60 research outputs found

    Restaurante en Orebro – Suecia

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    Taking advantage of the demolition of an old wooden restaurant, a new one was erected on the same site, on condition that its shape should be such that in itself it served as publicity for the park in which it is located. The building is single-storeyed, with a roof formed by two hyperbolic paraboloids linked together, like two wings. These paraboloids have rolled steel square section edges, formation of a cold drawn steel cable mesh surface, covered with shaped sheet, insulation and stainless steel lining. The roof rests on four foundation piles. The walls are almost entirely glazed, enclosing inside: two meeting rooms for 40 and 100 people, respectively, and one kitchen and restaurant to hold 300 people seated, which can be enlarged by 260 additional seats, taking advantage of the outer area of the flaps of the roof.<br><br>Aprovechando la demolición de un antiguo restaurante de madera se levantó otro nuevo en el mismo lugar, imponiéndosele la condición de que su forma debía ser tal que, por sí misma, sirviera de publicidad al parque en el que está enclavado. El edificio es de un solo nivel, con una cubierta formada por dos paraboloides hiperbólicos enlazados que semejan dos alas. Dichos paraboloides presentan bordes cuadrados de acero laminado, formación de superficie de malla de cables de acero estirado en frío, recubierta con chapa perfilada, aislamiento y revestimiento de acero inoxidable. La cubierta apoya sobre cuatro pilas de cimentación. Los muros están acristalados casi en su totalidad, encerrando en su interior: dos salas de reuniones para 40 y 100 personas, respectivamente, y una cocina y restaurante con capacidad para unas 300 personas sentadas, ampliable en 260 asientos adicionales aprovechando la superficie exterior de los faldones de la cubierta

    Neural networks and separation of Cosmic Microwave Background and astrophysical signals in sky maps

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    The Independent Component Analysis (ICA) algorithm is implemented as a neural network for separating signals of different origin in astrophysical sky maps. Due to its self-organizing capability, it works without prior assumptions on the signals, neither on their frequency scaling, nor on the signal maps themselves; instead, it learns directly from the input data how to separate the physical components, making use of their statistical independence. To test the capabilities of this approach, we apply the ICA algorithm on sky patches, taken from simulations and observations, at the microwave frequencies, that are going to be deeply explored in a few years on the whole sky, by the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) and by the {\sc Planck} Surveyor Satellite. The maps are at the frequencies of the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) aboard the {\sc Planck} satellite (30, 44, 70 and 100 GHz), and contain simulated astrophysical radio sources, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, and Galactic diffuse emissions from thermal dust and synchrotron. We show that the ICA algorithm is able to recover each signal, with precision going from 10% for the Galactic components to percent for CMB; radio sources are almost completely recovered down to a flux limit corresponding to 0.7σCMB0.7\sigma_{CMB}, where σCMB\sigma_{CMB} is the rms level of CMB fluctuations. The signal recovering possesses equal quality on all the scales larger then the pixel size. In addition, we show that the frequency scalings of the input signals can be partially inferred from the ICA outputs, at the percent precision for the dominant components, radio sources and CMB.Comment: 15 pages; 6 jpg and 1 ps figures. Final version to be published in MNRA

    A unified approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation

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    This paper explores the use of a discrete singular convolution algorithm as a unified approach for numerical integration of the Fokker-Planck equation. The unified features of the discrete singular convolution algorithm are discussed. It is demonstrated that different implementations of the present algorithm, such as global, local, Galerkin, collocation, and finite difference, can be deduced from a single starting point. Three benchmark stochastic systems, the repulsive Wong process, the Black-Scholes equation and a genuine nonlinear model, are employed to illustrate the robustness and to test accuracy of the present approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation via a time-dependent method. An additional example, the incompressible Euler equation, is used to further validate the present approach for more difficult problems. Numerical results indicate that the present unified approach is robust and accurate for solving the Fokker-Planck equation.Comment: 19 page

    Quantitative phase microscopy enables precise and efficient determination of biomolecular condensate composition

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    Many compartments in eukaryotic cells are protein-rich biomolecular condensates demixed from the cyto- or nucleoplasm. Although much has been learned in recent years about the integral roles condensates play in many cellular processes as well as the biophysical properties of reconstituted condensates, an understanding of their most basic feature, their composition, remains elusive. Here we combined quantitative phase microscopy (QPM) and the physics of sessile droplets to develop a precise method to measure the shape and composition of individual model condensates. This technique does not rely on fluorescent dyes or tags, which we show can significantly alter protein phase behavior, and requires 1000-fold less material than traditional label-free technologies. We further show that this QPM method measures the protein concentration in condensates to a 3-fold higher precision than the next best label-free approach, and that commonly employed strategies based on fluorescence intensity dramatically underestimate these concentrations by as much as 50-fold. Interestingly, we find that condensed-phase protein concentrations can span a broad range, with PGL3, TAF15(RBD) and FUS condensates falling between 80 and 500 mg/ml under typical in vitro conditions. This points to a natural diversity in condensate composition specified by protein sequence. We were also able to measure temperature-dependent phase equilibria with QPM, an essential step towards relating phase behavior to the underlying physics and chemistry. Finally, time-resolved QPM reveals that PGL3 condensates undergo a contraction-like process during aging which leads to doubling of the internal protein concentration coupled to condensate shrinkage. We anticipate that this new approach will enable understanding the physical properties of biomolecular condensates and their function

    Towards a unified theory of Sobolev inequalities

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    We discuss our work on pointwise inequalities for the gradient which are connected with the isoperimetric profile associated to a given geometry. We show how they can be used to unify certain aspects of the theory of Sobolev inequalities. In particular, we discuss our recent papers on fractional order inequalities, Coulhon type inequalities, transference and dimensionless inequalities and our forthcoming work on sharp higher order Sobolev inequalities that can be obtained by iteration.Comment: 39 pages, made some changes to section 1

    A Comparison of the Mechanical and Structural Properties of Fibrin Fibers with Other Protein Fibers

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    In the past few years a great deal of progress has been made in studying the mechanical and structural properties of biological protein fibers. Here, we compare and review the stiffness (Young's modulus, E) and breaking strain (also called rupture strain or extensibility, εmax) of numerous biological protein fibers in light of the recently reported mechanical properties of fibrin fibers. Emphasis is also placed on the structural features and molecular mechanisms that endow biological protein fibers with their respective mechanical properties. Generally, stiff biological protein fibers have a Young's modulus on the order of a few Gigapascal and are not very extensible (εmax 100%). These soft, extensible fibers employ a variety of molecular mechanisms, such as extending amorphous regions or unfolding protein domains, to accommodate large strains. We conclude our review by proposing a novel model of how fibrin fibers might achieve their extremely large extensibility, despite the regular arrangement of the monomeric fibrin units within a fiber. We propose that fibrin fibers accommodate large strains by two major mechanisms: (1) an α-helix to β-strand conversion of the coiled coils; (2) a partial unfolding of the globular C-terminal domain of the γ-chain

    Fibrin Fibers Have Extraordinary Extensibility and Elasticity

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    Blood clots perform an essential mechanical task, yet the mechanical behavior of fibrin fibers, which form the structural framework of a clot, is largely unknown. By using combined atomic force-fluorescence microscopy, we determined the elastic limit and extensibility of individual fibers. Fibrin fibers can be strained 180% (2.8-fold extension) without sustaining permanent lengthening, and they can be strained up to 525% (average 330%) before rupturing. This is the largest extensibility observed for protein fibers. The data imply that fibrin monomers must be able to undergo sizeable, reversible structural changes and that deformations in clots can be accommodated by individual fiber stretching

    Quantitative Analysis of the Effect of Cancer Invasiveness and Collagen Concentration on 3D Matrix Remodeling

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    Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling is a key component of cell migration and tumor metastasis, and has been associated with cancer progression. Despite the importance of matrix remodeling, systematic and quantitative studies on the process have largely been lacking. Furthermore, it remains unclear if the disrupted tensional homeostasis characteristic of malignancy is due to initially altered ECM and tissue properties, or to the alteration of the tissue by tumor cells. To explore these questions, we studied matrix remodeling by two different prostate cancer cell lines in a three-dimensional collagen system. Over one week, we monitored structural changes in gels of varying collagen content using confocal reflection microscopy and quantitative image analysis, tracking metrics of fibril fraction, pore size, and fiber length and diameter. Gels that were seeded with no cells (control), LNCaP cells, and DU-145 cells were quantitatively compared. Gels with higher collagen content initially had smaller pore sizes and higher fibril fractions, as expected. However, over time, LNCaP- and DU-145-populated matrices showed different structural properties compared both to each other and to the control gels, with LNCaP cells appearing to favor microenvironments with lower collagen fiber fractions and larger pores than DU-145 cells. We posit that the DU-145 cells' preference for denser matrices is due to their higher invasiveness and proteolytic capabilities. Inhibition of matrix proteases resulted in reduced fibril fractions for high concentration gels seeded with either cell type, supporting our hypothesis. Our novel quantitative results probe the dynamics of gel remodeling in three dimensions and suggest that prostate cancer cells remodel their ECM in a synergistic manner that is dependent on both initial matrix properties as well as their invasiveness

    Asymptotic Fourier Coefficients for a C ∞ Bell (Smoothed-“Top-Hat”) & the Fourier Extension Problem

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    In constructing local Fourier bases and in solving differential equations with nonperiodic solutions through Fourier spectral algorithms, it is necessary to solve the Fourier Extension Problem. This is the task of extending a nonperiodic function, defined on an interval , to a function which is periodic on the larger interval . We derive the asymptotic Fourier coefficients for an infinitely differentiable function which is one on an interval , identically zero for , and varies smoothly in between. Such smoothed “top-hat” functions are “bells” in wavelet theory. Our bell is (for x ≥ 0) where where . By applying steepest descents to approximate the coefficient integrals in the limit of large degree j , we show that when the width L is fixed, the Fourier cosine coefficients a j of on are proportional to where Λ( j ) is an oscillatory factor of degree given in the text. We also show that to minimize error in a Fourier series truncated after the N th term, the width should be chosen to increase with N as . We derive similar asymptotics for the function f ( x )= x as extended by a more sophisticated scheme with overlapping bells; this gives an even faster rate of Fourier convergencePeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43417/1/10915_2005_Article_9010.pd
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