1,267 research outputs found
Exact Nonequilibrium Work Generating Function for a Small Classical System
We obtain the exact nonequilibrium work generating function (NEWGF), for a
small system consisting of a massive Brownian particle connected to internal
and external springs. The external work is provided to the system for a finite
time interval. The Jarzynski equality (JE), obtained in this case directly from
the NEWGF, is shown to be valid for the present model, in an exact way
regardless of the rate of external work
Ankyloglossia, Syndactyly and Polydactyly in the Pediatric Patient
Ankyloglossia is a congenital alteration in the development of the tongue characterized by the presence of a short or thick lingual frenulum, which leads to a limitation in its movements. There is an associative inconsistency between ankyloglossia and complications with breastfeeding, speech, swallowing, breathing, and the development of orofacial structures, and it is urgent to make more scientific research in this area. In the presence of polydactyly and syndactyly may be also present ankyloglossia. The purpose of this paper is to present two ankyloglossia cases with finger alterations, without a syndromic disease, and lead the medical team to research this topic and make an improved treatment plan for these cases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Scaling properties of granular materials
Given an assembly of viscoelastic spheres with certain material properties,
we raise the question how the macroscopic properties of the assembly will
change if all lengths of the system, i.e. radii, container size etc., are
scaled by a constant. The result leads to a method to scale down experiments to
lab-size.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
On exact time-averages of a massive Poisson particle
In this work we study, under the Stratonovich definition, the problem of the
damped oscillatory massive particle subject to a heterogeneous Poisson noise
characterised by a rate of events, \lambda (t), and a magnitude, \Phi,
following an exponential distribution. We tackle the problem by performing
exact time-averages over the noise in a similar way to previous works analysing
the problem of the Brownian particle. From this procedure we obtain the
long-term equilibrium distributions of position and velocity as well as
analytical asymptotic expressions for the injection and dissipation of energy
terms. Considerations on the emergence of stochastic resonance in this type of
system are also set forth.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures. To be published in Journal of Statistical
Mechanics: Theory and Experimen
Prostaglandin E2-EP1 and EP2 receptor signaling promotes apical junctional complex disassembly of Caco-2 human colorectal cancer cells
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The apical junctional complex (AJC) is a dynamic structure responsible to maintain epithelial cell-cell adhesions and it plays important functions such as, polarity, mechanical integrity, and cell signaling. Alteration of this complex during pathological events leads to an impaired epithelial barrier by perturbation of the cell-cell adhesion system. Although clinical and experimental data indicate that prostaglandin E<sub>2 </sub>(PGE<sub>2</sub>) plays a critical function in promoting cell motility and cancer progression, little is known concerning its role in AJC disassembly, an event that takes place at the beginning of colorectal tumorigenesis. Using Caco-2 cells, a cell line derived from human colorectal cancer, we investigated the effects of prostaglandin E<sub>2 </sub>(PGE<sub>2</sub>) treatment on AJC assembly and function.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Exposition of Caco-2 cells to PGE<sub>2 </sub>promoted differential alteration of AJC protein distribution, as evidenced by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting analysis and impairs the barrier function, as seen by a decrease in the transepithelial electric resistance and an increase in the permeability to ruthenium red marker. We demonstrated the involvement of EP1 and EP2 prostaglandin E<sub>2 </sub>receptor subtypes in the modulation of the AJC disassembly caused by prostanoid. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of protein kinase-C, but not PKA and p38MAPK significantly prevented the PGE<sub>2 </sub>effects on the AJC disassembly.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings strongly suggest a central role of Prostaglandin E2-EP1 and EP2 receptor signaling to mediate AJC disassembly through a mechanism that involves PKC and claudin-1 as important target for the TJ-related effects in human colorectal cancer cells (Caco-2).</p
On Tackling the Limits of Resolution in SAT Solving
The practical success of Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) solvers stems from the
CDCL (Conflict-Driven Clause Learning) approach to SAT solving. However, from a
propositional proof complexity perspective, CDCL is no more powerful than the
resolution proof system, for which many hard examples exist. This paper
proposes a new problem transformation, which enables reducing the decision
problem for formulas in conjunctive normal form (CNF) to the problem of solving
maximum satisfiability over Horn formulas. Given the new transformation, the
paper proves a polynomial bound on the number of MaxSAT resolution steps for
pigeonhole formulas. This result is in clear contrast with earlier results on
the length of proofs of MaxSAT resolution for pigeonhole formulas. The paper
also establishes the same polynomial bound in the case of modern core-guided
MaxSAT solvers. Experimental results, obtained on CNF formulas known to be hard
for CDCL SAT solvers, show that these can be efficiently solved with modern
MaxSAT solvers
Fractional bioheat equation
In this work we develop a new mathematical model for the Pennes’ bioheat equation
assuming a fractional time derivative of single order. A numerical method for the solu-
tion of such equations is proposed, and, the suitability of the new model for modelling
real physical problems is studied and discussedCOMPETE, FEDER and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (the Portuguese Foundation for
Science and Technology (FCT)) through Projects UID/CTM/50025/2013, PTDC/EME-
MFE/113988/2009 and EXPL/CTM-POL/1299/2013. M. Rebelo acknowledge financial
funding by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through the project
PEstOE/MAT/UI0297/2013 (Centro de Matemática e Aplicacões
Generation of a flat-top laser beam for gravitational wave detectors by means of a nonspherical Fabry-Perot resonator
We have tested a new kind of Fabry-Perot long-baseline optical resonator proposed to reduce the thermal noise sensitivity of gravitational wave interferometric detectors--the "mesa beam" cavity--whose flat top beam shape is achieved by means of an aspherical end mirror. We present the fundamental mode intensity pattern for this cavity and its distortion due to surface imperfections and tilt misalignments, and contrast the higher order mode patterns to the Gauss-Laguerre modes of a spherical mirror cavity. We discuss the effects of mirror tilts on cavity alignment and locking and present measurements of the mesa beam tilt sensitivity
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