6,944 research outputs found
Focussing quantum states
Does the size of atoms present a lower limit to the size of electronic
structures that can be fabricated in solids? This limit can be overcome by
using devices that exploit quantum mechanical scattering of electron waves at
atoms arranged in focussing geometries on selected surfaces. Calculations
reveal that features smaller than a hydrogen atom can be obtained. These
structures are potentially useful for device applications and offer a route to
the fabrication of ultrafine and well defined tips for scanning tunneling
microscopy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Following microscopic motion in a two dimensional glass-forming binary fluid
The dynamics of a binary mixture of large and small discs are studied at
temperatures approaching the glass transition using an analysis based on the
topology of the Voronoi polygon surrounding each atom. At higher temperatures
we find that dynamics is dominated by fluid-like motion that involves particles
entering and exiting the nearest-neighbour shells of nearby particles. As the
temperature is lowered, the rate of topological moves decreases and motion
becomes localised to regions of mixed pentagons and heptagons. In addition we
find that in the low temperature state particles may translate significant
distances without undergoing changes in their nearest neig hbour shell. These
results have implications for dynamical heterogeneities in glass forming
liquids.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Simultaneous Optical Flow and Intensity Estimation from an Event Camera
Event cameras are bio-inspired vision sensors which mimic retinas to measure per-pixel intensity change rather than outputting an actual intensity image. This proposed paradigm shift away from traditional frame cameras offers significant potential advantages: namely avoiding high data rates, dynamic range limitations and motion blur. Unfortunately, however, established computer vision algorithms may not at all be applied directly to event cameras. Methods proposed so far to reconstruct images, estimate optical flow, track a camera and reconstruct a scene come with severe restrictions on the environment or on the motion of the camera, e.g. allowing only rotation. Here, we propose, to the best of our knowledge, the first algorithm to simultaneously recover the motion field and brightness image, while the camera undergoes a generic motion through any scene. Our approach employs minimisation of a cost function that contains the asynchronous event data as well as spatial and temporal regularisation within a sliding window time interval. Our implementation relies on GPU optimisation and runs in near real-time. In a series of examples, we demonstrate the successful operation of our framework, including in situations where conventional cameras suffer from dynamic range limitations and motion blur
Measurement of teicoplanin by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry:development of a novel method
Teicoplanin is an antibiotic used for the treatment of endocarditis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Teicoplanin is emerging as a suitable alternative antibiotic to vancomycin, where their trough serum levels are monitored by immunoassay routinely. This is the first report detailing the development of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for measuring teicoplanin in patients' serum
Probability Models for Degree Distributions of Protein Interaction Networks
The degree distribution of many biological and technological networks has
been described as a power-law distribution. While the degree distribution does
not capture all aspects of a network, it has often been suggested that its
functional form contains important clues as to underlying evolutionary
processes that have shaped the network. Generally, the functional form for the
degree distribution has been determined in an ad-hoc fashion, with clear
power-law like behaviour often only extending over a limited range of
connectivities. Here we apply formal model selection techniques to decide which
probability distribution best describes the degree distributions of protein
interaction networks. Contrary to previous studies this well defined approach
suggests that the degree distribution of many molecular networks is often
better described by distributions other than the popular power-law
distribution. This, in turn, suggests that simple, if elegant, models may not
necessarily help in the quantitative understanding of complex biological
processes.
Matching parton showers to NLO computations
We give a prescription for attaching parton showers to next-to-leading order
(NLO) partonic jet cross sections in electron-positron annihilation. Our method
effectively extends to NLO the scheme of Catani, Krauss, Kuhn, and Webber for
matching between m hard jets and (m+1) hard jets. The matching between parton
splitting as part of a shower and parton splitting as part of NLO matrix
elements is based on the Catani-Seymour dipole subtraction method that is
commonly used for removing the singularities from the NLO matrix elements.}Comment: 45 pages, new introduction, more detailed discussion of the Sudakov
reweightin
Glassy behaviour in a simple topological model
In this article we study a simple, purely topological, cellular model which
is allowed to evolve through a Glauber-Kawasaki process. We find a
non-thermodynamic transition to a glassy phase in which the energy (defined as
the square of the local cell topological charge) fails to reach the equilibrium
value below a characteristic temperature which is dependent on the cooling
rate. We investigate a correlation function which exhibits aging behaviour, and
follows a master curve in the stationary regime when time is rescaled by a
factor of the relaxation time t_r. This master curve can be fitted by a von
Schweidler law in the late beta-relaxation regime. The relaxation times can be
well-fitted at all temperatures by an offset Arrhenius law. A power law can be
fitted to an intermediate temperature regime; the exponent of the power law and
the von Schweidler law roughly agree with the relationship predicted by
Mode-coupling Theory. By defining a suitable response function, we find that
the fluctuation-dissipation ratio is held until sometime later than the
appearance of the plateaux; non-monotonicity of the response is observed after
this ratio is broken, a feature which has been observed in other models with
dynamics involving activated processes.Comment: 11 pages LaTeX; minor textual corrcetions, minor corrections to figs
4 & 7
Response of the Shockley surface state to an external electrical field: A density-functional theory study of Cu(111)
The response of the Cu(111) Shockley surface state to an external electrical
field is characterized by combining a density-functional theory calculation for
a slab geometry with an analysis of the Kohn-Sham wavefunctions. Our analysis
is facilitated by a decoupling of the Kohn-Sham states via a rotation in
Hilbert space. We find that the surface state displays isotropic dispersion,
quadratic until the Fermi wave vector but with a significant quartic
contribution beyond. We calculate the shift in energetic position and effective
mass of the surface state for an electrical field perpendicular to the Cu(111)
surface; the response is linear over a broad range of field strengths. We find
that charge transfer occurs beyond the outermost copper atoms and that
accumulation of electrons is responsible for a quarter of the screening of the
electrical field. This allows us to provide well-converged determinations of
the field-induced changes in the surface state for a moderate number of layers
in the slab geometry.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables; accepted for publication by Phys. Rev.
B; changes from v1 in response to referee comments, esp. to Sections I and
V.B (inc. Table 4), with many added references, but no change in results or
conclusion
Towards More Accurate Molecular Dynamics Calculation of Thermal Conductivity. Case Study: GaN Bulk Crystals
Significant differences exist among literature for thermal conductivity of
various systems computed using molecular dynamics simulation. In some cases,
unphysical results, for example, negative thermal conductivity, have been
found. Using GaN as an example case and the direct non-equilibrium method,
extensive molecular dynamics simulations and Monte Carlo analysis of the
results have been carried out to quantify the uncertainty level of the
molecular dynamics methods and to identify the conditions that can yield
sufficiently accurate calculations of thermal conductivity. We found that the
errors of the calculations are mainly due to the statistical thermal
fluctuations. Extrapolating results to the limit of an infinite-size system
tend to magnify the errors and occasionally lead to unphysical results. The
error in bulk estimates can be reduced by performing longer time averages using
properly selected systems over a range of sample lengths. If the errors in the
conductivity estimates associated with each of the sample lengths are kept
below a certain threshold, the likelihood of obtaining unphysical bulk values
becomes insignificant. Using a Monte-Carlo approach developed here, we have
determined the probability distributions for the bulk thermal conductivities
obtained using the direct method. We also have observed a nonlinear effect that
can become a source of significant errors. For the extremely accurate results
presented here, we predict a [0001] GaN thermal conductivity of 185 at 300 K, 102 at 500 K, and 74
at 800 K. Using the insights obtained in the work, we have achieved a
corresponding error level (standard deviation) for the bulk (infinite sample
length) GaN thermal conductivity of less than 10 , 5 , and 15 at 300 K, 500 K, and 800 K respectively
Assessing the usefulness of acute physiological responses following resistance exercise: sensitivity, magnitude of change and time course of measures
A variety of strategies exist to modulate acute physiological responses following resistance exercise aimed at enhancing recovery and/or adaptation processes. To assess the true impact of these strategies, it is important to know the ability of measures to detect meaningful change. We investigated the sensitivity of measures used to quantify acute physiological responses to resistance exercise and constructed a physiological profile to characterise the magnitude of change and time course of this response. Eight males, accustomed to regular resistance exercise, performed experimental sessions during a ‘control week’, void of an exercise stimulus. Participants repeated this sequence of experimental sessions the following week, termed the ‘exercise week’, except they performed a bout of lower-limb resistance exercise following baseline assessments. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 2, 6, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h post-intervention. Based on the signal-to-noise ratio, the most sensitive measures were maximal voluntary isometric contraction, 20m sprint, countermovement jump peak force, rate of force development (100-200ms), muscle soreness, daily analysis of life demands for athletes Part B, limb girth, matrix metalloproteinase-9, interleukin-6, creatine kinase and high sensitivity C-reactive protein with ratios of >1.5. There were clear changes in these measures following resistance exercise, determined via magnitude-based inferences. These findings highlight measures that can detect real changes in acute physiological responses following resistance exercise in trained individuals. Researchers investigating strategies to manipulate acute physiological responses for recovery and/or adaptation can use these measures, as well as recommended sampling points, to be confident that their interventions are making a worthwhile impact
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