603 research outputs found
MORPHOLOGY-BASED MODELLING OF PENICILLIUM CHRYSOGENUM FED-BATCH CULTIVATIONS
The presented models combine microscopic and macroscopic descriptions of pellet development.
There are still some assumptions in the model which are difficult to verify
experimentally like the inactivation of the biomass as a consequence of mechanical damage.
However, we presented a novel approach which allows to study influences on the overall
process such as substrate limitations within the pellets, hyphal morphology or mechanical
forces
The influence of tDCS on perceived bouncing/streaming
Processing ambiguous situations is a constant challenge in everyday life and sensory input from different modalities needs to be integrated to form a coherent mental representation on the environment. The bouncing/streaming illusion can be studied to provide insights into the ambiguous perception and processing of multi-modal environments. In short, the likelihood of reporting bouncing rather than streaming impressions increases when a sound coincides with the moment of overlap between two moving disks. Neuroimaging studies revealed that the right posterior parietal cortex is crucial in cross-modal integration and is active during the bouncing/streaming illusion. Consequently, in the present study, we used transcranial direct current stimulation to stimulate this brain area. In the active stimulation conditions, a 9 cm2 electrode was positioned over the P4-EEG position and the 35 cm2 reference positioned over the left upper arm. The stimulation lasted 15 min. Each participant did the bouncing/streaming task three times: before, during and after anodal or sham stimulation. In a sample of N = 60 healthy, young adults, we found no influence of anodal tDCS. Bayesian analysis showed strong evidence against tDCS effects. There are two possible explanations for the finding that anodal tDCS over perceptual areas did not modulate multimodal integration. First, upregulation of multimodal integration is not possible using tDCS over the PPC as the integration process already functions at maximum capacity. Second, prefrontal decision-making areas may have overruled any modulated input from the PPC as it may not have matched their decision-making criterion and compensated for the modulation
Thromboresistance Characterization of Extruded Nitric Oxide Releasing Silicone Catheters
Intravascular catheters used in clinical practice can activate platelets, leading to thrombus formation and stagnation of blood flow. Nitric oxide (NO)-releasing polymers have been shown previously to reduce clot formation on a number of blood contacting devices. In this work, trilaminar NO-releasing silicone catheters were fabricated and tested for their thrombogenicity. All catheters had specifications of L = 6 cm, inner diameter = 21 gauge (0.0723 cm), outer diameter = 12 gauge (0.2052 cm), and NO-releasing layer thickness = 200 ± 11 µm. Control and NO-releasing catheters were characterized in vitro for their NO flux and NO release duration by gas phase chemiluminescence measurements. The catheters were then implanted in the right and left internal jugular veins of (N = 6 and average weight = 3 kg) adult male rabbits for 4 hours thrombogenicity testing. Platelet counts and function, methemoglobin (metHb), hemoglobin (Hb), and white cell counts and functional time (defined as patency time of catheter) were monitored as measured outcomes. Nitric oxide-releasing catheters (N = 6) maintained an average flux above (2 ± 0.5) × 10−10 mol/min/cm2 for more than 24 hours, whereas controls showed no NO release. Methemoglobin, Hb, white cell, and platelet counts and platelet function at 4 hours were not significantly different from baseline (α = 0.05). However, clots on controls were visibly larger and prevented blood draws at a significantly (p \u3c 0.05) earlier time (2.3 ± 0.7 hours) into the experiment, whereas all NO-releasing catheters survived the entire 4 hours test period. Results indicate that catheter NO flux levels attenuated thrombus formation in a short-term animal model
Effects of the Neutron Spin-Orbit Density on Nuclear Charge Density in Relativistic Models
The neutron spin-orbit density contributes to the nuclear charge density as a
relativistic effect. The contribution is enhanced by the effective mass
stemming from the Lorentz-scalar potential in relativistic models. This
enhancement explains well the difference between the cross sections of elastic
electron scattering off Ca and Ca which was not reproduced in
non-relativistic models. The spin-orbit density will be examined in more detail
in electron scattering off unstable nuclei which would be available in the
future.Comment: 4 pages with 3 eps figures, revte
Remarks on 2+1 Self-dual Chern-Simons Gravity
We study 2+1 Chern-Simons gravity at the classical action level. In
particular we rederive the linear combinations of the ``standard'' and
``exotic'' Einstein actions, from the (anti) self-duality of the ``internal''
Lorentzian indices. The relation to a genuine four-dimensional (anti)self-dual
topological theory greatly facilitates the analysis and its relation to
hyperbolic three-dimensional geometry. Finally a non-abelian vector field
``dual'' action is also obtained.Comment: 16+1 pages, LaTeX file, no figures, clarifications and comments
added, typos corrected and one reference adde
Decoupling Inflation From the String Scale
When Inflation is embedded in a fundamental theory, such as string theory, it
typically begins when the Universe is already substantially larger than the
fundamental scale [such as the one defined by the string length scale]. This is
naturally explained by postulating a pre-inflationary era, during which the
size of the Universe grew from the fundamental scale to the initial
inflationary scale. The problem then arises of maintaining the [presumed]
initial spatial homogeneity throughout this era, so that, when it terminates,
Inflation is able to begin in its potential-dominated state. Linde has proposed
that a spacetime with compact negatively curved spatial sections can achieve
this, by means of chaotic mixing. Such a compactification will however lead to
a Casimir energy, which can lead to effects that defeat the purpose unless the
coupling to gravity is suppressed. We estimate the value of this coupling
required by the proposal, and use it to show that the pre-inflationary
spacetime is stable, despite the violation of the Null Energy Condition
entailed by the Casimir energy.Comment: 24 pages, 5 eps figures, references added, stylistic changes, version
to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit
In Vitro and in Vivo Study of Sustained Nitric Oxide Release Coating Using Diazeniumdiolate-doped Poly(vinyl chloride) Matrix with Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) Additive
Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous vasodilator as well as natural inhibitor of platelet adhesion and activation that can be released from a NO donor species, such as diazeniumdiolated dibutylhexanediamine (DBHD/N2O2) within a polymer coating. In this study, various Food and Drug Administration approved poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) species were evaluated as additives to promote a prolonged NO release from DBHD/N2O2 within a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix. When using an ester-capped PLGA additive with a slow hydrolysis time, the resulting coatings continuously release between 7 and 18 × 10−10 mol cm−2 min−1 NO for 14 days at 37 °C in PBS buffer. The corresponding pH changes within the polymer films were visualized using pH sensitive indicators and are shown to correlate with the extended NO release pattern. The optimal combined diazeniumdiolate/PLGA-doped NO release (NOrel) PVC coating was evaluated in vitro and its effect on the hemodynamics was also studied within a 4 h in vivo extracorporeal circulation (ECC) rabbit model of thrombogenicity. Four out of 7 control circuits clotted within 3 h, whereas all the NOrel coated circuits were patent after 4 h. Platelet counts on the NOrel ECC were preserved (79 ± 11% compared to 54 ± 6% controls). The NOrel coatings showed a significant decrease in the thrombus area as compared to the controls. Results suggest that by using ester-capped PLGAs as additives to a conventional plasticized PVC material containing lipophilic diazeniumdiolates, the NO release can be prolonged for up to 2 weeks by controlling the pH within the organic phase of the coating
Consistent Treatment of Relativistic Effects in Electrodisintegration of the Deuteron
The influence of relativistic contributions to deuteron electrodisintegration
is systematically studied in various kinematic regions of energy and momentum
transfer. As theoretical framework the equation-of-motion and the unitarily
equivalent S-matrix approaches are used. In a (p/M)-expansion, all leading
order relativistic -exchange contributions consistent with the Bonn OBEPQ
model are included. In addition, static heavy meson exchange currents including
boost terms, -currents, and -isobar contributions
are considered. Sizeable effects from the various relativistic two-body
contributions, mainly from -exchange, have been found in inclusive form
factors and exclusive structure functions for a variety of kinematic regions.Comment: 41 pages revtex including 15 postscript figure
Effect of recent R_p and R_n measurements on extended Gari-Krumpelmann model fits to nucleon electromagnetic form factors
The Gari-Krumpelmann (GK) models of nucleon electromagnetic form factors, in
which the rho, omega, and phi vector meson pole contributions evolve at high
momentum transfer to conform to the predictions of perturbative QCD (pQCD), was
recently extended to include the width of the rho meson by substituting the
result of dispersion relations for the pole and the addition of rho' (1450)
isovector vector meson pole. This extended model was shown to produce a good
overall fit to all the available nucleon electromagnetic form factor (emff)
data. Since then new polarization data shows that the electric to magnetic
ratios R_p and R_n obtained are not consistent with the older G_{Ep} and G_{En}
data in their range of momentum transfer. The model is further extended to
include the omega' (1419) isoscalar vector meson pole. It is found that while
this GKex cannot simultaneously fit the new R_p and the old G_{En} data, it can
fit the new R_p and R_n well simultaneously. An excellent fit to all the
remaining data is obtained when the inconsistent G_{Ep} and G_{En} is omitted.
The model predictions are shown up to momentum transfer squared, Q^2, of 8
GeV^2/c^2.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, using RevTeX4; email correspondence to
[email protected] ; minor typos corrected, figures added, conclusions
extende
Extended Gari-Krumpelmann model fits to nucleon electromagnetic form factors
Nucleon electromagnetic form factor data (including recent data) is fitted
with models that respect the confinement and asymptotic freedom properties of
QCD. Gari-Krumpelmann (GK) type models, which include the major vector meson
pole contributions and at high momentum transfer conform to the predictions of
perturbative QCD, are combined with Hohler-Pietarinen (HP) models, which also
include the width of the rho meson and the addition of higher mass vector meson
exchanges, but do not evolve into the explicit form of PQCD at high momentum
transfer. Different parameterizations of the GK model's hadronic form factors,
the effect of including the width of the rho meson and the addition of the next
(in mass) isospin 1 vector meson are considered. The quality of fit and the
consistency of the parameters select three of the combined HP/GK type models.
Projections are made to the higher momentum transfers which are relevant to
electron-deuteron experiments. The projections vary little for the preferred
models, removing much of the ambiguity in electron-nucleus scattering
predictions.Comment: 18pp, 7 figures, using RevTeX with BoxedEPS macros; 1 new figure,
minor textual changes; email correspondence to [email protected]
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