The Latent Heat of Single Flavor Color Superconductivity in a Magnetic Field

We calculate the energy release associated with first-order phase transition between different types of single flavor color superconductivity in a magnetic field.Comment: Updated version accepted by PRD, with minor change

Real effects of money and welfare costs of inflation in an endogenously growing economy with transactions costs

Economic development ; Inflation (Finance) ; Money

Multi-wavelength Stellar Polarimetry of the Filamentary Cloud IC5146: I. Dust Properties

We present optical and near-infrared stellar polarization observations toward the dark filamentary clouds associated with IC5146. The data allow us to investigate the dust properties (this paper) and the magnetic field structure (Paper II). A total of 2022 background stars were detected in $R_{c}$-, $i'$-, $H$-, and/or $K$-bands to $A_V \lesssim 25$ mag. The ratio of the polarization percentage at different wavelengths provides an estimate of $\lambda_{max}$, the wavelength of peak polarization, which is an indicator of the small-size cutoff of the grain size distribution. The grain size distribution seems to significantly change at $A_V \sim$ 3 mag, where both the average and dispersion of $P_{R_c}/P_{H}$ decrease. In addition, we found $\lambda_{max}$ $\sim$ 0.6-0.9 $\mu$m for $A_V>2.5$ mag, which is larger than the $\sim$ 0.55 $\mu$m in the general ISM, suggesting that grain growth has already started in low $A_V$ regions. Our data also reveal that polarization efficiency (PE $\equiv P_{\lambda}/A_V$) decreases with $A_V$ as a power-law in $R_c$-, $i'$-, and $K$-bands with indices of -0.71$\pm$0.10, -1.23$\pm$0.10 and -0.53$\pm$0.09. However, $H$-band data show a power index change; the PE varies with $A_V$ steeply (index of -0.95$\pm$0.30) when $A_V < 2.88\pm0.67$ mag but softly (index of -0.25$\pm$0.06) for greater $A_V$ values. The soft decay of PE in high $A_V$ regions is consistent with the Radiative Aligned Torque model, suggesting that our data trace the magnetic field to $A_V \sim 20$ mag. Furthermore, the breakpoint found in $H$-band is similar to the $A_V$ where we found the $P_{R_c}/P_{H}$ dispersion significantly decreased. Therefore, the flat PE-$A_V$ in high $A_V$ regions implies that the power index changes result from additional grain growth.Comment: 31 pages, 17 figures, and 3 tables; accepted for publication in Ap

In situ synthesis of size-controlled, stable silver nanoparticles within ultrashort peptide hydrogels and their anti-bacterial properties

We have developed a silver-releasing biomaterial with promising potential for wound healing applications. The material is made of ultrashort peptides which can self-assemble in water to form hydrogels. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were synthesized in situ within the biomaterial, using only UV irradiation and no additional chemical reducing agents. The synthetic strategy allows precise control of the nanoparticle size, with the network of peptide fibers preventing aggregation of Ag NPs. The biomaterial shows increased mechanical strength compared to the hydrogel control. We observed a sustained release of Ag NPs over a period of 14 days. This is a crucial prerequisite for effective anti-bacterial therapy. The ability to inhibit bacterial growth was tested using different bacterial strains, namely gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. Inhibition of bacterial growth was observed for all strains. The best results were obtained for Pseudomonas aeruginosa which is known for exhibiting multidrug resistance. Biocompatibility studies on HDFa cells, using Ag NP-containing hydrogels, did not show any significant influence on cell viability. We propose this silver-releasing hydrogel as an excellent biomaterial with great potential for applications in wound healing due to its low silver content, sustained silver nanoparticle release and biocompatibility

Structural and electronic properties of ScnOm (n=1~3, m=1~2n) clusters: Theoretical study using screened hybrid density functional theory

The structural and electronic properties of small scandium oxide clusters ScnOm (n = 1 - 3, m = 1 - 2n) are systematically studied within the screened hybrid density functional theory. It is found that the ground states of these scandium oxide clusters can be obtained by the sequential oxidation of small "core" scandium clusters. The fragmentation analysis demonstrates that the ScO, Sc2O2, Sc2O3, Sc3O3, and Sc3O4 clusters are especially stable. Strong hybridizations between O-2p and Sc-3d orbitals are found to be the most significant character around the Fermi level. In comparison with standard density functional theory calculations, we find that the screened hybrid density functional theory can correct the wrong symmetries and yield more precise description for the localized 3d electronic states of scandium.Comment: 8 figure