissipation and is driven to varying temporary local equilibria during deformation by the variations in stress intensity. The advantage of this technique is that, once the model has been established to be a good description of the system in question, the average β parameter (a measure of the average energy dissipation rate) for the system can be obtained simply from the macroscopic q-Gaussian distribution parameters.

Interference-free Micro/nanoparticle Cell Engineering by Use of High-Throughput Microfluidic Separation.

PubMed

Yeo, David C; Wiraja, Christian; Zhou, Yingying; Tay, Hui Min; Xu, Chenjie; Hou, Han Wei

2015-09-23

Engineering cells with active-ingredient-loaded micro/nanoparticles is becoming increasingly popular for imaging and therapeutic applications. A critical yet inadequately addressed issue during its implementation concerns the significant number of particles that remain unbound following the engineering process, which inadvertently generate signals and impart transformative effects onto neighboring nontarget cells. Here we demonstrate that those unbound micro/nanoparticles remaining in solution can be efficiently separated from the particle-labeled cells by implementing a fast, continuous, and high-throughput Dean flow fractionation (DFF) microfluidic device. As proof-of-concept, we applied the DFF microfluidic device for buffer exchange to sort labeled suspension cells (THP-1) from unbound fluorescent dye and dye-loaded micro/nanoparticles. Compared to conventional centrifugation, the depletion efficiency of free dyes or particles was improved 20-fold and the mislabeling of nontarget bystander cells by free particles was minimized. The microfluidic device was adapted to further accommodate heterogeneous-sized mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Complete removal of unbound nanoparticles using DFF led to the usage of engineered MSCs without exerting off-target transformative effects on the functional properties of neighboring endothelial cells. Apart from its effectiveness in removing free particles, this strategy is also efficient and scalable. It could continuously process cell solutions with concentrations up to 10(7) cells·mL(-1) (cell densities commonly encountered during cell therapy) without observable loss of performance. Successful implementation of this technology is expected to pave the way for interference-free clinical application of micro/nanoparticle engineered cells.

Conformational Heterogeneity of Unbound Proteins Enhances Recognition in Protein-Protein Encounters.

PubMed

Pallara, Chiara; Rueda, Manuel; Abagyan, Ruben; Fernández-Recio, Juan

2016-07-12

To understand cellular processes at the molecular level we need to improve our knowledge of protein-protein interactions, from a structural, mechanistic, and energetic point of view. Current theoretical studies and computational docking simulations show that protein dynamics plays a key role in protein association and support the need for including protein flexibility in modeling protein interactions. Assuming the conformational selection binding mechanism, in which the unbound state can sample bound conformers, one possible strategy to include flexibility in docking predictions would be the use of conformational ensembles originated from unbound protein structures. Here we present an exhaustive computational study about the use of precomputed unbound ensembles in the context of protein docking, performed on a set of 124 cases of the Protein-Protein Docking Benchmark 3.0. Conformational ensembles were generated by conformational optimization and refinement with MODELLER and by short molecular dynamics trajectories with AMBER. We identified those conformers providing optimal binding and investigated the role of protein conformational heterogeneity in protein-protein recognition. Our results show that a restricted conformational refinement can generate conformers with better binding properties and improve docking encounters in medium-flexible cases. For more flexible cases, a more extended conformational sampling based on Normal Mode Analysis was proven helpful. We found that successful conformers provide better energetic complementarity to the docking partners, which is compatible with recent views of binding association. In addition to the mechanistic considerations, these findings could be exploited for practical docking predictions of improved efficiency.

Severe valproic acid intoxication: case study on the unbound fraction and the applicability of extracorporeal elimination.

PubMed

van den Broek, Marcel P H; Sikma, Maaike A; Ververs, Tessa F; Meulenbelt, Jan

2009-12-01

Among anticonvulsants, valproic acid (VPA) is cited as the most frequent cause of unintentional and intentional intoxications. Symptoms of VPA intoxication are diverse and are related to VPA plasma concentration. Although total plasma concentrations of less than 450 mg/l produce limited toxicity, severe intoxications (>850 mg/l) can induce coma and are ultimately life threatening. A 32-year-old comatose woman was admitted to the ICU at our hospital; she suffered from hypotension, respiratory depression, hypoglycaemia, sinus bradycardia, hyperammonaemia, metabolic acidosis, and her core body temperature was 33.7 degrees C. The total VPA plasma concentration was 1244 mg/l with an increased unbound fraction of 85%. After we administered multiple doses of activated charcoal, she underwent continuous veno-venous haemofiltration to reduce the plasma VPA concentration. As the total concentration decreased, the unbound fraction also decreased. Within 20 h of admission, the patient made a full recovery. In cases of VPA intoxication, protein-binding saturation and drug characteristics render extracorporeal elimination, an effective technique for eliminating the unbound drug. Its application should be considered, depending on clinical symptoms, VPA concentration (>300 mg/l), albumin concentration and ammonia concentration (>400 micromol/l). The application of this technique should be weighed against its risks. This case illustrates the clinical significance of applying continuous veno-venous haemofiltration in VPA intoxication because of protein-binding saturation, and suggests when extracorporeal elimination should be considered.

The geocentric particulate distribution: Cometary, asteroidal, or space debris?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcdonnell, J. A. M.; Ratcliff, P. R.

1992-01-01

Definition of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) particulate environment has been refined considerably with the analysis of data from NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Measurements of the impact rates from particulates ranging from sub-micron to millimetres in dimension and, especially, information on their directionality has permitted new scrunity of the sources of the particulates. Modelling of the dynamics of both bound (Earth orbital) and unbound (hyperbolic interplanetary) particulates intercepting LDEF's faces leads to the conclusion that the source is dominantly interplanetary for particle dimensions of greater than some 5 microns diameter; however the anisotropy below this dimension demands lower velocities and is compatible with an orbital component. Characteristics of the LDEF interplanetary component are compatible with familiar meteoroid sources and deep space measurements. Understanding of the orbital component which exceeds the interplanetary flux by a factor of 4 is less clear; although the very small particulates in orbit have been associated with space debris (Lawrance and Brownlee, 1986) this data conflicts with other measurements (McDonnell, Carey and Dixon, 1984) at the same epoch. By analysis of trajectories approaching the Earth and its atmosphere, we have shown that a significant contribution could be captured by aerocapture, i.e., atmospheric drag, from either asteroidal or cometary sources; such enhancement is unlikely however to provide the temporal and spatial fluctuations observed by the LDEF Interplanetary Dust Experiment (Mullholland et al. 1992). A further new mechanism is also examined, that of aerofragmentation capture, where an atmospheric grazing trajectory, which would not normally lead to capture, leads to fragmentation by thermal or mechanical shock; the microparticulates thus created can be injected in large numbers, but only into short-lifetime orbits. The concentration in one particular orbit plane, could explain the temporal fluctuations seen on LDEF; space debris could also explain the phenomenon.

Contingency and statistical laws in replicate microbial closed ecosystems.

PubMed

Hekstra, Doeke R; Leibler, Stanislas

2012-05-25

Contingency, the persistent influence of past random events, pervades biology. To what extent, then, is each course of ecological or evolutionary dynamics unique, and to what extent are these dynamics subject to a common statistical structure? Addressing this question requires replicate measurements to search for emergent statistical laws. We establish a readily replicated microbial closed ecosystem (CES), sustaining its three species for years. We precisely measure the local population density of each species in many CES replicates, started from the same initial conditions and kept under constant light and temperature. The covariation among replicates of the three species densities acquires a stable structure, which could be decomposed into discrete eigenvectors, or "ecomodes." The largest ecomode dominates population density fluctuations around the replicate-average dynamics. These fluctuations follow simple power laws consistent with a geometric random walk. Thus, variability in ecological dynamics can be studied with CES replicates and described by simple statistical laws. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic constraints on fluctuation phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maroney, O. J. E.

2009-12-01

The relationships among reversible Carnot cycles, the absence of perpetual motion machines, and the existence of a nondecreasing globally unique entropy function form the starting point of many textbook presentations of the foundations of thermodynamics. However, the thermal fluctuation phenomena associated with statistical mechanics has been argued to restrict the domain of validity of this basis of the second law of thermodynamics. Here we demonstrate that fluctuation phenomena can be incorporated into the traditional presentation, extending rather than restricting the domain of validity of the phenomenologically motivated second law. Consistency conditions lead to constraints upon the possible spectrum of thermal fluctuations. In a special case this uniquely selects the Gibbs canonical distribution and more generally incorporates the Tsallis distributions. No particular model of microscopic dynamics need be assumed.

Thermodynamic constraints on fluctuation phenomena.

PubMed

Maroney, O J E

2009-12-01

The relationships among reversible Carnot cycles, the absence of perpetual motion machines, and the existence of a nondecreasing globally unique entropy function form the starting point of many textbook presentations of the foundations of thermodynamics. However, the thermal fluctuation phenomena associated with statistical mechanics has been argued to restrict the domain of validity of this basis of the second law of thermodynamics. Here we demonstrate that fluctuation phenomena can be incorporated into the traditional presentation, extending rather than restricting the domain of validity of the phenomenologically motivated second law. Consistency conditions lead to constraints upon the possible spectrum of thermal fluctuations. In a special case this uniquely selects the Gibbs canonical distribution and more generally incorporates the Tsallis distributions. No particular model of microscopic dynamics need be assumed.

Precipitation and Air Temperature Impact on Seasonal Variations of Groundwater Levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vitola, Ilva; Vircavs, Valdis; Abramenko, Kaspars; Lauva, Didzis; Veinbergs, Arturs

2012-12-01

The aim of this study is to clarify seasonal effects of precipitation and temperature on groundwater level changes in monitoring stations of the Latvia University of Agriculture - Mellupīte, Bērze and Auce. Groundwater regime and level fluctuations depend on climatic conditions such as precipitation intensity, evapotranspiration, surface runoff and drainage, as well as other hydrological factors. The relationship between precipitation, air temperature and groundwater level fluctuations could also lead and give different perspective of possible changes in groundwater quality. Using mathematical statistics and graphic-analytic methods it is concluded that autumn and winter precipitation has the dominant impact on groundwater level fluctuations, whereas spring and summer season fluctuations are more dependent on the air temperature.

Gaussian fluctuation of the diffusion exponent of virus capsid in a living cell nucleus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itto, Yuichi

2018-05-01

In their work [4], Bosse et al. experimentally showed that virus capsid exhibits not only normal diffusion but also anomalous diffusion in nucleus of a living cell. There, it was found that the distribution of fluctuations of the diffusion exponent characterizing them takes the Gaussian form, which is, quite remarkably, the same form for two different types of the virus. This suggests high robustness of such fluctuations. Here, the statistical property of local fluctuations of the diffusion exponent of the virus capsid in the nucleus is studied. A maximum-entropy-principle approach (originally proposed for a different virus in a different cell) is applied for obtaining the fluctuation distribution of the exponent. Largeness of the number of blocks identified with local areas of interchromatin corrals is also examined based on the experimental data. It is shown that the Gaussian distribution of the local fluctuations can be derived, in accordance with the above form. In addition, it is quantified how the fluctuation distribution on a long time scale is different from the Gaussian distribution.

A KST framework for correlation network construction from time series signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Jin-Peng; Gu, Quan; Zhu, Ying; Zhang, Ping

2018-04-01

A KST (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and T statistic) method is used for construction of a correlation network based on the fluctuation of each time series within the multivariate time signals. In this method, each time series is divided equally into multiple segments, and the maximal data fluctuation in each segment is calculated by a KST change detection procedure. Connections between each time series are derived from the data fluctuation matrix, and are used for construction of the fluctuation correlation network (FCN). The method was tested with synthetic simulations and the result was compared with those from using KS or T only for detection of data fluctuation. The novelty of this study is that the correlation analyses was based on the data fluctuation in each segment of each time series rather than on the original time signals, which would be more meaningful for many real world applications and for analysis of large-scale time signals where prior knowledge is uncertain.

Measurements of the Free-Stream Fluctuations above a Turbulent Boundary Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, D. H.; Westphal, R. V.

1988-01-01

In this paper an investigation of the velocity fluctuations in the free stream above an incompressible turbulent boundary layer developing at constant pressure is described. It is assumed that the fluctuations receive contributions from three statistically independent sources: (1) one-dimensional unsteadiness, (2) free-stream turbulence, and (3) the irrotational motion induced by the turbulent boundary layer. Measurements were made in a wind tunnel with a root-mean-square level of the axial velocity fluctuations of about 0.2%. All three velocity components were measured using an X-wire probe. The unsteadiness was determined from the spanwise covariance of the axial velocity fluctuations, measured using two single-wire probes. The results show that it is possible to separate the contributions to the rms level of the velocity fluctuations without resorting to the dubious technique of high-pass filtering. This separation could be extended to the spectral densities of the contributions if measurements of sufficient accuracy were available.

Measurements of the free stream fluctuations above a turbulent boundary layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, David H.; Westphal, Russell V.

1987-01-01

This paper investigates the velocity fluctuations in the free stream above an incompressible turbulent boundary layer developing at constant pressure. It is assumed that the fluctuations receive contributions from three statistically independent sources: (1) one-dimensional unsteadiness, (2) free stream turbulence, and (3) the potential motion induced by the turbulent boundary layer. Measurements were made in a wind tunnel with a root-mean-square level of the axial velocity fluctuations of about 0.2 percent. All three velocity components were measured using an X-wire probe. The unsteadiness was determined from the spanwise covariance of the axial velocity, measured using two single wire probes. The results show that it is possible to separate the contributions to the r.m.s. level of the velocity fluctuations, without resorting to the dubious technique of high-pass filtering. The separation could be extended to the spectral densities of the contributions, if measurements of sufficient accuracy were available. The Appendix provides a general guide for the measurement of small free stream fluctuation levels.

Dynamics of Large-Scale Fluctuations in Native Proteins.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erman, Burak; Erkip, Albert

2003-03-01

The fluctuations of residues of proteins about their equilibrium configurations are analyzed by Langevin dynamics. Residue pairs that are within a given cutoff distance of each other are assumed to be connected by linear springs. The action of the solvent and intramolecular interactions on each residue are treated as random noise. The correlations of fluctuations resulting from the solution of the Langevin equation are observed to be identical to those obtained by the Gaussian Network Model based on equilibrium statistical mechanics. The time delayed correlations of fluctuations, and the response of the protein to a given frequency and to a window of frequencies are determined. The fluctuations of the residues resulting from a given fixed externally applied frequency are evaluated for different modes of the system. Synchronous and asynchronous components of correlations for different modes are formulated. The results of the present study are applied to study the fluctuation dynamics of the 241 residue protein S. marcescens endonuclease (1QL0).

Statistical analysis of severe magnetic fluctuations in the near-Earth plasma sheet observed by THEMIS-E

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Heqiucen; Shiokawa, Kazuo; Frühauff, Dennis

2017-10-01

We statistically analyzed severe magnetic fluctuations in the nightside near-Earth plasma sheet at 6-12 RE (Earth radii; 1 RE = 6371 km), because they are important for non-magnetohydrodynamics (non-MHD) effects in the magnetotail and are considered to be necessary for current disruption in the inside-out substorm model. We used magnetic field data from 2013 and 2014 obtained by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms E (THEMIS-E) satellite (sampling rate: 4 Hz). A total of 1283 severe magnetic fluctuation events were identified that satisfied the criteria σB/B > 0. 5, where σB and B are the standard deviation and the average value of magnetic field intensity during the time interval of the local proton gyroperiod, respectively. We found that the occurrence rates of severe fluctuation events are 0.00118, 0.00899, and 0.0238 % at 6-8, 8-10, and 10-12 RE, respectively, and most events last for no more than 15 s. From these occurrence rates, we estimated the possible scale sizes of current disruption by severe magnetic fluctuations as 3.83 RE3 by assuming that four substorms with 5 min intervals of current disruption occur every day. The fluctuation events occurred most frequently at the ZGSM (Z distance in the geocentric solar magnetospheric coordinate system) close to the model neutral sheet within 0.2 RE. Most events occur in association with sudden decreases in the auroral electrojet lower (AL) index and magnetic field dipolarization, indicating that they are related to substorms. Sixty-two percent of magnetic fluctuation events were accompanied by ion flow with velocity V > 100 km s-1, indicating that the violation of ion gyromotion tends to occur during high-speed flow in the near-Earth plasma sheet. The superposed epoch analysis also indicated that the flow speed increases before the severe magnetic fluctuations. We discuss how both the inside-out and outside-in substorm models can explain this increase in flow speeds before magnetic fluctuation events.

Vertical Scales of Turbulence at the Mount Wilson Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, Robert N.; Lowe, Stephen T.; Bester, Manfred; Danchi, William C.; Townes, Charles H.

1995-01-01

The vertical scales of turbulence at the Mount Wilson Observatory are inferred from data from the University of California at Berkeley Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI), by modeling path length fluctuations observed in the interferometric paths to celestial objects and those in instrumental ground-based paths. The correlations between the stellar and ground-based path length fluctuations and the temporal statistics of those fluctuations are modeled on various timescales to constrain the vertical scales. A Kolmogorov-Taylor turbulence model with a finite outer scale was used to simulate ISI data. The simulation also included the white instrumental noise of the interferometer, aperture-filtering effects, and the data analysis algorithms. The simulations suggest that the path delay fluctuations observed in the 1992-1993 ISI data are largely consistent with being generated by refractivity fluctuations at two characteristic vertical scales: one extending to a height of 45 m above the ground, with a wind speed of about 1 m/ s, and another at a much higher altitude, with a wind speed of about 10 m/ s. The height of the lower layer is of the order of the dimensions of trees and other structures near the interferometer, which suggests that these objects, including elements of the interferometer, may play a role in generating the lower layer of turbulence. The modeling indicates that the high- attitude component contributes primarily to short-period (less than 10 s) fluctuations, while the lower component dominates the long-period (up to a few minutes) fluctuations. The lower component turbulent height, along with outer scales of the order of 10 m, suggest that the baseline dependence of long-term interferometric, atmospheric fluctuations should weaken for baselines greater than a few tens of meters. Simulations further show that there is the potential for improving the seeing or astrometric accuracy by about 30%-50% on average, if the path length fluctuations in the lower component are directly calibrated. Statistical and systematic effects induce an error of about 15 m in the estimate of the lower component turbulent altitude.

Do GCM's predict the climate.... Or the low frequency weather?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovejoy, S.; Schertzer, D.; Varon, D.

2012-04-01

Over twenty-five years ago, a three-regime scaling model was proposed describing the statistical variability of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from weather scales out to ≈ 100 kyrs. Using modern in situ data reanalyses, monthly surface series (at 5ox5o), 8 "multiproxy" (yearly) series of the Northern hemisphere from 1500 - 1980, and GRIP and Vostok paleotemperatures at 5.2 and ≈ 100 year resolutions (over the past 91-420 kyrs), we refine the model and show how it can be understood with the help of new developments in nonlinear dynamics, especially multifractals and cascades. In a scaling range, mean fluctuations in state variables such as temperature ΔT vary in power law manners ≈ Δt**H the where Δt is the duration. At small (weather) scales the fluctuation exponents are generally H>0; they grow with scale (Δt). At longer scales Δt >τw (≈ 10 days) H changes sign, the fluctuations decrease with scale; this is the low variability, "low frequency weather" regime. In this regime, the spectrum is a relatively flat "plateau", it's variability is low, stable, corresponding to our usual idea of "long term weather statistics". Finally for longer times, Δt>τc ≈ 10 - 100 years, once again H>0, so that the variability increases with scale: the true climate regime. These scaling regimes allow us to objectively define the weather as fluctuations over periods <τw, to define "climate states" as fluctuations at scale τc and then "climate change" as the fluctuations at longer periods (Δt>τc). We show that the intermediate low frequency weather regime is the result of the weather regime undergoing a "dimensional transition": at temporal scales longer than the typical lifetime of planetary structures (τw), the spatial degrees of freedom are rapidly quenched so that only the temporal degrees of freedom are important. This low frequency weather regime has statistical properties well reproduced not only by stochastic cascade models of weather, but also by control runs (i.e. without climate forcing) of GCM based climate forecasting systems including those of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (Paris) and the Earth Forecasting System (Hamburg). In order for these systems to go beyond simply predicting low frequency weather i.e. in order for them to predict the climate, they need appropriate climate forcings and/ or new internal mechanisms of variability. Using statistical scaling techniques we examine the scale dependence of fluctuations from forced and unforced GCM outputs, including from the ECHO-G and EFS simulations in the Millenium climate reconstruction project and compare this with data, multiproxies and paleo data. Our general conclusion is that the models systematically underestimate the multidecadal, multicentennial scale variability.

Analysis of Meniscus Fluctuation in a Continuous Casting Slab Mold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kaitian; Liu, Jianhua; Cui, Heng; Xiao, Chao

2018-06-01

A water model of slab mold was established to analyze the microscopic and macroscopic fluctuation of meniscus. The fast Fourier transform and wavelet entropy were adopted to analyze the wave amplitude, frequency, and components of fluctuation. The flow patterns under the meniscus were measured by using particle image velocimetry measurement and then the mechanisms of meniscus fluctuation were discussed. The results reflected that wavelet entropy had multi-scale and statistical properties, and it was suitable for the study of meniscus fluctuation details both in time and frequency domain. The basic wave, frequency of which exceeding 1 Hz in the condition of no mold oscillation, was demonstrated in this work. In fact, three basic waves were found: long-wave with low frequency, middle-wave with middle frequency, and short-wave with high frequency. In addition, the upper roll flow in mold had significant effect on meniscus fluctuation. When the position of flow impinged was far from the meniscus, long-wave dominated the fluctuation and the stability of meniscus was enhanced. However, when the velocity of flow was increased, the short-wave dominated the meniscus fluctuation and the meniscus stability was decreased.

Preliminary Analysis of Fluctuations in the Received Uplink-Beacon-Power Data Obtained From the GOLD Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeganathan, M.; Wilson, K. E.; Lesh, J. R.

1996-01-01

Uplink data from recent free-space optical communication experiments carried out between the Table Mountain Facility and the Japanese Engineering Test Satellite are used to study fluctuations caused by beam propagation through the atmosphere. The influence of atmospheric scintillation, beam wander and jitter, and multiple uplink beams on the statistics of power received by the satellite is analyzed and compared to experimental data. Preliminary analysis indicates the received signal obeys an approximate lognormal distribution, as predicted by the weak-turbulence model, but further characterization of other sources of fluctuations is necessary for accurate link predictions.

Wall-pressure fluctuations beneath a spatially evolving turbulent boundary layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahesh, Krishnan; Kumar, Praveen

2016-11-01

Wall-pressure fluctuations beneath a turbulent boundary layer are important in applications dealing with structural deformation and acoustics. Simulations are performed for flat plate and axisymmetric, spatially evolving zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers at inflow Reynolds number of 1400 and 2200 based on momentum thickness. The simulations generate their own inflow using the recycle-rescale method. The results for mean velocity and second-order statistics show excellent agreement with the data available in literature. The spectral characteristics of wall-pressure fluctuations and their relation to flow structure will be discussed. This work is supported by ONR.

Parkinson's disease-associated melanin steal.

PubMed

Hinz, Marty; Stein, Alvin; Cole, Ted

2014-01-01

Urinary dopamine fluctuations in the competitive inhibition state were first documented in 2009. At that time, it was noted that progressively higher daily dosing values of L-tyrosine decreased the magnitude of these fluctuations. While extensive statistical analysis has been performed by the authors since 2004, it was not until 2012 that a plausible explanation was formulated. In the process, correlations with L-tyrosine administration and the on/off effect of Parkinson's disease were defined. This paper documents the current knowledge with regard to the management of retrograde phase 1 dopamine fluctuations and investigates the hypothesis that they are caused by a melanin steal phenomenon.

Quantum statistical mechanics of nonrelativistic membranes: crumpling transition at finite temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borelli, M. E. S.; Kleinert, H.; Schakel, Adriaan M. J.

2000-03-01

The effect of quantum fluctuations on a nearly flat, nonrelativistic two-dimensional membrane with extrinsic curvature stiffness and tension is investigated. The renormalization group analysis is carried out in first-order perturbative theory. In contrast to thermal fluctuations, which soften the membrane at large scales and turn it into a crumpled surface, quantum fluctuations are found to stiffen the membrane, so that it exhibits a Hausdorff dimension equal to two. The large-scale behavior of the membrane is further studied at finite temperature, where a nontrivial fixed point is found, signaling a crumpling transition.

Preliminary analysis of fluctuations in the received uplink-beacon-power data obtained from the GOLD experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeganathan, M.; Wilson, K. E.; Lesh, J. R.

1996-01-01

Uplink data from recent free-space optical communication experiments carried out between the Table Mountain Facility and the Japanese Engineering Test Satellite are used to study fluctuations caused by beam propagation through the atmosphere. The influence of atmospheric scintillation, beam wander and jitter, and multiple uplink beams on the statistics of power received by the satellite is analyzed and compared to experimental data. Preliminary analysis indicates the received signal obeys an approximate lognormal distribution, as predicted by the weak-turbulence model, but further characterization of other sources of fluctuations is necessary for accurate link predictions.

Can we use the q-Gaussian of ambient noise fluctuations as a vulnerability index? A case study in Cultural Heritage buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallianatos, Filippos; Koutalonis, Ioannis; Moisidi, Margarita; Chatzopoulos, Georgios

2018-05-01

In this work we study in terms of Tsallis statistical mechanics the properties of microtremors' fluctuations in two church bell towers, which are monuments of cultural heritage, in the city of Chania (Crete, Greece). We have shown that fluctuations of ambient vibrations recordings in the Church tower bells follow a q-Gaussian distribution. The behavior of Tsallis q parameter with the level (high) of the measuring point within the tower and the amplification factors at that points as extracted from horizontal-to-vertical (HVSR) spectral ratios are presented and discussed. Since q decreases as the amplification factor increases, we could suggest q as a vulnerability index, where, as q decreases approaching unity, then the structural system is getting more vulnerable. The latter approach suggests that introducing ideas of Tsallis statistics could be useful in characterizing extremely complex processes as that governed the estimation of seismic vulnerability in which a multidisciplinary approach is required.

Hierarchical structure of stock price fluctuations in financial markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Ya-Chun; Cai, Shi-Min; Wang, Bing-Hong

2012-12-01

The financial market and turbulence have been broadly compared on account of the same quantitative methods and several common stylized facts they share. In this paper, the She-Leveque (SL) hierarchy, proposed to explain the anomalous scaling exponents deviating from Kolmogorov monofractal scaling of the velocity fluctuation in fluid turbulence, is applied to study and quantify the hierarchical structure of stock price fluctuations in financial markets. We therefore observed certain interesting results: (i) the hierarchical structure related to multifractal scaling generally presents in all the stock price fluctuations we investigated. (ii) The quantitatively statistical parameters that describe SL hierarchy are different between developed financial markets and emerging ones, distinctively. (iii) For the high-frequency stock price fluctuation, the hierarchical structure varies with different time periods. All these results provide a novel analogy in turbulence and financial market dynamics and an insight to deeply understand multifractality in financial markets.

Association between magnetic field fluctuations and energetic particle bursts in the earth's magnetotail

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lui, A. T. Y.; Krimigis, S. M.; Armstrong, T. P.

1982-01-01

The association between energetic protons (0.29-0.50 MeV) and simultaneous local fluctuations of magnetic field at 35 to 45 earth radii in the magnetotail is examined statistically with data from APL/JHU particle telescopes aboard IMP 7 and IMP 8. About four satellite years of 5.5 min averaged measurements are used in this study. In addition to confirming that the level of magnetic field fluctuations generally increases with the presence of energetic protons and their streaming anisotropy, it is found that increases in occurrence frequency of streaming of energetic protons are ordered far better by magnetic field fluctuations than by proximity to the neutral sheet. However, the presence of large magnetic field fluctuations (delta B greater than 5 nT or delta B/B greater than 50%) is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for the detection of large streaming in energetic protons.

HIV envelope glycoprotein imaged at high resolution | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

The outer surface of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is surrounded by an envelope studded with spike-shaped glycoproteins called Env that help the deadly virus identify, bind, and infect cells. When unbound, Env exists in a “closed” conformational state. Upon binding with target cells, such as CD4+ T cells, the protein transitions to an “open” configuration. Given that Env is the only viral protein expressed on HIV’s surface, knowing its detailed structure—especially in the unbound state—may be critical for designing antibodies and vaccines against HIV.

Parallel theoretical study of the two components of the prompt fission neutrons: Dynamically released at scission and evaporated from fully accelerated fragments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carjan, Nicolae; Rizea, Margarit; Talou, Patrick

2017-09-01

Prompt fission neutrons (PFN) angular and energy distributions for the reaction 235U(nth,f) are calculated as a function of the mass asymmetry of the fission fragments using two extreme assumptions: 1) PFN are released during the neck rupture due to the diabatic coupling between the neutron degree of freedom and the rapidly changing neutron-nucleus potential. These unbound neutrons are faster than the separation of the nascent fragments and most of them leave the fissioning system in few 10-21 sec. i.e., at the begining of the acceleration phase. Surrounding the fissioning nucleus by a sphere one can calculate the radial component of the neutron current density. Its time integral gives the angular distribution with respect to the fission axis. The average energy of each emitted neutron is also calculated using the unbound part of each neutron wave packet. The distribution of these average energies gives the general trends of the PFN spectrum: the slope, the range and the average value. 2) PFN are evaporated from fully accelerated, fully equilibrated fission fragments. To follow the de-excitation of these fragments via neutron and γ-ray sequential emissions, a Monte Carlo sampling of the initial conditions and a Hauser-Feshbach statistical approach is used. Recording at each step the emission probability, the energy and the angle of each evaporated neutron one can construct the PFN energy and the PFN angular distribution in the laboratory system. The predictions of these two methods are finally compared with recent experimental results obtained for a given fragment mass ratio.

Rogue waves and unbounded solutions of the NLSE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lechuga, Antonio

2017-04-01

Since the pioneering work of Zakharov has been generally admitted that rogue waves can be studied in the framework of the Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation (NLSE). Many researchers, Akhmediev, Peregrine, Matveev among others gave different solutions to this equation that, in some way, could be linked to rogue waves and also to its more important characteristic: its unexpectedness. Janssen (2003, 2004), Onorato (2004, 2006) and Waseda (2006) linked the coefficient of the nonlinear term of the Schrödinger equation with the Benjamin-Feir index (BFI) that, we know, is a measure of the modulational instability of the waves. From this point of view the value of this coefficient of the NLSE could be known from statistics. Thus the relationship between sea states and the mechanism of generation of rogue waves could be found out. Following the well-known Lie group theory researchers have been studying the Lie point symmetries of the NLSE: the scaling transformations, Galilean transformations and phase transformations. Basically these transformations turn the NLSE into a nonlinear ordinary differential equation called Duffing equation (also called eikonal equation). There are different ways to do this, but in most of them the independent variable that could be seen as a space variable is a kind of moving frame with the time incorporated in this way. The main aim of this work is to classify solutions of the Duffing equation (periodic and nonperiodic waves and also bounded and unbounded waves) bearing in mind that the coefficient of the nonlinear term in the NLSE is left unaltered in the process of the transformation.

Thermodynamic perspective on the dock-lock growth mechanism of amyloid fibrils.

PubMed

O'Brien, Edward P; Okamoto, Yuko; Straub, John E; Brooks, Bernard R; Thirumalai, D

2009-10-29

The mechanism of addition of a soluble unstructured monomer to a preformed ordered amyloid fibril is a complex process. On the basis of the kinetics of monomer disassociation of Abeta(1-40) from the amyloid fibril, it has been suggested that deposition is a multistep process involving a rapid reversible association of the unstructured monomer to the fibril surface (docking) followed by a slower conformational rearrangement leading to the incorporation onto the underlying fibril lattice (locking). By exploiting the vast time scale separation between the dock and lock processes and using molecular dynamics simulation of deposition of the disordered peptide fragment (35)MVGGVV(40) from the Abeta peptide onto the fibril with known crystal structure, we provide a thermodynamic basis for the dock-lock mechanism of fibril growth. Free energy profiles, computed using implicit solvent model and enhanced sampling methods with the distance (delta(C)) between the center of mass of the peptide and the fibril surface as the order parameter, show three distinct basins of attraction. When delta(C) is large, the monomer is compact and unstructured and the favorable interactions with the fibril results in stretching of the peptide at delta(C) approximately 13 A. As delta(C) is further decreased, the peptide docks onto the fibril surface with a structure that is determined by a balance between intrapeptide and peptide fibril interactions. At delta(C) approximately 4 A, a value that is commensurate with the spacing between beta-strands in the fibril, the monomer expands and locks onto the fibril. Using simulations with implicit solvent model and all atom molecular dynamics in explicit water, we show that the locked monomer, which interacts with the underlying fibril, undergoes substantial conformational fluctuations and is not stable. The cosolutes urea and TMAO destabilize the unbound phase and stabilize the docked phase. Interestingly, small crowding particles enhance the stability of the fibril-bound monomer only marginally. We predict that the experimentally measurable critical monomer concentration, C(R), at which the soluble unbound monomer is in equilibrium with the ordered fibril, increases sharply as temperature is increased under all solution conditions.

X-ray light curves of active galactic nuclei are phase incoherent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krolik, Julian; Done, Chris; Madejski, Grzegorz

1993-01-01

We compute the Fourier phase spectra for the light curves of five low-luminosity active galactic nuclei observed by EXOSAT. There is no statistically significant phase coherence in any of them. This statement is equivalent, subject to a technical caveat, to a demonstration that their fluctuation statistics are Gaussian. Models in which the X-ray output is controlled wholly by a unitary process undergoing a nonlinear limit cycle are therefore ruled out, while models with either a large number of randomly excited independent oscillation modes or nonlinearly interacting spatially dependent oscillations are favored. We also demonstrate how the degree of phase coherence in light curve fluctuations influences the application of causality bounds on internal length scales.

Vortex clustering and universal scaling laws in two-dimensional quantum turbulence.

PubMed

Skaugen, Audun; Angheluta, Luiza

2016-03-01

We investigate numerically the statistics of quantized vortices in two-dimensional quantum turbulence using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We find that a universal -5/3 scaling law in the turbulent energy spectrum is intimately connected with the vortex statistics, such as number fluctuations and vortex velocity, which is also characterized by a similar scaling behavior. The -5/3 scaling law appearing in the power spectrum of vortex number fluctuations is consistent with the scenario of passive advection of isolated vortices by a turbulent superfluid velocity generated by like-signed vortex clusters. The velocity probability distribution of clustered vortices is also sensitive to spatial configurations, and exhibits a power-law tail distribution with a -5/3 exponent.

Emergent irreversibility and entanglement spectrum statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mucciolo, Eduardo; Chamon, Claudio; Hamma, Alioscia

2014-03-01

We study the problem of irreversibility when the dynamical evolution of a many-body system is described by a stochastic quantum circuit. Such evolution is more general than Hamitonian, and since energy levels are not well defined, the well-established connection between the statistical fluctuations of the energy spectrum and irreversibility cannot be made. We show that the entanglement spectrum provides a more general connection. Irreversibility is marked by a failure of a disentangling algorithm and is preceded by the appearance of Wigner-Dyson statistical fluctuations in the entanglement spectrum. This analysis can be done at the wavefunction level and offers a new route to study quantum chaos and quantum integrability. We acknowledge financial support from the U.S. National Science Foundation through grants CCF 1116590 and CCF 1117241, from the National Basic Research Program of China through grants 2011CBA00300 and 2011CBA00301, and from the National Natural Science Fo.

Volatility measurement with directional change in Chinese stock market: Statistical property and investment strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Junjun; Xiong, Xiong; He, Feng; Zhang, Wei

2017-04-01

The stock price fluctuation is studied in this paper with intrinsic time perspective. The event, directional change (DC) or overshoot, are considered as time scale of price time series. With this directional change law, its corresponding statistical properties and parameter estimation is tested in Chinese stock market. Furthermore, a directional change trading strategy is proposed for invest in the market portfolio in Chinese stock market, and both in-sample and out-of-sample performance are compared among the different method of model parameter estimation. We conclude that DC method can capture important fluctuations in Chinese stock market and gain profit due to the statistical property that average upturn overshoot size is bigger than average downturn directional change size. The optimal parameter of DC method is not fixed and we obtained 1.8% annual excess return with this DC-based trading strategy.

Comparison of direct numerical simulation databases of turbulent channel flow at Reτ = 180

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vreman, A. W.; Kuerten, J. G. M.

2014-01-01

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) databases are compared to assess the accuracy and reproducibility of standard and non-standard turbulence statistics of incompressible plane channel flow at Reτ = 180. Two fundamentally different DNS codes are shown to produce maximum relative deviations below 0.2% for the mean flow, below 1% for the root-mean-square velocity and pressure fluctuations, and below 2% for the three components of the turbulent dissipation. Relatively fine grids and long statistical averaging times are required. An analysis of dissipation spectra demonstrates that the enhanced resolution is necessary for an accurate representation of the smallest physical scales in the turbulent dissipation. The results are related to the physics of turbulent channel flow in several ways. First, the reproducibility supports the hitherto unproven theoretical hypothesis that the statistically stationary state of turbulent channel flow is unique. Second, the peaks of dissipation spectra provide information on length scales of the small-scale turbulence. Third, the computed means and fluctuations of the convective, pressure, and viscous terms in the momentum equation show the importance of the different forces in the momentum equation relative to each other. The Galilean transformation that leads to minimum peak fluctuation of the convective term is determined. Fourth, an analysis of higher-order statistics is performed. The skewness of the longitudinal derivative of the streamwise velocity is stronger than expected (-1.5 at y+ = 30). This skewness and also the strong near-wall intermittency of the normal velocity are related to coherent structures.

Analysis of Lagrangian stretching in turbulent channel flow using a database task-parallel particle tracking approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meneveau, Charles; Johnson, Perry; Hamilton, Stephen; Burns, Randal

2016-11-01

An intrinsic property of turbulent flows is the exponential deformation of fluid elements along Lagrangian paths. The production of enstrophy by vorticity stretching follows from a similar mechanism in the Lagrangian view, though the alignment statistics differ and viscosity prevents unbounded growth. In this paper, the stretching properties of fluid elements and vorticity along Lagrangian paths are studied in a channel flow at Reτ = 1000 and compared with prior, known results from isotropic turbulence. To track Lagrangian paths in a public database containing Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) results, the task-parallel approach previously employed in the isotropic database is extended to the case of flow in a bounded domain. It is shown that above 100 viscous units from the wall, stretching statistics are equal to their isotropic values, in support of the local isotropy hypothesis. Normalized by dissipation rate, the stretching in the buffer layer and below is less efficient due to less favorable alignment statistics. The Cramér function characterizing cumulative Lagrangian stretching statistics shows that overall the channel flow has about half of the stretching per unit dissipation compared with isotropic turbulence. Supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1232825, and by National Science Foundation Grants CBET-1507469, ACI-1261715, OCI-1244820 and by JHU IDIES.

Sensitivity of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and its build-out stages to one-point statistics from redshifted 21 cm observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kittiwisit, Piyanat; Bowman, Judd D.; Jacobs, Daniel C.; Beardsley, Adam P.; Thyagarajan, Nithyanandan

2018-03-01

We present a baseline sensitivity analysis of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) and its build-out stages to one-point statistics (variance, skewness, and kurtosis) of redshifted 21 cm intensity fluctuation from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) based on realistic mock observations. By developing a full-sky 21 cm light-cone model, taking into account the proper field of view and frequency bandwidth, utilizing a realistic measurement scheme, and assuming perfect foreground removal, we show that HERA will be able to recover statistics of the sky model with high sensitivity by averaging over measurements from multiple fields. All build-out stages will be able to detect variance, while skewness and kurtosis should be detectable for HERA128 and larger. We identify sample variance as the limiting constraint of the measurements at the end of reionization. The sensitivity can also be further improved by performing frequency windowing. In addition, we find that strong sample variance fluctuation in the kurtosis measured from an individual field of observation indicates the presence of outlying cold or hot regions in the underlying fluctuations, a feature that can potentially be used as an EoR bubble indicator.

Sub-poissonian photon statistics in the coherent state Jaynes-Cummings model in non-resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jia-tai; Fan, An-fu

1992-03-01

We study a model with a two-level atom (TLA) non-resonance interacting with a single-mode quantized cavity field (QCF). The photon number probability function, the mean photon number and Mandel's fluctuation parameter are calculated. The sub-Poissonian distributions of the photon statistics are obtained in non-resonance interaction. This statistical properties are strongly dependent on the detuning parameters.

Does money matter in inflation forecasting?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Binner, J. M.; Tino, P.; Tepper, J.; Anderson, R.; Jones, B.; Kendall, G.

2010-11-01

This paper provides the most fully comprehensive evidence to date on whether or not monetary aggregates are valuable for forecasting US inflation in the early to mid 2000s. We explore a wide range of different definitions of money, including different methods of aggregation and different collections of included monetary assets. In our forecasting experiment we use two nonlinear techniques, namely, recurrent neural networks and kernel recursive least squares regression-techniques that are new to macroeconomics. Recurrent neural networks operate with potentially unbounded input memory, while the kernel regression technique is a finite memory predictor. The two methodologies compete to find the best fitting US inflation forecasting models and are then compared to forecasts from a naïve random walk model. The best models were nonlinear autoregressive models based on kernel methods. Our findings do not provide much support for the usefulness of monetary aggregates in forecasting inflation. Beyond its economic findings, our study is in the tradition of physicists’ long-standing interest in the interconnections among statistical mechanics, neural networks, and related nonparametric statistical methods, and suggests potential avenues of extension for such studies.

The effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on radio interferometric measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, R. N.; Lanyi, G. E.

1987-01-01

A statistical model of water vapor fluctuations is used to describe the effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on radio interferometric measurements. It is assumed that the spatial structure of refractivity is approximated by Kolmogorov turbulence theory, and that the temporal fluctuations are caused by spatial patterns moved over a site by the wind, and these assumptions are examined for the VLBI delay and delay rate observables. The results suggest that the delay rate measurement error is usually dominated by water vapor fluctuations, and water vapor induced VLBI parameter errors and correlations are determined as a function of the delay observable errors. A method is proposed for including the water vapor fluctuations in the parameter estimation method to obtain improved parameter estimates and parameter covariances.

Statistical properties of light from optical parametric oscillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vyas, Reeta; Singh, Surendra

2009-12-01

Coherence properties of light beams generated by optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are discussed in the region of threshold. Analytic expressions, that are valid throughout the threshold region, for experimentally measurable quantities such as the mean and variance of photon number fluctuations, squeezing of field quadratures, and photon counting distributions are derived. These expressions describe non-Gaussian fluctuations of light in the region of threshold and reproduce Gaussian fluctuations below and above threshold, thus providing a bridge between below and above threshold regimes of operation. They are used to study the transformation of fluctuation properties of light as the OPOs make a transition from below to above threshold. The results for the OPOs are compared to those for the single-mode and two-mode lasers and their similarities and differences are discussed.

Resistance of Soil-Bound Prions to Rumen Digestion

PubMed Central

Saunders, Samuel E.; Bartelt-Hunt, Shannon L.; Bartz, Jason C.

2012-01-01

Before prion uptake and infection can occur in the lower gastrointestinal system, ingested prions are subjected to anaerobic digestion in the rumen of cervids and bovids. The susceptibility of soil-bound prions to rumen digestion has not been evaluated previously. In this study, prions from infectious brain homogenates as well as prions bound to a range of soils and soil minerals were subjected to in vitro rumen digestion, and changes in PrP levels were measured via western blot. Binding to clay appeared to protect noninfectious hamster PrPc from complete digestion, while both unbound and soil-bound infectious PrPSc proved highly resistant to rumen digestion. In addition, no change in intracerebral incubation period was observed following active rumen digestion of unbound hamster HY TME prions and HY TME prions bound to a silty clay loam soil. These results demonstrate that both unbound and soil-bound prions readily survive rumen digestion without a reduction in infectivity, further supporting the potential for soil-mediated transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) and scrapie in the environment. PMID:22937149

From localization to anomalous diffusion in the dynamics of coupled kicked rotors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Notarnicola, Simone; Iemini, Fernando; Rossini, Davide; Fazio, Rosario; Silva, Alessandro; Russomanno, Angelo

2018-02-01

We study the effect of many-body quantum interference on the dynamics of coupled periodically kicked systems whose classical dynamics is chaotic and shows an unbounded energy increase. We specifically focus on an N -coupled kicked rotors model: We find that the interplay of quantumness and interactions dramatically modifies the system dynamics, inducing a transition between energy saturation and unbounded energy increase. We discuss this phenomenon both numerically and analytically through a mapping onto an N -dimensional Anderson model. The thermodynamic limit N →∞ , in particular, always shows unbounded energy growth. This dynamical delocalization is genuinely quantum and very different from the classical one: Using a mean-field approximation, we see that the system self-organizes so that the energy per site increases in time as a power law with exponent smaller than 1. This wealth of phenomena is a genuine effect of quantum interference: The classical system for N ≥2 always behaves ergodically with an energy per site linearly increasing in time. Our results show that quantum mechanics can deeply alter the regularity or ergodicity properties of a many-body-driven system.

Helicon and Trivelpiece-Gould modes in uniform unbounded plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stenzel, R. L.; Urrutia, J. M.

2016-10-01

Helicon modes are whistler modes with angular orbital momentum caused by phase rotation in addition to the axial phase propagation. Although these modes have been associated with whistler eigenmodes in bounded plasma columns, they do exist in unbounded plasmas. Experiments in a large laboratory plasma show the wave excitation with phased antenna arrays, the wave field topology and the propagation of helicons. Low frequency whistlers can have two modes with different wavelengths at a given frequency, called helicons and Trivelpiece-Gould modes. The latter are whistler modes near the oblique cyclotron resonance. The oblique propagation is due to short radial wavelengths near the boundary. In unbounded plasmas, the oblique propagation arises from short azimuthal wavelengths. This has been observed in high-mode number helicons (e.g., m = 8). It creates wave absorption in the center of the helicon mode. The strong absorption of the wave can heat electrons and create perpendicular wave-particle interactions. These results may be of interest in space plasmas for scattering of energetic electrons and in helicon plasma sources for plasma processing and thruster applications. Work supported by NSF/DOE.

When Is It Important to Measure Unbound Drug in Evaluating Nanomedicine Pharmacokinetics?

PubMed Central

Stern, Stephan T.; Stevens, David M.

2016-01-01

Nanoformulations have become important tools for modifying drug disposition, be it from the perspective of enabling prolonged drug release, protecting the drug molecule from metabolism, or achieving targeted delivery. When examining the in vivo pharmacokinetic properties of these formulations, most investigations either focus on systemic concentrations of total (encapsulated plus unencapsulated) drug, or concentrations of encapsulated and unencapsulated drug. However, it is rare to find studies that differentiate between protein-bound and unbound (free) forms of the unencapsulated drug. In light of the unique attributes of these formulations, we cannot simply assume it appropriate to rely upon the protein-binding properties of the traditionally formulated or legacy drug when trying to define the pharmacokinetic or pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic characteristics of these nanoformulations. Therefore, this commentary explores reasons why it is important to consider not only unencapsulated drug, but also the portion of unencapsulated drug that is not bound to plasma proteins. Specifically, we highlight those situations when it may be necessary to include measurement of unencapsulated, unbound drug concentrations as part of the nanoformulation pharmacokinetic evaluation. PMID:27670412

Homogeneous buoyancy-generated turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batchelor, G. K.; Canuto, V. M.; Chasnov, J. R.

1992-01-01

Using a theoretical analysis of fundamental equations and a numerical simulation of the flow field, the statistically homogeneous motion that is generated by buoyancy forces after the creation of homogeneous random fluctuations in the density of infinite fluid at an initial instant is examined. It is shown that analytical results together with numerical results provide a comprehensive description of the 'birth, life, and death' of buoyancy-generated turbulence. Results of numerical simulations yielded the mean-square density mean-square velocity fluctuations and the associated spectra as functions of time for various initial conditions, and the time required for the mean-square density fluctuation to fall to a specified small value was estimated.

Crossover transition in the fluctuation of Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Jiang-Hai

2018-06-01

The inconsistent fluctuation behavior of Internet predicted by preferential attachment(PA) and Gibrat's law requires empirical investigations on the actual system. By using the interval-tunable Gibrat's law statistics, we find the actual fluctuation, characterized by the conditional standard deviation of the degree growth rate, changes with the interval length and displays a crossover transition from PA type to Gibrat's law type, which has not yet been captured by any previous models. We characterize the transition dynamics quantitatively and determine the applicative range of PA and Gibrat's law. The correlation analysis indicates the crossover transition may be attributed to the accumulative correlation between the internal links.

Low-light divergence in photovoltaic parameter fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shvydka, Diana; Karpov, V. G.; Compaan, A. D.

2003-03-01

We study statistics of the major photovoltaic (PV) parameters, such as open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, etc., versus light intensity on a set of nominally identical thin-film CdTe/CdS solar cells. A crossover light intensity is found, below which the relative fluctuations of the PV parameters diverge inversely proportional to the square root of the light intensity. We propose a model in which the observed fluctuations are due to lateral nonuniformities in the device structure. The crossover is attributed to the lateral nonuniformity screening length exceeding the device size. From the practical standpoint, our study introduces a simple uniformity diagnostic technique.

Statistical properties of fluctuating enzymes with dynamic cooperativity using a first passage time distribution formalism.

PubMed

Singh, Divya; Chaudhury, Srabanti

2017-04-14

We study the temporal fluctuations in catalytic rates for single enzyme reactions undergoing slow transitions between two active states. We use a first passage time distribution formalism to obtain the closed-form analytical expressions of the mean reaction time and the randomness parameter for reaction schemes where conformational fluctuations are present between two free enzyme conformers. Our studies confirm that the sole presence of free enzyme fluctuations yields a non Michaelis-Menten equation and can lead to dynamic cooperativity. The randomness parameter, which is a measure of the dynamic disorder in the system, converges to unity at a high substrate concentration. If slow fluctuations are present between the enzyme-substrate conformers (off-pathway mechanism), dynamic disorder is present at a high substrate concentration. Our results confirm that the dynamic disorder at a high substrate concentration is determined only by the slow fluctuations between the enzyme-substrate conformers and the randomness parameter is greater than unity. Slow conformational fluctuations between free enzymes are responsible for the emergence of dynamic cooperativity in single enzymes. Our theoretical findings are well supported by comparison with experimental data on the single enzyme beta-galactosidase.

On the structure of pressure fluctuations in simulated turbulent channel flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, John

1989-01-01

Pressure fluctuations in a turbulent channel flow are investigated by analyzing a database obtained from a direct numerical simulation. Detailed statistics associated with the pressure fluctuations are presented. Characteristics associated with the rapid (linear) and slow (nonlinear) pressure are discussed. It is found that the slow pressure fluctuations are larger than the rapid pressure fluctuations throughout the channel except very near the wall, where they are about the same magnitude. This is contrary to the common belief that the nonlinear source terms are negligible compared to the linear source terms. Probability density distributions, power spectra, and two-point correlations are examined to reveal the characteristics of the pressure fluctuations. The global dependence of the pressure fluctuations and pressure-strain correlations are also examined by evaluating the integral associated with Green's function representations of them. In the wall region where the pressure-strain terms are large, most contributions to the pressure-strain terms are from the wall region (i.e., local), whereas away from the wall where the pressure-strain terms are small, contributions are global. Structures of instantaneous pressure and pressure gradients at the wall and the corresponding vorticity field are examined.

Fluctuations of radio occultation signals in sounding the Earth's atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kan, Valery; Gorbunov, Michael E.; Sofieva, Viktoria F.

2018-02-01

We discuss the relationships that link the observed fluctuation spectra of the amplitude and phase of signals used for the radio occultation sounding of the Earth's atmosphere, with the spectra of atmospheric inhomogeneities. Our analysis employs the approximation of the phase screen and of weak fluctuations. We make our estimates for the following characteristic inhomogeneity types: (1) the isotropic Kolmogorov turbulence and (2) the anisotropic saturated internal gravity waves. We obtain the expressions for the variances of the amplitude and phase fluctuations of radio occultation signals as well as their estimates for the typical parameters of inhomogeneity models. From the GPS/MET observations, we evaluate the spectra of the amplitude and phase fluctuations in the altitude interval from 4 to 25 km in the middle and polar latitudes. As indicated by theoretical and experimental estimates, the main contribution into the radio signal fluctuations comes from the internal gravity waves. The influence of the Kolmogorov turbulence is negligible. We derive simple relationships that link the parameters of internal gravity waves and the statistical characteristics of the radio signal fluctuations. These results may serve as the basis for the global monitoring of the wave activity in the stratosphere and upper troposphere.

Nanoscale MOS devices: device parameter fluctuations and low-frequency noise (Invited Paper)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Hei; Iwai, Hiroshi; Liou, J. J.

2005-05-01

It is well-known in conventional MOS transistors that the low-frequency noise or flicker noise is mainly contributed by the trapping-detrapping events in the gate oxide and the mobility fluctuation in the surface channel. In nanoscale MOS transistors, the number of trapping-detrapping events becomes less important because of the large direct tunneling current through the ultrathin gate dielectric which reduces the probability of trapping-detrapping and the level of leakage current fluctuation. Other noise sources become more significant in nanoscale devices. The source and drain resistance noises have greater impact on the drain current noise. Significant contribution of the parasitic bipolar transistor noise in ultra-short channel and channel mobility fluctuation to the channel noise are observed. The channel mobility fluctuation in nanoscale devices could be due to the local composition fluctuation of the gate dielectric material which gives rise to the permittivity fluctuation along the channel and results in gigantic channel potential fluctuation. On the other hand, the statistical variations of the device parameters across the wafer would cause the noise measurements less accurate which will be a challenge for the applicability of analytical flicker noise model as a process or device evaluation tool for nanoscale devices. Some measures for circumventing these difficulties are proposed.

Strong γ-ray emission from neutron unbound states populated in β-decay: Impact on (n,γ) cross-section estimates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tain, J. L.; Guadilla, V.; Valencia, E.

Total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy is used to measure accurately the intensity of γ emission from neutron-unbound states populated in the β-decay of delayed-neutron emitters. From the comparison of this intensity with the intensity of neutron emission one can deduce information on the (n,γ) cross section for unstable neutron-rich nuclei of interest in r process abundance calculations. A surprisingly large γ branching was observed for a number of isotopes. Here, the results are compared with Hauser-Feshbach calculations and discussed.

Strong γ-ray emission from neutron unbound states populated in β-decay: Impact on (n,γ) cross-section estimates

DOE PAGES

Tain, J. L.; Guadilla, V.; Valencia, E.; ...

2017-09-13

Total absorption gamma-ray spectroscopy is used to measure accurately the intensity of γ emission from neutron-unbound states populated in the β-decay of delayed-neutron emitters. From the comparison of this intensity with the intensity of neutron emission one can deduce information on the (n,γ) cross section for unstable neutron-rich nuclei of interest in r process abundance calculations. A surprisingly large γ branching was observed for a number of isotopes. Here, the results are compared with Hauser-Feshbach calculations and discussed.

Erosive Hit-and-Run Impact Events: Debris Unbound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarid, Gal; Stewart, Sarah T.; Leinhardt, Zoë M.

2016-01-01

Erosive collisions among planetary embryos in the inner solar system can lead to multiple remnant bodies, varied in mass, composition and residual velocity. Some of the smaller, unbound debris may become available to seed the main asteroid belt. The makeup of these collisionally produced bodies is different from the canonical chondritic composition, in terms of rock/iron ratio and may contain further shock-processed material. Having some of the material in the asteroid belt owe its origin from collisions of larger planetary bodies may help in explaining some of the diversity and oddities in composition of different asteroid groups.

Bubbling in unbounded coflowing liquids.

PubMed

Gañán-Calvo, Alfonso M; Herrada, Miguel A; Garstecki, Piotr

2006-03-31

An investigation of the stability of low density and viscosity fluid jets and spouts in unbounded coflowing liquids is presented. A full parametrical analysis from low to high Weber and Reynolds numbers shows that the presence of any fluid of finite density and viscosity inside the hollow jet elicits a transition from an absolute to a convective instability at a finite value of the Weber number, for any value of the Reynolds number. Below that critical value of the Weber number, the absolute character of the instability leads to local breakup, and consequently to local bubbling. Experimental data support our model.

A Semi-linear Backward Parabolic Cauchy Problem with Unbounded Coefficients of Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman Type and Applications to Optimal Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Addona, Davide, E-mail: d.addona@campus.unimib.it

2015-08-15

We obtain weighted uniform estimates for the gradient of the solutions to a class of linear parabolic Cauchy problems with unbounded coefficients. Such estimates are then used to prove existence and uniqueness of the mild solution to a semi-linear backward parabolic Cauchy problem, where the differential equation is the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation of a suitable optimal control problem. Via backward stochastic differential equations, we show that the mild solution is indeed the value function of the controlled equation and that the feedback law is verified.

LQR Control of Shell Vibrations Via Piezoceramic Actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

delRosario, R. C. H.; Smith, R. C.

1997-01-01

A model-based Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) method for controlling vibrations in cylindrical shells is presented. Surface-mounted piezo-ceramic patches are employed as actuators which leads to unbounded control input operators. Modified Donnell-Mushtari shell equations incorporating strong or Kelvin-Voigt damping are used to model the system. The model is then abstractly formulated in terms of sesquilinear forms. This provides a framework amenable for proving model well-posedness and convergence of LQR gains using analytic semigroup results combined with LQR theory for unbounded input operators. Finally, numerical examples demonstrating the effectiveness of the method are presented.

A computational method for the Helmholtz equation in unbounded domains based on the minimization of an integral functional

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ciraolo, Giulio, E-mail: g.ciraolo@math.unipa.it; Gargano, Francesco, E-mail: gargano@math.unipa.it; Sciacca, Vincenzo, E-mail: sciacca@math.unipa.it

2013-08-01

We study a new approach to the problem of transparent boundary conditions for the Helmholtz equation in unbounded domains. Our approach is based on the minimization of an integral functional arising from a volume integral formulation of the radiation condition. The index of refraction does not need to be constant at infinity and may have some angular dependency as well as perturbations. We prove analytical results on the convergence of the approximate solution. Numerical examples for different shapes of the artificial boundary and for non-constant indexes of refraction will be presented.

Measures of three-dimensional anisotropy and intermittency in strong Alfvénic turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallet, A.; Schekochihin, A. A.; Chandran, B. D. G.; Chen, C. H. K.; Horbury, T. S.; Wicks, R. T.; Greenan, C. C.

2016-06-01

We measure the local anisotropy of numerically simulated strong Alfvénic turbulence with respect to two local, physically relevant directions: along the local mean magnetic field and along the local direction of one of the fluctuating Elsasser fields. We find significant scaling anisotropy with respect to both these directions: the fluctuations are `ribbon-like' - statistically, they are elongated along both the mean magnetic field and the fluctuating field. The latter form of anisotropy is due to scale-dependent alignment of the fluctuating fields. The intermittent scalings of the nth-order conditional structure functions in the direction perpendicular to both the local mean field and the fluctuations agree well with the theory of Chandran, Schekochihin & Mallet, while the parallel scalings are consistent with those implied by the critical-balance conjecture. We quantify the relationship between the perpendicular scalings and those in the fluctuation and parallel directions, and find that the scaling exponent of the perpendicular anisotropy (I.e. of the aspect ratio of the Alfvénic structures in the plane perpendicular to the mean magnetic field) depends on the amplitude of the fluctuations. This is shown to be equivalent to the anticorrelation of fluctuation amplitude and alignment at each scale. The dependence of the anisotropy on amplitude is shown to be more significant for the anisotropy between the perpendicular and fluctuation-direction scales than it is between the perpendicular and parallel scales.

Random Dopant Induced Threshold Voltage Lowering and Fluctuations in Sub-0.1 (micron)meter MOSFET's: A 3-D 'Atomistic' Simulation Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asenov, Asen

1998-01-01

A three-dimensional (3-D) "atomistic" simulation study of random dopant induced threshold voltage lowering and fluctuations in sub-0.1 microns MOSFET's is presented. For the first time a systematic analysis of random dopant effects down to an individual dopant level was carried out in 3-D on a scale sufficient to provide quantitative statistical predictions. Efficient algorithms based on a single multigrid solution of the Poisson equation followed by the solution of a simplified current continuity equation are used in the simulations. The effects of various MOSFET design parameters, including the channel length and width, oxide thickness and channel doping, on the threshold voltage lowering and fluctuations are studied using typical samples of 200 atomistically different MOSFET's. The atomistic results for the threshold voltage fluctuations were compared with two analytical models based on dopant number fluctuations. Although the analytical models predict the general trends in the threshold voltage fluctuations, they fail to describe quantitatively the magnitude of the fluctuations. The distribution of the atomistically calculated threshold voltage and its correlation with the number of dopants in the channel of the MOSFET's was analyzed based on a sample of 2500 microscopically different devices. The detailed analysis shows that the threshold voltage fluctuations are determined not only by the fluctuation in the dopant number, but also in the dopant position.

A Statistical Model of the Fluctuations in the Geomagnetic Field from Paleosecular Variation to Reversal

PubMed

Camps; Prevot

1996-08-09

The statistical characteristics of the local magnetic field of Earth during paleosecular variation, excursions, and reversals are described on the basis of a database that gathers the cleaned mean direction and average remanent intensity of 2741 lava flows that have erupted over the last 20 million years. A model consisting of a normally distributed axial dipole component plus an independent isotropic set of vectors with a Maxwellian distribution that simulates secular variation fits the range of geomagnetic fluctuations, in terms of both direction and intensity. This result suggests that the magnitude of secular variation vectors is independent of the magnitude of Earth's axial dipole moment and that the amplitude of secular variation is unchanged during reversals.

Probing the Fluctuations of Optical Properties in Time-Resolved Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randi, Francesco; Esposito, Martina; Giusti, Francesca; Misochko, Oleg; Parmigiani, Fulvio; Fausti, Daniele; Eckstein, Martin

2017-11-01

We show that, in optical pump-probe experiments on bulk samples, the statistical distribution of the intensity of ultrashort light pulses after interaction with a nonequilibrium complex material can be used to measure the time-dependent noise of the current in the system. We illustrate the general arguments for a photoexcited Peierls material. The transient noise spectroscopy allows us to measure to what extent electronic degrees of freedom dynamically obey the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, and how well they thermalize during the coherent lattice vibrations. The proposed statistical measurement developed here provides a new general framework to retrieve dynamical information on the excited distributions in nonequilibrium experiments, which could be extended to other degrees of freedom of magnetic or vibrational origin.

Sequence composition and environment effects on residue fluctuations in protein structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruvinsky, Anatoly M.; Vakser, Ilya A.

2010-10-01

Structure fluctuations in proteins affect a broad range of cell phenomena, including stability of proteins and their fragments, allosteric transitions, and energy transfer. This study presents a statistical-thermodynamic analysis of relationship between the sequence composition and the distribution of residue fluctuations in protein-protein complexes. A one-node-per-residue elastic network model accounting for the nonhomogeneous protein mass distribution and the interatomic interactions through the renormalized inter-residue potential is developed. Two factors, a protein mass distribution and a residue environment, were found to determine the scale of residue fluctuations. Surface residues undergo larger fluctuations than core residues in agreement with experimental observations. Ranking residues over the normalized scale of fluctuations yields a distinct classification of amino acids into three groups: (i) highly fluctuating-Gly, Ala, Ser, Pro, and Asp, (ii) moderately fluctuating-Thr, Asn, Gln, Lys, Glu, Arg, Val, and Cys, and (iii) weakly fluctuating-Ile, Leu, Met, Phe, Tyr, Trp, and His. The structural instability in proteins possibly relates to the high content of the highly fluctuating residues and a deficiency of the weakly fluctuating residues in irregular secondary structure elements (loops), chameleon sequences, and disordered proteins. Strong correlation between residue fluctuations and the sequence composition of protein loops supports this hypothesis. Comparing fluctuations of binding site residues (interface residues) with other surface residues shows that, on average, the interface is more rigid than the rest of the protein surface and Gly, Ala, Ser, Cys, Leu, and Trp have a propensity to form more stable docking patches on the interface. The findings have broad implications for understanding mechanisms of protein association and stability of protein structures.

Transitions in optimal adaptive strategies for populations in fluctuating environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, Andreas; Mora, Thierry; Rivoire, Olivier; Walczak, Aleksandra M.

2017-09-01

Biological populations are subject to fluctuating environmental conditions. Different adaptive strategies can allow them to cope with these fluctuations: specialization to one particular environmental condition, adoption of a generalist phenotype that compromises between conditions, or population-wise diversification (bet hedging). Which strategy provides the largest selective advantage in the long run depends on the range of accessible phenotypes and the statistics of the environmental fluctuations. Here, we analyze this problem in a simple mathematical model of population growth. First, we review and extend a graphical method to identify the nature of the optimal strategy when the environmental fluctuations are uncorrelated. Temporal correlations in environmental fluctuations open up new strategies that rely on memory but are mathematically challenging to study: We present analytical results to address this challenge. We illustrate our general approach by analyzing optimal adaptive strategies in the presence of trade-offs that constrain the range of accessible phenotypes. Our results extend several previous studies and have applications to a variety of biological phenomena, from antibiotic resistance in bacteria to immune responses in vertebrates.

The impact of turbulent renewable energy production on power grid stability and quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmietendorf, Katrin; Peinke, Joachim; Kamps, Oliver

2017-11-01

Feed-in fluctuations induced by renewables are one of the key challenges to the stability and quality of electrical power grids. In particular short-term fluctuations disturb the system on a time scale, on which load balancing does not operate yet and the system is intrinsically governed by self-organized synchronization. Wind and solar power are known to be strongly non-Gaussian with intermittent increment statistics in these time scales. We investigate the impact of short-term wind fluctuations on the basis of a Kuramoto-like power grid model considering stability in terms of desynchronization and frequency and voltage quality aspects. We present a procedure to generate realistic feed-in fluctuations with temporal correlations, Kolmogorov power spectrum and intermittent increments. By comparison to correlated Gaussian noise of the same spectrum and Gaussian white noise, we found out that while the correlations are essential to capture the likelihood of severe outages, the intermittent nature of wind power has significant consequences on power quality: intermittency is directly transferred into frequency and voltage fluctuations yielding a novel type of fluctuations, which is beyond engineering status of knowledge.

Non-Gaussian microwave background fluctuations from nonlinear gravitational effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salopek, D. S.; Kunstatter, G. (Editor)

1991-01-01

Whether the statistics of primordial fluctuations for structure formation are Gaussian or otherwise may be determined if the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Satellite makes a detection of the cosmic microwave-background temperature anisotropy delta T(sub CMB)/T(sub CMB). Non-Gaussian fluctuations may be generated in the chaotic inflationary model if two scalar fields interact nonlinearly with gravity. Theoretical contour maps are calculated for the resulting Sachs-Wolfe temperature fluctuations at large angular scales (greater than 3 degrees). In the long-wavelength approximation, one can confidently determine the nonlinear evolution of quantum noise with gravity during the inflationary epoch because: (1) different spatial points are no longer in causal contact; and (2) quantum gravity corrections are typically small-- it is sufficient to model the system using classical random fields. If the potential for two scalar fields V(phi sub 1, phi sub 2) possesses a sharp feature, then non-Gaussian fluctuations may arise. An explicit model is given where cold spots in delta T(sub CMB)/T(sub CMB) maps are suppressed as compared to the Gaussian case. The fluctuations are essentially scale-invariant.

Scaling Behavior in Mitochondrial Redox Fluctuations

PubMed Central

Ramanujan, V. Krishnan; Biener, Gabriel; Herman, Brian A.

2006-01-01

Scale-invariant long-range correlations have been reported in fluctuations of time-series signals originating from diverse processes such as heart beat dynamics, earthquakes, and stock market data. The common denominator of these apparently different processes is a highly nonlinear dynamics with competing forces and distinct feedback species. We report for the first time an experimental evidence for scaling behavior in NAD(P)H signal fluctuations in isolated mitochondria and intact cells isolated from the liver of a young (5-month-old) mouse. Time-series data were collected by two-photon imaging of mitochondrial NAD(P)H fluorescence and signal fluctuations were quantitatively analyzed for statistical correlations by detrended fluctuation analysis and spectral power analysis. Redox [NAD(P)H / NAD(P)+] fluctuations in isolated mitochondria and intact liver cells were found to display nonrandom, long-range correlations. These correlations are interpreted as arising due to the regulatory dynamics operative in Krebs' cycle enzyme network and electron transport chain in the mitochondria. This finding may provide a novel basis for understanding similar regulatory networks that govern the nonequilibrium properties of living cells. PMID:16565066

Drinking Water in Nigeria: A Public Health Threat and Burden

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-01

solutions. Statistical data is incorporated to substantiate the significance of the disease burden and display the access to safe drinking water...the Nigerian government ministry information and updated health statistics , and the lack of public health related resources at the Muir S...fluctuates based on the statistical source, but the largest figure is estimated at 140 million according to that latest census conducted in 2006. The

Feedback Regulation and Its Efficiency in Biochemical Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Tetsuya J.; Yokota, Ryo; Aihara, Kazuyuki

2016-03-01

Intracellular biochemical networks fluctuate dynamically due to various internal and external sources of fluctuation. Dissecting the fluctuation into biologically relevant components is important for understanding how a cell controls and harnesses noise and how information is transferred over apparently noisy intracellular networks. While substantial theoretical and experimental advancement on the decomposition of fluctuation was achieved for feedforward networks without any loop, we still lack a theoretical basis that can consistently extend such advancement to feedback networks. The main obstacle that hampers is the circulative propagation of fluctuation by feedback loops. In order to define the relevant quantity for the impact of feedback loops for fluctuation, disentanglement of the causally interlocked influences between the components is required. In addition, we also lack an approach that enables us to infer non-perturbatively the influence of the feedback to fluctuation in the same way as the dual reporter system does in the feedforward networks. In this work, we address these problems by extending the work on the fluctuation decomposition and the dual reporter system. For a single-loop feedback network with two components, we define feedback loop gain as the feedback efficiency that is consistent with the fluctuation decomposition for feedforward networks. Then, we clarify the relation of the feedback efficiency with the fluctuation propagation in an open-looped FF network. Finally, by extending the dual reporter system, we propose a conjugate feedback and feedforward system for estimating the feedback efficiency non-perturbatively only from the statistics of the system.

Statistics of spatial derivatives of velocity and pressure in turbulent channel flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vreman, A. W.; Kuerten, J. G. M.

2014-08-01

Statistical profiles of the first- and second-order spatial derivatives of velocity and pressure are reported for turbulent channel flow at Reτ = 590. The statistics were extracted from a high-resolution direct numerical simulation. To quantify the anisotropic behavior of fine-scale structures, the variances of the derivatives are compared with the theoretical values for isotropic turbulence. It is shown that appropriate combinations of first- and second-order velocity derivatives lead to (directional) viscous length scales without explicit occurrence of the viscosity in the definitions. To quantify the non-Gaussian and intermittent behavior of fine-scale structures, higher-order moments and probability density functions of spatial derivatives are reported. Absolute skewnesses and flatnesses of several spatial derivatives display high peaks in the near wall region. In the logarithmic and central regions of the channel flow, all first-order derivatives appear to be significantly more intermittent than in isotropic turbulence at the same Taylor Reynolds number. Since the nine variances of first-order velocity derivatives are the distinct elements of the turbulence dissipation, the budgets of these nine variances are shown, together with the budget of the turbulence dissipation. The comparison of the budgets in the near-wall region indicates that the normal derivative of the fluctuating streamwise velocity (∂u'/∂y) plays a more important role than other components of the fluctuating velocity gradient. The small-scale generation term formed by triple correlations of fluctuations of first-order velocity derivatives is analyzed. A typical mechanism of small-scale generation near the wall (around y+ = 1), the intensification of positive ∂u'/∂y by local strain fluctuation (compression in normal and stretching in spanwise direction), is illustrated and discussed.

Directional Statistics for Polarization Observations of Individual Pulses from Radio Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKinnon, M. M.

2010-10-01

Radio polarimetry is a three-dimensional statistical problem. The three-dimensional aspect of the problem arises from the Stokes parameters Q, U, and V, which completely describe the polarization of electromagnetic radiation and conceptually define the orientation of a polarization vector in the Poincaré sphere. The statistical aspect of the problem arises from the random fluctuations in the source-intrinsic polarization and the instrumental noise. A simple model for the polarization of pulsar radio emission has been used to derive the three-dimensional statistics of radio polarimetry. The model is based upon the proposition that the observed polarization is due to the incoherent superposition of two, highly polarized, orthogonal modes. The directional statistics derived from the model follow the Bingham-Mardia and Fisher family of distributions. The model assumptions are supported by the qualitative agreement between the statistics derived from it and those measured with polarization observations of the individual pulses from pulsars. The orthogonal modes are thought to be the natural modes of radio wave propagation in the pulsar magnetosphere. The intensities of the modes become statistically independent when generalized Faraday rotation (GFR) in the magnetosphere causes the difference in their phases to be large. A stochastic version of GFR occurs when fluctuations in the phase difference are also large, and may be responsible for the more complicated polarization patterns observed in pulsar radio emission.

SNW 2000 Proceedings. Oxide Thickness Variation Induced Threshold Voltage Fluctuations in Decanano MOSFETs: a 3D Density Gradient Simulation Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asenov, Asen; Kaya, S.; Davies, J. H.; Saini, S.

2000-01-01

We use the density gradient (DG) simulation approach to study, in 3D, the effect of local oxide thickness fluctuations on the threshold voltage of decanano MOSFETs in a statistical manner. A description of the reconstruction procedure for the random 2D surfaces representing the 'atomistic' Si-SiO2 interface variations is presented. The procedure is based on power spectrum synthesis in the Fourier domain and can include either Gaussian or exponential spectra. The simulations show that threshold voltage variations induced by oxide thickness fluctuation become significant when the gate length of the devices become comparable to the correlation length of the fluctuations. The extent of quantum corrections in the simulations with respect to the classical case and the dependence of threshold variations on the oxide thickness are examined.

On the Development of Turbulent Wakes from Vortex Streets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roshko, Anatol

1954-01-01

Wake development behind circular cylinders at Reynolds numbers from 40 to 10,000 was investigated in a low-speed wind tunnel. Standard hot-wire techniques were used to study the velocity fluctuations. The Reynolds number range of periodic vortex shedding is divided into two distinct subranges. At r=40 to 150, called the stable range, regular vortex streets are formed and no turbulent velocity fluctuations accompany the periodic formation of vortices. The range r=150 to 300 is a transition range to a regime called the irregular range, in which turbulent velocity fluctuations accompany the periodic formation of vortices. The turbulence is initiated by laminar-turbulent transition in the free layers which spring from the separation points on the cylinder. The transition first occurs in the range r=150 to 300. Spectrum and statistical measurements were made to study the velocity fluctuations.

Microwave beam broadening due to turbulent plasma density fluctuations within the limit of the Born approximation and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köhn, A.; Guidi, L.; Holzhauer, E.; Maj, O.; Poli, E.; Snicker, A.; Weber, H.

2018-07-01

Plasma turbulence, and edge density fluctuations in particular, can under certain conditions broaden the cross-section of injected microwave beams significantly. This can be a severe problem for applications relying on well-localized deposition of the microwave power, like the control of MHD instabilities. Here we investigate this broadening mechanism as a function of fluctuation level, background density and propagation length in a fusion-relevant scenario using two numerical codes, the full-wave code IPF-FDMC and the novel wave kinetic equation solver WKBeam. The latter treats the effects of fluctuations using a statistical approach, based on an iterative solution of the scattering problem (Born approximation). The full-wave simulations are used to benchmark this approach. The Born approximation is shown to be valid over a large parameter range, including ITER-relevant scenarios.

Magnetic disorder in superconductors: Enhancement by mesoscopic fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burmistrov, I. S.; Skvortsov, M. A.

2018-01-01

We study the density of states (DOS) and the transition temperature Tc in a dirty superconducting film with rare classical magnetic impurities of an arbitrary strength described by the Poissonian statistics. We take into account that the potential disorder is a source of mesoscopic fluctuations of the local DOS, and, consequently, of the effective strength of magnetic impurities. We find that these mesoscopic fluctuations result in a nonzero DOS for all energies in the region of the phase diagram where without this effect the DOS is zero within the standard mean-field theory. This mechanism can be more efficient in filling the mean-field superconducting gap than rare fluctuations of the potential disorder (instantons). Depending on the magnetic impurity strength, the suppression of Tc by spin-flip scattering can be faster or slower than in the standard mean-field theory.

1/ f noise from the laws of thermodynamics for finite-size fluctuations.

PubMed

Chamberlin, Ralph V; Nasir, Derek M

2014-07-01

Computer simulations of the Ising model exhibit white noise if thermal fluctuations are governed by Boltzmann's factor alone; whereas we find that the same model exhibits 1/f noise if Boltzmann's factor is extended to include local alignment entropy to all orders. We show that this nonlinear correction maintains maximum entropy during equilibrium fluctuations. Indeed, as with the usual way to resolve Gibbs' paradox that avoids entropy reduction during reversible processes, the correction yields the statistics of indistinguishable particles. The correction also ensures conservation of energy if an instantaneous contribution from local entropy is included. Thus, a common mechanism for 1/f noise comes from assuming that finite-size fluctuations strictly obey the laws of thermodynamics, even in small parts of a large system. Empirical evidence for the model comes from its ability to match the measured temperature dependence of the spectral-density exponents in several metals and to show non-Gaussian fluctuations characteristic of nanoscale systems.

Method to measure efficiently rare fluctuations of turbulence intensity for turbulent-laminar transitions in pipe flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemoto, Takahiro; Alexakis, Alexandros

2018-02-01

The fluctuations of turbulence intensity in a pipe flow around the critical Reynolds number is difficult to study but important because they are related to turbulent-laminar transitions. We here propose a rare-event sampling method to study such fluctuations in order to measure the time scale of the transition efficiently. The method is composed of two parts: (i) the measurement of typical fluctuations (the bulk part of an accumulative probability function) and (ii) the measurement of rare fluctuations (the tail part of the probability function) by employing dynamics where a feedback control of the Reynolds number is implemented. We apply this method to a chaotic model of turbulent puffs proposed by Barkley and confirm that the time scale of turbulence decay increases super exponentially even for high Reynolds numbers up to Re =2500 , where getting enough statistics by brute-force calculations is difficult. The method uses a simple procedure of changing Reynolds number that can be applied even to experiments.

Increase in the Random Dopant Induced Threshold Fluctuations and Lowering in Sub 100 nm MOSFETs Due to Quantum Effects: A 3-D Density-Gradient Simulation Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asenov, Asen; Slavcheva, G.; Brown, A. R.; Davies, J. H.; Saini, S.

2000-01-01

In this paper we present a detailed simulation study of the influence of quantum mechanical effects in the inversion layer on random dopant induced threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering in sub 100 nm MOSFETs. The simulations have been performed using a 3-D implementation of the density gradient (DG) formalism incorporated in our established 3-D atomistic simulation approach. This results in a self-consistent 3-D quantum mechanical picture, which implies not only the vertical inversion layer quantisation but also the lateral confinement effects related to current filamentation in the 'valleys' of the random potential fluctuations. We have shown that the net result of including quantum mechanical effects, while considering statistical dopant fluctuations, is an increase in both threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering. At the same time, the random dopant induced threshold voltage lowering partially compensates for the quantum mechanical threshold voltage shift in aggressively scaled MOSFETs with ultrathin gate oxides.

The Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem of Colloidal Particle's energy on 2D Periodic Substrates: A Monte Carlo Study of thermal noise-like fluctuation and diffusion like Brownian motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Najafi, Amin

2014-05-01

Using the Monte Carlo simulations, we have calculated mean-square fluctuations in statistical mechanics, such as those for colloids energy configuration are set on square 2D periodic substrates interacting via a long range screened Coulomb potential on any specific and fixed substrate. Random fluctuations with small deviations from the state of thermodynamic equilibrium arise from the granular structure of them and appear as thermal diffusion with Gaussian distribution structure as well. The variations are showing linear form of the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem on the energy of particles constitutive a canonical ensemble with continuous diffusion process of colloidal particle systems. The noise-like variation of the energy per particle and the order parameter versus the Brownian displacement of sum of large number of random steps of particles at low temperatures phase are presenting a markovian process on colloidal particles configuration, too.

Scale-invariant structure of energy fluctuations in real earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ping; Chang, Zhe; Wang, Huanyu; Lu, Hong

2017-11-01

Earthquakes are obviously complex phenomena associated with complicated spatiotemporal correlations, and they are generally characterized by two power laws: the Gutenberg-Richter (GR) and the Omori-Utsu laws. However, an important challenge has been to explain two apparently contrasting features: the GR and Omori-Utsu laws are scale-invariant and unaffected by energy or time scales, whereas earthquakes occasionally exhibit a characteristic energy or time scale, such as with asperity events. In this paper, three high-quality datasets on earthquakes were used to calculate the earthquake energy fluctuations at various spatiotemporal scales, and the results reveal the correlations between seismic events regardless of their critical or characteristic features. The probability density functions (PDFs) of the fluctuations exhibit evidence of another scaling that behaves as a q-Gaussian rather than random process. The scaling behaviors are observed for scales spanning three orders of magnitude. Considering the spatial heterogeneities in a real earthquake fault, we propose an inhomogeneous Olami-Feder-Christensen (OFC) model to describe the statistical properties of real earthquakes. The numerical simulations show that the inhomogeneous OFC model shares the same statistical properties with real earthquakes.

Extreme statistics and index distribution in the classical 1d Coulomb gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhar, Abhishek; Kundu, Anupam; Majumdar, Satya N.; Sabhapandit, Sanjib; Schehr, Grégory

2018-07-01

We consider a 1D gas of N charged particles confined by an external harmonic potential and interacting via the 1D Coulomb potential. For this system we show that in equilibrium the charges settle, on an average, uniformly and symmetrically on a finite region centred around the origin. We study the statistics of the position of the rightmost particle and show that the limiting distribution describing its typical fluctuations is different from the Tracy–Widom distribution found in the 1D log-gas. We also compute the large deviation functions which characterise the atypical fluctuations of far away from its mean value. In addition, we study the gap between the two rightmost particles as well as the index N + , i.e. the number of particles on the positive semi-axis. We compute the limiting distributions associated to the typical fluctuations of these observables as well as the corresponding large deviation functions. We provide numerical supports to our analytical predictions. Part of these results were announced in a recent letter, Dhar et al (2017 Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 060601).

q-deformed Einstein's model to describe specific heat of solid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha, Atanu; Das, Prasanta Kumar

2018-04-01

Realistic phenomena can be described more appropriately using generalized canonical ensemble, with proper parameter sets involved. We have generalized the Einstein's theory for specific heat of solid in Tsallis statistics, where the temperature fluctuation is introduced into the theory via the fluctuation parameter q. At low temperature the Einstein's curve of the specific heat in the nonextensive Tsallis scenario exactly lies on the experimental data points. Consequently this q-modified Einstein's curve is found to be overlapping with the one predicted by Debye. Considering only the temperature fluctuation effect(even without considering more than one mode of vibration is being triggered) we found that the CV vs T curve is as good as obtained by considering the different modes of vibration as suggested by Debye. Generalizing the Einstein's theory in Tsallis statistics we found that a unique value of the Einstein temperature θE along with a temperature dependent deformation parameter q(T) , can well describe the phenomena of specific heat of solid i.e. the theory is equivalent to Debye's theory with a temperature dependent θD.

Disappearance kinetics of solutes from synovial fluid after intra-articular injection.

PubMed Central

Owen, S G; Francis, H W; Roberts, M S

1994-01-01

1. Five rheumatoid patients with a knee joint effusion participated in the study. An aqueous solution (0.1 to 0.2 ml) containing paracetamol, salicylate, diclofenac and [125I]-albumin was injected into a given joint to yield target concentrations of approximately 20 micrograms ml-1 for diclofenac, salicylate and paracetamol and 10(8) counts ml-1 for [125I]-albumin. 2. Paracetamol, salicylate and diclofenac were analysed in synovial fluid by h.p.l.c. [125I]-albumin was analysed using gamma counting. 3. The clearances (+/- s.d.) obtained for the solutes were [125I]-albumin (0.0053 +/- 0.0019 l h-1), diclofenac (0.0096 +/- 0.0061 l h-1), salicylate (0.024 +/- 0.022 l h-1) and paracetamol (0.055 +/- 0.041 l h-1). The corresponding fractions unbound of these solutes in synovial fluid were 0.0, < or = 0.01, 0.34 +/- 0.09 and 0.85 +/- 0.10, respectively. 4. Diffusion of unbound solute through the synovium is estimated to account for (+/- s.d.) 0.52 +/- 0.08, 0.87 +/- 0.06 and 0.99 +/- 0.01 of the total clearance of diclofenac, salicylate and paracetamol from the joint space, respectively. The remaining proportion of clearance is accounted for by efflux of solute bound to albumin. 5. An expression for the ratio of synovial fluid to total plasma concentrations after systemic administration was developed to include both diffusion of unbound solute and albumin flux. Most solutes appear to satisfy the conditions in which this expression reduces to the limiting case where the unbound concentration of the solute is identical in the synovial fluid and plasma under steady state conditions. PMID:7833225

Clinical pharmacokinetics of unbound docetaxel: role of polysorbate 80 and serum proteins.

PubMed

Loos, Walter J; Baker, Sharyn D; Verweij, Jaap; Boonstra, Joke G; Sparreboom, Alex

2003-10-01

Our objectives were to study the extent of docetaxel binding to plasma in the presence and absence of its excipient, polysorbate 80 (Tween 80; Imperial Chemical Industries PLC, London, United Kingdom), in vitro and to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of unbound docetaxel in vivo. Equilibrium dialysis was used for determination of the fraction unbound (f(u)) docetaxel and was applied to study the pharmacokinetic behavior of unbound docetaxel in 23 patients with cancer receiving an intravenous infusion of the drug formulated in polysorbate 80 (Taxotere; Aventis Pharma SA, Vitry-sur-Seine Cedex, France). Polysorbate 80, added at clinically relevant concentrations (up to 1.0 microL/mL), increased f(u) in vitro by 13% (7.84% +/- 0.0752% versus 6.95% +/- 0.0678%, P <.00001). Similarly, f(u) calculated on the basis of the observed area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) values [f(u)(AUC)] in vivo was 12% higher than f(u) in pretreatment samples [f(u)(pre)] (6.00% +/- 1.03% versus 5.49% +/- 1.01%, P =.038). Of various serum proteins evaluated, only alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein was significantly related to f(u) (P <.0018), with higher f(u) in the presence of lower protein levels. Total docetaxel clearance was related to alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (R(2) = 0.13, P =.058), f(u)(pre) (R(2) = 0.15, P =.039), and f(u)(AUC) (R(2) = 0.29, P =.0048). This study demonstrates that the plasma binding of docetaxel is influenced by both alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein and its formulation vehicle. Further investigation is required to resolve the potential clinical significance of these observations.

Effect of multiple dosing of ketoconazole on pharmacokinetics of midazolam, a cytochrome P-450 3A substrate in beagle dogs.

PubMed

Kuroha, Masanori; Azumano, Akinori; Kuze, Yoji; Shimoda, Minoru; Kokue, Eiichi

2002-01-01

To evaluate effects of multiple dosing of ketoconazole (KTZ) on hepatic CYP3A, the pharmacokinetics of intravenous midazolam (MDZ, 0.5 mg/kg) before and during multiple dosing of KTZ were investigated in beagle dogs. KTZ tablets were given orally to dogs (n = 4) for 30 days (200 mg b.i.d.). With coadministration of KTZ, t(1/2beta) of MDZ were significantly increased both on day 1 (2-fold) and on day 30 (3-fold). Total body clearance (CL(tot)) of MDZ declined gradually during the first 5 days after the start of KTZ treatment, and thereafter CL(tot) appeared to reach a plateau phase (one-fourth), depending on plasma KTZ concentrations. The effects of KTZ on the biotransformation of MDZ were also investigated using dog liver microsomes (n = 5). The K(i) values of KTZ for MDZ 1'-hydroxylation and 4-hydroxylation were 0.0237 and 0.111 microM, respectively, indicating that KTZ extensively inhibits hepatic CYP3A activity in dogs. CL(tot) values estimated from in vitro K(i) values corrected by unbound fraction of KTZ and unbound concentrations of the drug in plasma were consistent with in vivo CL(tot) of MDZ. The results in this study suggest that KTZ treatment is necessary until plasma concentrations of the drug reach a steady state to evaluate the effect of multiple dosing of the drug on hepatic CYP3A in vivo. In addition, it is suggested that K(i) values corrected by unbound fraction of KTZ and unbound concentrations of the drug in plasma enable precise in vitro-in vivo scaling.

Single-particle and collective motion in unbound deformed 39Mg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fossez, K.; Rotureau, J.; Michel, N.; Liu, Quan; Nazarewicz, W.

2016-11-01

Background: Deformed neutron-rich magnesium isotopes constitute a fascinating territory where the interplay between collective rotation and single-particle motion is strongly affected by the neutron continuum. The unbound f p -shell nucleus 39Mg is an ideal candidate to study this interplay. Purpose: In this work, we predict the properties of low-lying resonant states of 39Mg, using a suite of realistic theoretical approaches rooted in the open quantum system framework. Method: To describe the spectrum and decay modes of 39Mg we use the conventional shell model, Gamow shell model, resonating group method, density matrix renormalization group method, and the nonadiabatic particle-plus-rotor model formulated in the Berggren basis. Results: The unbound ground state of 39Mg is predicted to be either a Jπ=7/2 - state or a 3/2 - state. A narrow Jπ=7/2 - ground-state candidate exhibits a resonant structure reminiscent of that of its one-neutron halo neighbor 37Mg, which is dominated by the f7 /2 partial wave at short distances and a p3 /2 component at large distances. A Jπ=3/2 - ground-state candidate is favored by the large deformation of the system. It can be associated with the 1/2 -[321 ] Nilsson orbital dominated by the ℓ =1 wave; hence its predicted width is large. The excited Jπ=1/2 - and 5 /2- states are expected to be broad resonances, while the Jπ=9/2 - and 11/2 - members of the ground-state rotational band are predicted to have very small neutron decay widths. Conclusion: We demonstrate that the subtle interplay between deformation, shell structure, and continuum coupling can result in a variety of excitations in an unbound nucleus just outside the neutron drip line.

Steady-state pharmacokinetics of (R)- and (S)-methadone in methadone maintenance patients

PubMed Central

Foster, David J R; Somogyi, Andrew A; Dyer, Kyle R; White, Jason M; Bochner, Felix

2000-01-01

Aims To investigate the steady-state pharmacokinetics of (R)- and (S)-methadone in a methadone maintenance population. Methods Eighteen patients recruited from a public methadone maintenance program underwent an interdosing interval pharmacokinetic study. Plasma and urine samples were collected and analysed for methadone and its major metabolite (EDDP) using stereoselective h.p.l.c. Methadone plasma protein binding was examined using ultrafiltration, and plasma α1-acid glycoprotein concentrations were quantified by radial immunoassay. Results (R)-methadone had a significantly (P < 0.05) greater unbound fraction (mean 173%) and total renal clearance (182%) compared with (S)-methadone, while maximum measured plasma concentrations (83%) and apparent partial clearance of methadone to EDDP (76%) were significantly (P < 0.001) lower. When protein binding was considered (R)-methadone plasma clearance of the unbound fraction (59%) and apparent partial intrinsic clearance to EDDP (44%) were significantly (P < 0.01) lower than for (S)-methadone, while AUCτSS, (167%) was significantly (P < 0.001) greater. There were no significant (P > 0.2) differences between the methadone enantiomers for AUCτSS, steady-state plasma clearance, trough plasma concentrations and unbound renal clearance. Patients excreted significantly (P < 0.0001) more (R)-methadone and (S)-EDDP than the corresponding enantiomers. Considerable interindividual variability was observed for the pharmacokinetic parameters, with coefficients of variation of up to 70%. Conclusions Steady-state pharmacokinetics of unbound methadone are stereoselective, and there is large interindividual variability consistent with CYP3A4 mediated metabolism to the major metabolite EDDP; the variability did not obscure a significant dose-plasma concentration relationship. Stereoselective differences in the pharmacokinetics of methadone may have important implications for pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling but is unlikely to be important for therapeutic drug monitoring of methadone, in the setting of opioid dependence. PMID:11069437

Hepatic cyst penetration of cefazolin in patients receiving aspiration sclerotherapy.

PubMed

Lantinga, M A; Wijnands, T F M; Te Morsche, R H M; de Sévaux, R G L; Kuipers, S; Allegaert, K; Burger, D; Drenth, J P H

2016-09-01

Hepatic cyst infection is a potentially severe complication in cystic disease. Treatment demands effective antibiotic concentrations within the infected cyst. The aim of this study was to use elective hepatic cyst drainage as a unique pharmacokinetic model to investigate whether cefazolin, a first-generation cephalosporin, is able to penetrate hepatic cysts. Patients scheduled to undergo percutaneous aspiration sclerotherapy of a symptomatic non-infected, non-neoplastic hepatic cyst were eligible for this study. All participants received a single perioperative prophylactic dose of cefazolin (1000 mg, intravenously). We collected blood and cyst fluid samples to determine total and unbound cefazolin concentrations using HPLC. The primary outcome was hepatic cyst penetration, expressed as the ratio (%) of unbound concentration of cefazolin in cyst fluid to plasma (both in mg/L). We included eight patients [male = 25%, median age = 60 years (IQR 54-75), median estimated glomerular filtration rate = 97 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (IQR 67-102) and median serum albumin = 40 g/L (IQR 37-40)]. We detected low concentrations of unbound cefazolin in cyst fluid (≤1.0 mg/L). The median plasma unbound cefazolin peak level (immediately after cefazolin administration) was 36.6 mg/L (IQR 23.7-54.1) and the level at the time of cyst fluid aspiration was 16.1 mg/L (IQR 13.0-20.1). In total, the hepatic cyst penetration of free cefazolin was only 2.2% (IQR 0.7-5.2). We developed a study model to investigate the penetration of antibiotics into hepatic cysts. Cefazolin did not reach adequate intracystic concentrations. Future studies should explore alternatives. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effects of Soybean Lipid Infusion on Unbound Free Fatty Acids and Unbound Bilirubin in Preterm Infants.

PubMed

Hegyi, Thomas; Kleinfeld, Alan; Huber, Andrew; Weinberger, Barry; Memon, Naureen; Shih, Weichung Joe; Carayannopoulos, Mary; Oh, William

2017-05-01

To assess the effects of a soybean lipid emulsion infusions on levels of unbound (free) bilirubin (Bf) and unbound free fatty acids (FFAu) as well as changes in Bf and total serum bilirubin (TSB) during phototherapy in infants born preterm. Ninety-seven infants born preterm (birth weight: 500-2000 g; gestational age: 23-34 weeks) were enrolled to investigate the effect of 0, 1, 2, and 3 g/kg/d of intralipid infusion on Bf and FFAu. Pre- and postphototherapy TSB, FFAu, and Bf also were analyzed in 91 infants to assess the effects of phototherapy. FFAu levels were measured with the fluorescent probe ADIFAB2 and Bf by the fluorescent Bf sensor BL22P1B11-Rh during intralipid infusion and at start and end of phototherapy. TSB and plasma albumin were measured by the diazo and bromcresol green techniques, respectively. Bilirubin-albumin dissociation constants were calculated based on Bf and plasma albumin. Bf and FFAu increased with increasing intralipid dosage across all gestational ages. TSB and Bf were correlated significantly when infants received 0 or 1 g/kg/d of intralipid but not at greater doses of intralipid (2 and 3 g/kg/d). Although phototherapy effectively reduced both TSB and Bf in the total phototherapy group (by 32% and 12%, respectively), it reduced TSB, but not Bf, in infants less than 28 weeks of gestation. Increasing intralipid doses result in increasing FFAu levels, which are associated with increased Bf independent of TSB. In infants born extremely preterm (<28 weeks of gestation), phototherapy effectively reduces TSB but not Bf. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Posaconazole in Human Serum: a Greater Pharmacodynamic Effect than Predicted by the Non-Protein-Bound Serum Concentration ▿

PubMed Central

Lignell, Anders; Löwdin, Elisabeth; Cars, Otto; Chryssanthou, Erja; Sjölin, Jan

2011-01-01

It is generally accepted that only the unbound fraction of a drug is pharmacologically active. Posaconazole is an antifungal agent with a protein binding of 98 to 99%. Taking into account the degree of protein binding, plasma levels in patients, and MIC levels of susceptible strains, it can be assumed that the free concentration of posaconazole sometimes will be too low to exert the expected antifungal effect. The aim was therefore to test the activity of posaconazole in serum in comparison with that of the calculated unbound concentrations in protein-free media. Significant differences (P < 0.05) from the serum control were found at serum concentrations of posaconazole of 1.0 and 0.10 mg/liter, with calculated free concentrations corresponding to 1× MIC and 0.1× MIC, respectively, against one Candida lusitaniae strain selected for proof of principle. In RPMI 1640, the corresponding calculated unbound concentration of 0.015 mg/liter resulted in a significant effect, whereas that of 0.0015 mg/liter did not. Also, against seven additional Candida strains tested, there was an effect of the low posaconazole concentration in serum, in contrast to the results in RPMI 1640. Fluconazole, a low-grade-protein-bound antifungal, was used for comparison at corresponding concentrations in serum and RPMI 1640. No effect was observed at the serum concentration, resulting in a calculated unbound concentration of 0.1× MIC. In summary, there was a substantially greater pharmacodynamic effect of posaconazole in human serum than could be predicted by the non-protein-bound serum concentration. A flux from serum protein-bound to fungal lanosterol 14α-demethylase-bound posaconazole is suggested. PMID:21502622

Revisiting atenolol as a low passive permeability marker.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaomei; Slättengren, Tim; de Lange, Elizabeth C M; Smith, David E; Hammarlund-Udenaes, Margareta

2017-10-31

Atenolol, a hydrophilic beta blocker, has been used as a model drug for studying passive permeability of biological membranes such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the intestinal epithelium. However, the extent of S-atenolol (the active enantiomer) distribution in brain has never been evaluated, at equilibrium, to confirm that no transporters are involved in its transport at the BBB. To assess whether S-atenolol, in fact, depicts the characteristics of a low passive permeable drug at the BBB, a microdialysis study was performed in rats to monitor the unbound concentrations of S-atenolol in brain extracellular fluid (ECF) and plasma during and after intravenous infusion. A pharmacokinetic model was developed, based on the microdialysis data, to estimate the permeability clearance of S-atenolol into and out of brain. In addition, the nonspecific binding of S-atenolol in brain homogenate was evaluated using equilibrium dialysis. The steady-state ratio of unbound S-atenolol concentrations in brain ECF to that in plasma (i.e., K p,uu,brain ) was 3.5% ± 0.4%, a value much less than unity. The unbound volume of distribution in brain (V u, brain ) of S-atenolol was also calculated as 0.69 ± 0.10 mL/g brain, indicating that S-atenolol is evenly distributed within brain parenchyma. Lastly, equilibrium dialysis showed limited nonspecific binding of S-atenolol in brain homogenate with an unbound fraction (f u,brain ) of 0.88 ± 0.07. It is concluded, based on K p,uu,brain being much smaller than unity, that S-atenolol is actively effluxed at the BBB, indicating the need to re-consider S-atenolol as a model drug for passive permeability studies of BBB transport or intestinal absorption.

Speckle in the diffraction patterns of Hendricks-Teller and icosahedral glass models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Anupam; Levine, Dov

1988-01-01

It is shown that the X-ray diffraction patterns from the Hendricks-Teller model for layered systems and the icosahedral glass models for the icosahedral phases show large fluctuations between nearby scattering wave vectors and from sample to sample, that are quite analogous to laser speckle. The statistics of these fluctuations are studied analytically for the first model and via computer simulations for the second. The observability of these effects is discussed briefly.

Radial dependence of self-organized criticality behavior in TCABR tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

dos Santos Lima, G. Z.; Iarosz, K. C.; Batista, A. M.; Guimarães-Filho, Z. O.; Caldas, I. L.; Kuznetsov, Y. K.; Nascimento, I. C.; Viana, R. L.; Lopes, S. R.

2011-03-01

In this work we present evidence of the self-organized criticality behavior of the plasma edge electrostatic turbulence in the tokamak TCABR. Analyzing fluctuation data measured by Langmuir probes, we verify the radial dependence of self-organized criticality behavior at the plasma edge and scrape-off layer. We identify evidence of this radial criticality in statistical properties of the laminar period distribution function, power spectral density, autocorrelation, and Hurst parameter for the analyzed fluctuations.

EAS fluctuation approach to primary mass composition investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stamenov, J. N.; Janminchev, V. D.

1985-01-01

The analysis of muon and electron fluctuation distribution shapes by statistical method of invers problem solution gives the possibility to obtain the relative contribution values of the five main primary nuclei groups. The method is model-independent for a big class of interaction models and can give good results for observation levels not too far from the development maximum and for the selection of showers with fixed sizes and zenith angles not bigger than 30 deg.

Fluctuating asymmetry and testing isolation of Montana grizzly bear populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Picton, Harold D.; Palmisciano, Daniel A.; Nelson, Gerald

1990-01-01

Fluctuating asymmetry of adult skulls was used to test he genetic isolation of the Yellowstone grizzly bear population from its nearest neighbor. An overall summary statistic was used in addition to 16 other parameters. Tests found the males of the Yellowstone populaion to be more vaiable than those of the North Conitinental Divide Exosystem. Evidence for precipitaiton effects is also included. This test tends to support the existing management haypothesis that the Yellowstone population is isolatied.

Enhanced Sensitivity to Rapid Input Fluctuations by Nonlinear Threshold Dynamics in Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons.

PubMed

Mensi, Skander; Hagens, Olivier; Gerstner, Wulfram; Pozzorini, Christian

2016-02-01

The way in which single neurons transform input into output spike trains has fundamental consequences for network coding. Theories and modeling studies based on standard Integrate-and-Fire models implicitly assume that, in response to increasingly strong inputs, neurons modify their coding strategy by progressively reducing their selective sensitivity to rapid input fluctuations. Combining mathematical modeling with in vitro experiments, we demonstrate that, in L5 pyramidal neurons, the firing threshold dynamics adaptively adjust the effective timescale of somatic integration in order to preserve sensitivity to rapid signals over a broad range of input statistics. For that, a new Generalized Integrate-and-Fire model featuring nonlinear firing threshold dynamics and conductance-based adaptation is introduced that outperforms state-of-the-art neuron models in predicting the spiking activity of neurons responding to a variety of in vivo-like fluctuating currents. Our model allows for efficient parameter extraction and can be analytically mapped to a Generalized Linear Model in which both the input filter--describing somatic integration--and the spike-history filter--accounting for spike-frequency adaptation--dynamically adapt to the input statistics, as experimentally observed. Overall, our results provide new insights on the computational role of different biophysical processes known to underlie adaptive coding in single neurons and support previous theoretical findings indicating that the nonlinear dynamics of the firing threshold due to Na+-channel inactivation regulate the sensitivity to rapid input fluctuations.

Revealing giant internal magnetic fields due to spin fluctuations in magnetically doped colloidal nanocrystals

DOE PAGES

Rice, William D.; Liu, Wenyong; Baker, Thomas A.; ...

2015-11-23

Strong quantum confinement in semiconductors can compress the wavefunctions of band electrons and holes to nanometre-scale volumes, significantly enhancing interactions between themselves and individual dopants. In magnetically doped semiconductors, where paramagnetic dopants (such as Mn 2+, Co 2+ and so on) couple to band carriers via strong sp–d spin exchange, giant magneto-optical effects can therefore be realized in confined geometries using few or even single impurity spins. Importantly, however, thermodynamic spin fluctuations become increasingly relevant in this few-spin limit. In nanoscale volumes, the statistical √N fluctuations of N spins are expected to generate giant effective magnetic fields B eff, whichmore » should dramatically impact carrier spin dynamics, even in the absence of any applied field. In this paper, we directly and unambiguously reveal the large B eff that exist in Mn 2+-doped CdSe colloidal nanocrystals using ultrafast optical spectroscopy. At zero applied magnetic field, extremely rapid (300–600 GHz) spin precession of photoinjected electrons is observed, indicating B eff ~ 15-30 T for electrons. Precession frequencies exceed 2 THz in applied magnetic fields. Finally, these signals arise from electron precession about the random fields due to statistically incomplete cancellation of the embedded Mn 2+ moments, thereby revealing the initial coherent dynamics of magnetic polaron formation, and highlighting the importance of magnetization fluctuations on carrier spin dynamics in nanomaterials.« less

Energy flow in non-equilibrium conformal field theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, Denis; Doyon, Benjamin

2012-09-01

We study the energy current and its fluctuations in quantum gapless 1d systems far from equilibrium modeled by conformal field theory, where two separated halves are prepared at distinct temperatures and glued together at a point contact. We prove that these systems converge towards steady states, and give a general description of such non-equilibrium steady states in terms of quantum field theory data. We compute the large deviation function, also called the full counting statistics, of energy transfer through the contact. These are universal and satisfy fluctuation relations. We provide a simple representation of these quantum fluctuations in terms of classical Poisson processes whose intensities are proportional to Boltzmann weights.

Imprint of long-term solar signal in groundwater recharge fluctuation rates from Northwest China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, R. K.; Rajesh, Rekapalli

2014-05-01

Multiple spectral and statistical analyses of a 700 yearlong temporal record of groundwater recharge from the dry lands, Badain Jaran Desert (Inner Mongolia) of Northwest China reveal a stationary harmonic cycle at ~200 ± 20 year. Interestingly, the underlying periodicity in groundwater recharge fluctuations is similar to those of solar-induced climate cycle "Suess wiggles" and appears to be coherent with phases of the climate fluctuations and solar cycles. Matching periodicity of groundwater recharge rates and solar and climate cycles renders a strong impression that solar-induced climate signals may act as a critical amplifier for driving the underlying hydrographic cycle through the common coupling of long-term Sun-climate groundwater linkages.

Gain degradation and amplitude scintillation due to tropospheric turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Theobold, D. M.; Hodge, D. B.

1978-01-01

It is shown that a simple physical model is adequate for the prediction of the long term statistics of both the reduced signal levels and increased peak-to-peak fluctuations. The model is based on conventional atmospheric turbulence theory and incorporates both amplitude and angle of arrival fluctuations. This model predicts the average variance of signals observed under clear air conditions at low elevation angles on earth-space paths at 2, 7.3, 20 and 30 GHz. Design curves based on this model for gain degradation, realizable gain, amplitude fluctuation as a function of antenna aperture size, frequency, and either terrestrial path length or earth-space path elevation angle are presented.

Measurement of optical intensity fluctuation over an 11.8 km turbulent path.

PubMed

Jiang, Yijun; Ma, Jing; Tan, Liying; Yu, Siyuan; Du, Wenhe

2008-05-12

An 11.8km optical link is established to examine the intensity fluctuation of the laser beam transmission through atmosphere turbulence. Probability density function, fade statistic, and high-frequency spectrum are researched based on the analysis of the experimental data collected in each season of a year, including both weak and strong fluctuation cases. Finally, the daily variation curve of scintillation index is given, compared with the variation of refractive-index structure parameter C(n) (2), which is calculated from the experimental data of angle of arrival. This work provides the experimental results that are helpful to the atmospheric propagation research and the free-space optical communication system design.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hogan, Craig

It is argued by extrapolation of general relativity and quantum mechanics that a classical inertial frame corresponds to a statistically defined observable that rotationally fluctuates due to Planck scale indeterminacy. Physical effects of exotic nonlocal rotational correlations on large scale field states are estimated. Their entanglement with the strong interaction vacuum is estimated to produce a universal, statistical centrifugal acceleration that resembles the observed cosmological constant.

Exact extreme-value statistics at mixed-order transitions.

PubMed

Bar, Amir; Majumdar, Satya N; Schehr, Grégory; Mukamel, David

2016-05-01

We study extreme-value statistics for spatially extended models exhibiting mixed-order phase transitions (MOT). These are phase transitions that exhibit features common to both first-order (discontinuity of the order parameter) and second-order (diverging correlation length) transitions. We consider here the truncated inverse distance squared Ising model, which is a prototypical model exhibiting MOT, and study analytically the extreme-value statistics of the domain lengths The lengths of the domains are identically distributed random variables except for the global constraint that their sum equals the total system size L. In addition, the number of such domains is also a fluctuating variable, and not fixed. In the paramagnetic phase, we show that the distribution of the largest domain length l_{max} converges, in the large L limit, to a Gumbel distribution. However, at the critical point (for a certain range of parameters) and in the ferromagnetic phase, we show that the fluctuations of l_{max} are governed by novel distributions, which we compute exactly. Our main analytical results are verified by numerical simulations.

Statistical parity-time-symmetric lasing in an optical fibre network.

PubMed

Jahromi, Ali K; Hassan, Absar U; Christodoulides, Demetrios N; Abouraddy, Ayman F

2017-11-07

Parity-time (PT)-symmetry in optics is a condition whereby the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index across a photonic structure are deliberately balanced. This balance can lead to interesting optical phenomena, such as unidirectional invisibility, loss-induced lasing, single-mode lasing from multimode resonators, and non-reciprocal effects in conjunction with nonlinearities. Because PT-symmetry has been thought of as fragile, experimental realisations to date have been usually restricted to on-chip micro-devices. Here, we demonstrate that certain features of PT-symmetry are sufficiently robust to survive the statistical fluctuations associated with a macroscopic optical cavity. We examine the lasing dynamics in optical fibre-based coupled cavities more than a kilometre in length with balanced gain and loss. Although fluctuations can detune the cavity by more than the free spectral range, the behaviour of the lasing threshold and the laser power is that expected from a PT-stable system. Furthermore, we observe a statistical symmetry breaking upon varying the cavity loss.

On Fluctuations of Eigenvalues of Random Band Matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shcherbina, M.

2015-10-01

We consider the fluctuations of linear eigenvalue statistics of random band matrices whose entries have the form with i.i.d. possessing the th moment, where the function u has a finite support , so that M has only nonzero diagonals. The parameter b (called the bandwidth) is assumed to grow with n in a way such that . Without any additional assumptions on the growth of b we prove CLT for linear eigenvalue statistics for a rather wide class of test functions. Thus we improve and generalize the results of the previous papers (Jana et al., arXiv:1412.2445; Li et al. Random Matrices 2:04, 2013), where CLT was proven under the assumption . Moreover, we develop a method which allows to prove automatically the CLT for linear eigenvalue statistics of the smooth test functions for almost all classical models of random matrix theory: deformed Wigner and sample covariance matrices, sparse matrices, diluted random matrices, matrices with heavy tales etc.

Heavy-Tailed Fluctuations in the Spiking Output Intensity of Semiconductor Lasers with Optical Feedback

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Although heavy-tailed fluctuations are ubiquitous in complex systems, a good understanding of the mechanisms that generate them is still lacking. Optical complex systems are ideal candidates for investigating heavy-tailed fluctuations, as they allow recording large datasets under controllable experimental conditions. A dynamical regime that has attracted a lot of attention over the years is the so-called low-frequency fluctuations (LFFs) of semiconductor lasers with optical feedback. In this regime, the laser output intensity is characterized by abrupt and apparently random dropouts. The statistical analysis of the inter-dropout-intervals (IDIs) has provided many useful insights into the underlying dynamics. However, the presence of large temporal fluctuations in the IDI sequence has not yet been investigated. Here, by applying fluctuation analysis we show that the experimental distribution of IDI fluctuations is heavy-tailed, and specifically, is well-modeled by a non-Gaussian stable distribution. We find a good qualitative agreement with simulations of the Lang-Kobayashi model. Moreover, we uncover a transition from a less-heavy-tailed state at low pump current to a more-heavy-tailed state at higher pump current. Our results indicate that fluctuation analysis can be a useful tool for investigating the output signals of complex optical systems; it can be used for detecting underlying regime shifts, for model validation and parameter estimation. PMID:26901346

Poisson statistics of PageRank probabilities of Twitter and Wikipedia networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frahm, Klaus M.; Shepelyansky, Dima L.

2014-04-01

We use the methods of quantum chaos and Random Matrix Theory for analysis of statistical fluctuations of PageRank probabilities in directed networks. In this approach the effective energy levels are given by a logarithm of PageRank probability at a given node. After the standard energy level unfolding procedure we establish that the nearest spacing distribution of PageRank probabilities is described by the Poisson law typical for integrable quantum systems. Our studies are done for the Twitter network and three networks of Wikipedia editions in English, French and German. We argue that due to absence of level repulsion the PageRank order of nearby nodes can be easily interchanged. The obtained Poisson law implies that the nearby PageRank probabilities fluctuate as random independent variables.

Global stabilization analysis of inertial memristive recurrent neural networks with discrete and distributed delays.

PubMed

Wang, Leimin; Zeng, Zhigang; Ge, Ming-Feng; Hu, Junhao

2018-05-02

This paper deals with the stabilization problem of memristive recurrent neural networks with inertial items, discrete delays, bounded and unbounded distributed delays. First, for inertial memristive recurrent neural networks (IMRNNs) with second-order derivatives of states, an appropriate variable substitution method is invoked to transfer IMRNNs into a first-order differential form. Then, based on nonsmooth analysis theory, several algebraic criteria are established for the global stabilizability of IMRNNs under proposed feedback control, where the cases with both bounded and unbounded distributed delays are successfully addressed. Finally, the theoretical results are illustrated via the numerical simulations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal discrete-time LQR problems for parabolic systems with unbounded input: Approximation and convergence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, I. G.

1988-01-01

An abstract approximation and convergence theory for the closed-loop solution of discrete-time linear-quadratic regulator problems for parabolic systems with unbounded input is developed. Under relatively mild stabilizability and detectability assumptions, functional analytic, operator techniques are used to demonstrate the norm convergence of Galerkin-based approximations to the optimal feedback control gains. The application of the general theory to a class of abstract boundary control systems is considered. Two examples, one involving the Neumann boundary control of a one-dimensional heat equation, and the other, the vibration control of a cantilevered viscoelastic beam via shear input at the free end, are discussed.

On local strong solutions to the three-dimensional nonhomogeneous incompressible magnetohydrodynamic equations with density-dependent viscosity and vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Sisi

2018-04-01

This paper concerns the three-dimensional nonhomogeneous incompressible magnetohydrodynamic equations with density-dependent viscosity and vacuum on Ω \\subset R^3. The domain Ω \\subset R^3 is a general connected smooth one, either bounded or unbounded. In particular, the initial density can have compact support when Ω is unbounded. First, we obtain the local existence and uniqueness of strong solution to the three-dimensional nonhomogeneous incompressible magnetohydrodynamic equations without any compatibility condition assumed on the initial data. Then, we also prove the continuous dependence of strong solution on the initial data under an additional compatibility condition.

Optimal fixed-finite-dimensional compensator for Burgers' equation with unbounded input/output operators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burns, John A.; Marrekchi, Hamadi

1993-01-01

The problem of using reduced order dynamic compensators to control a class of nonlinear parabolic distributed parameter systems was considered. Concentration was on a system with unbounded input and output operators governed by Burgers' equation. A linearized model was used to compute low-order-finite-dimensional control laws by minimizing certain energy functionals. Then these laws were applied to the nonlinear model. Standard approaches to this problem employ model/controller reduction techniques in conjunction with linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) theory. The approach used is based on the finite dimensional Bernstein/Hyland optimal projection theory which yields a fixed-finite-order controller.

Approximation methods for control of acoustic/structure models with piezoceramic actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banks, H. T.; Fang, W.; Silcox, R. J.; Smith, R. C.

1991-01-01

The active control of acoustic pressure in a 2-D cavity with a flexible boundary (a beam) is considered. Specifically, this control is implemented via piezoceramic patches on the beam which produces pure bending moments. The incorporation of the feedback control in this manner leads to a system with an unbounded input term. Approximation methods in this manner leads to a system with an unbounded input term. Approximation methods in the context of linear quadratic regulator (LQR) state space control formulation are discussed and numerical results demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in computing feedback controls for noise reduction are presented.

Use of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste in geotechnical applications: A literature review.

PubMed

Cardoso, Rafaela; Silva, Rui Vasco; Brito, Jorge de; Dhir, Ravindra

2016-03-01

The use of recycled aggregates (RA) in construction constitutes a significant step towards a more sustainable society and also creates a new market opportunity to be exploited. In recent years, several case-studies have emerged in which RA were used in Geotechnical applications, such as filling materials and in unbound pavement layers. This paper presents a review of the most important physical properties of different types of RA and their comparison with natural aggregates (NA), and how these properties affect their hydraulic and mechanical behaviour when compacted. Specifically, the effects of compaction on grading size distribution curves and density are analysed, as well as the consequences of particle crushing on the resilient modulus, CBR and permeability. The paper also contains an analysis of the influence of incorporating different RA types on the performance of unbound road pavement layers as compared with those built with NA by means of the International Roughness Index and deflection values. The results collected from the literature indicate that the performance of most RA is comparable to that of NA and can be used in unbound pavement layers or in other applications requiring compaction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plasma concentrations of fentanyl with subcutaneous infusion in palliative care patients.

PubMed

Miller, R S; Peterson, G M; Abbott, F; Maddocks, I; Parker, D; McLean, S

1995-12-01

1. Plasma concentrations of fentanyl were measured by g.c. in 20 patients (median age: 75 years and range: 54-86 years; eight females) in palliative care receiving the drug by continuous s.c. infusion (median rate: 1200 micrograms day-1 and range: 100-5000 micrograms day-1). 2. The infusion rate was significantly related to the duration of therapy (Spearman rho = 0.56, P < 0.05). The total steady-state plasma concentrations of fentanyl ranged between 0.1 and 9 ng ml-1, with a median of 1 ng ml-1. The unbound fraction of fentanyl in the plasma ranged from 17.8 to 44.4%, with a median value of 33.6%. Infusion rates and both total and unbound plasma concentrations of fentanyl were correlated (Spearman rho = 0.92, P < 0.05 in each case). Even with standardization for dosage, there was an eightfold variation in total plasma concentrations and 3.5-fold variation in unbound plasma concentrations of fentanyl. 3. There is considerable inter-patient variability in the pharmacokinetics of fentanyl with s.c. infusion in the palliative care setting, which necessitates careful titration of dosage according to individual clinical response.

Effect of fat content and homogenization under conventional or ultra-high-pressure conditions on interactions between proteins in rennet curds.

PubMed

Zamora, A; Trujillo, A J; Armaforte, E; Waldron, D S; Kelly, A L

2012-09-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of conventional and ultra-high-pressure homogenization on interactions between proteins within drained rennet curds. The effect of fat content of milk (0.0, 1.8, or 3.6%) and homogenization treatment on dissociation of proteins by different chemical agents was thus studied. Increasing the fat content of raw milk increased levels of unbound whey proteins and calcium-bonded caseins in curds; in contrast, hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds were inhibited. Both homogenization treatments triggered the incorporation of unbound whey proteins in the curd, and of caseins through ionic bonds involving calcium salts. Conventional homogenization-pasteurization enhanced interactions between caseins through hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. In contrast, ultra-high-pressure homogenization impaired hydrogen bonding, led to the incorporation of both whey proteins and caseins through hydrophobic interactions and increased the amount of unbound caseins. Thus, both homogenization treatments provoked changes in the protein interactions within rennet curds; however, the nature of the changes depended on the homogenization conditions. Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interpreting Tacrolimus Concentrations During Pregnancy and Postpartum

PubMed Central

Hebert, Mary F.; Zheng, Songmao; Hays, Karen; Shen, Danny D.; Davis, Connie L.; Umans, Jason G.; Miodovnik, Menachem; Thummel, Kenneth E.; Easterling, Thomas R.

2012-01-01

Summary Pregnancy following solid organ transplantation, although considered high risk for maternal, fetal and neonatal complications, has been quite successful. Tacrolimus pharmacokinetic changes during pregnancy make interpretation of whole blood trough concentrations particularly challenging. There are multiple factors that can increase the fraction of unbound tacrolimus, including but not limited to low albumin concentration and low RBC count. The clinical titration of dosage to maintain whole blood tacrolimus trough concentrations in the usual therapeutic range can lead to elevated unbound concentrations and possibly toxicity in pregnant women with anemia and hypoalbuminemia. Measurement of plasma or unbound tacrolimus concentrations for pregnant women might better reflect the active form of the drug, though these are technically-challenging and often unavailable in usual clinical practice. Tacrolimus crosses the placenta with in utero exposure being approximately 71% of maternal blood concentrations. The lower fetal blood concentrations are likely due to active efflux transport of tacrolimus from the fetus toward the mother by placental P-glycoprotein. To date, tacrolimus has not been linked to congenital malformations, but can cause reversible nephrotoxicity and hyperkalemia in the newborn. In contrast, very small amounts of tacrolimus are excreted in the breast milk and are unlikely to elicit adverse effects in the nursing infant. PMID:23274970

Exact, E = 0, classical and quantum solutions for general power-law oscillators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nieto, Michael Martin; Daboul, Jamil

1995-01-01

For zero energy, E = 0, we derive exact, classical and quantum solutions for all power-law oscillators with potentials V(r) = -gamma/r(exp nu), gamma greater than 0 and -infinity less than nu less than infinity. When the angular momentum is non-zero, these solutions lead to the classical orbits (p(t) = (cos mu(phi(t) - phi(sub 0)t))(exp 1/mu) with mu = nu/2 - 1 does not equal 0. For nu greater than 2, the orbits are bound and go through the origin. We calculate the periods and precessions of these bound orbits, and graph a number of specific examples. The unbound orbits are also discussed in detail. Quantum mechanically, this system is also exactly solvable. We find that when nu is greater than 2 the solutions are normalizable (bound), as in the classical case. Further, there are normalizable discrete, yet unbound, states. They correspond to unbound classical particles which reach infinity in a finite time. Finally, the number of space dimensions of the system can determine whether or not an E = 0 state is bound. These and other interesting comparisons to the classical system will be discussed.

Unbound or distant planetary mass population detected by gravitational microlensing.

PubMed

2011-05-19

Since 1995, more than 500 exoplanets have been detected using different techniques, of which 12 were detected with gravitational microlensing. Most of these are gravitationally bound to their host stars. There is some evidence of free-floating planetary-mass objects in young star-forming regions, but these objects are limited to massive objects of 3 to 15 Jupiter masses with large uncertainties in photometric mass estimates and their abundance. Here, we report the discovery of a population of unbound or distant Jupiter-mass objects, which are almost twice (1.8(+1.7)(-0.8)) as common as main-sequence stars, based on two years of gravitational microlensing survey observations towards the Galactic Bulge. These planetary-mass objects have no host stars that can be detected within about ten astronomical units by gravitational microlensing. However, a comparison with constraints from direct imaging suggests that most of these planetary-mass objects are not bound to any host star. An abrupt change in the mass function at about one Jupiter mass favours the idea that their formation process is different from that of stars and brown dwarfs. They may have formed in proto-planetary disks and subsequently scattered into unbound or very distant orbits.

Transition between Two Regimes Describing Internal Fluctuation of DNA in a Nanochannel

PubMed Central

Su, Tianxiang; Das, Somes K.; Xiao, Ming; Purohit, Prashant K.

2011-01-01

We measure the thermal fluctuation of the internal segments of a piece of DNA confined in a nanochannel about 50100 nm wide. This local thermodynamic property is key to accurate measurement of distances in genomic analysis. For DNA in 100 nm channels, we observe a critical length scale 10 m for the mean extension of internal segments, below which the de Gennes' theory describes the fluctuations with no fitting parameters, and above which the fluctuation data falls into Odijk's deflection theory regime. By analyzing the probability distributions of the extensions of the internal segments, we infer that folded structures of length 150250 nm, separated by 10 m exist in the confined DNA during the transition between the two regimes. For 50 nm channels we find that the fluctuation is significantly reduced since the Odijk regime appears earlier. This is critical for genomic analysis. We further propose a more detailed theory based on small fluctuations and incorporating the effects of confinement to explicitly calculate the statistical properties of the internal fluctuations. Our theory is applicable to polymers with heterogeneous mechanical properties confined in non-uniform channels. We show that existing theories for the end-to-end extension/fluctuation of polymers can be used to study the internal fluctuations only when the contour length of the polymer is many times larger than its persistence length. Finally, our results suggest that introducing nicks in the DNA will not change its fluctuation behavior when the nick density is below 1 nick per kbp DNA. PMID:21423606

Performance Data Gathering and Representation from Fixed-Size Statistical Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yan, Jerry C.; Jin, Haoqiang H.; Schmidt, Melisa A.; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

The two commonly-used performance data types in the super-computing community, statistics and event traces, are discussed and compared. Statistical data are much more compact but lack the probative power event traces offer. Event traces, on the other hand, are unbounded and can easily fill up the entire file system during program execution. In this paper, we propose an innovative methodology for performance data gathering and representation that offers a middle ground. Two basic ideas are employed: the use of averages to replace recording data for each instance and 'formulae' to represent sequences associated with communication and control flow. The user can trade off tracing overhead, trace data size with data quality incrementally. In other words, the user will be able to limit the amount of trace data collected and, at the same time, carry out some of the analysis event traces offer using space-time views. With the help of a few simple examples, we illustrate the use of these techniques in performance tuning and compare the quality of the traces we collected with event traces. We found that the trace files thus obtained are, indeed, small, bounded and predictable before program execution, and that the quality of the space-time views generated from these statistical data are excellent. Furthermore, experimental results showed that the formulae proposed were able to capture all the sequences associated with 11 of the 15 applications tested. The performance of the formulae can be incrementally improved by allocating more memory at runtime to learn longer sequences.

Synchronisation and stability in river metapopulation networks.

PubMed

Yeakel, J D; Moore, J W; Guimarães, P R; de Aguiar, M A M

2014-03-01

Spatial structure in landscapes impacts population stability. Two linked components of stability have large consequences for persistence: first, statistical stability as the lack of temporal fluctuations; second, synchronisation as an aspect of dynamic stability, which erodes metapopulation rescue effects. Here, we determine the influence of river network structure on the stability of riverine metapopulations. We introduce an approach that converts river networks to metapopulation networks, and analytically show how fluctuation magnitude is influenced by interaction structure. We show that river metapopulation complexity (in terms of branching prevalence) has nonlinear dampening effects on population fluctuations, and can also buffer against synchronisation. We conclude by showing that river transects generally increase synchronisation, while the spatial scale of interaction has nonlinear effects on synchronised dynamics. Our results indicate that this dual stability - conferred by fluctuation and synchronisation dampening - emerges from interaction structure in rivers, and this may strongly influence the persistence of river metapopulations. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Time variability of viscosity parameter in differentially rotating discs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajesh, S. R.; Singh, Nishant K.

2014-07-01

We propose a mechanism to produce fluctuations in the viscosity parameter (α) in differentially rotating discs. We carried out a nonlinear analysis of a general accretion flow, where any perturbation on the background α was treated as a passive/slave variable in the sense of dynamical system theory. We demonstrate a complete physical picture of growth, saturation and final degradation of the perturbation as a result of the nonlinear nature of coupled system of equations. The strong dependence of this fluctuation on the radial location in the accretion disc and the base angular momentum distribution is demonstrated. The growth of fluctuations is shown to have a time scale comparable to the radial drift time and hence the physical significance is discussed. The fluctuation is found to be a power law in time in the growing phase and we briefly discuss its statistical significance.

The transmission of fluctuation among price indices based on Granger causality network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qingru; Gao, Xiangyun; Wen, Shaobo; Chen, Zhihua; Hao, Xiaoqing

2018-09-01

In this paper, we provide a method of statistical physics to analyze the fluctuation of transmission by constructing Granger causality network among price indices (PIGCN) from a systematical perspective, using complex network theory combined with Granger causality method. In economic system, there are numerous price indices, of which the relationships are extreme complicated. Thus, time series data of 6 types of price indices of China, including 113 kinds of sub price indices, are selected as example of empirical study. Through the analysis of the structure of PIGCN, we identify important price indices with high transmission range, high intermediation capacity, high cohesion and the fluctuation transmission path of price indices, respectively. Furthermore, dynamic relationships among price indices are revealed. Based on these results, we provide several policy implications for monitoring the diffusion of risk of price fluctuation. Our method can also be used to study the price indices of other countries, which is generally applicable.

Lithium line radiation in turbulent edge plasmas: Effects of low and high frequency temperature fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosato, J.; Capes, H.; Catoire, F.; Kadomtsev, M. B.; Levashova, M. G.; Lisitsa, V. S.; Marandet, Y.; Rosmej, F. B.; Stamm, R.

2011-08-01

In lithium-wall-conditioned tokamaks, the line radiation due to the intrinsic impurities (Li/Li+/Li++) plays a significant role on the power balance. Calculations of the radiation losses are usually performed using a stationary collisional-radiative model, assuming constant values for the plasma parameters (Ne, Te,…). Such an approach is not suitable for turbulent plasmas where the various parameters are time-dependent. This is critical especially for the edge region, where the fluctuation rates can reach several tens of percents [e.g. J.A. Boedo, J. Nucl. Mater. 390-391 (2009) 29-37]. In this work, the role of turbulence on the radiated power is investigated with a statistical formalism. A special emphasis is devoted to the role of temperature fluctuations, successively for low-frequency fluctuations and in the general case where the characteristic turbulence frequencies can be comparable to the collisional and radiative rates.

Mesoscopic Fluctuations for the Thinned Circular Unitary Ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berggren, Tomas; Duits, Maurice

2017-09-01

In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of mesoscopic fluctuations for the thinned Circular Unitary Ensemble. The effect of thinning is that the eigenvalues start to decorrelate. The decorrelation is stronger on the larger scales than on the smaller scales. We investigate this behavior by studying mesoscopic linear statistics. There are two regimes depending on the scale parameter and the thinning parameter. In one regime we obtain a CLT of a classical type and in the other regime we retrieve the CLT for CUE. The two regimes are separated by a critical line. On the critical line the limiting fluctuations are no longer Gaussian, but described by infinitely divisible laws. We argue that this transition phenomenon is universal by showing that the same transition and their laws appear for fluctuations of the thinned sine process in a growing box. The proofs are based on a Riemann-Hilbert problem for integrable operators.

Suppression of Random Dopant-Induced Threshold Voltage Fluctuations in Sub-0.1-(micron)meter MOSFET's with Epitaxial and (delta)-Doped Channels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asenov, Asen; Saini, Subhash

1999-01-01

A detailed three-dimensional (3-D) statistical 'atomistic' simulation study of fluctuation-resistant sub-0.1-(micron)meter MOSFET architectures with epitaxial channels and delta doping is presented. The need for enhancing the fluctuation resistance of the sub-0.1-(micron)meter generation transistors is highlighted by presenting summarized results from atomistic simulations of a wide range of conventional devices with uniformly doped channel. According to our atomistic results, the doping concentration dependence of the random dopant-induced threshold voltage fluctuations in conventional devices is stronger than the analytically predicted fourth-root dependence. As a result of this, the scaling of such devices will be restricted by the "intrinsic" random dopant-induced fluctuations earlier than anticipated. Our atomistic simulations confirm that the introduction of a thin epitaxial layer in the MOSFET's channel can efficiently suppress the random dopant-induced threshold voltage fluctuations in sub-0.1-(micron)meter devices. For the first time, we observe an "anomalous" reduction in the threshold voltage fluctuations with an increase in the doping concentration behind the epitaxial channel, which we attribute to screening effects. Also, for the first time we study the effect of a delta-doping, positioned behind the epitaxial layer, on the intrinsic threshold voltage fluctuations. Above a certain thickness of epitaxial layer, we observe a pronounced anomalous decrease in the threshold voltage fluctuation with the increase of the delta doping. This phenomenon, which is also associated with screening, enhances the importance of the delta doping in the design of properly scaled fluctuation-resistant sub-0.1-(micron)meter MOSFET's. Index Terms-Doping, fluctuations, MOSFET, semiconductor device simulation, silicon devices, threshold.

Generalized Factorial Moments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bialas, A.

2004-02-01

It is shown that the method of eliminating the statistical fluctuations from event-by-event analysis proposed recently by Fu and Liu can be rewritten in a compact form involving the generalized factorial moments.

Thermal fluctuation based study of aqueous deficient dry eyes by non-invasive thermal imaging.

PubMed

Azharuddin, Mohammad; Bera, Sumanta Kr; Datta, Himadri; Dasgupta, Anjan Kr

2014-03-01

In this paper we have studied the thermal fluctuation patterns occurring at the ocular surface of the left and right eyes for aqueous deficient dry eye (ADDE) patients and control subjects by thermal imaging. We conducted our experiment on 42 patients (84 eyes) with aqueous deficient dry eyes and compared with 36 healthy volunteers (72 eyes) without any history of ocular surface disorder. Schirmer's test, Tear Break-up Time, tear Meniscus height and fluorescein staining tests were conducted. Ocular surface temperature measurement was done, using an FL-IR thermal camera and thermal fluctuation in left and right eyes was calculated and analyzed using MATLAB. The time series containing the sum of squares of the temperature fluctuation on the ocular surface were compared for aqueous deficient dry eye and control subjects. Significant statistical difference between the fluctuation patterns for control and ADDE was observed (p < 0.001 at 95% confidence interval). Thermal fluctuations in left and right eyes are significantly correlated in controls but not in ADDE subjects. The possible origin of such correlation in control and lack of correlation in the ADDE subjects is discussed in the text. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous Ka-Band Site Characterization: Goldstone, CA, White Sands, NM, and Guam, USA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acosta, Roberto; Morse, Jacquelynne; Zemba, Michael; Nessel, James; Morabito, David; Caroglanian, Armen

2011-01-01

To statistically characterize atmospheric effects on Ka-band links at NASA operational sites, NASA has constructed site test interferometers (STI s) which directly measure the tropospheric phase stability and rain attenuation. These instruments observe an unmodulated beacon signal broadcast from a geostationary satellite (e.g., Anik F2) and measure the phase difference between the signals received by the two antennas and its signal attenuation. Three STI s have been deployed so far: the first one at the NASA Deep Space Network Tracking Complex in Goldstone, California (May 2007); the second at the NASA White Sands Complex, in Las Cruses, New Mexico (February 2009); and the third at the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) Remote Ground Terminal (GRGT) complex in Guam (May 2010). Two station-years of simultaneous atmospheric phase fluctuation data have been collected at Goldstone and White Sands, while one year of data has been collected in Guam. With identical instruments operating simultaneously, we can directly compare the phase stability and rain attenuation at the three sites. Phase stability is analyzed statistically in terms of the root-mean-square (rms) of the tropospheric induced time delay fluctuations over 10 minute blocks. For two years, the time delay fluctuations at the DSN site in Goldstone, CA, have been better than 2.5 picoseconds (ps) for 90% of the time (with reference to zenith), meanwhile at the White Sands, New Mexico site, the time delay fluctuations have been better than 2.2 ps with reference to zenith) for 90% of time. For Guam, the time delay fluctuations have been better than 12 ps (reference to zenith) at 90% of the time, the higher fluctuations are as expected from a high humidity tropical rain zone. This type of data analysis, as well as many other site quality characteristics (e.g., rain attenuation, infrastructure, etc.) will be used to determine the suitability of all the sites for NASA s future communication services at Ka-band.

Druggable protein interaction sites are more predisposed to surface pocket formation than the rest of the protein surface.

PubMed

Johnson, David K; Karanicolas, John

2013-01-01

Despite intense interest and considerable effort via high-throughput screening, there are few examples of small molecules that directly inhibit protein-protein interactions. This suggests that many protein interaction surfaces may not be intrinsically "druggable" by small molecules, and elevates in importance the few successful examples as model systems for improving our fundamental understanding of druggability. Here we describe an approach for exploring protein fluctuations enriched in conformations containing surface pockets suitable for small molecule binding. Starting from a set of seven unbound protein structures, we find that the presence of low-energy pocket-containing conformations is indeed a signature of druggable protein interaction sites and that analogous surface pockets are not formed elsewhere on the protein. We further find that ensembles of conformations generated with this biased approach structurally resemble known inhibitor-bound structures more closely than equivalent ensembles of unbiased conformations. Collectively these results suggest that "druggability" is a property encoded on a protein surface through its propensity to form pockets, and inspire a model in which the crude features of the predisposed pocket(s) restrict the range of complementary ligands; additional smaller conformational changes then respond to details of a particular ligand. We anticipate that the insights described here will prove useful in selecting protein targets for therapeutic intervention.

Spatial fluctuations in expression of the heterocyst differentiation regulatory gene hetR in Anabaena filaments.

PubMed

Corrales-Guerrero, Laura; Tal, Asaf; Arbel-Goren, Rinat; Mariscal, Vicente; Flores, Enrique; Herrero, Antonia; Stavans, Joel

2015-04-01

Under nitrogen deprivation, filaments of the cyanobacterium Anabaena undergo a process of development, resulting in a one-dimensional pattern of nitrogen-fixing heterocysts separated by about ten photosynthetic vegetative cells. Many aspects of gene expression before nitrogen deprivation and during the developmental process remain to be elucidated. Furthermore, the coupling of gene expression fluctuations between cells along a multicellular filament is unknown. We studied the statistics of fluctuations of gene expression of HetR, a transcription factor essential for heterocyst differentiation, both under steady-state growth in nitrogen-rich conditions and at different times following nitrogen deprivation, using a chromosomally-encoded translational hetR-gfp fusion. Statistical analysis of fluorescence at the individual cell level in wild-type and mutant filaments demonstrates that expression fluctuations of hetR in nearby cells are coupled, with a characteristic spatial range of circa two to three cells, setting the scale for cellular interactions along a filament. Correlations between cells predominantly arise from intercellular molecular transfer and less from cell division. Fluctuations after nitrogen step-down can build up on those under nitrogen-replete conditions. We found that under nitrogen-rich conditions, basal, steady-state expression of the HetR inhibitor PatS, cell-cell communication influenced by the septal protein SepJ and positive HetR auto-regulation are essential determinants of fluctuations in hetR expression and its distribution along filaments. A comparison between the expression of hetR-gfp under nitrogen-rich and nitrogen-poor conditions highlights the differences between the two HetR inhibitors PatS and HetN, as well as the differences in specificity between the septal proteins SepJ and FraC/FraD. Activation, inhibition and cell-cell communication lie at the heart of developmental processes. Our results show that proteins involved in these basic ingredients combine together in the presence of inevitable stochasticity in gene expression, to control the coupled fluctuations of gene expression that give rise to a one-dimensional developmental pattern in this organism.

Linking niche theory to ecological impacts of successful invaders: insights from resource fluctuation-specialist herbivore interactions.

PubMed

Gidoin, Cindy; Roques, Lionel; Boivin, Thomas

2015-03-01

Theories of species coexistence and invasion ecology are fundamentally connected and provide a common theoretical framework for studying the mechanisms underlying successful invasions and their ecological impacts. Temporal fluctuations in resource availability and differences in life-history traits between invasive and resident species are considered as likely drivers of the dynamics of invaded communities. Current critical issues in invasion ecology thus relate to the extent to which such mechanisms influence coexistence between invasive and resident species and to the ability of resident species to persist in an invasive-dominated ecosystem. We tested how a fluctuating resource, and species trait differences may explain and help predict long-term impacts of biological invasions in forest specialist insect communities. We used a simple invasion system comprising closely related invasive and resident seed-specialized wasps (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) competing for a well-known fluctuating resource and displaying divergent diapause, reproductive and phenological traits. Based on extensive long-term field observations (1977-2010), we developed a combination of mechanistic and statistical models aiming to (i) obtain a realistic description of the population dynamics of these interacting species over time, and (ii) clarify the respective contributions of fluctuation-dependent and fluctuation-independent mechanisms to long-term impact of invasion on the population dynamics of the resident wasp species. We showed that a fluctuation-dependent mechanism was unable to promote coexistence of the resident and invasive species. Earlier phenology of the invasive species was the main driver of invasion success, enabling the invader to exploit an empty niche. Phenology also had the greatest power to explain the long-term negative impact of the invasive on the resident species, through resource pre-emption. This study provides strong support for the critical role of species differences in interspecific competition outcomes within animal communities. Our mechanistic-statistical approach disentangles the critical drivers of novel species assemblages resulting from intentional and non-intentional introductions of non-native species. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2014 British Ecological Society.

Unlikely Fluctuations and Non-Equilibrium Work Theorems-A Simple Example.

PubMed

Muzikar, Paul

2016-06-30

An exciting development in statistical mechanics has been the elucidation of a series of surprising equalities involving the work done during a nonequilibrium process. Astumian has presented an elegant example of such an equality, involving a colloidal particle undergoing Brownian motion in the presence of gravity. We analyze this example; its simplicity, and its link to geometric Brownian motion, allows us to clarify the inner workings of the equality. Our analysis explicitly shows the important role played by large, unlikely fluctuations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gallavotti, G.

It is shown that the chaoticity hypothesis recently introduced in statistical mechanics, which is analogous to Ruelle`s principle for turbulence, implies the Onsager reciprocity and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in various reversible models for coexisting transport phenomena.

Tracking of large-scale structures in turbulent channel with direct numerical simulation of low Prandtl number passive scalar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiselj, Iztok

2014-12-01

Channel flow DNS (Direct Numerical Simulation) at friction Reynolds number 180 and with passive scalars of Prandtl numbers 1 and 0.01 was performed in various computational domains. The "normal" size domain was ˜2300 wall units long and ˜750 wall units wide; size taken from the similar DNS of Moser et al. The "large" computational domain, which is supposed to be sufficient to describe the largest structures of the turbulent flows was 3 times longer and 3 times wider than the "normal" domain. The "very large" domain was 6 times longer and 6 times wider than the "normal" domain. All simulations were performed with the same spatial and temporal resolution. Comparison of the standard and large computational domains shows the velocity field statistics (mean velocity, root-mean-square (RMS) fluctuations, and turbulent Reynolds stresses) that are within 1%-2%. Similar agreement is observed for Pr = 1 temperature fields and can be observed also for the mean temperature profiles at Pr = 0.01. These differences can be attributed to the statistical uncertainties of the DNS. However, second-order moments, i.e., RMS temperature fluctuations of standard and large computational domains at Pr = 0.01 show significant differences of up to 20%. Stronger temperature fluctuations in the "large" and "very large" domains confirm the existence of the large-scale structures. Their influence is more or less invisible in the main velocity field statistics or in the statistics of the temperature fields at Prandtl numbers around 1. However, these structures play visible role in the temperature fluctuations at low Prandtl number, where high temperature diffusivity effectively smears the small-scale structures in the thermal field and enhances the relative contribution of large-scales. These large thermal structures represent some kind of an echo of the large scale velocity structures: the highest temperature-velocity correlations are not observed between the instantaneous temperatures and instantaneous streamwise velocities, but between the instantaneous temperatures and velocities averaged over certain time interval.

Statistics of Private Commercial and Business Schools, 1928-29. Bulletin, 1930, No. 25

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Education, United States Department of the Interior, 1930

1930-01-01

This bulletin contains the statistics of private commercial and business schools for 1928-29. There is a noticeably constant fluctuation in the list of private commercial and business schools. Out of a list of approximately 1,850 private commercial schools of which the Office of Education had record during the period from June, 1925, to June,…

Statistical analysis of secondary particle distributions in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcguire, Stephen C.

1987-01-01

The use is described of several statistical techniques to characterize structure in the angular distributions of secondary particles from nucleus-nucleus collisions in the energy range 24 to 61 GeV/nucleon. The objective of this work was to determine whether there are correlations between emitted particle intensity and angle that may be used to support the existence of the quark gluon plasma. The techniques include chi-square null hypothesis tests, the method of discrete Fourier transform analysis, and fluctuation analysis. We have also used the method of composite unit vectors to test for azimuthal asymmetry in a data set of 63 JACEE-3 events. Each method is presented in a manner that provides the reader with some practical detail regarding its application. Of those events with relatively high statistics, Fe approaches 0 at 55 GeV/nucleon was found to possess an azimuthal distribution with a highly non-random structure. No evidence of non-statistical fluctuations was found in the pseudo-rapidity distributions of the events studied. It is seen that the most effective application of these methods relies upon the availability of many events or single events that possess very high multiplicities.

Discovery of Two New Hypervelocity Stars from the LAMOST Spectroscopic Surveys

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Y.; Liu, X.-W.; Chen, B.-Q.

We report the discovery of two new unbound hypervelocity stars (HVSs) from the LAMOST spectroscopic surveys. They are, respectively, a B2V-type star of ∼7 M {sub ⊙} with a Galactic rest-frame radial velocity of 502 km s{sup −1} at a Galactocentric radius of ∼21 kpc and a B7V-type star of ∼4 M {sub ⊙} with a Galactic rest-frame radial velocity of 408 km s{sup −1} at a Galactocentric radius of ∼30 kpc. The origins of the two HVSs are not clear given their currently poorly measured proper motions. However, the future data releases of Gaia should provide proper motion measurementsmore » accurate enough to solve this problem. The ongoing LAMOST spectroscopic surveys are expected to yield more HVSs to form a statistical sample, providing vital constraints on understanding the nature of HVSs and their ejection mechanisms.« less

Effect of etodolac on methotrexate pharmacokinetics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed

Anaya, J M; Fabre, D; Bressolle, F; Bologna, C; Alric, R; Cocciglio, M; Dropsy, R; Sany, J

1994-02-01

To determine if the pharmacokinetics of methotrexate (MTX) is modified by the coadministration of etodolac. MTX (10 mg) was administered intramuscularly in the absence and presence of steady state levels of etodolac in 19 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. MTX levels were assayed by fluorescence polarization immunoassay. Concentrations of 7-hydroxymethotrexate (7-OH-MTX) were assayed by a reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography method. The unbound fraction was determined by ultrafiltration. When etodolac was coadministered with MTX, the highest observed concentration decreased and the mean residence time increased to become statistically significant. However, these differences are not of great clinical importance especially given that the area under the curve and clearances were unchanged. There were no significant differences in binding protein and 7-OH-MTX concentrations between MTX with and without etodolac administration. The pharmacokinetics of MTX is slightly modified by coadministration of etodolac. Moreover, no clinical toxicity was observed.

WFIRST: The Exoplanet Microlensing Survey Tells Us Where We Can Find the Cool Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, David; Gaudi, B. Scott; WFIRST Microlensing Science Investigation Team

2018-01-01

The WFIRST Exoplanet microlensing survey will complete a demographic survey of all types of planets ranging from ~0.5 AU to planets that have become unbound from the stellar systems of their birth. WFIRST's sensitivity extends down below the mass of Mars (or 0.1 Earth masses,and it is sensitive to analogs of all the planets in the Solar System, except for Mercury. When combined with Kepler's statistical census of hot and warm planets in short period orbits, WFIRST's exoplanet microlensing survey will give us a complete picture the mass and separation distribution of all types of planets. The current plans for this survey are presented, and recent developments relating to the WFIRST exoplanet microlensing survey will be presented, including recent ground-based microlensing results that challenge current theories of planet formation. Opportunities for community involvement in the WFIRST exoplanet microlensing survey will be mentioned.

Propagation of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays with beam distortions in non-Kolmogorov turbulence.

PubMed

Tao, Rumao; Si, Lei; Ma, Yanxing; Zhou, Pu; Liu, Zejin

2012-08-10

The propagation properties of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays with beam distortions through non-Kolmogorov turbulence are studied in detail both analytically and numerically. The analytical expressions for the average intensity and the beam width of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays with beam distortions propagating through turbulence are derived based on the combination of statistical optics methods and the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle. The effect of beam distortions, such as amplitude modulation and phase fluctuation, is studied by numerical examples. The numerical results reveal that phase fluctuations have significant influence on the spreading of coherently combined truncated laser beam arrays in non-Kolmogorov turbulence, and the effects of the phase fluctuations can be negligible as long as the phase fluctuations are controlled under a certain level, i.e., a>0.05 for the situation considered in the paper. Furthermore, large phase fluctuations can convert the beam distribution rapidly to a Gaussian form, vary the spreading, weaken the optimum truncation effects, and suppress the dependence of spreading on the parameters of the non-Kolmogorov turbulence.

Effects of pressure fluctuations on the combustion process in turbulent premixed flames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beardsell, Guillaume; Lapointe, Simon; Blanquart, Guillaume

2016-11-01

The need for a thorough understanding of turbulence-combustion interactions in compressible flows is driven by recent technological developments in propulsion as well as renewed interest in the development of next generation supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. In such flows, pressure fluctuations displaying a wide range of length and timescales are present. These fluctuations are expected to impact the combustion process to varying degrees, depending amongst other things on the amplitude of the pressure variations and the timescales of the chemical reactions taking place in the flame. In this context, numerical simulations of these flows can provide insight into the impact of pressure fluctuations on the combustion process. In the present work, we analyze data from simulations of statistically-flat premixed n-heptane/air flames at high Karlovitz numbers. The compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved exactly (DNS) and results obtained with both detailed kinetic modeling and one-step chemistry are considered. The effects of pressure fluctuations on the fuel burning rate are investigated. The findings are compared with results obtained from simulations of one-dimensional premixed flames subjected to various pressure waves.

Modeling velocity space-time correlations in wind farms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukassen, Laura J.; Stevens, Richard J. A. M.; Meneveau, Charles; Wilczek, Michael

2016-11-01

Turbulent fluctuations of wind velocities cause power-output fluctuations in wind farms. The statistics of velocity fluctuations can be described by velocity space-time correlations in the atmospheric boundary layer. In this context, it is important to derive simple physics-based models. The so-called Tennekes-Kraichnan random sweeping hypothesis states that small-scale velocity fluctuations are passively advected by large-scale velocity perturbations in a random fashion. In the present work, this hypothesis is used with an additional mean wind velocity to derive a model for the spatial and temporal decorrelation of velocities in wind farms. It turns out that in the framework of this model, space-time correlations are a convolution of the spatial correlation function with a temporal decorrelation kernel. In this presentation, first results on the comparison to large eddy simulations will be presented and the potential of the approach to characterize power output fluctuations of wind farms will be discussed. Acknowledgements: 'Fellowships for Young Energy Scientists' (YES!) of FOM, the US National Science Foundation Grant IIA 1243482, and support by the Max Planck Society.

Fluctuations around equilibrium laws in ergodic continuous-time random walks.

PubMed

Schulz, Johannes H P; Barkai, Eli

2015-06-01

We study occupation time statistics in ergodic continuous-time random walks. Under thermal detailed balance conditions, the average occupation time is given by the Boltzmann-Gibbs canonical law. But close to the nonergodic phase, the finite-time fluctuations around this mean are large and nontrivial. They exhibit dual time scaling and distribution laws: the infinite density of large fluctuations complements the Lévy-stable density of bulk fluctuations. Neither of the two should be interpreted as a stand-alone limiting law, as each has its own deficiency: the infinite density has an infinite norm (despite particle conservation), while the stable distribution has an infinite variance (although occupation times are bounded). These unphysical divergences are remedied by consistent use and interpretation of both formulas. Interestingly, while the system's canonical equilibrium laws naturally determine the mean occupation time of the ergodic motion, they also control the infinite and Lévy-stable densities of fluctuations. The duality of stable and infinite densities is in fact ubiquitous for these dynamics, as it concerns the time averages of general physical observables.

Support of selected X-ray studies to be performed using data from the Uhuru (SAS-A) satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garmire, G. P.

1976-01-01

A new measurement of the diffuse X-ray emission sets more stringent upper limits on the fluctuations of the background and on the number counts of X-ray sources with absolute value of b 20 deg than previous measurements. A random sample of background data from the Uhuru satellite gives a relative fluctuation in excess of statistics of 2.0% between 2.4 and 6.9 keV. The hypothesis that the relative fluctuation exceeds 2.9% can be rejected at the 90% confidence level. No discernable energy dependence is evident in the fluctuations in the pulse height data, when separated into three energy channels of nearly equal width from 1.8 to 10.0 keV. The probability distribution of fluctuations was convolved with the photon noise and cosmic ray background deviation (obtained from the earth-viewing data) to yield the differential source count distribution for high latitude sources. Results imply that a maximum of 160 sources could be between 1.7 and 5.1 x 10 to the -11 power ergs/sq cm/sec (1-3 Uhuru counts).

Rescore protein-protein docked ensembles with an interface contact statistics.

PubMed

Mezei, Mihaly

2017-02-01

The recently developed statistical measure for the type of residue-residue contact at protein complex interfaces, based on a parameter-free definition of contact, has been used to define a contact score that is correlated with the likelihood of correctness of a proposed complex structure. Comparing the proposed contact scores on the native structure and on a set of model structures the proposed measure was shown to generally favor the native structure but in itself was not able to reliably score the native structure to be the best. Adjusting the scores of redocking experiments with the contact score showed that the adjusted score was able to move up the ranking of the native-like structure among the proposed complexes when the native-like was not ranked the best by the respective program. Tests on docking of unbound proteins compared the contact scores of the complexes with the contact score of the crystal structure again showing the tendency of the contact score to favor native-like conformations. The possibility of using the contact score to improve the determination of biological dimers in a crystal structure was also explored. Proteins 2017; 85:235-241. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Possible signatures of dissipation from time-series analysis techniques using a turbulent laboratory magnetohydrodynamic plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaffner, D. A.; Brown, M. R.; Rock, A. B.

The frequency spectrum of magnetic fluctuations as measured on the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment is broadband and exhibits a nearly Kolmogorov 5/3 scaling. It features a steepening region which is indicative of dissipation of magnetic fluctuation energy similar to that observed in fluid and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence systems. Two non-spectrum based time-series analysis techniques are implemented on this data set in order to seek other possible signatures of turbulent dissipation beyond just the steepening of fluctuation spectra. Presented here are results for the flatness, permutation entropy, and statistical complexity, each of which exhibits a particular character at spectral steepening scales which canmore » then be compared to the behavior of the frequency spectrum.« less

Ferroelectric hydration shells around proteins: electrostatics of the protein-water interface.

PubMed

LeBard, David N; Matyushov, Dmitry V

2010-07-22

Numerical simulations of hydrated proteins show that protein hydration shells are polarized into a ferroelectric layer with large values of the average dipole moment magnitude and the dipole moment variance. The emergence of the new polarized mesophase dramatically alters the statistics of electrostatic fluctuations at the protein-water interface. The linear response relation between the average electrostatic potential and its variance breaks down, with the breadth of the electrostatic fluctuations far exceeding the expectations of the linear response theories. The dynamics of these non-Gaussian electrostatic fluctuations are dominated by a slow (approximately = 1 ns) component that freezes in at the temperature of the dynamical transition of proteins. The ferroelectric shell propagates 3-5 water diameters into the bulk.

Interferometric tests of Planckian quantum geometry models

DOE PAGES

Kwon, Ohkyung; Hogan, Craig J.

2016-04-19

The effect of Planck scale quantum geometrical effects on measurements with interferometers is estimated with standard physics, and with a variety of proposed extensions. It is shown that effects are negligible in standard field theory with canonically quantized gravity. Statistical noise levels are estimated in a variety of proposals for nonstandard metric fluctuations, and these alternatives are constrained using upper bounds on stochastic metric fluctuations from LIGO. Idealized models of several interferometer system architectures are used to predict signal noise spectra in a quantum geometry that cannot be described by a fluctuating metric, in which position noise arises from holographicmore » bounds on directional information. Lastly, predictions in this case are shown to be close to current and projected experimental bounds.« less

Control of transcriptional pausing by biased thermal fluctuations on repetitive genomic sequences

PubMed Central

Imashimizu, Masahiko; Afek, Ariel; Takahashi, Hiroki; Lubkowska, Lucyna; Lukatsky, David B.

2016-01-01

In the process of transcription elongation, RNA polymerase (RNAP) pauses at highly nonrandom positions across genomic DNA, broadly regulating transcription; however, molecular mechanisms responsible for the recognition of such pausing positions remain poorly understood. Here, using a combination of statistical mechanical modeling and high-throughput sequencing and biochemical data, we evaluate the effect of thermal fluctuations on the regulation of RNAP pausing. We demonstrate that diffusive backtracking of RNAP, which is biased by repetitive DNA sequence elements, causes transcriptional pausing. This effect stems from the increased microscopic heterogeneity of an elongation complex, and thus is entropy-dominated. This report shows a linkage between repetitive sequence elements encoded in the genome and regulation of RNAP pausing driven by thermal fluctuations. PMID:27830653

Fluctuations of the Concentration of Cs-137 Aerosol in Chernobyl,Fukushima and Kawasaki

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ota, Yohei; Hatano, Yuko; Okada, Yukiko; Hirose, Katsumi

2017-04-01

Statistical analysis is applied to a time series of the airborne concentration of Cs-137. In order to extract fractal characteristics of the fluctuations, we employed the Hurst analysis. Interestingly, the Hurst index is around 1/3, which is common to the Chernobyl data, Fukushima data, and Kawasaki data. The Kawasaki data is measured by the Tokyo City University, located at 40km south to Tokyo. We proposed a stochastic differential equation, based on an advection equation with winds fluctuating probabilistically. The averaged solution of the equation is compared with measured data. We found that the index of the power of the time is -4/3, which is common to the three cases, Chernobyl, Fukushima and Kawasaki.

Coherent wave transmission in quasi-one-dimensional systems with Lévy disorder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amanatidis, Ilias; Kleftogiannis, Ioannis; Falceto, Fernando; Gopar, Víctor A.

2017-12-01

We study the random fluctuations of the transmission in disordered quasi-one-dimensional systems such as disordered waveguides and/or quantum wires whose random configurations of disorder are characterized by density distributions with a long tail known as Lévy distributions. The presence of Lévy disorder leads to large fluctuations of the transmission and anomalous localization, in relation to the standard exponential localization (Anderson localization). We calculate the complete distribution of the transmission fluctuations for a different number of transmission channels in the presence and absence of time-reversal symmetry. Significant differences in the transmission statistics between disordered systems with Anderson and anomalous localizations are revealed. The theoretical predictions are independently confirmed by tight-binding numerical simulations.

Correlation between low level fluctuations in the x ray background and faint galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tolstoy, Eline; Griffiths, R. E.

1993-01-01

A correlation between low-level x-ray fluctuations in the cosmic x-ray background flux and the large numbers of galaxies found in deep optical imaging, to m(sub v) is less than or equal to 24 - 26, is desired. These (faint) galaxies by their morphology and color in deep multi-color CCD images and plate material were optically identified. Statistically significant correlations between these galaxies and low-level x-ray fluctuations at the same positions in multiple deep Einstein HRI observations in PAVO and in a ROSAT PSPC field were searched for. Our aim is to test the hypothesis that faint 'star burst' galaxies might contribute significantly to the cosmic x-ray background (at approximately 1 keV).

Giant mesoscopic fluctuations of the elastic cotunneling thermopower of a single-electron transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasenko, A. S.; Basko, D. M.; Hekking, F. W. J.

2015-02-01

We study the thermoelectric transport of a small metallic island weakly coupled to two electrodes by tunnel junctions. In the Coulomb blockade regime, in the case when the ground state of the system corresponds to an even number of electrons on the island, the main mechanism of electron transport at the lowest temperatures is elastic cotunneling. In this regime, the transport coefficients strongly depend on the realization of the random impurity potential or the shape of the island. Using random-matrix theory, we calculate the thermopower and the thermoelectric kinetic coefficient and study the statistics of their mesoscopic fluctuations in the elastic cotunneling regime. The fluctuations of the thermopower turn out to be much larger than the average value.

On the scaling of the distribution of daily price fluctuations in the Mexican financial market index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfonso, Léster; Mansilla, Ricardo; Terrero-Escalante, César A.

2012-05-01

In this paper, a statistical analysis of log-return fluctuations of the IPC, the Mexican Stock Market Index is presented. A sample of daily data covering the period from 04/09/2000-04/09/2010 was analyzed, and fitted to different distributions. Tests of the goodness of fit were performed in order to quantitatively asses the quality of the estimation. Special attention was paid to the impact of the size of the sample on the estimated decay of the distributions tail. In this study a forceful rejection of normality was obtained. On the other hand, the null hypothesis that the log-fluctuations are fitted to a α-stable Lévy distribution cannot be rejected at the 5% significance level.

The role of large scale motions on passive scalar transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dharmarathne, Suranga; Araya, Guillermo; Tutkun, Murat; Leonardi, Stefano; Castillo, Luciano

2014-11-01

We study direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent channel flow at Reτ = 394 to investigate effect of large scale motions on fluctuating temperature field which forms a passive scalar field. Statistical description of the large scale features of the turbulent channel flow is obtained using two-point correlations of velocity components. Two-point correlations of fluctuating temperature field is also examined in order to identify possible similarities between velocity and temperature fields. The two-point cross-correlations betwen the velocity and temperature fluctuations are further analyzed to establish connections between these two fields. In addition, we use proper orhtogonal decompotion (POD) to extract most dominant modes of the fields and discuss the coupling of large scale features of turbulence and the temperature field.

Conduction band fluctuation scattering due to alloy clustering in barrier layers in InAlN/GaN heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qun; Chen, Qian; Chong, Jing

2017-12-01

In InAlN/GaN heterostructures, alloy clustering-induced InAlN conduction band fluctuations interact with electrons penetrating into the barrier layers and thus affect the electron transport. Based on the statistical description of InAlN compositional distribution, a theoretical model of the conduction band fluctuation scattering (CBFS) is presented. The model calculations show that the CBFS-limited mobility decreases with increasing two-dimensional electron gas sheet density and is inversely proportional to the squared standard deviation of In distribution. The AlN interfacial layer can effectively suppress the CBFS via decreasing the penetration probability. This model is directed towards understanding the transport properties in heterostructure materials with columnar clusters.

Truncated Linear Statistics Associated with the Eigenvalues of Random Matrices II. Partial Sums over Proper Time Delays for Chaotic Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grabsch, Aurélien; Majumdar, Satya N.; Texier, Christophe

2017-06-01

Invariant ensembles of random matrices are characterized by the distribution of their eigenvalues \\{λ _1,\\ldots ,λ _N\\}. We study the distribution of truncated linear statistics of the form \\tilde{L}=\\sum _{i=1}^p f(λ _i) with p

Statistical Mechanics of Prion Diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slepoy, A.; Singh, R. R.; Pázmándi, F.; Kulkarni, R. V.; Cox, D. L.

2001-07-01

We present a two-dimensional, lattice based, protein-level statistical mechanical model for prion diseases (e.g., mad cow disease) with concomitant prion protein misfolding and aggregation. Our studies lead us to the hypothesis that the observed broad incubation time distribution in epidemiological data reflect fluctuation dominated growth seeded by a few nanometer scale aggregates, while much narrower incubation time distributions for innoculated lab animals arise from statistical self-averaging. We model ``species barriers'' to prion infection and assess a related treatment protocol.

Condensate statistics in interacting and ideal dilute bose gases

PubMed

Kocharovsky; Kocharovsky; Scully

2000-03-13

We obtain analytical formulas for the statistics, in particular, for the characteristic function and all cumulants, of the Bose-Einstein condensate in dilute weakly interacting and ideal equilibrium gases in the canonical ensemble via the particle-number-conserving operator formalism of Girardeau and Arnowitt. We prove that the ground-state occupation statistics is not Gaussian even in the thermodynamic limit. We calculate the effect of Bogoliubov coupling on suppression of ground-state occupation fluctuations and show that they are governed by a pair-correlation, squeezing mechanism.

Structural parameters of young star clusters: fractal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hetem, A.

2017-07-01

A unified view of star formation in the Universe demand detailed and in-depth studies of young star clusters. This work is related to our previous study of fractal statistics estimated for a sample of young stellar clusters (Gregorio-Hetem et al. 2015, MNRAS 448, 2504). The structural properties can lead to significant conclusions about the early stages of cluster formation: 1) virial conditions can be used to distinguish warm collapsed; 2) bound or unbound behaviour can lead to conclusions about expansion; and 3) fractal statistics are correlated to the dynamical evolution and age. The technique of error bars estimation most used in the literature is to adopt inferential methods (like bootstrap) to estimate deviation and variance, which are valid only for an artificially generated cluster. In this paper, we expanded the number of studied clusters, in order to enhance the investigation of the cluster properties and dynamic evolution. The structural parameters were compared with fractal statistics and reveal that the clusters radial density profile show a tendency of the mean separation of the stars increase with the average surface density. The sample can be divided into two groups showing different dynamic behaviour, but they have the same dynamic evolution, since the entire sample was revealed as being expanding objects, for which the substructures do not seem to have been completely erased. These results are in agreement with the simulations adopting low surface densities and supervirial conditions.

Generalized energy measurements and modified transient quantum fluctuation theorems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Gentaro; Venkatesh, B. Prasanna; Talkner, Peter

2014-05-01

Determining the work which is supplied to a system by an external agent provides a crucial step in any experimental realization of transient fluctuation relations. This, however, poses a problem for quantum systems, where the standard procedure requires the projective measurement of energy at the beginning and the end of the protocol. Unfortunately, projective measurements, which are preferable from the point of view of theory, seem to be difficult to implement experimentally. We demonstrate that, when using a particular type of generalized energy measurements, the resulting work statistics is simply related to that of projective measurements. This relation between the two work statistics entails the existence of modified transient fluctuation relations. The modifications are exclusively determined by the errors incurred in the generalized energy measurements. They are universal in the sense that they do not depend on the force protocol. Particularly simple expressions for the modified Crooks relation and Jarzynski equality are found for Gaussian energy measurements. These can be obtained by a sequence of sufficiently many generalized measurements which need not be Gaussian. In accordance with the central limit theorem, this leads to an effective error reduction in the individual measurements and even yields a projective measurement in the limit of infinite repetitions.

Numerical investigation of kinetic turbulence in relativistic pair plasmas - I. Turbulence statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhdankin, Vladimir; Uzdensky, Dmitri A.; Werner, Gregory R.; Begelman, Mitchell C.

2018-02-01

We describe results from particle-in-cell simulations of driven turbulence in collisionless, magnetized, relativistic pair plasma. This physical regime provides a simple setting for investigating the basic properties of kinetic turbulence and is relevant for high-energy astrophysical systems such as pulsar wind nebulae and astrophysical jets. In this paper, we investigate the statistics of turbulent fluctuations in simulations on lattices of up to 10243 cells and containing up to 2 × 1011 particles. Due to the absence of a cooling mechanism in our simulations, turbulent energy dissipation reduces the magnetization parameter to order unity within a few dynamical times, causing turbulent motions to become sub-relativistic. In the developed stage, our results agree with predictions from magnetohydrodynamic turbulence phenomenology at inertial-range scales, including a power-law magnetic energy spectrum with index near -5/3, scale-dependent anisotropy of fluctuations described by critical balance, lognormal distributions for particle density and internal energy density (related by a 4/3 adiabatic index, as predicted for an ultra-relativistic ideal gas), and the presence of intermittency. We also present possible signatures of a kinetic cascade by measuring power-law spectra for the magnetic, electric and density fluctuations at sub-Larmor scales.

The role of statistical fluctuations on the stability of shockwaves through gases with activated inelastic collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirmas, Nick; Radulescu, Matei

2016-11-01

The present study addresses the stability of piston driven shock waves through a system of hard particles subject to activated inelastic collisions. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations have previously revealed an unstable structure for such a system in the form of high density non-uniformities and convective rolls within the shock structure. The work has now been extended to the continuum level by considering the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations for granular gases with a modified cooling rate to include an impact threshold necessary for inelastic collisions. We find that the pattern formations produced in MD can be reproduced at the continuum level by continually perturbing the incoming density field. By varying the perturbation amplitude and wavelength, we find that fluctuations consistent with the statistical fluctuations seen in MD yield similar instabilities to those previously observed. While the inviscid model predicts a highly chaotic structure from these perturbations, the inclusion of viscosity and heat conductivity yields equivalent wavelengths of pattern formations to those seen in MD, which is equal to the relaxation length scale of the dissipative shock structure. The authors acknowledged funding through the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (NSERC) and Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Transport of temperature-velocity covariance in gas-solid flow and its relation to the axial dispersion coefficient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramaniam, Shankar; Sun, Bo

2015-11-01

The presence of solid particles in a steady laminar flow generates velocity fluctuations with respect to the mean fluid velocity that are termed pseudo-turbulence. The level of these pseudo-turbulent velocity fluctuations has been characterized in statistically homogeneous fixed particle assemblies and freely evolving suspensions using particle-resolved direct numerical simulation (PR-DNS) by Mehrabadi et al. (JFM, 2015), and it is found to be a significant contribution to the total kinetic energy associated with the flow. The correlation of these velocity fluctuations with temperature (or a passive scalar) generates a flux term that appears in the transport equation for the average fluid temperature (or average scalar concentration). The magnitude of this transport of temperature-velocity covariance is quantified using PR-DNS of thermally fully developed flow past a statistically homogeneous fixed assembly of particles, and the budget of the average fluid temperature equation is presented. The relation of this transport term to the axial dispersion coefficient (Brenner, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A, 1980) is established. The simulation results are then interpreted in the context of our understanding of axial dispersion in gas-solid flow. NSF CBET 1336941.

Seeking a fingerprint: analysis of point processes in actigraphy recording

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gudowska-Nowak, Ewa; Ochab, Jeremi K.; Oleś, Katarzyna; Beldzik, Ewa; Chialvo, Dante R.; Domagalik, Aleksandra; Fąfrowicz, Magdalena; Marek, Tadeusz; Nowak, Maciej A.; Ogińska, Halszka; Szwed, Jerzy; Tyburczyk, Jacek

2016-05-01

Motor activity of humans displays complex temporal fluctuations which can be characterised by scale-invariant statistics, thus demonstrating that structure and fluctuations of such kinetics remain similar over a broad range of time scales. Previous studies on humans regularly deprived of sleep or suffering from sleep disorders predicted a change in the invariant scale parameters with respect to those for healthy subjects. In this study we investigate the signal patterns from actigraphy recordings by means of characteristic measures of fractional point processes. We analyse spontaneous locomotor activity of healthy individuals recorded during a week of regular sleep and a week of chronic partial sleep deprivation. Behavioural symptoms of lack of sleep can be evaluated by analysing statistics of duration times during active and resting states, and alteration of behavioural organisation can be assessed by analysis of power laws detected in the event count distribution, distribution of waiting times between consecutive movements and detrended fluctuation analysis of recorded time series. We claim that among different measures characterising complexity of the actigraphy recordings and their variations implied by chronic sleep distress, the exponents characterising slopes of survival functions in resting states are the most effective biomarkers distinguishing between healthy and sleep-deprived groups.

RADIO SYNCHROTRON FLUCTUATION STATISTICS AS A PROBE OF MAGNETIZED INTERSTELLAR TURBULENCE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herron, C. A.; Gaensler, B. M.; Burkhart, Blakesley

2016-05-01

We investigate how observations of synchrotron intensity fluctuations can be used to probe the sonic and Alfvénic Mach numbers of interstellar turbulence, based on mock observations performed on simulations of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We find that the structure function slope and a diagnostic of anisotropy that we call the integrated quadrupole ratio modulus both depend on the Alfvénic Mach number. However, these statistics also depend on the orientation of the mean magnetic field in the synchrotron emitting region relative to our line of sight, and this creates a degeneracy that cannot be broken by observations of synchrotron intensity alone. We concludemore » that the polarization of synchrotron emission could be analyzed to break this degeneracy, and suggest that this will be possible with the Square Kilometre Array.« less

Foundations for statistical-physical precipitation retrieval from passive microwave satellite measurements. I - Brightness-temperature properties of a time-dependent cloud-radiation model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Eric A.; Mugnai, Alberto; Cooper, Harry J.; Tripoli, Gregory J.; Xiang, Xuwu

1992-01-01

The relationship between emerging microwave brightness temperatures (T(B)s) and vertically distributed mixtures of liquid and frozen hydrometeors was investigated, using a cloud-radiation model, in order to establish the framework for a hybrid statistical-physical rainfall retrieval algorithm. Although strong relationships were found between the T(B) values and various rain parameters, these correlations are misleading in that the T(B)s are largely controlled by fluctuations in the ice-particle mixing ratios, which in turn are highly correlated to fluctuations in liquid-particle mixing ratios. However, the empirically based T(B)-rain-rate (T(B)-RR) algorithms can still be used as tools for estimating precipitation if the hydrometeor profiles used for T(B)-RR algorithms are not specified in an ad hoc fashion.

Counting statistics of tunneling current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levitov, L. S.; Reznikov, M.

2004-09-01

The form of electron counting statistics of the tunneling current noise in a generic many-body interacting electron system is obtained and universal relations between its different moments are derived. A generalized fluctuation-dissipation theorem providing a relation between current and noise at arbitrary bias-to-temperature ratio eV/kBT is established in the tunneling Hamiltonian approximation. The third correlator of current fluctuations S3 (the skewness of the charge counting distribution) has a universal Schottky-type relation with the current and quasiparticle charge that holds in a wide bias voltage range, both at large and small eV/kBT . The insensitivity of S3 to the Nyquist-Schottky crossover represents an advantage compared to the Schottky formula for the noise power. We discuss the possibility of using the correlator S3 for detecting quasiparticle charge at high temperatures.

Statistical physics in foreign exchange currency and stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ausloos, M.

2000-09-01

Problems in economy and finance have attracted the interest of statistical physicists all over the world. Fundamental problems pertain to the existence or not of long-, medium- or/and short-range power-law correlations in various economic systems, to the presence of financial cycles and on economic considerations, including economic policy. A method like the detrended fluctuation analysis is recalled emphasizing its value in sorting out correlation ranges, thereby leading to predictability at short horizon. The ( m, k)-Zipf method is presented for sorting out short-range correlations in the sign and amplitude of the fluctuations. A well-known financial analysis technique, the so-called moving average, is shown to raise questions to physicists about fractional Brownian motion properties. Among spectacular results, the possibility of crash predictions has been demonstrated through the log-periodicity of financial index oscillations.

Slow crack growth: Models and experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santucci, S.; Vanel, L.; Ciliberto, S.

2007-07-01

The properties of slow crack growth in brittle materials are analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. We propose a model based on a thermally activated rupture process. Considering a 2D spring network submitted to an external load and to thermal noise, we show that a preexisting crack in the network may slowly grow because of stress fluctuations. An analytical solution is found for the evolution of the crack length as a function of time, the time to rupture and the statistics of the crack jumps. These theoretical predictions are verified by studying experimentally the subcritical growth of a single crack in thin sheets of paper. A good agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimental results is found. In particular, our model suggests that the statistical stress fluctuations trigger rupture events at a nanometric scale corresponding to the diameter of cellulose microfibrils.

Streamwise Evolution of Statistical Events in a Model Wind-Turbine Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viestenz, Kyle; Cal, Raúl Bayoán

2016-02-01

Hot-wire anemometry data, obtained from a wind-tunnel experiment containing a 3 × 3 model wind-turbine array, are used to conditionally average the Reynolds stresses. Nine profiles at the centreline behind the array are analyzed to characterize the turbulent velocity statistics of the wake flow. Quadrant analysis yields statistical events occurring in the wake of the wind farm where quadrants 2 and 4 produce ejections and sweeps, respectively. The scaled difference between these two events is expressed via the Δ R0 parameter and is based on the Δ S0 quantity as introduced by M. R. Raupach (J Fluid Mech 108:363-382, 1981). Δ R0 attains a maximum value at hub height and changes sign near the top of the rotor. The ratio of quadrant events of upward momentum flux to those of the downward flux, known as the exuberance, is examined and reveals the effect of root vortices persisting to eight rotor diameters downstream. These events are then associated with the triple correlation term present in the turbulent kinetic energy equation of the fluctuations where it is found that ejections play the dual role of entraining mean kinetic energy while convecting turbulent kinetic energy out of the turbine canopy. The development of these various quantities possesses significance in closure models, and is assessed in light of wake remediation, energy transport and power fluctuations, where it is found that the maximum fluctuation is about 30% of the mean power produced.

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics of single-particle orbits in a magnetotaillike magnetic field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, J.; Palmadesso, P. J.

1986-01-01

The properties of charged-particle motion in Hamiltonian dynamics are studied in a magnetotaillike magnetic field configuration. It is shown by numerical integration of the equation of motion that the system is generally nonintegrable and that the particle motion can be classified into three distinct types of orbits: bounded integrable orbits, unbounded stochastic orbits, and unbounded transient orbits. It is also shown that different regions of the phase space exhibit qualitatively different responses to external influences. The concept of 'differential memory' in single-particle distributions is proposed. Physical implications for the dynamical properties of the magnetotail plasmas and the possible generation of non-Maxwellian features in the distribution functions are discussed.

Fast immersed interface Poisson solver for 3D unbounded problems around arbitrary geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillis, T.; Winckelmans, G.; Chatelain, P.

2018-02-01

We present a fast and efficient Fourier-based solver for the Poisson problem around an arbitrary geometry in an unbounded 3D domain. This solver merges two rewarding approaches, the lattice Green's function method and the immersed interface method, using the Sherman-Morrison-Woodbury decomposition formula. The method is intended to be second order up to the boundary. This is verified on two potential flow benchmarks. We also further analyse the iterative process and the convergence behavior of the proposed algorithm. The method is applicable to a wide range of problems involving a Poisson equation around inner bodies, which goes well beyond the present validation on potential flows.

The association of longitudinal trend of fasting plasma glucose with retinal microvasculature in people without established diabetes.

PubMed

Hu, Yin; Niu, Yong; Wang, Dandan; Wang, Ying; Holden, Brien A; He, Mingguang

2015-01-22

Structural changes of retinal vasculature, such as altered retinal vascular calibers, are considered as early signs of systemic vascular damage. We examined the associations of 5-year mean level, longitudinal trend, and fluctuation in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) with retinal vascular caliber in people without established diabetes. A prospective study was conducted in a cohort of Chinese people age ≥40 years in Guangzhou, southern China. The FPG was measured at baseline in 2008 and annually until 2012. In 2012, retinal vascular caliber was assessed using standard fundus photographs and validated software. A total of 3645 baseline nondiabetic participants with baseline and follow-up data on FPG for 3 or more visits was included for statistical analysis. The associations of retinal vascular caliber with 5-year mean FPG level, longitudinal FPG trend (slope of linear regression-FPG), and fluctuation (standard deviation and root mean square error of FPG) were analyzed using multivariable linear regression analyses. Multivariate regression models adjusted for baseline FPG and other potential confounders showed that a 10% annual increase in FPG was associated independently with a 2.65-μm narrowing in retinal arterioles (P = 0.008) and a 3.47-μm widening in venules (P = 0. 0.004). Associations with mean FPG level and fluctuation were not statistically significant. Annual rising trend in FPG, but not its mean level or fluctuation, is associated with altered retinal vasculature in nondiabetic people. Copyright 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

Gravitational wave signatures of inflationary models from Primordial Black Hole dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

García-Bellido, Juan; Peloso, Marco; Unal, Caner, E-mail: juan.garciabellido@uam.es, E-mail: peloso@physics.umn.edu, E-mail: unal@physics.umn.edu

Primordial Black Holes (PBH) could be the cold dark matter of the universe. They could have arisen from large (order one) curvature fluctuations produced during inflation that reentered the horizon in the radiation era. At reentry, these fluctuations source gravitational waves (GW) via second order anisotropic stresses. These GW, together with those (possibly) sourced during inflation by the same mechanism responsible for the large curvature fluctuations, constitute a primordial stochastic GW background (SGWB) that unavoidably accompanies the PBH formation. We study how the amplitude and the range of frequencies of this signal depend on the statistics (Gaussian versus χ{sup 2})more » of the primordial curvature fluctuations, and on the evolution of the PBH mass function due to accretion and merging. We then compare this signal with the sensitivity of present and future detectors, at PTA and LISA scales. We find that this SGWB will help to probe, or strongly constrain, the early universe mechanism of PBH production. The comparison between the peak mass of the PBH distribution and the peak frequency of this SGWB will provide important information on the merging and accretion evolution of the PBH mass distribution from their formation to the present era. Different assumptions on the statistics and on the PBH evolution also result in different amounts of CMB μ-distortions. Therefore the above results can be complemented by the detection (or the absence) of μ-distortions with an experiment such as PIXIE.« less

Enhanced Sensitivity to Rapid Input Fluctuations by Nonlinear Threshold Dynamics in Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons

PubMed Central

Mensi, Skander; Hagens, Olivier; Gerstner, Wulfram; Pozzorini, Christian

2016-01-01

The way in which single neurons transform input into output spike trains has fundamental consequences for network coding. Theories and modeling studies based on standard Integrate-and-Fire models implicitly assume that, in response to increasingly strong inputs, neurons modify their coding strategy by progressively reducing their selective sensitivity to rapid input fluctuations. Combining mathematical modeling with in vitro experiments, we demonstrate that, in L5 pyramidal neurons, the firing threshold dynamics adaptively adjust the effective timescale of somatic integration in order to preserve sensitivity to rapid signals over a broad range of input statistics. For that, a new Generalized Integrate-and-Fire model featuring nonlinear firing threshold dynamics and conductance-based adaptation is introduced that outperforms state-of-the-art neuron models in predicting the spiking activity of neurons responding to a variety of in vivo-like fluctuating currents. Our model allows for efficient parameter extraction and can be analytically mapped to a Generalized Linear Model in which both the input filter—describing somatic integration—and the spike-history filter—accounting for spike-frequency adaptation—dynamically adapt to the input statistics, as experimentally observed. Overall, our results provide new insights on the computational role of different biophysical processes known to underlie adaptive coding in single neurons and support previous theoretical findings indicating that the nonlinear dynamics of the firing threshold due to Na+-channel inactivation regulate the sensitivity to rapid input fluctuations. PMID:26907675

Limited value of the urinary phenytoin metabolic ratio for the assessment of cytochrome P4502C9 activity in vivo

PubMed Central

TASSANEEYAKUL, WICHITTRA; BIRKETT, DONALD J.; PASS, MICHAEL C.; MINERS, JOHN O.

1996-01-01

Relationships between the ratio of p-hydroxyphenytoin (p-HPPH), the major metabolite of phenytoin, to unchanged phenytoin excreted in urine (the urinary metabolic ratio or MR) were compared with a number of indices of the metabolic clearances of phenytoin and tolbutamide published previously for seventeen subjects separately administered these known cytochrome P4502C9 (CYP2C9) substrates. Significant correlations (rs=0.50–0.60, P<0.05) were observed between the phenytoin MR, derived from either 0–24 or 24–48 h urine collections, and inverse areas under the plasma unbound concentration-time curves (measured over various time intervals) of phenytoin and with plasma unbound tolbutamide clearance. Significant correlations (rs =0.59–0.74) were also observed between the phenytoin MRs and metabolic unbound clearances for p-hydroxyphenytoin formation. Despite the significant correlations, variability in tolbutamide and phenytoin metabolic clearance parameters tended to account for <50% of the variability in phenytoin MR. Correlations between the renal clearance of phenytoin and the phenytoin MRs suggest that variability in the renal clearance of unchanged drug limits the usefulness of the phenytoin MR for the investigation of factors influencing CYP2C9 activity in vivo. PMID:8971435

Monte Carlo replica-exchange based ensemble docking of protein conformations.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhe; Ehmann, Uwe; Zacharias, Martin

2017-05-01

A replica-exchange Monte Carlo (REMC) ensemble docking approach has been developed that allows efficient exploration of protein-protein docking geometries. In addition to Monte Carlo steps in translation and orientation of binding partners, possible conformational changes upon binding are included based on Monte Carlo selection of protein conformations stored as ordered pregenerated conformational ensembles. The conformational ensembles of each binding partner protein were generated by three different approaches starting from the unbound partner protein structure with a range spanning a root mean square deviation of 1-2.5 Å with respect to the unbound structure. Because MC sampling is performed to select appropriate partner conformations on the fly the approach is not limited by the number of conformations in the ensemble compared to ensemble docking of each conformer pair in ensemble cross docking. Although only a fraction of generated conformers was in closer agreement with the bound structure the REMC ensemble docking approach achieved improved docking results compared to REMC docking with only the unbound partner structures or using docking energy minimization methods. The approach has significant potential for further improvement in combination with more realistic structural ensembles and better docking scoring functions. Proteins 2017; 85:924-937. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gamma Decay of Unbound Neutron-Hole States in 133Sn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaquero, V.; Jungclaus, A.; Doornenbal, P.; Wimmer, K.; Gargano, A.; Tostevin, J. A.; Chen, S.; Nácher, E.; Sahin, E.; Shiga, Y.; Steppenbeck, D.; Taniuchi, R.; Xu, Z. Y.; Ando, T.; Baba, H.; Garrote, F. L. Bello; Franchoo, S.; Hadynska-Klek, K.; Kusoglu, A.; Liu, J.; Lokotko, T.; Momiyama, S.; Motobayashi, T.; Nagamine, S.; Nakatsuka, N.; Niikura, M.; Orlandi, R.; Saito, T.; Sakurai, H.; Söderström, P. A.; Tveten, G. M.; Vajta, Zs.; Yalcinkaya, M.

2017-05-01

Excited states in the nucleus 133Sn, with one neutron outside the double magic 132Sn core, were populated following one-neutron knockout from a 134Sn beam on a carbon target at relativistic energies at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. Besides the γ rays emitted in the decay of the known neutron single-particle states in 133Sn additional γ strength in the energy range 3.5-5.5 MeV was observed for the first time. Since the neutron-separation energy of 133Sn is low, Sn=2.402 (4 ) MeV , this observation provides direct evidence for the radiative decay of neutron-unbound states in this nucleus. The ability of electromagnetic decay to compete successfully with neutron emission at energies as high as 3 MeV above threshold is attributed to a mismatch between the wave functions of the initial and final states in the latter case. These findings suggest that in the region southeast of 132Sn nuclear structure effects may play a significant role in the neutron versus γ competition in the decay of unbound states. As a consequence, the common neglect of such effects in the evaluation of the neutron-emission probabilities in calculations of global β -decay properties for astrophysical simulations may have to be reconsidered.