5,413 research outputs found
Efficient multiple time scale molecular dynamics: using colored noise thermostats to stabilize resonances
Multiple time scale molecular dynamics enhances computational efficiency by
updating slow motions less frequently than fast motions. However, in practice
the largest outer time step possible is limited not by the physical forces but
by resonances between the fast and slow modes. In this paper we show that this
problem can be alleviated by using a simple colored noise thermostatting scheme
which selectively targets the high frequency modes in the system. For two
sample problems, flexible water and solvated alanine dipeptide, we demonstrate
that this allows the use of large outer time steps while still obtaining
accurate sampling and minimizing the perturbation of the dynamics. Furthermore,
this approach is shown to be comparable to constraining fast motions, thus
providing an alternative to molecular dynamics with constraints.Comment: accepted for publication by the Journal of Chemical Physic
Host-parasite fluctuating selection in the absence of specificity
Fluctuating selection driven by coevolution between hosts and parasites is
important for the generation of host and parasite diversity across space and
time. Theory has focused primarily on infection genetics, with highly specific
‘matching allele’ frameworks more likely to generate fluctuating selection
dynamics (FSD) than ‘gene-for-gene’ (generalist-specialist) frameworks.
However, the environment, ecological feedbacks, and life-history characteristics
may all play a role in determining when FSD occurs. Here, we develop eco-
evolutionary models with explicit ecological dynamics to explore the ecological,
epidemiological and host life-history drivers of FSD. Our key result is to
demonstrate for the first time that specificity between hosts and parasites is not required to generate FSD. Furthermore, highly specific host-parasite interactions
produce unstable, less robust stochastic fluctuations in contrast to interactions
that lack specificity altogether or those that vary from generalist to specialist,
which produce predictable limit cycles. Given the ubiquity of ecological
feedbacks and the variation in the nature of specificity in host parasite
interactions, our work emphasizes the underestimated potential for host-
parasite coevolution to generate fluctuating selection
The Lemaitre-Schwarzschild Problem Revisited
The Lemaitre and Schwarzschild analytical solutions for a relativistic
spherical body of constant density are linked together through the use of the
Weyl quadratic invariant. The critical radius for gravitational collapse of an
incompressible fluid is shown to vary continuously from 9/8 of the
Schwarzschild radius to the Schwarzschild radius itself while the internal
pressures become locally anisotropic.Comment: Final version as accepted by GR&G (to appear in vol. 34, september
2002
Late Light Curves of Normal Type Ia Supernovae
We present late-epoch optical photometry (BVRI) of seven
normal/super-luminous Type Ia supernovae: SN 2000E, SN 2000ce, SN 2000cx, SN
2001C, SN 2001V, SN 2001bg, SN 2001dp. The photometry of these objects was
obtained using a template subtraction method to eliminate galaxy light
contamination during aperture photometry. We show the optical light curves of
these supernovae out to epochs of up to ~640 days after the explosion of the
supernova. We show a linear decline in these data during the epoch of 200-500
days after explosion with the decline rate in the B,V,& R bands equal to about
1.4 mag/100 days, but the decline rate of the I-band is much shallower at 0.94
mag/100 days.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astronomical
Journa
Casimir Energy of a Spherical Shell
The Casimir energy for a conducting spherical shell of radius is computed
using a direct mode summation approach. An essential ingredient is the
implementation of a recently proposed method based on Cauchy's theorem for an
evaluation of the eigenfrequencies of the system. It is shown, however, that
this earlier calculation uses an improper set of modes to describe the waves
exterior to the sphere. Upon making the necessary corrections and taking care
to ensure that no mathematically ill-defined expressions occur, the technique
is shown to leave numerical results unaltered while avoiding a longstanding
criticism raised against earlier calculations of the Casimir energy.Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages, 1 figur
Tackling Exascale Software Challenges in Molecular Dynamics Simulations with GROMACS
GROMACS is a widely used package for biomolecular simulation, and over the
last two decades it has evolved from small-scale efficiency to advanced
heterogeneous acceleration and multi-level parallelism targeting some of the
largest supercomputers in the world. Here, we describe some of the ways we have
been able to realize this through the use of parallelization on all levels,
combined with a constant focus on absolute performance. Release 4.6 of GROMACS
uses SIMD acceleration on a wide range of architectures, GPU offloading
acceleration, and both OpenMP and MPI parallelism within and between nodes,
respectively. The recent work on acceleration made it necessary to revisit the
fundamental algorithms of molecular simulation, including the concept of
neighborsearching, and we discuss the present and future challenges we see for
exascale simulation - in particular a very fine-grained task parallelism. We
also discuss the software management, code peer review and continuous
integration testing required for a project of this complexity.Comment: EASC 2014 conference proceedin
The D/H Ratio in Interstellar Gas Towards G191-B2B
We reinvestigate the question of spatial variation of the local D/H
abundance, using both archival GHRS spectra, and new echelle spectra of
G191-B2B obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard
HST. Our analysis uses stratified line-blanketed non-LTE model atmosphere
calculations to determine the shape of the intrinsic WD Lyman-alpha profile and
estimate the WD photospheric contamination of the interstellar lines. Although
three velocity components were reported previously towards G191-B2B, we detect
only two velocity components. The first component is at V(hel) ~ 8.6 km/s and
the second at V(hel) ~ 19.3 km/s, which we identify with the Local Interstellar
Cloud (LIC). From the STIS data we derive D/H = 1.60(+0.39,-0.27)X10^-5 for the
LIC component, and D/H > 1.26X10^-5 for the 8.6 km/s component (uncertainties
denote 2-sigma or 95% confidence limits). The STIS data provide no evidence for
local or component-to-component variation in the D/H ratio. Despite using two
velocity components for the profile fitting and using a more physically
realistic WD Lyman-alpha profile for G191-B2B, our re-analysis of the GHRS data
indicates a component-to-component variation as well as a variation of the D/H
ratio in the LISM, neither of which are supported by the newer STIS data. We
believe the most probable cause for this difference is the characterization of
the background due to scattered light in the GHRS and STIS spectrographs. The
two-dimensional MAMA detectors of STIS measure both the spatial and wavelength
dependences of scattered light, allowing more accurate scattered light
corrections than was possible with GHRS.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters. 10 pages +
3 figures. (Abstract is abridged.
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The relationship between leadership, teamworking, structure, burnout and attitude to patients on acute psychiatric wards
Contains fulltext :
99818.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background: Conflict (aggression, substance use, absconding, etc.) and containment (coerced medication, manual restraint, etc.) threaten the safety of patients and staff on psychiatric wards. Previous work has suggested that staff variables may be significant in explaining differences between wards in their rates of these behaviours, and that structure (ward organisation, rules and daily routines) might be the most critical of these. This paper describes the exploration of a large dataset to assess the relationship between structure and other staff variables. Methods: A multivariate cross-sectional design was utilised. Data were collected from staff on 136 acute psychiatric wards in 26 NHS Trusts in England, measuring leadership, teamwork, structure, burnout and attitudes towards difficult patients. Relationships between these variables were explored through principal components analysis (PCA), structural equation modelling and cluster analysis. Results: Principal components analysis resulted in the identification of each questionnaire as a separate factor, indicating that the selected instruments assessed a number of non-overlapping items relevant for ward functioning. Structural equation modelling suggested a linear model in which leadership influenced teamwork, teamwork structure; structure burnout; and burnout feelings about difficult patients. Finally, cluster analysis identified two significantly distinct groups of wards: the larger of which had particularly good leadership, teamwork, structure, attitudes towards patients and low burnout; and the second smaller proportion which was poor on all variables and high on burnout. The better functioning cluster of wards had significantly lower rates of containment events. Conclusion: The overall performance of staff teams is associated with differing rates of containment on wards. Interventions to reduce rates of containment on wards may need to address staff issues at every level, from leadership through to staff attitudes
Surface-sensitive NMR in optically pumped semiconductors
We present a scheme of surface-sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance in
optically pumped semiconductors, where an NMR signal from a part of the surface
of a bulk compound semiconductor is detected apart from the bulk signal. It
utilizes optically oriented nuclei with a long spin-lattice relaxation time as
a polarization reservoir for the second (target) nuclei to be detected. It
provides a basis for the nuclear spin polarizer [IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
14, 1635 (2004)], which is a polarization reservoir at a surface of the
optically pumped semiconductor that polarizes nuclear spins in a target
material in contact through the nanostructured interfaces.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
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