Variational multiple-tensor fitting of fiber-ambiguous diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging voxels

Partial volume effects are often experienced in diffusion-weighted MRI of biologic tissue. This is when the signal attenuation reflects a mixture of diffusion processes, originating from different tissue compartments, residing in the same voxel. Decomposing the mixture requires elaborated models that account for multiple compartments, yet the fitting problem for those models is usually ill posed. We suggest a novel approach for stabilizing the fitting problem of the multiple-tensors model by a variational framework that adds biologically oriented assumption of neighborhood alignments. The framework is designed to address fiber ambiguity caused by a number of neuronal fiber compartments residing in the same voxel. The method requires diffusion data acquired by common, clinically feasible MRI sequences, and is able to derive familiar tensor quantities for each compartment. Neighborhood alignment is performed by adding piece-wise smooth regularization constraints to an energy function. Minimization with the gradient descent method produces a set of diffusion-reaction partial differential equations that describe a tensor-preserving flow towards a best approximation of the data while maintaining the constraints. We analyze fiber compartment separation capabilities on a synthetic model of crossing fibers and on brain areas known to have crossing fibers. We compare the results with diffusion tensor imaging analysis and discuss applications for the framework.     

Projectively Equivariant Symbol Calculus

The spaces of linear differential operators acting on -densities on and the space of functions on which are polynomial on the fibers are not isomorphic as modules over the Lie algebra Vect (ⁿ) of vector fields of ⁿ. However, these modules are isomorphic as sl(n + 1,)-modules where is the Lie algebra of infinitesimal projective transformations. In addition, such an -equivariant bijection is unique (up to normalization). This leads to a notion of projectively equivariant quantization and symbol calculus for a manifold endowed with a (flat) projective structure. We apply the -equivariant symbol map to study the of kth-order linear differential operators acting on -densities, for an arbitrary manifold M and classify the quotient-modules .     

Stokes Flows under Random Boundary Velocity Excitations

A viscous Stokes flow over a disc under random fluctuations of the velocity on the boundary is studied. We give exact Karhunen-Loève (K-L) expansions for the velocity components, pressure, stress, and vorticity, and the series representations for the corresponding correlation tensors. Both the white noise fluctuations, and general homogeneous random excitations of the velocities prescribed on the boundary are studied. We analyze the decay of correlation functions in angular and radial directions, both for exterior and interior Stokes problems. Numerical experiments show the fast convergence of the K-L expansions. The results indicate that ignoring the stochastic fluctuations in boundary conditions dramatically underestimates the variance of the velocity and pressure in the interior/exterior of the domain. The support of the RFBR Grant N 06-01-00498 is kindly acknowledged.     

PROPAGATION CHARACTERISTICS OF GAUSSIAN BEAMS WITH ASTIGAMATISM

Transformation of Gaussian beams propagating through an axially asym-metric optical system is studied in detail by means of the complex curvature tensor andthe tensor ABCD law.Some important propagation characteristics of Gaussian beamswith simple or general astigmatism are demonstrated by typical numerical examples.     

The Maxwell tensor for the Liénard-Wiechert field as an exact divergence

A potential for the bounded part of the Maxwell tensor associated to the Liénard-Wiechert field has been obtained by van Weert. In this paper we explicitly derive the non-local potential for the radiative part of such a tensor.     

Photoelasticity in quasicrystals

The maximum number of non-vanishing and independent second order photoelastic coefficients required by the seven pentagonal and the two icosahedral point groups 5(C₅), (S₁₀), (C_5h ), m2(D_5h ), 52(D₅), 5m(C_5v ), 2m(D_5d ); 235(I), 2/m (I _h )—that describe the quasicrystals symmetry groups in two and three dimensions—is obtained. The schemes of non-vanishing and independent coefficients have been calculated and listed. Finally the results of this group-theoretical study are briefly discussed.     

A model of nonlinear electrodynamics

A new model of nonlinear electrodynamics with two parameters is investigated. We also consider a model with one dimensional parameter. It was shown that the electric field of a point-like charge is not singular at the origin and there is the finiteness of the static electric energy of point-like charged particle. We obtain the canonical and symmetrical Belinfante energy–momentum tensors and dilatation currents. It is demonstrated that the dilatation symmetry and dual symmetry are broken in the models suggested. We have calculated the static electric energy of point-like particles.     

Letter: Trace Anomaly and Backreaction of the Dynamical Casimir Effect

The Casimir energy for massless scalar field which satisfies periodic boundary conditions in two-dimensional domain wall background is calculated by making use of general properties of renormalized stress-tensor. The line element of domain wall is time dependent, the trace anomaly which is the nonvanishing T for a conformally invariant field after renormalization, represent the back reaction of the dynamical Casimir effect.     

Generalized Transvectants-Rankin–Cohen Brackets

We introduce o(p+1q+1)-invariant bilinear differential operators on the space of tensor densities on Rⁿ generalizing the well-known bilinear sl₂-invariant differential operators in the one-dimensional case, called Transvectants or Rankin–Cohen brackets. We also consider already known linear o(p+1q+1)-invariant differential operators given by powers of the Laplacian.     

Transversity of quarks in a nucleon

The transversity distribution of quarks in a nucleon is one of the three fundamental distributions, that characterize nucleon's properties in hard scattering processes at leading twist (twist 2). It measures the distribution of quark transverse spin in a nucleon polarized transverse to its (infinite) momentum. It is a chiral-odd twist-two distribution function — gluons do not couple to it. Quarks in a nucleon/hadron are relativistically bound and transversity is a measure of the relativistic nature of bound quarks in a nucleon. In this work, we review some important aspects of this less familiar distribution function which has not been measured experimentally so far.