On the validity of mean-field amplitude equations for counterpropagating wavetrains

We rigorously establish the validity of the equations describing the evolution of one-dimensional long wavelength modulations of counterpropagating wavetrains for a hyperbolic model equation, namely the sine-Gordon equation. We consider both periodic amplitude functions and localized wavepackets. For the localized case, the wavetrains are completely decoupled at leading order, while in the periodic case the amplitude equations take the form of mean-field (nonlocal) Schr\"odinger equations rather than locally coupled partial differential equations. The origin of this weakened coupling is traced to a hidden translation symmetry in the linear problem, which is related to the existence of a characteristic frame traveling at the group velocity of each wavetrain. It is proved that solutions to the amplitude equations dominate the dynamics of the governing equations on asymptotically long time scales. While the details of the discussion are restricted to the class of model equations having a leading cubic nonlinearity, the results strongly indicate that mean-field evolution equations are generic for bimodal disturbances in dispersive systems with \O(1) group velocity.Comment: 16 pages, uuencoded, tar-compressed Postscript fil

Lipid droplet availability affects neural stem/progenitor cell metabolism and proliferation.

Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) generate new neurons throughout adulthood. However, the underlying regulatory processes are still not fully understood. Lipid metabolism plays an important role in regulating NSPC activity: build-up of lipids is crucial for NSPC proliferation, whereas break-down of lipids has been shown to regulate NSPC quiescence. Despite their central role for cellular lipid metabolism, the role of lipid droplets (LDs), the lipid storing organelles, in NSPCs remains underexplored. Here we show that LDs are highly abundant in adult mouse NSPCs, and that LD accumulation is significantly altered upon fate changes such as quiescence and differentiation. NSPC proliferation is influenced by the number of LDs, inhibition of LD build-up, breakdown or usage, and the asymmetric inheritance of LDs during mitosis. Furthermore, high LD-containing NSPCs have increased metabolic activity and capacity, but do not suffer from increased oxidative damage. Together, these data indicate an instructive role for LDs in driving NSPC behaviour

Bistability of Slow and Fast Traveling Waves in Fluid Mixtures

The appearence of a new type of fast nonlinear traveling wave states in binary fluid convection with increasing Soret effect is elucidated and the parameter range of their bistability with the common slower ones is evaluated numerically. The bifurcation behavior and the significantly different spatiotemporal properties of the different wave states - e.g. frequency, flow structure, and concentration distribution - are determined and related to each other and to a convenient measure of their nonlinearity. This allows to derive a limit for the applicability of small amplitude expansions. Additionally an universal scaling behavior of frequencies and mixing properties is found. PACS: 47.20.-k, 47.10.+g, 47.20.KyComment: 4 pages including 5 Postscript figure

A fluorescent perilipin 2 knock-in mouse model visualizes lipid droplets in the developing and adult brain

Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic lipid storage organelles. They are tightly linked to metabolism and can exert protective functions, making them important players in health and disease. Most LD studies in vivo rely on staining methods, providing only a snapshot. We therefore developed a LD-reporter mouse by endogenously labelling the LD coat protein perilipin 2 (PLIN2) with tdTomato, enabling staining-free fluorescent LD visualisation in living and fixed tissues and cells. Here we validate this model under standard and high-fat diet conditions and demonstrate that LDs are present in various cells in the healthy brain, including neurons, astrocytes, ependymal cells, neural stem/progenitor cells and microglia. Furthermore, we show that LDs are abundant during brain development and can be visualized using live-imaging of embryonic slices. Taken together, our tdTom-Plin2 mouse serves as a novel tool to study LDs and their dynamics under both physiological and diseased conditions in all tissues expressing Plin2

Model for initiation of quality factor degradation at high accelerating fields in superconducting radio-frequency cavities

A model for the onset of the reduction in SRF cavity quality factor, the so-called Q-drop, at high accelerating electric fields is presented. Breakdown of the surface barrier against magnetic flux penetration at the cavity equator is considered to be the critical event that determines the onset of Q-drop. The worst case of triangular grooves with low field of first flux penetration Hp, as analyzed previously by Buzdin and Daumens, [1998 Physica C 294: 257], was adapted. This approach incorporates both the geometry of the groove and local contamination via the Ginzburg-Landau parameter kappa, so the proposed model allows new comparisons of one effect in relation to the other. The model predicts equivalent reduction of Hp when either roughness or contamination were varied alone, so smooth but dirty surfaces limit cavity performance about as much as rough but clean surfaces do. When in combination, contamination exacerbates the negative effects of roughness and vice-versa. To test the model with actual data, coupons were prepared by buffered chemical polishing and electropolishing, and stylus profilometry was used to obtain distributions of angles. From these data, curves for surface resistance generated by simple flux flow as a function of magnetic field were generated by integrating over the distribution of angles for reasonable values of kappa. This showed that combined effects of roughness and contamination indeed reduce the Q-drop onset field by ~30%, and that that contamination contributes to Q-drop as much as roughness. The latter point may be overlooked by SRF cavity research, since access to the cavity interior by spectroscopy tools is very difficult, whereas optical images have become commonplace. The model was extended to fit cavity test data, which indicated that reduction of the superconducting gap by contaminants may also play a role in Q-drop.Comment: 15 pages with 7 figure

Fingerprinting of chlorinated paraffins and their transformation products in plastic consumer products

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) can be classified according to their length as short-chain (SC, C10-C13), medium-chain (MC, C14-C17) and long-chain (LC, C ≥ 18) CPs. Technical CP-mixtures can contain a wide range of carbon- (C-, nC = 10-30) and chlorine- (Cl-, nCl = 3-19) homologues. CPs are high-production volume chemicals (>106 t/y). They are used as flame-retardants, plasticizers and coolant fluids. Due to the persistence, bioaccumulation, long-range environmental transport potential and adverse effects, SCCPs are regulated as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by the Stockholm Convention. Transformation of CPs can lead to the formation of unsaturated compounds such as chlorinated mono- (CO), di- (CdiO) and tri-olefins (CtriO). Such transformation reactions can occur at different stages of CP manipulation providing characteristic C-/Cl-homologue distributions. All this results in unique patterns that collectively create a fingerprint, which can be distinguished from CP-containing samples. Therefore, CP-fingerprinting can develop into a promising tool for future source apportionment studies and with it, the reduction of environmental burden of CPs and hazards to humans. Herein, CP-containing plastics were studied to establish fingerprints and develop this method. We analyzed four household items by reverse-phase liquid-chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source and an Orbitrap mass analyzer (RP-LC-APCI-Orbitrap-MS) operated at a resolution of 120000 (FWHM at m/z 200). MS-data of different CP-, CO-, CdiO- and CtriO-homologues were efficiently processed with an R-based automatic mass spectra evaluation routine (RASER). From the 16720 ions searched for, up to 4300 ions per sample were assigned to 340 C-/Cl-homologues of CPs and their transformation products. Specific fingerprints were deduced from the C-/Cl-homologues distributions, the carbon- (nC) and chlorine- (nCl) numbers and saturation degree. These fingerprints were compared with the ones obtained by a GC-ECNI-Orbitrap-MS method

Finite-Correlation-Time Effects in the Kinematic Dynamo Problem

Most of the theoretical results on the kinematic amplification of small-scale magnetic fluctuations by turbulence have been confined to the model of white-noise-like advecting turbulent velocity field. In this work, the statistics of the passive magnetic field in the diffusion-free regime are considered for the case when the advecting flow is finite-time correlated. A new method is developed that allows one to systematically construct the correlation-time expansion for statistical characteristics of the field. The expansion is valid provided the velocity correlation time is smaller than the characteristic growth time of the magnetic fluctuations. This expansion is carried out up to first order in the general case of a d-dimensional arbitrarily compressible advecting flow. The growth rates for all moments of the magnetic field are derived. The effect of the first-order corrections is to reduce these growth rates. It is shown that introducing a finite correlation time leads to the loss of the small-scale statistical universality, which was present in the limit of the delta-correlated velocity field. Namely, the shape of the velocity time-correlation profile and the large-scale spatial structure of the flow become important. The latter is a new effect, that implies, in particular, that the approximation of a locally-linear shear flow does not fully capture the effect of nonvanishing correlation time. Physical applications of this theory include the small-scale kinematic dynamo in the interstellar medium and protogalactic plasmas.Comment: revised; revtex, 23 pages, 1 figure; this is the final version of this paper as published in Physics of Plasma

Influence of through-flow on linear pattern formation properties in binary mixture convection

We investigate how a horizontal plane Poiseuille shear flow changes linear convection properties in binary fluid layers heated from below. The full linear field equations are solved with a shooting method for realistic top and bottom boundary conditions. Through-flow induced changes of the bifurcation thresholds (stability boundaries) for different types of convective solutions are deter- mined in the control parameter space spanned by Rayleigh number, Soret coupling (positive as well as negative), and through-flow Reynolds number. We elucidate the through-flow induced lifting of the Hopf symmetry degeneracy of left and right traveling waves in mixtures with negative Soret coupling. Finally we determine with a saddle point analysis of the complex dispersion relation of the field equations over the complex wave number plane the borders between absolute and convective instabilities for different types of perturbations in comparison with the appropriate Ginzburg-Landau amplitude equation approximation. PACS:47.20.-k,47.20.Bp, 47.15.-x,47.54.+rComment: 19 pages, 15 Postscript figure