Defects Can Increase the Melting Temperature of DNA-Nanoparticle Assemblies

DNA-gold nanoparticle assemblies have shown promise as an alternative technology to DNA microarrays for DNA detection and RNA profiling. Understanding the effect of DNA sequences on the melting temperature of the system is central to developing reliable detection technology. We studied the effects of DNA base-pairing defects, such as mismatches and deletions, on the melting temperature of DNA-nanoparticle assemblies. We found that, contrary to the general assumption that defects lower the melting temperature of DNA, some defects increase the melting temperature of DNA-linked nanoparticle assemblies. The effects of mismatches and deletions were found to depend on the specific base pair, the sequence, and the location of the defects. Our results demonstrate that the surface-bound DNA exhibit hybridization behavior different from that of free DNA. Such findings indicate that a detailed understanding of DNA-nanoparticle assembly phase behavior is required for quantitative interpretation of DNA-nanoparticle aggregation.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Statistically Preserved Structures and Anomalous Scaling in Turbulent Active Scalar Advection

The anomalous scaling of correlation functions in the turbulent statistics of active scalars (like temperature in turbulent convection) is understood in terms of an auxiliary passive scalar which is advected by the same turbulent velocity field. While the odd-order correlation functions of the active and passive fields differ, we propose that the even-order correlation functions are the same to leading order (up to a trivial multiplicative factor). The leading correlation functions are statistically preserved structures of the passive scalar decaying problem, and therefore universality of the scaling exponents of the even-order correlations of the active scalar is demonstrated.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Dependence of heat transport on the strength and shear rate of prescribed circulating flows

We study numerically the dependence of heat transport on the maximum velocity and shear rate of physical circulating flows, which are prescribed to have the key characteristics of the large-scale mean flow observed in turbulent convection. When the side-boundary thermal layer is thinner than the viscous boundary layer, the Nusselt number (Nu), which measures the heat transport, scales with the normalized shear rate to an exponent 1/3. On the other hand, when the side-boundary thermal layer is thicker, the dependence of Nu on the Peclet number, which measures the maximum velocity, or the normalized shear rate when the viscous boundary layer thickness is fixed, is generally not a power law. Scaling behavior is obtained only in an asymptotic regime. The relevance of our results to the problem of heat transport in turbulent convection is also discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to European Physical Journal

Early Delirium Assessment for Hospitalized Older People in Indonesia: a Systematic Review

Background: Due to the increasing risk of getting co-morbidity and frailty, older people tend to be prone to hospitalization. Hospitalization in older people brings many adverse effects. Moreover, when these elderly get delirium, the mortality and morbidity will increase. The risk of getting deterioration and worsening condition because of delirium would also increase. In fact, delirium assessment is not a high priority in taking care older people during hospitalization because the focus of care is treating the disease.Delirium screening as an early recognition of delirium in the hospitalized elderly inIndonesia remains unreported and even do not well evaluated. Therefore, delirium as a preventable problem or causing problems remains unrecognized.Purpose: This paper aims to review the current evidence of early assessment of delirium in hospitalized older people.Methods: A systematic review was conducted from four databases yielding to 4 articles which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results: There are four focuses on the result, namely delirium screening tools, patient characteristics, identified early delirium assessment, and outcomes affected by early delirium assessment. Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) was used as the delirium screening tool in the hospital. Establishing the care team involving many disciplines will give a better way to improve the integrated care and collaborative care.Conclusion: Performing CAM integrated into comprehensive geriatric assessment can be the most important thing to be undertaken when looking after the hospitalized elderly