Influence of diffusion on models for non-equilibrium wetting

It is shown that the critical properties of a recently studied model for non-equilibrium wetting are robust if one extends the dynamic rules by single-particle diffusion on terraces of the wetting layer. Examining the behavior at the critical point and along the phase transition line, we identify a special point in the phase diagram where detailed balance of the dynamical processes is partially broken.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure

Endoscopic Evaluation of the Response to Intrauterine Irrigation with 3.3% N-Acetylcysteine in Mares

Strangles is a contagious disease caused by the bacteria Streptococcus equi that has continued to affect horses through the development of long-term asymptomatic carriers. Effective identification of horses carrying S. equi and treatment of these horses has proven difficult. The chemical N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has mucolytic properties and has been used in the treatment of carriers; however the reports show controversial and anecdotal evidence regarding the effectiveness and inflammatory side effects. The goal of this study is to observe whether NAC is irritating to mucosal tissue with the interest of determining if NAC could be used to treat the carrier state of Strangles. Ten, healthy Standardbred mares were used in this random study which involved the endoscopic evaluation of uterine tissue in response to one of three treatment groups; no infusion, Lactated Ringer’s Solution (LRS), or a 3.3% NAC solution. The collected endoscopic images were subjectively evaluated for signs of tissue irritation by a double-blinded researcher. The results from this study indicate that the uterine tissues showed minor inflammation for the treatment groups of LRS and NAC when compared to the no infusion group, and NAC showed fewer signs of inflammation when compared to LRS. These results indicate that NAC may have anti-inflammatory properties

Investigation of an axial-excursion transducer for squeeze-film bearings

Resonant frequencies and characteristic bearing cone motion of axial-excursion transducer for squeeze-film gas bearing - drive voltage, preload, bearing mass, and mounting ring effect

Finite size effects in nonequilibrium wetting

Models with a nonequilibrium wetting transition display a transition also in finite systems. This is different from nonequilibrium phase transitions into an absorbing state, where the stationary state is the absorbing one for any value of the control parameter in a finite system. In this paper, we study what kind of transition takes place in finite systems of nonequilibrium wetting models. By solving exactly a microscopic model with three and four sites and performing numerical simulations we show that the phase transition taking place in a finite system is characterized by the average interface height performing a random walk at criticality and does not discriminate between the bounded-KPZ classes and the bounded-EW class. We also study the finite size scaling of the bKPZ universality classes, showing that it presents peculiar features in comparison with other universality classes of nonequilibrium phase transitions.Comment: 14 pages, 6figures, major change

Tellurium (VI): Polarography and polyol complexes

In 1782 the element tellurium was discovered by Baron Franz Joseph Miller Von Reichenstein. Muller first isolated the element from Transylvanian gold ore (2). Klaproth verified this work and in 1978 proposed that the substance be called tellurium. The etymology of the work begins with the Latin noun tellus, meaning earth. Students of Roman mythology will recall the ancient deity, Tellus, goddess of marriage and fertility. The history of the discovery of tellurium is a particularly interesting one. Serious students of the element will enjoy reading the account given by Mary Eliva Weeks (3, 4, 5). Telluric acid is a weak dibasic aid, the first and second ionization constants being reported as 2.00 x 10-3 and 9.2 x 10-2 respectively (7). It is a fairly strong oxidizing agent and tends to polymerize in solution. A three-dimensional network may be formed by hydrogen bonding. An important consideration is that telluric acid is not analogous to the other nexavalent group six acids, namely sulphuric (H2SO4) and selenic (H2SEO4) acids. The latter two, unlike telluric acid, contain nonhydroxylic oxygen atoms and are thus much stronger acids

Contact processes with long-range interactions

A class of non-local contact processes is introduced and studied using mean-field approximation and numerical simulations. In these processes particles are created at a rate which decays algebraically with the distance from the nearest particle. It is found that the transition into the absorbing state is continuous and is characterized by continuously varying critical exponents. This model differs from the previously studied non-local directed percolation model, where particles are created by unrestricted Levy flights. It is motivated by recent studies of non-equilibrium wetting indicating that this type of non-local processes play a role in the unbinding transition. Other non-local processes which have been suggested to exist within the context of wetting are considered as well.Comment: Accepted with minor revisions by Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and experiment

Comparison of the transcriptomic "stress response" evoked by antimycin A and oxygen deprivation in saccharomyces cerevisiae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute changes in environmental parameters (e.g., O₂, pH, UV, osmolarity, nutrients, etc.) evoke a common transcriptomic response in yeast referred to as the "environmental stress response" (ESR) or "common environmental response" (CER). Why such a diverse array of insults should elicit a common transcriptional response remains enigmatic. Previous functional analyses of the networks involved have found that, in addition to up-regulating those for mitigating the specific stressor, the majority appear to be involved in balancing energetic supply and demand and modulating progression through the cell cycle. Here we compared functional and regulatory aspects of the stress responses elicited by the acute inhibition of respiration with antimycin A and oxygen deprivation under catabolite non-repressed (galactose) conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Gene network analyses of the transcriptomic responses revealed both treatments result in the transient (10 – 60 min) down-regulation of MBF- and SBF-regulated networks involved in the G1/S transition of the cell cycle as well as Fhl1 and PAC/RRPE-associated networks involved in energetically costly programs of ribosomal biogenesis and protein synthesis. Simultaneously, Msn2/4 networks involved in hexose import/dissimilation, reserve energy regulation, and autophagy were transiently up-regulated. Interestingly, when cells were treated with antimycin A well before experiencing anaerobiosis these networks subsequently failed to respond to oxygen deprivation. These results suggest the transient stress response is elicited by the acute inhibition of respiration and, we postulate, changes in cellular energetics and/or the instantaneous growth rate, not oxygen deprivation <it>per se</it>. After a considerable delay (≥ 1 generation) under anoxia, predictable changes in heme-regulated gene networks (e.g., Hap1, Hap2/3/4/5, Mot3, Rox1 and Upc2) were observed both in the presence and absence of antimycin A.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study not only differentiates between the gene networks that respond to respiratory inhibition and those that respond to oxygen deprivation but suggests the function of the ESR or CER is to balance energetic supply/demand and coordinate growth with the cell cycle, whether in response to perturbations that disrupt catabolic pathways or those that require rapidly up-regulating energetically costly programs for combating specific stressors.</p

PacBio assembly of a Plasmodium knowlesi genome sequence with Hi-C correction and manual annotation of the SICAvar gene family.

Plasmodium knowlesi has risen in importance as a zoonotic parasite that has been causing regular episodes of malaria throughout South East Asia. The P. knowlesi genome sequence generated in 2008 highlighted and confirmed many similarities and differences in Plasmodium species, including a global view of several multigene families, such as the large SICAvar multigene family encoding the variant antigens known as the schizont-infected cell agglutination proteins. However, repetitive DNA sequences are the bane of any genome project, and this and other Plasmodium genome projects have not been immune to the gaps, rearrangements and other pitfalls created by these genomic features. Today, long-read PacBio and chromatin conformation technologies are overcoming such obstacles. Here, based on the use of these technologies, we present a highly refined de novo P. knowlesi genome sequence of the Pk1(A+) clone. This sequence and annotation, referred to as the 'MaHPIC Pk genome sequence', includes manual annotation of the SICAvar gene family with 136 full-length members categorized as type I or II. This sequence provides a framework that will permit a better understanding of the SICAvar repertoire, selective pressures acting on this gene family and mechanisms of antigenic variation in this species and other pathogens

Editors' Choice - Precipitation of Suboxides in Silicon, their Role in Gettering of Copper Impurities and Carrier Recombination

This paper describes a theoretical investigation of the phase composition of oxide precipitates and the corresponding emission of self-interstitials at the minimum of the free energy and their evolution with increasing number of oxygen atoms in the precipitates. The results can explain the compositional evolution of oxide precipitates and the role of self-interstitials therein. The formation of suboxides at the edges of SiO2 precipitates after reaching a critical size can explain several phenomena like gettering of Cu by segregation to the suboxide region and lifetime reduction by recombination of minority carriers in the suboxide. It provides an alternative explanation, based on minimized free energy, to the theory of strained and unstrained plates. A second emphasis was payed to the evolution of the morphology of oxide precipitates. Based on the comparison with results from scanning transmission electron microscopy the sequence of morphology evolution of oxide precipitates was deduced. It turned out that it is opposite to the sequence assumed until now. © 2020 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP Publishing Limited