6,009 research outputs found
On the magnetic equation of state in (2+1)-flavor QCD
A first study of critical behavior in the vicinity of the chiral phase
transition of (2+1)-flavor QCD is presented. We analyze the quark mass and
volume dependence of the chiral condensate and chiral susceptibilities in QCD
with two degenerate light quark masses and a strange quark. The strange quark
mass (m_s) is chosen close to its physical value; the two degenerate light
quark masses (m_l) are varied in a wide range 1/80 \le m_l/m_s \le 2/5, where
the smallest light quark mass value corresponds to a pseudo-scalar Goldstone
mass of about 75 MeV. All calculations are performed with staggered fermions on
lattices with temporal extent Nt=4. We show that numerical results are
consistent with O(N) scaling in the chiral limit. We find that in the region of
physical light quark mass values, m_l/m_s \simeq 1/20, the temperature and
quark mass dependence of the chiral condensate is already dominated by
universal properties of QCD that are encoded in the scaling function for the
chiral order parameter, the magnetic equation of state. We also provide
evidence for the influence of thermal fluctuations of Goldstone modes on the
chiral condensate at finite temperature. At temperatures below, but close to
the chiral phase transition at vanishing quark mass, this leads to a
characteristic dependence of the light quark chiral condensate on the square
root of the light quark mass.Comment: 18 pages, 18 EPS-file
Uptake and cytotoxicity of citrate-coated gold nanospheres : comparative studies on human endothelial and epithelial cells
The use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for diagnostic applications and for drug and gene-delivery is currently under intensive investigation. For such applications, biocompatibility and the absence of cytotoxicity of AuNPs is essential. Although generally considered as highly biocompatible, previous in vitro studies have shown that cytotoxicity of AuNPs in certain human epithelial cells was observed. In particular, the degree of purification of AuNPs (presence of sodium citrate residues on the particles) was shown to affect the proliferation and induce cytotoxicity in these cells. To expand these studies, we have examined if the effects are related to nanoparticle size (10, 11ânm, 25ânm), to the presence of sodium citrate on the particles' surface or they are due to a varying degree of internalization of the AuNPs. Since two cell types are present in the major barriers to the outside in the human body, we have also included endothelial cells from the vasculature and blood brain barrier.
Results
Transmission electron microscopy demonstrates that the internalized gold nanoparticles are located within vesicles. Increased cytotoxicity was observed after exposure to AuNPs and was found to be concentration-dependent. In addition, cell viability and the proliferation of both endothelial cells decreased after exposure to gold nanoparticles, especially at high concentrations. Moreover, in contrast to the size of the particles (10ânm, 11ânm, 25ânm), the presence of sodium citrate on the nanoparticle surface appeared to enhance these effects. The effects on microvascular endothelial cells from blood vessels were slightly enhanced compared to the effects on brain-derived endothelial cells. A quantification of AuNPs within cells by ICP-AES showed that epithelial cells internalized a higher quantity of AuNPs compared to endothelial cells and that the quantity of uptake is not correlated with the amount of sodium citrate on the nanoparticlesâ surface.
Conclusions
In conclusion the higher amount of citrate on the particle surface resulted in a higher impairment of cell viability, but did not enhance or reduce the uptake behavior in endothelial or epithelial cells. In addition, epithelial and endothelial cells exhibited different uptake behaviors for citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles, which might be related to different interactions occurring at the nanoparticle-cell-surface interface. The different uptake in epithelial cells might explain the higher reduction of proliferation of these cells after exposure to AuNPs treatment although more detailed investigations are necessary to determine subcellular events. Nevertheless an extrinsic effect of sodium-citrate stabilized particles could not be excluded. Thus, the amount of sodium citrate should be reduced to a level on which the stability of the particles and the safety for biomedical applications are guaranteed
Force distributions and force chains in random stiff fiber networks
We study the elasticity of random stiff fiber networks. The elastic response
of the fibers is characterized by a central force stretching stiffness as well
as a bending stiffness that acts transverse to the fiber contour. Previous
studies have shown that this model displays an anomalous elastic regime where
the stretching mode is fully frozen out and the elastic energy is completely
dominated by the bending mode. We demonstrate by simulations and scaling
arguments that, in contrast to the bending dominated \emph{elastic energy}, the
equally important \emph{elastic forces} are to a large extent stretching
dominated. By characterizing these forces on microscopic, mesoscopic and
macroscopic scales we find two mechanisms of how forces are transmitted in the
network. While forces smaller than a threshold are effectively balanced
by a homogeneous background medium, forces larger than are found to be
heterogeneously distributed throughout the sample, giving rise to highly
localized force-chains known from granular media.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, final version as publishe
The potential of three whole blood microRNAs to predict outcome and monitor treatment response in sarcoid-bearing equids.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been proposed as biomarkers for equine sarcoid (ES) disease. In this study, the suitability of three whole blood miRNAs to diagnose ES and to predict and monitor the outcome of therapy was explored. Using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), expression levels of eca-miR-127, eca-miR-379, and eca-miR-432 in whole blood of ES-affected equids before and at least one year after therapy were compared to those of unaffected control equids. Associations of age, sex, species, diagnosis, and therapy outcome with miRNA expression levels were examined using general linear models. In total, 48 ES-affected equids and 47 control equids were recruited. From the affected animals, 31 responded favorably to treatment, and 17 demonstrated a failure of therapy. None of the tested miRNAs were influenced by age. Male equids showed increased expression of eca-miR-127 compared to females and horses showed higher expression levels of eca-miR-379 and eca-miR-432 than donkeys. Eca-miR-127 was confirmed as a diagnostic discriminator between ES-affected and control equids. No difference in miRNA profiles before therapy was found when comparing ES-affected equids with success vs. failure of therapy. Eca-miR-379 and eca-miR-432 decreased over time in horses where therapy was successful, but not in those cases where it failed. Biological variables influence equine whole blood miRNA expression, which may complicate biomarker validation. While none of the tested miRNAs could predict the response to therapy in ES-affected equids and eca-miR-127 showed poor diagnostic accuracy for ES, eca-miR-379 and eca-miR-432 miRNAs might allow refinement of monitoring of success of ES therapy
Unjamming due to local perturbations in granular packings with and without gravity
We investigate the unjamming response of disordered packings of frictional
hard disks with the help of computer simulations. First, we generate jammed
configurations of the disks and then force them to move again by local
perturbations. We study the spatial distribution of the stress and displacement
response and find long range effects of the perturbation in both cases. We
record the penetration depth of the displacements and the critical force that
is needed to make the system yield. These quantities are tested in two types of
systems: in ideal homogeneous packings in zero gravity and in packings settled
under gravity. The penetration depth and the critical force are sensitive to
the interparticle friction coefficient. Qualitatively, the same nonmonotonic
friction dependence is found both with and without gravity, however the
location of the extrema are at different friction values. We discuss the role
of the connectivity of the contact network and of the pressure gradient in the
unjamming response.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure
On the Nature of Intrinsic Absorption in Reddened Seyfert 1 Galaxies
We discuss the origin of the ``dusty lukewarm absorber'', which we previously
identified in the reddened Seyfert 1 galaxies NGC 3227 and Akn 564. This
absorber is characterized by saturated UV absorption lines (C IV, N V) near the
systemic velocity of the host galaxy, and is likely responsible for reddening
both the continuum and the emission lines (including those from the narrow-line
region) from these Seyferts. From a large sample of Seyfert 1 galaxies, we find
that continuum reddening (as measured by UV color) tends to increase with
inclination of the host galaxy. Furthermore, reddened, inclined Seyfert
galaxies observed at moderate to high spectral resolution all show evidence for
dusty lukewarm absorbers. We suggest that these absorbers lie in the plane of
the host galaxy at distances > 100 pc from the nucleus, and are physically
distinct from the majority of intrinsic absorbers that are outflowing from the
nucleus.Comment: 14 pages, including 2 figures, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal (Letters
Single-Molecule Fluorescence Observed with Mercury Lamp Illumination
We demonstrate that it is possible to observe single fluorescent molecules using a standard fluorescence microscope with mercury lamp excitation and an inexpensive cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. With this equipment, we have been able to observe single molecules of tetramethyl-rhodamine, rhodamine 6G, fluorescein isothiocyanate and green fluorescent protein. Immobilized molecules were observed both in air and in aqueous solution
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