University of Notre Dame

About: University of Notre Dame is a education organization based out in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 22238 authors who have published 55201 publications receiving 2032925 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Notre Dame du Lac & University of Notre Dame, South Bend.

Qualitative analysis of neural networks

Abstract: Results from the qualitative theory of large-scale interconnected dynamical systems are surveyed and utilized to develop a qualitative theory for the Hopfield model of neural networks. Such networks are viewed as an interconnection of many single neurons. The results are phrased in terms of the qualitative properties of the individual neurons and in terms of the properties of the interconnecting structure of the neural networks. This method of analysis makes it frequently possible to circumvent difficulties usually encountered in the analysis of complex systems with high dimension. Aspects of neural networks which are addressed include asymptotic stability, exponential stability, and instability of an equilibrium; estimates of trajectory bounds; estimates of the domain of attraction of an asymptotically stable equilibrium: and stability of neural networks under structural perturbations (arising, e.g. during adaptive learning schemes). The results are not overly conservative. Furthermore, they are in a form which will make them highly useful as constraints in synthesis or design procedures. >

Allopatric genetic origins for sympatric host-plant shifts and race formation in Rhagoletis.

Abstract: Tephritid fruit flies belonging to the Rhagoletis pomonella sibling species complex are controversial because they have been proposed to diverge in sympatry (in the absence of geographic isolation) by shifting and adapting to new host plants. Here, we report evidence suggesting a surprising source of genetic variation contributing to sympatric host shifts for these flies. From DNA sequence data for three nuclear loci and mtDNA, we infer that an ancestral, hawthorn-infesting R. pomonella population became geographically subdivided into Mexican and North American isolates ≈1.57 million years ago. Episodes of gene flow from Mexico subsequently infused the North American population with inversion polymorphism affecting key diapause traits, forming adaptive clines. Sometime later (perhaps ±1 million years), diapause variation in the latitudinal clines appears to have aided North American flies in adapting to a variety of plants with differing fruiting times, helping to spawn several new taxa. Thus, important raw genetic material facilitating the adaptive radiation of R. pomonella originated in a different time and place than the proximate ecological host shifts triggering sympatric divergence.

Evidence for a Mass Dependent Forward-Backward Asymmetry in Top Quark Pair Production

Abstract: We present a new measurement of the inclusive forward-backward t{bar t} production asymmetry and its rapidity and mass dependence. The measurements are performed with data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 fb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, recorded with the CDF II Detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Significant inclusive asymmetries are observed in both the laboratory frame and the t{bar t} rest frame, and in both cases are found to be consistent with CP conservation under interchange of t and {bar t}. In the t{bar t} rest frame, the asymmetry is observed to increase with the t{bar t} rapidity difference, {Delta}y, and with the invariant mass M{sub t{bar t}} of the t{bar t} system. Fully corrected parton-level asymmetries are derived in two regions of each variable, and the asymmetry is found to be most significant at large {Delta}y and M{sub t{bar t}}. For M{sub t{bar t}} {ge} 450 GeV/c{sup 2}, the parton-level asymmetry in the t{bar t} rest frame is A{sup t{bar t}} = 0.475 {+-} 0.114 compared to a next-to-leading order QCD prediction of 0.088 {+-} 0.013.

Arbitrage Risk and Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift

Abstract: This study examines whether the magnitude of post-earnings-announcement drift is related to the risk faced by arbitrageurs who may view the anomaly as a trading opportunity. Consistent with this hypothesis, the magnitude of the drift is strongly related to the arbitrage risk measure developed by Wurgler and Zhuravskaya (2002). The effect of arbitrage risk is statistically and economically significant under a wide range of specifications. The results suggest that post-earnings-announcement drift represents an underreaction to earnings information and that arbitrage risk impedes arbitrageurs from eliminating it.

Light-induced rod and cone cell death and regeneration in the adult albino zebrafish (Danio rerio) retina.

Abstract: Light-induced photoreceptor cell degeneration has been studied in several species, but not extensively in the teleost fish. Furthermore, the continual production of rods and cones throughout the teleost's life may result in regeneration of lost rods and cones. We exposed adult albino zebrafish to 7 days of constant darkness, followed by 7 days of constant 8000 lux light, followed by 28 days of recovery in a 14-h light:10-h dark cycle. We characterized the resulting photoreceptor layer cell death and subsequent regeneration using immunohistochemistry and light microscopy. Within the first 24 h of constant light, the zebrafish retina exhibited widespread rod and cone cell apoptosis. High levels of cell proliferation within the inner nuclear layer (INL) were observed within the first 3 days of constant light, as assessed by immunodetection of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and BrdU labeling. The proliferating cells within the INL were closely associated with the radial processes of Muller glia, similar to the pluripotent retinal stem cells observed during embryonic development. Using antibodies generated against the individual zebrafish opsins, we determined that rods and the green, blue, and ultraviolet cone cells were replaced within the 28 day recovery period. While both rods and cones were replaced, the well-ordered cone cell mosaic was not reestablished. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 44: 289–307, 2000