142 research outputs found
Self-organized Pattern Formation in Motor-Microtubule Mixtures
We propose and study a hydrodynamic model for pattern formation in mixtures
of molecular motors and microtubules. The steady state patterns we obtain in
different regimes of parameter space include arrangements of vortices and
asters separately as well as aster-vortex mixtures and fully disordered states.
Such stable steady states are observed in experiments in vitro. The sequence of
patterns obtained in the experiments can be associated with smooth trajectories
in a non-equilibrium phase diagram for our model.Comment: 11 pages Latex file, 2 figures include
Percolative shunting on electrified surface
The surface discharge of electrified dielectrics at high humidity is
considered. The percolative nature of charge transport in electrets is
established. Particular attention is given to the phenomena of adsorption and
nucleation of electrically conducting phase in the cause of percolation cluster
growth on electrified surface. The critical index of the correlation lenght for
percolation cluster is found, and its value is in good agreement with the known
theoretical estimations.Comment: 4 pages with 1 figure, revtex, published in Tech. Phys. Lett. 25
(1999) 877-879 with one additional figur
Efficiency optimization in a correlation ratchet with asymmetric unbiased fluctuations
The efficiency of a Brownian particle moving in periodic potential in the
presence of asymmetric unbiased fluctuations is investigated. We found that
there is a regime where the efficiency can be a peaked function of temperature,
which proves that thermal fluctuations facilitate the efficiency of energy
transformation, contradicting the earlier findings (H. kamegawa et al. Phys.
Rev. Lett. 80 (1998) 5251). It is also found that the mutual interplay between
asymmetry of fluctuation and asymmetry of the potential may induce optimized
efficiency at finite temperature. The ratchet is not most efficiency when it
gives maximum current.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Adsorption of Multi-block and Random Copolymer on a Solid Surface: Critical Behavior and Phase Diagram
The adsorption of a single multi-block -copolymer on a solid planar
substrate is investigated by means of computer simulations and scaling
analysis. It is shown that the problem can be mapped onto an effective
homopolymer adsorption problem. In particular we discuss how the critical
adsorption energy and the fraction of adsorbed monomers depend on the block
length of sticking monomers , and on the total length of the polymer
chains. Also the adsorption of the random copolymers is considered and found to
be well described within the framework of the annealed approximation. For a
better test of our theoretical prediction, two different Monte Carlo (MC)
simulation methods were employed: a) off-lattice dynamic bead-spring model,
based on the standard Metropolis algorithm (MA), and b) coarse-grained lattice
model using the Pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method (PERM) which enables tests
for very long chains. The findings of both methods are fully consistent and in
good agreement with theoretical predictions.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
Two-Component Fluid Membranes Near Repulsive Walls: Linearized Hydrodynamics of Equilibrium and Non-equilibrium States
We study the linearized hydrodynamics of a two-component fluid membrane near
a repulsive wall, via a model which incorporates curvature- concentration
coupling as well as hydrodynamic interactions. This model is a simplified
version of a recently proposed one [J.-B. Manneville et al. Phys. Rev. E, 64,
021908 (2001)] for non-equilibrium force-centres embedded in fluid membranes,
such as light-activated bacteriorhodopsin pumps incorporated in phospholipid
(EPC) bilayers. The pump/membrane system is modeled as an impermeable,
two-component bilayer fluid membrane in the presence of an ambient solvent, in
which one component, representing active pumps, is described in terms of force
dipoles displaced with respect to the bilayer midpoint. We first discuss the
case in which such pumps are rendered inactive, computing the mode structure in
the bulk as well as the modification of hydrodynamic properties by the presence
of a nearby wall. We then discuss the fluctuations and mode structure in steady
state of active two-component membranes near a repulsive wall. We find that
proximity to the wall smoothens membrane height fluctuations in the stable
regime, resulting in a logarithmic scaling of the roughness even for initially
tensionless membranes. This explicitly non-equilibrium result, a consequence of
the incorporation of curvature-concentration coupling in our treatment, also
indicates that earlier scaling arguments which obtained an increase in the
roughness of active membranes near repulsive walls may need to be reevaluated.Comment: 39 page Latex file, 3 encapsulated Postscript figure
A case of encysted endoparasitic copepods in the Spiny cheek grouper
During the routine biological investigations on Epinephelus
diacanthus (Spiny cheek grouper), a fish with a pair of cysts attached to the abdominal musculature was observed. The cysts were oval, thin-walled, dark grey coloured,
measured approximately 3 cm in diameter, and located adjacent to each other
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