1,171 research outputs found
Slow-light and evanescent modes at interfaces in photonic crystal waveguides: optimal extraction from experimental near-field measurements
We develop a systematic approach for simultaneous extraction of the dispersion relations and profiles of multiple modes in periodic waveguides though a special global optimization procedure applied to near-field electric field measurements in the waveguide plane. We apply this method to perform in-depth analysis of experimental data on wave propagation close to an interface between waveguide sections with different dispersion characteristics, and we successfully identify several modes contributing to the experimentally measured fields. We find clear evidence that when the group velocity is reduced across the interface, evanescent modes that facilitate the excitation of propagating slow-light waves appear, confirming previous theoretical predictions. (C) 2011 Optical Society of AmericaPublisher PDFPeer reviewe
Sequence-based design of a peptide probe for the APC tumor suppressor protein
AbstractBackground: Proteins form specific associations, but predictive rules for protein pairing are generally unknown. Here, we describe amino-acid sequence patterns capable of mediating specific pairing of a widespread protein motif: the parallel, dimeric, α-helical coiled coil. The pairing rules were tested by designing a 54-residue peptide (anti-APCp1) that is predicted to dimerize preferentially with a coiled-coil sequence from the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein.Results: As judged by circular dichroism, ultracentrifugation and native gel electrophoresis, anti-APCp1 formed a specific, helical, dimeric complex with the target APC coiled coil. On western blots of APC fragments expressed in Escherichia coli, the designed peptide detected a pattern of bands identical to the pattern detected by an antibody directed against the APC coiled coil. Peptide-mediated precipitation experiments showed that anti-APCp1 bound and sequestered wild-type and mutant APC proteins in extracts of human colon cancer cell lines. In addition, binding of the designed peptide preserved native APCâÎČ-catenin complexes.Conclusions: These biochemical experiments demonstrate that the anti-APC peptide preferentially forms a heterodimeric coiled coil with mutant and full-length APC proteins. The specificity of the designed peptide is sufficient to support several applications that commonly use antibodies. The observed specificity of anti-APCp1 validates the pairing rules used as the basis for the probe design, and it suggests that residues in the core positions of coiled coils help impart pairing selectivity
Resolving the Formation of Protogalaxies. III. Feedback from the First Stars
The first stars form in dark matter halos of masses ~10^6 M_sun as suggested
by an increasing number of numerical simulations. Radiation feedback from these
stars expels most of the gas from their shallow potential well of their
surrounding dark matter halos. We use cosmological adaptive mesh refinement
simulations that include self-consistent Population III star formation and
feedback to examine the properties of assembling early dwarf galaxies. Accurate
radiative transport is modeled with adaptive ray tracing. We include supernova
explosions and follow the metal enrichment of the intergalactic medium. The
calculations focus on the formation of several dwarf galaxies and their
progenitors. In these halos, baryon fractions in 10^8 solar mass halos decrease
by a factor of 2 with stellar feedback and by a factor of 3 with supernova
explosions. We find that radiation feedback and supernova explosions increase
gaseous spin parameters up to a factor of 4 and vary with time. Stellar
feedback, supernova explosions, and H_2 cooling create a complex, multi-phase
interstellar medium whose densities and temperatures can span up to 6 orders of
magnitude at a given radius. The pair-instability supernovae of Population III
stars alone enrich the halos with virial temperatures of 10^4 K to
approximately 10^{-3} of solar metallicity. We find that 40% of the heavy
elements resides in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at the end of our
calculations. The highest metallicity gas exists in supernova remnants and very
dilute regions of the IGM.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, accepted to ApJ. Many changes, including
estimates of metal line cooling. High resolution images and movies available
at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~jwise/research/PGalaxies3
Resolving the Formation of Protogalaxies. I. Virialization
(Abridged) Galaxies form in hierarchically assembling dark matter halos. With
cosmological three dimensional adaptive mesh refinement simulations, we explore
in detail the virialization of baryons in the concordance cosmology, including
optically thin primordial gas cooling. We focus on early protogalaxies with
virial temperatures of 10^4 K and their progenitors. Without cooling, virial
heating occurs in shocks close to the virial radius for material falling in
from voids. Material in dense filaments penetrates deeper to about half that
radius. With cooling the virial shock position shrinks and also the filaments
reach scales as small as a third the virial radius. The temperatures in
protogalaxies found in adiabatic simulations decrease by a factor of two from
the center and show flat entropy cores. In cooling halos the gas reaches virial
equilibrium with the dark matter potential through its turbulent velocities. We
observe turbulent Mach numbers ranging from one to three in the cooling cases.
This turbulence is driven by the large scale merging and interestingly remains
supersonic in the centers of these early galaxies even in the absence of any
feedback processes. The virial theorem is shown to approximately hold over 3
orders of magnitude in length scale with the turbulent pressure prevailing over
the thermal energy. The turbulent velocity distributions are Maxwellian and by
far dominate the small rotation velocities associated with the total angular
momentum of the galaxies. Decomposing the velocity field using the
Cauchy-Stokes theorem, we show that ample amounts of vorticity are present
around shocks even at the very centers of these objects.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to ApJ on 8 March 2007. Revised
manuscript. Comments welcom
When cheating is an honest mistake
Dishonesty is an intriguing phenomenon, studied extensively across various disciplines due to its impact on peopleâs lives as well as society in general. To examine dishonesty in a controlled setting, researchers have developed a number of experimental paradigms. One of the most popular approaches in this regard, is the matrix task, in which participants receive matrices wherein they have to find two numbers that sum to 10 (e.g., 4.81 and 5.19), under time pressure. In a next phase, participants need to report how many matrices they had solved correctly, allowing them the opportunity to cheat by exaggerating their performance in order to get a larger reward. Here, we argue, both on theoretical and empirical grounds, that the matrix task is ill-suited to study dishonest behavior, primarily because it conflates cheating with honest mistakes. We therefore recommend researchers to use different paradigms to examine dishonesty, and treat (previous) findings based on the matrix task with due caution
Should NICE reconsider the 2016 UK guidelines on TB contact tracing? A cost-effectiveness analysis of contact investigations in London.
BACKGROUND: In January 2016, clinical TB guidance in the UK changed to no longer recommend screening contacts of non-pulmonary, non-laryngeal (ETB) index cases. However, no new evidence was cited for this change, and there is evidence that screening these contacts may be worthwhile. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of screening contacts of adult ETB cases and adult pulmonary or laryngeal TB (PTB) cases in London, UK. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional analysis of data collected on TB index cases and contacts in the London TB register and an economic evaluation using a static model describing contact tracing outcomes. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated using no screening as the baseline comparator. All adult TB cases (â„15 years old) in London from 2012 to 2015, and their contacts, were eligible (2465/5084 PTB and 2559/6090 ETB index cases were included). RESULTS: Assuming each contact with PTB infects one person/month, the ICER of screening contacts of ETB cases was ÂŁ78 000/quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) (95%âCI 39â000 to 140â000), and screening contacts of PTB cases was ÂŁ30 000/QALY (95%âCI 18â000 to 50 000). The ICER of screening contacts of ETB cases was ÂŁ30 000/QALY if each contact with PTB infects 3.4 people/month. Limitations of this study include the use of self-reported symptomatic periods and lack of knowledge about onward transmission from PTB contacts. CONCLUSIONS: Screening contacts of ETB cases in London was almost certainly not cost-effective at any conventional willingness-to-pay threshold in England, supporting recent changes to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence national guidelines
Seismicity of the Askja and BĂĄrĂ°arbunga volcanic systems of Iceland, 2009â2015,
A large seismic network deployed in the Icelandic highlands recorded >100,000 earthquakes from 2009 to 2015. We develop a local magnitude scale, appropriate for use in central Iceland, which is similar to the scale used by the Iceland Meteorological Office. Using this large catalogue of earthquakes, we analyze the spatial and temporal changes in seismicity rates and b-values. In microearthquakes recorded from the usually ductile lower crust we find that b-values are high, reflecting the presence of high thermal gradients and low stresses driving seismicity associated with the movement of melt. In contrast, b-values in the upper crust are variable. Low b-values, indicative of a high stress environment, are observed during seismic swarms such as those around Mt. HerĂ°ubreiĂ° and around BĂĄrĂ°arbunga caldera. A persistently seismically active area around a geothermal area within Askja caldera has a b-value around 1 but has a strong annual cycle of seismicity. We attribute the annual cycle to varying load from the snow cover modulating the seismicity. Seismicity driven by the intrusion of a large dyke has a b-value well above 1, driven by the high pore fluid pressures and thermal gradients around the dyke
Evolution of a lateral dike intrusion revealed by relatively-relocated dike-induced earthquakes: the 2014-15 BĂĄrĂ°arbunga-Holuhraun rifting event, Iceland
Understanding dikes is vital as they serve both as bodies that build the crust and as conduits that feed eruptions, and must be monitored to evaluate volcanic hazard. During the 2014â15 BĂĄrĂ°arbunga rifting event, Iceland, intense seismicity accompanied the intrusion of a âŒ50 km lateral dike which culminated in a 6 month long eruption. We here present relocations of earthquakes induced by the lateral dike intrusion, using cross-correlated, sub-sample relative travel times. The âŒ100 m spatial resolution achieved reveals the complexity of the dike propagation pathway and dynamics (jerky, segmented), and allows us to address the precise relationship between the dike and seismicity, with direct implications for hazard monitoring. The spatio-temporal characteristics of the induced seismicity can be directly linked in the first instance to propagation of the tip and opening of the dike, and following this â after dike opening â indicate a relationship with magma pressure changes (i.e. dike inflation/deflation), followed by a general âpost-openingâ decay. Seismicity occurs only at the base of the dike, where dike-imposed stresses â combined with the background tectonic stress (from regional extension over >200 yr since last rifting) â are sufficient to induce failure of pre-existing weaknesses in the crust, while the greatest opening is at shallower depths. Emplacement oblique to the spreading ridge resulted in left-lateral shear motion along the distal dike section (studied here), and a prevalence of left-lateral shear failure. Fault plane strikes are predominately independent of the orientation of lineations delineated by the hypocenters, indicating that they are controlled by the underlying host rock fabric. This high-resolution study provides unprecedented opportunity for comparison with both geodetic and field (frozen dike) observations, and development and consolidation of analytical and analogue models, with implications for rifting processes and real-time monitoring of magma intrusion
Resolving the Formation of Protogalaxies. II. Central Gravitational Collapse
Numerous cosmological hydrodynamic studies have addressed the formation of
galaxies. Here we choose to study the first stages of galaxy formation,
including non-equilibrium atomic primordial gas cooling, gravity and
hydrodynamics. Using initial conditions appropriate for the concordance
cosmological model of structure formation, we perform two adaptive mesh
refinement simulations of ~10^8 M_sun galaxies at high redshift. The
calculations resolve the Jeans length at all times with more than 16 cells and
capture over 14 orders of magnitude in length scales. In both cases, the dense,
10^5 solar mass, one parsec central regions are found to contract rapidly and
have turbulent Mach numbers up to 4. Despite the ever decreasing Jeans length
of the isothermal gas, we only find one site of fragmentation during the
collapse. However, rotational secular bar instabilities transport angular
momentum outwards in the central parsec as the gas continues to collapse and
lead to multiple nested unstable fragments with decreasing masses down to
sub-Jupiter mass scales. Although these numerical experiments neglect star
formation and feedback, they clearly highlight the physics of turbulence in
gravitationally collapsing gas. The angular momentum segregation seen in our
calculations plays an important role in theories that form supermassive black
holes from gaseous collapse.Comment: Replaced with accepted version. To appear in ApJ v681 (July 1
Simulations of Early Structure Formation: Primordial Gas Clouds
(abridged) We use large cosmological simulations to study the origin of
primordial star-forming clouds in a Lambda CDM universe, by following the
formation of dark matter halos and the cooling of gas within them. To model the
physics of chemically pristine gas, we employ a non-equilibrium treatment of
the chemistry of 9 species and include cooling by molecular hydrogen. We
explore the hierarchical growth of bound structures forming at redshifts z = 25
- 30 with total masses in the range 10^5 - 10^6 Msun. The complex interplay
between the gravitational formation of dark halos and the thermodynamic and
chemical evolution of the gas clouds compromises analytic estimates of the
critical H2 fraction. Dynamical heating from mass accretion and mergers opposes
relatively inefficient cooling by molecular hydrogen, delaying the production
of star-forming clouds in rapidly growing halos. We also investigate the impact
of photo-dissociating ultra-violet (UV) radiation on the formation of
primordial gas clouds. We consider two extreme cases by first including a
uniform radiation field in the optically thin limit and secondly by accounting
for the maximum effect of gas self-shielding in virialized regions. In both the
cases we consider, the overall impact can be described by computing an
equilibrium H2 abundance for the radiation flux and defining an effective
shielding factor.
Based on our numerical results, we develop a semi-analytic model of the
formation of the first stars, and demonstrate how it can be coupled with large
N-body simulations to predict the star formation rate in the early universe.Comment: Revised version accepted by ApJ. Description of semi-analytic models
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