5,429 research outputs found
Brane world models need low string scale
Models with large extra dimensions offer the possibility of the Planck scale being of order the electroweak scale, thus alleviating the gauge hierarchy problem. We show that these models suffer from a breakdown of unitarity at around three quarters of the low effective Planck scale. An obvious candidate to fix the unitarity problem is string theory. We therefore argue that it is necessary for the string scale to appear below the effective Planck scale and that the first signature of such models would be string resonances. We further translate experimental bounds on the string scale into bounds on the effective Planck scale
Local Behavior of the First-Order Gradient Correction to the Thomas-Fermi Kinetic Energy Functional
The first order gradient correction to the Thomas-Fermi functional, proposed
by Haq, Chattaraj and Deb (Chem. Phys. Lett. vol. 81, 8031, 1984) has been
studied by evaluating both the total kinetic energy and the local kinetic
energy density. For testing the kinetic energy density we evaluate its
deviation from an exact result through a quality factor, a parameter that
reflects the quality of the functionals in a better way than their relative
errors. The study is performed on two different systems: light atoms (up to
Z=18) and a noninteracting model of fermions confined in a Coulombic-type
potential. It is found than this approximation gives very low relative errors
and a better local behavior than any of the usual generalized gradient
approximation semilocal kinetic density functionals.Comment: 7 pages, 2 tables, 4 figure
Gaussian-Charge Polarizable Interaction Potential for Carbon Dioxide
A number of simple pair interaction potentials of the carbon dioxide molecule
are investigated and found to underestimate the magnitude of the second virial
coefficient in the temperature interval 220 K to 448 K by up to 20%. Also the
third virial coefficient is underestimated by these models. A rigid,
polarizable, three-site interaction potential reproduces the experimental
second and third virial coefficients to within a few percent. It is based on
the modified Buckingham exp-6 potential, an anisotropic Axilrod-Teller
correction and Gaussian charge densities on the atomic sites with an inducible
dipole at the center of mass. The electric quadrupole moment, polarizability
and bond distances are set to equal experiment. Density of the fluid at 200 and
800 bars pressure is reproduced to within some percent of observation over the
temperature range 250 K to 310 K. The dimer structure is in passable agreement
with electronically resolved quantum-mechanical calculations in the literature,
as are those of the monohydrated monomer and dimer complexes using the
polarizable GCPM water potential. Qualitative agreement with experiment is also
obtained, when quantum corrections are included, for the relative stability of
the trimer conformations, which is not the case for the pair potentials.Comment: Error in the long-range correction fixed and three-body dispersion
introduced. 32 pages (incl. title page), 7 figures, 9 tables, double-space
IS THE MANCHESTER MOBILITY SCORE A VALID AND RELIABLE MEASURE OF PHYSICAL FUNCTION WITHIN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
Genetic Synthesis of Periodic Protein Materials
Genetic engineering offers a novel approach to the development of
advanced polymeric materials, in particular protein-based materials.
Biological synthesis provides levels of control of polymer chain architecture
that cannot yet be attained by current methods of chemical synthesis. In
addition to employing naturally occurring genetic templates artificial genes
can be designed to encode completely new materials with customized properties.
In the present paper we: 1) review the concepts and technology of creating
protein-based materials by genetic engineering, 2) discuss the merits of
producing crystalline lamellar proteins by this approach, and 3) review
progress made by our group in generating such materials by genetic strategies.
Full descriptions appear elsewhere about the parameters to be considered in
designing artificial protein genes of this type, the effectiveness of
different gene construction and expression strategies utilized by us thus far
and, the specific properties of the various materials derived from these
efforts (1,2).
Progress made by other groups involved in developing periodic proteins by
molecular biological strategies are described in refs. 3-8. The latter
studies include genetic engineering of artificial silk-like proteins (3,4),
poly-aspartylphenylalanine (5), an α/β barrel domain (octarellin; 6), the
collagen tripeptide GlyProPro (7) and human tropoelastin (8). Advances with
the silk-like proteins (SLP) have been particularly impressive. In addition
to producing multi-gram quantities of pure SLP homopolymers, this group has successfully generated block copolymers of SLP interspersed with core peptides of mammalian elastin and the human fibronectin cell attachment element. While publications are still lacking it appears that a numiber of groups are striving to create genetically engineered variants of the repetitive bioadhesive proteins produced by mussels and barnacles (9)
Permeation of CO2 and N2 through glassy poly(dimethyl phenylene) oxide under steady- and presteady-state conditions
Glassy polymers are often used for gas separations because of their high selectivity. Although the dual-mode permeation model correctly fits their sorption and permeation isotherms, its physical interpretation is disputed, and it does not describe permeation far from steady state, a condition expected when separations involve intermittent renewable energy sources. To develop a more comprehensive permeation model, we combine experiment, molecular dynamics, and multiscale reaction–diffusion modeling to characterize the time-dependent permeation of N2 and CO2 through a glassy poly(dimethyl phenylene oxide) membrane, a model system. Simulations of experimental time-dependent permeation data for both gases in the presteady-state and steady-state regimes show that both single- and dual-mode reaction–diffusion models reproduce the experimental observations, and that sorbed gas concentrations lag the external pressure rise. The results point to environment-sensitive diffusion coefficients as a vital characteristic of transport in glassy polymers
Enhancement of vaccinia virus based oncolysis with histone deacetylase inhibitors
Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDI) dampen cellular innate immune response by decreasing interferon production and have been shown to increase the growth of vesicular stomatitis virus and HSV. As attenuated tumour-selective oncolytic vaccinia viruses (VV) are already undergoing clinical evaluation, the goal of this study is to determine whether HDI can also enhance the potency of these poxviruses in infection-resistant cancer cell lines. Multiple HDIs were tested and Trichostatin A (TSA) was found to potently enhance the spread and replication of a tumour selective vaccinia virus in several infection-resistant cancer cell lines. TSA significantly decreased the number of lung metastases in a syngeneic B16F10LacZ lung metastasis model yet did not increase the replication of vaccinia in normal tissues. The combination of TSA and VV increased survival of mice harbouring human HCT116 colon tumour xenografts as compared to mice treated with either agent alone. We conclude that TSA can selectively and effectively enhance the replication and spread of oncolytic vaccinia virus in cancer cells. © 2010 MacTavish et al
The Case for Quantum Key Distribution
Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises secure key agreement by using quantum
mechanical systems. We argue that QKD will be an important part of future
cryptographic infrastructures. It can provide long-term confidentiality for
encrypted information without reliance on computational assumptions. Although
QKD still requires authentication to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, it can
make use of either information-theoretically secure symmetric key
authentication or computationally secure public key authentication: even when
using public key authentication, we argue that QKD still offers stronger
security than classical key agreement.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure; to appear in proceedings of QuantumComm 2009
Workshop on Quantum and Classical Information Security; version 2 minor
content revision
X-ray diffraction patterns from chondroitin 4-sulphate, dermatan sulphate and heparan sulphate (Short Communication)
Critical role of p38 MAPK for regeneration of the sciatic nerve following crush injury in vivo
BACKGROUND The physiological function of p38α, which is an isoform of p38 MAPK, has been investigated previously in several studies using pharmacological inhibitors. However, the results regarding whether p38α promotes or inhibits nerve regeneration in vivo have been controversial. METHODS We generated novel p38α mutant mice (sem mice) with a point mutation in the region encoding the p38α substrate-docking-site, which serves as a limited loss-of-function model of p38α. In the present study, we utilized sem mice and wild-type littermates (wt mice) to investigate the physiological role of p38α in nerve regeneration following crush injuries. RESULTS At four weeks after crush injury, the average axon diameter and the average axon area in sem mice were significantly smaller than those in wt mice. The average myelin sheath thickness in sem mice was reduced compared to wt mice, but no significant difference was observed in the G-ratio between the two groups. The sciatic functional index value demonstrated that functional nerve recovery in sem mice following crush injury was delayed, which is consistent with the histological findings. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of these findings, we examined inflammatory responses of the sciatic nerve by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. At an early phase following crush injury, sem mice showed remarkably lower expression of inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α and IL-1β, than wt mice. The expression of Caspase-3 and Tenascin-C were also lower in sem mice. Conversely, at a late phase of the response, sem mice showed considerably higher expression of TNF-α and of IL-1β with lower expression of S-100 than wt mice. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study of the physiological role of p38 MAPK in nerve regeneration that does not rely on the use of pharmacological inhibitors. Our results indicate that p38α insufficiency may cause an inflammatory disorder, resulting in a delay of histological and functional nerve recovery following crush injury. We conclude that p38 MAPK has an important physiological role in nerve regeneration and may be important for controlling both initiation of inflammation and recovery from nerve injury.Naoki Kato, Masahito Matsumoto, Masakazu Kogawa, Gerald J Atkins, David M Findlay, Takahiko Fujikawa, Hiromi Oda and Masato Ogat
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