5,151 research outputs found
Mechanically driven growth of quasi-two dimensional microbial colonies
We study colonies of non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria growing on solid
substrates. In our model, bacteria interact purely mechanically, by pushing
each other away as they grow, and consume a diffusing nutrient. We show that
mechanical interactions control the velocity and shape of the advancing front,
which leads to features that cannot be captured by established
Fisher-Kolmogorov models. In particular, we find that the velocity depends on
the elastic modulus of bacteria or their stickiness to the surface.
Interestingly, we predict that the radius of an incompressible, strictly
two-dimensional colony cannot grow linearly in time. Importantly, mechanical
interactions can also account for the nonequilibrium transition between
circular and branching colonies, often observed in the lab.Comment: 5 pages, 4 colour figure
Activating KIR2DS4 Is Expressed by Uterine NK Cells and Contributes to Successful Pregnancy
Tissue-specific NK cells are abundant in the pregnant uterus and interact with invading placental trophoblast cells that transform the maternal arteries to increase the fetoplacental blood supply. Genetic case-control studies have implicated killer cell Ig-like receptor (KIR) genes and their ligands in pregnancy disorders characterized by failure of trophoblast arterial transformation. Activating or (when located in the centromeric region as in Africans) lower the risk of disorders when there is a fetal allele carrying a C2 epitope. In this study, we investigated another activating , and provide genetic evidence for a similar effect when carried with is expressed by ∼45% of uterine NK (uNK) cells. Similarly to KIR2DS1, triggering of KIR2DS4 on uNK cells led to secretion of GM-CSF and other chemokines, known to promote placental trophoblast invasion. Additionally, XCL1 and CCL1, identified in a screen of 120 different cytokines, were consistently secreted upon activation of KIR2DS4 on uNK cells. Inhibitory , carried in linkage disequilibrium with , is expressed by peripheral blood NK cells but not by uNK cells, highlighting the unique phenotype of uNK cells compared with peripheral blood NK cells. That KIR2DS4, KIR2DS1, and some alleles of KIR2DS5 contribute to successful pregnancy suggests that activation of uNK cells by KIR binding to HLA-C is a generic mechanism promoting trophoblast invasion into the decidua.This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust, the Centre for Trophoblast Research, the British Heart Foundation, and the Cambridge Philosophical Society
Evolution of turbulent spots in a parallel shear flow
The evolution of turbulent spots in a parallel shear flow is studied by means
of full three-dimensional numerical simulations. The flow is bounded by free
surfaces and driven by a volume force. Three regions in the spanwise spot
cross-section can be identified: a turbulent interior, an interface layer with
prominent streamwise streaks and vortices and a laminar exterior region with a
large scale flow induced by the presence of the spot. The lift-up of streamwise
streaks which is caused by non-normal amplification is clearly detected in the
region adjacent to the spot interface. The spot can be characterized by an
exponentially decaying front that moves with a speed different from that of the
cross-stream outflow or the spanwise phase velocity of the streamwise roll
pattern. Growth of the spots seems to be intimately connected to the large
scale outside flow, for a turbulent ribbon extending across the box in
downstream direction does not show the large scale flow and does not grow.
Quantitatively, the large scale flow induces a linear instability in the
neighborhood of the spot, but the associated front velocity is too small to
explain the spot spreading.Comment: 10 pages, 10 Postscript figure
Electrification of wind-blown sand on Mars and its implications for atmospheric chemistry
Wind-blown sand, or 'saltation,' creates sand dunes, erodes geological
features, and could be a significant source of dust aerosols on Mars. Moreover,
the electrification of sand and dust in saltation, dust storms, and dust devils
could produce electric discharges and affect atmospheric chemistry. We present
the first calculations of electric fields in martian saltation, using a
numerical model of saltation that includes sand electrification, plasma
physics, and the adsorption of ions and electrons onto particulates. Our
results indicate that electric discharges do not occur in martian saltation.
Moreover, we find that the production of hydrogen peroxide and the dissociation
of methane by electric fields are less significant than previously thought.
Both these species are highly relevant to studies of past and present life on
Mars.Comment: 5 journal pages, 3 figures, published in Geophysical Research Letter
Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy of magnetite (110) surfaces
Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) has been used to measure the optical anisotropies of bulk and thin-film Fe3O4(110) surfaces. The spectra indicate that small shifts in energy of the optical transitions, associated with anisotropic strain or electric field gradients caused by the (110) surface termination or a native oxide layer, are responsible for the strong signal observed. The RAS response was then measured as a function of temperature. A distinct change in the RAS line-shape amplitude was observed in the spectral range from 0.8 to 1.6 eV for temperatures below the Verwey transition of the crystal. Finally, thin-film magnetite was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on MgO(110) substrates. Changes in the RAS spectra were found for different film thickness, suggesting that RAS can be used to monitor the growth of magnetite (110) films in situ. The thickness dependence of the RAS is discussed in terms of various models for the origin of the RAS signal
The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) of Three Spectrometers for the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter
The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) package is an element of the Russian contribution to the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission. ACS consists of three separate infrared spectrometers, sharing common mechanical, electrical, and thermal interfaces. This ensemble of spectrometers has been designed and developed in response to the Trace Gas Orbiter mission objectives that specifically address the requirement of high sensitivity instruments to enable the unambiguous detection of trace gases of potential geophysical or biological interest. For this reason, ACS embarks a set of instruments achieving simultaneously very high accuracy (ppt level), very high resolving power (>10,000) and large spectral coverage (0.7 to 17 μm—the visible to thermal infrared range). The near-infrared (NIR) channel is a versatile spectrometer covering the 0.7–1.6 μm spectral range with a resolving power of ∼20,000. NIR employs the combination of an echelle grating with an AOTF (Acousto-Optical Tunable Filter) as diffraction order selector. This channel will be mainly operated in solar occultation and nadir, and can also perform limb observations. The scientific goals of NIR are the measurements of water vapor, aerosols, and dayside or night side airglows. The mid-infrared (MIR) channel is a cross-dispersion echelle instrument dedicated to solar occultation measurements in the 2.2–4.4 μm range. MIR achieves a resolving power of >50,000. It has been designed to accomplish the most sensitive measurements ever of the trace gases present in the Martian atmosphere. The thermal-infrared channel (TIRVIM) is a 2-inch double pendulum Fourier-transform spectrometer encompassing the spectral range of 1.7–17 μm with apodized resolution varying from 0.2 to 1.3 cm−1. TIRVIM is primarily dedicated to profiling temperature from the surface up to ∼60 km and to monitor aerosol abundance in nadir. TIRVIM also has a limb and solar occultation capability. The technical concept of the instrument, its accommodation on the spacecraft, the optical designs as well as some of the calibrations, and the expected performances for its three channels are described
Nonlinear Hydrodynamics of a Hard Sphere Fluid Near the Glass Transition
We conduct a numerical study of the dynamic behavior of a dense hard sphere
fluid by deriving and integrating a set of Langevin equations. The statics of
the system is described by a free energy functional of the
Ramakrishnan-Yussouff form. We find that the system exhibits glassy behavior as
evidenced through stretched exponential decay and two-stage relaxation of the
density correlation function. The characteristic times grow with increasing
density according to the Vogel-Fulcher law. The wavenumber dependence of the
kinetics is extensively explored. The connection of our results with
experiment, mode coupling theory, and molecular dynamics results is discussed.Comment: 34 Pages, Plain TeX, 12 PostScript Figures (not included, available
on request
Fractal Stability Border in Plane Couette Flow
We study the dynamics of localised perturbations in plane Couette flow with
periodic lateral boundary conditions. For small Reynolds number and small
amplitude of the initial state the perturbation decays on a viscous time scale
. For Reynolds number larger than about 200, chaotic transients
appear with life times longer than the viscous one. Depending on the type of
the perturbation isolated initial conditions with infinite life time appear for
Reynolds numbers larger than about 270--320. In this third regime, the life
time as a function of Reynolds number and amplitude is fractal. These results
suggest that in the transition region the turbulent dynamics is characterised
by a chaotic repeller rather than an attractor.Comment: 4 pages, Latex, 4 eps-figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Le
Signatures of Star-planet interactions
Planets interact with their host stars through gravity, radiation and
magnetic fields, and for those giant planets that orbit their stars within
10 stellar radii (0.1 AU for a sun-like star), star-planet
interactions (SPI) are observable with a wide variety of photometric,
spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric studies. At such close distances, the
planet orbits within the sub-alfv\'enic radius of the star in which the
transfer of energy and angular momentum between the two bodies is particularly
efficient. The magnetic interactions appear as enhanced stellar activity
modulated by the planet as it orbits the star rather than only by stellar
rotation. These SPI effects are informative for the study of the internal
dynamics and atmospheric evolution of exoplanets. The nature of magnetic SPI is
modeled to be strongly affected by both the stellar and planetary magnetic
fields, possibly influencing the magnetic activity of both, as well as
affecting the irradiation and even the migration of the planet and rotational
evolution of the star. As phase-resolved observational techniques are applied
to a large statistical sample of hot Jupiter systems, extensions to other
tightly orbiting stellar systems, such as smaller planets close to M dwarfs
become possible. In these systems, star-planet separations of tens of stellar
radii begin to coincide with the radiative habitable zone where planetary
magnetic fields are likely a necessary condition for surface habitability.Comment: Accepted for publication in the handbook of exoplanet
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