409 research outputs found
Perfluorooctanoic acid exposure triggers oxidative stress in the mouse pancreas
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PFOA triggers focal ductal hyperplasia following 7 day exposure.
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PFOA exposure increases 8-iso-PGF2α levels in the pancreas.
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Antioxidant gene expression is upregulated in the pancreas following PFOA exposure.
, Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is used in the manufacture of many industrial and commercial products. PFOA does not readily decompose in the environment, and is biologically persistent. Human epidemiologic and animal studies suggest that PFOA exposure elicits adverse effects on the pancreas. While multiple animal studies have examined PFOA-mediated toxicity in the liver, little is known about the potential adverse effects of PFOA on the pancreas. To address this, we treated C57Bl/6 mice with vehicle, or PFOA at doses of 0.5, 2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg BW/day for 7 days. Significant accumulation of PFOA was found in the serum, liver and pancreas of PFOA-treated animals. Histopathologic examination of the pancreas revealed focal ductal hyperplasia in mice treated with 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg BW/day PFOA, while inflammation was observed only in the high dose group. Elevated serum levels of amylase and lipase were observed in the 2.5 mg/kg BW/day PFOA treatment group. In addition, PFOA exposure resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the level of the lipid peroxidation product 8-iso-PGF2α and induction of the antioxidant response genes Sod1, Sod2, Gpx2 and Nqo1. Our findings provide additional evidence that the pancreas is a target organ for PFOA-mediated toxicity and suggest that oxidative stress may be a mechanism through which PFOA induces histopathological changes in the pancreas
First Principles Assessment of CdTe as a Tunnel Barrier at the -Sn/InSb Interface
Majorana zero modes, with prospective applications in topological quantum
computing, are expected to arise in superconductor/semiconductor interfaces,
such as -Sn and InSb. However, proximity to the superconductor may also
adversely affect the semiconductor's local properties. A tunnel barrier
inserted at the interface could resolve this issue. We assess the wide band gap
semiconductor, CdTe, as a candidate material to mediate the coupling at the
lattice-matched interface between -Sn and InSb. To this end, we use
density functional theory (DFT) with Hubbard U corrections, whose values are
machine-learned via Bayesian optimization (BO) [npj Computational Materials 6,
180 (2020)]. The results of DFT+U(BO) are validated against angle resolved
photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments for -Sn and CdTe. For
CdTe, the z-unfolding method [Advanced Quantum Technologies, 5, 2100033 (2022)]
is used to resolve the contributions of different values to the ARPES. We
then study the band offsets and the penetration depth of metal-induced gap
states (MIGS) in bilayer interfaces of InSb/-Sn, InSb/CdTe, and
CdTe/-Sn, as well as in tri-layer interfaces of InSb/CdTe/-Sn
with increasing thickness of CdTe. We find that 16 atomic layers (3.5 nm) of
CdTe can serve as a tunnel barrier, effectively shielding the InSb from MIGS
from the -Sn. This may guide the choice of dimensions of the CdTe
barrier to mediate the coupling in semiconductor-superconductor devices in
future Majorana zero modes experiments
"Smoking gun" signatures of topological milestones in trivial materials by measurement fine-tuning and data postselection
Exploring the topology of electronic bands is a way to realize new states of
matter with possible implications for information technology. Because bands
cannot always be observed directly, a central question is how to tell that a
topological regime has been achieved. Experiments are often guided by a
prediction of a unique signal or a pattern, called "the smoking gun". Examples
include peaks in conductivity, microwave resonances, and shifts in interference
fringes. However, many condensed matter experiments are performed on relatively
small, micron or nanometer-scale, specimens. These structures are in the
so-called mesoscopic regime, between atomic and macroscopic physics, where
phenomenology is particularly rich. In this paper, we demonstrate that the
trivial effects of quantum confinement, quantum interference and charge
dynamics in nanostructures can reproduce accepted smoking gun signatures of
triplet supercurrents, Majorana modes, topological Josephson junctions and
fractionalized particles. The examples we use correspond to milestones of
topological quantum computing: qubit spectroscopy, fusion and braiding. None of
the samples we use are in the topological regime. The smoking gun patterns are
achieved by fine-tuning during data acquisition and by subsequent data
selection to pick non-representative examples out of a fluid multitude of
similar patterns that do not generally fit the "smoking gun" designation.
Building on this insight, we discuss ways that experimentalists can rigorously
delineate between topological and non-topological effects, and the effects of
fine-tuning by deeper analysis of larger volumes of data.Comment: Data are available through Zenodo at DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.834930
Unintentional high density p-type modulation doping of a GaAs/AlAs core-multi-shell nanowire
Achieving significant doping in GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires (NWs) is of
considerable technological importance but remains a challenge due to the
amphoteric behavior of the dopant atoms. Here we show that placing a narrow
GaAs quantum well in the AlAs shell effectively getters residual carbon
acceptors leading to an \emph{unintentional} p-type doping. Magneto-optical
studies of such a GaAs/AlAs core multi-shell NW reveal quantum confined
emission. Theoretical calculations of NW electronic structure confirm quantum
confinement of carriers at the core/shell interface due to the presence of
ionized carbon acceptors in the 1~nm GaAs layer in the shell.
Micro-photoluminescence in high magnetic field shows a clear signature of
avoided crossings of the Landau level emission line with the Landau
level TO phonon replica. The coupling is caused by the resonant hole-phonon
interaction, which points to a large 2D hole density in the structure.Comment: just published in Nano Letters
(http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/nl500818k
Integrative transcriptomic analysis in human and mouse model of anaphylaxis identifies gene signatures associated with cell movement, migration and neuroinflammatory signalling
Background: Anaphylaxis is an acute life-threatening allergic reaction and a concern at a global level; therefore, further progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms and more effective strategies for diagnosis, prevention and management are needed. Objective: We sought to identify the global architecture of blood transcriptomic features of anaphylaxis by integrating expression data from human patients and mouse model of anaphylaxis. Methods: Bulk RNA-sequencings of peripheral whole blood were performed in: i) 14 emergency department (ED) patients with acute anaphylaxis, predominantly to Hymenoptera venom, ii) 11 patients with peanut allergy undergoing double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) to peanut, iii) murine model of IgE-mediated anaphylaxis. Integrative characterisation of differential gene expression, immune cell-type-specific gene expression profiles, and functional and pathway analysis was undertaken. Results: 1023 genes were commonly and significantly dysregulated during anaphylaxis in ED and DBPCFC patients; of those genes, 29 were also dysregulated in the mouse model. Cell-type-specific gene expression profiles showed a rapid downregulation of blood basophil and upregulation of neutrophil signature in ED and DBPCFC patients and the mouse model, but no consistent and/or significant differences were found for other blood cells. Functional and pathway analysis demonstrated that human and mouse blood transcriptomic signatures of anaphylaxis follow trajectories of upregulation of cell movement, migration and neuroinflammatory signalling, and downregulation of lipid activating nuclear receptors signalling. Conclusion: Our study highlights the matched and extensive blood transcriptomic changes and suggests the involvement of discrete cellular components and upregulation of migration and neuroinflammatory pathways during anaphylaxis
Generic nano-imprint process for fabrication of nanowire arrays
A generic process has been developed to grow nearly defect free arrays of
(heterostructured) InP and GaP nanowires. Soft nanoimprint lithography has been
used to pattern gold particle arrays on full 2 inch substrates. After lift-off
organic residues remain on the surface, which induce the growth of additional
undesired nanowires. We show that cleaning of the samples before growth with
piranha solution in combination with a thermal anneal at 550 C for InP and 700
C for GaP results in uniform nanowire arrays with 1% variation in nanowire
length, and without undesired extra nanowires. Our chemical cleaning procedure
is applicable to other lithographic techniques such as e-beam lithography, and
therefore represents a generic process.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 2 table
Definitions and reliability assessment of elementary ultrasound lesions in giant cell arteritis: a study from the OMERACT Large Vessel Vasculitis Ultrasound Working Group
Objectives: To define the elementary ultrasound (US) lesions in giant cell arteritis (GCA) and to evaluate the reliability of the assessment of US lesions according to these definitions in a web-based reliability exercise. Methods: Potential definitions of normal and abnormal US findings of temporal and extracranial large arteries were retrieved by a systematic literature review. As a subsequent step, a structured Delphi exercise was conducted involving an expert panel of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) US Large Vessel Vasculitis Group to agree definitions of normal US appearance and key elementary US lesions of vasculitis of temporal and extracranial large arteries. The reliability of these definitions on normal and abnormal blood vessels was tested on 150 still images and videos in a web-based reliability exercise. Results: Twenty-four experts participated in both Delphi rounds. From originally 25 statements, nine definitions were obtained for normal appearance, vasculitis and arteriosclerosis of cranial and extracranial vessels. The 'halo' and 'compression' signs were the key US lesions in GCA. The reliability of the definitions for normal temporal and axillary arteries, the 'halo' sign and the 'compression' sign was excellent with inter-rater agreements of 91-99% and mean kappa values of 0.83-0.98 for both inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities of all 25 experts. Conclusions: The 'halo' and the 'compression' signs are regarded as the most important US abnormalities for GCA. The inter-rater and intra-rater agreement of the new OMERACT definitions for US lesions in GCA was excellent
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