963 research outputs found
Reply to Comment on: "Are stress-free membranes really 'tensionless'?"
This is a reply to a comment on the paper arXiv:1204.2075 "Are stress-free
membranes really tensionless ?" (EPL 95,28008 (2011))
Premicellar aggregation of amphiphilic molecules: Aggregate lifetime and polydispersity
A recently introduced thermodynamic model of amphiphilic molecules in
solution has yielded, under certain realistic conditions, a significant
presence of metastable aggregates well below the critical micelle concentration
-- a phenomenon that has been reported also experimentally. The theory is
extended in two directions pertaining to the experimental and technological
relevance of such premicellar aggregates. (a) Combining the thermodynamic model
with reaction rate theory, we calculate the lifetime of the metastable
aggregates. (b) Aggregation number fluctuations are examined. We demonstrate
that, over most of the metastable concentration range, the premicellar
aggregates should have macroscopic lifetimes and small polydispersity.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Evolution of a bosonic mode across the superconducting dome in the high-Tc cuprate Pr(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4-{\delta})
We report a detailed spectroscopic study of the electron doped cuprate
superconductor Pr(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4-{\delta}) using point contact junctions for
x=0.125(underdoped), x=0.15(optimally doped) and x=0.17(overdoped). From our
conductance measurements we are able to identify bosonic resonances for each
doping. These excitations disappear above the critical temperature, and above
the critical magnetic field. We find that the energy of the bosonic excitations
decreases with doping, which excludes lattice vibrations as the paring glue. We
conclude that the bosonic mediator for these cuprates is more likely to be spin
excitations.Comment: 4 page
Nanoscale surface relaxation of a membrane stack
Recent measurements of the short-wavelength (~ 1--100 nm) fluctuations in
stacks of lipid membranes have revealed two distinct relaxations: a fast one
(decay rate of ~ 0.1 ns^{-1}), which fits the known baroclinic mode of bulk
lamellar phases, and a slower one (~ 1--10 \mu s^{-1}) of unknown origin. We
show that the latter is accounted for by an overdamped capillary mode,
depending on the surface tension of the stack and its anisotropic viscosity. We
thereby demonstrate how the dynamic surface tension of membrane stacks could be
extracted from such measurements.Comment: 4 page
Somebody\u27s Watching Me: FCPA Monitorships and How They Can Work Better
This article explores the rise of the corporate compliance monitor as a condition for settling violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) — a setting in which federal prosecutors routinely impose monitors. If U.S. enforcement authorities maintain their current approach, the reality is that companies facing liability for violating the FCPA are likely to have a monitor imposed on them as part of a settlement agreement. From the U.S. government’s perspective, monitorships make sense for companies that violate anti-bribery laws, making it important for offending corporations to learn how to deal with monitors. Pulling from the authors’ extensive experience with three major FCPA compliance monitorships, as well as their work assisting clients operating under an FCPA monitorship, this article aids in that process. It also hopes to help monitors themselves, as well as the prosecutors who appoint them, in making the monitorship a more constructive feature of an FCPA settlement
Somebody\u27s Watching Me: FCPA Monitorships and How They Can Work Better
This article explores the rise of the corporate compliance monitor as a condition for settling violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) — a setting in which federal prosecutors routinely impose monitors. If U.S. enforcement authorities maintain their current approach, the reality is that companies facing liability for violating the FCPA are likely to have a monitor imposed on them as part of a settlement agreement. From the U.S. government’s perspective, monitorships make sense for companies that violate anti-bribery laws, making it important for offending corporations to learn how to deal with monitors. Pulling from the authors’ extensive experience with three major FCPA compliance monitorships, as well as their work assisting clients operating under an FCPA monitorship, this article aids in that process. It also hopes to help monitors themselves, as well as the prosecutors who appoint them, in making the monitorship a more constructive feature of an FCPA settlement
Initiation of insulin glargine in patients with Type 2 diabetes in suboptimal glycaemic control positively impacts health-related quality of life. A prospective cohort study in primary care
Aims To study prospectively the impact of initiating insulin glargine in suboptimally controlled insulin-naïve patients with Type2 diabetes on health-related quality of life in relation to glycaemic control. Methods Insulin-naïve Dutch patients with Type2 diabetes in suboptimal glycaemic control (Hb
The longitudinal association between glycaemic control and health-related quality of life following insulin therapy optimisation in type 2 diabetes patients. A prospective observational study in secondary care
Purpose To test whether improvement in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)) as a marker of glycaemic control, following intensifying insulin therapy, is associated with improvements in HRQoL. Methods Dutch sub-optimally controlled (HbA(1c) > 7%) type 2 diabetes patients (N = 447, mean age 59 +/- 11) initiated insulin glargine therapy. Data were collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months, and included HbA1c and measures of HRQoL: diabetes symptom distress (Diabetes Symptom Checklist-revised; DSC-r), fear of hypoglycaemia (Hypoglycaemia Fear Survey; HFS-w) and emotional well-being (WHO-5 wellbeing index). Results HbA(1c) decreased from 8.8 +/- 1.4% to 8.0 +/- 1.2% and 7.7 +/- 1.3% at 3 and 6 months follow-up, respectively (P <0.001), DSC-r score improved from 17.7 +/- 14.7 to 14.3 +/- 13.3 and 13.6 +/- 13.3 (P <0.001). HFS-w score did not significantly change. WHO-5 score increased from 56 +/- 23 to 62 +/- 23 and 65 +/- 22 P <0.001). A modest, significant association was found between HbA(1c) and WHO-5 score (B = -1.8, 95% CI: -2.7 to -0.8) and HbA1c and DSC-r score (B = 1.0, 95% CI: 0.4 to 1.6). No such association was found for HFS-w score. Conclusions An association between improvement in HbA(1c) by means of optimising insulin therapy and improvement in HRQoL in type 2 diabetes patients has been observed. A weak, yet significant longitudinal association was found between improved HbA(1c) and emotional well-being and diabetes symptom distres
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