Hydroclimate variations in central and monsoonal Asia over the past 700 years.

Hydroclimate variations since 1300 in central and monsoonal Asia and their interplay on interannual and interdecadal timescales are investigated using the tree-ring based Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) reconstructions. Both the interannual and interdecadal variations in both regions are closely to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). On interannual timescale, the most robust correlations are observed between PDO and hydroclimate in central Asia. Interannual hydroclimate variations in central Asia are more significant during the warm periods with high solar irradiance, which is likely due to the enhanced variability of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, the high-frequency component of PDO, during the warm periods. We observe that the periods with significant interdecadal hydroclimate changes in central Asia often correspond to periods without significant interdecadal variability in monsoonal Asia, particularly before the 19th century. The PDO-hydroclimate relationships appear to be bridged by the atmospheric circulation between central North Pacific Ocean and Tibetan Plateau, a key area of PDO. While, in some periods the atmospheric circulation between central North Pacific Ocean and monsoonal Asia may lead to significant interdecadal hydroclimate variations in monsoonal Asia.

A kinetic model of troponin dissociation in relation to thin filament regulation in striated muscle.

The apparent rate of troponin (Tn) dissociation from myofibrils has been used as a method to study thin filament regulation in striated muscle. The rate is dependent upon calcium and strong crossbridges and supports the three-state model for thin filament regulation. The dissociation rate of Tn is extremely low so it is not intuitively clear that such a slow process would probe thin filament regulation. We have investigated this issue by developing a simple kinetic model to explain the Tn dissociation rate measured by labeled Tn exchange in the myofibrils. Tn is composed of three interacting subunits, TnC, TnI and TnT. In our model, TnI's regulatory domain switches from actin-tropomyosin to TnC followed by TnT dissociation from actin-tropomyosin. This TnI regulatory domain switching is linked to the transition of the thin filament from the blocked state to the closed state. It is calcium dependent and several orders of magnitude faster than TnT dissociation from actin-tropomyosin. By integrating the dimensionless rate equations of this model, we have computed the time course of each of the various components. In our numerical simulations, the rate constant for TnI switching from actin-tropomyosin to TnC was varied from 10 s⁻¹ to 1000 s⁻¹ to simulate the low calcium, blocked state to high calcium, closed state. The computed progress curves for labeled Tn exchange into the myofibrils and the derived intensity ratio between the non-overlap and overlap regions well explains the intensity ratio progress curves observed experimentally. These numerical simulations and experimental observations reveal that the apparent rate of Tn dissociation probes the blocked state to closed state equilibrium of the myofibrillar thin filament.

Multifractal and statistical analyses of heat release fluctuations in a spark ignition engine.

Using multifractal and statistical analyses, we have investigated the complex dynamics of cycle-to-cycle heat release variations in a spark ignition engine. Three different values of the spark advance angle (Delta beta) are examined. The multifractal complexity is characterized by the singularity spectrum of the heat release time series in terms of the Holder exponent. The broadness of the singularity spectrum gives a measure of the degree of mutifractality or complexity of the time series. The broader the spectrum, the richer and more complex is the structure with a higher degree of multifractality. Using this broadness measure, the complexity in heat release variations is compared for the three spark advance angles (SAAs). Our results reveal that the heat release data are most complex for Delta beta=30 degrees followed in order by Delta beta=15 degrees and 5 degrees. In other words, the complexity increases with increasing SAA. In addition, we found that for all the SAAs considered, the heat release fluctuations behave like an antipersistent or a negatively correlated process, becoming more antipersistent with decreasing SAA. We have also performed a statistical analysis of the heat release variations by calculating the kurtosis of their probability density functions (pdfs). It is found that for the smallest SAA considered, Delta beta=5 degrees, the pdf is nearly Gaussian with a kurtosis of 3.42. As the value of the SAA increases, the pdf deviates from a Gaussian distribution and tends to be more peaked with larger values of kurtosis. In particular, the kurtosis has values of 3.94 and 6.69, for Delta beta=15 degrees and 30 degrees, respectively. A non-Gaussian density function with kurtosis in excess of 3 is indicative of intermittency. A larger value of kurtosis implies a higher degree of intermittency.

Cutting process dynamics by nonlinear time series and wavelet analysis.

We have modeled the dynamics of a cutting process by a two-degree-of-freedom mass-spring system with dry friction. Using nonlinear time series and wavelet analysis, we have investigated the vibrational instabilities of the system for different values of the cutting force. By constructing the phase portraits and calculating the Lyapunov exponents we have delineated the conditions for which a periodic or chaotic motion can occur. The results are verified by means of a time-scale representation of the wavelet power spectrum.