1,647 research outputs found
A phase-separation perspective on dynamic heterogeneities in glass-forming liquids
We study dynamic heterogeneities in a model glass-former whose overlap with a
reference configuration is constrained to a fixed value. The system
phase-separates into regions of small and large overlap, so that dynamical
correlations remain strong even for asymptotic times. We calculate an
appropriate thermodynamic potential and find evidence of a Maxwell's
construction consistent with a spinodal decomposition of two phases. Our
results suggest that dynamic heterogeneities are the expression of an ephemeral
phase-separating regime ruled by a finite surface tension
Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) effects on subchorionic hematoma. Preliminary clinical results
OBJECTIVE: The clinic use of alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is linked to its capability to exert antioxidant effects and, more interestingly, to counteract the pathologic changes of complex networks of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors, restoring their physiological state. The aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to test the contribution of oral supplementation of ALA to the standard treatment with Progesterone vaginal suppositories, in healing subchorionic hematomas in patients with threatened miscarriage. Controls were administered only Progesterone suppositories.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen pregnant women in the first trimester of gestation, with threatened miscarriage and ultrasound evidence of subchorionic hematoma, were included in the trial and randomly divided in two groups: controls, treated with 400 mg Progesterone (200 mg 2 times per day), given by vaginal suppositories, and case study treated with the same Progesterone dosage, plus ALA, given orally at the dose of 600 mg (300 mg 2 times per day, DAV®, Lo.Li. Pharma srl, Italy). Sixteen patients completed the trial. Treatment was performed until complete resolution of the clinical picture.
RESULTS: In both groups, the subjects improved significantly but, in general, a better and faster evolution in the major signs of threatened miscarriage was observed in the subjects treated with ALA and Progesterone. In these patients, the speed of resorption of subchorionic hematoma was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) superior compared to controls. The ALA and Progesterone group showed a faster decrease or disappearance of all symptoms than that observed in the control group, however the difference was not significant.
CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results suggest that ALA supplementation significantly contributes to speed up the process of restoration of physiological conditions in threatened miscarriage and ameliorates the medical conditions of both the mothers and the foetus, probably modulating the networks of cytokines, growth factors and other molecules
Mechanisms producing fissionlike binary fragments in heavy collisions
The mixing of the quasifission component to the fissionlike cross section
causes ambiguity in the quantitative estimation of the complete fusion cross
section from the observed angular and mass distributions of the binary
products. We show that the partial cross section of quasifission component of
binary fragments covers the whole range of the angular momentum values leading
to capture. The calculated angular momentum distributions for the compound
nucleus and dinuclear system going to quasifission may overlap: competition
between complete fusion and quasifission takes place at all values of initial
orbital angular momentum. Quasifission components formed at large angular
momentum of the dinuclear system can show isotropic angular distribution and
their mass distribution can be in mass symmetric region similar to the
characteristics of fusion-fission components. As result the unintentional
inclusion of the quasifission contribution into the fusion-fission fragment
yields can lead to overestimation of the probability of the compound nucleus
formation.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, International Conference on Nuclear Reactions on
Nucleons and Nuclei, Messina, Italy, October 5-9, 200
Glassy dynamics, metastability limit and crystal growth in a lattice spin model
We introduce a lattice spin model where frustration is due to multibody
interactions rather than quenched disorder in the Hamiltonian. The system has a
crystalline ground state and below the melting temperature displays a dynamic
behaviour typical of fragile glasses. However, the supercooled phase loses
stability at an effective spinodal temperature, and thanks to this the Kauzmann
paradox is resolved. Below the spinodal the system enters an off-equilibrium
regime corresponding to fast crystal nucleation followed by slow activated
crystal growth. In this phase and in a time region which is longer the lower
the temperature we observe a violation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem
analogous to structural glasses. Moreover, we show that in this system there is
no qualitative difference between a locally stable glassy configuration and a
highly disordered polycrystal
Quasifission and fusion-fission in massive nuclei reactions. Comparison of reactions leading to the Z=120 element
The yields of evaporation residues, fusion-fission and quasifission fragments
in the Ca+Sm and O+W reactions are analyzed
in the framework of the combined theoretical method based on the dinuclear
system concept and advanced statistical model. The measured yields of
evaporation residues for the Ca+Sm reaction can be well
reproduced. The measured yields of fission fragments are decomposed into
contributions coming from fusion-fission, quasifission, and fast-fission. The
decrease in the measured yield of quasifission fragments in
Ca+Sm at the large collision energies and the lack of
quasifission fragments in the Ca+Sm reaction are explained by
the overlap in mass-angle distributions of the quasifission and fusion-fission
fragments. The investigation of the optimal conditions for the synthesis of the
new element =120 (=302) show that the Cr+Cm reaction is
preferable in comparison with the Fe+Pu and Ni+U
reactions because the excitation function of the evaporation residues of the
former reaction is some orders of magnitude larger than that for the last two
reactions.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Generalized minority games with adaptive trend-followers and contrarians
We introduce a simple extension of the minority game in which the market
rewards contrarian (resp. trend-following) strategies when it is far from
(resp. close to) efficiency. The model displays a smooth crossover from a
regime where contrarians dominate to one where trend-followers dominate. In the
intermediate phase, the stationary state is characterized by non-Gaussian
features as well as by the formation of sustained trends and bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Collective behaviour without collective order in wild swarms of midges
Collective behaviour is a widespread phenomenon in biology, cutting through a
huge span of scales, from cell colonies up to bird flocks and fish schools. The
most prominent trait of collective behaviour is the emergence of global order:
individuals synchronize their states, giving the stunning impression that the
group behaves as one. In many biological systems, though, it is unclear whether
global order is present. A paradigmatic case is that of insect swarms, whose
erratic movements seem to suggest that group formation is a mere epiphenomenon
of the independent interaction of each individual with an external landmark. In
these cases, whether or not the group behaves truly collectively is debated.
Here, we experimentally study swarms of midges in the field and measure how
much the change of direction of one midge affects that of other individuals. We
discover that, despite the lack of collective order, swarms display very strong
correlations, totally incompatible with models of noninteracting particles. We
find that correlation increases sharply with the swarm's density, indicating
that the interaction between midges is based on a metric perception mechanism.
By means of numerical simulations we demonstrate that such growing correlation
is typical of a system close to an ordering transition. Our findings suggest
that correlation, rather than order, is the true hallmark of collective
behaviour in biological systems.Comment: The original version has been split into two parts. This first part
focuses on order vs. correlation. The second part, about finite-size scaling,
will be included in a separate paper. 15 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, 5 video
Finite-size scaling as a way to probe near-criticality in natural swarms
Collective behaviour in biological systems is often accompanied by strong
correlations. The question has therefore arisen of whether correlation is
amplified by the vicinity to some critical point in the parameters space.
Biological systems, though, are typically quite far from the thermodynamic
limit, so that the value of the control parameter at which correlation and
susceptibility peak depend on size. Hence, a system would need to readjust its
control parameter according to its size in order to be maximally correlated.
This readjustment, though, has never been observed experimentally. By gathering
three-dimensional data on swarms of midges in the field we find that swarms
tune their control parameter and size so as to maintain a scaling behaviour of
the correlation function. As a consequence, correlation length and
susceptibility scale with the system's size and swarms exhibit a near-maximal
degree of correlation at all sizes.Comment: Selected for Viewpoint in Physics; PRL Editor's Suggestio
Symmetries in Fluctuations Far from Equilibrium
Fluctuations arise universally in Nature as a reflection of the discrete
microscopic world at the macroscopic level. Despite their apparent noisy
origin, fluctuations encode fundamental aspects of the physics of the system at
hand, crucial to understand irreversibility and nonequilibrium behavior. In
order to sustain a given fluctuation, a system traverses a precise optimal path
in phase space. Here we show that by demanding invariance of optimal paths
under symmetry transformations, new and general fluctuation relations valid
arbitrarily far from equilibrium are unveiled. This opens an unexplored route
toward a deeper understanding of nonequilibrium physics by bringing symmetry
principles to the realm of fluctuations. We illustrate this concept studying
symmetries of the current distribution out of equilibrium. In particular we
derive an isometric fluctuation relation which links in a strikingly simple
manner the probabilities of any pair of isometric current fluctuations. This
relation, which results from the time-reversibility of the dynamics, includes
as a particular instance the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem in this
context but adds a completely new perspective on the high level of symmetry
imposed by time-reversibility on the statistics of nonequilibrium fluctuations.
The new symmetry implies remarkable hierarchies of equations for the current
cumulants and the nonlinear response coefficients, going far beyond Onsager's
reciprocity relations and Green-Kubo formulae. We confirm the validity of the
new symmetry relation in extensive numerical simulations, and suggest that the
idea of symmetry in fluctuations as invariance of optimal paths has
far-reaching consequences in diverse fields.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
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