1,881 research outputs found
Evaluation of a multimode fiber optic low coherence interferometer for path length resolved Doppler measurements of diffuse light \ud
The performance of a graded index multimode fiber optic low coherence Mach-Zehnder interferometer with phase modulation is analyzed. Investigated aspects were its ability to measure path length distributions and to perform path length resolved Doppler measurements of multiple scattered photons in a turbid suspension of particles undergoing Brownian and translational motion. The path length resolution of this instrument is compared with a system using single mode fibers for illumination and detection. The optical path lengths are determined from the zero order moment of the phase modulation peak in the power spectrum. The weighted first moment, which is equal to the average Doppler shift, shows a linear response for different mean flow velocities within the physiological rang
Enhancing the spectral gap of networks by node removal
Dynamics on networks are often characterized by the second smallest
eigenvalue of the Laplacian matrix of the network, which is called the spectral
gap. Examples include the threshold coupling strength for synchronization and
the relaxation time of a random walk. A large spectral gap is usually
associated with high network performance, such as facilitated synchronization
and rapid convergence. In this study, we seek to enhance the spectral gap of
undirected and unweighted networks by removing nodes because, practically, the
removal of nodes often costs less than the addition of nodes, addition of
links, and rewiring of links. In particular, we develop a perturbative method
to achieve this goal. The proposed method realizes better performance than
other heuristic methods on various model and real networks. The spectral gap
increases as we remove up to half the nodes in most of these networks.Comment: 5 figure
Peristaltic Transport of a Couple Stress Fluid: Some Applications to Hemodynamics
The present paper deals with a theoretical investigation of the peristaltic
transport of a couple stress fluid in a porous channel. The study is motivated
towards the physiological flow of blood in the micro-circulatory system, by
taking account of the particle size effect. The velocity, pressure gradient,
stream function and frictional force of blood are investigated, when the
Reynolds number is small and the wavelength is large, by using appropriate
analytical and numerical methods. Effects of different physical parameters
reflecting porosity, Darcy number, couple stress parameter as well as amplitude
ratio on velocity profiles, pumping action and frictional force, streamlines
pattern and trapping of blood are studied with particular emphasis. The
computational results are presented in graphical form. The results are found to
be in good agreement with those of Shapiro et. al \cite{r25} that was carried
out for a non-porous channel in the absence of couple stress effect. The
present study puts forward an important observation that for peristaltic
transport of a couple stress fluid during free pumping when the couple stress
effect of the fluid/Darcy permeability of the medium, flow reversal can be
controlled to a considerable extent. Also by reducing the permeability it is
possible to avoid the occurrence of trapping phenomenon
Unique Thermal Properties of Clothing Materials.
Cloth wearing seems so natural that everyone is self-deemed knowledgeable and has some expert opinions about it. However, to clearly explain the physics involved, and hence to make predictions for clothing design or selection, it turns out to be quite challenging even for experts. Cloth is a multiphased, porous, and anisotropic material system and usually in multilayers. The human body acts as an internal heat source in a clothing situation, thus forming a temperature gradient between body and ambient. But unlike ordinary engineering heat transfer problems, the sign of this gradient often changes as the ambient temperature varies. The human body also perspires and the sweat evaporates, an effective body cooling process via phase change. To bring all the variables into analysis quickly escalates into a formidable task. This work attempts to unravel the problem from a physics perspective, focusing on a few rarely noticed yet critically important mechanisms involved so as to offer a clearer and more accurate depiction of the principles in clothing thermal comfort
Peristaltic Transport of a Rheological Fluid: Model for Movement of Food Bolus Through Esophagus
Fluid mechanical peristaltic transport through esophagus has been of concern
in the paper. A mathematical model has been developed with an aim to study the
peristaltic transport of a rheological fluid for arbitrary wave shapes and tube
lengths. The Ostwald-de Waele power law of viscous fluid is considered here to
depict the non-Newtonian behaviour of the fluid. The model is formulated and
analyzed with the specific aim of exploring some important information
concerning the movement of food bolus through the esophagus. The analysis has
been carried out by using lubrication theory. The study is particularly
suitable for cases where the Reynolds number is small. The esophagus is treated
as a circular tube through which the transport of food bolus takes places by
periodic contraction of the esophageal wall. Variation of different variables
concerned with the transport phenomena such as pressure, flow velocity,
particle trajectory and reflux are investigated for a single wave as well as
for a train of periodic peristaltic waves. Locally variable pressure is seen to
be highly sensitive to the flow index `n'. The study clearly shows that
continuous fluid transport for Newtonian/rheological fluids by wave train
propagation is much more effective than widely spaced single wave propagation
in the case of peristaltic movement of food bolus in the esophagus.Comment: Accepted for publication in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (AMM),
Springe
Peptidoglycan recognition in Drosophila is mediated by LysMD3/4
Microbial recognition is a key step in regulating the immune signaling pathways of multicellular organisms. Peptidoglycan, a component of the bacterial cell wall, exhibits immune stimulating activity in both plants and animals. Lysin motif domain (LysMD) family proteins are ancient peptidoglycan receptors that function in bacteriophage and plants. This report focuses on defining the role of LysMD-containing proteins in animals. Here, we characterize a novel transmembrane LysMD family protein. Loss-of-function mutations at the lysMD3/4 locus in Drosophila are associated with systemic innate immune activation following challenge, so we refer to this gene as immune active (ima). We show that Ima selectively binds peptidoglycan, is enriched in cell membranes, and is necessary to regulate terminal innate immune effectors through an NF-kB-dependent pathway. Hence, Ima fulfills the key criteria of a peptidoglycan pattern recognition receptor. The human Ima ortholog, hLysMD3, exhibits similar biochemical properties. Together, these findings establish LysMD3/4 as the founding member of a novel family of animal peptidoglycan recognition proteins
Detrended Fluctuation Analysis of Systolic Blood Pressure Control Loop
We use detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to study the dynamics of blood
pressure oscillations and its feedback control in rats by analyzing systolic
pressure time series before and after a surgical procedure that interrupts its
control loop. We found, for each situation, a crossover between two scaling
regions characterized by exponents that reflect the nature of the feedback
control and its range of operation. In addition, we found evidences of
adaptation in the dynamics of blood pressure regulation a few days after
surgical disruption of its main feedback circuit. Based on the paradigm of
antagonistic, bipartite (vagal and sympathetic) action of the central nerve
system, we propose a simple model for pressure homeostasis as the balance
between two nonlinear opposing forces, successfully reproducing the crossover
observed in the DFA of actual pressure signals
Network Physiology reveals relations between network topology and physiological function
The human organism is an integrated network where complex physiologic
systems, each with its own regulatory mechanisms, continuously interact, and
where failure of one system can trigger a breakdown of the entire network.
Identifying and quantifying dynamical networks of diverse systems with
different types of interactions is a challenge. Here, we develop a framework to
probe interactions among diverse systems, and we identify a physiologic
network. We find that each physiologic state is characterized by a specific
network structure, demonstrating a robust interplay between network topology
and function. Across physiologic states the network undergoes topological
transitions associated with fast reorganization of physiologic interactions on
time scales of a few minutes, indicating high network flexibility in response
to perturbations. The proposed system-wide integrative approach may facilitate
the development of a new field, Network Physiology.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
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