135 research outputs found
Anomalous roughening of wood fractured surfaces
Scaling properties of wood fractured surfaces are obtained from samples of
three different sizes. Two different woods are studied: Norway spruce and
Maritime pine. Fracture surfaces are shown to display an anomalous dynamic
scaling of the crack roughness. This anomalous scaling behavior involves the
existence of two different and independent roughness exponents. We determine
the local roughness exponents to be 0.87 for spruce and 0.88
for pine. These results are consistent with the conjecture of a universal local
roughness exponent. The global roughness exponent is different for both woods,
= 1.60 for spruce and = 1.35 for pine. We argue that the global
roughness exponent is a good index for material characterization.Comment: 7 two columns pages plus 8 ps figures, uses psfig. To appear in
Physical Review
Avalanches in the Weakly Driven Frenkel-Kontorova Model
A damped chain of particles with harmonic nearest-neighbor interactions in a
spatially periodic, piecewise harmonic potential (Frenkel-Kontorova model) is
studied numerically. One end of the chain is pulled slowly which acts as a weak
driving mechanism. The numerical study was performed in the limit of infinitely
weak driving. The model exhibits avalanches starting at the pulled end of the
chain. The dynamics of the avalanches and their size and strength distributions
are studied in detail. The behavior depends on the value of the damping
constant. For moderate values a erratic sequence of avalanches of all sizes
occurs. The avalanche distributions are power-laws which is a key feature of
self-organized criticality (SOC). It will be shown that the system selects a
state where perturbations are just able to propagate through the whole system.
For strong damping a regular behavior occurs where a sequence of states
reappears periodically but shifted by an integer multiple of the period of the
external potential. There is a broad transition regime between regular and
irregular behavior, which is characterized by multistability between regular
and irregular behavior. The avalanches are build up by sound waves and shock
waves. Shock waves can turn their direction of propagation, or they can split
into two pulses propagating in opposite directions leading to transient
spatio-temporal chaos. PACS numbers: 05.70.Ln,05.50.+q,46.10.+zComment: 33 pages (RevTex), 15 Figures (available on request), appears in
Phys. Rev.
Avalanche Dynamics in Evolution, Growth, and Depinning Models
The dynamics of complex systems in nature often occurs in terms of
punctuations, or avalanches, rather than following a smooth, gradual path. A
comprehensive theory of avalanche dynamics in models of growth, interface
depinning, and evolution is presented. Specifically, we include the Bak-Sneppen
evolution model, the Sneppen interface depinning model, the Zaitsev flux creep
model, invasion percolation, and several other depinning models into a unified
treatment encompassing a large class of far from equilibrium processes. The
formation of fractal structures, the appearance of noise, diffusion with
anomalous Hurst exponents, Levy flights, and punctuated equilibria can all be
related to the same underlying avalanche dynamics. This dynamics can be
represented as a fractal in spatial plus one temporal dimension. We develop
a scaling theory that relates many of the critical exponents in this broad
category of extremal models, representing different universality classes, to
two basic exponents characterizing the fractal attractor. The exact equations
and the derived set of scaling relations are consistent with numerical
simulations of the above mentioned models.Comment: 27 pages in revtex, no figures included. Figures or hard copy of the
manuscript supplied on reques
Baccharis rufescens Spreng. var. tenuifolia (DC.) Baker: contribuição ao estudo farmacognóstico
Recurrent candidiasis and early-onset gastric cancer in a patient with a genetically defined partial MYD88 defect
Gastric cancer is caused by both genetic and environmental factors. A woman who suffered from recurrent candidiasis throughout her life developed diffuse-type gastric cancer at the age of 23 years. Using whole-exome sequencing we identified a germline homozygous missense variant in MYD88. Immunological assays on peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed an impaired immune response upon stimulation with Candida albicans, characterized by a defective production of the cytokine interleukin-17. Our data suggest that a genetic defect in MYD88 results in an impaired immune response and may increase gastric cancer risk
Importance of anatomical leaf features for characterization of three species of Mapania (Mapanioideae, Cyperaceae) from the Amazon Forest, Brazil
Effects of changes in micro-weather conditions on structural features, total protein and carbohydrate content in leaves of the Atlantic rain forest tree golden trumpet (Tabebuia chrysotricha)
Dust in Supernovae and Supernova Remnants I : Formation Scenarios
Supernovae are considered as prime sources of dust in space. Observations of local supernovae over the past couple of decades have detected the presence of dust in supernova ejecta. The reddening of the high redshift quasars also indicate the presence of large masses of dust in early galaxies. Considering the top heavy IMF in the early galaxies, supernovae are assumed to be the major contributor to these large amounts of dust. However, the composition and morphology of dust grains formed in a supernova ejecta is yet to be understood with clarity. Moreover, the dust masses inferred from observations in mid-infrared and submillimeter wavelength regimes differ by two orders of magnitude or more. Therefore, the mechanism responsible for the synthesis of molecules and dust in such environments plays a crucial role in studying the evolution of cosmic dust in galaxies. This review summarises our current knowledge of dust formation in supernova ejecta and tries to quantify the role of supernovae as dust producers in a galaxy.Peer reviewe
Non-lethal heat shock protects gnotobiotic Artemia franciscana larvae against virulent Vibrios
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