Glucosylation of Sucrose Laurate with Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase

Sucrose monolauroyl esters were found to serve as substrates for cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase)-catalyzed transglucosidation reactions, affording new sucrose esters that have an additional 1-3 glucose residues on the pyranose ring of the sucrose moiety in the ester

A unified approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation

This paper explores the use of a discrete singular convolution algorithm as a unified approach for numerical integration of the Fokker-Planck equation. The unified features of the discrete singular convolution algorithm are discussed. It is demonstrated that different implementations of the present algorithm, such as global, local, Galerkin, collocation, and finite difference, can be deduced from a single starting point. Three benchmark stochastic systems, the repulsive Wong process, the Black-Scholes equation and a genuine nonlinear model, are employed to illustrate the robustness and to test accuracy of the present approach for the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation via a time-dependent method. An additional example, the incompressible Euler equation, is used to further validate the present approach for more difficult problems. Numerical results indicate that the present unified approach is robust and accurate for solving the Fokker-Planck equation.Comment: 19 page

Assembling the puzzle of superconducting elements: A Review

Superconductivity in the simple elements is of both technological relevance and fundamental scientific interest in the investigation of superconductivity phenomena. Recent advances in the instrumentation of physics under pressure have enabled the observation of superconductivity in many elements not previously known to superconduct, and at steadily increasing temperatures. This article offers a review of the state of the art in the superconductivity of elements, highlighting underlying correlations and general trends.Comment: Review, 10 pages, 11 figures, 97 references; to appear in Superc. Sci. Techno

Control of Spatial-Temporal Congested Traffic Patterns at Highway Bottlenecks

A microscopic theory of control of spatial-temporal congested traffic pattern at freeway bottlenecks is presented. Based on empirical spatial-temporal features of congested patterns at freeway bottlenecks which have recently been found, different control strategies for prevention or reducing of the patterns are simulated and compared. The studied control strategies include the on-ramp metering with feedback and automatic cruise control (ACC) vehicles. A recent microscopic traffic flow model within the author's three-phase traffic theory is used for validation of spatial-temporal congested pattern control.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Petrophysical, Geochemical, and Hydrological Evidence for Extensive Fracture-Mediated Fluid and Heat Transport in the Alpine Fault's Hanging-Wall Damage Zone

Fault rock assemblages reflect interaction between deformation, stress, temperature, fluid, and chemical regimes on distinct spatial and temporal scales at various positions in the crust. Here we interpret measurements made in the hanging-wall of the Alpine Fault during the second stage of the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP-2). We present observational evidence for extensive fracturing and high hanging-wall hydraulic conductivity (∼10−9 to 10−7 m/s, corresponding to permeability of ∼10−16 to 10−14 m2) extending several hundred meters from the fault's principal slip zone. Mud losses, gas chemistry anomalies, and petrophysical data indicate that a subset of fractures intersected by the borehole are capable of transmitting fluid volumes of several cubic meters on time scales of hours. DFDP-2 observations and other data suggest that this hydrogeologically active portion of the fault zone in the hanging-wall is several kilometers wide in the uppermost crust. This finding is consistent with numerical models of earthquake rupture and off-fault damage. We conclude that the mechanically and hydrogeologically active part of the Alpine Fault is a more dynamic and extensive feature than commonly described in models based on exhumed faults. We propose that the hydrogeologically active damage zone of the Alpine Fault and other large active faults in areas of high topographic relief can be subdivided into an inner zone in which damage is controlled principally by earthquake rupture processes and an outer zone in which damage reflects coseismic shaking, strain accumulation and release on interseismic timescales, and inherited fracturing related to exhumation

The Role of BACH2 in T Cells in Experimental Malaria Caused by Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi AS

BTB and CNC Homology 1, Basic Leucine Zipper Transcription Factor 2 (BACH2) is a transcription factor best known for its role in B cell development. More recently, it has been associated with T cell functions in inflammatory diseases, and has been proposed as a master transcriptional regulator within the T cell compartment. In this study, we employed T cell-specific Bach2-deficient (B6.Bach2ΔT) mice to examine the role of this transcription factor in CD4+ T cell functions in vitro and in mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudi AS. We found that under CD4+ T cell polarizing conditions in vitro, Th2, and Th17 helper cell subsets were more active in the absence of Bach2 expression. In mice infected with P. chabaudi AS, although the absence of Bach2 expression by T cells had no effect on blood parasitemia or disease pathology, we found reduced expansion of CD4+ T cells in B6.Bach2ΔT mice, compared with littermate controls. Despite this reduction, we observed increased frequencies of Tbet+ IFNγ+ CD4+ (Th1) cells and IL-10-producing Th1 (Tr1) cells in mice lacking Bach2 expression by T cells. Studies in mixed bone marrow chimeric mice revealed T cell intrinsic effects of BACH2 on hematopoietic cell development, and in particular, the generation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets. Furthermore, T cell intrinsic BACH2 was needed for efficient expansion of CD4+ T cells during experimental malaria in this immunological setting. We also examined the response of B6.Bach2ΔT mice to a second protozoan parasitic challenge with Leishmania donovani and found similar effects on disease outcome and T cell responses. Together, our findings provide new insights into the role of BACH2 in CD4+ T cell activation during experimental malaria, and highlight an important role for this transcription factor in the development and expansion of T cells under homeostatic conditions, as well as establishing the composition of the effector CD4+ T cell compartment during infection

Theoretical Criteria for Scattering Dark States in Nanostructured Particles

Nanostructures with multiple resonances can exhibit a suppressed or even completely eliminated scattering of light, called a scattering dark state. We describe this phenomenon with a general treatment of light scattering from a multiresonant nanostructure that is spherical or nonspherical but subwavelength in size. With multiple resonances in the same channel (i.e., same angular momentum and polarization), coherent interference always leads to scattering dark states in the low-absorption limit, regardless of the system details. The coupling between resonances is inevitable and can be interpreted as arising from far-field or near-field. This is a realization of coupled-resonator-induced transparency in the context of light scattering, which is related to but different from Fano resonances. Explicit examples are given to illustrate these concepts.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (Contract W911NF-13-D-0001)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (Program) (Grant DMR-0819762

Traffic and Related Self-Driven Many-Particle Systems

Since the subject of traffic dynamics has captured the interest of physicists, many astonishing effects have been revealed and explained. Some of the questions now understood are the following: Why are vehicles sometimes stopped by so-called ``phantom traffic jams'', although they all like to drive fast? What are the mechanisms behind stop-and-go traffic? Why are there several different kinds of congestion, and how are they related? Why do most traffic jams occur considerably before the road capacity is reached? Can a temporary reduction of the traffic volume cause a lasting traffic jam? Under which conditions can speed limits speed up traffic? Why do pedestrians moving in opposite directions normally organize in lanes, while similar systems are ``freezing by heating''? Why do self-organizing systems tend to reach an optimal state? Why do panicking pedestrians produce dangerous deadlocks? All these questions have been answered by applying and extending methods from statistical physics and non-linear dynamics to self-driven many-particle systems. This review article on traffic introduces (i) empirically data, facts, and observations, (ii) the main approaches to pedestrian, highway, and city traffic, (iii) microscopic (particle-based), mesoscopic (gas-kinetic), and macroscopic (fluid-dynamic) models. Attention is also paid to the formulation of a micro-macro link, to aspects of universality, and to other unifying concepts like a general modelling framework for self-driven many-particle systems, including spin systems. Subjects such as the optimization of traffic flows and relations to biological or socio-economic systems such as bacterial colonies, flocks of birds, panics, and stock market dynamics are discussed as well.Comment: A shortened version of this article will appear in Reviews of Modern Physics, an extended one as a book. The 63 figures were omitted because of storage capacity. For related work see http://www.helbing.org