5,062 research outputs found
Dynamics of Collapse of flexible Polyelectrolytes and Polyampholytes
We provide a theory for the dynamics of collapse of strongly charged
polyelectrolytes (PEs) and flexible polyampholytes (PAs) using Langevin
equation. After the initial stage, in which counterions condense onto PE, the
mechanism of approach to the globular state is similar for PE and PA. In both
instances, metastable pearl-necklace structures form in characteristic time
scale that is proportional to N^{4/5} where N is the number of monomers. The
late stage of collapse occurs by merger of clusters with the largest one
growing at the expense of smaller ones (Lifshitz- Slyozov mechanism). The time
scale for this process T_{COLL} N. Simulations are used to support the proposed
collapse mechanism for PA and PE.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure
Morphology selection of nanoparticle dispersions by polymer media
A systematic theory of ultrathin polymer films as organizing media to achieve 2D nanoparticle arrangements was developed. The key physical variables to achieve nanoparticle dispersions and control morphology were determined.open727
8.5 Predictors of long-term outcome of Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM): a Multicenter, Multinational Study of 490 patients
Emergency surgery for splenic flexure cancer: results of the SFC Study Group database
Background: The effectiveness of surgical treatment for splenic flexure carcinomas (SFCs) in emergency settings remains unexplored. This study aims to compare the perioperative and long-term outcomes of different alternatives for emergency SFC resection. Method: This multicenter retrospective study was based on the SFC Study Group database. For the present analysis, SFC patients were selected if they had received emergency surgical resection with curative intent between 2000 and 2018. Extended right colectomy (ERC), left colectomy (LC), and segmental left colectomy (SLC) were evaluated and compared. Results: The study sample was composed of 90 SFC patients who underwent emergency ERC (n = 55, 61.1%), LC (n = 18, 20%), or SLC (n = 17, 18.9%). Bowel obstruction was the most frequent indication for surgery (n = 75, 83.3%), and an open approach was chosen in 81.1% of the patients. A higher incidence of postoperative complications was observed in the ERC group (70.9%) than in the LC (44.4%) and SLC groups (47.1%), with a significant procedure-related difference for severe postoperative complications (Dindo-Clavien ≥ III; adjusted odds ratio for ERC vs. LC:7.23; 95% CI 1.51-34.66; p = 0.013). Anastomotic leakage occurred in 8 (11.2%) patients, with no differences between the groups (p = 0.902). R0 resection was achieved in 98.9% of the procedures, and ≥ 12 lymph nodes were retrieved in 92.2% of patients. Overall and disease-free survival rates at 5 years were similar between the groups and were significantly associated with stage pT4 and the presence of synchronous metastases. Conclusion: In the emergency setting, ERC and open surgery are the most frequently performed procedures. ERC is associated with increased odds of severe postoperative complications when compared to more conservative SFC resections. Nonetheless, all the alternatives seem to provide similar pathologic and long-term outcomes, supporting the oncological safety of more conservative resections for emergency SFCs
A Modified Random Phase Approximation of Polyelectrolyte Solutions
We compute the phase diagram of salt-free polyelectrolyte solutions using a
modified Debye-Huckel Approach. We introduce the chain connectivity via the
Random Phase Approximation with two important modifications. We modify the
electrostatic potential at short distances to include a bound on the
electrostatic attractions at the distance of closest approach between charges.
This modification is shown to act as a hard core in the phase diagram of
electrolyte solutions. We also introduce a cut-off on the integration of the
modes of wave length smaller than the size over which the chains are strongly
perturbed by the electrostatic interactions. This cut-off is shown to be
essential to predict physical phase diagram in long chain solutions
Three-dimensional lattice-Boltzmann simulations of critical spinodal decomposition in binary immiscible fluids
We use a modified Shan-Chen, noiseless lattice-BGK model for binary
immiscible, incompressible, athermal fluids in three dimensions to simulate the
coarsening of domains following a deep quench below the spinodal point from a
symmetric and homogeneous mixture into a two-phase configuration. We find the
average domain size growing with time as , where increases
in the range , consistent with a crossover between
diffusive and hydrodynamic viscous, , behaviour. We find
good collapse onto a single scaling function, yet the domain growth exponents
differ from others' works' for similar values of the unique characteristic
length and time that can be constructed out of the fluid's parameters. This
rebuts claims of universality for the dynamical scaling hypothesis. At early
times, we also find a crossover from to in the scaled structure
function, which disappears when the dynamical scaling reasonably improves at
later times. This excludes noise as the cause for a behaviour, as
proposed by others. We also observe exponential temporal growth of the
structure function during the initial stages of the dynamics and for
wavenumbers less than a threshold value.Comment: 45 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry for inclusive jet production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV
We report a new STAR measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry
A_LL for inclusive jet production at mid-rapidity in polarized p+p collisions
at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The data, which cover jet
transverse momenta 5 < p_T < 30 GeV/c, are substantially more precise than
previous measurements. They provide significant new constraints on the gluon
spin contribution to the nucleon spin through the comparison to predictions
derived from one global fit of polarized deep-inelastic scattering
measurements.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures + 1 tabl
Conformational Instability of Rodlike Polyelectrolytes due to Counterion Fluctuations
The effective elasticity of highly charged stiff polyelectrolytes is studied
in the presence of counterions, with and without added salt. The rigid polymer
conformations may become unstable due to an effective attraction induced by
counterion density fluctuations. Instabilities at the longest, or intermediate
length scales may signal collapse to globule, or necklace states, respectively.
In the presence of added-salt, a generalized electrostatic persistence length
is obtained, which has a nontrivial dependence on the Debye screening length.
It is also found that the onset of conformational instability is a re-entrant
phenomenon as a function of polyelectrolyte length for the unscreened case, and
the Debye length or salt concentration for the screened case. This may be
relevant in understanding the experimentally observed re-entrant condensation
of DNA.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
System-Size Independence of Directed Flow Measured at the BNL Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider
We measure directed flow (ν_1) for charged particles in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at √S_(NN)=200 and 62.4 GeV, as a function of pseudorapidity (η), transverse momentum (p_t), and collision centrality, based on data from the STAR experiment. We find that the directed flow depends on the incident energy but, contrary to all available model implementations, not on the size of the colliding system at a given centrality. We extend the validity of the limiting fragmentation concept to ν_1 in different collision systems, and investigate possible explanations for the observed sign change in ν_1(p_t)
Spin alignment measurements of the and vector mesons at RHIC
We present the first spin alignment measurements for the and
vector mesons produced at mid-rapidity with transverse momenta up
to 5 GeV/c at = 200 GeV at RHIC. The diagonal spin density
matrix elements with respect to the reaction plane in Au+Au collisions are
= 0.32 0.04 (stat) 0.09 (syst) for the
( GeV/c) and = 0.34 0.02 (stat) 0.03
(syst) for the ( GeV/c), and are constant with transverse
momentum and collision centrality. The data are consistent with the unpolarized
expectation of 1/3 and thus no evidence is found for the transfer of the
orbital angular momentum of the colliding system to the vector meson spins.
Spin alignments for and in Au+Au collisions were also measured
with respect to the particle's production plane. The result,
= 0.41 0.02 (stat) 0.04 (syst), is consistent with that in p+p
collisions, = 0.39 0.03 (stat) 0.06 (syst), also
measured in this work. The measurements thus constrain the possible size of
polarization phenomena in the production dynamics of vector mesons.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. fig.1 updated; one more reference added, one typo
corrected, published in PRC.77.06190
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