553 research outputs found
Spin-1/2 J1-J2 model on the body-centered cubic lattice
Using exact diagonalization (ED) and linear spin wave theory (LSWT) we study
the influence of frustration and quantum fluctuations on the magnetic ordering
in the ground state of the spin-1/2 J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (J1-J2
model) on the body-centered cubic (bcc) lattice. Contrary to the J1-J2 model on
the square lattice, we find for the bcc lattice that frustration and quantum
fluctuations do not lead to a quantum disordered phase for strong frustration.
The results of both approaches (ED, LSWT) suggest a first order transition at
J2/J1 0.7 from the two-sublattice Neel phase at low J2 to a collinear
phase at large J2.Comment: 6.1 pages 7 figure
Virus shapes and buckling transitions in spherical shells
We show that the icosahedral packings of protein capsomeres proposed by
Caspar and Klug for spherical viruses become unstable to faceting for
sufficiently large virus size, in analogy with the buckling instability of
disclinations in two-dimensional crystals. Our model, based on the nonlinear
physics of thin elastic shells, produces excellent one parameter fits in real
space to the full three-dimensional shape of large spherical viruses. The
faceted shape depends only on the dimensionless Foppl-von Karman number
\gamma=YR^2/\kappa, where Y is the two-dimensional Young's modulus of the
protein shell, \kappa is its bending rigidity and R is the mean virus radius.
The shape can be parameterized more quantitatively in terms of a spherical
harmonic expansion. We also investigate elastic shell theory for extremely
large \gamma, 10^3 < \gamma < 10^8, and find results applicable to icosahedral
shapes of large vesicles studied with freeze fracture and electron microscopy.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure
Correlated metabolomic, genomic, and histologic phenotypes in histologically normal breast tissue
Breast carcinogenesis is a multistep process accompanied by widespread molecular and genomic alterations, both in tumor and in surrounding microenvironment. It is known that tumors have altered metabolism, but the metabolic changes in normal or cancer-adjacent, nonmalignant normal tissues and how these changes relate to alterations in gene expression and histological composition are not well understood. Normal or cancer-adjacent normal breast tissues from 99 women of the Normal Breast Study (NBS) were evaluated. Data of metabolomics, gene expression and histological composition was collected by mass spectrometry, whole genome microarray, and digital image, respectively. Unsupervised clustering analysis determined metabolomics-derived subtypes. Their association with genomic and histological features, as well as other breast cancer risk factors, genomic and histological features were evaluated using logistic regression. Unsupervised clustering of metabolites resulted in two main clusters. The metabolite differences between the two clusters suggested enrichment of pathways involved in lipid metabolism, cell growth and proliferation, and migration. Compared with Cluster 1, subjects in Cluster 2 were more likely to be obese (body mass index 30 kg/m2, p<0.05), have increased adipose proportion (p<0.01) and associated with a previously defined Active genomic subtype (p<0.01). By the integrated analyses of histological, metabolomics and transcriptional data, we characterized two distinct subtypes of non-malignant breast tissue. Further research is needed to validate our findings, and understand the potential role of these alternations in breast cancer initiation, progression and recurrence
A framework for predicting X-nuclei transmitter gain using 1H signal
Commercial human MR scanners are optimised for proton imaging, containing sophisticated prescan algorithms with setting parameters such as RF transmit gain and power. These are not optimal for X-nuclear application and are challenging to apply to hyperpolarised experiments, where the non-renewable magnetisation signal changes during the experiment. We hypothesised that, despite the complex and inherently nonlinear electrodynamic physics underlying coil loading and spatial variation, simple linear regression would be sufficient to accurately predict X-nuclear transmit gain based on concomitantly acquired data from the proton body coil. We collected data across 156 scan visits at two sites as part of ongoing studies investigating sodium, hyperpolarised carbon, and hyperpolarised xenon. We demonstrate that simple linear regression is able to accurately predict sodium, carbon, or xenon transmit gain as a function of position and proton gain, with variation that is less than the intrasubject variability. In conclusion, sites running multinuclear studies may be able to remove the time-consuming need to separately acquire X-nuclear reference power calibration, inferring it from the proton instead
Academic freedom: in justification of a universal ideal
This paper examines the justification for, and benefits of, academic freedom to academics, students, universities and the world at large. The paper surveys the development of the concept of academic freedom within Europe, more especially the impact of the reforms at the University of Berlin instigated by Wilhelm von Humboldt. Following from this, the paper examines the reasons why the various facets of academic freedom are important and why the principle should continue to be supported
Initial feasibility and challenges of hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI in neonates with bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Purpose
The underlying functional and microstructural lung disease in neonates who are born preterm (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, BPD) remains poorly characterized. Moreover, there is a lack of suitable techniques to reliably assess lung function in this population. Here, we report our preliminary experience with hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI in neonates with BPD.
Methods
Neonatal intensive care patients with established BPD were recruited (N = 9) and imaged at a corrected gestational age of median:40.7 (range:37.1, 44.4) wk using a 1.5T neonatal scanner. 2D 129Xe ventilation and diffusion-weighted images and dissolved phase spectroscopy were acquired, alongside 1H 3D radial UTE. 129Xe images were acquired during a series of short apneic breath-holds (˜3 s). 1H UTE images were acquired during tidal breathing. Ventilation defects were manually identified and qualitatively compared to lung structures on UTE. ADCs were calculated on a voxel-wise basis. The signal ratio of the 129Xe red blood cell (RBC) and tissue membrane (M) resonances from spectroscopy was determined.
Results
Spiral-based 129Xe ventilation imaging showed good image quality and sufficient sensitivity to detect mild ventilation abnormalities in patients with BPD. 129Xe ADC values were elevated above that expected given healthy data in older children and adults (median:0.046 [range:0.041, 0.064] cm2s−1); the highest value obtained from an extremely pre-term patient. 129Xe spectroscopy revealed a low RBC/M ratio (0.14 [0.06, 0.21]).
Conclusion
We have demonstrated initial feasibility of 129Xe lung MRI in neonates. With further data, the technique may help guide management of infant lung diseases in the neonatal period and beyond
Repulsive polarons and itinerant ferromagnetism in strongly polarized Fermi gases
We analyze the properties of a single impurity immersed in a Fermi sea. At
positive energy and scattering lengths, we show that the system possesses a
well-defined but metastable excitation, the repulsive polaron, and we calculate
its energy, quasiparticle residue and effective mass. From a thermodynamic
argument we obtain the number of particles in the dressing cloud, illustrating
the repulsive character of the polaron. Identifying the important 2- and 3-body
decay channels, we furthermore calculate the lifetime of the repulsive polaron.
The stability conditions for the formation of fully spin polarized
(ferromagnetic) domains are then examined for a binary mixture of atoms with a
general mass ratio. Our results indicate that mass imbalance lowers the
critical interaction strength for phase-separation, but that very short
quasiparticle decay times will complicate the experimental observation of
itinerant ferromagnetism. Finally, we present the spectral function of the
impurity for various coupling strengths and momenta.Comment: Substantial improvements to the section describing quasiparticle
decays (included a discussion of two-body and three-body processes), and to
the criteria for the stability of the itinerant ferromagnetic phas
Termografia infravermelha da superfície ocular como indicador de estresse em suínos na fase de creche
Fine-root production in two secondary forest sites with distinct ages in Eastern Amazon
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