Real-time lattice boltzmann shallow waters method for breaking wave simulations

We present a new approach for the simulation of surfacebased fluids based in a hybrid formulation of Lattice Boltzmann Method for Shallow Waters and particle systems. The modified LBM can handle arbitrary underlying terrain conditions and arbitrary fluid depth. It also introduces a novel method for tracking dry-wet regions and moving boundaries. Dynamic rigid bodies are also included in our simulations using a two-way coupling. Certain features of the simulation that the LBM can not handle because of its heightfield nature, as breaking waves, are detected and automatically turned into splash particles. Here we use a ballistic particle system, but our hybrid method can handle more complex systems as SPH. Both the LBM and particle systems are implemented in CUDA, although dynamic rigid bodies are simulated in CPU. We show the effectiveness of our method with various examples which achieve real-time on consumer-level hardware.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The mean free path for electron conduction in metallic fullerenes

We calculate the electrical resistivity due to electron-phonon scattering for a model of A3C60 (A= K, Rb), using an essentially exact quantum Monte-Carlo calculation. In agreement with experiment, we obtain exceptionally large metallic resistivities at large temperatures T. This illustrates that the apparent mean free path can be much shorter than the separation of the molecules. An interpretation of this result is given. The calculation also explains the linear behavior in T at small T.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 3 eps figure, additional material available at http://www.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de/docs/ANDERSEN/fullerene

Spin and valley quantum Hall ferromagnetism in graphene

In a graphene Landau level (LL), strong Coulomb interactions and the fourfold spin/valley degeneracy lead to an approximate SU(4) isospin symmetry. At partial filling, exchange interactions can spontaneously break this symmetry, manifesting as additional integer quantum Hall plateaus outside the normal sequence. Here we report the observation of a large number of these quantum Hall isospin ferromagnetic (QHIFM) states, which we classify according to their real spin structure using temperature-dependent tilted field magnetotransport. The large measured activation gaps confirm the Coulomb origin of the broken symmetry states, but the order is strongly dependent on LL index. In the high energy LLs, the Zeeman effect is the dominant aligning field, leading to real spin ferromagnets with Skyrmionic excitations at half filling, whereas in the `relativistic' zero energy LL, lattice scale anisotropies drive the system to a spin unpolarized state, likely a charge- or spin-density wave.Comment: Supplementary information available at http://pico.phys.columbia.ed

Interstellar Turbulence II: Implications and Effects

Interstellar turbulence has implications for the dispersal and mixing of the elements, cloud chemistry, cosmic ray scattering, and radio wave propagation through the ionized medium. This review discusses the observations and theory of these effects. Metallicity fluctuations are summarized, and the theory of turbulent transport of passive tracers is reviewed. Modeling methods, turbulent concentration of dust grains, and the turbulent washout of radial abundance gradients are discussed. Interstellar chemistry is affected by turbulent transport of various species between environments with different physical properties and by turbulent heating in shocks, vortical dissipation regions, and local regions of enhanced ambipolar diffusion. Cosmic rays are scattered and accelerated in turbulent magnetic waves and shocks, and they generate turbulence on the scale of their gyroradii. Radio wave scintillation is an important diagnostic for small scale turbulence in the ionized medium, giving information about the power spectrum and amplitude of fluctuations. The theory of diffraction and refraction is reviewed, as are the main observations and scintillation regions.Comment: 46 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysic

Intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of cancer perception: a confirmatory factor analysis of the cancer experience and efficacy scale (CEES)

Purpose Sociocultural factors influence psychological adjustment to cancer in Asian patients in two major ways: Prioritization of relationships over individual orientations and belief in the efficacy of interpersonal cooperation. We derived and validated among Chinese colorectal cancer (CRC) patients an instrument assessing cancer perceptions to enable the study of the sociocultural processes. Patients and methods Qualitative interviews (n=16) derived 15 items addressing interpersonal experience in Chinese CRC patients' adjustment. These 15 items and 18 corresponding self-referent items were administered to 166 Chinese CRC survivors and subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to establish the initial scale structure and reliability. The final 29 items, together with other psychometric measures, were administered to a second cohort of 215 CRC patients and subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results EFA (63.35% of the total variance) extracted six factors: Personal strain, socioeconomic strain, emotional strain, personal efficacy, collective efficacy, and proxy efficacy. CFA confirmed the psychometric structure [?2(df)=702.91 (368); Comparative Fit Index=0.95; Nonnormed Fit Index= 0.94; Incremental Fit Index=0.95; standardized root mean square residual=0.08] of the six factors by using a model with two latent factors: Experience and efficacy. All subscales were reliable (a=0.76-0.92). Appropriate correlations with adjustment outcomes (symptom distress, psychological morbidity, and subjective well-being), optimistic personalities, and social relational quality indicated its convergent and divergent validity. Known group comparisons (i.e., age, active treatment, and colostomy) showed its clinical utility. Conclusion The cancer experience and efficacy scale is a valid multidimensional instrument for assessing intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of cancer experience in Asian patients, potentiating existing patient-reported outcome measures. © Springer-Verlag 2009.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 01 Dec 201

The functional head of the Cambrian radiodontan (stem-group Euarthropoda) Amplectobelua symbrachiata

© The Author(s). 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

Correlation of cell growth and heterologous protein production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

With the increasing demand for biopharmaceutical proteins and industrial enzymes, it is necessary to optimize the production by microbial fermentation or cell cultures. Yeasts are well established for the production of a wide range of recombinant proteins, but there are also some limitations; e.g., metabolic and cellular stresses have a strong impact on recombinant protein production. In this work, we investigated the effect of the specific growth rate on the production of two different recombinant proteins. Our results show that human insulin precursor is produced in a growth-associated manner, whereas alpha-amylase tends to have a higher yield on substrate at low specific growth rates. Based on transcriptional analysis, we found that the difference in the production of the two proteins as function of the specific growth rate is mainly due to differences in endoplasmic reticulum processing, protein turnover, cell cycle, and global stress response. We also found that there is a shift at a specific growth rate of 0.1 h(-1) that influences protein production. Thus, for lower specific growth rates, the alpha-amylase and insulin precursor-producing strains present similar cell responses and phenotypes, whereas for higher specific growth rates, the two strains respond differently to changes in the specific growth rate

Therapeutic Effects of Liposome-Enveloped Ligusticum chuanxiong Essential Oil on Hypertrophic Scars in the Rabbit Ear Model

Hypertrophic scarring, a common proliferative disorder of dermal fibroblasts, results from an overproduction of fibroblasts and excessive deposition of collagen. Although treatment with surgical excision or steroid hormones can modify the symptoms, numerous treatment-related complications have been described. In view of this, we investigated the therapeutic effects of essential oil (EO) from rhizomes of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (Umbelliferae) on formed hypertrophic scars in a rabbit ear model. EO was prepared as a liposomal formulation (liposome-enveloped essential oil, LEO) and a rabbit ear model with hypertrophic scars was established. LEO (2.5, 5, and 10%) was applied once daily to the scars for 28 days. On postoperative day 56, the scar tissue was excised for masson's trichrome staining, detection of fibroblast apoptosis, assays of the levels of collagens I and III, and analysis of the mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), caspase-3 and -9, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). In addition, the scar elevation index (SEI) was also determined. As a result, LEO treatment significantly alleviated formed hypertrophic scars on rabbit ears. The levels of TGF-β1, MMP-1, collagen I, and collagen III were evidently decreased, and caspase -3 and -9 levels and apoptosis cells were markedly increased in the scar tissue. SEI was also significantly reduced. Histological findings exhibited significant amelioration of the collagen tissue. These results suggest that LEO possesses the favorable therapeutic effects on formed hypertrophic scars in the rabbit ear model and may be an effective cure for human hypertrophic scars

Studies of the Decay B+- -> D_CP K+-

We report studies of the decay B+- -> D_CP K+-, where D_CP denotes neutral D mesons that decay to CP eigenstates. The analysis is based on a 29.1/fb data sample of collected at the \Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e+ e- storage ring. Ratios of branching fractions of Cabibbo-suppressed to Cabibbo-favored processes involving D_CP are determined to be B(B- -> D_1 K-)/B(B- -> D_1 pi-)=0.125 +- 0.036 +- 0.010 and B(B- -> D_2 K-)/B(B- -> D_2 pi-)=0.119 +- 0.028 +- 0.006, where indices 1 and 2 represent the CP=+1 and CP=-1 eigenstates of the D0 - anti D0 system, respectively. We also extract the partial rate asymmetries for B+- -> D_CP K+-, finding A_1 = 0.29 +- 0.26 +- 0.05 and A_2 = -0.22 +- 0.24 +- 0.04.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

A Retrospective Cohort Study of the Potency of lipid-lowering therapy and Race-gender Differences in LDL cholesterol control

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Reasons for race and gender differences in controlling elevated low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol may be related to variations in prescribed lipid-lowering therapy. We examined the effect of lipid-lowering drug treatment and potency on time until LDL control for black and white women and men with a baseline elevated LDL.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 3,484 older hypertensive patients with dyslipidemia in 6 primary care practices over a 4-year timeframe. Potency of lipid-lowering drugs calculated for each treated day and summed to assess total potency for at least 6 and up to 24 months. Cox models of time to LDL control within two years and logistic regression models of control within 6 months by race-gender adjust for: demographics, clinical, health care delivery, primary/specialty care, LDL measurement, and drug potency.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Time to LDL control decreased as lipid-lowering drug potency increased (P < 0.001). Black women (N = 1,440) received the highest potency therapy (P < 0.001) yet were less likely to achieve LDL control than white men (N = 717) (fully adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.66 [95% CI 0.56-0.78]). Black men (N = 666) and white women (N = 661) also had lower adjusted HRs of LDL control (0.82 [95% CI 0.69, 0.98] and 0.75 [95% CI 0.64-0.88], respectively) than white men. Logistic regression models of LDL control by 6 months and other sensitivity models affirmed these results.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Black women and, to a lesser extent, black men and white women were less likely to achieve LDL control than white men after accounting for lipid-lowering drug potency as well as diverse patient and provider factors. Future work should focus on the contributions of medication adherence and response to treatment to these clinically important differences.</p