1,723,545 research outputs found
Dynamic importance sampling for the escape problem in nonequilibrium systems: Observation of shifts in optimal paths
No full textThe activation problem is investigated in two-dimensional nonequilibrium systems. A numerical approach based on dynamic importance sampling (DIMS) is introduced. DIMS accelerates the simulations and allows the investigation to access noise intensities that were previously forbidden. The escape path is observed to be shifted compared to a heteroclinic trajectory calculated in the limit of zero-noise intensity. A theory to account for such shifts is presented and shown to agree with the simulations for a wide range of noise intensities
Dynamics importance sampling for the collection of switching events in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers
No full textA numerical approach based on dynamic importance sampling (DIMS) is applied to investigate polarization switches in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. A polarization switch is described as an activation process in a two-dimensional nonequilibrium system. DIMS accelerates the simulations and allows access to noise intensities that were previously forbidden, revealing qualitative changes in the shape of the transition paths with noise intensity
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Optimal fluctuations and the control of chaos
No full textThe energy-optimal migration of a chaotic oscillator from one attractor to another coexisting attractor is investigated via an analogy between the Hamiltonian theory of fluctuations and Hamiltonian formulation of the control problem. We demonstrate both on physical grounds and rigorously that the Wentzel-Freidlin Hamiltonian arising in the analysis of fluctuations is equivalent to Pontryagin's Hamiltonian in the control problem with an additive linear unrestricted control. The deterministic optimal control function is identified with the optimal fluctuational force. Numerical and analogue experiments undertaken to verify these ideas demonstrate that, in the limit of small noise intensity, fluctuational escape from the chaotic attractor occurs via a unique (optimal) path corresponding to a unique (optimal) fluctuational force. Initial conditions on the chaotic attractor are identified. The solution of the boundary value control problem for the Pontryagin Hamiltonian is found numerically. It is shown that this solution is approximated very accurately by the optimal fluctuational force found using statistical analysis of the escape trajectories. A second series of numerical experiments on the deterministic system (i.e. in the absence of noise) show that a control function of precisely the same shape and magnitude is indeed able to instigate escape. It is demonstrated that this control function minimizes the cost functional and the corresponding energy is found to be smaller than that obtained with some earlier adaptive control algorithms
Solution of the boundary value problem for optimal escape in continuous stochastic systems and maps
No full textTopologies of invariant manifolds and optimal trajectories are investigated in stochastic continuous systems and maps. A topological method is introduced that simplifies the solution of boundary value problems: The activation energy is calculated as a function of a set of parameters characterizing the initial conditions of the escape path. The method is applied explicitly to compute the optimal escape path and the activation energy for a variety of dynamical systems and maps
SLC6A4 methylation as an epigenetic marker of life adversity exposures in humans: A systematic review of literature
No full textThe application of epigenetics to the study of behavioral and socio-emotional development in humans has revealed that DNA methylation could be a potential marker of adversity exposure and long-lasting programming of health and disease. The serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) is a stress-related gene which has well-documented implications for behavioral and socio-emotional development and which has been shown to be susceptible to transcriptional regulation via epigenetic mechanisms. In the present paper, a systematic review of papers assessing the association among adversity exposures, SLC6A4 methylation and developmental outcomes is reported. Nineteen studies were included. Findings revealed that SLC6A4 methylation has been investigated in humans in association with a number of prenatal and postnatal adverse exposures, encompassing maternal depression during pregnancy, perinatal stress exposure, childhood trauma and abuse, and environmental stress. SLC6A4 is confirmed as a relevant biomarker of early adversity exposures, and epigenetic mechanisms occurring at this gene appear to play a critical role for programming. Nonetheless, specific methodological issues still need to be addressed in future human behavioral epigenetic research
- …
