5,804 research outputs found
Sliding friction between an elastomer network and a grafted polymer layer: the role of cooperative effects
We study the friction between a flat solid surface where polymer chains have
been end-grafted and a cross-linked elastomer at low sliding velocity. The
contribution of isolated grafted chains' penetration in the sliding elastomer
has been early identified as a weakly velocity dependent pull-out force. Recent
experiments have shown that the interactions between the grafted chains at high
grafting density modify the friction force by grafted chain. We develop here a
simple model that takes into account those interactions and gives a limit
grafting density beyond which the friction no longer increases with the
grafting density, in good agreement with the experimental dataComment: Submitted to Europhys. Letter
The Holographic Principle for General Backgrounds
We aim to establish the holographic principle as a universal law, rather than
a property only of static systems and special space-times. Our covariant
formalism yields an upper bound on entropy which applies to both open and
closed surfaces, independently of shape or location. It reduces to the
Bekenstein bound whenever the latter is expected to hold, but complements it
with novel bounds when gravity dominates. In particular, it remains valid in
closed FRW cosmologies and in the interior of black holes. We give an explicit
construction for obtaining holographic screens in arbitrary space-times (which
need not have a boundary). This may aid the search for non-perturbative
definitions of quantum gravity in space-times other than AdS.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Based on a talk given at Strings '99. Includes a
reply to recent criticism. For more details, examples, and references, see
hep-th/9905177 and hep-th/990602
On the Lagrangian structure of 3D consistent systems of asymmetric quad-equations
Recently, the first-named author gave a classification of 3D consistent
6-tuples of quad-equations with the tetrahedron property; several novel
asymmetric 6-tuples have been found. Due to 3D consistency, these 6-tuples can
be extended to discrete integrable systems on Z^m. We establish Lagrangian
structures and flip-invariance of the action functional for the class of
discrete integrable systems involving equations for which some of the
biquadratics are non-degenerate and some are degenerate. This class covers,
among others, some of the above mentioned novel systems.Comment: 21 pp, pdfLaTe
STING-dependent recognition of cyclic di-AMP mediates type I interferon responses during Chlamydia trachomatis infection.
UnlabelledSTING (stimulator of interferon [IFN] genes) initiates type I IFN responses in mammalian cells through the detection of microbial nucleic acids. The membrane-bound obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis induces a STING-dependent type I IFN response in infected cells, yet the IFN-inducing ligand remains unknown. In this report, we provide evidence that Chlamydia synthesizes cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), a nucleic acid metabolite not previously identified in Gram-negative bacteria, and that this metabolite is a prominent ligand for STING-mediated activation of IFN responses during infection. We used primary mouse lung fibroblasts and HEK293T cells to compare IFN-β responses to Chlamydia infection, c-di-AMP, and other type I IFN-inducing stimuli. Chlamydia infection and c-di-AMP treatment induced type I IFN responses in cells expressing STING but not in cells expressing STING variants that cannot sense cyclic dinucleotides but still respond to cytoplasmic DNA. The failure to induce a type I IFN response to Chlamydia and c-di-AMP correlated with the inability of STING to relocalize from the endoplasmic reticulum to cytoplasmic punctate signaling complexes required for IFN activation. We conclude that Chlamydia induces STING-mediated IFN responses through the detection of c-di-AMP in the host cell cytosol and propose that c-di-AMP is the ligand predominantly responsible for inducing such a response in Chlamydia-infected cells.ImportanceThis study shows that the Gram-negative obligate pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, synthesizes cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), a nucleic acid metabolite that thus far has been described only in Gram-positive bacteria. We further provide evidence that the host cell employs an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized cytoplasmic sensor, STING (stimulator of interferon [IFN] genes), to detect c-di-AMP synthesized by Chlamydia and induce a protective IFN response. This detection occurs even though Chlamydia is confined to a membrane-bound vacuole. This raises the possibility that the ER, an organelle that innervates the entire cytoplasm, is equipped with pattern recognition receptors that can directly survey membrane-bound pathogen-containing vacuoles for leaking microbe-specific metabolites to mount type I IFN responses required to control microbial infections
The Influence of Perceived Risk on the uptake of Mobile Money Services by SMEs Operations in Karagwe District, Tanzania
Mobile money services (MMS) USAge through mobile phones and other ICT tools has increased with time and dramatically pave the way in business communication among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania. Some of SME operators in Karagwe District are escaping from MMS USAge due to perceived risk associated with financial communication and hence pulls down its USAge. The growth of MMS and perceived risk embodied in it is taking a crucial part in business communication. A study sought to analyse the influences of perceived risk on MMS USAge to support SME business undertaking. Perceived risk theory was reviewed and become a corners stone for this study. It can be recalled that, risk is the stake in use and individual feeling which is subjected in certainty. Variables in mobile MMS USAge including financial risk, performance risk and SME business operation were identified and measured using quantitative techniques. Questionnaires were designed to collect data from all respondent. Data were collected from 154 runners of micro, small and medium enterprises using simple random sampling method. Data were analysed by sing SPSS version 22 in which descriptive analysis were used to analyses demographic data while factor analysis were used to test the study hypothesis. The study found that financial and operational risks are negatively and significantly influences MMS USAge in business operation. This study highlights remedial action for players of MMS in business operation which will facilitate to mitigate perceived risk and enhance smooth running SME business orientation. Furthermore, the study recommends that the Government should institute the developed ICT policies and other legislation to enforce MMS USAge security and regulate its uptakes
Interdigitation between surface-anchored polymer chains and an elastomer : consequences for adhesion promotion
We study the adhesion between a cross-linked elastomer and a flat solid
surface where polymer chains have been end-grafted. To understand the adhesive
feature of such a system, one has to study both the origin of the grafted layer
interdigitation with the network, and the end-grafted chains extraction out of
the elastomer when it comes unstuck from the solid surface. We shall tackle
here the first aspect for which we develop a partial interdigitation model that
lets us analytically predict a critical surface grafting density beyond which the layer no longer interdigitates
with the elastomer. We then relate this result with recent adhesion
measurements
Generalized model for dynamic percolation
We study the dynamics of a carrier, which performs a biased motion under the
influence of an external field E, in an environment which is modeled by dynamic
percolation and created by hard-core particles. The particles move randomly on
a simple cubic lattice, constrained by hard-core exclusion, and they
spontaneously annihilate and re-appear at some prescribed rates. Using
decoupling of the third-order correlation functions into the product of the
pairwise carrier-particle correlations we determine the density profiles of the
"environment" particles, as seen from the stationary moving carrier, and
calculate its terminal velocity, V_c, as the function of the applied field and
other system parameters. We find that for sufficiently small driving forces the
force exerted on the carrier by the "environment" particles shows a
viscous-like behavior. An analog Stokes formula for such dynamic percolative
environments and the corresponding friction coefficient are derived. We show
that the density profile of the environment particles is strongly
inhomogeneous: In front of the stationary moving carrier the density is higher
than the average density, , and approaches the average value as an
exponential function of the distance from the carrier. Past the carrier the
local density is lower than and the relaxation towards may
proceed differently depending on whether the particles number is or is not
explicitly conserved.Comment: Latex, 32 pages, 4 ps-figures, submitted to PR
Relativistic Turbulence: A Long Way from Preheating to Equilibrium
We study, both numerically and analytically, the development of equilibrium
after preheating. We show that the process is characterised by the appearance
of Kolmogorov spectra and the evolution towards thermal equilibrium follows
self-similar dynamics. Simplified kinetic theory gives values for all
characteristic exponents which are close to what is observed in lattice
simulations. The resulting time for thermalization is long, and temperature at
thermalization is low, eV in the simple
inflationary model. Our results allow a straightforward generalization to
realistic models.Comment: 4 pages, 3figures, LaTe
The nonlinear evolution of de Sitter space instabilities
We investigate the quantum evolution of large black holes that nucleate
spontaneously in de Sitter space. By numerical computation in the s-wave and
one-loop approximations, we verify claims that such black holes can initially
"anti-evaporate" instead of shrink. We show, however, that this is a transitory
effect. It is followed by an evaporating phase, which we are able to trace
until the black holes are small enough to be treated as Schwarzschild. Under
generic perturbations, the nucleated geometry is shown to decay into a ring of
de Sitter regions connected by evaporating black holes. This confirms that de
Sitter space is globally unstable and fragments into disconnected daughter
universes.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, to appear in PR
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