101,703 research outputs found
One Monopole with k Singularities
We present all charge one monopole solutions of the Bogomolny equation with k
prescribed Dirac singularities for the gauge groups U(2), SO(3), or SU(2). We
analyze these solutions comparing them to the previously known expressions for
the cases of one or two singularities.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe
Vitrification of human immature oocytes before and after in vitro maturation: a review
The use of immature oocytes subjected to in vitro maturation (IVM) opens interesting perspectives for fertility preservation where ovarian reserves are damaged by pathologies or therapies, as in PCO/PCOS and cancer patients. Human oocyte cryopreservation may offer some advantages compared to embryo freezing, such as fertility preservation in women at risk of losing fertility due to oncological treatment or chronic disease, egg donation and postponing childbirth. It also eliminates religious and/or other ethical, legal, and moral concerns of embryo freezing. In addition, a successful oocyte cryopreservation program could eliminate the need for donor and recipient menstrual cycle synchronization. Recent advances in vitrification technology have markedly improved the oocyte survival rate after warming, with fertilization and implantation rates comparable with those of fresh oocytes. Healthy live births can be achieved from the combination of IVM and vitrification, even if vitrification of in vivo matured oocytes is still more effective. Recently, attention is given to highlight whether vitrification procedures are more successful when performed before or after IVM, on immature GV-stage oocytes, or on in vitro matured MII-stage oocytes. In this review, we emphasize that, even if there are no differences in survival rates between oocytes vitrified prior to or post-IVM, reduced maturation rates of immature oocytes vitrified prior to IVM can be, at least in part, explained by underlying ultrastructural and biomolecular alterations
Polymer/Nanocrystal Hybrid Solar Cells: Influence of Molecular Precursor Design on Film Nanomorphology, Charge Generation and Device Performance
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Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT)-negative Campylobacter jejuni strains and anti-CDT neutralising antibodies induced during human infection but not chicken colonisation
The cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) of Campylobacter jejuni was detectable, using an in vitro assay, in most but not all of 24 strains tested. The reason for the absence of toxin activity in these naturally occurring CDT-negative C. jejuni strains was then investigated at the genetic level. CDT is encoded by three highly conserved genes, cdtA, -B, and -C. In the CDT-negative strains, two types of mutation were identified. The CDT activities of C. jejuni strains possessing both types of mutation were successfully complemented with the functional genes of C. jejuni 11168. The first type of mutation comprised a 667-bp deletion across cdtA and cdtB and considerable degeneration in the remainder of the cdt locus. Using a PCR technique to screen for this deletion, this mutation occurred in fewer than 3% of 147 human, veterinary, and environmental strains tested. The second type of mutation involved at least four nonsynonymous nucleotide changes, but only the replacement of proline with serine at CdtB position 95 was considered important for CDT activity. This was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. This type of mutation also occurred in fewer than 3% of strains as determined using a LightCycler biprobe assay. The detection of two CDT-negative clinical isolates raised questions about the role of CDT in some cases of human campylobacteriosis. To determine if anti-CDT antibodies are produced in human infection, a toxin neutralization assay was developed and validated using rabbit antisera. Pooled human sera from infected patients neutralized the toxin, indicating expression and immunogenicity during infection. However, no neutralizing antibodies were detected in colonized chickens despite the expression of CDT in the avian gut as indicated by reverse transcription-PCR
Deformation of Codimension-2 Surface and Horizon Thermodynamics
The deformation equation of a spacelike submanifold with an arbitrary
codimension is given by a general construction without using local frames. In
the case of codimension-1, this equation reduces to the evolution equation of
the extrinsic curvature of a spacelike hypersurface. In the more interesting
case of codimension-2, after selecting a local null frame, this deformation
equation reduces to the well known (cross) focusing equations. We show how the
thermodynamics of trapping horizons is related to these deformation equations
in two different formalisms: with and without introducing quasilocal energy. In
the formalism with the quasilocal energy, the Hawking mass in four dimension is
generalized to higher dimension, and it is found that the deformation of this
energy inside a marginal surface can be also decomposed into the contributions
from matter fields and gravitational radiation as in the four dimension. In the
formalism without the quasilocal energy, we generalize the definition of slowly
evolving future outer trapping horizons proposed by Booth to past trapping
horizons. The dynamics of the trapping horizons in FLRW universe is given as an
example. Especially, the slowly evolving past trapping horizon in the FLRW
universe has close relation to the scenario of slow-roll inflation. Up to the
second order of the slowly evolving parameter in this generalization, the
temperature (surface gravity) associated with the slowly evolving trapping
horizon in the FLRW universe is essentially the same as the one defined by
using the quasilocal energy.Comment: Latex, 61 pages, no figures; v2, type errors corrected; v3,
references and comments are added, English is improved, to appear in JHE
Monotonic Distributive Semilattices
In the study of algebras related to non-classical logics, (distributive) semilattices are always present in the background. For example, the algebraic semantic of the {→, ∧, ⊤}-fragment of intuitionistic logic is the variety of implicative meet-semilattices (Chellas 1980; Hansen 2003). In this paper we introduce and study the class of distributive meet-semilattices endowed with a monotonic modal operator m. We study the representation theory of these algebras using the theory of canonical extensions and we give a topological duality for them. Also, we show how our new duality extends to some particular subclasses.Fil: Celani, Sergio Arturo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Matemática; ArgentinaFil: Menchón, MarÃa Paula. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Matemática; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentin
Pairbreaking Without Magnetic Impurities in Disordered Superconductors
We study analytically the effects of inhomogeneous pairing interactions in
short coherence length superconductors, using a spatially varying
Bogoliubov-deGennes model. Within the Born approximation, it reproduces all of
the standard Abrikosov-Gor'kov pairbreaking and gaplessness effects, even in
the absence of actual magnetic impurities. For pairing disorder on a single
site, the T-matrix gives rise to bound states within the
BCS gap. Our results are compared with recent scanning tunneling microscopy
measurements on BiSrCaCuO with Zn or Ni impurities.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR
Performance of Smart Materials-Based Instrumentation for Force Measurements in Biomedical Applications: A Methodological Review
The introduction of smart materials will become increasingly relevant as biomedical technologies progress. Smart materials sense and respond to external stimuli (e.g., chemical, electrical, mechanical, or magnetic signals) or environmental circumstances (e.g., temperature, illuminance, acidity, or humidity), and provide versatile platforms for studying various biological processes because of the numerous analogies between smart materials and biological systems. Several applications based on this class of materials are being developed using different sensing principles and fabrication technologies. In the biomedical field, force sensors are used to characterize tissues and cells, as feedback to develop smart surgical instruments in order to carry out minimally invasive surgery. In this regard, the present work provides an overview of the recent scientific literature regarding the developments in force measurement methods for biomedical applications involving smart materials. In particular, performance evaluation of the main methods proposed in the literature is reviewed on the basis of their results and applications, focusing on their metrological characteristics, such as measuring range, linearity, and measurement accuracy. Classification of smart materials-based force measurement methods is proposed according to their potential applications, highlighting advantages and disadvantages
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