Nuclear matter to strange matter transition in holographic QCD

We construct a simple holographic QCD model to study nuclear matter to strange matter transition. The interaction of dense medium and hadrons is taken care of by imposing the force balancing condition for stable D4/D6/D6 configuration. By considering the intermediate and light flavor branes interacting with baryon vertex homogeneously distributed along R^3 space and requesting the energy minimization, we find that there is a well defined transition density as a function of current quark mass. We also find that as density goes up very high, intermediate (or heavy) and light quarks populate equally as expected from the Pauli principle. In this sense, the effect of the Pauli principle is realized as dynamics of D-branes.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figure

Early combination versus initial metformin monotherapy in the management of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes : An East Asian perspective

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the East Asian population is characterized by phenotypes such as low body mass index, an index of beta-cell dysfunction, and higher percentage of body fat, an index of insulin resistance. These phenotypes/pathologies may predispose people to early onset of diabetes with increased risk of stroke and renal disease. Less than 50% of patients with T2D in East Asia achieve glycaemic targets recommended by national or regional guidelines, which may be attributable to knowledge and/or implementation gaps. Herein, we review the latest evidence with special reference to East Asian patients with T2D and present arguments for the need to use early combination therapy to intensify glycaemic control. This strategy is supported by the 5-year worldwide VERIFY study, which reported better glycaemic durability in newly diagnosed patients with T2D with a mean HbA1c of 6.9% treated with early combination therapy of vildagliptin plus metformin versus those treated with initial metformin monotherapy followed by addition of vildagliptin only with worsening glycaemic control. This paradigm shift of early intensified treatment is now recommended by the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. In order to translate these evidence to practice, increased awareness and strengthening of the healthcare system are needed to diagnose and manage patients with T2D early for combination therapy.Peer reviewe

Holographic Nuclear Physics

We analyze the phases of the Sakai-Sugimoto model at finite temperature and baryon chemical potential. Baryonic matter is represented either by 4-branes in the 8-branes or by strings stretched from the 8-branes to the horizon. We find the explicit configurations and use them to determine the phase diagram and equation of state of the model. The 4-brane configuration (nuclear matter) is always preferred to the string configuration (quark matter), and the latter is also unstable to density fluctuations. In the deconfined phase the phase diagram has three regions corresponding to the vacuum, quark-gluon plasma, and nuclear matter, with a first-order and a second-order phase transition separating the phases. We find that for a large baryon number density, and at low temperatures, the dominant phase has broken chiral symmetry. This is in qualitative agreement with studies of QCD at high density.Comment: 27 pages, 26 figures. v2: Added a comment about higher derivative corrections to the DBI action in the smeared instanton in section 2.1. v3: References added, version published in JHEP. v4: misprints correcte

Analytical study on holographic superconductors in external magnetic field

We investigate the holographic superconductors immersed in an external magnetic field by using the analytical approach. We obtain the spatially dependent condensate solutions in the presence of the magnetism and find analytically that the upper critical magnetic field satisfies the relation given in the Ginzburg-Landau theory. We observe analytically the reminiscent of the Meissner effect where the magnetic field expels the condensate. Extending to the D-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet AdS black holes, we examine the influence given by the Gauss-Bonnet coupling on the condensation. Different from the positive coupling, we find that the negative Gauss-Bonnet coupling enhances the condensation when the external magnetism is not strong enough.Comment: revised version, to appear in JHE

Modulation of Sn concentration in ZnO nanorod array: intensification on the conductivity and humidity sensing properties

Tin (Sn)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays (TZO) were synthesized onto aluminum-doped ZnO-coated glass substrate via a facile sonicated sol–gel immersion method for humidity sensor applications. These nanorod arrays were grown at different Sn concentrations ranging from 0.6 to 3 at.%. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the deposited TZO arrays exhibited a wurtzite structure. The stress/strain condition of the ZnO film metamorphosed from tensile strain/compressive stress to compressive strain/tensile stress when the Sn concentrations increased. Results indicated that 1 at.% Sn doping of TZO, which has the lowest tensile stress of 0.14 GPa, generated the highest conductivity of 1.31 S cm− 1. In addition, 1 at.% Sn doping of TZO possessed superior sensitivity to a humidity of 3.36. These results revealed that the optimum performance of a humidity-sensing device can be obtained mainly by controlling the amount of extrinsic element in a ZnO film

Serum adiponectin is positively associated with lung function in young adults, independent of obesity: The CARDIA study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Rationale</p> <p>Adipose tissue produces adiponectin, an anti-inflammatory protein. Adiponectin deficiency in mice is associated with abnormal post-natal alveolar development.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>We hypothesized that lower serum adiponectin concentrations are associated with lower lung function in humans, independent of obesity. We explored mediation of this association by insulin resistance and systemic inflammation.</p> <p>Methods and Measurements</p> <p>Spirometry testing was conducted at years 10 and 20 follow-up evaluation visits in 2,056 eligible young adult participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Body mass index, serum adiponectin, serum C-reactive protein (a marker of systemic inflammation), and insulin resistance were assessed at year 15.</p> <p>Main Results</p> <p>After controlling for body mass index, years 10 and 20 forced vital capacity (FVC) were 81 ml and 82 ml lower respectively (p = 0.004 and 0.01 respectively) in the lowest <it>vs</it>. highest adiponectin quartiles. Similarly, years 10 and 20 forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) were 50 ml and 38 ml lower (p = 0.01 and 0.09, respectively) in the lowest <it>vs</it>. highest adiponectin quartiles. These associations were no longer significant after adjustment for insulin resistance and C-reactive protein. Serum adiponectin was not associated with FEV₁/FVC or peak FEV₁.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Independent of obesity, lower serum adiponectin concentrations are associated with lower lung function. The attenuation of this association after adjustment for insulin resistance and systemic inflammation suggests that these covariates are on a causal pathway linking adiponectin and lung function.</p