Large Scale Instrumental Test Embankment on Uranium Tailings

The remediation of an inactive uranium mill tailings pile at the town of Andujar (Spain) has provided an opportunity to investigate the settlement characteristics of hydraulically-deposited uranium mill tailings. A test embankment was constructed on top of the existing tailings deposit and total stresses, settlements and pore pressures were measured. Settlements and pore pressure data were compared with the results obtained using an elastoplastic numerical model which allows the simulation of two dimensional consolidation processes. Backcalculated consolidation parameters were derived to provide agreement between the calculated and measured settlements and pore pressures. These parameters could then be used to predict the post-construction settlement of the remediated pile

Mechanical properties of wood-derived silicon carbide aluminum-alloy composites as a function of temperature

The mechanical behavior [i.e., stiffness, strength, and toughness (K_(IC))] of SiC Al–Si–Mg metal–ceramic composites (50:50 by volume) was studied at temperatures ranging from 25 to 500 °C. The SiC phase was derived from wood precursors, which resulted in an interconnected anisotropic ceramic that constrained the pressure melt-infiltrated aluminum alloy. The composites were made using SiC derived from two woods (sapele and beech) and were studied in three orthogonal orientations. The mechanical properties and corresponding deformation micromechanisms were different in the longitudinal (LO) and transverse directions, but the influence of the precursor wood was small. The LO behavior was controlled by the rigid SiC preform and the load transfer from the metal to the ceramic. Moduli in this orientation were lower than the Halpin–Tsai predictions due to the nonlinear and nonparallel nature of the Al-filled pores. The LO K_(IC) agreed with the Ashby model for the K_(IC) contribution of ductile inclusions in a brittle ceramic

Exciton Gas Compression and Metallic Condensation in a Single Semiconductor Quantum Wire

We study the metal-insulator transition in individual self-assembled quantum wires and report optical evidences of metallic liquid condensation at low temperatures. Firstly, we observe that the temperature and power dependence of the single nanowire photoluminescence follow the evolution expected for an electron-hole liquid in one dimension. Secondly, we find novel spectral features that suggest that in this situation the expanding liquid condensate compresses the exciton gas in real space. Finally, we estimate the critical density and critical temperature of the phase transition diagram at $n_c\sim1\times10^5$ cm$^{-1}$ and $T_c\sim35$ K, respectively.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Non mean-field behavior of the contact process on scale-free networks

We present an analysis of the classical contact process on scale-free networks. A mean-field study, both for finite and infinite network sizes, yields an absorbing-state phase transition at a finite critical value of the control parameter, characterized by a set of exponents depending on the network structure. Since finite size effects are large and the infinite network limit cannot be reached in practice, a numerical study of the transition requires the application of finite size scaling theory. Contrary to other critical phenomena studied previously, the contact process in scale-free networks exhibits a non-trivial critical behavior that cannot be quantitatively accounted for by mean-field theory.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, published versio

Surface phase transitions in one-dimensional channels arranged in a triangular cross-sectional structure: Theory and Monte Carlo simulations

Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling analysis have been carried out to study the critical behavior in a submonolayer lattice-gas of interacting monomers adsorbed on one-dimensional channels arranged in a triangular cross-sectional structure. The model mimics a nanoporous environment, where each nanotube or unit cell is represented by a one-dimensional array. Two kinds of lateral interaction energies have been considered: $1)$ $w_L$, interaction energy between nearest-neighbor particles adsorbed along a single channel and $2)$ $w_T$, interaction energy between particles adsorbed across nearest-neighbor channels. For $w_L/w_T=0$ and $w_T > 0$, successive planes are uncorrelated, the system is equivalent to the triangular lattice and the well-known $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})$ $[(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})^*]$ ordered phase is found at low temperatures and a coverage, $\theta$, of 1/3 $[2/3]$. In the more general case ($w_L/w_T \neq 0$ and $w_T > 0$), a competition between interactions along a single channel and a transverse coupling between sites in neighboring channels allows to evolve to a three-dimensional adsorbed layer. Consequently, the $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})$ and $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})^*$ structures "propagate" along the channels and new ordered phases appear in the adlayer. The Monte Carlo technique was combined with the recently reported Free Energy Minimization Criterion Approach (FEMCA), to predict the critical temperatures of the order-disorder transformation. The excellent qualitative agreement between simulated data and FEMCA results allow us to interpret the physical meaning of the mechanisms underlying the observed transitions.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure

Extremal dynamics on complex networks: Analytic solutions

The Bak-Sneppen model displaying punctuated equilibria in biological evolution is studied on random complex networks. By using the rate equation and the random walk approaches, we obtain the analytic solution of the fitness threshold $x_c$ to be 1/(_f+1), where _f=/ (=) in the quenched (annealed) updating case, where is the n-th moment of the degree distribution. Thus, the threshold is zero (finite) for the degree exponent \gamma 3) for the quenched case in the thermodynamic limit. The theoretical value x_c fits well to the numerical simulation data in the annealed case only. Avalanche size, defined as the duration of successive mutations below the threshold, exhibits a critical behavior as its distribution follows a power law, P_a(s) ~ s^{-3/2}.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Load distribution in weighted complex networks

We study the load distribution in weighted networks by measuring the effective number of optimal paths passing through a given vertex. The optimal path, along which the total cost is minimum, crucially depend on the cost distribution function $p_c(c)$. In the strong disorder limit, where $p_c(c)\sim c^{-1}$, the load distribution follows a power law both in the Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi (ER) random graphs and in the scale-free (SF) networks, and its characteristics are determined by the structure of the minimum spanning tree. The distribution of loads at vertices with a given vertex degree also follows the SF nature similar to the whole load distribution, implying that the global transport property is not correlated to the local structural information. Finally, we measure the effect of disorder by the correlation coefficient between vertex degree and load, finding that it is larger for ER networks than for SF networks.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, final version published in PR

Std fimbriae-fucose interaction increases Salmonella-induced intestinal inflammation and prolongs colonization

Author summary The intestinal epithelium is a crucial biological interface, interacting with both commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. It’s lined with heavily glycosylated proteins and glycolipids which can act as both attachment sites and energy sources for intestinal bacteria. Fut2, the enzyme governing epithelial α1,2-fucosylation, has been implicated in the interaction between microbes and intestinal epithelial cells. Salmonella is one of the most important bacterial gastrointestinal pathogens affecting millions of people worldwide. Salmonella possesses fimbrial and non-fimbrial adhesins which can be used to adhere to host cells. Here we show that Salmonella expresses Std fimbriae in the gastrointestinal tract in vivo and exploit Std fimbriae to bind fucosylated structures in the mucus and on the intestinal epithelium. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Std fimbriae-fucose interaction is necessary for bacterial colonization of the intestine and for triggering intestinal inflammation. These data lend new insights into bacterial adhesion-epithelial interactions which are essential for bacterial pathogenesis and key factors in determining tissue tropism and host susceptibility to infectious disease

Contact tracing and epidemics control in social networks

A generalization of the standard susceptible-infectious-removed (SIR) stochastic model for epidemics in sparse random networks is introduced which incorporates contact tracing in addition to random screening. We propose a deterministic mean-field description which yields quantitative agreement with stochastic simulations on random graphs. We also analyze the role of contact tracing in epidemics control in small-world networks and show that its effectiveness grows as the rewiring probability is reduced.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR

Slow dynamics and rare-region effects in the contact process on weighted tree networks

We show that generic, slow dynamics can occur in the contact process on complex networks with a tree-like structure and a superimposed weight pattern, in the absence of additional (non-topological) sources of quenched disorder. The slow dynamics is induced by rare-region effects occurring on correlated subspaces of vertices connected by large weight edges, and manifests in the form of a smeared phase transition. We conjecture that more sophisticated network motifs could be able to induce Griffiths phases, as a consequence of purely topological disorder.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, final version appeared in PR