40 research outputs found
Subcritical instabilities in a convective fluid layer under a quasi-1D heating
The study and characterization of the diversity of spatiotemporal patterns
generated when a rectangular layer of fluid is locally heated beneath its free
surface is presented. We focus on the instability of a stationary cellular
pattern of wave number which undergoes a globally subcritical transition
to traveling waves by parity-breaking symmetry. The experimental results show
how the emerging traveling mode () switches on a resonant triad
(, , ) within the cellular pattern yielding a ``mixed''
pattern. The nature of this transition is described quantitatively in terms of
the evolution of the fundamental modes by complex demodulation techniques. The
B\' enard-Marangoni convection accounts for the different dynamics depending on
the depth of the fluid layer and on the vertical temperature difference. The
existence of a hysteresis cycle has been evaluated quantitatively. When the
bifurcation to traveling waves is measured in the vicinity of the codimension-2
bifurcation point, we measure a decrease of the subcritical interval in which
the traveling mode becomes unstable. From the traveling wave state the system
under goes a {\it new} global secondary bifurcation to an alternating pattern
which doubles the wavelength () of the primary cellular pattern, this
result compares well with theoretical predictions [P. Coullet and G. Ioss, {\em
Phys. Rev. Lett.} {\bf 64}, 8 66 (1990)]. In this cascade of bifurcations
towards a defect dynamics, bistability due to the subcritical behavior of our
system is the reason for the coexistence of two different modulated patterns
connected by a front. These fronts are stationary for a finite interval of the
control parameters.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure
Fluctuation and Dissipation in Liquid Crystal Electroconvection
In this experiment a steady state current is maintained through a liquid
crystal thin film. When the applied voltage is increased through a threshold, a
phase transition is observed into a convective state characterized by the
chaotic motion of rolls. Above the threshold, an increase in power consumption
is observed that is manifested by an increase in the mean conductivity. A sharp
increase in the ratio of the power fluctuations to the mean power dissipated is
observed above the transition. This ratio is compared to the predictions of the
fluctuation theorem of Gallavotti and Cohen using an effective temperature
associated with the rolls' chaotic motion.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revtex forma
Fundamental scaling laws of on-off intermittency in a stochastically driven dissipative pattern forming system
Noise driven electroconvection in sandwich cells of nematic liquid crystals
exhibits on-off intermittent behaviour at the onset of the instability. We
study laser scattering of convection rolls to characterize the wavelengths and
the trajectories of the stochastic amplitudes of the intermittent structures.
The pattern wavelengths and the statistics of these trajectories are in
quantitative agreement with simulations of the linearized electrohydrodynamic
equations. The fundamental distribution law for the durations
of laminar phases as well as the power law of the amplitude distribution
of intermittent bursts are confirmed in the experiments. Power spectral
densities of the experimental and numerically simulated trajectories are
discussed.Comment: 20 pages and 17 figure
A Large Maize (Zea mays L.) SNP Genotyping Array: Development and Germplasm Genotyping, and Genetic Mapping to Compare with the B73 Reference Genome
SNP genotyping arrays have been useful for many applications that require a large number of molecular markers such as high-density genetic mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and genomic selection. We report the establishment of a large maize SNP array and its use for diversity analysis and high density linkage mapping. The markers, taken from more than 800,000 SNPs, were selected to be preferentially located in genes and evenly distributed across the genome. The array was tested with a set of maize germplasm including North American and European inbred lines, parent/F1 combinations, and distantly related teosinte material. A total of 49,585 markers, including 33,417 within 17,520 different genes and 16,168 outside genes, were of good quality for genotyping, with an average failure rate of 4% and rates up to 8% in specific germplasm. To demonstrate this array's use in genetic mapping and for the independent validation of the B73 sequence assembly, two intermated maize recombinant inbred line populations – IBM (B73×Mo17) and LHRF (F2×F252) – were genotyped to establish two high density linkage maps with 20,913 and 14,524 markers respectively. 172 mapped markers were absent in the current B73 assembly and their placement can be used for future improvements of the B73 reference sequence. Colinearity of the genetic and physical maps was mostly conserved with some exceptions that suggest errors in the B73 assembly. Five major regions containing non-colinearities were identified on chromosomes 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9, and are supported by both independent genetic maps. Four additional non-colinear regions were found on the LHRF map only; they may be due to a lower density of IBM markers in those regions or to true structural rearrangements between lines. Given the array's high quality, it will be a valuable resource for maize genetics and many aspects of maize breeding
Unexpected effects of azole transporter inhibitors on antifungal susceptibility in Candida glabrata and other pathogenic Candida species
The pathogenic fungus Candida glabrata is often resistant to azole antifungal agents. Drug efflux through azole transporters, such as Cdr1 and Cdr2, is a key mechanism of azole resistance and these genes are under the control of the transcription factor Pdr1. Recently, the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor clorgyline was shown to inhibit the azole efflux pumps, leading to increased azole susceptibility in C. glabrata. In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of clorgyline on susceptibility of C. glabrata to not only azoles, but also to micafungin and amphotericin B, using wild-type and several mutant strains. The addition of clorgyline to the culture media increased fluconazole susceptibility of a C. glabrata wild-type strain, whereas micafungin and amphotericin B susceptibilities were markedly decreased. These phenomena were also observed in other medically important Candida species, including Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei. Expression levels of CDR1, CDR2 and PDR1 mRNAs and an amount of Cdr1 protein in the C. glabrata wild-type strain were highly increased in response to the treatment with clorgyline. However, loss of Cdr1, Cdr2, Pdr1, and a putative clorgyline target (Fms1), which is an ortholog of human MAO-A, or overexpression of CDR1 did not affect the decreased susceptibility to micafungin and amphotericin B in the presence of clorgyline. The presence of other azole efflux pump inhibitors including milbemycin A4 oxime and carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone also decreased micafungin susceptibility in C. glabrata wild-type, Δcdr1, Δcdr2, and Δpdr1 strains. These findings suggest that azole efflux pump inhibitors increase azole susceptibility but concurrently induce decreased susceptibility to other classes of antifungals independent of azole transporter functions