Position space versions of Magueijo-Smolin doubly special relativity proposal and the problem of total momentum

We present and discuss two different possibilities to construct position space version for Magueijo-Smolin (MS) doubly special relativity proposal. The first possibility is to start from ordinary special relativity and then to define conserved momentum in special way. It generates MS invariant as well as nonlinear MS transformations on the momentum space, leading to consistent picture for one-particle sector of the theory. The second possibility is based on the following observation. Besides the nonlinear MS transformations, the MS energy-momentum relation is invariant also under some inhomogeneous linear transformations. The latter are induced starting from linearly realized Lorentz group in five-dimensional position space. Particle dynamics and kinematics are formulated starting from the corresponding five-dimensional interval. There is no problem of total momentum in the theory. The formulation admits two observer independent scales, the speed of light, $c$, and $k$ with dimension of velocity. We speculate on different possibilities to relate $k$ with fundamental constants. In particular, expression of $k$ in terms of vacuum energy suggests emergence of (minimum) quantum of mass.Comment: Latex twice, 14 pages, revised in accordance with the version publishedin Phys. Rev.

Generalization of the Extended Lagrangian Formalism on a Field Theory and Applications

Formalism of extended Lagrangian represent a systematic procedure to look for the local symmetries of a given Lagrangian action. In this work, the formalism is discussed and applied to a field theory. We describe it in detail for a field theory with first-class constraints present in the Hamiltonian formulation. The method is illustrated on examples of electrodynamics, Yang-Mills field and non-linear sigma model.Comment: 17 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev.

FRP-RC/PC members subjected to combined actions

The capacity provisions of conventional Reinforced Concrete (RC) and Prestressed Concrete (PC) beams subjected to combined action of torsion, shear and flexure are well known and stated by international/national codes. Similar provisions lack for concrete members containing Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) reinforcements. In general, there is paucity of research on the treatment of torsion combined with other stress resultants for FRP-RC/PC members. In this paper the theoretical method proposed by the Canadian standard CSA S806 for FRP-RC/PC structures is presented. The critical issues, related to this topic, such as the appropriate strength and inclination of the diagonal struts and failure criteria are critically analyzed and addressed. In order to assess the reliability of this study a comparison between available experimental data regarding FRP-RC/PC beams subjected to combined actions and their corresponding theoretical provisions derived by the CSA S806 standard is shown. Furthermore, another approach, available in literature, which is based on the space truss model, is examined and used for comparison in order to evaluate the theoretical provisions offered by this model against the tests value of the set of the beams analyzed in this study. Based on the critical analysis of the results, it can be highlighted that the CSA method is able to conservatively predict the capacity of these beams

Parameterizing uncertainty by deep invertible networks, an application to reservoir characterization

Uncertainty quantification for full-waveform inversion provides a probabilistic characterization of the ill-conditioning of the problem, comprising the sensitivity of the solution with respect to the starting model and data noise. This analysis allows to assess the confidence in the candidate solution and how it is reflected in the tasks that are typically performed after imaging (e.g., stratigraphic segmentation following reservoir characterization). Classically, uncertainty comes in the form of a probability distribution formulated from Bayesian principles, from which we seek to obtain samples. A popular solution involves Monte Carlo sampling. Here, we propose instead an approach characterized by training a deep network that "pushes forward" Gaussian random inputs into the model space (representing, for example, density or velocity) as if they were sampled from the actual posterior distribution. Such network is designed to solve a variational optimization problem based on the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the posterior and the network output distributions. This work is fundamentally rooted in recent developments for invertible networks. Special invertible architectures, besides being computational advantageous with respect to traditional networks, do also enable analytic computation of the output density function. Therefore, after training, these networks can be readily used as a new prior for a related inversion problem. This stands in stark contrast with Monte-Carlo methods, which only produce samples. We validate these ideas with an application to angle-versus-ray parameter analysis for reservoir characterization

The paralogue of the intrinsically disordered nuclear protein 1 has a nuclear localization sequence that binds to human importin a3

Numerous carrier proteins intervene in protein transport from the cytoplasm to the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. One of those is importin a, with several human isoforms; among them, importin a3 (Impa3) features a particularly high flexibility. The protein NUPR1L is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), evolved as a paralogue of nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1), which is involved in chromatin remodeling and DNA repair. It is predicted that NUPR1L has a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) from residues Arg51 to Gln74, in order to allow for nuclear translocation. We studied in this work the ability of intact NUPR1L to bind Impa3 and its depleted species, ¿Impa3, without the importin binding domain (IBB), using fluorescence, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), circular dichroism (CD), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and molecular docking techniques. Furthermore, the binding of the peptide matching the isolated NLS region of NUPR1L (NLS-NUPR1L) was also studied using the same methods. Our results show that NUPR1L was bound to Imp a3 with a low micromolar affinity (~5 µM). Furthermore, a similar affinity value was observed for the binding of NLS-NUPR1L. These findings indicate that the NLS region, which was unfolded in isolation in solution, was essentially responsible for the binding of NUPR1L to both importin species. This result was also confirmed by our in silico modeling. The binding reaction of NLS-NUPR1L to ¿Impa3 showed a larger affinity (i.e., lower dissociation constant) compared with that of Impa3, confirming that the IBB could act as an auto-inhibition region of Impa3. Taken together, our findings pinpoint the theoretical predictions of the NLS region in NUPR1L and, more importantly, suggest that this IDP relies on an importin for its nuclear translocation

Residual helicity at the active site of the histidine phosphocarrier, HPr, modulates binding affinity to its natural partners

The phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) modulates the preferential use of sugars in bacteria. The first proteins in the cascade are common to all organisms (EI and HPr). The active site of HPr involves a histidine (His15) located immediately before the beginning of the first a-helix. The regulator of sigma D (Rsd) protein also binds to HPr. The region of HPr comprising residues Gly9-Ala30 (HPr9–30), involving the first a-helix (Ala16-Thr27) and the preceding active site loop, binds to both the N-terminal region of EI and intact Rsd. HPr9–30 is mainly disordered. We attempted to improve the affinity of HPr9–30 to both proteins by mutating its sequence to increase its helicity. We designed peptides that led to a marginally larger population in solution of the helical structure of HPr9–30. Molecular simulations also suggested a modest increment in the helical population of mutants, when compared to the wild-type. The mutants, however, were bound with a less favorable affinity than the wild-type to both the N-terminal of EI (EIN) or Rsd, as tested by isothermal titration calorimetry and fluorescence. Furthermore, mutants showed lower antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus than the wild-type peptide. The refore, we concluded that in HPr, a compromise between binding to its partners and residual structure at the active site must exist to carry out its function. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

. Microwave-assisted solvothermal controlled synthesis of Fe-Co

Syntheses of bimetallic cobalt-iron-based nanoparticles starting from Co(acac)2 and Fe(acac)3 (acac = acetylacetonate) were carried out by microwave-assisted solvothermal process, using ethylene glycol as the solvent and (polyvinylpyrrolidone) PVP, as the stabilizer. Indeed, the reaction mechanism in the presence of ethylene glycol is well understood [1] with the role of PVP being the inhibition of nanoparticles growth [2]. However, the control of the morphology of the synthetized nanoparticles is still a great challenge. Herein, we demonstrated that by adding amines to the reaction mixture, it is possible to control the morphology of the prepared bimetallic cobalt-iron materials. Thus, different Co-Fe micro-composites were synthetized by an innovative microwave assisted solvothermal synthesis, which allows to considerably reduce reaction time from 12 h to 15 min, with respect to classical thermal methods. The procedure was optimized by varying several parameters, such as: amount of PVP, in the presence or in the absence of amines, reaction temperature. The dark brown obtained powders were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, confirming the beneficial effect of the presence of the amine in the morphology of the obtained composites. The obtained results open a new scenario for further studies on the possibility to control the morphology of bimetallic composite materials. [1] Fievet F, Lagier J P and Figlarz M Mater. Res. Soc. Bull. 24 (1989) 29–34 [2] Teranishi T, Kurita R and Miyake M J. Inorg. Organometall. Polym. 10 (2000) 145–5