2,585 research outputs found
Violating conformal invariance: Two-dimensional clusters grafted to wedges, cones, and branch points of Riemann surfaces
We present simulations of 2-d site animals on square and triangular lattices
in non-trivial geomeLattice animals are one of the few critical models in
statistical mechanics violating conformal invariance. We present here
simulations of 2-d site animals on square and triangular lattices in
non-trivial geometries. The simulations are done with the newly developed PERM
algorithm which gives very precise estimates of the partition sum, yielding
precise values for the entropic exponent (). In particular, we studied animals grafted to the tips of wedges
with a wide range of angles , to the tips of cones (wedges with the
sides glued together), and to branching points of Riemann surfaces. The latter
can either have sheets and no boundary, generalizing in this way cones to
angles degrees, or can have boundaries, generalizing wedges. We
find conformal invariance behavior, , only for small
angles (), while for
. These scalings hold both for wedges and cones. A heuristic
(non-conformal) argument for the behavior at large is given, and
comparison is made with critical percolation.Comment: 4 pages, includes 3 figure
Optimizing Replica Exchange Moves For Molecular Dynamics
In this short note we sketch the statistical physics framework of the replica
exchange technique when applied to molecular dynamics simulations. In
particular, we draw attention to generalized move sets that allow a variety of
optimizations as well as new applications of the method.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; revised version (1 figure added), PRE in pres
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Ultrastructural features and synaptic connections of hilar ectopic granule cells in the rat dentate gyrus are different from those of granule cells in the granule cell layer.
Several investigators have shown the existence of dentate granule cells in ectopic locations within the hilus and molecular layer using both Golgi and retrograde tracing studies but the ultrastructural features and synaptic connections of ectopic granule cells were not previously examined. In the present study, the biocytin retrograde tracing technique was used to label ectopic granule cells following injections into stratum lucidum of CA3b of hippocampal slices obtained from epileptic rats. Electron microscopy was used to study hilar ectopic granule cells that were located 20-40 microm from the granule cell layer (GCL). They had ultrastructural features similar to those of granule cells in the GCL but showed differences, including nuclei that often displayed infoldings and thicker apical dendrites. At their origin, these dendrites were 6 microm in diameter and they tapered down to 2 microm at the border with the GCL. Both biocytin-labeled and unlabeled axon terminals formed exclusively asymmetric synapses with the somata and proximal dendrites of hilar ectopic granule cells. The mean number of axosomatic synapses for these cells was three times that for granule cells in the GCL. Together, these data indicate that hilar ectopic granule cells are postsynaptic to mossy fibers and have less inhibitory input on their somata and proximal dendrites than granule cells in the GCL. This finding is consistent with recent physiological results showing that hilar ectopic granule cells from epileptic rats are more hyperexcitable than granule cells in the GCL
Diffusion in the Continuous-Imaginary-Time Quantum World-Line Monte Carlo Simulations with Extended Ensembles
The dynamics of samples in the continuous-imaginary-time quantum world-line
Monte Carlo simulations with extended ensembles are investigated. In the case
of a conventional flat ensemble on the one-dimensional quantum S=1 bi-quadratic
model, the asymmetric behavior of Monte Carlo samples appears in the diffusion
process in the space of the number of vertices. We prove that a local
diffusivity is asymptotically proportional to the number of vertices, and we
demonstrate the asymmetric behavior in the flat ensemble case. On the basis of
the asymptotic form, we propose the weight of an optimal ensemble as
, where denotes the number of vertices in a sample. It is shown
that the asymmetric behavior completely vanishes in the case of the proposed
ensemble on the one-dimensional quantum S=1 bi-quadratic model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, update a referenc
Random Walks on a Fluctuating Lattice: A Renormalization Group Approach Applied in One Dimension
We study the problem of a random walk on a lattice in which bonds connecting
nearest neighbor sites open and close randomly in time, a situation often
encountered in fluctuating media. We present a simple renormalization group
technique to solve for the effective diffusive behavior at long times. For
one-dimensional lattices we obtain better quantitative agreement with
simulation data than earlier effective medium results. Our technique works in
principle in any dimension, although the amount of computation required rises
with dimensionality of the lattice.Comment: PostScript file including 2 figures, total 15 pages, 8 other figures
obtainable by mail from D.L. Stei
Induction of Alloantigen-specific Anergy in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells by Alloantigen Stimulation with Co-stimulatory Signal Blockade
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) offers the best chance of cure for many patients with congenital and acquired hematologic diseases. Unfortunately, transplantation of alloreactive donor T cells which recognize and damage healthy patient tissues can result in Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD)1. One challenge to successful AHSCT is the prevention of GvHD without associated impairment of the beneficial effects of donor T cells, particularly immune reconstitution and prevention of relapse. GvHD can be prevented by non-specific depletion of donor T cells from stem cell grafts or by administration of pharmacological immunosuppression. Unfortunately these approaches increase infection and disease relapse2-4. An alternative strategy is to selectively deplete alloreactive donor T cells after allostimulation by recipient antigen presenting cells (APC) before transplant. Early clinical trials of these allodepletion strategies improved immune reconstitution after HLA-mismatched HSCT without excess GvHD5, 6. However, some allodepletion techniques require specialized recipient APC production6, 7and some approaches may have off-target effects including depletion of donor pathogen-specific T cells8and CD4 T regulatory cells9.One alternative approach is the inactivation of alloreactive donor T cells via induction of alloantigen-specific hyporesponsiveness. This is achieved by stimulating donor cells with recipient APC while providing blockade of CD28-mediated co-stimulation signals10.This "alloanergization" approach reduces alloreactivity by 1-2 logs while preserving pathogen- and tumor-associated antigen T cell responses in vitro11. The strategy has been successfully employed in 2 completed and 1 ongoing clinical pilot studies in which alloanergized donor T cells were infused during or after HLA-mismatched HSCT resulting in rapid immune reconstitution, few infections and less severe acute and chronic GvHD than historical control recipients of unmanipulated HLA-mismatched transplantation12. Here we describe our current protocol for the generation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) which have been alloanergized to HLA-mismatched unrelated stimulator PBMC. Alloanergization is achieved by allostimulation in the presence of monoclonal antibodies to the ligands B7.1 and B7.1 to block CD28-mediated costimulation. This technique does not require the production of specialized stimulator APC and is simple to perform, requiring only a single and relatively brief ex vivo incubation step. As such, the approach can be easily standardized for clinical use to generate donor T cells with reduced alloreactivity but retaining pathogen-specific immunity for adoptive transfer in the setting of AHSCT to improve immune reconstitution without excessive GvHD
Seizure-induced basal dendrites on granule cells
Seizure-induced hilar basal dendrites on dentate granule cells are observed in several rodent models of temporal lobe epilepsy. Ultrastructural evidence showed that basal dendrites receive predominantly excitatory synapses, including many from mossy fibers. Such highly interconnected granule cells with basal dendrites are suggested to enhance hyperexcitability within the dentate network. For an expanded treatment of this topic see Jasper's Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies, Fourth Edition (Noebels JL, Avoli M, Rogawski MA, Olsen RW, Delgado-Escueta AV, eds) published by Oxford University Press (available on the National Library of Medicine Bookshelf [NCBI] at). © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy
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