3,888 research outputs found
A Generalized Spatial Measure for Resilience of Microbial Systems
The emergent property of resilience is the ability of a system to return to an original state after a disturbance. Resilience may be used as an early warning system for significant or irreversible community transition; that is, a community with diminishing or low resilience may be close to catastrophic shift in function or an irreversible collapse. Typically, resilience is quantified using recovery time, which may be difficult or impossible to directly measure in microbial systems. A recent study in the literature showed that under certain conditions, a set of spatial-based metrics termed recovery length, can be correlated to recovery time, and thus may be a reasonable alternative measure of resilience. However, this spatial metric of resilience is limited to use for step-change perturbations. Building upon the concept of recovery length, we propose a more general form of the spatial metric of resilience that can be applied to any shape of perturbation profiles (for example, either sharp or smooth gradients). We termed this new spatial measure “perturbation-adjusted spatial metric of resilience” (PASMORE). We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed metric using a mathematical model of a microbial mat
Melting and Rippling Phenomenan in Two Dimensional Crystals with localized bonding
We calculate Root Mean Square (RMS) deviations from equilibrium for atoms in
a two dimensional crystal with local (e.g. covalent) bonding between close
neighbors. Large scale Monte Carlo calculations are in good agreement with
analytical results obtained in the harmonic approximation. When motion is
restricted to the plane, we find a slow (logarithmic) increase in fluctuations
of the atoms about their equilibrium positions as the crystals are made larger
and larger. We take into account fluctuations perpendicular to the lattice
plane, manifest as undulating ripples, by examining dual layer systems with
coupling between the layers to impart local rigidly (i.e. as in sheets of
graphene made stiff by their finite thickness). Surprisingly, we find a rapid
divergence with increasing system size in the vertical mean square deviations,
independent of the strength of the interplanar coupling. We consider an
attractive coupling to a flat substrate, finding that even a weak attraction
significantly limits the amplitude and average wavelength of the ripples. We
verify our results are generic by examining a variety of distinct geometries,
obtaining the same phenomena in each case.Comment: 17 pages, 28 figure
Integrating Ecological and Engineering Concepts of Resilience in Microbial Communities
Many definitions of resilience have been proffered for natural and engineered ecosystems, but a conceptual consensus on resilience in microbial communities is still lacking. We argue that the disconnect largely results from the wide variance in microbial community complexity, which range from compositionally simple synthetic consortia to complex natural communities, and divergence between the typical practical outcomes emphasized by ecologists and engineers. Viewing microbial communities as elasto-plastic systems that undergo both recoverable and unrecoverable transitions, we argue that this gap between the engineering and ecological definitions of resilience stems from their respective emphases on elastic and plastic deformation, respectively. We propose that the two concepts may be fundamentally united around the resilience of function rather than state in microbial communities and the regularity in the relationship between environmental variation and a community\u27s functional response. Furthermore, we posit that functional resilience is an intrinsic property of microbial communities and suggest that state changes in response to environmental variation may be a key mechanism driving functional resilience in microbial communities
Recommended from our members
Development of an Economic Decision Support for the Application of Additive Manufacture in Aerospace
Additive Manufacturing offers a high potential in aerospace industry due to its freedom of
design and the ability to manufacture complex and lightweight parts. The low number of
units, high quality standards and fast response time are special challenges that have to be met
especially in the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul sector. Thus, companies have to decide at
which point it is economic to apply Additive Manufacturing. However, companies lack
experience on this new technology. This is why a tool is required that takes into account the
above mentioned crucial points and supports the decision process. The paper analyzes
aviation’s characteristics with regard to Additive Manufacturing. The structure of current
MRO repair workflows is investigated to identify a feasible application for Additive
Manufacturing. Additionally the supply chain will be examined to indicate the benefit which
the technology can generate in this highly demanding field. The findings are integrated into a
methodology that supports the decision whether to apply Additive Manufacturing on the basis
of costs, time and quality.Mechanical Engineerin
Percolation of Immobile Domains in Supercooled Thin Polymeric Films
We present an analysis of heterogeneous dynamics in molecular dynamics
simulations of a thin polymeric film, supported by an absorbing structured
surface. Near the glass transition "immobile" domains occur throughout the
film, yet the probability of their occurrence decreasing with larger distance
from the surface. Still, enough immobile domains are located near the free
surface to cause them to percolate in the direction perpendicular to surface,
at a temperature near the glass transition temperature. This result is in
agreement with a recent theoretical model of glass transition
Electronic structure and the glass transition in pnictide and chalcogenide semiconductor alloys. Part II: The intrinsic electronic midgap states
We propose a structural model that treats in a unified fashion both the
atomic motions and electronic excitations in quenched melts of pnictide and
chalcogenide semiconductors. In Part I (submitted to J. Chem. Phys.), we argued
these quenched melts represent aperiodic -networks that are highly
stable and, at the same time, structurally degenerate. These networks are
characterized by a continuous range of coordination. Here we present a
systematic way to classify these types of coordination in terms of discrete
coordination defects in a parent structure defined on a simple cubic lattice.
We identify the lowest energy coordination defects with the intrinsic midgap
electronic states in semiconductor glasses, which were argued earlier to cause
many of the unique optoelectronic anomalies in these materials. In addition,
these coordination defects are mobile and correspond to the transition state
configurations during the activated transport above the glass transition. The
presence of the coordination defects may account for the puzzling discrepancy
between the kinetic and thermodynamic fragility in chalcogenides. Finally, the
proposed model recovers as limiting cases several popular types of bonding
patterns proposed earlier, including: valence-alternation pairs, hypervalent
configurations, and homopolar bonds in heteropolar compounds.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, revised version, final version to appear in J.
Chem. Phy
Parallel J-W Monte Carlo Simulations of Thermal Phase Changes in Finite-size Systems
The thermodynamic properties of 59 TeF6 clusters that undergo
temperature-driven phase transitions have been calculated with a canonical
J-walking Monte Carlo technique. A parallel code for simulations has been
developed and optimized on SUN3500 and CRAY-T3E computers. The Lindemann
criterion shows that the clusters transform from liquid to solid and then from
one solid structure to another in the temperature region 60-130 K.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; presented at the conference on computational
physics, Aachen (2001) accepted for publication in Comp.Phys.Com
Effect of a thin AlO_x layer on transition-edge sensor properties
We have studied the physics of transition-edge sensor (TES) devices with an
insulating AlOx layer on top of the device to allow implementation of more
complex detector geometries. By comparing devices with and without the
insulating film, we have observed significant additional noise apparently
caused by the insulator layer. In addition, AlOx was found to be a relatively
good thermal conductor. This adds an unforeseen internal thermal feature to the
system.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Low Temperature Detectors 14 conferenc
- …