Slow dynamics and aging in a non-randomly frustrated spin system

A simple, non-disordered spin model has been studied in an effort to understand the origin of the precipitous slowing down of dynamics observed in supercooled liquids approaching the glass transition. A combination of Monte Carlo simulations and exact calculations indicates that this model exhibits an entropy vanishing transition accompanied by a rapid divergence of time scales. Measurements of various correlation functions show that the system displays a hierarchy of time scales associated with different degrees of freedom. Extended structures, arising from the frustration in the system, are identified as the source of the slow dynamics. In the simulations, the system falls out of equilibrium at a temperature $T_{g}$ higher than the entropy-vanishing transition temperature and the dynamics below $T_{g}$ exhibits aging as distinct from coarsening. The cooling rate dependence of the energy is also consistent with the usual glass formation scenario.Comment: 41 pages, 16 figures. Bibliography file is correcte

Antibiotic Transport in Resistant Bacteria: Synchrotron UV Fluorescence Microscopy to Determine Antibiotic Accumulation with Single Cell Resolution

A molecular definition of the mechanism conferring bacterial multidrug resistance is clinically crucial and today methods for quantitative determination of the uptake of antimicrobial agents with single cell resolution are missing. Using the naturally occurring fluorescence of antibacterial agents after deep ultraviolet (DUV) excitation, we developed a method to non-invasively monitor the quinolones uptake in single bacteria. Our approach is based on a DUV fluorescence microscope coupled to a synchrotron beamline providing tuneable excitation from 200 to 600 nm. A full spectrum was acquired at each pixel of the image, to study the DUV excited fluorescence emitted from quinolones within single bacteria. Measuring spectra allowed us to separate the antibiotic fluorescence from the autofluorescence contribution. By performing spectroscopic analysis, the quantification of the antibiotic signal was possible. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the intracellular accumulation of a clinical antibitiotic could be determined and discussed in relation with the level of drug susceptibility for a multiresistant strain. This method is especially important to follow the behavior of quinolone molecules at individual cell level, to quantify the intracellular concentration of the antibiotic and develop new strategies to combat the dissemination of MDR-bacteria. In addition, this original approach also indicates the heterogeneity of bacterial population when the same strain is under environmental stress like antibiotic attack

Assessing population genetic structure via the maximisation of genetic distance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The inference of the hidden structure of a population is an essential issue in population genetics. Recently, several methods have been proposed to infer population structure in population genetics.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, a new method to infer the number of clusters and to assign individuals to the inferred populations is proposed. This approach does not make any assumption on Hardy-Weinberg and linkage equilibrium. The implemented criterion is the maximisation (via a <it>simulated annealing </it>algorithm) of the averaged genetic distance between a predefined number of clusters. The performance of this method is compared with two Bayesian approaches: STRUCTURE and BAPS, using simulated data and also a real human data set.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The simulations show that with a reduced number of markers, BAPS overestimates the number of clusters and presents a reduced proportion of correct groupings. The accuracy of the new method is approximately the same as for STRUCTURE. Also, in Hardy-Weinberg and linkage disequilibrium cases, BAPS performs incorrectly. In these situations, STRUCTURE and the new method show an equivalent behaviour with respect to the number of inferred clusters, although the proportion of correct groupings is slightly better with the new method. Re-establishing equilibrium with the randomisation procedures improves the precision of the Bayesian approaches. All methods have a good precision for <it>F</it>_{<it>ST </it>}≥ 0.03, but only STRUCTURE estimates the correct number of clusters for <it>F</it>_{<it>ST </it>}as low as 0.01. In situations with a high number of clusters or a more complex population structure, MGD performs better than STRUCTURE and BAPS. The results for a human data set analysed with the new method are congruent with the geographical regions previously found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This new method used to infer the hidden structure in a population, based on the maximisation of the genetic distance and not taking into consideration any assumption about Hardy-Weinberg and linkage equilibrium, performs well under different simulated scenarios and with real data. Therefore, it could be a useful tool to determine genetically homogeneous groups, especially in those situations where the number of clusters is high, with complex population structure and where Hardy-Weinberg and/or linkage equilibrium are present.</p

Young stellar objects in NGC 6823

NGC 6823 is a young open cluster that lies at a distance of ∼2 kpc in the Vulpecula OB1 association. Previous studies using CCD photometry and spectroscopy have identified a Trapezium system of bright O- and B-type stars at its centre, along with several massive O-, B- and A-type stars in the cluster. We present optical VRI and near-infrared JHK photometric observations, complemented with Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera archival data, with an aim to identify the young low-mass population and the disc candidates in this region. Our survey reaches down to I∼ 22 mag and Ks∼ 18 mag. There is significant differential reddening within the cluster. We find a bimodal distribution for AV, with a peak at ∼3 mag and a broader peak at ∼10 mag. We have classified the sources based on the [4.5] − [8] colour, which is least affected by extinction. We find a ∼20 per cent fraction of Class I/Class II young stellar objects (YSOs) in the cluster, while a large 80 per cent fraction of the sources have a Class III classification. We have made use of the INT Photometric Hα Survey (IPHAS) in order to probe the strength in Hα emission for this large population of Class III sources. Nearly all of the Class III objects have photospheric (r′−Hα) colours, implying an absence of Hα in emission. This large population of Class III sources is thus likely the extinct field star population rather than the discless YSOs in the cluster. There is a higher concentration of the Class I/II systems in the eastern region of the cluster and close to the central Trapezium. The western part of the cluster mostly contains Class III/field stars and seems devoid of disc sources. We find evidence of a pre-main-sequence population in NGC 6823, in addition to an upper main-sequence population. The pre-main-sequence population mainly consists of young disc sources with ages between ∼1 and 5 Myr, and at lower masses of ∼0.1–0.4 M⊙. There may be a possible mass-dependent age spread in the cluster, with the older stars being more massive than the younger ones. The presence of young disc sources in NGC 6823 indicates similar star formation properties in the outer regions of the Galaxy as observed for young clusters in the solar neighbourhood.Peer reviewe

A Time-Sensitive System for Black-Box Combinatorial Optimization

When faced with a combinatorial optimization problem, practitioners often turn to black-box search heuristics such as simulated annealing and genetic algorithms. In black-box optimization, the problem-specific components are limited to functions that (1) generate candidate solutions, and (2) evaluate the quality of a given solution. A primary reason for the popularity of black-box optimization is its ease of implementation. The basic simulated annealing search algorithm can be implemented in roughly 30-50 lines of any modern programming language, not counting the problem-specific local-move and cost-evaluation functions. This search algorithm is so simple that it is often rewritten from scratch for each new application rather than being reused. In this paper, we examine whether it pays to develop a more sophisticated, general-purpose heuristic optimization engine. The issue is whether a substantial performance improvement or ease-of-use gain results..