981 research outputs found
On the convergence of cluster expansions for polymer gases
We compare the different convergence criteria available for cluster
expansions of polymer gases subjected to hard-core exclusions, with emphasis on
polymers defined as finite subsets of a countable set (e.g. contour expansions
and more generally high- and low-temperature expansions). In order of
increasing strength, these criteria are: (i) Dobrushin criterion, obtained by a
simple inductive argument; (ii) Gruber-Kunz criterion obtained through the use
of Kirkwood-Salzburg equations, and (iii) a criterion obtained by two of us via
a direct combinatorial handling of the terms of the expansion. We show that for
subset polymers our sharper criterion can be proven both by a suitable
adaptation of Dobrushin inductive argument and by an alternative --in fact,
more elementary-- handling of the Kirkwood-Salzburg equations. In addition we
show that for general abstract polymers this alternative treatment leads to the
same convergence region as the inductive Dobrushin argument and, furthermore,
to a systematic way to improve bounds on correlations
Simple models of small world networks with directed links
We investigate the effect of directed short and long range connections in a
simple model of small world network. Our model is such that we can determine
many quantities of interest by an exact analytical method. We calculate the
function , defined as the number of sites affected up to time when a
naive spreading process starts in the network. As opposed to shortcuts, the
presence of un-favorable bonds has a negative effect on this quantity. Hence
the spreading process may not be able to affect all the network. We define and
calculate a quantity named the average size of accessible world in our model.
The interplay of shortcuts, and un-favorable bonds on the small world
properties is studied.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, published versio
High-pressure shift freezing : Recrystallization during storage
High-pressure shift freezing has been proposed as a method to produce frozen food with smaller ice crystal size and, consequently, with reduced tissular damage and higher overall quality. The fate of this initially improved crystal size distribution, decisive for the long-term value of this procedure, is unclear. The recrystallization behaviour of partially frozen aqueous solutions, as food models, is here compared with that of similar classically frozen samples. A microscopic observation cell has been specially designed for this purpose. The temporal evolution of high-pressure shift frozen ice crystals has been fitted to different mechanism models and is found to be similar within experimental error to that of classically frozen samples. However, differences in the shape evolution of crystals have been detected, which can be ascribed to small differences in the initial distribution. The implications of these observations for the long-term storage of frozen food are discussed.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimento
Length–weight relationships of kitefin shark Dalatias licha, and little sleeper shark Somniosus rostratus from the western Mediterranean Sea, and long snouted lancetfish Alepisaurus ferox from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean
This paper provides length-weight relationships (LWR) for three species: long snouted lancetfish Alepisaurus ferox,
kitefin shark Dalatias licha and little sleeper shark Somniosus rostratus. Samples were collected occasionally from 2009 to
2013. A total of 49 D. licha and 24 S. rostratus samples from the western Mediterranean Sea, and 211 samples of A. ferox
from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean were recorded for LWR. For each species, regression coefficients and parameters “a”
and “b” were calculated with 95% confidence interval. The LWR parameter b for all species ranged from 2.889 to 3.5048,
with R2 ranging from 0.717 to 0.823.Postprin
Historical and ecological drivers of the spatial pattern of Chondrichthyes species richness in the Mediterranean Sea
Chondrichthyes, which include Elasmobranchii (sharks and batoids) and Holocephali (chimaeras),
are a relatively small group in the Mediterranean Sea (89 species) playing a key
role in the ecosystems where they are found. At present, many species of this group are
threatened as a result of anthropogenic effects, including fishing activity. Knowledge of the
spatial distribution of these species is of great importance to understand their ecological role
and for the efficient management of their populations, particularly if affected by fisheries.
This study aims to analyze the spatial patterns of the distribution of Chondrichthyes species
richness in the Mediterranean Sea. Information provided by the studied countries was used
to model geographical and ecological variables affecting the Chondrichthyes species richness.
The species were distributed in 16 Operational Geographical Units (OGUs), derived
from the Geographical Sub-Areas (GSA) adopted by the General Fisheries Commission of
the Mediterranean Sea (GFCM). Regression analyses with the species richness as a target
variable were adjusted with a set of environmental and geographical variables, being the
model that links richness of Chondrichthyes species with distance to the Strait of Gibraltar
and number of taxonomic families of bony fishes the one that best explains it. This suggests
that both historical and ecological factors affect the current distribution of Chondrichthyes
within the Mediterranean Sea.Postprin
Photon-assisted tunneling in a Fe8 Single-Molecule Magnet
The low temperature spin dynamics of a Fe8 Single-Molecule Magnet was studied
under circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation allowing us to establish
clearly photon-assisted tunneling. This effect, while linear at low power,
becomes highly non-linear above a relatively low power threshold. This
non-linearity is attributed to the nature of the coupling of the sample to the
thermostat.These results are of great importance if such systems are to be used
as quantum computers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Spin dynamics of Mn12-acetate in the thermally-activated tunneling regime: ac-susceptibility and magnetization relaxation
In this work, we study the spin dynamics of Mn12-acetate molecules in the
regime of thermally assisted tunneling. In particular, we describe the system
in the presence of a strong transverse magnetic field. Similar to recent
experiments, the relaxation time/rate is found to display a series of
resonances; their Lorentzian shape is found to stem from the tunneling. The
dynamic susceptibility is calculated starting from the microscopic
Hamiltonian and the resonant structure manifests itself also in .
Similar to recent results reported on another molecular magnet, Fe8, we find
oscillations of the relaxation rate as a function of the transverse magnetic
field when the field is directed along a hard axis of the molecules. This
phenomenon is attributed to the interference of the geometrical or Berry phase.
We propose susceptibility experiments to be carried out for strong transverse
magnetic fields to study of these oscillations and for a better resolution of
the sharp satellite peaks in the relaxation rates.Comment: 22 pages, 23 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. B; citations/references
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Material screening and selection for XENON100
Results of the extensive radioactivity screening campaign to identify
materials for the construction of XENON100 are reported. This Dark Matter
search experiment is operated underground at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran
Sasso (LNGS), Italy. Several ultra sensitive High Purity Germanium detectors
(HPGe) have been used for gamma ray spectrometry. Mass spectrometry has been
applied for a few low mass plastic samples. Detailed tables with the
radioactive contaminations of all screened samples are presented, together with
the implications for XENON100.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Cosmic Chronometers: Constraining the Equation of State of Dark Energy. I: H(z) Measurements
We present new determinations of the cosmic expansion history from
red-envelope galaxies. We have obtained for this purpose high-quality spectra
with the Keck-LRIS spectrograph of red-envelope galaxies in 24 galaxy clusters
in the redshift range 0.2 < z < 1.0. We complement these Keck spectra with
high-quality, publicly available archival spectra from the SPICES and VVDS
surveys. We improve over our previous expansion history measurements in Simon
et al. (2005) by providing two new determinations of the expansion history:
H(z) = 97 +- 62 km/sec/Mpc at z = 0.5 and H(z) = 90 +- 40 km/sec/Mpc at z =
0.8. We discuss the uncertainty in the expansion history determination that
arises from uncertainties in the synthetic stellar-population models. We then
use these new measurements in concert with cosmic-microwave-background (CMB)
measurements to constrain cosmological parameters, with a special emphasis on
dark-energy parameters and constraints to the curvature. In particular, we
demonstrate the usefulness of direct H(z) measurements by constraining the
dark- energy equation of state parameterized by w0 and wa and allowing for
arbitrary curvature. Further, we also constrain, using only CMB and H(z) data,
the number of relativistic degrees of freedom to be 4 +- 0.5 and their total
mass to be < 0.2 eV, both at 1-sigma.Comment: Submitted to JCA
Additional value of screening for minor genes and copy number variants in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Introduction: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most prevalent inherited heart disease. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is the preferred genetic test, but the diagnostic value of screening for minor and candidate genes, and the role of copy number variants (CNVs) deserves further evaluation. Methods: Three hundred and eighty-seven consecutive unrelated patients with HCM were screened for genetic variants in the 5 most frequent genes (MYBPC3, MYH7, TNNT2, TNNI3 and TPM1) using Sanger sequencing (N = 84) or NGS (N = 303). In the NGS cohort we analyzed 20 additional minor or candidate genes, and applied a proprietary bioinformatics algorithm for detecting CNVs. Additionally, the rate and classification of TTN variants in HCM were compared with 427 patients without structural heart disease. Results: The percentage of patients with pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in the main genes was 33.3%, without significant differences between the Sanger sequencing and NGS cohorts. The screening for 20 additional genes revealed LP variants in ACTC1, MYL2, MYL3, TNNC1, GLA and PRKAG2 in 12 patients. This approach resulted in more inconclusive tests (36.0% vs. 9.6%, p<0.001), mostly due to variants of unknown significance (VUS) in TTN. The detection rate of rare variants in TTN was not significantly different to that found in the group of patients without structural heart disease. In the NGS cohort, 4 patients (1.3%) had pathogenic CNVs: 2 deletions in MYBPC3 and 2 deletions involving the complete coding region of PLN. Conclusions: A small percentage of HCM cases without point mutations in the 5 main genes are explained by P/LP variants in minor or candidate genes and CNVs. Screening for variants in TTN in HCM patients drastically increases the number of inconclusive tests, and shows a rate of VUS that is similar to patients without structural heart disease, suggesting that this gene should not be analyzed for clinical purposes in HCM
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