31,507 research outputs found
Ratchet effect in dc SQUIDs
We analyzed voltage rectification for dc SQUIDs biased with ac current with
zero mean value. We demonstrate that the reflection symmetry in the
2-dimensional SQUID potential is broken by an applied flux and with appropriate
asymmetries in the dc SQUID. Depending on the type of asymmetry, we obtain a
rocking or a simultaneously rocking and flashing ratchet, the latter showing
multiple sign reversals in the mean voltage with increasing amplitude of the ac
current. Our experimental results are in agreement with numerical solutions of
the Langevin equations for the asymmetric dc SQUID.Comment: 10 pages including 5 Postscript figure
Sexual behaviour and HIV/sexually transmitted infection risk behaviours in the general population of Slovenia, a low HIV prevalence country in central Europe.
OBJECTIVES: To describe sexual and HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk behaviours in Slovenia. METHODS: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey of the general population aged 18-49 years in 1999-2001 was conducted. The data were collected by face-to-face interviews and anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Statistical methods for complex survey data were used. RESULTS: 849 men and 903 women were interviewed. In the past 5 years, both men and women reported a median of one heterosexual partner (means 3.2, 1.5, respectively), concurrent heterosexual partnerships were reported by 24.4% of men and 8.2% of women, heterosexual sex with non-Slovenian partners by 12.6% of men and 12.2% of women, forced sex by 4.8% of women, paid heterosexual sex by 2.6% of men, sex with another man by 0.6% of men and heterosexual sex with an injecting drug user by 1.2% of men and 1.3% of women. In the past year, 22.7% of men and 9.5% of women reported forming at least one new heterosexual partnership. The mean numbers of episodes of heterosexual sex in the previous 4 weeks were 6.1 for men and 6.0 for women. Consistent and inconsistent condom use was reported more frequently among men reporting multiple female partners and those not married or cohabiting. CONCLUSIONS: Recent patterns of reported sexual behaviour are consistent with a low risk of HIV and STI transmission in Slovenia. The results will inform Slovenian sexual health policies including HIV/STI prevention, and are particularly valuable because population-based data on HIV/STI risk behaviour have not previously been available in low HIV prevalence countries of central Europe
A Generalised Sidelobe Canceller Architecture Based on Oversampled Subband Decompositions
Adaptive broadband beamforming can be performed in oversampled subband signals, whereby an independent beamformer is operated in each frequency band. This has been shown to result in a considerably reduced computational complexity. In this paper, we primarily investigate the convergence behaviour of the generalised sidelobe canceller (GSC) based on normalised least mean squares algorithm (NLMS) when operated in subbands. The minimum mean squared error can be limited, amongst other factors, by the aliasing present in the subbands. With regard to convergence speed, there is strong indication that the subband-GSC converges faster than a fullband counterpart of similar modelling capabilities. Simulations are presented
Escape of a Uniform Random Walk from an Interval
We study the first-passage properties of a random walk in the unit interval
in which the length of a single step is uniformly distributed over the finite
range [-a,a]. For a of the order of one, the exit probabilities to each edge of
the interval and the exit time from the interval exhibit anomalous properties
stemming from the change in the minimum number of steps to escape the interval
as a function of the starting point. As a decreases, first-passage properties
approach those of continuum diffusion, but non-diffusive effects remain because
of residual discreteness effectsComment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 2 column revtex4 forma
Effect of random interactions in spin baths on decoherence
We study the decoherence of a central spin 1/2 induced by a spin bath with
intrabath interactions. Since we are interested in the cumulative effect of
interaction and disorder, we study baths comprising Ising spins with random
ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions between the spins. Using the
resolvent operator method which goes beyond the standard Born-Markov master
equation approach, we show that, in the weak coupling regime, the decoherence
of the central spin at all times is entirely determined by the local-field
distribution or equivalently, the dynamical structure factor of the Ising bath.
We present analytic results for the Ising spin chain bath at arbitrary
temperature for different distributions of the intrabath interaction strengths.
We find clear evidence of non-Markovian behavior in the low temperature regime.
We also consider baths described by Ising models on higher-dimensional
lattices. We find that interactions lead to a significant reduction of the
decoherence. An important feature of interacting spinbaths is the saturation of
the asymptotic Markovian decay rate at high temperatures, as opposed to the
conventional Ohmic boson bath.Comment: 13 page
A synthetic Escherichia coli predator–prey ecosystem
We have constructed a synthetic ecosystem consisting of two Escherichia coli populations, which communicate bi-directionally through quorum sensing and regulate each other's gene expression and survival via engineered gene circuits. Our synthetic ecosystem resembles canonical predator–prey systems in terms of logic and dynamics. The predator cells kill the prey by inducing expression of a killer protein in the prey, while the prey rescue the predators by eliciting expression of an antidote protein in the predator. Extinction, coexistence and oscillatory dynamics of the predator and prey populations are possible depending on the operating conditions as experimentally validated by long-term culturing of the system in microchemostats. A simple mathematical model is developed to capture these system dynamics. Coherent interplay between experiments and mathematical analysis enables exploration of the dynamics of interacting populations in a predictable manner
Communications systems technology assessment study. Volume 2: Results
The cost and technology characteristics are examined for providing special satellite services at UHF, 2.5 GHz, and 14/12 GHz. Considered are primarily health, educational, informational and emergency disaster type services. The total cost of each configuration including space segment, earth station, installation operation and maintenance was optimized to reduce the user's total annual cost and establish preferred equipment performance parameters. Technology expected to be available between now and 1985 is identified and comparisons made between selected alternatives. A key element of the study is a survey of earth station equipment updating past work in the field, providing new insight into technology, and evaluating production and test methods that can reduce costs in large production runs. Various satellite configurations were examined. The cost impact of rain attenuation at Ku-band was evaluated. The factors affecting the ultimate capacity achievable with the available orbital arc and available bandwidth were analyzed
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