A Dielectric Superfluid of Polar Molecules

We show that, under achievable experimental conditions, a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of polar molecules can exhibit dielectric character. In particular, we derive a set of self-consistent mean-field equations that couple the condensate density to its electric dipole field, leading to the emergence of polarization modes that are coupled to the rich quasiparticle spectrum of the condensate. While the usual roton instability is suppressed in this system, the coupling can give rise to a phonon-like instability that is characteristic of a dielectric material with a negative static dielectric function.Comment: Version published in New Journal of Physics, 11+ pages, 4 figure

One-way diffraction grating

Matthew J. Lockyear, Alastair P. Hibbins, Kevin R. White, and J. Roy Sambles, Physical Review E, Vol. 74, article 056611 (2006). "Copyright © 2006 by the American Physical Society."Diffraction gratings are elementary tools for much of optics and spectroscopy. Here, at microwave frequencies, we provide a new perspective on these fundamental structures. A transmission diffraction grating is presented that has diffracted beams emanating from one surface only. It can thus function either as a transmission grating with no reflected orders (other than zero) or, in the reverse configuration, as a partially transmitting structure with diffracted orders in reflection only

Molecular assays for the detection of prostate tumor derived nucleic acids in peripheral blood

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in American men. Although serum PSA testing is widely used for early detection, more specific prognostic tests are needed to guide treatment decisions. Recently, the enumeration of circulating prostate epithelial cells has been shown to correlate with disease recurrence and metastasis following definitive treatment. The purpose of our study was to investigate an immunomagnetic fractionation procedure to enrich circulating prostate tumor cells (CTCs) from peripheral blood specimens, and to apply amplified molecular assays for the detection of prostate-specific markers (PSA, PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion mRNAs).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As few as five prostate cancer cells were detected per 5 mL of whole blood in model system experiments using anti-EpCAM magnetic particles alone or in combination with anti-PSMA magnetic particles. In our experiments, anti-EpCAM magnetic particles alone exhibited equivalent or better analytical performance with patient samples compared to a combination of anti-EpCAM + anti-PSMA magnetic particles. Up to 39% of men with advanced prostate cancer tested positive with one or more of the molecular assays tested, whereas control samples from men with benign prostate hyperplasia gave consistently negative results as expected. Interestingly, for the vast majority of men who tested positive for PSA mRNA following CTC enrichment, their matched plasma samples also tested positive, although CTC enrichment gave higher overall mRNA copy numbers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CTCs were successfully enriched and detected in men with advanced prostate cancer using an immunomagnetic enrichment procedure coupled with amplified molecular assays for PSA, PCA3, and TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion mRNAs. Our results indicate that men who test positive following CTC enrichment also exhibit higher detectable levels of non-cellular, circulating prostate-specific mRNAs.</p

The Hyperspherical Four-Fermion Problem

The problem of a few interacting fermions in quantum physics has sparked intense interest, particularly in recent years owing to connections with the behavior of superconductors, fermionic superfluids, and finite nuclei. This review addresses recent developments in the theoretical description of four fermions having finite-range interactions, stressing insights that have emerged from a hyperspherical coordinate perspective. The subject is complicated, so we have included many detailed formulas that will hopefully make these methods accessible to others interested in using them. The universality regime, where the dominant length scale in the problem is the two-body scattering length, is particularly stressed, including its implications for the famous BCS-BEC crossover problem Derivations and relevant formulas are also included for the calculation of challenging few-body processes such as recombination.Comment: 66 pages, 33 figure

Activation-dependent changes in human platelet PECAM-1: phosphorylation, cytoskeletal association, and surface membrane redistribution

PECAM-1 is a recently described member of the immunoglobulin gene (Ig) superfamily that is expressed on the surface on platelets, several leukocyte subsets, and at the endothelial cell intracellular junction. Recent studies have shown that the extracellular domain of PECAM-1, which is comprised of 6 Ig-like homology units, participates in mediating cell-cell adhesion, plays a role in initiating endothelial cell contact, and may later serve to stabilize the endothelial cell monolayer. PECAM-1 also has a relatively large 108 amino acid cytoplasmic domain, with potential sites for phosphorylation, lipid modification, and other posttranslational events that could potentially modulate its adhesive function or regulate its subcellular distribution. Virtually nothing is known about the contribution of the intracellular region of the PECAM-1 molecule to either of these cellular processes. Using human platelets as a model, we now demonstrate that PECAM-1 becomes highly phosphorylated in response to cellular activation, and coincident with phosphorylation associates with the cytoskeleton of activated, but not resting, platelets. The engagement of PECAM-1 with the platelet cytoskeleton enables it to move large distances within the plane of the membrane of fully-spread, adherent platelets. This redistribution may similarly account for the ability of PECAM-1 to localize to the intracellular borders of endothelial cells once cell-cell contact has been achieved

Quantitative Evidence for the Effects of Multiple Drivers on Continental-Scale Amphibian Declines

Since amphibian declines were first proposed as a global phenomenon over a quarter century ago, the conservation community has made little progress in halting or reversing these trends. The early search for a “smoking gun” was replaced with the expectation that declines are caused by multiple drivers. While field observations and experiments have identified factors leading to increased local extinction risk, evidence for effects of these drivers is lacking at large spatial scales. Here, we use observations of 389 time-series of 83 species and complexes from 61 study areas across North America to test the effects of 4 of the major hypothesized drivers of declines. While we find that local amphibian populations are being lost from metapopulations at an average rate of 3.79% per year, these declines are not related to any particular threat at the continental scale; likewise the effect of each stressor is variable at regional scales. This result - that exposure to threats varies spatially, and populations vary in their response - provides little generality in the development of conservation strategies. Greater emphasis on local solutions to this globally shared phenomenon is needed