31,883 research outputs found
Strategies for Optimize Off-Lattice Aggregate Simulations
We review some computer algorithms for the simulation of off-lattice clusters
grown from a seed, with emphasis on the diffusion-limited aggregation,
ballistic aggregation and Eden models. Only those methods which can be
immediately extended to distinct off-lattice aggregation processes are
discussed. The computer efficiencies of the distinct algorithms are compared.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures and 3 tables; published at Brazilian Journal of
Physics 38, march, 2008 (http://www.sbfisica.org.br/bjp/files/v38_81.pdf
Crystallization, data collection and data processing of maltose-binding protein (MalE) from the phytopathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri
Maltose-binding protein is the periplasmic component of the ABC transporter
responsible for the uptake of maltose/maltodextrins. The Xanthomonas axonopodis
pv. citri maltose-binding protein MalE has been crystallized at 293 Kusing
the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystal belonged to the
primitive hexagonal space group P6_122, with unit-cell parameters a = 123.59,
b = 123.59, c = 304.20 Å, and contained two molecules in the asymetric unit. It
diffracted to 2.24 Å resolution
Aggregation in a mixture of Brownian and ballistic wandering particles
In this paper, we analyze the scaling properties of a model that has as
limiting cases the diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) and the ballistic
aggregation (BA) models. This model allows us to control the radial and angular
scaling of the patterns, as well as, their gap distributions. The particles
added to the cluster can follow either ballistic trajectories, with probability
, or random ones, with probability . The patterns were
characterized through several quantities, including those related to the radial
and angular scaling. The fractal dimension as a function of
continuously increases from (DLA dimensionality) for
to (BA dimensionality) for . However, the
lacunarity and the active zone width exhibt a distinct behavior: they are
convex functions of with a maximum at . Through the
analysis of the angular correlation function, we found that the difference
between the radial and angular exponents decreases continuously with increasing
and rapidly vanishes for , in agreement with recent
results concerning the asymptotic scaling of DLA clusters.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. accepted for publication on PR
Multiscale model for the effects of adaptive immunity suppression on the viral therapy of cancer
Oncolytic virotherapy - the use of viruses that specifically kill tumor cells
- is an innovative and highly promising route for treating cancer. However, its
therapeutic outcomes are mainly impaired by the host immune response to the
viral infection. In the present work, we propose a multiscale mathematical
model to study how the immune response interferes with the viral oncolytic
activity. The model assumes that cytotoxic T cells can induce apoptosis in
infected cancer cells and that free viruses can be inactivated by neutralizing
antibodies or cleared at a constant rate by the innate immune response. Our
simulations suggest that reprogramming the immune microenvironment in tumors
could substantially enhance the oncolytic virotherapy in immune-competent
hosts. Viable routes to such reprogramming are either in situ virus-mediated
impairing of CD T cells motility or blockade of B and T lymphocytes
recruitment. Our theoretical results can shed light on the design of viral
vectors or new protocols with neat potential impacts on the clinical practice.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
Upper bound for the conductivity of nanotube networks
Films composed of nanotube networks have their conductivities regulated by
the junction resistances formed between tubes. Conductivity values are enhanced
by lower junction resistances but should reach a maximum that is limited by the
network morphology. By considering ideal ballistic-like contacts between
nanotubes we use the Kubo formalism to calculate the upper bound for the
conductivity of such films and show how it depends on the nanotube
concentration as well as on their aspect ratio. Highest measured conductivities
reported so far are approaching this limiting value, suggesting that further
progress lies with nanowires other than nanotubes.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure. Minor changes. Accepted for publication in Applied
Physics Letter
Integrable theories and loop spaces: fundamentals, applications and new developments
We review our proposal to generalize the standard two-dimensional flatness
construction of Lax-Zakharov-Shabat to relativistic field theories in d+1
dimensions. The fundamentals from the theory of connections on loop spaces are
presented and clarified. These ideas are exposed using mathematical tools
familiar to physicists. We exhibit recent and new results that relate the
locality of the loop space curvature to the diffeomorphism invariance of the
loop space holonomy. These result are used to show that the holonomy is abelian
if the holonomy is diffeomorphism invariant.
These results justify in part and set the limitations of the local
implementations of the approach which has been worked out in the last decade.
We highlight very interesting applications like the construction and the
solution of an integrable four dimensional field theory with Hopf solitons, and
new integrability conditions which generalize BPS equations to systems such as
Skyrme theories. Applications of these ideas leading to new constructions are
implemented in theories that admit volume preserving diffeomorphisms of the
target space as symmetries. Applications to physically relevant systems like
Yang Mills theories are summarized. We also discuss other possibilities that
have not yet been explored.Comment: 64 pages, 8 figure
Dynamic Scaling of Non-Euclidean Interfaces
The dynamic scaling of curved interfaces presents features that are
strikingly different from those of the planar ones. Spherical surfaces above
one dimension are flat because the noise is irrelevant in such cases. Kinetic
roughening is thus a one-dimensional phenomenon characterized by a marginal
logarithmic amplitude of the fluctuations. Models characterized by a planar
dynamical exponent , which include the most common stochastic growth
equations, suffer a loss of correlation along the interface, and their dynamics
reduce to that of the radial random deposition model in the long time limit.
The consequences in several applications are discussed, and we conclude that it
is necessary to reexamine some experimental results in which standard scaling
analysis was applied
A reaction-diffusion model for the growth of avascular tumor
A nutrient-limited model for avascular cancer growth including cell
proliferation, motility and death is presented. The model qualitatively
reproduces commonly observed morphologies for primary tumors, and the simulated
patterns are characterized by its gyration radius, total number of cancer
cells, and number of cells on tumor periphery. These very distinct
morphological patterns follow Gompertz growth curves, but exhibit different
scaling laws for their surfaces. Also, the simulated tumors incorporate a
spatial structure composed of a central necrotic core, an inner rim of
quiescent cells and a narrow outer shell of proliferating cells in agreement
with biological data. Finally, our results indicate that the competition for
nutrients among normal and cancer cells may be a determinant factor in
generating papillary tumor morphology.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to appear in PR
Exponential behavior of the interlayer exchange coupling across non-magnetic metallic superlattices
It is shown that the coupling between magnetic layers separated by
non-magnetic metallic superlattices can decay exponentially as a function of
the spacer thickness , as opposed to the usual decay. This effect
is due to the lack of constructive contributions to the coupling from extended
states across the spacer. The exponential behavior is obtained by properly
choosing the distinct metals and the superlattice unit cell composition.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
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