15,226 research outputs found
Mechanics of bioāhybrid systems
Bioāhybrid system are morphing structures whose shaping can be electrically driven and strongly depends on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the system. The estimation of those characteristics which allow for getting target shapes is a great challenge. We present and discuss an approximate model for narrow bioāhybrid strips which works well in plane bending. A generalization towards threeālayers bioāhybrid system is presented
X-ray Spectroscopy of the Contact Binary VW Cephei
Short-period binaries represent extreme cases in the generation of stellar
coronae via a rotational dynamo. Such stars are important for probing the
origin and nature of coronae in the regimes of rapid rotation and activity
saturation. VW Cep (P=0.28 d) is a relatively bright, partially eclipsing, and
very active object. Light curves made from Chandra/HETGS data show flaring and
rotational modulation, but no eclipses. Velocity modulation of emission lines
indicates that one component dominates the X-ray emission. The emission measure
is highly structured, having three peaks. Helium-like triplet lines give
electron densities of about 3.0E+10 - 18.0E+10 /cm^3. We conclude that the
corona is predominantly on the polar regions of the primary star and compact.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astropysical Journal, 23 June 2006;
22 pages, 15 figure
Dynamical fluctuations in an exactly solvable model of spin glasses
In this work we calculate the dynamical fluctuations at O(1/N) in the low
temperature phase of the spherical spin glass model. We study the
large-times asymptotic regimes and we find, in a short time-differences regime,
a fluctuation dissipation relation for the four-point correlation functions.
This relation can be extended to the out of equilibrium regimes introducing a
function which, for large time , we find scales as as in
the case of the two-point functions.Comment: Latex, 8 page
Alx1, a member of the Cart1/Alx3/Alx4 subfamily of Paired-class homeodomain proteins, is an essential component of the gene network controlling skeletogenic fate specification in the sea urchin embryo
In the sea urchin embryo, the large micromeres and their progeny function as a critical signaling center and execute a complex morphogenetic program. We have identified a new and essential component of the gene network that controls large micromere specification, the homeodomain protein Alx1. Alx1 is expressed exclusively by cells of the large micromere lineage beginning in the first interphase after the large micromeres are born. Morpholino studies demonstrate that Alx1 is essential at an early stage of specification and controls downstream genes required for epithelial-mesenchymal transition and biomineralization. Expression of Alx1 is cell autonomous and regulated maternally through Ć-catenin and its downstream effector, Pmar1. Alx1 expression can be activated in other cell lineages at much later stages of development, however, through a regulative pathway of skeletogenesis that is responsive to cell signaling. The Alx1 protein is highly conserved among euechinoid sea urchins and is closely related to the Cart1/Alx3/Alx4 family of vertebrate homeodomain proteins. In vertebrates, these proteins regulate the formation of skeletal elements of the limbs, face and neck. Our findings suggest that the ancestral deuterostome had a population of biomineral-forming mesenchyme cells that expressed an Alx1-like protein
Perfect quantum transport in arbitrary spin networks
Spin chains have been proposed as wires to transport information between
distributed registers in a quantum information processor. Unfortunately, the
challenges in manufacturing linear chains with engineered couplings has
hindered experimental implementations. Here we present strategies to achieve
perfect quantum information transport in arbitrary spin networks. Our proposal
is based on the weak coupling limit for pure state transport, where information
is transferred between two end-spins that are only weakly coupled to the rest
of the network. This regime allows disregarding the complex, internal dynamics
of the bulk network and relying on virtual transitions or on the coupling to a
single bulk eigenmode. We further introduce control methods capable of tuning
the transport process and achieve perfect fidelity with limited resources,
involving only manipulation of the end-qubits. These strategies could be thus
applied not only to engineered systems with relaxed fabrication precision, but
also to naturally occurring networks; specifically, we discuss the practical
implementation of quantum state transfer between two separated nitrogen vacancy
(NV) centers through a network of nitrogen substitutional impurities.Comment: 5+7 page
Health Savings Accounts: Are HSA\u27s Beneficial from the Employee\u27s View? Are HSA\u27s Beneficial from the Employer\u27s View?
The healthcare industry is changing; the war against escalating health-care costs is taking a toll on employers. HSAs offer an incentive for the average healthcare consumer to make smarter health decisions. Designed to help individuals save for current and future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax free basis; the idea behind HSAs is to make individuals wiser about spending their money on healthcare and motivate them to shop for the best value
Recent Contributions of Theory to Our Understanding of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
Revolutionary observational arrays, together with a new generation of ocean and climate models, have provided new and intriguing insights into the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) over the last two decades. Theoretical models have also changed our view of the AMOC, providing a dynamical framework for understanding the new observations and the results of complex models. In this paper we review recent advances in conceptual understanding of the processes maintaining the AMOC. We discuss recent theoretical models that address issues such as the interplay between surface buoyancy and wind forcing, the extent to which the AMOC is adiabatic, the importance of mesoscale eddies, the interaction between the middepth North Atlantic Deep Water cell and the abyssal Antarctic Bottom Water cell, the role of basin geometry and bathymetry, and the importance of a threeādimensional multipleābasin perspective. We review new paradigms for deep water formation in the highālatitude North Atlantic and the impact of diapycnal mixing on vertical motion in the ocean interior. And we discuss advances in our understanding of the AMOC's stability and its scaling with largeāscale meridional density gradients. Along with reviewing theories for the mean AMOC, we consider models of AMOC variability and discuss what we have learned from theory about the detection and meridional propagation of AMOC anomalies. Simple theoretical models remain a vital and powerful tool for articulating our understanding of the AMOC and identifying the processes that are most critical to represent accurately in the next generation of numerical ocean and climate models
Changing stroke mortality trends in middle-aged people: an age-period-cohort analysis of routine mortality data in persons aged 40 to 69 in England
Background:
In the UK, overall stroke mortality has declined. A similar trend has been seen in coronary heart disease, although recent reports suggest this decline might be levelling off in middle-aged adults.
Aim:
To investigate recent trends in stroke mortality among those aged 40ā69ā
years in England.
Methods:
The authors used routine annual aggregated stroke death and population data for England for the years 1979ā2005 to investigate time trends in gender-specific mortalities for adults aged 40 to 69ā
years. The authors applied log-linear modelling to isolate effects attributable to age, linear ādriftā over time, time period and birth cohort.
Results;
Between 1979 and 2005, age-standardised stroke mortality aged 40 to 69ā
years dropped from 93 to 30 per 100ā000 in men and from 62 to 18 per 100ā000 in women. Mortality was higher in older age groups, but the difference between the older and younger age groups appears to have decreased over time for both sexes. Modelling of the data suggests an average annual reduction in stroke deaths of 4.0% in men and 4.3% in women, although this decrease has been particularly marked in the last few years. However, we also observed a relative rate increase in mortality among those born since the mid-1940s compared with earlier cohorts; this appears to have been sustained in men, which explains the levelling off in the rate of mortality decline observed in recent years in the younger middle-aged.
Conclusions:
If observed trends in middle-aged adults continue, overall stroke mortalities may start to increase again
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