196 research outputs found
Electrical properties of frog skeletal muscle fibers interpreted with a mesh model of the tubular system
This paper presents the construction, derivation, and test of a mesh model for the electrical properties of the transverse tubular system (T-system) in skeletal muscle. We model the irregular system of tubules as a random network of miniature transmission lines, using differential equations to describe the potential between the nodes and difference equations to describe the potential at the nodes. The solution to the equations can be accurately represented in several approximate forms with simple physical and graphical interpretations. All the parameters of the solution are specified by impedance and morphometric measurements. The effect of wide circumferential spacing between T-system openings is analyzed and the resulting restricted mesh model is shown to be approximated by a mesh with an access resistance. The continuous limit of the mesh model is shown to have the same form as the disk model of the T-system, but with a different expression for the tortuosity factor. The physical meaning of the tortuosity factor is examined, and a short derivation of the disk model is presented that gives results identical to the continuous limit of the mesh model. Both the mesh and restricted mesh models are compared with experimental data on the impedance of muscle fibers of the frog sartorius. The derived value for the resistivity of the lumen of the tubules is not too different from that of the bathing solution, the difference probably arising from the sensitivity of this value to errors in the morphometric measurements
New Source Term for QGP Formation in the Background-Field Model
We consider pair production in a space-time-dependent background field and
derive a source term, i.e., production rate in the one-particle phase space.
Such a source term is required in Boltzmann-equation-based models of
quark-gluon plasma formation and evolution. We compare the source term derived
here with the one that has been used in the literature so far. Significant
differences are observed.Comment: 12 pages latex and 4 post-script figure
Domain Walls in Two-Component Dynamical Lattices
We introduce domain-wall (DW) states in the bimodal discrete nonlinear
Schr{\"{o}}dinger equation, in which the modes are coupled by cross phase
modulation (XPM). By means of continuation from various initial patterns taken
in the anti-continuum (AC) limit, we find a number of different solutions of
the DW type, for which different stability scenarios are identified. In the
case of strong XPM coupling, DW configurations contain a single mode at each
end of the chain. The most fundamental solution of this type is found to be
always stable. Another solution, which is generated by a different AC pattern,
demonstrates behavior which is unusual for nonlinear dynamical lattices: it is
unstable for small values of the coupling constant (which measures the
ratio of the nonlinearity and coupling lengths), and becomes stable at larger
. Stable bound states of DWs are also found. DW configurations generated by
more sophisticated AC patterns are identified as well, but they are either
completely unstable, or are stable only at small values of . In the case of
weak XPM, a natural DW solution is the one which contains a combination of both
polarizations, with the phase difference between them 0 and at the
opposite ends of the lattice. This solution is unstable at all values of ,
but the instability is very weak for large , indicating stabilization as the
continuum limit is approached. The stability of DWs is also verified by direct
simulations, and the evolution of unstable DWs is simulated too; in particular,
it is found that, in the weak-XPM system, the instability may give rise to a
moving DW.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, Phys. Rev. E (in press
On non-local variational problems with lack of compactness related to non-linear optics
We give a simple proof of existence of solutions of the dispersion manage-
ment and diffraction management equations for zero average dispersion,
respectively diffraction. These solutions are found as maximizers of non-linear
and non-local vari- ational problems which are invariant under a large
non-compact group. Our proof of existence of maximizer is rather direct and
avoids the use of Lions' concentration compactness argument or Ekeland's
variational principle.Comment: 30 page
Gender moderates the relationship between empathy and aggressiveness in sport: The mediating role of anger
This research investigated whether gender moderates, and anger mediates, the relationship between empathy (i.e., perspective taking and empathic concern) and aggressiveness in sport. In Study 1, perspective taking and empathic concern were negatively associated with aggressiveness, and this effect was stronger in women compared to men. In Study 2, perspective taking was a negative predictor of aggressiveness and antisocial behavior in sport, and anger mediated these relationships in women, but not in men. Our findings suggest that empathy and emotion-based strategies targeted at reducing aggressiveness in sport need to be tailored for males and females
Transmission of viral pathogens in a social network of university students: the eX-FLU study
Previous research on respiratory infection transmission among university students has primarily focused on influenza. In this study, we explore potential transmission events for multiple respiratory pathogens in a social contact network of university students. University students residing in on-campus housing (n = 590) were followed for the development of influenza-like illness for 10-weeks during the 2012–13 influenza season. A contact network was built using weekly self-reported contacts, class schedules, and housing information. We considered a transmission event to have occurred if students were positive for the same pathogen and had a network connection within a 14-day period. Transmitters were individuals who had onset date prior to their infected social contact. Throat and nasal samples were analysed for multiple viruses by RT-PCR. Five viruses were involved in 18 transmission events (influenza A, parainfluenza virus 3, rhinovirus, coronavirus NL63, respiratory syncytial virus). Transmitters had higher numbers of co-infections (67%). Identified transmission events had contacts reported in small classes (33%), dormitory common areas (22%) and dormitory rooms (17%). These results suggest that targeting person-to-person interactions, through measures such as isolation and quarantine, could reduce transmission of respiratory infections on campus
Phase Space Description of the Leading Order Quark and Gluon Production from a Space-Time Dependent Chromofield
We derive source terms for the production of quarks and gluons from the QCD
vacuum in the presence of a space-time dependent external chromofield A_{cl} to
the order of S^{(1)}. We found that the source terms for the parton production
processes A_{cl} -> q\bar{q} and A_{cl},A_{cl}A_{cl} -> gg also include the
annihilation processes q\bar{q} -> A_{cl} and gg -> A_{cl},A_{cl}A_{cl}. The
source terms we derive are applicable for the description of the production of
partons with momentum p larger rhan gA which itself must be larger than
\Lambda_{QCD}. We observe that these source terms for the production of partons
from a space-time dependent chromofield can be used to study the production and
equilibration of the quark-gluon plasma during the very early stages of an
ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collision.Comment: 30 pages latex (single spaced), 7 eps figures, Revised Version, To
appear in Physical Review
Tunneling of quantum rotobreathers
We analyze the quantum properties of a system consisting of two nonlinearly
coupled pendula. This non-integrable system exhibits two different symmetries:
a permutational symmetry (permutation of the pendula) and another one related
to the reversal of the total momentum of the system. Each of these symmetries
is responsible for the existence of two kinds of quasi-degenerated states. At
sufficiently high energy, pairs of symmetry-related states glue together to
form quadruplets. We show that, starting from the anti-continuous limit,
particular quadruplets allow us to construct quantum states whose properties
are very similar to those of classical rotobreathers. By diagonalizing
numerically the quantum Hamiltonian, we investigate their properties and show
that such states are able to store the main part of the total energy on one of
the pendula. Contrary to the classical situation, the coupling between pendula
necessarily introduces a periodic exchange of energy between them with a
frequency which is proportional to the energy splitting between
quasi-degenerated states related to the permutation symmetry. This splitting
may remain very small as the coupling strength increases and is a decreasing
function of the pair energy. The energy may be therefore stored in one pendulum
during a time period very long as compared to the inverse of the internal
rotobreather frequency.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, REVTeX4 styl
A kinetic approach to eta' production from a CP-odd phase
The production of (eta,eta')- mesons during the decay of a CP-odd phase is
studied within an evolution operator approach. We derive a quantum kinetic
equation starting from the Witten-DiVecchia-Veneziano Lagrangian for
pseudoscalar mesons containing a U_A(1) symmetry breaking term. The non-linear
vacuum mean field for the flavour singlet pseudoscalar meson is treated as a
classical, self-interacting background field with fluctuations assumed to be
small. The numerical solution provides the time evolution of momentum
distribution function of produced eta'- mesons after a quench at the
deconfinement phase transition. We show that the time evolution of the momentum
distribution of the produced mesons depend strongly on the shape of the
effective potential at the end of the quench, exhibiting either parametric or
tachyonic resonances. Quantum statistical effects are essential and lead to a
pronounced Bose enhancement of the low momentum states.Comment: 10 pages, latex, epsfig, 6 figure
Solitons in Triangular and Honeycomb Dynamical Lattices with the Cubic Nonlinearity
We study the existence and stability of localized states in the discrete
nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation (DNLS) on two-dimensional non-square
lattices. The model includes both the nearest-neighbor and long-range
interactions. For the fundamental strongly localized soliton, the results
depend on the coordination number, i.e., on the particular type of the lattice.
The long-range interactions additionally destabilize the discrete soliton, or
make it more stable, if the sign of the interaction is, respectively, the same
as or opposite to the sign of the short-range interaction. We also explore more
complicated solutions, such as twisted localized modes (TLM's) and solutions
carrying multiple topological charge (vortices) that are specific to the
triangular and honeycomb lattices. In the cases when such vortices are
unstable, direct simulations demonstrate that they turn into zero-vorticity
fundamental solitons.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, Phys. Rev.
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