Determining physical properties of the cell cortex

Actin and myosin assemble into a thin layer of a highly dynamic network underneath the membrane of eukaryotic cells. This network generates the forces that drive cell and tissue-scale morphogenetic processes. The effective material properties of this active network determine large-scale deformations and other morphogenetic events. For example,the characteristic time of stress relaxation (the Maxwell time)in the actomyosin sets the time scale of large-scale deformation of the cortex. Similarly, the characteristic length of stress propagation (the hydrodynamic length) sets the length scale of slow deformations, and a large hydrodynamic length is a prerequisite for long-ranged cortical flows. Here we introduce a method to determine physical parameters of the actomyosin cortical layer (in vivo). For this we investigate the relaxation dynamics of the cortex in response to laser ablation in the one-cell-stage {\it C. elegans} embryo and in the gastrulating zebrafish embryo. These responses can be interpreted using a coarse grained physical description of the cortex in terms of a two dimensional thin film of an active viscoelastic gel. To determine the Maxwell time, the hydrodynamic length and the ratio of active stress and per-area friction, we evaluated the response to laser ablation in two different ways: by quantifying flow and density fields as a function of space and time, and by determining the time evolution of the shape of the ablated region. Importantly, both methods provide best fit physical parameters that are in close agreement with each other and that are similar to previous estimates in the two systems. We provide an accurate and robust means for measuring physical parameters of the actomyosin cortical layer.It can be useful for investigations of actomyosin mechanics at the cellular-scale, but also for providing insights in the active mechanics processes that govern tissue-scale morphogenesis.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

Ready posture for rapid reaction of badminton robot arm

For immediate motion, taking a ready posture is a promising way because it can reduce enormous possible patterns of movement. For the selection of an appropriate ready posture, it is essential to know the structure of the task that includes the physical characteristics of a robot. We investigated our previous-built badminton robot arm to decide an appropriate ready posture as a case study. We first examined the kine- matic characteristics to extract possible ready postures. In this analysis, we found that postures for hitting shuttles are limited to approximately one-tenth of all possible postures. Besides, these postures could be spatially divided into two clusters, one is for forehand shots, and the other is for backhand shots. Then, we calculated reaching time from various postures and confirmed that possible ready postures by kinematics analysis shortened averaged reaching time. We also found that there are more effective ready postures if considering the dynamics of the robot. These ready postures did not resemble those calculated by kinematics analysis.the JSPS Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan L1950

GRB spectral parameters within the fireball model

Fireball model of the GRBs predicts generation of numerous internal shocks, which then efficiently accelerate charged particles and generate magnetic and electric fields. These fields are produced in the form of relatively small-scale stochastic ensembles of waves, thus, the accelerated particles diffuse in space due to interaction with the random waves and so emit so called Diffusive Synchrotron Radiation (DSR) in contrast to standard synchrotron radiation they would produce in a large-scale regular magnetic fields. In this paper we present first results of comprehensive modeling of the GRB spectral parameters within the fireball/internal shock concept. We have found that the non-perturbative DSR emission mechanism in a strong random magnetic field is consistent with observed distributions of the Band parameters and also with cross-correlations between them; this analysis allowed to restrict GRB physical parameters from the requirement of consistency between the model and observed distributions.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, MNRAS in pres

Quantum Hall States of Gluons in Quark Matter

We have recently shown that dense quark matter possesses a color ferromagnetic phase in which a stable color magnetic field arises spontaneously. This ferromagnetic state has been known to be Savvidy vacuum in the vacuum sector. Although the Savvidy vacuum is unstable, the state is stabilized in the quark matter. The stabilization is achieved by the formation of quantum Hall states of gluons, that is, by the condensation of the gluon's color charges transmitted from the quark matter. The phase is realized between the hadronic phase and the color superconducting phase. After a review of quantum Hall states of electrons in semiconductors, we discuss the properties of quantum Hall states of gluons in quark matter in detail. Especially, we evaluate the energy of the states as a function of the coupling constant. We also analyze solutions of vortex excitations in the states and evaluate their energies. We find that the states become unstable as the gauge coupling constant becomes large, or the chemical potential of the quarks becomes small, as expected. On the other hand, with the increase of the chemical potential, the color superconducting state arises instead of the ferromagnetic state. We also show that the quark matter produced by heavy ion collisions generates observable strong magnetic field $\sim 10^{15}$ Gauss when it enters the ferromagnetic phase.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Axial vector tetraquark with S=+2

Possibility of an axial vector isoscalar tetraquark with $ud\bar{s}\bar{s}$ is discussed. If the pentaquark $\Theta^+(1540)$ has the $(qq)_{\bar{3}}(qq)_{\bar{3}}\bar{q}$ configuration, the isoscalar $ud\bar{s}\bar{s}$($\vartheta^+$-meson) state with $J^P=1^+$ is expected to exist in the mass region lower than or close to the mass of $\Theta^+(1540)$. Within a flux-tube quark model, a possible resonant state of $ud\bar{s}\bar{s}(J^{P}=1^{+})$ is suggested to appear around 1.4 GeV with the width ${\cal{O}}(20\sim 50)$ MeV. We propose that the $\vartheta^+$-meson is a good candidate for the tetraquark search, which would be observed in the $K^+K^+\pi^-$ decay channel.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.

Ion dynamics and acceleration in relativistic shocks

Ab-initio numerical study of collisionless shocks in electron-ion unmagnetized plasmas is performed with fully relativistic particle in cell simulations. The main properties of the shock are shown, focusing on the implications for particle acceleration. Results from previous works with a distinct numerical framework are recovered, including the shock structure and the overall acceleration features. Particle tracking is then used to analyze in detail the particle dynamics and the acceleration process. We observe an energy growth in time that can be reproduced by a Fermi-like mechanism with a reduced number of scatterings, in which the time between collisions increases as the particle gains energy, and the average acceleration efficiency is not ideal. The in depth analysis of the underlying physics is relevant to understand the generation of high energy cosmic rays, the impact on the astrophysical shock dynamics, and the consequent emission of radiation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Spin, charge, and orbital correlations in the one-dimensional t2g-orbital Hubbard model

We present the zero-temperature phase diagram of the one-dimensional t2g-orbital Hubbard model, obtained using the density-matrix renormalization group and Lanczos techniques. Emphasis is given to the case for the electron density n=5 corresponding to five electrons per site, of relevance for some Co-based compounds. However, several other cases for electron densities between n=3 and 6 are also studied. At n=5, our results indicate a first-order transition between a paramagnetic (PM) insulator phase and a fully-polarized ferromagnetic (FM) state by tuning the Hund's coupling. The results also suggest a transition from the n=5 PM insulator phase to a metallic regime by changing the electron density, either via hole or electron doping. The behavior of the spin, charge, and orbital correlation functions in the FM and PM states are also described in the text and discussed. The robustness of these two states varying parameters suggests that they may be of relevance in more realistic higher dimensional systems as well.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Effect of Obstructive Jaundice and Nitric Oxide on the Profiles of Intestinal Bacterial Flora in Wild and iNOS−/− Mice

We previously reported that the plasma level of endotoxin and colonic expression of IgA in the mouse increased with obstructive jaundice induced by bile duct ligation (BDL). To elucidate the mechanism of the BDL-induced increase, we analyzed the effect of BDL on intestinal flora in wild type and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-deficient mice (iNOS−/−) using the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (T-RFLP) and 16S rDNA clone libraries. The amounts of bacterial DNA detected in fecal samples from both animal groups pretreated with antibiotics were extremely low as compared with untreated groups. We found that the profiles of enteric bacteria changed markedly after BDL. The bacterial composition is significantly different between not only wild type and iNOS−/− mice but also those before and after BDL, respectively. Among enteric bacteria examined, Lactobacillus murinus was found to increase markedly after BDL in rectum of both animal groups. However, Escherichia coli markedly increased after BDL in the iNOS−/− mice. These findings suggest that profiles of enteric flora change markedly in animals during obstructive jaundice by some mechanism that is affected by bile constituents and iNOS-derived NO