699 research outputs found
Periodic Homogenization for Inertial Particles
We study the problem of homogenization for inertial particles moving in a
periodic velocity field, and subject to molecular diffusion. We show that,
under appropriate assumptions on the velocity field, the large scale, long time
behavior of the inertial particles is governed by an effective diffusion
equation for the position variable alone. To achieve this we use a formal
multiple scale expansion in the scale parameter. This expansion relies on the
hypo-ellipticity of the underlying diffusion. An expression for the diffusivity
tensor is found and various of its properties studied. In particular, an
expansion in terms of the non-dimensional particle relaxation time (the
Stokes number) is shown to co-incide with the known result for passive
(non-inertial) tracers in the singular limit . This requires the
solution of a singular perturbation problem, achieved by means of a formal
multiple scales expansion in Incompressible and potential fields are
studied, as well as fields which are neither, and theoretical findings are
supported by numerical simulations.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Physica D. Typos
corrected. One reference adde
Investigation of Factors Determining the Enhanced Permeability and Retention Effect in Subcutaneous Xenografts
Liposomal chemotherapy offers several advantages over conventional therapies, including high intratumoral drug delivery, reduced side effects, prolonged circulation time and the possibility to dose higher. The efficient delivery of liposomal chemotherapeutics relies however on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, which refers to the ability of macromolecules to extravasate leaky tumor vessels and accumulate in the tumor tissue. Using a panel of human xenograft tumors, we evaluated the influence of the EPR effect on liposomal distribution in vivo by injection of pegylated liposomes radiolabeled with 111In. Liposomal accumulation in tumors and organs was followed over time by SPECT/CT imaging. We observed that fast growing xenografts, which may be less representative of tumor development in patients, showed higher liposomal accumulation as compared to slow growing xenografts. Additionally, several other parameters determining the EPR effect were evaluated, such as blood and lymphatic vessel density, intratumoral hypoxia, and the presence of macrophages. The investigation of various parameters showed a few correlations. Although hypoxia, proliferation and macrophage presence were associated with tumor growth, no hard conclusions or predictions could be made regarding the EPR effect or liposomal uptake. However liposomal uptake was
Extracting Br(omega->pi^+ pi^-) from the Time-like Pion Form-factor
We extract the G-parity-violating branching ratio Br(omega->pi^+ pi^-) from
the effective rho-omega mixing matrix element Pi_{rho omega}(s), determined
from e^+e^- -> pi^+ pi^- data. The omega->pi^+ pi^- partial width can be
determined either from the time-like pion form factor or through the constraint
that the mixed physical propagator D_{rho omega}^{mu nu}(s) possesses no poles.
The two procedures are inequivalent in practice, and we show why the first is
preferred, to find finally Br(omega->pi^+ pi^-) = 1.9 +/- 0.3%.Comment: 12 pages (published version
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ANODIC BEHAVIOR OF ALLOY 22 IN HIGH NITRATE BRINES AT TEMPERATURES HIGHER THAN 100C
Alloy 22 (N06022) may be susceptible to crevice corrosion in chloride solutions. Nitrate acts as an inhibitor to crevice corrosion. Several papers have been published regarding the effect of nitrate on the corrosion resistance of Alloy 22 at temperatures 100 C and lower. However, very little is known about the behavior of this alloy in highly concentrated brines at temperatures above 100 C. In the current work, electrochemical tests have been carried out to explore the anodic behavior of Alloy 22 in high chloride high nitrate electrolytes at temperatures as high as 160 C at ambient atmospheres. Even though Alloy 22 may adopt corrosion potentials in the order of +0.5 V (in the saturated silver chloride scale), it does not suffer crevice corrosion if there is high nitrate in the solution. That is, the inhibitive effect of nitrate on crevice corrosion is active for temperatures higher than 100 C
Mapping crustal shear wave velocity structure and radial anisotropy beneath West Antarctica using seismic ambient noise
Using 8â25s period Rayleigh and Love wave phase velocity dispersion data extracted from seismic ambient noise, we (i) model the 3D shear wave velocity structure of the West Antarctic crust and (ii) map variations in crustal radial anisotropy. Enhanced regional resolution is offered by the UK Antarctic Seismic Network. In the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS), a ridge of crust ~26â30km thick extending south from Marie Byrd Land separates domains of more extended crust (~22km thick) in the Ross and Amundsen Sea Embayments, suggesting alongâstrike variability in the Cenozoic evolution of the WARS. The southern margin of the WARS is defined along the southern Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) and Haag NunataksâEllsworth Whitmore Mountains (HEW) block by a sharp crustal thickness gradient. Crust ~35â40km is modelled beneath the Haag NunataksâEllsworth Mountains, decreasing to ~30â32km km thick beneath the Whitmore Mountains, reflecting distinct structural domains within the composite HEW block. Our analysis suggests that the lower crust and potentially the mid crust is positively radially anisotropic (VSH > VSV) across West Antarctica. The strongest anisotropic signature is observed in the HEW block, emphasising its unique provenance amongst West Antarctica's crustal units, and conceivably reflects a ~13km thick metasedimentary succession atop Precambrian metamorphic basement. Positive radial anisotropy in the WARS crust is consistent with observations in extensional settings, and likely reflects the latticeâpreferred orientation of minerals such as mica and amphibole by extensional deformation. Our observations support a contention that anisotropy may be ubiquitous in continental crust
Independent and complementary bio-functional effects of CuO and Ga2O3 incorporated as therapeutic agents in silica- and phosphate-based bioactive glasses
The incorporation of therapeutic-capable ions into bioactive glasses (BGs), either based on silica (SBGs) or phosphate (PBGs), is currently envisaged as a proficient path for facilitating bone regeneration. In conjunction with this view, the single and complementary structural and bio-functional roles of CuO and Ga2O3 (in the 2â5 mol% range) were assessed, by deriving a series of SBG and PBG formulations starting from the parent glass systems, FastOsÂźBG â 38.5SiO2â36.1CaOâ5.6P2O5â19.2MgOâ0.6CaF2, and 50.0P2O5â35.0CaOâ10.0Na2Oâ5.0 Fe2O3 (mol%), respectively, using the process of melt-quenching. The inter-linked physico-chemistry â biological response of BGs was assessed in search of bio-functional triggers. Further light was shed on the structural role â as network former or modifier â of Cu and Ga, immersed in SBG and PBG matrices. The preliminary biological performance was surveyed in vitro by quantification of Cu and Ga ion release under homeostatic conditions, cytocompatibility assays (in fibroblast cell cultures) and antibacterial tests (against Staphylococcus aureus). The similar (Cu) and dissimilar (Ga) structural roles in the SBG and PBG vitreous networks governed their release. Namely, Cu ions were leached in similar concentrations (ranging from 10â35 ppm and 50â110 ppm at BG doses of 5 and 50 mg/mL, respectively) for both type of BGs, while the release of Ga ions was 1â2 orders of magnitude lower in the case of SBGs (i.e., 0.2â6 ppm) compared to PBGs (i.e., 9â135 ppm). This was attributed to the network modifier role of Cu in both types of BGs, and conversely, to the network former (SBGs) and network modifier (PBGs) roles of Ga. All glasses were cytocompatible at a dose of 5 mg/mL, while at the same concentration the antimicrobial efficiency was found to be accentuated by the coupled release of Cu and Ga ions from SBG. By collective assessment, the most prominent candidate material for the further development of implant coatings and bone graft substitutes was delineated as the 38.5SiO2â34.1CaOâ5.6P2O5â16.2MgOâ0.6CaF2â2.0CuOâ3.0Ga2O3 (mol%) SBG system, which yielded moderate Cu and Ga ion release, excellent cytocompatibility and marked antibacterial efficacy.publishe
Exawatt-Zettawatt Pulse Generation and Applications
A new amplification method, weaving the three basic compression techniques,
Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA), Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse
Amplification (OPCPA) and Plasma Compression by Backward Raman Amplification
(BRA) in plasma, is proposed. It is called C3 for Cascaded Conversion
Compression. It has the capability to compress with good efficiency kilojoule
to megajoule, nanosecond laser pulses into femtosecond pulses, to produce
exawatt and beyond peak power. In the future, C3 could be used at large-scale
facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) or the Laser Megajoule
(LMJ) and open the way to zettawatt level pulses. The beam will be focused to a
wavelength spot size with a f#1. The very small beam size, i.e. few
centimeters, along with the low laser repetition rate laser system will make
possible the use of inexpensive, precision, disposable optics. The resulting
intensity will approach the Schwinger value, thus opening up new possibilities
in fundamental physics.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of the Proton and Deuteron Spin Structure Functions g2 and Asymmetry A2
We have measured the spin structure functions g2p and g2d and the virtual
photon asymmetries A2p and A2d over the kinematic range 0.02 < x < 0.8 and 1.0
< Q^2 < 30(GeV/c)^2 by scattering 38.8 GeV longitudinally polarized electrons
from transversely polarized NH3 and 6LiD targets.The absolute value of A2 is
significantly smaller than the sqrt{R} positivity limit over the measured
range, while g2 is consistent with the twist-2 Wandzura-Wilczek calculation. We
obtain results for the twist-3 reduced matrix elements d2p, d2d and d2n. The
Burkhardt-Cottingham sum rule integral - int(g2(x)dx) is reported for the range
0.02 < x < 0.8.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Measurements of the -Dependence of the Proton and Neutron Spin Structure Functions g1p and g1n
The structure functions g1p and g1n have been measured over the range 0.014 <
x < 0.9 and 1 < Q2 < 40 GeV2 using deep-inelastic scattering of 48 GeV
longitudinally polarized electrons from polarized protons and deuterons. We
find that the Q2 dependence of g1p (g1n) at fixed x is very similar to that of
the spin-averaged structure function F1p (F1n). From a NLO QCD fit to all
available data we find at
Q2=5 GeV2, in agreement with the Bjorken sum rule prediction of 0.182 \pm
0.005.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Physics Letters
Towards Machine Wald
The past century has seen a steady increase in the need of estimating and
predicting complex systems and making (possibly critical) decisions with
limited information. Although computers have made possible the numerical
evaluation of sophisticated statistical models, these models are still designed
\emph{by humans} because there is currently no known recipe or algorithm for
dividing the design of a statistical model into a sequence of arithmetic
operations. Indeed enabling computers to \emph{think} as \emph{humans} have the
ability to do when faced with uncertainty is challenging in several major ways:
(1) Finding optimal statistical models remains to be formulated as a well posed
problem when information on the system of interest is incomplete and comes in
the form of a complex combination of sample data, partial knowledge of
constitutive relations and a limited description of the distribution of input
random variables. (2) The space of admissible scenarios along with the space of
relevant information, assumptions, and/or beliefs, tend to be infinite
dimensional, whereas calculus on a computer is necessarily discrete and finite.
With this purpose, this paper explores the foundations of a rigorous framework
for the scientific computation of optimal statistical estimators/models and
reviews their connections with Decision Theory, Machine Learning, Bayesian
Inference, Stochastic Optimization, Robust Optimization, Optimal Uncertainty
Quantification and Information Based Complexity.Comment: 37 page
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