7,703 research outputs found
On finite-size Lyapunov exponents in multiscale systems
We study the effect of regime switches on finite size Lyapunov exponents
(FSLEs) in determining the error growth rates and predictability of multiscale
systems. We consider a dynamical system involving slow and fast regimes and
switches between them. The surprising result is that due to the presence of
regimes the error growth rate can be a non-monotonic function of initial error
amplitude. In particular, troughs in the large scales of FSLE spectra is shown
to be a signature of slow regimes, whereas fast regimes are shown to cause
large peaks in the spectra where error growth rates far exceed those estimated
from the maximal Lyapunov exponent. We present analytical results explaining
these signatures and corroborate them with numerical simulations. We show
further that these peaks disappear in stochastic parametrizations of the fast
chaotic processes, and the associated FSLE spectra reveal that large scale
predictability properties of the full deterministic model are well approximated
whereas small scale features are not properly resolved.Comment: Accepted for publication in Chao
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Measuring the impact of observations on the predictability of the Kuroshio Extension in a shallow-water model
In this paper sequential importance sampling is used to assess the impact of observations on a ensemble prediction for the decadal path transitions of the Kuroshio Extension (KE). This particle filtering approach gives access to the probability density of the state vector, which allows us to determine the predictive power — an entropy based measure — of the ensemble prediction. The proposed set-up makes use of an ensemble that, at each time, samples the climatological probability distribution. Then, in a post-processing step, the impact of different sets of observations is measured by the increase in predictive power of the ensemble over the climatological signal during one-year. The method is applied in an identical-twin
experiment for the Kuroshio Extension using a reduced-gravity shallow water model. We investigate the impact of assimilating velocity observations from different locations during the elongated and the contracted meandering state of the KE. Optimal observations location correspond to regions with strong potential vorticity gradients. For the elongated state the optimal location is in the first meander of the KE. During the contracted state of the KE it is located south of Japan, where the Kuroshio separates from the coast
Age of second language acquisition affects nonverbal conflict processing in children : an fMRI study
Background: In their daily communication, bilinguals switch between two languages, a process that involves the selection of a target language and minimization of interference from a nontarget language. Previous studies have uncovered the neural structure in bilinguals and the activation patterns associated with performing verbal conflict tasks. One question that remains, however is whether this extra verbal switching affects brain function during nonverbal conflict tasks.
Methods: In this study, we have used fMRI to investigate the impact of bilingualism in children performing two nonverbal tasks involving stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflicts. Three groups of 8-11-year-old children - bilinguals from birth (2L1), second language learners (L2L), and a control group of monolinguals (1L1) - were scanned while performing a color Simon and a numerical Stroop task. Reaction times and accuracy were logged.
Results: Compared to monolingual controls, bilingual children showed higher behavioral congruency effect of these tasks, which is matched by the recruitment of brain regions that are generally used in general cognitive control, language processing or to solve language conflict situations in bilinguals (caudate nucleus, posterior cingulate gyrus, STG, precuneus). Further, the activation of these areas was found to be higher in 2L1 compared to L2L.
Conclusion: The coupling of longer reaction times to the recruitment of extra language-related brain areas supports the hypothesis that when dealing with language conflicts the specialization of bilinguals hampers the way they can process with nonverbal conflicts, at least at early stages in life
A Case Study of Sedimentation of Charged Colloids: The Primitive Model and the Effective One-Component Approach
Sedimentation-diffusion equilibrium density profiles of suspensions of
charge-stabilized colloids are calculated theoretically and by Monte Carlo
simulation, both for a one-component model of colloidal particles interacting
through pairwise screened-Coulomb repulsions and for a three-component model of
colloids, cations, and anions with unscreened-Coulomb interactions. We focus on
a state point for which experimental measurements are available [C.P. Royall et
al., J. Phys.: Cond. Matt. {\bf 17}, 2315 (2005)]. Despite the apparently
different picture that emerges from the one- and three-component model
(repelling colloids pushing each other to high altitude in the former, versus a
self-generated electric field that pushes the colloids up in the latter), we
find similar colloidal density profiles for both models from theory as well as
simulation, thereby suggesting that these pictures represent different view
points of the same phenomenon. The sedimentation profiles obtained from an
effective one-component model by MC simulations and theory, together with MC
simulations of the multi-component primitive model are consistent among
themselves, but differ quantitatively from the results of a theoretical
multi-component description at the Poisson-Boltzmann level. We find that for
small and moderate colloid charge the Poisson-Boltzmann theory gives profiles
in excellent agreement with the effective one-component theory if a smaller
effective charge is used. We attribute this discrepancy to the poor treatment
of correlations in the Poisson-Boltzmann theory.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Structure and thermodynamics of colloid-polymer mixtures: a macromolecular approach
The change of the structure of concentrated colloidal suspensions upon
addition of non-adsorbing polymer is studied within a two-component,
Ornstein-Zernicke based liquid state approach. The polymers' conformational
degrees of freedom are considered and excluded volume is enforced at the
segment level. The polymer correlation hole, depletion layer, and excess
chemical potentials are described in agreement with polymer physics theory in
contrast to models treating the macromolecules as effective spheres. Known
depletion attraction effects are recovered for low particle density, while at
higher densities novel many-body effects emerge which become dominant for large
polymers.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; to be published in Europhys. Let
Nonlinear data-assimilation using implicit models
International audienceWe show how the traditional 4D-Var method can be adapted for implicit time-integration and extended for multi-parameter estimation. We present the algorithm for this new method, which we call I4D-Var, and demonstrate its performance using a fully-implicit barotropic quasi-geostrophic model of the wind-driven double-gyre ocean circulation. For the latter model, the different regimes of flow behavior and the regime boundaries (i.e. bifurcation points) are well known and hence the parameter estimation problem can be systematically studied. It turns out that I4D-Var is able to correctly estimate parameter values, even when background flow and "observations" are in different dynamical regimes
Structural basis of the chiral selectivity of Pseudomonas cepacia lipase
To investigate the enantioselectivity of Pseudomonas cepacia lipase, inhibition studies were performed with SC- and RC-(RP,SP)-1,2-dialkylcarbamoylglycero-3-O-p-nitrophenyl alkylphosphonates of different alkyl chain lengths. P. cepacia lipase was most rapidly inactivated by RC-(RP,SP)-1,2-dioctylcarbamoylglycero-3-O-p-nitrophenyl octylphosphonate (RC-trioctyl) with an inactivation half-time of 75 min, while that for the SC-(RP,SP)-1,2-dioctylcarbamoylglycero-3-O-p-nitrophenyl octyl-phosphonate (SC-trioctyl) compound was 530 min. X-ray structures were obtained of P. cepacia lipase after reaction with RC-trioctyl to 0.29-nm resolution at pH 4 and covalently modified with RC-(RP,SP)-1,2-dibutylcarbamoylglycero-3-O-p-nitrophenyl butyl-phosphonate (RC-tributyl) to 0.175-nm resolution at pH 8.5. The three-dimensional structures reveal that both triacylglycerol analogues had reacted with the active-site Ser87, forming a covalent complex. The bound phosphorus atom shows the same chirality (SP) in both complexes despite the use of a racemic (RP,SP) mixture at the phosphorus atom of the triacylglycerol analogues. In the structure of RC-tributyl-complexed P. cepacia lipase, the diacylglycerol moiety has been lost due to an aging reaction, and only the butyl phosphonate remains visible in the electron density. In the RC-trioctyl complex the complete inhibitor is clearly defined; it adopts a bent tuning fork conformation. Unambiguously, four binding pockets for the triacylglycerol could be detected: an oxyanion hole and three pockets which accommodate the sn-1, sn-2, and sn-3 fatty acid chains. Van der Waals’ interactions are the main forces that keep the radyl groups of the triacylglycerol analogue in position and, in addition, a hydrogen bond to the carbonyl oxygen of the sn-2 chain contributes to fixing the position of the inhibitor.
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