655 research outputs found
Numerical treatment of cardiac diseases using optimal control theory
AbstractWe propose a mathematical modelization and optimization of the action of some drugs such as β-blockers—a particular drug (tertatolol) studied in Servier laboratories is specially examined. Linear compartmental models are first tried but they are not convenient for explaining the experimental data. Then a dose effect relation is directly seeked. One obtains a nonlinear relationship between the dose, the plasmatic concentration and the drug's effect. Using some optimal control methods allows one to define an optimal therapeutic giving the optimal doses and possibly the optimal times optimizing some given criteria
Nonequilibrium Fluctuations, Travelling Waves, and Instabilities in Active Membranes
The stability of a flexible fluid membrane containing a distribution of
mobile, active proteins (e.g. proton pumps) is shown to depend on the structure
and functional asymmetry of the proteins. A stable active membrane is in a
nonequilibrium steady state with height fluctuations whose statistical
properties are governed by the protein activity. Disturbances are predicted to
travel as waves at sufficiently long wavelength, with speed set by the normal
velocity of the pumps. The unstable case involves a spontaneous, pump-driven
undulation of the membrane, with clumping of the proteins in regions of high
activity.Comment: 4 two-column pages, two .eps figures included, revtex, uses eps
Factors Responsible for the Stability and the Existence of a Clean Energy Gap of a Silicon Nanocluster
We present a critical theoretical study of electronic properties of silicon
nanoclusters, in particular the roles played by symmetry, relaxation, and
hydrogen passivation on the the stability, the gap states and the energy gap of
the system using the order-N [O(N)] non-orthogonal tight-binding molecular
dynamics and the local analysis of electronic structure.Comment: 26 pages including figure
Generic phase diagram of active polar films
We study theoretically the phase diagram of compressible active polar gels
such as the actin network of eukaryotic cells. Using generalized hydrodynamics
equations, we perform a linear stability analysis of the uniform states in the
case of an infinite bidimensional active gel to obtain the dynamic phase
diagram of active polar films. We predict in particular modulated flowing
phases, and a macroscopic phase separation at high activity. This qualitatively
accounts for experimental observations of various active systems, such as
acto-myosin gels, microtubules and kinesins in vitro solutions, or swimming
bacterial colonies.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Undulation Instability of Epithelial Tissues
Treating the epithelium as an incompressible fluid adjacent to a viscoelastic
stroma, we find a novel hydrodynamic instability that leads to the formation of
protrusions of the epithelium into the stroma. This instability is a candidate
for epithelial fingering observed in vivo. It occurs for sufficiently large
viscosity, cell-division rate and thickness of the dividing region in the
epithelium. Our work provides physical insight into a potential mechanism by
which interfaces between epithelia and stromas undulate, and potentially by
which tissue dysplasia leads to cancerous invasion.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Characterization of soil erosion and water streaming in the downstream territories of the Chalaronne River
Active Membrane Fluctuations Studied by Micropipet Aspiration
We present a detailed analysis of the micropipet experiments recently
reported in J-B. Manneville et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4356--4359 (1999),
including a derivation of the expected behaviour of the membrane tension as a
function of the areal strain in the case of an active membrane, i.e.,
containing a nonequilibrium noise source. We give a general expression, which
takes into account the effect of active centers both directly on the membrane,
and on the embedding fluid dynamics, keeping track of the coupling between the
density of active centers and the membrane curvature. The data of the
micropipet experiments are well reproduced by the new expressions. In
particular, we show that a natural choice of the parameters quantifying the
strength of the active noise explains both the large amplitude of the observed
effects and its remarkable insensitivity to the active-center density in the
investigated range. [Submitted to Phys Rev E, 22 March 2001]Comment: 14 pages, 5 encapsulated Postscript figure
Energy Transduction of Isothermal Ratchets: Generic Aspects and Specific Examples Close to and Far from Equilibrium
We study the energetics of isothermal ratchets which are driven by a chemical
reaction between two states and operate in contact with a single heat bath of
constant temperature. We discuss generic aspects of energy transduction such as
Onsager relations in the linear response regime as well as the efficiency and
dissipation close to and far from equilibrium. In the linear response regime
where the system operates reversibly the efficiency is in general nonzero.
Studying the properties for specific examples of energy landscapes and
transitions, we observe in the linear response regime that the efficiency can
have a maximum as a function of temperature. Far from equilibrium in the fully
irreversible regime, we find a maximum of the efficiency with values larger
than in the linear regime for an optimal choice of the chemical driving force.
We show that corresponding efficiencies can be of the order of 50%. A simple
analytic argument allows us to estimate the efficiency in this irreversible
regime for small external forces.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
Observation of the Smectic C -- Smectic I Critical Point
We report the first observation of the smectic C--smectic I (C--I) critical
point by Xray diffraction studies on a binary system. This is in confirmity
with the theoretical idea of Nelson and Halperin that coupling to the molecular
tilt should induce hexatic order even in the C phase and as such both C and I
(a tilted hexatic phase) should have the same symmetry. The results provide
evidence in support of the recent theory of Defontaines and Prost proposing a
new universality class for critical points in layered systems.Comment: 9 pages Latex and 5 postscript figures available from
[email protected] on request, Phys.Rev.Lett. (in press
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