582 research outputs found
Molecular evidence of incipient speciation within Anopheles gambiae s.s. in West Africa
We karyotyped and identified by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis Anopheles gambiae s.s. samples collected in several African countries. The data show the existence of two non-panmictic molecular forms, named S and M, whose distribution extended from forest to savannahs, Mosquitoes of the S and M forms are homosequential standard for chromosome-2 inversions in forest areas. In dry savannahs, S is characterized mainly by inversion polymorphisms typical of Savanna and Bamako chromosomal forms, while M shows chromosome-2 arrangements typical of Mopti and/or Savanna and/or Bissau, depending on its geographical origin. Chromosome-2 inversions therefore seem to be involved in ecotypic adaptation rather than in mate-recognition systems. Strong support for the reproductive isolation of S and M in Ivory Coast comes from the observation that the kdr allele is found at high frequencies in S specimens and not at all in chromosomal identical M specimens. However, the kdr allele does not segregate with molecular forms in Benin
The challenge of perioperative pain management in opioid-tolerant patients
The increasing number of opioid users among chronic pain patients, and opioid abusers among the general population, makes perioperative pain management challenging for health care professionals. Anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses should be familiar with some pharmacological phenomena which are typical of opioid users and abusers, such as tolerance, physical dependence, hyperalgesia, and addiction. Inadequate pain management is very common in these patients, due to common prejudices and fears. The target of preoperative evaluation is to identify comorbidities and risk factors and recognize signs and symptoms of opioid abuse and opioid withdrawal. Clinicians are encouraged to plan perioperative pain medications and to refer these patients to psychiatrists and addiction specialists for their evaluation. The aim of this review was to give practical suggestions for perioperative management of surgical opioid-tolerant patients, together with schemes of opioid conversion for chronic pain patients assuming oral or transdermal opioids, and patients under maintenance programs with methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone
Numerical study of the disordered Poland-Scheraga model of DNA denaturation
We numerically study the binary disordered Poland-Scheraga model of DNA
denaturation, in the regime where the pure model displays a first order
transition (loop exponent ). We use a Fixman-Freire scheme for the
entropy of loops and consider chain length up to , with
averages over samples. We present in parallel the results of various
observables for two boundary conditions, namely bound-bound (bb) and
bound-unbound (bu), because they present very different finite-size behaviors,
both in the pure case and in the disordered case. Our main conclusion is that
the transition remains first order in the disordered case: in the (bu) case,
the disorder averaged energy and contact densities present crossings for
different values of without rescaling. In addition, we obtain that these
disorder averaged observables do not satisfy finite size scaling, as a
consequence of strong sample to sample fluctuations of the pseudo-critical
temperature. For a given sample, we propose a procedure to identify its
pseudo-critical temperature, and show that this sample then obeys first order
transition finite size scaling behavior. Finally, we obtain that the disorder
averaged critical loop distribution is still governed by in
the regime , as in the pure case.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures. Revised versio
Liquid Limits: The Glass Transition and Liquid-Gas Spinodal Boundaries of Metastable Liquids
The liquid-gas spinodal and the glass transition define ultimate boundaries
beyond which substances cannot exist as (stable or metastable) liquids. The
relation between these limits is analyzed {\it via} computer simulations of a
model liquid. The results obtained indicate that the liquid - gas spinodal and
the glass transition lines intersect at a finite temperature, implying a glass
- gas mechanical instability locus at low temperatures. The glass transition
lines obtained by thermodynamic and dynamic criteria agree very well with each
other.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Numerical study of a short-range p-spin glass model in three dimensions
In this work we study numerically a short range p-spin glass model in three
dimensions. The behaviour of the model appears to be remarkably different from
mean field predictions. In fact it shares some features typical of models with
full replica-symmetry breaking (FRSB). Nevertheless, we believe that the
transition that we study is intrinsically different from the FRSB and basically
due to non-perturbative contributions. We study both the statics and the
dynamics of the system which seem to confirm our conjectures.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figure
Different Scenarios for Critical Glassy Dynamics
We study the role of different terms in the -body potential of glass
forming systems on the critical dynamics near the glass transition. Using a
simplified spin model with quenched disorder, where the different terms of the
real -body potential are mapped into multi-spin interactions, we identified
three possible scenarios. For each scenario we introduce a ``minimal'' model
representative of the critical glassy dynamics near, both above and below, the
critical transition lin e. For each ``minimal'' model we discuss the low
temperature equilibrium dynamics.Comment: Completely revised version, 8 pages, 5 figures, typeset using
EURO-LaTeX, Europhysics Letters (in press
Microscopic theory of network glasses
A molecular theory of the glass transition of network forming liquids is
developed using a combination of self-consistent phonon and liquid state
approaches. Both the dynamical transition and the entropy crisis characteristic
of random first order transitions are mapped out as a function of the degree of
bonding and the density. Using a scaling relation for a soft-core model to
crudely translate the densities into temperatures, the theory predicts that the
ratio of the dynamical transition temperature to the laboratory transition
temperature rises as the degree of bonding increases, while the Kauzmann
temperature falls relative to the laboratory transition. These results indicate
why highly coordinated liquids should be "strong" while van der Waals liquids
without coordination are "fragile".Comment: slightly revised version that has been accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev. Let
Statistical Physics of Structural Glasses
This paper gives an introduction and brief overview of some of our recent
work on the equilibrium thermodynamics of glasses. We have focused onto first
principle computations in simple fragile glasses, starting from the two body
interatomic potential. A replica formulation translates this problem into that
of a gas of interacting molecules, each molecule being built of atoms, and
having a gyration radius (related to the cage size) which vanishes at zero
temperature. We use a small cage expansion, valid at low temperatures, which
allows to compute the cage size, the specific heat (which follows the Dulong
and Petit law), and the configurational entropy. The no-replica interpretation
of the computations is also briefly described. The results, particularly those
concerning the Kauzmann tempaerature and the configurational entropy, are
compared to recent numerical simulations.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the Trieste
workshop on "Unifying Concepts in Glass Physics
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