1,303 research outputs found
Low-Temperatures Vortex Dynamics in Twinned Superconductors
We discuss the low-temperature dynamics of magnetic flux lines in samples
with a family of parallel twin planes. A current applied along the twin planes
drives flux motion in the direction transverse to the planes and acts like an
electric field applied to {\it one-dimensional} carriers in disordered
semiconductors. As in flux arrays with columnar pins, there is a regime where
the dynamics is dominated by superkink excitations that correspond to Mott
variable range hopping (VRH) of carriers. In one dimension, however, rare
events, such as large regions void of twin planes, can impede VRH and dominate
transport in samples that are sufficiently long in the direction of flux
motion. In short samples rare regions can be responsible for mesoscopic
effects.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures email: [email protected]
Theory of Double-Sided Flux Decorations
A novel two-sided Bitter decoration technique was recently employed by Yao et
al. to study the structure of the magnetic vortex array in high-temperature
superconductors. Here we discuss the analysis of such experiments. We show that
two-sided decorations can be used to infer {\it quantitative} information about
the bulk properties of flux arrays, and discuss how a least squares analysis of
the local density differences can be used to bring the two sides into registry.
Information about the tilt, compressional and shear moduli of bulk vortex
configurations can be extracted from these measurements.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures not included (to request send email to
[email protected]
Can intracellular Staphylococcus aureus in osteomyelitis be treated using current antibiotics? A systematic review and narrative synthesis
Approximately 40% of treatments of chronic and recurrent osteomyelitis fail in part due to bacterial persistence. Staphylococcus aureus, the predominant pathogen in human osteomyelitis, is known to persist by phenotypic adaptation as small-colony variants (SCVs) and by formation of intracellular reservoirs, including those in major bone cell types, reducing susceptibility to antibiotics. Intracellular infections with S. aureus are difficult to treat; however, there are no evidence-based clinical guidelines addressing these infections in osteomyelitis. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine the demonstrated efficacy of all antibiotics against intracellular S. aureus relevant to osteomyelitis, including protein biosynthesis inhibitors (lincosamides, streptogramins, macrolides, oxazolidines, tetracyclines, fusidic acid, and aminoglycosides), enzyme inhibitors (fluoroquinolones and ansamycines), and cell wall inhibitors (beta-lactam inhibitors, glycopeptides, fosfomycin, and lipopeptides). The PubMed and Embase databases were screened for articles related to intracellular S. aureus infections that compared the effectiveness of multiple antibiotics or a single antibiotic together with another treatment, which resulted in 34 full-text articles fitting the inclusion criteria. The combined findings of these studies were largely inconclusive, most likely due to the plethora of methodologies utilized. Therefore, the reported findings in the context of the models employed and possible solutions for improved understanding are explored here. While rifampicin, oritavancin, linezolid, moxifloxacin and oxacillin were identified as the most effective potential intracellular treatments, the scientific evidence for these is still relatively weak. We advocate for more standardized research on determining the intracellular effectiveness of antibiotics in S. aureus osteomyelitis to improve treatments and patient outcomes.Anja R. Zelmer, Renjy Nelson, Katharina Richter, and Gerald J. Atkin
Unifying Parsimonious Tree Reconciliation
Evolution is a process that is influenced by various environmental factors,
e.g. the interactions between different species, genes, and biogeographical
properties. Hence, it is interesting to study the combined evolutionary history
of multiple species, their genes, and the environment they live in. A common
approach to address this research problem is to describe each individual
evolution as a phylogenetic tree and construct a tree reconciliation which is
parsimonious with respect to a given event model. Unfortunately, most of the
previous approaches are designed only either for host-parasite systems, for
gene tree/species tree reconciliation, or biogeography. Hence, a method is
desirable, which addresses the general problem of mapping phylogenetic trees
and covering all varieties of coevolving systems, including e.g., predator-prey
and symbiotic relationships. To overcome this gap, we introduce a generalized
cophylogenetic event model considering the combinatorial complete set of local
coevolutionary events. We give a dynamic programming based heuristic for
solving the maximum parsimony reconciliation problem in time O(n^2), for two
phylogenies each with at most n leaves. Furthermore, we present an exact
branch-and-bound algorithm which uses the results from the dynamic programming
heuristic for discarding partial reconciliations. The approach has been
implemented as a Java application which is freely available from
http://pacosy.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/coresym.Comment: Peer-reviewed and presented as part of the 13th Workshop on
Algorithms in Bioinformatics (WABI2013
A new species of Cymadusa Savigny, 1816 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Ampithoidae) from northeastern Brazil
Improved perturbation theory in the vortex liquids state of type II superconductors
We develop an optimized perturbation theory for the Ginzburg - Landau
description of thermal fluctuations effects in the vortex liquids. Unlike the
high temperature expansion which is asymptotic, the optimized expansion is
convergent. Radius of convergence on the lowest Landau level is in
2D and in 3D. It allows a systematic calculation of magnetization
and specific heat contributions due to thermal fluctuations of vortices in
strongly type II superconductors to a very high precision. The results are in
good agreement with existing Monte Carlo simulations and experiments.
Limitations of various nonperturbative and phenomenological approaches are
noted. In particular we show that there is no exact intersection point of the
magnetization curves both in 2D and 3D.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure
Gluino Pair Production at Linear e^+e^- Colliders
We study the potential of high-energy linear colliders for the
production of gluino pairs within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model
(MSSM). In this model, the process is mediated by
quark/squark loops, dominantly of the third generation, where the mixing of
left- and right-handed states can become large. Taking into account realistic
beam polarization effects, photon and -boson exchange, and current mass
exclusion limits, we scan the MSSM parameter space for various
center-of-mass energies to determine the regions, where gluino production
should be visible.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
Observations of Low Frequency Solar Radio Bursts from the Rosse Solar-Terrestrial Observatory
The Rosse Solar-Terrestrial Observatory (RSTO; www.rosseobservatory.ie) was
established at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland (53 05'38.9", 7 55'12.7") in
2010 to study solar radio bursts and the response of the Earth's ionosphere and
geomagnetic field. To date, three Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low-frequency
Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory (CALLISTO)
spectrometers have been installed, with the capability of observing in the
frequency range 10-870 MHz. The receivers are fed simultaneously by biconical
and log-periodic antennas. Nominally, frequency spectra in the range 10-400 MHz
are obtained with 4 sweeps per second over 600 channels. Here, we describe the
RSTO solar radio spectrometer set-up, and present dynamic spectra of a sample
of Type II, III and IV radio bursts. In particular, we describe fine-scale
structure observed in Type II bursts, including band splitting and rapidly
varying herringbone features
Generation Gap and the Impact of the Web on Goods Quality Perceptions
This study explores how age and general online shopping experience affect consumer perceptions on product quality uncertainty. Using the survey data collected from 549 consumers, we investigated how they perceive the uncertainty of product quality on six search, experience and credence goods. The ANOVA results show that age and the Web shopping experience of consumers are significant factors. A generation gap is indeed seen for all but one experience good. Web shopping experience is not a significant factor for search goods but is for experience and credence goods. There is an interaction effect between age and Web shopping experience for one credence good. Implications of these results are discussed
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