228 research outputs found
Non-commutative Quantum Mechanics in Three Dimensions and Rotational Symmetry
We generalize the formulation of non-commutative quantum mechanics to three
dimensional non-commutative space. Particular attention is paid to the
identification of the quantum Hilbert space in which the physical states of the
system are to be represented, the construction of the representation of the
rotation group on this space, the deformation of the Leibnitz rule accompanying
this representation and the implied necessity of deforming the co-product to
restore the rotation symmetry automorphism. This also implies the breaking of
rotational invariance on the level of the Schroedinger action and equation as
well as the Hamiltonian, even for rotational invariant potentials. For
rotational invariant potentials the symmetry breaking results purely from the
deformation in the sense that the commutator of the Hamiltonian and angular
momentum is proportional to the deformation.Comment: 21 page
Image method in the calculation of the van der Waals force between an atom and a conducting surface
Initially, we make a detailed historical survey of van der Waals forces,
collecting the main references on the subject. Then, we review a method
recently proposed by Eberlein and Zietal to compute the dispersion van der
Waals interaction between a neutral but polarizable atom and a perfectly
conducting surface of arbitrary shape. This method has the advantage of
relating the quantum problem to a corresponding classical one in electrostatics
so that all one needs is to compute an appropriate Green function. We show how
the image method of electrostatics can be conveniently used together with the
Eberlein and Zietal mehtod (when the problem admits an image solution). We then
illustrate this method in a couple of simple but important cases, including the
atom-sphere system. Particularly, in our last example, we present an original
result, namely, the van der Waals force between an atom and a boss hat made of
a grounded conducting material.Comment: This is a pedagogical and introductory paper on van der Waals forces
between an atom and a conducting surfac
Environmental Factors in the Relapse and Recurrence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease:A Review of the Literature
The causes of relapse in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are largely unknown. This paper reviews the epidemiological and clinical data on how medications (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, estrogens and antibiotics), lifestyle factors (smoking, psychological stress, diet and air pollution) may precipitate clinical relapses and recurrence. Potential biological mechanisms include: increasing thrombotic tendency, imbalances in prostaglandin synthesis, alterations in the composition of gut microbiota, and mucosal damage causing increased permeability
Neuroevolutionary reinforcement learning for generalized control of simulated helicopters
This article presents an extended case study in the application of neuroevolution to generalized simulated helicopter hovering, an important challenge problem for reinforcement learning. While neuroevolution is well suited to coping with the domainâs complex transition dynamics and high-dimensional state and action spaces, the need to explore efficiently and learn on-line poses unusual challenges. We propose and evaluate several methods for three increasingly challenging variations of the task, including the method that won first place in the 2008 Reinforcement Learning Competition. The results demonstrate that (1) neuroevolution can be effective for complex on-line reinforcement learning tasks such as generalized helicopter hovering, (2) neuroevolution excels at finding effective helicopter hovering policies but not at learning helicopter models, (3) due to the difficulty of learning reliable models, model-based approaches to helicopter hovering are feasible only when domain expertise is available to aid the design of a suitable model representation and (4) recent advances in efficient resampling can enable neuroevolution to tackle more aggressively generalized reinforcement learning tasks
Structure and dynamics of reentrant nematics: Any open questions after almost 40 years?
Liquid crystals have attracted enormous interest because of the variety of
their phases and richness of their application. The interplay of general
physical symmetries and specific molecular features generates a myriad of
different phenomena. A surprising behavior of liquid crystals is the reentrancy
of phases as temperature, pressure, or concentration are varied. Here, we
review the main experimental facts and the different theoretical scenarios that
have guided the understanding of bulk reentrant nematics. Recently, some
computer simulations of a system confined to nanoscopic scales have found new
dynamical features of the reentrant nematic phase. We discuss this prediction
in relation with the available experimental evidence on reentrant nematics and
with the dynamics of liquids in strongly confined environments
The HEV Ventilator
HEV is a low-cost, versatile, high-quality ventilator, which has been
designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ventilator is intended to be
used both in and out of hospital intensive care units, and for both invasive
and non-invasive ventilation. The hardware can be complemented with an external
turbine for use in regions where compressed air supplies are not reliably
available. The standard modes provided include PC-A/C(Pressure Assist
Control),PC-A/C-PRVC(Pressure Regulated Volume Control), PC-PSV (Pressure
Support Ventilation) and CPAP (Continuous Positive airway pressure). HEV is
designed to support remote training and post market surveillance via a web
interface and data logging to complement the standard touch screen operation,
making it suitable for a wide range of geographical deployment. The HEV design
places emphasis on the quality of the pressure curves and the reactivity of the
trigger, delivering a global performance which will be applicable to ventilator
needs beyond theCOVID-19 pandemic. This article describes the conceptual design
and presents the prototype units together with their performance evaluation.Comment: 34 pages, 18 figures, Extended version of the article submitted to
PNA
DNA Damage and Reactive Nitrogen Species are Barriers to Vibrio cholerae Colonization of the Infant Mouse Intestine
Ingested Vibrio cholerae pass through the stomach and colonize the small intestines of its host. Here, we show that V. cholerae requires at least two types of DNA repair systems to efficiently compete for colonization of the infant mouse intestine. These results show that V. cholerae experiences increased DNA damage in the murine gastrointestinal tract. Agreeing with this, we show that passage through the murine gut increases the mutation frequency of V. cholerae compared to liquid culture passage. Our genetic analysis identifies known and novel defense enzymes required for detoxifying reactive nitrogen species (but not reactive oxygen species) that are also required for V. cholerae to efficiently colonize the infant mouse intestine, pointing to reactive nitrogen species as the potential cause of DNA damage. We demonstrate that potential reactive nitrogen species deleterious for V. cholerae are not generated by host inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity and instead may be derived from acidified nitrite in the stomach. Agreeing with this hypothesis, we show that strains deficient in DNA repair or reactive nitrogen species defense that are defective in intestinal colonization have decreased growth or increased mutation frequency in acidified nitrite containing media. Moreover, we demonstrate that neutralizing stomach acid rescues the colonization defect of the DNA repair and reactive nitrogen species defense defective mutants suggesting a common defense pathway for these mutants
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