9,273 research outputs found
Non-Ohmic variable-range hopping transport in one-dimensional conductors
We investigate theoretically the effect of a finite electric field on the
resistivity of a disordered one-dimensional system in the variable-range
hopping regime. We find that at low fields the transport is inhibited by rare
fluctuations in the random distribution of localized states that create
high-resistance ``breaks'' in the hopping network. As the field increases, the
breaks become less resistive. In strong fields the breaks are overrun and the
electron distribution function is driven far from equilibrum. The logarithm of
the resistance initially shows a simple exponential drop with the field,
followed by a logarithmic dependence, and finally, by an inverse square-root
law.Comment: Version accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
Coarse-graining the dynamics of coupled oscillators
We present an equation-free computational approach to the study of the
coarse-grained dynamics of {\it finite} assemblies of {\it non-identical}
coupled oscillators at and near full synchronization. We use coarse-grained
observables which account for the (rapidly developing) correlations between
phase angles and oscillator natural frequencies. Exploiting short bursts of
appropriately initialized detailed simulations, we circumvent the derivation of
closures for the long-term dynamics of the assembly statistics.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Conditional Targeting of the DNA Repair Enzyme hOGG1 into Mitochondria
Oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been suggested to be a key factor in the etiologies of many diseases and in the normal process of aging. Although the presence of a repair system to remove this damage has been demonstrated, the mechanisms involved in this repair have not been well defined. In an effort to better understand the physiological role of recombinant 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase/apurinic lyase (OGG1) in mtDNA repair, we constructed an expression vector containing the gene for OGG1 downstream of the mitochondrial localization sequence from manganese-superoxide dismutase. This gene construct was placed under the control of a tetracycline-regulated promoter. Transfected cells that conditionally expressed OGG1 in the absence of the tetracycline analogue doxycycline and targeted this recombinant protein to mitochondria were generated. Western blots of mitochondrial extracts from vector- and OGG1-transfected clones with and without doxycycline revealed that removal of doxycycline for 4 days caused an approximate 8-fold increase in the amount of OGG1 protein in mitochondria. Enzyme activity assays and DNA repair studies showed that the doxycycline-dependent recombinant OGG1 is functional. Functional studies revealed that cells containing recombinant OGG1 were more proficient at repairing oxidative damage in their mtDNA, and this increased repair led to increased cellular survival following oxidative stress
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The Boltysh crater record of rapid vegetation change during the Dan-C2 hyperthermal event
Coarse-grained dynamics of an activity bump in a neural field model
We study a stochastic nonlocal PDE, arising in the context of modelling
spatially distributed neural activity, which is capable of sustaining
stationary and moving spatially-localized ``activity bumps''. This system is
known to undergo a pitchfork bifurcation in bump speed as a parameter (the
strength of adaptation) is changed; yet increasing the noise intensity
effectively slowed the motion of the bump. Here we revisit the system from the
point of view of describing the high-dimensional stochastic dynamics in terms
of the effective dynamics of a single scalar "coarse" variable. We show that
such a reduced description in the form of an effective Langevin equation
characterized by a double-well potential is quantitatively successful. The
effective potential can be extracted using short, appropriately-initialized
bursts of direct simulation. We demonstrate this approach in terms of (a) an
experience-based "intelligent" choice of the coarse observable and (b) an
observable obtained through data-mining direct simulation results, using a
diffusion map approach.Comment: Corrected aknowledgement
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A complete high resolution record of the Dan-C2 hyperthermal event in the lacustrine sediments of the Boltysh Impact crater
Yeast apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease Apn1 protects mammalian neuronal cell line from oxidative stress
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated as one of the agents responsible for many neurodegenerative diseases. A critical target for ROS is DNA. Most oxidative stress-induced DNA damage in the nucleus and mitochondria is removed by the base excision repair pathway. Apn1 is a yeast enzyme in this pathway which possesses a wider substrate specificity and greater enzyme activity than its mammalian counterpart for removing DNA damage, making it a good therapeutic candidate. For this study we targeted Apn1 to mitochondria in a neuronal cell line derived from the substantia nigra by using a mitochondrial targeting signal (MTS) in an effort to hasten the removal of DNA damage and thereby protect these cells. We found that following oxidative stress, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was repaired more efficiently in cells containing Apn1 with the MTS than controls. There was no difference in nuclear repair. However, cells that expressed Apn1 without the MTS showed enhanced repair of both nuclear and mtDNA. Both Apn1-expressing cells were more resistant to cell death following oxidative stress compared with controls. Therefore, these results reveal that the expression of Apn1 in neurons may be of potential therapeutic benefit for treating patients with specific neurodegenerative diseases
High Resolution X-Ray Micro-CT of Ultra-Thin Wall Space Components
A high resolution micro-CT system has been assembled and is being used to provide optimal characterization for ultra-thin wall space components. The Glenn Research Center NDE Sciences Team, using this CT system, has assumed the role of inspection vendor for the Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) project at NASA. This article will discuss many aspects of the development of the CT scanning for this type of component, including CT system overview; inspection requirements; process development, software utilized and developed to visualize, process, and analyze results; calibration sample development; results on actual samples; correlation with optical/SEM characterization; CT modeling; and development of automatic flaw recognition software. Keywords: Nondestructive Evaluation, NDE, Computed Tomography, Imaging, X-ray, Metallic Components, Thin Wall Inspectio
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