1,084 research outputs found
Simulation of underground gravity gradients from stochastic seismic fields
We present results obtained from a finite-element simulation of seismic
displacement fields and of gravity gradients generated by those fields. The
displacement field is constructed by a plane wave model with a 3D isotropic
stochastic field and a 2D fundamental Rayleigh field. The plane wave model
provides an accurate representation of stationary fields from distant sources.
Underground gravity gradients are calculated as acceleration of a free test
mass inside a cavity. The results are discussed in the context of
gravity-gradient noise subtraction in third generation gravitational-wave
detectors. Error analysis with respect to the density of the simulated grid
leads to a derivation of an improved seismometer placement inside a 3D array
which would be used in practice to monitor the seismic field.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figure
A short artificial antimicrobial peptide shows potential to prevent or treat bone infections.
Infection of bone is a severe complication due to the variety of bacteria causing it, their resistance against classical antibiotics, the formation of a biofilm and the difficulty to eradicate it. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are naturally occurring peptides and promising candidates for treatment of joint infections. This study aimed to analyze the effect of short artificial peptides derived from an optimized library regarding (1) antimicrobial effect on different bacterial species, (2) efficacy on biofilms, and (3) effect on osteoblast‑like cells. Culturing the AMP-modifications with Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus (including clinical isolates of MRSA and MSSA) and Staphylococcus epidermidis identified one candidate that was most effective against all bacteria. This AMP was also able to reduce biofilm as demonstrated by FISH and microcalorimetry. Osteoblast viability and differentiation were not negatively affected by the AMP. A cation concentration comparable to that physiologically occurring in blood had almost no negative effect on AMP activity and even with 10% serum bacterial growth was inhibited. Bacteria internalized into osteoblasts were reduced by the AMP. Taken together the results demonstrate a high antimicrobial activity of the AMP even against bacteria incorporated in a biofilm or internalized into cells without harming human osteoblasts
Hadronization of massive quark matter
We present a fast hadronization model for the constituent quark plasma (CQP)
produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions at SPS. The model is based on
rate equations and on an equation of state inspired by the string
phenomenology. This equation of state has a confining character. We display the
time evolution of the relevant physical quantities during the hadronization
process and the final hadron multiplicities. The results indicate that the
hadronization of CQP is fast.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, 2 EPS figures, contribution to the Proceedings of
the 4th International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM'98),
Padova, Italy, 20-24 July 199
First Order Transition in the Ginzburg-Landau Model
The d-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau (GL) model is solved according to a
variational method by separating phase and amplitude. The GL transition becomes
first order for high superfluid density because of effects of phase
fluctuations. We discuss its origin with various arguments showing that, in
particular for d = 3, the validity of our approach lies precisely in the first
order domain.Comment: 4 pages including 2 figure
Charge Transport in the Dense Two-Dimensional Coulomb Gas
The dynamics of a globally neutral system of diffusing Coulomb charges in two
dimensions, driven by an applied electric field, is studied in a wide
temperature range around the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. I
argue that the commonly accepted ``free particle drift'' mechanism of charge
transport in this system is limited to relatively low particle densities. For
higher densities, I propose a modified picture involving collective ``partner
transfer'' between bound pairs. The new picture provides a natural explanation
for recent experimental and numerical findings which deviate from standard
theory. It also clarifies the origin of dynamical scaling in this context.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 2 eps figures included; some typos corrected, final
version to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Estimation of properties of low-lying excited states of Hubbard models : a multi-configurational symmetrized projector quantum Monte Carlo approach
We present in detail the recently developed multi-configurational symmetrized
projector quantum Monte Carlo (MSPQMC) method for excited states of the Hubbard
model. We describe the implementation of the Monte Carlo method for a
multi-configurational trial wavefunction. We give a detailed discussion of
issues related to the symmetry of the projection procedure which validates our
Monte Carlo procedure for excited states and leads naturally to the idea of
symmetrized sampling for correlation functions, developed earlier in the
context of ground state simulations. It also leads to three possible averaging
schemes. We have analyzed the errors incurred in these various averaging
procedures and discuss and detail the preferred averaging procedure for
correlations that do not have the full symmetry of the Hamiltonian. We study
the energies and correlation functions of the low-lying excited states of the
half-filled Hubbard model in 1-D. We have used this technique to study the
pair-binding energies of two holes in and systems, which compare
well the Bethe ansatz data of Fye, Martins and Scalettar. We have also studied
small clusters amenable to exact diagonalization studies in 2-D and have
reproduced their energies and correlation functions by the MSPQMC method. We
identify two ways in which a multiconfigurational trial wavefunction can lead
to a negative sign problem. We observe that this effect is not severe in 1-D
and tends to vanish with increasing system size. We also note that this does
not enhance the severity of the sign problem in two dimensions.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures available on request, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Anomalous finite-size effect in superconducting Josephson junction arrays
We report large-scale simulations of the resistively-shunted Josephson
junction array in strip geometry. As the strip width increases, the voltage
first decreases following the dynamic scaling ansatz proposed by Minnhagen {\it
et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 74}, 3672 (1995)], and then rises towards the
asymptotic value predicted by Ambegaokar {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf
40}, 783 (1978)]. The nonmonotonic size-dependence is attributed to shortened
life time of free vortices in narrow strips, and points to the danger of
single-scale analysis applied to a charge-neutral superfluid state.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Possible first order transition in the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model induced by thermally fluctuating vortex cores
We study the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model of a neutral superfluid in
the vicinity of the vortex unbinding transition. The model is mapped onto an
effective interacting vortex gas by a systematic perturbative elimination of
all fluctuating degrees of freedom (amplitude {\em and} phase of the order
parameter field) except the vortex positions. In the Coulomb gas descriptions
derived previously in the literature, thermal amplitude fluctuations were
neglected altogether. We argue that, if one includes the latter, the vortices
still form a two- dimensional Coulomb gas, but the vortex fugacity can be
substantially raised. Under the assumption that Minnhagen's generic phase
diagram of the two- dimensional Coulomb gas is correct, our results then point
to a first order transition rather than a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition,
provided the Ginzburg-Landau correlation length is large enough in units of a
microscopic cutoff length for fluctuations. The experimental relevance of these
results is briefly discussed. [Submitted to J. Stat. Phys.]Comment: 36 pages, LaTeX, 6 figures upon request, UATP2-DB1-9
Remnants of Initial Anisotropic High Energy Density Domains in Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions
Anisotropic high energy density domains may be formed at early stages of
ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions, e.g. due to phase transition dynamics
or non-equilibrium phenomena like (mini-)jets. Here we investigate hadronic
observables resulting from an initially created anisotropic high energy density
domain. Based on our studies using a transport model we find that the initial
anisotropies are reflected in the freeze-out multiplicity distribution of both
pions and kaons due to secondary hadronic rescattering. The anisotropy appears
to be stronger for particles at high transverse momenta. The overall kaon
multiplicity increases with large fluctuations of local energy densities, while
no change has been found in the pion multiplicity.Comment: Submitted to PR
Phenotypic relationships between docility and reproduction in Angus heifers
Citation: White, K. L., Bormann, J. M., Olson, K. C., Jaeger, J. R., Johnson, S., Downey, B., . . . Weaber, R. L. (2016). Phenotypic relationships between docility and reproduction in Angus heifers. Journal of Animal Science, 94(2), 483-489. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9327The objective of this study was to elucidate the phenotypic relationships between docility and first-service AI conception rate in heifers. Data (n = 337) collected from 3 cooperator herds in Kansas at the start of synchronization protocol included exit velocity (EV), chute score (CS), fecal cortisol (FC), and blood serum cortisol (BC). Data were analyzed using logistic regression with 30-d pregnancy rate as the dependent variable. The model included the fixed effect of contemporary group and the covariates FC, BC, EV, CS, BW, and age. Correlation coefficients were calculated between all continuous traits. Pregnancy rate ranged from 34% to 60% between herds. Blood cortisol positively correlated with EV (r = 0.22, P < 0.01), negatively correlated with age (r = -0.12, P < 0.03), and tended to be negatively correlated with BW (r = -0.10, P = 0.09). Exit velocity was positively correlated with CS (r = 0.24, P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with BW (r = -0.15, P < 0.01) and age (r = -0.12, P < 0.03). Chute score negatively correlated with age (r = -0.14, P < 0.01), and age and BW were moderately positively correlated (r = 0.42, P < 0.01), as expected. Older, heavier animals generally had better temperament, as indicated by lower BC, EV, and CS. The power of our test could detect no significant predictors of 30-d pregnancy for the combined data from all ranches. When the data were divided by ranch, CS (P < 0.03) and BW (P < 0.01) were both significant predictors for 30-d pregnancy for ranch 1. The odds ratio estimate for CS has an inverse relationship with pregnancy, meaning that a 1-unit increase in average CS will reduce the probability of pregnancy at ranch 1 by 48.1%. Weight also has a negative impact on pregnancy because a 1-kg increase in BW will decrease the probability of pregnancy by 2.2%. Fertility is a complex trait that depends on many factors; our data suggest that docility is 1 factor that warrants further investigation
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