3,142 research outputs found
Exploring the properties of the phases of QCD matter - research opportunities and priorities for the next decade
This document provides a summary of the discussions during the recent joint
QCD Town Meeting at Temple University of the status of and future plans for the
research program of the relativistic heavy-ion community. A list of compelling
questions is formulated, and a number of recommendations outlining the greatest
research opportunities and detailing the research priorities of the heavy-ion
community, voted on and unanimously approved at the Town Meeting, are
presented. They are supported by a broad discussion of the underlying physics
and its relation to other subfields. Areas of overlapping interests with the
"QCD and Hadron Structure" ("cold QCD") subcommunity, in particular the
recommendation for the future construction of an Electron-Ion Collider, are
emphasized. The agenda of activities of the "hot QCD" subcommunity at the Town
Meeting is attached.Comment: 34 pages of text, 254 references,16 figure
Flow fluctuations and long-range correlations: elliptic flow and beyond
These proceedings consist of a brief overview of the current understanding of
collective behavior in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In particular, recent
progress in understanding the implications of event-by-event fluctuations have
solved important puzzles in existing data -- the "ridge" and "shoulder"
phenomena of long-range two-particle correlations -- and have created an
exciting opportunity to tightly constrain theoretical models with many new
observables.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings for the 22nd International
Conference On Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter
2011), Annecy, France, May 23 - 28, 2011; includes Fig. 2 which was omitted
from journal submission for lack of spac
Quark-Gluon Plasma at RHIC and the LHC: Perfect Fluid too Perfect?
Relativistic heavy ion collisions have reached energies that enable the
creation of a novel state of matter termed the quark-gluon plasma. Many
observables point to a picture of the medium as rapidly equilibrating and
expanding as a nearly inviscid fluid. In this article, we explore the evolution
of experimental flow observables as a function of collision energy and attempt
to reconcile the observed similarities across a broad energy regime in terms of
the initial conditions and viscous hydrodynamics. If the initial spatial
anisotropies are very similar for all collision energies from 39 GeV to 2.76
TeV, we find that viscous hydrodynamics might be consistent with the level of
agreement for v2 of unidentified hadrons as a function of pT . However, we
predict a strong collision energy dependence for the proton v2(pT). The results
presented in this paper highlight the need for more systematic studies and a
re-evaluation of previously stated sensitivities to the early time dynamics and
properties of the medium.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, submitted to the New Journal of Physics focus
issue "Strongly Correlated Quantum Fluids: From Ultracold Quantum Gases to
QCD Plasmas
Exact scaling of pair production in the high-energy limit of heavy-ion collisions
The two-center Dirac equation for an electron in the external electromagnetic
field of two colliding heavy ions in the limit in which the ions are moving at
the speed of light is exactly solved and nonperturbative amplitudes for free
electron-positron pair production are obtained. We find the condition for the
applicability of this solution for large but finite collision energy, and use
it to explain recent experimental results. The observed scaling of positron
yields as the square of the projectile and target charges is a result of an
exact cancellation of a nonperturbative charge dependence and holds as well for
large coupling. Other observables would be sensitive to nonperturbative phases.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, no figures, submitted to PR
Measurement schemes for the spin quadratures on an ensemble of atoms
We consider how to measure collective spin states of an atomic ensemble based
on the recent multi-pass approaches for quantum interface between light and
atoms. We find that a scheme with two passages of a light pulse through the
atomic ensemble is efficient to implement the homodyne tomography of the spin
state. Thereby, we propose to utilize optical pulses as a phase-shifter that
rotates the quadrature of the spins. This method substantially simplifies the
geometry of experimental schemes.Comment: 4pages 2 figure
Suppression of hole-hole scattering in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures under uniaxial compression
Resistance, magnetoresistance and their temperature dependencies have been
investigated in the 2D hole gas at a [001] p-GaAs/AlGaAs
heterointerface under [110] uniaxial compression. Analysis performed in the
frame of hole-hole scattering between carriers in the two spin splitted
subbands of the ground heavy hole state indicates, that h-h scattering is
strongly suppressed by uniaxial compression. The decay time of the
relative momentum reveals 4.5 times increase at a uniaxial compression of 1.3
kbar.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Phys.Rev.
Quantum spin chains in a magnetic field
We demonstrate that the ``worm'' algorithm allows very effective and precise
quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations of spin systems in a magnetic field, and
its auto-correlation time is rather insensitive to the value of H at low
temperature. Magnetization curves for the and chains are
presented and compared with existing Bethe ansatz and exact diagonalization
results. From the Green function analysis we deduce the magnon spectra in the
s=1 system, and directly establish the "relativistic" form E(p)=(\Delta ^2 +v^2
p^2)^{1/2} of the dispersion law.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures; removed discussion of spin-2 case - will be
published later in a separate pape
Guidelines for the use of human immunoglobulin therapy in patients with primary immunodeficiencies in Latin America
Antibodies are an essential component of the adaptative immune response and hold long-term memory of the immunological experiences throughout life. Antibody defects represent approximately half of the well-known primary immunodeficiencies requiring immunoglobulin replacement therapy. In this article, the authors review the current indications and therapeutic protocols in the Latin American environment. Immunoglobulin replacement therapy has been a safe procedure that induces dramatic positive changes in the clinical outcome of patients who carry antibody defects.Fil: Condino Neto, A.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Costa Carvalho, B. T.. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Grumach, A. S.. No especifĂca;Fil: King, A.. No especifĂca;Fil: Bezrodnik, Liliana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo GutiĂ©rrez". Ărea de InmunologĂa; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Oleastro, M.. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de PediatrĂa "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Leiva, L.. Louisiana Tech University; Estados UnidosFil: Porras, O.. Hospital Nacional de Ninos Ë Dr Carlos SĂĄenz Herrera"; Costa RicaFil: Espinosa Rosales, F. J.. Instituto Nacional de PediatrĂa; MĂ©xicoFil: Franco, J. L.. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: Sorensen, R. U.. Universidad de La Frontera; Chil
Gradient microfluidics enables rapid bacterial growth inhibition testing
Bacterial growth inhibition tests have become a standard measure of the adverse effects of inhibitors for a wide range of applications, such as toxicity testing in the medical and environmental sciences. However, conventional well-plate formats for these tests are laborious and provide limited information (often being restricted to an end-point assay). In this study, we have developed a microfluidic system that enables fast quantification of the effect of an inhibitor on bacteria growth and survival, within a single experiment. This format offers a unique combination of advantages, including long-term continuous flow culture, generation of concentration gradients, and single cell morphology tracking. Using Escherichia coli and the inhibitor amoxicillin as one model system, we show excellent agreement between an on-chip single cell-based assay and conventional methods to obtain quantitative measures of antibiotic inhibition (for example, minimum inhibition concentration). Furthermore, we show that our methods can provide additional information, over and above that of the standard well-plate assay, including kinetic information on growth inhibition and measurements of bacterial morphological dynamics over a wide range of inhibitor concentrations. Finally, using a second model system, we show that this chip-based systems does not require the bacteria to be labeled and is well suited for the study of naturally occurring species. We illustrate this using Nitrosomonas europaea, an environmentally important bacteria, and show that the chip system can lead to a significant reduction in the period required for growth and inhibition measurements (<4 days, compared to weeks in a culture flask)
Failure of recombinant factor VIIa in a patient with severe polymicrobial sepsis and postoperative uncontrolled intraabdominal bleeding
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This report discusses a case of unsuccessful treatment with recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) in off-label use. The need for international guidelines concerning the off-label use of rFVIIa is outlined as well as the need for methods to control the efficacy of rFVIIa objectively.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>54 year old male with severe polymicrobial sepsis due to a perforated diverticulitis of the sigmoid colon and consecutive overt disseminated intravascular coagulation. He suffered severe intraabdominal bleeding after abdominal surgery despite conventional haemostatic support. Repeated applications of factor VIIa temporarily improved coagulation essays but did not stop clinical bleeding. The patient died in multiorgan failure due to septic and haemorrhagic shock.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Off-label use of rFVIIa could result in more side effects than could be expected from literature because of a publication bias. However for most off-label applications large prospective, randomised and controlled trials to confirm the positive findings are missing. For the future, not only guidelines concerning the off-label use of rFVIIa are urgently needed but also guidelines for monitoring the efficacy of rFVIIa.</p
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