Possible Cosmological Implications of the Quark-Hadron Phase Transition

We study the quark-hadron phase transition within an effective model of QCD, and find that in a reasonable range of the main parameters of the model, bodies with quark content between $10^{-2}$ and 10 solar masses can have been formed in the early universe. In addition, we show that a significant amount of entropy is released during the transition. This may imply the existence of a higher baryon number density than what is usually expected at temperatures above the QCD scale. The cosmological QCD transition may then provide a natural way for decreasing the high baryon asymmetry created by an Affleck-Dine like mechanism down to the value required by primordial nucleosynthesis.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 5 Postscript figures included. Submitted to Journal of Physics

Laser Scanning Microscopic Investigations of the Decontamination of Soot Nanoparticles from the Skin

Background/Aims: Airborne pollutants, such as nano-sized soot particles, are increasingly being released into the environment as a result of growing population densities and industrialization. They can absorb organic and metal compounds with potential biological activity, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and airborne pollen allergens. Local and systemic toxicities may be induced in the skin if the particulates release their harmful components upon dermal contact. Methods: In the present study, skin pretreatments with serum and/or shield as barrier formulations prior to exposure and washing with a cleanser subsequent to exposure were evaluated as a protection and decontamination strategy using laser scanning microscopy. Results: The results indicate that while the application of serum and a cleanser was insufficient for decontamination, the pretreatment with shield prior to nanoparticle exposure followed by washing led to the removal of a considerable amount of the carbon black particles. The combined application of serum and shield before the administration of carbon black particles and subsequent washing led to their elimination from the skin samples. Conclusion: The application of barrier-enhancing formulations in combination with a cleanser may reduce the penetration of harmful airborne particulates by preventing their adhesion to the skin and facilitating their removal by subsequent washing with the cleanser

Hair follicles as a target structure for nanoparticles

For at least two decades, nanoparticles have been investigated for their capability to deliver topically applied substances through the skin barrier. Based on findings that nanoparticles are highly suitable for penetrating the blood–brain barrier, their use for drug delivery through the skin has become a topic of intense research. In spite of the research efforts by academia and industry, a commercial product permitting the nanoparticle-assisted delivery of topically applied drugs has not yet been developed. However, nanoparticles of approximately 600 nm in diameter have been shown to penetrate efficiently into the hair follicles, where they can be stored for several days. The successful loading of nanoparticles with drugs and their triggered release inside the hair follicle may present an ideal method for localized drug delivery. Depending on the particle size, such a method would permit targeting specific structures in the hair follicles such as stem cells or immune cells or blood vessels found in the vicinity of the hair follicles

Entwicklung, Erprobung, Umsetzung und Evaluation von Strategien in den Bereichen Tiergesundheit, Haltung, Fütterung, Management in der ökologischen Ferkelerzeugung

Die ökologische Ferkelerzeugung weist hinsichtlich Tiergesundheit, Leistungsfähigkeit und Wirtschaftlichkeit große Defizite auf. Die Ursachen sind komplex und betreffen u.a. Fütterung, Haltung und Hygiene. Für diese Bereiche sollten durch Exakt- und Praxisversuche Lösungsansätze entwickelt werden. Teilprojekte umfassten folgende Themen: Der Einfluss unterschiedlicher Raufutter in der Fütterung tragender Sauen, die Wirkung einer Inulinzugabe sowie vom Extrudieren von Ackerbohnen in Sauen- und Ferkelfutter, die Bewertung alternativer Desinfektionsverfahren, ein Vergleich von Einzelhaltung versus kombinierte Einzel- und Gruppenhaltung säugender Sauen sowie die Optimierung des Ferkelliegebereichs in der Ferkelaufzucht. Zentrale Ergebnisse: - Die verschiedenen Raufuttervarianten (Kleegrassilage, Heu, Maissilage, Topinamburknollen) hatten keine negativen Effekte auf Körperkonstitution und Reproduktionsleistungen der Sauen. - Die Saugferkel der mit Inulin versorgten Sauen entwickelten sich gegenüber der Kontrollgruppe während der Säugezeit leistungsmäßig besser, während der Ferkelaufzucht gab es keine Leistungssteigerungen. Der Einsatz von getoasteten Ackerbohnen führte zu signifikant besseren Ferkelzunahmen gegenüber dem Einsatz von extrudierten Ackerbohnen. - Keines der getesteten alternativen Desinfektionsverfahren (Heißwasserdampf, elektroaktiviertes Wasser, Abflammen) ist eine Alternative zur chemischen Desinfektion bezüglich Keimreduktion, Arbeitsaufwand und Kosten. - Gruppensäugen führt bei Sauen zu erhöhter Aktivität sowie zu spezifischen Verhaltensanpassungen. Leistungseinbußen konnten weder für Sauen noch für Ferkel dokumentiert werden. „Gruppensäugen“ führt zu einem höheren Arbeitszeitbedarf und steigenden Baukosten. - Der Liegebereich für Aufzuchtferkel ist in vielen Betrieben nicht optimal und durch z. T. einfache Maßnahmen (Abdichten des Liegenestes, Wärmedämmung des Bodens, Bodenheizung, Anbringen einer weiteren Wärmequelle) für die Tiere zu verbessern

Application of parelectric spectroscopy to detect skin cancer—A pilot study

Background: The early detection of skin cancer is still challenging and calls for objective, fast diagnostic, and ideally non-invasive methods in order to leave the potentially malignant tumor cells unaltered. In this paper, the parelectric spectroscopy was applied to evaluate the potential of a non-invasive detection of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and malignant melanoma. Materials and methods: A prototype of parelectric spectroscopy was used to investigate non-invasively dipole density and mobility of suspicious skin lesions. The differences in investigated tissue were analyzed compared to pathohistological findings in a clinical study on 51 patients with suspected BCC and malignant melanoma. Results: The non-invasive parelectric spectroscopy could differentiate between normal skin, BCC, and melanoma but failed to distinguish between different types of skin cancer. The data were normalized to unsuspected nearby skin because the different skin locations influence dipole density and mobility. Conclusion: The results of the pilot study indicate that the parelectric spectroscopy might be an additional, useful non-invasive diagnostic procedure to distinguish between normal skin and skin cancer

Laser scanning microscopy for control of skin decontamination efficacy from airborne particulates using highly absorbent textile nanofiber material in combination with PEG‐12 dimethicone

Background The decontamination of the skin is indispensable if airborne particulate contaminants deposit on the skin surface. Skin washing can have adverse effects as by skin rubbing the particles can be transferred deeply into the hair follicles, where they can be entrapped for a period of more than 10 days. Thus, alternative skin decontamination strategies are necessary. Materials and Methods For imaging the contaminants in the skin, sodium fluorescein-labeled soot particles of submicron size (approximate to 600 nm) were visualized using laser scanning microscopy. Results In the present ex vivo pilot study on porcine ear skin, it was shown that sodium fluorescein-labeled soot particles of submicron size (approximate to 600 nm) could be efficiently removed from the skin with highly absorbent textile nanofiber material, whose efficacy could be further increased by spraying the contaminated skin area with the viscous fluid PEG-12 dimethicone before textile application. Conclusion In case of skin contamination with particulates, the contact washing should be avoided due to rubbing particles deeply into the hair follicles, where they can accumulate for a long time and induce negative consequences. Efficient skin decontamination could include pretreatment of skin surface with the viscous fluid PEG-12 dimethicone and subsequent application of highly absorbent textile nanofiber material

Why have asset price properties changed so little in 200 years

We first review empirical evidence that asset prices have had episodes of large fluctuations and been inefficient for at least 200 years. We briefly review recent theoretical results as well as the neurological basis of trend following and finally argue that these asset price properties can be attributed to two fundamental mechanisms that have not changed for many centuries: an innate preference for trend following and the collective tendency to exploit as much as possible detectable price arbitrage, which leads to destabilizing feedback loops.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Naturalized alien flora of the world: species diversity, taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns, geographic distribution and global hotspots of plant invasion

Using the recently built Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database, containing data on the distribution of naturalized alien plants in 483 mainland and 361 island regions of the world, we describe patterns in diversity and geographic distribution of naturalized and invasive plant species, taxonomic, phylogenetic and life-history structure of the global naturalized flora as well as levels of naturalization and their determinants. The mainland regions with the highest numbers of naturalized aliens are some Australian states (with New South Wales being the richest on this continent) and several North American regions (of which California with 1753 naturalized plant species represents the world's richest region in terms of naturalized alien vascular plants). England, Japan, New Zealand and the Hawaiian archipelago harbour most naturalized plants among islands or island groups. These regions also form the main hotspots of the regional levels of naturalization, measured as the percentage of naturalized aliens in the total flora of the region. Such hotspots of relative naturalized species richness appear on both the western and eastern coasts of North America, in north-western Europe, South Africa, south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and India. High levels of island invasions by naturalized plants are concentrated in the Pacific, but also occur on individual islands across all oceans. The numbers of naturalized species are closely correlated with those of native species, with a stronger correlation and steeper increase for islands than mainland regions, indicating a greater vulnerability of islands to invasion by species that become successfully naturalized. South Africa, India, California, Cuba, Florida, Queensland and Japan have the highest numbers of invasive species. Regions in temperate and tropical zonobiomes harbour in total 9036 and 6774 naturalized species, respectively, followed by 3280 species naturalized in the Mediterranean zonobiome, 3057 in the subtropical zonobiome and 321 in the Arctic. The New World is richer in naturalized alien plants, with 9905 species compared to 7923 recorded in the Old World. While isolation is the key factor driving the level of naturalization on islands, zonobiomes differing in climatic regimes, and socioeconomy represented by per capita GDP, are central for mainland regions. The 11 most widely distributed species each occur in regions covering about one third of the globe or more in terms of the number of regions where they are naturalized and at least 35% of the Earth's land surface in terms of those regions' areas, with the most widely distributed species Sonchus oleraceus occuring in 48% of the regions that cover 42% of the world area. Other widely distributed species are Ricinus communis, Oxalis corniculata, Portulaca oleracea, Eleusine indica, Chenopodium album, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Stellaria media, Bidens pilosa, Datura stramonium and Echinochloa crus-galli. Using the occurrence as invasive rather than only naturalized yields a different ranking, with Lantana camara (120 regions out of 349 for which data on invasive status are known), Calotropis procera (118), Eichhornia crassipes (113), Sonchus oleraceus (108) and Leucaena leucocephala (103) on top. As to the life-history spectra, islands harbour more naturalized woody species (34.4%) than mainland regions (29.5%), and fewer annual herbs (18.7% compared to 22.3%). Ranking families by their absolute numbers of naturalized species reveals that Compositae (1343 species), Poaceae (1267) and Leguminosae (1189) contribute most to the global naturalized alien flora. Some families are disproportionally represented by naturalized aliens on islands (Arecaceae, Araceae, Acanthaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae, Convolvulaceae, Rubiaceae, Malvaceae), and much fewer so on mainland (e.g. Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Boraginaceae). Relating the numbers of naturalized species in a family to its total global richness shows that some of the large species-rich families are over-represented among naturalized aliens (e.g. Poaceae, Leguminosae, Rosaceae, Amaranthaceae, Pinaceae), some under-represented (e.g. Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae), whereas the one richest in naturalized species, Compositae, reaches a value expected from its global species richness. Significant phylogenetic signal indicates that families with an increased potential of their species to naturalize are not distributed randomly on the evolutionary tree. Solanum (112 species), Euphorbia (108) and Carex (106) are the genera richest in terms of naturalized species; over-represented on islands are Cotoneaster, Juncus, Eucalyptus, Salix, Hypericum, Geranium and Persicaria, while those relatively richer in naturalized species on the mainland are Atriplex, Opuntia, Oenothera, Artemisia, Vicia, Galium and Rosa. The data presented in this paper also point to where information is lacking and set priorities for future data collection. The GloNAF database has potential for designing concerted action to fill such data gaps, and provide a basis for allocating resources most efficiently towards better understanding and management of plant invasions worldwide