Differential equations driven by fractional Brownian motion

A global existence and uniqueness result of the solution for multidimensional, time dependent, stochastic differential equations driven by a fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter H> is proved. It is shown, also, that the solution has finite moments. The result is based on a deterministic existence and uniqueness theorem whose proof uses a contraction principle and a priori estimates.

Respiration, metabolic balance, and attention in affective picture processing

The respiratory behavior during affective states is not completely understood. We studied breathing pattern responses to picture series in 37 participants. We also measured end-tidal pCO2 (EtCO2) to determine if ventilation is in balance with metabolic demands and spontaneous eye-blinking to investigate the link between respiration and attention. Minute ventilation (MV) and inspiratory drive increased with self-rated arousal. These relationships reflected increases in inspiratory volume rather than shortening of the time parameters. EtCO2 covaried with pleasantness but not arousal. Eye-blink rate decreased with increasing unpleasantness in line with a negativity bias in attention. This study confirms that respiratory responses to affective stimuli are organized to a certain degree along the dimensions of valence and arousal. It shows, for the first time, that during picture viewing, ventilatory increases with increasing arousal are in balance with metabolic activity and that inspiratory volume is modulated by arousal. MV emerges as the most reliable respiratory index of self-perceived arousal

A Picture of Performance Goals in the Social Plenum: The Interpersonal Antecedents and Consequences of Performance Goals

Bien que les activités où la compétence est un enjeu (p. ex. : problème académique) prennent souvent place dans des contextes interpersonnels (p. ex. : classe), hiérarchiques (p. ex. : enseignant-e/élèves), et spécifiques en termes de normes et de valeurs (p. ex. : culture), l'étude des buts de performance-le désir de se montrer compétent-e relativement à autrui-a le plus souvent été conduite au seul niveau intrapersonnel. S'appuyant sur le modèle transactionnel du stress et du coping, le modèle circumplexe des comportements interpersonnels, ainsi que sur la théorie de l'élaboration du conflit, la première partie de cette thèse révèle les conséquences interpersonnelles des buts de performance sur la régulation d'un comportement spécifique, à savoir le conflit sociocognitif (c.-à-d., une situation de confrontation avec un intéractant en désaccord) : les buts de performance-approche-le désir d'être meilleur-e qu'autrui-prédisent une régulation du conflit fortement agentique (dominante), soit la validation de son point de vue au détriment de celui de l'intéractant (que nous désignons régulation compétitive) ; alors que les buts de performance-évitement-le désir de ne pas être moins bon-ne qu'autrui-prédisent une régulation du conflit faiblement agentique (soumise), soit l'invalidation de son point de vue au bénéfice de celui de l'intéractant (que nous désignons régulation protective). De plus, les effets susmentionnés augmentent à mesure que l'intéractant est présenté comme supérieurement (vs. similairement) compétent. S'appuyant sur la littérature sur les structures de buts de groupe, et celle sur la socialisation des valeurs, la seconde partie de cette thèse révèle les antécédents interpersonnels des buts de performance, et plus spécifiquement le rôle du superviseur dans la socialisation des buts de performance : les buts de performance-approche d'un superviseur sont positivement associés avec l'émergence au cours du temps des buts de performance-approche de ses subordonnés (particulièrement lorsqu'ils se perçoivent comme compétents) et celle de leurs buts de performance-évitement (particulièrement lorsqu'ils se perçoivent comme incompétents). En outre, ce phénomène consistant en un processus de socialisation, les effets susmentionnés augmentent lorsque l'identification à l'endogroupe des subordonnées augmente, et lorsque l'adhésion aux valeurs culturelles occidentales dominantes (c.-à-d., rehaussement de soi) du superviseur augmente. Dans leur ensemble, ces résultats soulignent la nécessité d'étudier les buts dans leur plenum social, autrement dit, en adoptant une perspective interpersonnelle (c.-à-d., étudier les effets des buts entre les individus), positionnelle (c.-à-d., entre des individus de différentes positions sociales), et idéologique (c.- à-d., entre des individus se conformant à des normes spécifiques et adhérant à des valeurs spécifiques). -- Although competence-relevant activities (e.g., solving an academic problem) are often embedded in interpersonal (e.g., classroom), hierarchical (e.g., teacher/pupils), and norm-/value-specific (e.g., culture) settings, the study of performance goals-the desire to demonstrate competence relative to others-has mostly been conducted at the intrapersonal level alone. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and coping, the circumplex model of interpersonal behaviors, as well as on the conflict elaboration theory, the first part of this thesis reveals the interpersonal consequences of performance goals on the regulation of a specific behavior, namely socio-cognitive conflict (i.e., a situation of confrontation with a disagreeing interactant): Performance-approach goals-the desire to outperform others- predicted a highly agentic (dominant) conflict regulation, that is, the validation of one's point of view at the expense of that of the interactant (which we labeled competitive regulation); whereas performance-avoidance goals-the desire not to be outperformed by others- predicted a poorly agentic (submissive) conflict regulation, that is, the invalidation of one's point of view to the benefit of that of the interactant (which we labeled protective regulation). Furthermore, both the aforementioned effects were found to increase when the interactant was presented as being superiorly (vs. equally) in competence. Drawing on the literature on group goal structure, as well as on research on socialization of supervisors-based values, the second part of this thesis reveals the interpersonal antecedents of performance-based goals endorsement, focusing-more specifically-on the role of group-supervisors in performance goals socialization: Supervisor's performance-approach goals were positively associated with the emergence over time of subordinates' performance-approach (especially when perceiving themselves as competent) and -avoidance goals (especially when perceiving themselves as incompetent). Furthermore, providing evidence that this phenomenon essentially reflects a socialization process, both the aforementioned effects were found to increase as subordinates' in-group identification increased, and as supervisors' adherence to dominant Western values (i.e., self-enhancement values) increased. Taken together, these results advocate the need to study performance goals in their social plenum, that is, adopting an interpersonal (i.e., studying the effects of goals between individuals), positional (i.e., between individuals from different social positions), and ideological (i.e., between individuals following specific norms and endorsing specific values) perspective.

Brownian motion of spiral waves driven by spatiotemporal structured noise

Spiral chemical waves subjected to a spatiotemporal random excitability are experimentally and numerically investigated in relation to the light-sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. Brownian motion is identified and characterized by an effective diffusion coefficient which shows a rather complex dependence on the time and length scales of the noise relative to those of the spiral. A kinematically based model is proposed whose results are in good qualitative agreement with experiments and numerics.

Brownian motion in short range random potentials

A numerical study of Brownian motion of noninteracting particles in random potentials is presented. The dynamics are modeled by Langevin equations in the high friction limit. The random potentials are Gaussian distributed and short ranged. The simulations are performed in one and two dimensions. Different dynamical regimes are found and explained. Effective subdiffusive exponents are obtained and commented on.

Retrospective feasibility study of simultaneous integrated boost in cervical cancer using Tomotherapy: the impact of organ motion and tumor regression.

BACKGROUND: Whole pelvis intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is increasingly being used to treat cervical cancer aiming to reduce side effects. Encouraged by this, some groups have proposed the use of simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) to target the tumor, either to get a higher tumoricidal effect or to replace brachytherapy. Nevertheless, physiological organ movement and rapid tumor regression throughout treatment might substantially reduce any benefit of this approach. PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical target volume - simultaneous integrated boost (CTV-SIB) regression and motion during chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) for cervical cancer, and to monitor treatment progress dosimetrically and volumetrically to ensure treatment goals are met. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ten patients treated with standard doses of CRT and brachytherapy were retrospectively re-planned using a helical Tomotherapy - SIB technique for the hypothetical scenario of this feasibility study. Target and organs at risk (OAR) were contoured on deformable fused planning-computed tomography and megavoltage computed tomography images. The CTV-SIB volume regression was determined. The center of mass (CM) was used to evaluate the degree of motion. The Dice's similarity coefficient (DSC) was used to assess the spatial overlap of CTV-SIBs between scans. A cumulative dose-volume histogram modeled estimated delivered doses. RESULTS: The CTV-SIB relative reduction was between 31 and 70%. The mean maximum CM change was 12.5, 9, and 3 mm in the superior-inferior, antero-posterior, and right-left dimensions, respectively. The CTV-SIB-DSC approached 1 in the first week of treatment, indicating almost perfect overlap. CTV-SIB-DSC regressed linearly during therapy, and by the end of treatment was 0.5, indicating 50% discordance. Two patients received less than 95% of the prescribed dose. Much higher doses to the OAR were observed. A multiple regression analysis showed a significant interaction between CTV-SIB reduction and OAR dose increase. CONCLUSIONS: The CTV-SIB had important regression and motion during CRT, receiving lower therapeutic doses than expected. The OAR had unpredictable shifts and received higher doses. The use of SIB without frequent adaptation of the treatment plan exposes cervical cancer patients to an unpredictable risk of under-dosing the target and/or overdosing adjacent critical structures. In that scenario, brachytherapy continues to be the gold standard approach.

Real-time motion correction in navigator-gated free-breathing double-oblique submillimeter 3D right coronary artery magnetic resonance angiography.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was the investigation of the impact of real-time adaptive motion correction on image quality in navigator-gated, free-breathing, double-oblique three-dimensional (3D) submillimeter right coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Free-breathing 3D right coronary MRA with real-time navigator technology was performed in 10 healthy adult subjects with an in-plane spatial resolution of 700 x 700 microm. Identical double-oblique coronary MR-angiograms were performed with navigator gating alone and combined navigator gating and real-time adaptive motion correction. Quantitative objective parameters of contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and vessel sharpness and subjective image quality scores were compared. RESULTS: Superior vessel sharpness, increased CNR, and superior image quality scores were found with combined navigator gating and real-time adaptive motion correction (vs. navigator gating alone; P < 0.01 for all comparisons). CONCLUSION: Real-time adaptive motion correction objectively and subjectively improves image quality in 3D navigator-gated free-breathing double-oblique submillimeter right coronary MRA.

Assessing the Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 (GCL-15) Questionnaire, Goldmann Tonometry and Moorfields Motion Displacement Test in Glaucoma Case Finding

Purpose: To compare the performance Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 (GQL-15) Questionnaire, intraocular pressure measurement (IOP Goldmann tonometry) and a measure of visual field loss using Moorfields Motion Displacement Test (MDT) in detecting glaucomatous eyes from a self referred population. Methods: The GQL-15 has been suggested to correlate with visual disability and psychophysical measures of visual function in glaucoma patients. The Moorfields MDT is a multi location perimetry test with 32 white line stimuli presented on a grey background on a standard laptop computer. Each stimulus is displaced between computer frames to give the illusion of "apparent motion". Participants (N=312, 90% older than 45 years; 20.5% family history of glaucoma) self referred to an advertised World Glaucoma Day (March 2009) Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, Lausanne Switzerland. Participants underwent a clinical exam (IOP, slit lamp, angle and disc examination by a general ophthalmologist), 90% completed a GQL-15 questionnaire and over 50% completed a MDT test in both eyes. Those who were classified as abnormal on one or more of the following (IOP >21 mmHg/ GQL-15 score >20/ MDT score >2/ clinical exam) underwent a follow up clinical examination by a glaucoma specialist including imaging and threshold perimetry. After the second examination subjects were classified as "healthy"(H), "glaucoma suspect" (GS) (ocular hypertension and/or suspicious disc, angle closure with SD) or "glaucomatous" (G). Results: One hundred and ten subjects completed all 4 initial examinations; of these 69 were referred to complete the 2nd examination and were classified as; 8 G, 24 GS, and 37 H. MDT detected 7/8 G, and 7/24 GS, with false referral rate of 3.8%. IOP detected 2/8 G and 8/24 GS, with false referral rate of 8.9%. GQL-15 detected 4/8 G, 16/24 GS with a false referral rate of 42%. Conclusions: In this sample of participants attending a self referral glaucoma detection event, the MDT performed significantly better than the GQL-15 and IOP in discriminating glaucomatous patients from healthy subjects. Further studies are required to assess the potential of the MDT as a glaucoma screening tool.

Acute intussusception: a classic clinical picture?

57 patients with acute intussusception were admitted to the Children's Hospital Zurich between 1972 and 1979. All were treated surgically. One died, 7 needed a bowel resection, 9 intussusceptions were difficult and 32 easy to reduce. The retrospectively reviewed data show that the classic symptomatology, beginning suddenly in a healthy male (60%) under 3 years of age (91%) with attacks of colicky pain (81%), vomiting (93%), a palpable abdominal mass (72%) and rectal bleeding (72%), appears during the course of illness or may not be present at all. This leads to misdiagnosis, wrong treatment and worsening of the pathology. Blood per rectum, the most typical symptom, was present in the first hours of illness in only 5%, vomiting in 44% and colicky pain in 33% of the patients. A high degree of awareness is therefore necessary to diagnose intussusception during the first hours of illness, and particular stress must be laid on the accuracy of the diagnosis because reducibility and resection rate depend directly on the duration of the symptoms.

Bi-planar 2D-to-3D registration in Fourier domain for stereoscopic X-ray motion tracking

In this paper we present a new method to track bonemovements in stereoscopic X-ray image series of the kneejoint. The method is based on two different X-ray imagesets: a rotational series of acquisitions of the stillsubject knee that will allow the tomographicreconstruction of the three-dimensional volume (model),and a stereoscopic image series of orthogonal projectionsas the subject performs movements. Tracking the movementsof bones throughout the stereoscopic image series meansto determine, for each frame, the best pose of everymoving element (bone) previously identified in the 3Dreconstructed model. The quality of a pose is reflectedin the similarity between its simulated projections andthe actual radiographs. We use direct Fourierreconstruction to approximate the three-dimensionalvolume of the knee joint. Then, to avoid the expensivecomputation of digitally rendered radiographs (DRR) forpose recovery, we reformulate the tracking problem in theFourier domain. Under the hypothesis of parallel X-raybeams, we use the central-slice-projection theorem toreplace the heavy 2D-to-3D registration of projections inthe signal domain by efficient slice-to-volumeregistration in the Fourier domain. Focusing onrotational movements, the translation-relevant phaseinformation can be discarded and we only consider scalarFourier amplitudes. The core of our motion trackingalgorithm can be implemented as a classical frame-wiseslice-to-volume registration task. Preliminary results onboth synthetic and real images confirm the validity ofour approach.

Motion of a classical charged particle

The Lorentz-Dirac equation is not an unavoidable consequence of solely linear and angular momenta conservation for a point charge. It also requires an additional assumption concerning the elementary character of the charge. We here use a less restrictive elementarity assumption for a spinless charge and derive a system of conservation equations that are not properly the equation of motion because, as it contains an extra scalar variable, the future evolution of the charge is not determined. We show that a supplementary constitutive relation can be added so that the motion is determined and free from the troubles that are customary in the Lorentz-Dirac equation, i.e., preacceleration and runaways.

Brownian motion of multidimensional systems in nonpotential velocity-dependent fields of force

We study the Brownian motion in velocity-dependent fields of force. Our main result is a Smoluchowski equation valid for moderate to high damping constants. We derive that equation by perturbative solution of the Langevin equation and using functional derivative techniques.

Fluctuations in finite systems: fluctuations in fluids in thermocapillary motion

We compute nonequilibrium correlation functions about the stationary state in which the fluid moves as a consequence of tangential stresses on the liquid surface, related to a varying surface tension (thermocapillary motion). The nature of the stationary state makes it necessary to take into account that the system is finite. We then extend a previous analysis on fluctuations about simple stationary states to include some effects related to the finite size of the sample.