13,037 research outputs found
Bacterial chemotaxis without gradient-sensing
Models for chemotaxis are based on gradient sensing of individual organisms.
The key contribution of Keller and Segel is showing that erratic movements of
individuals may result in an accurate chemotaxis phenomenon as a group. In this
paper we provide another option to understand chemotactic behavior when
individuals do not sense the gradient of chemical concentration by any means.
We show that, if individuals increase their motility to find food when they are
hungry, an accurate chemotactic behavior may obtained without sensing the
gradient. Such a random dispersal has been suggested by Cho and Kim and is
called starvation driven diffusion. This model is surprisingly similar to the
original derivation of Keller-Segel model. A comprehensive picture of traveling
band and front solutions is provided with numerical simulations.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Topological insulators and metal-insulator transition in the pyrochlore iridates
The possible existence of topological insulators in cubic pyrochlore iridates
AIrO (A = Y or rare-earth elements) is investigated by taking
into account the strong spin-orbit coupling and trigonal crystal field effect.
It is found that the trigonal crystal field effect, which is always present in
real systems, may destabilize the topological insulator proposed for the ideal
cubic crystal field, leading to a metallic ground state. Thus the trigonal
crystal field is an important control parameter for the metal-insulator
changeover. We propose that this could be one of the reasons why distinct low
temperature ground states may arise for the pyrochlore iridates with different
A-site ions. On the other hand, examining the electron-lattice coupling, we
find that softening of the =0 modes corresponding to trigonal or
tetragonal distortions of the Ir pyrochlore lattice leads to the resurrection
of the strong topological insulator. Thus, in principle, a finite temperature
transition to a low-temperature topological insulator can occur via structural
changes. We also suggest that the application of the external pressure along
[111] or its equivalent directions would be the most efficient way of
generating strong topological insulators in pyrochlore iridates.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, 2 table
Nitrogen doping of carbon nanoelectrodes for enhanced control of DNA translocation dynamics
Controlling the dynamics of DNA translocation is a central issue in the
emerging nanopore-based DNA sequencing. To address the potential of heteroatom
doping of carbon nanostructures to achieve this goal, herein we carry out
atomistic molecular dynamics simulations for single-stranded DNAs translocating
between two pristine or doped carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes. Specifically,
we consider the substitutional nitrogen doping of capped CNT (capCNT)
electrodes and perform two types of molecular dynamics simulations for the
entrapped and translocating single-stranded DNAs. We find that the
substitutional nitrogen doping of capCNTs stabilizes the edge-on nucleobase
configurations rather than the original face-on ones and slows down the DNA
translocation speed by establishing hydrogen bonds between the N dopant atoms
and nucleobases. Due to the enhanced interactions between DNAs and N-doped
capCNTs, the duration time of nucleobases within the nanogap was extended by up
to ~ 290 % and the fluctuation of the nucleobases was reduced by up to ~ 70 %.
Given the possibility to be combined with extrinsic light or gate voltage
modulation methods, the current work demonstrates that the substitutional
nitrogen doping is a promising direction for the control of DNA translocation
dynamics through a nanopore or nanogap based of carbon nanomaterials.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Batalin-Tyutin Quantization of the Chiral Schwinger Model
We quantize the chiral Schwinger Model by using the Batalin-Tyutin formalism.
We show that one can systematically construct the first class constraints and
the desired involutive Hamiltonian, which naturally generates all secondary
constraints. For , this Hamiltonian gives the gauge invariant Lagrangian
including the well-known Wess-Zumino terms, while for the corresponding
Lagrangian has the additional new type of the Wess-Zumino terms, which are
irrelevant to the gauge symmetry.Comment: 15 pages, latex, no figures, to be published in Z. Phys. C (1995
Technical Efficiency in the Iron and Steel Industry: A Stochastic Frontier Approach
In this paper we examine the technical efficiency of firms in the iron and steel industry and try to identify the factors contributing to the industry's efficiency growth, using a time-varying stochastic frontier model. Based on our findings, which pertain to 52 iron and steel firms over the period of 1978-1997, POSCO and Nippon Steel were the most efficient firms, with their production, on average, exceeding 95 percent of their potential output. Our findings also shed light on possible sources of efficiency growth in the industry. If a firm is government-owned, its privatization is likely to improve its technical efficiency to a great extent. A firm's technical efficiency also tends to be positively related to its production level as measured by a share of the total world production of crude steel. Another important source of efficiency growth identified by our empirical findings is adoption of new technologies and equipment. Our findings clearly indicate that continued efforts to update technologies and equipment are critical in pursuit of efficiency in the iron and steel industry.
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