Anomalous triple gauge couplings from BB-meson and kaon observables

We consider the three CP-conserving dimension-6 operators that encode the leading new-physics effects in the triple gauge couplings. The contributions to the standard-model electromagnetic dipole and semi-leptonic vector and axial-vector interactions that arise from the insertions of these operators are calculated. We show that radiative and rare $B$-meson decays provide, under certain assumptions, constraints on two out of the three anomalous couplings that are competitive with the restrictions obtained from LEP II, Tevatron and LHC data. The constraints arising from the $Z \to b \bar b$ electroweak pseudo observables, $K \to \pi \nu \bar \nu$ and $\epsilon^\prime/\epsilon$ are also studied.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, v2: journal version, extended comments and added reference

Strong size-dependent photoacoustic effect on gold nanoparticles: A sensitive tool for aggregation-based colorimetric protein detection

Based on measuring the change of the photoacoustic (PA) signal generated by laser-induced nanobubbles, a new way to detect gold nanoparticles (GNPs) aggregation is demonstrated and applied to selective protein detection.Fil: Liu, Xiangjiang. Technische Universitat München; AlemaniaFil: González, Martín Germán. Technische Universitat München; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Niessner, Reinhard. Technische Universitat München; AlemaniaFil: Haisch, Christoph. Technische Universitat München; Alemani

Quantification of formaldehyde production during alkaline methanol electrooxidation

The alkaline methanol electrooxidation reaction (MOR) in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells is still very little understood with regard to its electrochemical behavior. Theoretically, when using a rotating disk (RDE) as working electrode, the limiting current from an electrochemical reaction increases with the rotation rate as described by Levich. Contrary to this principle, the current resulting from the alkaline MOR does not increase, but decreases with rotation rate. In this work, we investigate the reason for this phenomenon using the method described by Nash and modified by Belman to quantify formaldehyde, a reaction intermediate of the alkaline methanol electrooxidation. The amount of formaldehyde is in direct relation to the rotation rate, proving that the current density loss can originate from an intensified removal of formaldehyde into the bulk solution. We analyse the influence of the electrolyte and methanol concentration on the formation of formaldehyde in order to investigate which conditions support the complete oxidation pathway and suppress the incomplete oxidation to formaldehyde. The concentration ratio as well as the absolute concentrations are of great importance for the pathways taking place. A low electrolyte concentration leads to an increase of the formaldehyde but decreasing the methanol concentration results in an absence of formaldehyde in the bulk solution

Metal–Organic Framework Nanoparticles Induce Pyroptosis in Cells Controlled by the Extracellular pH

Ion homeostasis is essential for cellular survival, and elevated concentrations of specific ions are used to start distinct forms of programmed cell death. However, investigating the influence of certain ions on cells in a controlled way has been hampered due to the tight regulation of ion import by cells. Here, it is shown that lipid‐coated iron‐based metal–organic framework nanoparticles are able to deliver and release high amounts of iron ions into cells. While high concentrations of iron often trigger ferroptosis, here, the released iron induces pyroptosis, a form of cell death involving the immune system. The iron release occurs only in slightly acidic extracellular environments restricting cell death to cells in acidic microenvironments and allowing for external control. The release mechanism is based on endocytosis facilitated by the lipid‐coating followed by degradation of the nanoparticle in the lysosome via cysteine‐mediated reduction, which is enhanced in slightly acidic extracellular environment. Thus, a new functionality of hybrid nanoparticles is demonstrated, which uses their nanoarchitecture to facilitate controlled ion delivery into cells. Based on the selectivity for acidic microenvironments, the described nanoparticles may also be used for immunotherapy: the nanoparticles may directly affect the primary tumor and the induced pyroptosis activates the immune system

From dust to planetesimals: an improved model for collisional growth in protoplanetary disks

Planet formation occurs within the gas and dust rich environments of protoplanetary disks. Observations of these objects show that the growth of primordial sub micron sized particles into larger aggregates occurs at the earliest stages of the disks. However, theoretical models of particle growth that use the Smoluchowski equation to describe collisional coagulation and fragmentation have so far failed to produce large particles while maintaining a significant populations of small grains. This has been generally attributed to the existence of two barriers impeding growth due to bouncing and fragmentation of colliding particles. In this paper, we demonstrate that the importance of these barriers has been artificially inflated through the use of simplified models that do not take into account the stochastic nature of the particle motions within the gas disk. We present a new approach in which the relative velocities between two particles is described by a probability distribution function that models both deterministic motion and stochastic motion. Taking both into account can give quite different results to what has been considered recently in other studies. We demonstrate the vital effect of two "ingredients" for particle growth: the proper implementation of a velocity distribution function that overcomes the bouncing barrier and, in combination with mass transfer in high-mass-ratio collisions, boosts the growth of larger particles beyond the fragmentation barrier. A robust result of our simulations is the emergence of two particle populations (small and large), potentially explaining simultaneously a number of long-standing problems in protoplanetary disks, including planetesimal formation close to the central star, the presence of mm to cm size particles far out in the disk, and the persistence of micron-size grains for millions of years.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Additional appendix included. Minor changes from previous versions. 46 pages, 10 figure

Complete next-to-leading order gluino contributions to b--> s gamma and b--> s g

We present the first complete order alpha_s corrections to the Wilson coefficients (at the high scale) of the various versions of magnetic and chromomagnetic operators which are induced by a squark-gluino exchange. For this matching calculation, we work out the on-shell amplitudes b--> s gamma and b --> s g, both in the full and in the effective theory up to order alpha_s^2. The most difficult part of the calculation is the evaluation of the two-loop diagrams in the full theory; these can be split into two classes: a) diagrams with one gluino and a virtual gluon; b) diagrams with two gluinos or with one gluino and a four-squark vertex. Accordingly, the Wilson coefficients can be split into a part a) and a part b). While part b) of the Wilson coefficients is presented in this paper for the first time, part a) was given in (Bobeth et al.). We checked their results for the coefficients of the magnetic operators and found perfect agreement. Moreover, we work out the renormalization procedure in great detail. Our results for the complete next-to-leading order Wilson coefficients are fully analytic, but far too long to be printed. We therefore publish them in the form of a C++ program. They constitute a crucial building block for the phenomenological next-to-leading logarithmic analysis of the branching ratio Bbar --> X_s gamma in a supersymmetric model beyond minimal flavor violation.Comment: 38 pages, including c++ cod

The Earlier the Better: Structural Analysis and Separation of Lanthanides with Pyrroloquinoline Quinone

Lanthanides (Ln) are critical raw materials, however, their mining and purification have a considerable negative environmental impact and sustainable recycling and separation strategies for these elements are needed. In this study, the precipitation and solubility behavior of Ln complexes with pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), the cofactor of recently discovered lanthanide (Ln) dependent methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) enzymes, is presented. In this context, the molecular structure of a biorelevant europium PQQ complex was for the first time elucidated outside a protein environment. The complex crystallizes as an inversion symmetric dimer, Eu2PQQ2, with binding of Eu in the biologically relevant pocket of PQQ. LnPQQ and Ln1Ln2PQQ complexes were characterized by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, 151Eu‐Mössbauer spectroscopy, X‐ray total scattering, and extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). It is shown that a natural enzymatic cofactor is capable to achieve separation by precipitation of the notoriously similar, and thus difficult to separate, lanthanides to some extent