Analysis of circular hole expansion with generalized yield criteria

Expansion of a circular hole, embedded in an infinite elastoplastic sheet, is studied within the framework of large strain plane-stress plasticity. Material response is modeled by deformation type theories with two families of generalized isotropic yield criteria. Two distinct problems are examined in detail: hole enlargement under internal pressure and hole expansion under remote tension. Strain hardening and elastic compressibility are fully accounted for.Numerical illustrations reveal constitutive sensitivity of stress and deformation profiles. For the internally pressurized hole the specific power needed to create a new volume unit reaches an asymptotic level practically independent of yield criteria. The specific cavitation power is used to derive a simple relation for the ballistic limit in quasi-static plate perforation, showing good agreement with experimental results. Under remote tension the hole expands spontaneously when external stress approaches a limit which is found to be highly sensitive to the yield criteria.     

Isomorphic embedding of ℓ p n , 1<p<2, into ℓ 1 (1+ε)n

In this paper we partially answer a question posed by V. Milman and G. Schechtman by proving that ℓ _p ⁿ , (C logn)^1/q(1+1/ε)-embeds into ℓ ₁ ^(1+ε)n , where 1<p<2 and 1/p+1/q=1. Supported by ISF.     

Reduced Endocannabinoid Tone in Saliva of Chronic Orofacial Pain Patients

Background: the endocannabinoid system (ECS) participates in many physiological and pathological processes including pain generation, modulation, and sensation. Its involvement in chronic orofacial pain (OFP) in general, and the reflection of its involvement in OFP in salivary endocannabinoid (eCBs) levels in particular, has not been examined. Objectives: to evaluate the association between salivary (eCBs) levels and chronic OFP. Methods: salivary levels of 2 eCBs, anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), 2 endocannabinoid-like compoundsN-palmitoylethanolamine (PEA), N-oleoylethanolamine (OEA), and their endogenous precursor and breakdown product, arachidonic acid (AA), were analyzed using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in 83 chronic OFP patients and 43 pain-free controls. The chronic OFP patients were divided according to diagnosis into musculoskeletal, neurovascular/migraine, and neuropathic pain types. Results: chronic OFP patients had lower levels of OEA (p = 0.02) and 2-AG (p = 0.01). Analyzing specific pain types revealed lower levels of AEA and OEA in the neurovascular group (p = 0.04, 0.02, respectively), and 2-AG in the neuropathic group compared to controls (p = 0.05). No significant differences were found between the musculoskeletal pain group and controls. Higher pain intensity was accompanied by lower levels of AA (p = 0.028), in neuropathic group. Conclusions: lower levels of eCBs were found in the saliva of chronic OFP patients compared to controls, specifically those with neurovascular/migraine, and neuropathic pain. The detection of changes in salivary endocannabinoids levels related to OFP adds a new dimension to our understanding of OFP mechanisms, and may have diagnostic as well as therapeutic implications for pain.     

A peptide-derived strategy for specifically targeting the mitochondria and ER of cancer cells: a new approach in fighting cancer

An effective anti-cancer therapy should exclusively target cancer cells and trigger in them a broad spectrum of cell death pathways that will prevent avoidance. Here, we present a new approach in cancer therapy that specifically targets the mitochondria and ER of cancer cells. We developed a peptide derived from the flexible and transmembrane domains of the human protein NAF-1/CISD2. This peptide (NAF-1^44-67) specifically permeates through the plasma membranes of human epithelial breast cancer cells, abolishes their mitochondria and ER, and triggers cell death with characteristics of apoptosis, ferroptosis and necroptosis. In vivo analysis revealed that the peptide significantly decreases tumor growth in mice carrying xenograft human tumors. Computational simulations of cancer vs. normal cell membranes reveal that the specificity of the peptide to cancer cells is due to its selective recognition of their membrane composition. NAF-1^44-67 represents a promising anti-cancer lead compound that acts via a unique mechanism.

An effective anti-cancer therapy should exclusively target cancer cells and trigger in them a broad spectrum of cell death pathways that will prevent avoidance.     

Dynamic Sampling Applied to Problems in Optimal Control

Dynamic sampling utilizes the option of varying the sampling rates according to the situation of the systems, thus obtaining procedures with improved efficiencies. In this paper, the technique is applied to a typical problem in optimal control theory, that of tracking and controlling the position of an object. It is shown that the dynamic sampling results in a significantly improved procedure for this case, even when applying a suboptimal policy which can be analyzed in closed form.     

Mixing in simple models for turbulent diffusion

Simple turbulent diffusive models are proposed as conceptual tools for exploring scenarios involving mixing of stratified flows. Applications include the dynamics of the ocean's top mixed layer, shear instability, breaking internal waves, and turbulent stirring of sharp interfaces. A novel measure of mixing is developed, based on arguments from statistical physics. It is shown that, under turbulent diffusion, this measure grows, and that there are strong indications that, under stirring, flows tend to settle down at a maximum of this measure, subject to global dynamical constraints. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Universal spaces for homotopy limits of modules over coaugmented functors (I)

For a coaugmented functor J on spaces, we consider J-modules and finite J-limits. The former are spaces X which are retracts of JX via the natural map. The latter are homotopy limits of J-modules arranged in diagrams whose shape is finite dimensional. Familiar examples are generalised Eilenberg MacLane spaces, which are the SP^∞-modules. Finite SP^∞-limits are nilpotent spaces with a very strong finiteness property. We show that the cofacial Bousfield-Kan construction of the functors J_n is universal for finite J-limits in the sense that every map X→Y where Y is a finite J-limit, factors through such natural map X→J_nX, for some n<∞.     

Monitoring Dissociation Kinetics during Electrophoretic Focusing to Enable High‐Specificity Nucleic Acid Detection

A wide range of medical conditions can be diagnosed through sequence‐specific analysis of nucleic acids. However, a major challenge remains in detecting a specific target in samples containing a high concentration of mismatching sequences. A single‐step kinetic homogenous (free solution) assay is presented in which free sequence‐specific probes are continuously separated from probe–target hybrids during electrophoretic sample focusing, allowing monitoring of dissociation kinetics. Under these conditions, the different kinetics of targets versus mismatches result in distinct patterns of the signal (for example, linear increase for target versus exponential decay for mismatch), allowing the detection of desired sequences even in the presence of high background nucleic acid content. Additionally, an analytical model provides insight into the underlying dynamics, and allows design of assays based on this mechanism.     

Transition state theory: variational formulation, dynamical corrections, and error estimates

Transition state theory (TST) is revisited, as well as evolutions upon TST such as variational TST in which the TST dividing surface is optimized so as to minimize the rate of recrossing through this surface and methods which aim at computing dynamical corrections to the TST transition rate constant. The theory is discussed from an original viewpoint. It is shown how to compute exactly the mean frequency of transition between two predefined sets which either partition phase space (as in TST) or are taken to be well-separated metastable sets corresponding to long-lived conformation states (as necessary to obtain the actual transition rate constants between these states). Exact and approximate criterions for the optimal TST dividing surface with minimum recrossing rate are derived. Some issues about the definition and meaning of the free energy in the context of TST are also discussed. Finally precise error estimates for the numerical procedure to evaluate the transmission coefficient kappaS of the TST dividing surface are given, and it is shown that the relative error on kappaS scales as 1/square root(kappaS) when kappaS is small. This implies that dynamical corrections to the TST rate constant can be computed efficiently if and only if the TST dividing surface has a transmission coefficient kappaS which is not too small. In particular, the TST dividing surface must be optimized upon (for otherwise kappaS is generally very small), but this may not be sufficient to make the procedure numerically efficient (because the optimal dividing surface has maximum kappaS, but this coefficient may still be very small).     

Transport Properties of H+-Selective Membranes Containing Amine-Derivative Ionophores and Mobile Sites

Transport processes in plasticized PVC membranes containing the H⁺ chromoionophore ETH 5294 and additional tetraphenylborate-type mobile sites were analyzed by employing the potential-step method. Using chronoamperometry, impedance spectroscopy, and UV/VIS absorbance measurements, it is shown that the ionophore behaves as a carrier for protons, when the membranes are immersed between two aqueous solutions. It was possible to document the changes in the concentration profiles of both free ionophores and ionic species in some of the membranes. There is no evidence of proton hopping between the ionophores.