Free Energy of an Inhomogeneous Superconductor: a Wave Function Approach

A new method for calculating the free energy of an inhomogeneous superconductor is presented. This method is based on the quasiclassical limit (or Andreev approximation) of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (or wave function) formulation of the theory of weakly coupled superconductors. The method is applicable to any pure bulk superconductor described by a pair potential with arbitrary spatial dependence, in the presence of supercurrents and external magnetic field. We find that both the local density of states and the free energy density of an inhomogeneous superconductor can be expressed in terms of the diagonal resolvent of the corresponding Andreev Hamiltonian, resolvent which obeys the so-called Gelfand-Dikii equation. Also, the connection between the well known Eilenberger equation for the quasiclassical Green's function and the less known Gelfand-Dikii equation for the diagonal resolvent of the Andreev Hamiltonian is established. These results are used to construct a general algorithm for calculating the (gauge invariant) gradient expansion of the free energy density of an inhomogeneous superconductor at arbitrary temperatures.Comment: REVTeX, 28 page

Antisense DNA parameters derived from next-nearest-neighbor analysis of experimental data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The enumeration of tetrameric and other sequence motifs that are positively or negatively correlated with <it>in vivo </it>antisense DNA effects has been a useful addition to the arsenal of information needed to predict effective targets for antisense DNA control of gene expression. Such retrospective information derived from <it>in vivo </it>cellular experiments characterizes aspects of the sequence dependence of antisense inhibition that are not predicted by nearest-neighbor (NN) thermodynamic parameters derived from <it>in vitro </it>experiments. However, quantitation of the antisense contributions of motifs is problematic, since individual motifs are not isolated from the effects of neighboring nucleotides, and motifs may be overlapping. These problems are circumvented by a next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) analysis of antisense DNA effects in which the overlapping nature of nearest-neighbors is taken into account.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Next-nearest-neighbor triplet combinations of nucleotides are the simplest that include overlapping sequence effects and therefore can encompass interactions beyond those of nearest neighbors. We used singular value decomposition (SVD) to fit experimental data from our laboratory in which phosphorothioate-modified antisense DNAs (S-DNAs) 20 nucleotides long were used to inhibit cellular protein expression in 112 experiments involving four gene targets and two cell lines. Data were fitted using a NNN model, neglecting end effects, to derive NNN inhibition parameters that could be combined to give parameters for a set of 49 sequences that represents the inhibitory effects of all possible overlapping triplet interactions in the cellular targets of these antisense S-DNAs. We also show that parameters to describe subsets of the data, such as the mRNAs being targeted and the cell lines used, can be included in such a derivation. While NNN triplet parameters provided an adequate model to fit our data, NN doublet parameters did not.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The methodology presented illustrates how NNN antisense inhibitory information can be derived from <it>in vivo </it>cellular experiments. Subsequent calculations of the antisense inhibitory parameters for any mRNA target sequence automatically take into account the effects of all possible overlapping combinations of nearest-neighbors in the sequence. This procedure is more robust than the tallying of tetrameric motifs that have positive or negative antisense effects. The specific parameters derived in this work are limited in their applicability by the relatively small database of experiments that was used in their derivation.</p

Spontaneous emission in a planar Fabry-Perot microcavity

Published versio

Weak reaction freeze-out constraints on primordial magnetic fields

We explore constraints on the strength of the primordial magnetic field based upon the weak reaction freeze-out in the early universe. We find that limits on the strength of the magnetic field found in other works are recovered simply by examining the temperature at which the rate of weak reactions drops below the rate of universal expansion ($\Gamma_{w} \le$ H). The temperature for which the $n/p$ ratio at freeze-out leads to acceptable helium production implies limits on the magnetic field. This simplifies the application of magnetic fields to other cosmological variants of the standard big-bang. As an illustration we also consider effects of neutrino degeneracy on the allowed limits to the primordial magnetic field.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D., 6 pages, 2 figure

Bianchi Type V Viscous Fluid Cosmological Models in Presence of Decaying Vacuum Energy

Bianchi type V viscous fluid cosmological model for barotropic fluid distribution with varying cosmological term $\Lambda$ is investigated. We have examined a cosmological scenario proposing a variation law for Hubble parameter $H$ in the background of homogeneous, anisotropic Bianchi type V space-time. The model isotropizes asymptotically and the presence of shear viscosity accelerates the isotropization. The model describes a unified expansion history of the universe indicating initial decelerating expansion and late time accelerating phase. Cosmological consequences of the model are also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

The contribution of metacognitions and attentional control to decisional procrastination

Earlier research has implicated metacognitions and attentional control in procrastination and self-regulatory failure. This study tested several hypotheses: (1) that metacognitions would be positively correlated with decisional procrastination; (2) that attentional control would be negatively correlated with decisional procrastination; (3) that metacognitions would be negatively correlated with attentional control; and (4) that metacognitions and attentional control would predict decisional procrastination when controlling for negative affect. One hundred and twenty-nine participants completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21, the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire 30, the Attentional Control Scale, and the Decisional Procrastination Scale. Significant relationships were found between all three attentional control factors (focusing, shifting, and flexible control of thought) and two metacognitions factors (negative beliefs concerning thoughts about uncontrollability and danger, and cognitive confidence). Results also revealed that decisional procrastination was significantly associated with negative affect, all measured metacognitions factors, and all attentional control factors. In the final step of a hierarchical regression analysis only stress, cognitive confidence, and attention shifting were independent predictors of decisional procrastination. Overall these findings support the hypotheses and are consistent with the Self-Regulatory Executive Function model of psychological dysfunction. The implications of these findings are discussed

Relativistic Numerical Method for Close Neutron Star Binaries

We describe a numerical method for calculating the (3+1) dimensional general relativistic hydrodynamics of a coalescing neutron-star binary system. The relativistic field equations are solved at each time slice with a spatial 3-metric chosen to be conformally flat. Against this solution to the general relativistic field equations the hydrodynamic variables and gravitational radiation are allowed to respond. The gravitational radiation signal is derived via a multipole expansion of the metric perturbation to the hexadecapole order including both mass and current moments and a correction for the slow motion approximation. Using this expansion, the effect of gravitational radiation on the system evolution can also be recovered by introducing an acceleration term in the matter evolution.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. Figures available by anonymous ftp at ftp://cygnus.phys.nd.edu/pub/gr/gr-qc9601017

Regulation of Translation in Haloarchaea: 5′- and 3′-UTRs Are Essential and Have to Functionally Interact In Vivo

Recently a first genome-wide analysis of translational regulation using prokaryotic species had been performed which revealed that regulation of translational efficiency plays an important role in haloarchaea. In fact, the fractions of genes under differential growth phase-dependent translational control in the two species Halobacterium salinarum and Haloferax volcanii were as high as in eukaryotes. However, nothing is known about the mechanisms of translational regulation in archaea. Therefore, two genes exhibiting opposing directions of regulation were selected to unravel the importance of untranslated regions (UTRs) for differential translational control in vivo

Partner notification for sexually transmitted infections in developing countries: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The feasibility and acceptability of partner notification (PN) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in developing countries was assessed through a comprehensive literature review, to help identify future intervention needs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1995 and December 2007 on STI PN in developing countries. A systematic review of the research extracted information on: (1) willingness of index patients to notify partners; (2) the proportion of partners notified or referred; (3) client-reported barriers in notifying partners; (4) infrastructure barriers in notifying partners; and (5) PN approaches that were evaluated in developing countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 609 screened articles, 39 met our criteria. PN outcome varied widely and was implemented more often for spousal partners than for casual or commercial partners. Reported barriers included sociocultural factors such as stigma, fear of abuse for having an STI, and infrastructural factors related to the limited number of STD clinics, and trained providers and reliable diagnostic methods. Client-oriented counselling was found to be effective in improving partner referral outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>STD clinics can improve PN with client-oriented counselling, which should help clients to overcome perceived barriers. The authors speculate that well-designed PN interventions to evaluate the impact on STI prevalence and incidence along with cost-effectiveness components will motivate policy makers in developing countries to allocate more resources towards STI management.</p

Home country supportiveness/unfavorableness and outward foreign direct investment from China

What drives the outward foreign direct investments (OFDIs) by emerging market firms (EMFs)? Drawing on a strategy tripod framework, this article proposes a theoretical model to predict OFDI by EMFs from China. Specifically, we use institution- and industry-based views to examine two facets of home country environment, namely the supportiveness from home government and unfavorableness from home industry, as important determinants of OFDI, and compare the relative strength of these effects. Further, we use resource-based view to argue that the effect of the home country environment is contingent on the international experience portfolios of EMFs