5,371 research outputs found
The Hughes model for pedestrian dynamics and congestion modelling
In this paper we present a numerical study of some variations of the Hughes
model for pedestrian flow under different types of congestion effects. The
general model consists of a coupled non-linear PDE system involving an eikonal
equation and a first order conservation law, and it intends to approximate the
flow of a large pedestrian group aiming to reach a target as fast as possible,
while taking into account the congestion of the crowd.
We propose an efficient semi-Lagrangian scheme (SL) to approximate the
solution of the PDE system and we investigate the macroscopic effects of
different penalization functions modelling the congestion phenomena.Comment: 6 page
Heating and thermal squeezing in parametrically-driven oscillators with added noise
In this paper we report a theoretical model based on Green functions, Floquet
theory and averaging techniques up to second order that describes the dynamics
of parametrically-driven oscillators with added thermal noise. Quantitative
estimates for heating and quadrature thermal noise squeezing near and below the
transition line of the first parametric instability zone of the oscillator are
given. Furthermore, we give an intuitive explanation as to why heating and
thermal squeezing occur. For small amplitudes of the parametric pump the
Floquet multipliers are complex conjugate of each other with a constant
magnitude. As the pump amplitude is increased past a threshold value in the
stable zone near the first parametric instability, the two Floquet multipliers
become real and have different magnitudes. This creates two different effective
dissipation rates (one smaller and the other larger than the real dissipation
rate) along the stable manifolds of the first-return Poincare map. We also show
that the statistical average of the input power due to thermal noise is
constant and independent of the pump amplitude and frequency. The combination
of these effects cause most of heating and thermal squeezing. Very good
agreement between analytical and numerical estimates of the thermal
fluctuations is achieved.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. E, 29 pages, 12 figures. arXiv admin note:
substantial text overlap with arXiv:1108.484
Southern Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Adult Emergence and Population Growth Assessment After Selection With Vacuolar ATPase-A double-stranded RNA Over Multiple Generations
The southern corn rootworm, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was exposed over multiple generations to vacuolar (v)ATPase-A double-stranded (ds)RNA, first as adults and later, as neonate larvae. During adult selection, high mortality and lower fecundity were observed in the RNAi-selected cages after beetles were exposed to sublethal dsRNA concentrations that varied between LC40 and LC75. During larval selection, a delay in adult emergence and effects on population growth parameters were observed after neonates were exposed to sublethal dsRNA concentrations that varied between LC50 and LC70. Some of the parameters measured for adult emergence such as time to reach maximum linear adult emergence, time elapsed before attaining linear emergence, termination point of the linear emergence, and total days of linear emergence increase, were significantly different between RNAi-selected and control colonies for at least one generation. Significant differences were also observed in population growth parameters such as growth rate, net reproductive rate, doubling time, and generation time. After seven generations of selection, there was no indication that resistance evolved. The sublethal effects caused by exposures of southern corn rootworm to dsRNAs can affect important life history traits and fitness especially through delays in adult emergence and reduction in population growth. Although changes in susceptibility did not occur, the observation of sublethal effects suggests important responses to potential selection pressure. Assuming resistance involves a recessive trait, random mating between susceptible and resistant individuals is an important factor that allows sustainable use of transgenic plants, and delays in adult emergence observed in our studies could potentially compromise this assumption
A continuum theory of phase separation kinetics for active Brownian particles
Active Brownian particles (ABPs), when subject to purely repulsive
interactions, are known to undergo activity-induced phase separation broadly
resembling an equilibrium (attraction-induced) gas-liquid coexistence. Here we
present an accurate continuum theory for the dynamics of phase-separating ABPs,
derived by direct coarse-graining, capturing leading-order density gradient
terms alongside an effective bulk free energy. Such gradient terms do not obey
detailed balance; yet we find coarsening dynamics closely resembling that of
equilibrium phase separation. Our continuum theory is numerically compared to
large-scale direct simulations of ABPs and accurately accounts for domain
growth kinetics, domain topologies and coexistence densities
Two flavor QCD and Confinement
We argue that the order of the chiral transition for N_f=2 is a sensitive
probe of the QCD vacuum, in particular of the mechanism of color confinement. A
strategy is developed to investigate the order of the transition by use of
finite size scaling analysis. An in-depth numerical investigation is performed
with staggered fermions on lattices with N_t=4 and N_s=12,16,20,24,32 and quark
masses am_q ranging from 0.01335 to 0.307036. The specific heat and a number of
susceptibilities are measured and compared with the expectations of an O(4)
second order and of a first order phase transition. A second order transition
in the O(4) and O(2) universality classes are excluded. Substantial evidence
emerges for a first order transition. A detailed comparison with previous works
is performed.Comment: 46 pages, 20 eps figures, 9 tables, REVTeX
Proteasome inhibition by new dual warhead containing peptido vinyl sulfonyl fluorides
The success of inhibition of the proteasome by formation of covalent bonds is a major victory over the long held-view that this would lead to binding the wrong targets and undoubtedly lead to toxicity. Great challenges are now found in uncovering ensembles of new moieties capable of forming long lasting ties. We have introduced peptido sulfonyl fluorides for this purpose. Tuning the reactivity of this electrophilic trap may be crucial for modulating the biological action. Here we describe incorporation of a vinyl moiety into a peptido sulfonyl fluoride backbone, which should lead to a combined attack of the proteasome active site threonine on the double bond and the sulfonyl fluoride. Although this led to strong proteasome inhibitors, in vitro studies did not unambiguously demonstrate the formation of the proposed seven-membered ring structure. Possibly, formation of a seven-membered covalent adduct with the proteosomal active site threonine can only be achieved within the context of the enzyme. Nevertheless, this dual warhead concept may provide exclusive possibilities for duration and selectivity of proteasome inhibition
Finite-dimensional representations of twisted hyper loop algebras
We investigate the category of finite-dimensional representations of twisted
hyper loop algebras, i.e., the hyperalgebras associated to twisted loop
algebras over finite-dimensional simple Lie algebras. The main results are the
classification of the irreducible modules, the definition of the universal
highest-weight modules, called the Weyl modules, and, under a certain mild
restriction on the characteristic of the ground field, a proof that the simple
modules and the Weyl modules for the twisted hyper loop algebras are isomorphic
to appropriate simple and Weyl modules for the non-twisted hyper loop algebras,
respectively, via restriction of the action
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