MD and SCA simulations of He and H bombardment of fuzz in bcc elements

We present results of MD simulations of low energy He ion bombardment of low density fuzz in bcc elements. He ions can penetrate several micrometers into sparse fuzz, which allows for a sufficient He flux through it to grow the fuzz further. He kinetic energy falls off exponentially with penetration depth. A BCA code was used to carry out the same ion bombardment on the same fuzz structures as in MD simulations, but with simpler, 10 million times faster calculations. Despite the poor theoretical basis of the BCA at low ion energies, and the use of somewhat different potentials in MD and BCA calculations, the ion penetration depths predicted by BCA are only similar to 12% less than those predicted by MD. The MD-BCA differences are highly systematic and trends in the results of the two methods are very similar. We have carried out more than 200 BCA calculation runs of ion bombardment of fuzz, in which parameters in the ion bombardment process were varied. For most parameters, the results show that the ion bombardment process is quite generic. The ion species (He or H), ion mass, fuzz element (W, Ta, Mo, Fe) and fuzz element lattice parameter turned out to have a modest influence on ion penetration depths at most. An off-normal angle of incidence strongly reduces the ion penetration depth. Increasing the ion energy increases the ion penetration, but the rate by which ion energy drops off at high ion energies follows the same exponential pattern as at lower energies. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

MD and SCA simulations of He and H bombardment of fuzz in bcc elements

We present results of MD simulations of low energy He ion bombardment of low density fuzz in bcc elements. He ions can penetrate several micrometers into sparse fuzz, which allows for a sufficient He flux through it to grow the fuzz further. He kinetic energy falls off exponentially with penetration depth. A BCA code was used to carry out the same ion bombardment on the same fuzz structures as in MD simulations, but with simpler, 10 million times faster calculations. Despite the poor theoretical basis of the BCA at low ion energies, and the use of somewhat different potentials in MD and BCA calculations, the ion penetration depths predicted by BCA are only similar to 12% less than those predicted by MD. The MD-BCA differences are highly systematic and trends in the results of the two methods are very similar. We have carried out more than 200 BCA calculation runs of ion bombardment of fuzz, in which parameters in the ion bombardment process were varied. For most parameters, the results show that the ion bombardment process is quite generic. The ion species (He or H), ion mass, fuzz element (W, Ta, Mo, Fe) and fuzz element lattice parameter turned out to have a modest influence on ion penetration depths at most. An off-normal angle of incidence strongly reduces the ion penetration depth. Increasing the ion energy increases the ion penetration, but the rate by which ion energy drops off at high ion energies follows the same exponential pattern as at lower energies. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Empowering patients with high myopia:The significance of education

Purpose: To investigate the status of patient education among highly myopic individuals focusing on the presence, sources, content, timing of the education and impact on patients. Methods: Self-reported data were collected through an online 13-item questionnaire consisting of open and multiple-choice questions. The questionnaire was sent to 250 highly myopic members of a patient organization in the Netherlands, of whom 128 (51%) responded. Results: At least one acute event had occurred in 66% (84/128) of participants at the time of the questionnaire. Among all participants, 25% (32/128) had not received patient education regarding alarm symptoms for any of these events. Among those who had been informed, the ophthalmologist was the most frequent (57%, 73/128) source of information. Participants who visited the ophthalmologist annually were more frequently informed than participants without annual visits (53%, 26/49 versus 26%, 9/35, p = 0.002). Those not informed were more likely to have a more than 3 days patient delay (92%, 12/13). Doctors delay was also present; 26% (22/84) of the participants with alarm symptoms had to wait 2 or more days before the first appointment. Long-term consequences of myopia had been discussed with 102 participants (80%, 102/128), again with the ophthalmologist as the most frequent source (59%, 76/128). Perspectives: Many myopic individuals have not been educated about their increased risk of acute events, which can result in patient delay and serious consequences with respect to visual prognosis. These findings underscore the critical importance of integrating patient education across the entire ophthalmic care chain for myopia.</p

Effects of Heparin and Enoxaparin on APP Processing and Aβ Production in Primary Cortical Neurons from Tg2576 Mice

BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by accumulation of Aβ, which is produced through sequential cleavage of β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) by the β-site APP cleaving enzyme (BACE1) and γ-secretase. Enoxaparin, a low molecular weight form of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) heparin, has been reported to lower Aβ plaque deposition and improve cognitive function in AD transgenic mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We examined whether heparin and enoxaparin influence APP processing and inhibit Aβ production in primary cortical cell cultures. Heparin and enoxaparin were incubated with primary cortical cells derived from Tg2576 mice, and the level of APP and proteolytic products of APP (sAPPα, C99, C83 and Aβ) was measured by western blotting. Treatment of the cells with heparin or enoxaparin had no significant effect on the level of total APP. However, both GAGs decreased the level of C99 and C83, and inhibited sAPPα and Aβ secretion. Heparin also decreased the level of β-secretase (BACE1) and α-secretase (ADAM10). In contrast, heparin had no effect on the level of ADAM17. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The data indicate that heparin and enoxaparin decrease APP processing via both α- and β-secretase pathways. The possibility that GAGs may be beneficial for the treatment of AD needs further study.This work was funded by a project grant (490031) from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (http://www.nhmrc.gov.au). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

A mineral and cumulate perspective to magma differentiation at Nisyros volcano, Aegean arc

Lavas and pyroclastic products of Nisyros volcano (Aegean arc, Greece) host a wide variety of phenocryst and cumulate assemblages that offer a unique window into the earliest stages of magma differentiation. This study presents a detailed petrographic study of lavas, enclaves and cumulates spanning the entire volcanic history of Nisyros to elucidate at which levels in the crust magmas stall and differentiate. We present a new division for the volcanic products into two suites based on field occurrence and petrographic features: a low-porphyricity andesite and a high-porphyricity (rhyo)dacite (HPRD) suite. Cumulate fragments are exclusively found in the HPRD suite and are predominantly derived from upper crustal reservoirs where they crystallised under hydrous conditions from melts that underwent prior differentiation. Rarer cumulate fragments range from (amphibole-)wehrlites to plagioclase-hornblendites and these appear to be derived from the lower crust (0.5–0.8 GPa). The suppressed stability of plagioclase and early saturation of amphibole in these cumulates are indicative of high-pressure crystallisation from primitive hydrous melts (≥ 3 wt% H2O). Clinopyroxene in these cumulates has Al2O3 contents up to 9 wt% due to the absence of crystallising plagioclase, and is subsequently consumed in a peritectic reaction to form primitive, Al-rich amphibole (Mg# > 73, 12–15 wt% Al2O3). The composition of these peritectic amphiboles is distinct from trace element-enriched interstitial amphibole in shallower cumulates. Phenocryst compositions and assemblages in both suites differ markedly from the cumulates. Phenocrysts, therefore, reflect shallow crystallisation and do not record magma differentiation in the deep arc crust

Other mothers: beyond the maternal ideal

(print) vii, 348 p. : ill. ; 24 cmIllustrations p. vii -- Introduction p. 1 -- Part I. Beyond the Maternal Ideal p. 25 -- Part II. "Bad Mothers" : Caretaking, Class, and Maternal Violence p. 101 -- Part III. Maternity and Difference : Nation, Race, and Empire p. 181 -- Part IV. The Maternal Body p. 271 -- Contributors 335 -- Index 339Item embargoed for five year

Antibody Concentrations to A Beta 1-42 Monomer and Soluble Oligomers in Untreated and Antibody-Antigen-Dissociated Intravenous Immunoglobulin Preparations

Cognitive improvement in Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) patients treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IvIg) has been attributed to its antibodies to amyloid beta (A beta) We compared the concentrations of specific antibodies to soluble A beta 1-42 conformations, namely A beta 1-42 monomer and A beta 1-42 soluble oligomers, between three IvIg preparations. Gamunex, Gammagard. and Flebogamma. To determine specific antibody Concentrations to these A beta 1-42 conformations. nonspecific binding of the IvIg preparations to the An reverse sequence, A beta 42-1. was subtracted These antibodies were measured in untreated IvIg preparations and also after they were treated to dissociate antibody-antigen complexes. because this procedure has been reported to increase the detectable levels of serum anti-A beta antibodies. Antibody levels to A beta 1-42 monomer were significantly higher in untreated Gamunex than in the other two IvIg preparations, and antibody-antigen dissociation increased the measured anti-A beta monomer concentrations in Gamunex and Gammagard Dissociated Gamunex and Gammagard had higher anti-A beta monomer levels than Flebogamma. Generally similar results were found for antibodies to soluble A beta 1-42 oligomers. with the exception that after antibody-antigen dissociation, only Gammagard had significantly higher antibody levels than Flebogamma. These differences in antibody concentrations to A beta 1-42 conformations (particularly to A beta 1-42 soluble oligomers, thought to be the most neurotoxic conformation of soluble A beta) and the increased availability of these antibodies after antibody-antigen complex dissociation have important implications for IvIg treatment of AD patients

Nesting Ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus at the Eastern Edge of their Historic Distribution

Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus populations in North Dakota declined approximately 67% between 1965 and 2003, and the species is listed as a Priority Level 1 Species of Special Concern by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The habitat and ecology of the species at the eastern edge of its historical range is largely unknown. We investigated nest site selection by greater sage-grouse and nest survival in North Dakota during 2005 - 2006. Sage-grouse selected nest sites in sagebrush Artemisia spp. with more total vegetative cover, greater sagebrush density, and greater 1-m visual obstruction from the nest than at random sites. Height of grass and shrub (sagebrush) at nest sites were shorter than at random sites, because areas where sagebrush was common were sites in low seral condition or dense clay or clay-pan soils with low productivity. Constant survival estimates of incubated nests were 33% in 2005 and 30% in 2006. Variables that described the resource selection function for nests were not those that modeled nest survival. Nest survival was positively influenced by percentage of shrub (sagebrush) cover and grass height. Daily nest survival decreased substantially when percentage of shrub cover declined below about 9% and when grass heights were less than about 16 cm. Daily nest survival rates decreased with increased daily precipitation

T Cell Maturation Stage Prior to and During GMP Processing Informs on CAR T Cell Expansion in Patients

textabstractAutologous T cells were genetically modified to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) directed toward carboxy-anhydrase-IX (CAIX) and used to treat patients with CAIX-positive metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In this study, we questioned whether the T cell maturation stage in the pre-infusion product affected CAIX CAR expression and function in vitro as well as in vivo CAR T cell numbers and expansion. During the 14 days expansion of CAR T cells prior to administration, we observed shifts from a predominant CD4 to a CD8 T cell phenotype and from a significant fraction of naïve to central effector T cells. Surface expression of the CAR was equally distributed among different T cell subsets and T cell maturation stages. During T cell culture days 14-18 (which covered patient treatment days 1-5), T cells demonstrated a decline in CAR expression level per cell irrespective of T cell maturation stage, although the proportion of CAR-positive T cells and CAR-mediated T cell effector functions remained similar for both CD4 and CD8 T cell populations. Notably, patients with a higher fraction of naïve CD8 T cells at baseline (prior to genetic modification) or central effector CD8 T cells at 2 weeks of CAR T cell culture demonstrated a higher fold expansion and absolute numbers of circulating CAR T cells at 1 month after start of therapy. We conclude that the T cell maturation stage prior to and during CAR T cell expansion culture is related to in vivo CAR T cell expansion