101 research outputs found
Lorenz function of BiTe/SbTe superlattices
Combining first principles density functional theory and semi-classical
Boltzmann transport, the anisotropic Lorenz function was studied for
thermoelectric BiTe/SbTe superlattices and their bulk
constituents. It was found that already for the bulk materials BiTe
and SbTe, the Lorenz function is not a pellucid function on charge
carrier concentration and temperature. For electron-doped
BiTe/SbTe superlattices large oscillatory deviations
for the Lorenz function from the metallic limit were found even at high charge
carrier concentrations. The latter can be referred to quantum well effects,
which occur at distinct superlattice periods
The influence of anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics on the relaxation processes in lipid membranes
In the proximity of melting transitions of artificial and biological
membranes fluctuations in enthalpy, area, volume and concentration are
enhanced. This results in domain formation, changes of the elastic constants,
changes in permeability and slowing down of relaxation processes. In this study
we used pressure perturbation calorimetry to investigate the relaxation time
scale after a jump into the melting transition regime of artificial lipid
membranes. This time corresponds to the characteristic rate of domain growth.
The studies were performed on single-component large unilamellar and
multilamellar vesicle systems with and without the addition of small molecules
such as general anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics. These drugs
interact with membranes and affect melting points and profiles. In all systems
we found that heat capacity and relaxation times are related to each other in a
simple manner. The maximum relaxation time depends on the cooperativity of the
heat capacity profile and decreases with a broadening of the transition. For
this reason the influence of a drug on the time scale of domain formation
processes can be understood on the basis of their influence on the heat
capacity profile. This allows estimations of the time scale of domain formation
processes in biological membranes.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
Thermoelectric transport in superlattices
The thermoelectric transport properties of
superlattices are analyzed on
the basis of first-principles calculations and semi-classical Boltzmann theory.
The anisotropy of the thermoelectric transport under electron and hole-doping
was studied in detail for different superlattice periods at changing
temperature and charge carrier concentrations. A clear preference for
thermoelectric transport under hole-doping, as well as for the in-plane
transport direction was found for all superlattice periods. At hole-doping the
electrical transport anisotropies remain bulk-like for all investigated
systems, while under electron-doping quantum confinement leads to strong
suppression of the cross-plane thermoelectric transport at several superlattice
periods. In addition, insights on the Lorenz function, the electronic
contribution to the thermal conductivity and the resulting figure of merit are
given
Leucocytes are a major source of circulating nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT)/pre-B cell colony (PBEF)/visfatin linking obesity and inflammation in humans
Genome-wide association analysis of diverticular disease points towards neuromuscular, connective tissue and epithelial pathomechanisms.
This is the author accepted manuscript.OBJECTIVE: Diverticular disease is a common complex disorder characterised by mucosal outpouchings of the colonic wall that manifests through complications such as diverticulitis, perforation and bleeding. We report the to date largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic risk factors for diverticular disease. DESIGN: Discovery GWAS analysis was performed on UK Biobank imputed genotypes using 31 964 cases and 419 135 controls of European descent. Associations were replicated in a European sample of 3893 cases and 2829 diverticula-free controls and evaluated for risk contribution to diverticulitis and uncomplicated diverticulosis. Transcripts at top 20 replicating loci were analysed by real-time quatitative PCR in preparations of the mucosal, submucosal and muscular layer of colon. The localisation of expressed protein at selected loci was investigated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: We discovered 48 risk loci, of which 12 are novel, with genome-wide significance and consistent OR in the replication sample. Nominal replication (p<0.05) was observed for 27 loci, and additional 8 in meta-analysis with a population-based cohort. The most significant novel risk variant rs9960286 is located near CTAGE1 with a p value of 2.3×10-10 and 0.002 (ORallelic=1.14 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.24)) in the replication analysis. Four loci showed stronger effects for diverticulitis, PHGR1 (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.56), FAM155A-2 (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.42), CALCB (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.33) and S100A10 (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.33). CONCLUSION: In silico analyses point to diverticulosis primarily as a disorder of intestinal neuromuscular function and of impaired connective fibre support, while an additional diverticulitis risk might be conferred by epithelial dysfunction.German Research CouncilAustrian Science FundFaculty of Medicine, Saarland UniversityResearch Council of LithuaniaSwedish Research CouncilMedical Research Counci
Assuring the integrity of offshore carbon dioxide storage
Carbon capture and storage is a key mitigation strategy proposed for keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 °C. Offshore storage can provide up to 13% of the global CO2 reduction required to achieve the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change goals. The public must be assured that potential leakages from storage reservoirs can be detected and that therefore the CO2 is safely contained. We conducted a controlled release of 675 kg CO2 within sediments at 120 m water depth, to simulate a leak and test novel detection, quantification and attribution approaches. We show that even at a very low release rate (6 kg day−1), CO2 can be detected within sediments and in the water column. Alongside detection we show the fluxes of both dissolved and gaseous CO2 can be quantified. The CO2 source was verified using natural and added tracers. The experiment demonstrates that existing technologies and techniques can detect, attribute and quantify any escape of CO2 from sub-seabed reservoirs as required for public assurance, regulatory oversight and emissions trading schemes
Ãœber die Wirkung einiger diaphoretischer Tees auf den extrarenalen Gewichtsverlust des gesunden Menschen
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