Quantum transport properties of two-dimensional systems in disordered magnetic fields with a fixed sign

Quantum transport in disordered magnetic fields is investigated numerically in two-dimensional systems. In particular, the case where the mean and the fluctuation of disordered magnetic fields are of the same order is considered. It is found that in the limit of weak disorder the conductivity exhibits a qualitatively different behavior from that in the conventional random magnetic fields with zero mean. The conductivity is estimated by the equation of motion method and by the two-terminal Landauer formula. It is demonstrated that the conductance stays on the order of $e^2/h$ even in the weak disorder limit. The present behavior can be interpreted in terms of the Drude formula. The Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation is also observed in the weak disorder regime.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Mechanical Properties and Biological Responses of Bioactive Glass Ceramics Processed using Indirect SLS

This paper will report on research which aims to generate bone replacement components by processing bioactive glass-ceramic powders using indirect selective laser sintering. The indirect SLS route has been chosen as it offers the ability to tailor the shape of the implant to the implantation site, and two bioactive glass ceramic materials have been processed through this route: apatite-mullite and apatite-wollostanite. The results of bend tests, to investigate mechanical properties, and in vitro and in vivo experiments to investigate biological responses of the materials will be reported, and the suitability of completed components for implant will be assessed.Mechanical Engineerin

Comparison of two linearization schemes for the nonlinear bending problem of a beam pinned at both ends

The nonlinear bending problem of a constant cross-section simply supported beam pinned at both ends and subject to a uniformly distributed load qðxÞ is analyzed in detail. The numerical integration of the two-point boundary value problem (BVP) derived for the nonlinear Timoshenko beam is tackled through two different linearization schemes, the multi-step transversal linearization (MTrL) and the multi-step tangential linearization (MTnL), proposed by Viswanath and Roy (2007). The fundamentals of these linearization techniques are to replace the nonlinear part of the governing ODEs through a set of conditionally linearized ODE systems at the nodal grid points along the neutral axis, ensuring the intersection between the solution manifolds (transversally in the MTrL and tangentially in the MTnL). In this paper, the solution values are determined at grid points by means of a centered finite differences method with multipoint linear constraints (Keller, 1969), and a simple iterative strategy. The analytical solution for this kind of bending problem, including the extensional effects, can be worked out by integration of the governing two-point BVP equations (Monleón et al., 2008). Finally, the comparison of analytical and numerical results shows the better ability of MTnL with the proposed iterative strategy to reproduce the theoretical behavior of the beam for each load step, because the restraint of equating derivatives in MTnL leads to further closeness between solution paths of the governing ODEs and the linearized ones, in comparison with MTrL. This result is opposed to the conclusion reached in Viswanath and Roy (2007), where the relative errors produced by MTrL are said to be smaller than the MTnL ones for the simply supported beam and the tip-loaded cantilever beam problems. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Merli Gisbert, R.; Lazaro, C.; Monleón Cremades, S.; Domingo Cabo, A. (2010). Comparison of two linearization schemes for the nonlinear bending problem of a beam pinned at both ends. International Journal of Solids and Structures. 47(6):865-874. doi:10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2009.12.001S86587447

Apatite Formation Abilities and Mechanical Properties of Hydroxyethylmethacrylate-based Organic-inorganic Hybrids Incorporated with Sulfonic Groups and Calcium Ions

Apatite formation in the living body is an essential requirement for artificial materials to exhibit bone-bonding bioactivity. It has been recently revealed that sulfonic groups trigger apatite nucleation in a body environment. Organic–inorganic hybrids consisting of organic polymers and the sulfonic groups are therefore expected to be useful for preparation of novel bone-repairing materials exhibiting flexibility as well as bioactivity. In the present study, organic–inorganic hybrids were prepared from hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) in the presence of vinylsulfonic acid sodium salt (VSAS) and calcium chloride (CaCl2). The bioactivities of the hybrids were assessed in vitro by examining the apatite formation in simulated body fluid (SBF, Kokubo solution). The hybrids deposited on the apatite after soaking in SBF within 7 days. Tensile strength measurements showed a tendency to increase with increases in VSAS and CaCl2 content. It was assumed that this phenomenon was attributed to the formation of cross-linking in the hybrids

The components of directional and disruptive selection in heterogeneous group-structured populations.

We derive how directional and disruptive selection operate on scalar traits in a heterogeneous group-structured population for a general class of models. In particular, we assume that each group in the population can be in one of a finite number of states, where states can affect group size and/or other environmental variables, at a given time. Using up to second-order perturbation expansions of the invasion fitness of a mutant allele, we derive expressions for the directional and disruptive selection coefficients, which are sufficient to classify the singular strategies of adaptive dynamics. These expressions include first- and second-order perturbations of individual fitness (expected number of settled offspring produced by an individual, possibly including self through survival); the first-order perturbation of the stationary distribution of mutants (derived here explicitly for the first time); the first-order perturbation of pairwise relatedness; and reproductive values, pairwise and three-way relatedness, and stationary distribution of mutants, each evaluated under neutrality. We introduce the concept of individual k-fitness (defined as the expected number of settled offspring of an individual for which k-1 randomly chosen neighbors are lineage members) and show its usefulness for calculating relatedness and its perturbation. We then demonstrate that the directional and disruptive selection coefficients can be expressed in terms individual k-fitnesses with k=1,2,3 only. This representation has two important benefits. First, it allows for a significant reduction in the dimensions of the system of equations describing the mutant dynamics that needs to be solved to evaluate explicitly the two selection coefficients. Second, it leads to a biologically meaningful interpretation of their components. As an application of our methodology, we analyze directional and disruptive selection in a lottery model with either hard or soft selection and show that many previous results about selection in group-structured populations can be reproduced as special cases of our model

Coloured extension of GL_q(2) and its dual algebra

We address the problem of duality between the coloured extension of the quantised algebra of functions on a group and that of its quantised universal enveloping algebra i.e. its dual. In particular, we derive explicitly the algebra dual to the coloured extension of GL_q(2) using the coloured RLL relations and exhibit its Hopf structure. This leads to a coloured generalisation of the R-matrix procedure to construct a bicovariant differential calculus on the coloured version of GL_q(2). In addition, we also propose a coloured generalisation of the geometric approach to quantum group duality given by Sudbery and Dobrev.Comment: 10 pages LaTeX. Talk given at the "XXIII International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics", July 31 - August 05, 2000, Dubna (Russia); to appear in the proceeding

Magnetotransport in inhomogeneous magnetic fields

Quantum transport in inhomogeneous magnetic fields is investigated numerically in two-dimensional systems using the equation of motion method. In particular, the diffusion of electrons in random magnetic fields in the presence of additional weak uniform magnetic fields is examined. It is found that the conductivity is strongly suppressed by the additional uniform magnetic field and saturates when the uniform magnetic field becomes on the order of the fluctuation of the random magnetic field. The value of the conductivity at this saturation is found to be insensitive to the magnitude of the fluctuation of the random field. The effect of random potential on the magnetoconductance is also discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Stern-Judging: A Simple, Successful Norm Which Promotes Cooperation under Indirect Reciprocity

We study the evolution of cooperation under indirect reciprocity, believed to constitute the biological basis of morality. We employ an evolutionary game theoretical model of multilevel selection, and show that natural selection and mutation lead to the emergence of a robust and simple social norm, which we call stern-judging. Under stern-judging, helping a good individual or refusing help to a bad individual leads to a good reputation, whereas refusing help to a good individual or helping a bad one leads to a bad reputation. Similarly for tit-for-tat and win-stay-lose-shift, the simplest ubiquitous strategies in direct reciprocity, the lack of ambiguity of stern-judging, where implacable punishment is compensated by prompt forgiving, supports the idea that simplicity is often associated with evolutionary success

Special issue “Science of solar system materials examined from Hayabusa and future missions (II)”

Six years have passed since the first asteroid sample was returned from the S-type near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa by the JAXA’s Hayabusa mission in 2010 (Yada et al. 2014). Considerable progress has been made in the study of surface regolith materials and the understanding of planetary surface processes such as space weathering (Noguchi et al. 2011), the chronology of Itokawa and its dynamic evolution processes (Nagao et al. 2011; Park et al. 2015), and the thermal alteration undergone in parent bodies (Nakamura T et al. 2011). Discussions of new findings from the Hayabusa-returned samples and from a large collection of meteorites, micrometeorites, and interplanetary dust particles have continued, especially at the annual international Hayabusa symposia of solar system materials (Okada et al. 2015). Progress in sample return science has driven the next stage of exploration. Now, two new sample return missions to primitive, volatile-rich asteroids, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 (Tsuda et al. 2013) and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Lauretta et al. 2012), are en route to their target bodies, C-type 162173 Ryugu and B-type 101955 Bennu, respectively. It is our great pleasure to present our second special issue of the journal Earth, Planets and Space, “Science of solar system materials examined from Hayabusa and future missions (II).” This special issue is based on discussions during the Hayabusa 2014 symposium, which featured new results from Hayabusa-returned samples and related studies, but was also open to any scientific results regarding primitive bodies and the early solar system, the results of laboratory experiments and ground-based observations, and reports of new instruments and methods. We will begin with a brief introduction to the missions of the Hayabusa and its successor Hayabusa2. In addition, all six manuscripts published in this special issue are reviewed below

Apatite Formation Abilities and Mechanical Properties of Hydroxyethylmethacrylate-based Organic-inorganic Hybrids Incorporated with Sulfonic Groups and Calcium Ions

Apatite formation in the living body is an essential requirement for artificial materials to exhibit bone-bonding bioactivity. It has been recently revealed that sulfonic groups trigger apatite nucleation in a body environment. Organic–inorganic hybrids consisting of organic polymers and the sulfonic groups are therefore expected to be useful for preparation of novel bone-repairing materials exhibiting flexibility as well as bioactivity. In the present study, organic–inorganic hybrids were prepared from hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) in the presence of vinylsulfonic acid sodium salt (VSAS) and calcium chloride (CaCl2). The bioactivities of the hybrids were assessed in vitro by examining the apatite formation in simulated body fluid (SBF, Kokubo solution). The hybrids deposited on the apatite after soaking in SBF within 7 days. Tensile strength measurements showed a tendency to increase with increases in VSAS and CaCl2 content. It was assumed that this phenomenon was attributed to the formation of cross-linking in the hybrids