431 research outputs found
Demographic growth and the distribution of language sizes
It is argued that the present log-normal distribution of language sizes is,
to a large extent, a consequence of demographic dynamics within the population
of speakers of each language. A two-parameter stochastic multiplicative process
is proposed as a model for the population dynamics of individual languages, and
applied over a period spanning the last ten centuries. The model disregards
language birth and death. A straightforward fitting of the two parameters,
which statistically characterize the population growth rate, predicts a
distribution of language sizes in excellent agreement with empirical data.
Numerical simulations, and the study of the size distribution within language
families, validate the assumptions at the basis of the model.Comment: To appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. C (2008
Analgesic and Antidepressant Effects of the Clinical Glutamate Modulators Acetyl-L-Carnitine and Ketamine
Pain and depression are leading causes of disability and of profound social and economic burden. Their impact is aggravated by their chronicity and comorbidity and the insufficient efficacy of current treatments. Morphological and functional metabolism studies link chronic pain and depressive disorders to dysfunctional neuroplastic changes in fronto-limbic brain regions that control emotional responses to painful injuries and stressful events. Glutamate modulators are emerging new therapies targeting dysfunctional brain areas implicated in the generation and maintenance of chronic pain and depression. Here, we report the effects of two clinically approved glutamate modulators: acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) and S, R(±)ketamine (KET). ALCAR is a natural neurotrophic compound currently marketed for the treatment of neuropathies. KET is the prototypical non-competitive antagonist at N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptors and a clinically approved anesthetic. Although they differ in pharmacological profiles, ALCAR and KET both modulate aminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmissions and pain and mood. We assessed in rats the effects of ALCAR and KET on cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (rCMRglc) and assessed clinically the effects of ALCAR in chronic pain and of KET in post-operative pain. ALCAR and KET increased rCMRglc at similar degrees in prefrontal, somatosensory, and cingulate cortices, and KET increased rCMRglc at a different, much larger, degree in limbic and dopaminergic areas. While rCMRglc increases in prefrontal cortical areas have been associated with analgesic and antidepressant effects of ALCAR and KET, the marked metabolic increases KET induces in limbic and dopaminergic areas have been related to its psychotomimetic and abuse properties. In patients with chronic neuropathic pain, ALCAR (1,000 mg/day) yielded to a fast (2 weeks) improvement of mood and then of pain and quality of life. In day-surgery patients, KET improved dischargeability and satisfaction. In obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery, a single, low dose of KET (0.5 mg/kg) at induction of anesthesia determined a very fast (hours) amelioration of post-operative depression and pain and an opioid-sparing effect. These findings indicate that ALCAR and KET, two non-selective glutamate modulators, still offer viable therapeutic options in comorbid pain and depression
Dynamics and nonequilibrium states in the Hamiltonian mean-field model: A closer look
We critically revisit the evidence for the existence of quasistationary
states in the globally coupled XY (or Hamiltonian mean-field) model. A
slow-relaxation regime at long times is clearly revealed by numerical
realizations of the model, but no traces of quasistationarity are found during
the earlier stages of the evolution. We point out the nonergodic properties of
this system in the short-time range, which makes a standard statistical
description unsuitable. New aspects of the evolution during the nonergodic
regime, and of the energy distribution function in the final approach to
equilibrium, are disclosed
Dependences of the Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a cavity wall on atomic and material properties
The Casimir-Polder and van der Waals interactions between an atom and a flat
cavity wall are investigated under the influence of real conditions including
the dynamic polarizability of the atom, actual conductivity of the wall
material and nonzero temperature of the wall. The cases of different atoms near
metal and dielectric walls are considered. It is shown that to obtain accurate
results for the atom-wall interaction at short separations, one should use the
complete tabulated optical data for the complex refractive index of the wall
material and the accurate dynamic polarizability of an atom. At relatively
large separations in the case of a metal wall, one may use the plasma model
dielectric function to describe the dielectric properties of wall material. The
obtained results are important for the theoretical interpretation of
experiments on quantum reflection and Bose-Einstein condensation.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, iopart.cls is used, to appear in J. Phys. A
(special issue: Proceedings of QFEXT05, Barcelona, Sept. 5-9, 2005
Dependences of the van der Waals atom-wall interaction on atomic and material properties
The 1%-accurate calculations of the van der Waals interaction between an atom
and a cavity wall are performed in the separation region from 3 nm to 150 nm.
The cases of metastable He and Na atoms near the metal,
semiconductor or dielectric walls are considered. Different approximations to
the description of wall material and atomic dynamic polarizability are
carefully compared. The smooth transition to the Casimir-Polder interaction is
verified. It is shown that to obtain accurate results for the atom-wall van der
Waals interaction at shortest separations with an error less than 1% one should
use the complete optical tabulated data for the complex refraction index of the
wall material and the accurate dynamic polarizability of an atom. The obtained
results may be useful for the theoretical interpretation of recent experiments
on quantum reflection and Bose-Einstein condensation of ultracold atoms on or
near surfaces of different nature.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Advanced Photodetectors for Hyperspectroscopy and Other Applications
Hyperspectroscopy is a new method of surface image taking, providing
simultaneously high position and spectral resolutions which allow one to make
some conclusions about chemical compositions of the surfaces. We are now
studying applications of the hyperspctroscopic technique to be used for
medicine. This may allow one to develop early diagnostics of some illnesses, as
for example, skin cancer. For image taking advanced MCPs are currently used,
sensitive in the spectral interval of 450-850 nm. One of the aims of this work
is to extend the hyperspectrocpic method to the UV region of spectra: 185-280
nm. For this we have developed and successfully tested innovative 1D and 2D UV
sealed photosensitive gaseous detectors with resistive electrodes. These
detectors are superior MCPs due to the very low rate of noise pulses and thus
due to the high signal to noise ratio. Other important features of these
detectors are that they have excellent position resolutions - 30 micron in
digital form, are vibration stable and are spark protected. The first results
from the application of these detectors for spectroscopy, hyperspectroscopy and
the flame detection are presented.Comment: Presented at the IEEE Nuclear Science Syposium, Puerto Rico, October
200
How to suppress undesired synchronization
It is delightful to observe the emergence of synchronization in the blinking
of fireflies to attract partners and preys. Other charming examples of
synchronization can also be found in a wide range of phenomena such as, e.g.,
neurons firing, lasers cascades, chemical reactions, and opinion formation.
However, in many situations the formation of a coherent state is not pleasant
and should be mitigated. For example, the onset of synchronization can be the
root of epileptic seizures, traffic congestion in communication networks, and
the collapse of constructions. Here we propose the use of contrarians to
suppress undesired synchronization. We perform a comparative study of different
strategies, either requiring local or total knowledge of the system, and show
that the most efficient one solely requires local information. Our results also
reveal that, even when the distribution of neighboring interactions is narrow,
significant improvement in mitigation is observed when contrarians sit at the
highly connected elements. The same qualitative results are obtained for
artificially generated networks as well as two real ones, namely, the Routers
of the Internet and a neuronal network
Anomalous diffusion associated with nonlinear fractional derivative Fokker-Planck-like equation: Exact time-dependent solutions
We consider the nonlinear Fokker-Planck-like equation with fractional
derivatives . Exact
time-dependent solutions are found for
(). By considering the long-distance {\it asymptotic}
behavior of these solutions, a connection is established, namely
(), with the solutions optimizing
the nonextensive entropy characterized by index . Interestingly enough,
this relation coincides with the one already known for L\'evy-like
superdiffusion (i.e., and ). Finally, for
we obtain which differs from the value
corresponding to the solutions available in the literature (
porous medium equation), thus exhibiting nonuniform convergence.Comment: 3 figure
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