Quenching of lamellar ordering in an n-alkane embedded in nanopores

We present an X-ray diffraction study of the normale alkane nonadecane C_{19}H_{40} embedded in nanoporous Vycor glass. The confined molecular crystal accomplishes a close-packed structure by alignment of the rod-like molecules parallel to the pore axis while sacrificing one basic principle known from the bulk state, i.e. the lamellar ordering of the molecules. Despite this disorder, the phase transitions observed in the confined solid mimic the phase behavior of the 3D unconfined crystal, though enriched by the appearance of a true rotator phase known only from longer alkane chains.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Molecular Cloning and Endometrial Expression of Porcine Amphiregulin

The porcine amphiregulin gene was previously reported to be within the quantitative trait locus (QTL) for uterine capacity on chromosome 8. Because amphiregulin stimulates cell proliferation, the amphiregulin gene might be responsible for this QTL. The objectives of this study were to clone amphiregulin cDNA and compare endometrial expression of its mRNA in pregnant Meishan (M) and White composite (WC) pigs. We obtained two amphiregulin cDNAs, one with 1,221 bp and another with 1,109 bp. The 112 bp difference corresponded to exon 5 of the human amphiregulin gene, which codes for the cytoplasmic domain. Endometrial mRNA expression of amphiregulin was significantly lower in M pigs than in WC pigs during early pregnancy (day 15–40 of gestation). Amphiregulin mRNA expression in the endometrium of both M and WC pigs increased (P \u3c 0.01) from days 15 to 20, decreased (P \u3c 0.01) from days 20 to 30, and did not change between days 30 and 40. This may result in reduced amphiregulin protein production leading to the slower development of M conceptuses, contributing to greater uterine capacity and litter size in prolific Chinese M pigs. Porcine genomic sequences isolated from a bacterial artificial chromosome genomic library contained exon 5, suggesting that the deletion of exon 5 in the mRNA may be due to differential splicing. The amphiregulin gene consisted of six exons and five introns spanning 10.3 kb

Lack of Effect of Metyrapone and Exogenous Cortisol on Early Porcine Conceptus Development

In many species, including swine, fetal plasma glucocorticoids such as cortisol increase as term approaches and are responsible for final maturational changes in numerous tissues (e.g. Silver, 1990; Sangild et al. 1993, 1994; Fowden et al. 1995). On the contrary, excessive exposure to glucocorticoids during gestationmay cause intra-uterine growth retardation, developmental abnormalities or death, or lead to increased incidence of certain diseases during adult life (Blackburn et al. 1965; Reinisch et al. 1978; Seckl et al. 2000). Hence, one might speculate that a closely regulated glucocorticoid exposure is necessary throughout gestation to ensure appropriate development and survival (Klemcke et al. 1999). We have previously demonstrated in pregnant and cyclic pigs that intra-uterine cortisol increases 4- to 6.7-fold between days 10 and 19 of pregnancy (Klemcke et al. 1998). At this time (days 10–19) in conceptus (embryo plus associated extra-embryonic membranes) development, the blastocyst is undergoing quite dramatic changes (Marrable, 1971; Anderson, 1978; Anderson et al. 1993). Part of this development involves the allantois, which rapidly expands between days 18 and 30 owing to water accumulation (Bazer et al. 1981) that might in part result from Na+,K+-ATPase-generated water movement (Macknight & Leaf, 1977). Corticosteroids are known to regulate Na+,K+-ATPase in various tissues (e.g. Verrey et al. 1996)

Lack of Effect of Metyrapone and Exogenous Cortisol on Early Porcine Conceptus Development

In many species, including swine, fetal plasma glucocorticoids such as cortisol increase as term approaches and are responsible for final maturational changes in numerous tissues (e.g. Silver, 1990; Sangild et al. 1993, 1994; Fowden et al. 1995). On the contrary, excessive exposure to glucocorticoids during gestationmay cause intra-uterine growth retardation, developmental abnormalities or death, or lead to increased incidence of certain diseases during adult life (Blackburn et al. 1965; Reinisch et al. 1978; Seckl et al. 2000). Hence, one might speculate that a closely regulated glucocorticoid exposure is necessary throughout gestation to ensure appropriate development and survival (Klemcke et al. 1999). We have previously demonstrated in pregnant and cyclic pigs that intra-uterine cortisol increases 4- to 6.7-fold between days 10 and 19 of pregnancy (Klemcke et al. 1998). At this time (days 10–19) in conceptus (embryo plus associated extra-embryonic membranes) development, the blastocyst is undergoing quite dramatic changes (Marrable, 1971; Anderson, 1978; Anderson et al. 1993). Part of this development involves the allantois, which rapidly expands between days 18 and 30 owing to water accumulation (Bazer et al. 1981) that might in part result from Na+,K+-ATPase-generated water movement (Macknight & Leaf, 1977). Corticosteroids are known to regulate Na+,K+-ATPase in various tissues (e.g. Verrey et al. 1996)

Thermally Activated Dynamics of the Capillary Condensation

This paper is devoted to the thermally activated dynamics of the capillary condensation. We present a simple model which enables us to identify the critical nucleus involved in the transition mechanism. This simple model is then applied to calculate the nucleation barrier from which we can obtain informations on the nucleation time. We present a simple estimation of the nucleation barrier in slab geometry both in the two dimensional case and in the three dimensional case. We extend the model in the case of rough surfaces which is closer to the experimental case and allows comparison with experimental datas.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to J. Phys. : Condens. Matter, Proceedings of the IV Liquid Matter Conference - Grenada(Spain) july 199

CP violation in J/ψ→ΛΛˉJ/\psi \rightarrow \Lambda \bar \Lambda

We study CP violation in $J/\psi \rightarrow \Lambda \bar{\Lambda}$ decay. This decay provides a good place to look for CP violation. Some observables are very sensitive to the $\Lambda$ electric dipole moment $d_\Lambda$ and therefore can be used to improve the experimental upper bound on $d_\Lambda$. CP violations in the lepton pair decays of $J/\psi$ and $\Upsilon$ are also discussed.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex, UM-P-92/113, OZ-92/3

Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Female Reproductive Traits in a Multigeneration Meishan-White Composite Swine Population

A multigeneration crossbred Meishan- White composite resource population was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for age at first estrus (AP) and the components of litter size: ovulation rate (OR; number of ova released in an estrous period) and uterine capacity (UC). The population was established by reciprocally mating Meishan (ME) and White composite (WC) pigs. Resultant F1 females were mated to either ME or WC boars to produce backcross progeny (BC) of either ¾ WC ¼ ME or ¼ WC ¾ ME. To produce the next generation (F3) , ¾ WC ¼ ME animals were mated to ¼ WC ¾ ME animals yielding half-blood (½ WC ½ ME) progeny. A final generation (F4) was produced by inter se mating F3 animals. Measurements for AP and OR were recorded on 101 BC, 389 F3, and 110 F4 gilts, and UC data were from 101 BC and 110 F4 first parity litters. A genomic scan was conducted with markers (n = 157) spaced &#;20 cM apart. All parental, F1, BC, and F4 animals but only 84 F3 animals were genotyped and included in this study. The QTL analysis fitted a QTL at 1-cM intervals throughout the genome, and QTL effects were tested using approximate genome-wide significance levels. For OR, a significant (E[false positive] \u3c .05) QTL was detected on chromosome 8, suggestive (E[false positive] \u3c 1.0) QTL were detected on chromosomes 3 and 10, and two additional regions were detected that may possess a QTL (E[false positive] \u3c 2.0) on chromosomes 9 and 15. Two regions possessed suggestive evidence for QTL affecting AP on chromosomes 1 and 10, and one suggestive region on chromosome 8 was identified for UC. Further analyses of other populations of swine are necessary to determine the extent of allelic variation at the identified QTL

The General Theory of Quantum Field Mixing

We present a general theory of mixing for an arbitrary number of fields with integer or half-integer spin. The time dynamics of the interacting fields is solved and the Fock space for interacting fields is explicitly constructed. The unitary inequivalence of the Fock space of base (unmixed) eigenstates and the physical mixed eigenstates is shown by a straightforward algebraic method for any number of flavors in boson or fermion statistics. The oscillation formulas based on the nonperturbative vacuum are derived in a unified general formulation and then applied to both two and three flavor cases. Especially, the mixing of spin-1 (vector) mesons and the CKM mixing phenomena in the Standard Model are discussed emphasizing the nonperturbative vacuum effect in quantum field theory

Observing Spontaneous Strong Parity Violation in Heavy-Ion Collisions

We discuss the problem of observing spontaneous parity and CP violation in collision systems. We discuss and propose observables which may be used in heavy-ion collisions to observe such violations, as well as event-by-event methods to analyze the data. Finally, we discuss simple monte-carlo models of these CP violating effects which we have used to develop our techniques and from which we derive rough estimates of sensitivities to signals which may be seen at RHIC

N-Terminal Pro–B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in the Emergency Department: The ICON-RELOADED Study

Background Contemporary reconsideration of diagnostic N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) cutoffs for diagnosis of heart failure (HF) is needed. Objectives This study sought to evaluate the diagnostic performance of NT-proBNP for acute HF in patients with dyspnea in the emergency department (ED) setting. Methods Dyspneic patients presenting to 19 EDs in North America were enrolled and had blood drawn for subsequent NT-proBNP measurement. Primary endpoints were positive predictive values of age-stratified cutoffs (450, 900, and 1,800 pg/ml) for diagnosis of acute HF and negative predictive value of the rule-out cutoff to exclude acute HF. Secondary endpoints included sensitivity, specificity, and positive (+) and negative (−) likelihood ratios (LRs) for acute HF. Results Of 1,461 subjects, 277 (19%) were adjudicated as having acute HF. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for diagnosis of acute HF was 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90 to 0.93; p < 0.001). Sensitivity for age stratified cutoffs of 450, 900, and 1,800 pg/ml was 85.7%, 79.3%, and 75.9%, respectively; specificity was 93.9%, 84.0%, and 75.0%, respectively. Positive predictive values were 53.6%, 58.4%, and 62.0%, respectively. Overall LR+ across age-dependent cutoffs was 5.99 (95% CI: 5.05 to 6.93); individual LR+ for age-dependent cutoffs was 14.08, 4.95, and 3.03, respectively. The sensitivity and negative predictive value for the rule-out cutoff of 300 pg/ml were 93.9% and 98.0%, respectively; LR− was 0.09 (95% CI: 0.05 to 0.13). Conclusions In acutely dyspneic patients seen in the ED setting, age-stratified NT-proBNP cutpoints may aid in the diagnosis of acute HF. An NT-proBNP <300 pg/ml strongly excludes the presence of acute HF