The nature of slow dynamics in a minimal model of frustration-limited domains

We present simulation results for the dynamics of a schematic model based on the frustration-limited domain picture of glass-forming liquids. These results are compared with approximate theoretical predictions analogous to those commonly used for supercooled liquid dynamics. Although model relaxation times increase by several orders of magnitude in a non-Arrhenius manner as a microphase separation transition is approached, the slow relaxation is in many ways dissimilar to that of a liquid. In particular, structural relaxation is nearly exponential in time at each wave vector, indicating that the mode coupling effects dominating liquid relaxation are comparatively weak within this model. Relaxation properties of the model are instead well reproduced by the simplest dynamical extension of a static Hartree approximation. This approach is qualitatively accurate even for temperatures at which the mode coupling approximation predicts loss of ergodicity. These results suggest that the thermodynamically disordered phase of such a minimal model poorly caricatures the slow dynamics of a liquid near its glass transition

Knowledge-based energy functions for computational studies of proteins

This chapter discusses theoretical framework and methods for developing knowledge-based potential functions essential for protein structure prediction, protein-protein interaction, and protein sequence design. We discuss in some details about the Miyazawa-Jernigan contact statistical potential, distance-dependent statistical potentials, as well as geometric statistical potentials. We also describe a geometric model for developing both linear and non-linear potential functions by optimization. Applications of knowledge-based potential functions in protein-decoy discrimination, in protein-protein interactions, and in protein design are then described. Several issues of knowledge-based potential functions are finally discussed.Comment: 57 pages, 6 figures. To be published in a book by Springe

Aspects of the infinite dimensional Hubbard model

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:D199196 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Saturn's dynamic magnetotail: A comprehensive magnetic field and plasma survey of plasmoids and traveling compression regions and their role in global magnetospheric dynamics

We present a comprehensive study of the magnetic field and plasma signatures of reconnection events observed with the Cassini spacecraft during the tail orbits of 2006. We examine their “local” properties in terms of magnetic field reconfiguration and changing plasma flows. We also describe the “global” impact of reconnection in terms of the contribution to mass loss, flux closure, and large-scale tail structure. The signatures of 69 plasmoids, 17 traveling compression regions (TCRs), and 13 planetward moving structures have been found. The direction of motion is inferred from the sign of the change in the Bθ component of the magnetic field in the first instance and confirmed through plasma flow data where available. The plasmoids are interpreted as detached structures, observed by the spacecraft tailward of the reconnection site, and the TCRs are interpreted as the effects of the draping and compression of lobe magnetic field lines around passing plasmoids. We focus on the analysis and interpretation of the tailward moving (south-to-north field change) plasmoids and TCRs in this work, considering the planetward moving signatures only from the point of view of understanding the reconnection x-line position and recurrence rates. We discuss the location spread of the observations, showing that where spacecraft coverage is symmetric about midnight, reconnection signatures are observed more frequently on the dawn flank than on the dusk flank. We show an example of a chain of two plasmoids and two TCRs over 3 hours and suggest that such a scenario is associated with a single-reconnection event, ejecting multiple successive plasmoids. Plasma data reveal that one of these plasmoids contains H+ at lower energy and W+ at higher energy, consistent with an inner magnetospheric source, and the total flow speed inside the plasmoid is estimated with an upper limit of 170 km/s. We probe the interior structure of plasmoids and find that the vast majority of examples at Saturn show a localized decrease in field magnitude as the spacecraft passes through the structure. We take the trajectory of Cassini into account, as, during 2006, the spacecraft's largely equatorial position beneath the hinged current sheet meant that it rarely traversed the center of plasmoids. We present an innovative method of optimizing the window size for minimum variance analysis (MVA) and apply this MVA across several plasmoids to explore their interior morphology in more detail, finding that Saturn's tail contains both loop-like and flux rope-like plasmoids. We estimate the mass lost downtail through reconnection and suggest that the apparent imbalance between mass input and observed plasmoid ejection may mean that alternative mass loss methods contribute to balancing Saturn's mass budget. We also estimate the rate of magnetic flux closure in the tail and find that when open field line closure is active, it plays a very significant role in flux cycling at Saturn

Fission for program comprehension

Fusion is a program transformation that combines adjacent computations, flattening structure and improving efficiency at the cost of clarity. Fission is the same transformation, in reverse: creating structure, ex nihilo. We explore the use of fission for program comprehension, that is, for reconstructing the design of a program from its implementation. We illustrate through rational reconstructions of the designs for three different C programs that count the words in a text file. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006

Protocol for outcome reporting and follow-up in the Targeted Hypothermia versus Targeted Normothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest trial (TTM2).

The TTM2-trial is a multi-centre randomised clinical trial where targeted temperature management (TTM) at 33 °C will be compared with normothermia and early treatment of fever (≥37.8 °C) after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). This paper presents the design and rationale of the TTM2-trial follow-up, where information on secondary and exploratory outcomes will be collected. We also present the explorative outcome analyses which will focus on neurocognitive function and societal participation in OHCA-survivors. Blinded outcome-assessors will perform follow-up at 30-days after the OHCA with a telephone interview, including the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and the Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE). Face-to-face meetings will be performed at 6 and 24-months, and include reports on outcome from several sources of information: clinician-reported: mRS, GOSE; patient-reported: EuroQol-5 Dimensions-5 Level responses version (EQ-5D-5L), Life satisfaction, Two Simple Questions; observer-reported: Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly-Cardiac Arrest version (IQCODE-CA) and neurocognitive performance measures: Montreal Cognitive Assessment, (MoCA), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Exploratory analyses will be performed with an emphasis on brain injury in the survivors, where the two intervention groups will be compared for potential differences in neuro-cognitive function (MoCA, SDMT) and societal participation (GOSE). Strategies to increase inter-rater reliability and decrease missing data are described. The TTM2-trial follow-up is a pragmatic yet detailed pre-planned and standardised assessment of patient's outcome designed to ensure data-quality, decrease missing data and provide optimal conditions to investigate clinically relevant effects of TTM, including OHCA-survivors' neurocognitive function and societal participation

Digestive and functional properties of a partially hydrolyzed cassava solid waste with high insoluble fiber concentration Propriedades funcionais-digestivas do concentrado de fibra alimentar obtido de mandioca

Starch factories generate large amounts of cassava solid waste. A small amount is utilized for animal feed but most of it is discharged with deleterious effects to the envirounment. A edible food with a high content of insoluble dietary fiber (60.9%), named "partially hidrolyzed cassava waste" (PHCW), was prepared from industrial cassava solid waste by an enzymatic process. PHCW or wheat bran (WB) were fed to model rats and both promoted digestive function effects, but PHCW produced the greatest effect. The insoluble fiber constituent from PHCW (and not the soluble fiber), promoted the greatest fecal bulking, fecal weight and defecation frequency in rats, as compared to WB. Such results indicate that the partially hydrolyzed cassava waste presents digestive function properties which allow it to be used as an adequate source of insoluble dietary fiber in the formulation of functional food for human nutrition.<br>As fecularias e polvilheiras produzem grandes quantidades de bagaço de mandioca. A proposta dessa pesquisa consistiu determinar, em ratos modelo, a propriedade funcional-digestiva do produto alimentício bagaço de mandioca hidrolisado (BMH), um concentrado de fibra alimentar (60,9%, peso seco) que foi obtido a partir do bagaço de mandioca da polvilheira e através de processo de hidrólise enzimática. O BMH produziu efeitos fisiológicos no trato digestivo dos ratos modelos mais acentuados que os efeitos produzidos pelo farelo de trigo (FT). Foram os componentes insolúveis da fibra alimentar do BMH, e não a fração solúvel, os que mais contribuíram para o maior volume e peso das fezes e, por conseguinte, para o maior número de defecações. Por isso, o BMH pode ser usado como fonte alternativa de fibra alimentar para a formulação de alimentos, principalmente os consumidos por indivíduos com a finalidade de regular ou manter normal a funcionalidade digestiva

Efecto del sistema de laboreo en la fertilidad química de un suelo tras diez años de laboreo de conservación en cultivo de cereal en una zona semiárida de Navarra

Ingeniería Técnica AgrícolaNekazaritza Ingeniaritza Tekniko