188 research outputs found
Blow-up of the hyperbolic Burgers equation
The memory effects on microscopic kinetic systems have been sometimes
modelled by means of the introduction of second order time derivatives in the
macroscopic hydrodynamic equations. One prototypical example is the hyperbolic
modification of the Burgers equation, that has been introduced to clarify the
interplay of hyperbolicity and nonlinear hydrodynamic evolution. Previous
studies suggested the finite time blow-up of this equation, and here we present
a rigorous proof of this fact
Weyl's Lagrangian in teleparallel form
The main result of the paper is a new representation for the Weyl Lagrangian
(massless Dirac Lagrangian). As the dynamical variable we use the coframe, i.e.
an orthonormal tetrad of covector fields. We write down a simple Lagrangian -
wedge product of axial torsion with a lightlike element of the coframe - and
show that this gives the Weyl Lagrangian up to a nonlinear change of dynamical
variable. The advantage of our approach is that it does not require the use of
spinors, Pauli matrices or covariant differentiation. The only geometric
concepts we use are those of a metric, differential form, wedge product and
exterior derivative. Our result assigns a variational meaning to the tetrad
representation of the Weyl equation suggested by J. B. Griffiths and R. A.
Newing
The hospital microbiome project: Meeting report for the UK science and innovation network UK-USA workshop 'beating the superbugs: Hospital microbiome studies for tackling antimicrobial resistance', October 14th 2013
The UK Science and Innovation Network UK-USA workshop 'Beating the Superbugs: Hospital Microbiome Studies for tackling Antimicrobial Resistance' was held on October 14th 2013 at the UK Department of Health, London. The workshop was designed to promote US-UK collaboration on hospital microbiome studies to add a new facet to our collective understanding of antimicrobial resistance. The assembled researchers debated the importance of the hospital microbial community in transmission of disease and as a reservoir for antimicrobial resistance genes, and discussed methodologies, hypotheses, and priorities. A number of complementary approaches were explored, although the importance of the built environment microbiome in disease transmission was not universally accepted. Current whole genome epidemiological methods are being pioneered in the UK and the benefits of moving to community analysis are not necessarily obvious to the pioneers; however, rapid progress in other areas of microbiology suggest to some researchers that hospital microbiome studies will be exceptionally fruitful even in the short term. Collaborative studies will recombine different strengths to tackle the international problems of antimicrobial resistance and hospital and healthcare associated infections
Measurement of three-jet differential cross sections d sigma-3jet / d M-3jet in p anti-p collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present the first measurement of the inclusive three-jet differential
cross section as a function of the invariant mass of the three jets with the
largest transverse momenta in an event in p anti-p collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96
TeV. The measurement is made in different rapidity regions and for different
jet transverse momentum requirements and is based on a data set corresponding
to an integrated luminosity of 0.7 fb^{-1} collected with the D0 detector at
the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The results are used to test the three-jet
matrix elements in perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading order in
the strong coupling constant. The data allow discrimination between
parametrizations of the parton distribution functions of the proton.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Lett. B, corrected
chi2 values for NNPD
Nanoemulsion stability: experimental evaluation of the flocculation rate from turbidity measurements
The coalescence of liquid drops induces a higher level of complexity compared
to the classical studies about the aggregation of solid spheres. Yet, it is
commonly believed that most findings on solid dispersions are directly
applicable to liquid mixtures. Here, the state of the art in the evaluation of
the flocculation rate of these two systems is reviewed. Special emphasis is
made on the differences between suspensions and emulsions. In the case of
suspensions, the stability ratio is commonly evaluated from the initial slope
of the absorbance as a function of time under diffusive and reactive
conditions. Puertas and de las Nieves (1997) developed a theoretical approach
that allows the determination of the flocculation rate from the variation of
the turbidity of a sample as a function of time. Here, suitable modifications
of the experimental procedure and the referred theoretical approach are
implemented in order to calculate the values of the stability ratio and the
flocculation rate corresponding to a dodecane-in-water nanoemulsion stabilized
with sodium dodecyl sulfate. Four analytical expressions of the turbidity are
tested, basically differing in the optical cross section of the aggregates
formed. The first two models consider the processes of: a) aggregation (as
described by Smoluchowski) and b) the instantaneous coalescence upon
flocculation. The other two models account for the simultaneous occurrence of
flocculation and coalescence. The latter reproduce the temporal variation of
the turbidity in all cases studied (380 \leq [NaCl] \leq 600 mM), providing a
method of appraisal of the flocculation rate in nanoemulsions
The Effects of Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) on Nerves
Background: If a critical nerve is circumferentially involved with tumor, radical surgery intended to cure the cancer must sacrifice the nerve. Loss of critical nerves may lead to serious consequences. In spite of the impressive technical advancements in nerve reconstruction, complete recovery and normalization of nerve function is difficult to achieve. Though irreversible electroporation (IRE) might be a promising choice to treat tumors near or involved critical nerve, the pathophysiology of the nerve after IRE treatment has not be clearly defined. Methods: We applied IRE directly to a rat sciatic nerve to study the long term effects of IRE on the nerve. A sequence of 10 square pulses of 3800 V/cm, each 100 ms long was applied directly to rat sciatic nerves. In each animal of group I (IRE) the procedure was applied to produce a treated length of about 10 mm. In each animal of group II (Control) the electrodes were only applied directly on the sciatic nerve for the same time. Electrophysiological, histological, and functional studies were performed on immediately after and 3 days, 1 week, 3, 5, 7 and 10 weeks following surgery. Findings: Electrophysiological, histological, and functional results show the nerve treated with IRE can attain full recovery after 7 weeks. Conclusion: This finding is indicative of the preservation of nerve involving malignant tumors with respect to the application of IRE pulses to ablate tumors completely. In summary, IRE may be a promising treatment tool for any tumor involving nerves
Comparative genomics of Cluster O mycobacteriophages
Mycobacteriophages - viruses of mycobacterial hosts - are genetically diverse but morphologically are all classified in the Caudovirales with double-stranded DNA and tails. We describe here a group of five closely related mycobacteriophages - Corndog, Catdawg, Dylan, Firecracker, and YungJamal - designated as Cluster O with long flexible tails but with unusual prolate capsids. Proteomic analysis of phage Corndog particles, Catdawg particles, and Corndog-infected cells confirms expression of half of the predicted gene products and indicates a non-canonical mechanism for translation of the Corndog tape measure protein. Bioinformatic analysis identifies 8-9 strongly predicted SigA promoters and all five Cluster O genomes contain more than 30 copies of a 17 bp repeat sequence with dyad symmetry located throughout the genomes. Comparison of the Cluster O phages provides insights into phage genome evolution including the processes of gene flux by horizontal genetic exchange
Relating the microscopic rules in coalescence-fragmentation models to the macroscopic cluster size distributions which emerge
Coalescence-fragmentation problems are of great interest across the physical,
biological, and recently social sciences. They are typically studied from the
perspective of the rate equations, at the heart of such models are the rules
used for coalescence and fragmentation. Here we discuss how changes in these
microscopic rules affect the macroscopic cluster-size distribution which
emerges from the solution to the rate equation. More generally, our work
elucidates the crucial role that the fragmentation rule can play in such
dynamical grouping models. We focus on two well-known models whose
fragmentation rules lie at opposite extremes setting the models within the
broader context of binary coalescence-fragmentation models. Further, we provide
a range of generalizations and new analytic results for a well-known model of
social group formation [V. M. Eguiluz and M. G. Zimmermann, Phys. Rev. Lett.
85, 5659 (2000)]. We develop analytic perturbation treatment of the original
model, and extend the mathematical to the treatment of growing and declining
populations
Comparative genomics of Cluster O mycobacteriophages
Mycobacteriophages - viruses of mycobacterial hosts - are genetically diverse but morphologically are all classified in the Caudovirales with double-stranded DNA and tails. We describe here a group of five closely related mycobacteriophages - Corndog, Catdawg, Dylan, Firecracker, and YungJamal - designated as Cluster O with long flexible tails but with unusual prolate capsids. Proteomic analysis of phage Corndog particles, Catdawg particles, and Corndog-infected cells confirms expression of half of the predicted gene products and indicates a non-canonical mechanism for translation of the Corndog tape measure protein. Bioinformatic analysis identifies 8-9 strongly predicted SigA promoters and all five Cluster O genomes contain more than 30 copies of a 17 bp repeat sequence with dyad symmetry located throughout the genomes. Comparison of the Cluster O phages provides insights into phage genome evolution including the processes of gene flux by horizontal genetic exchange
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