Independent Processes Research Articles

Linear combinations of i.i.d. strictly stable variables with random coefficients and their application to anomalous diffusion processes

We show that linear combinations of independent and identically distributed strictly stable variables with positive random coefficients is equal in distribution to a function of these random coefficients times a random variable from the same stable distribution. Furthermore, this result is used to show that a random linear combination of independent standard Wiener processes has the distribution of a function of these random coefficients times one standard Wiener process. In opposition to the central limit theorem, this result does not require a large number of terms but it holds with two or more terms. This has implications to simplify stochastic differential equations with a finite number of noises with random coefficients that can be used in modeling anomalous diffusion.

Brain region-specific alterations in gene expression trajectories in the offspring born from influenza A virus infected mice

Influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy can increase the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring, however, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are largely unknown. To recapitulate viral infection, preclinical studies have traditionally focused on using synthetic viral mimetics, rather than live IAV, to examine consequences of maternal immune activation (MIA)-dependent processes on offspring. In contrast, few studies have used live IAV to assess effects on global gene expression, and none to date have addressed whether moderate IAV, mimicking seasonal influenza disease, alters normal gene expression trajectories in different brain regions across different stages of development. Herein, we show that moderate IAV infection during pregnancy, which causes mild maternal disease and no overt foetal complications in utero, induces lasting effects on the offspring into adulthood. We observed behavioural changes in adult offspring, including disrupted prepulse inhibition, dopaminergic hyper-responsiveness, and spatial recognition memory deficits. Gene profiling in the offspring brain from neonate to adolescence revealed persistent alterations to normal gene expression trajectories in the prefronal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and cerebellum. Alterations were found in genes involved in inflammation and neurogenesis, which were predominately dysregulated in neonatal and early adolescent offspring. Notably, late adolescent offspring born from IAV infected mice displayed altered microglial morphology in the hippocampus. In conclusion, we show that moderate IAV during pregnancy perturbs neurodevelopmental trajectories in the offspring, including alterations in the neuroinflammatory gene expression profile and microglial number and morphology in the hippocampus, resulting in behavioural changes in adult offspring. Such early perturbations may underlie the vulnerability in human offspring for the later development of neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia. Our work highlights the importance of using live IAV in developing novel preclinical models that better recapitulate the real-world impact of inflammatory insults during pregnancy on offspring neurodevelopmental trajectories and disease susceptibility later in life.

Ca2+-Dependent Processes of Innate Immunity in IBD.

IBD is an uncontrolled inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, which mainly manifests in two forms: ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). The pathogenesis of IBD appears to be associated with an abnormal response of innate and adaptive immune cells. Innate immunity cells, such as macrophages, mast cells, and granulocytes, can produce proinflammatory (e.g., TNF-α) and oxidative stress (ROS) mediators promoting intestinal damage, and their abnormal responses can induce an imbalance in adaptive immunity, leading to the production of inflammatory cytokines that increase innate immune damage, abate intestinal barrier functions, and aggravate inflammation. Considering that Ca2+ signalling plays a key role in a plethora of cellular functions, this review has the purpose of deepening the potential Ca2+ involvement in IBD pathogenesis.

Chunk boundaries disrupt dependency processing in an AG: Reconciling incremental processing and discrete sampling.

Language is rooted in our ability to compose: We link words together, fusing their meanings. Links are not limited to neighboring words but often span intervening words. The ability to process these non-adjacent dependencies (NADs) conflicts with the brain's sampling of speech: We consume speech in chunks that are limited in time, containing only a limited number of words. It is unknown how we link words together that belong to separate chunks. Here, we report that we cannot-at least not so well. In our electroencephalography (EEG) study, 37 human listeners learned chunks and dependencies from an artificial grammar (AG) composed of syllables. Multi-syllable chunks to be learned were equal-sized, allowing us to employ a frequency-tagging approach. On top of chunks, syllable streams contained NADs that were either confined to a single chunk or crossed a chunk boundary. Frequency analyses of the EEG revealed a spectral peak at the chunk rate, showing that participants learned the chunks. NADs that cross boundaries were associated with smaller electrophysiological responses than within-chunk NADs. This shows that NADs are processed readily when they are confined to the same chunk, but not as well when crossing a chunk boundary. Our findings help to reconcile the classical notion that language is processed incrementally with recent evidence for discrete perceptual sampling of speech. This has implications for language acquisition and processing as well as for the general view of syntax in human language.

A survey of safety and trustworthiness of large language models through the lens of verification and validation

Large language models (LLMs) have exploded a new heatwave of AI for their ability to engage end-users in human-level conversations with detailed and articulate answers across many knowledge domains. In response to their fast adoption in many industrial applications, this survey concerns their safety and trustworthiness. First, we review known vulnerabilities and limitations of the LLMs, categorising them into inherent issues, attacks, and unintended bugs. Then, we consider if and how the Verification and Validation (V&V) techniques, which have been widely developed for traditional software and deep learning models such as convolutional neural networks as independent processes to check the alignment of their implementations against the specifications, can be integrated and further extended throughout the lifecycle of the LLMs to provide rigorous analysis to the safety and trustworthiness of LLMs and their applications. Specifically, we consider four complementary techniques: falsification and evaluation, verification, runtime monitoring, and regulations and ethical use. In total, 370+ references are considered to support the quick understanding of the safety and trustworthiness issues from the perspective of V&V. While intensive research has been conducted to identify the safety and trustworthiness issues, rigorous yet practical methods are called for to ensure the alignment of LLMs with safety and trustworthiness requirements.

Study on temperature-sensitive factors relevant to thermographic features of Tb3+-doped phosphate glasses

Intensities of the 5D4 luminescence with the 5D3 level populated by GSA and ESA transitions of Tb3+ in ternary phosphate glass were measured at different temperature between 300 K and 675 K. Acquired 5D4 luminescence intensities related to GSA and ESA excitation transitions from thermally coupled 7F6 and 7F5 levels were treated to assess luminescence intensity ratios (LIR) as a function of temperature and resulting values of relative sensitivity SR. To understand origin of marked dissimilarity of SR values observed in some few Tb3+-doped hosts reported thus far an in-depth analysis of the excitation energy flow in systems under study is made. Spectra of absorption cross section and temperature dependent absorption coefficient for ESA transition were evaluated. Rates of temperature dependent cross relaxation process governing energy transfer between 5D3 and 5D4 were calculated. It was supposed that temperature-dependent absorption of colour centres in the blue region may affect adversely relative thermal sensitivity.

Modeling coupling impacts of self-healing mechanisms and dynamic environments on systems subject to dependent failure processes

Modern smart products are endowed with the capability to autonomously repair damage from random shocks, thereby highlighting the critical necessity to incorporate this self-healing attribute in reliability assessments. This paper investigates periodically inspected self-healing systems that are exposed to dependent competing failure processes within dynamically evolving environments. The impact of environmental changes is manifested in that both the natural degradation process and the self-healing behavior are governed by distinct laws in varying environments. Explicit formulas for the system reliability and availability are analytically derived using the stochastic process theory, and their correctness is verified by proposed simulation algorithms respectively. Meanwhile, the inspection period is optimized by minimizing the long-run average cost rate. Lastly, a practical example of semiconductor lasers is applied to showcase the application of the presented methods. The sensitivity analysis reveals that increasing the self-healing time threshold or the shock arrival rate can improve the system performance while lowering the long-run average cost rate.

Complete four-dimensional Bell state measurement using weak cross-Kerr nonlinearity

In this paper, we present an efficient scheme for the complete analysis of the four-dimensional Bell state of the photon system in the path degree of freedom, resorting to the weak cross-Kerr nonlinearity and linear optics. In our scheme, the measurements on two probe coherent states are used for obtaining the bit information of high-dimensional entanglement, and the linear optical elements and single-photon detectors are used for obtaining the relative phase information of high-dimensional entanglement. With these two independent processes, the 16 orthogonal four-dimensional path Bell states can be completely distinguished from each other. This simple and realizable scheme may have useful applications in the quantum information technology based on high-dimensional entanglement.

Functional repeated measures analysis of variance and its application

This paper is inspired by medical studies in which the same patients with multiple sclerosis are examined at several successive visits (doctor’s appointments) and described by fractional anisotropy tract profiles, which can be represented as f unctions. Since the observations for each patient are dependent random processes, they follow a repeated measures design for functional data. To compare the results for different visits, we thus consider functional repeated measures analysis of variance. For this purpose, a pointwise test statistic is constructed by adapting the classical test statistic for one-way repeated measures analysis of variance to the functional data framework. By integrating and taking the supremum of the pointwise test statistic, we create two global test statistics. In addition to verifying the general null hypothesis of the equality of mean functions corresponding to different objects, we also propose a simple method for post hoc analysis. We illustrate the finite sample properties of permutation and bootstrap testing procedures in an extensive simulation study. Finally, we analyze a real data example in detail. All methods are implemented in the R package rmfanova, available on CRAN.

Dual process models of clinical reasoning: The central role of knowledge in diagnostic expertise.

Research on diagnostic reasoning has been conducted for fifty years or more. There is growing consensus that there are two distinct processes involved in human diagnostic reasoning: System 1, a rapid retrieval of possible diagnostic hypotheses, largely automatic and based to a large part on experiential knowledge, and System 2, a slower, analytical, conscious application of formal knowledge to arrive at a diagnostic conclusion. However, within this broad framework, controversy and disagreement abound. In particular, many authors have suggested that the root cause of diagnostic errors is cognitive biases originating in System 1 and propose that educating learners about the types of cognitive biases and their impact on diagnosis would have a major influence on error reduction. In the present paper, we take issue with these claims. We reviewed the literature to examine the extent to which this theoretical model is supported by the evidence. We show that evidence derived from fundamental research in human cognition and studies in clinical medicine challenges the basic assumptions of this theory-that errors arise in System 1 processing as a consequence of cognitive biases, and are corrected by slow, deliberative analytical processing. We claim that, to the contrary, errors derive from both System 1 and System 2 reasoning, that they arise from lack of access to the appropriate knowledge, not from errors of processing, and that the two processes are not essential to the process of diagnostic reasoning. The two processing modes are better understood as a consequence of the nature of the knowledge retrieved, not as independent processes.

A study of trust and satisfaction with local authorities in Ukraine. The impact of populism

The article analyzes a number of aspects and factors that, in the authors’ opinion, influence the penetration of populism into local government. It is the aspect of trust that can influence the penetration and even greater influence of populism in local self-government. The authors highlight such important topics as the factors that would contribute to the success of populism and the specifics of its manifestations at the local level. Special attention is paid to the analysis of trust and satisfaction of Ukrainian citizens with the work of local authorities, based and analyzed on empirical data obtained in cooperation with the sociological center "Factum Group". The article considers populism in local politics as a phenomenon that requires serious attention and analysis. It can have negative consequences for local self-government and lead to political instability and insufficient effectiveness of decisions. One of the main problems with populism is its focus on short-term, populist promises and rhetoric instead of the need for long-term planning and real development. This can lead to unjustified spending of resources and creating dependence on external financial sources, which can negatively affect the sustainability of the local economy. In addition, populism can undermine the principles of democracy and the rule of law. In the context of academic analysis, studying the impact of populism at the local government level is critical. This analysis is based on the works of R. Putnam and P. Sztompka. In the context of P. Sztompka's theory, the issue of trust in government and its importance for social institutions is considered. R. Putnam emphasizes that democracies and economies in society work better when there is citizen involvement. It was the involvement and influence of citizens on local government that became possible as a result of the decentralization process. Thus, these studies provide an understanding of what trends can affect social processes and public life. The study of these aspects makes it possible to identify effective mechanisms for counteracting the potential threats of populism, which is important for assessing the general prospects for the development of the state and its social stability. To overcome this problem, active participation of citizens, strengthening of civil society institutions, development of critical thinking and principles of openness and transparency are needed. In the future, we need further research on the aspects of influence and raising questions about other factors and systems of influence on the appearance of populists in local authorities, in order to know what local authorities should pay attention to in order to strengthen trust and resist the spread of populism. Which, as the authors note, are mutually dependent processes.

Spatiotemporal Control of Inflammatory Lytic Cell Death Through Optogenetic Induction of RIPK3 Oligomerization

Necroptosis is a programmed lytic cell death involving active cytokine production and plasma membrane rupture through distinct signaling cascades. However, it remains challenging to delineate this inflammatory cell death pathway at specific signaling nodes with spatiotemporal accuracy. To address this challenge, we developed an optogenetic system, termed Light-activatable Receptor-Interacting Protein Kinase 3 or La-RIPK3, to enable ligand-free, optical induction of RIPK3 oligomerization. La-RIPK3 activation dissects RIPK3-centric lytic cell death through the induction of RIPK3-containing necrosome, which mediates cytokine production and plasma membrane rupture. Bulk RNA-Seq analysis reveals that RIPK3 oligomerization results in partially overlapped gene expression compared to pharmacological induction of necroptosis. Additionally, La-RIPK3 activates separated groups of genes regulated by RIPK3 kinase-dependent and -independent processes. Using patterned light stimulation delivered by a spatial light modulator, we demonstrate precise spatiotemporal control of necroptosis in La-RIPK3-transduced HT-29 cells. Optogenetic control of proinflammatory lytic cell death could lead to the development of innovative experimental strategies to finetune the immune landscape for disease intervention.

Assessing Time-Lapse Full-Waveform Inversion Strategies in a Brazilian Pre-Salt Setting

We conducted a comparative study of time-lapse full-waveform inversion (time-lapse FWI) strategies, considering a typical deep-water Brazilian pre-salt setting. This study employed a realistic P-wave model, ocean bottom nodes (OBN) acquisition, noisy data, and a Gaussian anomaly to represent time-lapse model changes. We evaluated the four most commonly used time-lapse FWI schemes. In the first, known as parallel time-lapse FWI, two independent FWI processes are performed from the same initial model, utilizing baseline and monitor datasets. In the second strategy, namely sequential time-lapse FWI, the retrieved baseline model serves as the starting model for inverting monitor data. In both cases, the time-lapse model is derived by subtracting the retrieved baseline model from the retrieved monitor model. The remaining two methods were double-difference and central-difference time-lapse FWI. Our findings demonstrate that all these schemes can detect model variations of 3%. Remarkably, the central-difference time-lapse FWI method demonstrated superior accuracy in producing time-lapse models and, as such, presents itself as a promising strategy for implementation in time-lapse studies within Brazilian pre-salt regions.

On the persistence and related mechanisms for day–night compound humid heat extremes in the Northern Hemisphere

Hot extremes pose adverse impacts on human health and ecosystem, leading to aggravated damage when they combine high-humidity and occur in the both daytime and nighttime. Although considerable studies have focused on hot extremes, understandings about day–night Compound humid heat (quantified by Moist Enthalpy) Extremes (CMEEs) are still lacking. This work investigates their frequency, linear trends and temporal persistence in the Northern Hemisphere, and two typical vulnerable regions are selected as Central Europe (CE) and the Arabian Peninsula (AP), both exhibiting high frequency and positive trends, but with contrasting persistence, which is quantified by the bivariate Dynamical System method. Results reveal their regional dependence and physical processes: the dual importance of sensible and latent heat in CE is attributed to the combination of an anomalous anticyclone and evaporation, whereas the dominance of latent heat in AP is largely owing to the convective precipitation. CMEEs in AP can be further divided into two groups with distinct persistence, and this disparity actually depends on the preceding precipitation duration and its associated water vapor supply.

Supplemental Material for Are Alcohol-Related Attentional Biases and Holistic Perception Independent Processes?

Supplemental Material for Are Alcohol-Related Attentional Biases and Holistic Perception Independent Processes?

Geometric random intersection graphs with general connection probabilities

Abstract Let $\mathcal{V}$ and $\mathcal{U}$ be the point sets of two independent homogeneous Poisson processes on $\mathbb{R}^d$ . A graph $\mathcal{G}_\mathcal{V}$ with vertex set $\mathcal{V}$ is constructed by first connecting pairs of points (v, u) with $v\in\mathcal{V}$ and $u\in\mathcal{U}$ independently with probability $g(v-u)$ , where g is a non-increasing radial function, and then connecting two points $v_1,v_2\in\mathcal{V}$ if and only if they have a joint neighbor $u\in\mathcal{U}$ . This gives rise to a random intersection graph on $\mathbb{R}^d$ . Local properties of the graph, including the degree distribution, are investigated and quantified in terms of the intensities of the underlying Poisson processes and the function g. Furthermore, the percolation properties of the graph are characterized and shown to differ depending on whether g has bounded or unbounded support.

Natural L-type calcium channels antagonists from Chinese medicine

L-type calcium channels (LTCCs), the largest subfamily of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), are the main channels for Ca2+ influx during extracellular excitation. LTCCs are widely present in excitable cells, especially cardiac and cardiovascular smooth muscle cells, and participate in various Ca2+-dependent processes. LTCCs have been considered as worthy drug target for cardiovascular, neurological and psychological diseases for decades. Natural products from Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have shown the potential as new drugs for the treatment of LTCCs related diseases. In this review, the basic structure, function of LTCCs, and the related human diseases caused by structural or functional abnormalities of LTCCs, and the natural LTCCs antagonist and their potential usages were summarized.

The evolution of the debt—equity doctrine in the light of financial instruments’ digitalization

The article outlines the basics for using the debt—equity dichotomy in the financial instruments typology and analyzes the contradictions and short-comings of the existing approach to classification. It is shown that the “trap” of the debt—equity dichotomy comes from the path dependence process, mainly formed by the inertia of the tax system. It is noted that the applying of the debt—equity dichotomy entails a formalist approach to classification, which does not bring closer to the clarity of the delimitation of contracts according to the criteria of risk and reward distribution, and restrictions on post-contractual opportunism. Arguments are given to explain why the foundations of the debt— equity doctrine may be weakened in relation to crypto assets. This is supported by the fact that the genesis of digital assets occurs in a specific technological context, which determines its own criteria and framework for the typology of instruments. Another set of arguments comes from the fact that the world of crypto assets appears to be coherent with the specific environment of venture capital investment. This environment, in turn, arouses the demand for overcoming the debt—equity dichotomy to implement the tasks of risky investors and structuring the relations of the parties involved in projects. This demand has now led to the emergence of a number of instruments that cannot be classified as either debt or equity, including those using the construct of tokens or contractual agreements used by crowdfunding platforms. Overall, the intellectual effort that previously satisfactorily explained companies’ choices of financing styles and modes is now insufficient to reconcile capital structure theories with the practice of digital asset financing.

MGF-based SNC for stationary independent Markovian processes with localized application of martingales

MGF-based SNC for stationary independent Markovian processes with localized application of martingales

Selective maintenance of continuously degrading systems with non-identical and stochastically dependent components

Selective maintenance (SM) is often performed on systems having limited maintenance resources to enhance mission reliability. In practical engineering, components within a system are typically distinct and correlated, leading to differences in the degradation processes and sensitivity to working conditions, as well as stochastic dependencies (S-dependencies) among the components. However, in most studies on the SM of continuously degrading systems (CDSs), these features are not considered, thereby limiting the accuracy of reliability evaluations and the efficiency of maintenance strategies. Therefore, considering the differences and S-dependencies of components, we investigate SM optimization for CDSs. Focusing on the diverse and stochastically dependent degradation processes of non-identical components, we first propose an extended degradation rate interaction model integrated with a general stochastic process to describe the multiple degradation processes of components and manifest the sensitivity differences to working conditions in the degradation states and rates. Next, a derivation method is developed to obtain explicit mission reliability functions for systems with arbitrary configurations. Subsequently, an SM optimization model that incorporates the effects of multiple differences and S-dependencies of the components is formulated and used to obtain an optimal maintenance strategy that considers resource and mission reliability constraints. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated using two numerical examples.