Stochastic Perturbations in Vortex Tube Dynamics

A dual lattice vortex formulation of homogeneous turbulence is developed, within the Martin-Siggia-Rose field theoretical approach. It consists of a generalization of the usual dipole version of the Navier-Stokes equations, known to hold in the limit of vanishing external forcing. We investigate, as a straightforward application of our formalism, the dynamics of closed vortex tubes, randomly stirred at large length scales by gaussian stochastic forces. We find that besides the usual self-induced propagation, the vortex tube evolution may be effectively modeled through the introduction of an additional white-noise correlated velocity field background. The resulting phenomenological picture is closely related to observations previously reported from a wavelet decomposition analysis of turbulent flow configurations.Comment: 16 pages + 2 eps figures, REVTeX

Reflection and Ducting of Gravity Waves Inside the Sun

Internal gravity waves excited by overshoot at the bottom of the convection zone can be influenced by rotation and by the strong toroidal magnetic field that is likely to be present in the solar tachocline. Using a simple Cartesian model, we show how waves with a vertical component of propagation can be reflected when traveling through a layer containing a horizontal magnetic field with a strength that varies with depth. This interaction can prevent a portion of the downward-traveling wave energy flux from reaching the deep solar interior. If a highly reflecting magnetized layer is located some distance below the convection zone base, a duct or wave guide can be set up, wherein vertical propagation is restricted by successive reflections at the upper and lower boundaries. The presence of both upward- and downward-traveling disturbances inside the duct leads to the existence of a set of horizontally propagating modes that have significantly enhanced amplitudes. We point out that the helical structure of these waves makes them capable of generating an alpha-effect, and briefly consider the possibility that propagation in a shear of sufficient strength could lead to instability, the result of wave growth due to over-reflection.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Solar Physic

A mechanism for morphogen-controlled domain growth

Many developmental systems are organised via the action of graded distributions of morphogens. In the Drosophila wing disc, for example, recent experimental evidence has shown that graded expression of the morphogen Dpp controls cell proliferation and hence disc growth. Our goal is to explore a simple model for regulation of wing growth via the Dpp gradient: we use a system of reaction-diffusion equations to model the dynamics of Dpp and its receptor Tkv, with advection arising as a result of the flow generated by cell proliferation. We analyse the model both numerically and analytically, showing that uniform domain growth across the disc produces an exponentially growing wing disc

Searching for star-planet magnetic interaction in CoRoT observations

Close-in massive planets interact with their host stars through tidal and magnetic mechanisms. In this paper, we review circumstantial evidence for star-planet interaction as revealed by the photospheric magnetic activity in some of the CoRoT planet-hosting stars, notably CoRoT-2, CoRoT-4, and CoRoT-6. The phenomena are discussed in the general framework of activity-induced features in stars accompanied by hot Jupiters. The theoretical mechanisms proposed to explain the activity enhancements possibly related with hot Jupiter are also briefly reviewed with an emphasis on the possible effects at photospheric level. The unique advantages of CoRoT and Kepler observations to test these models are pointed out.Comment: Invited review paper accepted by Astrophysics and Space Science, 13 pages, 5 figure

Early Stages of Homopolymer Collapse

Interest in the protein folding problem has motivated a wide range of theoretical and experimental studies of the kinetics of the collapse of flexible homopolymers. In this Paper a phenomenological model is proposed for the kinetics of the early stages of homopolymer collapse following a quench from temperatures above to below the theta temperature. In the first stage, nascent droplets of the dense phase are formed, with little effect on the configurations of the bridges that join them. The droplets then grow by accreting monomers from the bridges, thus causing the bridges to stretch. During these two stages the overall dimensions of the chain decrease only weakly. Further growth of the droplets is accomplished by the shortening of the bridges, which causes the shrinking of the overall dimensions of the chain. The characteristic times of the three stages respectively scale as the zeroth, 1/5 and 6/5 power of the the degree of polymerization of the chain.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

3D MHD Flux Emergence Experiments: Idealized models and coronal interactions

This paper reviews some of the many 3D numerical experiments of the emergence of magnetic fields from the solar interior and the subsequent interaction with the pre-existing coronal magnetic field. The models described here are idealized, in the sense that the internal energy equation only involves the adiabatic, Ohmic and viscous shock heating terms. However, provided the main aim is to investigate the dynamical evolution, this is adequate. Many interesting observational phenomena are explained by these models in a self-consistent manner.Comment: Review article, accepted for publication in Solar Physic

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. METHODS: The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk–outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4·45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4·01–4·94) deaths and 105 million (95·0–116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44·4% (41·3–48·4) of all cancer deaths and 42·0% (39·1–45·6) of all DALYs. There were 2·88 million (2·60–3·18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50·6% [47·8–54·1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1·58 million (1·36–1·84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36·3% [32·5–41·3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20·4% (12·6–28·4) and DALYs by 16·8% (8·8–25·0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34·7% [27·9–42·8] and 33·3% [25·8–42·0]). INTERPRETATION: The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden

Assessing the link between speech perception and production through individual differences

Contains fulltext : 150165.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)This study aims to test a prediction of recent theoretical frameworks in speech motor control: if speech production targets are specified in auditory terms, people with better auditory acuity should have more precise speech targets. To investigate this, we had participants perform speech perception and production tasks in a counterbalanced order. To assess speech perception acuity, we used an adaptive speech discrimination task. To assess variability in speech production, participants performed a pseudo-word reading task; formant values were measured for each recording. We predicted that speech production variability to correlate inversely with discrimination performance. The results suggest that people do vary in their production and perceptual abilities, and that better discriminators have more distinctive vowel production targets, confirming our prediction. This study highlights the importance of individual differences in the study of speech motor control, and sheds light on speech production-perception interaction

Audiovisual recalibration of vowel categories

Contains fulltext : 176249.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)One of the most daunting tasks of a listener is to map a continuous auditory stream onto known speech sound categories and lexical items. A major issue with this mapping problem is the variability in the acoustic realizations of sound categories, both within and across speakers. Past research has suggested listeners may use visual information (e.g., lipreading) to calibrate these speech categories to the current speaker. Previous studies have focused on audiovisual recalibration of consonant categories. The present study explores whether vowel categorization, which is known to show less sharply defined category boundaries, also benefit from visual cues. Participants were exposed to videos of a speaker pronouncing one out of two vowels, paired with audio that was ambiguous between the two vowels. After exposure, it was found that participants had recalibrated their vowel categories. In addition, individual variability in audiovisual recalibration is discussed. It is suggested that listeners' category sharpness may be related to the weight they assign to visual information in audiovisual speech perception. Specifically, listeners with less sharp categories assign more weight to visual information during audiovisual speech recognition.Interspeech 2017: Situated interaction (Stockholm, Sweden, August 20-24, 2017