238 research outputs found
Lattice swelling and modulus change in a helium-implanted tungsten alloy: X-ray micro-diffraction, surface acoustic wave measurements, and multiscale modelling
Using X-ray micro-diffraction and surface acoustic wave spectroscopy, we measure lattice swelling and elastic modulus changes in a W-1% Re alloy after implantation with 3110 appm of helium. An observed lattice expansion of a fraction of a per cent gives rise to an order of magnitude larger reduction in the surface acoustic wave velocity. A multiscale model, combining elasticity and density functional theory, is applied to the interpretation of observations. The measured lattice swelling is consistent with the relaxation volume of self-interstitial and helium-filled vacancy defects that dominate the helium-implanted material microstructure. Larger scale atomistic simulations using an empirical potential confirm the findings of the elasticity and density functional theory model for swelling. The reduction of surface acoustic wave velocity predicted by density functional theory calculations agrees remarkably well with experimental observations.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CHE-1111557
The Casimir Effect on Background of Conformally Flat Brane--World Geometries
The Casimir effect due to conformally coupled bulk scalar fields on
background of conformally flat brane-world geometries is investigated. In the
general case of mixed boundary conditions formulae are derived for the vacuum
expectation values of the energy-momentum tensor and vacuum forces acting on
boundaries. The special case of the AdS bulk is considered and the application
to the Randall-Sundrum scenario is discussed. The possibility for the radion
stabilization by the vacuum forces is demonstrated.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, references added, accepted for publication in
Phys. Lett.
Spontaneous Magnetization of the O(3) Ferromagnet at Low Temperatures
We investigate the low-temperature behavior of ferromagnets with a
spontaneously broken symmetry O(3) O(2). The analysis is performed within
the perspective of nonrelativistic effective Lagrangians, where the dynamics of
the system is formulated in terms of Goldstone bosons. Unlike in a
Lorentz-invariant framework (chiral perturbation theory), where loop graphs are
suppressed by two powers of momentum, loops involving ferromagnetic spin waves
are suppressed by three momentum powers. The leading coefficients of the
low-temperature expansion for the partition function are calculated up to order
. In agreement with Dyson's pioneering microscopic analysis of the
cubic ferromagnet, we find that, in the spontaneous magnetization, the
magnon-magnon interaction starts manifesting itself only at order . The
striking difference with respect to the low-temperature properties of the O(3)
antiferromagnet is discussed from a unified point of view, relying on the
effective Lagrangian technique.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure
Machine-learning-based calving prediction from activity, lying, and ruminating behaviors in dairy cattle
The objective of this study was to use automated activity, lying, and rumination monitors to characterize prepartum behavior and predict calving in dairy cattle. Data were collected from 20 primiparous and 33 multiparous Holstein dairy cattle from September 2011 to May 2013 at the University of Kentucky Coldstream Dairy. The HR Tag (SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel) automatically collected neck activity and rumination data in 2-h increments. The IceQube (IceRobotics Ltd., South Queensferry, United Kingdom) automatically collected number of steps, lying time, standing time, number of transitions from standing to lying (ly-. ing bouts), and total motion, summed in 15-min increments. IceQube data were summed in 2-h increments to match HR Tag data. All behavioral data were collected for 14 d before the predicted calving date. Retrospective data analysis was performed using mixed linear models to examine behavioral changes by day in the 14 d before calving. Bihourly behavioral differences from baseline values over the 14 d before calving were also evaluated using mixed linear models. Changes in daily rumination time, total motion, lying time, and lying bouts occurred in the 14 d before calving. In the bihourly analysis, extreme values for all behaviors occurred in the final 24 h, indicating that the monitored behaviors may be useful in calving prediction. To determine whether technologies were useful at predicting calving, random forest, linear discriminant analysis, and neural network machine -learning techniques were constructed and implemented using R version 3.1.0 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). These methods were used on variables from each technology and all combined variables from both technologies. A neural network analysis that combined variables from both technologies at the daily level yielded 100.0% sen-sitivity and 86.8% specificity. A neural network analysis that combined variables from both technologies in bihourly increments was used to identify 2-h periods in the 8 h before calving with 82.8% sensitivity and 80.4% specificity. Changes in behavior and machine-learning alerts indicate that commercially marketed behavioral monitors may have calving prediction potential
Casimir Effect, Achucarro-Ortiz Black Hole and the Cosmological Constant
We treat the two-dimensional Achucarro-Ortiz black hole (also known as (1+1)
dilatonic black hole) as a Casimir-type system. The stress tensor of a massless
scalar field satisfying Dirichlet boundary conditions on two one-dimensional
"walls" ("Dirichlet walls") is explicitly calculated in three different vacua.
Without employing known regularization techniques, the expression in each
vacuum for the stress tensor is reached by using the Wald's axioms. Finally,
within this asymptotically non-flat gravitational background, it is shown that
the equilibrium of the configurations, obtained by setting Casimir force to
zero, is controlled by the cosmological constant.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, minor corrections, comments and clarifications
added, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Effects of topically delivered benzamil and amiloride on nasal potential difference in cystic fibrosis
The raised nasal transepithelial potential difference (PD) in cystic fibrosis (CF) reflects accelerated active transport of Na+, and is inhibited by topical administration of the Na+ channel blocker, amiloride. The aim of this study was to investigate the dose-effect and time course of topically administered Na+ conductance inhibitors to inhibit nasal PD, including benzamil, an analog of amiloride. We measured the magnitude of drug inhibition of Na+ transport [percent inhibition of baseline PD (ΔPD%)] and duration of inhibition of PD, defined as the time when drug inhibition of PD had recovered by 50% (effective time = ET50). Amiloride [10-3 M (n = 16), 3 × 10-3 M (n = 9), 6 × 10-3 M (n = 7), 10-2 M (n = 3)] or benzamil [1.7 × 10-3 M (n = 7), and 7 × 10-3 M (n = 5)] were administered to the nasal surface via an aerosol generated by a jet nebulizer and a nasal mask. The concentration-dependent magnitude (ΔPD%) of inhibition was similar for amiloride and benzamil (∼67-77%), whereas the duration of inhibition (ET50) was about two-and-a-half times longer after benzamil administration as compared with equivalent concentrations of amiloride [1.6 ± 0.06 versus 4.5 ± 0.6 h (ET50 ± SEM), at 6-7 × 10-3 M]. In vitro studies of cultured normal nasal epithelia demonstrated directly that benzamil induced an approximately 2-fold more prolonged inhibition of active Na+ transport than amiloride. These data suggest aerosolized benzamil is a candidate long-duration Na+ channel blocker for CF
Density dependent hadron field theory for neutron stars with antikaon condensates
We investigate and condensation in -equilibrated
hyperonic matter within a density dependent hadron field theoretical model. In
this model, baryon-baryon and (anti)kaon-baryon interactions are mediated by
the exchange of mesons. Density dependent meson-baryon coupling constants are
obtained from microscopic Dirac Brueckner calculations using Groningen and Bonn
A nucleon-nucleon potential. It is found that the threshold of antikaon
condensation is not only sensitive to the equation of state but also to
antikaon optical potential depth. Only for large values of antikaon optical
potential depth, condensation sets in even in the presence of negatively
charged hyperons. The threshold of condensation is always reached
after condensation. Antikaon condensation makes the equation of state
softer thus resulting in smaller maximum mass stars compared with the case
without any condensate.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures; final version to appear in Physical Review
Relativistic Mean Field Model with Generalized Derivative Nucleon-Meson Couplings
The quantum hadrodynamics (QHD) model with minimal nucleon-meson couplings is
generalized by introducing couplings of mesons to derivatives of the nucleon
field in the Lagrangian density. This approach allows an effective description
of a state-dependent in-medium interaction in the mean-field approximation.
Various parametrizations for the generalized couplings are developed and
applied to infinite nuclear matter. In this approach, scalar and vector
self-energies depend on both density and momentum similarly as in the
Dirac-Brueckner theory. The Schr\"{o}diger-equivalent optical potential is much
less repulsive at high nucleon energies as compared to standard relativistic
mean field models and thus agrees better with experimental findings. The
derivative couplings in the extended model have significant effects on
properties of symmetric nuclear matter and neutron matter.Comment: 35 pages, 1 table, 10 figure
The Free Energy of the Quantum Heisenberg Ferromagnet at Large Spin
We consider the spin-S ferromagnetic Heisenberg model in three dimensions, in
the absence of an external field. Spin wave theory suggests that in a suitable
temperature regime the system behaves effectively as a system of
non-interacting bosons (magnons). We prove this fact at the level of the
specific free energy: if and the inverse temperature in such a way that stays constant, we rigorously show that
the free energy per unit volume converges to the one suggested by spin wave
theory. The proof is based on the localization of the system in small boxes and
on upper and lower bounds on the local free energy, and it also provides
explicit error bounds on the remainder.Comment: 11 pages, pdfLate
Meta-analysis Reveals Genome-Wide Significance at 15q13 for Nonsyndromic Clefting of Both the Lip and the Palate, and Functional Analyses Implicate GREM1 As a Plausible Causative Gene
Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts are common birth defects with multifactorial etiology. The
most common type is cleft lip, which occurs with or without cleft palate (nsCLP and nsCLO,
respectively). Although genetic components play an important role in nsCLP, the genetic
factors that predispose to palate involvement are largely unknown. In this study, we carried
out a meta-analysis on genetic and clinical data from three large cohorts and identified
strong association between a region on chromosome 15q13 and nsCLP (P = 8.13×10−14 for
rs1258763; relative risk (RR): 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32–1.61)) but not
nsCLO (P = 0.27; RR: 1.09 (0.94–1.27)). The 5 kb region of strongest association maps
downstream of Gremlin-1 (GREM1), which encodes a secreted antagonist of the BMP4
pathway. We show during mouse embryogenesis, Grem1 is expressed in the developing lip
and soft palate but not in the hard palate. This is consistent with genotype-phenotype correlations
between rs1258763 and a specific nsCLP subphenotype, since a more than two-fold
increase in risk was observed in patients displaying clefts of both the lip and soft palate but
who had an intact hard palate (RR: 3.76, CI: 1.47–9.61, Pdiff<0.05). While we did not find lip
or palate defects in Grem1-deficient mice, wild type embryonic palatal shelves developed
divergent shapes when cultured in the presence of ectopic Grem1 protein (P = 0.0014). The
present study identified a non-coding region at 15q13 as the second, genome-wide significant
locus specific for nsCLP, after 13q31. Moreover, our data suggest that the closely
located GREM1 gene contributes to a rare clinical nsCLP entity. This entity specifically
involves abnormalities of the lip and soft palate, which develop at different time-points and
in separate anatomical regions.Clefts of the lip and palate are common birth defects, and require long-term multidisciplinary
management. Their etiology involves genetic factors and environmental influences
and/or a combination of both, however, these interactions are poorly defined. Moreover,
although clefts of the lip may or may not involve the palate, the determinants predisposing
to specific subphenotypes are largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that variations in
the non-coding region near the GREM1 gene show a highly significant association with a
particular phenotype in which cleft lip and cleft palate co-occ
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