3,691 research outputs found
Investigating cerebral oedema using poroelasticity
Cerebral oedema can be classified as the tangible swelling produced by expansion of the interstitial fluid volume. Hydrocephalus can be succinctly described as the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the brain which ultimately leads to oedema within specific sites of parenchymal tissue. Using hydrocephalus as a test bed, one is able to account for the necessary mechanisms involved in the interaction between oedema formation and cerebral fluid production, transport and drainage. The current state of knowledge about integrative cerebral dynamics and transport phenomena indicates that poroelastic theory may provide a suitable framework to better understand various diseases. In this work, Multiple-Network Poroelastic Theory (MPET) is used to develop a novel spatio-temporal model of fluid regulation and tissue displacement within the various scales of the cerebral environment. The model is applied through two formats, a one-dimensional finite difference – Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) coupling framework, as well as a two-dimensional Finite Element Method (FEM) formulation. These are used to investigate the role of endoscopic fourth ventriculostomy in alleviating oedema formation due to fourth ventricle outlet obstruction (1D coupled model) in addition to observing the capability of the FEM template in capturing important characteristics allied to oedema formation, like for instance in the periventricular region (2D model)
Pedometry and 'peer support' in older Chinese adults: a 12-month cluster randomised controlled trial
Session - Exercise/RehabilitationResearch Dissemination ReportsThere is a need to increase physical activity to attenuate age-related morbidity. This 12-month factorial design cluster trial randomized 399 volunteers from 24 centres to buddy peer support, pedometry, or control group. Data were anaysed using last-observation carried-forward and intention-to-treat methods. Compared to the controls, participants in the pedometry group increased their levels of physical activity energy expenditure significantly, as did those in the buddy group. As recorded by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire [IPAQ], the respective increases amounted to 1820 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1360-2290) and 1260 (95% CI, 780-17 460) metabolic equivalent of task (MET).min.wk-1. The buddy group also had significantly improved aerobic fitness after adjustment for body weight (12%; 95% CI, 4-21%), but this did not attain significance in the pedometry group (7%; 95% CI, -1 to 15%). Our results suggest that recourse to pedometers and the buddy peer support system is simple means of increasing physical activity in older subjects.published_or_final_versio
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Roller Nanoimprint Process: Adhesion and Other Mechanical Characteristics
Molecular dynamics simulations using tight-binding many body potential are carried out to study the roller imprint process of a gold single crystal. The effect of the roller tooth’s taper angle, imprint depth, imprint temperature, and imprint direction on the imprint force, adhesion, stress distribution, and strain are investigated. A two-stage roller imprint process was obtained from an imprint force curve. The two-stage imprint process included the imprint forming with a rapid increase of imprint force and the unloading stage combined with the adhesion stage. The results show that the imprint force and adhesion rapidly increase with decreasing taper angle and increasing imprint depth. The magnitude of the maximum imprint force and the time at which this maximum occurs are proportional to the imprint depth, but independent of the taper angle. In a comparison of the imprint mechanisms with a vertical imprint case, while high stress and strain regions are concentrated below the mold for vertical imprint, they also occur around the mold in the case of roller imprint. The regions were only concentrated on the substrate atoms underneath the mold in vertical imprint. Plastic flow increased with increasing imprint temperature
Genome Sequences of Poaceae-Associated Gemycirularviruses from the Pacific Ocean Island of Tonga
We sampled and analyzed 43 Poaceae plants from the Pacific Ocean island of Tonga for the presence of circular DNA viruses.
From these samples, we recovered three gemycircularvirus genomes, which share >99% identity, from Brachiaria deflexa (n
2) and sugarcane (n 1). These genomes share<61% genome-wide identity with other gemycircularvirus sequences in public
databases
Shear viscosity in theory from an extended ladder resummation
We study shear viscosity in weakly coupled hot theory using the CTP
formalism . We show that the viscosity can be obtained as the integral of a
three-point function. Non-perturbative corrections to the bare one-loop result
can be obtained by solving a decoupled Schwinger-Dyson type integral equation
for this vertex. This integral equation represents the resummation of an
infinite series of ladder diagrams which contribute to the leading order
result. It can be shown that this integral equation has exactly the same form
as the Boltzmann equation. We show that the integral equation for the viscosity
can be reexpressed by writing the vertex as a combination of polarization
tensors. An expression for this polarization tensor can be obtained by solving
another Schwinger-Dyson type integral equation. This procedure results in an
expression for the viscosity that represents a non-perturbative resummation of
contributions to the viscosity which includes certain non-ladder graphs, as
well as the usual ladders. We discuss the motivation for this resummation. We
show that these resummations can also be obtained by writing the viscosity as
an integral equation involving a single four-point function. Finally, we show
that when the viscosity is expressed in terms of a four-point function, it is
possible to further extend the set of graphs included in the resummation by
treating vertex and propagator corrections self-consistently. We discuss the
significance of such a self-consistent resummation and show that the integral
equation contains cancellations between vertex and propagator corrections.Comment: Revtex 40 pages with 29 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Similarity of slow stripe fluctations between Sr-doped cuprates and oxygen-doped nickelates
Stripe fluctuations in La2NiO4.17 have been studied by 139La NMR using the
field and temperature dependence of the linewidth and relaxation rates. In the
formation process of the stripes the NMR line intensity is maximal below 230K,
starts to diminish around 140K, disappears around 50K and recovers at 4K. These
results are shown to be consistent with, but completely complementary to
neutron measurements, and to be generic for oxygen doped nickelates and
underdoped cuprates.Comment: 4 pages including 4 figure
Mapping the unconventional orbital texture in topological crystalline insulators
The newly discovered topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) harbor a
complex band structure involving multiple Dirac cones. These materials are
potentially highly tunable by external electric field, temperature or strain
and could find future applications in field-effect transistors, photodetectors,
and nano-mechanical systems. Theoretically, it has been predicted that
different Dirac cones, offset in energy and momentum-space, might harbor vastly
different orbital character, a unique property which if experimentally
realized, would present an ideal platform for accomplishing new spintronic
devices. However, the orbital texture of the Dirac cones, which is of immense
importance in determining a variety of materials properties, still remains
elusive in TCIs. Here, we unveil the orbital texture in a prototypical TCI
PbSnSe. By using Fourier-transform (FT) scanning tunneling
spectroscopy (STS) we measure the interference patterns produced by the
scattering of surface state electrons. We discover that the intensity and
energy dependences of FTs show distinct characteristics, which can directly be
attributed to orbital effects. Our experiments reveal the complex band topology
involving two Lifshitz transitions and establish the orbital nature of the
Dirac bands in this new class of topological materials, which could provide a
different pathway towards future quantum applications
Linear Paul trap design for an optical clock with Coulomb crystals
We report on the design of a segmented linear Paul trap for optical clock
applications using trapped ion Coulomb crystals. For an optical clock with an
improved short-term stability and a fractional frequency uncertainty of 10^-18,
we propose 115In+ ions sympathetically cooled by 172Yb+. We discuss the
systematic frequency shifts of such a frequency standard. In particular, we
elaborate on high precision calculations of the electric radiofrequency field
of the ion trap using the finite element method. These calculations are used to
find a scalable design with minimized excess micromotion of the ions at a level
at which the corresponding second- order Doppler shift contributes less than
10^-18 to the relative uncertainty of the frequency standard
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