2,168 research outputs found
VASCOMP 2. The V/STOL aircraft sizing and performance computer program. Volume 6: User's manual, revision 3
This report describes the use of the V/STOL Aircraft Sizing and Performance Computer Program (VASCOMP II). The program is useful in performing aircraft parametric studies in a quick and cost efficient manner. Problem formulation and data development were performed by the Boeing Vertol Company and reflects the present preliminary design technology. The computer program, written in FORTRAN IV, has a broad range of input parameters, to enable investigation of a wide variety of aircraft. User oriented features of the program include minimized input requirements, diagnostic capabilities, and various options for program flexibility
A Computational Model of Aging and Calcification in the Aortic Heart Valve
The aortic heart valve undergoes geometric and mechanical changes over time. The cusps of a normal, healthy valve thicken and become less extensible over time. In the disease calcific aortic stenosis (CAS), calcified nodules progressively stiffen the cusps. The local mechanical changes in the cusps, due to either normal aging or pathological processes, affect overall function of the valve. In this paper, we propose a computational model for the aging aortic valve that connects local changes to overall valve function. We extend a previous model for the healthy valve to describe aging. To model normal/uncomplicated aging, leaflet thickness and extensibility are varied versus age according to experimental data. To model calcification, initial sites are defined and a simple growth law is assumed. The nodules then grow over time, so that the area of calcification increases from one model to the next model representing greater age. Overall valve function is recorded for each individual model to yield a single simulation of valve function over time. This simulation is the first theoretical tool to describe the temporal behavior of aortic valve calcification. The ability to better understand and predict disease progression will aid in design and timing of patient treatments for CAS
The temperature dependence of FeRh's transport properties
The finite-temperature transport properties of FeRh compounds are
investigated by first-principles Density Functional Theory-based calculations.
The focus is on the behavior of the longitudinal resistivity with rising
temperature, which exhibits an abrupt decrease at the metamagnetic transition
point, between ferro- and antiferromagnetic phases. A detailed
electronic structure investigation for K explains this feature and
demonstrates the important role of (i) the difference of the electronic
structure at the Fermi level between the two magnetically ordered states and
(ii) the different degree of thermally induced magnetic disorder in the
vicinity of , giving different contributions to the resistivity. To
support these conclusions, we also describe the temperature dependence of the
spin-orbit induced anomalous Hall resistivity and Gilbert damping parameter.
For the various response quantities considered the impact of thermal lattice
vibrations and spin fluctuations on their temperature dependence is
investigated in detail. Comparison with corresponding experimental data finds
in general a very good agreement
Fluctuation-dissipation theorem and quantum tunneling with dissipation
We suggest to take the fluctuation-dissipation theorem of Callen and Welton
as a basis to study quantum dissipative phenomena (such as macroscopic quantum
tunneling) in a manner analogous to the Nambu-Goldstone theorem for spontaneous
symmetry breakdown. It is shown that the essential physical contents of the
Caldeira-Leggett model such as the suppression of quantum coherence by Ohmic
dissipation are derived from general principles only, namely, the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem and unitarity and causality (i.e., dispersion
relations), without referring to an explicit form of the Lagrangian. An
interesting connection between quantum tunneling with Ohmic dissipation and the
Anderson's orthogonality theorem is also noted.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
Does Young's equation hold on the nanoscale? A Monte Carlo test for the binary Lennard-Jones fluid
When a phase-separated binary () mixture is exposed to a wall, that
preferentially attracts one of the components, interfaces between A-rich and
B-rich domains in general meet the wall making a contact angle .
Young's equation describes this angle in terms of a balance between the
interfacial tension and the surface tensions ,
between, respectively, the - and -rich phases and the wall,
. By Monte Carlo simulations
of bridges, formed by one of the components in a binary Lennard-Jones liquid,
connecting the two walls of a nanoscopic slit pore, is estimated from
the inclination of the interfaces, as a function of the wall-fluid interaction
strength. The information on the surface tensions ,
are obtained independently from a new thermodynamic integration method, while
is found from the finite-size scaling analysis of the
concentration distribution function. We show that Young's equation describes
the contact angles of the actual nanoscale interfaces for this model rather
accurately and location of the (first order) wetting transition is estimated.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Near-Constant Mean Curvature Solutions of the Einstein Constraint Equations with Non-Negative Yamabe Metrics
We show that sets of conformal data on closed manifolds with the metric in
the positive or zero Yamabe class, and with the gradient of the mean curvature
function sufficiently small, are mapped to solutions of the Einstein constraint
equations. This result extends previous work which required the conformal
metric to be in the negative Yamabe class, and required the mean curvature
function to be nonzero.Comment: 15 page
NATO and CSDP: party and public positioning in Germany and France
This is the final version. Available on open access from the NATO Defense College via the link in this recordVolkswagen Foundatio
The Constraints in Spherically Symmetric General Relativity II --- Identifying the Configuration Space: A Moment of Time Symmetry
We continue our investigation of the configuration space of general
relativity begun in I (gr-qc/9411009). Here we examine the Hamiltonian
constraint when the spatial geometry is momentarily static (MS). We show that
MS configurations satisfy both the positive quasi-local mass (QLM) theorem and
its converse. We derive an analytical expression for the spatial metric in the
neighborhood of a generic singularity. The corresponding curvature singularity
shows up in the traceless component of the Ricci tensor. We show that if the
energy density of matter is monotonically decreasing, the geometry cannot be
singular. A supermetric on the configuration space which distinguishes between
singular geometries and non-singular ones is constructed explicitly. Global
necessary and sufficient criteria for the formation of trapped surfaces and
singularities are framed in terms of inequalities which relate appropriate
measures of the material energy content on a given support to a measure of its
volume. The strength of these inequalities is gauged by exploiting the exactly
solvable piece-wise constant density star as a template.Comment: 50 pages, Plain Tex, 1 figure available from the authors
A short artificial antimicrobial peptide shows potential to prevent or treat bone infections.
Infection of bone is a severe complication due to the variety of bacteria causing it, their resistance against classical antibiotics, the formation of a biofilm and the difficulty to eradicate it. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are naturally occurring peptides and promising candidates for treatment of joint infections. This study aimed to analyze the effect of short artificial peptides derived from an optimized library regarding (1) antimicrobial effect on different bacterial species, (2) efficacy on biofilms, and (3) effect on osteoblast‑like cells. Culturing the AMP-modifications with Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus (including clinical isolates of MRSA and MSSA) and Staphylococcus epidermidis identified one candidate that was most effective against all bacteria. This AMP was also able to reduce biofilm as demonstrated by FISH and microcalorimetry. Osteoblast viability and differentiation were not negatively affected by the AMP. A cation concentration comparable to that physiologically occurring in blood had almost no negative effect on AMP activity and even with 10% serum bacterial growth was inhibited. Bacteria internalized into osteoblasts were reduced by the AMP. Taken together the results demonstrate a high antimicrobial activity of the AMP even against bacteria incorporated in a biofilm or internalized into cells without harming human osteoblasts
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