5,928 research outputs found
Notes on Ghost Dark Energy
We study a phenomenological dark energy model which is rooted in the
Veneziano ghost of QCD. In this dark energy model, the energy density of dark
energy is proportional to Hubble parameter and the proportional coefficient is
of the order , where is the mass scale of QCD.
The universe has a de Sitter phase at late time and begins to accelerate at
redshift around . We also fit this model and give the
constraints on model parameters, with current observational data including
SnIa, BAO, CMB, BBN and Hubble parameter data. We find that the squared sound
speed of the dark energy is negative, which may cause an instability. We also
study the cosmological evolution of the dark energy with interaction with cold
dark matter.Comment: 20 pages,10 figures,Correct some typos and add new reference
Optimization of scale-free network for random failures
It has been found that the networks with scale-free distribution are very
resilient to random failures. The purpose of this work is to determine the
network design guideline which maximize the network robustness to random
failures with the average number of links per node of the network is constant.
The optimal value of the distribution exponent and the minimum connectivity to
different network size are given in this paper. Finally, the optimization
strategy how to improve the evolving network robustness is given.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur
Optimization of robustness of scale-free network to random and targeted attacks
The scale-fee networks, having connectivity distribution (where is the site connectivity), is very resilient to random
failures but fragile to intentional attack. The purpose of this paper is to
find the network design guideline which can make the robustness of the network
to both random failures and intentional attack maximum while keeping the
average connectivity per node constant. We find that when $=3$ the
robustness of the scale-free networks reach its maximum value if the minimal
connectivity $m=1$, but when is larger than four, the networks will
become more robust to random failures and targeted attacks as the minimal
connectivity gets larger
Association of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists With the Mortality and Cardiovascular Effects in Dialysis Patients: A Meta-analysis
Whether Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) reduce mortality and cardiovascular effects of dialysis patients remains unclear. A meta-analysis was designed to investigate whether MRA reduce mortality and cardiovascular effects of dialysis patients, with a registration in INPLASY (INPLASY2020120143). The meta-analysis revealed that MRA significantly reduced all-cause mortality (ACM) and cardiovascular mortality (CVM). Patients receiving MRA presented improved left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). There was no significant difference in the serum potassium level between the MRA group and the placebo group. MRA vs. control exerts definite survival and cardiovascular benefits in dialysis patients, including reducing all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, LVMI, and arterial blood pressure, and improving LVEF. In terms of safety, MRA did not increase serum potassium levels for dialysis patients with safety. Systematic Review Registration: (https://inplasy.com/inplasy-protocol-1239-2/), identifier (INPLASY2020120143)
Multistage Random Growing Small-World Networks with Power-law degree Distribution
In this paper, a simply rule that generates scale-free networks with very
large clustering coefficient and very small average distance is presented.
These networks are called {\bf Multistage Random Growing Networks}(MRGN) as the
adding process of a new node to the network is composed of two stages. The
analytic results of power-law exponent and clustering coefficient
are obtained, which agree with the simulation results approximately.
In addition, the average distance of the networks increases logarithmical with
the number of the network vertices is proved analytically. Since many real-life
networks are both scale-free and small-world networks, MRGN may perform well in
mimicking reality.Comment: 3 figures, 4 page
Anti-inflammatory recombinant TSG-6 stabilizes the progression of focal retinal degeneration in a murine model
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inflammatory responses are detected in the retina of patients with age-related macular degeneration and <it>Ccl2<sup>-/-</sup>/Cx3cr1<sup>-/- </sup></it>mice on rd8 background,(<it>Ccl2<sup>-/-</sup>/Cx3cr1<sup>-/- </sup></it>mice) a model that develops progressive age-related macular degeneration-like retinal lesions including focal photoreceptor degeneration, abnormal retinal pigment epithelium and A2E accumulation. Tumor necrosis factor-inducible gene 6 protein is an anti-inflammatory protein and has been shown to improve myocardial infarction outcome and chemically injured cornea in mice by suppressing inflammation. In this study, we evaluated the effect of an intravitreous injection of recombinant TSG-6 on the retinal lesions of <it>Ccl2<sup>-/-</sup>/Cx3cr1<sup>-/- </sup></it>mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Recombinant TSG-6 (400 ng) was administered by intravitreous injection into the right eye of six-week-old C<it>cl2<sup>-/-</sup>/Cx3cr1<sup>-/- </sup></it>mice. Their left eye was injected with phosphate-buffered saline as a control. Funduscopic pictures were taken before injection and sequentially once a month after injection. The mice were killed two months after injection and the ocular histology examined. Retinal A2E, a major component of lipofuscin, was measured by high performance liquid chromatography. The microarray of ocular mRNA of 92 immunological genes was performed. The genes showing differentiated expression in microarray were further compared between the injected right eye and the contralateral (control) eye by [real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction] qRT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The continuous monitoring of the fundus for two months showed a slower progression or alleviation of retinal lesions in the treated right eyes as compared with the untreated left eyes. Among 23 pairs of eyes, the lesion levels improved in 78.3%, stayed the same in 8.7% and progressed in 13.0%. Histology confirmed the clinical observation. Even though there was no difference in the level of A2E between the treated and the untreated eyes, microarray analysis of 92 immune genes showed that <it>IL-17a </it>was substantially decreased after the treatment. Expression of <it>TNF-α </it>showed a similar pattern to <it>IL-17a</it>. The results were consistent in duplicated arrays and confirmed by qRT-PCR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We concluded that intravitreous administration of recombinant TSG-6 might stabilize retinal lesions in <it>Ccl2<sup>-/-</sup>/Cx3cr1<sup>-/- </sup></it>mice on rd8 background. Modulation of ocular immunological gene expressions, especially IL-17a, could be one of the mechanisms.</p
3D Real-Time Echocardiography Combined with Mini Pressure Wire Generate Reliable Pressure-Volume Loops in Small Hearts
BACKGROUND:
Pressure-volume loops (PVL) provide vital information regarding ventricular performance and pathophysiology in cardiac disease. Unfortunately, acquisition of PVL by conductance technology is not feasible in neonates and small children due to the available human catheter size and resulting invasiveness. The aim of the study was to validate the accuracy of PVL in small hearts using volume data obtained by real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) and simultaneously acquired pressure data.
METHODS:
In 17 piglets (weight range: 3.6–8.0 kg) left ventricular PVL were generated by 3DE and simultaneous recordings of ventricular pressure using a mini pressure wire (PVL3D). PVL3D were compared to conductance catheter measurements (PVLCond) under various hemodynamic conditions (baseline, alpha-adrenergic stimulation with phenylephrine, beta-adrenoreceptor-blockage using esmolol). In order to validate the accuracy of 3D volumetric data, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) was performed in another 8 piglets.
RESULTS:
Correlation between CMR- and 3DE-derived volumes was good (enddiastolic volume: mean bias -0.03ml ±1.34ml). Computation of PVL3D in small hearts was feasible and comparable to results obtained by conductance technology. Bland-Altman analysis showed a low bias between PVL3D and PVLCond. Systolic and diastolic parameters were closely associated (Intraclass-Correlation Coefficient for: systolic myocardial elastance 0.95, arterial elastance 0.93, diastolic relaxation constant tau 0.90, indexed end-diastolic volume 0.98). Hemodynamic changes under different conditions were well detected by both methods (ICC 0.82 to 0.98). Inter- and intra-observer coefficients of variation were below 5% for all parameters.
CONCLUSIONS:
PVL3D generated from 3DE combined with mini pressure wire represent a novel, feasible and reliable method to assess different hemodynamic conditions of cardiac function in hearts comparable to neonate and infant size. This methodology may be integrated into clinical practice and cardiac catheterization programs and has the capability to contribute to clinical decision making even in small hearts
Measurements of branching fraction ratios and CP-asymmetries in suppressed B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decays
We report the first reconstruction in hadron collisions of the suppressed
decays B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^-, sensitive to the
CKM phase gamma, using data from 7 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by
the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. We reconstruct a signal for the
B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- suppressed mode with a significance of 3.2 standard
deviations, and measure the ratios of the suppressed to favored branching
fractions R(K) = [22.0 \pm 8.6(stat)\pm 2.6(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^+(K) =
[42.6\pm 13.7(stat)\pm 2.8(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^-(K)= [3.8\pm 10.3(stat)\pm
2.7(syst]\times 10^-3, as well as the direct CP-violating asymmetry A(K) =
-0.82\pm 0.44(stat)\pm 0.09(syst) of this mode. Corresponding quantities for
B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decay are also reported.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted by Phys.Rev.D Rapid Communications for
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