15,862 research outputs found
Dynamic Light Scattering from Semidilute Actin Solutions: A Study of Hydrodynamic Screening, Filament Bending Stiffness and the Effect of Tropomyosin/Troponin-Binding
Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) is applied to investigate the effect of
the tropomyosin/troponin complex (Tm/Tn) on the stiffness of actin filaments.
The importance of hydrodynamic screening in semidilute solutions is
demonstrated. A new concentration dependent expression for the dynamic
structure factor of semiflexible polymers in semidilute solutions
is used to analyze the experimental QELS data. A concentration independent
value for the bending modulus is thus obtained. It increases by 50\%
as a consequence of Tm/Tn binding in a 7:1:1 molar ratio of actin/Tm/Tn. In
addition a new expression for the initial slope of the dynamic structure factor
of a semiflexible polymer is used to determine the effective hydrodynamic
diameter of the actin filament. Our results confirm the general relevance of
the concept of (intrinsic) semiflexibility to polymer dynamics.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX, 9 figures, all uuencoded gzipe
Longitudinal Response of Confined Semiflexible Polymers
The longitudinal response of single semiflexible polymers to sudden changes
in externally applied forces is known to be controlled by the propagation and
relaxation of backbone tension. Under many experimental circumstances,
realized, e.g., in nano-fluidic devices or in polymeric networks or solutions,
these polymers are effectively confined in a channel- or tube-like geometry. By
means of heuristic scaling laws and rigorous analytical theory, we analyze the
tension dynamics of confined semiflexible polymers for various generic
experimental setups. It turns out that in contrast to the well-known linear
response, the influence of confinement on the non-linear dynamics can largely
be described as that of an effective prestress. We also study the free
relaxation of an initially confined chain, finding a surprising superlinear
t^(9/8) growth law for the change in end-to-end distance at short times.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur
The spillover effects of monitoring:A field experiment
Published Online: March 13, 2015We provide field experimental evidence of the effects of monitoring in a context where productivity is multidimensional and only one dimension is monitored and incentivized. We hire students to do a job for us. The job consists of identifying euro coins. We study the direct effects of monitoring and penalizing mistakes on work quality and evaluate spillovers on unmonitored dimensions of productivity (punctuality and theft). We find that monitoring improves work quality only if incentives are harsh, but substantially reduces punctuality irrespectively of the associated incentives. Monitoring does not affect theft, with 10% of participants stealing overall. Our findings are supportive of a reciprocity mechanism, whereby workers retaliate for being distrusted
Characterization of a microwave frequency resonator via a nearby quantum dot
We present measurements of a hybrid system consisting of a microwave
transmission-line resonator and a lateral quantum dot defined on a GaAs
heterostructure. The two subsystems are separately characterized and their
interaction is studied by monitoring the electrical conductance through the
quantum dot. The presence of a strong microwave field in the resonator is found
to reduce the resonant conductance through the quantum dot, and is attributed
to electron heating and modulation of the dot potential. We use this
interaction to demonstrate a measurement of the resonator transmission spectrum
using the quantum dot.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
Atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) at Dome C, East Antarctica, during the OPALE campaign
Mixing ratios of the atmospheric nitrogen oxides NO and NO2 were measured as part of the OPALE (Oxidant Production in Antarctic Lands & Export) campaign at Dome C, East Antarctica (75.1 degrees S, 123.3 degrees E, 3233 m), during December 2011 to January 2012. Profiles of NOx mixing ratios of the lower 100m of the atmosphere confirm that, in contrast to the South Pole, air chemistry at Dome C is strongly influenced by large diurnal cycles in solar irradiance and a sudden collapse of the atmospheric boundary layer in the early evening. Depth profiles of mixing ratios in firn air suggest that the upper snowpack at Dome C holds a significant reservoir of photolytically produced NO2 and is a sink of gas-phase ozone (O-3). First-time observations of bromine oxide (BrO) at Dome C show that mixing ratios of BrO near the ground are low, certainly less than 5 pptv, with higher levels in the free troposphere. Assuming steady state, observed mixing ratios of BrO and RO2 radicals are too low to explain the large NO2 : NO ratios found in ambient air, possibly indicating the existence of an unknown process contributing to the atmospheric chemistry of reactive nitrogen above the Antarctic Plateau. During 2011-2012, NOx mixing ratios and flux were larger than in 2009-2010, consistent with also larger surface O-3 mixing ratios resulting from increased net O-3 production. Large NOx mixing ratios at Dome C arise from a combination of continuous sunlight, shallow mixing height and significant NOx emissions by surface snow (F-NOx). During 23 December 2011-12 January 2012, median F-NOx was twice that during the same period in 20092010 due to significantly larger atmospheric turbulence and a slightly stronger snowpack source. A tripling of F-NOx in December 2011 was largely due to changes in snowpack source strength caused primarily by changes in NO3- concentrations in the snow skin layer, and only to a secondary order by decrease of total column O-3 and associated increase in NO3- photolysis rates. A source of uncertainty in model estimates of F-NOx is the quantum yield of NO3- photolysis in natural snow, which may change over time as the snow ages
Relationship between Groat-Oil Content and Grain Yield of Oats (Avena sativa L.)
Raising the energy content of oat (Avena sativa L.) groats by increasing their oil percentage could improve the economic value of oats as a feed grain and as a source of culinary oil. Relative importance of genotype x environment interaction for groat-oil content and grain yield and the correlations of groat-oil content with yield and maturity were evaluated for ten cultivars grown at three Iowa locations for two years. Cultivar x location mean squares were significant for both traits, but they were much smaller, relative to cultivar mean squares, for groat-oil content than for grain yield. Ranking of oat cultivars for groat-oil content was similar in all environments. Groat-oil content was positively correlated with grain yield in both years (r = 0.62* and 0.63*) and had a negative but nonsignificant correlation coefficient with maturity (r = - 0.28 and - 0.48). These relationships are favorable for the development of high-yielding, high groat-oil content cultivars
Scaling regimes and critical dimensions in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang problem
We study the scaling regimes for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation with noise
correlator R(q) ~ (1 + w q^{-2 \rho}) in Fourier space, as a function of \rho
and the spatial dimension d. By means of a stochastic Cole-Hopf transformation,
the critical and correction-to-scaling exponents at the roughening transition
are determined to all orders in a (d - d_c) expansion. We also argue that there
is a intriguing possibility that the rough phases above and below the lower
critical dimension d_c = 2 (1 + \rho) are genuinely different which could lead
to a re-interpretation of results in the literature.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, eps files for two figures as well as Europhys. Lett.
style files included; slightly expanded reincarnatio
Scaling and universality in coupled driven diffusive models
Inspired by the physics of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) a simplified coupled
Burgers-like model in one dimension (1d), a generalization of the Burgers model
to coupled degrees of freedom, is proposed to describe 1dMHD. In addition to
MHD, this model serves as a 1d reduced model for driven binary fluid mixtures.
Here we have performed a comprehensive study of the universal properties of the
generalized d-dimensional version of the reduced model. We employ both
analytical and numerical approaches. In particular, we determine the scaling
exponents and the amplitude-ratios of the relevant two-point time-dependent
correlation functions in the model. We demonstrate that these quantities vary
continuously with the amplitude of the noise cross-correlation. Further our
numerical studies corroborate the continuous dependence of long wavelength and
long time-scale physics of the model on the amplitude of the noise
cross-correlations, as found in our analytical studies. We construct and
simulate lattice-gas models of coupled degrees of freedom in 1d, belonging to
the universality class of our coupled Burgers-like model, which display similar
behavior. We use a variety of numerical (Monte-Carlo and Pseudospectral
methods) and analytical (Dynamic Renormalization Group, Self-Consistent
Mode-Coupling Theory and Functional Renormalization Group) approaches for our
work. The results from our different approaches complement one another.
Possible realizations of our results in various nonequilibrium models are
discussed.Comment: To appear in JSTAT (2009); 52 pages in JSTAT format. Some figure
files have been replace
Canonical phase space approach to the noisy Burgers equation
Presenting a general phase approach to stochastic processes we analyze in
particular the Fokker-Planck equation for the noisy Burgers equation and
discuss the time dependent and stationary probability distributions. In one
dimension we derive the long-time skew distribution approaching the symmetric
stationary Gaussian distribution. In the short time regime we discuss
heuristically the nonlinear soliton contributions and derive an expression for
the distribution in accordance with the directed polymer-replica model and
asymmetric exclusion model results.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex file, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. a reference has
been added and a few typos correcte
VLBI imaging of extremely high redshift quasars at 5 GHz
We present very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) images of ten very high
redshift (z>3) quasars at 5 GHz. The sources 0004+139, 0830+101, 0906+041,
0938+119 and 1500+045 were observed in September 1992 using a global VLBI
array, while 0046+063, 0243+181, 1338+381, 1428+423 and 1557+032 were observed
in October 1996 with the European VLBI Network and Hartebeesthoek, South
Africa. Most of the sources are resolved and show asymmetric structure. The
sample includes 1428+423, the most distant radio loud quasar known to date
(z=4.72). It is barely resolved with an angular resolution of about 2.0*1.4
mas.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics, in press, Latex2e, 10 pages, 3 figures
(and lots of sub-figures
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