516 research outputs found
On the corrections to Strong-Stretching Theory for end-confined, charged polymers in a uniform electric field
We investigate the properties of a system of semi-diluted polymers in the
presence of charged groups and counter-ions, by means of self-consistent field
theory. We study a system of polyelectrolyte chains grafted to a similarly, as
well as an oppositely charged surface, solving a set of saddle-point equations
that couple the modified diffusion equation for the polymer partition function
to the Poisson-Boltzmann equation describing the charge distribution in the
system. A numerical study of this set of equations is presented and comparison
is made with previous studies. We then consider the case of semi-diluted,
grafted polymer chains in the presence of charge-end-groups. We study the
problem with self-consistent field as well as strong-stretching theory. We
derive the corrections to the Milner-Witten-Cates (MWC) theory for weakly
charged chains and show that the monomer-density deviates from the parabolic
profile expected in the uncharged case. The corresponding corrections are shown
to be dictated by an Abel-Volterra integral equation of the second kind. The
validity of our theoretical findings is confirmed comparing the predictions
with the results obtained within numerical self-consistent field theory.Comment: 15 Pages, 12 figure
Polymer chain in a quenched random medium: slow dynamics and ergodicity breaking
The Langevin dynamics of a self - interacting chain embedded in a quenched
random medium is investigated by making use of the generating functional method
and one - loop (Hartree) approximation. We have shown how this intrinsic
disorder causes different dynamical regimes. Namely, within the Rouse
characteristic time interval the anomalous diffusion shows up. The
corresponding subdiffusional dynamical exponents have been explicitly
calculated and thoroughly discussed. For the larger time interval the disorder
drives the center of mass of the chain to a trap or frozen state provided that
the Harris parameter, , where is a
disorder strength, is a Kuhnian segment length, is a chain length and
is the Flory exponent. We have derived the general equation for the non -
ergodicity function which characterizes the amplitude of frozen Rouse
modes with an index . The numerical solution of this equation has
been implemented and shown that the different Rouse modes freeze up at the same
critical disorder strength where the exponent
and does not depend from the solvent quality.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, submitted to EPJB (condensed matter
Polyelectrolyte chains in poor solvent. A variational description of necklace formation
We study the properties of polyelectrolyte chains under different solvent
conditions, using a variational technique. The free energy and the
conformational properties of a polyelectrolyte chain are studied minimizing the
free energy , depending on trial probabilities that
characterize the conformation of the chain. The Gaussian approximation is
considered for a ring of length and for an open chain of length
in poor and theta solvent conditions, including a Coulomb repulsion
between the monomers. In theta solvent conditions the blob size is measured and
found in agreement with scaling theory, including charge depletion effects,
expected for the case of an open chain. In poor solvent conditions, a globule
instability, driven by electrostatic repulsion, is observed. We notice also
inhomogeneous behavior of the monomer--monomer correlation function,
reminiscence of necklace formation in poor solvent polyelectrolyte solutions. A
global phase diagram in terms of solvent quality and inverse Bjerrum length is
presented.Comment: submitted to EPJE (soft matter
The Critical Properties of Two-dimensional Oscillator Arrays
We present a renormalization group study of two dimensional arrays of
oscillators, with dissipative, short range interactions. We consider the case
of non-identical oscillators, with distributed intrinsic frequencies within the
array and study the steady-state properties of the system. In two dimensions no
macroscopic mutual entrainment is found but, for identical oscillators,
critical behavior of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type is shown to be
present. We then discuss the stability of (BKT) order in the physical case of
distributed quenched random frequencies. In order to do that, we show how the
steady-state dynamical properties of the two dimensional array of non-identical
oscillators are related to the equilibrium properties of the XY model with
quenched randomness, that has been already studied in the past. We propose a
novel set of recursion relations to study this system within the Migdal
Kadanoff renormalization group scheme, by mean of the discrete clock-state
formulation. We compute the phase diagram in the presence of random dissipative
coupling, at finite values of the clock state parameter. Possible experimental
applications in two dimensional arrays of microelectromechanical oscillators
are briefly suggested.Comment: Contribution to the conference "Viewing the World through Spin
Glasses" in honour of Professor David Sherrington on the occasion of his 65th
birthda
Evaluating the levels of interleukin-1 family cytokines in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
BACKGROUND:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive motor neuron disease leading to the death of affected individuals within years. The involvement of inflammation in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, is increasingly recognized but still not well understood. The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of inflammation-related IL-1 family cytokines (IL-1β, IL-18, IL-33, IL-37) and their endogenous inhibitors (IL-1Ra, sIL-1R2, IL-18BP, sIL-1R4) in patients with sporadic ALS (sALS), METHODS: Sera were collected from 144 patients (125 patients were characterized by disease form, duration, and disability, using the revised ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS-R) and from 40 matched controls. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was collected from 54 patients with sALS and 65 patients with other non-infectious non-oncogenic diseases as controls. Cytokines and inhibitors were measured by commercial ELISA.
RESULTS:
Among the IL-1 family cytokines tested total IL-18, its endogenous inhibitor IL-18BP, and the active form of the cytokine (free IL-18) were significantly higher in the sALS sera than in controls. No correlation between these soluble mediators and different clinical forms of sALS or the clinical setting of the disease was found. IL-18BP was the only mediator detectable in the CSF of patients.
CONCLUSIONS:
Among the IL-1 family cytokines, only IL-18 correlates with this disease and may therefore have a pathological role in sALS. The increase of total IL-18 suggests the activation of IL-18-cleaving inflammasome. Whether IL-18 upregulation in circulation of sALS patients is a consequence of inflammation or one of the causes of the pathology still needs to be addressed
Cometary science with CUBES
The proposed CUBES spectrograph for ESO's Very Large Telescope will be an
exceptionally powerful instrument for the study of comets. The gas coma of a
comet contains a large number of emission features in the near-UV range covered
by CUBES (305-400 nm), which are diagnostic of the composition of the ices in
its nucleus and the chemistry in the coma. Production rates and relative ratios
between different species reveal how much ice is present and inform models of
the conditions in the early solar system. In particular, CUBES will lead to
advances in detection of water from very faint comets, revealing how much ice
may be hidden in the main asteroid belt, and in measuring isotopic and
molecular composition ratios in a much wider range of comets than currently
possible, provide constraints on their formation temperatures. CUBES will also
be sensitive to emissions from gaseous metals (e.g., FeI and NiI), which have
recently been identified in comets and offer an entirely new area of
investigation to understand these enigmatic objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronom
Finite-Connectivity Spin-Glass Phase Diagrams and Low Density Parity Check Codes
We obtain phase diagrams of regular and irregular finite connectivity
spin-glasses. Contact is firstly established between properties of the phase
diagram and the performances of low density parity check codes (LDPC) within
the Replica Symmetric (RS) ansatz. We then study the location of the dynamical
and critical transition of these systems within the one step Replica Symmetry
Breaking theory (RSB), extending similar calculations that have been performed
in the past for the Bethe spin-glass problem. We observe that, away from the
Nishimori line, in the low temperature region, the location of the dynamical
transition line does change within the RSB theory, in comparison with the (RS)
case. For LDPC decoding over the binary erasure channel we find, at zero
temperature and rate R=1/4 an RS critical transition point located at p_c =
0.67 while the critical RSB transition point is located at p_c = 0.7450, to be
compared with the corresponding Shannon bound 1-R. For the binary symmetric
channel (BSC) we show that the low temperature reentrant behavior of the
dynamical transition line, observed within the RS ansatz, changes within the
RSB theory; the location of the dynamical transition point occurring at higher
values of the channel noise. Possible practical implications to improve the
performances of the state-of-the-art error correcting codes are discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figure
Incidence of toxoplasmosis in pregnancy in Campania: A population-based study on screening, treatment, and outcome
INTRODUCTION:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of toxoplasmosis infection during pregnancy and to describe the characteristics of the serological status, management, follow-up and treatment.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
This is a population-based cohort study of women referred for suspected toxoplasmosis during pregnancy from January, 2001 to December, 2012. Suspected toxoplasmosis was defined as positive IgM antibody during pregnancy. Women with suspected toxoplasmosis during pregnancy were classified into three groups: seroconversion, suspected infection, or no infection in pregnancy. Women in the first and second group were treated according to local protocol, and amniocentesis with toxoplasmosis PCR detection and serial detailed ultrasound scans were offered. Neonates were investigated for congenital toxoplasmosis at birth and were monitored for at least one year after birth.
RESULTS:
During the study period, there were 738,588 deliveries in Campania. Of them 1159 (0.2%) were referred to our Institution for suspected toxoplasmosis during pregnancy: 183 (15.8%) women were classified as seroconversion, 381 (32.9%) were suspected infection, and 595 (51.3%) were not infected in pregnancy. Neonatal outcome was available for 476 pregnancies, including 479 neonates (3 twins, 473 singletons), out of the 564 pregnancies with seroconversion or suspected infection. 384 (80.2%) babies were not infected at birth and at follow-up, 67 (14.0%) had congenital toxoplasmosis, 10 (2.1%) were voluntary induced termination of pregnancy, 15 (3.1%) were spontaneous miscarriage, and 4 (0.8%) were stillbirth (of which one counted already in the infected cohort). Considering cases of congenital toxoplasmosis, the transmission rate in women with seroconversion was 32.9% (52/158), and in women with suspected infection was 4.7% (15/321).
CONCLUSIONS:
Toxoplasmosis is uncommon in pregnancy with overall incidence of seroconversion and suspected infection in pregnancy of 0.8 per 1000 live births and incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis 0.1 per 1000 live births when applying a strict protocol of screening, follow-up, and treatment. 51.3% (595/1159) of women referred to our center for suspected infection were actually considered not infected
Capture Hi-C identifies the chromatin interactome of colorectal cancer risk loci.
Multiple regulatory elements distant from their targets on the linear genome can influence the expression of a single gene through chromatin looping. Chromosome conformation capture implemented in Hi-C allows for genome-wide agnostic characterization of chromatin contacts. However, detection of functional enhancer-promoter interactions is precluded by its effective resolution that is determined by both restriction fragmentation and sensitivity of the experiment. Here we develop a capture Hi-C (cHi-C) approach to allow an agnostic characterization of these physical interactions on a genome-wide scale. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with complex diseases often reside within regulatory elements and exert effects through long-range regulation of gene expression. Applying this cHi-C approach to 14 colorectal cancer risk loci allows us to identify key long-range chromatin interactions in cis and trans involving these loci
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