135 research outputs found
Statics and Dynamics of Strongly Charged Soft Matter
Soft matter materials, such as polymers, membranes, proteins, are often
electrically charged. This makes them water soluble, which is of great
importance in technological application and a prerequisite for biological
function. We discuss a few static and dynamic systems that are dominated by
charge effects. One class comprises complexation between oppositely charged
objects, for example the adsorption of charged ions or charged polymers (such
as DNA) on oppositely charged substrates of different geometry. The second
class comprises effective interactions between similarly charged objects. Here
the main theme is to understand the experimental finding that similarly and
highly charged bodies attract each other in the presence of multi-valent
counterions. This is demonstrated using field-theoretic arguments as well as
Monte-Carlo simulations for the case of two homogeneously charged bodies.
Realistic surfaces, on the other hand, are corrugated and also exhibit
modulated charge distributions, which is important for static properties such
as the counterion-density distribution, but has even more pronounced
consequences for dynamic properties such as the counterion mobility. More
pronounced dynamic effects are obtained with highly condensed charged systems
in strong electric fields. Likewise, an electrostatically collapsed highly
charged polymer is unfolded and oriented in strong electric fields. At the end
of this review, we give a very brief account of the behavior of water at planar
surfaces and demonstrate using ab-initio methods that specific interactions
between oppositely charged groups cause ion-specific effects that have recently
moved into the focus of interest.Comment: 61 pages, 31 figures, Physics Reports (2005)-in press (high quality
figures available from authors
Single polymer adsorption in shear: flattening versus hydrodynamic lift and corrugation effects
The adsorption of a single polymer to a flat surface in shear is investigated
using Brownian hydrodynamics simulations and scaling arguments. Competing
effects are disentangled: in the absence of hydrodynamic interactions, shear
drag flattens the chain and thus enhances adsorption. Hydrodynamic lift on the
other hand gives rise to long-ranged repulsion from the surface which preempts
the surface-adsorbed state via a discontinuous desorption transition, in
agreement with theoretical arguments. Chain flattening is dominated by
hydrodynamic lift, so overall, shear flow weakens the adsorption of flexible
polymers. Surface friction due to small-wavelength surface potential
corrugations is argued to weaken the surface attraction as well.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Pulling adsorbed polymers from surfaces with the AFM: stick versus slip, peeling versus gliding
We consider the response of an adsorbed polymer that is pulled by an AFM
within a simple geometric framework. We separately consider the cases of i)
fixed polymer-surface contact point, ii) sticky case where the polymer is
peeled off from the substrate, and iii) slippery case where the polymer glides
over the surface. The resultant behavior depends on the value of the surface
friction coefficient and the adsorption strength. Our resultant force profiles
in principle allow to extract both from non-equilibrium force-spectroscopic
data.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in Europhys. Lett.,
http://www.edpsciences.org/journal/index.cfm?edpsname=ep
A potential new tool for the toolbox: assessing gene drives for eradicating invasive rodent populations
Invasive rodents have significant negative impacts on island biodiversity. All but the smallest of rodent eradications currently rely on island-wide rodenticide applications. Although significant advances have been made in mitigating unintended impacts, rodent eradication on inhabited islands remains extremely challenging. Current tools restrict eradication eff orts to fewer than 15% of islands with critically endangered or endangered species threatened by invasive rodents. The Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents partnership is an interdisciplinary collaboration to develop and evaluate gene drive technology for eradicating invasive rodent populations on islands. Technological approaches currently being investigated include the production of multiple strains of Mus musculus with a modifi ed form of the native t-complex, or a CRISPR gene drive, carrying genes or mechanisms that determine sex. These systems have the potential to skew the sex ratio of off spring to approach 100% single-sex, which could result in population collapse. One goal proposed is to test the ability of constructs to spread and increase in frequency in M. musculus populations in biosecure, captive settings and undertake modelling to inform development and potential deployment of these systems. Structured ecologically-based risk assessments are proposed, along with social and cultural engagement to assess the acceptability of releasing a gene drive system. Work will be guided by an external ethics advisory board. Partners are from three countries with significant regulatory capacity (USA, Australia, New Zealand). Thus, we will seek data sharing agreements so that results from experiments may be used within all three countries and treat regulatory requirements as a minimum. Species-specific, scalable, and socially acceptable new eradication tools could produce substantial biodiversity benefits not possible with current technologies. Gene drive innovation may provide such a tool for invasive species management and be potentially transformative and worthy of exploring in an inclusive, responsible, and ethical manner
Random-phase approximation study of collective excitations in the Bose-Fermi mixed condensate of alkali-metal gases
We perform Random Phase Approximation (RPA) study of collective excitations
in the bose-fermi mixed degenerate gas of Alkali-metal atoms at T=0. The
calculation is done by diagonalization in a model space composed of
particle-hole type excitations from the ground state, the latter being obtained
from the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii and Thomas-Fermi equations. We investigate
strength distributions for different combinations of bose and fermi multipole
() operators with . Transition densities and dynamical structure
factors are calculated for collective excitations. Comparison with the sum rule
prediction for the collective frequency is given. Time dependent behavior of
the system after an external impulse is studied.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Healthcare-associated prosthetic heart valve, aortic vascular graft, and disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infections subsequent to open heart surgery
Aims We identified 10 patients with disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infections subsequent to open-heart surgery at three European Hospitals. Infections originated from the heater-cooler unit of the heart-lung machine. Here we describe clinical aspects and treatment course of this novel clinical entity. Methods and results Interdisciplinary care and follow-up of all patients was documented by the study team. Patients' characteristics, clinical manifestations, microbiological findings, and therapeutic measures including surgical reinterventions were reviewed and treatment outcomes are described. The 10 patients comprise a 1-year-old child and nine adults with a median age of 61 years (range 36-76 years). The median duration from cardiac surgery to diagnosis was 21 (range 5-40) months. All patients had prosthetic material-associated infections with either prosthetic valve endocarditis, aortic graft infection, myocarditis, or infection of the prosthetic material following banding of the pulmonary artery. Extracardiac manifestations preceded cardiovascular disease in some cases. Despite targeted antimicrobial therapy, M. chimaera infection required cardiosurgical reinterventions in eight patients. Six out of 10 patients experienced breakthrough infections, of which four were fatal. Three patients are in a post-treatment monitoring period. Conclusion Healthcare-associated infections due to M. chimaera occurred in patients subsequent to cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation and implantation of prosthetic material. Infections became clinically apparent after a time lag of months to years. Mycobacterium chimaera infections are easily missed by routine bacterial diagnostics and outcome is poor despite long-term antimycobacterial therapy, probably because biofilm formation hinders eradication of pathogen
Forced-induced desorption of a polymer chain adsorbed on an attractive surface - Theory and Computer Experiment
We consider the properties of a self-avoiding polymer chain, adsorbed on a
solid attractive substrate which is attached with one end to a pulling force.
The conformational properties of such chain and its phase behavior are treated
within a Grand Canonical Ensemble (GCE) approach. We derive theoretical
expressions for the mean size of loops, trains, and tails of an adsorbed chain
under pulling as well as values for the universal exponents which describe
their probability distribution functions. A central result of the theoretical
analysis is the derivation of an expression for the crossover exponent ,
characterizing polymer adsorption at criticality, , which
relates the precise value of to the exponent , describing
polymer loop statistics. We demonstrate that , depending on the possibility of a single loop to interact with
neighboring loops in the adsorbed polymer. The universal surface loop exponent
and the Flory exponent .
We present the adsorption-desorption phase diagram of a polymer chain under
pulling and demonstrate that the relevant phase transformation becomes first
order whereas in the absence of external force it is known to be a continuous
one. The nature of this transformation turns to be dichotomic, i.e.,
coexistence of different phase states is not possible. These novel theoretical
predictions are verified by means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figure
How Malthusian Ideology crept into the Newsroom: British tabloids and the coverage of the ‘underclass’
This article argues that Malthusianism as a series of discursive regimes, developed in the Victorian-era, serves in times of austerity to reproduce an elite understanding of social exclusion in which those in a state of poverty are to blame for their own situation. It highlights that Malthusianism is present in the public discourse, becoming an underlining feature in news coverage of the so-called ‘underclass’. Our findings broadly contradict the normative claim that journalism ‘speaks truth to power’, and suggest instead that overall as a political practice, journalism tends to reproduce and reinforce hegemonic discourses of power. The piece is based on critical discourse analysis (CDA), which has been applied to a significant sample of news articles published by tabloid newspapers in Britain which focussed on the concept of the ‘underclass’. By looking at the evidence, the authors argue that the ‘underclass’ is a concept used by some journalists to cast people living in poverty as ‘undeserving’ of public and state support. In so doing, these journalists help create a narrative which supports cuts in welfare provisions and additional punitive measures against some of the most vulnerable members of society
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