9,234 research outputs found
Origin of entropy convergence in hydrophobic hydration and protein folding
An information theory model is used to construct a molecular explanation why
hydrophobic solvation entropies measured in calorimetry of protein unfolding
converge at a common temperature. The entropy convergence follows from the weak
temperature dependence of occupancy fluctuations for molecular-scale volumes in
water. The macroscopic expression of the contrasting entropic behavior between
water and common organic solvents is the relative temperature insensitivity of
the water isothermal compressibility. The information theory model provides a
quantitative description of small molecule hydration and predicts a negative
entropy at convergence. Interpretations of entropic contributions to protein
folding should account for this result.Comment: Phys. Rev. Letts. (in press 1996), 3 pages, 3 figure
Changes in intergenerational eating patterns and the impact on childhood obesity
The objective of this study was to examine intergenerational eating patterns within two sets of families, those with an obese child and those with a normal weight child, and to assess the impact of intergenerational influences on children's eating. A qualitative study design was used, incorporating focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Sixteen focus groups took place and 27 semi-structured interviews were held with different generations. Focus groups were conducted in the community with grandparents, parents and children from different families. This was followed by semi-structured interviews, involving individuals from three generations within families with an obese child and within families with a normal weight child. An examination of intergenerational eating has shown that eating patterns have changed regardless of whether or not families have children who are obese. The grandparent's eating patterns were more structured, whereas the children's eating patterns were less so. There have been more changes, and eating is less structured, within those families with an obese child than those families with a normal weight child. It is recommended that approaches to tackling childhood obesity concentrate on the family setting and the ways in which professionals can support families to change eating practices. Future research should formally test the relationship between the concept 'structured eating' and the 'what' of eating, in order to determine whether there is a link between intergenerational eating patterns and childhood obesity. © The Author(s) 2010
The Quark-Gluon Plasma in a Finite Volume
The statistical mechanics of quarks and gluons are investigated within the
context of the canonical ensemble. Recursive techniques are developed which
enforce the exact conservation of baryon number, total isospin, electric
charge, strangeness, and color. Bose and Fermi-Dirac statistics are also
accounted for to all orders. The energy, entropy and particle number densities
are shown to be significantly reduced for volumes less than 5 cubic fm.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
A system of relational syllogistic incorporating full Boolean reasoning
We present a system of relational syllogistic, based on classical
propositional logic, having primitives of the following form:
Some A are R-related to some B;
Some A are R-related to all B;
All A are R-related to some B;
All A are R-related to all B.
Such primitives formalize sentences from natural language like `All students
read some textbooks'. Here A and B denote arbitrary sets (of objects), and R
denotes an arbitrary binary relation between objects. The language of the logic
contains only variables denoting sets, determining the class of set terms, and
variables denoting binary relations between objects, determining the class of
relational terms. Both classes of terms are closed under the standard Boolean
operations. The set of relational terms is also closed under taking the
converse of a relation. The results of the paper are the completeness theorem
with respect to the intended semantics and the computational complexity of the
satisfiability problem.Comment: Available at
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10849-012-9165-
Spin freezing and dynamics in Ca_{3}Co_{2-x}Mn_{x}O_{6} (x ~ 0.95) investigated with implanted muons: disorder in the anisotropic next-nearest neighbor Ising model
We present a muon-spin relaxation investigation of the Ising chain magnet
Ca_{3}Co_{2-x}Mn_{x}O_{6} (x~0.95). We find dynamic spin fluctuations
persisting down to the lowest measured temperature of 1.6 K. The previously
observed transition at around T ~18 K is interpreted as a subtle change in
dynamics for a minority of the spins coupling to the muon that we interpret as
spins locking into clusters. The dynamics of this fraction of spins freeze
below a temperature T_{SF}~8 K, while a majority of spins continue to
fluctuate. An explanation of the low temperature behavior is suggested in terms
of the predictions of the anisotropic next-nearest-neighbor Ising model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Muon-spin relaxation and heat capacity measurements on the magnetoelectric and multiferroic pyroxenes LiFeSi2O6 and NaFeSi2O6
The results of muon-spin relaxation and heat capacity measurements on two
pyroxene compounds LiFeSi2O6 and NaFeSi2O6 demonstrate that despite their
underlying structural similarity the magnetic ordering is considerably
different. In LiFeSi2O6 a single muon precession frequency is observed below
TN, consistent with a single peak at TN in the heat capacity and a commensurate
magnetic structure. In applied magnetic fields the heat capacity peak splits in
two. In contrast, for natural NaFeSi2O6, where multiferroicity has been
observed in zero-magnetic-field, a rapid Gaussian depolarization is observed
showing that the magnetic structure is more complex. Synthetic NaFeSi2O6 shows
a single muon precession frequency but with a far larger damping rate than in
the lithium compound. Heat capacity measurements reproduce the phase diagrams
previously derived from other techniques and demonstrate that the magnetic
entropy is mostly associated with the build up of correlations in the
quasi-one-dimensional Fe3+ chains
Superconducting Pairing Symmetries in Anisotropic Triangular Quantum Antiferromagnets
Motivated by the recent discovery of a low temperature spin liquid phase in
layered organic compound -(ET)Cu(CN) which becomes a
superconductor under pressure, we examine the phase transition of Mott
insulating and superconducting (SC) states in a Hubbard-Heisenberg model on an
anisotropic triangular lattice. We use a renormalized mean field theory to
study the Gutzwiller projected BCS wavefucntions. The half filled electron
system is a Mott insulator at large on-site repulsion , and is a
superconductor at a moderate . The symmetry of the SC state depends on the
anisotropy, and is gapful with symmetry near the
isotropic limit and is gapless with symmetry at small anisotropy
ratio.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Core Gas Density in REXCESS Clusters
We investigate the relationship between brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and
their host clusters using a sample of nearby galaxy clusters from the
Representative XMM Cluster Structure Survey (REXCESS). The sample was imaged
with the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research (SOAR) in R band to
investigate the mass of the old stellar population. Using a metric radius of
12h^-1 kpc, we found that the BCG luminosity depends weakly on overall cluster
mass as L_BCG \propto M_cl^0.18+-0.07, consistent with previous work. We found
that 90% of the BCGs are located within 0.035 r_500 of the peak of the X-ray
emission, including all of the cool core (CC) clusters. We also found an
unexpected correlation between the BCG metric luminosity and the core gas
density for non-cool core (non-CC) clusters, following a power law of n_e
\propto L_BCG^2.7+-0.4 (where n_e is measured at 0.008 r_500). The correlation
is not easily explained by star formation (which is weak in non-CC clusters) or
overall cluster mass (which is not correlated with core gas density). The trend
persists even when the BCG is not located near the peak of the X-ray emission,
so proximity is not necessary. We suggest that, for non-CC clusters, this
correlation implies that the same process that sets the central entropy of the
cluster gas also determines the central stellar density of the BCG, and that
this underlying physical process is likely to be mergers.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted Astrophysical Journa
Boundary and expansion effects on two-pion correlation functions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
We examine the effects that a confining boundary together with hydrodynamical
expansion play on two-pion distributions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
We show that the effects arise from the introduction of further correlations
due both to collective motion and the system's finite size. As is well known,
the former leads to a reduction in the apparent source radius with increasing
average pair momentum K. However, for small K, the presence of the boundary
leads to a decrease of the apparent source radius with decreasing K. These two
competing effects produce a maximum for the effective source radius as a
function of K.Comment: 6 pages, 5 Eps figures, uses RevTeX and epsfi
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