358 research outputs found
Quantum Criticality and Incipient Phase Separation in the Thermodynamic Properties of the Hubbard Model
Transport measurements on the cuprates suggest the presence of a quantum
critical point hiding underneath the superconducting dome near optimal hole
doping. We provide numerical evidence in support of this scenario via a
dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo study of the extended two-dimensional
Hubbard model. Single particle quantities, such as the spectral function, the
quasiparticle weight and the entropy, display a crossover between two distinct
ground states: a Fermi liquid at low filling and a non-Fermi liquid with a
pseudogap at high filling. Both states are found to cross over to a marginal
Fermi-liquid state at higher temperatures. For finite next-nearest-neighbor
hopping t' we find a classical critical point at temperature T_c. This
classical critical point is found to be associated with a phase separation
transition between a compressible Mott gas and an incompressible Mott liquid
corresponding to the Fermi liquid and the pseudogap state, respectively. Since
the critical temperature T_c extrapolates to zero as t' vanishes, we conclude
that a quantum critical point connects the Fermi-liquid to the pseudogap
region, and that the marginal-Fermi-liquid behavior in its vicinity is the
analogous of the supercritical region in the liquid-gas transition.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure
Thermodynamics of the Quantum Critical Point at Finite Doping in the 2D Hubbard Model: A Dynamical Cluster Approximation Study
We study the thermodynamics of the two-dimensional Hubbard model within the
dynamical cluster approximation. We use continuous time quantum Monte Carlo as
a cluster solver to avoid the systematic error which complicates the
calculation of the entropy and potential energy (double occupancy). We find
that at a critical filling, there is a pronounced peak in the entropy divided
by temperature, S/T, and in the normalized double occupancy as a function of
doping. At this filling, we find that specific heat divided by temperature,
C/T, increases strongly with decreasing temperature and kinetic and potential
energies vary like T^2 ln(T). These are all characteristics of quantum critical
behavior.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communications on
June 27, 200
Effect of non-nutritional factors on nisin production
When attempting to improve production of nisin, understanding the effect of non-nutritional factors is essential owing to a lack of adequate information about these factors among various investigations. Inorder to assess some of non-nutritional factors and how they influence the nisin production in batch cultivation, a laboratory scale study was performed. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis ATCC 11454 produced nisin and Micrococcus luteus ATCC 10240 was used in bioassay measurement as the nisinsensitive strain. The age and size of inoculum, initial pH value of the medium and flask volume/medium volume (F/M) ratio, temperature as well as agitation were studied by changing one factor at a time whilekeeping others constant in de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) medium. Our results implied that pH value was positively related to increase nisin production. Two other important factors for a maximum nisin production were found to be agitation and flask volume/medium volume (F/M) ratio. Inoculum size more than 2.5% (v/v) had no effect on nisin production. The most suitable condition for inoculum age was 32-hour-old culture (at the end of log phase) and 27°C temperature provided maximum nisinproduction
Evaluation of the Induction of Immune Memory following Infant Immunisation with Serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis Conjugate Vaccines - Exploratory Analyses within a Randomised Controlled Trial
Aim: We measured meningococcal serogroup C (MenC)-specific memory B-cell responses in infants by Enzyme-Linked Immunospot (ELISpot) following different MenC conjugate vaccine schedules to investigate the impact of priming on immune memory. Methods: Infants aged 2 months were randomised to receive 1 or 2 doses of MenC-CRM197 at 3 or 3 and 4 months, 1 dose of MenC-TT at 3 months, or no primary MenC doses. All children received a Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)-MenC booster at 12 months. Blood was drawn at 5, 12, 12 months +6 days and 13 months of age. Results: Results were available for 110, 103, 76 and 44 children from each group respectively. Following primary immunisations, and prior to the 12-month booster, there were no significant differences between 1- or 2-dose primed children in the number of MenC memory B-cells detected. One month following the booster, children primed with 1 dose MenC-TT had more memory B-cells than children primed with either 1-dose (p = 0.001) or 2-dose (p<0.0001) MenC-CRM197. There were no differences in MenC memory B-cells detected in children who received 1 or 2 doses of MenC-CRM197 in infancy and un-primed children. Conclusions: MenC-specific memory B-cell production may be more dependent on the type of primary vaccine used than the number of doses administered. Although the mechanistic differences between MenC-CRM197 and MenC-TT priming are unclear, it is possible that structural differences, including the carrier proteins, may underlie differential interactions with B- and T-cell populations, and thus different effects on various memory B-cell subsets. A MenC-TT/Hib-MenC-TT combination for priming/boosting may offer an advantage in inducing more persistent antibody.peer-reviewe
Improved Refolding Efficacy of Recombinant Human Interferon α-2b via pH Modulation
Purpose: To increase the refolding yield of Recombinant Human Interferon α-2b in order to achieve a highly potent product.Methods: Interferon α-2b inclusion body was dissolved in tris-HCl buffer containing 6 M guanidine-HCl and CuSO4. Different refolding buffers were employed for refolding the target protein. The refolded proteins were then purified by affinity and gel filtration chromatography. The purified proteins were subjected to circular dichroism (CD) spectropolarimetry and assayed for biological activity in vitro.Results: Increment of pH to 8.5 improved refolding efficacies from 42.28 % to 71.22 %. However, the relative potency significantly increased up to pH 8.0 (from 19353546 to 28633902, p < 0.05) and then decreased to 21081305.00 at pH 8.5. The CD spectra demonstrated that by increasing pH to 8.5, the secondary structure of the protein was altered, probably due to increase in alpha-helix from 23.7 % at pH 7.0 to 28.1 %.Conclusion: Employing a low-cost and simple method, such as alteration of refolding buffer pH, results in higher refolding yield in downstream processing of rhIFN α-2b.Keywords: Recombinant human interferon α-2b, Refolding, Circular dichroism, Spectropolarimetry,Recombinant protein, pH effec
Numerical study of the thermodynamics of clinoatacamite
We study the thermodynamic properties of the clinoatacamite compound,
Cu_2(OH)_3Cl, by considering several approximate models. They include the
Heisenberg model on (i) the uniform pyrochlore lattice, (ii) a very anisotropic
pyrochlore lattice, and (iii) a kagome lattice weakly coupled to spins that sit
on a triangular lattice. We utilize the exact diagonalization of small clusters
with periodic boundary conditions and implement a numerical linked-cluster
expansion approach for quantum lattice models with reduced symmetries, which
allows us to solve model (iii) in the thermodynamic limit. We find a very good
agreement between the experimental uniform susceptibility and the numerical
results for models (ii) and (iii), which suggests a weak ferromagnetic coupling
between the kagome and triangular layers in clinoatacamite. We also study
thermodynamic properties in a geometrical transition between a planar
pyrochlore lattice and the kagome lattice.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Case Notes
For decades, optical time-domain searches have been tuned to find ordinary supernovae, which rise and fall in brightness over a period of weeks. Recently, supernova searches have improved their cadences and a handful of fast-evolving luminous transients have been identified(1-5). These have peak luminosities comparable to type Ia supernovae, but rise to maximum in less than ten days and fade from view in less than one month. Here we present the most extreme example of this class of object thus far: KSN 2015K, with a rise time of only 2.2 days and a time above half-maximum of only 6.8 days. We show that, unlike type Ia supernovae, the light curve of KSN 2015K was not powered by the decay of radioactive elements. We further argue that it is unlikely that it was powered by continuing energy deposition from a central remnant (a magnetar or black hole). Using numerical radiation hydrodynamical models, we show that the light curve of KSN 2015K is well fitted by a model where the supernova runs into external material presumably expelled in a pre-supernova mass-loss episode. The rapid rise of KSN 2015K therefore probes the venting of photons when a hypersonic shock wave breaks out of a dense extended medium.NASA
NNH15ZDA001N
NNX17AI64G
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics
CE11000102
Evaluation of ultrasound technology to break seed dormancy of common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album)
Although seed dormancy is advantageous for annual plants in the wild, unsynchronized germination in the laboratory leads to increased error in measurements. Therefore techniques to promote and synchronize germination are routinely used. Ultrasound is one of the newest methods for breaking dormancy in weed seeds. We have investigated whether ultrasonic waves can be used to break seed dormancy of common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), a highly competitive annual weed that leads to significant reduction of yields of corn, soybeans, and sugar beets. Ultrasonic waves with frequency of 35kH were applied for 0 (control), 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes using a completely randomized design. The results showed that the use of ultrasound waves generally enhanced the traits under investigation in the treated samples compared to the control sample. The maximum enhancement of germination percentage (180%), seedling dry weight (78%), and seedling vigor index I (271%) and II (392%) was seen in the common lambsquarters samples treated with ultrasound for 15 minutes and seedling length (40%) at 30 minutes compared to the control samples. Radical lengths were not statistically different from controls under any treatment and plumule length only increased marginally. These changes are reflected in seedling vigor index I and II measurements. For some of these traits, increasing the length of ultrasound treatment to 30 minutes had negative effects. These results demonstrate that ultrasound technology can be used as a quick, and efficient non-destructive method to break seed dormancy in common lambsquarters
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