Thermodynamic scheme of inhomogeneous perfect fluid mixtures

We analyze the compatibility between the geometrodynamics and thermodynamics of a binary mixture of perfect fluids which describe inhomogeneous cosmological models. We generalize the thermodynamic scheme of general relativity to include the chemical potential of the fluid mixture with non-vanishing entropy production. This formalism is then applied to the case of Szekeres and Stephani families of cosmological models. The compatibility conditions turn out to impose symmetry conditions on the cosmological models in such a way that only the limiting case of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model remains compatible. This result is an additional indication of the incompatibility between thermodynamics and relativity

The Stokes-Einstein Relation at Moderate Schmidt Number

The Stokes-Einstein relation for the self-diffusion coefficient of a spherical particle suspended in an incompressible fluid is an asymptotic result in the limit of large Schmidt number, that is, when momentum diffuses much faster than the particle. When the Schmidt number is moderate, which happens in most particle methods for hydrodynamics, deviations from the Stokes-Einstein prediction are expected. We study these corrections computationally using a recently-developed minimally-resolved method for coupling particles to an incompressible fluctuating fluid in both two and three dimensions. We find that for moderate Schmidt numbers the diffusion coefficient is reduced relative to the Stokes-Einstein prediction by an amount inversely proportional to the Schmidt number in both two and three dimensions. We find, however, that the Einstein formula is obeyed at all Schmidt numbers, consistent with linear response theory. The numerical data is in good agreement with an approximate self-consistent theory, which can be used to estimate finite-Schmidt number corrections in a variety of methods. Our results indicate that the corrections to the Stokes-Einstein formula come primarily from the fact that the particle itself diffuses together with the momentum. Our study separates effects coming from corrections to no-slip hydrodynamics from those of finite separation of time scales, allowing for a better understanding of widely observed deviations from the Stokes-Einstein prediction in particle methods such as molecular dynamics.Comment: Submitte

Perfil Inmunohistoquímico de los Tipos de Fibras en el Músculo Vocal Humano

Galdames, IS (reprint author), Univ Talca, Escuela Fonoaudiol, Ave Lircay S-N,Oficina 104, Talca, Chile.he vocal muscle is a striated muscle with important functions in the emission of laryngeal sound and physiology of the voice. Therefore the knowledge of its constitution is the basis for the prevention and management of voice disorders. We used 10 samples from the middle third of vocal muscles obtained from autopsies of 6 male and 4 female subjects aged between 36 and 71 years. The samples were analyzed with BA-F8 monoclonal antibody to slow type I fibers, and antimyosin HC monoclonal antibody and antimyosin fast clone MY-32 antibody for types IIA, IIB, IIX, and neonatal fibers. We determined the distribution of the muscle fiber types and morphometric characteristics, evaluating the differences by sex and age group. The human vocal muscle presented a heterogeneous formation with a predominance of type II fibers at 51.99%, while type I fibers reached 48.01%; this difference was significant (p0.05). In conclusion, the human vocal muscle the fibers were predominantly type II fast

Spatial correlations of hydrodynamic fluctuations in simple fluids under shear flow: a mesoscale simulation study

Hydrodynamic fluctuations in simple fluids under shear flow are demonstrated to be spatially correlated, in contrast to the fluctuations at equilibrium, using mesoscopic hydrodynamic simulations. The simulation results for the equal-time hydrodynamic correlations in a multiparticle collision dynamics (MPC) fluid in shear flow are compared with the explicit expressions obtained from fluctuating hydrodynamics calculations. For large wave vectors k , the nonequilibrium contributions to transverse and longitudinal velocity correlations decay as k − 4 for wave vectors along the flow direction and as k − 2 for the off-flow directions. For small wave vectors, a crossover to a slower decay occurs, indicating long-range correlations in real space. The coupling between the transverse velocity components, which vanishes at equilibrium, also exhibits a k − 2 dependence on the wave vector. In addition, we observe a quadratic dependency on the shear rate of the nonequilibrium contribution to pressure

BCS-Universal Ratios within the Van Hove Scenario

The central result of BCS theory are the Universal Ratios which do not depend on physical parameters of the superconductor under study. Several attempts have been made to introduce the van Hove Scenario within BCS theory but in none of them the Universal Ratios of conventional superconductivity appear to be a number independent of parameters. This fact prevents the precise definition of a deviation from the BCS value for a particular superconductor. This concept is at the basis of several applications of BCS theory in characterizing conventional superconductors. We define a system that constitutes a weak coupling limit that retains the essential features of the high-Tc oxides and which does not differ in any essential way from other models widely used in generalizations of BCS theory to high-Tc superconductors. The difference is that we found a natural way of dealing with the mathematics of the problem so as to get Universal Ratios in the same sense as in conventional superconductivity.Comment: 11 PAGES, NO FIGURES, REVTEX 3.

Selective vulnerability of different types of commissural neurons for amyloid β-protein-induced neurodegeneration in APP23 mice correlates with dendritic tree morphology

The amyloid β-protein (Aβ) is the main component of Alzheimer's disease-related senile plaques. Although Aβ is associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease, it has not been shown which forms of Aβ induce neurodegeneration in vivo and which types of neurons are vulnerable. To address these questions, we implanted DiI crystals into the left frontocentral cortex of APP23 transgenic mice overexpressing mutant human APP (amyloid precursor protein gene) and of littermate controls. Traced commissural neurons in layer III of the right frontocentral cortex were quantified in 3-, 5-, 11- and 15-month-old mice. Three different types of commissural neurons were traced. At 3 months of age no differences in the number of labelled commissural neurons were seen in APP23 mice compared with wild-type mice. A selective reduction of the heavily ramified type of neurons was observed in APP23 mice compared with wild-type animals at 5, 11 and 15 months of age, starting when the first Aβ-deposits occurred in the frontocentral cortex at 5 months. The other two types of commissural neurons did not show alterations at 5 and 11 months. At 15 months, the number of traced sparsely ramified pyramidal neurons was reduced in addition to that of the heavily ramified neurons in APP23 mice compared with wild-type mice. At this time Aβ-deposits were seen in the neo- and allocortex as well as in the basal ganglia and the thalamus. In summary, our results show that Aβ induces progressive degeneration of distinct types of commissural neurons. Degeneration of the most vulnerable neurons starts in parallel with the occurrence of the first fibrillar Aβ-deposits in the neocortex, that is, with the detection of aggregated Aβ. The involvement of additional neuronal subpopulations is associated with the expansion of Aβ-deposition into further brain regions. The vulnerability of different types of neurons to Aβ, thereby, is presumably related to the complexity of their dendritic morpholog

New Therapeutic Targets for Mood Disorders

Existing pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorder (BPD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are often insufficient for many patients. Here we describe a number of targets/compounds that clinical and preclinical studies suggest could result in putative novel treatments for mood disorders. These include: (1) glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) and protein kinase C (PKC), (2) the purinergic system, (3) histone deacetylases (HDACs), (4) the melatonergic system, (5) the tachykinin neuropeptides system, (6) the glutamatergic system, and (7) oxidative stress and bioenergetics. The paper reviews data on new compounds that have shown antimanic or antidepressant effects in subjects with mood disorders, or similar effects in preclinical animal models. Overall, an improved understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of mood disorders is critical in order to develop targeted treatments that are more effective, act more rapidly, and are better tolerated than currently available therapies

Boltzmann equation and hydrodynamic fluctuations

We apply the method of invariant manifolds to derive equations of generalized hydrodynamics from the linearized Boltzmann equation and determine exact transport coefficients, obeying Green-Kubo formulas. Numerical calculations are performed in the special case of Maxwell molecules. We investigate, through the comparison with experimental data and former approaches, the spectrum of density fluctuations and address the regime of finite Knudsen numbers and finite frequencies hydrodynamics.Comment: This is a more detailed version of a related paper: I.V. Karlin, M. Colangeli, M. Kroger, PRL 100 (2008) 214503, arXiv:0801.2932. It contains comparison between predictions and experiment, in particular. 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 table