6,059 research outputs found
R-mode oscillations and rocket effect in rotating superfluid neutron stars. I. Formalism
We derive the hydrodynamical equations of r-mode oscillations in neutron
stars in presence of a novel damping mechanism related to particle number
changing processes. The change in the number densities of the various species
leads to new dissipative terms in the equations which are responsible of the
{\it rocket effect}. We employ a two-fluid model, with one fluid consisting of
the charged components, while the second fluid consists of superfluid neutrons.
We consider two different kind of r-mode oscillations, one associated with
comoving displacements, and the second one associated with countermoving, out
of phase, displacements.Comment: 10 page
Collision Dynamics and Solvation of Water Molecules in a Liquid Methanol Film
Environmental molecular beam experiments are used to examine water
interactions with liquid methanol films at temperatures from 170 K to 190 K. We
find that water molecules with 0.32 eV incident kinetic energy are efficiently
trapped by the liquid methanol. The scattering process is characterized by an
efficient loss of energy to surface modes with a minor component of the
incident beam that is inelastically scattered. Thermal desorption of water
molecules has a well characterized Arrhenius form with an activation energy of
0.47{\pm}0.11 eV and pre-exponential factor of 4.6 {\times} 10^(15{\pm}3)
s^(-1). We also observe a temperature dependent incorporation of incident water
into the methanol layer. The implication for fundamental studies and
environmental applications is that even an alcohol as simple as methanol can
exhibit complex and temperature dependent surfactant behavior.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Hadronization of a Quark-Gluon Plasma in the Chromodielectric Model
We have carried out simulations of the hadronization of a hot, ideal but
effectively massive quark-gluon gas into color neutral clusters in the
framework of the semi-classical SU(3) chromodielectric model. We have studied
the possible quark-gluon compositions of clusters as well as the final mass
distribution and spectra, aiming to obtain an insight into relations between
hadronic spectral properties and the confinement mechanism in this model.Comment: 34 pages, 37 figure
Expression of Concern: Redox modification of cysteine residues regulates the cytokine activity of high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) (Molecular Medicine (2012) 18 (250-259) DOI: 10.2119/molmed.2011.00389)
© The Author(s). 2020. The Editors-in-Chief would like to alert readers that this article (Yang et al. 2012) is part of an investigation being conducted by the journal following the conclusions of an institutional enquiry at the University of Liverpool with respect to the quantitative mass spectrometrygenerated results regarding acetylated and redox-modified HMGB1. Appropriate editorial action will be taken once the investigation is concluded. Huan Yang, Peter Lundbäck, Lars Ottosson, Helena Erlandsson-Harris, Emilie Venereau, Marco E. Bianchi, Yousef Al-Abed, Ulf Andersson, and Kevin J. Tracey agree to this editorial expression of concern. Daniel J. Antoine has not responded to any correspondence from the editor/publisher about this editorial expression of concern
Disruption of Parasite hmgb2 Gene Attenuates Plasmodium berghei ANKA Pathogenicity
Eukaryotic high-mobility-group-box (HMGB) proteins are nuclear factors involved in chromatin remodeling and transcription regulation. When released into the extracellular milieu, HMGB1 acts as a proinflammatory cytokine that plays a central role in the pathogenesis of several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. We found that the Plasmodium genome encodes two genuine HMGB factors, Plasmodium HMGB1 and HMGB2, that encompass, like their human counterparts, a proinflammatory domain. Given that these proteins are released from parasitized red blood cells, we then hypothesized that Plasmodium HMGB might contribute to the pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM), a lethal neuroinflammatory syndrome that develops in C57BL/6 (susceptible) mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA and that in many aspects resembles human cerebral malaria elicited by P. falciparum infection. The pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria was suppressed in C57BL/6 mice infected with P. berghei ANKA lacking the hmgb2 gene (Δhmgb2 ANKA), an effect associated with a reduction of histological brain lesions and with lower expression levels of several proinflammatory genes. The incidence of ECM in pbhmgb2-deficient mice was restored by the administration of recombinant PbHMGB2. Protection from experimental cerebral malaria in Δhmgb2 ANKA-infected mice was associated with reduced sequestration in the brain of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, including CD8(+) granzyme B(+) and CD8(+) IFN-γ(+) cells, and, to some extent, neutrophils. This was consistent with a reduced parasite sequestration in the brain, lungs, and spleen, though to a lesser extent than in wild-type P. berghei ANKA-infected mice. In summary, Plasmodium HMGB2 acts as an alarmin that contributes to the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria.Pitié-Salpêtrière, Institut Pasteur (Paris)
A fast stroboscopic spectral method for rotating systems in numerical relativity
We present a numerical technique for solving evolution equations, as the wave
equation, in the description of rotating astrophysical compact objects in
comoving coordinates, which avoids the problems associated with the light
cylinder. The technique implements a fast spectral matching between two domains
in relative rotation: an inner spherical domain, comoving with the sources and
lying strictly inside the light cylinder, and an outer inertial spherical
shell. Even though the emphasis is placed on spectral techniques, the matching
is independent of the specific manner in which equations are solved inside each
domain, and can be adapted to different schemes. We illustrate the strategy
with some simple but representative examples.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure
Renormalization group in the infinite-dimensional turbulence: third-order results
The field theoretic renormalization group is applied to the stochastic
Navier-Stokes equation with the stirring force correlator of the form
k^(4-d-2\epsilon) in the d-dimensional space, in connection with the problem of
construction of the 1/d expansion for the fully developed fluid turbulence
beyond the scope of the standard epsilon expansion. It is shown that in the
large-d limit the number of the Feynman diagrams for the Green function (linear
response function) decreases drastically, and the technique of their analytical
calculation is developed. The main ingredients of the renormalization group
approach -- the renormalization constant, beta function and the ultraviolet
correction exponent omega, are calculated to order epsilon^3 (three-loop
approximation). The two-point velocity-velocity correlation function, the
Kolmogorov constant C_K in the spectrum of turbulent energy and the
inertial-range skewness factor S are calculated in the large-d limit to third
order of the epsilon expansion. Surprisingly enough, our results for C_K are in
a reasonable agreement with the existing experimental estimates.Comment: 30 pages with EPS figure
Accelerated cosmological expansion due to a scalar field whose potential has a positive lower bound
In many cases a nonlinear scalar field with potential can lead to
accelerated expansion in cosmological models. This paper contains mathematical
results on this subject for homogeneous spacetimes. It is shown that, under the
assumption that has a strictly positive minimum, Wald's theorem on
spacetimes with positive cosmological constant can be generalized to a wide
class of potentials. In some cases detailed information on late-time
asymptotics is obtained. Results on the behaviour in the past time direction
are also presented.Comment: 16 page
Casimir and van der Waals force between two plates or a sphere (lens) above a plate made of real metals
The Casimir and van der Waals forces acting between two metallic plates or a
sphere (lens) above a plate are calculated accounting for the finite
conductivity of the metals. The simple formalism of surface modes is briefly
presented which allows the possibility to obtain the generalization of Lifshitz
results for the case of two semi-spaces covered by the thin layers. Additional
clarifications of the regularization procedure provides the means to obtain
reliable results not only for the force but also for the energy density. This,
in turn, leads to the value of the force for the configuration of a sphere
(lens) above a plate both of which are covered by additional layers. The
Casimir interaction between Al and Au test bodies is recalculated using the
optical tabulated data for the complex refractive index of these metals. The
computations turn out to be in agreement with the perturbation theory up to the
fourth order in relative penetration depth of electromagnetic zero point
oscillations into the metal. The disagreements between the results recently
presented in the literature are resolved. The Casimir force between Al bodies
covered by the thin Au layers is computed and the possibility to neglect
spatial dispersion effects is discussed as a function the layer thickness. The
van der Waals force is calculated including the transition region to the
Casimir force. The pure non-retarded van der Waals force law between Al and Au
bodies is shown to be restricted to a very narrow distance interval from 0.5 nm
to (2--4) nm. New, more exact, values of the Hamaker constant for Al and Au are
determined.Comment: 5 figure
D-dimer and risk of thromboembolic and bleeding events in patients with atrial fibrillation - observations from the ARISTOTLE trial
BackgroundD-dimer is related to adverse outcomes in arterial and venous thromboembolic diseases. ObjectivesTo evaluate the predictive value of D-dimer level for stroke, other cardiovascular events, and bleeds, in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with oral anticoagulation with apixaban or warfarin; and to evaluate the relationship between the D-dimer levels at baseline and the treatment effect of apixaban vs. warfarin. MethodsIn the ARISTOTLE trial, 18201 patients with AF were randomized to apixaban or warfarin. D-dimer was analyzed in 14878 patients at randomization. The cohort was separated into two groups; not receiving vitaminK antagonist (VKA) treatment and receiving VKA treatment at randomization. ResultsHigher D-dimer levels were associated with increased frequencies of stroke or systemic embolism (hazard ratio [HR][Q4 vs. Q1]1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]1.14-2.59, P=0.003), death (HR[Q4 vs. Q1]4.04, 95%CI3.06-5.33) and major bleeding (HR[Q4 vs. Q1]2.47, 95%CI1.77-3.45,
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