5,661 research outputs found
Electrowetting of liquid marbles
Electrowetting of water drops on structured superhydrophobic surfaces are known to cause an irreversible change from a slippy (Cassie-Baxter) to a sticky (Wenzel) regime. An alternative approach to using a water drop on a superhydrophobic surface to obtain a non-wetting system is to use a liquid marble on a smooth solid substrate. A liquid marble is a droplet coated in hydrophobic grains, which therefore carries its own solid surface structure as a conformal coating. Such droplets can be considered as perfect non-wetting systems having contact angles to smooth solid substrates of close to 180 degrees. In this work we report the electrowetting of liquid marbles made of water coated with hydrophobic lycopodium grains and show that the electrowetting is completely reversible. Marbles are shown to return to their initial contact angle for both ac and dc electrowetting and without requiring a threshold voltage to be exceeded. Furthermore, we provide a proof-of-principle demonstration that controlled motion of marbles on a finger electrode structure is possible
Belief-propagation algorithm and the Ising model on networks with arbitrary distributions of motifs
We generalize the belief-propagation algorithm to sparse random networks with
arbitrary distributions of motifs (triangles, loops, etc.). Each vertex in
these networks belongs to a given set of motifs (generalization of the
configuration model). These networks can be treated as sparse uncorrelated
hypergraphs in which hyperedges represent motifs. Here a hypergraph is a
generalization of a graph, where a hyperedge can connect any number of
vertices. These uncorrelated hypergraphs are tree-like (hypertrees), which
crucially simplify the problem and allow us to apply the belief-propagation
algorithm to these loopy networks with arbitrary motifs. As natural examples,
we consider motifs in the form of finite loops and cliques. We apply the
belief-propagation algorithm to the ferromagnetic Ising model on the resulting
random networks. We obtain an exact solution of this model on networks with
finite loops or cliques as motifs. We find an exact critical temperature of the
ferromagnetic phase transition and demonstrate that with increasing the
clustering coefficient and the loop size, the critical temperature increases
compared to ordinary tree-like complex networks. Our solution also gives the
birth point of the giant connected component in these loopy networks.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Stable two-dimensional dispersion-managed soliton
The existence of a dispersion-managed soliton in two-dimensional nonlinear
Schr\"odinger equation with periodically varying dispersion has been explored.
The averaged equations for the soliton width and chirp are obtained which
successfully describe the long time evolution of the soliton. The slow dynamics
of the soliton around the fixed points for the width and chirp are investigated
and the corresponding frequencies are calculated. Analytical predictions are
confirmed by direct PDE and ODE simulations. Application to a Bose-Einstein
condensate in optical lattice is discussed. The existence of a
dispersion-managed matter-wave soliton in such system is shown.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Roughening Transition in a One-Dimensional Growth Process
A class of nonequilibrium models with short-range interactions and sequential
updates is presented. The models describe one dimensional growth processes
which display a roughening transition between a smooth and a rough phase. This
transition is accompanied by spontaneous symmetry breaking, which is described
by an order parameter whose dynamics is non-conserving. Some aspects of models
in this class are related to directed percolation in 1+1 dimensions, although
unlike directed percolation the models have no absorbing states. Scaling
relations are derived and compared with Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 Postscript figures, 1 Postscript formula, uses RevTe
An Experimental Investigation Into the Performance of a Flush Water-Jet Inlet
An experimental investigation of the flow within a generic flush type water-jet inlet has
been carried out to identify the principal flow features and provide a basis for development
of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. Tests were performed in a
cavitation tunnel with the model inlet fitted to the test section ceiling, and effects of
thickening the ingested tunnel wall boundary layer were investigated. The model was
fitted with a range of instrumentation to investigate the ramp pressure distribution and
boundary layer development, lip incidence, and pump face flow properties. Observations
of lip and duct cavitation inception and behavior were also made. The results
showed the inlet performance to be generally improved with the ingestion of a thicker
boundary layer. The thickened boundary layer significantly reduced ramp boundary
layer separation and distortion of flow at the notional pump face. However, a greater
range of lip incidence occurred with the thickened boundary layer with consequent
greater likelihood of lip separation and cavitation occurrence. Ideal lip incidence and
pump face flow uniformity occurred at flow parameters significantly different from
those for ideal pump face pressure recovery. Large developed cavities on the inlet lip
were observed for a range of conditions typical of conventional high-speed vessel
operation
Renormalization of Crumpled Manifolds
We consider a model of D-dimensional tethered manifold interacting by
excluded volume in R^d with a single point. By use of intrinsic distance
geometry, we first provide a rigorous definition of the analytic continuation
of its perturbative expansion for arbitrary D, 0 < D < 2. We then construct
explicitly a renormalization operation, ensuring renormalizability to all
orders. This is the first example of mathematical construction and
renormalization for an interacting extended object with continuous internal
dimension, encompassing field theory.Comment: 10 pages (1 figure, included), harvmac, SPhT/92-15
Phase diagram of the restricted solid-on-solid model coupled to the Ising model
We study the phase transitions of a restricted solid-on-solid model coupled
to an Ising model, which can be derived from the coupled XY-Ising model. There
are two kinds of phase transition lines. One is a Ising transition line and the
other is surface roughening transition line. The latter is a KT transition line
from the viewpoint of the XY model. Using a microcanonical Monte Carlo
technique, we obtain a very accurate two dimensional phase diagram. The two
transition lines are separate in all the parameter space we study. This result
is strong evidence that the fully frustrated XY model orders by two separate
transitions and that roughening and reconstruction transitions of crystal
surfaces occur separately.Comment: 17 pages, source RevTeX file and 8 PS figures are tarred and
compressed via uufile
Sputum microbiome profiling in COPD: beyond singular pathogen detection.
Culture-independent microbial sequencing techniques have revealed that the respiratory tract harbours a complex microbiome not detectable by conventional culturing methods. The contribution of the microbiome to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) pathobiology and the potential for microbiome-based clinical biomarkers in COPD are still in the early phases of investigation. Sputum is an easily obtainable sample and has provided a wealth of information on COPD pathobiology, and thus has been a preferred sample type for microbiome studies. Although the sputum microbiome likely reflects the respiratory microbiome only in part, there is increasing evidence that microbial community structure and diversity are associated with disease severity and clinical outcomes, both in stable COPD and during the exacerbations. Current evidence has been limited to mainly cross-sectional studies using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, attempting to answer the question 'who is there?' Longitudinal studies using standardised protocols are needed to answer outstanding questions including differences between sputum sampling techniques. Further, with advancing technologies, microbiome studies are shifting beyond the examination of the 16S rRNA gene, to include whole metagenome and metatranscriptome sequencing, as well as metabolome characterisation. Despite being technically more challenging, whole-genome profiling and metabolomics can address the questions 'what can they do?' and 'what are they doing?' This review provides an overview of the basic principles of high-throughput microbiome sequencing techniques, current literature on sputum microbiome profiling in COPD, and a discussion of the associated limitations and future perspectives
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