4,438 research outputs found
Global Existence Results and Uniqueness for Dislocation Equations
We are interested in nonlocal Eikonal Equations arising in the study of the
dynamics of dislocations lines in crystals. For these nonlocal but also non
monotone equations, only the existence and uniqueness of Lipschitz and
local-in-time solutions were available in some particular cases. In this paper,
we propose a definition of weak solutions for which we are able to prove the
existence for all time. Then we discuss the uniqueness of such solutions in
several situations, both in the monotone and non monotone case
Molecular epidemiologic investigations of Mycoplasma gallisepticum conjunctivitis in songbirds by random amplified polymorphic DNA analyses.
An ongoing outbreak of conjunctivitis in free-ranging house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) began in 1994 in the eastern United States. Bacterial organisms identified as Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) were isolated from lesions of infected birds. MG was also isolated from a blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) that contracted conjunctivitis after being housed in a cage previously occupied by house finches with conjunctivitis, and from free-ranging American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) in North Carolina in 1996. To investigate the molecular epidemiology of this outbreak, we produced DNA fingerprints of MG isolates by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). We compared MG isolates from songbirds examined from 1994 through 1996 in 11 states, representing three host species, with vaccine and reference strains and with contemporary MG isolates from commercial poultry. All MG isolates from songbirds had RAPD banding patterns identical to each other but different from other strains and isolates tested. These results indicate that the outbreak of MG in songbirds is caused by the same strain, which suggests a single source; the outbreak is not caused by the vaccine or reference strains analyzed; and MG infection has not been shared between songbirds and commercial poultry
The reaction 2H(p,pp)n in three kinematical configurations at E_p = 16 MeV
We measured the cross sections of the H(p,pp)n breakup reaction at
E=16 MeV in three kinematical configurations: the np final-state
interaction (FSI), the co-planar star (CST), and an intermediate-star (IST)
geometry. The cross sections are compared with theoretical predictions based on
the CD Bonn potential alone and combined with the updated 2-exchange
Tucson-Melbourne three-nucleon force (TM99'), calculated without inclusion of
the Coulomb interaction. The resulting excellent agreement between data and
pure CD Bonn predictions in the FSI testifies to the smallness of three-nucleon
force (3NF) effects as well as the insignificance of the Coulomb force for this
particular configuration and energy. The CST also agrees well whereas the IST
results show small deviations between measurements and theory seen before in
the pd breakup space-star geometries which point to possible Coulomb effects.
An additional comparison with EFT predictions (without 3NF) up to order NLO
shows excellent agreement in the FSI case and a rather similar agreement as for
CD Bonn in the CST and IST situations.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figure
Coherent coupling of two quantum dots embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm ring
We define two laterally gated small quantum dots (~ 15 electrons) in an
Aharonov-Bohm geometry in which the coupling between the two dots can be
broadly changed. For weakly coupled quantum dots we find Aharonov-Bohm
oscillations. In an intermediate coupling regime we concentrate on the
molecular states of the double dot and extract the magnetic field dependence of
the coherent coupling.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Full capacitance-matrix effects in driven Josephson-junction arrays
We study the dynamic response to external currents of periodic arrays of
Josephson junctions, in a resistively capacitively shunted junction (RCSJ)
model, including full capacitance-matrix effects}. We define and study three
different models of the capacitance matrix : Model A
includes only mutual capacitances; Model B includes mutual and self
capacitances, leading to exponential screening of the electrostatic fields;
Model C includes a dense matrix that is constructed
approximately from superposition of an exact analytic solution for the
capacitance between two disks of finite radius and thickness. In the latter
case the electrostatic fields decay algebraically. For comparison, we have also
evaluated the full capacitance matrix using the MIT fastcap algorithm, good for
small lattices, as well as a corresponding continuum effective-medium analytic
evaluation of a finite voltage disk inside a zero-potential plane. In all cases
the effective decays algebraically with distance, with
different powers. We have then calculated current voltage characteristics for
DC+AC currents for all models. We find that there are novel giant capacitive
fractional steps in the I-V's for Models B and C, strongly dependent on the
amount of screening involved. We find that these fractional steps are quantized
in units inversely proportional to the lattice sizes and depend on the
properties of . We also show that the capacitive steps
are not related to vortex oscillations but to localized screened phase-locking
of a few rows in the lattice. The possible experimental relevance of these
results is also discussed.Comment: 12 pages 18 Postscript figures, REVTEX style. Paper to appear in July
1, Vol. 58, Phys. Rev. B 1998 All PS figures include
Regulation of surface architecture by symbiotic bacteria mediates host colonization
Microbes occupy countless ecological niches in nature. Sometimes these environments may be on or within another organism, as is the case in both microbial infections and symbiosis of mammals. Unlike pathogens that establish opportunistic infections, hundreds of human commensal bacterial species establish a lifelong cohabitation with their hosts. Although many virulence factors of infectious bacteria have been described, the molecular mechanisms used during beneficial host–symbiont colonization remain almost entirely unknown. The novel identification of multiple surface polysaccharides in the important human symbiont Bacteroides fragilis raised the critical question of how these molecules contribute to commensalism. To understand the function of the bacterial capsule during symbiotic colonization of mammals, we generated B. fragilis strains deleted in the global regulator of polysaccharide expression and isolated mutants with defects in capsule expression. Surprisingly, attempts to completely eliminate capsule production are not tolerated by the microorganism, which displays growth deficits and subsequent reversion to express capsular polysaccharides. We identify an alternative pathway by which B. fragilis is able to reestablish capsule production and modulate expression of surface structures. Most importantly, mutants expressing single, defined surface polysaccharides are defective for intestinal colonization compared with bacteria expressing a complete polysaccharide repertoire. Restoring the expression of multiple capsular polysaccharides rescues the inability of mutants to compete for commensalism. These findings suggest a model whereby display of multiple capsular polysaccharides provides essential functions for bacterial colonization during host–symbiont mutualism
Accumulation of driver and passenger mutations during tumor progression
Major efforts to sequence cancer genomes are now occurring throughout the
world. Though the emerging data from these studies are illuminating, their
reconciliation with epidemiologic and clinical observations poses a major
challenge. In the current study, we provide a novel mathematical model that
begins to address this challenge. We model tumors as a discrete time branching
process that starts with a single driver mutation and proceeds as each new
driver mutation leads to a slightly increased rate of clonal expansion. Using
the model, we observe tremendous variation in the rate of tumor development -
providing an understanding of the heterogeneity in tumor sizes and development
times that have been observed by epidemiologists and clinicians. Furthermore,
the model provides a simple formula for the number of driver mutations as a
function of the total number of mutations in the tumor. Finally, when applied
to recent experimental data, the model allows us to calculate, for the first
time, the actual selective advantage provided by typical somatic mutations in
human tumors in situ. This selective advantage is surprisingly small, 0.005 +-
0.0005, and has major implications for experimental cancer research
Exact solutions for vibrational levels of the Morse potential via the asymptotic iteration method
Exact solutions for vibrational levels of diatomic molecules via the Morse
potential are obtained by means of the asymptotic iteration method. It is shown
that, the numerical results for the energy eigenvalues of are all
in excellent agreement with the ones obtained before. Without any loss of
generality, other states and molecules could be treated in a similar way
Potential Impact of Time Trend of Life-Style Factors on Cardiovascular Disease Burden in China
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death in China. Evaluation of risk factors and their impacts on disease burden is important for future public health initiatives and policy making
Connection Between Type A and E Factorizations and Construction of Satellite Algebras
Recently, we introduced a new class of symmetry algebras, called satellite
algebras, which connect with one another wavefunctions belonging to different
potentials of a given family, and corresponding to different energy
eigenvalues. Here the role of the factorization method in the construction of
such algebras is investigated. A general procedure for determining an so(2,2)
or so(2,1) satellite algebra for all the Hamiltonians that admit a type E
factorization is proposed. Such a procedure is based on the known relationship
between type A and E factorizations, combined with an algebraization similar to
that used in the construction of potential algebras. It is illustrated with the
examples of the generalized Morse potential, the Rosen-Morse potential, the
Kepler problem in a space of constant negative curvature, and, in each case,
the conserved quantity is identified. It should be stressed that the method
proposed is fairly general since the other factorization types may be
considered as limiting cases of type A or E factorizations.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, no figure, to be published in J. Phys.
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