104 research outputs found
The orbit of 2010 TK7. Possible regions of stability for other Earth Trojan asteroids
Recently the first Earth Trojan has been observed (Mainzer et al., ApJ 731)
and found to be on an interesting orbit close to the Lagrange point L4 (Connors
et al., Nature 475). In the present study we therefore perform a detailed
investigation on the stability of its orbit and moreover extend the study to
give an idea of the probability to find additional Earth-Trojans. Our results
are derived using different approaches: a) we derive an analytical mapping in
the spatial elliptic restricted three-body problem to find the phase space
structure of the dynamical problem. We explore the stability of the asteroid in
the context of the phase space geometry, including the indirect influence of
the additional planets of our Solar system. b) We use precise numerical methods
to integrate the orbit forward and backward in time in different dynamical
models. Based on a set of 400 clone orbits we derive the probability of capture
and escape of the Earth Trojan asteroids 2010 TK7. c) To this end we perform an
extensive numerical investigation of the stability region of the Earth's
Lagrangian points. We present a detailed parameter study in the regime of
possible stable tadpole and horseshoe orbits of additional Earth-Trojans, i.e.
with respect to the semi-major axes and inclinations of thousands of fictitious
Trojans. All three approaches underline that the Earth Trojan asteroid 2010 TK7
finds himself in an unstable region on the edge of a stable zone; additional
Earth-Trojan asteroids may be found in this regime of stability.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure
Elliptical motions of stars in close binary systems
Motions of stars in close binary systems with a conservative mass exchange
are examined. It is shown that Paczynski-Huang model widely used now for
obtaining the semi-major axis variation of a relative stars orbit is incorrect,
because it brings about large mistakes. A new model suitable for elliptical
orbits of stars is proposed. Both of reactive and attractive forces between
stars and a substance of the flowing jet are taken into account. A possibility
of a mass exchange at presence of accretion disk is considere
Computation of an MRI brain atlas from a population of Parkinson’s disease patients
Abstract Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the brain. This study presents an MRI-based brain atlas of PD to characterize associated alterations for diagnostic and interventional purposes. The atlas standardizes primarily the implicated subcortical regions such as the globus pallidus (GP), substantia nigra (SN), subthalamic nucleus (STN), caudate nucleus (CN), thalamus (TH), putamen (PUT), and red nucleus (RN). The data were 3.0 T MRI brain images from 16 PD patients and 10 matched controls. The images used were T1-weighted ( T 1 w ), T2-weighted ( T 2 w ) images, and Susceptibility Weighted Images (SWI). The T1w images were the reference for the inter-subject non-rigid registration available from 3DSlicer. Anatomic labeling was achieved with BrainSuite and regions were refined with the level sets segmentation of ITK-Snap. The subcortical centers were analyzed for their volume and signal intensity. Comparison with an age-matched control group unravels a significant PD-related T1w signal loss in the striatum (CN and PUT) centers, but approximately a constant volume. The results in this study improve MRI based PD localization and can lead to the development of novel biomarkers
Energy management and control of photovoltaic and storage systems in active distribution grids
The evolution of power distribution grids from passive to active systems creates reliability and efficiency challenges to the distribution system operators. In this paper, an energy management and control scheme for managing the operation of an active distribution grid with prosumers is proposed. A multi-objective optimization model to minimize (i) the prosumers electricity cost and (ii) the cost of the grid energy losses, while guaranteeing safe and reliable grid operation is formulated. This is done by determining the active and reactive power set-points of the photovoltaic and storage systems integrated in the grid buildings. The resulting optimization model is non-convex, thus a convex second-order cone program is developed by appropriately relaxing the non-convex constraints which yields optimal results in most operating conditions. The convexified model is further utilized to develop an algorithm that yields feasible solutions to the non-convex problem under any operating conditions. Moreover, a second novel algorithm to find the operating point that provides fairness between the prosumers and the grid costs is proposed. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed scheme in managing an industrial distribution grid compared to a self-consumption approach
Plasticity of human adipose-derived stem cells - relevance to tissue repair.
In contrast to cold blooded vertebrates, the ability to regenerate morphologically and functionally complex structures is limited in adult mammals. Recruitment of progenitor cells is a key step in the regenerative process. The possibility of repairing missing or diseased tissues in humans has been potentiated by the increasing understanding of somatic stem cells, their plasticity and the possibility of modulating it, that could be harnessed either to stimulate endogenous repair or to engineer the required tissue. Here, we focus on human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), important players in tissue homeostasis in healthy organisms, with a particular emphasis on those derived from the adipose tissue (ADSCs). While a mark of MSC identity is the ability to differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes and adipocytes, there is evidence that their potential goes beyond these three mesenchymal lineages. We discuss some differentiation and modulatory properties of MSCs and provide an overview of our recent work on ADSCs from paediatric patients (pADSCs) that has shown their ability to give raise to non-mesenchymal cells, consistent with a significant plasticity. Finally, we present novel data indicating that both mesenchymal lineages (adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic) and neural and epithelial lineages can originate from clonal lines that like the parental line express markers of pluripotency as well as the stromal cell marker, GREM1. Together these data support the existence of pADSC multipotent stem cells.Newlife Foundation, NIHR GOSH BRC,
MRC and BBSRC
A Q-Ising model application for linear-time image segmentation
A computational method is presented which efficiently segments digital
grayscale images by directly applying the Q-state Ising (or Potts) model. Since
the Potts model was first proposed in 1952, physicists have studied lattice
models to gain deep insights into magnetism and other disordered systems. For
some time, researchers have realized that digital images may be modeled in much
the same way as these physical systems (i.e., as a square lattice of numerical
values). A major drawback in using Potts model methods for image segmentation
is that, with conventional methods, it processes in exponential time. Advances
have been made via certain approximations to reduce the segmentation process to
power-law time. However, in many applications (such as for sonar imagery),
real-time processing requires much greater efficiency. This article contains a
description of an energy minimization technique that applies four Potts
(Q-Ising) models directly to the image and processes in linear time. The result
is analogous to partitioning the system into regions of four classes of
magnetism. This direct Potts segmentation technique is demonstrated on
photographic, medical, and acoustic images.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, revtex, uses subfigure.sty. Central European
Journal of Physics, in press (2010
Combined effects of tidal and rotational distortions on the equilibrium configuration of low-mass, pre-main sequence stars
In close binary systems, rotation and tidal forces of the component stars
deform each other and destroy their spherical symmetry. We present new models
for low-mass, pre-main sequence stars that include the combined distortion
effects of tidal and rotational forces on the equilibrium configuration of
stars. We investigate the effects of interaction between tides and rotation on
the stellar structure and evolution. The Kippenhahn & Thomas (1970)
approximation, along with the Clairaut-Legendre expansion for the gravitational
potential of a self-gravitating body, is used to take the distortion effects
into account. We obtained values of internal structure constants for low-mass,
pre-main sequence stars from stellar evolutionary models that consider the
combined effects of rotation and tidal forces due to a companion star. We also
derived a new expression for the rotational inertia of a tidally and
rotationally distorted star. Our distorted models were successfully used to
analyze the eclipsing binary system EK Cep, reproducing the stellar radii,
effective temperature ratio, lithium depletion, rotational velocities, and the
apsidal motion rate in the age interval of 15.5-16.7 Myr. In the low-mass
range, the assumption that harmonics greater than j=2 can be neglected seems
not to be fully justified, although it is widely used when analyzing the
apsidal motion of binary systems. The non-standard evolutionary tracks are
cooler than the standard ones, mainly for low-mass stars. Distorted models
predict more mass-concentrated stars at the zero-age main-sequence than
standard models
Stability of Terrestrial Planets in the Habitable Zone of Gl 777 A, HD 72659, Gl 614, 47 Uma and HD 4208
We have undertaken a thorough dynamical investigation of five extrasolar
planetary systems using extensive numerical experiments. The systems Gl 777 A,
HD 72659, Gl 614, 47 Uma and HD 4208 were examined concerning the question of
whether they could host terrestrial like planets in their habitable zones
(=HZ). First we investigated the mean motion resonances between fictitious
terrestrial planets and the existing gas giants in these five extrasolar
systems. Then a fine grid of initial conditions for a potential terrestrial
planet within the HZ was chosen for each system, from which the stability of
orbits was then assessed by direct integrations over a time interval of 1
million years. The computations were carried out using a Lie-series integration
method with an adaptive step size control. This integration method achieves
machine precision accuracy in a highly efficient and robust way, requiring no
special adjustments when the orbits have large eccentricities. The stability of
orbits was examined with a determination of the Renyi entropy, estimated from
recurrence plots, and with a more straight forward method based on the maximum
eccentricity achieved by the planet over the 1 million year integration.
Additionally, the eccentricity is an indication of the habitability of a
terrestrial planet in the HZ; any value of e>0.2 produces a significant
temperature difference on a planet's surface between apoapse and periapse. The
results for possible stable orbits for terrestrial planets in habitable zones
for the five systems are summarized as follows: for Gl 777 A nearly the entire
HZ is stable, for 47 Uma, HD 72659 and HD 4208 terrestrial planets can survive
for a sufficiently long time, while for Gl 614 our results exclude terrestrial
planets moving in stable orbits within the HZ.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figures submitted to A&
Cloaking nanoparticles with protein corona shield for targeted drug delivery
Targeted drug delivery using nanoparticles can minimize the side effects of conventional pharmaceutical agents and enhance their efficacy. However, translating nanoparticle-based agents into clinical applications still remains a challenge due to the difficulty in regulating interactions on the interfaces between nanoparticles and biological systems. Here, we present a targeting strategy for nanoparticles incorporated with a supramolecularly pre-coated recombinant fusion protein in which HER2-binding affibody combines with glutathione-S-transferase. Once thermodynamically stabilized in preferred orientations on the nanoparticles, the adsorbed fusion proteins as a corona minimize interactions with serum proteins to prevent the clearance of nanoparticles by macrophages, while ensuring systematic targeting functions in vitro and in vivo. This study provides insight into the use of the supramolecularly built protein corona shield as a targeting agent through regulating the interfaces between nanoparticles and biological systems
Dynamics of Barred Galaxies
Some 30% of disc galaxies have a pronounced central bar feature in the disc
plane and many more have weaker features of a similar kind. Kinematic data
indicate that the bar constitutes a major non-axisymmetric component of the
mass distribution and that the bar pattern tumbles rapidly about the axis
normal to the disc plane. The observed motions are consistent with material
within the bar streaming along highly elongated orbits aligned with the
rotating major axis. A barred galaxy may also contain a spheroidal bulge at its
centre, spirals in the outer disc and, less commonly, other features such as a
ring or lens. Mild asymmetries in both the light and kinematics are quite
common. We review the main problems presented by these complicated dynamical
systems and summarize the effort so far made towards their solution,
emphasizing results which appear secure. (Truncated)Comment: This old review appeared in 1993. Plain tex with macro file. 82 pages
18 figures. A pdf version with figures at full resolution (3.24MB) is
available at http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~sellwood/bar_review.pd
- …