Rotordynamic response analysis program

Computer routine is similar to Holzer's method in torsional vibration treatment, and Prohl's and Myklestad's approach in computing rotor deflection. Matrix iteration technique is used to compute rotordynamic response by a simulated discrete mass system

Suppression of the high pTp_T charged hadron RAAR_{AA} at the LHC

We present a parameter free postdiction of the high-$p_T$ charged-hadron nuclear modification factor ($R_{AA}$) in two centralities, measured by the CMS collaboration in $Pb$-$Pb$ collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The evolution of the bulk medium is modeled using viscous fluid dynamics, with parameters adjusted to describe the soft hadron yields and elliptic flow. Assuming the dominance of radiative energy loss, we compute the medium modification of the $R_{AA}$ using a perturbative QCD based formalism, the higher twist scheme. The transverse momentum diffusion coefficient $\hat{q}$ is assumed to scale with the entropy density and normalized by fitting the $R_{AA}$ in the most central $Au$-$Au$ collisions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC). This set up is validated in non-central $Au$-$Au$ collisions at RHIC and then extrapolated to $Pb$-$Pb$ collisions at the LHC, keeping the relation between $\hat{q}$ and entropy density unchanged. We obtain a satisfactory description of the CMS $R_{AA}$ over the $p_{T}$ range from 10-100 GeV.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revtex4, new experimental data used, new calculations with systematic error bands, changed abstract and contents, conclusions unchange

Structure and mechanical properties of artificial protein hydrogels assembled through aggregation of leucine zipper peptide domains

Artificial protein hydrogels made from a triblock protein (designated AC10A, where A is an acidic zipper domain and C10 comprises 10 repeats of the nonapeptide sequence exhibit normalized plateau storage moduli (G/nkT) less than 0.13 at all concentrations, pH values, and ionic strengths examined. These gels are surprisingly soft due to loop formation at the expense of bridges between physical junctions. Molecular-level evidence of loop formation is provided by strong fluorescence energy transfer (FRET) between distinct chromophores placed at the C- and N-termini of labelled chains diluted in an excess of unlabelled chains. The tendency to form loops originates from the compact size of the random coil midblock (mean RH(C10) 20 Å, determined from quasi-elastic light scattering of C10), and is facilitated by the ability of the leucine zipper domains to form antiparallel aggregates. Although the aggregation number of the leucine zipper domains is small (tetrameric, determined from multi-angle static light scattering of AC10 diblock), the average center-to-center distance between aggregates is roughly 1.5 times the average end-to-end distance of the C10 domain in a 7% w/v network. To avoid stretching the C10 domain, the chains tend to form loops. Changes in pH or ionic strength that expand the polyelectrolyte midblock favor bridging, leading to greater G as long as leucine zipper endblocks do not dissociate. Understanding of the network structure provided successful design strategies to increase the rigidity of these hydrogels. In contrast to intuitive design concepts for rubber and gel materials, it was shown that increasing either the length or the charge density of the midblock increases rigidity, because fewer chains are wasted in loop formation

Neural activation and functional connectivity during motor imagery of bimanual everyday actions

© 2012 Szameitat et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Bimanual actions impose intermanual coordination demands not present during unimanual actions. We investigated the functional neuroanatomical correlates of these coordination demands in motor imagery (MI) of everyday actions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). For this, 17 participants imagined unimanual actions with the left and right hand as well as bimanual actions while undergoing fMRI. A univariate fMRI analysis showed no reliable cortical activations specific to bimanual MI, indicating that intermanual coordination demands in MI are not associated with increased neural processing. A functional connectivity analysis based on psychophysiological interactions (PPI), however, revealed marked increases in connectivity between parietal and premotor areas within and between hemispheres. We conclude that in MI of everyday actions intermanual coordination demands are primarily met by changes in connectivity between areas and only moderately, if at all, by changes in the amount of neural activity. These results are the first characterization of the neuroanatomical correlates of bimanual coordination demands in MI. Our findings support the assumed equivalence of overt and imagined actions and highlight the differences between uni- and bimanual actions. The findings extent our understanding of the motor system and may aid the development of clinical neurorehabilitation approaches based on mental practice.This study was funded by the Medical Research Council, UK (CEG 61501; Dr Sterr)

Rapid formation of black holes in galaxies: a self-limiting growth mechanism

We present high-quality fluid dynamical simulations of isothermal gas flows in a rotating barred potential. We show that a large quantity of gas is driven right into the nucleus of a model galaxy when the potential lacks a central mass concentration, but the inflow stalls at a nuclear ring in comparison simulations that include a central massive object. The radius of the nuclear gas ring increases linearly with the mass of the central object. We argue that bars drive gas right into the nucleus in the early stages of disk galaxy formation, where a nuclear star cluster and perhaps a massive black hole could be created. The process is self-limiting, however, because inflow stalls at a nuclear ring once the mass of gas and stars in the nucleus exceeds ~1% of the disk mass, which shuts off rapid growth of the black hole. We briefly discuss the relevance of these results to the seeding of massive black holes in galaxies, the merger model for quasar evolution, and the existence of massive black holes in disk galaxies that lack a significant classical bulge.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted to appear in Ap

CSCWD technologies, applications and challenges [Editorial]

As CSCWD (Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design) has involved the cooperation of multidisciplinary design teams, traditionally the communication among different design teams has been facilitated by the Intranet or Extranet, which makes the applications of CSCWD more expensive and hardly accessible to most organizations, especially small and medium enterprises. The Internet which can be accessed anywhere and at anytime has changed the whole world as well as CSCWD communities. The phenomenon of Internet has significantly reshaped the research of CSCWD. The universal and nearly free accessibility has made it much easier for people to coordinate and do collaborative design jobs without any physical location boundaries. The new technologies and applications from CSCWD have significantly contributed to the multidisciplinary design teams. Over the past thirteen years, CSCWD communities have been actively involved in the dynamic researches and practical developments from both academia and industry. In order to address the new challenges that CSCWD communities are facing, we carefully selected 15 manuscripts from 198 papers (from 360 original submissions) presented at the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design (CSCWD 2008), Xi�an, China on April 16-18, 2008, to forge this J.UCS special issue. It is intended for researchers and practitioners interested in CSCWD Technologies, Applications and Challenges. All selected papers have been revised and extended into current versions by three rigorous review rounds