Experimental evidence for vibrational resonance and enhanced signal transmission in Chua's circuit

We consider a single Chua's circuit and a system of a unidirectionally coupled n-Chua's circuits driven by a biharmonic signal with two widely different frequencies \omega and \Omega, where \Omega >> \omega. We show experimental evidence for vibrational resonance in the single Chua's circuit and undamped signal propagation of a low-frequency signal in the system of n-coupled Chua's circuits where only the first circuit is driven by the biharmonic signal. In the single circuit, we illustrate the mechanism of vibrational resonance and the influence of the biharmonic signal parameters on the resonance. In the n(= 75)-coupled Chua's circuits enhanced propagation of low-frequency signal is found to occur for a wide range of values of the amplitude of the high-frequency input signal and coupling parameter. The response amplitude of the ith circuit increases with i and attains a saturation. Moreover, the unidirectional coupling is found to act as a low-pass filter.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for Publication in International Journal of Bifurcation and Chao

Fractura de Essex-Lopresti bilateral: caso clínico

El síndrome de Essex-Lopresti es una patología poco frecuente que en muchas ocasiones pasa des - apercibida en fase aguda. Su tratamiento se basa en estabilizar la cabeza del radio para evitar su migración proxi - mal, no existiendo protocolos claros acerca de la actuación a nivel distal, de la membrana interósea o el papel del acortamiento del cúbito. Presentamos un caso de afectación a nivel de ambos antebrazos, uno en forma aguda con un tratamiento mediante osteosíntesis y otro crónico en el que se ha realizado una artroplastia de la cabeza de radio, un acortamiento del cúbito y una técnica de Adams para la estabilización distal, ambos con excelente resultado. En nuestra opinión la estabilización de la articulación radio cubital distal debe ser parte del tratamiento del síndrome de Essex-Lopresti y la técnica de Adams constituye una alternativa en aquellos casos en los que la reconstrucción directa no es posible.Essex-Lopresti syndrome is an uncommon condition which in many occasions it goes unnoticed in acute phase. Its treatment is based on stabilize the head of the radius to prevent its proximal migration but there is no clear protocols on the performance at the distal radio-ulnar joint, the interosseous membrane or the role of the shortening of the ulna. We present a case report of effects at the levels of both forearms, one in acute form, with a treatment with osteosynthesis and another that has been treated with an arthroplasty of the radius head, a shor - tening of the ulna and an Adams ? technique for distal stabilization, both with excellent results. In our opinion, the stabilization of the distal radio-ulnar joint should be part of the treatment of Essex-Lopresti syndrome and the Adams ? technique is an alternative in those cases in which the direct reconstruction is not possible

Electrochemically stimulating developments in bioelectronic medicine

Cellular homeostasis is in part controlled by biological generated electrical activity. By interfacing biology with electronic devices this electrical activity can be modulated to actuate cellular behaviour. There are current limitations in merging electronics with biology sufficiently well to target and sense specific electrically active components of cells. By addressing this limitation, researchers give rise to new capabilities for facilitating the twoway transduction signalling mechanisms between the electronic and cellular components. This is required to allow significant advancement of bioelectronic technology which offers new ways of treating and diagnosing diseases. Most of the progress that has been achieved to date in developing bioelectronic therapeutics stimulate neural communication, which ultimately orchestrates organ function back to a healthy state. Some devices used in therapeutics include cochlear and retinal implants and vagus nerve stimulators. However, all cells can be effected by electrical inputs which gives rise to the opportunity to broaden the use of bioelectronic medicine for treating disease. Electronic actuation of non-excitable cells has been shown to lead to ‘programmed’ cell behaviour via application of electronic input which alter key biological processes. A neglected form of cellular electrical communication which has not yet been considered when developing bioelectronics therapeutics is faradaic currents. These are generated during redox reactions. A precedent of electrochemical technology being used to modulate these reactions thereby controlling cell behaviour has already been set. In this mini review we highlight the current state of the art of electronic routes to modulating cell behaviour and identify new ways in which electrochemistry could be used to contribute to the new field of bioelectronic medicine

Silicon Carbide Telescope Investigations for the LISA Mission

Space-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors are conceived to detect GWs in the low frequency range (mili-Hertz) by measuring the distance between free-falling proof masses in spacecraft (SC) separated by 5 Gm. The reference in the last decade has been the joint ESA-NASA mission LISA. One of the key elements of LISA is the telescope since it simultaneously gathers the light coming from the far SC (approximately or equal to 100 pW) and expands, collimates and sends the outgoing beam (2 W) to the far SC. Demanding requirements have been imposed on the telescope structure: the dimensional stability of the telescope must be approximately or equal to 1pm Hz(exp1/2) at 3 mHz and the distance between the primary and the secondary mirrors must change by less than 2.5 micrometer over the mission lifetime to prevent defocussing. In addition the telescope structure must be light, strong and stiff. For this reason a potential on-axis telescope structure for LISA consisting of a silicon carbide (SiC) quadpod structure has been designed, constructed and tested. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) in the LISA expected temperature range has been measured with a 1% accuracy which allows us to predict the shrinkage/expansion of the telescope due to temperature changes, and pico-meter dimensional stability has been measured at room temperature and at the expected operating temperature for the LISA telescope (around -6[deg]C). This work is supported by NASA Grants NNX10AJ38G and NX11AO26G

J-PLUS: analysis of the intracluster light in the Coma cluster

The intracluster light (ICL) is a luminous component of galaxy clusters composed of stars that are gravitationally bound to the cluster potential but do not belong to the individual galaxies. Previous studies of the ICL have shown that its formation and evolution are intimately linked to the evolutionary stage of the cluster. Thus, the analysis of the ICL in the Coma cluster will give insights into the main processes driving the dynamics in this highly complex system. Using a recently developed technique, we measure the ICL fraction in Coma at several wavelengths, using the J-PLUS unique filter system. The combination of narrow- and broadband filters provides valuable information on the dynamical state of the cluster, the ICL stellar types, and the morphology of the diffuse light. We use the Chebyshev-Fourier Intracluster Light Estimator (CICLE) to disentangle the ICL from the light of the galaxies, and to robustly measure the ICL fraction in seven J-PLUS filters. We obtain the ICL fraction distribution of the Coma cluster at different optical wavelengths, which varies from $\sim 7\%-21\%$, showing the highest values in the narrowband filters J0395, J0410, and J0430. This ICL fraction excess is distinctive pattern recently observed in dynamically active clusters (mergers), indicating a higher amount of bluer stars in the ICL compared to the cluster galaxies. Both the high ICL fractions and the excess in the bluer filters are indicative of a merging state. The presence of younger/lower-metallicity stars the ICL suggests that the main mechanism of ICL formation for the Coma cluster is the stripping of the stars in the outskirts of infalling galaxies and, possibly, the disruption of dwarf galaxies during past/ongoing mergers.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A&

The natural science of cosmology

The network of cosmological tests is tight enough now to show that the relativistic Big Bang cosmology is a good approximation to what happened as the universe expanded and cooled through light element production and evolved to the present. I explain why I reach this conclusion, comment on the varieties of philosophies informing searches for a still better cosmology, and offer an example for further study, the curious tendency of some classes of galaxies to behave as island universes.Comment: Keynote lecture at the seventh International Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology, Goa India, December 201

The genetic contribution of the NO system at the glutamatergic post-synapse to schizophrenia : further evidence and meta-analysis

NO is a pleiotropic signaling molecule and has an important role in cognition and emotion. In the brain, NO is produced by neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS-I, encoded by NOS1) coupled to the NMDA receptor via PDZ. interactions; this protein-protein interaction is disrupted upon binding of NOS1 adapter protein (encoded by NOS1AP) to NOS-I. As both NOS1 and NOS1AP were associated with schizophrenia, we here investigated these genes in greater detail by genotyping new samples and conducting a meta-analysis of our own and published data. In doing so, we confirmed association of both genes with schizophrenia and found evidence for their interaction in increasing risk towards disease. Our strongest finding was the NOS1 promoter SNP rs41279104, yielding an odds ratio of 1.29 in the meta-analysis. As findings from heterologous cell systems have suggested that the risk allele decreases gene expression, we studied the effect of the variant on NOS1 expression in human post-mortem brain samples and found that the risk allele significantly decreases expression of NOS1 in the prefrontal cortex. Bioinformatic analyses suggest that this might be due the replacement of six transcription factor binding sites by two new binding sites as a consequence of proxy SNPs. Taken together, our data argue that genetic variance in NOS1 resulting in lower prefrontal brain expression of this gene contributes to schizophrenia liability, and that NOS1 interacts with NOS1AP in doing so. The NOS1-NOS1AP PDZ interface may thus well constitute a novel target for small molecules in at least some forms of schizophrenia. PostprintPeer reviewe

Thermal diagnostic of the Optical Window on board LISA Pathfinder

Vacuum conditions inside the LTP Gravitational Reference Sensor must comply with rather demanding requirements. The Optical Window (OW) is an interface which seals the vacuum enclosure and, at the same time, lets the laser beam go through for interferometric Metrology with the test masses. The OW is a plane-parallel plate clamped in a Titanium flange, and is considerably sensitive to thermal and stress fluctuations. It is critical for the required precision measurements, hence its temperature will be carefully monitored in flight. This paper reports on the results of a series of OW characterisation laboratory runs, intended to study its response to selected thermal signals, as well as their fit to numerical models, and the meaning of the latter. We find that a single pole ARMA transfer function provides a consistent approximation to the OW response to thermal excitations, and derive a relationship with the physical processes taking place in the OW. We also show how system noise reduction can be accomplished by means of that transfer function.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures; accepted for publication in Class. Quantum Gra

Rules, Standards, and the Internal Point of View

Large scale structure and cosmolog