Crucial role of sidewalls in velocity distributions in quasi-2D granular gases

Our experiments and three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations of particles confined to a vertical monolayer by closely spaced frictional walls (sidewalls) yield velocity distributions with non-Gaussian tails and a peak near zero velocity. Simulations with frictionless sidewalls are not peaked. Thus interactions between particles and their container are an important determinant of the shape of the distribution and should be considered when evaluating experiments on a tightly constrained monolayer of particles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Added reference, model explanation charified, other minor change

Apoptosis triggered redistribution of caspase-9 from cytoplasm to mitochondria

AbstractCaspase-9 is an apoptosis initiator protease activated as a response to the mitochondrial damage in the cytoplasmic complex apoptosome. By fluorescence labelling of proteins, confocal microscopy and subcellular fractionations we demonstrate that caspase-9 is in the cytoplasm of non-apoptotic pituitary cells. The activation of apoptosis with rotenone triggers the redistribution of caspase-9 to mitochondria. Experiments using the general caspase inhibitor z-VAD.fmk and the specific caspase-9 inhibitor z-LEHD.fmk show that the caspase-9 redistribution is a regulated process and requires the activity of a caspase other than the caspase-9. We propose that this spatial regulation is required to control the activity of caspase-9

Employment insecurity and life satisfaction: The moderating influence of labour market policies across Europe

This article tests whether the link between employment insecurity and life satisfaction is moderated by the generosity of labour market policies across Europe. Employment insecurity provokes anxieties about (a) the difficulties of finding a new job and (b) alternative sources of non-work income. These components can be related to active and passive labour market policies, respectively. Generous policy support is thus expected to buffer the negative consequences of employment insecurity by lowering the perceived difficulty of finding a similar job or providing income maintenance during unemployment. Based on data for 22 countries from the 2010 European Social Survey, initial support for this hypothesis is found. Perceived employment insecurity is negatively associated with life satisfaction but the strength of the relationship is inversely related to the generosity of labour market policies. Employment insecurity, in other words, is more harmful in countries where labour market policies are less generous

Fusion Pore Diameter Regulation by Cations Modulating Local Membrane Anisotropy

The fusion pore is an aqueous channel that is formed upon the fusion of the vesicle membrane with the plasma membrane. Once the pore is open, it may close again (transient fusion) or widen completely (full fusion) to permit vesicle cargo discharge. While repetitive transient fusion pore openings of the vesicle with the plasma membrane have been observed in the absence of stimulation, their frequency can be further increased using a cAMP-increasing agent that drives the opening of nonspecific cation channels. Our model hypothesis is that the openings and closings of the fusion pore are driven by changes in the local concentration of cations in the connected vesicle. The proposed mechanism of fusion pore dynamics is considered as follows: when the fusion pore is closed or is extremely narrow, the accumulation of cations in the vesicle (increased cation concentration) likely leads to lipid demixing at the fusion pore. This process may affect local membrane anisotropy, which reduces the spontaneous curvature and thus leads to the opening of the fusion pore. Based on the theory of membrane elasticity, we used a continuum model to explain the rhythmic opening and closing of the fusion pore

Fredholm Indices and the Phase Diagram of Quantum Hall Systems

The quantized Hall conductance in a plateau is related to the index of a Fredholm operator. In this paper we describe the generic ``phase diagram'' of Fredholm indices associated with bounded and Toeplitz operators. We discuss the possible relevance of our results to the phase diagram of disordered integer quantum Hall systems.Comment: 25 pages, including 7 embedded figures. The mathematical content of this paper is similar to our previous paper math-ph/0003003, but the physical analysis is ne

Bethe ansatz for the Harper equation: Solution for a small commensurability parameter

The Harper equation describes an electron on a 2D lattice in magnetic field and a particle on a 1D lattice in a periodic potential, in general, incommensurate with the lattice potential. We find the distribution of the roots of Bethe ansatz equations associated with the Harper equation in the limit as alpha=1/Q tends to 0, where alpha is the commensurability parameter (Q is integer). Using the knowledge of this distribution we calculate the higher and lower boundaries of the spectrum of the Harper equation for small alpha. The result is in agreement with the semiclassical argument, which can be used for small alpha.Comment: 17 pages including 5 postscript figures, Latex, minor changes, to appear in Phys.Rev.

Bloch electron in a magnetic field and the Ising model

The spectral determinant det(H-\epsilon I) of the Azbel-Hofstadter Hamiltonian H is related to Onsager's partition function of the 2D Ising model for any value of magnetic flux \Phi=2\pi P/Q through an elementary cell, where P and Q are coprime integers. The band edges of H correspond to the critical temperature of the Ising model; the spectral determinant at these (and other points defined in a certain similar way) is independent of P. A connection of the mean of Lyapunov exponents to the asymptotic (large Q) bandwidth is indicated.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, REVTE

Elucidating the impact of micro-scale heterogeneous bacterial distribution on biodegradation

Groundwater microorganisms hardly ever cover the solid matrix uniformly–instead they form micro-scale colonies. To which extent such colony formation limits the bioavailability and biodegradation of a substrate is poorly understood. We used a high-resolution numerical model of a single pore channel inhabited by bacterial colonies to simulate the transport and biodegradation of organic substrates. These high-resolution 2D simulation results were compared to 1D simulations that were based on effective rate laws for bioavailability-limited biodegradation. We (i) quantified the observed bioavailability limitations and (ii) evaluated the applicability of previously established effective rate concepts if microorganisms are heterogeneously distributed. Effective bioavailability reductions of up to more than one order of magnitude were observed, showing that the micro-scale aggregation of bacterial cells into colonies can severely restrict the bioavailability of a substrate and reduce in situ degradation rates. Effective rate laws proved applicable for upscaling when using the introduced effective colony sizes

Erratum to “Fusion Pore Diameter Regulation by Cations Modulating Local Membrane Anisotropy”

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Projected impacts of climate change on regional capacities for global plant species richness

Climate change represents a major challenge to the maintenance of global biodiversity. To date, the direction and magnitude of net changes in the global distribution of plant diversity remain elusive. We use the empirical multi-variate relationships between contemporary water-energy dynamics and other non-climatic predictor variables to model the regional capacity for plant species richness (CSR) and its projected future changes. We find that across all analysed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission scenarios, relative changes in CSR increase with increased projected temperature rise. Between now and 2100, global average CSR is projected to remain similar to today (+0.3%) under the optimistic B1/+1.8°C scenario, but to decrease significantly (−9.4%) under the ‘business as usual’ A1FI/+4.0°C scenario. Across all modelled scenarios, the magnitude and direction of CSR change are geographically highly non-uniform. While in most temperate and arctic regions, a CSR increase is expected, the projections indicate a strong decline in most tropical and subtropical regions. Countries least responsible for past and present greenhouse gas emissions are likely to incur disproportionately large future losses in CSR, whereas industrialized countries have projected moderate increases. Independent of direction, we infer that all changes in regional CSR will probably induce on-site species turnover and thereby be a threat to native floras