Quark condensation, induced symmetry breaking and color superconductivity at high density

The phase structure of hadronic matter at high density relevant to the physics of compact stars and relativistic heavy-ion collisions is studied in a low-energy effective quark theory. The relevant phases that figure are (1) chiral condensation, (2) diquark color condensation (color superconductivity) and (3) induced Lorentz-symmetry breaking (“ISB”). For a reasonable strength for the effective four-Fermi current–current interaction implied by the low-energy effective quark theory for systems with a Fermi surface we find that the “ISB” phase sets in together with chiral symmetry restoration (with the vanishing quark condensate) at a moderate density while color superconductivity associated with scalar diquark condensation is pushed up to an asymptotic density. Consequently, color superconductivity seems rather unlikely in heavy-ion collisions although it may play a role in compact stars. Lack of confinement in the model makes the result of this analysis only qualitative but the hierarchy of the transitions we find seems to be quite robust.     

The pion velocity at chiral restoration and the vector manifestation

We study the effects of Lorentz non-invariance on the physical pion velocity at the critical temperature T_c in an effective theory of hidden local symmetry (HLS) with the “vector manifestation” fixed point. We match at a “matching scale” Λ_M the axial-vector current correlator in the HLS with the one in the operator product expansion for QCD, and present the matching condition to determine the bare pion velocity. We find that the physical pion velocity, which is found to be one at T=T_c when starting from the Lorentz invariant bare HLS, remains close to one with the Lorentz non-invariance, v_π(T_c)=0.83–0.99. This result is quite similar to the pion velocity in dense matter.     

Misalignment tolerance analysis and fabrication for highly efficient parallel optical-electrical convertor module

A compact, highly efficient, and passively assembled parallel optical-electrical convertor module (POECM) for active optical cable application is proposed. This paper presents our POECM structure, optical design simulation results, fabrication process, and data transmission test results, in sequence. The POECM has a compact size of \(18.5\hbox {mm} \times 10\hbox {mm} \times 2.8\hbox {mm}\) . We confirm a data rate of total throughput at 21.6 Gbps ( \(5.4\hbox {Gbps} \times 4\) channels) with a bit error rate of less than \(10^{-12}\) .     

PMA-induced up-regulation of MMP-9 is regulated by a PKCalpha-NF-kappaB cascade in human lung epithelial cells

Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is associated with airway remodeling and tissue injury in asthma. However, little is known about how MMP-9 is up-regulated in airway epithelial cells. In this study, we show that phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) induces MMP-9 expression via a protein kinase Calpha (PKCalpha)-dependent signaling cascade in BEAS-2B human lung epithelial cells. Pretreatment with either GF109203X, a general PKC inhibitor, or Go6976, a PKCalpha/beta isozyme inhibitor, inhibited PMA-induced activation of the MMP-9 promoter, as did transient transfection with PKCalpha antisense oligonuclotides. PMA activated NF-kappaB by phosphorylating IkappaB in these cells and this was also inhibited by GF109203X and Go6976, suggesting that PKCa acts as an upstream regulator of NF-kappaB in PMA-induced MMP-9 induction. Our results indicate that a "PKCalpha-NF- kappaB"-dependent cascade is involved in the signaling leading to PMA-induced MMP-9 expression in the lung epithelium.     

Nanocatalosomes as Plasmonic Bilayer Shells with Interlayer Catalytic Nanospaces for Solar‐Light‐Induced Reactions

Interest and challenges remain in designing and synthesizing catalysts with nature‐like complexity at few‐nm scale to harness unprecedented functionalities by using sustainable solar light. We introduce “nanocatalosomes”—a bio‐inspired bilayer‐vesicular design of nanoreactor with metallic bilayer shell‐in‐shell structure, having numerous controllable confined cavities within few‐nm interlayer space, customizable with different noble metals. The intershell‐confined plasmonically coupled hot‐nanospaces within the few‐nm cavities play a pivotal role in harnessing catalytic effects for various organic transformations, as demonstrated by “acceptorless dehydrogenation”, “Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling” and “alkynyl annulation” affording clean conversions and turnover frequencies (TOFs) at least one order of magnitude higher than state‐of‐the‐art Au‐nanorod‐based plasmonic catalysts. This work paves the way towards next‐generation nanoreactors for chemical transformations with solar energy.     

Sensitized near-IR luminescence of Ln(III) complexes with benzothiazole derivatives

Lanthanide complexes with benzothiazole derivatives (Btz-R, R = OCH(3) and OH) and terpyridine (tpy) ligands were synthesized, and their photophysical properties were precisely investigated. The free Btz-OCH(3) ligand in toluene, excited with UV light, produced the normal emission bands around 410 nm, whereas Btz-OH produced a strong excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) band at 510 nm. The Ln(III) complexes (Ln = Nd, Er, and Yb) exhibited sensitized near-IR luminescence when the Btz-R ligands were excited. The sensitized luminescence quantum yields (Phi(Ln)) of the lanthanide complexes were markedly enhanced by ESIPT: for [Nd(Btz-R)(tpy)] in toluene solution, Phi(Ln) = 0.04% for Btz-OCH(3) and 0.39% for Btz-OH. The sensitized luminescence of the Er(III) complexes (Phi(Ln) = 0.002% for Btz-OCH(3) and 0.009% for Btz-OH) was less efficient than that of the Nd(III) complexes. This difference is due to the smaller energy gap between the emitting and ground levels of the Er(III) ion. The rate constants for the energy transfer from Btz-R to Ln(III) were about approximately 10(9) s(-1), as evaluated by the F?rster resonance energy transfer mechanism.     

Pion condensation in symmetric nuclear matter

The problem of pion condensation in isospin symmetric nuclear matter is investigated in the framework of the σ-model with a residual nucleon-nucleon interaction (g′σ₁ · σ₂τ₁ · τ₂δ(x)) and Δ-isobars. The equation of state for the pion condensed phase is calculated and applied to a low-energy heavy-ion collision in the TDHF approximation. The effective particle-hole interaction and the response to spin-isospin excitation are used to determine the magnitude of the Landau-Migdal parameter g′. For a reasonable range of g′(0.5 < g′ ≦ in units of g²/4m²_N = 410 MeV · fm³) pion condensation occurs at densities above normal nuclear matter density and leads to an equation of state with no stable density isomer.     

Chiral symmetry and many-body forces in nuclei

It is demonstrated that when quantum correlations are added, chiral Lagrangians need not generate strong many-body forces as they do in tree approximation. We suggest that a physically reasonable procedure is to adjust the σ-model parameters so as not to conflict with the current status of nuclear theory. As a consequence, the equilibrium density of abnormal states could be pushed up further, and the binding energy be considerably reduced.     

Evidence for 2D precursors and interdiffusion in the evolution of self-assembled CdSe quantum dots on ZnSe

The evolution of self-assembled CdSe quantum dots deposited on (and subsequently capped by) ZnSe was investigated on a series of samples grown by molecular beam epitaxy, with CdSe coverages from 0.5 to 2.6 monolayers. The samples were investigated by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy, as well as macro- and microphotoluminescence. The results clearly indicated a coexistence of 2D ZnCdSe platelets and 3D islands, showing clearly that the platelets act as precursors for the formation of the 3D islands.     

High‐energy collision‐induced dissociation of [M+Na]+ ions desorbed by fast atom bombardment of ceramides isolated from the starfish Distolasterias nipon

Ten ceramides and four cerebrosides were extracted from the starfish Distolasterias nipon by solvent extraction, silica gel column chromatography and reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. Structural identification was conducted using tandem mass spectrometry of monosodiated ions desorbed by fast atom bombardment. The complete structures of four cerebrosides were determined by a previously reported method. The high‐energy collision‐induced dissociation (CID) spectral characteristics of ceramides with various structures depend on the number and positions of double bonds on both the N‐acyl and sphingoid chains, the presence of a hydroxyl group or a double bond at the C‐4 position of the sphingoid chain and the presence of an α‐hydroxy group on the N‐acyl chain. The high‐energy CID of the monosodiated ion, [M+Na]⁺, of each ceramide molecular species generated abundant ions, providing information on the composition of the fatty acyl chains and sphingoid long‐chain bases. Each homologous ion series along the fatty acyl group and aliphatic chain of the sphingoid base was used for locating the double‐bond positions of both chains and hydroxyl groups on the sphingoid base chain. The double‐bond positions were also confirmed by the m/z values of abundant allylic even‐ and odd‐electron ions, and the intensity ratio of the T ion peak relative to the O ion peak. This technique could determine the complete structures of ceramides and cerebrosides in an extract mixture and has great potential for determining other sphingolipids isolated from various biological sources. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.