Bubbles in Planetary Nebulae and Clusters of Galaxies: Jet Bending

We study the bending of jets in binary stellar systems. A compact companion accretes mass from the slow wind of the mass-losing primary star, forms an accretion disk, and blows two opposite jets. These fast jets are bent by the slow wind. Disregarding the orbital motion, we find the dependence of the bending angle on the properties of the slow wind and the jets. Bending of jets is observed in planetary nebulae which are thought to be the descendants of interacting binary stars. For example, in some of these planetary nebulae the two bubbles (lobes) which are inflated by the two opposite jets, are displaced to the same side of the symmetry axis of the nebula. Similar displacements are observed in bubble pairs in the center of some clusters and groups of galaxies. We compare the bending of jets in binary stellar systems with that in clusters of galaxies.Comment: Appendix only appears in the astro-ph versio

Visualizing Two Qubits

The notions of entanglement witnesses, separable and entangled states for two qubits system can be visualized in three dimensions using the SLOCC equivalence classes. This visualization preserves the duality relations between the various sets and allows us to give ``proof by inspection'' of a non-elementary result of the Horodeckies that for two qubits, Peres separability test is iff. We then show that the CHSH Bell inequalities can be visualized as circles and cylinders in the same diagram. This allows us to give a geometric proof of yet another result of the Horodeckies, which optimizes the violation of the CHSH Bell inequality. Finally, we give numerical evidence that, remarkably, allowing Alice and Bob to use three rather than two measurements each, does not help them to distinguish any new entangled SLOCC equivalence class beyond the CHSH class.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures. Added several reference

Inferring broken detailed balance in the absence of observable currents

Identifying dissipation is essential for understanding the physical mechanisms underlying nonequilibrium processes. {In living systems, for example, the dissipation is directly related to the hydrolysis of fuel molecules such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP)}. Nevertheless, detecting broken time-reversal symmetry, which is the hallmark of dissipative processes, remains a challenge in the absence of observable directed motion, flows, or fluxes. Furthermore, quantifying the entropy production in a complex system requires detailed information about its dynamics and internal degrees of freedom. Here we introduce a novel approach to detect time irreversibility and estimate the entropy production from time-series measurements, even in the absence of observable currents. We apply our technique to two different physical systems, namely, a partially hidden network and a molecular motor. Our method does not require complete information about the system dynamics and thus provides a new tool for studying nonequilibrium phenomena.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Experimental Tools to Study Molecular Recognition within the Nanoparticle Corona

Advancements in optical nanosensor development have enabled the design of sensors using synthetic molecular recognition elements through a recently developed method called Corona Phase Molecular Recognition (CoPhMoRe). The synthetic sensors resulting from these design principles are highly selective for specific analytes, and demonstrate remarkable stability for use under a variety of conditions. An essential element of nanosensor development hinges on the ability to understand the interface between nanoparticles and the associated corona phase surrounding the nanosensor, an environment outside of the range of traditional characterization tools, such as NMR. This review discusses the need for new strategies and instrumentation to study the nanoparticle corona, operating in both in vitro and in vivo environments. Approaches to instrumentation must have the capacity to concurrently monitor nanosensor operation and the molecular changes in the corona phase. A detailed overview of new tools for the understanding of CoPhMoRe mechanisms is provided for future applications.Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation InternationalMcGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. Neurotechnology (MINT) ProgramNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Award DBI-1306229)Burroughs Wellcome Fund (Grant Award 1013994)German Science Foundatio

Protein-targeted corona phase molecular recognition

Corona phase molecular recognition (CoPhMoRe) uses a heteropolymer adsorbed onto and templated by a nanoparticle surface to recognize a specific target analyte. This method has not yet been extended to macromolecular analytes, including proteins. Herein we develop a variant of a CoPhMoRe screening procedure of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and use it against a panel of human blood proteins, revealing a specific corona phase that recognizes fibrinogen with high selectivity. In response to fibrinogen binding, SWCNT fluorescence decreases by >80% at saturation. Sequential binding of the three fibrinogen nodules is suggested by selective fluorescence quenching by isolated sub-domains and validated by the quenching kinetics. The fibrinogen recognition also occurs in serum environment, at the clinically relevant fibrinogen concentrations in the human blood. These results open new avenues for synthetic, non-biological antibody analogues that recognize biological macromolecules, and hold great promise for medical and clinical applications.Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation InternationalMIT-Technion Fellowshi

Evaluating the Effect of Larval Period Duration upon the Subsequent Performance of Cultured Eastern Oysters, Crassostrea Virginica

With the increase in oyster aquaculture in the United States, it is important to understand the potential effects of larval experiences on the field performance of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) to maximize hatchery production and field grow-out performance. To test the relationship between larval duration period and subsequent performance, three different groups of oyster larvae were produced from a single spawn at the Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory (Dauphin Island, AL) based on the number of days required by larvae (n > 900,000) to become pediveligers. The performance of these three groups was monitored at 1) metamorphosis & setting, 2) in land-based early nursery culture and 3) in field grow-out at three different sites in Alabama. Initially, larval duration did not affect performance of post-metamorphic growth (p = 0.35), but there was an affect in growth rate in the land-based nursery culture (p = 0.014). However, in the field grow-out culture, there was no significant effect of larval duration period on quality variables at the experimental sites (p > 0.05). This evaluation and understanding factors that affect larval performance will further help commercial hatchery production and farming yields

Quantitative Tissue Spectroscopy of Near Infrared Fluorescent Nanosensor Implants

Implantable, near infrared (nIR) fluorescent nanosensors are advantageous for in vivo monitoring of biological analytes since they can be rendered selective for particular target molecule while utilizing their unique optical properties and the nIR tissue transparency window for information transfer without an internal power source or telemetry. However, basic questions remain regarding the optimal encapsulation platform, geometrical properties, and concentration ranges required for effective signal to noise ratio through biological tissue. In this work, we systematically explore these variables quantitatively to optimize the performance of such optical nanosensors for biomedical applications. We investigate both alginate and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as model hydrogel systems, encapsulating d(GT)[subscript 15] ssDNA-wrapped single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) as model fluorescent nanoparticle sensors, responsive to riboflavin. Hydrogel sensors implanted 0.5 mm into thick tissue samples cause 50% reduction of initial fluorescence intensity, allowing an optical detection limit of 5.4 mm and 5.1 mm depth in tissue for alginate and PEG gels, respectively, at a SWNT concentration of 10 mg L−1, and 785 nm laser excitation of 80 mW and 30 s exposure. These findings are supported with in vivo nIR fluorescent imaging of SWNT hydrogels implanted subcutaneously in mice. For the case of SWNT, we find that the alginate system is preferable in terms of emission intensity, sensor response, rheological properties, and shelf life.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (T32 Training Grant in Environmental Toxicology ES007020)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Grant P01 CA26731)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Grant P30 ES002109)Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation (Young Investigator Award)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers)MIT-Technion FellowshipSamsung Scholarship FoundationSanofi Aventis (Firm) (Biomedical Innovation Grant