2,925 research outputs found
Localized and controlled delivery of nitric oxide to the conventional outflow pathway via enzyme biocatalysis: towards therapy for Glaucoma
Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to lower intraocular pressure (IOP), however its therapeutic effects on outflow physiology are location- and dose-dependent. Here, a NO delivery platform that directly targets the resistance-generating region of the conventional outflow pathway and locally liberates a controlled dose of NO is reported. An increase in outflow facility (decrease in IOP) is demonstrated in mouse model
New flexible silicone-based EEG dry sensor material compositions exhibiting improvements in lifespan, conductivity, and reliability
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This study investigates alternative material compositions for flexible silicone-based dry electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes to improve the performance lifespan while maintaining high-fidelity transmission of EEG signals. Electrode materials were fabricated with varying concentrations of silver-coated silica and silver flakes to evaluate their electrical, mechanical, and EEG transmission performance. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of the initial electrode development identified some weak points in the sensors’ construction, including particle pull-out and ablation of the silver coating on the silica filler. The newly-developed sensor materials achieved significant improvement in EEG measurements while maintaining the advantages of previous silicone-based electrodes, including flexibility and non-toxicity. The experimental results indicated that the proposed electrodes maintained suitable performance even after exposure to temperature fluctuations, 85% relative humidity, and enhanced corrosion conditions demonstrating improvements in the environmental stability. Fabricated flat (forehead) and acicular (hairy sites) electrodes composed of the optimum identified formulation exhibited low impedance and reliable EEG measurement; some initial human experiments demonstrate the feasibility of using these silicone-based electrodes for typical lab data collection applications
Distinguishing Various Models of the 125 GeV Boson in Vector Boson Fusion
The hint of a new particle around 125 GeV at the LHC through the decay modes
of diphoton and a number of others may point to quite a number of
possibilities. While at the LHC the dominant production mechanism for the Higgs
boson of the standard model and some other extensions is via the gluon fusion
process, the alternative vector boson fusion is more sensitive to electroweak
symmetry breaking through the gauge-Higgs couplings and therefore can be used
to probe for models beyond the standard model. In this work, using the well
known dijet-tagging technique to single out the vector boson fusion mechanism,
we investigate its capability to discriminate a number of models that have been
suggested to give an enhanced inclusive diphoton production rate, including the
standard model Higgs boson, fermiophobic Higgs boson, Randall-Sundrum radion,
inert-Higgs-doublet model, two-Higgs-doublet model, and the MSSM. The rates in
vector-boson fusion can give more information of the underlying models to help
distinguishing among the models.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figures; in this version some wordings are change
Deciphering interplay between Salmonella invasion effectors
Bacterial pathogens have evolved a specialized type III secretion system (T3SS) to translocate virulence effector proteins directly into eukaryotic target cells. Salmonellae deploy effectors that trigger localized actin reorganization to force their own entry into non-phagocytic host cells. Six effectors (SipC, SipA, SopE/2, SopB, SptP) can individually manipulate actin dynamics at the plasma membrane, which acts as a ‘signaling hub’ during Salmonella invasion. The extent of crosstalk between these spatially coincident effectors remains unknown. Here we describe trans and cis binary entry effector interplay (BENEFIT) screens that systematically examine functional associations between effectors following their delivery into the host cell. The results reveal extensive ordered synergistic and antagonistic relationships and their relative potency, and illuminate an unexpectedly sophisticated signaling network evolved through longstanding pathogen–host interaction
Low-Energy Signals from Kinetic Mixing with a Warped Abelian Hidden Sector
We investigate the detailed phenomenology of a light Abelian hidden sector in
the Randall-Sundrum framework. Relative to other works with light hidden
sectors, the main new feature is a tower of hidden Kaluza-Klein vectors that
kinetically mix with the Standard Model photon and Z. We investigate the decay
properties of the hidden sector fields in some detail, and develop an approach
for calculating processes initiated on the ultraviolet brane of a warped space
with large injection momentum relative to the infrared scale. Using these
results, we determine the detailed bounds on the light warped hidden sector
from precision electroweak measurements and low-energy experiments. We find
viable regions of parameter space that lead to significant production rates for
several of the hidden Kaluza-Klein vectors in meson factories and fixed-target
experiments. This offers the possibility of exploring the structure of an extra
spacetime dimension with lower-energy probes.Comment: (1+32) Pages, 13 Figures. v2: JHEP version (minor modifications,
results unchanged
The Custodial Randall-Sundrum Model: From Precision Tests to Higgs Physics
We reexamine the Randall-Sundrum (RS) model with enlarged gauge symmetry
SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_X x P_LR in the presence of a brane-localized Higgs
sector. In contrast to the existing literature, we perform the Kaluza-Klein
(KK) decomposition within the mass basis, which avoids the truncation of the KK
towers. Expanding the low-energy spectrum as well as the gauge couplings in
powers of the Higgs vacuum expectation value, we obtain analytic formulas which
allow for a deep understanding of the model-specific protection mechanisms of
the T parameter and the left-handed Z-boson couplings. In particular, in the
latter case we explain which contributions escape protection and identify them
with the irreducible sources of P_LR symmetry breaking. We furthermore show
explicitly that no protection mechanism is present in the charged-current
sector confirming existing model-independent findings. The main focus of the
phenomenological part of our work is a detailed discussion of Higgs-boson
couplings and their impact on physics at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. For
the first time, a complete one-loop calculation of all relevant Higgs-boson
production and decay channels is presented, incorporating the effects stemming
from the extended electroweak gauge-boson and fermion sectors.Comment: 74 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables. v2: Matches version published in JHE
3D human skin bioprinting: a view from the bio side
Based on the 3D printing technologies and the concepts developed in tissue engineering during the last decades, 3D bioprinting is emerging as the most innovative and promising technology for the generation of human tissues and organs. In the case of skin bioprinting, thanks to the research process carried out during the last years, interfollicular skin has been printed with a structural and functional quality that paves the way for clinical and industrial applications. This review analyzes the present achievements and the future improvements that this area must bring about if bioprinted skin is to become widely used. We have made an effort to integrate the technological and the biological/biomedical sides of the subject.We thank the Spanish Fundación Ramón Areces for its continuous support.
This work was partially supported by grant DPI2014-61887-EXP from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
Rmi1 stimulates decatenation of double Holliday junctions during dissolution by Sgs1-Top3
double Holliday junction (dHJ) is a central intermediate of homologous recombination that can be processed to yield crossover or non-crossover recombination products. To preserve genomic integrity, cells possess mechanisms to avoid crossing over. We show that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sgs1 and Top3 proteins are sufficient to migrate and disentangle a dHJ to produce exclusively non-crossover recombination products, in a reaction termed "dissolution." We show that Rmi1 stimulates dHJ dissolution at low Sgs1-Top3 protein concentrations, although it has no effect on the initial rate of Holliday junction (HJ) migration. Rmi1 serves to stimulate DNA decatenation, removing the last linkages between the repaired and template DNA molecules. Dissolution of a dHJ is a highly efficient and concerted alternative to nucleolytic resolution that prevents crossing over of chromosomes during recombinational DNA repair in mitotic cells and thereby contributes to genomic integrity
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