Gel formation in suspensions of oppositely charged colloids: mechanism and relation the equilibrium phase diagram

We study gel formation in a mixture of equally-sized oppositely charged colloids both experimentally and by means of computer simulations. Both the experiments and the simulations show that the mechanism by which a gel is formed from a dilute, homogeneous suspension is an interrupted gas-liquid phase separation. Furthermore, we use Brownian dynamics simulations to study the relation between gel formation and the equilibrium phase diagram. We find that, regardless of the interaction range, an interrupted liquid-gas phase separation is observed as the system is quenched into a state point where the gas-liquid separation is metastable. The structure of the gel formed in our experiments compares well with that of a simulated gel, indicating that gravity has only a minor influence on the local structure of this type of gel. This is supported by the experimental evidence that gels squeezed or stretched by gravity have similar structures, as well as by the fact that gels do not collapse as readily as in the case of colloid-polymer mixtures. Finally, we check whether or not crystallites are formed in the gel branches; we find crystalline domains for the longer ranged interactions and for moderate quenches to the metastable gas-liquid spinodal regime

Out-of-equilibrium processes in suspensions of oppositely charged colloids: Liquid-to-crystal nucleation and gel formation

We study the kinetics of the liquid-to-crystal transformation and of gel formation in colloidal suspensions of oppositely charged particles. We analyse, by means of both computer simulations and experiments, the evolution of a fluid quenched to a state point of the phase diagram where the most stable state is either a homogeneous crystalline solid or a solid phase in contact with a dilute gas. On the one hand, at high temperatures and high packing fractions, close to an ordered-solid/disordered-solid coexistence line, we find that the fluid-to-crystal pathway does not follow the minimum free energy route. On the other hand, a quench to a state point far from the ordered-crystal/disordered-crystal coexistence border is followed by a fluid-to-solid transition through the minimum free energy pathway. At low temperatures and packing fractions we observe that the system undergoes a gas-liquid spinodal decomposition that, at some point, arrests giving rise to a gel-like structure. Both our simulations and experiments suggest that increasing the interaction range favors crystallization over vitrification in gel-like structures

Search for gravitational wave bursts by the network of resonant detectors

The groups operating cryogenic bar detectors of gravitational waves are performing a coordinated search for short signals within the International Gravitational Event Collaboration (IGEC). We review the most relevant aspects of the data analysis, based on a time-coincidence search among triggers from different detectors, and the properties of the data exchanged by each detector under a recently-upgraded agreement. The IGEC is currently analysing the observations from 1997 to 2000, when up to four detectors were operating simultaneously. 10% and 50% of this time period were covered by simultaneous observations, respectively, of at least three or at least two detectors. Typical signal search thresholds were in the range 2–6 10−21/Hz. The coincidences found are within the estimated background, hence improved upper limits on incoming GW (gravitational wave) bursts have been set

Deregulation of the Egfr/Ras Signaling Pathway Induces Age-related Brain Degeneration in the Drosophila Mutant vap

Ras signaling has been shown to play an important role in promoting cell survival in many different tissues. Here we show that upregulation of Ras activity in adult Drosophila neurons induces neuronal cell death, as evident from the phenotype of vacuolar peduncle (vap) mutants defective in the Drosophila RasGAP gene, which encodes a Ras GTPase-activating protein. These mutants show age-related brain degeneration that is dependent on activation of the EGF receptor signaling pathway in adult neurons, leading to autophagic cell death (cell death type 2). These results provide the first evidence for a requirement of Egf receptor activity in differentiated adult Drosophila neurons and show that a delicate balance of Ras activity is essential for the survival of adult neurons