87 research outputs found
Search for composite and exotic fermions at LEP 2
A search for unstable heavy fermions with the DELPHI detector at LEP is
reported. Sequential and non-canonical leptons, as well as excited leptons and
quarks, are considered. The data analysed correspond to an integrated
luminosity of about 48 pb^{-1} at an e^+e^- centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV
and about 20 pb^{-1} equally shared between the centre-of-mass energies of 172
GeV and 161 GeV. The search for pair-produced new leptons establishes 95%
confidence level mass limits in the region between 70 GeV/c^2 and 90 GeV/c^2,
depending on the channel. The search for singly produced excited leptons and
quarks establishes upper limits on the ratio of the coupling of the excited
fermio
Search for lightest neutralino and stau pair production in light gravitino scenarios with stau NLSP
Promptly decaying lightest neutralinos and long-lived staus are searched for
in the context of light gravitino scenarios. It is assumed that the stau is the
next to lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) and that the lightest
neutralino is the next to NLSP (NNLSP). Data collected with the Delphi detector
at centre-of-mass energies from 161 to 183 \GeV are analysed. No evidence of
the production of these particles is found. Hence, lower mass limits for both
kinds of particles are set at 95% C.L.. The mass of gaugino-like neutralinos is
found to be greater than 71.5 GeV/c^2. In the search for long-lived stau,
masses less than 70.0 to 77.5 \GeVcc are excluded for gravitino masses from 10
to 150 \eVcc . Combining this search with the searches for stable heavy leptons
and Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model staus a lower limit of 68.5 \GeVcc
may be set for the stau mas
Does congenital deafness affect the structural and functional architecture of primary visual cortex?
Deafness results in greater reliance on the remaining senses. It is unknown whether the cortical architecture of the intact senses is optimized to compensate for lost input. Here we performed widefield population receptive field (pRF) mapping of primary visual cortex (V1) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in hearing and congenitally deaf participants, all of whom had learnt sign language after the age of 10 years. We found larger pRFs encoding the peripheral visual field of deaf compared to hearing participants. This was likely driven by larger facilitatory center zones of the pRF profile concentrated in the near and far periphery in the deaf group. pRF density was comparable between groups, indicating pRFs overlapped more in the deaf group. This could suggest that a coarse coding strategy underlies enhanced peripheral visual skills in deaf people. Cortical thickness was also decreased in V1 in the deaf group. These findings suggest deafness causes structural and functional plasticity at the earliest stages of visual cortex
Longitudinal study of serum placental GH in 455 normal pregnancies: correlation to gestational age, fetal gender and weight
Clima interno e produttivita' negli uffici. Come integrare la produttività nell'analisi del costo del ciclo di vita degli edifici (Indoor climate and productivity in offices. How to integrate productivity in life cycle costs analysis of building services)
Indoor climate and productivity in offices. How to integrate productivity in life cycle costs analysis of building services
The Swedish key action 'The Healthy Building' - research results achieved during the first three years period 1998-2000
Soluble LDL-receptor is induced by TNF-α and inhibits hepatocytic clearance of LDL-cholesterol
Defective LDL-C clearance and hence its elevation in the circulation is an established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as myocardial infarction (MI). A soluble LDL-receptor (sLDL-R) has been detected in human plasma which correlates strongly with circulating LDL-C and classical conditions that promote chronic inflammation. However, the mechanistic interplay between sLDL-R, inflammation, and CVDs remains to be investigated. Here, we report that stimulation of HepG2 cells with TNF-α induces the release of sLDL-R into culture supernatants. In addition, TNF-α induces gene expression of peptidases ADAM-17 and MMP-14 in HepG2 cells, and inhibiting these peptidases using TMI 1 significantly reduces the TNF-α induced sLDL-R release. We found that a soluble form of recombinant LDL-R (100 nM) can strongly bind to LDL-C and form a stable complex (KD = E-12). Moreover, incubation of HepG2 cells with this recombinant LDL-R resulted in reduced LDL-C uptake in a dose-dependent manner. In a nested case-control study, we found that baseline sLDL-R in plasma is positively correlated with plasma total cholesterol level. Furthermore, a twofold increase in plasma sLDL-R was associated with a 55% increase in the risk of future MI [AOR = 1.55 (95% CI = 1.10–2.18)]. Nevertheless, mediation analyses revealed that a significant proportion of the association is mediated by elevation in plasma cholesterol level (indirect effect β = 0.21 (95% CI = 0.07–0.38). Collectively, our study shows that sLDL-R is induced by a pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α via membrane shedding. Furthermore, an increase in sLDL-R could inhibit hepatic clearance of LDL-C increasing its half-life in the circulation and contributing to the pathogenesis of MI. Key messages: TNF-α causes shedding of hepatocytic LDL-R through induction of ADAM-17 and MMP-14.sLDL-R binds strongly to LDL-C and inhibits its uptake by hepatocytic cells.Plasma sLDL-R is positively correlated with TNF-α and cholesterol.Plasma sLDL-R is an independent predictor of myocardial infarction (MI).Plasma cholesterol mediates the association between sLDL-R and MI
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