1,358 research outputs found
Structure of ternary additive hard-sphere fluid mixtures
Monte Carlo simulations on the structural properties of ternary fluid
mixtures of additive hard spheres are reported. The results are compared with
those obtained from a recent analytical approximation [S. B. Yuste, A. Santos,
and M. Lopez de Haro, J. Chem. Phys. 108, 3683 (1998)] to the radial
distribution functions of hard-sphere mixtures and with the results derived
from the solution of the Ornstein-Zernike integral equation with both the
Martynov-Sarkisov and the Percus-Yevick closures. Very good agreement between
the results of the first two approaches and simulation is observed, with a
noticeable improvement over the Percus-Yevick predictions especially near
contact.Comment: 11 pages, including 8 figures; A minor change; accepted for
publication in PR
The predictive role of raw bioelectrical impedance parameters in water compartments and fluid distribution assessed by dilution techniques in athletes
The aims of this study were to analyze the usefulness of raw bioelectrical impedance (BI) parameters in assessing water compartments and fluid distribution in athletes. A total of 202 men and 71 female athletes were analyzed. Total body water (TBW) and extracellular water (ECW) were determined by dilution techniques, while intracellular water (ICW) was calculated. Fluid distribution was calculated as the ECW/ICW ratio (E:I). Phase angle (PhA), resistance (R) and reactance (Xc) were obtained through BI spectroscopy using frequency 50kHz. Fat (FM) and fat\u2010free mass (FFM) were assessed by dual\u2010energy X\u2010ray absorptiometry. After adjusting for height, FM, FFM, age and sports category we observed that: PhA predicted ICW (females: \u3b2 = 1.62, p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 2.70, p < 0.01) and E:I (males and females: \u3b2 = 120.08; p < 0.01); R explained TBW (females: \u3b2 = 120.03; p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 120.06; p < 0.01) and ECW (females: \u3b2 = \u20130.02, p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 120.03, p < 0.01) and ICW (females: \u3b2 = \u20130.01, p < 0.053; males: \u3b2 = \u20130.03 p < 0.01); and Xc predicted ECW (females: \u3b2 = 120.06, p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 120.12, p < 0.01). A higher PhA is a good predictor of a larger ICW pool and a lower E:I, regardless of body composition, age, height, and sports category. Lower R is associated with higher water pools whereas ECW expansion is explained by lower Xc. Raw BI parameters are useful predictors of total and extracellular pools, cellular hydration and fluid distribution in athletes
Tracer diffusion in granular shear flows
Tracer diffusion in a granular gas in simple shear flow is analyzed. The
analysis is made from a perturbation solution of the Boltzmann kinetic equation
through first order in the gradient of the mole fraction of tracer particles.
The reference state (zeroth-order approximation) corresponds to a Sonine
solution of the Boltzmann equation, which holds for arbitrary values of the
restitution coefficients. Due to the anisotropy induced in the system by the
shear flow, the mass flux defines a diffusion tensor instead of a
scalar diffusion coefficient. The elements of this tensor are given in terms of
the restitution coefficients and mass and size ratios. The dependence of the
diffusion tensor on the parameters of the problem is illustrated in the
three-dimensional case. The results show that the influence of dissipation on
the elements is in general quite important, even for moderate values
of the restitution coefficients. In the case of self-diffusion (mechanically
equivalent particles), the trends observed in recent molecular dynamics
simulations are similar to those obtained here from the Boltzmann kinetic
theory.Comment: 5 figure
Blue laser cooling transitions in Tm I
We have studied possible candidates for laser cooling transitions in
Tm in the spectral region 410 -- 420 nm. By means of saturation
absorption spectroscopy we have measured the hyperfine structure and rates of
two nearly closed cycling transitions from the ground state
to upper states
at
410.6 nm and
at
420.4 nm and evaluated the life times of the excited levels as 15.9(8) ns and
48(6) ns respectively. Decay rates from these levels to neighboring
opposite-parity levels are evaluated by means of Hartree-Fock calculations. We
conclude, that the strong transition at 410.6 nm has an optical leak rate of
less then and can be used for efficient laser cooling of
Tm from a thermal atomic beam. The hyperfine structure of two other
even-parity levels which can be excited from the ground state at 409.5 nm and
418.9 nm is also measured by the same technique. In addition we give a
calculated value of s for the rate of magnetic-dipole transition
at 1.14 m between the fine structure levels
of the ground state which can be
considered as a candidate for applications in atomic clocks.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Measuring the elements of the optical density matrix
Most methods for experimentally reconstructing the quantum state of light
involve determining a quasiprobability distribution such as the Wigner
function. In this paper we present a scheme for measuring individual density
matrix elements in the photon number state representation. Remarkably, the
scheme is simple, involving two beam splitters and a reference field in a
coherent state.Comment: 6 pages and 1 figur
Interesting magnetic properties of FeCoSi alloys
Solid solution between nonmagnetic narrow gap semiconductor FeSi and
diamagnetic semi-metal CoSi gives rise to interesting metallic alloys with
long-range helical magnetic ordering, for a wide range of intermediate
concentration. We report various interesting magnetic properties of these
alloys, including low temperature re-entrant spin-glass like behaviour and a
novel inverted magnetic hysteresis loop. Role of Dzyaloshinski-Moriya
interaction in the magnetic response of these non-centrosymmetric alloys is
discussed.Comment: 11 pages and 3 figure
Diffusion of impurities in a granular gas
Diffusion of impurities in a granular gas undergoing homogeneous cooling
state is studied. The results are obtained by solving the Boltzmann--Lorentz
equation by means of the Chapman--Enskog method. In the first order in the
density gradient of impurities, the diffusion coefficient is determined as
the solution of a linear integral equation which is approximately solved by
making an expansion in Sonine polynomials. In this paper, we evaluate up to
the second order in the Sonine expansion and get explicit expressions for
in terms of the restitution coefficients for the impurity--gas and gas--gas
collisions as well as the ratios of mass and particle sizes. To check the
reliability of the Sonine polynomial solution, analytical results are compared
with those obtained from numerical solutions of the Boltzmann equation by means
of the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. In the simulations, the
diffusion coefficient is measured via the mean square displacement of
impurities. The comparison between theory and simulation shows in general an
excellent agreement, except for the cases in which the gas particles are much
heavier and/or much larger than impurities. In theses cases, the second Sonine
approximation to improves significantly the qualitative predictions made
from the first Sonine approximation. A discussion on the convergence of the
Sonine polynomial expansion is also carried out.Comment: 9 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev.
Absence of KpsM (Slr0977) impairs the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and impacts carbon fluxes in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Many cyanobacteria produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), composed mainly of heteropolysaccharides, that play a variety of physiological roles, being crucial for cell protection, motility, and biofilm formation. However, due to their complexity, the EPS biosynthetic pathways as well as their assembly and export mechanisms are still far from being fully understood. Here, we show that the absence of a putative EPS-related protein, KpsM (Slr0977), has a pleiotropic effect on Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 physiology, with a strong impact on the export of EPS and carbon fluxes. The kpsM mutant exhibits a significant reduction of released polysaccharides and a smaller decrease of capsular polysaccharides, but it accumulates more polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) than the wild type. In addition, this strain shows a light/cell density-dependent clumping phenotype and exhibits an altered protein secretion capacity. Furthermore, the most important structural component of pili, the protein PilA, was found to have a modified glycosylation pattern in the mutant compared to the wild type. Proteomic and transcriptomic analyses revealed significant changes in the mechanisms of energy production and conversion, namely, photosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and carbon metabolism, in response to the inactivation of slr0977. Overall, this work shows for the first time that cells with impaired EPS secretion undergo transcriptomic and proteomic adjustments, highlighting the importance of EPS as a major carbon sink in cyanobacteria. The accumulation of PHB in cells of the mutant, without affecting significantly its fitness/growth rate, points to its possible use as a chassis for the production of compounds of interest
Topological Charged Black Holes in High Dimensional Spacetimes and Their Formation from Gravitational Collapse of a Type II Fluid
Topological charged black holes coupled with a cosmological constant in
spacetimes are studied, where is an Einstein
space of the form . The global structure for
the four-dimensional spacetimes with is investigated systematically.
The most general solutions that represent a Type fluid in such a high
dimensional spacetime are found, and showed that topological charged black
holes can be formed from the gravitational collapse of such a fluid. When the
spacetime is (asymptotically) self-similar, the collapse always forms black
holes for , in contrast to the case , where it can form
either balck holes or naked singularities.Comment: 14 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Multidrug resistance 1 gene polymorphisms may determine Crohn's disease behavior in patients from Rio de Janeiro
OBJECTIVES: Conflicting data from studies on the potential role of multidrug resistance 1 gene polymorphisms in inflammatory bowel disease may result from the analysis of genetically and geographically distinct populations. Here, we investigated whether multidrug resistance 1 gene polymorphisms are associated with inflammatory bowel diseases in patients from Rio de Janeiro. METHODS: We analyzed 123 Crohn's disease patients and 83 ulcerative colitis patients to determine the presence of the multidrug resistance 1 gene polymorphisms C1236T, G2677T and C3435T. In particular, the genotype frequencies of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients were analyzed. Genotype-phenotype associations with major clinical characteristics were established, and estimated risks were calculated for the mutations. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in the genotype frequencies of the multidrug resistance 1 G2677T/A and C3435T polymorphisms between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients. In contrast, the C1236T polymorphism was significantly more common in Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis (p = 0.047). A significant association was also found between the multidrug resistance 1 C3435T polymorphism and the stricturing form of Crohn's disease (OR: 4.13; p = 0.009), whereas no association was found with penetrating behavior (OR: 0.33; p = 0.094). In Crohn's disease, a positive association was also found between the C3435T polymorphism and corticosteroid resistance/refractoriness (OR: 4.14; p = 0.010). However, no significant association was found between multidrug resistance 1 gene polymorphisms and UC subphenotypic categories. CONCLUSION: The multidrug resistance 1 gene polymorphism C3435T is associated with the stricturing phenotype and an inappropriate response to therapy in Crohn's disease. This association with Crohn's disease may support additional pathogenic roles for the multidrug resistance 1 gene in regulating gut-microbiota interactions and in mediating fibrosis. Understanding the effects of several drugs associated with multidrug resistance 1 gene variants may aid in the selection of customized therapeutic regimens
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