Geometry of quantum evolution in a nonequilibrium environment

We theoretically study the geometric effect of quantum dynamical evolution in the presence of a nonequilibrium noisy environment. We derive the expression of the time dependent geometric phase in terms of the dynamical evolution and the overlap between the time evolved state and initial state. It is shown that the frequency shift induced by the environmental nonequilibrium feature plays a crucial role in the geometric phase and evolution path of the quantum dynamics. The nonequilibrium feature of the environment makes the length of evolution path becomes longer and reduces the dynamical decoherence and non-Markovian behavior in the quantum dynamics

Chinese students’ social integration into the university community : hearing the students’ voices

According to UNESCO statistics, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) sends far more students to study overseas than any other country in the world. Similarly, from the receiving countries’ point of view, PRC students form by far the highest proportion of international students. In many respects, this is a success story, but it also poses a number of risks to universities. This paper focuses on one of those key risks that of student dissatisfaction (including from PRC students themselves). Using a sequential mixed-method study, it addresses two research questions: (a) Chinese students’ level of satisfaction with their social integration into the university community and (b) the barriers that Chinese students’ perceive in becoming more socially integrated into the university student community. The research finds that many Chinese students are dissatisfied with their range of friendships and that they find it more challenging to socialise with students of other nationalities than other students do. They point out a number of barriers to integration, with cultural distance playing a major role, but also argue for the impact of individual factors. The paper concludes by considering the implications for universities and suggestions for further research

3-Methyl-2,6-dinitro-N-(3-pent­yl)-4-[(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-β-d-xylos­yl)amino­methyl]­aniline

In the title compound, C24H34N4O11, the hexopyranosyl ring adopts a chair conformation. The four substituents are in equatorial positions. The mol­ecule shows an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond

Symmetries and Local Conservation Laws of Variational Schemes for the Surface Plasmon Polaritons

The relation between symmetries and local conservation laws, known as Noether's theorem, plays an important role in modern theoretical physics. As a discrete analog of the differentiable physical system, a good numerical scheme should admit the discrete local conservation laws and inherent mathematical structures. A class of variational schemes constructed for the hydrodynamic-electrodynamic model of lossless free-electron gas in a quasi-neutral background shows good properties in secular simulations of surface plasmon polaritons [Q. Chen et al., Phys. Rev. E 99, 023313 (2019)]. We show the discrete local conservation laws admitted by these schemes. Based on the gauge symmetry of the discrete action functional, a discrete charge conservation law is realized locally, which is consistent with the discrete Euler-Lagrange equations obtained from the variational schemes. Based on the discrete Euler-Lagrange equations, discrete local momentum and energy conservation laws are derived directly, which are rigorous in theory. The preservation of the discrete local conservation laws and Lagrangian symplectic structure ensure that the numerical scheme is correct in physics.Comment: 15 page

7-Piperazine ethyl chrysin inhibits proliferation of lung cancer cells via induction of apoptosis

Purpose: To investigate the effect of 7-piperazine ethyl chrysin (PEC) on A-427 and A-549 lung cancer cell lines.Methods: The cell lines were incubated with PEC at doses of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 μM for 24, 48 and 72 h, and their viabilities at each time interval were assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell apoptosis was evaluated with annexin V fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining, while the expression of ERK1/2 protein was determined using western blot. The involvement of ERK1/2 in the effect of PEC on viability and apoptosis was assessed by incubating the cells with PD98059 (an inhibitor of ERK1/2).Results: Exposure to PEC at doses ≥ 4 μM significantly reduced the viability of A-427 and A-549 cell lines in time- and concentration-dependent manners at 48 h (p < 0.02). The viability of A-427 and A-549 cells was reduced to 21 and 18 %, respectively, on treatment with 8 μM PEC for 48 h. Moreover, PEC treatment induced apoptosis in A-427 (59.67 %) and A-549 (61.37 %) cells after 48 h. Western blot data revealed that PEC also significantly inhibited phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in both cancer cell lines (p < 0.05). Incubation of A-427 and A-549 cells with PD98059 for 48 h also reduced their viability and induced their apoptosis (p < 0.05).Conclusion: These results indicate that PEC inhibits the viability of lung cancer cells via inhibition of ERK1/2 expression. Thus, PEC may be efective for the treatment of lung carcinoma but further studies are required to ascertain this.Keywords: 7-Piperazine ethyl chrysin, Lung cancer cells, Apoptosis, Viability, inhibitio

Texture evolution induced by twinning and dynamic recrystallization in dilute Mg-1Sn-1Zn-1Al alloy during hot compression

Texture evolution of an extruded dilute Mg-1Sn-1Zn-1Al alloy was thoroughly investigated based on the twinning and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) behavior via hot compression at a strain rate of 10 s−1 and temperature of 225°C. It was found that the types and intensities of the texture are strongly dependent on the fraction of twins and DRX modes as well as regions where sub-grain boundaries (sub-GBs) are intensively accumulated. At the initial stage of deformation, the formation of compression direction (CD)-tilted basal texture was mainly determined by the occurrence of {101¯2} extension twins. As the strain increases, the variation in the texture intensity was greatly dominated by the DRX modes but the type of main texture remained unchanged. These findings are of great importance for texture modification of wrought Mg-Sn-based alloys during post-deformation

Focused ultrasound-enabled brain tumor liquid biopsy

Abstract Although blood-based liquid biopsies have emerged as a promising non-invasive method to detect biomarkers in various cancers, limited progress has been made for brain tumors. One major obstacle is the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which hinders efficient passage of tumor biomarkers into the peripheral circulation. The objective of this study was to determine whether FUS in combination with microbubbles can enhance the release of biomarkers from the brain tumor to the blood circulation. Two glioblastoma tumor models (U87 and GL261), developed by intracranial injection of respective enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP)-transduced glioblastoma cells, were treated by FUS in the presence of systemically injected microbubbles. Effect of FUS on plasma eGFP mRNA levels was determined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. eGFP mRNA were only detectable in the FUS-treated U87 mice and undetectable in the untreated U87 mice (maximum cycle number set to 40). This finding was replicated in GL261 mice across three different acoustic pressures. The circulating levels of eGFP mRNA were 1,500–4,800 fold higher in the FUS-treated GL261 mice than that of the untreated mice for the three acoustic pressures. This study demonstrated the feasibility of FUS-enabled brain tumor liquid biopsies in two different murine glioma models across different acoustic pressures