Search for heavy resonances decaying into a vector boson and a Higgs boson in final states with charged leptons, neutrinos, and b quarks

Peer reviewe

Lanostane-type triterpenoids from Diospyros discolor

Four new lanostane-type triterpenes, 24-ethyl-3 beta-methoxylanost-9(11)-en-25-ol (1), 3 beta-methoxy-24-methyl-enelanost-9(11)-en-25-ol (2), 3 beta-methoxy-25-methyl-24-methylenelanost-9(11)-en-21-ol (3) and 3 beta-methoxy-24m ethyllanosta-9(11),2 5-dien-24-ol (4) together with three known triterpenes, betulinaldehyde, betulinic acid methyl ester, and ursaldehyde have been isolated from the methanol extract of the twigs of Diospyros discolor. The structures of those new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods

Formation Mechanism, Patterning, and Physical Properties of Gold-Nanoparticle Films Assembled by an Interaction-Controlled Centrifugal Method

Gold nanoparticle (AuNP) films Stacked with individual AuNPs have been shown to exhibit novel electric, plasmonic, and photoelectric properties for wide applications. Here, we developed an efficient centrifugal method to assemble desirable large area monolayer, multilayer, and three-dimensional (3D) patterned AuNP films. The formation mechanism of AuNP films under different colloidal interactions was studied. The optimal energy barrier is about 10 k(B)T for assembling high quality monolayer AuNP films. The shift of localized surface plasmon resonance bands of the films follows a near-exponential distance decay with interparticle spacing s. A red-shift of about 190 nm reveals the strong near-field coupling at s similar to 0.9 nm. The electrical resistance exponentially increases with s, and exhibits Coulomb charging behavior at low temperature. Furthermore, patterning of AuNP films based on the lift-off technique was achieved and yielded 2D/3D complex structures with submicrometer critical dimension. This assembly method provides a feasible approach in developing future nanodevices and functional nanostructures

Serum and endometrial markers

Endometriosis is a benign but aggressive disease. It occurs when shed endometrium from the female reproductive tract grows at a site outside the uterus. The physiological changes in endometriosis-abnormal tissue growth, invasion, and adhesion phenomena-are similar to those seen in tumorous tissues. Although the etiology of endometriosis is not well understood, the disease is widely accepted to result from the ectopic implantation of refluxed menstrual tissues. In addition, immunologic changes, genetic factors, and environmental factors might also affect a woman's susceptibility to develop endometriosis. Thus far, laparoscopic examination is required to confirm the presence of endometriosis; there is no reliable marker for its diagnosis. Many studies are therefore focusing on identifying markers for the diagnosis and follow-up of endometriosis. This chapter provides a systematic review of these studies, including recent findings from our group on the identification of molecules, in serum and/or endometrium, which are associated with the development of endometriosis at different stages. From this research, we hope to be able to suggest how to approach the potential markers. The identification of highly sensitive and specific markers of endometriosis should facilitate the development of accurate and non-invasive techniques for diagnosis and prognosis

Transcriptome analysis in blastocyst hatching by cDNA microarray

BACKGROUND: Hatching is an important process for early embryo development, differentiation and implantation. However, little is known about its regulatory mechanisms. By integrating the technologies of RNA amplification and cDNA microarrays, it has become possible to study the gene expression profile at this critical stage. METHODS: Pre-hatched and hatched ICR mouse embryos (25 blastocysts in each group were used in the triplicate experiments) were collected for RNA extraction, amplification, and microarray analysis (the mouse cDNA microarray, 6144 genes, including expressed sequence tags). RESULTS: According to cDNA microarray data, we have identified 85 genes that were expressed at a higher level in hatched blastocyst than in pre-hatched blastocysts. In this study, 47 hatching-related candidate genes were verified via re-sequencing. Some of these genes have been selected and confirmed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. These hatching-specific genes were also expressed at a lower level in the delayed growth embryos (morula or blastocyst without hatching at day 6 post hCG). These genes included: cell adhesion and migration molecules [E-cadherin, neuronal cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), lectin, galactose binding, soluble 7 (Lgals7), vanin 3 and biglycan], epigenetic regulators (Dnmt1, and SIN3 yeast homolog A), stress response regulators (heme oxygenase 1) and immunoresponse regulators [interleukin (IL)-2-inducible T-cell kinase, IL-4R, interferon-gamma receptor 2, and neurotrophin]. The immunostaining of E-cadherin and NCAM showed strong and specific localization in hatched blastocyst. CONCLUSIONS: This work provides important information for studying the mechanisms of blastocyst hatching and implantation. These hatching-specific genes may have potential as new drug targets for controlling fertility

Enforced liquid crystalline properties of dibenzo[a,c]phenazine dimer and self assembly

10.1039/c0jm01636eJournal of Materials Chemistry2161704-1712JMAC