1,252 research outputs found
Faceted anomalous scaling in the epitaxial growth of semiconductor films
We apply the generic dynamical scaling theory (GDST) to the surfaces of CdTe
polycrystalline films grown in glass substrates. The analysed data were
obtained with a stylus profiler with an estimated resolution lateral resolution
of m. Both real two-point correlation function and power spectrum
analyses were done. We found that the GDST applied to the surface power spectra
foresees faceted morphology in contrast with the self-affine surface indicated
by the local roughness exponent found via the height-height correlation
function. This inconsistency is explained in terms of convolution effects
resulting from the finite size of the probe tip used to scan the surfaces. High
resolution AFM images corroborates the predictions of GDST.Comment: to appear in Europhysics Letter
Partner selection in indoor-to-outdoor cooperative networks: an experimental study
In this paper, we develop a partner selection protocol for enhancing the
network lifetime in cooperative wireless networks. The case-study is the
cooperative relayed transmission from fixed indoor nodes to a common outdoor
access point. A stochastic bivariate model for the spatial distribution of the
fading parameters that govern the link performance, namely the Rician K-factor
and the path-loss, is proposed and validated by means of real channel
measurements. The partner selection protocol is based on the real-time
estimation of a function of these fading parameters, i.e., the coding gain. To
reduce the complexity of the link quality assessment, a Bayesian approach is
proposed that uses the site-specific bivariate model as a-priori information
for the coding gain estimation. This link quality estimator allows network
lifetime gains almost as if all K-factor values were known. Furthermore, it
suits IEEE 802.15.4 compliant networks as it efficiently exploits the
information acquired from the receiver signal strength indicator. Extensive
numerical results highlight the trade-off between complexity, robustness to
model mismatches and network lifetime performance. We show for instance that
infrequent updates of the site-specific model through K-factor estimation over
a subset of links are sufficient to at least double the network lifetime with
respect to existing algorithms based on path loss information only.Comment: This work has been submitted to IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in
Communications in August 201
Refractive elastic scattering of carbon and oxygen nuclei: The mean field analysis and Airy structures
The experimental data on the OC and OC elastic
scatterings and their optical model analysis are presented. Detailed and
complete elastic angular distributions have been measured at the Strasbourg
Vivitron accelerator at several energies covering the energy range between 5
and 10 MeV per nucleon. The elastic scattering angular distributions show the
usual diffraction pattern and also, at larger angles, refractive effects in the
form of nuclear rainbow and associated Airy structures. The optical model
analysis unambiguously shows the evolution of the refractive scattering
pattern. The observed structure, namely the Airy minima, can be consistently
described by a nucleus-nucleus potential with a deep real part and a weakly
absorptive imaginary part. The difference in absorption in the two systems is
explained by an increased imaginary (mostly surface) part of the potential in
the OC system. The relation between the obtained potentials and
those reported for the symmetrical OO and CC
systems is drawn.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, Phys. rev. C in pres
Dynamical Renormalization Group Study for a Class of Non-local Interface Equations
We provide a detailed Dynamic Renormalization Group study for a class of
stochastic equations that describe non-conserved interface growth mediated by
non-local interactions. We consider explicitly both the morphologically stable
case, and the less studied case in which pattern formation occurs, for which
flat surfaces are linearly unstable to periodic perturbations. We show that the
latter leads to non-trivial scaling behavior in an appropriate parameter range
when combined with the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) non-linearity, that
nevertheless does not correspond to the KPZ universality class. This novel
asymptotic behavior is characterized by two scaling laws that fix the critical
exponents to dimension-independent values, that agree with previous reports
from numerical simulations and experimental systems. We show that the precise
form of the linear stabilizing terms does not modify the hydrodynamic behavior
of these equations. One of the scaling laws, usually associated with Galilean
invariance, is shown to derive from a vertex cancellation that occurs (at least
to one loop order) for any choice of linear terms in the equation of motion and
is independent on the morphological stability of the surface, hence
generalizing this well-known property of the KPZ equation. Moreover, the
argument carries over to other systems like the Lai-Das Sarma-Villain equation,
in which vertex cancellation is known {\em not to} imply an associated symmetry
of the equation.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and
Experiments (in press
The carbon budget of crustal reworking during continental collision: Clues from nanorocks and fluid inclusions
The source of volatiles in the continental crust is a long-standing issue. In addition to controlling the amount of melt generated during anatexis, H2O and CO2 budgets of the middle and lower siliciclastic crust are also of great importance for carbonate precipitation, ore concentration, orogenic degassing and carbon storage. Here we focus on two case studies of partially melted metamorphic rocks of crustal affinity– the Ivrea Zone in the Western Alps (0.8 GPa) and the Central Maine Terrane (1.8 GPa), USA. These terrains contain fluid inclusions and carbonbearing nanogranitoids (former melt inclusions) from which the H2O and CO2 content has been estimated via in-situ analyses. Thermodynamic modelling is used to quantify the amount of internally derived, mineral-bound
bulk rock CO2 necessary to reproduce the volatile contents of these melt inclusions. The minimum amount of bulk rock CO2 present at peak metamorphic conditions is estimated at 400 ppm for the Ivrea Zone and 3000 ppm for the Central Maine Terrane. This suggests that the flux of carbon associated with the burial of siliciclastic sediments in the lower crust during the Phanerozoic is 0.2–4.4 Mt. C/yr. These values, as well as the nature of the source of the deep crustal carbon might have changed with time, with periods dominated by internal reworking rather than external inputs. The protracted growth and differentiation of the continental crust through the reworking of supracrustal materials in continental collision settings is a key element of carbon storage processes. The stability of the continental crust through time provides an ultimate, long-lasting reservoir of carbon
Therapeutics and carriers: The dual role of proteins in nanoparticles for ocular delivery
© 2015 Bentham Science Publishers. Blindness and visual impairment affect millions of people worldwide and have a very important impact on patients quality of life. Proteins and peptides represent nowadays an important therapeutic tool for the treatment of ocular diseases but, despite their potential, have significant limitations, as the administration of protein-based pharmaceuticals represents a real challenge. Moreover, administration of ocular medications is difficult due to the peculiar structure of this organ and the presence of numerous barriers protecting the eye inner structure. Nanoencapsulation of peptides and proteins presents a number of advantages for their ocular delivery since it can protect the drug from metabolic activity, control and sustain the release and increase drug bioavailability after topical or intravitreal administration. In fact, nanoparticulate formulations are contributing to overcome ocular barriers, such as the corneal or the blood-retinal barrier, improve the residence time in the eye, increase local drug level, reduce the drug dosage and showing improved performance when compared to conventional formulations. Besides, proteins have also been proposed for the preparation of nanocarriers intended for ophthalmic administration, since they are highly biocompatible, biodegradable and easily modified to link surface ligands. The present review focuses the attention on the use of proteins in ocular drug delivery nanotechnology: their dual role as both therapeutics and carriers has been critically evaluated and discussed
Impact of high-pressure carbon dioxide on polyphenoloxidase activity and stability of fresh apple juice
Freshly-extracted apple juice was exposed to high pressure carbon dioxide (HP-CO2) treatment at 20, 35 and 45 °C at different pressure conditions (6.0, 12.0 and 18.0 MPa) for up to 30 min. Samples were analysed for residual enzymatic activity. The time needed for 90% enzyme inactivation (Dp) decreased when CO2 pressure increased, while the CO2 pressure sensitivity of the enzyme (zp) showed no variation with temperature. The HP-CO2 treatment at 12 MPa and 35 °C allowed the minimum residual enzyme activity (20%) to be reached in 10 min. Samples treated under these conditions showed lower polyphenoloxidase activity and higher microbial stability than untreated apple juice while presenting a sensory fresh-likelihood higher than thermally pasteurized apple juice. © 2016 Elsevier Lt
Mammalian tumor xenografts induce neovascularization in zebrafish embryos.
The zebrafish (Danio rerio)/tumor xenograft model represents
a powerful new model system in cancer. Here, we describe a
novel exploitation of the zebrafish model to investigate tumor
angiogenesis, a pivotal step in cancer progression and target
for antitumor therapies. Human and murine tumor cell lines
that express the angiogenic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 2
and/or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induce the
rapid formation of a new microvasculature when grafted close
to the developing subintestinal vessels of zebrafish embryos at
48 h postfertilization. Instead, no angiogenic response was
exerted by related cell clones defective in the production of
these angiogenic growth factors. The newly formed blood
vessels sprout from the subintestinal plexus of the zebrafish
embryo, penetrate the tumor graft, and express the transcripts
for the zebrafish orthologues of the early endothelial markers
Fli-1, VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR2/KDR), and VE-cadherin.
Accordingly, green fluorescent protein–positive neovessels
infiltrate the graft when tumor cells are injected in transgenic
VEGFR2:G-RCFP zebrafish embryos that express green fluorescent
protein under the control of the VEGFR2/KDR
promoter. Systemic exposure of zebrafish embryos immediately
after tumor cell injection to prototypic antiangiogenic
inhibitors, including the FGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor
SU5402 and the VEGFR2/KDR tyrosine kinase inhibitor
SU5416, suppresses tumor-induced angiogenesis without
affecting normal blood vessel development. Accordingly,
VE-cadherin gene inactivation by antisense morpholino
oligonucleotide injection inhibits tumor neovascularization
without affecting the development of intersegmental and
subintestinal vessels. These data show that the zebrafish/
tumor xenograft model represents a novel tool for investigating
the neovascularization process exploitable for drug
discovery and gene targeting in tumor angiogenesis
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