491 research outputs found
Gonadotropin and kisspeptin gene expression, but not GnRH, are impaired in cFOS deficient mice.
cFOS is a pleiotropic transcription factor, which binds to the AP1 site in the promoter of target genes. In the pituitary gonadotropes, cFOS mediates induction of FSHβ and GnRH receptor genes. Herein, we analyzed reproductive function in the cFOS-deficient mice to determine its role in vivo. In the pituitary cFOS is necessary for gonadotropin subunit expression, while TSHβ is unaffected. Additionally, cFOS null animals have the same sex-steroid levels, although gametogenesis is impeded. In the brain, cFOS is not necessary for GnRH neuronal migration, axon targeting, cell number, or mRNA levels. Conversely, cFOS nulls, particularly females, have decreased Kiss1 neuron numbers and lower Kiss1 mRNA levels. Collectively, our novel findings suggest that cFOS plays a cell-specific role at multiple levels of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, affecting gonadotropes but not thyrotropes in the pituitary, and kisspeptin neurons but not GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus, thereby contributing to the overall control of reproduction
Heavy ion induced Single Event Phenomena (SEP) data for semiconductor devices from engineering testing
The accumulation of JPL data on Single Event Phenomena (SEP), from 1979 to August 1986, is presented in full report format. It is expected that every two years a supplement report will be issued for the follow-on period. This data for 135 devices expands on the abbreviated test data presented as part of Refs. (1) and (3) by including figures of Single Event Upset (SEU) cross sections as a function of beam Linear Energy Transfer (LET) when available. It also includes some of the data complied in the JPL computer in RADATA and the SPACERAD data bank. This volume encompasses bipolar and MOS (CMOS and MHNOS) device data as two broad categories for both upsets (bit-flips) and latchup. It also includes comments on less well known phenomena, such as transient upsets and permanent damage modes
Implementing quantum gates through scattering between a static and a flying qubit
We investigate whether a two-qubit quantum gate can be implemented in a
scattering process involving a flying and a static qubit. To this end, we focus
on a paradigmatic setup made out of a mobile particle and a quantum impurity,
whose respective spin degrees of freedom couple to each other during a
one-dimensional scattering process. Once a condition for the occurrence of
quantum gates is derived in terms of spin-dependent transmission coefficients,
we show that this can be actually fulfilled through the insertion of an
additional narrow potential barrier. An interesting observation is that under
resonance conditions the above enables a gate only for isotropic Heisenberg
(exchange) interactions and fails for an XY interaction. We show the existence
of parameter regimes for which gates able to establish a maximum amount of
entanglement can be implemented. The gates are found to be robust to variations
of the optimal parameters.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Expression of a Haemonchus contortus cysteine protease in the baculovirus system
A Haemonchus contortus recombinant Cysteine Protease (CP) was
expressed in the baculovirus system. The CP gene was isolated by PCR
from H. contortus cDNA, the PCR amplicon was cloned downstream to the
polihedrin promoter within a bacterial expression vector, Sf9 insect
cells were used for simultaneous co-transfection with the CP-vector and
baculovirus naked DNA, which originated recombinant viruses by
homologous recombination capable to express recombinant CP in an insect
cell culture. A recombinant protease was identified as a fusion protein
with a Ni lithium affinity 6XHis group. Recombinant CP was purified by
affinity chromatography to obtain active recombinant protease
identified by H. contortus experimentally infested ovine sera on a
western blot as a 37 kDa protein, as well as by enzyme activity on
PAGE-gelatin. Cysteine protease activity was assayed against synthetic
substrates including the dipeptides: Phe-Arg, cathepsin B substrate:
Arg-Arg, the caspase tetrapeptide substrate: Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp. Maximum
CP activity was detected at pH 6.0 for all synthetic substrates and
total inhibition was achieved by E-64 but not by EDTA, pepstatin or
PMSF. Recombinant H. contortus CP can be obtained in large amounts from
transfected insect cell culture and may be applied to control
experiments of ruminant Haemonchosis
Global River Radar Altimetry Time Series (GRRATS): New river elevation earth science data records for the hydrologic community
The capabilities of radar altimetry to measure inland water bodies are well established, and several river altimetry datasets are available. Here we produced a globally distributed dataset, the Global River Radar Altimeter Time Series (GRRATS), using Envisat and Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2 radar altimeter data spanning the time period 2002–2016. We developed a method that runs unsupervised, without requiring parameterization at the measurement location, dubbed virtual station (VS) level, and applied it to all altimeter crossings of ocean-draining rivers with widths > 900m (> 34% of the global drainage area). We evaluated every VS, either quantitatively for VS locations where in situ gages are available or qualitatively using a grade system. We processed nearly 1.5 million altimeter measurements from 1478 VSs. After quality control, the final product contained 810 403 measurements distributed over 932 VSs located on 39 rivers. Available in situ data allowed quantitative evaluation of 389 VSs on 12 rivers. The median standard deviation of river elevation error is 0.93 m, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency is 0.75, and correlation coefficient is 0.9. GRRATS is a consistent, well-documented dataset with a user-friendly data visualization portal, freely available for use by the global scientific community. Data are available at https://doi.org/10.5067/PSGRA-SA2V1 (Coss et al., 2016)
A “Soft” Approach to Analysing Mobile Financial Services Sociotechnical Systems
Advances in mobile computing have presented a huge opportunity to provide Mobile Financial Services (MFS) to half of the world’s population who currently do not have access to financial services. However, cybersecurity concerns in the mobile computing ecosystem have slowed down the adoption of MFS. The adoption of MFS is further hampered by the lack of a clear understanding of the interaction between the complex infrastructures and human factors that exist in the ecosystem for Mobile Financial Services Socio-Technical Systems (MFSSTS). This paper presents the work in progress of investigating the problem of MFSSTS. It discusses the preliminary results and understanding obtained from using Human Factor approaches to build and analyse the model for MFSSTS
A search for W bb and W Higgs production in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present a search for W b \bar{b} production in p \bar{p} collisions at
sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV in events containing one electron, an imbalance in transverse
momentum, and two b-tagged jets. Using 174 pb-1 of integrated luminosity
accumulated by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, and the
standard-model description of such events, we set a 95% C.L. upper limit on W b
\bar{b}WH--$135
GeV.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Low incidence of positive smooth muscle antibody and high incidence of isolated IgM elevation in Chinese patients with autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis overlap syndrome: a retrospective study
<p/> <p>Background</p> <p>Up to now, few data are available regarding the clinical characteristics of autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis overlap syndrome. The study was to investigate and analyze the prevalent and clinical features of Chinese patients with this disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Clinical data on patients diagnosed as autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis overlap syndrome in our hospital from January 2001 to December 2006 were collected and analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overlap syndrome of autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis accounted for 10.33% of patients with autoimmune liver diseases during the past six years. For these patients with overlap syndrome, xanthochromia, lethargy and anorexia were the predominant complaints; a low incidence (14/146) of smooth muscle antibody positivity and a high incidence (37/89) of isolated IgM elevation were the main serological characteristics.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overlap syndrome of autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis was not rare in Chinese patients with clinical manifests of autoimmune liver diseases. Overlap of the diseases should not be disregarded when isolated IgM elevation was exhibited, and smooth muscle antibody might have little diagnostic significance in the overlap syndrome. If it was difficult to make a definite diagnosis, liver biopsy was necessary.</p
Measurement of the Ratio of B+ and B0 Meson Lifetimes
The ratio of B+ and B0 meson lifetimes was measured using data collected in
2002-2004 by the D0 experiment in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider.
These mesons were reconstructed in B -> mu+ nu D*- X decays, which are
dominated by B0, and B ->mu+ nu D0bar X decays, which are dominated by B+. The
ratio of lifetimes is measured to be t+/t0 = 1.080 +- 0.016(stat) +-
0.014(syst).Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, to be submitted to Physical Review Letter
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