Interaction-induced first order correlation between spatially-separated 1D dipolar fermions

We calculate the ground-state properties of fermionic dipolar atoms or molecules in a one-dimensional double-tube potential by using the Luttinger liquid theory and the density matrix renormalization-group calculation. When the external field is applied near a magic angle with respect to the double-tube plane, the long-ranged dipolar interaction can generate a spontaneous correlation between fermions in different tubes, even when the bare intertube tunneling rate is negligibly small. Such interaction-induced correlation strongly enhances the contrast of the interference fringes and therefore can be easily observed in the standard time-of-flight experiment.Comment: Same as the published versio

Protein kinase A-dependent Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Activation Mediates the Enhancement of Baroreflex Response by Adrenomedullin in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarii of Rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adrenomedullin (ADM) exerts its biological functions through the receptor-mediated enzymatic mechanisms that involve protein kinase A (PKA), or neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). We previously demonstrated that the receptor-mediated cAMP/PKA pathway involves in ADM-enhanced baroreceptor reflex (BRR) response. It remains unclear whether ADM may enhance BRR response via activation of nNOS-dependent mechanism in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Intravenous injection of phenylephrine was administered to evoke the BRR before and at 10, 30, and 60 min after microinjection of the test agents into NTS of Sprague-Dawley rats. Western blotting analysis was used to measure the level and phosphorylation of proteins that involved in BRR-enhancing effects of ADM (0.2 pmol) in NTS. The colocalization of PKA and nNOS was examined by immunohistochemical staining and observed with a laser confocal microscope.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that ADM-induced enhancement of BRR response was blunted by microinjection of NPLA or Rp-8-Br-cGMP, a selective inhibitor of nNOS or protein kinase G (PKG) respectively, into NTS. Western blot analysis further revealed that ADM induced an increase in the protein level of PKG-I which could be attenuated by co-microinjection with the ADM receptor antagonist ADM_22-52or NPLA. Moreover, we observed an increase in phosphorylation at Ser1416 of nNOS at 10, 30, and 60 min after intra-NTS administration of ADM. As such, nNOS/PKG signaling may also account for the enhancing effect of ADM on BRR response. Interestingly, biochemical evidence further showed that ADM-induced increase of nNOS phosphorylation was prevented by co-microinjection with Rp-8-Br-cAMP, a PKA inhibitor. The possibility of PKA-dependent nNOS activation was substantiated by immunohistochemical demonstration of co-localization of PKA and nNOS in putative NTS neurons.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The novel finding of this study is that the signal transduction cascade that underlies the enhancement of BRR response by ADM in NTS is composed sequentially of cAMP/PKA and nNOS/PKG pathways.</p

Model-based downdraft biomass gasifier operation and design for synthetic gas production

In this study, three-phase flow model together with a thermal-equilibrium model was developed to study the operation of downdraft biomass gasifiers. Gasification experiments were conducted to obtain pyrolysis kinetics and validate the models. A good agreement was found between experiment data and model predictions, in terms of syngas composition and temperature, respectively. Kinetics based on experimental study improves the accuracy of simulation. The thermal-equilibrium model was applied to study the effects of air to biomass ratio on gas composition, LHV (lower heating value), and temperature. The 3D multiphase flow model was applied to investigate the spatial distributions of various parameters (i.e. pressure, gas velocity, temperature, and gas composition) inside the gasifier that are critical to the design of gasifier. A rough division of four gasification zones was determined based on temperature profile. It was also found that the cold gas efficiency was around 63% based on CFD (computational fluid dynamic) simulation. The temperature distributions could be used to guide the application of heat resistant materials inside the gasifier. In addition, the simulation results indicated that blockage of the gasifier has a high chance to occur at the top of reduction bell when using feedstock of high metal contents. Effects of reduction bell dimension and operation conditions on the temperature distribution and syngas production were also investigated by the 3D CFD model, which sheds light on the improvement of the design and operation of reactor. The syngas production could be enhanced by varying the size of reduction bell

Refractory gastric variceal bleeding secondary to splenic vein occlusion associated with abdominal lymphadenopathy

SummarySplenic vein occlusion caused by abdominal lymphadenopathy is rare. We herein present the case of a 80-year-old man with refractory isolated gastric variceal bleeding in the absence of pancreatic or liver disease. Left-sided portal hypertension was confirmed by angiography, and para-aortic lymphadenopathy compressing the splenic vein was identified by serial abdominal computed tomography. Endoscopic sclerosing therapy failed to treat the recurring gastric variceal hemorrhage. Therefore, splenectomy was suggested and the patient was successfully treated. The patient had been variceal bleeding free for 12 months since the surgery. In patients with isolated gastric varices but without advanced liver disease, a variety of diagnostic techniques should be attempted to elucidate the nature of portal hypertension, and left-sided portal hypertension should be suspected. For those cases in which endoscopic treatment failed to treat refractory gastric variceal bleeding, splenectomy can be an effective option

Generalist Versus Specialist Nurses\u27 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intentions Toward Promoting Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Cross-Sectional Correlational Study

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an effective strategy to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), though its utilization rate is low. One reason for this low utilization rate is that nurses do not provide COPD patients with enough health education to increase the patient\u27s motivation for PR participation. This study examined knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intention toward PR promotion. The study also investigated the correlates of behavioral intentions to promote PR among pulmonary nurses. A cross-sectional correlational design was used. Overall, 284 nurses (all women) from chest medicine and general internal medicine wards in 3 hospitals within Midwest Taiwan were recruited. Data were collected by anonymous, self-administered questionnaires. We aimed to understand if there would be differences in the Chest Medicine and Generalist nurses on these outcomes, given the specialty versus generalist nature of their practice. Results were analyzed using multiple linear regressions. Although the 2 groups of nurses (ie, Chest Medicine, General Medicine) showed no differences in PR knowledge, attitudes, or behavioral intentions, they lacked sufficient PR knowledge and skills. The accuracy rate of PR knowledge was approximately 12% and self-evaluated PR skills were less than 50%. Self-efficacy in promoting PR was above average (ie, 57%–60%), and the strength of attitudes and behavioral intentions was over 70%. A multiple linear regression revealed that behavioral intentions of nurses working in the chest medicine ward were influenced by behavioral attitudes, and also PR skills and self-efficacy (explanatory power 33.3%). Attitudes, skills, and self-efficacy heavily affected pulmonary nurses’ ability to promote PR; however, PR knowledge and skills remain low. Therefore, future implementation of practical PR training courses is needed to strengthen nurses’ behavioral intentions toward PR promotion. Improved pulmonary rehabilitation-related skill, attitudes, clinical experience of PR programs, and/or practical PR training are needed among both generalist and specialist nurses. Education courses and clinical practice training should be increased in the future to promote pulmonary rehabilitation of COPD patients

Development of a Game-Based e-Learning System with Augmented Reality for Improving Students’ Learning Performance

Currently, the school children usually spend a lot of time on the games in their recreational activities and some of them are even addicted to the games. Compared with other extracurricular activities, the e-Learning system reflects the fact that school children are very interested in the games. As a result, educators have lately craved to develop effective teaching activities that allow the school children to learn some subjects and to play the games simultaneously.  Therefore, this study is based on an e-Learning system which combines the serious game by Unity3D Game Engine with augmented reality (AR). Students are able to acquire their knowledge and to foster logical skills via this game-based e-Learning system.  According to its efficacy and utilities, this study has assessed and compared the game-based e-Learning system with the traditional learning and other e-Learning systems. The experimental results have indicated that the proposed game-based e-Learning system can outperform other existing systems

The Vibrio cholerae var regulon encodes a metallo-β-lactamase and an antibiotic efflux pump, which are regulated by VarR, a LysR-type transcription factor

The genome sequence of V. cholerae O1 Biovar Eltor strain N16961 has revealed a putative antibiotic resistance (var) regulon that is predicted to encode a transcriptional activator (VarR), which is divergently transcribed relative to the putative resistance genes for both a metallo-β-lactamase (VarG) and an antibiotic efflux-pump (VarABCDEF). We sought to test whether these genes could confer antibiotic resistance and are organised as a regulon under the control of VarR. VarG was overexpressed and purified and shown to have β-lactamase activity against penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems, having the highest activity against meropenem. The expression of VarABCDEF in the Escherichia coli (ΔacrAB) strain KAM3 conferred resistance to a range of drugs, but most significant resistance was to the macrolide spiramycin. A gel-shift analysis was used to determine if VarR bound to the promoter regions of the resistance genes. Consistent with the regulation of these resistance genes, VarR binds to three distinct intergenic regions, varRG, varGA and varBC located upstream and adjacent to varG, varA and varC, respectively. VarR can act as a repressor at the varRG promoter region; whilst this repression was relieved upon addition of β-lactams, these did not dissociate the VarR/varRG-DNA complex, indicating that the de-repression of varR by β-lactams is indirect. Considering that the genomic arrangement of VarR-VarG is strikingly similar to that of AmpR-AmpC system, it is possible that V. cholerae has evolved a system for resistance to the newer β-lactams that would prove more beneficial to the bacterium in light of current selective pressures

Obliquity pacing of the western Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone over the past 282,000 years

The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) encompasses the heaviest rain belt on the Earth. Few direct long-term records, especially in the Pacific, limit our understanding of long-term natural variability for predicting future ITCZ migration. Here we present a tropical precipitation record from the Southern Hemisphere covering the past 282,000 years, inferred from a marine sedimentary sequence collected off the eastern coast of Papua New Guinea. Unlike the precession paradigm expressed in its East Asian counterpart, our record shows that the western Pacific ITCZ migration was influenced by combined precession and obliquity changes. The obliquity forcing could be primarily delivered by a cross-hemispherical thermal/pressure contrast, resulting from the asymmetric continental configuration between Asia and Australia in a coupled East Asian-Australian circulation system. Our finding suggests that the obliquity forcing may play a more important role in global hydroclimate cycles than previously thought

Tooth Position Determination by Automatic Cutting and Marking of Dental Panoramic X-ray Film in Medical Image Processing

This paper presents a novel method for automatic segmentation of dental X-ray images into single tooth sections and for placing every segmented tooth onto a precise corresponding position table. Moreover, the proposed method automatically determines the tooth’s position in a panoramic X-ray film. The image-processing step incorporates a variety of image-enhancement techniques, including sharpening, histogram equalization, and flat-field correction. Moreover, image processing was implemented iteratively to achieve higher pixel value contrast between the teeth and cavity. The next image-enhancement step is aimed at detecting the teeth cavity and involves determining the segment and points separating the upper and lower jaw, using the difference in pixel values to cut the image into several equal sections and then connecting each cavity feature point to extend a curve that completes the description of the separated jaw. The curve is shifted up and down to look for the gap between the teeth, to identify and address missing teeth and overlapping. Under FDI World Dental Federation notation, the left and right sides receive eight-code sequences to mark each tooth, which provides improved convenience in clinical use. According to the literature, X-ray film cannot be marked correctly when a tooth is missing. This paper utilizes artificial center positioning and sets the teeth gap feature points to have the same count. Then, the gap feature points are connected as a curve with the curve of the jaw to illustrate the dental segmentation. In addition, we incorporate different image-processing methods to sequentially strengthen the X-ray film. The proposed procedure had an 89.95% accuracy rate for tooth positioning. As for the tooth cutting, where the edge of the cutting box is used to determine the position of each tooth number, the accuracy of the tooth positioning method in this proposed study is 92.78%