946 research outputs found
Comparative Study of Multicanonical and Simulated Annealing Algorithms in the Protein Folding Problem
We compare a few variants of the recently proposed multicanonical method with
the well known simulated annealing for the effectiveness in search of the
energy global minimum of a biomolecular system. For this we study in detail
Met-enkephalin, one of the simplest peptides. We show that the new method not
only outperforms simulated annealing in the search of the energy groundstate
but also provides more statistical-mechanical information about the system.Comment: to be published in Physica A, LATEX 32 pages, figures available on
reques
Electron correlation energy in confined two-electron systems
Radial, angular and total correlation energies are calculated for four
two-electron systems with atomic numbers Z=0-3 confined within an impenetrable
sphere of radius R. We report accurate results for the non-relativistic,
restricted Hartree-Fock and radial limit energies over a range of confinement
radii from 0.05 - 10 a0. At small R, the correlation energies approach limiting
values that are independent of Z while at intermediate R, systems with Z > 1
exhibit a characteristic maximum in the correlation energy resulting from an
increase in the angular correlation energy which is offset by a decrease in the
radial correlation energy
Continuum theory of vacancy-mediated diffusion
We present and solve a continuum theory of vacancy-mediated diffusion (as
evidenced, for example, in the vacancy driven motion of tracers in crystals).
Results are obtained for all spatial dimensions, and reveal the strongly
non-gaussian nature of the tracer fluctuations. In integer dimensions, our
results are in complete agreement with those from previous exact lattice
calculations. We also extend our model to describe the vacancy-driven
fluctuations of a slaved flux line.Comment: 25 Latex pages, subm. to Physical Review
Expression of miR-206 in human islets and its role in glucokinase regulation
Inappropriate insulin secretion from β-cells is considered as an early sign of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Glucokinase (GCK) is an important enzyme that regulates glucose metabolism and ensures that the normal circulating glucose concentrations are maintained. GCK expression is induced by glucose and regulated via transcription factors and regulatory proteins. Recently, microRNA-206 (miR-206) was reported to regulate GCK and alter glucose tolerance in normal and high-fat diet-fed mice. Although the study findings have implications for human diabetes, studies in human islets are lacking. Here, we analyze human islets from individuals without or with T2D, using TaqMan-based real-time qPCR at the tissue (isolated islet) level as well as at single cell resolution, to assess the relationship between miR-206 and GCK expression in normal and T2D human islets. Our data suggest that, unlike mouse islets, human islets do not exhibit any correlation between miR-206 and GCK transcripts. These data implicate the need for further studies aimed toward exploring its potential role(s) in human islets
Levi-Civita Effect in the polarizable vacuum (PV) representation of general relativity
The polarizable vacuum (PV) representation of general relativity (GR),
derived from a model by Dicke and related to the "TH-epsilon-mu" formalism used
in comparative studies of gravitational theories, provides for a compact
derivation of the Levi-Civita Effect (both magnetic and electric), herein
demonstrated.Comment: 8 page
Concentração de ácido ascórbico em sucos de diversas frutas brasileiras e sua relação com preço e necessidades diárias recomendadas de vitamina C
Foram analisados sucos industrializados de diversas frutas brasileiras, assim como frutas naturais das espécies utilizadas na fabricação dos sucos processados, adquiridos na Capital do Estado de São Paulo, para se determinar sua concentração em ácido ascórbico. O método utilizado na dosagem do ácido ascórbico foi o de Tillmans. Os resultados foram expressos em valores médios. Dentre os sucos industrializados analisados, os sucos integrais de caju e os concentrados de laranja e tangerina, foram os que apresentaram maior teor de ácido ascórbico. Os valores médios para sucos de frutas frescas foram mais elevados que para os industrializados (exceção dos concentrados) . Calculou-se também a quantidade de ácido ascórbico (em mg) contida em um copo (250 ml) de refresco ou de suco natural, bem como seu custo. Esses dados foram também relacionados com as necessidades diárias recomendadas, as quais poderão ser preenchidas de maneira menos dispendiosa pelas diluições necessárias de suco de caju processado ou por suco fresco de laranja
Effects of Pore Walls and Randomness on Phase Transitions in Porous Media
We study spin models within the mean field approximation to elucidate the
topology of the phase diagrams of systems modeling the liquid-vapor transition
and the separation of He--He mixtures in periodic porous media. These
topologies are found to be identical to those of the corresponding random field
and random anisotropy spin systems with a bimodal distribution of the
randomness. Our results suggest that the presence of walls (periodic or
otherwise) are a key factor determining the nature of the phase diagram in
porous media.Comment: REVTeX, 11 eps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Experiencing the world with archetypal symbols: A new form of aesthetics.
According to the theories of symbolic interactionism, phenomenology of perception and archetypes, we argue that symbols play the key role in translating the information from the physical world to the human experience, and archetypes are the universal knowledge of cognition that generates the background of human experience (the life-world). Therefore, we propose a conceptual framework that depicts how people experience the world with symbols, and how archetypes relate the deepest level of human experience. This framework indicates a new direction of research on memory and emotion, and also suggests that archetypal symbolism can be a new resource of aesthetic experience design.Postprint (published version
Precise Prediction for M_W in the MSSM
We present the currently most accurate evaluation of the W boson mass, M_W,
in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The full complex phase
dependence at the one-loop level, all available MSSM two-loop corrections as
well as the full Standard Model result have been included. We analyse the
impact of the different sectors of the MSSM at the one-loop level with a
particular emphasis on the effect of the complex phases. We discuss the
prediction for M_W based on all known higher-order contributions in
representative MSSM scenarios. Furthermore we obtain an estimate of the
remaining theoretical uncertainty from unknown higher-order corrections.Comment: 38 pages, 25 figures. Minor corrections, additional reference
A spatially-VSL gravity model with 1-PN limit of GRT
A scalar gravity model is developed according the 'geometric conventionalist'
approach introduced by Poincare (Einstein 1921, Poincare 1905, Reichenbach
1957, Gruenbaum1973). In principle this approach allows an alternative
interpretation and formulation of General Relativity Theory (GRT), with
distinct i) physical congruence standard, and ii) gravitation dynamics
according Hamilton-Lagrange mechanics, while iii) retaining empirical
indistinguishability with GRT. In this scalar model the congruence standards
have been expressed as gravitationally modified Lorentz Transformations
(Broekaert 2002). The first type of these transformations relate quantities
observed by gravitationally 'affected' (natural geometry) and 'unaffected'
(coordinate geometry) observers and explicitly reveal a spatially variable
speed of light (VSL). The second type shunts the unaffected perspective and
relates affected observers, recovering i) the invariance of the locally
observed velocity of light, and ii) the local Minkowski metric (Broekaert
2003). In the case of a static gravitation field the model retrieves the
phenomenology implied by the Schwarzschild metric. The case with proper source
kinematics is now described by introduction of a 'sweep velocity' field w: The
model then provides a hamiltonian description for particles and photons in full
accordance with the first Post-Newtonian approximation of GRT (Weinberg 1972,
Will 1993).Comment: v1: 11 pages, GR17 conf. paper, Dublin 2004, v2: WEP issue solved,
section on acceleration transformation added, text improved, more references,
same results, v3: typos removed, footnotes, added and references updated, v4:
appendix added, improved tex
- …