2,830 research outputs found
Weyl corrections to holographic conductivity
For conformal field theories which admit a dual gravitational description in
anti-de Sitter space, electrical transport properties, such as conductivity and
charge diffusion, are determined by the dynamics of a U(1) gauge field in the
bulk and thus obey universality relations at the classical level due to the
uniqueness of the Maxwell action. We analyze corrections to these transport
parameters due to higher-dimension operators in the bulk action, beyond the
leading Maxwell term, of which the most significant involves a coupling to the
bulk Weyl tensor. We show that the ensuing corrections to conductivity and the
diffusion constant break the universal relation with the U(1) central charge
observed at leading order, but are nonetheless subject to interesting bounds
associated with causality in the boundary CFT.Comment: 15 pages, v2: references adde
Recontextualizing the Case Study
Case studies are very difficult to use with students who will not read them or whose reading skills are too poor to absorb the details of the case necessary to use it in a class discussion or paper. This paper explores a way to write cases that will engage such students, be memorable to them, and prompt lively discussion and achievement of learning goals. It is based on the work of Walter J. Ong and involves centering cases around a context with which the student can identify personally. The case was designed to facilitate ethical discussions in a senior finance course, but the techniques are applicable to any discipline at any level
Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems at Filling Factor \nu=2: An Exact Diagonalisation Study
We present an exact diagonalisation study of bilayer quantum Hall systems at
a filling factor of two in the spherical geometry. We find the
high-Zeeman-coupling phase boundary of the broken symmetry canted
antiferromagnet is given exactly by previous Hartree-Fock mean-field theories,
but that the state's stability at weak Zeeman coupling has been qualitatively
overestimated. In the absence of interlayer tunneling, degeneracies occur
between total spin multiplets due to the Hamiltonian's invariance under
independent spin-rotations in top and bottom two-dimensional electron layers.Comment: Some remarks added in the discussion of the phase diagram, and some
typos corrected. Version to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
A moving mesh method for modelling defects in nematic liquid crystals
The properties of liquid crystals can be modelled using an order parameter which describes the variability of the local orientation of rod-like molecules. Defects in the director field can arise due to external factors such as applied electric or magnetic fields, or the constraining geometry of the cell containing the liquid crystal material. Understanding the formation and dynamics of defects is important in the design and control of liquid crystal devices, and poses significant challenges for numerical modelling. In this paper we consider the numerical solution of a Q-tensor model of a nematic liquid crystal, where defects arise through rapid changes in the Q-tensor over a very small physical region in relation to the dimensions of the liquid crystal device. The efficient solution of the resulting six coupled partial differential equations is achieved using a finite element based adaptive moving mesh approach, where an unstructured triangular mesh is adapted towards high activity regions, including those around defects. Spatial convergence studies are presented using a stationary defect as a model test case, and the adaptive method is shown to be optimally convergent using quadratic triangular finite elements. The full effectiveness of the method is then demonstrated using a challenging two-dimensional dynamic Pi-cell problem involving the creation, movement, and annihilation of defects
ZAP's stress granule localization is correlated with its antiviral activity and induced by virus replication.
Cellular antiviral programs encode molecules capable of targeting multiple steps in the virus lifecycle. Zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a central and general regulator of antiviral activity that targets pathogen mRNA stability and translation. ZAP is diffusely cytoplasmic, but upon infection ZAP is targeted to particular cytoplasmic structures, termed stress granules (SGs). However, it remains unclear if ZAP's antiviral activity correlates with SG localization, and what molecular cues are required to induce this localization event. Here, we use Sindbis virus (SINV) as a model infection and find that ZAP's localization to SGs can be transient. Sometimes no apparent viral infection follows ZAP SG localization but ZAP SG localization always precedes accumulation of SINV non-structural protein, suggesting virus replication processes trigger SG formation and ZAP recruitment. Data from single-molecule RNA FISH corroborates this finding as the majority of cells with ZAP localization in SGs contain low levels of viral RNA. Furthermore, ZAP recruitment to SGs occurred in ZAP-expressing cells when co-cultured with cells replicating full-length SINV, but not when co-cultured with cells replicating a SINV replicon. ZAP recruitment to SGs is functionally important as a panel of alanine ZAP mutants indicate that the anti-SINV activity is correlated with ZAP's ability to localize to SGs. As ZAP is a central component of the cellular antiviral programs, these data provide further evidence that SGs are an important cytoplasmic antiviral hub. These findings provide insight into how antiviral components are regulated upon virus infection to inhibit virus spread
Strong Correlation to Weak Correlation Phase Transition in Bilayer Quantum Hall Systems
At small layer separations, the ground state of a nu=1 bilayer quantum Hall
system exhibits spontaneous interlayer phase coherence and has a
charged-excitation gap E_g. The evolution of this state with increasing layer
separation d has been a matter of controversy. In this letter we report on
small system exact diagonalization calculations which suggest that a single
phase transition, likely of first order, separates coherent incompressible (E_g
>0) states with strong interlayer correlations from incoherent compressible
states with weak interlayer correlations. We find a dependence of the phase
boundary on d and interlayer tunneling amplitude that is in very good agreement
with recent experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures included, version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Simplified critical mudline bending moment spectra of offshore wind turbine support structures
An analytical model to predict the natural frequency of offshore wind turbines on three-spring flexible foundations using two different beam models
Theory of interlayer tunneling in bi-layer quantum Hall ferromagnets
Spielman et al. have recently observed a large zero-bias peak in the tunnel
conductance of a bi-layer system in a quantum Hall ferromagnet state. We argue
that disorder-induced topological defects in the pseudospin order parameter
limit the peak size and destroy the predicted Josephson effect. We predict that
the peak would be split and shifted by an in-plane magnetic field in a way that
maps the dispersion relation of the ferromagnet's Goldstone mode. We also
predict resonant structures in the DC I-V characteristic under bias by an {\em
ac} electric field.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Erectile Dysfunction Severity as a Risk Marker for Cardiovascular Disease Hospitalisation and All-Cause Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study
BACKGROUND Erectile dysfunction is an emerging risk marker for future cardiovascular disease (CVD) events; however, evidence on dose response and specific CVD outcomes is limited. This study investigates the relationship between severity of erectile dysfunction and specific CVD outcomes. METHODS AND FINDINGS We conducted a prospective population-based Australian study (the 45 and Up Study) linking questionnaire data from 2006-2009 with hospitalisation and death data to 30 June and 31 Dec 2010 respectively for 95,038 men aged ≥45 y. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the relationship of reported severity of erectile dysfunction to all-cause mortality and first CVD-related hospitalisation since baseline in men with and without previous CVD, adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol consumption, marital status, income, education, physical activity, body mass index, diabetes, and hypertension and/or hypercholesterolaemia treatment. There were 7,855 incident admissions for CVD and 2,304 deaths during follow-up (mean time from recruitment, 2.2 y for CVD admission and 2.8 y for mortality). Risks of CVD and death increased steadily with severity of erectile dysfunction. Among men without previous CVD, those with severe versus no erectile dysfunction had significantly increased risks of ischaemic heart disease (adjusted relative risk [RR] = 1.60, 95% CI 1.31-1.95), heart failure (8.00, 2.64-24.2), peripheral vascular disease (1.92, 1.12-3.29), "other" CVD (1.26, 1.05-1.51), all CVD combined (1.35, 1.19-1.53), and all-cause mortality (1.93, 1.52-2.44). For men with previous CVD, corresponding RRs (95% CI) were 1.70 (1.46-1.98), 4.40 (2.64-7.33), 2.46 (1.63-3.70), 1.40 (1.21-1.63), 1.64 (1.48-1.81), and 2.37 (1.87-3.01), respectively. Among men without previous CVD, RRs of more specific CVDs increased significantly with severe versus no erectile dysfunction, including acute myocardial infarction (1.66, 1.22-2.26), atrioventricular and left bundle branch block (6.62, 1.86-23.56), and (peripheral) atherosclerosis (2.47, 1.18-5.15), with no significant difference in risk for conditions such as primary hypertension (0.61, 0.16-2.35) and intracerebral haemorrhage (0.78, 0.20-2.97). CONCLUSIONS These findings give support for CVD risk assessment in men with erectile dysfunction who have not already undergone assessment. The utility of erectile dysfunction as a clinical risk prediction tool requires specific testing.JC has received research grants from Servier, administered through the University of Sydney and The George Institute, as principal
investigator for the ADVANCE trial and ADVANCE-ON post trial follow-up study, and have received honoraria from Servier for speaking about ADVANCE at
Scientific meetings. PM has received payment from Pfizer for giving a lecture on the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. All other authors have declared that
no competing interests exis
- …