27,540 research outputs found
Noise from spatial heterogeneity changes signal amplification magnitude and increases the variability in dose responses
In most molecular level simulations, spatial heterogeneity is neglected by the well-mixed condition assumption. However, the signals of biomolecular
networks are affected from both time and space, which are responsible for diverse physiological responses. To account the spatial heterogeneity in the
kinetic model, we consider multiple subvolumes of a reaction, introduce parameters representing transfer of ligands between the volumes, and reduce
this to an error-term representing the difference between the well-mixed condition and the actual spatial factors. The error-term approach allows
modelling of varying spatial heterogeneity without increasing computational burden exponentially.
The effect of varying this term, d, between 0 (well-mixed) and 1 (no mixing) and of adding noise to the kinetic constants was then investigated and
correlated with knowledge of the behaviour of real systems and situations where network models are inadequate. The spatial distribution effects on the
epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in human mammary epithelial tissue, which is involved in proliferation and tumorigenesis, are studied by
introducing noisy kinetic constants.
The steady-state of the dose response in the
EGFR is strongly affected by spatial
fluctuations. The ligand-bound receptor is
reduced up to 50% from the response
without spatial fluctuations and the variance
of the steady-state is increased at least 2-fold
from the one for no spatial fluctuations. On
the other hand, dynamic properties such as
the rising time and overshoot are less
sensitive to spatial noise
Magnetization-controlled spin transport in DyAs/GaAs layers
Electrical transport properties of DyAs epitaxial layers grown on GaAs have
been investigated at various temperatures and magnetic fields up to 12T. The
measured longitudinal resistances show two distinct peaks at fields around 0.2
and 2.5T which are believed to be related to the strong spin-disorder
scattering occurring at the phase transition boundaries induced by external
magnetic field. An empirical magnetic phase diagram is deduced from the
temperature dependent experiment, and the anisotropic transport properties are
also presented for various magnetic field directions with respect to the
current flow.Comment: 3 pages with 3 figure
Imprinted Networks as Chiral Pumps
We investigate the interaction between a chirally imprinted network and a
solvent of chiral molecules. We find, a liquid crystalline polymer network is
preferentially swollen by one component of a racemic solvent. This ability to
separate is linked to the chiral order parameter of the network, and can be
reversibly controlled via temperature or a mechanical deformation. It is
maximal near the point at which the network loses its imprinted structure. One
possible practical application of this effect would be a mechanical device for
sorting mixed chiral molecules.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Quantum Reciprocity Conjecture for the Non-Equilibrium Steady State
By considering the lack of history dependence in the non-equilibrium steady
state of a quantum system we are led to conjecture that in such a system, there
is a set of quantum mechanical observables whose retarded response functions
are insensitive to the arrow of time, and which consequently satisfy a quantum
analog of the Onsager reciprocity relations. Systems which satisfy this
conjecture can be described by an effective Free energy functional. We
demonstrate that the conjecture holds in a resonant level model of a multi-lead
quantum dot.Comment: References revised to take account of related work on Onsager
reciprocity in mesoscopics by Christen, and in hydrodynamics by Mclennan,
Dufty and Rub
Deriving global structure of the Galactic Magnetic Field from Faraday Rotation Measures of extragalactic sources
We made use of the two latest sets of Rotational Measures (RMs) of
extra-galactic radio sources, namely the NRAO VLA Sky Survey otation Measures
Catalogue, and a compilation by Kronberg&Newton-McGee(2011), to infer the
global structure of the Galactic Magnetic Field (GMF). We have checked that
these two data sets are consistent with each other. Motivated by clear patterns
in the observed distribution of RMs over the sky, we considered GMF models
consisting of the two components: disk (spiral or ring) and halo. The
parameters of these components were determined by fitting different model field
geometries to the observed RMs. We found that the model consisting of a
symmetric (with respect to the Galactic plane) spiral disk and anti-symmetric
halo fits the data best, and reproduces the observed distribution of RMs over
the sky very well. We confirm that ring disk models are disfavored. Our results
favor small pitch angles around -5 degrees and an increased vertical scale of
electron distribution, in agreement with some previous studies. Based on our
fits, we identify two benchmark models suitable for studies of cosmic ray
propagation, including the ultra-high energies.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables misprints corrected, presentation
improved generally matches the published versio
The Luminosity Function of high-redshift QSOs - A combined analysis of GOODS and SDSS
Aims: In this work the luminosity function of QSOs is measured in the
redshift range 3.5<z<5.2 for the absolute magnitude interval -21<M_{145}<-28.
The determination of the faint end of the luminosity function at these
redshifts provides important constraints on models of joint evolution of
galaxies and AGNs. Methods: We have defined suitable criteria to select faint
QSOs in the GOODS fields, checking in detail their effectiveness and
completeness. Spectroscopic follow-up of the resulting QSO candidates has been
carried out. The confirmed sample of faint QSOs is compared with a brighter one
derived from the SDSS. We have used a Monte-Carlo technique to estimate the
properties of the luminosity function, checking various parameterizations for
its shape and evolution. Results: Models based on Pure Density Evolution show
better agreement with observation than models based on Pure Luminosity
Evolution. However a different break magnitude with respect to z~2.1 is
required at 3.5<z<5.2. Models with a steeper faint end score a higher
probability. We do not find any evidence for a flattening of the bright end at
redshift z>3.5. Conclusions: The estimated space density evolution of QSOs
indicates a suppression of the formation and/or feeding of Supermassive Black
Holes at these redshifts. The QSO contribution to the UV background is
insufficient to ionize the IGM at 3.5<z<5.2.Comment: 17 pages, 13 ps figures, A&A accepted. Updated to journal versio
The influence of baryons on the mass distribution of dark matter halos
Using a set of high-resolution N-body/SPH cosmological simulations with
identical initial conditions but run with different numerical setups, we
investigate the influence of baryonic matter on the mass distribution of dark
halos when radiative cooling is NOT included. We compare the concentration
parameters of about 400 massive halos with virial mass from \Msun to
\Msun. We find that the concentration parameters for the
total mass and dark matter distributions in non radiative simulations are on
average larger by ~3% and 10% than those in a pure dark matter simulation. Our
results indicate that the total mass density profile is little affected by a
hot gas component in the simulations. After carefully excluding the effects of
resolutions and spurious two-body heating between dark matter and gas
particles, we conclude that the increase of the dark matter concentration
parameters is due to interactions between baryons and dark matter. We
demonstrate this with the aid of idealized simulations of two-body mergers. The
results of individual halos simulated with different mass resolutions show that
the gas profiles of densities, temperature and entropy are subjects of mass
resolution of SPH particles. In particular, we find that in the inner parts of
halos, as the SPH resolution increases the gas density becomes higher but both
the entropy and temperature decrease.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, ApJ in press (v652n1); updated to match
with the being published versio
Origin of central abundances in the hot intra-cluster medium - I. Individual and average abundance ratios from XMM-Newton EPIC
The hot intra-cluster medium (ICM) is rich in metals, which are synthesized
by supernovae (SNe) explosions and accumulate over time into the deep
gravitational potential well of clusters of galaxies. Since most of the
elements visible in X-rays are formed by type Ia (SNIa) and/or core-collapse
(SNcc) supernovae, measuring their abundances gives us direct information on
the nucleosynthesis products of billions of SNe since the epoch of the star
formation peak (z ~ 2-3). In this study, we use the EPIC and RGS instruments
onboard XMM-Newton to measure the abundances of 9 elements (O, Ne, Mg, Si, S,
Ar, Ca, Fe and Ni) from a sample of 44 nearby cool-core galaxy clusters,
groups, and elliptical galaxies. We find that the Fe abundance shows a large
scatter (~20-40%) over the sample, within 0.2 and, especially,
0.05. Unlike the absolute Fe abundance, the abundance ratios (X/Fe)
are quite uniform over the considered temperature range (~0.6-8 keV), and with
a limited scatter. In addition to a unprecedented treatment of systematic
uncertainties, we provide the most accurate abundance ratios measured so far in
the ICM, including Cr/Fe and Mn/Fe that we firmly detect (>4{\sigma} with MOS
and pn independently). We find that Cr/Fe, Mn/Fe and Ni/Fe, differ
significantly from the proto-solar values. However, the large uncertainties in
the proto-solar abundances prevent us from making a robust comparison between
the local and the intra-cluster chemical enrichments. We also note that,
interestingly, and despite the large net exposure time (~4.5 Ms) of our
dataset, no line emission feature is seen around ~3.5 keV.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&
- …