18,098 research outputs found
Severity of Spinal Cord Injury Influences Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Brain
Background: The purpose of this study was to determine whether DTI changes in the brain induced by a thoracic spinal cord injury are sensitive to varying severity of spinal contusion in rats.
Methods: A control, mild, moderate, or severe contusion injury was administered over the eighth thoracic vertebral level in 32 Sprague-Dawley rats. At 11 weeks postinjury, ex vivo DTI of the brain was performed on a 9.4T Bruker scanner using a pulsed gradient spin-echo sequence.
Results: Mean water diffusion in the internal capsule regions of the brain and pyramid locations of the brainstem were correlated with motor function (r2 = 0.55). Additionally, there were significant differences between injury severity groups for mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy at regions associated with the corticospinal tract (P = 0.05).
Conclusion: These results indicate that DTI is sensitive to changes in brain tissue as a consequence of thoracic SCI
A Processor Core Model for Quantum Computing
We describe an architecture based on a processing 'core' where multiple
qubits interact perpetually, and a separate 'store' where qubits exist in
isolation. Computation consists of single qubit operations, swaps between the
store and the core, and free evolution of the core. This enables computation
using physical systems where the entangling interactions are 'always on'.
Alternatively, for switchable systems our model constitutes a prescription for
optimizing many-qubit gates. We discuss implementations of the quantum Fourier
transform, Hamiltonian simulation, and quantum error correction.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; improved some arguments as suggested by a refere
Experimental observations of dynamic critical phenomena in a lipid membrane
Near a critical point, the time scale of thermally-induced fluctuations
diverges in a manner determined by the dynamic universality class. Experiments
have verified predicted 3D dynamic critical exponents in many systems, but
similar experiments in 2D have been lacking for the case of conserved order
parameter. Here we analyze time-dependent correlation functions of a quasi-2D
lipid bilayer in water to show that its critical dynamics agree with a recently
predicted universality class. In particular, the effective dynamic exponent
crosses over from to as the correlation
length of fluctuations exceeds a hydrodynamic length set by the membrane and
bulk viscosities.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures and 2 additional pages of supplemen
On the Apparent Nulls and Extreme Variability of PSR J1107-5907
We present an analysis of the emission behaviour of PSR J1107-5907, a source
known to exhibit separate modes of emission, using observations obtained over
approximately 10 yr. We find that the object exhibits two distinct modes of
emission; a strong mode with a broad profile and a weak mode with a narrow
profile. During the strong mode of emission, the pulsar typically radiates very
energetic emission over sequences of ~200-6000 pulses (~60 s-24 min), with
apparent nulls over time-scales of up to a few pulses at a time. Emission
during the weak mode is observed outside of these strong-mode sequences and
manifests as occasional bursts of up to a few clearly detectable pulses at a
time, as well as low-level underlying emission which is only detected through
profile integration. This implies that the previously described null mode may
in fact be representative of the bottom-end of the pulse intensity distribution
for the source. This is supported by the dramatic pulse-to-pulse intensity
modulation and rarity of exceptionally bright pulses observed during both modes
of emission. Coupled with the fact that the source could be interpreted as a
rotating radio transient (RRAT)-like object for the vast majority of the time,
if placed at a further distance, we advance that this object likely represents
a bridge between RRATs and extreme moding pulsars. Further to these emission
properties, we also show that the source is consistent with being a
near-aligned rotator and that it does not exhibit any measurable spin-down rate
variation. These results suggest that nulls observed in other intermittent
objects may in fact be representative of very weak emission without the need
for complete cessation. As such, we argue that longer (> 1 h) observations of
pulsars are required to discern their true modulation properties.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Fluid structure in the immediate vicinity of an equilibrium three-phase contact line and assessment of disjoining pressure models using density functional theory
We examine the nanoscale behavior of an equilibrium three-phase contact line
in the presence of long-ranged intermolecular forces by employing a statistical
mechanics of fluids approach, namely density functional theory (DFT) together
with fundamental measure theory (FMT). This enables us to evaluate the
predictive quality of effective Hamiltonian models in the vicinity of the
contact line. In particular, we compare the results for mean field effective
Hamiltonians with disjoining pressures defined through (I) the adsorption
isotherm for a planar liquid film, and (II) the normal force balance at the
contact line. We find that the height profile obtained using (I) shows good
agreement with the adsorption film thickness of the DFT-FMT equilibrium density
profile in terms of maximal curvature and the behavior at large film heights.
In contrast, we observe that while the height profile obtained by using (II)
satisfies basic sum rules, it shows little agreement with the adsorption film
thickness of the DFT results. The results are verified for contact angles of
20, 40 and 60 degrees
Z-Selectivity in Olefin Metathesis with Chelated Ru Catalysts: Computational Studies of Mechanism and Selectivity
The mechanism and origins of Z-selectivity in olefin metathesis with chelated Ru catalysts were explored using density functional theory. The olefin approaches from the “side” position of the chelated Ru catalysts, in contrast to reactions with previous unchelated Ru catalysts that favor the bottom-bound pathway. Steric repulsions between the substituents on the olefin and the N-substituent on the N-heterocyclic carbene ligand lead to highly selective formation of the Z product
A Persistent Simulation Environment for Autonomous Systems
The age of Autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems (AUAS) is creating new challenges for the accreditation and certification requiring new standards, policies and procedures that sanction whether a UAS is safe to fly. Establishing a basis for certification of autonomous systems via research into trust and trustworthiness is the focus of Autonomy Teaming and TRAjectories for Complex Trusted Operational Reliability (ATTRACTOR), a new NASA Convergent Aeronautics Solution (CAS) project. Simulation Environments to test and evaluate AUAS decision making may be a low-cost solution to help certify that various AUAS systems are trustworthy enough to be allowed to fly in current general and commercial aviation airspace. NASA is working to build a peer-to-peer persistent simulation (P3 Sim) environment. The P3 Sim will be a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) environment were AUAS avatars can interact with a complex dynamic environment and each other. The focus of the effort is to provide AUAS researchers a low-cost intuitive testing environment that will aid training for and assessment of decisions made by autonomous systems such as AUAS. This presentation focuses on the design approach and challenges faced in development of the P3 Sim Environment is support of investigating trustworthiness of autonomous systems
Cosmic (super)string constraints from 21 cm radiation
We calculate the contribution of cosmic strings arising from a phase
transition in the early universe, or cosmic superstrings arising from brane
inflation, to the cosmic 21 cm power spectrum at redshifts z > 30. Future
experiments can exploit this effect to constrain the cosmic string tension Gu
and probe virtually the entire brane inflation model space allowed by current
observations. Although current experiments with a collecting area of ~ 1 km^2
will not provide any useful constraints, future experiments with a collecting
area of 10^4-10^6 km^2 covering the cleanest 10% of the sky can in principle
constrain cosmic strings with tension Gu > 10^(-10) to 10^(-12)
(superstring/phase transition mass scale >10^13 GeV).Comment: Accepted for publication in PR
Interaction of Seed Dispersal and Environmental Filtering Affects Woody Encroachment Patterns in Coastal Grassland
Encroachment of woody plants into grasslands has occurred worldwide and includes coastal ecosystems. This conversion process is mediated by seed dispersal patterns, environmental filtering, and biotic interactions. As spatiotemporally heterogeneous, harsh environments, barrier islands present a unique set of challenges for dispersal and establishment. Environmental conditions act as filters on dispersed seeds, thereby influencing encroachment and distribution patterns. Seldom have patterns of propagule dispersal been considered in the context of woody encroachment. We quantified dispersal and post‐dispersal processes of an encroaching woody population of Morella cerifera relative to directional rate of encroachment and observed distribution patterns on an Atlantic coastal barrier island with strong environmental filtering. We analyzed historic foredune elevation as a proxy for reduced interior environmental stress. The dispersal kernel was leptokurtic, a common characteristic of expanding populations, but rate of encroachment has slowed since 2005. Expansion pattern was related to foredune elevation, which limits encroachment below a threshold elevation. This difference between dispersal kernel behavior and encroachment rate is due to limited availability of suitable habitat for Morella and temporal variability in chlorides during the time of germination. Our results demonstrate that processes mediating seeds and seedling success must be accounted for to better understand establishment patterns of encroaching woody plants
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