1,848 research outputs found
Stationary and non-stationary fluid flow of a Bose-Einstein condensate through a penetrable barrier
We experimentally study the fluid flow induced by a broad, penetrable barrier
moving through an elongated dilute gaseous Bose-Einstein condensate. The
barrier is created by a laser beam swept through the condensate, and the
resulting dipole potential can be either attractive or repulsive. We examine
both cases and find regimes of stable and unstable fluid flow: At slow speeds
of the barrier, the fluid flow is stationary due to the superfluidity of the
condensate. At intermediate speeds, we observe a non-stationary regime in which
the condensate gets filled with dark solitons. At faster speeds, soliton
formation completely ceases and a remarkable absence of excitation in the
condensate is seen again.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Effect of surface roughness on friction behaviour of steel under boundary lubrication
The friction behaviour of grinded and polished surfaces was evaluated by using a reciprocal sliding tester under lubrication with PAO, PAO + ZnDTP and PAO + ZnDTP + MoDTC. Friction coefficients on the smooth surfaces showed higher values compared to those on the rough surfaces. For lubrication incorporating PAO and PAO + ZnDTP + MoDTC, friction coefficients on both the smoothest and the roughest surfaces decreased with sliding time. On the other hand, friction coefficients between these extremes decreased with sliding time. In this paper, the effects of surface roughness on friction behaviour are discussed
Mechanism, dynamics, and biological existence of multistability in a large class of bursting neurons
Multistability, the coexistence of multiple attractors in a dynamical system,
is explored in bursting nerve cells. A modeling study is performed to show that
a large class of bursting systems, as defined by a shared topology when
represented as dynamical systems, is inherently suited to support
multistability. We derive the bifurcation structure and parametric trends
leading to multistability in these systems. Evidence for the existence of
multirhythmic behavior in neurons of the aquatic mollusc Aplysia californica
that is consistent with our proposed mechanism is presented. Although these
experimental results are preliminary, they indicate that single neurons may be
capable of dynamically storing information for longer time scales than
typically attributed to nonsynaptic mechanisms.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure
Nonlinearity-assisted quantum tunneling in a matter-wave interferometer
We investigate the {\em nonlinearity-assisted quantum tunneling} and
formation of nonlinear collective excitations in a matter-wave interferometer,
which is realised by the adiabatic transformation of a double-well potential
into a single-well harmonic trap. In contrast to the linear quantum tunneling
induced by the crossing (or avoided crossing) of neighbouring energy levels,
the quantum tunneling between different nonlinear eigenstates is assisted by
the nonlinear mean-field interaction. When the barrier between the wells
decreases, the mean-field interaction aids quantum tunneling between the ground
and excited nonlinear eigenstates. The resulting {\em non-adiabatic evolution}
depends on the input states. The tunneling process leads to the generation of
dark solitons, and the number of the generated dark solitons is highly
sensitive to the matter-wave nonlinearity. The results of the numerical
simulations of the matter-wave dynamics are successfully interpreted with a
coupled-mode theory for multiple nonlinear eigenstates.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accept for publication in J. Phys.
- and -spin relaxation time limitations of phosphorous donor electrons near crystalline silicon to silicon dioxide interface defects
A study of donor electron spins and spin--dependent electronic transitions
involving phosphorous (P) atoms in proximity of the (111) oriented
crystalline silicon (c-Si) to silicon dioxide (SiO) interface is
presented for [P] = 10 and [P] =
10 at about liquid He temperatures (
). Using pulsed electrically detected magnetic
resonance (pEDMR), spin--dependent transitions between the \Phos donor state
and two distinguishable interface states are observed, namely (i) \Pb centers
which can be identified by their characteristic anisotropy and (ii) a more
isotropic center which is attributed to E defects of the \sio bulk
close to the interface. Correlation measurements of the dynamics of
spin--dependent recombination confirm that previously proposed transitions
between \Phos and the interface defects take place. The influence of these
electronic near--interface transitions on the \Phos donor spin coherence time
as well as the donor spin--lattice relaxation time is then
investigated by comparison of spin Hahn--echo decay measurements obtained from
conventional bulk sensitive pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance and surface
sensitive pEDMR, as well as surface sensitive electrically detected inversion
recovery experiments. The measurements reveal that both and of
\Phos donor electrons spins in proximity of energetically lower interface
states at K are reduced by several orders of magnitude
A Role for the Vacuolating Cytotoxin, VacA, in Colonization and Helicobacter pylori-Induced Metaplasia in the Stomach
Carriage of Helicobacter pylori strains producing more active (s1/i1) forms of VacA is strongly associated with gas-tric adenocarcinoma. To our knowledge, we are the
first to determine effects of different polymorphic forms of VacA on inflammation and metaplasia in the mouse stomach. Bacteria producing the less active s2/i2 form of VacA colonized mice more efficiently than mutants null for VacA or producing more active forms of it, providing the
first evidence of a positive role for the minimally active s2/i2 toxin. Strains producing more active toxin forms induced more severe and extensive metaplasia and in flammation in the mouse stomach than strains producing weakly active (s2/i2) toxin. We also examined the association in humans, controlling for cag PAI status. In human gastric biopsy specimens, the vacA i1 allele was strongly associated with precancerous intestinal metaplasia, with almost complete absence of intestinal metaplasia in subjects infected with i2-type strains, even in a vacA s1, cagA+ background
The Animal in Me: Enhancing Emotion Recognition in Adolescents with Autism Using Animal Filters
Power-Based Droop Control in DC Microgrids Enabling Seamless Disconnection From Upstream Grids
This paper proposes a local power-based droop controller for distributed energy resource converters in dc microgrids that are connected to upstream grids by grid-interface converters. During normal operation, the grid-interface converter imposes the microgrid bus voltage, and the proposed controller allows power flow regulation at distributed energy resource converters\u2019 output. On the other hand, during abnormal operation of the grid-interface converter (e.g., due to faults in the upstream grid), the proposed controller allows bus voltage regulation by droop control. Notably, the controller can autonomously convert from power flow control to droop control, without any need of bus voltage variation detection schemes or communication with other microgrid components, which enables seamless transitions between these two modes of operation. Considering distributed energy resource converters employing the power-based droop control, the operation modes of a single converter and of the whole microgrid are defined and investigated herein. The controller design is also introduced. Furthermore, the power sharing performance of this control approach is analyzed and compared with that of classical droop control. The experimental results from a laboratory-scale dc microgrid prototype are reported to show the final performances of the proposed power-based droop control
In Helicobacter pylori auto-inducer-2, but not LuxS/MccAB catalysed reverse transsulphuration, regulates motility through modulation of flagellar gene transcription.
BACKGROUND: LuxS may function as a metabolic enzyme or as the synthase of a quorum sensing signalling molecule, auto-inducer-2 (AI-2); hence, the mechanism underlying phenotypic changes upon luxS inactivation is not always clear. In Helicobacter pylori, we have recently shown that, rather than functioning in recycling methionine as in most bacteria, LuxS (along with newly-characterised MccA and MccB), synthesises cysteine via reverse transsulphuration. In this study, we investigated whether and how LuxS controls motility of H. pylori, specifically if it has its effects via luxS-required cysteine metabolism or via AI-2 synthesis only. RESULTS: We report that disruption of luxS renders H. pylori non-motile in soft agar and by microscopy, whereas disruption of mccAHp or mccBHp (other genes in the cysteine provision pathway) does not, implying that the lost phenotype is not due to disrupted cysteine provision. The motility defect of the DeltaluxSHp mutant was complemented genetically by luxSHp and also by addition of in vitro synthesised AI-2 or 4, 5-dihydroxy-2, 3-pentanedione (DPD, the precursor of AI-2). In contrast, exogenously added cysteine could not restore motility to the DeltaluxSHp mutant, confirming that AI-2 synthesis, but not the metabolic effect of LuxS was important. Microscopy showed reduced number and length of flagella in the DeltaluxSHp mutant. Immunoblotting identified decreased levels of FlaA and FlgE but not FlaB in the DeltaluxSHp mutant, and RT-PCR showed that the expression of flaA, flgE, motA, motB, flhA and fliI but not flaB was reduced. Addition of DPD but not cysteine to the DeltaluxSHp mutant restored flagellar gene transcription, and the number and length of flagella. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that as well as being a metabolic enzyme, H. pylori LuxS has an alternative role in regulation of motility by modulating flagellar transcripts and flagellar biosynthesis through production of the signalling molecule AI-2
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