Diffusive versus displacive contact plasticity of nanoscale asperities: Temperature- and velocity-dependent strongest size

We predict a strongest size for the contact strength when asperity radii of curvature decrease below ten nanometers. The reason for such strongest size is found to be correlated with the competition between the dislocation plasticity and surface diffusional plasticity. The essential role of temperature is calculated and illustrated in a comprehensive asperity size-strengthtemperature map taking into account the effect of contact velocity. Such a map should be essential for various phenomena related to nanoscale contacts such as nanowire cold welding, self-assembly of nanoparticles and adhesive nano-pillar arrays, as well as the electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of macroscopic interfaces

Triangular singularity and a possible ϕp\phi p resonance in the Λc+→π0ϕp\Lambda^+_c \to \pi^0 \phi p decay

We study the $\Lambda^+_c \to \pi^0 \phi p$ decay by considering a triangle singularity mechanism. In this mechanism, the $\Lambda^+_c$ decays into the $K^* \Sigma^*(1385)$, the $\Sigma^*(1385)$ decays into the $\pi^0 \Sigma$ (or $\Lambda$), and then the $K^* \Sigma$ (or $\Lambda$) interact to produce the $\phi p$ in the final state. This mechanism produces a peak structure around $2020$ MeV. In addition, the possibility that there is a hidden-strange pentaquark-like state is also considered by taking into account the final state interactions of $K^* \Lambda$, $K^* \Sigma$, and $\phi p$. We conclude that it is difficult to search for the hidden-strange analogue of the $P_c$ states in this decay. However, we do expect nontrivial behavior in the $\phi p$ invariant mass distribution. The predictions can be tested by experiments such as BESIII, LHCb and Belle-II.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Money and Endogenous Growth in a Cash-in-Advance Model with Social Status

Motivated by the substantial increase of nominal money supply in the U.S. economy since late 2008, this paper examines the equilibrium growth effect of money/inflation within a standard one-sector AK model of endogenous growth with wealth-enhanced preferences for social status and the most generalized cash-in-advance constraint. We show that the sign for the correlation between money and output growth depends crucially on (i) the liquidity-constrained ratio of consumption to investment, and (ii) how the shadow price of physical capital responds to a change in the monetary growth rate. This money-growth correlation, as well as the growth effect of social status, turns out to be closely related to the local stability properties of the economy's balanced growth path(s).Money, Endogenous Growth, Cash-in-Advance Constraint, Social Status, In- determinacy

Metabolism and function of hepatitis B virus cccDNA: Implications for the development of cccDNA-targeting antiviral therapeutics.

Persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection relies on the stable maintenance and proper functioning of a nuclear episomal form of the viral genome called covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA. One of the major reasons for the failure of currently available antiviral therapeutics to achieve a cure of chronic HBV infection is their inability to eradicate or inactivate cccDNA. In this review article, we summarize our current understanding of cccDNA metabolism in hepatocytes and the modulation of cccDNA by host pathophysiological and immunological cues. Perspectives on the future investigation of cccDNA biology, as well as strategies and progress in therapeutic elimination and/or transcriptional silencing of cccDNA through rational design and phenotypic screenings, are also discussed. This article forms part of a symposium in Antiviral Research on “An unfinished story: from the discovery of the Australia antigen to the development of new curative therapies for hepatitis B.