256 research outputs found
Statistics of extinction and survival in Lotka-Volterra systems
We analyze purely competitive many-species Lotka-Volterra systems with random
interaction matrices, focusing the attention on statistical properties of their
asymptotic states. Generic features of the evolution are outlined from a
semiquantitative analysis of the phase-space structure, and extensive numerical
simulations are performed to study the statistics of the extinctions. We find
that the number of surviving species depends strongly on the statistical
properties of the interaction matrix, and that the probability of survival is
weakly correlated to specific initial conditions.Comment: Previous version had error in authors. 11 pages, including 5 figure
The second messenger c-di-AMP inhibits the osmolyte uptake system OpuC in Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is an important opportunistic human pathogen that is highly resistant to
osmotic stresses. In order to survive an increase in osmolarity, bacteria immediately take up
potassium and small organic compounds, also referred to as compatible solutes. The second
messenger c-di-AMP binds to several receptor proteins, most of which are involved in ion and
potassium uptake, that help bacteria cope with osmotic stress. In this study, we identified
OpuCA, the ATPase component of an uptake system for the compatible solute carnitine, as a cdi-AMP
target protein in S. aureus and found that a strain overproducing c-di-AMP showed
reduced carnitine uptake. The CBS domains of OpuCA bound to c-di-AMP, and a crystal
structure revealed a putative binding pocket for c-di-AMP in the cleft between the two CBS
domains. Thus, c-di-AMP is involved in regulating both branches of osmoprotection (potassium
uptake and compatible solute uptake), suggesting that c-di-AMP is a general osmotic stress
regulato
CARINA TCO2 data in the Atlantic Ocean
Water column data of carbon and carbon-relevant hydrographic and hydrochemical parameters from 188 cruises in the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic and Southern Ocean have been retrieved and merged in a new data base: the CARINA (CARbon IN the Atlantic) Project. These data have gone through rigorous quality control (QC) procedures so as to improve the quality and consistency of the data as much as possible. Secondary quality control, which involved objective study of data in order to quantify systematic differences in the reported values, was performed for the pertinent parameters in the CARINA data base. Systematic biases in the data have been tentatively corrected in the data products. The products are three merged data files with measured, adjusted and interpolated data of all cruises for each of the three CARINA regions (Arctic Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic and Southern Ocean). Ninety-eight cruises were conducted in the "Atlantic" defined as the region south of the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland Ridge and north of about 30° S. Here we report the details of the secondary QC which was done on the total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2) data and the adjustments that were applied to yield the final data product in the Atlantic. Procedures of quality control – including crossover analysis between stations and inversion analysis of all crossover data – are briefly described. Adjustments were applied to TCO2 measurements for 17 of the cruises in the Atlantic Ocean region. With these adjustments, the CARINA data base is consistent both internally as well as with GLODAP data, an oceanographic data set based on the WOCE Hydrographic Program in the 1990s, and is now suitable for accurate assessments of, for example, regional oceanic carbon inventories, uptake rates and model validation
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Strain sensitivity enhancement in suspended core fiber tapers
Suspended core fiber tapers with different cross sections (with diameters from 70 μm to 120 μm) are produced by filament heating. Before obtaining the taper, the spectral behavior of the suspended core fiber is a multimode interference structure. When the taper is made, an intermodal interference between a few modes is observed. This effect is clearly visible for low taper core dimensions. Since the core and cladding do not collapse, two taper regions exist, one in the core and the other in the cladding. The cladding taper does not affect the light transmission, only the core is reduced to a microtaper. The spectral response of the microtaper based-suspended core fiber is similar to a beat of two interferometers. The strain is applied to the microtaper, and with the reduction in the transverse area, an increase in sensitivity is observed. When the taper is immersed in a liquid with a different index of refraction or subjected to temperature variations, no spectral change occurs
Self-organized criticality in deterministic systems with disorder
Using the Bak-Sneppen model of biological evolution as our paradigm, we
investigate in which cases noise can be substituted with a deterministic signal
without destroying Self-Organized Criticality (SOC). If the deterministic
signal is chaotic the universality class is preserved; some non-universal
features, such as the threshold, depend on the time correlation of the signal.
We also show that, if the signal introduced is periodic, SOC is preserved but
in a different universality class, as long as the spectrum of frequencies is
broad enough.Comment: RevTex, 8 pages, 8 figure
Dark energy, non-minimal couplings and the origin of cosmic magnetic fields
In this work we consider the most general electromagnetic theory in curved
space-time leading to linear second order differential equations, including
non-minimal couplings to the space-time curvature. We assume the presence of a
temporal electromagnetic background whose energy density plays the role of dark
energy, as has been recently suggested. Imposing the consistency of the theory
in the weak-field limit, we show that it reduces to standard electromagnetism
in the presence of an effective electromagnetic current which is generated by
the momentum density of the matter/energy distribution, even for neutral
sources. This implies that in the presence of dark energy, the motion of
large-scale structures generates magnetic fields. Estimates of the present
amplitude of the generated seed fields for typical spiral galaxies could reach
G without any amplification. In the case of compact rotating objects,
the theory predicts their magnetic moments to be related to their angular
momenta in the way suggested by the so called Schuster-Blackett conjecture.Comment: 5 pages, no figure
Life after charge noise: recent results with transmon qubits
We review the main theoretical and experimental results for the transmon, a
superconducting charge qubit derived from the Cooper pair box. The increased
ratio of the Josephson to charging energy results in an exponential suppression
of the transmon's sensitivity to 1/f charge noise. This has been observed
experimentally and yields homogeneous broadening, negligible pure dephasing,
and long coherence times of up to 3 microseconds. Anharmonicity of the energy
spectrum is required for qubit operation, and has been proven to be sufficient
in transmon devices. Transmons have been implemented in a wide array of
experiments, demonstrating consistent and reproducible results in very good
agreement with theory.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Review article, accepted for publication in
Quantum Inf. Pro
Dual-color dual-focus line-scanning FCS for quantitative analysis of receptor-ligand interactions in living specimens
Cellular communication in multi-cellular organisms is mediated to a large extent by a multitude of cell-surface receptors that bind specific ligands. An in-depth understanding of cell signaling networks requires quantitative information on ligand-receptor interactions within living systems. In principle, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) based methods can provide such data, but live-cell applications have proven extremely challenging. Here, we have developed an integrated dual-color dual-focus line-scanning fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (2c2f lsFCS) technique that greatly facilitates live-cell and tissue experiments. Absolute ligand and receptor concentrations and their diffusion coefficients within the cell membrane can be quantified without the need to perform additional calibration experiments. We also determine the concentration of ligands diffusing in the medium outside the cell within the same experiment by using a raster image correlation spectroscopy (RICS) based analysis. We have applied this robust technique to study the interactions of two Wnt antagonists, Dickkopf1 and Dickkopf2 (Dkk1/2), to their cognate receptor, low-density-lipoprotein-receptor related protein 6 (LRP6), in the plasma membrane of living HEK293T cells. We obtained significantly lower affinities than previously reported using in vitro studies, underscoring the need to measure such data on living cells or tissue
Regular and stochastic behavior of Parkinsonian pathological tremor signals
Regular and stochastic behavior in the time series of Parkinsonian
pathological tremor velocity is studied on the basis of the statistical theory
of discrete non-Markov stochastic processes and flicker-noise spectroscopy. We
have developed a new method of analyzing and diagnosing Parkinson's disease
(PD) by taking into consideration discreteness, fluctuations, long- and
short-range correlations, regular and stochastic behavior, Markov and
non-Markov effects and dynamic alternation of relaxation modes in the initial
time signals. The spectrum of the statistical non-Markovity parameter reflects
Markovity and non-Markovity in the initial time series of tremor. The
relaxation and kinetic parameters used in the method allow us to estimate the
relaxation scales of diverse scenarios of the time signals produced by the
patient in various dynamic states. The local time behavior of the initial time
correlation function and the first point of the non-Markovity parameter give
detailed information about the variation of pathological tremor in the local
regions of the time series. The obtained results can be used to find the most
effective method of reducing or suppressing pathological tremor in each
individual case of a PD patient. Generally, the method allows one to assess the
efficacy of the medical treatment for a group of PD patients.Comment: 39 pages, 10 figures, 1 table Physica A, in pres
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