Mechanical model of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque rupture

Atherosclerotic vascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Until quite recently, it has been generally thought that the accretion of atherosclerotic plaque in coronary arteries progressively occluded the arterial lumen, resulting in a decrease in coronary blood flow reserve and ultimately producing myocardial ischemia, and the therapeutic aim to atherosclerosis has mainly focused on reducing the plaque. However, evidence accumulated over recent years has…     

Estimations of intrinsic and extrinsic noise in models of nonlinear genetic networks

We discuss two methods that can be used to estimate the impact of internal and external variability on nonlinear systems, and demonstrate their utility by comparing two experimentally implemented oscillatory genetic networks with different designs. The methods allow for rapid estimations of intrinsic and extrinsic noise and should prove useful in the analysis of natural genetic networks and when constructing synthetic gene regulatory systems.     

基于一维标定物和改进进化策略的相机标定

为了解决运动参数光电探测过程中的相机标定问题,制作一种两端及中间各安装一个红外反光标记球的一维标定物.不需要其它复杂标定装置,只要将这种特制的一维标定物在测量空间内多次随意移动并摄取其图像,即可实现标定.算法首先假定主点位于像面中心附近的某个位置,再求出焦距、旋转矩阵、平移向量和比例因子,最后通过评价函数将相机标定转换成寻找两相机最佳主点对的非线性最小化问题.在传统进化策略中引进个体的自我改进系数、个体间距离等概念,提出了求取子代个体间的欧式距离并排序的方法,设计了搜索最佳主点对的改进型进化策略算法.与传统标定方法相比,基于一维标定物的方法克服了多相机场合的遮挡问题,改进进化策略的引入打破了一维标定物需做某种特殊运动的限制,使一维标定物自由运动时相机内、外参数的同时求解成为可能,改进的模拟退火进化策略改善了算法的全局收敛性能并加快了收敛速度.     

Self-calibration using two same circles

Camera calibration is a fundamental step in 3D reconstruction and computer vision. Considering the easy accessibility of two same circles, a method for self-calibration based on two same circles is proposed. The proposed method does not need any prior knowledge and known camera parameters. By taking three photos of the object containing two same circles from different views, the close solution for intrinsic and extrinsic parameters are first obtained by the invariance of circular points and common tangent of two circles. Then the solution is refined by the nonlinear optimization. This method could get the intrinsic parameters as well as the extrinsic parameters without complicated matching process. Extensive results show the accuracy, robustness and wide applications of the proposed method.     

Reliable computing with unreliable components: Using separable environments to stabilize long-term information storage

How, in the face of both intrinsic and extrinsic volatility, can unconventional computing fabrics store information over arbitrarily long periods? Here, we argue that the predictable structure of many realistic environments, both natural and artificial, can be used to maintain useful categorical boundaries even when the computational fabric itself is inherently volatile and the inputs and outputs are partially stochastic. As a concrete example, we consider the storage of binary classifications in connectionist networks, although the underlying principles should be applicable to other unconventional computing paradigms. Specifically, we demonstrate that an unsupervised, activity dependent plasticity rule, AHAH (Anti-Hebbian-And-Hebbian), allows binary classifications to remain stable even when the underlying synaptic weights are subject to random noise. When embedded in environments composed of separable features, the weight vector is restricted by the AHAH rule to local attractors representing stable partitions of the input space, allowing unsupervised recovery of stored binary classifications following random perturbations that leave the system in the same basin of attraction. We conclude that the stability of long-term memories may depend not so much on the reliability of the underlying substrate, but rather on the reproducible structure of the environment itself, suggesting a new paradigm for reliable computing with unreliable components.     

A quasi-linear response theory of statistical heavy-ion collisions: (I). Basic formulation : Transport equations and roles of Green functions

We develop a time-dependent theory of heavy-ion collisions which consistently treats the relative and the intrinsic motions by coupled equations derived from the many-body von Neumann equation. The structure of the equations determining the mean trajectory and the fluctuations of the relative motion is the same as that of the corresponding equations in the known linear response theory. The present theory differs, however, from the linear response theory, in that it presumes neither weak coupling between the relative motion and the intrinsic excitations, nor the canonical distribution function for the density operator of the intrinsic motions. We apply the theory especially to deep inelastic collisions, where the relative motion couples to intrinsic excitations through a stochastic hamiltonian. Based on the stochastic assumption, we study the properties of the Green functions that take into account the higher order effects of the coupling hamiltonian. We then discuss, in particular, the effects of the Green functions on the time evolution of the intrinsic state, which is described in terms of a coarse-grained master equation, the friction tensor and fluctuation dissipation theorems.     

Influence of impurity-induced spin-orbit scattering on persistent spin helix

The persistent spin helix discovered in intrinsic spin-orbit coupled systems previously is reexamined using the motion equations of Green's functions by considering the effect of extrinsic impurity-induced spin-orbit coupling. We find both the intrinsic and extrinsic spin-orbit couplings can increase the excitation energy of spin helix. They together can reduce drastically the lifetime of the spin helix, making it severely departure from the ideal infinite value. The effect of impurity density on spin helix is also analyzed. The results may be helpful to understand experimental measurements on spin helix.     

Absence of skew scattering in two-dimensional systems: testing the origins of the anomalous Hall effect

We study the anomalous Hall conductivity in spin-polarized, asymmetrically confined two-dimensional electron and hole systems, taking into account the intrinsic, side-jump, and skew-scattering contributions to the transport. We find that the skew scattering, principally responsible for the extrinsic contribution to the anomalous Hall effect, vanishes for the two-dimensional electron system if both chiral Rashba subbands are partially occupied, and vanishes always for the two-dimensional hole gas studied here, regardless of the band filling. Our prediction can be tested with the proposed coplanar two-dimensional electron-hole gas device and can be used as a benchmark to understand the crossover from the intrinsic to the extrinsic anomalous Hall effect.     

Eine relativistische Bewegungsgleichung für das strahlende Elektron,die keine Selbstbeschleunigungs-Lösungen enthält

By analyzing the equations of motion of a spatially extended charge distribution, we are lead to classical equations of motion for a radiating charged point particle. We describe the particle by an intrinsic and an extrinsic momentum and not, as is normally done, by the mechanical momentum and the Lorentz force. We thus obtain a differential equation with retarded argument, which is free of run-away solutions and also contains the physical solutions of the older theories. Open questions are pointed out in detail.     

Value Production in a Collaborative Environment

We review some recent endeavors and add some new results to characterize and understand underlying mechanisms in Wikipedia (WP), the paradigmatic example of collaborative value production. We analyzed the statistics of editorial activity in different languages and observed typical circadian and weekly patterns, which enabled us to estimate the geographical origins of contributions to WPs in languages spoken in several time zones. Using a recently introduced measure we showed that the editorial activities have intrinsic dependencies in the burstiness of events. A comparison of the English and Simple English WPs revealed important aspects of language complexity and showed how peer cooperation solved the task of enhancing readability. One of our focus issues was characterizing the conflicts or edit wars in WPs, which helped us to automatically filter out controversial pages. When studying the temporal evolution of the controversiality of such pages we identified typical patterns and classified conflicts accordingly. Our quantitative analysis provides the basis of modeling conflicts and their resolution in collaborative environments and contribute to the understanding of this issue, which becomes increasingly important with the development of information communication technology.     

An object tracking method based on guided filter for night fusion image

Online object tracking is a challenging problem as it entails learning an effective model to account for appearance change caused by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In this paper, we propose a novel online object tracking with guided image filter for accurate and robust night fusion image tracking. Firstly, frame difference is applied to produce the coarse target, which helps to generate observation models. Under the restriction of these models and local source image, guided filter generates sufficient and accurate foreground target. Then accurate boundaries of the target can be extracted from detection results. Finally timely updating for observation models help to avoid tracking shift. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations on challenging image sequences demonstrate that the proposed tracking algorithm performs favorably against several state-of-art methods.     

Variations of trends of indicators describing complex systems: change of scaling precursory to extreme events

Socioeconomic and natural complex systems persistently generate extreme events also known as disasters, crises, or critical transitions. Here we analyze patterns of background activity preceding extreme events in four complex systems: economic recessions, surges in homicides in a megacity, magnetic storms, and strong earthquakes. We use as a starting point the indicators describing the system's behavior and identify changes in an indicator's trend. Those changes constitute our background events (BEs). We demonstrate a premonitory pattern common to all four systems considered: relatively large magnitude BEs become more frequent before extreme event. A premonitory change of scaling has been found in various models and observations. Here we demonstrate this change in scaling of uniformly defined BEs in four real complex systems, their enormous differences notwithstanding.     

Elastic exciton-exciton scattering in photoexcited carbon nanotubes

We report on original nonlinear spectral hole-burning experiments in single wall carbon nanotubes that bring evidence of pure dephasing induced by exciton-exciton scattering. We show that the collision-induced broadening in carbon nanotubes is controlled by exciton-exciton scattering as for Wannier excitons in inorganic semiconductors, while the population relaxation is driven by exciton-exciton annihilation as for Frenkel excitons in organic materials. We demonstrate that this singular behavior originates from the intrinsic one-dimensionality of excitons in carbon nanotubes, which display unique hybrid features of organic and inorganic systems.     

非理想MHD流的奇异吸引子与混沌现象

本文提出并研究了在剪切磁场中非理想MHD流的Rayleigh-Bnard问题的一个模型,得到了关于这个模型的一个新的非线性微分方程组。理论和数值分析表明:这组方程蕴含一个奇异吸引子,它具有不同于Lorenz吸引子的一些新特性;更重要的是,已知的三条通往混沌的道路并存于这个模型之中。应当指出,在迄今所有已知的向混沌态过渡的三条道路共存的模型中，我们的方程组是唯一没有外部周期驱动项的，更直接地体现了非线性确定论系统的“内在”随机件、另外，对这个简单模型进行数值模拟．我们观察到磁力线的随机运动、磁力线重联和磁岛 关键词：     

A stochastic model of tweet diffusion on the Twitter network

We introduce a stochastic model which describes the information diffusion on the network of a popular web service, Twitter. Restricting our attention to the daily diffusion from a popular account, we model the information diffusion as a random multiplicative process. We justify our model by directly observing the statistics of the multiplicative factors in the Twitter data.     

On the influence of extrinsic point defects on irradiation-induced point-defect distributions in silicon

A semi-quantitave model describing the influence of interfaces and stress fields on {113}-defect generation in silicon during 1-MeV electron irradiation, is further developed to take into account also the role of extrinsic point defects. It is shown that the observed distribution of {113}-defects in high-flux electron-irradiated silicon and its dependence on irradiation temperature and dopant concentration can be understood by taking into account not only the influence of the surfaces and interfaces as sinks for intrinsic point defects but also the thermal stability of the bulk sinks for intrinsic point defects. In heavily doped silicon the bulk sinks are related with pairing reactions of the dopant atoms with the generated intrinsic point defects or related with enhanced recombination of vacancies and self-interstitials at extrinsic point defects. The obtained theoretical results are correlated with published experimental data on boron-and phosphorus-doped silicon and are illustrated with observations obtained by irradiating cross-section transmission electron microscopy samples of wafers with highly doped surface layers.     

Hourglass model for a protein-based circadian oscillator

Many organisms possess internal biochemical clocks, known as circadian oscillators, which allow them to regulate their biological activity with a 24-hour period. It was recently discovered that the circadian oscillator of photosynthetic cyanobacteria is able to function in a test tube with only three proteins, KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC, and ATP. Biochemical events are intrinsically stochastic, and this tends to desynchronize oscillating protein populations. We propose that stability of the Kai-protein oscillator relies on active synchronization by (i) monomer exchange between KaiC hexamers during the day, and (ii) formation of clusters of KaiC hexamers at night. Our results highlight the importance of collective assembly or disassembly of proteins in biochemical networks, and may help guide design of novel protein-based oscillators.     

Quasi-static field of an elementary electric dipole in a moving,isotropic, warm plasma

We have investigated the field of an elementary electric dipole in a medium moving at nonrelativistic velocities. We used a quasi-static approximation and a hydrodynamic model of the plasma, taking into account the thermal motion of the electrons. The plasma is assumed to be isotropic, uniform, and infinite. We demonstrate that the intrinsic spatial dispersion of the medium (in the associated reference frame) produces a change in the plasma wave part of the source field.Kirovskii State Teachers Institute. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedeni Radiofizika, No. 10, pp. 1227–1236, October, 1994.     

Casimir-force-driven ratchets

We explore the nonlinear dynamics of two parallel periodically patterned metal surfaces that are coupled by the zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field between them. The resulting Casimir force generates for asymmetric patterns with a time periodically driven surface-to-surface distance a ratchet effect, allowing for directed lateral motion of the surfaces in sizable parameter ranges. It is crucial to take into account inertia effects and hence chaotic dynamics which are described by Langevin dynamics. Multiple velocity reversals occur as a function of driving, mean surface distance, and effective damping. These transport properties are shown to be stable against weak ambient noise.