22,482 research outputs found
Liquid bridging of cylindrical colloids in near-critical solvents
Within mean field theory, we investigate the bridging transition between a
pair of parallel cylindrical colloids immersed in a binary liquid mixture as a
solvent which is close to its critical consolute point . We determine the
universal scaling functions of the effective potential and of the force between
the colloids. For a solvent which is at the critical concentration and close to
, we find that the critical Casimir force is the dominant interaction at
close separations. This agrees very well with the corresponding Derjaguin
approximation for the effective interaction between the two cylinders, while
capillary forces originating from the extension of the liquid bridge turn out
to be more important at large separations. In addition, we are able to infer
from the wetting characteristics of the individual colloids the first-order
transition of the liquid bridge connecting two colloidal particles to the
ruptured state. While specific to cylindrical colloids, the results presented
here provide also an outline for identifying critical Casimir forces acting on
bridged colloidal particles as such, and for analyzing the bridging transition
between them.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figure
Trace anomaly of the conformal gauge field
The proposed by Bastianelli and van Nieuwenhuizen new method of calculations
of trace anomalies is applied in the conformal gauge field case. The result is
then reproduced by the heat equation method. An error in previous calculation
is corrected. It is pointed out that the introducing gauge symmetries into a
given system by a field-enlarging transformation can result in unexpected
quantum effects even for trivial configurations.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX file, BI-TP 93/3
Hidden Convexity in Partially Separable Optimization
The paper identifies classes of nonconvex optimization problems whose convex relaxations have optimal solutions which at the same time are global optimal solutions of the original nonconvex problems. Such a hidden convexity property was so far limited to quadratically constrained quadratic problems with one or two constraints. We extend it here to problems with some partial separable structure. Among other things, the new hidden convexity results open up the possibility to solve multi-stage robust optimization problems using certain nonlinear decision rules.convex relaxation of nonconvex problems;hidden convexity;partially separable functions;robust optimization
Modelling the exposure to Cronobacter sakazakii by consumption of a cocoa-milk-based beverage processed by pulsed electric fields
peer-reviewedM.C. Pina-PĆ©rez is grateful to CSIC for providing a DOCTOR contract linked to the INNPACTO project IPT-2011-1724-060000. This study was carried out with funds from BISOSTAD project PSE-060000-2009-003, Generalitat Valenciana I+D+I emergent research groups GV/2010/064 and CYCIT project AGL2010-22206-C02-01.Infantsā exposure (Nf ) to Cronobacter sakazakii via the consumption of infant-rich-inpolyphenols
cocoa-milk-based beverages (CCX-M) treated with high-intensity pulsed
electric fields (PEF) was evaluated. Monte Carlo simulation enabled the prediction
of the variability in C. sakazakii load in beverages at the time of consumption to be
estimated. Different scenarios (initial contamination levels; PEF treatment conditions;
and time-temperature combinations of CCX-M beverages storage after treatment) were
simulated. Cocoa addition and PEF treatment resulted in the most influential input
factors to control bacterial final load. Cronobacter spp. exposure risk was reduced by
a maximum of 100 times at 95% of iterations due to addition of cocoa at 5 g/100 mL,
corresponding to scenario 3 (PEF: 15 kV/cmā3,000 Ī¼s; storage 120 h at 8 Ā°C). Moreover,
the probability of illness for a healthy population was reduced from 2.15 Ć 10-8,
in the baseline scenario, to 4.78 Ć 10-10 due to cocoa addition and application of
15 kV/cmā3,000 Ī¼s PEF treatment.BISOSTAD projec
On and Off-diagonal Sturmian operator: dynamic and spectral dimension
We study two versions of quasicrystal model, both subcases of Jacobi
matrices. For Off-diagonal model, we show an upper bound of dynamical exponent
and the norm of the transfer matrix. We apply this result to the Off-diagonal
Fibonacci Hamiltonian and obtain a sub-ballistic bound for coupling large
enough. In diagonal case, we improve previous lower bounds on the fractal
box-counting dimension of the spectrum.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:math-ph/0502044 and
arXiv:0807.3024 by other author
Regulation of synaptic connectivity: levels of fasciclin II influence synaptic growth in the Drosophila CNS
Much of our understanding of synaptogenesis comes from studies that deal with the development of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Although well studied, it is not clear how far the NMJ represents an adequate model for the formation of synapses within the CNS. Here we investigate the role of Fasciclin II (Fas II) in the development of synapses between identified motor neurons and cholinergic interneurons in the CNS of Drosophila. Fas II is a neural cell adhesion molecule homolog that is involved in both target selection and synaptic plasticity at the NMJ in Drosophila. In this study, we show that levels of Fas II are critical determinants of synapse formation and growth in the CNS. The initial establishment of synaptic contacts between these identified neurons is seemingly independent of Fas II. The subsequent proliferation of these synaptic connections that occurs postembryonically is, in contrast, significantly retarded by the absence of Fas II. Although the initial formation of synaptic connectivity between these neurons is seemingly independent of Fas II, we show that their formation is, nevertheless, significantly affected by manipulations that alter the relative balance of Fas II in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons. Increasing expression of Fas II in either the presynaptic or postsynaptic neurons, during embryogenesis, is sufficient to disrupt the normal level of synaptic connectivity that occurs between these neurons. This effect of Fas II is isoform specific and, moreover, phenocopies the disruption to synaptic connectivity observed previously after tetanus toxin light chain-dependent blockade of evoked synaptic vesicle release in these neurons
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