Estimating Precision in Functional Images

Abstract

Functional imaging of biologic parameters like in vivo tissue metabolism is made possible by Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Many techniques have been suggested for extracting such images from dynamic time-course sequences of reconstructed PET scans. Quantitating the precision of these estimates is important for drawing inferences on the biologic parameters. Analytic variance formulas are not immediate owing to the nonlinear methods used in extraction. The usual resampling approach is infeasible because each image reconstruction in PET is a computationally demanding solution to a high-dimensional linear inverse problem. We suggest an alternative simulation approach that approximates the distribution of reconstructed PET scans and performs a parametric bootstrap in the imaging domain. Results on a simplified model chosen to match the characteristics of PET reconstruction are very encouraging. Mixture analysis is used to estimate functional images; however, the suggested approach is general enough to extend to other techniques or imaging methods.     

Verification of the Usefulness of Radiotracing Methods in Hydrodynamic Investigations

In the paper comparison of accuracy of two methods used for investigations of hydrodynamic in continuous flow tanks has been made. Basis for the comparison is the experimental work performed for big industrial wastewater concentration equalization tank. The first method is based on the radiotracer experiment while the second one uses the analysis of response on sudden change of the technological parameters. The radiotracer method has better accuracy connected with the shorter sampling period.

Ks wird die Genauigkeit zweier Methoden zur Untersuchting der Hydrodynamik von kontinuierlich arbeitenden Flüssigkeitsbehältern verglichen. Grundlage dafür sind experimentelle Untersuchungen an groβen Industrieabwasser-Ausgleichsbehältern. Die erste Methode bedient sich der Radiotracertechnik, während die zweite Methode auf einer plötzlichen Veränderung der technologischcn Parameter beruht. Es zeigt sich, daβ die Radiotracermethoden die besseren Ergebnisse liefert, wobei auβerdem noch kürzere Probenaltmeperioden von Vorteil sind.     

Direct observations of the leaching of a simulated nuclear waste glass in a radiation environment

The durability of the media proposed for the containment of commercial nuclear waste will be affected not only by the differences in groundwater composition that they might encounter but also by the changes that their own irradiation fields will make to these solutions. Experimental results that question the ability of current leaching experiments to predict the stability of nuclear waste composites are presented.     

Coordinatively Unsaturated Amidotitanocene Cations with Inverted σ and π Bond Strengths: Controlled Release of Aminyl Radicals and Hydrogenation/Dehydrogenation Catalysis

Cationic amidotitanocene complexes [Cp₂Ti(NPhAr)][B(C₆F₅)₄] (Cp=η⁵-C₅H₅; Ar=phenyl ( 1 a ), p-tolyl ( 1 b ), p-anisyl ( 1 c )) were isolated. The bonding situation was studied by DFT (Density Functional Theory) using EDA-NOCV (Energy Decomposition Analysis with Natural Orbitals for Chemical Valence). The polar Ti−N bond in 1 a–c features an unusual inversion of σ and π bond strengths responsible for the balance between stability and reactivity in these coordinatively unsaturated species. In solution, 1 a–c undergo photolytic Ti−N cleavage to release Ti(III) species and aminyl radicals ⋅ NPhAr. Reaction of 1 b with H₃BNHMe₂ results in fast homolytic Ti−N cleavage to give [Cp₂Ti(H₃BNHMe₂)][B(C₆F₅)₄] ( 3 ). 1 a–c are highly active precatalysts in olefin hydrogenation and silanes/amines cross-dehydrogenative coupling, whilst 3 efficiently catalyzes amine-borane dehydrogenation. The mechanism of olefin hydrogenation was studied by DFT and the cooperative H₂ activation key step was disclosed using the Activation Strain Model (ASM).     

Like‐Charge Attraction: A Combined Electrostatic–Hydrodynamic Approach

Abstract

This article discusses the like‐charge attraction of colloidal spheres close to a charged plate and compares results produced by an electrostatic and a hydrodynamic model with experimental data. Hydrodynamic coupling is shown to be the dominating effect, while the electrostatic influence may often be neglected. Some observations, however, can be explained only by means of a combined electrostatic–hydrodynamic model, which is derived in this work. The combined model is able to predict not only the attractive force between particles of similar charge close to a charged plate but also the change to a purely repulsive force once the sphere‐plate distance is further reduced. This prediction matches qualitatively results of experiments reported in the literature.     

Identification of functionally key residues in maltose transporter with an elastic network model-based thermodynamic method

Periplasmic binding protein-dependent maltose transport system (MBP-MalFGK₂) of Escherichia coli, an important member of the Adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporter superfamily, is in charge of the transportation of maltoses across cellular membrane. Studies have shown that this transport processes are activated by the binding of maltose and are accompanied by large-scale cooperative movements between different domains which are mediated by a network of important residues related to signal transduction and allosteric regulation. In this paper, the functionally crucial residues and long-range allosteric pathway of the regulation of the system by substrate were identified by utilising a coarse-grained thermodynamic method proposed by our group. The residues whose perturbations markedly change the binding free energy between maltoses and MBP-MalFGK₂ were considered to be key residues. In result, the key residues in 62 clusters distributed in different subdomains were identified successfully, and the results from our calculation are highly consistent with experimental and theoretical observations. Furthermore, we explored the long-range cooperation within the transporter. These studies will help us better understand the physical mechanism of the effects of the maltose on MBP-MalFGK₂ by long-range allosteric modulation.     

Mathematical Analysis of caching policies and cooperation in YouTube-like services

Currently, most video on-demand services offered over the Internet do not exploit the idle resources available from end-users. We discuss the benefits of user-assistance in video on-demand systems, where users are both clients and servers, helping with the task of video distribution. The mathematical machinery for the systematic analysis of video on-demand services is not mature yet. In this paper we develop a deterministic fluid model to determine the expected evolution of user-assisted on-demand video streaming services. We theoretically prove that cooperative systems always outperform non-cooperative solutions. A combinatorial optimization problem is proposed, where the goal is to distribute a set of video items into repositories trying to offer the minimum waiting times to end-users. This combinatorial problem is proved to be in the class of NP-Complete computational problem, and is heuristically solved with a GRASP methodology. Predictions inspired in YouTube scenarios suggest the introduction of cooperation is both robust and extremely attractive from an economical viewpoint as well.     

Dependence of noise induced effects on state preparation in multiqubit systems

The perturbation of multiqubit systems by an external noise can induce various effects like decoherence, stochastic resonance and anti-resonance, and noise-shielding. We investigate how the appearance of these effects on disentanglement time depends on the initial preparation of the systems. We present results for 2-, 3- and 4-qubit chains in various arrangements and observe a clear dependence on the combination of initial geometry of the state space and the placement of noise. Finally, we see that temperature can play a constructive role for the control of these noise induced effects.     

Parametric Duality Models for Semiinfinite Multiobjective Fractional Programming Problems Containing Generalized （α,η,ρ）-V-Invex Functions

In this paper, we present several parametric duality results under various generalized ( α,η,ρ )-V- invexity assumptions for a semiinfinite multiobjective fractional programming problem.     

The convolution and multiplication of one‐dimensional associated homogeneous distributions

The set of associated homogeneous distributions (AHDs) with support in R is an important subset of the tempered distributions because it contains the majority of the (one‐dimensional) distributions typically encountered in physics applications (including the δ distribution). In a previous work of the author, a convolution and multiplication product for AHDs on R was defined and fully investigated. The aim of this paper is to give an easy introduction to these new distributional products. The constructed algebras are internal to Schwartz’ theory of distributions and, when one restricts to AHDs, provide a simple alternative for any of the larger generalized function algebras, currently used in non‐linear models. Our approach belongs to the same class as certain methods of renormalization, used in quantum field theory, and are known in the distributional literature as multi‐valued methods. Products of AHDs on R, based on this definition, are generally multi‐valued only at critical degrees of homogeneity. Unlike other definitions proposed in this class, the multi‐valuedness of our products is canonical in the sense that it involves at most one arbitrary constant. A selection of results of (one‐dimensional) distributional convolution and multiplication products are given, with some of them justifying certain distributional products used in quantum field theory. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.