15,421 research outputs found
Early afterdepolarisations and ventricular arrhythmias in cardiac tissue: a computational study
Afterdepolarisations are associated with arrhythmias in the heart, but are difficult to study experimentally. In this study we used a simplified computational model of 1D and 2D cardiac ventricular tissue, where we could control the size of the region generating afterdepolarisations, as well as the properties of the afterdepolarisation waveform. Provided the size of the afterdepolarisation region was greater than around 1 mm, propagating extrasystoles were produced in both 1D and 2D. The number of extrasystoles produced depended on the amplitude, period, and duration of the oscillatory EAD waveform. In 2D, re-entry was also initiated for specific combinations of EAD amplitude, period, and duration, with the afterdepolarisation region acting as a common pathway. The main finding from this modelling study is therefore that afterdepolarisations can act as potent sources of propagating extrasystoles, as well as a source of re-entrant activation
VLTI observations of the dust geometry around R Coronae Borealis stars
We are investigating the formation and evolution of dust around the
hydrogen-deficient supergiants known as R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars. We aim
to determine the connection between the probable merger past of these stars and
their current dust-production activities. We carried out high-angular
resolution interferometric observations of three RCB stars, namely RY Sgr, V
CrA, and V854 Cen with the mid-IR interferometer, MIDI on the VLTI, using two
telescope pairs. The baselines ranged from 30 to 60 m, allowing us to probe the
dusty environment at very small spatial scales (~ 50 mas or 400 stellar radii).
The observations of the RCB star dust environments were interpreted using both
geometrical models and one-dimensional radiative transfer codes. From our
analysis we find that asymmetric circumstellar material is apparent in RY Sgr,
may also exist in V CrA, and is possible for V854 Cen. Overall, we find that
our observations are consistent with dust forming in clumps ejected randomly
around the RCB star so that over time they create a spherically symmetric
distribution of dust. However, we conclude that the determination of whether
there is a preferred plane of dust ejection must wait until a time series of
observations are obtained.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 14 pages, 10 figures, 6 table
Nuclear Reactions Rates Governing the Nucleosynthesis of Ti44
Large excesses of Ca44 in certain presolar graphite and silicon carbide
grains give strong evidence for Ti44 production in supernovae. Furthermore,
recent detection of the Ti44 gamma-line from the Cas A SNR by CGRO/COMPTEL
shows that radioactive Ti44 is produced in supernovae. These make the Ti44
abundance an observable diagnostic of supernovae. Through use of a nuclear
reaction network, we have systematically varied reaction rates and groups of
reaction rates to experimentally identify those that govern Ti44 abundance in
core-collapse supernova nucleosynthesis. We survey the nuclear-rate dependence
by repeated calculations of the identical adiabatic expansion, with peak
temperature and density chosen to be 5.5xE9 K and 1E7 g/cc, respectively, to
approximate the conditions in detailed supernova models. We find that, for
equal total numbers of neutrons and protons (eta=0), Ti44 production is most
sensitive to the following reaction rates: Ti44(alpha,p)V47,
alpha(2alpha,gamma)C12, Ti44(alpha,gamma)Cr48, V45(p,gamma)Cr46. We tabulate
the most sensitive reactions in order of their importance to the Ti44
production near the standard values of currently accepted cross-sections, at
both reduced reaction rate (0.01X) and at increased reaction rate (100X)
relative to their standard values. Although most reactions retain their
importance for eta > 0, that of V45(p,gamma)Cr46 drops rapidly for eta >=
0.0004. Other reactions assume greater significance at greater neutron excess:
C12(alpha,gamma)O16, Ca40(alpha,gamma)Ti44, Al27(alpha,n)P30, Si30(alpha,n)S33.
Because many of these rates are unknown experimentally, our results suggest the
most important targets for future cross section measurements governing the
value of this observable abundance.Comment: 37 pages, LaTex, 17 figures, 8 table
Endogenous driving and synchronization in cardiac and uterine virtual tissues: bifurcations and local coupling
Cardiac and uterine muscle cells and tissue can be either autorhythmic or excitable. These behaviours exchange stability at bifurcations produced by changes in parameters, which if spatially localized can produce an ectopic pacemaking focus. The effects of these parameters on cell dynamics have been identified and quantified using continuation algorithms and by numerical solutions of virtual cells. The ability of a compact pacemaker to drive the surrounding excitable tissues depends on both the size of the pacemaker and the strength of electrotonic coupling between cells within, between, and outside the pacemaking region.
We investigate an ectopic pacemaker surrounded by normal excitable tissue. Cell–cell coupling is simulated by the diffusion coefficient for voltage. For uniformly coupled tissues, the behaviour of the hybrid tissue can take one of the three forms: (i) the surrounding tissue electrotonically suppresses the pacemaker; (ii) depressed rate oscillatory activity in the pacemaker but no propagation; and (iii) pacemaker driving propagations into the excitable region.
However, real tissues are heterogeneous with spatial changes in cell–cell coupling. In the gravid uterus during early pregnancy, cells are weakly coupled, with the cell–cell coupling increasing during late pregnancy, allowing synchronous contractions during labour. These effects are investigated for a caricature uterine tissue by allowing both excitability and diffusion coefficient to vary stochastically with space, and for cardiac tissues by spatial gradients in the diffusion coefficient
The noise policy statement for England : significance, application and implications
The Noise Policy Statement for England, published by Defra in March 2010, describes a ‘policy vision to facilitate decisions regarding what is an acceptable noise burden to place on society’. The publication of the NPSE coincided with the formal adoption and publication of the Noise Action Plans as required by the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the Environmental Noise Directive . However, the potential implications of the NPSE go much wider, and as this article shows, it may well turn out to have a considerable impact on the work of many members of the Institute of Acoustics
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