806 research outputs found
Time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation for composite bosons as the strong-coupling limit of the fermionic BCS-RPA approximation
The linear response to a space- and time-dependent external disturbance of a
system of dilute condensed composite bosons at zero temperature, as obtained
from the linearized version of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation, is
shown to result also from the strong-coupling limit of the time-dependent BCS
(or broken-symmetry RPA) approximation for the constituent fermions subject to
the same external disturbance. In this way, it is possible to connect
excited-state properties of the bosonic and fermionic systems by placing the
Gross-Pitaevskii equation in perspective with the corresponding fermionic
approximationsComment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Superconducting fluctuations and the Nernst effect: A diagrammatic approach
We calculate the contribution of superconducting fluctuations above the
critical temperature to the transverse thermoelectric response
, the quantity central to the analysis of the Nernst effect. The
calculation is carried out within the microscopic picture of BCS, and to linear
order in magnetic field. We find that as , the dominant contribution
to arises from the Aslamazov-Larkin diagrams, and is equal to the
result previously obtained from a stochastic time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau
equation [Ussishkin, Sondhi, and Huse, arXiv:cond-mat/0204484]. We present an
argument which establishes this correspondence for the heat current. Other
microscopic contributions, which generalize the Maki-Thompson and density of
states terms for the conductivity, are less divergent as .Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Hidden symmetry and knot solitons in a charged two-condensate Bose system
We show that a charged two-condensate Ginzburg-Landau model or equivalently a
Gross-Pitaevskii functional for two charged Bose condensates, can be mapped
onto a version of the nonlinear O(3) -model. This implies in particular
that such a system possesses a hidden O(3) symmetry and allows for the
formation of stable knotted solitons. The results, in particular, should be
relevant to the superconducting MgB_2.Comment: This version will appear in Phys. Rev. B, added a comment on the case
when condensates in two bands do not independently conserve, also added a
figure and references to experimental papers on MgB_2 (for which our study is
relevant). Miscellaneous links on knot solitons are also available at the
homepage of one of the authors http://www.teorfys.uu.se/PEOPLE/egor/ .
Animations of knot solitons are available at
http://users.utu.fi/h/hietarin/knots/c45_p2.mp
Susceptibility testing of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata to Glycyrrhiza glabra L.
Medicinal plants and their botanical formulations have gained a pivotal attention among scientific researchers mainly due to its action as health promoters. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) constitutes a great example, with an increasingly evidenced antimicrobial potential. Opportunistic yeast infections constitute an alarming public health problem, highly exacerbated by the inefficacy of antifungal drugs and the increase of drug-resistant microorganisms, being Candida species one of the most common invaders. The present work aims to assess Candida glabrata and Candida albicans susceptibility to G. glabra methanol: water extract by using flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy techniques. After 5 minutes, licorice extract (1.5 mg/mL) altered Candida membrane potential. Within an hour, it induced primary damages on Candida species cells, causing cell cytoplasm disorganization with high evidence of cell membrane invaginations, making cells turgid. Thus, based on the current findings, licorice extract seems to be a promising anti-Candida agent, without presenting any toxic potential at the effective concentrations used.The authors are grateful to Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for N. Martins grant (SFRH/BD/87658/2012) and financial support to the research centre CIMO (strategic project PEst-OE/ AGR/UI0690/2014). This work was also supported by the Programa Operacional, Fatores de competitividade – COMPETE and by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia on the scope of the projects FCT PTDC/SAU-MIC/119069/2010, RECI/EBBEBI/0179/2012 and PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013. The authors thank the Project “BioHealth – Biotechnology and Bioengineering approaches to improve health quality”, Ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000027, cofunded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2–O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Characterization of Staphylococcus epidermidis phage vB_SepS_SEP9 : a unique member of the Siphoviridae family
Relatively few phages (<10) of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) have been described. S. epidermidis phage vB_SepS_SEP9 is a siphovirus with a unique morphology as a staphylococcal phage, possessing a very long tail. Its genome is unique and unrelated to any phage genomes deposited in public databases. It appears to encode a nonfunctional integrase. Due to the not having a recognizable lysogeny module, the phage is unable lysogenize. The genome comprises 129 coding sequences (CDS), 46 of which have an assigned function and 59 are unique. Its unique morphology and genome led to the proposal of the establishment of a new Siphoviridae genus named “Sep9likevirus”
Shrinking of a condensed fermionic cloud in a trap approaching the BEC limit
We determine the zero-temperature density profile of a cloud of fermionic
atoms in a trap subject to a mutual attractive interaction, as the strength of
the interaction is progressively increased. We find a significant decrease of
the size of the atomic cloud as it evolves from the weak-coupling (BCS) regime
of overlapping Cooper pairs to the strong-coupling (Bose-Einstein) regime of
non-overlapping bound-fermion pairs. Most significantly, we find a pronounced
increase of the value of the density at the center of the trap (even by an
order of magnitude) when evolving between the two regimes. Our results are
based on a generalized Thomas-Fermi approximation for the superfluid state,
that covers continuously all coupling regimes.Comment: 5 pages, 3 postscript figure
Controlled RNA contamination and degradation and its impact on qPCR gene expression in S. epidermidis biofilms
RNA quality is of utmost importance to perform gene expression quantification by qPCR. The classical methods used to determine \RNA\ quality are based on electrophoresis and spectrophotometer assessment, namely A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios. It was previously shown that due to the complex nature of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms, \RNA\ extraction procedures could impact mRNA quality and thus accurate quantification. Herein, we contaminated and degraded \RNA\ extracted from S. epidermidis biofilms, and assessed the effect on gene expression by qPCR. As expected, thermal degradation of RNA had a significant impact on gene expression on two out of the three tested genes. On the other hand, the contamination of the extracted \RNA\ yielded an interesting result: while most contaminants did not changed the purity indicators or the integrity of RNA, significant changes on gene expression levels were found. This work confirms that poor \RNA\ extraction has an important impact in qPCR quantification, emphasizing the consequences of carry-over contaminants on gene expression studies. Additionally, our results show that the parameters commonly used to assess the quality of extracted \RNA\ from bacterial cultures seem to be insufficient to ensure reliable gene expression determination.This work was funded by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and COMPETE grants PTDC/BIA-MIC/113450/2009 and FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014309. The following authors had an individual FCT fellowship: VC (SFRH/BD/78235/2011); LDRM (SFRH/BD/66166/2009)
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