1,539 research outputs found
Gauge and Averaging in Gravitational Self-force
A difficulty with previous treatments of the gravitational self-force is that
an explicit formula for the force is available only in a particular gauge
(Lorenz gauge), where the force in other gauges must be found through a
transformation law once the Lorenz gauge force is known. For a class of gauges
satisfying a ``parity condition'' ensuring that the Hamiltonian center of mass
of the particle is well-defined, I show that the gravitational self-force is
always given by the angle-average of the bare gravitational force. To derive
this result I replace the computational strategy of previous work with a new
approach, wherein the form of the force is first fixed up to a gauge-invariant
piece by simple manipulations, and then that piece is determined by working in
a gauge designed specifically to simplify the computation. This offers
significant computational savings over the Lorenz gauge, since the Hadamard
expansion is avoided entirely and the metric perturbation takes a very simple
form. I also show that the rest mass of the particle does not evolve due to
first-order self-force effects. Finally, I consider the ``mode sum
regularization'' scheme for computing the self-force in black hole background
spacetimes, and use the angle-average form of the force to show that the same
mode-by-mode subtraction may be performed in all parity-regular gauges. It
appears plausible that suitably modified versions of the Regge-Wheeler and
radiation gauges (convenient to Schwarzschild and Kerr, respectively) are in
this class
The sentiment analysis of tweets as a new tool to measure public perception of male erectile and ejaculatory dysfunctions
Twitter is a social network based on "tweets," short messages of up to 280 characters. Social media has been investigated in health care research to ascertain positive or negative feelings associated with several conditions but never in sexual medicin
Emerging treatment options for multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains one of the top public health issues of global concern. Among the most important strategies for AMR control there is the correct and appropriate use of antibiotics, including those available for the treatment of AMR pathogens. In this article, after briefly reviewing the most important and clinically relevant multi-drug-resistant bacteria and their main resistance mechanisms, we describe the emerging antimicrobial options for both MDR Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative bacilli, including recently marketed agents, molecules just approved or under evaluation and rediscovered older antibiotics that have regained importance due to their antimicrobial spectrum. Specifically, emerging options for Gram-positive cocci we reviewed include ceftaroline, ceftobiprole, tedizolid, dalbavancin, and fosfomycin. Emerging treatment options for Gram-negative bacilli we considered comprise ceftolozane-tazobactam, ceftazidime-avibactam, meropenem-vaborbactam, imipenem-relebactam, aztreonam-avibactam, minocycline, fosfomycin, eravacycline, plazomicin, and cefiderocol. An exciting scenario is opening today with the long awaited growing availability of novel molecules for the treatment of AMR bacteria. Knowledge of mechanisms of action and resistance patterns allows physicians to increasingly drive antimicrobial treatment towards a precision medicine approach. Strict adherence to antimicrobial stewardship practices will allow us to preserve the emerging antimicrobials for our future
Ultracold Dipolar Gases in Optical Lattices
This tutorial is a theoretical work, in which we study the physics of
ultra-cold dipolar bosonic gases in optical lattices. Such gases consist of
bosonic atoms or molecules that interact via dipolar forces, and that are
cooled below the quantum degeneracy temperature, typically in the nK range.
When such a degenerate quantum gas is loaded into an optical lattice produced
by standing waves of laser light, new kinds of physical phenomena occur. These
systems realize then extended Hubbard-type models, and can be brought to a
strongly correlated regime. The physical properties of such gases, dominated by
the long-range, anisotropic dipole-dipole interactions, are discussed using the
mean-field approximations, and exact Quantum Monte Carlo techniques (the Worm
algorithm).Comment: 56 pages, 26 figure
Aerobic growth of Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 using selected naphthenic acids as the sole carbon and energy sources
Naphthenic acids (NAs) are an important group of toxic organic compounds naturally occurring in hydrocarbon deposits. This work shows that Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 cells not only utilize a mixture of eight different NAs (8XNAs) for growth but they are also capable of marked degradation of two model NAs, cyclohexanecarboxylic acid (CHCA) and cyclopentanecarboxylic acid (CPCA) when supplied at concentrations from 50 to 500 mgL-1. The growth curves of BCP1 on 8XNAs, CHCA, and CPCA showed an initial lag phase not present in growth on glucose, which presumably was related to the toxic effects of NAs on the cell membrane permeability. BCP1 cell adaptation responses that allowed survival on NAs included changes in cell morphology, production of intracellular bodies and changes in fatty acid composition. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of BCP1 cells grown on CHCA or CPCA showed a slight reduction in the cell size, the production of EPS-like material and intracellular electron-transparent and electron-dense inclusion bodies. The electron-transparent inclusions increased in the amount and size in NA-grown BCP1 cells under nitrogen limiting conditions and contained storage lipids as suggested by cell staining with the lipophilic Nile Blue A dye. Lipidomic analyses revealed significant changes with increases of methyl-branched (MBFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) examining the fatty acid composition of NAs-growing BCP1 cells. PUFA biosynthesis is not usual in bacteria and, together with MBFA, can influence structural and functional processes with resulting effects on cell vitality. Finally, through the use of RT (Reverse Transcription)-qPCR, a gene cluster (chcpca) was found to be transcriptionally induced during the growth on CHCA and CPCA. Based on the expression and bioinformatics results, the predicted products of the chcpca gene cluster are proposed to be involved in aerobic NA degradation in R. aetherivorans BCP1. This study provides first insights into the genetic and metabolic mechanisms allowing a Rhodococcus strain to aerobically degrade NAs
Quantum magnetism and counterflow supersolidity of up-down bosonic dipoles
We study a gas of dipolar Bosons confined in a two-dimensional optical
lattice. Dipoles are considered to point freely in both up and down directions
perpendicular to the lattice plane. This results in a nearest neighbor
repulsive (attractive) interaction for aligned (anti-aligned) dipoles. We find
regions of parameters where the ground state of the system exhibits insulating
phases with ferromagnetic or anti-ferromagnetic ordering, as well as with
rational values of the average magnetization. Evidence for the existence of a
novel counterflow supersolid quantum phase is also presented.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Observation and Control of Laser-Enabled Auger Decay
Single photon laser enabled Auger decay (spLEAD) has been redicted
theoretically [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 083004 (2013)] and here we report its
first experimental observation in neon. Using coherent, bichromatic
free-electron laser pulses, we have detected the process and coherently
controlled the angular distribution of the emitted electrons by varying the
phase difference between the two laser fields. Since spLEAD is highly sensitive
to electron correlation, this is a promising method for probing both
correlation and ultrafast hole migration in more complex systems.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Hypoxia and inflammation as a consequence of β-fibril accumulation. A perspective view for new potential therapeutic targets
Amyloidoses are heterogeneous diseases that result from the deposition of toxic insoluble β-sheet fibrillar protein aggregates in different tissues. The cascade of molecular events leading to amyloidoses and to the related clinical manifestations is not completely understood. Nevertheless, it is known that tissue damage associated to this disease involves alteration of tissue architecture, interaction with cell surface receptors, inflammation elicited by the amyloid protein deposition, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. However, another important aspect to consider is that systemic protein massive deposition not only subverts tissue architecture but also determines a progressive cellular hypertrophy and dilation of the extracellular space enlarging the volume of the organ. Such an alteration increases the distance between cells and vessels with a drop in pO2 that, in turn, causes both necrotic cell death and activation of the hypoxia transcription factor HIF-1α. Herewith, we propose the hypothesis that both cell death and hypoxia represent two important events for the pathogenesis of damage and progression of amyloidoses. In fact, molecules released by necrotic cells activate inflammatory cells from one side while binding to HIF-1α-dependent membrane receptors expressed on hypoxic parenchymal cells on the other side. This latter event generates a signaling cascade triggering NFκB activation and chronic inflammation. Finally, we also suggest that this scenario, once proved and detailed, might suggest important targets for new therapeutic interventions
Carbon nanodots as nanocarrier for Squaraines: an in vitro evaluation of their Photodynamic activity
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