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    Membrane-mediated interactions of rod-like inclusions

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    Inclusions embedded in lipid membranes undergo a mediated force. due to the tendency of the membrane to relax its excess of elastic energy. In this paper we determine the exact shape of a two-dimensional vesicle hosting two different inclusions. and we analyse how the inclusion conformation influences the mediated interaction. We find non-trivial equilibrium configurations for the inclusions along the hosting membrane, and we derive the complete phase diagram of the mediated interaction. In particular, we find a non-vanishing mediated force even when the distance between the inclusions is much greater than their size. Our model can be applied to describe the mediated interactions of parallel, elongated inclusions embedded in three-dimensional membranes

    The topological microstructure of defects in liquid crystals

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    We study the core of line and point defects in nematic liquid crystals. The topological theory of defects allows us to prove that a uniaxial nematic has two ways to avoid a topologically stable defect: either it melts, by becoming isotropic on the putative defect, or a complex biaxial structure arises, that we describe in the paper

    Inter-event time power laws in heterogeneous systems

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    We investigate the dynamic behavior of spin reversal events in the dilute Ising model, focusing on the influence of static disorder introduced by pinned spins. Our Monte Carlo simulations reveal that in a homogeneous, defect-free system, the inter-event time (IET) between local spin flips follows an exponential distribution, characteristic of Poissonian processes. However, in heterogeneous systems where defects are present, we observe a significant departure from this behavior. At high temperatures, the IET exhibits a power-law distribution resulting from the interplay of spins located in varying potential environments, where defect density influences reversal probabilities. At low temperatures, all site classes converge to a unique power-law distribution, regardless of their potential, leading to distinct critical exponents for the high- and low-temperature regimes. This transition from exponential to power-law behavior underscores the critical response features of magnetic systems with defects, suggesting analogies to glassy dynamics. Our findings highlight the complex mechanisms governing spin dynamics in disordered systems, with implications for understanding the universal aspects of relaxation in glassy materials

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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