4,575 research outputs found
Domain structure of epitaxial Co films with perpendicular anisotropy
Epitaxial hcp Cobalt films with pronounced c-axis texture have been prepared
by pulsed lased deposition (PLD) either directly onto Al2O3 (0001) single
crystal substrates or with an intermediate Ruthenium buffer layer. The crystal
structure and epitaxial growth relation was studied by XRD, pole figure
measurements and reciprocal space mapping. Detailed VSM analysis shows that the
perpendicular anisotropy of these highly textured Co films reaches the
magnetocrystalline anisotropy of hcp-Co single crystal material. Films were
prepared with thickness t of 20 nm < t < 100 nm to study the crossover from
in-plane magnetization to out-of-plane magnetization in detail. The analysis of
the periodic domain pattern observed by magnetic force microscopy allows to
determine the critical minimum thickness below which the domains adopt a pure
in-plane orientation. Above the critical thickness the width of the stripe
domains is evaluated as a function of the film thickness and compared with
domain theory. Especially the discrepancies at smallest film thicknesses show
that the system is in an intermediate state between in-plane and out-of-plane
domains, which is not described by existing analytical domain models
Uni-directional polymerization leading to homochirality in the RNA world
The differences between uni-directional and bi-directional polymerization are
considered. The uni-directional case is discussed in the framework of the RNA
world. Similar to earlier models of this type, where polymerization was assumed
to proceed in a bi-directional fashion (presumed to be relevant to peptide
nucleic acids), left-handed and right-handed monomers are produced via an
autocatalysis from an achiral substrate. The details of the bifurcation from a
racemic solution to a homochiral state of either handedness is shown to be
remarkably independent of whether the polymerization in uni-directional or
bi-directional. Slightly larger differences are seen when dissociation is
allowed and the dissociation fragments are being recycled into the achiral
substrate.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Astrobiolog
Abraham C. Brandenburg to James H. Meredith (2 October 1962)
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mercorr_pro/1542/thumbnail.jp
Magnetic instability in a sheared azimuthal flow
We study the magneto-rotational instability of an incompressible flow which
rotates with angular velocity Omega(r)=a+b/r^2 where r is the radius and
and b are constants. We find that an applied magnetic field destabilises the
flow, in agreement with the results of Rudiger & Zhang 2001. We extend the
investigation in the region of parameter space which is Rayleigh stable. We
also study the instability at values of magnetic Prandtl number which are much
larger and smaller than Rudiger & Zhang. Large magnetic Prandtl numbers are
motivated by their possible relevance in the central region of galaxies
(Kulsrud & Anderson 1992). In this regime we find that increasing the magnetic
Prandtl number greatly enhances the instability; the stability boundary drops
below the Rayleigh line and tends toward the solid body rotation line. Very
small magnetic Prandtl numbers are motivated by the current MHD dynamo
experiments performed using liquid sodium and gallium. Our finding in this
regime confirms Rudiger & Zhang's conjecture that the linear magneto-rotational
instability and the nonlinear hydrodynamical instability (Richard & Zahn 1999)
take place at Reynolds numbers of the same order of magnitude.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Dissociation in a polymerization model of homochirality
A fully self-contained model of homochirality is presented that contains the
effects of both polymerization and dissociation. The dissociation fragments are
assumed to replenish the substrate from which new monomers can grow and undergo
new polymerization. The mean length of isotactic polymers is found to grow
slowly with the normalized total number of corresponding building blocks.
Alternatively, if one assumes that the dissociation fragments themselves can
polymerize further, then this corresponds to a strong source of short polymers,
and an unrealistically short average length of only 3. By contrast, without
dissociation, isotactic polymers becomes infinitely long.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Orig. Life Evol. Biosp
Apparent suppression of turbulent magnetic dynamo action by a dc magnetic field
Numerical studies of the effect of a dc magnetic field on dynamo action
(development of magnetic fields with large spatial scales), due to
helically-driven magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, are reported. The apparent
effect of the dc magnetic field is to suppress the dynamo action, above a
relatively low threshold. However, the possibility that the suppression results
from an improper combination of rectangular triply spatially-periodic boundary
conditions and a uniform dc magnetic field is addressed: heretofore a common
and convenient computational convention in turbulence investigations. Physical
reasons for the observed suppression are suggested. Other geometries and
boundary conditions are offered for which the dynamo action is expected not to
be suppressed by the presence of a dc magnetic field component.Comment: To appear in Physics of Plasma
OddzOn Products and Derivation of Invention: At Odds with the Purpose of Section 102(f) of the Patent Act of 1952?
Abstract Background Antimicrobial peptides are important components of the host defence with a broad range of functions including direct antimicrobial activity and modulation of inflammation. Lack of cathelin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) was associated with higher mortality and bacterial burden and impaired neutrophil granulocyte infiltration in a model of pneumococcal meningitis. The present study was designed to characterize the effects of CRAMP deficiency on glial response and phagocytosis after exposure to bacterial stimuli. Methods CRAMP-knock out and wildtype glial cells were exposed to bacterial supernatants from Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides or the bacterial cell wall components lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan. Cell viability, expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators and activation of signal transduction pathways, phagocytosis rate and glial cell phenotype were investigated by means of cell viability assays, immunohistochemistry, real-time RT-PCR and Western blot. Results CRAMP-deficiency was associated with stronger expression of pro-inflammatory and weakened expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines indicating a higher degree of glial cell activation even under resting-state conditions. Furthermore, increased translocation of nuclear factor ‘kappa-light-chain-enhancer’ of activated B-cells was observed and phagocytosis of S. pneumoniae was reduced in CRAMP-deficient microglia indicating impaired antimicrobial activity. Conclusions In conclusion, the present study detected severe alterations of the glial immune response due to lack of CRAMP. The results indicate the importance of CRAMP to maintain and regulate the delicate balance between beneficial and harmful immune response in the brain
The interaction of a giant planet with a disc with MHD turbulence I: The initial turbulent disc models
This is the first of a series of papers aimed at developing and interpreting
simulations of protoplanets interacting with turbulent accretion discs. Here we
study the disc models prior to the introduction of a protoplanet.We study
models in which a Keplerian domain is unstable to the magnetorotational
instability (MRI). Various models with B-fields having zero net flux are
considered.We relate the properties of the models to classical viscous disc
theory.All models attain a turbulent state with volume averaged stress
parameter alpha ~ 0.005. At any particular time the vertically and azimuthally
averaged value exhibited large fluctuations in radius. Time averaging over
periods exceeding 3 orbital periods at the outer boundary of the disc resulted
in a smoother quantity with radial variations within a factor of two or so. The
vertically and azimuthally averaged radial velocity showed much larger spatial
and temporal fluctuations, requiring additional time averaging for 7-8 orbital
periods at the outer boundary to limit them. Comparison with the value derived
from the averaged stress using viscous disc theory yielded schematic agreement
for feasible averaging times but with some indication that the effects of
residual fluctuations remained. The behaviour described above must be borne in
mind when considering laminar disc simulations with anomalous Navier--Stokes
viscosity. This is because the operation of a viscosity as in classical viscous
disc theory with anomalous viscosity coefficient cannot apply to a turbulent
disc undergoing rapid changes due to external perturbation. The classical
theory can only be used to describe the time averaged behaviour of the parts of
the disc that are in a statistically steady condition for long enough for
appropriate averaging to be carried out.Comment: 10 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. A gzipped
postscript version including high resolution figures is available at
http://www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~rp
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