Renormalization Effects in a Dilute Bose Gas

The low-density expansion for a homogeneous interacting Bose gas at zero temperature can be formulated as an expansion in powers of $\sqrt{\rho a^3}$, where $\rho$ is the number density and $a$ is the S-wave scattering length. Logarithms of $\rho a^3$ appear in the coefficients of the expansion. We show that these logarithms are determined by the renormalization properties of the effective field theory that describes the scattering of atoms at zero density. The leading logarithm is determined by the renormalization of the pointlike $3 \to 3$ scattering amplitude.Comment: 10 pages, 1 postscript figure, LaTe

On-site detection of equid alphaherpesvirus 3 in perineal and genital swabs of mares and stallions

Equine coital exanthema (ECE) is an infectious, venereally transmitted muco-cutaneous disease affecting mares and stallions, caused by equid alphaherpesvirus 3 (EHV3). Diagnostic tools for rapid identification of EHV3 are of primary importance to diminish the risk of EHV3 dissemination at the time of breeding. In the last years, it has been shown that the performance of the insulated-isothermal polymerase chain reaction (iiPCR) is comparable to virus isolation, nested PCR and real-time PCR (qPCR) in detecting pathogens of various animal species. Analytical sensitivity and specificity of the iiPCR were compared with a qPCR, using a plasmid containing the target region of the EHV3 glycoprotein G gene and an Argentinian EHV3 isolate (E/9283/07 C3A). In order to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the iiPCR, nucleic acids of 85 perineal and genital swabs (PGS) of mares and stallions were extracted by tacoTM mini and tested by both techniques. EHV3 was detected in 46 and 45 of the 85 PGS by the iiPCR and qPCR, respectively. There was almost perfect agreement between the two diagnostic methods (98.82%; 95% CI: 95.03–100%; κ = 0.98). The iiPCR had a limit of detection of 95.00% at 6 genome equivalents per reaction and a detection endpoint for viral DNA comparable to that of the qPCR, and did not react with six non-targeted equine pathogens. The iiPCR represents a sensitive and specific method for the rapid on-site diagnosis of EHV3 infection. Its routinely implementation in breeding facilities, and artificial insemination and embryo transfer centers, will contribute to prevent the dissemination of this venereal, highly contagious disease in horses.Fil: Vissani, María Aldana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Tordoya, Maria Silvia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Tsai, Y.-L.. GeneReach; Estados UnidosFil: Lee, P.-Y.A.. GeneReach; Estados UnidosFil: Shen, Y.-H.. GeneReach; Estados UnidosFil: Lee, F.-C.. GeneReach; Estados UnidosFil: Wang, H.-T.T.. GeneReach; Estados UnidosFil: Parreño, Gladys Viviana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barrandeguy, María Edith. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Universidad del Salvador. Escuela de Veterinaria; Argentin

Direct CP, T and/or CPT violations in the K^0-\bar{K^0} system - Implications of the recent KTeV results on 2π2\pi decays -

The recent results on the CP violating parameters Re(e'/e) and \Delta\phi = \phi_{00}-\phi_{+-} reported by the KTeV Collaboration are analyzed with a view to constrain CP, T and CPT violations in a decay process. Combining with some relevant data compiled by the Particle Data Group, we find Re(e_2-e_0) = (0.85 +- 3.11)*10^{-4} and Im(e_2-e_0) = (3.2 +- 0.7)*10^{-4}, where Re(e_I) and Im(e_I) represent respectively CP/CPT and CP/T violations in decay of K^0 and \bar{K^0} into a 2\pi state with isospin I.Comment: 7 pages, No figure

Injectable dual-gelling cell-laden composite hydrogels for bone tissue engineering

The present work investigated the osteogenic potential of injectable, dual thermally and chemically gelable composite hydrogels for mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) delivery in vitro and in vivo. Composite hydrogels comprising copolymer macromers of N-isopropylacrylamide were fabricated through the incorporation of gelatin microparticles (GMPs) as enzymatically digestible porogens and sites for cellular attachment. High and low polymer content hydrogels with and without GMP loading were shown to successfully encapsulate viable MSCs and maintain their survival over 28 days in vitro. GMP incorporation was also shown to modulate alkaline phosphatase production, but enhanced hydrogel mineralization along with higher polymer content even in the absence of cells. Moreover, the regenerative capacity of 2 mm thick hydrogels with GMPs only, MSCs only, or GMPs and MSCs was evaluated in vivo in an 8 mm rat critical size cranial defect for 4 and 12 weeks. GMP incorporation led to enhanced bony bridging and mineralization within the defect at each timepoint, and direct bone-implant contact as determined by microcomputed tomography and histological scoring, respectively. Encapsulation of both GMPs and MSCs enabled hydrogel degradation leading to significant tissue infiltration and osteoid formation. The results suggest that these injectable, dual-gelling cell-laden composite hydrogels can facilitate bone ingrowth and integration, warranting further investigation for bone tissue engineering

Second-order corrections to mean field evolution for weakly interacting Bosons. I

Inspired by the works of Rodnianski and Schlein and Wu, we derive a new nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation that describes a second-order correction to the usual tensor product (mean-field) approximation for the Hamiltonian evolution of a many-particle system in Bose-Einstein condensation. We show that our new equation, if it has solutions with appropriate smoothness and decay properties, implies a new Fock space estimate. We also show that for an interaction potential $v(x)= \epsilon \chi(x) |x|^{-1}$, where $\epsilon$ is sufficiently small and $\chi \in C_0^{\infty}$, our program can be easily implemented locally in time. We leave global in time issues, more singular potentials and sophisticated estimates for a subsequent part (part II) of this paper

Discovery of Novel Backusella (Backusellaceae, Mucorales) Isolated from Invertebrates and Toads in Cheongyang, Korea

Three novel fungal species, Backusella chlamydospora sp. nov., B. koreana sp. nov., and B. thermophila sp. nov., as well as two new records, B. oblongielliptica and B. oblongispora, were found in Cheongyang, Korea, during an investigation of fungal species from invertebrates and toads. All species are described here using morphological characters and sequence data from internal transcribed spacer sequences of ribosomal DNA and large subunit of the ribosomal DNA. Backusella chlamydospora is different from other Backusella species by producing chlamydospores. Backusella koreana can be distinguished from other Backusella species by producing abundant yeast-like cells. Backusella thermophila is characterized by a variable (subglobose to oblong, applanate to oval, conical and ellipsoidal to pyriform) columellae and grows well at 37 ◦C. Multigene phylogenetic analyses of the combined ITS and LSU rDNA sequences data generated from maximum likelihood and MrBayes analyses indicate that B. chlamydospora, B. koreana, and B. thermophila form distinct lineages in the family Backusellaceae. Detailed descriptions, illustrations, phylogenetic tree, and taxonomic key to the Backusella species present in Korea are provided

The State of Self-Organized Criticality of the Sun During the Last 3 Solar Cycles. I. Observations

We analyze the occurrence frequency distributions of peak fluxes $P$, total fluxes $E$, and durations $T$ of solar flares over the last three solar cycles (during 1980--2010) from hard X-ray data of HXRBS/SMM, BATSE/CGRO, and RHESSI. From the synthesized data we find powerlaw slopes with mean values of $\alpha_P=1.72\pm0.08$ for the peak flux, $\alpha_E=1.60\pm0.14$ for the total flux, and $\alpha_T=1.98\pm0.35$ for flare durations. We find a systematic anti-correlation of the powerlaw slope of peak fluxes as a function of the solar cycle, varying with an approximate sinusoidal variation $\alpha_P(t)=\alpha_0+\Delta \alpha \cos{[2\pi (t-t_0)/T_{cycle}]}$, with a mean of $\alpha_0=1.73$, a variation of $\Delta \alpha =0.14$, a solar cycle period $T_{cycle}=12.6$ yrs, and a cycle minimum time $t_0=1984.1$. The powerlaw slope is flattest during the maximum of a solar cycle, which indicates a higher magnetic complexity of the solar corona that leads to an overproportional rate of powerful flares.Comment: subm. to Solar Physic

Isolation and analysis of genes specifically expressed during basidiomatal development in Antrodia cinnamomea by subtractive PCR and cDNA microarray

cDNAs specifically expressed at the basidiome stage were isolated by using PCR-selected cDNA subtraction in order to study gene regulation during porous-hymenium basidiomatal formation in Antrodia cinnamomea. BLASTX results suggested that most of the expressed sequence tags (52.4-69.5%) had no significant protein homology to genes from other published living things. cDNAs particularly expressed at different growing conditions were identified using cDNA microarray analysis. Reverse transcriptase PCR analyses confirmed that the clone putative to P-type ATPase, various cytochrome P450s and some unknown genes were abundant at natural basidiomes while endoglucanase was abundant at the tissue from artificial medium

Effects of Supplemental Glutamine on Growth Performance, Plasma Parameters and LPS-induced Immune Response of Weaned Barrows after Castration

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of supplemental glutamine on growth performance, plasma parameters and LPS-induced immune response of weaned barrows after castration. In experiment 1, forty-eight weaned male piglets were used and fed maize and soybean meal diets supplemented with 0 (Control) or 2% L-Gln (Gln+) for 25 days. The results indicated that the Gln+ group tended to increase average daily gain compared to control in stages of days 7 to 14 and 0 to 25. The Gln+ had significantly better feed efficiency than the control group did during days 14 to 25 and 0 to 25. The plasma blood urea nitrogen and alkaline phosphatase contents of Gln+ group were higher than those of the control group on day 14 post-weaning. In experiment 2, sixteen weaned male piglets were injected with E. coli K88+ lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on day 14 post-weaning. The results showed that the Gln+ group had lower concentrations of plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol than the control group on day 14 pre-LPS challenge. In addition, Gln+ group had higher plasma IgG concentration than the control group for pre- or post-LPS challenged on day 14 post-weaning. In summary, dietary supplementation of Gin was able to alleviate the stressful condition and inflammation associated with castration in weaned barrows, and to improve their immunity and growth performance in the early starter stage