117 research outputs found
Magnetic Catalysis: A Review
We give an overview of the magnetic catalysis phenomenon. In the framework of
quantum field theory, magnetic catalysis is broadly defined as an enhancement
of dynamical symmetry breaking by an external magnetic field. We start from a
brief discussion of spontaneous symmetry breaking and the role of a magnetic
field in its a dynamics. This is followed by a detailed presentation of the
essential features of the phenomenon. In particular, we emphasize that the
dimensional reduction plays a profound role in the pairing dynamics in a
magnetic field. Using the general nature of underlying physics and its
robustness with respect to interaction types and model content, we argue that
magnetic catalysis is a universal and model-independent phenomenon. In support
of this claim, we show how magnetic catalysis is realized in various models
with short-range and long-range interactions. We argue that the general nature
of the phenomenon implies a wide range of potential applications: from certain
types of solid state systems to models in cosmology, particle and nuclear
physics. We finish the review with general remarks about magnetic catalysis and
an outlook for future research.Comment: 37 pages, to appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter
in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A.
Schmitt, H.-U. Yee. Version 2: references adde
Quantum gravity from the point of view of locally covariant quantum field theory
We construct perturbative quantum gravity in a generally covariant way. In particular our construction is background independent. It is based on the locally covariant approach to quantum field theory and the renormalized Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism. We do not touch the problem of nonrenormalizability and interpret the theory as an effective theory at large length scales
COL4A3 is degraded in allergic asthma and degradation predicts response to anti-IgE therapy.
BACKGROUND
Asthma is a heterogeneous syndrome substantiating the urgent requirement for endotype-specific biomarkers. Dysbalance of fibrosis and fibrolysis in asthmatic lung tissue leads to reduced levels of the inflammation-protective collagen 4 (COL4A3).
OBJECTIVE
To delineate the degradation of COL4A3 in allergic airway inflammation and evaluate the resultant product as a biomarker for anti-IgE therapy response.
METHODS
The serological COL4A3 degradation marker C4Ma3 (Nordic Bioscience, Denmark) and serum cytokines were measured in the ALLIANCE cohort (pediatric cases/controls: 134/35; adult cases/controls: 149/31). Exacerbation of allergic airway disease in mice was induced by sensitising to OVA, challenge with OVA aerosol and instillation of poly(cytidylic-inosinic). Fulacimstat (chymase inhibitor, Bayer) was used to determine the role of mast cell chymase in COL4A3 degradation. Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF, n=14) and CF with allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA, n=9) as well as severe allergic, uncontrolled asthmatics (n=19) were tested for COL4A3 degradation. Omalizumab (anti-IgE) treatment was assessed by the Asthma Control Test.
RESULTS
Serum levels of C4Ma3 were increased in asthma in adults and children alike and linked to a more severe, exacerbating allergic asthma phenotype. In an experimental asthma mouse model, C4Ma3 was dependent on mast cell chymase. Serum C4Ma3 was significantly elevated in CF plus ABPA and at baseline predicted the success of the anti-IgE therapy in allergic, uncontrolled asthmatics (diagnostic odds ratio 31.5).
CONCLUSION
C4Ma3 level depend on lung mast cell chymase and are increased in a severe, exacerbating allergic asthma phenotype. C4Ma3 may serve as a novel biomarker to predict anti-IgE therapy response
The Complete Genome Sequence of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’, the Bacterium Associated with Potato Zebra Chip Disease
Zebra Chip (ZC) is an emerging plant disease that causes aboveground decline of
potato shoots and generally results in unusable tubers. This disease has led to
multi-million dollar losses for growers in the central and western United States
over the past decade and impacts the livelihood of potato farmers in Mexico and
New Zealand. ZC is associated with ‘Candidatus
Liberibacter solanacearum’, a fastidious alpha-proteobacterium that is
transmitted by a phloem-feeding psyllid vector, Bactericera
cockerelli Sulc. Research on this disease has been hampered by a
lack of robust culture methods and paucity of genome sequence information for
‘Ca. L. solanacearum’. Here we present the
sequence of the 1.26 Mbp metagenome of ‘Ca. L.
solanacearum’, based on DNA isolated from potato psyllids. The coding
inventory of the ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ genome was
analyzed and compared to related Rhizobiaceae to better
understand ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ physiology and
identify potential targets to develop improved treatment strategies. This
analysis revealed a number of unique transporters and pathways, all potentially
contributing to ZC pathogenesis. Some of these factors may have been acquired
through horizontal gene transfer. Taxonomically, ‘Ca. L.
solanacearum’ is related to ‘Ca. L.
asiaticus’, a suspected causative agent of citrus huanglongbing, yet many
genome rearrangements and several gene gains/losses are evident when comparing
these two Liberibacter. species. Relative to ‘Ca. L.
asiaticus’, ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ probably
has reduced capacity for nucleic acid modification, increased amino acid and
vitamin biosynthesis functionalities, and gained a high-affinity iron transport
system characteristic of several pathogenic microbes
Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment
For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion
Data Integration in Engineering Environments Martin Sch�onho � � � Markus Str�assler y
E�mail � fmschoenjstraessljdittrichg�ifi.unizh.ch The life cycle of a complex engineering product is nowadays supported by a set of CAx tools � each depending on its own data management system. The project IDEE 1 aims at the integration of heterogeneous local engineering applications into a tightly coupled database federation. In this paper � we initially present IDEE�s general and schema architectures and explain what di�erent kinds of local applications we are dealing with. The main part then covers issues of the federation�s global data model and how it is in�uenced by our application domain � We �rst discuss the choice of the object�oriented database standard ODMG�93 as our global data model. Then we show how di�erent levels of global object identity lead to usability speci�cations of objects which represent data from rather di�erent local systems. Finally � our analysis of the requirements and possibilities of global version management suggests a versioning approach also based on usability speci�cations
Architectural Concerns for Flexible Data Management
Evolving database management systems (DBMS) towards more flexibility in functionality, adaptation to changing requirements, and extensions with new or different components, is a challenging task. Although many approaches have tried to come up with a flexible architecture, thereis no architectural framework that is generally applicable to provide tailor-made data management and can directly integrate existing application functionality. We discuss an alternative database architecture that enables more lightweight systems by decomposing the functionality into services and have the service granularity drive the functionality. We propose a service-oriented DBMS architecture which provides the necessary flexibility and extensibility for general-purpose usage scenarios. For that we present a generic storage service system to illustrate our approach
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