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Fast approximations for boundary element based brittle fracture simulation
Get PDFWe present a boundary element based method for fast simulation of brittle fracture. By introducing simplifying assumptions that allow us to quickly estimate stress intensities and opening displacements during crack propagation, we build a fracture algorithm where the cost of each time step scales linearly with the length of the crackfront. The transition from a full boundary element method to our faster variant is possible at the beginning of any time step. This allows us to build a hybrid method, which uses the expensive but more accurate BEM while the number of degrees of freedom is low, and uses the fast method once that number exceeds a given threshold as the crack geometry becomes more complicated. Furthermore, we integrate this fracture simulation with a standard rigid-body solver. Our rigid-body coupling solves a Neumann boundary value problem by carefully separating translational, rotational and deformational components of the collision forces and then applying a Tikhonov regularizer to the resulting linear system. We show that our method produces physically reasonable results in standard test cases and is capable of dealing with complex scenes faster than previous finite- or boundary element approaches
Mitochondrial uncouplers inhibit clathrin-mediated endocytosis largely through cytoplasmic acidification
No full textATP production requires the establishment of an electrochemical proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondrial uncouplers dissipate this proton gradient and disrupt numerous cellular processes, including vesicular trafficking, mainly through energy depletion. Here we show that Endosidin9 (ES9), a novel mitochondrial uncoupler, is a potent inhibitor of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) in different systems and that ES9 induces inhibition of CME not because of its effect on cellular ATP, but rather due to its protonophore activity that leads to cytoplasm acidification. We show that the known tyrosine kinase inhibitor tyrphostinA23, which is routinely used to block CME, displays similar properties, thus questioning its use as a specific inhibitor of cargo recognition by the AP-2 adaptor complex via tyrosine motif-based endocytosis signals. Furthermore, we show that cytoplasm acidification dramatically affects the dynamics and recruitment of clathrin and associated adaptors, and leads to reduction of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate from the plasma membrane
Universality for general Wigner-type matrices
Get PDFWe consider the local eigenvalue distribution of large self-adjoint N×N random matrices H=H∗ with centered independent entries. In contrast to previous works the matrix of variances sij=\mathbbmE|hij|2 is not assumed to be stochastic. Hence the density of states is not the Wigner semicircle law. Its possible shapes are described in the companion paper (Ajanki et al. in Quadratic Vector Equations on the Complex Upper Half Plane. arXiv:1506.05095). We show that as N grows, the resolvent, G(z)=(H−z)−1, converges to a diagonal matrix, diag(m(z)), where m(z)=(m1(z),…,mN(z)) solves the vector equation −1/mi(z)=z+∑jsijmj(z) that has been analyzed in Ajanki et al. (Quadratic Vector Equations on the Complex Upper Half Plane. arXiv:1506.05095). We prove a local law down to the smallest spectral resolution scale, and bulk universality for both real symmetric and complex hermitian symmetry classes
Nonexistence of large nuclei in the liquid drop model
Get PDFWe give a simplified proof of the nonexistence of large nuclei in the liquid drop model and provide an explicit bound. Our bound is within a factor of 2.3 of the conjectured value and seems to be the first quantitative result
Only the combination of mathematics and agent based simulations can leverage the full potential of evolutionary modeling: Comment on “Evolutionary game theory using agent-based methods” by C. Adami, J. Schossau and A. Hintze
Get PDFHow MicroRNAs Are involved in splitting the mind
No full textThis article provides an introduction to the role of microRNAs in the nervous system and outlines their potential involvement in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, which is hypothesized to arise owing to environmental factors and genetic predisposition
Plasma membrane: Negative attraction
Get PDFThe electrostatic charge at the inner surface of the plasma membrane is strongly negative in higher organisms. A new study shows that phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate plays a critical role in establishing plasma membrane surface charge in Arabidopsis, which regulates the correct localization of signalling components
The genomic basis of adaptation to the fitness cost of rifampicin resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
No full textAntibiotic resistance carries a fitness cost that must be overcome in order for resistance to persist over the long term. Compensatory mutations that recover the functional defects associated with resistance mutations have been argued to play a key role in overcoming the cost of resistance, but compensatory mutations are expected to be rare relative to generally beneficial mutations that increase fitness, irrespective of antibiotic resistance. Given this asymmetry, population genetics theory predicts that populations should adapt by compensatory mutations when the cost of resistance is large, whereas generally beneficial mutations should drive adaptation when the cost of resistance is small. We tested this prediction by determining the genomic mechanisms underpinning adaptation to antibiotic-free conditions in populations of the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa that carry costly antibiotic resistance mutations. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that populations founded by high-cost rifampicin-resistant mutants adapted via compensatory mutations in three genes of the RNA polymerase core enzyme, whereas populations founded by low-cost mutants adapted by generally beneficial mutations, predominantly in the quorum-sensing transcriptional regulator gene lasR. Even though the importance of compensatory evolution in maintaining resistance has been widely recognized, our study shows that the roles of general adaptation in maintaining resistance should not be underestimated and highlights the need to understand how selection at other sites in the genome influences the dynamics of resistance alleles in clinical settings
Quantitative Interprocedural Analysis
Get PDFWe consider the quantitative analysis problem for interprocedural control-flow graphs (ICFGs). The input consists of an ICFG, a positive weight function that assigns every transition a positive integer-valued number, and a labelling of the transitions (events) as good, bad, and neutral events. The weight function assigns to each transition a numerical value that represents ameasure of how good or bad an event is. The quantitative analysis problem asks whether there is a run of the ICFG where the ratio of the sum of the numerical weights of good events versus the sum of weights of bad events in the long-run is at least a given threshold (or equivalently, to compute the maximal ratio among all valid paths in the ICFG). The quantitative analysis problem for ICFGs can be solved in polynomial time, and we present an efficient and practical algorithm for the problem. We show that several problems relevant for static program analysis, such as estimating the worst-case execution time of a program or the average energy consumption of a mobile application, can be modeled in our framework. We have implemented our algorithm as a tool in the Java Soot framework. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach with two case studies. First, we show that our framework provides a sound approach (no false positives) for the analysis of inefficiently-used containers. Second, we show that our approach can also be used for static profiling of programs which reasons about methods that are frequently invoked. Our experimental results show that our tool scales to relatively large benchmarks, and discovers relevant and useful information that can be used to optimize performance of the programs
Eliminating higher-multiplicity intersections, II. The deleted product criterion in the r-metastable range
No full textMotivated by Tverberg-type problems in topological combinatorics and by classical results about embeddings (maps without double points), we study the question whether a finite simplicial complex K can be mapped into double-struck Rd without higher-multiplicity intersections. We focus on conditions for the existence of almost r-embeddings, i.e., maps f : K → double-struck Rd such that f(σ1) ∩ ⋯ ∩ f(σr) = ∅ whenever σ1, ..., σr are pairwise disjoint simplices of K. Generalizing the classical Haefliger-Weber embeddability criterion, we show that a well-known necessary deleted product condition for the existence of almost r-embeddings is sufficient in a suitable r-metastable range of dimensions: If rd ≥ (r + 1) dim K + 3, then there exists an almost r-embedding K → double-struck Rd if and only if there exists an equivariant map (K)Δ r → Sr Sd(r-1)-1, where (K)Δ r is the deleted r-fold product of K, the target Sd(r-1)-1 is the sphere of dimension d(r - 1) - 1, and Sr is the symmetric group. This significantly extends one of the main results of our previous paper (which treated the special case where d = rk and dim K = (r - 1)k for some k ≥ 3), and settles an open question raised there