2,854 research outputs found
Tracking ocean wave spectrum from SAR images
An end to end algorithm for recovery of ocean wave spectral peaks from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images is described. Current approaches allow precisions of 1 percent in wave number, and 0.6 deg in direction
Development of a cardiopulmonary mathematical model incorporating a baro-chemoreceptor reflex control system
This article describes the development of a comprehensive mathematical model of the human cardiopulmonary system that combines the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and their associated autonomous nervous control actions. The model is structured to allow the complex interactions between the two systems and the responses of the combined system to be predicted under different physiological conditions. The cardiovascular system model contains 13 compartments, including the heart chambers operating as a pump and the blood vessels represented as distensible tubes configured in a serial and parallel arrangement. The accurate representation of the hemodynamics in the system and the good fit to published pressure and flow waveforms gave confidence in the modelling approach adopted for the cardiovascular system prior to the incorporation of the baroreflex control and the respiratory models. An improved baroreceptor reflex model is developed in this research, incorporating afferent, central and efferent compartments. A sigmoid function is included in the efferent compartment to produce sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve outflow to the effector sites. The baroreflex action is modelled using physiological data, its interaction with the chemoreflex control is explained and the simulation results presented show the ability of the model to predict the static and dynamic hemodynamic responses to environmental disturbances. A previously published respiratory model that includes the mechanics of breathing, gas exchange process and the regulation of the system is then combined with the cardiovascular model to form the cardiopulmonary model. Through comparison with published data, the cardiopulmonary model with the baro–chemoreflex control is validated during hypoxia and hypercapnia. The percentage difference between the predicted and measured changes in the heart rates and the mean arterial pressures are within 3% in both cases. The total peripheral resistance correlates well for hypoxia but is less good for hypercapnia, where the predicted change from normal condition is around 7% compared with a measured change of 23%. An example showing the application of the proposed model in sport science is also included. </jats:p
(Giant) Vortex - (anti) vortex interaction in bulk superconductors: The Ginzburg-Landau theory
The vortex-vortex interaction potential in bulk superconductors is calculated
within the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory and is obtained from a numerical
solution of a set of two coupled non-linear GL differential equations for the
vector potential and the superconducting order parameter, where the merger of
vortices into a giant vortex is allowed. Further, the interaction potentials
between a vortex and a giant vortex and between a vortex and an antivortex are
obtained for both type-I and type-II superconductors. Our numerical results
agree asymptotically with the analytical expressions for large inter-vortex
separations which are available in the literature. We propose new empirical
expressions valid over the full interaction range, which are fitted to our
numerical data for different values of the GL parameter
Direct measurement of quantum phase gradients in superfluid 4He flow
We report a new kind of experiment in which we generate a known superfluid
velocity in a straight tube and directly determine the phase difference across
the tube's ends using a superfluid matter wave interferometer. By so doing, we
quantitatively verify the relation between the superfluid velocity and the
phase gradient of the condensate macroscopic wave function. Within the
systematic error of the measurement (~10%) we find v_s=(hbar/m_4)*(grad phi)
Signal-mediated export of proteins from the malaria parasite to the host erythrocyte
Intracellular parasites from the genus Plasmodium reside and multiply in a variety of cells during their development. After invasion of human erythrocytes, asexual stages from the most virulent malaria parasite, P. falciparum, drastically change their host cell and export remodelling and virulence proteins. Recent data demonstrate that a specific NH2-terminal signal conserved across the genus Plasmodium plays a central role in this export process
Beta-decay properties of Si and P
The -decay properties of the neutron-deficient nuclei Si and
P have been investigated at the GANIL/LISE3 facility by means of
charged-particle and -ray spectroscopy. The decay schemes obtained and
the Gamow-Teller strength distributions are compared to shell-model
calculations based on the USD interaction. B(GT) values derived from the
absolute measurement of the -decay branching ratios give rise to a
quenching factor of the Gamow-Teller strength of 0.6. A precise half-life of
43.7 (6) ms was determined for P, the - (2)p decay mode of which
is described
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