Enhanced Dielectric Constant for Efficient Electromagnetic Shielding Based on Carbon-Nanotube-Added Styrene Acrylic Emulsion Based Composite

An efficient electromagnetic shielding composite based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-filled styrene acrylic emulsion-based polymer has been prepared in a water-based system. The MWCNTs were demonstrated to have an effect on the dielectric constants, which effectively enhance electromagnetic shielding efficiency (SE) of the composites. A low conductivity threshold of 0.23 wt% can be obtained. An EMI SE of ~28 dB was achieved for 20 wt% MWCNTs. The AC conductivity (σac) of the composites, deduced from imaginary permittivity, was used to estimate the SE of the composites in X band (8.2–12.4 GHz), showing a good agreement with the measured results

Higgs boson production in photon-photon collision at ILC: a comparative study in different little Higgs models

We study the process \gamma\gamma->h->bb_bar at ILC as a probe of different little Higgs models, including the simplest little Higgs model (SLH), the littlest Higgs model (LH), and two types of littlest Higgs models with T-parity (LHT-I, LHT-II). Compared with the Standard Model (SM) prediction, the production rate is found to be sizably altered in these little Higgs models and, more interestingly, different models give different predictions. We find that the production rate can be possibly enhanced only in the LHT-II for some part of the parameter space, while in all other cases the rate is suppressed. The suppression can be 10% in the LH and as much as 60% in both the SLH and the LHT-I/LHT-II. The severe suppression in the SLH happens for a large \tan\beta and a small m_h, in which the new decay mode h->\eta\eta (\eta is a light pseudo-scalar) is dominant; while for the LHT-I/LHT-II the large suppression occurs when f and m_h are both small so that the new decay mode h->A_H A_H is dominant. Therefore, the precision measurement of such a production process at the ILC will allow for a test of these models and even distinguish between different scenarios.Comment: Version in JHEP (h-g-g & h-gamma-gamma expressions added

Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay

The decay channel $\psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p})$ is studied using a sample of $1.06\times 10^8$ $\psi^\prime$ events collected by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is observed in the $p\bar{p}$ invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit with an $S$-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of $M=1861^{+6}_{-13} {\rm (stat)}^{+7}_{-26} {\rm (syst)} {\rm MeV/}c^2$ and a narrow width that is $\Gamma<38 {\rm MeV/}c^2$ at the 90% confidence level. These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics

Separation of Allelopathy from Resource Competition Using Rice/Barnyardgrass Mixed-Cultures

Plant-plant interference is the combined effect of allelopathy, resource competition, and many other factors. Separating allelopathy from resource competition is almost impossible in natural systems but it is important to evaluate the relative contribution of each of the two mechanisms on plant interference. Research on allelopathy in natural and cultivated plant communities has been hindered in the absence of a reliable method that can separate allelopathic effect from resource competition. In this paper, the interactions between allelopathic rice accession PI312777, non-allelopathic rice accession Lemont and barnyardgrass were explored respectively by using a target (rice)-neighbor (barnyardgrass) mixed-culture in hydroponic system. The relative competitive intensity (RCI), the relative neighbor effect (RNE) and the competitive ratio (CR) were used to quantify the intensity of competition between each of the two different potentially allelopathic rice accessions and barnyardgrass. Use of hydroponic culture system enabled us to exclude any uncontrolled factors that might operate in the soil and we were able to separate allelopathy from resource competition between each rice accession and barnyardgrass. The RCI and RNE values showed that the plant-plant interaction was positive (facilitation) for PI312777 but that was negative (competition) for Lemont and barnyardgrass in rice/barnyardgrass mixed-cultures. The CR values showed that one PI312777 plant was more competitive than 2 barnyardgrass plants. The allelopathic effects of PI312777 were much more intense than the resource competition in rice/barnyardgrass mixed cultures. The reverse was true for Lemont. These results demonstrate that the allelopathic effect of PI312777 was predominant in rice/barnyardgrass mixed-cultures. The most significant result of our study is the discovery of an experimental design, target-neighbor mixed-culture in combination with competition indices, can successfully separate allelopathic effects from competition

Radionuclide therapy using I-131-labeled anti-epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted nanoparticles suppresses cancer cell growth caused by EGFR overexpression

Introduction Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted nanoparticles can be used to deliver a therapeutic and imaging agent to EGFR-overexpressing tumor cells. I-131-labeled anti-EGFR nanoparticles derived from cetuximab were used as a tumor-targeting vehicle in radionuclide therapy

Changes in Plasma Membrane Surface Potential of PC12 Cells as Measured by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

The plasma membrane of a cell not only works as a physical barrier but also mediates the signal relay between the extracellular milieu and the cell interior. Various stimulants may cause the redistribution of molecules, like lipids, proteins, and polysaccharides, on the plasma membrane and change the surface potential (Φs). In this study, the Φss of PC12 cell plasma membranes were measured by atomic force microscopy in Kelvin probe mode (KPFM). The skewness values of the Φss distribution histogram were found to be mostly negative, and the incorporation of negatively charged phosphatidylserine shifted the average skewness values to positive. After being treated with H2O2, dopamine, or Zn2+, phosphatidylserine was found to be translocated to the membrane outer leaflet and the averaged skewness values were changed to positive values. These results demonstrated that KPFM can be used to monitor cell physiology status in response to various stimulants with high spatial resolution

Two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

The first measurement of two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC.Comment: 17 pages, 5 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/388

Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral collisions, corresponding to 0-5% and 70-80% of the hadronic Pb-Pb cross section. The measured charged particle spectra in $|\eta|<0.8$ and $0.3 < p_T < 20$ GeV/$c$ are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$, scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$. The result indicates only weak medium effects ($R_{\rm AA} \approx$ 0.7) in peripheral collisions. In central collisions, $R_{\rm AA}$ reaches a minimum of about 0.14 at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7GeV/$c$ and increases significantly at larger $p_{\rm T}$. The measured suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles is stronger than that observed at lower collision energies, indicating that a very dense medium is formed in central Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages, 5 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 10, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/98

High inorganic phosphate intake promotes tumorigenesis at early stages in a mouse model of lung cancer

© 2015 Lee et al. Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is required by all living organisms for the development of organs such as bone, muscle, brain, and lungs, regulating the expression of several critical genes as well as signal transduction. However, little is known about the effects of prolonged dietary Pi consumption on lung cancer progression. This study investigated the effects of a highphosphate diet (HPD) in a mouse model of adenocarcinoma. K-rasLA1 mice were fed a normal diet (0.3% Pi) or an HPD (1% Pi) for 1, 2, or 4 months. Mice were then sacrificed and subjected to inductively coupled plasma mass/optical emission spectrometry and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry analyses, western blot analysis, histopathological, immunohistochemical, and immunocytochemical analyses to evaluate tumor formation and progression (including cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis), changes in ion levels and metabolism, autophagy, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and protein translation in the lungs. An HPD accelerated tumorigenesis, as evidenced by increased adenoma and adenocarcinoma rates as well as tumor size. However, after 4 months of the HPD, cell proliferation was arrested, and marked increases in liver and lung ion levels and in energy production via the tricarboxylic acid cycle in the liver were observed, which were accompanied by increased autophagy and decreased angiogenesis and apoptosis. These results indicate that an HPD initially promotes but later inhibits lung cancer progression because of metabolic adaptation leading to tumor cell quiescence. Moreover, the results suggest that carefully regulated Pi consumption are effective in lung cancer prevention