224 research outputs found
Nature-Inspired Interconnects for Self-Assembled Large-Scale Network-on-Chip Designs
Future nano-scale electronics built up from an Avogadro number of components
needs efficient, highly scalable, and robust means of communication in order to
be competitive with traditional silicon approaches. In recent years, the
Networks-on-Chip (NoC) paradigm emerged as a promising solution to interconnect
challenges in silicon-based electronics. Current NoC architectures are either
highly regular or fully customized, both of which represent implausible
assumptions for emerging bottom-up self-assembled molecular electronics that
are generally assumed to have a high degree of irregularity and imperfection.
Here, we pragmatically and experimentally investigate important design
trade-offs and properties of an irregular, abstract, yet physically plausible
3D small-world interconnect fabric that is inspired by modern network-on-chip
paradigms. We vary the framework's key parameters, such as the connectivity,
the number of switch nodes, the distribution of long- versus short-range
connections, and measure the network's relevant communication characteristics.
We further explore the robustness against link failures and the ability and
efficiency to solve a simple toy problem, the synchronization task. The results
confirm that (1) computation in irregular assemblies is a promising and
disruptive computing paradigm for self-assembled nano-scale electronics and (2)
that 3D small-world interconnect fabrics with a power-law decaying distribution
of shortcut lengths are physically plausible and have major advantages over
local 2D and 3D regular topologies
Renormalized Equilibria of a Schloegl Model Lattice Gas
A lattice gas model for Schloegl's second chemical reaction is described and
analyzed. Because the lattice gas does not obey a semi-detailed-balance
condition, the equilibria are non-Gibbsian. In spite of this, a self-consistent
set of equations for the exact homogeneous equilibria are described, using a
generalized cluster-expansion scheme. These equations are solved in the
two-particle BBGKY approximation, and the results are compared to numerical
experiment. It is found that this approximation describes the equilibria far
more accurately than the Boltzmann approximation. It is also found, however,
that spurious solutions to the equilibrium equations appear which can only be
removed by including effects due to three-particle correlations.Comment: 21 pages, REVTe
Rapid evolution of female-biased genes among four species of Anopheles malaria mosquitoes.
Understanding how phenotypic differences between males and females arise from the sex-biased expression of nearly identical genomes can reveal important insights into the biology and evolution of a species. Among Anopheles mosquito species, these phenotypic differences include vectorial capacity, as it is only females that blood feed and thus transmit human malaria. Here, we use RNA-seq data from multiple tissues of four vector species spanning the Anopheles phylogeny to explore the genomic and evolutionary properties of sex-biased genes. We find that, in these mosquitoes, in contrast to what has been found in many other organisms, female-biased genes are more rapidly evolving in sequence, expression, and genic turnover than male-biased genes. Our results suggest that this atypical pattern may be due to the combination of sex-specific life history challenges encountered by females, such as blood feeding. Furthermore, female propensity to mate only once in nature in male swarms likely diminishes sexual selection of post-reproductive traits related to sperm competition among males. We also develop a comparative framework to systematically explore tissue- and sex-specific splicing to document its conservation throughout the genus and identify a set of candidate genes for future functional analyses of sex-specific isoform usage. Finally, our data reveal that the deficit of male-biased genes on the X Chromosomes in Anopheles is a conserved feature in this genus and can be directly attributed to chromosome-wide transcriptional regulation that de-masculinizes the X in male reproductive tissues
The Dynamics of Internet Traffic: Self-Similarity, Self-Organization, and Complex Phenomena
The Internet is the most complex system ever created in human history.
Therefore, its dynamics and traffic unsurprisingly take on a rich variety of
complex dynamics, self-organization, and other phenomena that have been
researched for years. This paper is a review of the complex dynamics of
Internet traffic. Departing from normal treatises, we will take a view from
both the network engineering and physics perspectives showing the strengths and
weaknesses as well as insights of both. In addition, many less covered
phenomena such as traffic oscillations, large-scale effects of worm traffic,
and comparisons of the Internet and biological models will be covered.Comment: 63 pages, 7 figures, 7 tables, submitted to Advances in Complex
System
Embedded Mean-Field Theory for Solution-Phase Transition-Metal Polyolefin Catalysis
Decreasing the wall-clock time of quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations without sacrificing accuracy is a crucial prerequisite for widespread simulation of solution-phase dynamical processes. In this work, we demonstrate the use of embedded mean-field theory (EMFT) as the QM engine in QM/MM molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to examine polyolefin catalysts in solution. We show that employing EMFT in this mode preserves the accuracy of hybrid-functional DFT in the QM region, while providing up to 20-fold reductions in the cost per SCF cycle, thereby increasing the accessible simulation time-scales. We find that EMFT reproduces DFT-computed binding energies and optimized bond lengths to within chemical accuracy, as well as consistently ranking conformer stability. Furthermore, solution-phase EMFT/MM simulations provide insight into the interaction strength of strongly coordinating and bulky counterions
Cross-Species Y Chromosome Function Between Malaria Vectors of the Anopheles gambiae Species Complex.
Y chromosome function, structure and evolution is poorly understood in many species, including the Anopheles genus of mosquitoes-an emerging model system for studying speciation that also represents the major vectors of malaria. While the Anopheline Y had previously been implicated in male mating behavior, recent data from the Anopheles gambiae complex suggests that, apart from the putative primary sex-determiner, no other genes are conserved on the Y. Studying the functional basis of the evolutionary divergence of the Y chromosome in the gambiae complex is complicated by complete F1 male hybrid sterility. Here, we used an F1 × F0 crossing scheme to overcome a severe bottleneck of male hybrid incompatibilities that enabled us to experimentally purify a genetically labeled A. gambiae Y chromosome in an A. arabiensis background. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) confirmed that the A. gambiae Y retained its original sequence content in the A. arabiensis genomic background. In contrast to comparable experiments in Drosophila, we find that the presence of a heterospecific Y chromosome has no significant effect on the expression of A. arabiensis genes, and transcriptional differences can be explained almost exclusively as a direct consequence of transcripts arising from sequence elements present on the A. gambiae Y chromosome itself. We find that Y hybrids show no obvious fertility defects, and no substantial reduction in male competitiveness. Our results demonstrate that, despite their radically different structure, Y chromosomes of these two species of the gambiae complex that diverged an estimated 1.85 MYA function interchangeably, thus indicating that the Y chromosome does not harbor loci contributing to hybrid incompatibility. Therefore, Y chromosome gene flow between members of the gambiae complex is possible even at their current level of divergence. Importantly, this also suggests that malaria control interventions based on sex-distorting Y drive would be transferable, whether intentionally or contingent, between the major malaria vector species
Correlations and Renormalization in Lattice Gases
A complete formulation is given of an exact kinetic theory for lattice gases.
This kinetic theory makes possible the calculation of corrections to the usual
Boltzmann / Chapman-Enskog analysis of lattice gases due to the buildup of
correlations. It is shown that renormalized transport coefficients can be
calculated perturbatively by summing terms in an infinite series. A
diagrammatic notation for the terms in this series is given, in analogy with
the diagrammatic expansions of continuum kinetic theory and quantum field
theory. A closed-form expression for the coefficients associated with the
vertices of these diagrams is given. This method is applied to several standard
lattice gases, and the results are shown to correctly predict experimentally
observed deviations from the Boltzmann analysis.Comment: 94 pages, pure LaTeX including all figure
X-ray absorption spectroscopy study of diluted magnetic semiconductors: Zn1-xMxSe (M = Mn, Fe, Co) and Zn1-xMnxY (Y = Se, Te)
We have investigated 3d electronic states of doped transition metals in II-VI
diluted magnetic semiconductors, Zn1-xMxSe (M = Mn, Fe, Co) and Zn1-xMnxY (Y =
Se, Te), using the transition-metal L2,3-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy
(XAS) measurements. In order to explain the XAS spectra, we employed a
tetragonal cluster model calculation, which includes not only the full ionic
multiplet structure but also configuration interaction (CI). The results show
that CI is essential to describe the experimental spectra adequately,
indicating the strong hybridization between the transition metal 3d and the
ligand p orbitals. In the study of Zn1-xMnxY (Y = Se, Te), we also found
considerable spectral change in the Mn L2,3-edge XAS spectra for different
ligands, confirming the importance of the hybridization effects in these
materials.Comment: This paper consists of 22 pages including 4 figures. This paper is
submitted to Physical Review
The reduction of chromate ions by Fe(II) layered hydroxides
International audienceThe reduction of chromate ions by Fe(OH)2 and the iron (II)-iron (III) hydroxysulphate green rust, GR(SO42-), was studied to evaluate whether such synthetic layered hydroxides and the corresponding natural green rust mineral could be involved in the natural attenuation of contaminated environments. The resulting Cr (III) bearing phases, which would govern the subsequent behaviour of chromium, were clearly characterised. Both compounds proved to be very reactive and oxidised instantaneously while chromate ions were reduced to Cr (III) as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Mass balance (ICP-AES) demonstrated that the Fe/Cr ratio inside the solid end product was equal to the initial Fe/Cr ratio. The solid phases, analysed by X-ray diffraction, Raman and Mossbauer spectroscopies were identified as Cr-substituted poorly crystallised iron (III) oxyhydroxides in both cases, more precisely d-FeOOH when starting with Fe(OH)2 and ferrihydrite when starting with GR(SO42-)
Response of emergent macrophytes to hydrological changes in a shallow lake, with special reference to nutrient cycling
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