STUDIES OF ADHESION OF METAL PARTICLES TO SILICA PARTICLES BASED ON ZETA POTENTIAL MEASUREMENTS

The zeta-potentials of silica, copper, platinum and gold particles have been measured as a function of pH. The isoelectric points were found to be at pH 3.0, 5.8, 3.0 and 3.5, respectively. In the pH range 3.0 to 5.8 copper and silica particles are oppositely charged and accordingly the coating of silica with copper particles could be demonstrated. In the case of gold and platinum the sign of the charge is such that direct adhesion to silica particles cannot be expected and this was also demonstrated in the case of platinum.     

Jamming and fluctuations in granular drag

We investigate the dynamic evolution of jamming in granular media through fluctuations in the granular drag force. The successive collapse and formation of jammed states give a stick-slip nature to the fluctuations which is independent of the contact surface between the grains and the dragged object, thus implying that the stress-induced collapse is nucleated in the bulk of the granular sample. We also find that while the fluctuations are periodic at small depths, they become "stepped" at large depths, a transition which we interpret as a consequence of the long-range nature of the force chains.     

Disease spreading on fitness-rewired complex networks

As people travel, human contact networks may change topologically from time to time. In this paper, we study the problem of epidemic spreading on this kind of dynamic network, specifically the one in which the rewiring dynamics of edges are carried out to preserve the degree of each node (called fitness rewiring). We also consider the adaptive rewiring of edges, which encourages disconnections from and discourages connections to infected nodes and eventually leads to the isolation of the infected from the susceptible with only a small number of links between them. We find that while the threshold of epidemic spreading remains unchanged and prevalence increases in the fitness rewiring dynamics, meeting of the epidemic threshold is delayed and prevalence is reduced (if adaptive dynamics are included). To understand these different behaviors, we introduce a new measure called the “mean change of effective links” and find that creation and deletion of pathways for pathogen transmission are the dominant factors in fitness and adaptive rewiring dynamics, respectively.     

Scale-free random graphs and Potts model

We introduce a simple algorithm that constructs scale-free random graphs efficiently: each vertexi has a prescribed weight P_i ∝ i^-μ (0 < μ< 1) and an edge can connect verticesi andj with rateP _i P _j . Corresponding equilibrium ensemble is identified and the problem is solved by theq → 1 limit of the q-state Potts model with inhomogeneous interactions for all pairs of spins. The number of loops as well as the giant cluster size and the mean cluster size are obtained in the thermodynamic limit as a function of the edge density. Various critical exponents associated with the percolation transition are also obtained together with finite-size scaling forms. The process of forming the giant cluster is qualitatively different between the cases of λ > 3 and 2 < λ < 3, whereλ = 1 +μ ^-1 is the degree distribution exponent. While for the former, the giant cluster forms abruptly at the percolation transition, for the latter, however, the formation of the giant cluster is gradual and the mean cluster size for finiteN shows double peaks.     

Asymmetric Binary Covering Codes

An asymmetric binary covering code of length n and radius R is a subset of the n-cube Q_n such that every vector xQ_n can be obtained from some vector c by changing at most R 1's of c to 0's, where R is as small as possible. K⁺(n,R) is defined as the smallest size of such a code. We show K⁺(n,R)Θ(2ⁿ/n^R) for constant R, using an asymmetric sphere-covering bound and probabilistic methods. We show K⁺(n,n− )= +1 for constant coradius iff n ( +1)/2. These two results are extended to near-constant R and , respectively. Various bounds on K⁺ are given in terms of the total number of 0's or 1's in a minimal code. The dimension of a minimal asymmetric linear binary code ([n,R]⁺-code) is determined to be min{0,n−R}. We conclude by discussing open problems and techniques to compute explicit values for K⁺, giving a table of best-known bounds.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-arachidonoyl glycine,an abundant endogenous lipid,potently drives directed cellular migration through GPR18, the putative abnormal cannabidiol receptor

Background  

Microglia provide continuous immune surveillance of the CNS and upon activation rapidly change phenotype to express receptors that respond to chemoattractants during CNS damage or infection. These activated microglia undergo directed migration towards affected tissue. Importantly, the molecular species of chemoattractant encountered determines if microglia respond with pro- or anti-inflammatory behaviour, yet the signaling molecules that trigger migration remain poorly understood. The endogenous cannabinoid system regulates microglial migration via CB₂ receptors and an as yet unidentified GPCR termed the 'abnormal cannabidiol' (Abn-CBD) receptor. Abn-CBD is a synthetic isomer of the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) and is inactive at CB₁ or CB₂ receptors, but functions as a selective agonist at this G_i/o-coupled GPCR. N-arachidonoyl glycine (NAGly) is an endogenous metabolite of the endocannabinoid anandamide and acts as an efficacious agonist at GPR18. Here, we investigate the relationship between NAGly, Abn-CBD, the unidentified 'Abn-CBD' receptor, GPR18, and BV-2 microglial migration.