Recent applications of the transonic wing analysis computer code, TWING

An evaluation of the transonic-wing-analysis computer code TWING is given. TWING utilizes a fully implicit approximate factorization iteration scheme to solve the full potential equation in conservative form. A numerical elliptic-solver grid-generation scheme is used to generate the required finite-difference mesh. Several wing configurations were analyzed, and the limits of applicability of this code was evaluated. Comparisons of computed results were made with available experimental data. Results indicate that the code is robust, accurate (when significant viscous effects are not present), and efficient. TWING generally produces solutions an order of magnitude faster than other conservative full potential codes using successive-line overrelaxation. The present method is applicable to a wide range of isolated wing configurations including high-aspect-ratio transport wings and low-aspect-ratio, high-sweep, fighter configurations

Quasirandom Load Balancing

We propose a simple distributed algorithm for balancing indivisible tokens on graphs. The algorithm is completely deterministic, though it tries to imitate (and enhance) a random algorithm by keeping the accumulated rounding errors as small as possible. Our new algorithm surprisingly closely approximates the idealized process (where the tokens are divisible) on important network topologies. On d-dimensional torus graphs with n nodes it deviates from the idealized process only by an additive constant. In contrast to that, the randomized rounding approach of Friedrich and Sauerwald (2009) can deviate up to Omega(polylog(n)) and the deterministic algorithm of Rabani, Sinclair and Wanka (1998) has a deviation of Omega(n^{1/d}). This makes our quasirandom algorithm the first known algorithm for this setting which is optimal both in time and achieved smoothness. We further show that also on the hypercube our algorithm has a smaller deviation from the idealized process than the previous algorithms.Comment: 25 page

A Unified treatment of small and large- scale dynamos in helical turbulence

Helical turbulence is thought to provide the key to the generation of large-scale magnetic fields. Turbulence also generically leads to rapidly growing small-scale magnetic fields correlated on the turbulence scales. These two processes are usually studied separately. We give here a unified treatment of both processes, in the case of random fields, incorporating also a simple model non-linear drift. In the process we uncover an interesting plausible saturated state of the small-scale dynamo and a novel analogy between quantum mechanical (QM) tunneling and the generation of large scale fields. The steady state problem of the combined small/large scale dynamo, is mapped to a zero-energy, QM potential problem; but a potential which, for non-zero mean helicity, allows tunneling of bound states. A field generated by the small-scale dynamo, can 'tunnel' to produce large-scale correlations, which in steady state, correspond to a force-free 'mean' field.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Physical Review Letters, in pres

Cosmological Magnetic Fields from Primordial Helical Seeds

Most early Universe scenarios predict negligible magnetic fields on cosmological scales if they are unprocessed during subsequent expansion of the Universe. We present a new numerical treatment of the evolution of primordial fields and apply it to weakly helical seeds as they occur in certain early Universe scenarios. We find that initial helicities not much larger than the baryon to photon number can lead to fields of about 10^{-13} Gauss with coherence scales slightly below a kilo-parsec today.Comment: 4 revtex pages, 2 postscript figures include

Inflation-Produced Magnetic Fields in R^n F^2 and I F^2 models

We re-analyze the production of seed magnetic fields during Inflation in (R/m^2)^n F_{\mu \nu}F^{\mu \nu} and I F_{\mu \nu}F^{\mu \nu} models, where n is a positive integer, R the Ricci scalar, m a mass parameter, and I \propto \eta^\alpha a power-law function of the conformal time \eta, with \alpha a positive real number. If m is the electron mass, the produced fields are uninterestingly small for all n. Taking m as a free parameter we find that, for n \geq 2, the produced magnetic fields can be sufficiently strong in order to seed dynamo mechanism and then to explain galactic magnetism. For \alpha \gtrsim 2, there is always a window in the parameters defining Inflation such that the generated magnetic fields are astrophysically interesting. Moreover, if Inflation is (almost) de Sitter and the produced fields almost scale-invariant (\alpha \simeq 4), their intensity can be strong enough to directly explain the presence of microgauss galactic magnetic fields.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Minor revisions. References added. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Magnetohydrodynamics in the Inflationary Universe

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are analysed in the early Universe, in the inflationary era, assuming the Universe to be filled with a nonviscous fluid of the Zel'dovich type ($p=\rho$) in a metric of the de Sitter form. A spatially uniform, time dependent, magnetic field ${\bf B_0}$ is assumed to be present. The Einstein equations are first solved to give the time dependence of the scale factor, assuming that the matter density, but not the magnetic field, contribute as source terms. The various modes are thereafter analysed; they turn out to be essentially of the same kind as those encountered in conventional nongravitational MHD, although the longitudinal magnetosonic wave is not interpretable as a physical energy-transporting wave as the group velocity becomes superluminal. We determine the phase speed of the various modes; they turn out to be scale factor independent. The Alfv\'{e}n velocity of the transverse magnetohydrodynamic wave becomes extremely small in the inflationary era, showing that the wave is in practice 'frozen in'.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, no figures. Minor additions to the Summary section and Acknowledgments section. Two new references. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Cosmic rays and Radio Halos in galaxy clusters : new constraints from radio observations

Clusters of galaxies are sites of acceleration of charged particles and sources of non-thermal radiation. We report on new constraints on the population of cosmic rays in the Intra Cluster Medium (ICM) obtained via radio observations of a fairly large sample of massive, X-ray luminous, galaxy clusters in the redshift interval 0.2--0.4. The bulk of the observed galaxy clusters does not show any hint of Mpc scale synchrotron radio emission at the cluster center (Radio Halo). We obtained solid upper limits to the diffuse radio emission and discuss their implications for the models for the origin of Radio Halos. Our measurements allow us to derive also a limit to the content of cosmic ray protons in the ICM. Assuming spectral indices of these protons delta =2.1-2.4 and microG level magnetic fields, as from Rotation Measures, these limits are one order of magnitude deeper than present EGRET upper limits, while they are less stringent for steeper spectra and lower magnetic fields.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, ApJ Letter, accepte

Anisotropic stresses in inhomogeneous universes

Anisotropic stress contributions to the gravitational field can arise from magnetic fields, collisionless relativistic particles, hydrodynamic shear viscosity, gravitational waves, skew axion fields in low-energy string cosmologies, or topological defects. We investigate the effects of such stresses on cosmological evolution, and in particular on the dissipation of shear anisotropy. We generalize some previous results that were given for homogeneous anisotropic universes, by including small inhomogeneity in the universe. This generalization is facilitated by a covariant approach. We find that anisotropic stress dominates the evolution of shear, slowing its decay. The effect is strongest in radiation-dominated universes, where there is slow logarithmic decay of shear.Comment: 7 pages Revte

Heat shock-induced phosphorylation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) by MAPK/ERK kinase regulates TDP-43 function

TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) is a highly conserved and essential DNA- and RNA-binding protein that controls gene expression through RNA processing, in particular, regulation of splicing. Intracellular aggregation of TDP-43 is a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and ubiquitin-positive frontotemporal lobar degeneration. This TDP-43 pathology is also present in other types of neurodegeneration including Alzheimer's disease. We report here that TDP-43 is a substrate of MEK, a central kinase in the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. TDP-43 dual phosphorylation by MEK, at threonine 153 and tyrosine 155 (p-T153/Y155), was dramatically increased by the heat shock response (HSR) in human cells. HSR promotes cell survival under proteotoxic conditions by maintaining protein homeostasis and preventing protein misfolding. MEK is activated by HSR and contributes to the regulation of proteome stability. Phosphorylated TDP-43 was not associated with TDP-43 aggregation, and p-T153/Y155 remained soluble under conditions that promote protein misfolding. We found that active MEK significantly alters TDP-43-regulated splicing and that phosphomimetic substitutions at these two residues reduce binding to GU-rich RNA. Cellular imaging using a phospho-specific p-T153/Y155 antibody showed that phosphorylated TDP-43 was specifically recruited to the nucleoli, suggesting that p-T153/Y155 regulates a previously unappreciated function of TDP-43 in the processing of nucleolar-associated RNA. These findings highlight a new mechanism that regulates TDP-43 function and homeostasis through phosphorylation and, therefore, may contribute to the development of strategies to prevent TDP-43 aggregation and to uncover previously unexplored roles of TDP-43 in cell metabolism

Using Unnatural Amino Acid Mutagenesis To Probe the Regulation of PRMT1

Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1)-dependent methylation contributes to the onset and progression of numerous diseases (e.g., cancer, heart disease, ALS); however, the regulatory mechanisms that control PRMT1 activity are relatively unexplored. We therefore set out to decipher how phosphorylation regulates PRMT1 activity. Curated mass spectrometry data identified Tyr291, a residue adjacent to the conserved THW loop, as being phosphorylated. Natural and unnatural amino acid mutagenesis, including the incorporation of p-carboxymethyl-L-phenylalanine (pCmF) as a phosphotyrosine mimic, were used to show that Tyr291 phosphorylation alters the substrate specificity of PRMT1. Additionally, p-benzoyl-L-phenylalanine (pBpF) was incorporated at the Tyr291 position, and cross-linking experiments with K562 cell extracts identified several proteins (e.g., hnRNPA1 and hnRNP center dot center dot H3) that bind specifically to this site. Moreover, we also demonstrate that Tyr291 phosphorylation impairs PRMT1\u27s ability to bind and methylate both proteins. In total, these studies demonstrate that Tyr291 phosphorylation alters both PRMT1 substrate specificity and protein-protein interacions