Ergodicity for Nonlinear Stochastic Equations in Variational Formulation

This paper is concerned with nonlinear partial differential equations of the calculus of variation (see [13]) perturbed by noise. Well-posedness of the problem was proved by Pardoux in the seventies (see [14]), using monotonicity methods. The aim of the present work is to investigate the asymptotic behaviour of the corresponding transition semigroup P_t. We show existence and, under suitable assumptions, uniqueness of an ergodic invariant measure ν. Moreover, we solve the Kolmogorov equation and prove the so-called "identite du carre du champs". This will be used to study the Sobolev space W^1,2(H,ν) and to obtain information on the domain of the infinitesimal generator of P_t.     

Stable isotope study of precipitation and cave drip water in Florida (USA): implications for speleothem-based paleoclimate studies†

Stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen were used to examine how the isotopic signal of meteoric water is modified as it travels through soil and epikarst into two caves in Florida. Surface and cave water samples were collected every week from February 2006 until March 2007. The isotopic composition of precipitation at the investigated sites is highly variable and shows little seasonal control. The δ¹⁸O vs. δ²H plot shows a mixing line having a slope of 5.63, suggesting evaporation effects dominate the isotopic composition of most rainfall events of less than 8 cm/day, as indicated by their low d-excess values. The δ¹⁸O values of the drip water show little variability (<0.6‰), which is loosely tied to local variations in the seasonal amount of precipitation. This is only seen during wintertime at the Florida Caverns site.

The lag time of over two months and the lack of any relationship between rainfall amount and the increase in drip rate indicate a dominance of matrix flow relative to fracture/conduit flow at each site. The long residence time of the vadose seepage waters allows for an effective isotopic homogenisation of individual and seasonal rainfall events. We find no correlation between rainfall and drip water δ¹⁸O at any site. The isotopic composition of drip water in both caves consistently tends to resemble the amount-weighted monthly mean rainfall input. This implies that the δ¹⁸O of speleothems from these two caves in Florida cannot record seasonal cycle in rainfall δ¹⁸O, but are suitable for paleoclimate reconstructions at inter-annual time scales.? Revised version of a paper presented at the 9th, Symposium of the European Society for Isotope Research (ESIR), 23 to 28 June 2007, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.      

Hyperspectral Imaging in the Medical Field: Present and Future

Abstract

Hyperspectral imaging is an optical method that provides a large amount of information about the investigated object. Its medical applications are reviewed in this article, including tumor delimitation and identification, assessing tissue perfusion and its pathological conditions (including some complications like diabetic foot ulceration), making accurate surgical decisions, evaluating the health of dental structures, etc. Many of the articles show very promising results that required brief comments by the authors. It is clear that choosing the appropriate hyperspectral imaging system for each medical field, together with the most reliable hyperspectral image processing methods, are the main goals of future studies, before hyperspectral imaging becomes a widely applicable evaluation method in medicine. The authors try to answer some questions on this topic and set up some directions for future research.     

Nonlinear PDE Model for Image Restoration Using Second-Order Hyperbolic Equations

In this article we consider a novel nonlinear PDE-based image denoising technique. The proposed restoration model uses second-order hyperbolic diffusion equations. It represents an improved nonlinear version of a linear hyperbolic PDE model developed recently by the author, providing more effective noise removal results while preserving the edges and other image features. A rigorous mathematical investigation is performed on this new differential model and its well-posedness is treated. Next, a consistent finite-difference numerical approximation scheme is proposed for this nonlinear diffusion-based approach. Our successful image denoising experiments and method comparisons are also described.     

The Generator of the Transition Semigroup Corresponding to a Stochastic Variational Inequality

One proves that the generator of the transition semigroup of a stochastic differential equation with boundary reflection on a convex set K is the realization of a second order elliptic operator on K with zero oblique derivative boundary conditions. Several implications to parabolic problems with oblique derivative are also derived.     

Feedback Stabilization for a Reaction-Diffusion System with Nonlocal Reaction Term

We consider a two-component reaction-diffusion system with a nonlocal reaction term. A necessary condition and a sufficient condition for the internal stabilizability to zero of one of the two components of the solution while preserving the nonnegativity of both components have been established in [6 S. Ani?a , W.-E. Fitzgibbon , and M. Langlais ( 2009 ). Global existence and internal stabilization for a class of predator-prey systems posed on non coincident spatial domains . Discrete Cont. Dynam. Syst. B 11 : 805 – 822 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]]. In case of stabilizability, a feedback stabilizing control of harvesting type has been indicated. The rate of stabilization (for the indicated feedback control) is given by the principal eigenvalue of a certain non-selfadjoint operator. A large principal eigenvalue leads to a fast stabilization. The first main goal of this article is to approximate this principal eigenvalue. This is done in two steps. First, we investigate the large-time behavior of the solution to a logistic population dynamics with migration, and next we derive as a consequence a method to approximate the principal eigenvalue. The other main goal is to derive a conceptual iterative algorithm to improve the position of the support of the control in order to get a faster stabilization. Our results apply to prey-predator systems.     

Periodic solutions to nonlinear one dimensional wave equation with -dependent coefficients

This paper deals with -periodicity and regularity of solutions to the one dimensional nonlinear wave equation with -dependent coefficients

     

Cohomological q-convexity versus local q-completeness with corners

We show that if (D, π) is an unramified Riemann domain over a distinguished complex manifold X such that D is cohomologically q-convex, then π is locally q-complete with corners. We call X distinguished if for every point x of X there is a holomorphic line bundle $\cal L$ on X (which may depend on x) so that the global sections $\Gamma (X \cal L)$ of $\cal L$ generate its 1-jets at x. Examples of distinguished complex manifolds include all complex submanifolds of C^m × Pⁿ; in particular all Stein or projectively algebraic manifolds.     

High-pressure vapor–liquid and vapor–liquid–liquid equilibria in the carbon dioxide + 1-heptanol system

Vapor–liquid equilibria (VLE) and vapor–liquid–liquid equilibria (VLLE) data for the carbon dioxide + 1-heptanol system were measured at 293.15, 303.15, 313.15, 333.15 and 353.15 K. Phase behavior measurements were made in a high-pressure visual cell with variable volume, based on the static-analytic method. The pressure range under investigation was between 0.58 and 14.02 MPa. The Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK)-EOS coupled with Huron–Vidal (HV) mixing rules and a reduced UNIQUAC model, was used in a semi-predictive approach, in order to represent the complex phase behavior (critical curve, LLV line, isothermal VLE, LLE, and VLLE) of the system. The topology of phase behavior is qualitatively correct predicted.     

1-Adamantanethiolate monolayer displacement kinetics follow a universal form

Alkanethiol molecules in solution displace 1-adamantanethiolate self-assembled monolayers on Au{111}, ultimately leading to complete molecular exchange. Specifically, here, fast insertion of n-dodecanethiolate at defects in the original 1-adamantanethiolate monolayer nucleates an island growth phase, which is followed by slow ordering of the n-dodecanethiolate domains into a denser and more crystalline form. Langmuir-based kinetics, which describe alkanethiolate adsorption on bare Au{111}, fail to model this displacement reaction. Instead, a Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model of perimeter-dependent island growth yields good agreement with kinetic data obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry over 100-fold variation in n-dodecanethiol concentration. Rescaling the growth rate at each concentration collapses all the data onto a single universal curve, suggesting that displacement is a scale-free process. The rate of displacement varies as the square-root of the n-dodecanethiol concentration across the 0.01-1.0 mM range studied.