Effective interactions and phase behaviour for a model clay suspension in an electrolyte

Since the early observation of nematic phases of disc-like clay colloids by Langmuir in 1938, the phase behaviour of such systems has resisted theoretical understanding. The main reason is that there is no satisfactory generalization for charged discs of the isotropic DLVO potential describing the effective interactions between a pair of spherical colloids in an electrolyte. In this contribution, we show how to construct such a pair potential, incorporating approximately both the non-linear effects of counter-ion condensation (charge renormalization) and the anisotropy of the charged platelets. The consequences on the phase behaviour of Laponite dispersions (thin discs of 30 nm diameter and 1 nm thickness) are discussed, and investigation into the mesostructure via Monte Carlo simulations are presented.Comment: LaTeX, 12 pages, 11 figure

Hypocrisy At The Lectern Do Our Personal Lifestyle Choices Reflect Our Spoken Commitment To Global Sustainabilty?

Do our actions model a genuine commitment to global sustainability? Or do they belie that spoken commitment? These questions are addressed in this article, drawing on bodies of substantive research tying personal behavioral choices to global warming, fresh water scarcity, energy resource management, the absorptive capacity of the earth to sustain life, and a viable sharing of the earth’s resources to assure a basic level of social justice. A compelling case is made that our personal lifestyles are not incongruence with our avowed concerns for an environmentally sustainable earth and a just sharing of its bounties. The article treats environmental sustainability and social justice as co-imperatives, thereby offering a future scenario that demands lifestyle adjustments and shared sacrifices

Stochastic integration in UMD Banach spaces

In this paper we construct a theory of stochastic integration of processes with values in $\mathcal{L}(H,E)$, where $H$ is a separable Hilbert space and $E$ is a UMD Banach space (i.e., a space in which martingale differences are unconditional). The integrator is an $H$-cylindrical Brownian motion. Our approach is based on a two-sided $L^p$-decoupling inequality for UMD spaces due to Garling, which is combined with the theory of stochastic integration of $\mathcal{L}(H,E)$-valued functions introduced recently by two of the authors. We obtain various characterizations of the stochastic integral and prove versions of the It\^{o} isometry, the Burkholder--Davis--Gundy inequalities, and the representation theorem for Brownian martingales.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009117906000001006 in the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Stochastic evolution equations in UMD Banach spaces

We discuss existence, uniqueness, and space-time H\"older regularity for solutions of the parabolic stochastic evolution equation dU(t) = (AU(t) + F(t,U(t))) dt + B(t,U(t)) dW_H(t), t\in [0,\Tend], U(0) = u_0, where $A$ generates an analytic $C_0$-semigroup on a UMD Banach space $E$ and $W_H$ is a cylindrical Brownian motion with values in a Hilbert space $H$. We prove that if the mappings $F:[0,T]\times E\to E$ and $B:[0,T]\times E\to \mathscr{L}(H,E)$ satisfy suitable Lipschitz conditions and $u_0$ is \F_0-measurable and bounded, then this problem has a unique mild solution, which has trajectories in C^\l([0,T];\D((-A)^\theta) provided $\lambda\ge 0$ and $\theta\ge 0$ satisfy \l+\theta<\frac12. Various extensions of this result are given and the results are applied to parabolic stochastic partial differential equations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Functional Analysi

Mechano-transduction: from molecules to tissues.

External forces play complex roles in cell organization, fate, and homeostasis. Changes in these forces, or how cells respond to them, can result in abnormal embryonic development and diseases in adults. How cells sense and respond to these mechanical stimuli requires an understanding of the biophysical principles that underlie changes in protein conformation and result in alterations in the organization and function of cells and tissues. Here, we discuss mechano-transduction as it applies to protein conformation, cellular organization, and multi-cell (tissue) function

Ito's formula in UMD Banach spaces and regularity of solutions of the Zakai equation

Using the theory of stochastic integration for processes with values in a UMD Banach space developed recently by the authors, an Ito formula is proved which is applied to prove the existence of strong solutions for a class of stochastic evolution equations in UMD Banach spaces. The abstract results are applied to prove regularity in space and time of the solutions of the Zakai equation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Differential Equation