2,264 research outputs found
Low-temperature nucleation in a kinetic Ising model under different stochastic dynamics with local energy barriers
Using both analytical and simulational methods, we study low-temperature
nucleation rates in kinetic Ising lattice-gas models that evolve under two
different Arrhenius dynamics that interpose between the Ising states a
transition state representing a local energy barrier. The two dynamics are the
transition-state approximation [T. Ala-Nissila, J. Kjoll, and S. C. Ying, Phys.
Rev. B 46, 846 (1992)] and the one-step dynamic [H. C. Kang and W. H. Weinberg,
J. Chem. Phys. 90, 2824 (1989)]. Even though they both obey detailed balance
and are here applied to a situation that does not conserve the order parameter,
we find significant differences between the nucleation rates observed with the
two dynamics, and between them and the standard Glauber dynamic [R. J. Glauber,
J. Math. Phys. 4, 294 (1963)], which does not contain transition states. Our
results show that great care must be exercised when devising kinetic Monte
Carlo transition rates for specific physical or chemical systems.Comment: 14 pages RevTex, 6 embedded figures. Minor revisions. J. Chem. Phys.,
in pres
Low-temperature nucleation in a kinetic Ising model with soft stochastic dynamics
We study low-temperature nucleation in kinetic Ising models by analytical and
simulational methods, confirming the general result for the average metastable
lifetime, = A*exp(beta*Gamma) (beta = 1/kT) [E. Jordao Neves and R.H.
Schonmann, Commun. Math. Phys. 137, 209 (1991)]. Contrary to common belief, we
find that both A and Gamma depend significantly on the stochastic dynamic. In
particular, for a ``soft'' dynamic, in which the effects of the interactions
and the applied field factorize in the transition rates, Gamma does NOT simply
equal the energy barrier against nucleation, as it does for the standard
Glauber dynamic, which does not have this factorization property.Comment: 4 pages RevTex4, 2 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett., in pres
Search for an exosphere in sodium and calcium in the transmission spectrum of exoplanet 55 Cancri e
[Abridged] The aim of this work is to search for an absorption signal from
exospheric sodium (Na) and singly ionized calcium (Ca) in the optical
transmission spectrum of the hot rocky super-Earth 55 Cancri e. Although the
current best-fitting models to the planet mass and radius require a possible
atmospheric component, uncertainties in the radius exist, making it possible
that 55 Cancri e could be a hot rocky planet without an atmosphere. High
resolution (R110000) time-series spectra of five transits of 55 Cancri e,
obtained with three different telescopes (UVES/VLT, HARPS/ESO 3.6m &
HARPS-N/TNG) were analysed. Targeting the sodium D lines and the calcium H and
K lines, the potential planet exospheric signal was filtered out from the much
stronger stellar and telluric signals, making use of the change of the radial
component of the orbital velocity of the planet over the transit from -57 to
+57 km/sec. Combining all five transit data sets, we detect a signal
potentially associated with sodium in the planet exosphere at a statistical
significance level of 3. Combining the four HARPS transits that cover
the calcium H and K lines, we also find a potential signal from ionized calcium
(4.1 ). Interestingly, this latter signal originates from just one of
the transit measurements - with a 4.9 detection at this epoch.
Unfortunately, due to the low significance of the measured sodium signal and
the potentially variable Ca signal, we estimate the p-values of these
signals to be too high (corresponding to <4) to claim unambiguous
exospheric detections. By comparing the observed signals with artificial
signals injected early in the analysis, the absorption by Na and Ca are
estimated to be at a level of approximately 2.3 and 7.0 respectively, relative to the stellar spectrum.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, submission updated after English language
editing, submission updated to correct a mistaken cross-reference noticed in
A&A proo
Avaliacoes da infeccao de explantes de feijoeiro por Agrobacterium tumefaciens por meio de microscopia.
Phaseolus vulgaris L. e considerada recalcitrante a transformacao por Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Contudo, alteracoes no meio de co-cultivo, utilizacao de linhagens hipervirulentas de Agrobacterium e de vetores binarios contendo genes vir demostraram que o feijoeiro e susceptivel a essa bacteria. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi estudar o efeito da sonificacao nos tecidos vegetais de feijoeiro, bem como a penetracao da Agrobacterium nas camadas subepidermicas do tecido vegetal, usando a metodologia SAAT ("Sonification-Assisted Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation"). A variedade de feijoeiro utilizada foi a Olathe Pinto, a linhagem de A. tumefaciens foi LBA4404:pTOK.Os embrioes de feijao foram pre-tratados po 14 dias em meio de multibrotacao e, entao submetidos a sonificacao (de 0 ou 60 segundos) na presenca de Agrobacterium. Apos a inoculacao foram co-cultivados por 24 horas em meio liquido seguido de 48 horas em meio solido, ambos, contendo 20 m. L -1 de acetoceringona. Os explantes inoculados foram fixadas em solucao de Karnovsk para avaliacoes em microscopia optica e eletronica de varredura. As analises da microspia demostraram a presenca de rupturas na epiderme, quebras da parede celular e invasao da Agrobacterium nos tecidos subepidermicos. Os reultados demostraram que o metodo SAAT e uma tecnica viavel para a inoculcao de Agrobacterium em explantes de P. vulgaris.bitstream/CPAC-2010/23710/1/bolpd-04.pd
2D-Coordination polymers based on 1H-indazole4-carboxylic acid and transition metal ions: magnetic, luminescence and biological properties
We report the formation of five novel multifunctional coordination polymers based on 1H-indazole-4-
carboxylic acid (HL). To the best of our knowledge, these complexes are the first examples of coordination
compounds constructed with this interesting ligand. These materials were synthesized by solvothermal
routes, possess different 2D-structures and show interesting magnetic properties due to the copper
compound showing an unusual spin-canted effect while the anisotropic cobalt material behaves as a fieldinduced single molecule magnet. MTT assays performed on human embryonic kidney (HEK293) and
mouse skin melanoma (B16-F10) cell lines indicated that the Cd-based compound was the only one
exhibiting dose-dependent toxicity on B16-F10 cells, most likely due to the release of toxic Cd(II). Cadmium
and zinc polymers exhibit interesting luminescence properties. The fact that zinc polymers did not exhibit
inherent toxicity against both cancer and non-cancerous cells make this new family an excellent candidate
for further investigation in the field of luminescent materials with biomedical applications.Junta de Andalucia
FQM-394
FQM-1484Red Guipuzcoana de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion
OF218/2018University of Basque Country
GIU 17/13Basque Government
IT1005-16Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE)
PGC2018-102052-A-C22
PGC2018-102052-B-C21Junta de Andalucia
FQM-394
FQM-1484European Union (EU)ESFGovernment of the Basque CountryFEDER/MCIU/AEI
RYC-2016-21042
JdC-201
Salivary melatonin onset in youth at familial risk for bipolar disorder
Melatonin secretion and polysomnography (PSG) were compared among a group of healthy adolescents who were at high familial risk for bipolar disorder (HR) and a second group at low familial risk (LR). Adolescent participants (n = 12) were a mean age 14 ± 2.3 years and included 8 females and 4 males. Saliva samples were collected under standardized condition light (red light) and following a 200 lux light exposure over two consecutive nights in a sleep laboratory. Red Light Melatonin onset (RLMO) was defined as saliva melatonin level exceeding the mean of the first 3 readings plus 2 standard deviations. Polysomnography was also completed during each night. HR youth, relative to LR, experienced a significantly earlier melatonin onset following 200 lux light exposure. Polysomnography revealed that LR youth, relative to HR, spent significantly more time in combined stages 3 and 4 (deep sleep) following red light exposure. Additionally, regardless of the group status (HR or LR), there was no significant difference in Red Light Melatonin Onset recorded at home or in the laboratory, implying its feasibility and reliability
Dipolar interaction between two-dimensional magnetic particles
We determine the effective dipolar interaction between single domain
two-dimensional ferromagnetic particles (islands or dots), taking into account
their finite size. The first correction term decays as 1/D^5, where D is the
distance between particles. If the particles are arranged in a regular
two-dimensional array and are magnetized in plane, we show that the correction
term reinforces the antiferromagnetic character of the ground state in a square
lattice, and the ferromagnetic one in a triangular lattice. We also determine
the dipolar spin-wave spectrum and evaluate how the Curie temperature of an
ensemble of magnetic particles scales with the parameters defining the particle
array: height and size of each particle, and interparticle distance. Our
results show that dipolar coupling between particles might induce ferromagnetic
long range order at experimentally relevant temperatures. However, depending on
the size of the particles, such a collective phenomenon may be disguised by
superparamagnetism.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Understanding feedback report uptake: process evaluation findings from a 13-month feedback intervention in long-term care settings
Abstract
Background
Long-term care settings provide care to a large proportion of predominantly older, highly disabled adults across the United States and Canada. Managing and improving quality of care is challenging, in part because staffing is highly dependent on relatively non-professional health care aides and resources are limited. Feedback interventions in these settings are relatively rare, and there has been little published information about the process of feedback intervention. Our objectives were to describe the key components of uptake of the feedback reports, as well as other indicators of participant response to the intervention.
Methods
We conducted this project in nine long-term care units in four facilities in Edmonton, Canada. We used mixed methods, including observations during a 13-month feedback report intervention with nine post-feedback survey cycles, to conduct a process evaluation of a feedback report intervention in these units. We included all facility-based direct care providers (staff) in the feedback report distribution and survey administration. We conducted descriptive analyses of the data from observations and surveys, presenting this in tabular and graphic form. We constructed a short scale to measure uptake of the feedback reports. Our analysis evaluated feedback report uptake by provider type over the 13 months of the intervention.
Results
We received a total of 1,080 survey responses over the period of the intervention, which varied by type of provider, facility, and survey month. Total number of reports distributed ranged from 103 in cycle 12 to 229 in cycle 3, although the method of delivery varied widely across the period, from 12% to 65% delivered directly to individuals and 15% to 84% left for later distribution. The key elements of feedback uptake, including receiving, reading, understanding, discussing, and reporting a perception that the reports were useful, varied by survey cycle and provider type, as well as by facility. Uptake, as we measured it, was consistently high overall, but varied widely by provider type and time period.
Conclusions
We report detailed process data describing the aspects of uptake of a feedback report during an intensive, longitudinal feedback intervention in long-term care facilities. Uptake is a complex process for which we used multiple measures. We demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a complex longitudinal feedback intervention in relatively resource-poor long-term care facilities to a wider range of provider types than have been included in prior feedback interventions.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110519/1/13012_2015_Article_208.pd
A possible cause of misdiagnosis in tumors of the axilla: schwannoma of the brachial plexus
The Authors report a rare case of a 57 years old man affected by a left radial nerve schwannoma that occurred as an asymptomatic lesion of the axilla. At clinical examination the lump was undistinguishable from the most common axillary lymphadenopathy. A lymphoadenopathy was erroneously diagnosed with ultrasonography (US). This mistake was due to the low specificity of the instrumental methodology and to the rarity of an asymptomatic schwannoma of the infraclavicular brachial plexus.
The neoplasia was excised without using the microscope. In the early post-operative follow up, a “falling” attitude of the wirst, the
hand and the fingers appeared, peculiar for a lesion of the radial nerve. Furthermore a hypoaesthesia of the skin of first finger and of the first interosseus space was associated. The sensitive and motor electromyography showed a radial nerve suffering. The “stupor” of the nerve trunk was treated with steroid therapy for 7 days and the patient underwent to some series of neuro-rehabilitative physical therapy for 12 weeks. The postoperative total body CT, showed that the lesion was unique: therefore it was possible to exclude the diagnosis of neurofibromatosis. After 28 months electromyography and axillary US were performed showing the complete resolution of the motor and sensitive deficit and the absence of local recurrence
Rheological and mechanical properties of acellular and cellladen methacrylated gellan gum hydrogels
Tissue engineered hydrogels hold great potential as nucleus pulposus substitutes (NP), as they promote intervertebral disc (IVD) regeneration and re-establish its original function. But, the key to their success in future clinical applications greatly depends on its ability to replicate the native 3D micro-environment and circumvent their limitation in terms of mechanical performance. In the present study, we investigated the rheological/mechanical properties of both ionic- (iGG-MA) and photo-crosslinked methacrylated gellan gum (phGG-MA) hydrogels. Steady shear analysis, injectability and confined compression stress-relaxation tests were carried out. The injectability of the reactive solutions employed for the preparation of iGG-MA and phGG-MA hydrogels was firstly studied, then the zero-strain compressive modulus and permeability of the acellular hydrogels were evaluated.In addition, human intervertebral disc (hIVD) cells encapsulated in both iGG-MA and phGG-MA hydrogels were cultured in vitro, and its mechanical properties also investigated under dynamic mechanical analysis at 37ºC and pH 7.4. After 21 d of culturing, hIVD cells were alive (Calcein AM) and the E’ of ionic-crosslinked hydrogels and photo-crosslinked was higher than that observed for acellular hydrogels. Our study suggests that methacrylated gellan gum hydrogels present promising mechanical and biological performance as hIVD cells were producing extracellular matrix
- …