207 research outputs found
A stationary free boundary problem modeling electrostatic MEMS
A free boundary problem describing small deformations in a membrane based
model of electrostatically actuated MEMS is investigated. The existence of
stationary solutions is established for small voltage values. A justification
of the widely studied narrow-gap model is given by showing that steady state
solutions of the free boundary problem converge toward stationary solutions of
the narrow-gap model when the aspect ratio of the device tends to zero
Ursolic acid inhibits the initiation, progression of prostate cancer and prolongs the survival of TRAMP mice by modulating pro-inflammatory pathways
10.1371/journal.pone.0032476PLoS ONE73
Parallel Parent–Child Mindfulness Intervention Among Chinese Migrant Families:A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study
Purpose: This study examines the feasibility and effects of a parallel parent–child mindfulness intervention on parenting stress, child behavior, and parent–child relationship among low-income migrant families. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, 21 Chinese migrant parents and one child of each parent were assigned to an 8-week intervention (n = 11 pairs) or waitlist control (n = 10 pairs). Semi-structured qualitative interviews and pre–post quantitative measures were used to assess intervention feasibility and effects. Results: Qualitative interviews suggest mindfulness training promotes family well-being through enhanced parental and child emotional regulation. Quantitative results suggest within-group parenting stress significantly decreased in the intervention group (partial η 2 =.423) but not in controls (partial η 2 =.000); between-group analyses showed a nonsignificant, medium effect size on parenting stress (partial η 2 =.069). Conclusions: The intervention shows good feasibility and initial support for reducing parenting stress. Future research requires a larger randomized controlled trial among high-stress populations such as migrant families.</p
Manifestation of photonic band structure in small clusters of spherical particles
We study the formation of the photonic band structure in small clusters of
dielectric spheres. The first signs of the band structure, an attribute of an
infinite crystal, can appear for clusters of 5 particles. Density of resonant
states of a cluster of 32 spheres may exhibit a well defined structure similar
to the density of electromagnetic states of the infinite photonic crystal. The
resonant mode structure of finite-size aggregates is shown to be insensitive to
random displacements of particles off the perfect lattice positions as large as
half-radius of the particle. The results were obtained by an efficient
numerical method, which relates the density of resonant states to the the
scattering coefficients of the electromagnetic scattering problem. Generalized
multisphere Mie (GMM) solution was used to obtain scattering matrix elements.
These results are important to miniature photonic crystal design as well as
understanding of light localization in dense random media.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Existence of Ricci flows of incomplete surfaces
We prove a general existence result for instantaneously complete Ricci flows
starting at an arbitrary Riemannian surface which may be incomplete and may
have unbounded curvature. We give an explicit formula for the maximal existence
time, and describe the asymptotic behaviour in most cases.Comment: 20 pages; updated to reflect galley proof correction
Inhibition of STAT3 dimerization and acetylation by garcinol suppresses the growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
10.1186/1476-4598-13-66Molecular Cancer131-MCOA
A parabolic free boundary problem modeling electrostatic MEMS
The evolution problem for a membrane based model of an electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical system (MEMS) is studied. The model describes the dynamics of the membrane displacement and the electric potential. The latter is a harmonic function in an angular domain, the deformable membrane being a part of the boundary. The former solves a heat equation with a right hand side that depends on the square of the trace of the gradient of the electric potential on the membrane. The resulting free boundary problem is shown to be well-posed locally in time. Furthermore, solutions corresponding to small voltage values exist globally in time while global existence is shown not to hold for high voltage values. It is also proven that, for small voltage values, there is an asymptotically stable steady-state solution. Finally, the small aspect ratio limit is rigorously justified
MicroRNA clusters integrate evolutionary constraints on expression and target affinities : the miR-6/5/4/286/3/309 cluster in Drosophila
This research was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grant Council GRF Grant (14103516), The Chinese University of Hong Kong Direct Grant (4053248), and TUYF Charitable Trust (6903957) (JHLH).A striking feature of microRNAs is that they are often clustered in the genomes of animals. The functional and evolutionary consequences of this clustering remain obscure. Here, we investigated a microRNA cluster miR-6/5/4/286/3/309 that is conserved across drosophilid lineages. Small RNA sequencing revealed expression of this microRNA cluster in Drosophila melanogaster leg discs, and conditional overexpression of the whole cluster resulted in leg appendage shortening. Transgenic overexpression lines expressing different combinations of microRNA cluster members were also constructed. Expression of individual microRNAs from the cluster resulted in a normal wild-type phenotype, but either the expression of several ancient microRNAs together (miR-5/4/286/3/309) or more recently evolved clustered microRNAs (miR-6-1/2/3) can recapitulate the phenotypes generated by the whole-cluster overexpression. Screening of transgenic fly lines revealed down-regulation of leg patterning gene cassettes in generation of the leg-shortening phenotype. Furthermore, cell transfection with different combinations of microRNA cluster members revealed a suite of downstream genes targeted by all cluster members, as well as complements of targets that are unique for distinct microRNAs. Considered together, the microRNA targets and the evolutionary ages of each microRNA in the cluster demonstrates the importance of microRNA clustering, where new members can reinforce and modify the selection forces on both the cluster regulation and the gene regulatory network of existing microRNAs.PostprintPeer reviewe
Dark Energy from structure: a status report
The effective evolution of an inhomogeneous universe model in any theory of
gravitation may be described in terms of spatially averaged variables. In
Einstein's theory, restricting attention to scalar variables, this evolution
can be modeled by solutions of a set of Friedmann equations for an effective
volume scale factor, with matter and backreaction source terms. The latter can
be represented by an effective scalar field (`morphon field') modeling Dark
Energy.
The present work provides an overview over the Dark Energy debate in
connection with the impact of inhomogeneities, and formulates strategies for a
comprehensive quantitative evaluation of backreaction effects both in
theoretical and observational cosmology. We recall the basic steps of a
description of backreaction effects in relativistic cosmology that lead to
refurnishing the standard cosmological equations, but also lay down a number of
challenges and unresolved issues in connection with their observational
interpretation.
The present status of this subject is intermediate: we have a good
qualitative understanding of backreaction effects pointing to a global
instability of the standard model of cosmology; exact solutions and
perturbative results modeling this instability lie in the right sector to
explain Dark Energy from inhomogeneities. It is fair to say that, even if
backreaction effects turn out to be less important than anticipated by some
researchers, the concordance high-precision cosmology, the architecture of
current N-body simulations, as well as standard perturbative approaches may all
fall short in correctly describing the Late Universe.Comment: Invited Review for a special Gen. Rel. Grav. issue on Dark Energy, 59
pages, 2 figures; matches published versio
- …