2,056 research outputs found
Stem cell differentiation increases membrane-actin adhesion regulating cell blebability, migration and mechanics
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder in order to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/K. S. is funded by an EPSRC PhD studentship. S.T. is funded by an EU Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (GENOMICDIFF)
Generic master equations for quasi-normal frequencies
Generic master equations governing the highly-damped quasi-normal frequencies
[QNFs] of one-horizon, two-horizon, and even three-horizon spacetimes can be
obtained through either semi-analytic or monodromy techniques. While many
technical details differ, both between the semi-analytic and monodromy
approaches, and quite often among various authors seeking to apply the
monodromy technique, there is nevertheless widespread agreement regarding the
the general form of the QNF master equations. Within this class of generic
master equations we can establish some rather general results, relating the
existence of "families" of QNFs of the form omega_{a,n} = (offset)_a + i n
(gap) to the question of whether or not certain ratios of parameters are
rational or irrational.Comment: 23 pages; V2: Minor additions, typos fixed. Matches published versio
The NLO QCD Corrections to Meson Production in Decays
The decay width of to meson is evaluated at the next-to-leading
order(NLO) accuracy in strong interaction. Numerical calculation shows that the
NLO correction to this process is remarkable. The quantum
chromodynamics(QCD)renormalization scale dependence of the results is obviously
depressed, and hence the uncertainties lying in the leading order calculation
are reduced.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures; references added; expressions and typos ammende
Semi-analytic results for quasi-normal frequencies
The last decade has seen considerable interest in the quasi-normal
frequencies [QNFs] of black holes (and even wormholes), both asymptotically
flat and with cosmological horizons. There is wide agreement that the QNFs are
often of the form omega_n = (offset) + i n (gap), though some authors have
encountered situations where this behaviour seems to fail. To get a better
understanding of the general situation we consider a semi-analytic model based
on a piecewise Eckart (Poeschl-Teller) potential, allowing for different
heights and different rates of exponential falloff in the two asymptotic
directions. This model is sufficiently general to capture and display key
features of the black hole QNFs while simultaneously being analytically
tractable, at least for asymptotically large imaginary parts of the QNFs. We
shall derive an appropriate "quantization condition" for the asymptotic QNFs,
and extract as much analytic information as possible. In particular, we shall
explicitly verify that the (offset)+ i n (gap) behaviour is common but not
universal, with this behaviour failing unless the ratio of rates of exponential
falloff on the two sides of the potential is a rational number. (This is
"common but not universal" in the sense that the rational numbers are dense in
the reals.) We argue that this behaviour is likely to persist for black holes
with cosmological horizons.Comment: V1: 28 pages, no figures. V2: 3 references added, no physics changes.
V3: 29 pages, 9 references added, no physics changes; V4: reformatted, now 27
pages. Some clarifications, comparison with results obtained by monodromy
techniques. This version accepted for publication in JHEP. V5: Minor typos
fixed. Compatible with published versio
Semi-local quantum liquids
Gauge/gravity duality applied to strongly interacting systems at finite
density predicts a universal intermediate energy phase to which we refer as a
semi-local quantum liquid. Such a phase is characterized by a finite spatial
correlation length, but an infinite correlation time and associated nontrivial
scaling behavior in the time direction, as well as a nonzero entropy density.
For a holographic system at a nonzero chemical potential, this unstable phase
sets in at an energy scale of order of the chemical potential, and orders at
lower energies into other phases; examples include superconductors and
antiferromagnetic-type states. In this paper we give examples in which it also
orders into Fermi liquids of "heavy" fermions. While the precise nature of the
lower energy state depends on the specific dynamics of the individual system,
we argue that the semi-local quantum liquid emerges universally at intermediate
energies through deconfinement (or equivalently fractionalization). We also
discuss the possible relevance of such a semi-local quantum liquid to heavy
electron systems and the strange metal phase of high temperature cuprate
superconductors.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure
Eine neue Sensortechnik zur Messung von elektrischen Potentialprofilen der menschlichen Haut anAkupunkturpunkten
Introduction: From an electro-physiological point of view human skin shows an inhomogeneous pattern regarding its electrical resistance: in certain areas a decreased electrical resistance can be observed. It has been postulated that these areas correspond to acupuncture points. Subsequently, devices have been developed as detectors for acupuncture points which are used for diagnosis and treatment in acupuncture. However, most of these devices are inconsistent: they show a remarkable inaccuracy in their measurements and are poorly evaluated. Further analyses have shown that the measuring pens often used are subject to various disturbances such as pressure, angle of measurement, humidity of the skin, different thickness of stratum corneum of the skin and external disturbances such as temperature and humidity in the measuring room. Material and Methods: We present a new device for standardized measuring of electrical skin resistance. It consists of a field of 64 electrodes (measuring array) on a surface of 60 x 60 mm(2) and a distance of 8 mm between electrodes. For a more precise spatial resolution a field of 32 electrodes on a surface of 3.5 x 3.5 mm(2) with a distance of 0.65 mm is available. A high, precise, temporal resolution of electric potentials in human skin is realized by fast scanning of the electrodes. Technical details are described. Conclusions: First analyses of collected data show that reliable and valid measurements are possible. Using this device in a controlled and blinded study design will help elucidate the issue of altered skin resistance at acupuncture points and clarify if this phenomenon is unique at acupuncture points
Cancer-selective, single agent chemoradiosensitising gold nanoparticles
Two nanometre gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), bearing sugar moieties and/or thiol-polyethylene glycol-amine (PEG-amine), were synthesised and evaluated for their in vitro toxicity and ability to radiosensitise cells with 220 kV and 6 MV X-rays, using four cell lines representing normal and cancerous skin and breast tissues. Acute 3 h exposure of cells to AuNPs, bearing PEG-amine only or a 50:50 ratio of alpha-galactose derivative and PEG-amine resulted in selective uptake and toxicity towards cancer cells at unprecedentedly low nanomolar concentrations. Chemotoxicity was prevented by co-administration of N-acetyl cysteine antioxidant, or partially prevented by the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK. In addition to their intrinsic cancer-selective chemotoxicity, these AuNPs acted as radiosensitisers in combination with 220 kV or 6 MV X-rays. The ability of AuNPs bearing simple ligands to act as cancer-selective chemoradiosensitisers at low concentrations is a novel discovery that holds great promise in developing low-cost cancer nanotherapeutics
Analysis of the Constituents in Rat Serum after Oral Administration of Fufang Zhenzhu Tiaozhi Capsule by UPLC–Q–TOF–MS/MS
A rapid and sensitive UPLC/Q–TOF–MS method has been established for analysis of the constituents in rat serum after oral administration of Fufang Zhenzhu Tiaozhi (FTZ) capsule, an effective compound prescription for treating hyperlipidemia in the clinic. The UPLC/MS information of samples was obtained first in FTZ preparation and FTZ-treated rat serum. Mass spectra were acquired in both negative and positive ion modes. Thirty-six constituents in rat serum after oral administration of FTZ were detected, including the alkaloids, ginsenosides, pentacyclic triterpenes, and their metabolites. These chemicals were identified based on the retention time and mass spectrometry data with those of authentic standards or comparison of the literatures reports. Twenty-seven prototype components originated from FTZ and nine were the metabolites of the FTZ constituents. These results shed light on the potential active constituents of the complex traditional Chinese medicinal formulas
Controls on gut phosphatisation : the trilobites from the Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Cambrian; Utah)
Despite being internal organs, digestive structures are frequently preserved in Cambrian Lagerstätten. However, the reasons for their fossilisation and their biological implications remain to be thoroughly explored. This is particularly true with arthropods--typically the most diverse fossilised organisms in Cambrian ecosystems--where digestive structures represent an as-yet underexploited alternative to appendage morphology for inferences on their biology. Here we describe the phosphatised digestive structures of three trilobite species from the Cambrian Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Utah). Their exquisite, three-dimensional preservation reveals unique details on trilobite internal anatomy, such as the position of the mouth and the absence of a differentiated crop. In addition, the presence of paired pygidial organs of an unknown function is reported for the first time. This exceptional material enables exploration of the relationships between gut phosphatisation and the biology of organisms. Indeed, soft-tissue preservation is unusual in these fossils as it is restricted to the digestive structures, which indicates that the gut played a central role in its own phosphatisation. We hypothesize that the gut provided a microenvironment where special conditions could develop and harboured a source of phosphorus. The fact that gut phosphatization has almost exclusively been observed in arthropods could be explained by their uncommon ability to store ions (including phosphorous) in their digestive tissues. However, in some specimens from the Weeks Formation, the phosphatisation extends to the entire digestive system, suggesting that trilobites might have had some biological particularities not observed in modern arthropods. We speculate that one of them might have been an increased capacity for ion storage in the gut tissues, related to the moulting of their heavily-mineralised carapace
Effects of quantum gravity on the inflationary parameters and thermodynamics of the early universe
The effects of generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) on the inflationary
dynamics and the thermodynamics of the early universe are studied. Using the
GUP approach, the tensorial and scalar density fluctuations in the inflation
era are evaluated and compared with the standard case. We find a good agreement
with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data. Assuming that a quantum gas
of scalar particles is confined within a thin layer near the apparent horizon
of the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe which satisfies the
boundary condition, the number and entropy densities and the free energy
arising form the quantum states are calculated using the GUP approach. A
qualitative estimation for effects of the quantum gravity on all these
thermodynamic quantities is introduced.Comment: 15 graghes, 7 figures with 17 eps graph
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