QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe

Mechano-responsive polymer solutions based on CO2 supersaturation: shaking-induced phase transitions and self-assembly or dissociation of polymeric nanoparticles

Mechanical stimulation of supersaturated aqueous CO2 solutions is accompanied by a pH increase within seconds. In solutions of tailored homo- and AB diblock copolymers this is exploited to induce micelle formation, or, taking advantage of an aqueous upper critical solution temperature transition, nanoparticle disassembl

Anti-metastatic effects of RAPTA-C conjugated polymeric micelles on two-dimensional (2D) breast tumor cells and three-dimensional (3D) multicellular tumor spheroids

Macromolecular ruthenium (Ru) complexes are a promising avenue to better, and more selective, chemotherapeutics to treat metastatic cancers. In our previous research, amphiphilic block copolymeric micelles carrying RAPTA-C (RuCl2(p-cymene)(PTA)) were demonstrated to improve the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of RAPTA-C (Blunden et al., 2013). However, the anti-metastatic effect of RAPTA-C conjugated polymeric micelles is yet to be established. In this work, we investigated the anti-metastatic effects of RAPTA-C conjugated micelles in both 2D and 3D in vitro breast tumor cell models in comparison with free RAPTA-C. RAPTA-C conjugated micelles showed an improved anti-metastatic effect compared with RAPTA-C for 2D cultured breast tumor cells. RAPTA-C micelles selectively targeted the metastatic tumor cells over the nontumorigenic CHO cells. 3D MCTS assays showed that RAPTA-C conjugated micelles showed a cell growth inhibition similar to that of ten times of the free drug. Further improvement of the RAPTA-C delivery vehicle may provide useful tools to harness ruthenium compounds for metastatic cancer therapy. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The interest in ruthenium drugs stem from their anti-metastatic effect. In contrast to other metal-based drugs that inhibit the growth of tumor cells, ruthenium drugs seem less toxic, but have a pronounce effect on the migration of cancer cells. The ruthenium drug chosen here, RAPTA-C, is capable of inhibiting migration as shown in various assays here. In this publication, we could show for the first time that this effect is enhanced when the drug is delivered using micelles. Important in particular is that the effect is more pronounced in cancerous breast cancer cells while RAPTA-C delivered in micelles does not seem to show any effect on healthy cells. We believe that the presented micelles are suitable carriers for this anti-metastatic drug. The design of the micelle would also allow the encapsulation of other drugs in future studies creating a potentially powerful bullet

State of the climate in 2012

For the first time in several years, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation did not dominate regional climate conditions around the globe. A weak La Niña dissipated to ENSO-neutral conditions by spring, and while El Nino appeared to be emerging during summer, this phase never fully developed as sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific uncharacteristically returned to neutral conditions. Nevertheless, other large-scale climate patterns and extreme weather events impacted various regions during the year. A negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation from mid-January to early February contributed to frigid conditions in parts of northern Africa, eastern Europe, and western Asia. A lack of rain during the 2012 wet season led to the worst drought in at least the past three decades for northeastern Brazil. Central North America also experienced one of its most severe droughts on record. The Caribbean observed a very wet dry season and it was the Sahel's wettest rainy season in 50 years. Overall, the 2012 average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces ranked among the 10 warmest years on record. The global land surface temperature alone was also among the 10 warmest on record. In the upper atmosphere, the average stratospheric temperature was record or near-record cold, depending on the dataset. After a 30-year warming trend from 1970 to 1999 for global sea surface temperatures, the period 2000-12 had little further trend. This may be linked to the prevalence of La Niña-like conditions during the 21st century. Heat content in the upper 700 m of the ocean remained near record high levels in 2012. Net increases from 2011 to 2012 were observed at 700-m to 2000-m depth and even in the abyssal ocean below. Following sharp decreases in global sea level in the first half of 2011 that were linked to the effects of La Niña, sea levels rebounded to reach records highs in 2012. The increased hydrological cycle seen in recent years continued, with more evaporation in drier locations and more precipitation in rainy areas. In a pattern that has held since 2004, salty areas of the ocean surfaces and subsurfaces were anomalously salty on average, while fresher areas were anomalously fresh. Global tropical cyclone activity during 2012 was near average, with a total of 84 storms compared with the 1981-2010 average of 89. Similar to 2010 and 2011, the North Atlantic was the only hurricane basin that experienced above-normal activity. In this basin, Sandy brought devastation to Cuba and parts of the eastern North American seaboard. All other basins experienced either near- or below-normal tropical cyclone activity. Only three tropical cyclones reached Category 5 intensity-all in the Western North Pacific basin. Of these, Super Typhoon Bopha became the only storm in the historical record to produce winds greater than 130 kt south of 7°N. It was also the costliest storm to affect the Philippines and killed more than 1000 residents. Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September and Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent in June both reached new record lows. June snow cover extent is now declining at a faster rate (-17.6% per decade) than September sea ice extent (-13.0% per decade). Permafrost temperatures reached record high values in northernmost Alaska. A new melt extent record occurred on 11-12 July on the Greenland ice sheet; 97% of the ice sheet showed some form of melt, four times greater than the average melt for this time of year. The climate in Antarctica was relatively stable overall. The largest maximum sea ice extent since records begain in 1978 was observed in September 2012. In the stratosphere, warm air led to the second smallest ozone hole in the past two decades. Even so, the springtime ozone layer above Antarctica likely will not return to its early 1980s state until about 2060. Following a slight decline associated with the global financial crisis, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached a record 9.5 ± 0.5 Pg C in 2011 and a new record of 9.7 ± 0.5 Pg C is estimated for 2012. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased by 2.1 ppm in 2012, to 392.6 ppm. In spring 2012, for the first time, the atmospheric CO2 concentration exceeded 400 ppm at 7 of the 13 Arctic observation sites. Globally, other greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide also continued to rise in concentration and the combined effect now represents a 32% increase in radiative forcing over a 1990 baseline. Concentrations of most ozone depleting substances continued to fall