6,565 research outputs found
The interfascicular matrix enables fascicle sliding and recovery in tendon, and behaves more elastically in energy storing tendons
While the predominant function of all tendons is to transfer force from muscle to bone and position the limbs, some tendons additionally function as energy stores, reducing the cost of locomotion. Energy storing tendons experience extremely high strains and need to be able to recoil efficiently for maximum energy storage and return. In the equine forelimb, the energy storing superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) has much higher failure strains than the positional common digital extensor tendon (CDET). However, we have previously shown that this is not due to differences in the properties of the SDFT and CDET fascicles (the largest tendon subunits). Instead, there is a greater capacity for interfascicular sliding in the SDFT which facilitates the greater extensions in this particular tendon (Thorpe et al., 2012). In the current study, we exposed fascicles and interfascicular matrix (IFM) from the SDFT and CDET to cyclic loading followed by a test to failure. The results show that IFM mechanical behaviour is not a result of irreversible deformation, but the IFM is able to withstand cyclic loading, and is more elastic in the SDFT than in the CDET. We also assessed the effect of ageing on IFM properties, demonstrating that the IFM is less able to resist repetitive loading as it ages, becoming stiffer with increasing age in the SDFT. These results provide further indications that the IFM is important for efficient function in energy storing tendons, and age-related alterations to the IFM may compromise function and predispose older tendons to injury
Self-organized criticality in the intermediate phase of rigidity percolation
Experimental results for covalent glasses have highlighted the existence of a
new self-organized phase due to the tendency of glass networks to minimize
internal stress. Recently, we have shown that an equilibrated self-organized
two-dimensional lattice-based model also possesses an intermediate phase in
which a percolating rigid cluster exists with a probability between zero and
one, depending on the average coordination of the network. In this paper, we
study the properties of this intermediate phase in more detail. We find that
microscopic perturbations, such as the addition or removal of a single bond,
can affect the rigidity of macroscopic regions of the network, in particular,
creating or destroying percolation. This, together with a power-law
distribution of rigid cluster sizes, suggests that the system is maintained in
a critical state on the rigid/floppy boundary throughout the intermediate
phase, a behavior similar to self-organized criticality, but, remarkably, in a
thermodynamically equilibrated state. The distinction between percolating and
non-percolating networks appears physically meaningless, even though the
percolating cluster, when it exists, takes up a finite fraction of the network.
We point out both similarities and differences between the intermediate phase
and the critical point of ordinary percolation models without
self-organization. Our results are consistent with an interpretation of recent
experiments on the pressure dependence of Raman frequencies in chalcogenide
glasses in terms of network homogeneity.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figure
The DarkSide-20k TPC and Underground Argon Cryogenic System
DarkSide-20k (DS-20k) will exploit the physical and chemical properties of
liquid argon housed within a large dual-phase time project chamber (TPC) in its
direct search for dark matter. The TPC will utilize a compact, integrated
design with many novel features to enable the \SI{20}{t} fiducial volume of
underground argon. Underground Argon (UAr) is sourced from underground CO
wells and depleted in the radioactive isotope Ar, greatly enhancing the
experimental sensitivity to dark matter interactions. Sourcing and transporting
the (\SI{100}{t}) of UAr for DS-20k is costly, and a dedicated
single-closed-loop cryogenic system has been designed, constructed, and tested
to handle the valuable UAr. We present an overview of the DS-20k TPC design and
the first results from the UAr cryogenic system
Fascicles and the interfascicular matrix show decreased fatigue life with ageing in energy storing tendons
Tendon is composed of rope-like fascicles bound together by interfascicular matrix (IFM). The IFM is critical for the function of energy storing tendons, facilitating sliding between fascicles to allow these tendons to cyclically stretch and recoil. This capacity is required to a lesser degree in positional tendons. We have previously demonstrated that both fascicles and IFM in energy storing tendons have superior fatigue resistance compared with positional tendons, but the effect of ageing on the fatigue properties of these different tendon subunits has not been determined. Energy storing tendons become more injury-prone with ageing, indicating reduced fatigue resistance, hence we tested the hypothesis that the decline in fatigue life with ageing in energy storing tendons would be more pronounced in the IFM than in fascicles. We further hypothesised that tendon subunit fatigue resistance would not alter with ageing in positional tendons. Fascicles and IFM from young and old energy storing and positional tendons were subjected to cyclic fatigue testing until failure, and mechanical properties were calculated. The results show that both IFM and fascicles from the SDFT exhibit a similar magnitude of reduced fatigue life with ageing. By contrast, the fatigue life of positional tendon subunits was unaffected by ageing. The age-related decline in fatigue life of tendon subunits in energy storing tendons is likely to contribute to the increased risk of injury in aged tendons. Full understanding of the mechanisms resulting in this reduced fatigue life will aid in the development of treatments and interventions to prevent age-related tendinopathy
Sky localization of complete inspiral-merger-ringdown signals for nonspinning massive black hole binaries
We investigate the capability of LISA to measure the sky position of
equal-mass, nonspinning black hole binaries, combining for the first time the
entire inspiral-merger-ringdown signal, the effect of the LISA orbits, and the
complete three-channel LISA response. We consider an ensemble of systems near
the peak of LISA's sensitivity band, with total rest mass of 2\times10^6
M\odot, a redshift of z = 1, and randomly chosen orientations and sky
positions. We find median sky localization errors of approximately \sim3
arcminutes. This is comparable to the field of view of powerful electromagnetic
telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, that could be used to
search for electromagnetic signals associated with merging massive black holes.
We investigate the way in which parameter errors decrease with measurement
time, focusing specifically on the additional information provided during the
merger-ringdown segment of the signal. We find that this information improves
all parameter estimates directly, rather than through diminishing correlations
with any subset of well- determined parameters. Although we have employed the
baseline LISA design for this study, many of our conclusions regarding the
information provided by mergers will be applicable to alternative mission
designs as well.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Quantum melting of charge ice and non-Fermi-liquid behavior: An exact solution for the extended Falicov-Kimball model in the ice-rule limit
An exact solution is obtained for a model of itinerant electrons coupled to
ice-rule variables on the tetrahedron Husimi cactus, an analogue of the Bethe
lattice of corner-sharing tetrahedra. It reveals a quantum critical point with
the emergence of non-Fermi-liquid behavior in melting of the "charge ice"
insulator. The electronic structure is compared with the numerical results for
the pyrochlore-lattice model to elucidate the physics of electron systems
interacting with the tetrahedron ice rule.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Algorithms for 3D rigidity analysis and a first order percolation transition
A fast computer algorithm, the pebble game, has been used successfully to
study rigidity percolation on 2D elastic networks, as well as on a special
class of 3D networks, the bond-bending networks. Application of the pebble game
approach to general 3D networks has been hindered by the fact that the
underlying mathematical theory is, strictly speaking, invalid in this case. We
construct an approximate pebble game algorithm for general 3D networks, as well
as a slower but exact algorithm, the relaxation algorithm, that we use for
testing the new pebble game. Based on the results of these tests and additional
considerations, we argue that in the particular case of randomly diluted
central-force networks on BCC and FCC lattices, the pebble game is essentially
exact. Using the pebble game, we observe an extremely sharp jump in the largest
rigid cluster size in bond-diluted central-force networks in 3D, with the
percolating cluster appearing and taking up most of the network after a single
bond addition. This strongly suggests a first order rigidity percolation
transition, which is in contrast to the second order transitions found
previously for the 2D central-force and 3D bond-bending networks. While a first
order rigidity transition has been observed for Bethe lattices and networks
with ``chemical order'', this is the first time it has been seen for a regular
randomly diluted network. In the case of site dilution, the transition is also
first order for BCC, but results for FCC suggest a second order transition.
Even in bond-diluted lattices, while the transition appears massively first
order in the order parameter (the percolating cluster size), it is continuous
in the elastic moduli. This, and the apparent non-universality, make this phase
transition highly unusual.Comment: 28 pages, 19 figure
Self-organization with equilibration: a model for the intermediate phase in rigidity percolation
Recent experimental results for covalent glasses suggest the existence of an
intermediate phase attributed to the self-organization of the glass network
resulting from the tendency to minimize its internal stress. However, the exact
nature of this experimentally measured phase remains unclear. We modify a
previously proposed model of self-organization by generating a uniform sampling
of stress-free networks. In our model, studied on a diluted triangular lattice,
an unusual intermediate phase appears, in which both rigid and floppy networks
have a chance to occur, a result also observed in a related model on a Bethe
lattice by Barre et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 208701 (2005)]. Our results for
the bond-configurational entropy of self-organized networks, which turns out to
be only about 2% lower than that of random networks, suggest that a
self-organized intermediate phase could be common in systems near the rigidity
percolation threshold.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
- …