1,995 research outputs found
Destabilization of Neutron Stars by Type I Dimension Bubbles
An inhomogeneous compactification of a higher dimensional spacetime can
result in the formation of type I dimension bubbles, i.e., nontopological
solitons which tend to absorb and entrap massive particle modes. We consider
possible consequences of a neutron star that harbors such a soliton. The
astrophysical outcome depends upon the model parameters for the dimension
bubble, with a special sensitivity to the bubble's energy scale. For relatively
small energy scales, the bubble tends to rapidly consume the star without
forming a black hole. For larger energy scales, the bubble grows to a critical
mass, then forms a black hole within the star, which subsequently causes the
remaining star to collapse. It is possible that the latter scenario is
associated with core collapse explosions and gamma ray bursts.Comment: 8 pages; to appear in Phys.Lett.
Gauged Dimension Bubbles
Some of the peculiar electrodynamical effects associated with gauged
``dimension bubbles'' are presented. Such bubbles, which effectively enclose a
region of 5d spacetime, can arise from a 5d theory with a compact extra
dimension. Bubbles with thin domain walls can be stabilized against total
collapse by the entrapment of light charged scalar bosons inside the bubble,
extending the idea of a neutral dimension bubble to accommodate the case of a
gauged U(1) symmetry. Using a dielectric approach to the 4d dilaton-Maxwell
theory, it is seen that the bubble wall is almost totally opaque to photons,
leading to a new stabilization mechanism due to trapped photons. Photon
dominated bubbles very slowly shrink, resulting in a temperature increase
inside the bubble. At some critical temperature, however, these bubbles
explode, with a release of radiation.Comment: 14 pages, no figures; to appear in Phys.Rev.
Fermionic and Bosonic Stabilizing Effects for Type I and Type II Dimension Bubbles
We consider two types of "dimension bubbles", which are viewed as 4d
nontopological solitons that emerge from a 5d theory with a compact extra
dimension. The size of the extra dimension varies rapidly within the domain
wall of the soliton. We consider the cases of type I (II) bubbles where the
size of the extra dimension inside the bubble is much larger (smaller) than
outside. Type I bubbles with thin domain walls can be stabilized by the
entrapment of various particle modes whose masses become much smaller inside
than outside the bubble. This is demonstrated here for the cases of scalar
bosons, fermions, and massive vector bosons, including both Kaluza-Klein zero
modes and Kaluza-Klein excitation modes. Type II bubbles expel massive particle
modes but both types can be stabilized by photons. Plasma filled bubbles
containing a variety of massless or nearly massless radiation modes may exist
as long-lived metastable states. Furthermore, in contrast to the case with a
"gravitational bag", the metric for a fluid-filled dimension bubble does not
exhibit a naked singularity at the bubble's center.Comment: 17 pages, no figs; to appear in Phys.Rev.
Molecular dynamic simulation of a homogeneous bcc -> hcp transition
We have performed molecular dynamic simulations of a Martensitic bcc->hcp
transformation in a homogeneous system. The system evolves into three
Martensitic variants, sharing a common nearest neighbor vector along a bcc
direction, plus an fcc region. Nucleation occurs locally, followed by
subsequent growth. We monitor the time-dependent scattering S(q,t) during the
transformation, and find anomalous, Brillouin zone-dependent scattering similar
to that observed experimentally in a number of systems above the transformation
temperature. This scattering is shown to be related to the elastic strain
associated with the transformation, and is not directly related to the phonon
response.Comment: 11 pages plus 8 figures (GIF format); to appear in Phys. Rev.
Enhanced hippocampal long-term potentiation and spatial learning in aged 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 knock-out mice
Glucocorticoids are pivotal in the maintenance of memory and cognitive functions as well as other essential physiological processes including energy metabolism, stress responses, and cell proliferation. Normal aging in both rodents and humans is often characterized by elevated glucocorticoid levels that correlate with hippocampus-dependent memory impairments. 11ß-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11ß-HSD1) amplifies local intracellular ("intracrine") glucocorticoid action; in the brain it is highly expressed in the hippocampus. We investigated whether the impact of 11ß-HSD1 deficiency in knock-out mice (congenic on C57BL/6J strain) on cognitive function with aging reflects direct CNS or indirect effects of altered peripheral insulin-glucose metabolism. Spatial learning and memory was enhanced in 12 month "middle-aged" and 24 month "aged" 11ß-HSD1<sup>–/–</sup> mice compared with age-matched congenic controls. These effects were not caused by alterations in other cognitive (working memory in a spontaneous alternation task) or affective domains (anxiety-related behaviors), to changes in plasma corticosterone or glucose levels, or to altered age-related pathologies in 11ß-HSD1<sup>–/–</sup> mice. Young 11ß-HSD1<sup>–/–</sup> mice showed significantly increased newborn cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus, but this was not maintained into aging. Long-term potentiation was significantly enhanced in subfield CA1 of hippocampal slices from aged 11ß-HSD1<sup>–/–</sup> mice. These data suggest that 11ß-HSD1 deficiency enhances synaptic potentiation in the aged hippocampus and this may underlie the better maintenance of learning and memory with aging, which occurs in the absence of increased neurogenesis
A recommender system for process discovery
Over the last decade, several algorithms for process discovery and process conformance have been proposed. Still, it is well-accepted that there is no dominant algorithm in any of these two disciplines, and then it is often difficult to apply them successfully. Most of these algorithms need a close-to expert knowledge in order to be applied satisfactorily. In this paper, we present a recommender system that uses portfolio-based algorithm selection strategies to face the following problems: to find the best discovery algorithm for the data at hand, and to allow bridging the gap between general users and process mining algorithms. Experiments performed with the developed tool witness the usefulness of the approach for a variety of instances.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft
The stability of microbially reduced U(IV); impact of residual electron donor and sediment ageing
AbstractThe stimulation of microbial U(VI) reduction to precipitate insoluble U(IV) has been proposed as a means of remediating mobile uranium groundwater contamination. Crucial to the success of such a remediation strategy is determining the longevity of U(IV) biominerals in the subsurface, particularly if the groundwater becomes oxidising. Here we describe experiments to assess the susceptibility of microbially-reduced U(IV) to oxidative remobilisation both via aeration and by the addition of nitrate at environmentally-relevant conditions. Additional factors examined include the possibility of biogenic U(IV) becoming more crystalline (and potentially more recalcitrant) during a period of ageing, and the role played by residual electron donor in controlling the long-term fate of the uranium. Biogenic U(IV) was precipitated as a non-crystalline U(IV) or “monomeric” phase, with a small but increasing contribution to the EXAFS spectra from nanocrystalline uraninite occurring during 15months of ageing. Despite this, no evidence was observed for an increase in recalcitrance to oxidative remobilisation. However, the presence of residual electron donor post-biostimulation was shown to exert a strong control on U(IV) reoxidation kinetics, highlighting the importance of maintaining the presence of electron donor in the subsurface, in order to protect biogenic U(IV) from oxidative remobilisation
Novel phages of Pseudomonas syringae unveil numerous potential auxiliary metabolic genes.
Relatively few phages that infect plant pathogens have been isolated and investigated. The Pseudomonas syringae species complex is present in various environments, including plants. It can cause major crop diseases, such as bacterial canker on apricot trees. This study presents a collection of 25 unique phage genomes that infect P. syringae. These phages were isolated from apricot orchards with bacterial canker symptoms after enrichment with 21 strains of P. syringae. This collection comprises mostly virulent phages, with only three being temperate. They belong to 14 genera, 11 of which are newly discovered, and 18 new species, revealing great genetic diversity within this collection. Novel DNA packaging systems have been identified bioinformatically in one of the new phage species, but experimental confirmation is required to define the precise mechanism. Additionally, many phage genomes contain numerous potential auxiliary metabolic genes with diversified putative functions. At least three phages encode genes involved in bacterial tellurite resistance, a toxic metalloid. This suggests that viruses could play a role in bacterial stress tolerance. This research emphasizes the significance of continuing the search for new phages in the agricultural ecosystem to unravel novel ecological diversity and new gene functions. This work contributes to the foundation for future fundamental and applied research on phages infecting phytopathogenic bacteria
First principles simulations of direct coexistence of solid and liquid aluminium
First principles calculations based on density functional theory, with
generalised gradient corrections and ultrasoft pseudopotentials, have been used
to simulate solid and liquid aluminium in direct coexistence at zero pressure.
Simulations have been carried out on systems containing up to 1000 atoms for 15
ps. The points on the melting curve extracted from these simulations are in
very good agreement with previous calculations, which employed the same
electronic structure method but used an approach based on the explicit
calculation of free energies [L. Vo\v{c}adlo and D. Alf\`e, Phys. Rev. B, {\bf
65}, 214105 (2002).]Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
Stability of Neutral Fermi Balls with Multi-Flavor Fermions
A Fermi ball is a kind of non-topological soliton, which is thought to arise
from the spontaneous breaking of an approximate symmetry and to
contribute to cold dark matter. We consider a simple model in which fermion
fields with multi-flavors are coupled to a scalar field through Yukawa
coupling, and examine how the number of the fermion flavors affects the
stability of the Fermi ball against the fragmentation. (1)We find that the
Fermi ball is stable against the fragmentation in most cases even in the lowest
order thin-wall approximation. (2)We then find that in the other specific
cases, the stability is marginal in the lowest order thin-wall approximation,
and the next-to-leading order correction determines the stable region of the
coupling constants; We examine the simplest case where the total fermion number
and the Yukawa coupling constant of each flavor are common to
the flavor, and find that the Fermi ball is stable in the limited region of the
parameters and has the broader region for the larger number of the flavors.Comment: 10 pages, 3 eps figures, ReVTeX
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