Weinberg power counting and the quark determinant at small chemical potential

We construct an effective action for QCD by expanding the quark determinant in powers of the chemical potential at finite temperature in the case of massless quarks. To cut the infinite series we adopt the Weinberg power counting criteria. We compute the minimal effective action (~p^4), expanding in the external momentum, which implies the use of the hard thermal loop approximation. Our main result is a gauge invariant expression for the phase theta of the functional determinant in QCD, and recovers dimensional reduction in the high-temperature limit. We compute, analytically, in the range of p << 2 pi T, including perturbative and nonperturbative contributions, the latter treated within the mean field approximation. Implications for lattice simulations are briefly discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. v2: title changed, expanded discussion and added example (calculation of at high temperature). Published in PR

Thermal nonlocal Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model in the real time formalism

The real-time formalism at finite temperature and chemical potential for the nonlocal Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model is developed in the presence of a Gaussian covariant regulator. We construct the most general thermal propagator, by means of the spectral function. As a result, the model involves the propagation of massive quasiparticles. The appearance of complex poles is interpreted as a confinement signal, and in this case we have unstable quasiparticles with a finite decay width. An expression for the propagator along the critical line, where complex poles start to appear, is also obtained. A generalization to other covariant regulators is proposed.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, minor changes, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Variation in resistance to multiple pathogen species:anther-smuts of Silene uniflora

The occurrence of multiple pathogen species on a shared host species is unexpected when they exploit the same micro-niche within the host individual. One explanation for such observations is the presence of pathogen-specific resistances segregating within the host population into sites that are differentially occupied by the competing pathogens. This study used experimental inoculations to test whether specific resistances may contribute to the maintenance of two species of anther-smut fungi, Microbotryum silenes-inflatae and Microbotryum lagerheimii, in natural populations of Silene uniflora in England and Wales. Overall, resistance to the two pathogens was strongly positively correlated among host populations and to a lesser degree among host families within populations. A few instances of specific resistance were also observed and confirmed by replicated inoculations. The results suggest that selection for resistance to one pathogen may protect the host from the emergence via host shifts of related pathogen species, and conversely that co-occurrence of two species of pathogens may be dependent on the presence of host genotypes susceptible to both

Biological effects of cobalt-chromium nanoparticles and ions on dural fibroblasts and dural epithelial cells.

The introduction of metal-on-metal total disc replacements motivated studies to evaluate the effects of cobalt-chromium (CoCr) nanoparticles on cells of the dura mater. Porcine fibroblasts and epithelial cells isolated from the dura mater were cultured with clinically-relevant CoCr nanoparticles and the ions, generated by the particles over 24 h, at doses up to 121 μm(3)per cell. Cell viability and production of proinflammatory cytokines was assessed over 4 days. The capacity of the particles to induce oxidative stress in the cells was evaluated at 24 h. The CoCr particles and their ions significantly reduced the viability of the dural epithelial cells in a dose-dependent manner but not the fibroblasts. Both cell types secreted IL-8 in response to particle exposure at doses of 60.5 μm(3) (epithelial cells) and 121 μm(3) (fibroblasts, epithelial cells) per cell. No significant release of IL-6 was observed in both cell types at any dose. Reactive oxygen species were induced in both cell types at 50 μm(3) per cell after 24 h exposure. The data suggested novel differences in the resistance of the dural epithelial cells and fibroblasts to CoCr nanoparticle/ion toxicity and demonstrated the inflammatory potential of the particles. The data contributes to a greater understanding of the potential biological consequences of the use of metal-on-metal total disc prostheses

Glacial Refugia in Pathogens: European Genetic Structure of Anther Smut Pathogens on Silene latifolia and Silene dioica

Climate warming is predicted to increase the frequency of invasions by pathogens and to cause the large-scale redistribution of native host species, with dramatic consequences on the health of domesticated and wild populations of plants and animals. The study of historic range shifts in response to climate change, such as during interglacial cycles, can help in the prediction of the routes and dynamics of infectious diseases during the impending ecosystem changes. Here we studied the population structure in Europe of two Microbotryum species causing anther smut disease on the plants Silene latifolia and Silene dioica. Clustering analyses revealed the existence of genetically distinct groups for the pathogen on S. latifolia, providing a clear-cut example of European phylogeography reflecting recolonization from southern refugia after glaciation. The pathogen genetic structure was congruent with the genetic structure of its host species S. latifolia, suggesting dependence of the migration pathway of the anther smut fungus on its host. The fungus, however, appeared to have persisted in more numerous and smaller refugia than its host and to have experienced fewer events of large-scale dispersal. The anther smut pathogen on S. dioica also showed a strong phylogeographic structure that might be related to more northern glacial refugia. Differences in host ecology probably played a role in these differences in the pathogen population structure. Very high selfing rates were inferred in both fungal species, explaining the low levels of admixture between the genetic clusters. The systems studied here indicate that migration patterns caused by climate change can be expected to include pathogen invasions that follow the redistribution of their host species at continental scales, but also that the recolonization by pathogens is not simply a mirror of their hosts, even for obligate biotrophs, and that the ecology of hosts and pathogen mating systems likely affects recolonization patterns

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access