1,552 research outputs found
The Exotic Barium Bismuthates
We review the remarkable properties, including superconductivity,
charge-density-wave ordering, and metal-insulator transitions, of lead- and
potassium-doped barium bismuthate. We discuss some of the early theoretical
studies of these systems. Our recent theoretical work, on the negative-U\/,
extended-Hubbard model for these systems, is also described. Both the large-
and intermediate-U\/ regimes of this model are examined, using mean-field and
random-phase approximations, particularly with a view to fitting various
experimental properties of these bismuthates. On the basis of our studies, we
point out possibilities for exotic physics in these systems. We also emphasize
the different consequences of electronic and phonon-mediated mechanisms for the
negative U.\/ We show that, for an electronic mechanism, the \secin
\,\,phases of these bismuthates must be unique, with their transport properties
{\it dominated by charge Cooperon bound states}. This can explain the
observed difference between the optical and transport gaps. We propose other
experimental tests for this novel mechanism of charge transport and comment on
the effects of disorder.Comment: UUencoded LaTex file, 122 pages, figures available on request To
appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. B as a review articl
Discovering the Higgs Bosons of Minimal Supersymmetry with Tau Leptons and a Bottom Quark
We investigate the prospects for the discovery at the CERN Large Hadron
Collider or at the Fermilab Tevatron of neutral Higgs bosons through the
channel where the Higgs are produced together with a single bottom quark and
the Higgs decays into a pair of tau leptons, . We work within the framework of the minimal
supersymmetric model. The dominant physics background from the production of
, (), ,
and is calculated with realistic acceptance cuts and efficiencies.
Promising results are found for the CP-odd pseudoscalar () and the heavier
CP-even scalar () Higgs bosons with masses up to one TeV.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
Drug-Excipient Compatibility Studies in Formulation Development: Current Trends and Techniques
The safety, efficacy, quality and stability of a formulation are the cornerstones of any new drug development process. In order to consistently maintain these attributes in a finished dosage form, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the physico-chemical characteristics of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), as well as all other components (e.g. excipients, manufacturing aids, packaging materials) of the drug product. In a new drug development process, a detailed characterization of the API and other formulation components is usually carried out during the preformulation stage. The preformulation stage involves characterization of several aspects of the API including solubility, dissolution, permeability, polymorph/salt screening, stability (solidstate and solution-state), ionization properties, particle size distribution, API-excipient compatibilities etc. [1]. Excipients are ubiquitous to virtually every pharmaceutical formulation, and facilitate the manufacture, stability, administration, delivery of the API, and/or provide other functionalities to the dosage form. Excipients are used to improve processing (e.g. improving powder flow [2, 3], powder compactibility [4-6] etc.), enhance aesthetics (e.g. identification, branding etc. [7]), optimize product performance (e.g. modified drug-release [8-11]), and/or to facilitate patient compliance (e.g. taste masking [12-15]). They may constitute anywhere from 1 to 99 % of the total formulation mass.
Due to the intimate contact of the API with one or more excipients in a formulation, there exists a likelihood of physical and/or chemical interactions between them. Any such interactions may result in a negative impact on the physical, stability or performance attributes of the drug product [16, 17]. The choice of excipients is of crucial importance to avoid these negative effects, and to facilitate the development of a robust and an effective formulation [18-20]. Thus, for a rational selection of excipients, screening of excipient-API compatibility is recognized as an important aspect of formulation development. Moreover, the USFDA’s 21st century current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) initiative and International Council on Harmonization (ICH) Q8 guidelines encourage the pharmaceutical manufacturers to apply Quality by Design (QbD) principles in their drug development process [21, 22]. These guidelines include expectations of a clear understanding of any interactions between the formulation components. Moreover, recent advances in various thermal and non-thermal analytical techniques have led to an improved efficiency in the detection, monitoring and prevention of the incompatibilities early in the drug development process [23, 24].
This article aims to provide a brief overview of the nature of drug-excipient incompatibilities; as well as current trends and techniques used to evaluate these compatibilities in formulation development
Dynamics of Passive-Scalar Turbulence
We present the first study of the dynamic scaling or multiscaling of
passive-scalar and passive-vector turbulence. For the Kraichnan version of
passive-scalar and passive-vector turbulence we show analytically, in both
Eulerian and quasi-Lagrangian frameworks, that simple dynamic scaling is
obtained but with different dynamic exponents. By developing the multifractal
model we show that dynamic multiscaling occurs in passive-scalar turbulence
only if the advecting velocity field is itself multifractal. We substantiate
our results by detailed numerical simulations in shell models of passive-scalar
advection.Comment: published versio
Experimental Validation of the Predicted Binding Site of Escherichia coli K1 Outer Membrane Protein A to Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells: Identification of Critical Mutations That Prevent E. coli Meningitis
Escherichia coli K1, the most common cause of meningitis in neonates, has been shown to interact with GlcNAc1–4GlcNAc epitopes of Ecgp96 on human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) via OmpA (outer membrane protein A). However, the precise domains of extracellular loops of OmpA interacting with the chitobiose epitopes have not been elucidated. We report the loop-barrel model of these OmpA interactions with the carbohydrate moieties of Ecgp96 predicted from molecular modeling. To test this model experimentally, we generated E. coli K1 strains expressing OmpA with mutations of residues predicted to be critical for interaction with the HBMEC and tested E. coli invasion efficiency. For these same mutations, we predicted the interaction free energies (including explicit calculation of the entropy) from molecular dynamics (MD), finding excellent correlation (R^2 = 90%) with experimental invasion efficiency. Particularly important is that mutating specific residues in loops 1, 2, and 4 to alanines resulted in significant inhibition of E. coli K1 invasion in HBMECs, which is consistent with the complete lack of binding found in the MD simulations for these two cases. These studies suggest that inhibition of the interactions of these residues of Loop 1, 2, and 4 with Ecgp96 could provide a therapeutic strategy to prevent neonatal meningitis due to E. coli K1
Prediction and description of a chiral pseudogap phase
We point out that a system which supports chiral superconductivity should
also support a chiral pseudogap phase: a finite temperature phase wherein
superconductivity is lost but time reversal symmetry is still broken. This
chiral pseudogap phase can be viewed as a state with phase incoherent Cooper
pairs of a definite angular momentum. This physical picture suggests that the
chiral pseudogap phase should have definite magnetization, should exhibit a
(non-quantized) charge Hall effect, and should possess protected edge states
that lead to a quantized thermal Hall response. We explain how these phenomena
are realized in a Ginzburg-Landau description, and comment on the experimental
signatures of the chiral pseudogap phase. We expect this work to be relevant
for all systems that exhibit chiral superconductivity, including doped graphene
and strontium ruthenate
Climbing behavior in a Checkered Keelback, Xenochrophis piscator (Schneider 1799), in central India
New state records of the Slender Coralsnake, Calliophis melanurus (Shaw 1802), and the Yellow-spotted Wolfsnake, Lycodon flavomaculatus Wall 1907, in Chhattisghar, India
A second record of scavenging behavior in the Common Indian Krait, Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider 1801) from India
- …