778 research outputs found
The hydrodynamics of swimming microorganisms
Cell motility in viscous fluids is ubiquitous and affects many biological
processes, including reproduction, infection, and the marine life ecosystem.
Here we review the biophysical and mechanical principles of locomotion at the
small scales relevant to cell swimming (tens of microns and below). The focus
is on the fundamental flow physics phenomena occurring in this inertia-less
realm, and the emphasis is on the simple physical picture. We review the basic
properties of flows at low Reynolds number, paying special attention to aspects
most relevant for swimming, such as resistance matrices for solid bodies, flow
singularities, and kinematic requirements for net translation. Then we review
classical theoretical work on cell motility: early calculations of the speed of
a swimmer with prescribed stroke, and the application of resistive-force theory
and slender-body theory to flagellar locomotion. After reviewing the physical
means by which flagella are actuated, we outline areas of active research,
including hydrodynamic interactions, biological locomotion in complex fluids,
the design of small-scale artificial swimmers, and the optimization of
locomotion strategies.Comment: Review articl
The Weak Parity-Violating Pion-Nucleon Coupling (Revised)
We use QCD sum rules to obtain the weak parity-violating pion-nucleon
coupling constant . We find that , about an order of magnitude smaller than the ``best estimates'' based
on quark models. This result follows from the cancellation between perturbative
and nonperturbative QCD processes not found in quark models, but explicit in
the QCD sum rule method. Our result is consistent with the experimental upper
limit found from F parity-violating measurements.Comment: 13 pages, uses LaTex; figures can be obtained from any of the
authors: [email protected], Kisslinger@kelvin. phys.cmu.edu,
[email protected]
Feasibility of Electrified Propulsion for Ultra-Efficient Commercial Aircraft Final Report
MIT, Aurora Flight Sciences, and USC have collaborated to assess the feasibility of electric, hybridelectric, and turbo-electric propulsion for ultra-efficient commercial transportation. The work has drawn on the team expertise in disciplines related to aircraft design, propulsion-airframe integration, electric machines and systems, engineering system design, and optimization. A parametric trade space analysis has been carried out to assess vehicle performance across a range of transport missions and propulsion architectures to establish how electrified propulsion systems scale. An optimization approach to vehicle conceptual design modeling was taken to enable rapid multidisciplinary design space exploration and sensitivity analysis. The results of the analysis indicate vehicle aero-propulsive integration benefits enabled by electrification are required to offset the increased weight and loss associated with the electric system and achieve enhanced performance; the report describes the conceptual configurations than can offer such enhancements. The main contribution of the present work is the definition of electric vehicle design attributes for potential efficiency improvements at different scales. Based on these results, key areas for future research are identified, and extensions to the trade space analysis suitable for higher fidelity electrified commercial aircraft design and analysis have been developed
On the Truncated Pareto Distribution with applications
The Pareto probability distribution is widely applied in different fields
such us finance, physics, hydrology, geology and astronomy. This note deals
with an application of the Pareto distribution to astrophysics and more
precisely to the statistical analysis of mass of stars and of diameters of
asteroids. In particular a comparison between the usual Pareto distribution and
its truncated version is presented. Finally a possible physical mechanism that
produces Pareto tails for the distribution of the masses of stars is suggested.Comment: 10 pages 6 figure
Mining State-Based Models from Proof Corpora
Interactive theorem provers have been used extensively to reason about
various software/hardware systems and mathematical theorems. The key challenge
when using an interactive prover is finding a suitable sequence of proof steps
that will lead to a successful proof requires a significant amount of human
intervention. This paper presents an automated technique that takes as input
examples of successful proofs and infers an Extended Finite State Machine as
output. This can in turn be used to generate proofs of new conjectures. Our
preliminary experiments show that the inferred models are generally accurate
(contain few false-positive sequences) and that representing existing proofs in
such a way can be very useful when guiding new ones.Comment: To Appear at Conferences on Intelligent Computer Mathematics 201
Attachment disorders diagnosed by community practitioners:a replication and extension
Background: While considered a rare diagnosis, reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is simultaneously the subject of considerable debate. A recent report suggested that RAD is overdiagnosed in community settings and that conduct problems may be used to make a diagnosis of RAD (Woolgar & Baldock, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 20, 2015, 34–40). This study seeks to replicate and extend these findings. Method: Clinical assessment data from 100 consecutive admissions of maltreated foster and adopted children (ages 3–17) to a specialty treatment clinic in the United States were reviewed. Measures included semi-structured interviews of RAD and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) symptoms and caregiver-report questionnaires of emotional problems, conduct problems, and the quality of the parent–child relationship. Results: Of the 100 cases reviewed, 39 presented with a diagnostic history of RAD, DSED, or ‘attachment disorder’. Of these cases, three were diagnosed in-clinic with DSED; no cases met diagnostic criteria for RAD according to DSM-5 criteria. However, analyses found that those diagnosed with RAD by community-based clinicians were significantly more likely to display conduct problems and to be adopted (as opposed to in foster care). Conclusions: These findings confirm those of Woolgar and Baldock (Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 20, 2015, 34–40). It appears that the diagnostic criteria of RAD are commonly being inaccurately applied in general community-based practice. Clarification of diagnostic criteria for RAD in recent revisions of diagnostic taxonomies, the accumulation of empirical data on RAD, and improved instrumentation are either poorly disseminated or inadequately implemented in community-based practice settings
Study of 9Be+12C elastic scattering at energies near the Coulomb barrier
In this work, angular distribution measurements for the elastic channel were
performed for the 9Be+12C reaction at the energies ELab=13.0, 14.5, 17.3, 19.0
and 21.0 MeV, near the Coulomb barrier. The data have been analyzed in the
framework of the double folding S\~ao Paulo potential. The experimental elastic
scattering angular distributions were well described by the optical potential
at forward angles for all measured energies. However, for the three highest
energies, an enhancement was observed for intermediate and backward angles.
This can be explained by the elastic transfer mechanism.
Keywords: 9Be+12C, Elastic Scattering, S\~aoo Paulo Potential
Lag time and parameter mismatches in synchronization of unidirectionally coupled chaotic external cavity semiconductor lasers
We report an analysis of synchronization between two unidirectionally coupled
chaotic external cavity master/slave semiconductor lasers with two
characteristic delay times, where the delay time in the coupling is different
from the delay time in the coupled systems themselves. We demonstrate for the
first time that parameter mismatches in photon decay rates for the master and
slave lasers can explain the experimental observation that the lag time is
equal to the coupling delay time.Comment: LaTex, 5 pages, submitted to PRE(R
On the spherical-axial transition in supernova remnants
A new law of motion for supernova remnant (SNR) which introduces the quantity
of swept matter in the thin layer approximation is introduced. This new law of
motion is tested on 10 years observations of SN1993J. The introduction of an
exponential gradient in the surrounding medium allows to model an aspherical
expansion. A weakly asymmetric SNR, SN1006, and a strongly asymmetric SNR,
SN1987a, are modeled. In the case of SN1987a the three observed rings are
simulated.Comment: 19 figures and 14 pages Accepted for publication in Astrophysics &
Space Science in the year 201
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