603 research outputs found
Regularity of solutions to higher-order integrals of the calculus of variations
We obtain new regularity conditions for problems of calculus of variations
with higher-order derivatives. As a corollary, we get non-occurrence of the
Lavrentiev phenomenon. Our main regularity result asserts that autonomous
integral functionals with a Lagrangian having coercive partial derivatives with
respect to the higher-order derivatives admit only minimizers with essentially
bounded derivatives
The Second Euler-Lagrange Equation of Variational Calculus on Time Scales
The fundamental problem of the calculus of variations on time scales concerns
the minimization of a delta-integral over all trajectories satisfying given
boundary conditions. In this paper we prove the second Euler-Lagrange necessary
optimality condition for optimal trajectories of variational problems on time
scales. As an example of application of the main result, we give an alternative
and simpler proof to the Noether theorem on time scales recently obtained in
[J. Math. Anal. Appl. 342 (2008), no. 2, 1220-1226].Comment: This work was partially presented at the Workshop in Control,
Nonsmooth Analysis and Optimization, celebrating Francis Clarke's and Richard
Vinter's 60th birthday, Porto, May 4-8, 2009. Submitted 26-May-2009; Revised
12-Jan-2010; Accepted 29-March-2010 in revised form; for publication in the
European Journal of Contro
An Engineered Escherichia coli Community for Studying Quorum Sensing
In bacterial communities, quorum sensing (QS) is a process mediated via chemical signalling that individuals use to coordinate their collective phenotypes. It is closely associated with pathogenic traits such as virulence factor production and antibiotic resistance. In their natural habitats, bacteria live in small niches, forming intricate consortia, where the role of QS is little understood. This work aims to construct a tuneable, trackable, and reconfigurable model bacterial community for studying QS. To this end, three Escherichia coli fluorescent reporter strains were constructed based on the paradigm LuxI/LuxR QS system. The strains recreate the three major aspects of QS response: sensing (S), autoinducer production (P), and regulation (R). We found that the response of the S strain as a function of the N-(3-oxohexanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (OHHL) concentration did not saturate and exhibited a concentration-dependent response (in the range 10−7 to 10−4 M). The P strain produced OHHL and showed the ability to activate the S response, while the R strain showed the ability to attenuate the response due to the expression of the lactonase AiiA. Monitoring the fluorescent signals of the strains permits tracking the activation and attenuation activities of the LuxI/LuxR QS system. Future studies can now also benefit from this straightforward subcloning strategy to study other QS systems
Nematode Symbiont for Photorhabdus asymbiotica
Photorhabdus asymbiotica is an emerging bacterial pathogen that causes locally invasive soft tissue and disseminated bacteremic infections in the United States and Australia. Although the source of infection was previously unknown, we report that the bacterium is found in a symbiotic association with an insect-pathogenic soil nematode of the genus Heterorhabditis
B(E1) Strengths from Coulomb Excitation of 11Be
The (E1;) strength for Be has been extracted from
intermediate energy Coulomb excitation measurements, over a range of beam
energies using a new reaction model, the extended continuum discretized coupled
channels (XCDCC) method. In addition, a measurement of the excitation cross
section for Be+Pb at 38.6 MeV/nucleon is reported. The (E1)
strength of 0.105(12) efm derived from this measurement is consistent
with those made previously at 60 and 64 MeV/nucleon, i n contrast to an
anomalously low result obtained at 43 MeV/nucleon. By coupling a
multi-configuration description of the projectile structure with realistic
reaction theory, the XCDCC model provides for the first time a fully quantum
mechanical description of Coulomb excitation. The XCDCC calculations reveal
that the excitation process involves significant contributions from nuclear,
continuum, and higher-order effects. An analysis of the present and two earlier
intermediate energy measurements yields a combined B(E1) strength of 0.105(7)
efm. This value is in good agreement with the value deduced
independently from the lifetime of the state in Be, and has a
comparable p recision.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.
Single-Proton Removal Reaction Study of 16B
The low-lying level structure of the unbound system B has been
investigated via single-proton removal from a 35 MeV/nucleon C beam. The
coincident detection of the beam velocity B fragment and neutron allowed
the relative energy of the in-flight decay of B to be reconstructed. The
resulting spectrum exhibited a narrow peak some 85 keV above threshold. It is
argued that this feature corresponds to a very narrow (100 keV)
resonance, or an unresolved multiplet, with a dominant + configuration which decays by d-wave neutron
emission.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, submitted to Phys. Lett.
Helium Clustering in Neutron-Rich Be Isotopes
Measurements of the helium-cluster breakup and neutron removal cross sections
for neutron-rich Be isotopes A=10-12,14 are presented. These have been studied
in the 30 to 42 MeV/u energy range where reaction measurements are proposed to
be sensitive to the cluster content of the ground-state wave-function. These
measurements provide a comprehensive survey of the decay processes of the Be
isotopes by which the valence neutrons are removed revealing the underlying
alpha-alpha core-cluster structure. The measurements indicate that clustering
in the Be isotopes remains important up to the drip-line nucleus 14^Be and that
the dominant helium-cluster structure in the neutron-rich Be isotopes
corresponds to alpha-Xn-alpha.Comment: 5 pages, 2 tables and 3 figure
One-neutron removal reactions on neutron-rich psd-shell nuclei
A systematic study of high energy, one-neutron removal reactions on 23
neutron-rich, psd--shell nuclei (Z=5-9, A=12-25) has been carried out. The
longitudinal momentum distributions of the core fragments and corresponding
single-neutron removal cross sections are reported for reactions on a carbon
target. Extended Glauber model calculations, weighted by the spectroscopic
factors obtained from shell model calculations, are compared to the
experimental results. Conclusions are drawn regarding the use of such reactions
as a spectroscopic tool and spin-parity assignments are proposed for 15B, 17C,
19-21N, 21,23O, 23-25F. The nature of the weakly bound systems 14B and 15,17C
is discussed.Comment: 11 pages + 2 figure
Modeling magnetospheric fields in the Jupiter system
The various processes which generate magnetic fields within the Jupiter
system are exemplary for a large class of similar processes occurring at other
planets in the solar system, but also around extrasolar planets. Jupiter's
large internal dynamo magnetic field generates a gigantic magnetosphere, which
is strongly rotational driven and possesses large plasma sources located deeply
within the magnetosphere. The combination of the latter two effects is the
primary reason for Jupiter's main auroral ovals. Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the
only known moon with an intrinsic dynamo magnetic field, which generates a
mini-magnetosphere located within Jupiter's larger magnetosphere including two
auroral ovals. Ganymede's magnetosphere is qualitatively different compared to
the one from Jupiter. It possesses no bow shock but develops Alfv\'en wings
similar to most of the extrasolar planets which orbit their host stars within
0.1 AU. New numerical models of Jupiter's and Ganymede's magnetospheres
presented here provide quantitative insight into the processes that maintain
these magnetospheres. Jupiter's magnetospheric field is approximately
time-periodic at the locations of Jupiter's moons and induces secondary
magnetic fields in electrically conductive layers such as subsurface oceans. In
the case of Ganymede, these secondary magnetic fields influence the oscillation
of the location of its auroral ovals. Based on dedicated Hubble Space Telescope
observations, an analysis of the amplitudes of the auroral oscillations
provides evidence that Ganymede harbors a subsurface ocean. Callisto in
contrast does not possess a mini-magnetosphere, but still shows a perturbed
magnetic field environment. Callisto's ionosphere and atmospheric UV emission
is different compared to the other Galilean satellites as it is primarily been
generated by solar photons compared to magnetospheric electrons.Comment: Chapter for Book: Planetary Magnetis
Epilepsy-related and other causes of mortality in people with epilepsy: a systematic review of systematic reviews
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