2,785 research outputs found
Einstein-Cartan theory as a theory of defects in space-time
The Einstein-Cartan theory of gravitation and the classical theory of defects
in an elastic medium are presented and compared. The former is an extension of
general relativity and refers to four-dimensional space-time, while we
introduce the latter as a description of the equilibrium state of a
three-dimensional continuum. Despite these important differences, an analogy is
built on their common geometrical foundations, and it is shown that a
space-time with curvature and torsion can be considered as a state of a
four-dimensional continuum containing defects. This formal analogy is useful
for illustrating the geometrical concept of torsion by applying it to concrete
physical problems. Moreover, the presentation of these theories using a common
geometrical basis allows a deeper understanding of their foundations.Comment: 18 pages, 7 EPS figures, RevTeX4, to appear in the American Journal
of Physics, revised version with typos correcte
Energy Localization in the Peyrard-Bishop DNA model
We study energy localization on the oscillator-chain proposed by Peyrard and
Bishop to model the DNA. We search numerically for conditions with initial
energy in a small subgroup of consecutive oscillators of a finite chain and
such that the oscillation amplitude is small outside this subgroup for a long
timescale. We use a localization criterion based on the information entropy and
we verify numerically that such localized excitations exist when the nonlinear
dynamics of the subgroup oscillates with a frequency inside the reactive band
of the linear chain. We predict a mimium value for the Morse parameter (the only parameter of our normalized model), in agreement with the
numerical calculations (an estimate for the biological value is ).
For supercritical masses, we use canonical perturbation theory to expand the
frequencies of the subgroup and we calculate an energy threshold in agreement
with the numerical calculations
Light storage protocols in Tm:YAG
We present two quantum memory protocols for solids: A stopped light approach
based on spectral hole burning and the storage in an atomic frequency comb.
These procedures are well adapted to the rare-earth ion doped crystals. We
carefully clarify the critical steps of both. On one side, we show that the
slowing-down due to hole-burning is sufficient to produce a complete mapping of
field into the atomic system. On the other side, we explain the storage and
retrieval mechanism of the Atomic Frequency Comb protocol. This two important
stages are implemented experimentally in Tm- doped
yttrium-aluminum-garnet crystal
Use of sodium hyaluronate and synthetic amino acid precursors of collagen for the symptomatic treatment of mucositis in patients undergoing haematopoietic stem cell transplants
Modelling and control of a variable-length flexible beam on inspection ground robot
Stabilising an inverted pendulum on a cart is a well-known control problem. This paper proposes the mechanical and control design for solving the oscillation problem of a variable-length flexible beam mounted on a mobile robot. The system under consideration is the robot PovRob, used at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) for visual and remote inspection tasks of particle accelerators. The flexible beam mounted on the robot houses cameras and sensors. The innovative aspect of the approach concerns the use of actuated masses mounted at the end of the rod, which induces an impulsive moment due to their inertia and angular acceleration. The modelling of the flexible rod has been suitably simplified in a lumped-parameter system, with dynamic parameters related to the rod’s flexibility. A linearisation of the dynamic model allows a linear-quadratic control to stabilise the system. Experimental results support the identification and the validation of the dynamic model, while simulation results evaluate the performances of the designed control law
Topology-Induced Critical Current Enhancement in Josephson Networks
We investigate the properties of Josephson junction networks with
inhomogeneous architecture. The networks are shaped as "quare comb" planar
lattices on which Josephson junctions link superconducting islands arranged in
the plane to generate the pertinent topology. Compared to the behavior of
reference linear arrays, the temperature dependencies of the Josephson currents
of the branches of the network exhibit relevant differences. The observed
phenomena evidence new and surprising behavior of superconducting Josephson
arrays as well as remarkable similarities with bosonic junction arrays.Comment: improved figures (added magnetic pattern and single junction
switching) some changes in the text and in the titl
Inhomogeneous Superconductivity in Comb-Shaped Josephson Junction Networks
We show that some of the Josephson couplings of junctions arranged to form an
inhomogeneous network undergo a non-perturbative renormalization provided that
the network's connectivity is pertinently chosen. As a result, the zero-voltage
Josephson critical currents turn out to be enhanced along directions
selected by the network's topology. This renormalization effect is possible
only on graphs whose adjacency matrix admits an hidden spectrum (i.e. a set of
localized states disappearing in the thermodynamic limit). We provide a
theoretical and experimental study of this effect by comparing the
superconducting behavior of a comb-shaped Josephson junction network and a
linear chain made with the same junctions: we show that the Josephson critical
currents of the junctions located on the comb's backbone are bigger than the
ones of the junctions located on the chain. Our theoretical analysis, based on
a discrete version of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, leads to results which
are in good quantitative agreement with experimental results.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, revte
The promise of liquid biopsy to predict response to immunotherapy in metastatic melanoma
Metastatic melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer whose incidence has been rising dramatically over the last few decades. Nowadays, the most successful approach in treating advanced melanoma is immunotherapy which encompasses the use of immune checkpoint blockers able to unleash the immune system’s activity against tumor cells. Immunotherapy has dramatically changed clinical practice by contributing to increasing long term overall survival. Despite these striking therapeutic effects, the clinical benefits are strongly mitigated by innate or acquired resistance. In this context, it is of utmost importance to develop methods capable of predicting patient response to immunotherapy. To this purpose, one major step forward may be provided by measuring non-invasive biomarkers in human fluids, namely Liquid Biopsies (LBs). Several LB approaches have been developed over the last few years thanks to technological breakthroughs that have allowed to evaluate circulating components also when they are present in low abundance. The elements of this so-called “circulome” mostly encompass: tumor DNA, tumor and immune cells, soluble factors and non-coding RNAs. Here, we review the current knowledge of these molecules as predictors of response to immunotherapy in metastatic melanoma and predict that LB will soon enter into routine practice in order to guide clinical decisions for cancer immunotherapy
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