3,814 research outputs found
Multi-site H-bridge breathers in a DNA--shaped double strand
We investigate the formation process of nonlinear vibrational modes
representing broad H-bridge multi--site breathers in a DNA--shaped double
strand.
Within a network model of the double helix we take individual motions of the
bases within the base pair plane into account. The resulting H-bridge
deformations may be asymmetric with respect to the helix axis. Furthermore the
covalent bonds may be deformed distinctly in the two backbone strands.
Unlike other authors that add different extra terms we limit the interaction
to the hydrogen bonds within each base pair and the covalent bonds along each
strand. In this way we intend to make apparent the effect of the characteristic
helicoidal structure of DNA. We study the energy exchange processes related
with the relaxation dynamics from a non-equilibrium conformation. It is
demonstrated that the twist-opening relaxation dynamics of a radially distorted
double helix attains an equilibrium regime characterized by a multi-site
H-bridge breather.Comment: 27 pages and 10 figure
Stationary and moving breathers in a simplified model of curved alpha--helix proteins
The existence, stability and movability of breathers in a model for
alpha-helix proteins is studied. This model basically consists a chain of
dipole moments parallel to it. The existence of localized linear modes brings
about that the system has a characteristic frequency, which depends on the
curvature of the chain. Hard breathers are stable, while soft ones experiment
subharmonic instabilities that preserve, however the localization. Moving
breathers can travel across the bending point for small curvature and are
reflected when it is increased. No trapping of breathers takes place.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
Discrete breathers in dissipative lattices
We study the properties of discrete breathers, also known as intrinsic
localized modes, in the one-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova lattice of
oscillators subject to damping and external force. The system is studied in the
whole range of values of the coupling parameter, from C=0 (uncoupled limit) up
to values close to the continuum limit (forced and damped sine-Gordon model).
As this parameter is varied, the existence of different bifurcations is
investigated numerically. Using Floquet spectral analysis, we give a complete
characterization of the most relevant bifurcations, and we find (spatial)
symmetry-breaking bifurcations which are linked to breather mobility, just as
it was found in Hamiltonian systems by other authors. In this way moving
breathers are shown to exist even at remarkably high levels of discreteness. We
study mobile breathers and characterize them in terms of the phonon radiation
they emit, which explains successfully the way in which they interact. For
instance, it is possible to form ``bound states'' of moving breathers, through
the interaction of their phonon tails. Over all, both stationary and moving
breathers are found to be generic localized states over large values of ,
and they are shown to be robust against low temperature fluctuations.Comment: To be published in Physical Review
Ecological genetics of freshwater fish: a short review of the genotype–phenotype connection
Genética ecológica de los peces de agua dulce: una breve revisión de la conexión genotipo–fenotipo
La ecología molecular o la genética ecológica es una aplicación de la genética de poblaciones que durante las dos últimas décadas ha sufrido un proceso de expansión. Sin embargo, en la ecología molecular predominan los estudios sistemáticos y filogeográficos, con relativamente poco énfasis en el análisis de la base genética del proceso de adaptación a diferentes condiciones ecológicas. Esta relación entre genotipo y fenotipo adaptativo es poco evidente, porque las poblaciones son difíciles de cuantificar y los experimentos son logísticamente complicados. Es interesante destacar que en peces de agua dulce estos estudios no son tan poco frecuentes como en otros grupos de vertebrados. En esta revisión, nuestra intención es resumir los pocos casos en los cuales la relación entre ecología y genética de peces continentales está más desarrollada, principalmente entre marcadores genéticos y fenotipos ecológicos.
Palabras clave: Genética ecológica, Ecología molecular, Interacción genotipo–fenotipo, Adaptación, Genética del paisaje, Introducción de especies.Molecular ecology or ecological genetics is an expanding application of population genetics which has flourished in the last two decades but it is dominated by systematic and phylogeographic studies, with relatively little emphasis on the study of the genetic basis of the process of adaptation to different ecological conditions. The relationship between genotype and adaptive phenotypes is weak because populations are often difficult to quantify and experiments are logistically challenging or unfeasible. Interestingly, in freshwater fish, studies to characterize the genetic architecture of adaptive traits are not as rare as in other vertebrate groups. In this review, we summarize the few cases where the relationship between the ecology and genetics of freshwater fish is more developed, namely the relationship between genetic markers and ecological phenotypes.
Key words: Ecological genetics, Molecular ecology, Genotype–phenotype relationship, Adaptation, Landscape genetics, Species introduction.Genética ecológica de los peces de agua dulce: una breve revisión de la conexión genotipo–fenotipo
La ecología molecular o la genética ecológica es una aplicación de la genética de poblaciones que durante las dos últimas décadas ha sufrido un proceso de expansión. Sin embargo, en la ecología molecular predominan los estudios sistemáticos y filogeográficos, con relativamente poco énfasis en el análisis de la base genética del proceso de adaptación a diferentes condiciones ecológicas. Esta relación entre genotipo y fenotipo adaptativo es poco evidente, porque las poblaciones son difíciles de cuantificar y los experimentos son logísticamente complicados. Es interesante destacar que en peces de agua dulce estos estudios no son tan poco frecuentes como en otros grupos de vertebrados. En esta revisión, nuestra intención es resumir los pocos casos en los cuales la relación entre ecología y genética de peces continentales está más desarrollada, principalmente entre marcadores genéticos y fenotipos ecológicos.
Palabras clave: Genética ecológica, Ecología molecular, Interacción genotipo–fenotipo, Adaptación, Genética del paisaje, Introducción de especies
Effect of the Introduction of Impurities on the Stability Properties of Multibreathers at Low Coupling
sing a theorem dubbed the {\em Multibreather Stabiliy Theorem} [Physica D 180
(2003) 235-255] we have obtained the stability properties of multibreathers in
systems of coupled oscillators with on-site potentials, with an inhomogeneity.
Analytical results are obtained for 2-site, 3-site breathers, multibreathers,
phonobreathers and dark breathers. The inhomogeneity is considered both at the
on-site potential and at the coupling terms. All the results have been checked
numerically with excellent agreement. The main conclusion is that the
introduction of a impurity does not alter the stability properties.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure
Thermal diagnostic of the Optical Window on board LISA Pathfinder
Vacuum conditions inside the LTP Gravitational Reference Sensor must comply
with rather demanding requirements. The Optical Window (OW) is an interface
which seals the vacuum enclosure and, at the same time, lets the laser beam go
through for interferometric Metrology with the test masses. The OW is a
plane-parallel plate clamped in a Titanium flange, and is considerably
sensitive to thermal and stress fluctuations. It is critical for the required
precision measurements, hence its temperature will be carefully monitored in
flight. This paper reports on the results of a series of OW characterisation
laboratory runs, intended to study its response to selected thermal signals, as
well as their fit to numerical models, and the meaning of the latter. We find
that a single pole ARMA transfer function provides a consistent approximation
to the OW response to thermal excitations, and derive a relationship with the
physical processes taking place in the OW. We also show how system noise
reduction can be accomplished by means of that transfer function.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures; accepted for publication in Class. Quantum Gra
Stability of non-time-reversible phonobreathers
Non-time reversible phonobreathers are non-linear waves that can transport
energy in coupled oscillator chains by means of a phase-torsion mechanism. In
this paper, the stability properties of these structures have been considered.
It has been performed an analytical study for low-coupling solutions based upon
the so called {\em multibreather stability theorem} previously developed by
some of the authors [Physica D {\bf 180} 235]. A numerical analysis confirms
the analytical predictions and gives a detailed picture of the existence and
stability properties for arbitrary frequency and coupling.Comment: J. Phys. A.:Math. and Theor. In Press (2010
Patterning of the basal telencephalon and hypothalamus is essential for guidance of cortical projections
PMID: 11830575We have investigated the mechanisms that control the guidance of corticofugal projections as they extend along different subdivisions of the forebrain. To this aim, we analyzed the development of cortical projections in mice that lack Nkx2-1, a homeobox gene whose expression is restricted to two domains within the forebrain: the basal telencephalon and the hypothalamus. Molecular respecification of the basal telencephalon and hypothalamus in Nkx2-1-deficient mice causes a severe defect in the guidance of layer 5 cortical projections and ascending fibers of the cerebral peduncle. These axon tracts take an abnormal path when coursing through both the basal telencephalon and hypothalamus. By contrast, loss of Nkx2-1 function does not impair guidance of corticothalamic or thalamocortical axons. In vitro experiments demonstrate that the basal telencephalon and the hypothalamus contain an activity that repels the growth of cortical axons, suggesting that loss of this activity is the cause of the defects observed in Nkx2-1 mutants. Furthermore, analysis of the expression of candidate molecules in the basal telencephalon and hypothalamus of Nkx2-1 mutants suggests that Slit2 contributes to this activity.This work was supported by the research grants to J. L. R. R. from Nina Ireland, NARSAD, NIDA (R01DA12462) and NIMH (RO1 MH49428-01, RO1 MH51561-01A1 and K02 MH01046-01). O. M. is a NARSAD Young Investigator Award recipient and a UC Davis MIND Institute Scholar.Peer reviewe
Extracting H flux from photometric data in the J-PLUS survey
We present the main steps that will be taken to extract H emission
flux from Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) photometric
data. For galaxies with , the H+[NII] emission is
covered by the J-PLUS narrow-band filter . We explore three different
methods to extract the H + [NII] flux from J-PLUS photometric data: a
combination of a broad-band and a narrow-band filter ( and ), two
broad-band and a narrow-band one (, and ), and a SED-fitting
based method using 8 photometric points. To test these methodologies, we
simulated J-PLUS data from a sample of 7511 SDSS spectra with measured
H flux. Based on the same sample, we derive two empirical relations to
correct the derived H+[NII] flux from dust extinction and [NII]
contamination. We find that the only unbiased method is the SED fitting based
one. The combination of two filters underestimates the measurements of the
H + [NII] flux by a 28%, while the three filters method by a 9%. We
study the error budget of the SED-fitting based method and find that, in
addition to the photometric error, our measurements have a systematic
uncertainty of a 4.3%. Several sources contribute to this uncertainty:
differences between our measurement procedure and the one used to derive the
spectroscopic values, the use of simple stellar populations as templates, and
the intrinsic errors of the spectra, which were not taken into account. Apart
from that, the empirical corrections for dust extinction and [NII]
contamination add an extra uncertainty of 14%. Given the J-PLUS photometric
system, the best methodology to extract H + [NII] flux is the
SED-fitting based one. Using this method, we are able to recover reliable
H fluxes for thousands of nearby galaxies in a robust and homogeneous
way.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures. Minor changes to match the published versio
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