777 research outputs found
Spherical Vesicles Distorted by a Grafted Latex Bead: An Exact Solution
We present an exact solution to the problem of the global shape description
of a spherical vesicle distorted by a grafted latex bead. This solution is
derived by treating the nonlinearity in bending elasticity through the
(topological) Bogomol'nyi decomposition technique and elastic compatibility. We
recover the ``hat-model'' approximation in the limit of a small latex bead and
find that the region antipodal to the grafted latex bead flattens. We also
derive the appropriate shape equation using the variational principle and
relevant constraints.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX2e+REVTeX+AmSLaTe
Observation of an Efimov resonance in an ultracold mixture of atoms and weakly bound dimers
We discuss our recent observation of an atom-dimer Efimov resonance in an
ultracold mixture of Cs atoms and Cs_2 Feshbach molecules [Nature Phys. 5, 227
(2009)]. We review our experimental procedure and present additional data
involving a non-universal g-wave dimer state, to contrast our previous results
on the universal s-wave dimer. We resolve a seeming discrepancy when
quantitatively comparing our experimental findings with theoretical results
from effective field theory.Comment: Conference Proceeding ICPEAC 2009 Kalamazoo, to appear in Journal of
Physics: Conference Serie
Observation of an Efimov resonance in an ultracold mixture of atoms and weakly bound dimers
We discuss our recent observation of an atom-dimer Efimov resonance in an
ultracold mixture of Cs atoms and Cs_2 Feshbach molecules [Nature Phys. 5, 227
(2009)]. We review our experimental procedure and present additional data
involving a non-universal g-wave dimer state, to contrast our previous results
on the universal s-wave dimer. We resolve a seeming discrepancy when
quantitatively comparing our experimental findings with theoretical results
from effective field theory.Comment: Conference Proceeding ICPEAC 2009 Kalamazoo, to appear in Journal of
Physics: Conference Serie
Observation of an Efimov resonance in an ultracold mixture of atoms and weakly bound dimers
We discuss our recent observation of an atom-dimer Efimov resonance in an
ultracold mixture of Cs atoms and Cs_2 Feshbach molecules [Nature Phys. 5, 227
(2009)]. We review our experimental procedure and present additional data
involving a non-universal g-wave dimer state, to contrast our previous results
on the universal s-wave dimer. We resolve a seeming discrepancy when
quantitatively comparing our experimental findings with theoretical results
from effective field theory.Comment: Conference Proceeding ICPEAC 2009 Kalamazoo, to appear in Journal of
Physics: Conference Serie
Equilibrium onions?
We demonstrate the possibility of a stable equilibrium multi-lamellar ("onion") phase in pure lamellar systems (no excess solvent) due to a sufficiently negative Gaussian curvature modulus. The onion phase is stabilized by non-linear elastic moduli coupled to a polydisperse size distribution (Apollonian packing) to allow space-filling without appreciable elastic distortion. This model is compared to experiments on copolymer-decorated lamellar surfactant systems, with reasonable qualitative agreement
Entropic forces generated by grafted semiflexible polymers
The entropic force exerted by the Brownian fluctuations of a grafted
semiflexible polymer upon a rigid smooth wall are calculated both analytically
and by Monte Carlo simulations. Such forces are thought to play an important
role for several cellular phenomena, in particular, the physics of
actin-polymerization-driven cell motility and movement of bacteria like
Listeria. In the stiff limit, where the persistence length of the polymer is
larger than its contour length, we find that the entropic force shows scaling
behavior. We identify the characteristic length scales and the explicit form of
the scaling functions. In certain asymptotic regimes we give simple analytical
expressions which describe the full results to a very high numerical accuracy.
Depending on the constraints imposed on the transverse fluctuations of the
filament there are characteristic differences in the functional form of the
entropic forces; in a two-dimensional geometry the entropic force exhibits a
marked peak.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, minor misprints correcte
Derivation of a Non-Local Interfacial Hamiltonian for Short-Ranged Wetting II: General Diagrammatic Structure
In our first paper, we showed how a non-local effective Hamiltionian for
short-ranged wetting may be derived from an underlying Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson
model. Here, we combine the Green's function method with standard perturbation
theory to determine the general diagrammatic form of the binding potential
functional beyond the double-parabola approximation for the
Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson bulk potential. The main influence of cubic and quartic
interactions is simply to alter the coefficients of the double parabola-like
zig-zag diagrams and also to introduce curvature and tube-interaction
corrections (also represented diagrammatically), which are of minor importance.
Non-locality generates effective long-ranged many-body interfacial interactions
due to the reflection of tube-like fluctuations from the wall. Alternative wall
boundary conditions (with a surface field and enhancement) and the diagrammatic
description of tricritical wetting are also discussed.Comment: (14 pages, 2 figures) Submitted J. Phys. Condens. Matte
Bi-defects of Nematic Surfactant Bilayers
We consider the effects of the coupling between the orientational order of
the two monolayers in flat nematic bilayers. We show that the presence of a
topological defect on one bilayer generates a nontrivial orientational texture
on both monolayers. Therefore, one cannot consider isolated defects on one
monolayer, but rather associated pairs of defects on either monolayer, which we
call bi-defects. Bi-defects generally produce walls, such that the textures of
the two monolayers are identical outside the walls, and different in their
interior. We suggest some experimental conditions in which these structures
could be observed.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 3 figure
A quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction-based assay to detect carcinoma cells in peripheral blood.
The presence of tumour cells in the circulation may predict disease recurrence and metastasis. To improve on existing methods of cytological or immunocytological detection, we have developed a sensitive and quantitative technique for the detection of carcinoma cells in blood, using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) identifying transcripts of the pancarcinoma-associated tumour marker EGP-2 (KSA or 17-1A antigen). The amount of EGP2 mRNA was quantified using an internal recombinant competitor RNA standard with known concentration and which is both reversely transcribed and co-amplified in the same reaction, allowing for a reliable assessment of the initial amount of EGP2 mRNA in the sample. Calibration studies, seeding blood with MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells, showed that the assay can detect ten tumour cells among 1.0 x 10(6) leucocytes. The PCR assay revealed that normal bone marrow expresses low levels of EGP2 mRNA, although immunocytochemistry with the anti-EGP2 MAb MOC31 could not identify any positively stained cell. Analyses using this RT-PCR assay may prove to have applications to the assessment of circulating tumour cells in clinical samples
Dynamic Fluctuation Phenomena in Double Membrane Films
Dynamics of double membrane films is investigated in the long-wavelength
limit including the overdamped squeezing mode. We demonstrate that thermal
fluctuations essentially modify the character of the mode due to its nonlinear
coupling to the transversal shear hydrodynamic mode. The corresponding Green
function acquires as a function of the frequency a cut along the imaginary
semi-axis. Fluctuations lead to increasing the attenuation of the squeezing
mode it becomes larger than the `bare' value.Comment: 7 pages, Revte
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