89,417 research outputs found
Crossovers between epigenesis and epigenetics. A multicenter approach to the history of epigenetics (1901-1975)
The origin of epigenetics has been traditionally traced back to Conrad Hal Waddington's foundational work in 1940s. The aim of the present paper is to reveal a hidden history of epigenetics, by means of a multicenter approach. Our analysis shows that genetics and embryology in early XX century--far from being non-communicating vessels--shared similar questions, as epitomized by Thomas Hunt Morgan's works. Such questions were rooted in the theory of epigenesis and set the scene for the development of epigenetics. Since the 1950s, the contribution of key scientists (Mary Lyon and Eduardo Scarano), as well as the discussions at the international conference of Gif-sur-Yvette (1957) paved the way for three fundamental shifts of focus: 1. From the whole embryo to the gene; 2. From the gene to the complex extranuclear processes of development; 3. From cytoplasmic inheritance to the epigenetics mechanisms
Electronic oscillations in paired polyacetylene chains
An interacting pair of polyacetylene chains are initially modeled as a couple
of undimerized polymers described by a Hamiltonian based on the tight-binding
model representing the electronic behavior along the linear chain, plus a
Dirac's potential double well representing the interaction between the chains.
A theoretical field formalism is employed, and we find that the system exhibits
a gap in its energy band due to the presence of a mass-matrix term in the
Dirac's Lagrangian that describes the system. The Peierls instability is
introduced in the chains by coupling a scalar field to the fermions of the
theory via spontaneous symmetry breaking, to obtain a kink-like soliton, which
separates two vacuum regions, i.e., two spacial configurations (enantiomers) of
the each molecule. Since that mass-matrix and the pseudo-spin operator do not
commute in the same quantum representation, we demonstrate that there is a
particle oscillation phenomenon with a periodicity equivalent to the Bloch
oscillations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure.to appear in Solid State Communication
Growth-Driven Percolations: The Dynamics of Community Formation in Neuronal Systems
The quintessential property of neuronal systems is their intensive patterns
of selective synaptic connections. The current work describes a physics-based
approach to neuronal shape modeling and synthesis and its consideration for the
simulation of neuronal development and the formation of neuronal communities.
Starting from images of real neurons, geometrical measurements are obtained and
used to construct probabilistic models which can be subsequently sampled in
order to produce morphologically realistic neuronal cells. Such cells are
progressively grown while monitoring their connections along time, which are
analysed in terms of percolation concepts. However, unlike traditional
percolation, the critical point is verified along the growth stages, not the
density of cells, which remains constant throughout the neuronal growth
dynamics. It is shown, through simulations, that growing beta cells tend to
reach percolation sooner than the alpha counterparts with the same diameter.
Also, the percolation becomes more abrupt for higher densities of cells, being
markedly sharper for the beta cells.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure
The development of technology for the electrodeposition of aluminum alloys and beryllium Final report
Technology development for electrodeposition of aluminum alloys and berylliu
Out-of-plane seismic response of stone masonry walls: experimental and analytical study of real piers
This paper presents the application of an existing simplified displacement-based procedure to the
characterization of the nonlinear force-displacement relationship for the out-of-plane behaviour of
unreinforced traditional masonry walls. According to this procedure, tri-linear models based on three
different energy based criteria were constructed and confronted with three experimental tests on
existing stone masonry constructions. Moreover, a brief introduction is presented regarding the main
characteristics of the in situ cyclic testing recently carried out using distributed loads, as well as results
obtained during the experimental campaigns performed. The comparison between the experimental and the analytical results are presented and discussed
Discontinuous Transition in a Boundary Driven Contact Process
The contact process is a stochastic process which exhibits a continuous,
absorbing-state phase transition in the Directed Percolation (DP) universality
class. In this work, we consider a contact process with a bias in conjunction
with an active wall. This model exhibits waves of activity emanating from the
active wall and, when the system is supercritical, propagating indefinitely as
travelling (Fisher) waves. In the subcritical phase the activity is localised
near the wall. We study the phase transition numerically and show that certain
properties of the system, notably the wave velocity, are discontinuous across
the transition. Using a modified Fisher equation to model the system we
elucidate the mechanism by which the the discontinuity arises. Furthermore we
establish relations between properties of the travelling wave and DP critical
exponents.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
The pulsation modes of the pre-white dwarf PG 1159-035
Context. PG 1159-035, a pre-white dwarf with T_(eff) ≃ 140 000 K, is the prototype of both two classes: the PG 1159 spectroscopic class and the DOV pulsating class. Previous studies of PG 1159-035 photometric data obtained with the Whole Earth Telescope (WET) showed a rich frequency spectrum allowing the identification of 122 pulsation modes. Analyzing the periods of pulsation, it is possible to measure the stellar mass, the rotational period and the inclination of the rotation axis, to estimate an upper limit for the magnetic field, and even to obtain information about the inner stratification of the star.
Aims. We have three principal aims: to increase the number of detected and identified pulsation modes in PG 1159-035, study trapping of the star's pulsation modes, and to improve or constrain the determination of stellar parameters.
Methods. We used all available WET photometric data from 1983, 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2002 to identify the pulsation periods.
Results. We identified 76 additional pulsation modes, increasing to 198 the number of known pulsation modes in PG 1159-035, the largest number of modes detected in any star besides the Sun. From the period spacing we estimated a mass M/M_⊙ = 0.59 ± 0.02 for PG 1159-035, with the uncertainty dominated by the models, not the observation. Deviations in the regular period spacing suggest that some of the pulsation modes are trapped, even though the star is a pre-white dwarf and the gravitational settling is ongoing. The position of the transition zone that causes the mode trapping was calculated at r_c/R_* = 0.83 ± 0.05. From the multiplet splitting, we calculated the rotational period P_(rot) = 1.3920 ± 0.0008 days and an upper limit for the magnetic field, B < 2000 G. The total power of the pulsation modes at the stellar surface changed less than 30% for ℓ = 1 modes and less than 50% for ℓ = 2 modes. We find no evidence of linear combinations between the 198 pulsation mode frequencies. PG 1159-035 models have not significative convection zones, supporting the hypothesis that nonlinearity arises in the convection zones in cooler pulsating white dwarf stars
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