Hard Loops, Soft Loops, and High Density Effective Field Theory

We study several issues related to the use of effective field theories in QCD at large baryon density. We show that the power counting is complicated by the appearance of two scales inside loop integrals. Hard dense loops involve the large scale $\mu^2$ and lead to phenomena such as screening and damping at the scale $g\mu$. Soft loops only involve small scales and lead to superfluidity and non-Fermi liquid behavior at exponentially small scales. Four-fermion operators in the effective theory are suppressed by powers of $1/\mu$, but they get enhanced by hard loops. As a consequence their contribution to the pairing gap is only suppressed by powers of the coupling constant, and not powers of $1/\mu$. We determine the coefficients of four-fermion operators in the effective theory by matching quark-quark scattering amplitudes. Finally, we introduce a perturbative scheme for computing corrections to the gap parameter in the superfluid phaseComment: 26 page

A method for multi-objective topology optimization of acoustic and fluid flow properties

A framework for multi-objective topology optimization is presented with the purpose to simultaneously optimize both fluid flow and acoustic quantities. The proposed method uses a coupled approach on fixed grids with immersed solid boundaries. For the fluid flow part the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved and the immersed boundaries are modeled with a Brinkman penalization method. The acoustic field is computed by an acoustic/viscous splitting technique and the solution of the resulting linearized Euler equations. The reflecting boundaries are modeled by a mismatch in the acoustic impedance between solid and fluid. To describe the geometry of the boundaries a NURBS-based approach is introduced. Two test cases are investigated to validate the immersed boundary method for the fluid flow problem and the acoustics, respectively. Finally, the capability for topological changes of the proposed method is shown with a multi-objective optimization test case, which is solved with the gradient-free evolutionary algorithm NSGA-II

Entwicklung von Wertschöpfungsketten für Körnererbsen und Ackerbohnen: Fördernde und hemmende Faktoren

Das Demonstrationsnetzwerk DemoNetErBo hat zum Ziel, den Anbau und die Verwertung von Körnererbsen und Ackerbohnen in Deutschland nachhaltig zu steigern und zu verbessern. Dazu werden Wertschöpfungsketten für regional erzeugte Hülsenfrüchte entwickelt und optimiert, wofür die Kenntnis sogenannter kritischer Erfolgsfaktoren, die diesen Prozess von Anbau über Verarbeitung bis hin zur Vermarktung hemmen oder fördern, unerlässlich ist. Beispielhaft wird die unterschiedliche Situation in ökologischen und konventionellen Wertschöpfungsketten betrachtet

Agricultural land use weakens the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

Leaf litter decomposition is a significant ecosystem process for streams' energy provisioning, while species-specific decomposition rates often form a continuum from slow to fast decomposing species allowing for resources' availability to stream consumers over a longer time period after leaf fall. Leaf litter mixtures in streams typically comprise leaf species varying in their traits, allowing for litter diversity effects on decomposition. At the same time, agricultural land use, habitat characteristics, water quality and invertebrate composition modulate leaf litter decomposition. To identify leaf litter diversity effects and disentangle the roles of agricultural intensity, habitat characteristics, water quality and invertebrate composition for leaf litter processing in streams, we quantified leaf litter decomposition of three leaf species covering a gradient from slow to fast decomposing species, tested either individually or as a three-species mixture. The study was conducted over 21 days across 18 streams with a gradient of agricultural intensity (percent agricultural land use) in their catchments. We found leaf litter diversity effects in terms of complementarity under low to intermediate agricultural intensity, given that slow decomposing leaf species decomposed almost twice as fast in the three-species mixture compared to the observations on individual leaf species. This leaf litter diversity effect decreased with increasing agricultural intensity, suggesting that agriculture weakens the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship. However, pathways by which agriculture affected decomposition differed between single-species and mixed-species scenarios. For the single-species scenario, negative effects of agriculture appeared to be mediated through effects on the proportion of sensitive detritivore species and altered habitat characteristics. For the mixed-species scenario, altered water quality negatively affected the proportion of sensitive detritivore species, in turn reducing the diversity effect on functioning. Our results suggest that the weakened biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship under increasing agricultural intensity might be a significant factor threatening carbon cycling and food web integrity in streams

Natural Nanoparticles: A Particular Matter Inspired by Nature

During the last couple of decades, the rapidly advancing field of nanotechnology has produced a wide palette of nanomaterials, most of which are considered as “synthetic” and, among the wider public, are often met with a certain suspicion. Despite the technological sophistication behind many of these materials, “nano” does not always equate with “artificial”. Indeed, nature itself is an excellent nanotechnologist. It provides us with a range of fine particles, from inorganic ash, soot, sulfur and mineral particles found in the air or in wells, to sulfur and selenium nanoparticles produced by many bacteria and yeasts. These nanomaterials are entirely natural, and, not surprisingly, there is a growing interest in the development of natural nanoproducts, for instance in the emerging fields of phyto- and phyco-nanotechnology. This review will highlight some of the most recent—and sometimes unexpected—advances in this exciting and diverse field of research and development. Naturally occurring nanomaterials, artificially produced nanomaterials of natural products as well as naturally occurring or produced nanomaterials of natural products all show their own, particular chemical and physical properties, biological activities and promise for applications, especially in the fields of medicine, nutrition, cosmetics and agriculture. In the future, such natural nanoparticles will not only stimulate research and add a greener outlook to a traditionally high-tech field, they will also provide solutions—pardon—suspensions for a range of problems. Here, we may anticipate specific biogenic factories, valuable new materials based on waste, the effective removal of contaminants as part of nano-bioremediation, and the conversion of poorly soluble substances and materials to biologically available forms for practical use

Genetic Survey of Psilocybe Natural Products

Psilocybe magic mushrooms are best known for their main natural product, psilocybin, and its dephosphorylated congener, the psychedelic metabolite psilocin. Beyond tryptamines, the secondary metabolome of these fungi is poorly understood. The genomes of five species ( P. azurescens , P. cubensis , P. cyanescens , P. mexicana , and P. serbica ) were browsed to understand more profoundly common and species‐specific metabolic capacities. The genomic analyses revealed a much greater and yet unexplored metabolic diversity than evident from parallel chemical analyses. P. cyanescens and P. mexicana were identified as aeruginascin producers. Lumichrome and verpacamide A were also detected as Psilocybe metabolites. The observations concerning the potential secondary metabolome of this fungal genus support pharmacological and toxicological efforts to find a rational basis for yet elusive phenomena, such as paralytic effects, attributed to consumption of some magic mushrooms

Milling the Mistletoe: Nanotechnological Conversion of African Mistletoe (Loranthus micranthus) Intoantimicrobial Materials

Nanosizing represents a straight forward technique to unlock the biological activity of complex plant materials. The aim of this study was to develop herbal nanoparticles with medicinal value from dried leaves and stems of Loranthus micranthus with the aid of ball-milling, high speed stirring, and high-pressure homogenization techniques. The milled nanoparticles were characterized using laser diffraction analysis, photon correlation spectroscopy analysis, and light microscopy. The average size of leaf nanoparticles was around 245 nm and that of stem nanoparticles was around 180 nm. The nanoparticles were tested for their antimicrobial and nematicidal properties against a Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, a Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus carnosus, fungi Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and a nematode Steinernemafeltiae. The results show significant activities for both leaf and (particularly) stem nanoparticles of Loranthus micranthus on all organisms tested, even at a particle concentration as low as 0.01% (w/w). The results observed indicate that nanoparticles (especially of the stem) of Loranthus micranthus could serve as novel antimicrobial agents with wide-ranging biomedical applications

Allelic Variation in the Toll-Like Receptor Adaptor Protein

Host genetic variation is known to contribute to differential pathogenesis following infection. Mouse models allow direct assessment of host genetic factors responsible for susceptibility to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Based on an assessment of early stage lines from the Collaborative Cross mouse multi-parent population, we identified two lines showing highly divergent susceptibilities to SARS-CoV: the resistant CC003/Unc and the susceptible CC053/Unc. We generated 264 F2 mice between these strains, and infected them with SARS-CoV. Weight loss, pulmonary hemorrhage, and viral load were all highly correlated disease phenotypes. We identified a quantitative trait locus of major effect on chromosome 18 (27.1-58.6 Mb) which affected weight loss, viral titer and hemorrhage. Additionally, each of these three phenotypes had distinct quantitative trait loci [Chr 9 (weight loss), Chrs 7 and 12 (virus titer), and Chr 15 (hemorrhage)]. We identified Ticam2 , an adaptor protein in the TLR signaling pathways, as a candidate driving differential disease at the Chr 18 locus. Ticam2 -/- mice were highly susceptible to SARS-CoV infection, exhibiting increased weight loss and more pulmonary hemorrhage than control mice. These results indicate a critical role for Ticam2 in SARS-CoV disease, and highlight the importance of host genetic variation in disease responses