Analytic study of properties of holographic p-wave superconductors

In this paper, we analytically investigate the properties of p-wave holographic superconductors in $AdS_{4}$-Schwarzschild background by two approaches, one based on the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem and the other based on the matching of the solutions to the field equations near the horizon and near the asymptotic $AdS$ region. The relation between the critical temperature and the charge density has been obtained and the dependence of the expectation value of the condensation operator on the temperature has been found. Our results are in very good agreement with the existing numerical results. The critical exponent of the condensation also comes out to be 1/2 which is the universal value in the mean field theory.Comment: Latex, To appear in JHE

Analytic study of Gauss-Bonnet holographic superconductors in Born-Infeld electrodynamics

Using Sturm-Liouville (SL) eigenvalue problem, we investigate several properties of holographic s-wave superconductors in Gauss-Bonnet gravity with Born-Infeld electrodynamics in the probe limit. Our analytic scheme has been found to be in good agreement with the numerical results. From our analysis it is quite evident that the scalar hair formation at low temperatures is indeed affected by both the Gauss-Bonnet as well as the Born-Infeld coupling parameters. We also compute the critical exponent associated with the condensation near the critical temperature. The value of the critical exponent thus obtained indeed suggests a universal mean field behavior.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, minor modifications, To appear in JHE

Back reaction, covariant anomaly and effective action

In the presence of back reaction, we first produce the one-loop corrections for the event horizon and Hawking temperature of the Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole. Then, based on the covariant anomaly cancelation method and the effective action technique, the modified expressions for the fluxes of gauge current and energy momentum tensor, due to the effect of back reaction, are obtained. The results are consistent with the Hawking fluxes of a (1+1)-dimensional blackbody at the temperature with quantum corrections, thus confirming the robustness of the covariant anomaly cancelation method and the effective action technique for black holes with back reaction.Comment: 17 page

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

Analytical study on holographic superconductors with backreactions

We employ the variational method for the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem to analytically investigate the properties of the holographic superconductors. We find that the analytic method is still powerful when the backreaction is turned on. Reducing step size in the iterative procedure, we observe that the consistency of results between the analytic and numerical computations can be further improved. The obtained analytic result can be used to back up the numerical computations in the holographic superconductor in the fully backreacted spacetime.Comment: 10 pages, accepted by JHE

Analytic study of properties of holographic superconductors in Born-Infeld electrodynamics

In this paper, based on the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem, we analytically investigate several properties of holographic s-wave superconductors in the background of a Schwarzschild-AdS spacetime in the framework of Born-Infeld electrodynamics. Based on a perturbative approach, we explicitly find the relation between the critical temperature and the charge density and also the fact that the Born-Infeld coupling parameter indeed affects the formation of scalar hair at low temperatures. Higher value of the Born-Infeld parameter results in a harder condensation to form. We further compute the critical exponent associated with the condensation near the critical temperature. The analytical results obtained are found to be in good agreement with the existing numerical results.Comment: 12 pages, LateX, To appear in JHE

Entamoeba Shows Reversible Variation in Ploidy under Different Growth Conditions and between Life Cycle Phases

Under axenic growth conditions, trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica contain heterogenous amounts of DNA due to the presence of both multiple nuclei and different amounts of DNA in individual nuclei. In order to establish if the DNA content and the observed heterogeneity is maintained during different growth conditions, we have compared E. histolytica cells growing in xenic and axenic cultures. Our results show that the nuclear DNA content of E. histolytica trophozoites growing in axenic cultures is at least 10 fold higher than in xenic cultures. Re-association of axenic cultures with their bacterial flora led to a reduction of DNA content to the original xenic values. Thus switching between xenic and axenic growth conditions was accompanied by significant changes in the nuclear DNA content of this parasite. Changes in DNA content during encystation-excystation were studied in the related reptilian parasite E. invadens. During excystation of E. invadens cysts, it was observed that the nuclear DNA content increased approximately 40 fold following emergence of trophozoites in axenic cultures. Based on the observed large changes in nuclear size and DNA content, and the minor differences in relative abundance of representative protein coding sequences, rDNA and tRNA sequences, it appears that gain or loss of whole genome copies may be occurring during changes in the growth conditions. Our studies demonstrate the inherent plasticity and dynamic nature of the Entamoeba genome in at least two species

Inter-Cellular Variation in DNA Content of Entamoeba histolytica Originates from Temporal and Spatial Uncoupling of Cytokinesis from the Nuclear Cycle

Accumulation of multiple copies of the genome in a single nucleus and several nuclei in a single cell has previously been noted in Entamoeba histolytica, contributing to the genetic heterogeneity of this unicellular eukaryote. In this study, we demonstrate that this genetic heterogeneity is an inherent feature of the cell cycle of this organism. Chromosome segregation occurs on a variety of novel microtubular assemblies including multi-polar spindles. Cytokinesis in E. histolytica is completed by the mechanical severing of a thin cytoplasmic bridge, either independently or with the help of neighboring cells. Importantly, cytokinesis is uncoupled from the nuclear division cycle, both temporally and spatially, leading to the formation of unequal daughter cells. Sorting of euploid and polyploid cells showed that each of these sub-populations acquired heterogeneous DNA content upon further growth. Our study conclusively demonstrates that genetic heterogeneity originates from the unique mode of cell division events in this protist