2,310 research outputs found
Lameness in UK dairy cows: a review of the current status
Lameness in dairy cattle has been reported as a concern for welfare and economic reasons for over 20 years. This concern has been expressed from across the industry and has prompted the launch of a number of initiatives to address the problem. This article reviews the current status of lameness in dairy cows in the UK, outlines the current understanding of the condition and its impacts on welfare and productivity, and highlights areas where evidence is still lacking
Pressure dependence of the magnetization in the ferromagnetic superconductor UGe_2
The recent discovery that superconductivity occurs in several clean itinerant
ferromagnets close to low temperature magnetic instabilities naturally invites
an interpretation based on a proximity to quantum criticality. Here we report
measurements of the pressure dependence of the low temperature magnetisation in
one of these materials, UGe_2. Our results show that both of the magnetic
transitions observed in this material as a function of pressure are first order
transitions and do not therefore correspond to quantum critical points. Further
we find that the known pressure dependence of the superconducting transition is
not reflected in the pressure dependence of the static susceptibility. This
demonstrates that the spectrum of excitations giving superconductivity is not
that normally associated with a proximity to quantum criticality in weak
itinerant ferromagnets. In contrast our data suggest that instead the pairing
spectrum might be related to a sharp spike in the electronic density of states
that also drives one of the magnetic transitions.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Motor-driven Dynamics of Cytoskeletal FIlaments in Motility Assays
We model analytically the dynamics of a cytoskeletal filament in a motility
assay. The filament is described as rigid rod free to slide in two dimensions.
The motor proteins consist of polymeric tails tethered to the plane and modeled
as linear springs and motor heads that bind to the filament. As in related
models of rigid and soft two-state motors, the binding/unbinding dynamics of
the motor heads and the dependence of the transition rates on the load exerted
by the motor tails play a crucial role in controlling the filament's dynamics.
Our work shows that the filament effectively behaves as a self-propelled rod at
long times, but with non-Markovian noise sources arising from the coupling to
the motor binding/unbinding dynamics. The effective propulsion force of the
filament and the active renormalization of the various friction and diffusion
constants are calculated in terms of microscopic motor and filament parameters.
These quantities could be probed by optical force microscopy.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 1 Tabl
Lesbian and bisexual women's experiences of sexuality-based discrimination and their appearance concerns
Lesbian and bisexual women frequently experience sexuality-based discrimination, which is often based on others' judgements about their appearance. This short article aims to explore whether there is a relationship between lesbian and bisexual women's experiences of sexuality-based discrimination and their satisfaction with the way that they look. Findings from an online survey suggest that discrimination is negatively related to appearance satisfaction for lesbian women, but not for bisexual women. It is argued that this difference exists because lesbian appearance norms are more recognisable and distinctive than bisexual women's appearance norms
Solvable Examples of Drift and Diffusion of Ions in Non-uniform Electric Fields
The drift and diffusion of a cloud of ions in a fluid are distorted by an
inhomogeneous electric field. If the electric field carries the center of the
distribution in a straight line and the field configuration is suitably
symmetric, the distortion can be calculated analytically. We examine the
specific examples of fields with cylindrical and spherical symmetry in detail
assuming the ion distributions to be of a generally Gaussian form. The effects
of differing diffusion coefficients in the transverse and longitudinal
directions are included
On a hybrid fourth moment involving the Riemann zeta-function
We provide explicit ranges for for which the asymptotic formula
\begin{equation*} \int_0^T|\zeta(1/2+it)|^4|\zeta(\sigma+it)|^{2j}dt \;\sim\;
T\sum_{k=0}^4a_{k,j}(\sigma)\log^k T \quad(j\in\mathbb N) \end{equation*} holds
as , when , where is the
Riemann zeta-function. The obtained ranges improve on an earlier result of the
authors [Annales Univ. Sci. Budapest., Sect. Comp. {\bf38}(2012), 233-244]. An
application to a divisor problem is also givenComment: 21 page
Structural characteristics of positionally-disordered lattices: relation to the first sharp diffraction peak in glasses
Positional disorder has been introduced into the atomic structure of certain
crystalline lattices, and the orientationally-averaged structure factor S(k)
and pair-correlation function g(r) of these disordered lattices have been
studied. Analytical expressions for S(k) and g(r) for Gaussian positional
disorder in 2D and 3D are confirmed with precise numerical simulations. These
analytic results also have a bearing on the unsolved Gauss circle problem in
mathematics. As the positional disorder increases, high-k peaks in S(k) are
destroyed first, eventually leaving a single peak, that with the lowest-k
value. The pair-correlation function for lattices with such high levels of
positional disorder exhibits damped oscillations, with a period equal to the
separation between the furthest-separated (lowest-k) lattice planes. The last
surviving peak in S(k) is, for example for silicon and silica, at a wavevector
nearly identical to that of the experimentally-observed first sharp diffraction
peak (FSDP) in the amorphous phases of those materials. Thus, for these
amorphous materials at least, the FSDP can be regarded as arising from
scattering from atomic configurations equivalent to the single family of
positionally-disordered local Bragg planes having the furthest separation.Comment: v2: changes in response to referees' comments: Figure 2 made more
readable, improved discussion of height of peaks in S(k), other minor changes
4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Force Dependence of the Michaelis Constant in a Two-State Ratchet Model for Molecular Motors
We present a quantitative analysis of recent data on the kinetics of ATP
hydrolysis, which has presented a puzzle regarding the load dependence of the
Michaelis constant. Within the framework of coarse grained two-state ratchet
models, our analysis not only explains the puzzling data, but provides a
modified Michaelis law, which could be useful as a guide for future
experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, accepted for publication on Physical Review
Letter
Atomic scale engines: Cars and wheels
We introduce a new approach to build microscopic engines on the atomic scale
that move translationally or rotationally and can perform useful functions such
as pulling of a cargo. Characteristic of these engines is the possibility to
determine dynamically the directionality of the motion. The approach is based
on the transformation of the fed energy to directed motion through a dynamical
competition between the intrinsic lengths of the moving object and the
supporting carrier.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (2 in color), Phys. Rev. Lett. (in print
Drying and cracking mechanisms in a starch slurry
Starch-water slurries are commonly used to study fracture dynamics. Drying
starch-cakes benefit from being simple, economical, and reproducible systems,
and have been used to model desiccation fracture in soils, thin film fracture
in paint, and columnar joints in lava. In this paper, the physical properties
of starch-water mixtures are studied, and used to interpret and develop a
multiphase transport model of drying. Starch-cakes are observed to have a
nonlinear elastic modulus, and a desiccation strain that is comparable to that
generated by their maximum achievable capillary pressure. It is shown that a
large material porosity is divided between pore spaces between starch grains,
and pores within starch grains. This division of pore space leads to two
distinct drying regimes, controlled by liquid and vapor transport of water,
respectively. The relatively unique ability for drying starch to generate
columnar fracture patterns is shown to be linked to the unusually strong
separation of these two transport mechanisms.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures [revised in response to reviewer comments
- âŠ