A Condensed Matter Interpretation of SM Fermions and Gauge Fields

We present the bundle (Aff(3)⊗ℂ⊗Λ)(ℝ³), with a geometric Dirac equation on it, as a three-dimensional geometric interpretation of the SM fermions. Each (ℂ⊗Λ)(ℝ³) describes an electroweak doublet. The Dirac equation has a doubler-free staggered spatial discretization on the lattice space (Aff(3)⊗ℂ)(ℤ³). This space allows a simple physical interpretation as a phase space of a lattice of cells. We find the SM SU(3) _c ×SU(2) _L ×U(1) _Y action on (Aff(3)⊗ℂ⊗Λ)(ℝ³) to be a maximal anomaly-free gauge action preserving E(3) symmetry and symplectic structure, which can be constructed using two simple types of gauge-like lattice fields: Wilson gauge fields and correction terms for lattice deformations. The lattice fermion fields we propose to quantize as low energy states of a canonical quantum theory with ℤ₂-degenerated vacuum state. We construct anticommuting fermion operators for the resulting ℤ₂-valued (spin) field theory. A metric theory of gravity compatible with this model is presented too.     

The World According to Quantum Mechanics (Or the 18 Errors of Henry P. Stapp)

Several errors in Stapp's interpretation of quantum mechanics and its application to mental causation (Henry P. Stapp, Quantum theory and the role of mind in nature, Foundations of Physics 31, 1465–1499 (2001)) are pointed out. An interpretation of (standard) quantum mechanics that avoids these errors is presented.     

Comparison of criteria used to access carcinogenicity in CPANN QSAR models versus the knowledge-based expert system Toxtree

The primary goal of this study was to describe and compare the criteria used to assess carcinogenic activity. The statistically-based predictive quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models based on the counter propagation artificial neural network (CPANN) algorithm, and knowledge-based expert systems based on a decision tree structural alert (SA) approach (Toxtree application), were considered. The integration of the QSAR (CPANN models) and SAR (Toxtree SA application) approach contributed to the mechanistic understanding of the QSAR model considered. The mapping technique inherent to CPANN Kohonen enables us to relate the similarities or dissimilarities within a congeneric set of chemicals with particular SAs for carcinogenicity. The focus of our investigations was the similarities and dissimilarities of the features used in the QSAR and SAR methods. Due to the complexity of the carcinogenic endpoint, the integration of different approaches allows the models to be improved and provides a valuable technique for evaluating the safety of chemicals.     

Supersaturated designs: set-ups,data interpretation,and analytical applications

For screening purposes, two-level screening designs, such as fractional factorial (FF) and Plackett–Burman (PB) designs, are usually applied. These designs enable examination of, at most, N−1 factors in N experiments. However, when many factors need to be examined, the number of experiments still becomes unfeasibly large. Occasionally, in order to reduce time and costs, a given number of factors can be examined in fewer experiments than with the above screening designs, by using supersaturated designs. These designs examine more than N _SS−1 factors in N _SS experiments. In this review, different set-ups to construct supersaturated designs are explained and discussed, followed by several possible data interpretations of supersaturated design results. Finally, some analytical applications of supersaturated designs are given.     

A neuro-fuzzy system for X-ray spectra interpretation

A decision scheme for the interpretation of spectra from wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry is described that encompasses elements from three areas of artificial intelligence: fuzzy logic, rule based expert systems and neural net technology.After transforming the recorded spectra to line spectra by appropriate background correction a reasoning scheme is applied that takes into account not only the observed spectra, but also the recording conditions and prior spectroscopic information regarding the relative emission probabilities and the usefulness of the different lines for the purpose of element identification. The latter is done on the basis of a previously described scheme to compute conditional a posteriori Bayes probabilities for a mean matrix. These different pieces of information are then assembled into a battery of fuzzy rules. The importance of the rules as well as the importance of the X-ray lines is determined in a training process, similar to the one in a feedforward back-propagation network.To further stabilize the results this network is pruned in a second training cycle. This, however, had little effect on the quality of interpretation.The advantages of this approach to the interpretation of X-ray spectra over older ones are numerous: the system adapts itself to better interpret spectra that are of greater importance to a laboratory as these are better represented in the training set; the fuzzy logic is capable of working with incomplete and uncertain knowledge, and the neural network results based on these fuzzy rules is readily interpretable by the X-ray spectroscopist as every rule can be expressed also in natural language as in any classical rule based system.On leave from Silesian University, Katowice, Poland     

POPPER'S EXPERIMENT, UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE, SIGNAL LOCALITY AND MOMENTUM CONSERVATION

An experiment proposed earlier by Karl Popper in his critique of the Copenhagen interpretation was realized recently by Kim and Shih. We show that the Copenhagen interpretation is consistent with the results, contrary to Popper's expectation. We examine the role of signal locality and momentum conservation in Popper's experiment and in the realization by Kim and Shih.     

A combinatorial approach to jumping particles: The parallel TASEP

In this article, we continue the combinatorial study of models of particles jumping on a row of cells which we initiated with the standard totally asymmetric simple exclusion process or TASEP (Duchi and Schaeffer, Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Series A, 110(2005), 1–29). We consider here the parallel TASEP, in which particles can jump simultaneously. On the one hand, the interest in this process comes from highway traffic modeling: it is the only solvable special case of the Nagel‐Schreckenberg automaton, the most popular model in that context. On the other hand, the parallel TASEP is of some theoretical interest because the derivation of its stationary distribution, as appearing in the physics literature, is harder than that of the standard TASEP. We offer here an elementary derivation that extends the combinatorial approach we developed for the standard TASEP. In particular, we show that this stationary distribution can be expressed in terms of refinements of Catalan numbers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2008     

HPLC and RIA procedure for cyclosporine A determination compared with clinical background

Summary The aim of our study was to monitor Cyclosporine A (CA) during a long-term period and to determine whether the whole-blood levels, estimated by HPLC and radio-immunoassay (RIA), provide a relevant indicator of the toxic effect of CA, of the interference of endogenous substances with CA and of interactions of erythromycin and ketoconazole with CA metabolims. The ratios of CA concentrations, estimated by RIA and by HPLC were calculated in order to analyse changes in CA metabolism. A decrease in this ratio was observed in these patients during periods of erythromycin and ketoconazole therapy deteriorating hepatic function. We observed unusual higher CA concentrations measured by HPLC compared with RIA in heart transplant patient with marked renal insiffuciency after one-year follow-up period of treatment of CA. The comparison of CA whole-blood levels estimated using HPLC and RIA makes it possible to analyse the individual biotransformation of CA to its metabolites, and interference of endogenous substance in special clinical situations.     

Classicality,the Ensemble Interpretation,and Decoherence: Resolving the Hyperion Dispute

We analyze seemingly contradictory claims in the literature about the role played by decoherence in ensuring classical behavior for the chaotically tumbling satellite Hyperion. We show that the controversy is resolved once the very different assumptions underlying these claims are recognized. In doing so, we emphasize the distinct notions of the problem of classicality in the ensemble interpretation of quantum mechanics and in decoherence-based approaches that are aimed at addressing the measurement problem.     

The Stratonovich Interpretation of Quantum Stochastic Approximations

The Stratonovich version of non-commutative stochastic calculus is introduced and shown to be equivalent to the Itô version developed by Hudson and Parthasarathy [1]. The conversion from Stratonovich to Itô version is shown to be implemented by a stochastic form of Wick's theorem: that is, involving the normal ordering of time-dependent noise fields. It is shown for a model of a quantum mechanical system coupled to a Bosonic field in a Gaussian state that under suitable scaling limits, in particular the weak coupling limit (for linear interactions) and low density limit (for scattering interactions), the limit form of the dynamical equation of motion is most naturally described as a quantum stochastic differential equation of Stratonovich form. We then convert the limit dynamical equations from Stratonovich to Itô form. Thermal Stratonovich noises are also presented.