247 research outputs found
Sequence randomness and polymer collapse transitions
Contrary to expectations based on Harris' criterion, chain disorder with
frustration can modify the universality class of scaling at the theta
transition of heteropolymers. This is shown for a model with random two-body
potentials in 2D on the basis of exact enumeration and accurate Monte Carlo
results. When frustration grows beyond a certain finite threshold, the
temperature below which disorder becomes relevant coincides with the theta one
and scaling exponents definitely start deviating from those valid for
homopolymers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figure
Quantum chemistry of the excited state: recent trends in methods developments and applications
Advances (2016–2017) in Quantum Chemistry of the Excited State (QCEX) are presented in this book chapter focusing firstly on developments of methodology and excited-state reaction-path computational strategies and secondly on the applications of QCEX to study light–matter interaction in distinct fields of biology, (nano)-technology, medicine and the environment. We highlight in this contribution developments of static and dynamic electron-correlation methods and methodological approaches to determine dynamical properties, recent examples of the roles of conical intersections, novel DNA spectroscopy and photochemistry findings, photo-sensitisation mechanisms in biological structures and the current knowledge on chemi-excitation mechanisms that give rise to light emission (in the chemiluminescence and bioluminescence phenomena)
Theta-point universality of polyampholytes with screened interactions
By an efficient algorithm we evaluate exactly the disorder-averaged
statistics of globally neutral self-avoiding chains with quenched random charge
in monomer i and nearest neighbor interactions on
square (22 monomers) and cubic (16 monomers) lattices. At the theta transition
in 2D, radius of gyration, entropic and crossover exponents are well compatible
with the universality class of the corresponding transition of homopolymers.
Further strong indication of such class comes from direct comparison with the
corresponding annealed problem. In 3D classical exponents are recovered. The
percentage of charge sequences leading to folding in a unique ground state
approaches zero exponentially with the chain length.Comment: 15 REVTEX pages. 4 eps-figures . 1 tabl
A new measurement of antineutrino oscillation with the full detector configuration at Daya Bay
We report a new measurement of electron antineutrino disappearance using the
fully-constructed Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. The final two of eight
antineutrino detectors were installed in the summer of 2012. Including the 404
days of data collected from October 2012 to November 2013 resulted in a total
exposure of 6.910 GW-ton-days, a 3.6 times increase over
our previous results. Improvements in energy calibration limited variations
between detectors to 0.2%. Removal of six Am-C radioactive
calibration sources reduced the background by a factor of two for the detectors
in the experimental hall furthest from the reactors. Direct prediction of the
antineutrino signal in the far detectors based on the measurements in the near
detectors explicitly minimized the dependence of the measurement on models of
reactor antineutrino emission. The uncertainties in our estimates of
and were halved as a result of these
improvements. Analysis of the relative antineutrino rates and energy spectra
between detectors gave and eV in the three-neutrino
framework.Comment: Updated to match final published versio
Cryptococcus neoformans Capsular Enlargement and Cellular Gigantism during Galleria mellonella Infection
We have studied infection of Cryptococcus neoformans in the non-vertebrate host Galleria mellonella with particular interest in the morphological response of the yeast. Inoculation of C. neoformans in caterpillars induced a capsule-independent increase in haemocyte density 2 h after infection. C. neoformans manifested a significant increase in capsule size after inoculation into the caterpillar. The magnitude of capsule increase depended on the temperature, being more pronounced at 37°C than at 30°C, which correlated with an increased virulence of the fungus and reduced phagocytosis at 37°C. Capsule enlargement impaired phagocytosis by haemocytes. Incubation of the yeast in G. mellonella extracts also resulted in capsule enlargement, with the polar lipidic fraction having a prominent role in this effect. During infection, the capsule decreased in permeability. A low proportion of the cells (<5%) recovered from caterpillars measured more than 30 µm and were considered giant cells. Giant cells recovered from mice were able to kill the caterpillars in a manner similar to regular cells obtained from in vivo or grown in vitro, establishing their capacity to cause disease. Our results indicate that the morphological transitions exhibited by C. neoformans in mammals also occur in a non-vertebrate host system. The similarities in morphological transitions observed in different animal hosts and in their triggers are consistent with the hypothesis that the cell body and capsular responses represent an adaptation of environmental survival strategies to pathogenesis
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