131 research outputs found
First-order phase transition in the tethered surface model on a sphere
We show that the tethered surface model of Helfrich and Polyakov-Kleinert
undergoes a first-order phase transition separating the smooth phase from the
crumpled one. The model is investigated by the canonical Monte Carlo
simulations on spherical and fixed connectivity surfaces of size up to N=15212.
The first-order transition is observed when N>7000, which is larger than those
in previous numerical studies, and a continuous transition can also be observed
on small-sized surfaces. Our results are, therefore, consistent with those
obtained in previous studies on the phase structure of the model.Comment: 6 pages with 7 figure
Phase transitions of a tethered surface model with a deficit angle term
Nambu-Goto model is investigated by using the canonical Monte Carlo
simulations on fixed connectivity surfaces of spherical topology. Three
distinct phases are found: crumpled, tubular, and smooth. The crumpled and the
tubular phases are smoothly connected, and the tubular and the smooth phases
are connected by a discontinuous transition. The surface in the tubular phase
forms an oblong and one-dimensional object similar to a one-dimensional linear
subspace in the Euclidean three-dimensional space R^3. This indicates that the
rotational symmetry inherent in the model is spontaneously broken in the
tubular phase, and it is restored in the smooth and the crumpled phases.Comment: 6 pages with 6 figure
Phase transition of meshwork models for spherical membranes
We have studied two types of meshwork models by using the canonical Monte
Carlo simulation technique. The first meshwork model has elastic junctions,
which are composed of vertices, bonds, and triangles, while the second model
has rigid junctions, which are hexagonal (or pentagonal) rigid plates.
Two-dimensional elasticity is assumed only at the elastic junctions in the
first model, and no two-dimensional bending elasticity is assumed in the second
model. Both of the meshworks are of spherical topology. We find that both
models undergo a first-order collapsing transition between the smooth spherical
phase and the collapsed phase. The Hausdorff dimension of the smooth phase is
H\simeq 2 in both models as expected. It is also found that H\simeq 2 in the
collapsed phase of the second model, and that H is relatively larger than 2 in
the collapsed phase of the first model, but it remains in the physical bound,
i.e., H<3. Moreover, the first model undergoes a discontinuous surface
fluctuation transition at the same transition point as that of the collapsing
transition, while the second model undergoes a continuous transition of surface
fluctuation. This indicates that the phase structure of the meshwork model is
weakly dependent on the elasticity at the junctions.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figure
Phase transition of triangulated spherical surfaces with elastic skeletons
A first-order transition is numerically found in a spherical surface model
with skeletons, which are linked to each other at junctions. The shape of the
triangulated surfaces is maintained by skeletons, which have a one-dimensional
bending elasticity characterized by the bending rigidity , and the surfaces
have no two-dimensional bending elasticity except at the junctions. The
surfaces swell and become spherical at large and collapse and crumple at
small . These two phases are separated from each other by the first-order
transition. Although both of the surfaces and the skeleton are allowed to
self-intersect and, hence, phantom, our results indicate a possible phase
transition in biological or artificial membranes whose shape is maintained by
cytoskeletons.Comment: 15 pages with 10 figure
Spherical surface models with directors
A triangulated spherical surface model is numerically studied, and it is
shown that the model undergoes phase transitions between the smooth phase and
the collapsed phase. The model is defined by using a director field, which is
assumed to have an interaction with a normal of the surface. The interaction
between the directors and the surface maintains the surface shape. The director
field is not defined within the two-dimensional differential geometry, and this
is in sharp contrast to the conventional surface models, where the surface
shape is maintained only by the curvature energies. We also show that the
interaction makes the Nambu-Goto model well-defined, where the bond potential
is given by the area of triangles; the Nambu-Goto model is well-known as an
ill-defined one even when the conventional two-dimensional bending energy is
included in the Hamiltonian.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figure
Effects of a dual inhibitor of TNF-α and IL-1 on lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury in rats
Phase transitions of an intrinsic curvature model on dynamically triangulated spherical surfaces with point boundaries
An intrinsic curvature model is investigated using the canonical Monte Carlo
simulations on dynamically triangulated spherical surfaces of size upto N=4842
with two fixed-vertices separated by the distance 2L. We found a first-order
transition at finite curvature coefficient \alpha, and moreover that the order
of the transition remains unchanged even when L is enlarged such that the
surfaces become sufficiently oblong. This is in sharp contrast to the known
results of the same model on tethered surfaces, where the transition weakens to
a second-order one as L is increased. The phase transition of the model in this
paper separates the smooth phase from the crumpled phase. The surfaces become
string-like between two point-boundaries in the crumpled phase. On the
contrary, we can see a spherical lump on the oblong surfaces in the smooth
phase. The string tension was calculated and was found to have a jump at the
transition point. The value of \sigma is independent of L in the smooth phase,
while it increases with increasing L in the crumpled phase. This behavior of
\sigma is consistent with the observed scaling relation \sigma \sim (2L/N)^\nu,
where \nu\simeq 0 in the smooth phase, and \nu=0.93\pm 0.14 in the crumpled
phase. We should note that a possibility of a continuous transition is not
completely eliminated.Comment: 15 pages with 10 figure
Finsler geometry modeling of reverse piezoelectric effect in PVDF
We apply the Finsler geometry (FG) modeling technique to study the electric field-induced strain in ferroelectric polymers. Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) has a negative longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient, which is unusual in ferroelectrics, and therefore the shape changes in this material are hard to predict. We find that the results of Monte Carlo simulations for the FG model are in good agreement with experimental strain-electric field curves of PVDF-based polymers in both longitudinal and transverse directions. This implies that FG modeling is suitable for reproducing the reverse piezoelectric effect in PVDF
Bacterial contamination of inanimate surfaces and equipment in the intensive care unit
Intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infections are a challenging health problem worldwide, especially when caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. In ICUs, inanimate surfaces and equipment (e.g., bedrails, stethoscopes, medical charts, ultrasound machine) may be contaminated by bacteria, including MDR isolates. Cross-transmission of microorganisms from inanimate surfaces may have a significant role for ICU-acquired colonization and infections. Contamination may result from healthcare workers' hands or by direct patient shedding of bacteria which are able to survive up to several months on dry surfaces. A higher environmental contamination has been reported around infected patients than around patients who are only colonized and, in this last group, a correlation has been observed between frequency of environmental contamination and culture-positive body sites. Healthcare workers not only contaminate their hands after direct patient contact but also after touching inanimate surfaces and equipment in the patient zone (the patient and his/her immediate surroundings). Inadequate hand hygiene before and after entering a patient zone may result in cross-transmission of pathogens and patient colonization or infection. A number of equipment items and commonly used objects in ICU carry bacteria which, in most cases, show the same antibiotic susceptibility profiles of those isolated from patients. The aim of this review is to provide an updated evidence about contamination of inanimate surfaces and equipment in ICU in light of the concept of patient zone and the possible implications for bacterial pathogen cross-transmission to critically ill patients
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