Instability criteria for steady flows of a perfect fluid

An instability criterion based on the positivity of a Lyapunov-type exponent is used to study the stability of the Euler equations governing the motion of an inviscid incompressible fluid. It is proved that any flow with exponential stretching of the fluid particles is unstable. In the case of an arbitrary axisymmetric steady integrable flow, a sufficient condition for instability is exhibited in terms of the curvature and the geodesic torsion of a stream line and the helicity of the flow.     

Smart Geodesic Tracing in GRworkbench

We have developed a new tool for numerical work in General Relativity: GRworkbench. We discuss how GRworkbench's implementation of a numerically-amenable analogue to Differential Geometry facilitates the development of robust and chart-independent numerical algorithms. We consider, as an example, geodesic tracing on two charts covering the exterior Schwarzschild space-time.     

Pediatric Laryngotracheal Stenosis and Airway Reconstruction: A Review of Voice Outcomes, Assessment, and Treatment Issues

Laryngotracheal stenosis is defined as a congenital or acquired narrowing of the airway. Congenital causes may include subglottic membranous or cartilaginous narrowing. Acquired causes may include trauma due to prolonged endotracheal or tracheal intubation or laryngotracheal injury. Although advances have been made over the past 30 years in reconstructive surgeries to improve airway patency in these patients, long-term laryngeal function for voice production is not well defined in this population. This review examines causes, symptoms and signs, and methods for diagnosing laryngotracheal stenosis. Surgical management procedures are briefly summarized. The current literature on voice outcomes is summarized. The predominant voice characteristics in the population are presented, although results are challenged by the heterogeneity of voice presentation and paucity of data from instrumental measures. Considerations for subjective and instrumental assessment, measures of quality of life, instrumental methods, and treatment options specific to the needs of this population are discussed. Research strategies to identify long-term outcomes of surgical and behavioral treatments in this population are posed.     

Outflow refreshment angiography: A bright blood, bright static tissue technique

A new “bright blood” strategy, outflow refreshment imaging, is introduced in which a number of overlapping slices are excited in rapid succession. Flowing spins that refresh each overlapped slice portion contribute a bright signal. Additionally, static tissue in each non-overlapped slice portion also yields a bright signal. However, the flow/static contrast is comparable to that produced in inflow refreshment images, and angiograms can be generated by conventional maximum intensity projection processing. The dual ability to visualize angiograms and static tissue images is a major benefit of the strategy. Computer simulations of flow sensitivities and in vivo results are presented which compare the outflow and inflow refreshment imaging strategies.     

Experimental realization of a quantum spin pump

We demonstrate the operation of a quantum spin pump based on cyclic radio-frequency excitation of a GaAs quantum dot, including the ability to pump pure spin without pumping charge. The device takes advantage of bidirectional mesoscopic fluctuations of pumped current, made spin dependent by the application of an in-plane Zeeman field. Spin currents are measured by placing the pump in a focusing geometry with a spin-selective collector.     

Femtosecond spectroscopy of optical excitations in single-walled carbon nanotubes: evidence for exciton-exciton annihilation

Frequency-resolved femtosecond transient absorption spectra and kinetics measured by optical excitation of the second and first electronic transitions of the (8,3) single-walled carbon nanotube species reveal a unique mutual response between these transitions. Based on the analysis of the spectra, kinetics, and their distinct amplitude dependence on the pump intensity observed at these transitions, we conclude that these observations originate from both the excitonic origin of the spectrum and nonlinear exciton annihilation.     

Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization of Fluorescent Boron Dipyrromethene-Derived Hydrazones

Derivatives of 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a,diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY? or BDP) that possess a hydrazine substituent on position 5 are potential "turn-on" fluorophores for labeling aldehydes The unnatural amino acid L-3-formyltyrosine can be incorporated into a protein or peptide; thus, these hydrazines are potentially site specific labels for such polymers. In this work, model compounds were synthesized to assess whether the photochemical properties of the BDP-hydrazone would be suitable for protein labeling. Hydrazones were synthesized from the fluorophore 3-chloro-5-hydrazino-BDP and different aldehydes, and the absorption and emission spectra of the products were compared. The hydrazone of an unsubstituted aromatic aldehyde displays absorption and emission maxima (531 nm and 559 nm, respectively in dioxane) that are red shifted relative to those of a hydrazone from an aliphatic aldehyde (513 nm and 543 nm, respectively, in dioxane) and an increased quantum yield (0.21 vs. 0.11, respectively, in dioxane). The presence of a hydroxyl group ortho- to the aldehyde produces a hydrazone in which the absorption and emission maxima are slightly red shifted (528 nm and 564 nm, respectively in dioxane) from the unsubstituted aromatic hydrazone, but the quantum yields of the two hydrazones are equivalent. Thus, an ortho-hydroxy substituted aromatic aldehyde is a suitable electrophile for "turn on" protein labeling using the hydrazino-BDP. The specificity of this labeling reaction for the unnatural amino acid was demonstrated through fluorescent labeling of just the 3-formyltyrosine-containing α-subunit of α,β-tubulin.     

Local entropy and structure in a two-dimensional frustrated system

We calculate the local contributions to the Shannon entropy and excess entropy and use these information theoretic measures as quantitative probes of the order arising from quenched disorder in the diluted Ising antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice. When one sublattice is sufficiently diluted, the system undergoes a temperature-driven phase transition, with the other two sublattices developing magnetizations of equal magnitude and opposite sign as the system is cooled.(1) The diluted sublattice has no net magnetization but exhibits spin glass ordering. The distribution of local entropies shows a dramatic broadening at low temperatures; this indicates that the system's total entropy is not shared equally across the lattice. The entropy contributions from some regions exhibit local reentrance, although the entropy of the system decreases monotonically as expected. The average excess entropy shows a sharp peak at the critical temperature, showing that the excess entropy is sensitive to the structural changes that occur as a result of the spin glass ordering.