Zero Temperature Insulator-Metal Transition in Doped Manganites

We study the transition at T=0 from a ferromagnetic insulating to a ferromagnetic metallic phase in manganites as a function of hole doping using an effective low-energy model Hamiltonian proposed by us recently. The model incorporates the quantum nature of the dynamic Jahn-Teller(JT) phonons strongly coupled to orbitally degenerate electrons as well as strong Coulomb correlation effects and leads naturally to the coexistence of localized (JT polaronic) and band-like electronic states. We study the insulator-metal transition as a function of doping as well as of the correlation strength U and JT gain in energy E_{JT}, and find, for realistic values of parameters, a ground state phase diagram in agreement with experiments. We also discuss how several other features of manganites as well as differences in behaviour among manganites can be understood in terms of our model.Comment: To be published in Europhysics Letter

Influence of the initial chemical conditions on the rational design of silica particles

The influence of the water content in the initial composition on the size of silica particles produced using the Stöber process is well known. We have shown that there are three morphological regimes defined by compositional boundaries. At low water levels (below stoichiometric ratio of water:tetraethoxysilane), very high surface area and aggregated structures are formed; at high water content (>40 wt%) similar structures are also seen. Between these two boundary conditions, discrete particles are formed whose size are dictated by the water content. Within the compositional regime that enables the classical Stöber silica, the structural evolution shows a more rapid attainment of final particle size than the rate of formation of silica supporting the monomer addition hypothesis. The clearer understanding of the role of the initial composition on the output of this synthesis method will be of considerable use for the establishment of reliable reproducible silica production for future industrial adoption

Patterns of mandibular invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma of the mandibular region

BACKGROUND: Mandibular resections are routinely carried out for achieving a R0 resection for oral cancers. However, the need of mandibular resection to achieve this has always been questioned. The present study was carried out to define the pattern of mandibular involvement in carcinoma of the mandibular region. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 25 consecutive patients who had undergone mandibular resection and were found to have mandibular invasion were studied in a prospective open fashion. After decalcification the specimens were serially sectioned at 1 cm interval to identify invasion of mandibular bone. Type of invasion, route of spread and host cell reactions were also recorded. RESULTS: The mandibular involvement was infiltrative in 14(56%) and erosive in 11(44%). It was cortical in 5(20%), marrow involvement was seen in 15(60%) while 5(20%) had spread through the inferior alveolar canal. Of the 25, 24(96%) lesions were located with in 1 cm of the mandible. CONCLUSION: The possibility of mandibular involvement is higher in patients where tumours are located with in 1 cm of the mandible. Involvement of mandible through the canal of inferior alveolar nerve in the present study was relatively high (20%). Therefore it is recommended that before a decision is taken to preserve the mandible it should be thoroughly screened for possible involvement

The DLV System for Knowledge Representation and Reasoning

This paper presents the DLV system, which is widely considered the state-of-the-art implementation of disjunctive logic programming, and addresses several aspects. As for problem solving, we provide a formal definition of its kernel language, function-free disjunctive logic programs (also known as disjunctive datalog), extended by weak constraints, which are a powerful tool to express optimization problems. We then illustrate the usage of DLV as a tool for knowledge representation and reasoning, describing a new declarative programming methodology which allows one to encode complex problems (up to $\Delta^P_3$-complete problems) in a declarative fashion. On the foundational side, we provide a detailed analysis of the computational complexity of the language of DLV, and by deriving new complexity results we chart a complete picture of the complexity of this language and important fragments thereof. Furthermore, we illustrate the general architecture of the DLV system which has been influenced by these results. As for applications, we overview application front-ends which have been developed on top of DLV to solve specific knowledge representation tasks, and we briefly describe the main international projects investigating the potential of the system for industrial exploitation. Finally, we report about thorough experimentation and benchmarking, which has been carried out to assess the efficiency of the system. The experimental results confirm the solidity of DLV and highlight its potential for emerging application areas like knowledge management and information integration.Comment: 56 pages, 9 figures, 6 table

Violation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in glassy systems: basic notions and the numerical evidence

This review reports on the research done during the past years on violations of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) in glassy systems. It is focused on the existence of a quasi-fluctuation-dissipation theorem (QFDT) in glassy systems and the currently supporting knowledge gained from numerical simulation studies. It covers a broad range of non-stationary aging and stationary driven systems such as structural-glasses, spin-glasses, coarsening systems, ferromagnetic models at criticality, trap models, models with entropy barriers, kinetically constrained models, sheared systems and granular media. The review is divided into four main parts: 1) An introductory section explaining basic notions related to the existence of the FDT in equilibrium and its possible extension to the glassy regime (QFDT), 2) A description of the basic analytical tools and results derived in the framework of some exactly solvable models, 3) A detailed report of the current evidence in favour of the QFDT and 4) A brief digression on the experimental evidence in its favour. This review is intended for inexpert readers who want to learn about the basic notions and concepts related to the existence of the QFDT as well as for the more expert readers who may be interested in more specific results.Comment: 120 pages, 37 figures. Topical review paper . Several typos and misprints corrected, new references included and others updated. to be published in J. Phys. A (Math. Gen.

A mathematical model for breath gas analysis of volatile organic compounds with special emphasis on acetone

Recommended standardized procedures for determining exhaled lower respiratory nitric oxide and nasal nitric oxide have been developed by task forces of the European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society. These recommendations have paved the way for the measurement of nitric oxide to become a diagnostic tool for specific clinical applications. It would be desirable to develop similar guidelines for the sampling of other trace gases in exhaled breath, especially volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which reflect ongoing metabolism. The concentrations of water-soluble, blood-borne substances in exhaled breath are influenced by: (i) breathing patterns affecting gas exchange in the conducting airways; (ii) the concentrations in the tracheo-bronchial lining fluid; (iii) the alveolar and systemic concentrations of the compound. The classical Farhi equation takes only the alveolar concentrations into account. Real-time measurements of acetone in end-tidal breath under an ergometer challenge show characteristics which cannot be explained within the Farhi setting. Here we develop a compartment model that reliably captures these profiles and is capable of relating breath to the systemic concentrations of acetone. By comparison with experimental data it is inferred that the major part of variability in breath acetone concentrations (e.g., in response to moderate exercise or altered breathing patterns) can be attributed to airway gas exchange, with minimal changes of the underlying blood and tissue concentrations. Moreover, it is deduced that measured end-tidal breath concentrations of acetone determined during resting conditions and free breathing will be rather poor indicators for endogenous levels. Particularly, the current formulation includes the classical Farhi and the Scheid series inhomogeneity model as special limiting cases.Comment: 38 page

Brain Activation Patterns Characterizing Different Phases of Motor Action: Execution, Choice and Ideation.

Motor behaviour is controlled by a large set of interacting neural structures, subserving the different components involved in hierarchical motor processes. Few studies have investigated the neural substrate of higher-order motor ideation, i.e. the mental operation of conceiving a movement. The aim of this functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to segregate the neural structures involved in motor ideation from those involved in movement choice and execution. An index finger movement paradigm was adopted, including three different conditions: performing a pre-specified movement, choosing and executing a movement and ideating a movement of choice. The tasks involved either the right or left hand, in separate runs. Neuroimaging results were obtained by comparing the different experimental conditions and computing conjunction maps of the right and left hands for each contrast. Pre-specified movement execution was supported by bilateral fronto-parietal motor regions, the cerebellum and putamen. Choosing and executing finger movement involved mainly left fronto-temporal areas and the anterior cingulate. Motor ideation activated almost exclusively left hemisphere regions, including the inferior, middle and superior frontal regions, middle temporal and middle occipital gyri. These findings show that motor ideation is controlled by a cortical network mainly involved in abstract thinking, cognitive and motor control, semantic and visual imagery processes

Polycation-π Interactions Are a Driving Force for Molecular Recognition by an Intrinsically Disordered Oncoprotein Family

Molecular recognition by intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) commonly involves specific localized contacts and target-induced disorder to order transitions. However, some IDPs remain disordered in the bound state, a phenomenon coined "fuzziness", often characterized by IDP polyvalency, sequence-insensitivity and a dynamic ensemble of disordered bound-state conformations. Besides the above general features, specific biophysical models for fuzzy interactions are mostly lacking. The transcriptional activation domain of the Ewing's Sarcoma oncoprotein family (EAD) is an IDP that exhibits many features of fuzziness, with multiple EAD aromatic side chains driving molecular recognition. Considering the prevalent role of cation-π interactions at various protein-protein interfaces, we hypothesized that EAD-target binding involves polycation- π contacts between a disordered EAD and basic residues on the target. Herein we evaluated the polycation-π hypothesis via functional and theoretical interrogation of EAD variants. The experimental effects of a range of EAD sequence variations, including aromatic number, aromatic density and charge perturbations, all support the cation-π model. Moreover, the activity trends observed are well captured by a coarse-grained EAD chain model and a corresponding analytical model based on interaction between EAD aromatics and surface cations of a generic globular target. EAD-target binding, in the context of pathological Ewing's Sarcoma oncoproteins, is thus seen to be driven by a balance between EAD conformational entropy and favorable EAD-target cation-π contacts. Such a highly versatile mode of molecular recognition offers a general conceptual framework for promiscuous target recognition by polyvalent IDPs. © 2013 Song et al

Autoimmune and autoinflammatory mechanisms in uveitis

The eye, as currently viewed, is neither immunologically ignorant nor sequestered from the systemic environment. The eye utilises distinct immunoregulatory mechanisms to preserve tissue and cellular function in the face of immune-mediated insult; clinically, inflammation following such an insult is termed uveitis. The intra-ocular inflammation in uveitis may be clinically obvious as a result of infection (e.g. toxoplasma, herpes), but in the main infection, if any, remains covert. We now recognise that healthy tissues including the retina have regulatory mechanisms imparted by control of myeloid cells through receptors (e.g. CD200R) and soluble inhibitory factors (e.g. alpha-MSH), regulation of the blood retinal barrier, and active immune surveillance. Once homoeostasis has been disrupted and inflammation ensues, the mechanisms to regulate inflammation, including T cell apoptosis, generation of Treg cells, and myeloid cell suppression in situ, are less successful. Why inflammation becomes persistent remains unknown, but extrapolating from animal models, possibilities include differential trafficking of T cells from the retina, residency of CD8(+) T cells, and alterations of myeloid cell phenotype and function. Translating lessons learned from animal models to humans has been helped by system biology approaches and informatics, which suggest that diseased animals and people share similar changes in T cell phenotypes and monocyte function to date. Together the data infer a possible cryptic infectious drive in uveitis that unlocks and drives persistent autoimmune responses, or promotes further innate immune responses. Thus there may be many mechanisms in common with those observed in autoinflammatory disorders