984 research outputs found
A Stochastic Description for Extremal Dynamics
We show that extremal dynamics is very well modelled by the "Linear
Fractional Stable Motion" (LFSM), a stochastic process entirely defined by two
exponents that take into account spatio-temporal correlations in the
distribution of active sites. We demonstrate this numerically and analytically
using well-known properties of the LFSM. Further, we use this correspondence to
write an exact expressions for an n-point correlation function as well as an
equation of fractional order for interface growth in extremal dynamics.Comment: 4 pages LaTex, 3 figures .ep
Continuum limit of amorphous elastic bodies (III): Three dimensional systems
Extending recent numerical studies on two dimensional amorphous bodies, we
characterize the approach of elastic continuum limit in three dimensional
(weakly polydisperse) Lennard-Jones systems. While performing a systematic
finite-size analysis (for two different quench protocols) we investigate the
non-affine displacement field under external strain, the linear response to an
external delta force and the low-frequency harmonic eigenmodes and their
density distribution. Qualitatively similar behavior is found as in two
dimensions. We demonstrate that the classical elasticity description breaks
down below an intermediate length scale , which in our system is
approximately 23 molecular sizes. This length characterizes the correlations of
the non-affine displacement field, the self-averaging of external noise with
distance from the source and gives the lower wave length bound for the
applicability of the classical eigenfrequency calculations. We trace back the
"Boson-peak" of the density of eigenfrequencies (obtained from the velocity
auto-correlation function) to the inhomogeneities on wave lengths smaller than
.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Early presentation of primary glioblastoma
Background
Clinical and neuroimaging findings of glioblastomas (GBM) at an early stage have rarely been described and those tumors are most probably under-diagnosed. Furthermore, their genetic alterations, to our knowledge, have never been previously reported.
Methods
We report the clinical as well as neuroimaging findings of four early cases of patients with GBM.
Results
In our series, early stage GBM occurred at a mean age of 57 years. All patients had seizures as their first symptom. In all early stages, MRI showed a hyperintense signal on T2-weighted sequences and an enhancement on GdE-T1WI sequences. A hyperintense signal on diffusion sequences with a low ADC value was also found. These early observed occurrences of GBM developed rapidly and presented the MRI characteristics of classic GBM within a few weeks. The GBM size was multiplied by 32 in one month. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated the de novo nature of these tumors, i.e. absence of mutant IDH1 R132H protein expression, which is a diagnostic marker of low-grade diffuse glioma and secondary GBM.
Conclusions
A better knowledge of early GBM presentation would allow a more suitable management of the patients and may improve their prognosis
Inhomogeneous elastic response of silica glass
Using large scale molecular dynamics simulations we investigate the
properties of the {\em non-affine} displacement field induced by macroscopic
uniaxial deformation of amorphous silica,a strong glass according to Angell's
classification. We demonstrate the existence of a length scale
characterizing the correlations of this field (corresponding to a volume of
about 1000 atoms), and compare its structure to the one observed in a standard
fragile model glass. The "Boson-peak'' anomaly of the density of states can be
traced back in both cases to elastic inhomogeneities on wavelengths smaller
than , where classical continuum elasticity becomes simply unapplicable
Collective Behavior of Asperities in Dry Friction at Small Velocities
We investigate a simple model of dry friction based on extremal dynamics of
asperities. At small velocities, correlations develop between the asperities,
whose range becomes infinite in the limit of infinitely slow driving, where the
system is self-organized critical. This collective phenomenon leads to
effective aging of the asperities and results in velocity dependence of the
friction force in the form .Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, revtex, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Vibrations of amorphous, nanometric structures: When does continuum theory apply?
Structures involving solid particles of nanometric dimensions play an
increasingly important role in material sciences. These structures are often
characterized through the vibrational properties of their constituent
particles, which can be probed by spectroscopic methods. Interpretation of such
experimental data requires an extension of continuum elasticity theory down to
increasingly small scales. Using numerical simulation and exact diagonalization
for simple models, we show that continuum elasticity, applied to disordered
system, actually breaks down below a length scale of typically 30 to 50
molecular sizes. This length scale is likely related to the one which is
generally invoked to explain the peculiar vibrational properties of glassy
systems.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, LATEX, Europhysics Letters accepte
Autologous tumor cell vaccination plus infusion of GM-CSF by a programmable pump in the treatment of recurrent malignant gliomas
From Individual to Collective Pinning: Effect of Long-range Elastic Interactions
We study the effect of long-range elastic interactions in the dynamical
behavior of an elastic chain driven quasi-statically in a quenched random
pinning potential and in the strong pinning limit. This is a generic situation
occuring in solid friction, crack propagation, wetting front motion, ... Tuning
the exponent of the algebraic decay of the elastic interaction with the
distance is shown to give rise to three regimes: a Mean-Field (MF) regime, a
Laplacian (L) regime and an intermediate regime where the critical exponents
interpolate continuously between the MF and L limit cases. The effect of the
driving mode on the avalanche statistics is also analyzed.Comment: 28 pages in RevTex, 17 figure
What is the probability of connecting two points ?
The two-terminal reliability, known as the pair connectedness or connectivity
function in percolation theory, may actually be expressed as a product of
transfer matrices in which the probability of operation of each link and site
is exactly taken into account. When link and site probabilities are and
, it obeys an asymptotic power-law behavior, for which the scaling factor
is the transfer matrix's eigenvalue of largest modulus. The location of the
complex zeros of the two-terminal reliability polynomial exhibits structural
transitions as .Comment: a few critical polynomials are at the end of the .tex source fil
Unique and universal dew-repellency of nanocones
Surface structuring provides a broad range of water-repellent materials known for their ability to reflect millimetre-sized raindrops. Dispelling water at the considerably reduced scale of fog or dew, however, constitutes a significant challenge, owing to the comparable size of droplets and structures. Nonetheless, a surface comprising nanocones was recently reported to exhibit strong anti-fogging behaviour, unlike pillars of the same size. To elucidate the origin of these differences, we systematically compare families of nanotexture that transition from pillars to sharp cones. Through environmental electron microscopy and modelling, we show that microdroplets condensing on sharp cones adopt a highly non-adhesive state, even at radii as low as 1.5 µm, contrasting with the behaviour on pillars where pinning results in impedance of droplet ejection. We establish the antifogging abilities to be universal over the range of our cone geometries, which speaks to the unique character of the nanocone geometry to repel dew. Truncated cones are finally shown to provide both pinning and a high degree of hydrophobicity, opposing characteristics that lead to a different, yet efficient, mechanism of dew ejection that relies on multiple coalescences
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