Shape-Dependent Thermodynamics and Non-Local Hydrodynamics in a Non-Gibbsian Steady-State of a Drift-Diffusion System

Shape-dependent thermodynamics and non-local hydrodynamics are argued to occur in dissipative steady states of driven diffusive systems. These predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations. Unlike power-law correlations, these phenomena cannot be explained by a hypothesis of ``criticality''. Instead, they require the effective Hamiltonian of the system to contain very long-range potentials, making the invariant probability measures formally ``non-Gibbsian''.Comment: 4 pages, Latex Version 2.09, 1 Postscript figur

The application of large amplitude oscillatory stress in a study of fully formed fibrin clots

The suitability of controlled stress large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOStress) for the characterisation of the nonlinear viscoelastic properties of fully formed fibrin clots is investigated. Capturing the rich nonlinear viscoelastic behaviour of the fibrin network is important for understanding the structural behaviour of clots formed in blood vessels which are exposed to a wide range of shear stresses. We report, for the first time, that artefacts due to ringing exist in both the sample stress and strain waveforms of a LAOStress measurement which will lead to errors in the calculation of nonlinear viscoelastic properties. The process of smoothing the waveforms eliminates these artefacts whilst retaining essential rheological information. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential of LAOStress for characterising the nonlinear viscoelastic properties of fibrin clots in response to incremental increases of applied stress up to the point of fracture. Alternating LAOStress and small amplitude oscillatory shear measurements provide detailed information of reversible and irreversible structural changes of the fibrin clot as a consequence of elevated levels of stress. We relate these findings to previous studies involving large scale deformations of fibrin clots. The LAOStress technique may provide useful information to help understand why some blood clots formed in vessels are stable (such as in deep vein thrombosis) and others break off (leading to a life threatening pulmonary embolism)

Evidence of exactness of the mean field theory in the nonextensive regime of long-range spin models

The q-state Potts model with long-range interactions that decay as 1/r^alpha subjected to an uniform magnetic field on d-dimensional lattices is analized for different values of q in the nonextensive regime (alpha between 0 and d). We also consider the two dimensional antiferromagnetic Ising model with the same type of interactions. The mean field solution and Monte Carlo calculations for the equations of state for these models are compared. We show that, using a derived scaling which properly describes the nonextensive thermodynamic behaviour, both types of calculations show an excellent agreement in all the cases here considered, except for alpha=d. These results allow us to extend to nonextensive magnetic models a previous conjecture which states that the mean field theory is exact for the Ising one.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

On the nonequilibrium entropy of large and small systems

Thermodynamics makes definite predictions about the thermal behavior of macroscopic systems in and out of equilibrium. Statistical mechanics aims to derive this behavior from the dynamics and statistics of the atoms and molecules making up these systems. A key element in this derivation is the large number of microscopic degrees of freedom of macroscopic systems. Therefore, the extension of thermodynamic concepts, such as entropy, to small (nano) systems raises many questions. Here we shall reexamine various definitions of entropy for nonequilibrium systems, large and small. These include thermodynamic (hydrodynamic), Boltzmann, and Gibbs-Shannon entropies. We shall argue that, despite its common use, the last is not an appropriate physical entropy for such systems, either isolated or in contact with thermal reservoirs: physical entropies should depend on the microstate of the system, not on a subjective probability distribution. To square this point of view with experimental results of Bechhoefer we shall argue that the Gibbs-Shannon entropy of a nano particle in a thermal fluid should be interpreted as the Boltzmann entropy of a dilute gas of Brownian particles in the fluid

Carcinogenic Parasite Secretes Growth Factor That Accelerates Wound Healing and Potentially Promotes Neoplasia

© 2015 Smout et al. Infection with the human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini induces cancer of the bile ducts, cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Injury from feeding activities of this parasite within the human biliary tree causes extensive lesions, wounds that undergo protracted cycles of healing, and re-injury over years of chronic infection. We show that O. viverrini secreted proteins accelerated wound resolution in human cholangiocytes, an outcome that was compromised following silencing of expression of the fluke-derived gene encoding the granulin-like growth factor, Ov-GRN-1. Recombinant Ov-GRN-1 induced angiogenesis and accelerated mouse wound healing. Ov-GRN-1 was internalized by human cholangiocytes and induced gene and protein expression changes associated with wound healing and cancer pathways. Given the notable but seemingly paradoxical properties of liver fluke granulin in promoting not only wound healing but also a carcinogenic microenvironment, Ov-GRN-1 likely holds marked potential as a therapeutic wound-healing agent and as a vaccine against an infection-induced cancer of major public health significance in the developing world

Reexamination of the long-range Potts model: a multicanonical approach

We investigate the critical behavior of the one-dimensional q-state Potts model with long-range (LR) interaction $1/r^{d+\sigma}$, using a multicanonical algorithm. The recursion scheme initially proposed by Berg is improved so as to make it suitable for a large class of LR models with unequally spaced energy levels. The choice of an efficient predictor and a reliable convergence criterion is discussed. We obtain transition temperatures in the first-order regime which are in far better agreement with mean-field predictions than in previous Monte Carlo studies. By relying on the location of spinodal points and resorting to scaling arguments, we determine the threshold value $\sigma_c(q)$ separating the first- and second-order regimes to two-digit precision within the range $3 \leq q \leq 9$. We offer convincing numerical evidence supporting $\sigma_c(q)Comment: 18 pages, 18 figure

Testicular germ-cell tumours and penile squamous cell carcinoma: Appropriate management makes the difference

Germ-cell tumours (GCT) of the testis and penile squamous cell carcinoma (PeSCC) are a rare and a very rare uro-genital cancers, respectively. Both tumours are well defined entities in terms of management, where specific recommendations - in the form of continuously up-to-dated guide lines-are provided. Impact of these tumour is relevant. Testicular GCT affects young, healthy men at the beginning of their adult life. PeSCC affects older men, but a proportion of these patients are young and the personal consequences of the disease may be devastating. Deviation from recommended management may be a reason of a significant prognostic worsening, as proper treatment favourably impacts on these tumours, dramatically on GCT and significantly on PeSCC. RARECAREnet data may permit to analyse how survivals may vary according to geographical areas, histology and age, leading to assume that non-homogeneous health-care resources may impact the cure and definitive outcomes. In support of this hypothesis, some epidemiologic datasets and clinical findings would indicate that survival may improve when appropriate treatments are delivered, linked to a different accessibility to the best health institutions, as a consequence of geographical, cultural and economic barriers. Finally, strong clues based on epidemiological and clinical data support the hypothesis that treatment delivered at reference centres or under the aegis of a qualified multi-institutional network is associated with a better prognosis of patients with these malignancies. The ERN EURACAN represents the best current European effort to answer this clinical need

Ungentlemanly Capitalism: John Hay and Malaya, 1904-1964

John Hay was one of Britain’s leading colonial capitalists, building his career from the 1900s to the 1960s in Malaya’s plantation industry. He became the leading spokesperson for the British rubber growers, and played a major role in the formulation of international restriction schemes during the 1930s. Hay was a remarkable entrepreneurial talent, consolidating his corporate power through the premiere Malayan agency house, Guthrie & Co. This in itself challenges the notion that Britain’s myriad of ‘free-standing’ companies, which were typical of direct investment in the Empire, represented a relatively weak and unsustainable form of multinational enterprise. But Hay’s dominance of the Malayan plantation sector also questions the notion of ‘gentlemanly capitalism’ as the driving force behind the expansion and sustenance of the British imperial system. Hay’s network of colonial corporate influence did not extend into the corridors of ‘gentlemanly capitalist’ power in Whitehall and the City, where he often had frosty relations. Ultimately, it was the financial sector in London that brought about Hay’s forced resignation from Guthrie in 1963. Examining questions of class, ethnicity, personality, ideology and strategy, the article focuses on why Hay did not develop better relations with commercial, financial and official elites, issues that would also engender tensions with the post-colonial political and business leadership of Malaya/Malaysia