382 research outputs found
Effects of Heat as a Taphonomic Agent on Kerf Dimensions
The information that can be derived from the rate of preservation of cremated human remains is highly valuable for forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists. Especially when taphonomic agents, such as fire, are intentionally introduced to obscure lesions on the skeleton. When sharp force trauma is present on bones, one of the main questions that arise is whether it is possible to tell what instrument was used for trauma infliction. This study used quantitative methods to examine kerfs on bones treated with heat as a taphonomic agent. The experiment used three sharp-bladed weapons to inflict trauma on porcine long bones: a single bladed non-serrated kitchen knife, a hacksaw, and a wood saw. The traumatised bones along with control bones were burnt in controlled laboratory conditions at temperatures ranging from 300°C to 1000°C. Quantitative analysis was undertaken on scanning electron microscopy images. Shrinkage of the kerf dimensions were recorded only at 1000°C; excepting marks from the wood saw, which instead showed an increase in maximum width. Individualisation of the saws was not possible using only the metric traits. However, the class of the weapons (knife versus saw) could always be identified. It has been concluded that burning may cause fluctuation in kerf width
MRI signal phase oscillates with neuronal activity in cerebral cortex: implications for neuronal current imaging
Neuronal activity produces transient ionic currents that may be detectable using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We examined the feasibility of MRI-based detection of neuronal currents using computer simulations based on the laminar cortex model (LCM). Instead of simulating the activity of single neurons, we decomposed neuronal activity to action potentials (AP) and postsynaptic potentials (PSP). The geometries of dendrites and axons were generated dynamically to account for diverse neuronal morphologies. Magnetic fields associated with APs and PSPs were calculated during spontaneous and stimulated cortical activity, from which the neuronal current induced MRI signal was determined. We found that the MRI signal magnitude change (< 0.1 ppm) is below currently detectable levels but that the signal phase change is likely to be detectable. Furthermore, neuronal MRI signals are sensitive to temporal and spatial variations in neuronal activity but independent of the intensity of neuronal activation. Synchronised neuronal activity produces large phase changes (in the order of 0.1 mrad). However, signal phase oscillates with neuronal activity. Consequently, MRI scans need to be synchronised with neuronal oscillations to maximise the likelihood of detecting signal phase changes due to neuronal currents. These findings inform the design of MRI experiments to detect neuronal currents
Fractional order magnetic resonance fingerprinting in the human cerebral cortex
Mathematical models are becoming increasingly important in magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), as they provide a mechanistic approach for making a link between
tissue microstructure and signals acquired using the medical imaging
instrument. The Bloch equations, which describes spin and relaxation in a
magnetic field, is a set of integer order differential equations with a
solution exhibiting mono-exponential behaviour in time. Parameters of the model
may be estimated using a non-linear solver, or by creating a dictionary of
model parameters from which MRI signals are simulated and then matched with
experiment. We have previously shown the potential efficacy of a magnetic
resonance fingerprinting (MRF) approach, i.e. dictionary matching based on the
classical Bloch equations, for parcellating the human cerebral cortex. However,
this classical model is unable to describe in full the mm-scale MRI signal
generated based on an heterogenous and complex tissue micro-environment. The
time-fractional order Bloch equations has been shown to provide, as a function
of time, a good fit of brain MRI signals. We replaced the integer order Bloch
equations with the previously reported time-fractional counterpart within the
MRF framework and performed experiments to parcellate human gray matter, which
is cortical brain tissue with different cyto-architecture at different spatial
locations. Our findings suggest that the time-fractional order parameters,
{\alpha} and {\beta}, potentially associate with the effect of interareal
architectonic variability, hypothetically leading to more accurate cortical
parcellation
Label-free detection of anticancer drug paclitaxel in living cells by confocal Raman microscopy
Confocal Raman microscopy, a non-invasive, label-free, and high spatial resolution imaging technique is employed to trace the anticancer drug paclitaxel in living Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells. The Raman images were treated by K-mean cluster analysis to detect the drug in cells. Distribution of paclitaxel in cells is verified by calculating the correlation coefficient between the reference spectrum of the drug and the whole Raman image spectra. A time dependent gradual diffusion of paclitaxel all over the cell is observed suggesting a complementary picture of the pharmaceutical action of this drug based on rapid binding of free tubulin to crystallized paclitaxel. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4794871
Holographic Aspects of Fermi Liquids in a Background Magnetic Field
We study the effects of an external magnetic field on the properties of the
quasiparticle spectrum of the class of 2+1 dimensional strongly coupled
theories holographically dual to charged AdS black holes at zero
temperature. We uncover several interesting features. At certain values of the
magnetic field, there are multiple quasiparticle peaks representing a novel
level structure of the associated Fermi surfaces. Furthermore, increasing
magnetic field deforms the dispersion characteristics of the quasiparticle
peaks from non-Landau toward Landau behaviour. At a certain value of the
magnetic field, just at the onset of Landau-like behaviour of the Fermi liquid,
the quasiparticles and Fermi surface disappear.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures. Revised some of the terminology: changed
non-separable solutions to infinite-sum solution
Deconstructing holographic liquids
We argue that there exist simple effective field theories describing the
long-distance dynamics of holographic liquids. The degrees of freedom
responsible for the transport of charge and energy-momentum are Goldstone
modes. These modes are coupled to a strongly coupled infrared sector through
emergent gauge and gravitational fields. The IR degrees of freedom are
described holographically by the near-horizon part of the metric, while the
Goldstone bosons are described by a field-theoretical Lagrangian. In the cases
where the holographic dual involves a black hole, this picture allows for a
direct connection between the holographic prescription where currents live on
the boundary, and the membrane paradigm where currents live on the horizon. The
zero-temperature sound mode in the D3-D7 system is also re-analyzed and
re-interpreted within this formalism.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure
Non-relativistic metrics from back-reacting fermions
It has recently been pointed out that under certain circumstances the
back-reaction of charged, massive Dirac fermions causes important modifications
to AdS_2 spacetimes arising as the near horizon geometry of extremal black
holes. In a WKB approximation, the modified geometry becomes a non-relativistic
Lifshitz spacetime. In three dimensions, it is known that integrating out
charged, massive fermions gives rise to gravitational and Maxwell Chern-Simons
terms. We show that Schrodinger (warped AdS_3) spacetimes exist as solutions to
a gravitational and Maxwell Chern-Simons theory with a cosmological constant.
Motivated by this, we look for warped AdS_3 or Schrodinger metrics as exact
solutions to a fully back-reacted theory containing Dirac fermions in three and
four dimensions. We work out the dynamical exponent in terms of the fermion
mass and generalize this result to arbitrary dimensions.Comment: 26 pages, v2: typos corrected, references added, minor change
Landau Levels, Magnetic Fields and Holographic Fermi Liquids
We further consider a probe fermion in a dyonic black hole background in
anti-de Sitter spacetime, at zero temperature, comparing and contrasting two
distinct classes of solution that have previously appeared in the literature.
Each class has members labeled by an integer n, corresponding to the n-th
Landau level for the fermion. Our interest is the study of the spectral
function of the fermion, interpreting poles in it as indicative of
quasiparticles associated with the edge of a Fermi surface in the
holographically dual strongly coupled theory in a background magnetic field H
at finite chemical potential. Using both analytical and numerical methods, we
explicitly show how one class of solutions naturally leads to an infinite
family of quasiparticle peaks, signaling the presence of a Fermi surface for
each level n. We present some of the properties of these peaks, which fall into
a well behaved pattern at large n, extracting the scaling of Fermi energy with
n and H, as well as the dispersion of the quasiparticles.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures. Changed some of the terminology: non-separable
-> infinite-sum. Clarified the relationship between our ansatz and the
separable ansat
A conical deficit in the AdS4/CFT3 correspondence
Inspired by the AdS/CFT correspondence we propose a new duality that allow
the study of strongly coupled field theories living in a 2+1 conical
space-time. Solving the 4-d Einstein equations in the presence of an infinite
static string and negative cosmological constant we obtain a conical AdS4
space-time whose boundary is identified with the 2+1 cone found by Deser,
Jackiw and 't Hooft. Using the AdS4/CFT3 correspondence we calculate retarded
Green's functions of scalar operators living in the cone.Comment: v3, 14 pages. We reinterpret our results for the Green's functions in
the con
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