4,521 research outputs found
Signature Change on the Brane
We explore the possibility of having a good description of classical
signature change in the brane scenario.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 1 figure. Uses epsfig package. Slightly shorter
version to match the published version. Reference adde
Metagenetic analysis of patterns of distribution and diversity of marine meiobenthic eukaryotes
AimMeiofaunal communities that inhabit the marine benthos offer unique opportunities to simultaneously study the macroecology of numerous phyla that exhibit different life-history strategies. Here, we ask: (1) if the macroecology of meiobenthic communities is explained mainly by dispersal constraints or by environmental conditions; and (2) if levels of meiofaunal diversity surpass existing estimates based on morphological taxonomy. LocationUK and mainland European coast. MethodsNext-generation sequencing techniques (NGS; Roche 454 FLX platform) using 18S nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene. Pyrosequences were analysed using AmpliconNoise followed by chimera removal using Perseus. ResultsRarefaction curves revealed that sampling saturation was only reached at 15% of sites, highlighting that the bulk of meiofaunal diversity is yet to be discovered. Overall, 1353 OTUs were recovered and assigned to 23 different phyla. The majority of sampled sites had c. 60-70 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per site, indicating high levels of beta diversity. The environmental parameters that best explained community structure were seawater temperature, geographical distance and sediment size, but most of the variability (R-2=70%-80%) remains unexplained. Main conclusionsHigh percentages of endemic OTUs suggest that meiobenthic community composition is partly niche-driven, as observed in larger organisms, but also shares macroecological features of microorganisms by showing high levels of cosmopolitanism (albeit on a much smaller scale). Meiobenthic communities exhibited patterns of isolation by distance as well as associations between niche, latitude and temperature, indicating that meiobenthic communities result from a combination of niche assembly and dispersal processes. Conversely, isolation-by-distance patterns were not identified in the featured protists, suggesting that animals and protists adhere to radically different macroecological processes, linked to life-history strategies.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) [NE/E001505/1, NE/F001266/1, MGF-167]; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [SFRH/BD/27413/2006, SFRH/BPD/80447/2014]; EPSRC [EP/H003851/1]; BBSRC CASE studentship; Unilever; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [987347]; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/H003851/1]; Natural Environment Research Council [NE/F001290/1, NE/F001266/1, NE/E001505/1, NBAF010002]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Generalisation of the Einstein-Straus model to anisotropic settings
We study the possibility of generalising the Einstein--Straus model to
anisotropic settings, by considering the matching of locally cylindrically
symmetric static regions to the set of on locally rotationally
symmetric (LRS) spacetimes. We show that such matchings preserving the symmetry
are only possible for a restricted subset of the LRS models in which there is
no evolution in one spacelike direction. These results are applied to spatially
homogeneous (Bianchi) exteriors where the static part represents a finite
bounded interior region without holes. We find that it is impossible to embed
finite static strings or other locally cylindrically symmetric static objects
(such as bottle or coin-shaped objects) in reasonable Bianchi cosmological
models, irrespective of the matter content. Furthermore, we find that if the
exterior spacetime is assumed to have a perfect fluid source satisfying the
dominant energy condition, then only a very particular family of LRS stiff
fluid solutions are compatible with this model.
Finally, given the interior/exterior duality in the matching procedure, our
results have the interesting consequence that the Oppenheimer-Snyder model of
collapse cannot be generalised to such anisotropic cases.Comment: LaTeX, 24 pages. Text unchanged. Labels removed from the equations.
Submitted for publicatio
Molecular dynamics study of accelerated ion-induced shock waves in biological media
We present a molecular dynamics study of the effects of carbon- and iron-ion induced shock waves in DNA duplexes in liquid water. We use the CHARMM force field implemented within the MBN Explorer simulation package to optimize and equilibrate DNA duplexes in liquid water boxes of different sizes and shapes. The translational and vibrational degrees of freedom of water molecules are excited according to the energy deposited by the ions and the subsequent shock waves in liquid water are simulated. The pressure waves generated are studied and compared with an analytical hydrodynamics model which serves as a benchmark for evaluating the suitability of the simulation boxes. The energy deposition in the DNA backbone bonds is also monitored as an estimation of biological damage, something which is not possible with the analytical model
Spin dependent quantum interference in non-local graphene spin valves
Spin dependent electron transport measurements on graphene are of high
importance to explore possible spintronic applications. Up to date all spin
transport experiments on graphene were done in a semi-classical regime,
disregarding quantum transport properties such as phase coherence and
interference. Here we show that in a quantum coherent graphene nanostructure
the non-local voltage is strongly modulated. Using non-local measurements, we
separate the signal in spin dependent and spin independent contributions. We
show that the spin dependent contribution is about two orders of magnitude
larger than the spin independent one, when corrected for the finite
polarization of the electrodes. The non-local spin signal is not only strongly
modulated but also changes polarity as a function of the applied gate voltage.
By locally tuning the carrier density in the constriction we show that the
constriction plays a major role in this effect and indicates that it can act as
a spin filter device. Our results show the potential of quantum coherent
graphene nanostructures for the use in future spintronic devices
Screen Channel Liquid Acquisition Device Outflow Tests in Liquid Hydrogen
This paper presents experimental design and test results of the recently concluded 1-g inverted vertical outflow testing of two 325x2300 full scale liquid acquisition device (LAD) channels in liquid hydrogen (LH2). One of the channels had a perforated plate and internal cooling from a thermodynamic vent system (TVS) to enhance performance. The LADs were mounted in a tank to simulate 1-g outflow over a wide range of LH2 temperatures (20.3 - 24.2 K), pressures (100 - 350 kPa), and flow rates (0.010 - 0.055 kg/s). Results indicate that the breakdown point is dominated by liquid temperature, with a second order dependence on mass flow rate through the LAD. The best performance is always achieved in the coldest liquid states for both channels, consistent with bubble point theory. Higher flow rates cause the standard channel to break down relatively earlier than the TVS cooled channel. Both the internal TVS heat exchanger and subcooling the liquid in the propellant tank are shown to significantly improve LAD performance
Cellular localization, accumulation and trafficking of double-walled carbon nanotubes in human prostate cancer cells
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are at present being considered as potential nanovectors with the ability to deliver therapeutic cargoes into living cells. Previous studies established the ability of CNTs to enter cells and their therapeutic utility, but an appreciation of global intracellular trafficking associated with their cellular distribution has yet to be described. Despite the many aspects of the uptake mechanism of CNTs being studied, only a few studies have investigated internalization and fate of CNTs inside cells in detail. In the present study, intracellular localization and trafficking of RNA-wrapped, oxidized double-walled CNTs (oxDWNT–RNA) is presented. Fixed cells, previously exposed to oxDWNT–RNA, were subjected to immunocytochemical analysis using antibodies specific to proteins implicated in endocytosis; moreover cell compartment markers and pharmacological inhibitory conditions were also employed in this study. Our results revealed that an endocytic pathway is involved in the internalization of oxDWNT–RNA. The nanotubes were found in clathrin-coated vesicles, after which they appear to be sorted in early endosomes, followed by vesicular maturation, become located in lysosomes. Furthermore, we observed co-localization of oxDWNT–RNA with the small GTP-binding protein (Rab 11), involved in their recycling back to the plasma membrane via endosomes from the trans-golgi network
Galactic Kinematics Towards the South Galactic Pole. First Results from the Yale-San Juan Southern Proper-Motion Program
The predictions from a Galactic Structure and Kinematic model code are
compared to the color counts and absolute proper-motions derived from the
Southern Proper-Motion survey covering more than 700 toward the South
Galactic Pole in the range . The theoretical assumptions
and associated computational procedures, the geometry for the kinematic model,
and the adopted parameters are presented in detail and compared to other
Galactic Kinematic models of its kind. The data to which the model is compared
consists of more than 30,000 randomly selected stars, and it is best fit by
models with a solar peculiar motion of +5 km s in the V-component
(pointing in the direction of Galactic rotation), a large LSR speed of 270 km
s, and a (disk) velocity ellipsoid that always points towards the
Galactic center. The absolute proper-motions in the U-component indicate a
solar peculiar motion of km s, with no need for a local
expansion or contraction term. The fainter absolute motions show an indication
that the thick-disk must exhibit a rather steep velocity gradient of about -36
km s kpc with respect to the LSR. We are not able to set
constraints on the overall rotation for the halo, nor on the thick-disk or halo
velocity dispersions. Some substructure in the U & V proper-motions could be
present in the brighter bins , and it might be indicative
of (disk) moving groups.Comment: 24 double-column pages, 12 tables, AAS Latex macros v4.0, 19 B&W
figures, 1 color figure. Accepted for publication on The Astronomical Journa
Analycity and smoothing effect for the coupled system of equations of Korteweg - de Vries type with a single point singularity
We study that a solution of the initial value problem associated for the
coupled system of equations of Korteweg - de Vries type which appears as a
model to describe the strong interaction of weakly nonlinear long waves, has
analyticity in time and smoothing effect up to real analyticity if the initial
data only has a single point singularity at $x=0.
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