806 research outputs found
Decay of metastable phases in a model for the catalytic oxidation of CO
We study by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations the dynamic behavior of a
Ziff-Gulari-Barshad model with CO desorption for the reaction CO + O
CO on a catalytic surface. Finite-size scaling analysis of the fluctuations
and the fourth-order order-parameter cumulant show that below a critical CO
desorption rate, the model exhibits a nonequilibrium first-order phase
transition between low and high CO coverage phases. We calculate several points
on the coexistence curve. We also measure the metastable lifetimes associated
with the transition from the low CO coverage phase to the high CO coverage
phase, and {\it vice versa}. Our results indicate that the transition process
follows a mechanism very similar to the decay of metastable phases associated
with {\it equilibrium} first-order phase transitions and can be described by
the classic Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami theory of phase transformation by
nucleation and growth. In the present case, the desorption parameter plays the
role of temperature, and the distance to the coexistence curve plays the role
of an external field or supersaturation. We identify two distinct regimes,
depending on whether the system is far from or close to the coexistence curve,
in which the statistical properties and the system-size dependence of the
lifetimes are different, corresponding to multidroplet or single-droplet decay,
respectively. The crossover between the two regimes approaches the coexistence
curve logarithmically with system size, analogous to the behavior of the
crossover between multidroplet and single-droplet metastable decay near an
equilibrium first-order phase transition.Comment: 27 pages, 22 figures, accepted by Physical Review
Spontaneous Polarisation Build up in a Room Temperature Polariton Laser
We observe the build up of strong (~50%) spontaneous vector polarisation in
emission from a GaN-based polariton laser excited by short optical pulses at
room temperature. The Stokes vector of emitted light changes its orientation
randomly from one excitation pulse to another, so that the time-integrated
polarisation remains zero. This behaviour is completely different to any
previous laser. We interpret this observation in terms of the spontaneous
symmetry breaking in a Bose-Einstein condensate of exciton-polaritons
The Static and Dynamic Lattice Changes Induced by Hydrogen Adsorption on NiAl(110)
Static and dynamic changes induced by adsorption of atomic hydrogen on the
NiAl(110) lattice at 130 K have been examined as a function of adsorbate
coverage. Adsorbed hydrogen exists in three distinct phases. At low coverages
the hydrogen is itinerant because of quantum tunneling between sites and
exhibits no observable vibrational modes. Between 0.4 ML and 0.6 ML, substrate
mediated interactions produce an ordered superstructure with c(2x2) symmetry,
and at higher coverages, hydrogen exists as a disordered lattice gas. This
picture of how hydrogen interacts with NiAl(110) is developed from our data and
compared to current theoretical predictions.Comment: 36 pages, including 12 figures, 2 tables and 58 reference
Beam-Normal Single Spin Asymmetry in Elastic Electron Scattering off Si and Zr
We report on a new measurement of the beam-normal single spin asymmetry
in the elastic scattering of 570 MeV transversely polarized
electrons off Si and Zr at . The
studied kinematics allow for a comprehensive comparison with former results on
C. No significant mass dependence of the beam-normal single spin
asymmetry is observed in the mass regime from C to Zr.Comment: Submitted for publication to Physics Letters
Influence of Altitude on the indirect Analysis of α-amylase Content on Wheat Flours
The objective of this study was to verify the influence of altitude on the indirect analysis of α-amylase content on wheat flours. The experimental designused was completely randomized, with eight treatments and three repetitions. The treatments consisted of the analysis of the falling number from flours of four wheat classes (basic, domestic, bread and improver) on the elevations zero, 412, 540, 761, 934, 975, 1,040 and 1,095 meters. After the trial results, under the correction of the averages above 600 meters of elevation, it was verified that there was a significant difference between the results of distinct altitudes, for the four wheat classes. When a polynomial regression is applied, for the values without correction, it was obtained that aquadratic regression equation correlates the falling number values with altitude; however, the coefficient of determination was very low, highlighting the major influence of the different equipments that were used to measure the falling number instead of the different altitudes
Sculpting oscillators with light within a nonlinear quantum fluid
Seeing macroscopic quantum states directly remains an elusive goal. Particles
with boson symmetry can condense into such quantum fluids producing rich
physical phenomena as well as proven potential for interferometric devices
[1-10]. However direct imaging of such quantum states is only fleetingly
possible in high-vacuum ultracold atomic condensates, and not in
superconductors. Recent condensation of solid state polariton quasiparticles,
built from mixing semiconductor excitons with microcavity photons, offers
monolithic devices capable of supporting room temperature quantum states
[11-14] that exhibit superfluid behaviour [15,16]. Here we use microcavities on
a semiconductor chip supporting two-dimensional polariton condensates to
directly visualise the formation of a spontaneously oscillating quantum fluid.
This system is created on the fly by injecting polaritons at two or more
spatially-separated pump spots. Although oscillating at tuneable THz-scale
frequencies, a simple optical microscope can be used to directly image their
stable archetypal quantum oscillator wavefunctions in real space. The
self-repulsion of polaritons provides a solid state quasiparticle that is so
nonlinear as to modify its own potential. Interference in time and space
reveals the condensate wavepackets arise from non-equilibrium solitons. Control
of such polariton condensate wavepackets demonstrates great potential for
integrated semiconductor-based condensate devices.Comment: accepted in Nature Physic
Quantum-mechanical calculation of H on Ni(001) using a model potential based on first-principles calculations
Mapping Health Literacy Research in the European Union: A Bibliometric Analysis
Background: To examine and compare the research productivity on selected fields related to health literacy of the curren
Adsorption energies and ordered structures of hydrogen on Pd(111) from density functional periodic calculations
miR-155 in the progression of lung fibrosis in systemic sclerosis
Background: MicroRNA (miRNA) control key elements of mRNA stability and likely contribute to the dysregulated lung gene expression observed in systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). We analyzed the miRNA gene expression of tissue and cells from patients with SSc-ILD. A chronic lung fibrotic murine model was used. Methods: RNA was isolated from lung tissue of 12 patients with SSc-ILD and 5 controls. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was performed at baseline and 2-3 years after treatment. Lung fibroblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from healthy controls and patients with SSc-ILD. miRNA and mRNA were analyzed by microarray, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and/or Nanostring; pathway analysis was performed by DNA Intelligent Analysis (DIANA)-miRPath v2.0 software. Wild-type and miR-155 deficient (miR-155ko) mice were exposed to bleomycin. Results: Lung miRNA microarray data distinguished patients with SSc-ILD from healthy controls with 185 miRNA differentially expressed (q < 0.25). DIANA-miRPath revealed 57 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways related to the most dysregulated miRNA. miR-155 and miR-143 were strongly correlated with progression of the HRCT score. Lung fibroblasts only mildly expressed miR-155/miR-21 after several stimuli. miR-155 PBMC expression strongly correlated with lung function tests in SSc-ILD. miR-155ko mice developed milder lung fibrosis, survived longer, and weaker lung induction of several genes after bleomycin exposure compared to wild-type mice. Conclusions: miRNA are dysregulated in the lungs and PBMC of patients with SSc-ILD. Based on mRNA-miRNA interaction analysis and pathway tools, miRNA may play a role in the progression of the disease. Our findings suggest that targeting miR-155 might provide a novel therapeutic strategy for SSc-ILD
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