6,473 research outputs found
Geologic considerations in underground coal mining system design
Geologic characteristics of coal resources which may impact new extraction technologies are identified and described to aid system designers and planners in their task of designing advanced coal extraction systems for the central Appalachian region. These geologic conditions are then organized into a matrix identified as the baseline mine concept. A sample region, eastern Kentucy is analyzed using both the developed baseline mine concept and the traditional geologic investigative approach
Adsorption properties and third sound propagation in superfluid He films on carbon nanotubes
We consider the adsorption properties of superfluid He films on carbon
nanotubes. One major factor in the adsorption is the surface tension force
arising from the very small diameter of the nanotubes. Calculations show that
surface tension keeps the film thickness on the tubes very thin even when the
helium vapor is increased to the saturated pressure. The weakened Van der Waals
force due to the cylindrical geometry also contributes to this. Both of these
effects act to lower the predicted velocity of third sound propagation along
the tubes. It does not appear that superfluidity will be possible on
single-walled nanotubes of diameter about one nm, since the film thickness is
less than 3 atomic layers even at saturation. Superfluidity is possible on
larger-diameter nanotube bundles and multi-walled nanotubes, however. We have
observed third sound signals on nanotube bundles of average diameter 5 nm which
are sprayed onto a Plexiglass surface, forming a network of tubes.Comment: 4 pages, accepted for Journal of Physics: Conference Series
(Proceedings of LT25
Auroral vector electric field and particle comparisons. 1: Pre-midnight convection topology
Polar 3 was launched in northern Norway on January 27, 1974. Traversing nearly 3 deg latitude, the rocket crossed over a stable IBC II auroral arc in the positive bay region and continued north to a convection boundary which was identified as the Harang discontinuity. Measurement of the complete electric field vector, of energetic electrons and of the auroral N+2 and OI emissions were used to study the convection topology in the pre-magnetic-midnight region. A strong anticorrelation was observed between the electric field and the precipitating energetic electrons. The inverted V nature of the electron precipitations at the convection boundary, compared with the lack of such structure over the arc which was within the positive bay region, leads to the conclusion that auroral arcs are likely to be associated with inverted V type precipitation only at or poleward of convection boundaries and their eddy structures
A heparin-mimicking polymer conjugate stabilizes basic fibroblast growth factor.
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a protein that plays a crucial role in diverse cellular functions, from wound healing to bone regeneration. However, a major obstacle to the widespread application of bFGF is its inherent instability during storage and delivery. Here, we describe the stabilization of bFGF by covalent conjugation with a heparin-mimicking polymer, a copolymer consisting of styrene sulfonate units and methyl methacrylate units bearing poly(ethylene glycol) side chains. The bFGF conjugate of this polymer retained bioactivity after synthesis and was stable to a variety of environmentally and therapeutically relevant stressors--such as heat, mild and harsh acidic conditions, storage and proteolytic degradation--unlike native bFGF. Following the application of stress, the conjugate was also significantly more active than the control conjugate system in which the styrene sulfonate units were omitted from the polymer structure. This research has important implications for the clinical use of bFGF and for the stabilization of heparin-binding growth factors in general
Strategies for the evolution of sex
We find that the hypothesis made by Jan, Stauffer and Moseley [Theory in
Biosc., 119, 166 (2000)] for the evolution of sex, namely a strategy devised to
escape extinction due to too many deleterious mutations, is sufficient but not
necessary for the successful evolution of a steady state population of sexual
individuals within a finite population. Simply allowing for a finite
probability for conversion to sex in each generation also gives rise to a
stable sexual population, in the presence of an upper limit on the number of
deleterious mutations per individual. For large values of this probability, we
find a phase transition to an intermittent, multi-stable regime. On the other
hand, in the limit of extremely slow drive, another transition takes place to a
different steady state distribution, with fewer deleterious mutations within
the asexual population.Comment: RevTeX, 11 pages, multicolumn, including 12 figure
Quantum mechanics gives stability to a Nash equilibrium
We consider a slightly modified version of the Rock-Scissors-Paper (RSP) game
from the point of view of evolutionary stability. In its classical version the
game has a mixed Nash equilibrium (NE) not stable against mutants. We find a
quantized version of the RSP game for which the classical mixed NE becomes
stable.Comment: Revised on referee's criticism, submitted to Physical Review
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