6,731 research outputs found
Undulatory swimming in fluids with polymer networks
The motility behavior of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in polymeric
solutions of varying concentrations is systematically investigated in
experiments using tracking and velocimetry methods. As the polymer
concentration is increased, the solution undergoes a transition from the
semi-dilute to the concentrated regime, where these rod-like polymers entangle,
align, and form networks. Remarkably, we find an enhancement in the nematode's
swimming speed of approximately 65% in concentrated solutions compared to
semi-dilute solutions. Using velocimetry methods, we show that the undulatory
swimming motion of the nematode induces an anisotropic mechanical response in
the fluid. This anisotropy, which arises from the fluid micro-structure, is
responsible for the observed increase in swimming speed.Comment: Published 1 November 2013 in Europhysics Letter
A New Pseudopolymorph of Hexakis-(4-cynaophenyl)benzene
The title compound (systematic name: benzene-4,4′,4′′,4′′′,-4′′′′,4′′′′′-hexaylhexabenzonitrile dichloromethane disolvate), C48H24N6•2CH2Cl2, crystallizes as an inclusion compound during the slow diffusion of methanol into a solution of hexakis(4-cyanophenyl)benzene in CH2Cl2. The hexakis(4- cyanophenyl)benzene molecule lies on an axis of twofold rotation in the space group Pbcn. Weak C—H•••N interactions between hexakis(4-cyanophenyl)benzene molecules define an open network with space for including guests. The resulting structure is a new pseudopolymorph of hexakis-(4-cyanophenyl)benzene. The eight known pseudopolymorphs have few shared architectural features, in part because none of the intermolecular interactions that are present plays a dominant role or forces neighboring molecules to assume particular relative orientations
Symmetries of differential-difference dynamical systems in a two-dimensional lattice
Classification of differential-difference equation of the form
are considered
according to their Lie point symmetry groups. The set represents the
point and its six nearest neighbors in a two-dimensional triangular
lattice. It is shown that the symmetry group can be at most 12-dimensional for
abelian symmetry algebras and 13-dimensional for nonsolvable symmetry algebras.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figur
Exact Soliton-like Solutions of the Radial Gross-Pitaevskii Equation
We construct exact ring soliton-like solutions of the cylindrically symmetric
(i.e., radial) Gross- Pitaevskii equation with a potential, using the
similarity transformation method. Depending on the choice of the allowed free
functions, the solutions can take the form of stationary dark or bright rings
whose time dependence is in the phase dynamics only, or oscillating and
bouncing solutions, related to the second Painlev\'e transcendent. In each case
the potential can be chosen to be time-independent.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Version 2: stability analysis of the dark
solutio
Evaluating elbow osteoarthritis within the prehistoric Tiwanaku state using generalized estimating equations (GEE).
OBJECTIVES:Studies of osteoarthritis (OA) in human skeletal remains can come with scalar problems. If OA measurement is noted as present or absent in one joint, like the elbow, results may not identify specific articular pathology data and the sample size may be insufficient to address research questions. If calculated on a per data point basis (i.e., each articular surface within a joint), results may prove too data heavy to comprehensively understand arthritic changes, or one individual with multiple positive scores may skew results and violate the data independence required for statistical tests. The objective of this article is to show that the statistical methodology Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) can solve scalar issues in bioarchaeological studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Using GEE, a population-averaged statistical model, 1,195 adults from the core and one colony of the prehistoric Tiwanaku state (AD 500-1,100) were evaluated bilaterally for OA on the seven articular surfaces of the elbow joint. RESULTS:GEE linked the articular surfaces within each individual specimen, permitting the largest possible unbiased dataset, and showed significant differences between core and colony Tiwanaku peoples in the overall elbow joint, while also pinpointing specific articular surfaces with OA. Data groupings by sex and age at death also demonstrated significant variation. A pattern of elbow rotation noted for core Tiwanaku people may indicate a specific pattern of movement. DISCUSSION:GEE is effective and should be encouraged in bioarchaeological studies as a way to address scalar issues and to retain all pathology information
Faking like a woman? Towards an interpretative theorization of sexual pleasure.
This article explores the possibility of developing a feminist approach to gendered and sexual embodiment which is rooted in the pragmatist/interactionist tradition derived from G.H. Mead, but which in turn develops this perspective by inflecting it through more recent feminist thinking. In so doing we seek to rebalance some of the rather abstract work on gender and embodiment by focusing on an instance of 'heterosexual' everyday/night life - the production of the female orgasm. Through engaging with feminist and interactionist work, we develop an approach to embodied sexual pleasure that emphasizes the sociality of sexual practices and of reflexive sexual selves. We argue that sexual practices and experiences must be understood in social context, taking account of the situatedness of sex as well as wider socio-cultural processes the production of sexual desire and sexual pleasure (or their non-production) always entails interpretive, interactional processes
Leading Order Calculation of Shear Viscosity in Hot Quantum Electrodynamics from Diagrammatic Methods
We compute the shear viscosity at leading order in hot Quantum
Electrodynamics. Starting from the Kubo relation for shear viscosity, we use
diagrammatic methods to write down the appropriate integral equations for
bosonic and fermionic effective vertices. We also show how Ward identities can
be used to put constraints on these integral equations. One of our main results
is an equation relating the kernels of the integral equations with functional
derivatives of the full self-energy; it is similar to what is obtained with
two-particle-irreducible effective action methods. However, since we use Ward
identities as our starting point, gauge invariance is preserved. Using these
constraints obtained from Ward identities and also power counting arguments, we
select the necessary diagrams that must be resummed at leading order. This
includes all non-collinear (corresponding to 2 to 2 scatterings) and collinear
(corresponding to 1+N to 2+N collinear scatterings) rungs responsible for the
Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal effect. We also show the equivalence between our
integral equations obtained from quantum field theory and the linearized
Boltzmann equations of Arnold, Moore and Yaffe obtained using effective kinetic
theory.Comment: 45 pages, 22 figures (note that figures 7 and 14 are downgraded in
resolution to keep this submission under 1000kb, zoom to see them correctly
The prominent role of the heaviest fragment in multifragmentation and phase transition for hot nuclei
The role played by the heaviest fragment in partitions of multifragmenting
hot nuclei is emphasized. Its size/charge distribution (mean value,
fluctuations and shape) gives information on properties of fragmenting nuclei
and on the associated phase transition.Comment: 11 pages, Proceedings of IWND09, August 23-25, Shanghai (China
Dense Quark Matter Conductivity in Ultra-Intense Magnetic Field
Heavy-ion collisions generate a huge magnetic field of the order of for the duration of about 0.2 fm/c. This time may become an order of
magnitude longer if the electrical conductivity of quark matter is large. We
calculate the conductivity in the regime of high density and show that contrary
to naive expectations it only weakly depends on the MF.Comment: 3 pages, 0 figure
Overdispersed Spatial Patterning of Dominant Bunchgrasses in Southeastern Pine Savannas
Spatial patterning is a key natural history attribute of sessile organisms that frequently emerges from and dictates potential for interactions among organisms. We tested whether bunchgrasses, the dominant plant functional group in longleaf pine savanna groundcover communities, are nonrandomly patterned by characterizing the spatial dispersion of three bunchgrass species across six sites in Louisiana and Florida. We mapped bunchgrass tussocks of \u3e5.0 cm basal diameter in three [Formula: see text] plots at each site. We modeled tussocks as two-dimensional objects to analyze their spatial relationships while preserving sizes and shapes of individual tussocks. Tussocks were overdispersed (more regularly spaced than random) for all species and sites at the local interaction scale (\u3c0.3 m). This general pattern likely arises from a tussock-centered, distance-dependent mechanism, for example, intertussock competition. Nonrandom spatial patterns of dominant species have implications for community assembly and ecosystem function in tussock-dominated grasslands and savannas, including those characterized by extreme biodiversity
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