15 research outputs found
Disentangling Scaling Properties in Anisotropic Fracture
Structure functions of rough fracture surfaces in isotropic materials exhibit
complicated scaling properties due to the broken isotropy in the fracture plane
generated by a preferred propagation direction. Decomposing the structure
functions into the even order irreducible representations of the SO(2) symmetry
group (indexed by ) results in a lucid and quickly convergent
description. The scaling exponent of the isotropic sector () dominates at
small length scales. One can reconstruct the anisotropic structure functions
using only the isotropic and the first non vanishing anisotropic sector ()
(or at most the next one ()). The scaling exponent of the isotropic sector
should be observed in a proposed, yet unperformed, experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figure
Statistical Physics of Fracture Surfaces Morphology
Experiments on fracture surface morphologies offer increasing amounts of data
that can be analyzed using methods of statistical physics. One finds scaling
exponents associated with correlation and structure functions, indicating a
rich phenomenology of anomalous scaling. We argue that traditional models of
fracture fail to reproduce this rich phenomenology and new ideas and concepts
are called for. We present some recent models that introduce the effects of
deviations from homogeneous linear elasticity theory on the morphology of
fracture surfaces, succeeding to reproduce the multiscaling phenomenology at
least in 1+1 dimensions. For surfaces in 2+1 dimensions we introduce novel
methods of analysis based on projecting the data on the irreducible
representations of the SO(2) symmetry group. It appears that this approach
organizes effectively the rich scaling properties. We end up with the
proposition of new experiments in which the rotational symmetry is not broken,
such that the scaling properties should be particularly simple.Comment: A review paper submitted to J. Stat. Phy
A Moving Magnetic Trap Decelerator: a New Source for Cold Atoms and Molecules
We present an experimental realization of a moving magnetic trap decelerator,
where paramagnetic particles entrained in a cold supersonic beam are
decelerated in a co-moving magnetic trap. Our method allows for an efficient
slowing of both paramagnetic atoms and molecules to near stopping velocities.
We show that under realistic conditions we will be able to trap and decelerate
a large fraction of the initial supersonic beam. We present our first results
on deceleration in a moving magnetic trap by bringing metastable neon atoms to
near rest. Our estimated phase space volume occupied by decelerated particles
at final velocity of 50 m/s shows an improvement of two orders of magnitude as
compared to currently available deceleration techniques
Reductioninglycatedhemoglobin and daily insulin dose alongside circadian clock upregulation in patients with type 2 diabetes consuming a three-meal diet : A randomized clinical trial
OBJECTIVE In type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and progressive b-cell failure require treatment with high insulin doses, leading to weight gain. Our aim was to study whether a three-meal diet (3Mdiet) with a carbohydrate-rich breakfast may upregulate clock gene expression and, as a result, allow dose reduction of insulin, leading to weight loss and better glycemic control compared with an isocaloric six-meal diet (6Mdiet). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Twenty-eight volunteers with diabetes (BMI 32.4 6 5.2 kg/m2 and HbA1c 8.1 6 1.1% [64.5 6 11.9 mmol/mol]) were randomly assigned to 3Mdiet or 6Mdiet. Body weight, glycemic control, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), appetite, and clock gene expression were assessed at baseline, after 2 weeks, and after 12 weeks. RESULTS 3Mdiet, but not 6Mdiet, led to a significant weight loss (25.4 6 0.9 kg) (P < 0.01) and decreased HbA1c (212 mmol/mol [21.2%]) (P < 0.0001) after 12 weeks. Fasting glucose and daily and nocturnal glucose levels were significantly lower on the 3Mdiet. CGM showed a significant decrease in the time spent in hyperglycemia only on the 3Mdiet. Total daily insulin dose was significantly reduced by 26 6 7 units only on the 3Mdiet. There was a significant decrease in the hunger and cravings only in the 3Mdiet group. Clock genes exhibited oscillation, increased expression, and higher amplitude on the 3Mdiet compared with the 6Mdiet. CONCLUSIONS A 3Mdiet, in contrast to an isocaloric 6Mdiet, leads to weight loss and significant reduction in HbA1c, appetite, and overall glycemia, with a decrease in daily insulin. Upregulation of clock genes seen in this diet intervention could contribute to the improved glucose metabolism
Reduction in Glycated Hemoglobin and Daily Insulin Dose Alongside Circadian Clock Upregulation in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Consuming a Three-Meal Diet: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Biological insights from plasma proteomics of non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immunotherapy
IntroductionImmune checkpoint inhibitors have made a paradigm shift in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, clinical response varies widely and robust predictive biomarkers for patient stratification are lacking. Here, we characterize early on-treatment proteomic changes in blood plasma to gain a better understanding of treatment response and resistance.MethodsPre-treatment (T0) and on-treatment (T1) plasma samples were collected from 225 NSCLC patients receiving PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor-based regimens. Plasma was profiled using aptamer-based technology to quantify approximately 7000 plasma proteins per sample. Proteins displaying significant fold changes (T1:T0) were analyzed further to identify associations with clinical outcomes using clinical benefit and overall survival as endpoints. Bioinformatic analyses of upregulated proteins were performed to determine potential cell origins and enriched biological processes.ResultsThe levels of 142 proteins were significantly increased in the plasma of NSCLC patients following ICI-based treatments. Soluble PD-1 exhibited the highest increase, with a positive correlation to tumor PD-L1 status, and, in the ICI monotherapy dataset, an association with improved overall survival. Bioinformatic analysis of the ICI monotherapy dataset revealed a set of 30 upregulated proteins that formed a single, highly interconnected network, including CD8A connected to ten other proteins, suggestive of T cell activation during ICI treatment. Notably, the T cell-related network was detected regardless of clinical benefit. Lastly, circulating proteins of alveolar origin were identified as potential biomarkers of limited clinical benefit, possibly due to a link with cellular stress and lung damage.ConclusionsOur study provides insights into the biological processes activated during ICI-based therapy, highlighting the potential of plasma proteomics to identify mechanisms of therapy resistance and biomarkers for outcome
Long-range orientational order in two-dimensional microfluidic dipoles
Dynamic restructuring and ordering are prevalent in driven many-body systems with long-range interactions, such as sedimenting particles(1-3), dusty plasmas(4), flocking animals(5-7) and microfluidic droplets(8). Yet, understanding such collective dynamics from basic principles is challenging because these systems are not governed by global minimization principles, and because every constituent interacts with many others. Here, we report long-range orientational order of droplet velocities in disordered two-dimensional microfluidic droplet ensembles. Droplet velocities exhibit strong long-range correlation as 1/r(2), with a four-fold angular symmetry. The two-droplet correlation can be explained by representing the entire ensemble as a third droplet. The correlation amplitude is non-monotonous with density owing to excluded-volume effects. Our study puts forth a many-body problem with long-range interactions that is solvable from first principles owing to the reduced dimensionality, and introduces new experimental tools to address open problems in many-body non-equilibrium systems(9,10)