493 research outputs found
Extremism propagation in social networks with hubs
One aspect of opinion change that has been of academic interest is the impact of people with extreme opinions (extremists) on opinion dynamics. An agent-based model has been used to study the role of small-world social network topologies on general opinion change in the presence of extremists. It has been found that opinion convergence to a single extreme occurs only when the average number of network connections for each individual is extremely high. Here, we extend the model to examine the effect of positively skewed degree distributions, in addition to small-world structures, on the types of opinion convergence that occur in the presence of extremists. We also examine what happens when extremist opinions are located on the well-connected nodes (hubs) created by the positively skewed distribution. We find that a positively skewed network topology encourages opinion convergence on a single extreme under a wider range of conditions than topologies whose degree distributions were not skewed. The importance of social position for social influence is highlighted by the result that, when positive extremists are placed on hubs, all population convergence is to the positive extreme even when there are twice as many negative extremists. Thus, our results have shown the importance of considering a positively skewed degree distribution, and in particular network hubs and social position, when examining extremist transmission
-BaBO deep UV monolithic walk-off compensating tandem
The generation of watt-level cw narrow-linewidth sources at specific deep UV
wavelengths corresponding to atomic cooling transitions usually employs
external cavity-enhanced second-harmonic generation (SHG) of moderate-power
visible lasers in birefringent materials. In this work, we investigate a novel
approach to cw deep-UV generation by employing the low-loss BBO in a monolithic
walkoff-compensating structure [Zondy {\it{et al}}, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B
{\bf{20}} (2003) 1675] to simultaneously enhance the effective nonlinear
coefficient while minimizing the UV beam ellipticity under tight focusing. As a
preliminary step to cavity-enhanced operation, and in order to apprehend the
design difficulties stemming from the extremely low acceptance angle of BBO, we
investigate and analyze the single-pass performance of a mm monolithic
walk-off compensating structure made of 2 optically-contacted BBO plates cut
for type-I critically phase-matched SHG of a cw nm dye laser. As
compared with a bulk crystal of identical length, a sharp UV efficiency
enhancement factor of 1.65 has been evidenced with the tandem structure, but at
nm from the targeted fundamental wavelength, highlighting the
sensitivity of this technique when applied to a highly birefringent material
such as BBO. Solutions to angle cut residual errors are identified so as to
match accurately more complex periodic-tandem structure performance to any
target UV wavelength, opening the prospect for high-power, good beam quality
deep UV cw laser sources for atom cooling and trapping.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Opt. Commu
INSIG1 influences obesity-related hypertriglyceridemia in humans
In our analysis of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for plasma triglyceride (TG) levels [logarithm of odds (LOD) = 3.7] on human chromosome 7q36, we examined 29 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across INSIG1, a biological candidate gene in the region. Insulin-induced genes (INSIGs) are feedback mediators of cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis in animals, but their role in human lipid regulation is unclear. In our cohort, the INSIG1 promoter SNP rs2721 was associated with TG levels (P = 2 × 10−3 in 1,560 individuals of the original linkage cohort, P = 8 × 10−4 in 920 unrelated individuals of the replication cohort, combined P = 9.9 × 10−6). Individuals homozygous for the T allele had 9% higher TG levels and 2-fold lower expression of INSIG1 in surgical liver biopsy samples when compared with individuals homozygous for the G allele. Also, the T allele showed additional binding of nuclear proteins from HepG2 liver cells in gel shift assays. Finally, the variant rs7566605 in INSIG2, the only homolog of INSIG1, enhances the effect of rs2721 (P = 0.00117). The variant rs2721 alone explains 5.4% of the observed linkage in our cohort, suggesting that additional, yet-undiscovered genes and sequence variants in the QTL interval also contribute to alterations in TG levels in humans
Quasi-particle model for lattice QCD: quark-gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions
We propose a quasi-particle model to describe the lattice QCD equation of
state for pure SU(3) gauge theory in its deconfined state, for .
The method involves mapping the interaction part of the equation of state to an
effective fugacity of otherwise non-interacting quasi-gluons. We find that this
mapping is exact. Using the quasi-gluon distribution function, we determine the
energy density and the modified dispersion relation for the single particle
energy, in which the trace anomaly is manifest. As an application, we first
determine the Debye mass, and then the important transport parameters, {\it
viz}, the shear viscosity, and the shear viscosity to entropy density
ratio, . We find that both and
are sensitive to the interactions, and that the interactions significantly
lower both and .Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, epj class file, version accepted for publication
in Euro. Phys.J
Bacterial rotary export ATPases are allosterically regulated by the nucleotide second messenger cyclic-di-GMP
The widespread second messenger molecule cyclic di-GMP (cdG) regulates the transition from motile and virulent lifestyles to sessile, biofilm-forming ones in a wide range of bacteria. Many pathogenic and commensal bacterial-host interactions are known to be controlled by cdG signaling. Although the biochemistry of cyclic dinucleotide metabolism is well understood, much remains to be discovered about the downstream signaling pathways that induce bacterial responses upon cdG binding. As part of our ongoing research into the role of cdG signaling in plant-associated Pseudomonas species, we carried out an affinity capture screen for cdG binding proteins in the model organism Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25. The flagella export AAA+ ATPase FliI was identified as a result of this screen and subsequently shown to bind specifically to the cdG molecule, with a KD in the low micromolar range. The interaction between FliI and cdG appears to be very widespread. In addition to FliI homologs from diverse bacterial species, high affinity binding was also observed for the type III secretion system homolog HrcN and the type VI ATPase ClpB2. The addition of cdG was shown to inhibit FliI and HrcN ATPase activity in vitro. Finally, a combination of site-specific mutagenesis, mass spectrometry, and in silico analysis was used to predict that cdG binds to FliI in a pocket of highly conserved residues at the interface between two FliI subunits. Our results suggest a novel, fundamental role for cdG in controlling the function of multiple important bacterial export pathways, through direct allosteric control of export ATPase proteins
The QCD Phase Structure at High Baryon Density
We consider the possibility that color deconfinement and chiral symmetry
restoration do not coincide in dense baryonic matter at low temperature. As a
consequence, a state of massive "constituent" quarks would exist as an
intermediate phase between confined nuclear matter and the plasma of deconfined
massless quarks and gluons. We discuss the properties of this state and its
relation to the recently proposed quarkyonic matter.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
Three-variable Mahler measures and special values of modular and Dirichlet -series
In this paper we prove that the Mahler measures of the Laurent polynomials
, ,
and , for various values of , are of the form , where , is a CM newform of
weight 3, and is a quadratic character. Since it has been proved that
these Maher measures can also be expressed in terms of logarithms and
-hypergeometric series, we obtain several new hypergeometric evaluations
and transformations from these results
A system of ODEs for a Perturbation of a Minimal Mass Soliton
We study soliton solutions to a nonlinear Schrodinger equation with a
saturated nonlinearity. Such nonlinearities are known to possess minimal mass
soliton solutions. We consider a small perturbation of a minimal mass soliton,
and identify a system of ODEs similar to those from Comech and Pelinovsky
(2003), which model the behavior of the perturbation for short times. We then
provide numerical evidence that under this system of ODEs there are two
possible dynamical outcomes, which is in accord with the conclusions of
Pelinovsky, Afanasjev, and Kivshar (1996). For initial data which supports a
soliton structure, a generic initial perturbation oscillates around the stable
family of solitons. For initial data which is expected to disperse, the finite
dimensional dynamics follow the unstable portion of the soliton curve.Comment: Minor edit
Symmetries of a class of nonlinear fourth order partial differential equations
In this paper we study symmetry reductions of a class of nonlinear fourth
order partial differential equations \be u_{tt} = \left(\kappa u + \gamma
u^2\right)_{xx} + u u_{xxxx} +\mu u_{xxtt}+\alpha u_x u_{xxx} + \beta u_{xx}^2,
\ee where , , , and are constants. This
equation may be thought of as a fourth order analogue of a generalization of
the Camassa-Holm equation, about which there has been considerable recent
interest. Further equation (1) is a ``Boussinesq-type'' equation which arises
as a model of vibrations of an anharmonic mass-spring chain and admits both
``compacton'' and conventional solitons. A catalogue of symmetry reductions for
equation (1) is obtained using the classical Lie method and the nonclassical
method due to Bluman and Cole. In particular we obtain several reductions using
the nonclassical method which are no} obtainable through the classical method
Optimization of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement parameters for PEM fuel cell spectrum determination
Currently, electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a widely used tool for the study of electrochemical systems, in general; and fuel cells, in particular. A great effort is typically invested in the analysis of the obtained spectra; whereas, little time is usually spent optimizing the measurement parameters used to obtain these spectra. In general, the default settings provided by the control software used to perform the measurements, or the parameters used in similar systems available in literature, are selected to carry out the measurements. The goal of this work is to determine the optimal measurement parameters for obtaining impedance spectra of a commercial PEM fuel cell. In order to achieve this, a 2^5 factorial design was considered. Five factors were considered, the five impedance spectroscopy measurement parameters: maximum integration time; minimum number of integration cycles; number of stabilization cycles; maximum stabilization time; and minimum cycle fraction. For each factor combination envisaged in the experimental design, the cell spectrum was obtained in given operation conditions, for which the reference spectrum of the system was known, since it had been determined in previous works. The experimentally obtained spectra were fitted to the reference electric equivalent
circuit. The mean square error between the experimental data fitting and the reference spectrum fitting was determined in each case, and was used as the dependant variable for the experimental design analysis. An analysis of the variance was performed in order to determine which measurement parameters have a significant effect on the dependant variable; and a model relating the dependant variable and the measurement parameters was built. This model was used in order to obtain the optimal value of each one of the measurement parameters that minimized the mean square error of the fit
obtained from the experimental data with respect to the reference fit.The authors are very grateful to the Generalitat Valenciana for its economic support in form of Vali+d grant (Ref: ACIF-2013-268).Giner Sanz, JJ.; Ortega Navarro, EM.; Pérez-Herranz, V. (2015). Optimization of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement parameters for PEM fuel cell spectrum determination. Electrochimica Acta. 174:1290-1298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2015.06.106S1290129817
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