Long Range Hops and the Pair Annihilation Reaction A+A->0: Renormalization Group and Simulation

A simple example of a non-equilibrium system for which fluctuations are important is a system of particles which diffuse and may annihilate in pairs on contact. The renormalization group can be used to calculate the time dependence of the density of particles, and provides both an exact value for the exponent governing the decay of particles and an epsilon-expansion for the amplitude of this power law. When the diffusion is anomalous, as when the particles perform Levy flights, the critical dimension depends continuously on the control parameter for the Levy distribution. The epsilon-expansion can then become an expansion in a small parameter. We present a renormalization group calculation and compare these results with those of a simulation.Comment: As-published version; two significant errors fixed, two references adde

In vitro micropropagation and ex vitro acclimation of Bupleurum kaoi - An endangered medicinal plant native to Taiwan

This study reports an improved protocol for in vitro-shoot multiplication and ex vitro acclimation of Bupleurum kaoi, an endangered medicinal herb. Nodal segments were cultured in half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with different concentrations of benzyladenine (BA) and kinetin. The presence of 0.25 mg l(-1) BA induced the highest number of shoots per explant after 8 wk of culture. Although BA was more effective than kinetin on shoot multiplication, it induced hyperhydric shoots at all concentrations tested. The use of dispense paper (DP) instead of aluminum foil (AF) for container closure was found to reduce hyperhydricity and improve ex vitro acclimation. The best survival rate (61%) was obtained when plantlets were grown in MS basal medium containing 0.5 mg l(-1) indole-3-butyric acid and 0.1-0.2 mg l(-1) alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid using DP as container closure. Leaves of the plant treated with AF6 (two layers of AF as container closure and 6 wk of incubation) lacked epicuticular wax and possessed larger stomata, higher stomata density, and fewer functional stomata compared to those of plants treated with AF2+DP4 (two layers of AF for 2 wk, then replaced AF by three layers of DP for 4 wk) and ex vitro-acclimated plantlets

A batch-service queueing model with a discrete batch Markovian arrival process

Queueing systems with batch service have been investigated extensively during the past decades. However, nearly all the studied models share the common feature that an uncorrelated arrival process is considered, which is unrealistic in several real-life situations. In this paper, we study a discrete-time queueing model, with a server that only initiates service when the amount of customers in system (system content) reaches or exceeds a threshold. Correlation is taken into account by assuming a discrete batch Markovian arrival process (D-BMAP), i.e. the distribution of the number of customer arrivals per slot depends on a background state which is determined by a first-order Markov chain. We deduce the probability generating function of the system content at random slot marks and we examine the influence of correlation in the arrival process on the behavior of the system. We show that correlation merely has a small impact on the threshold that minimizes the mean system content. In addition, we demonstrate that correlation might have a significant influence on the system content and therefore has to be included in the model

Vascular Remodeling in Health and Disease

The term vascular remodeling is commonly used to define the structural changes in blood vessel geometry that occur in response to long-term physiologic alterations in blood flow or in response to vessel wall injury brought about by trauma or underlying cardiovascular diseases.1, 2, 3, 4 The process of remodeling, which begins as an adaptive response to long-term hemodynamic alterations such as elevated shear stress or increased intravascular pressure, may eventually become maladaptive, leading to impaired vascular function. The vascular endothelium, owing to its location lining the lumen of blood vessels, plays a pivotal role in regulation of all aspects of vascular function and homeostasis.5 Thus, not surprisingly, endothelial dysfunction has been recognized as the harbinger of all major cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.6, 7, 8 The endothelium elaborates a variety of substances that influence vascular tone and protect the vessel wall against inflammatory cell adhesion, thrombus formation, and vascular cell proliferation.8, 9, 10 Among the primary biologic mediators emanating from the endothelium is nitric oxide (NO) and the arachidonic acid metabolite prostacyclin [prostaglandin I2 (PGI2)], which exert powerful vasodilatory, antiadhesive, and antiproliferative effects in the vessel wall

(10(3):1-5)COEFFICIENTS OF RELATIONSHIP OF IMPROVED RICE VARIETIES IN TAIWAN

1. 將臺灣育成之水稻品種，共96種，以酒井氏方法計算其與臺中65號．及秈型稻之親緣係數，同時計算現有主要栽培品種，11種，相互間之親緣係數。 2. 96品種內有79品種與臺中65號有血緣關係，其中72品種之親緣係數分佈於 25~55%之間。與秈型稻有血緣關係者有65個品種，其中有55個品種之親緣係數分佈於5~25%之間。 3. 11個主要栽培品種相互間之親緣係數，均與各品種與臺中65號之親緣係數成正比。臺北306號與各品種極少有血緣關係。 1. Coefficients of relationship between each of 96 varieties and Taichung No. 65, as well as the indica varieties were computed by Sakai’s method. Besides, the coe-fficients of reciprocal relationship of ten leading cultivated varieties were also calculated. 2. Seventy nine varieties were found to have the relationship with Taichung No. 65 in 96 varieties studied, and most of their coefficients distributed from 25 to 55 percent. Meanwhile, 65 varieties have the relationship with indica type varieties and their coefficients were found frequently between 5 to 25 percent. 3. Coefficients of reciprocal relationship of ten leading cultivated varieties were observed to positively correlate with those coefficients between the each of ten and Taichung No. 65. Taipei No. 306 is the only one variety which has less relationship with another varieties including Taichung No. 65

Tunable high transition temperature superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer with gate-voltage-controlled bicrystal junctions

A gate-voltage-controlled high transition temperature direct current superconducting quantum interference device (high-T(c) dc SQUID) magnetometer was fabricated to study how the electric field effect affects the device's voltage-flux and voltage-current characteristics. The magnetometer consists of a monolithic YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) superconducting film and bicrystal junctions covered by a polymethylmethacrylate film as the gate insulator. It was found that the magnetic flux modulated voltage swing of the SQUID magnetometer varies by 48% when the gate voltage is changed from -1.9 to 9.5 V. The variation in voltage swing is attributed to the change of effective capacitance in grain-boundary junctions