We present an experimental study of dynamical back-action cooling of the fundamental vibrational mode of a thin semitransparent membrane placed within a high-finesse optical cavity. We study how the ...radiation-pressure interaction modifies the mechanical response of the vibrational mode, and the experimental results are in agreement with a Langevin equation description of the coupled dynamics. The experiments are carried out in the resolved sideband regime, and we have observed cooling by a factor of 350. We have also observed the mechanical frequency shift associated with the quadratic term in the expansion of the cavity mode frequency versus the effective membrane position, which is typically negligible in other cavity optomechanical devices.
Light scalar fields can drive the accelerated expansion of the universe. Hence, they are obvious dark energy candidates. To make such models compatible with tests of General Relativity in the solar ...system and “fifth force” searches on Earth, one needs to screen them. One possibility is the so-called “chameleon” mechanism, which renders an effective mass depending on the local matter density. If chameleon particles exist, they can be produced in the sun and detected on Earth exploiting the equivalent of a radiation pressure. Since their effective mass scales with the local matter density, chameleons can be reflected by a dense medium if their effective mass becomes greater than their total energy. Thus, under appropriate conditions, a flux of solar chameleons may be sensed by detecting the total instantaneous momentum transferred to a suitable opto-mechanical force/pressure sensor. We calculate the solar chameleon spectrum and the reach in the chameleon parameter space of an experiment using the preliminary results from a force/pressure sensor, currently under development at INFN Trieste, to be mounted in the focal plane of one of the X-Ray telescopes of the CAST experiment at CERN. We show, that such an experiment signifies a pioneering effort probing uncharted chameleon parameter space.
•Effect of a semi-synthetic flavonoid from B. pulchella on periodontitis in rats.
Many species of theBauhinia genus have been widely used in folk medicine as analgesic, anti-inflammatory and ...antioxidant agents. (-)-Fisetinidol palmitate is a semi-syntetic flavonoid obtained from the ethanolic extract of the stem of Bauhinia pulchella. This study aimed to evaluate the antiresorptive effect of the semi-syntetic (-)-fisetinidol palmitate in ligature-induced periodontitis in rats. Also, it evaluated the mechanism of action of (-)-fisetinidol palmitate and its toxicity.
Periodontitis was inducedvia a nylon thread ligature (3.0) around the second upper left molars. Rats were treated (oral gavage) once a day for 11 days with (-)-fisetinidol palmitate (0.01 or 0.1 mg/kg) or saline vehicle.
(-)-Fisetinidol palmitate (0.1 mg/kg) reduced alveolar bone loss, increased bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activity; also, it decreased IL1-β, IL-8/CINC-1, nitrite/nitrate levels and myeloperoxidase activity. (-)-Fisetinidol palmitate reduced the mRNA levels of IL1-β, IL-6, RANK, and RANK-L, while it increased the OPG ones. No statistical differences (P > 0.05) were observed in the transaminases (ALT, AST) and Total Alkaline Phosphatase (TALP) levels among groups. (-)-
Fisetinidol palmitate did not result in any signs of toxicity and had anti-resorptive effects in a pre-clinical trial of periodontitis, showing antioxidant activity with the involvement of the RANK/RANKL/OPG pathway.
“Dunkle Materie” (DM) came from unexpected cosmological observations. Nowadays within our solar system, diverse observations also defy conventional explanations, like the main physical process(es) ...underlying the heating of the different solar atmospheric layers. Streaming DM offers a viable common scenario following gravitational focusing by the solar system bodies. This fits as the underlying process behind the solar cycle, which was the first signature suggesting a planetary dependency. The challenge, since 1859, is to find a remote planetary impact, beyond the extremely feeble planetary tidal force. We stress the possible involvement of an external impact by some overlooked “streaming invisible matter”, which reconciles all investigated mysterious observations mimicking a not extant remote planetary force. Unexpected planetary relationships exist for both the dynamic Sun and Earth, reflecting multiple signatures for streaming DM. The local reasoning à la Zwicky is also suggestive for searches including puzzling biomedical phenomena. Favourite DM candidates are anti-quark-nuggets, magnetic monopoles, dark photons, or the composite “pearls”. Then, anomalies within the solar system are the manifestation of the dark Universe. The tentative streaming DM scenario enhances spatiotemporally the DM flux
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