1,026 research outputs found
Schistosome-induced portacaval haemodynamic changes in Rattus rattus are associated with translocation of adult worms to the lungs
The presence of naturally portacaval shunts has been investigated in the vasculature of normal and Schistosoma mansoni-infected Rattus rattus. Using the technique of injecting Polystyrene microspheres in the superior mesenteric vein, we demonstrated that the presence of adult schistosomes in the lungs of R. rattus was not due to an innate anomaly of the rat vasculature but resulted from the formation of portacaval shunts during infection. In rats harbouring a bisexual infection, microspheres were only detected in the lungs from week 7. The development and increasing size of the shunts were maximal between weeks 7 and 10 and coincident with the translocation of adult worms from the portal tract to the lungs. At weeks 20–25, only 1–2% of the microspheres were recovered from the lungs, suggesting that the portacaval anastomoses have regressed due to reduction in portal hypertension after worm translocation. R. rattus with a male-only schistosome infection harboured adult worms in the lungs, indicating that the development of shunts does not solely depend upon egg deposition in the liver to generate hypertension. The relationships between the presence of the schistosomes in the lungs, the portacaval shunting and the resistance to reinfection is discussed
Repeated games for eikonal equations, integral curvature flows and non-linear parabolic integro-differential equations
The main purpose of this paper is to approximate several non-local evolution
equations by zero-sum repeated games in the spirit of the previous works of
Kohn and the second author (2006 and 2009): general fully non-linear parabolic
integro-differential equations on the one hand, and the integral curvature flow
of an interface (Imbert, 2008) on the other hand. In order to do so, we start
by constructing such a game for eikonal equations whose speed has a
non-constant sign. This provides a (discrete) deterministic control
interpretation of these evolution equations. In all our games, two players
choose positions successively, and their final payoff is determined by their
positions and additional parameters of choice. Because of the non-locality of
the problems approximated, by contrast with local problems, their choices have
to "collect" information far from their current position. For integral
curvature flows, players choose hypersurfaces in the whole space and positions
on these hypersurfaces. For parabolic integro-differential equations, players
choose smooth functions on the whole space
The Search for Stellar Companions to Exoplanet Host Stars Using the CHARA Array
Most exoplanets have been discovered via radial velocity studies, which are
inherently insensitive to orbital inclination. Interferometric observations
will show evidence of a stellar companion if it sufficiently bright, regardless
of the inclination. Using the CHARA Array, we observed 22 exoplanet host stars
to search for stellar companions in low-inclination orbits that may be
masquerading as planetary systems. While no definitive stellar companions were
discovered, it was possible to rule out certain secondary spectral types for
each exoplanet system observed by studying the errors in the diameter fit to
calibrated visibilities and by searching for separated fringe packets.Comment: 26 pages, 5 tables, 8 figure
Homogenization and enhancement for the G-equation
We consider the so-called G-equation, a level set Hamilton-Jacobi equation,
used as a sharp interface model for flame propagation, perturbed by an
oscillatory advection in a spatio-temporal periodic environment. Assuming that
the advection has suitably small spatial divergence, we prove that, as the size
of the oscillations diminishes, the solutions homogenize (average out) and
converge to the solution of an effective anisotropic first-order
(spatio-temporal homogeneous) level set equation. Moreover we obtain a rate of
convergence and show that, under certain conditions, the averaging enhances the
velocity of the underlying front. We also prove that, at scale one, the level
sets of the solutions of the oscillatory problem converge, at long times, to
the Wulff shape associated with the effective Hamiltonian. Finally we also
consider advection depending on position at the integral scale
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Semiflexible Polyampholyte Brushes - The Effect of Charged Monomers Sequence
Planar brushes formed by end-grafted semiflexible polyampholyte chains, each
chain containing equal number of positively and negatively charged monomers is
studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Keeping the length of the chains
fixed, dependence of the average brush thickness and equilibrium statistics of
the brush conformations on the grafting density and the salt concentration are
obtained with various sequences of charged monomers. When similarly charged
monomers of the chains are arranged in longer blocks, the average brush
thickness is smaller and dependence of brush properties on the grafting density
and the salt concentration is stronger. With such long blocks of similarly
charged monomers, the anchored chains bond to each other in the vicinity of the
grafting surface at low grafting densities and buckle toward the grafting
surface at high grafting densities.Comment: 8 pages,7 figure
Geometric approach to nonvariational singular elliptic equations
In this work we develop a systematic geometric approach to study fully
nonlinear elliptic equations with singular absorption terms as well as their
related free boundary problems. The magnitude of the singularity is measured by
a negative parameter , for , which reflects on
lack of smoothness for an existing solution along the singular interface
between its positive and zero phases. We establish existence as well sharp
regularity properties of solutions. We further prove that minimal solutions are
non-degenerate and obtain fine geometric-measure properties of the free
boundary . In particular we show sharp
Hausdorff estimates which imply local finiteness of the perimeter of the region
and a.e. weak differentiability property of
.Comment: Paper from D. Araujo's Ph.D. thesis, distinguished at the 2013 Carlos
Gutierrez prize for best thesis, Archive for Rational Mechanics and Analysis
201
Magnetic Interactions and Transport in (Ga,Cr)As
The magnetic, transport, and structural properties of (Ga,Cr)As are reported.
Zincblende GaCrAs was grown by low-temperature molecular beam
epitaxy (MBE). At low concentrations, x0.1, the materials exhibit unusual
magnetic properties associated with the random magnetism of the alloy. At low
temperatures the magnetization M(B) increases rapidly with increasing field due
to the alignment of ferromagnetic units (polarons or clusters) having large
dipole moments of order 10-10. A standard model of
superparamagnetism is inadequate for describing both the field and temperature
dependence of the magnetization M(B,T). In order to explain M(B) at low
temperatures we employ a distributed magnetic moment (DMM) model in which
polarons or clusters of ions have a distribution of moments. It is also found
that the magnetic susceptibility increases for decreasing temperature but
saturates below T=4 K. The inverse susceptibility follows a linear-T
Curie-Weiss law and extrapolates to a magnetic transition temperature
=10 K. In magnetotransport measurements, a room temperature resistivity
of =0.1 cm and a hole concentration of cm
are found, indicating that Cr can also act as a acceptor similar to Mn. The
resistivity increases rapidly for decreasing temperature below room
temperature, and becomes strongly insulating at low temperatures. The
conductivity follows exp[-(T/T)] over a large range of
conductivity, possible evidence of tunneling between polarons or clusters.Comment: To appear in PRB 15 Mar 200
Ruling Out Possible Secondary Stars to Exoplanet Host Stars Using the CHARA Array
Of the over 450 exoplanets known to date, more than 420 of them have been
discovered using radial velocity studies, a method that tells nothing about the
inclination of the planet's orbit. Because it is more likely that the companion
is a planetary-mass object in a moderate- to high-inclination orbit than a
low-mass stellar object in a nearly face-on orbit, the secondary bodies are
presumed to be planets. Interferometric observations allow us to inspect the
angular diameter fit residuals to calibrated visibilities in order to rule out
the possibility of a low-mass stellar companion in a very low-inclination
orbit. We used the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array
interferometer to observe 20 exoplanet host stars and considered five potential
secondary spectral types: G5 V, K0 V, K5 V, M0 V, and M5 V. If a secondary star
is present and is sufficiently bright, the effects of the added light will
appear in interferometric observations where the planet will not. All secondary
types could be eliminated from consideration for 7 host stars and no secondary
stars of any spectral type could be ruled out for 7 more. The remaining 6 host
stars showed a range of possible secondary types.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
Applicability and precautions of use of liver injury biomarker FibroTest. A reappraisal at 7 years of age
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>FibroTest (FT) is a validated biomarker of fibrosis. To assess the applicability rate and to reduce the risk of false positives/negatives (RFPN), security algorithms were developed. The aims were to estimate the prevalence of RFPN and of proven failures, and to identify factors associated with their occurrences.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Four populations were studied: 954 blood donors (P1), 7,494 healthy volunteers (P2), 345,695 consecutive worldwide sera (P3), including 24,872 sera analyzed in a tertiary care centre (GHPS) (P4). Analytical procedures of laboratories with RFPN > 5% and charts of P4 patients in with RFPN were reviewed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of RFPN was 0.52% (5/954; 95%CI 0.17-1.22) in P1, 0.51% (38/7494; 0.36-0.70) in P2, and 0.97% (3349/345695; 0.94-1.00) in P3. Three a priori high-risk populations were confirmed: 1.97% in P4, 1.77% in HIV centre and 2.61% in Sub-Saharan origin subjects. RFPN was mostly associated with low haptoglobin (0.46%), and high apolipoproteinA1 (0.21%). A traceability study of a P3 laboratory with RFPFN > 5% permitted to correct analytical procedures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The mean applicability rate of Fibrotest was 99.03%. Independent factors associated with the high risk of false positives/negatives were HIV center, subSaharan origin, and a tertiary care reference centre, although the applicability rate remained above 97%.</p
Three-dimensional microfabricated broadband patch antenna for wigig applications
The design, microfabrication, and characterization of a broadband patch antenna capable of covering the entire IEEE 802.11ad (WiGig) frequency band (57-66 GHz) are presented in this letter. A conductor-backed (CB) coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed loop slot couples the energy to the patch antenna, resulting in a broad bandwidth. The feed circuitry along with the loop is formed on a quartz substrate (\varepsilon-{\rm r} = 3.9, \tan \delta = 0.0002 at 60 GHz), on top of which an SU-8-based three-dimensional (3-D) structure with air cavities is microfabricated. The patch metallization is deposited on top of this 3-D structure. While the main role of the structure made out of SU-8 material is to provide a mechanical support for the patch metallization, the antenna takes advantage of the air cavities underneath, thus resulting in an antenna substrate with a very low loss. This, in turn, improves the overall antenna performances. The simulated and measured impedance characteristics agree well, showing {\sim}15\hbox{\%} bandwidth. Also, the radiation pattern results demonstrate the integrity of radiation pattern with reasonably constant gain values (average {\sim}6.4~dB) in the broadside direction over the entire WiGig band. © 2002-2011 IEEE
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