120 research outputs found
The critical fugacity for surface adsorption of self-avoiding walks on the honeycomb lattice is
In 2010, Duminil-Copin and Smirnov proved a long-standing conjecture of
Nienhuis, made in 1982, that the growth constant of self-avoiding walks on the
hexagonal (a.k.a. honeycomb) lattice is A key identity
used in that proof was later generalised by Smirnov so as to apply to a general
O(n) loop model with (the case corresponding to SAWs).
We modify this model by restricting to a half-plane and introducing a surface
fugacity associated with boundary sites (also called surface sites), and
obtain a generalisation of Smirnov's identity. The critical value of the
surface fugacity was conjectured by Batchelor and Yung in 1995 to be This value plays a crucial role in our generalized
identity, just as the value of growth constant did in Smirnov's identity.
For the case , corresponding to \saws\ interacting with a surface, we
prove the conjectured value of the critical surface fugacity. A crucial part of
the proof involves demonstrating that the generating function of self-avoiding
bridges of height , taken at its critical point , tends to 0 as
increases, as predicted from SLE theory.Comment: Major revision, references updated, 25 pages, 13 figure
Integrable O(n) model on the honeycomb lattice via reflection matrices : Surface critical behaviour
We study the loop model on the honeycomb lattice with open boundary
conditions. Reflection matrices for the underlying Izergin-Korepin -matrix
lead to three inequivalent sets of integrable boundary weights. One set, which
has previously been considered, gives rise to the ordinary surface transition.
The other two sets correspond respectively to the special surface transition
and the mixed ordinary-special transition. We analyse the Bethe ansatz
equations derived for these integrable cases and obtain the surface energies
together with the central charges and scaling dimensions characterizing the
corresponding phase transitions.Comment: LaTeX, 29 pages, with 5 PostScript figure
Transitions between Inherent Structures in Water
The energy landscape approach has been useful to help understand the dynamic
properties of supercooled liquids and the connection between these properties
and thermodynamics. The analysis in numerical models of the inherent structure
(IS) trajectories -- the set of local minima visited by the liquid -- offers
the possibility of filtering out the vibrational component of the motion of the
system on the potential energy surface and thereby resolving the slow
structural component more efficiently. Here we report an analysis of an IS
trajectory for a widely-studied water model, focusing on the changes in
hydrogen bond connectivity that give rise to many IS separated by relatively
small energy barriers. We find that while the system \emph{travels} through
these IS, the structure of the bond network continuously modifies, exchanging
linear bonds for bifurcated bonds and usually reversing the exchange to return
to nearly the same initial configuration. For the 216 molecule system we
investigate, the time scale of these transitions is as small as the simulation
time scale ( fs). Hence for water, the transitions between each of
these IS is relatively small and eventual relaxation of the system occurs only
by many of these transitions. We find that during IS changes, the molecules
with the greatest displacements move in small ``clusters'' of 1-10 molecules
with displacements of nm, not unlike simpler liquids.
However, for water these clusters appear to be somewhat more branched than the
linear ``string-like'' clusters formed in a supercooled Lennar d-Jones system
found by Glotzer and her collaborators.Comment: accepted in PR
Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study
A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study
In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4
The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance
INTRODUCTION
Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.
RATIONALE
We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs).
RESULTS
Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants.
CONCLUSION
Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century
- …