311 research outputs found
A Comparative Study of the Properties of Polar and Nonpolar Solvent/Solute/Polystyrene Solutions in Microwave Fields Via Molecular Dynamics
The influence of an applied microwave field on the dynamics of methylamine-dichloromethane (DCM) mixtures bound within atactic polystyrene (a-PS) over a range of polymer densities from 30 to 94 wt % polymer was examined using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. This study is an extension of previous studies on methylamine transport in relatively polar polystyrene solutions of methanol and dimethylformamide [M. J. Purdue et al., J. Chem. Phys. 124, 204904 (2006)]. A direct comparison is made across the three types of polystyrene solutions. Consideration is given to both solvent and reagent transport within the polymer solutions under zero-field conditions and in an external electromagnetic field in the canonical ensemble (NVT) at 298.0 K. Various frequencies up to 104 GHz and a rms electric field intensity of 0.1 V/Å were applied. The simulation studies were validated by comparison of the simulated zero-field self-diffusion coefficients of DCM in a-PS with those obtained using pulsed-gradient spin-echo NMR spectrometry. Athermal effects of microwave fields on solute transport behavior within polymer solutions are discussed
Molecular Dynamics of Polystyrene Solutions in Microwave Fields
Equilibrium and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation techniques were used to assess the influence of an applied microwave field on the dynamics of methylamine-methanol and methylamine-dimethylformamide (DMF) solutions bound within atactic polystyrene over a range of polymer densities from 35 to 96 wt % polymer. Atomistically detailed systems were studied, ranging from 3000 to 10 644 particles, using previously established potential models. Structural and dynamical properties were determined in the canonical (NVT) ensemble at 298 K. The simulated DMF self-diffusion coefficients in polystyrene solutions were compared with the zero-field experimental results established with pulsed-gradient spin-echo NMR spectrometry. A simulated external microwave field, with a rms electric field intensity of 0.1 V/Å, was applied to these systems and the simulated dynamical results over field frequencies up to 104 GHz were compared with the zero-field values. Simulated evidence of athermal effects on the diffusive characteristics of these mixtures is reported
The noise in gravitational-wave detectors and other classical-force measurements is not influenced by test-mass quantization
It is shown that photon shot noise and radiation-pressure back-action noise
are the sole forms of quantum noise in interferometric gravitational wave
detectors that operate near or below the standard quantum limit, if one filters
the interferometer output appropriately. No additional noise arises from the
test masses' initial quantum state or from reduction of the test-mass state due
to measurement of the interferometer output or from the uncertainty principle
associated with the test-mass state. Two features of interferometers are
central to these conclusions: (i) The interferometer output (the photon number
flux N(t) entering the final photodetector) commutes with itself at different
times in the Heisenberg Picture, [N(t), N(t')] = 0, and thus can be regarded as
classical. (ii) This number flux is linear in the test-mass initial position
and momentum operators x_o and p_o, and those operators influence the measured
photon flux N(t) in manners that can easily be removed by filtering -- e.g., in
most interferometers, by discarding data near the test masses' 1 Hz swinging
freqency. The test-mass operators x_o and p_o contained in the unfiltered
output N(t) make a nonzero contribution to the commutator [N(t), N(t')]. That
contribution is cancelled by a nonzero commutation of the photon shot noise and
radiation-pressure noise, which also are contained in N(t). This cancellation
of commutators is responsible for the fact that it is possible to derive an
interferometer's standard quantum limit from test-mass considerations, and
independently from photon-noise considerations. These conclusions are true for
a far wider class of measurements than just gravitational-wave interferometers.
To elucidate them, this paper presents a series of idealized thought
experiments that are free from the complexities of real measuring systems.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review D; Revtex, no figures, prints to 14
pages. Second Revision 1 December 2002: minor rewording for clarity,
especially in Sec. II.B.3; new footnote 3 and passages before Eq. (2.35) and
at end of Sec. III.B.
QND measurements for future gravitational-wave detectors
Second-generation interferometric gravitational-wave detectors will be
operating at the Standard Quantum Limit, a sensitivity limitation set by the
trade off between measurement accuracy and quantum back action, which is
governed by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. We review several schemes
that allows the quantum noise of interferometers to surpass the Standard
Quantum Limit significantly over a broad frequency band. Such schemes may be an
important component of the design of third-generation detectors.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; In version 2, more tutorial information
on quantum noise in GW interferometer and several new items into Reference
list were adde
Creating Cultural Space: African American Undergraduates’ Appreciation of Historically Black Greek-Lettered Organizations
Unaffiliated (nonmembers) and affiliated (members) African American undergraduates describe their shared and divergent views about historically Black Greek-lettered organizations’ (BGLO) role in creating cultural space at a public flagship university in this mixed-method exploratory study. It was found that unaffiliated and affiliated students view BGLOs’ social programming as a means of creating cultural space that meets the needs of students who seek to connect to Black culture and traditions. This exploratory study has implications for future research and practice on the intersection and interaction of African American undergraduate subcommunities with regards to impacting student success at public flagship institutions
3-D Ultrastructure of O. tauri: Electron Cryotomography of an Entire Eukaryotic Cell
The hallmark of eukaryotic cells is their segregation of key biological functions into discrete, membrane-bound organelles. Creating accurate models of their ultrastructural complexity has been difficult in part because of the limited resolution of light microscopy and the artifact-prone nature of conventional electron microscopy. Here we explored the potential of the emerging technology electron cryotomography to produce three-dimensional images of an entire eukaryotic cell in a near-native state. Ostreococcus tauri was chosen as the specimen because as a unicellular picoplankton with just one copy of each organelle, it is the smallest known eukaryote and was therefore likely to yield the highest resolution images. Whole cells were imaged at various stages of the cell cycle, yielding 3-D reconstructions of complete chloroplasts, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticula, Golgi bodies, peroxisomes, microtubules, and putative ribosome distributions in-situ. Surprisingly, the nucleus was seen to open long before mitosis, and while one microtubule (or two in some predivisional cells) was consistently present, no mitotic spindle was ever observed, prompting speculation that a single microtubule might be sufficient to segregate multiple chromosomes
Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors
The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave (GW)
detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the
scientific community to the point, when quantum behaviour of such immense
measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The
time, when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of
light is round the corner, and finding the ways to reduce it will become a
necessity. Therefore, the primary goal we pursued in this review was to
familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements
in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave
detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational-wave
interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity.
We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general
linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of
quantum noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of
gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention
is paid to the concept of Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its
surmounting.Comment: 147 pages, 46 figures, 1 table. Published in Living Reviews in
Relativit
Observational and genetic associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and cancer:A UK Biobank and international consortia study
Background: The association of fitness with cancer risk is not clear. Methods: We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for risk of lung, colorectal, endometrial, breast, and prostate cancer in a subset of UK Biobank participants who completed a submaximal fitness test in 2009-12 (N = 72,572). We also investigated relationships using two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR), odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using the inverse-variance weighted method. Results: After a median of 11 years of follow-up, 4290 cancers of interest were diagnosed. A 3.5 ml O 2⋅min −1⋅kg −1 total-body mass increase in fitness (equivalent to 1 metabolic equivalent of task (MET), approximately 0.5 standard deviation (SD)) was associated with lower risks of endometrial (HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.73–0.89), colorectal (0.94, 0.90–0.99), and breast cancer (0.96, 0.92–0.99). In MR analyses, a 0.5 SD increase in genetically predicted O 2⋅min −1⋅kg −1 fat-free mass was associated with a lower risk of breast cancer (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86–0.98). After adjusting for adiposity, both the observational and genetic associations were attenuated. Discussion: Higher fitness levels may reduce risks of endometrial, colorectal, and breast cancer, though relationships with adiposity are complex and may mediate these relationships. Increasing fitness, including via changes in body composition, may be an effective strategy for cancer prevention.</p
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