22,307 research outputs found
Dynamic model for failures in biological systems
A dynamic model for failures in biological organisms is proposed and studied
both analytically and numerically. Each cell in the organism becomes dead under
sufficiently strong stress, and is then allowed to be healed with some
probability. It is found that unlike the case of no healing, the organism in
general does not completely break down even in the presence of noise. Revealed
is the characteristic time evolution that the system tends to resist the stress
longer than the system without healing, followed by sudden breakdown with some
fraction of cells surviving. When the noise is weak, the critical stress beyond
which the system breaks down increases rapidly as the healing parameter is
raised from zero, indicative of the importance of healing in biological
systems.Comment: To appear in Europhys. Let
(2,2)-Formalism of General Relativity: An Exact Solution
I discuss the (2,2)-formalism of general relativity based on the
(2,2)-fibration of a generic 4-dimensional spacetime of the Lorentzian
signature. In this formalism general relativity is describable as a Yang-Mills
gauge theory defined on the (1+1)-dimensional base manifold, whose local gauge
symmetry is the group of the diffeomorphisms of the 2-dimensional fibre
manifold. After presenting the Einstein's field equations in this formalism, I
solve them for spherically symmetric case to obtain the Schwarzschild solution.
Then I discuss possible applications of this formalism.Comment: 2 figures included, IOP style file neede
New Hamiltonian formalism and quasi-local conservation equations of general relativity
I describe the Einstein's gravitation of 3+1 dimensional spacetimes using the
(2,2) formalism without assuming isometries. In this formalism, quasi-local
energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum are identified from the four
Einstein's equations of the divergence-type, and are expressed geometrically in
terms of the area of a two-surface and a pair of null vector fields on that
surface. The associated quasi-local balance equations are spelled out, and the
corresponding fluxes are found to assume the canonical form of energy-momentum
flux as in standard field theories. The remaining non-divergence-type
Einstein's equations turn out to be the Hamilton's equations of motion, which
are derivable from the {\it non-vanishing} Hamiltonian by the variational
principle. The Hamilton's equations are the evolution equations along the
out-going null geodesic whose {\it affine} parameter serves as the time
function. In the asymptotic region of asymptotically flat spacetimes, it is
shown that the quasi-local quantities reduce to the Bondi energy, linear
momentum, and angular momentum, and the corresponding fluxes become the Bondi
fluxes. The quasi-local angular momentum turns out to be zero for any
two-surface in the flat Minkowski spacetime. I also present a candidate for
quasi-local {\it rotational} energy which agrees with the Carter's constant in
the asymptotic region of the Kerr spacetime. Finally, a simple relation between
energy-flux and angular momentum-flux of a generic gravitational radiation is
discussed, whose existence reflects the fact that energy-flux always
accompanies angular momentum-flux unless the flux is an s-wave.Comment: 36 pages, 3 figures, RevTex
Electronic structures of ZnCoO using photoemission and x-ray absorption spectroscopy
Electronic structures of ZnCoO have been investigated using
photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The
Co 3d states are found to lie near the top of the O valence band, with a
peak around eV binding energy. The Co XAS spectrum provides
evidence that the Co ions in ZnCoO are in the divalent Co
() states under the tetrahedral symmetry. Our finding indicates that the
properly substituted Co ions for Zn sites will not produce the diluted
ferromagnetic semiconductor property.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure
Dynamic model of fiber bundles
A realistic continuous-time dynamics for fiber bundles is introduced and
studied both analytically and numerically. The equation of motion reproduces
known stationary-state results in the deterministic limit while the system
under non-vanishing stress always breaks down in the presence of noise.
Revealed in particular is the characteristic time evolution that the system
tends to resist the stress for considerable time, followed by sudden complete
rupture. The critical stress beyond which the complete rupture emerges is also
obtained
Source mechanism of Saturn narrowband emission
Narrowband emission (NB) is observed at Saturn centered near 5 kHz and 20 kHz
and harmonics. This emission appears similar in many ways to Jovian
kilometric narrowband emission observed at higher frequencies, and therefore
may have a similar source mechanism. Source regions of NB near 20 kHz are
believed to be located near density gradients in the inner magnetosphere and
the emission appears to be correlated with the occurrence of large neutral
plasma clouds observed in the Saturn magnetotail. In this work we present
the results of a growth rate analysis of NB emission (~20 kHz) near or
within a probable source region. This is made possible by the sampling of
in-situ wave and particle data. The results indicate waves are likely to be
generated by the mode-conversion of directly generated Z-mode emission to
O-mode near a density gradient. When the local hybrid frequency is close <I>n</I>
<I>f</I><sub>ce</sub> (<I>n</I> is an integer and <I>f</I><sub>ce</sub> is the electron cyclotron frequency)
with <I>n</I>=4, 5 or 6 in our case, electromagnetic Z-mode and weak ordinary
(O-mode) emission can be directly generated by the cyclotron maser
instability
Uric acid enhances longevity and endurance and protects the brain against ischemia
Among mammals, there is a positive correlation between serum uric acid (UA) levels and life span. Humans have high levels of UA because they lack a functional urate oxidase (UOX) enzyme that is present in shorter lived mammals. Here, we show that male and female mice with UOX haploinsufficiency exhibit an age-related elevation of UA levels, and that the life span of female but not male UOX+/− mice is significantly increased compared to wild-type mice. Serum UA levels are elevated in response to treadmill exercise in UOX+/− mice, but not wild-type mice, and the endurance of the UOX+/− mice is significantly greater than wild-type mice. UOX+/− mice exhibit elevated levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, reduced brain damage and improved functional outcome in a model of focal ischemic stroke. Levels of oxidative protein nitration and lipid peroxidation are reduced in muscle and brain tissues of UOX+/− mice under conditions of metabolic and oxidative stress (running in the case of muscle and ischemia in the case of the brain), consistent with prior evidence that UA can scavenge peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radical. Our findings reveal roles for UA in life span determination, endurance and adaptive responses to brain injury, and suggest novel approaches for protecting cells against injury and for optimizing physical performance.España, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte EX2009–091
Formation of an Icosahedral Structure during the Freezing of Gold Nanoclusters: Surface-Induced Mechanism
The freezing behavior of gold nanoclusters was studied by employing molecular
dynamics simulations based on a semi-empirical embedded-atom method.
Investigations of the gold nanoclusters revealed that, just after freezing,
ordered nano-surfaces with a fivefold symmetry were formed with interior atoms
remaining in the disordered state. Further lowering of temperatures induced
nano-crystallization of the interior atoms that proceeded from the surface
towards the core region, finally leading to an icosahedral structure. These
dynamic processes explain why the icosahedral cluster structure is dominantly
formed in spite of its energetic metastability.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures(including 14 eps-files
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