2,677 research outputs found
2D and 3D Dense-Fluid Shear Flows via Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics. Comparison of Time-and-Space-Averaged Tensor Temperature and Normal Stresses from Doll's, Sllod, and Boundary-Driven Shear Algorithms
Homogeneous shear flows (with constant strainrate du/dy) are generated with
the Doll's and Sllod algorithms and compared to corresponding inhomogeneous
boundary-driven flows. We use one-, two-, and three-dimensional smooth-particle
weight functions for computing instantaneous spatial averages. The nonlinear
stress differences are small, but significant, in both two and three space
dimensions. In homogeneous systems the sign and magnitude of the shearplane
stress difference, P(xx) - P(yy), depend on both the thermostat type and the
chosen shearflow algorithm. The Doll's and Sllod algorithms predict opposite
signs for this stress difference, with the Sllod approach definitely wrong, but
somewhat closer to the (boundary-driven) truth. Neither of the homogeneous
shear algorithms predicts the correct ordering of the kinetic temperatures,
T(xx) > T(zz) > T(yy).Comment: 34 pages with 12 figures, under consideration by Physical Review
Microscopic and Macroscopic Stress with Gravitational and Rotational Forces
Many recent papers have questioned Irving and Kirkwood's atomistic expression
for stress. In Irving and Kirkwood's approach both interatomic forces and
atomic velocities contribute to stress. It is the velocity-dependent part that
has been disputed. To help clarify this situation we investigate [1] a fluid in
a gravitational field and [2] a steadily rotating solid. For both problems we
choose conditions where the two stress contributions, potential and kinetic,
are significant. The analytic force-balance solutions of both these problems
agree very well with a smooth-particle interpretation of the atomistic
Irving-Kirkwood stress tensor.Comment: Fifteen pages with seven figures, revised according to referees'
suggestions at Physical Review E. See also Liu and Qiu's arXiv contribution
0810.080
Fencing elephants: The hidden politics of wildlife fencing in Laikipia, Kenya
Conservation is a fundamentally spatial pursuit. Human–elephant conflict (HEC), in particular crop-raiding, is a significant and complex conservation problem wherever elephants and people occupy the same space. Conservationists and wildlife managers build electrified fences as a technical solution to this problem. Fences provide a spatial means of controlling human–elephant interactions by creating a place for elephants and a place for cultivation. They are often planned and designed based on the ecology of the target species. Yet as we show in this case study, behind their technical façade, fences are highly political. This article presents the process of planning and building the 121 km West Laikipia Fence: created to prevent elephants from moving out of large private and government-owned ranches and onto smallholder cultivated land to the west of Laikipia County. We seek to show how the construction of a fence to solve the problem of HEC led to the division, reinforcement and communication of territory on the ground and how this was captured and shaped by different, and sometimes conflicting, political interests.We would like to thank Professor Nigel Leader-Williams and Dr. Max Graham for their advice and support throughout this research. We are grateful to Space for Giants for institutional and logistical support and to Amon Lekea and Sundry Lekticharan for their assistance with interviews. This research was funded by the Royal Geographical Society and the North England Zoological Society. We thank George Aike for producing the figures for this article.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.11.00
Nonlinear Stresses and Temperatures in Transient Adiabatic and Shear Flows via Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics -- Three Definitions of Temperature
We compare nonlinear stresses and temperatures for adiabatic shear flows,
using up to 262,144 particles, with those from corresponding homogeneous and
inhomogeneous flows. Two varieties of kinetic temperature tensors are compared
to the configurational temperatures. This comparison leads to an improved form
for the local and instantaneous smooth-particle averaged stream velocity and to
a recognition of rotational contributions to the configurational temperature.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, stimulated by Denis Evans' comments on Hoover et
alii, Physical Review E 78, 046701 (2008). Augmented 30 January 2009 in
response to referees' comments at Physical Review
Presidential Address : A Present Day Examination of the Postulates of John Dalton
Author Institution: The Ohio State Universit
Big Entropy Fluctuations in Nonequilibrium Steady State: A Simple Model with Gauss Heat Bath
Large entropy fluctuations in a nonequilibrium steady state of classical
mechanics were studied in extensive numerical experiments on a simple 2-freedom
model with the so-called Gauss time-reversible thermostat. The local
fluctuations (on a set of fixed trajectory segments) from the average heat
entropy absorbed in thermostat were found to be non-Gaussian. Approximately,
the fluctuations can be discribed by a two-Gaussian distribution with a
crossover independent of the segment length and the number of trajectories
('particles'). The distribution itself does depend on both, approaching the
single standard Gaussian distribution as any of those parameters increases. The
global time-dependent fluctuations turned out to be qualitatively different in
that they have a strict upper bound much less than the average entropy
production. Thus, unlike the equilibrium steady state, the recovery of the
initial low entropy becomes impossible, after a sufficiently long time, even in
the largest fluctuations. However, preliminary numerical experiments and the
theoretical estimates in the special case of the critical dynamics with
superdiffusion suggest the existence of infinitely many Poincar\'e recurrences
to the initial state and beyond. This is a new interesting phenomenon to be
farther studied together with some other open questions. Relation of this
particular example of nonequilibrium steady state to a long-standing persistent
controversy over statistical 'irreversibility', or the notorious 'time arrow',
is also discussed. In conclusion, an unsolved problem of the origin of the
causality 'principle' is touched upon.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure
Remarks on NonHamiltonian Statistical Mechanics: Lyapunov Exponents and Phase-Space Dimensionality Loss
The dissipation associated with nonequilibrium flow processes is reflected by
the formation of strange attractor distributions in phase space. The
information dimension of these attractors is less than that of the equilibrium
phase space, corresponding to the extreme rarity of nonequilibrium states. Here
we take advantage of a simple model for heat conduction to demonstrate that the
nonequilibrium dimensionality loss can definitely exceed the number of
phase-space dimensions required to thermostat an otherwise Hamiltonian system.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, minor typos correcte
Country differences in the diagnosis and management of coronary heart disease : a comparison between the US, the UK and Germany
Background
The way patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) are treated is partly determined by non-medical factors. There is a solid body of evidence that patient and physician characteristics influence doctors' management decisions. Relatively little is known about the role of structural issues in the decision making process. This study focuses on the question whether doctors' diagnostic and therapeutic decisions are influenced by the health care system in which they take place. This non-medical determinant of medical decision-making was investigated in an international research project in the US, the UK and Germany.
Methods
Videotaped patients within an experimental study design were used. Experienced actors played the role of patients with symptoms of CHD. Several alternative versions were taped featuring the same script with patients of different sex, age and social status. The videotapes were shown to 384 randomly selected primary care physicians in the three countries under study. The sample was stratified on gender and duration of professional experience. Physicians were asked how they would diagnose and manage the patient after watching the video vignette using a questionnaire with standardised and open-ended questions.
Results
Results show only small differences in decision making between British and American physicians in essential aspects of care. About 90% of the UK and US doctors identified CHD as one of the possible diagnoses. Further similarities were found in test ordering and lifestyle advice. Some differences between the US and UK were found in the certainty of the diagnoses, prescribed medications and referral behaviour. There are numerous significant differences between Germany and the other two countries. German physicians would ask fewer questions, they would order fewer tests, prescribe fewer medications and give less lifestyle advice.
Conclusion
Although all physicians in the three countries under study were presented exactly the same patient, some disparities in the diagnostic and patient management decisions were evident. Since other possible influences on doctors treatment decisions are controlled within the experimental design, characteristics of the health care system seem to be a crucial factor within the decision making process
Impact of calcium on salivary α-amylase activity, starch paste apparent viscosity and thickness perception
Thickness perception of starch-thickened products
during eating has been linked to starch viscosity and
salivary amylase activity. Calcium is an essential cofactor
for α-amylase and there is anecdotal evidence that adding
extra calcium affects amylase activity in processes like
mashing of beer. The aims of this paper were to (1) investigate the role of salivary calcium on α-amylase
activity and (2) to measure the effect of calcium concentration on apparent viscosity and thickness perception when interacting with salivary α-amylase in starch-based samples.
α-Amylase activity in saliva samples from 28 people
was assessed using a typical starch pasting cycle (up to 95 °C). The activity of the enzyme (as measured by the change in starch apparent viscosity) was maintained by the presence of calcium, probably by protecting the enzyme from heat denaturation. Enhancement of α-amylase activity by calcium at 37 °C was also observed although to a smaller extent. Sensory analysis showed a general trend of decreased
thickness perception in the presence of calcium, but the result was only significant for one pair of samples, suggesting a limited impact of calcium enhanced enzyme activity on perceived thickness
Perivascular Expression and Potent Vasoconstrictor Effect of Dynorphin A in Cerebral Arteries
BACKGROUND: Numerous literary data indicate that dynorphin A (DYN-A) has a significant impact on cerebral circulation, especially under pathophysiological conditions, but its potential direct influence on the tone of cerebral vessels is obscure. The aim of the present study was threefold: 1) to clarify if DYN-A is present in cerebral vessels, 2) to determine if it exerts any direct effect on cerebrovascular tone, and if so, 3) to analyze the role of κ-opiate receptors in mediating the effect. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the expression of DYN-A in perivascular nerves of rat pial arteries as well as in both rat and human intraparenchymal vessels of the cerebral cortex. In isolated rat basilar and middle cerebral arteries (BAs and MCAs) DYN-A (1-13) and DYN-A (1-17) but not DYN-A (1-8) or dynorphin B (DYN-B) induced strong vasoconstriction in micromolar concentrations. The maximal effects, compared to a reference contraction induced by 124 mM K(+), were 115±6% and 104±10% in BAs and 113±3% and 125±9% in MCAs for 10 µM of DYN-A (1-13) and DYN-A (1-17), respectively. The vasoconstrictor effects of DYN-A (1-13) could be inhibited but not abolished by both the κ-opiate receptor antagonist nor-Binaltorphimine dihydrochloride (NORBI) and blockade of G(i/o)-protein mediated signaling by pertussis toxin. Finally, des-Tyr(1) DYN-A (2-13), which reportedly fails to activate κ-opiate receptors, induced vasoconstriction of 45±11% in BAs and 50±5% in MCAs at 10 µM, which effects were resistant to NORBI. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: DYN-A is present in rat and human cerebral perivascular nerves and induces sustained contraction of rat cerebral arteries. This vasoconstrictor effect is only partly mediated by κ-opiate receptors and heterotrimeric G(i/o)-proteins. To our knowledge our present findings are the first to indicate that DYN-A has a direct cerebral vasoconstrictor effect and that a dynorphin-induced vascular action may be, at least in part, independent of κ-opiate receptors
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