622 research outputs found
Quantum spin Hall phase in multilayer graphene
The so called quantum spin Hall phase is a topologically non trivial
insulating phase that is predicted to appear in graphene and graphene-like
systems. In this work we address the question of whether this topological
property persists in multilayered systems. We consider two situations: purely
multilayer graphene and heterostructures where graphene is encapsulated by
trivial insulators with a strong spin-orbit coupling. We use a four orbital
tight-binding model that includes the full atomic spin-orbit coupling and we
calculate the topological invariant of the bulk states as well as the
edge states of semi-infinite crystals with armchair termination. For
homogeneous multilayers we find that even when the spin-orbit interaction opens
a gap for all the possible stackings, only those with odd number of layers host
gapless edge states while those with even number of layers are trivial
insulators. For the heterostructures where graphene is encapsulated by trivial
insulators, it turns out that the interlayer coupling is able to induce a
topological gap whose size is controlled by the spin-orbit coupling of the
encapsulating materials, indicating that the quantum spin Hall phase can be
induced by proximity to trivial insulators.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Real space mapping of topological invariants using artificial neural networks
Topological invariants allow to characterize Hamiltonians, predicting the
existence of topologically protected in-gap modes. Those invariants can be
computed by tracing the evolution of the occupied wavefunctions under twisted
boundary conditions. However, those procedures do not allow to calculate a
topological invariant by evaluating the system locally, and thus require
information about the wavefunctions in the whole system. Here we show that
artificial neural networks can be trained to identify the topological order by
evaluating a local projection of the density matrix. We demonstrate this for
two different models, a 1-D topological superconductor and a 2-D quantum
anomalous Hall state, both with spatially modulated parameters. Our neural
network correctly identifies the different topological domains in real space,
predicting the location of in-gap states. By combining a neural network with a
calculation of the electronic states that uses the Kernel Polynomial Method, we
show that the local evaluation of the invariant can be carried out by
evaluating a local quantity, in particular for systems without translational
symmetry consisting of tens of thousands of atoms. Our results show that
supervised learning is an efficient methodology to characterize the local
topology of a system.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Two Distinct, Geographically Overlapping Lineages of the Corallimorpharian Ricordea Florida (Cnidaria: Hexacorallia: Ricordeidae)
We examined the genetic variation of the corallimorpharian Ricordea florida; it is distributed throughout the Caribbean region and is heavily harvested for the marine aquarium trade. Eighty-four distinct individuals of R. florida were sequenced from four geographically distant Caribbean locations (Curaçao, Florida, Guadeloupe, and Puerto Rico). Analysis of the ribosomal nuclear region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) uncovered two geographically partially overlapping genetic lineages in R. florida, probably representing two cryptic species. Lineage 1 was found in Florida and Puerto Rico, and Lineage 2 was found in Florida, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, and Curaçao. Because of the multi-allelic nature of the ITS region, four individuals from Lineage 1 and six from Lineage 2 were cloned to evaluate the levels of hidden intra-individual variability. Pairwise genetic comparisons indicated that the levels of intra-individual and intra-lineage variability (\u3c1%) were approximately an order of magnitude lower than the divergence (~9%) observed between the two lineages. The fishery regulations of the aquarium trade regard R. florida as one species. More refined regulations should take into account the presence of two genetic lineages, and they should be managed separately in order to preserve the long-term evolutionary potential of this corallimorpharian. The discovery of two distinct lineages in R. florida illustrates the importance of evaluating genetic variability in harvested species prior to the implementation of management policies
Brucellosis in Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State, Southern Sudan
Objectives: To identify factors associated with Brucellosis in patients attending Terekeka Health Facility, Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State, Southern Sudan and to evaluate the utility of the rapid test kit Euracil®.Design: A facility based case-control study.Setting: Terekeka Health Facility, Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State, Southern Sudan.Subjects: Cases were patients presenting at the Terekeka Health Facility with clinical symptoms suggestive of Brucellosis and tested positive for Brucellosis by rapid antigen test while controls were selected from individuals attending Terekeka Health facility with health problems unrelated to brucellosis or febrile illness.Results: A total of fifty eight cases with clinical symptoms suggestive of and tested positive for Brucellosis by rapid antigen test presented. A total of 116 consented controls were recruited into the study. Males accounted for 52% of the cases and 53% of the controls. The mean age was 31 years for both groups. Cases without formal education were 84% while 40% had no source of income, 20% of the cases and 14% of the controls were cattle keepers while 5% of the cases and 13% of the controls were students. In multivariate analysis there were many factors associated with Brucellosislike consumption of raw meat, living with animals at the same place, raising of goats, farm cleaning contact, eating of aborted and wild animals. Logistic regression revealed two factors associated with the disease; consumption of raw milk (OR=3.9, P-value 0.001, 95% CI 1.6666 - 9.0700) was a risk factor while drinking boiled milk was protective(OR= 0.09, p- value 0.000, 95% CI, 0.1 - 0.2).Conclusions: The main age-groups affected were 20 – 30 years with males being affected more than females. Drinking of raw milk was significantly associated with Brucellosis while drinking boiled milk was protective. There should be active public health education on the benefits of boiling milk before consumption. Further studies to elucidate the extent and epidemiology of brucellosis in humans and animals in Southern Sudan are recommended
Self-assembly mechanism in colloids: perspectives from Statistical Physics
Motivated by recent experimental findings in chemical synthesis of colloidal
particles, we draw an analogy between self-assembly processes occurring in
biological systems (e.g. protein folding) and a new exciting possibility in the
field of material science. We consider a self-assembly process whose elementary
building blocks are decorated patchy colloids of various types, that
spontaneously drive the system toward a unique and predetermined targeted
macroscopic structure.
To this aim, we discuss a simple theoretical model -- the Kern-Frenkel model
-- describing a fluid of colloidal spherical particles with a pre-defined
number and distribution of solvophobic and solvophilic regions on their
surface. The solvophobic and solvophilic regions are described via a
short-range square-well and a hard-sphere potentials, respectively.
Integral equation and perturbation theories are presented to discuss
structural and thermodynamical properties, with particular emphasis on the
computation of the fluid-fluid (or gas-liquid) transition in the
temperature-density plane.
The model allows the description of both one and two attractive caps, as a
function of the fraction of covered attractive surface, thus interpolating
between a square-well and a hard-sphere fluid, upon changing the coverage.
By comparison with Monte Carlo simulations, we assess the pros and the cons
of both integral equation and perturbation theories in the present context of
patchy colloids, where the computational effort for numerical simulations is
rather demanding.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Special issue for the SigmaPhi2011 conferenc
The reaction cross section
The one- and two-step mechanisms of the reaction in
the range of incident proton kinetic energy 1.13-3.0 GeV have been
investigated. A remarkable peculiarity of the two-step mechanism which
incorporates subprocesses and is the so
called velocity matching providing the presence of all intermediate particles
nearly to the on-mass-shell. The differential cross section has been calculated
using a realistic model for the hypertritium wave function. The
maximum value of the cross section is estimated as 1nb/sr. The
contribution of the one-step mechanism with the elementary process into the cross section has been found to be two - three orders of
magnitude smaller in comparison with the two-step mechanism.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 3 Postscript figure
Gastrointestinal Tracking and Gastric Emptying of Coated Capsules in Rats with or without Sedation Using CT imaging
Following oral administration, gastric emptying is often a rate-limiting step in the absorption of drugs and is dependent on both physiological and pharmaceutical factors. To guide translation into humans, small animal imaging during pre-clinical studies has been increasingly used to localise the gastrointestinal transit of solid dosage forms. In contrast to humans, however, anaesthesia is usually required for effective imaging in animals which may have unintended effects on intestinal physiology. This study evaluated the effect of anaesthesia and capsule size on the gastric emptying rate of coated capsules in rats. Computed tomography (CT) imaging was used to track and locate the capsules through the gastrointestinal tract. Two commercial gelatine mini-capsules (size 9 and 9h) were filled with barium sulphate (contrast agent) and coated using Eudragit L. Under the effect of anaesthesia, none of the capsules emptied from the stomach. In non-anaesthetised rats, most of the size 9 capsules did not empty from the stomach, whereas the majority of the smaller size 9h capsules successfully emptied from the stomach and moved into the intestine. This study demonstrates that even with capsules designed to empty from the stomach in rats, the gastric emptying of such solid oral dosage forms is not guaranteed. In addition, the use of anaesthesia was found to abolish gastric emptying of both capsule sizes. The work herein further highlights the utility of CT imaging for the effective visualisation and location of solid dosage forms in the intestinal tract of rats without the use of anaesthesia
Periodontitis and vascular inflammatory biomarkers: an experimental in vivo study in rats
The objective of this preclinical in vivo study was to determine changes in vascular inflammatory biomarkers in systemic circulation after injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) in rats. Experimental periodontitis was induced by injections of Pg-LPS. Gingival soft and hard tissues changes were analysed by means of magnetic resonance imaging and micro computed tomography. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, pentraxin (PTX) 3, and soluble fragment of tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) were determined at baseline and 24 h, 7, 14, and 21 days after periodontal induction. Significant periodontal inflammation and alveolar bone loss were evident at the end of periodontal induction. Experimental periodontitis posed an acute systemic inflammatory response with increased serum levels of IL-6 and PTX3 at 24 h post-induction, followed by a significant overexpression of sTWEAK at 7 days. This inflammatory state was maintained until the end of the experiment (21 days). As expected, IL-10 serum levels were significantly lower during the follow-up compared to baseline concentrations. In the present animal model, experimental periodontitis is associated with increased systemic inflammation. Further studies are needed to confirm whether PTX3 and sTWEAK could be useful biomarkers to investigate potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between periodontitis and atherosclerotic vascular diseases
Effect of Polydispersity and Anisotropy in Colloidal and Protein Solutions: an Integral Equation Approach
Application of integral equation theory to complex fluids is reviewed, with
particular emphasis to the effects of polydispersity and anisotropy on their
structural and thermodynamic properties. Both analytical and numerical
solutions of integral equations are discussed within the context of a set of
minimal potential models that have been widely used in the literature. While
other popular theoretical tools, such as numerical simulations and density
functional theory, are superior for quantitative and accurate predictions, we
argue that integral equation theory still provides, as in simple fluids, an
invaluable technique that is able to capture the main essential features of a
complex system, at a much lower computational cost. In addition, it can provide
a detailed description of the angular dependence in arbitrary frame, unlike
numerical simulations where this information is frequently hampered by
insufficient statistics. Applications to colloidal mixtures, globular proteins
and patchy colloids are discussed, within a unified framework.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Interdiscip. Sci. Comput. Life Sci.
(2011), special issue dedicated to Prof. Lesser Blu
Assessing the relationship between markers of glycemic control through flexible copula regression models
Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is a sensitive marker of blood glucose in patients with diabetes. However, levels can vary considerably, even amongst individuals with similar mean blood glucose concentrations. Other glycated proteins, such as fructosamine, can also act as blood sugar markers, but estimating HbA1c and fructosamine via independent models may lead to errors of interpretation regarding disease severity. From a clinical standpoint, it would be of great interest to know the factors that affect the mean concentration of both HbA1c and fructosamine, which influence the variability in the concentrations of these glycated markers and cause HbA1c/fructosamine discordance. Flexible models are required to illustrate the behaviour of these variables as well as the association between them. This work reviews existing models that might serve in this regard. Flexible copula regression models using splines were used to provide a better understanding of the behaviour of both glycated proteins and the relationship between them under the possible influence of different covariates. This work shows the usefulness of this type of models in practise and provides a basis for their clinical interpretation by means of an understandable case study. Ultimately, to better understand the effects of each continuous covariate, they are represented at the true scale of the response variables
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