Finite Temperature QCD Interfaces Out of Equilibrium

The properties of interfaces in non-equilibrium situations are studied by constructing a density matrix with a space-dependent temperature. The temperature gradient gives rise to new terms in the equation for the order parameter. Surface terms induced in effective actions by abrupt temperature changes provide a natural theoretical framework for understanding the occurence of both continuous and discontinuous behavior in the order parameter. Monte Carlo simulation of pure QCD shows both kinds of interfacial behavior. Perturbation theory predicts a universal profile in the high temperature phase, which can be tested by Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 3 pages, contribution to Lattice '94 conference, self-extracting (revised only to include heplat number in line below

Bundles of Interacting Strings in Two Dimensions

Bundles of strings which interact via short-ranged pair potentials are studied in two dimensions. The corresponding transfer matrix problem is solved analytically for arbitrary string number N by Bethe ansatz methods. Bundles consisting of N identical strings exhibit a unique unbinding transition. If the string bundle interacts with a hard wall, the bundle may unbind from the wall via a unique transition or a sequence of N successive transitions. In all cases, the critical exponents are independent of N and the density profile of the strings exhibits a scaling form that approaches a mean-field profile in the limit of large N.Comment: 8 pages (latex) with two figure

Shape fluctuations and elastic properties of two-component bilayer membranes

The elastic properties of two-component bilayer membranes are studied using a coarse grain model for amphiphilic molecules. The two species of amphiphiles considered here differ only in their length. Molecular Dynamics simulations are performed in order to analyze the shape fluctuations of the two-component bilayer membranes and to determine their bending rigidity. Both the bending rigidity and its inverse are found to be nonmonotonic functions of the mole fraction $x_{\rm B}$ of the shorter B-amphiphiles and, thus, do not satisfy a simple lever rule. The intrinsic area of the bilayer also exhibits a nonmonotonic dependence on $x_{\rm B}$ and a maximum close to $x_{\rm B} \simeq 1/2$.Comment: To appear on Europhysics Letter

Collective Molecular Dynamics in Proteins and Membranes

The understanding of dynamics and functioning of biological membranes and in particular of membrane embedded proteins is one of the most fundamental problems and challenges in modern biology and biophysics. In particular the impact of membrane composition and properties and of structure and dynamics of the surrounding hydration water on protein function is an upcoming hot topic, which can be addressed by modern experimental and computational techniques. Correlated molecular motions might play a crucial role for the understanding of, for instance, transport processes and elastic properties, and might be relevant for protein function. Experimentally that involves determining dispersion relations for the different molecular components, i.e., the length scale dependent excitation frequencies and relaxation rates. Only very few experimental techniques can access dynamical properties in biological materials on the nanometer scale, and resolve dynamics of lipid molecules, hydration water molecules and proteins and the interaction between them. In this context, inelastic neutron scattering turned out to be a very powerful tool to study dynamics and interactions in biomolecular materials up to relevant nanosecond time scales and down to the nanometer length scale. We review and discuss inelastic neutron scattering experiments to study membrane elasticity and protein-protein interactions of membrane embedded proteins

Lateral phase separation of confined membranes

We consider membranes interacting via short, intermediate and long stickers. The effects of the intermediate stickers on the lateral phase separation of the membranes are studied via mean-field approximation. The critical potential depth of the stickers increases in the presence of the intermediate sticker. The lateral phase separation of the membrane thus suppressed by the intermediate stickers. Considering membranes interacting with short and long stickers, the effect of confinement on the phase behavior of the membranes is also investigated analytically

Prävalenz und Morphologie überzähliger Zähne in der Bevölkerung einer Schweizer Gemeinde: Short communication

Ziel der Studie war die Ermittlung der aktuellen Prävalenz überzähliger Zähne in der Bevölkerung einer Schweizer Gemeinde. Als Grundlage dienten 3004 routinemässig angefertigte Orthopantomogramme aus dem alljährlichen Schuluntersuch der Stadt Winterthur während der Jahre 1990–2005 (Durchschnittsalter 9,45 Jahre, 1391 Mädchen, 1613 Knaben bei einer Streuung von 6 bis 15 Jahren). Die Studie fand 44 überzählige Zähne. Dieser Anteil ergibt eine Prävalenz von 1,5%. Die Prävalenz bei den Knaben lag mit 1,1% höher als bei den Mädchen, die mit 0,4% davon betroffen waren. Der grösste Teil überzähliger Zähne war in der oberen Front zu finden (38 von 44 Zähnen, 86%). Davon waren 33 aufgrund ihrer Lage als Mesiodentes zu bezeichnen. Fünf überzählige Zähne hatten die gleiche Form wie die eines oberen lateralen Schneidezahnes. In der Unterkieferfront fanden sich 5 überzählige Zähne mit gleicher Form wie die bleibenden unteren Inzisiven. Die überzähligen Zähne hatten zu 70% eine konische Zahnform. Die Prävalenz überzähliger Zähne ist mit 1,5% niedrig und vergleichbar mit ähnlichen Studien in der Literatur. Die meisten überzähligen Zähne (86%) sind in der Oberkieferfront angesiedelt.Bei Retentionen und Durchbruchsstörungen von Zähnen in dieser Region sollte in Betracht gezogen werden, dass überzählige Zähne Ursache dafür sein könnten

Collective dynamics in phospholipid bilayers investigated by inelastic neutron scattering: Exploring the dynamics of biological membranes with neutrons

We present the first inelastic neutron scattering study of the short wavelength dynamics in a phospholipid bilayer. We show that inelastic neutron scattering using a triple-axis spectrometer at the high flux reactor of the ILL yields the necessary resolution and signal to determine the dynamics of model membranes. The results can quantitatively be compared to recent Molecular Dynamics simulations. Reflectivity, in-plane correlations and the corresponding dynamics can be measured simultaneously to gain a maximum amount of information. With this method, dispersion relations can be measured with a high energy resolution. Structure and dynamics in phospholipid bilayers, and the relation between them, can be studied on a molecular length scale

Counterion density profiles at charged flexible membranes

Counterion distributions at charged soft membranes are studied using perturbative analytical and simulation methods in both weak coupling (mean-field or Poisson-Boltzmann) and strong coupling limits. The softer the membrane, the more smeared out the counterion density profile becomes and counterions pentrate through the mean-membrane surface location, in agreement with anomalous scattering results. Membrane-charge repulsion leads to a short-scale roughening of the membrane.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Two-dimensional Vesicle dynamics under shear flow: effect of confinement

Dynamics of a single vesicle under shear flow between two parallel plates is studied using two-dimensional lattice-Boltzmann simulations. We first present how we adapted the lattice-Boltzmann method to simulate vesicle dynamics, using an approach known from the immersed boundary method. The fluid flow is computed on an Eulerian regular fixed mesh while the location of the vesicle membrane is tracked by a Lagrangian moving mesh. As benchmarking tests, the known vesicle equilibrium shapes in a fluid at rest are found and the dynamical behavior of a vesicle under simple shear flow is being reproduced. Further, we focus on investigating the effect of the confinement on the dynamics, a question that has received little attention so far. In particular, we study how the vesicle steady inclination angle in the tank-treading regime depends on the degree of confinement. The influence of the confinement on the effective viscosity of the composite fluid is also analyzed. At a given reduced volume (the swelling degree) of a vesicle we find that both the inclination angle, and the membrane tank-treading velocity decrease with increasing confinement. At sufficiently large degree of confinement the tank-treading velocity exhibits a non-monotonous dependence on the reduced volume and the effective viscosity shows a nonlinear behavior.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Lateral phase separation in mixtures of lipids and cholesterol

In an effort to understand "rafts" in biological membranes, we propose phenomenological models for saturated and unsaturated lipid mixtures, and lipid-cholesterol mixtures. We consider simple couplings between the local composition and internal membrane structure, and their influence on transitions between liquid and gel membrane phases. Assuming that the gel transition temperature of the saturated lipid is shifted by the presence of the unsaturated lipid, and that cholesterol acts as an external field on the chain melting transition, a variety of phase diagrams are obtained. The phase diagrams for binary mixtures of saturated/unsaturated lipids and lipid/cholesterol are in semi-quantitative agreement with the experiments. Our results also apply to regions in the ternary phase diagram of lipid/lipid/cholesterol systems