Contour integral method for obtaining the self-energy matrices of electrodes in electron transport calculations

We propose an efficient computational method for evaluating the self-energy matrices of electrodes to study ballistic electron transport properties in nanoscale systems. To reduce the high computational cost incurred in large systems, a contour integral eigensolver based on the Sakurai-Sugiura method combined with the shifted biconjugate gradient method is developed to solve exponential-type eigenvalue problem for complex wave vectors. A remarkable feature of the proposed algorithm is that the numerical procedure is very similar to that of conventional band structure calculations. We implement the developed method in the framework of the real-space higher-order finite difference scheme with nonlocal pseudopotentials. Numerical tests for a wide variety of materials validate the robustness, accuracy, and efficiency of the proposed method. As an illustration of the method, we present the electron transport property of the free-standing silicene with the line defect originating from the reversed buckled phases.Comment: 36 pages, 13 figures, 2 table

CXCL14 Acts as a Specific Carrier of CpG DNA into Dendritic Cells and Activates Toll-like Receptor 9-mediated Adaptive Immunity

CXCL14 is a primordial chemokine that plays multiple roles in tumor suppression, autoimmune arthritis, and obesity-associated insulin resistance. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. Here, we show that CXCL14 transports various types of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) into the endosomes and lysosomes of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs), thereby activating Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). A combination of CpG ODN (ODN2395) plus CXCL14 induced robust production of IL-12 p40 by wild-type, but not Tlr9-knockout, DCs. Consistent with this, ODN2395-mediated activation of DCs was significantly attenuated in Cxcl14-knockout mice. CXCL14 bound CpG ODN with high affinity at pH 7.5, but not at pH 6.0, thereby enabling efficient delivery of CpG ODN to TLR9 in the endosome/lysosome. Furthermore, the CXCL14-CpG ODN complex specifically bound to high affinity CXCL14 receptors on DCs. Thus, CXCL14 serves as a specific carrier of CpG DNA to sensitize TLR9-mediated immunosurveillance

Application of the Yin-Yang grid to a thermal convection of a Boussinesq fluid with infinite Prandtl number in a three-dimensional spherical shell

A new numerical finite difference code has been developed to solve a thermal convection of a Boussinesq fluid with infinite Prandtl number in a three-dimensional spherical shell. A kind of the overset (Chimera) grid named ``Yin-Yang grid'' is used for the spatial discretization. The grid naturally avoids the pole problems which are inevitable in the latitude-longitude grids. The code is applied to numerical simulations of mantle convection with uniform and variable viscosity. The validity of the Yin-Yang grid for the mantle convection simulation is confirmed

Association between FSH, E1, and E2 levels in urine and serum in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

Objective: We aimed to establish correlations for the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) between urine and serum in premenopausal and postmenopausal women using immunoassays. Methods: In this study of 92 women (61 postmenopausal, 31 premenopausal), both urine and blood specimens were collected on the same day and stored at 4 °C for analysis by chemiluminescent immunoassay, radioimmunoassay and/or electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. Results: There were correlations in the levels of FSH, E1 and E2 between urine and serum in both postmenopausal (r = 0.96 for FSH, r = 0.91 for E1, r = 0.80 for E2) and premenopausal (r = 0.98 for FSH, r = 0.92 for E1, r = 0.90 for E2) women. It is indicated that the correlations were stronger in the premenopausal group compared with the postmenopausal group, especially for FSH. Conclusion: The levels of FSH, E1 and E2 in urine correlated with those in the serum in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Urine samples could be used instead of serum samples to measure hormone levels, which would reduce the difficulty of conducting large survey studies

High temperature perception in leaves promotes vascular regeneration and graft formation in distant tissues

Cellular regeneration in response to wounding is fundamental to maintain tissue integrity. Various internal factors including hormones and transcription factors mediate healing, but little is known about the role of external factors. To understand how the environment affects regeneration, we investigated the effects of temperature upon the horticulturally relevant process of plant grafting. We found that elevated temperatures accelerated vascular regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato grafts. Leaves were crucial for this effect, as blocking auxin transport or mutating PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) or YUCCA2/5/8/9 in the cotyledons abolished the temperature enhancement. However, these perturbations did not affect grafting at ambient temperatures, and temperature enhancement of callus formation and tissue adhesion did not require PIF4, suggesting leaf-derived auxin specifically enhanced vascular regeneration in response to elevated temperatures. We also found that elevated temperatures accelerated the formation of inter-plant vascular connections between the parasitic plant Phtheirospennum japonicum and host Arabidopsis, and this effect required shoot-derived auxin from the parasite. Taken together, our results identify a pathway whereby local temperature perception mediates long distance auxin signaling to modify regeneration, grafting and parasitism.This article has an associated 'The people behind the papers' interview

Synergy in tumor suppression by direct interaction of Neutral Endopeptidase with PTEN

AbstractWe show in this study that endogenous NEP and PTEN associate in cells directly through electrostatic interactions between a highly basic residue stretch in the intracellular domain of NEP and the major phosphorylation site in PTEN's tail. NEP binds and engages in higher order complexes both phosphorylated and unphosphorylated PTEN. NEP recruits PTEN to the plasma membrane and enhances its stability and phosphatase activity. As a result, an enzymatically inactive NEP mutant preserves the ability to bind PTEN, inactivates the Akt/PKB kinase, and partially suppresses the growth of PC cells. This study demonstrates a molecular cooperation between NEP and PTEN tumor suppressors in which NEP constitutively recruits and activates PTEN to inhibit the PI3K/Akt oncogenic pathway

Myocardial velocity gradient as a noninvasively determined index of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

AbstractObjectivesWe investigated the utility of the peak negative myocardial velocity gradient (MVG) derived from tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) for evaluation of diastolic dysfunction in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).BackgroundHypertrophic cardiomyopathy is characterized by impaired diastolic function with abnormal stiffness and prolonged relaxation. However, it remains difficult to evaluate these defects noninvasively.MethodsBoth TDI and conventional echocardiography were performed in 36 patients with HCM and in 47 control subjects. Left ventricular (LV) pressure was measured simultaneously in all HCM patients and in 26 controls.ResultsThe peak negative MVG occurred soon after the isovolumic relaxation period during the initial phase of rapid filling (auxotonic relaxation). It was significantly smaller in HCM patients than in control subjects (2.32 ± 0.52/s vs. 4.82 ± 1.15/s, p < 0.0001); the cutoff value for differentiation between all HCM patients and 47 normal individuals was determined as 3.2/s. Both the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (19.6 ± 6.1 mm Hg vs. 6.5 ± 1.7 mm Hg, p < 0.0001) and the time constant of LV pressure decay during isovolumic diastole (tau) (44.0 ± 6.7 ms vs. 32.1 ± 5.5 ms, p < 0.0001) were increased in HCM patients compared with controls. The peak negative MVG was negatively correlated with both LVEDP (r= −0.75, p < 0.0001) and tau (r= −0.58, p < 0.0001).ConclusionsA reduced peak negative MVG reflects both prolonged relaxation and elevated LVEDP. The peak negative MVG might thus provide a noninvasive index of diastolic function, yielding unique information about auxotonic relaxation in patients with HCM