709 research outputs found
Phonon emission and absorption in the fractional quantum Hall effect
We investigate the time dependent thermal relaxation of a two-dimensional
electron system in the fractional quantum Hall regime where ballistic phonons
are used to heat up the system to a non-equilibrium temperature. The thermal
relaxation of a 2DES at can be described in terms of a broad band
emission of phonons, with a temperature dependence proportional to . In
contrast, the relaxation at fractional filling is characterized by
phonon emission around a single energy, the magneto-roton gap. This leads to a
strongly reduced energy relaxation rate compared to with only a weak
temperature dependence for temperatures 150 mK 400 mK.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; 14th International Conference on High Magnetic
Fields in Semiconductor Physics, September 24-29, 2000, Matsue, Japa
Endothelin-receptor antagonists are proapoptotic and antiproliferative in human colon cancer cells
Endothelin (ET)-1 can act as an autocrine/paracrine growth factor or an antiapoptotic factor in human cancers. To study the role of ET-1 in human colon cancer, proliferation and apoptosis of colon carcinoma cells was investigated using human HT-29 and SW480 colon carcinoma cells. ET-1 was secreted by these cells. Treatment of cells with bosentan, a dual ET(A/B)-receptor antagonist, decreased cell number. Inhibition of DNA synthesis by bosentan was observed only in the presence of serum. Exogenously added ET-1 did not increase DNA synthesis in serum-deprived cells. SW480 cells were sensitive and HT-29 cells were resistant to FasL-induced apoptosis. Bosentan sensitised resistant HT-29 cells to FasL-induced, caspase-mediated apoptosis, but not to TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. Bosentan and/or FasLigand (FasL) did not modulate the expression of caspase-8 or FLIP. Bosentan sensitisation to apoptosis was reversed by low concentrations (10(-13)-10(-10) M), but not by high concentrations (10(-9)-10(-7) M) of ET-1. These results suggest that the binding of ET-1 to high-affinity sites inhibits FasL-induced apoptosis, while the binding of either ET-1 or receptor antagonists to low-affinity sites promotes FasL-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, endothelin signalling pathways do not induce human colon cancer cell proliferation, but are survival signals controling resistance to apoptosis
Hydroxylation of polypropylene using the monooxygenase mutant 139-3 from Bacillus megaterium BM3
Enzymatic hydroxylation of polypropylene (PP) was investigated in order to increase hydrophilicity. A mutant (139-3) of the P450monooxygenase from Bacillus megaterium expressed in E. coli DH5α was purified using anion exchange chromatography. Hydroxylation of PP fabrics led to a dramatic increase of hydrophilicity as indicated by a water drop dissipation time of below 1 s compared to the hydrophobic reference material. Likewise, a 4.9 cm increase of rising height was measured which remained consistent after 144 h of storage. Similarly, enzymatic hydroxylation of PP films lead to a decrease of the WCA from 104.6° to 77.3° with no major change after exposure to air for 6 days. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, an increase in normalized atomic concentrations of oxygen from 1.40 to 4.98% for the CO-inhibited and enzyme treated sample, respectively, was measured confirming enzymatic hydroxylation.This study was performed within Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology ACIB, the MacroFun project and COST Action 868. This work has been supported by the Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth (BMWFJ), the Federal Ministry of Traffic, Innovation and Technology (bmvit), the Styrian Business Promotion Agency SFG, the Standortagentur Tirol and ZIT - Technology Agency of the City of Vienna through the COMET- Funding Program managed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG
NLO QCD bottom corrections to Higgs boson production in the MSSM
We present a calculation of the two-loop bottom-sbottom-gluino contributions
to Higgs boson production via gluon fusion in the MSSM. The calculation is
based on an asymptotic expansion in the masses of the supersymmetric particles,
which are assumed to be much heavier than the bottom quark and the Higgs
bosons. We obtain explicit analytic results that allow for a straightforward
identification of the dominant contributions in the NLO bottom corrections. We
emphasize the interplay between the calculations of the masses and the
production cross sections of the Higgs bosons, discussing sensible choices of
renormalization scheme for the parameters in the bottom/sbottom sector.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures. v2: references and two figures added, version
published in JHE
Coherent coupling of two quantum dots embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm ring
We define two laterally gated small quantum dots (~ 15 electrons) in an
Aharonov-Bohm geometry in which the coupling between the two dots can be
broadly changed. For weakly coupled quantum dots we find Aharonov-Bohm
oscillations. In an intermediate coupling regime we concentrate on the
molecular states of the double dot and extract the magnetic field dependence of
the coherent coupling.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Top Squarks and Bottom Squarks in the MSSM with Complex Parameters
We present a phenomenological study of top squarks (~t_1,2) and bottom
squarks (~b_1,2) in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with
complex parameters A_t, A_b, \mu and M_1. In particular we focus on the CP
phase dependence of the branching ratios of (~t_1,2) and (~b_1,2) decays. We
give the formulae of the two-body decay widths and present numerical results.
We find that the effect of the phases on the (~t_1,2) and (~b_1,2) decays can
be quite significant in a large region of the MSSM parameter space. This could
have important implications for (~t_1,2) and (~b_1,2) searches and the MSSM
parameter determination in future collider experiments. We have also estimated
the accuracy expected in the determination of the parameters of ~t_i and ~b_i
by a global fit of the measured masses, decay branching ratios and production
cross sections at e^+ e^- linear colliders with polarized beams. Analysing two
scenarios, we find that the fundamental parameters apart from A_t and A_b can
be determined with errors of 1% to 2%, assuming an integrated luminosity of 1
ab^-1 and a sufficiently large c.m.s. energy to produce also the heavier ~t_2
and ~b_2 states. The parameter A_t can be determined with an error of 2 - 3%,
whereas the error on A_b is likely to be of the order of 50%.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures, comments and references added, conclusions
unchanged; version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Explosive cell lysis as a mechanism for the biogenesis of bacterial membrane vesicles and biofilms
Many bacteria produce extracellular and surface-associated components such as membrane vesicles (MVs), extracellular DNA and moonlighting cytosolic proteins for which the biogenesis and export pathways are not fully understood. Here we show that the explosive cell lysis of a sub-population of cells accounts for the liberation of cytosolic content in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. Super-resolution microscopy reveals that explosive cell lysis also produces shattered membrane fragments that rapidly form MVs. A prophage endolysin encoded within the R- and F-pyocin gene cluster is essential for explosive cell lysis. Endolysin-deficient mutants are defective in MV production and biofilm development, consistent with a crucial role in the biogenesis of MVs and liberation of extracellular DNA and other biofilm matrix components. Our findings reveal that explosive cell lysis, mediated through the activity of a cryptic prophage endolysin, acts as a mechanism for the production of bacterial MVs
A Supersymmetric Explanation of the Excess of Higgs-Like Events at LEP
Searches for the Standard Model Higgs boson by the four LEP experiments found
excess events in two mass ranges: a 2.3 sigma excess around 98 GeV, and an 1.7
sigma excess around 115 GeV. The latter has been discussed widely in the
literature, but the former has attracted little attention so far. In this paper
I explore the possibility of explaining the excess near 98 GeV through
production of the lighter CP--even Higgs boson in the Minimal Supersymmetric
Standard Model (MSSM). It is shown that this allows to simultaneously explain
the excess near 115 GeV through the production of the heavier CP--even MSSM
Higgs boson. The resulting light Higgs sector offers opportunities for charged
Higgs boson searches at the Tevatron and LHC. Neutral Higgs boson searches at
the LHC in the di--muon channel are also promising. However, conclusive tests
of this scenario may have to wait for the construction of a linear e+ e-
collider.Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages, 7 .eps-files (included). Added references and a
couple of footnotes; results unchanged. Version to appear in PR
Acoustic and optical variations during rapid downward motion episodes in the deep north-western Mediterranean Sea
An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) was moored at the deep-sea site
of the ANTARES neutrino telescope near Toulon, France, thus providing a unique
opportunity to compare high-resolution acoustic and optical observations
between 70 and 170 m above the sea bed at 2475 m. The ADCP measured downward
vertical currents of magnitudes up to 0.03 m s-1 in late winter and early
spring 2006. In the same period, observations were made of enhanced levels of
acoustic reflection, interpreted as suspended particles including zooplankton,
by a factor of about 10 and of horizontal currents reaching 0.35 m s-1. These
observations coincided with high light levels detected by the telescope,
interpreted as increased bioluminescence. During winter 2006 deep dense-water
formation occurred in the Ligurian subbasin, thus providing a possible
explanation for these observations. However, the 10-20 days quasi-periodic
episodes of high levels of acoustic reflection, light and large vertical
currents continuing into the summer are not direct evidence of this process. It
is hypothesized that the main process allowing for suspended material to be
moved vertically later in the year is local advection, linked with topographic
boundary current instabilities along the rim of the 'Northern Current'.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure
Status and Recent Results of the Acoustic Neutrino Detection Test System AMADEUS
The AMADEUS system is an integral part of the ANTARES neutrino telescope in
the Mediterranean Sea. The project aims at the investigation of techniques for
acoustic neutrino detection in the deep sea. Installed at a depth of more than
2000m, the acoustic sensors of AMADEUS are based on piezo-ceramics elements for
the broad-band recording of signals with frequencies ranging up to 125kHz.
AMADEUS was completed in May 2008 and comprises six "acoustic clusters", each
one holding six acoustic sensors that are arranged at distances of roughly 1m
from each other. The clusters are installed with inter-spacings ranging from
15m to 340m. Acoustic data are continuously acquired and processed at a
computer cluster where online filter algorithms are applied to select a
high-purity sample of neutrino-like signals. 1.6 TB of data were recorded in
2008 and 3.2 TB in 2009. In order to assess the background of neutrino-like
signals in the deep sea, the characteristics of ambient noise and transient
signals have been investigated. In this article, the AMADEUS system will be
described and recent results will be presented.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures. Proceedings of ARENA 2010, the 4th International
Workshop on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino Detection Activitie
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