Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Semiflexible Polyampholyte Brushes - The Effect of Charged Monomers Sequence

Planar brushes formed by end-grafted semiflexible polyampholyte chains, each chain containing equal number of positively and negatively charged monomers is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Keeping the length of the chains fixed, dependence of the average brush thickness and equilibrium statistics of the brush conformations on the grafting density and the salt concentration are obtained with various sequences of charged monomers. When similarly charged monomers of the chains are arranged in longer blocks, the average brush thickness is smaller and dependence of brush properties on the grafting density and the salt concentration is stronger. With such long blocks of similarly charged monomers, the anchored chains bond to each other in the vicinity of the grafting surface at low grafting densities and buckle toward the grafting surface at high grafting densities.Comment: 8 pages,7 figure

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Closed-form field in an infinite space of transversely isotropic multiferroic composite medium with an elliptical or penny-shaped crack: 3D exact analysis

This paper studies the mode I problem of an elliptical or penny-shaped crack contained in an infinite space of multiferroic composite material with transverse isotropy. Closed-form analytical solutions and numerical results are presented in this work in a systematic way. The crack is postulated to be either electrically/magnetically permeable or impermeable. For the first time, boundary integro-differential equations, corresponding to the crack with different magneto-electric properties, are established using the generalized method of potential theory in conjunction with the static general solutions. For four physical cases, closed-form coupled magneto-electro-elastic field variables in the space are explicitly obtained. Crack surface displacement, generalized stress intensity factor and crack compliance matrix generalized from the rock mechanics all turn out to be an intrinsic combination of a material factor and a geometrical factor. The weak and strong interactions in multiferroic composite media are exhaustively accounted for. The obtained analytical solutions may serve as benchmarks for numerous forthcoming simplified and numerical studies

On Boolean Functions with Generalized Cryptographic Properties

By considering a new metric, we generalize cryptographic properties of Boolean functions such as resiliency and propagation characteristics

Protection of ultrastructure in chilling-stressed banana leaves by salicylic acid

Objective: Chilling tolerance of salicylic acid (SA) in banana seedlings (Musa acuminata cv., Williams 8818) was investigated by changes in ultrastructure in this study. Methods: Light and electron microscope observation. Results: Pretreatment with 0.5 mmol/L SA under normal growth conditions (30/22 °C) by foliar spray and root irrigation resulted in many changes in ultrastructure of banana cells, such as cells separation from palisade parenchymas, the appearance of crevices in cell walls, the swelling of grana and stromal thylakoids, and a reduction in the number of starch granules. These results implied that SA treatment at 30/22 °C could be a type of stress. During 3 d of exposure to 7 °C chilling stress under low light, however, cell ultrastructure of SA-pretreated banana seedlings showed less deterioration than those of control seedlings (distilled water-pretreated). Conclusion: SA could provide some protection for cell structure of chilling-stressed banana seedling

Field-induced oscillation of magnetization blocking barrier in a holmium metallacrown single-molecule magnet

Single-molecule magnets (SMMs), exhibiting magnetic memory effect at molecular level, are promising elements for quantum informatics. The performance at zero external field is important for information storage. However, writing and erasing information on magnetic materials needs the application of specific external fields. In this work, periodically switchable relaxation barriers, featuring as field-dependent oscillation of magnetization blocking barrier heights, are first elucidated both experimentally and theoretically via a judicious holmium metallacrown magnet. Making a good use of nuclear spin and low-lying exchange states, we successfully manipulated the magnetic information by governing magnetization dynamics via the choice of the odd/even magnetic field. This finding not only develops potential capacity for molecular magnetism but also provides new perspectives in synthetic chemistry and condensed matter physics