205 research outputs found
Autoresonance in a Dissipative System
We study the autoresonant solution of Duffing's equation in the presence of
dissipation. This solution is proved to be an attracting set. We evaluate the
maximal amplitude of the autoresonant solution and the time of transition from
autoresonant growth of the amplitude to the mode of fast oscillations.
Analytical results are illustrated by numerical simulations.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure
Liquid crystal anchoring transitions on aligning substrates processed by plasma beam
We observe a sequence of the anchoring transitions in nematic liquid crystals
(NLC) sandwiched between the hydrophobic polyimide substrates treated with the
plasma beam. There is a pronounced continuous transition from homeotropic to
low tilted (nearly planar) alignment with the easy axis parallel to the
incidence plane of the plasma beam (the zenithal transition) that takes place
as the exposure dose increases. In NLC with positive dielectric anisotropy, a
further increase in the exposure dose results in in-plane reorientation of the
easy axis by 90 degrees (the azimuthal transition). This transition occurs
through the two-fold degenerated alignment characteristic for the second order
anchoring transitions. In contrast to critical behavior of anchoring, the
contact angle of NLC and water on the treated substrates monotonically declines
with the exposure dose. It follows that the surface concentration of
hydrophobic chains decreases continuously. The anchoring transitions under
consideration are qualitatively interpreted by using a simple phenomenological
model of competing easy axes which is studied by analyzing anchoring diagrams
of the generalized polar and non-polar anchoring models.Comment: revtex4, 18 pages, 10 figure
A molecular assembly system for presentation of antigens on the surface of HBc virus-like particles
AbstractHepatitis B virus-like particles, icosahedral structures formed by multiple core protein dimers, are promising immune-enhancing vaccine carriers for foreign antigens. Insertions into the surface-exposed immunodominant loop are especially immunogenic. However, the need to conserve the particulate structure to ensure high immunogenicity imposes restraints on the nature of the heterologous sequence that can be inserted. We propose a new approach to constructing HBc particles linked to the target epitopes that relies on non-covalent interactions between the epitope and pre-assembled unmodified HBc particles. Interaction was enabled by fusion of the epitope to the GSLLGRMKGA peptide, binding to the spike tips. This peptide may be used as a “binding tag” allowing in vitro construction of HBc particles carrying the target peptide. Such virus-like particles carrying multiple copies of the extracellular domain of the M2 protein of different influenza strains appeared to be highly immunogenic and protected immunised mice against a lethal influenza challenge
Flame Enhancement and Quenching in Fluid Flows
We perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) of an advected scalar field
which diffuses and reacts according to a nonlinear reaction law. The objective
is to study how the bulk burning rate of the reaction is affected by an imposed
flow. In particular, we are interested in comparing the numerical results with
recently predicted analytical upper and lower bounds. We focus on reaction
enhancement and quenching phenomena for two classes of imposed model flows with
different geometries: periodic shear flow and cellular flow. We are primarily
interested in the fast advection regime. We find that the bulk burning rate v
in a shear flow satisfies v ~ a*U+b where U is the typical flow velocity and a
is a constant depending on the relationship between the oscillation length
scale of the flow and laminar front thickness. For cellular flow, we obtain v ~
U^{1/4}. We also study flame extinction (quenching) for an ignition-type
reaction law and compactly supported initial data for the scalar field. We find
that in a shear flow the flame of the size W can be typically quenched by a
flow with amplitude U ~ alpha*W. The constant alpha depends on the geometry of
the flow and tends to infinity if the flow profile has a plateau larger than a
critical size. In a cellular flow, we find that the advection strength required
for quenching is U ~ W^4 if the cell size is smaller than a critical value.Comment: 14 pages, 20 figures, revtex4, submitted to Combustion Theory and
Modellin
Centrality evolution of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density over a broad pseudorapidity range in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76TeV
Peer reviewe
Influence of the structure on the properties of <tex>Na_{x}Eu_{y}(MoO_{4})_{z}$</tex> red phosphors
The impact of dimensionality and stoichiometry of CuBr on its coupling to sp(2)-carbon
A possible coupling of one-dimensional crystal to their template material plays crucial role when its electronic structure is evaluated. Here a comparative study of the interaction between CuBr and sp(2)-carbon in 1D and 2D structures as probed by X-ray absorption, photoemission and DFT calculations is reported. The 1D system, i.e. a non-stoichiometric CuBr crystal embedded into a single-walled carbon nanotube (CuBr@SWNT) revealed notable hybridization in contrast to a CuBr film deposited on graphene or graphite. CuBr is coupled to the nanotube due to its low dimensionality and strong coordination deficiency of atoms thus forming one-dimensional nanocrystal, which is non-free-standing. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Activity of Ingavirin (6-[2-(1H-Imidazol-4-yl)ethylamino]-5-oxo-hexanoic Acid) Against Human Respiratory Viruses in in Vivo Experiments
Respiratory viral infections constitute the most frequent reason for medical consultations in the World. They can be associated with a wide range of clinical manifestations ranging from self-limited upper respiratory tract infections to more devastating conditions such as pneumonia. In particular, in serious cases influenza A leads to pneumonia, which is particularly fatal in patients with cardiopulmonary diseases, obesity, young children and the elderly. In the present study, we show a protective effect of the low-molecular weight compound Ingavirin (6-[2-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)ethylamino]-5-oxohexanoic acid) against influenza A (H1N1) virus, human parainfluenza virus and human adenovirus infections in animals. Mortality, weight loss, infectious titer of the virus in tissues and tissue morphology were monitored in the experimental groups of animals. The protective action of Ingavirin was observed as a reduction of infectious titer of the virus in the lung tissue, prolongation of the life of the infected animals, normalization of weight dynamics throughout the course of the disease, lowering of mortality of treated animals compared to a placebo control and normalization of tissue structure. In case of influenza virus infection, the protective activity of Ingavirin was similar to that of the reference compound Tamiflu. Based on the results obtained, Ingavirin should be considered as an important part of anti-viral prophylaxis and therapy
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