The Quark Gluon Pion Plasma

While it is commonly believed that there is a {\it direct} transition from the hadronic to a quark gluon phase at high temperature, it would be prejudicial to rule out a sequence of dynamically generated intermediate scales. Using as guide, an effective lagrangian with unconfined gluons and constituent quarks, interacting with a chiral multiplet, we examine a scenario in which the system undergoes first-order transitions at $T_{comp}$, the compositeness scale of the pions, at $T_{\chi}$, the scale for spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, and at $T_c$, the confinement temperature. We find that at current energies, it is likely that the formation temperature of the plasma, $T_0 < T_{comp}$, and that this is therefore a quark gluon pion plasma (QGPP) rather than the usual quark gluon plasma (QGP). We propose some dilepton-related signatures of this scenario.Comment: Rewritten, new figure

A new window on Strange Quark Matter as the ground state of strongly interacting matter

If strange quark matter is the true ground state of matter, it must have lower energy than nuclear matter. Simultaneously, two-flavour quark matter must have higher energy than nuclear matter, for otherwise the latter would convert to the former. We show, using an effective chiral lagrangian, that the existence of a new lower energy ground state for two-flavour quark matter, the pion condensate, shrinks the window for strange quark matter to be the ground state of matter and sets new limits on the current strange quark mass

Čvrste disperzije silimarina: Karakterizacija i utjecaj načina priprave na oslobađanje

The influence of preparation methodology of silymarin solid dispersions using a hydrophilic polymer on the dissolution performance of silymarin was investigated. Silymarin solid dispersions were prepared using HPMC E 15LV by kneading, spray drying and co-precipitation methods and characterized by FTIR, DSC, XRPD and SEM. Dissolution profiles were compared by statistical and model independent methods. The FTIR and DSC studies revealed weak hydrogen bond formation between the drug and polymer, while XRPD and SEM confirmed the amorphous nature of the drug in co-precipitated solid dispersion. Enhanced dissolution compared to pure drug was found in the following order: co-precipitation > spray drying > kneading methodology (p sušenje sprejom > metoda gnječenja (p < 0.05). Iz svih pripravaka oslobađanje je bilo sporije, bez obzira na metodu priprave. Pripravci dobiveni metodom koprecipitacije bili su stabilni, a oslobađanje silimarina iz njih bilo je 2,5 bolje u odnosu na čisti lijek

A process for organic water

We present a local, self-sustaining, natural and economic way to secure a quality drinking water resource for a town or city. Most local rainfed aquifers in the environs of cities suffer from long-term contamination by chemical waste – either fertilizers and pesticides or urban effluents. We propose a process by which such aquifers can be restored to quality. This is accomplished by first changing the land use of the catchment area of local aquifers to forest, and then by a yearly evacuation of water in the aquifer till quality is restored. A model is used to estimate that, typically, by yearly evacuation of the aquifer, pollution in the aquifer water is reduced to 10% of its initial value in 5–7 years. This is an organic process to purify the water in the aquifer. We also find that the area required for this falls within 10% of the total area of the city, well within the green area norm for a city

A new scheme for large-scale natural water storage in the floodplains: the Delhi Yamuna floodplains as a case study

The top layer of accumulated sand washed down by floods over millions of years, makes river floodplains into giant aquifers. We propose a scheme for the natural storage of excess monsoon river-water discharge in the extensive and deep sand top layer of the floodplain of the river. The excess monsoon discharge can be used for a regulated inundation of an embanked area of the floodplain - to soak in and store the water. This storage can then be used for the withdrawal of water during the dry months. We illustrate this by an evaluation of the potential of the Yamuna floodplains in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and show that there can be an annual yield of 600-900 MCM of water, which is three-fourths the total water supply to Delhi. This makes it an invaluable natural resource potentially worth about Rs 6000-9000 crores a year of non-invasive use

MAPKAPK2-centric transcriptome profiling reveals its major role in governing molecular crosstalk of IGFBP2, MUC4, and PRKAR2B during HNSCC pathogenesis

Transcriptome analysis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has been pivotal to comprehending the convoluted biology of HNSCC tumors. MAPKAPK2 or MK2 is a critical modulator of the mRNA turnover of crucial genes involved in HNSCC progression. However, MK2-centric transcriptome profiles of tumors are not well known. This study delves into HNSCC progression with MK2 at the nexus to delineate the biological relevance and intricate crosstalk of MK2 in the tumor milieu. We performed next-generation sequencing-based transcriptome profiling of HNSCC cells and xenograft tumors to ascertain mRNA expression profiles in MK2-wild type and MK2-knockdown conditions. The findings were validated using gene expression assays, immunohistochemistry, and transcript turnover studies. Here, we identified a pool of crucial MK2-regulated candidate genes by annotation and differential gene expression analyses. Regulatory network and pathway enrichment revealed their significance and involvement in the HNSCC pathogenesis. Additionally, 3'-UTR-based filtering recognized important MK2-regulated downstream target genes and validated them by nCounter gene expression assays. Finally, immunohistochemistry and transcript stability studies revealed the putative role of MK2 in regulating the transcript turnover of IGFBP2, MUC4, and PRKAR2B in HNSCC. Conclusively, MK2-regulated candidate genes were identified in this study, and their plausible involvement in HNSCC pathogenesis was elucidated. These genes possess investigative values as targets for diagnosis and therapeutic interventions for HNSCC