587 research outputs found
On the efficient numerical solution of lattice systems with low-order couplings
We apply the Quasi Monte Carlo (QMC) and recursive numerical integration
methods to evaluate the Euclidean, discretized time path-integral for the
quantum mechanical anharmonic oscillator and a topological quantum mechanical
rotor model. For the anharmonic oscillator both methods outperform standard
Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods and show a significantly improved error
scaling. For the quantum mechanical rotor we could, however, not find a
successful way employing QMC. On the other hand, the recursive numerical
integration method works extremely well for this model and shows an at least
exponentially fast error scaling
Measuring intestinal fluid transport in vitro: Gravimetric method versus non-absorbable marker
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The gut sac is a long-standing, widely used in vitro preparation for studying solute and water transport, and calculation of these fluxes requires an accurate assessment of volume. This is commonly determined gravimetrically by measuring the change in mass over time. While convenient this likely under-estimates actual net water flux (Jv) due to tissue edema. We evaluated whether the popular in vivo volume marker [(14)C]-PEG 4000, offers a more representative measure of Jvin vitro. We directly compared these two methods in five teleost species (toadfish, flounder, rainbow trout, killifish and tilapia). Net fluid absorption by the toadfish intestine based on PEG was significantly higher, by almost 4-fold, compared to gravimetric measurements, compatible with the latter under-estimating Jv. Despite this, PEG proved inconsistent for all of the other species frequently resulting in calculation of net secretion, in contrast to absorption seen gravimetrically. Such poor parallelism could not be explained by the absorption of [(14)C]-PEG (typically <1%). We identified a number of factors impacting the effectiveness of PEG. One was adsorption to the surface of sample tubes. While it was possible to circumvent this using unlabelled PEG 4000, this had a deleterious effect on PEG-based Jv. We also found sequestration of PEG within the intestinal mucus. In conclusion, the short-comings associated with the accurate representation of Jv by gut sac preparations are not overcome by [(14)C]-PEG. The gravimetric method therefore remains the most reliable measure of Jv and we urge caution in the use of PEG as a volume marker.We are grateful to Ian and Tony McClure, the local fishermen of Flookburgh, Cumbria (U.K.) for collecting the flounder used in this study, and to Jan Shears for assistance with fish husbandry at Exeter (U.K.). We thank Ray Hurley and Debbie Fretz in Miami (U.S.A.) for supplying the toadfish. This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) grants BBS/S/A/2004/11078 and BB/F009364/1 to R.W.W., and National Science Foundation (NSF) grants IAB0743903 and 1146695 to M.G
Bayesian Analysis of the Polarization of Distant Radio Sources: Limits on Cosmological Birefringence
A recent study of the rotation of the plane of polarization of light from 160
cosmological sources claims to find significant evidence for cosmological
anisotropy. We point out methodological weaknesses of that study, and reanalyze
the same data using Bayesian methods that overcome these problems. We find that
the data always favor isotropic models for the distribution of observed
polarizations over counterparts that have a cosmological anisotropy of the type
advocated in the earlier study. Although anisotropic models are not completely
ruled out, the data put strong lower limits on the length scale (in
units of the Hubble length) associated with the anisotropy; the lower limits of
95% credible regions for lie between 0.43 and 0.62 in all anisotropic
models we studied, values several times larger than the best-fit value of
found in the earlier study. The length scale is not
constrained from above. The vast majority of sources in the data are at
distances closer than 0.4 Hubble lengths (corresponding to a redshift of
0.8); the results are thus consistent with there being no significant
anisotropy on the length scale probed by these data.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.
Subsequent cultivation of chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells on the devitalised tissue
The regeneration of cartilage lesions still represents a major challenge.
Cartilage has a tissue-specific architecture, complicating recreation by
synthetic biomaterials. A novel approach for reconstruction is the use of
devitalised cartilage. Treatment with high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) achieves
devitalisation while biomechanical properties are remained. Therefore, in the
present study, cartilage was devitalised using HHP treatment and the potential
for revitalisation with chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) was
investigated. The devitalisation of cartilage was performed by application of
480 MPa over 10 minutes. Effective cellular inactivation was demonstrated by
the trypan blue exclusion test and DNA quantification. Histology and electron
microscopy examinations showed undamaged cartilage structure after HHP
treatment. For revitalisation chondrocytes and MSCs were cultured on
devitalised cartilage without supplementation of chondrogenic growth factors.
Both chondrocytes and MSCs significantly increased expression of cartilage-
specific genes. ECM stainings showed neocartilage-like structure with positive
AZAN staining as well as collagen type II and aggrecan deposition after three
weeks of cultivation. Our results showed that HHP treatment caused
devitalisation of cartilage tissue. ECM proteins were not influenced, thus,
providing a scaffold for chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs and
chondrocytes. Therefore, using HHP-treated tissue might be a promising
approach for cartilage repair
Strange vector currents and the OZI-rule
We investigate the role of correlated exchange in the extraction of
matrix elements of the strange vector current in the proton. We show that a
realistic isoscalar spectral function including this effect leads to sizeably
reduced strange vector form factors based on the dispersion--theoretical
analysis of the nucleons' electromagnetic form factors.Comment: 8 pp, plain LaTeX, uses epsf, 3 figure
Chiral Symmetry and the Nucleon's Vector Strangeness Form Factors
The nucleon's strange-quark vector current form factors are studied from the
perspective of chiral symmetry. It is argued that chiral perturbation theory
cannot yield a prediction for the strangeness radius and magnetic moment.
Arrival at definite predictions requires the introduction of additional,
model-dependent assumptions which go beyond the framework of chiral
perturbation theory. A variety of such model predictions is surveyed, and the
credibility of each is evaluated. The most plausible prediction appears in a
model where the unknown chiral counterterms are identified with -channel
vector meson exchange amplitudes. The corresponding prediction for the mean
square Dirac strangeness radius is fm, which
would be observable in up-coming semileptonic determinations of the nucleon's
strangeness form factors.Comment: LaTex 31 pages, four figures available from authors
Measurement of turbulence spectra using scanning pulsed wind lidars
Turbulent velocity spectra, as measured by a scanning pulsed wind lidar (WindCube), are analyzed. The relationship between ordinary velocity spectra and lidar derived spectra is mathematically very complex, and deployment of the three-dimensional spectral velocity tensor is necessary. The resulting scanning lidar spectra depend on beam angles, line-of-sight averaging, sampling rate, and the full three-dimensional structure of the turbulence being measured, in a convoluted way. The model captures the attenuation and redistribution of the spectral energy at high and low wave numbers very well. The model and measured spectra are in good agreement at two analyzed heights for the u and w components of the velocity field. An interference phenomenon is observed, both in the model and the measurements, when the diameter of the scanning circle divided by the mean wind speed is a multiple of the time between the beam measurements. For the v spectrum, the model and the measurements agree well at both heights, except at very low wave numbers, k1 < 0.005 m?1. In this region, where the spectral tensor model has not been verified, the model overestimates the spectral energy measured by the lidar. The theoretical understanding of the shape of turbulent velocity spectra measured by scanning pulsed wind lidar is given a firm foundation.Aerodynamics, Wind Energy, Flight Performance and PropulsionAerospace Engineerin
The influence of anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics on the relaxation processes in lipid membranes
In the proximity of melting transitions of artificial and biological
membranes fluctuations in enthalpy, area, volume and concentration are
enhanced. This results in domain formation, changes of the elastic constants,
changes in permeability and slowing down of relaxation processes. In this study
we used pressure perturbation calorimetry to investigate the relaxation time
scale after a jump into the melting transition regime of artificial lipid
membranes. This time corresponds to the characteristic rate of domain growth.
The studies were performed on single-component large unilamellar and
multilamellar vesicle systems with and without the addition of small molecules
such as general anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics. These drugs
interact with membranes and affect melting points and profiles. In all systems
we found that heat capacity and relaxation times are related to each other in a
simple manner. The maximum relaxation time depends on the cooperativity of the
heat capacity profile and decreases with a broadening of the transition. For
this reason the influence of a drug on the time scale of domain formation
processes can be understood on the basis of their influence on the heat
capacity profile. This allows estimations of the time scale of domain formation
processes in biological membranes.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
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