375 research outputs found
Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphatase Overexpression in Pancreatic β-Cells Results in Reduced Insulin Secretion : A New Mechanism for Fat-Induced Impairment of β-Cell Function
OBJECTIVE—Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) is a gluconeogenic enzyme that is upregulated in islets or pancreatic β-cell lines exposed to high fat. However, whether specific β-cell upregulation of FBPase can impair insulin secretory function is not known. The objective of this study therefore is to determine whether a specific increase in islet β-cell FBPase can result in reduced glucose-mediated insulin secretion
On the origin of the -transition in liquid Sulphur
Developing a novel experimental technique, we applied photon correlation
spectroscopy using infrared radiation in liquid Sulphur around ,
i.e. in the temperature range where an abrupt increase in viscosity by four
orders of magnitude is observed upon heating within few degrees. This allowed
us - overcoming photo-induced and absorption effects at visible wavelengths -
to reveal a chain relaxation process with characteristic time in the ms range.
These results do rehabilitate the validity of the Maxwell relation in Sulphur
from an apparent failure, allowing rationalizing the mechanical and
thermodynamic behavior of this system within a viscoelastic scenario.Comment: 5 pages, 4 eps figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. Let
Pressure screening in the interior of primary shells in double-wall carbon nanotubes
The pressure response of double-wall carbon nanotubes has been investigated
by means of Raman spectroscopy up to 10 GPa. The intensity of the radial
breathing modes of the outer tubes decreases rapidly but remain observable up
to 9 GPa, exhibiting a behavior similar (but less pronounced) to that of
single-wall carbon nanotubes, which undergo a shape distortion at higher
pressures. In addition, the tangential band of the external tubes broadens and
decreases in amplitude. The corresponding Raman features of the internal tubes
appear to be considerably less sensitive to pressure. All findings lead to the
conclusion that the outer tubes act as a protection shield for the inner tubes
whereas the latter increase the structural stability of the outer tubes upon
pressure application.Comment: PDF with 15 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; submitted to Physical Review
Pressure dependence of the Boson peak in glassy As2S3 studied by Raman Scattering
A detailed pressure-dependence study of the low-energy excitations of glassy
As2S3 is reported over a wide pressure range, up to 10 GPa. The spectral
features of Boson peak are analysed as a function of pressure. Pressure effects
on the Boson peak are manifested as an appreciable shift of its frequency to
higher values, a suppression of its intensity, as well as a noticeable change
of its asymmetry leading to a more symmetric shape at high pressures. The
pressure-induced Boson peak frequency shift agrees very well with the
predictions of the soft potential model over the whole pressure range studied.
As regards the pressure dependence of the Boson peak intensity, the situation
is more complicated. It is proposed that in order to reach proper conclusions
the corresponding dependence of the Debye density of states must also be
considered. Employing a comparison of the low energy modes of the crystalline
counterpart of As2S3 as well as the experimental data concerning the pressure
dependencies of the Boson peak frequency and intensity, structural or
glass-to-glass transition seems to occur at the pressure ~4 GPa related to a
change of local structure. Finally, the pressure-induced shape changes of the
Boson peak can be traced back to the very details of the excess (over the Debye
contribution) vibrational density of states.Comment: To appear in J. Non-Cryst. Solids (Proceedings of the 5th IDMRCS,
Lille, July 2005
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Continuous Monitoring in Evolving Business Networks
The literature on continuous monitoring of cross-organizational processes, executed within virtual enterprises or business networks, considers monitoring as an issue regarding the network formation, since what can be monitored during process execution is fixed when the network is established. In particular, the impact of evolving agreements in such networks on continuous monitoring is not considered. Also, monitoring is limited to process execution progress and simple process data. In this paper, we extend the possible monitoring options by linking monitoring requirements to generic clauses in agreements established across a network and focus on the problem of preserving the continuous monitorability of these clauses when the agreements evolve, i.e. they are introduced, dropped, or updated. We discuss mechanisms to preserve continuous monitorability in a business network for different types of agreement evolution and we design a conceptual and technical architecture for a continuous monitoring IT infrastructure that implements the requirements derived from such mechanisms
Combined Endovascular/Surgical Management of a Ruptured Para-Anastomotic Aneurysm of the Left Common Iliac Artery#
A 75-year old man presented with signs and symptoms of acute abdomen and a clinical picture of hypovolemic shock. An emergency CT scan revealed a ruptured para-anastomotic left common iliac artery aneurysm. The patient had undergone an elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair operation and placement of an aortoiliac bifurcated graft 10 years before. Para-anastomotic aneurysms had developed in all 3 (aortic and the 2 iliac) anastomosis. As the patient was highrisk, a combined endovascular/surgical approach was undertaken. The patient was discharged 4 days later
Terahertz underdamped vibrational motion governs protein-ligand binding in solution
Low-frequency collective vibrational modes in proteins have been proposed as being responsible for efficiently directing biochemical reactions and biological energy transport. However, evidence of the existence of delocalized vibrational modes is scarce and proof of their involvement in biological function absent. Here we apply extremely sensitive femtosecond optical Kerr-effect spectroscopy to study the depolarized Raman spectra of lysozyme and its complex with the inhibitor triacetylchitotriose in solution. Underdamped delocalized vibrational modes in the terahertz frequency domain are identified and shown to blue-shift and strengthen upon inhibitor binding. This demonstrates that the ligand-binding coordinate in proteins is underdamped and not simply solvent-controlled as previously assumed. The presence of such underdamped delocalized modes in proteins may have significant implications for the understanding of the efficiency of ligand binding and protein–molecule interactions, and has wider implications for biochemical reactivity and biological function
Critical analysis of vendor lock-in and its impact on cloud computing migration: a business perspective
Vendor lock-in is a major barrier to the adoption of cloud computing, due to the lack of standardization. Current solutions and efforts tackling the vendor lock-in problem are predominantly technology-oriented. Limited studies exist to analyse and highlight the complexity of vendor lock-in problem in the cloud environment. Consequently, most customers are unaware of proprietary standards which inhibit interoperability and portability of applications when taking services from vendors. This paper provides a critical analysis of the vendor lock-in problem, from a business perspective. A survey based on qualitative and quantitative approaches conducted in this study has identified the main risk factors that give rise to lock-in situations. The analysis of our survey of 114 participants shows that, as computing resources migrate from on-premise to the cloud, the vendor lock-in problem is exacerbated. Furthermore, the findings exemplify the importance of interoperability, portability and standards in cloud computing. A number of strategies are proposed on how to avoid and mitigate lock-in risks when migrating to cloud computing. The strategies relate to contracts, selection of vendors that support standardised formats and protocols regarding standard data structures and APIs, developing awareness of commonalities and dependencies
among cloud-based solutions. We strongly believe that the implementation of these strategies has a great potential
to reduce the risks of vendor lock-in
Reperfusion therapy for ST elevation acute myocardial infarction in Europe: description of the current situation in 30 countries
Aims Patient access to reperfusion therapy and the use of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) or thrombolysis (TL) varies considerably between European countries. The aim of this study was to obtain a realistic contemporary picture of how patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are treated in different European countries.
Methods and results The chairpersons of the national working groups/societies of interventional cardiology in European countries and selected experts known to be involved in the national registries joined the writing group upon invitation. Data were collected about the country and any existing national STEMI or PCI registries, about STEMI epidemiology, and treatment in each given country and about PCI and p-PCI centres and procedures in each country. Results from the national and/or regional registries in 30 countries were included in this analysis. The annual incidence of hospital admission for any acute myocardial infarction (AMI) varied between 90–312/100 thousand/year, the incidence of STEMI alone ranging from 44 to 142. Primary PCI was the dominant reperfusion strategy in 16 countries and TL in 8 countries. The use of a p-PCI strategy varied between 5 and 92% (of all STEMI patients) and the use of TL between 0 and 55%. Any reperfusion treatment (p-PCI or TL) was used in 37–93% of STEMI patients. Significantly less reperfusion therapy was used in those countries where TL was the dominant strategy. The number of p-PCI procedures per million per year varied among countries between 20 and 970. The mean population served by a single p-PCI centre varied between 0.3 and 7.4 million inhabitants. In those countries offering p-PCI services to the majority of their STEMI patients, this population varied between 0.3 and 1.1 million per centre. In-hospital mortality of all consecutive STEMI patients varied between 4.2 and 13.5%, for patients treated by TL between 3.5 and 14% and for patients treated by p-PCI between 2.7 and 8%. The time reported from symptom onset to the first medical contact (FMC) varied between 60 and 210 min, FMC-needle time for TL between 30 and 110 min, and FMC-balloon time for p-PCI between 60 and 177 min.
Conclusion Most North, West, and Central European countries used p-PCI for the majority of their STEMI patients. The lack of organized p-PCI networks was associated with fewer patients overall receiving some form of reperfusion therapy
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