3,918 research outputs found
Recent Decisions
Comments on recent decisions by John H. Wilson, Leon L. Lancaster, Jr., John C. O\u27Connor, Richard F. Sullivan, and Louis Da Pra
Dislocations in the ground state of the solid-on-solid model on a disordered substrate
We investigate the effects of topological defects (dislocations) to the
ground state of the solid-on-solid (SOS) model on a simple cubic disordered
substrate utilizing the min-cost-flow algorithm from combinatorial
optimization. The dislocations are found to destabilize and destroy the elastic
phase, particularly when the defects are placed only in partially optimized
positions. For multi defect pairs their density decreases exponentially with
the vortex core energy. Their mean distance has a maximum depending on the
vortex core energy and system size, which gives a fractal dimension of . The maximal mean distances correspond to special vortex core
energies for which the scaling behavior of the density of dislocations change
from a pure exponential decay to a stretched one. Furthermore, an extra
introduced vortex pair is screened due to the disorder-induced defects and its
energy is linear in the vortex core energy.Comment: 6 pages RevTeX, eps figures include
Collective effects in spin-crossover chains with exchange interaction
The collective properties of spin-crossover chains are studied.
Spin-crossover compounds contain ions with a low-spin ground state and low
lying high-spin excited states and are of interest for molecular memory
applications. Some of them naturally form one-dimensional chains. Elastic
interaction and Ising exchange interaction are taken into account. The
transfer-matrix approach is used to calculate the partition function, the
fraction of ions in the high-spin state, the magnetization, susceptibility,
etc., exactly. The high-spin-low-spin degree of freedom leads to collective
effects not present in simple spin chains. The ground-state phase diagram is
mapped out and compared to the case with Heisenberg exchange interaction. The
various phases give rise to characteristic behavior at nonzero temperatures,
including sharp crossovers between low- and high-temperature regimes. A
Curie-Weiss law for the susceptibility is derived and the paramagnetic Curie
temperature is calculated. Possible experiments to determine the exchange
coupling are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 13 color figures, published versio
A hazard model of the probability of medical school dropout in the United Kingdom
From individual level longitudinal data for two entire cohorts of medical students in UK universities, we use multilevel models to analyse the probability that an individual student will drop out of medical school. We find that academic preparedness—both in terms of previous subjects studied and levels of attainment therein—is the major influence on withdrawal by medical students. Additionally, males and more mature students are more likely to withdraw than females or younger students respectively. We find evidence that the factors influencing the decision to transfer course differ from those affecting the decision to drop out for other reasons
Kisspeptin-neuron control of LH pulsatility and ovulation
Feedback from oestradiol (E2) plays a critical role in the regulation of major events in the physiological menstrual cycle including the release of gonadotrophins to stimulate follicular growth, and the mid-cycle luteinising hormone (LH) surge that leads to ovulation. E2 predominantly exerts its action via oestrogen receptor-alpha (ERα), however, as gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons lack ERα, E2-feedback is posited to be indirectly mediated via upstream neurons. Kisspeptin (KP) is a neuropeptide expressed in hypothalamic KP-neurons that control GnRH secretion and plays a key role in the central mechanism regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. In the rodent arcuate (ARC) nucleus, KP is co-expressed with Neurokinin B and Dynorphin; and thus, these neurons are termed ‘Kisspeptin-Neurokinin B-Dynorphin’ (KNDy) neurons. ARC KP-neurons function as the ‘GnRH pulse generator’ to regulate GnRH pulsatility, as well as mediating negative feedback from E2. A second KP neuronal population is present in the rostral periventricular area of the third ventricle (RP3V), which includes anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) nucleus and preoptic area neurons. These RP3V KP-neurons mediate positive feedback to induce the mid-cycle luteinising hormone (LH) surge and subsequent ovulation. Here, we describe the role of KP-neurons in these two regions in mediating this differential feedback from oestrogens. We conclude by considering reproductive diseases for which exploitation of these mechanisms could yield future therapies
Minimal Model for Sand Dunes
We propose a minimal model for aeolian sand dunes. It combines an analytical
description of the turbulent wind velocity field above the dune with a
continuum saltation model that allows for saturation transients in the sand
flux. The model provides a qualitative understanding of important features of
real dunes, such as their longitudinal shape and aspect ratio, the formation of
a slip face, the breaking of scale invariance, and the existence of a minimum
dune size.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, replaced with publishd versio
Outer-Sphere Contributions to the Electronic Structure of Type Zero Copper Proteins
Bioinorganic canon states that active-site
thiolate coordination promotes rapid electron transfer (ET)
to and from type 1 copper proteins. In recent work, we have
found that copper ET sites in proteins also can be constructed
without thiolate ligation (called “type zero” sites). Here we
report multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance
(EPR), magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data together with
density functional theory (DFT) and spectroscopy-oriented
configuration interaction (SORCI) calculations for type zero Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin variants. Wild-type (type 1) and type
zero copper centers experience virtually identical ligand fields. Moreover, O-donor covalency is enhanced in type zero centers
relative that in the C112D (type 2) protein. At the same time, N-donor covalency is reduced in a similar fashion to type 1
centers. QM/MM and SORCI calculations show that the electronic structures of type zero and type 2 are intimately linked to the
orientation and coordination mode of the carboxylate ligand, which in turn is influenced by outer-sphere hydrogen bonding
Meshfree finite differences for vector Poisson and pressure Poisson equations with electric boundary conditions
We demonstrate how meshfree finite difference methods can be applied to solve
vector Poisson problems with electric boundary conditions. In these, the
tangential velocity and the incompressibility of the vector field are
prescribed at the boundary. Even on irregular domains with only convex corners,
canonical nodal-based finite elements may converge to the wrong solution due to
a version of the Babuska paradox. In turn, straightforward meshfree finite
differences converge to the true solution, and even high-order accuracy can be
achieved in a simple fashion. The methodology is then extended to a specific
pressure Poisson equation reformulation of the Navier-Stokes equations that
possesses the same type of boundary conditions. The resulting numerical
approach is second order accurate and allows for a simple switching between an
explicit and implicit treatment of the viscosity terms.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
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