4,396 research outputs found
Mathematical and computational models for bone tissue engineering in bioreactor systems
Research into cellular engineered bone grafts offers a promising solution to problems associated with the currently used auto- and allografts. Bioreactor systems can facilitate the development of functional cellular bone grafts by augmenting mass transport through media convection and shear flow-induced mechanical stimulation. Developing successful and reproducible protocols for growing bone tissue in vitro is dependent on tuning the bioreactor operating conditions to the specific cell type and graft design. This process, largely reliant on a trial-and-error approach, is challenging, time-consuming and expensive. Modelling can streamline the process by providing further insight into the effect of the bioreactor environment on the cell culture, and by identifying a beneficial range of operational settings to stimulate tissue production. Models can explore the impact of changing flow speeds, scaffold properties, and nutrient and growth factor concentrations. Aiming to act as an introductory reference for bone tissue engineers looking to direct their experimental work, this article presents a comprehensive framework of mathematical models on various aspects of bioreactor bone cultures and overviews modelling case studies from literature
The homotopy type of the loops on -connected -manifolds
For we compute the homotopy groups of -connected closed
manifolds of dimension . Away from the finite set of primes dividing
the order of the torsion subgroup in homology, the -local homotopy groups of
are determined by the rank of the free Abelian part of the homology.
Moreover, we show that these -local homotopy groups can be expressed as a
direct sum of -local homotopy groups of spheres. The integral homotopy type
of the loop space is also computed and shown to depend only on the rank of the
free Abelian part and the torsion subgroup.Comment: Trends in Algebraic Topology and Related Topics, Trends Math.,
Birkhauser/Springer, 2018. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1510.0519
Pelagic calcium carbonate production and shallow dissolution in the North Pacific Ocean
Planktonic calcifying organisms play a key role in regulating ocean carbonate
chemistry and atmospheric CO 2 . Surprisingly, references to the absolute and
relative contribution of these organisms to calcium carbonate production are
lacking. Here we report quantification of pelagic calcium carbonate produc-
tion in the North Pacific, providing new insights on the contribution of the
three main planktonic calcifying groups. Our results show that coccolitho-
phores dominate the living calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) standing stock, with
coccolithophore calcite comprising ~90% of total CaCO 3 production, and
pteropods and foraminifera playing a secondary role. We show that pelagic
CaCO 3 production is higher than the sinking flux of CaCO 3 at 150 and 200 m at
ocean stations ALOHA and PAPA, implying that a large portion of pelagic
calcium carbonate is remineralised within the photic zone; this extensive
shallow dissolution explains the apparent discrepancy between previous
estimates of CaCO 3 production derived from satellite observations/biogeo-
chemical modeling versus estimates from shallow sediment traps. We suggest
future changes in the CaCO 3 cycle and its impact on atmospheric CO 2 will
largely depend on how the poorly-understood processes that determine
whether CaCO 3 is remineralised in the photic zone or exported to depth
respond to anthropogenic warming and acidification
A filament of dark matter between two clusters of galaxies
It is a firm prediction of the concordance Cold Dark Matter (CDM)
cosmological model that galaxy clusters live at the intersection of large-scale
structure filaments. The thread-like structure of this "cosmic web" has been
traced by galaxy redshift surveys for decades. More recently the Warm-Hot
Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) residing in low redshift filaments has been
observed in emission and absorption. However, a reliable direct detection of
the underlying Dark Matter skeleton, which should contain more than half of all
matter, remained elusive, as earlier candidates for such detections were either
falsified or suffered from low signal-to-noise ratios and unphysical
misalignements of dark and luminous matter. Here we report the detection of a
dark matter filament connecting the two main components of the Abell 222/223
supercluster system from its weak gravitational lensing signal, both in a
non-parametric mass reconstruction and in parametric model fits. This filament
is coincident with an overdensity of galaxies and diffuse, soft X-ray emission
and contributes mass comparable to that of an additional galaxy cluster to the
total mass of the supercluster. Combined with X-ray observations, we place an
upper limit of 0.09 on the hot gas fraction, the mass of X-ray emitting gas
divided by the total mass, in the filament.Comment: Nature, in pres
Physics Opportunities of e+e- Linear Colliders
We describe the anticipated experimental program of an e+e- linear collider
in the energy range 500 GeV -- 1.5 TeV. We begin with a description of current
collider designs and the expected experimental environment. We then discuss
precision studies of the W boson and top quark. Finally, we review the range of
models proposed to explain the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking and
show, for each case, the central role that the linear collider experiments will
play in elucidating this physics. (to appear in Annual Reviews of Nuclear and
Particle Science)Comment: 93 pages, latex + 23 figures; typos corrections + 1 reference adde
The IGF1 small dog haplotype is derived from Middle Eastern grey wolves: a closer look at statistics, sampling, and the alleged Middle Eastern origin of small dogs
This paper is a response to Gray MM, Sutter NB, Ostrander EA, Wayne RK: The IGF1 small dog haplotype is derived from Middle Eastern grey wolves. BMC Biology 2010, 8:16
Automated Validation of State-Based Client-Centric Isolation with TLA <sup>+</sup>
Clear consistency guarantees on data are paramount for the design and implementation of distributed systems. When implementing distributed applications, developers require approaches to verify the data consistency guarantees of an implementation choice. Crooks et al. define a state-based and client-centric model of database isolation. This paper formalizes this state-based model in, reproduces their examples and shows how to model check runtime traces and algorithms with this formalization. The formalized model in enables semi-automatic model checking for different implementation alternatives for transactional operations and allows checking of conformance to isolation levels. We reproduce examples of the original paper and confirm the isolation guarantees of the combination of the well-known 2-phase locking and 2-phase commit algorithms. Using model checking this formalization can also help finding bugs in incorrect specifications. This improves feasibility of automated checking of isolation guarantees in synthesized synchronization implementations and it provides an environment for experimenting with new designs.</p
Effect of parasympathetic stimulation on brain activity during appraisal of fearful expressions
Autonomic nervous system activity is an important component of human emotion. Mental processes influence bodily physiology, which in turn feeds back to influence thoughts and feelings. Afferent cardiovascular signals from arterial baroreceptors in the carotid sinuses are processed within the brain and contribute to this two-way communication with the body. These carotid baroreceptors can be stimulated non-invasively by externally applying focal negative pressure bilaterally to the neck. In an experiment combining functional neuroimaging (fMRI) with carotid stimulation in healthy participants, we tested the hypothesis that manipulating afferent cardiovascular signals alters the central processing of emotional information (fearful and neutral facial expressions). Carotid stimulation, compared with sham stimulation, broadly attenuated activity across cortical and brainstem regions. Modulation of emotional processing was apparent as a significant expression-by-stimulation interaction within left amygdala, where responses during appraisal of fearful faces were selectively reduced by carotid stimulation. Moreover, activity reductions within insula, amygdala, and hippocampus correlated with the degree of stimulation-evoked change in the explicit emotional ratings of fearful faces. Across participants, individual differences in autonomic state (heart rate variability, a proxy measure of autonomic balance toward parasympathetic activity) predicted the extent to which carotid stimulation influenced neural (amygdala) responses during appraisal and subjective rating of fearful faces. Together our results provide mechanistic insight into the visceral component of emotion by identifying the neural substrates mediating cardiovascular influences on the processing of fear signals, potentially implicating central baroreflex mechanisms for anxiolytic treatment targets
Mutual information rate and bounds for it
The amount of information exchanged per unit of time between two nodes in a
dynamical network or between two data sets is a powerful concept for analysing
complex systems. This quantity, known as the mutual information rate (MIR), is
calculated from the mutual information, which is rigorously defined only for
random systems. Moreover, the definition of mutual information is based on
probabilities of significant events. This work offers a simple alternative way
to calculate the MIR in dynamical (deterministic) networks or between two data
sets (not fully deterministic), and to calculate its upper and lower bounds
without having to calculate probabilities, but rather in terms of well known
and well defined quantities in dynamical systems. As possible applications of
our bounds, we study the relationship between synchronisation and the exchange
of information in a system of two coupled maps and in experimental networks of
coupled oscillators
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