Magnetic moments of the low-lying JP= 1/2−J^P=\,1/2^-, 3/2−3/2^- Λ\Lambda resonances within the framework of the chiral quark model

The magnetic moments of the low-lying spin-parity $J^P=$ $1/2^-$, $3/2^-$ $\Lambda$ resonances, like, for example, $\Lambda(1405)$ $1/2^-$, $\Lambda(1520)$ $3/2^-$, as well as their transition magnetic moments, are calculated using the chiral quark model. The results found are compared with those obtained from the nonrelativistic quark model and those of unitary chiral theories, where some of these states are generated through the dynamics of two hadron coupled channels and their unitarization

Extracting the Omega- electric quadrupole moment from lattice QCD data

The Omega- has an extremely long lifetime, and is the most stable of the baryons with spin 3/2. Therefore the Omega- magnetic moment is very accurately known. Nevertheless, its electric quadrupole moment was never measured, although estimates exist in different formalisms. In principle, lattice QCD simulations provide at present the most appropriate way to estimate the Omega- form factors, as function of the square of the transferred four-momentum, Q2, since it describes baryon systems at the physical mass for the strange quark. However, lattice QCD form factors, and in particular GE2, are determined at finite Q2 only, and the extraction of the electric quadrupole moment, Q_Omega= GE2(0) e/(2 M_Omega), involves an extrapolation of the numerical lattice results. In this work we reproduce the lattice QCD data with a covariant spectator quark model for Omega- which includes a mixture of S and two D states for the relative quark-diquark motion. Once the model is calibrated, it is used to determine Q_Omega. Our prediction is Q_Omega= (0.96 +/- 0.02)*10^(-2) efm2 [GE2(0)=0.680 +/- 0.012].Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. D. Version with small modifications. 8 pages, 1 figur

Superoxide dismutase analog (Tempol: 4-hydroxy-2, 2, 6, 6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl) treatment restores erectile function in diabetes-induced impotence.

We hypothesized that the administration of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic Tempol (4-hydroxy-2, 2, 6, 6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl) may reverse diabetes-induced erectile dysfunction. To test this hypothesis, reactive oxygen species-related genes (SOD1, SOD2, GP x 1, CAT, NOS2, NOS3) were tested, erectile functional studies and immunohistochemical analysis were carried out in diabetic rats treated with or without Tempol. Thirty Sprague-Dawley (3-4 months old) rats were divided into three groups (n=10 each), 20 with diabetes (diabetic control and Tempol treatment) and 10 healthy controls. At 12 weeks after the induction of diabetes by streptozotocin and Tempol treatment, all groups underwent in vivo cavernous nerve stimulation. Rat crura were harvested and the expression of antioxidative defense enzymes were examined by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). To confirm the RT-PCR results, we carried out immunohistochemistry (IHC) for catalase (CAT) and iNOS (NOS2). Nitration of tyrosine groups in proteins was also examined by IHC. Mean intracavernous pressure in the diabetic group was significantly lower than in the healthy controls (P <0.001) and was reversed by Tempol treatment (P <0.0108). NOS2 protein expression was significantly increased in diabetic animals compared with healthy controls and Tempol restored NOS2 protein level. Nitrotyrosine was also higher in diabetic animals and although Tempol treatment decreased its formation, it remained higher than that found in healthy controls. This study suggests that Tempol treatment increased erectile function through modulating oxidative stress-related genes in diabetic rats. This is the first report about the relationship between diabetes-induced erectile dysfunction and oxidative stress, and antioxidative therapy using the superoxide dismutase mimetic, Tempol, to restore erectile function

MicroRNA-383 located in frequently deleted chromosomal locus 8p22 regulates CD44 in prostate cancer.

A major genomic alteration in prostate cancer (PCa) is frequent loss of chromosome (chr) 8p with a common region of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at chr8p22 locus. Genomic studies implicate this locus in the initiation of clinically significant PCa and with progression to metastatic disease. However, the genes within this region have not been fully characterized to date. Here we demonstrate for the first time that a microRNA component of this region-miR-383-is frequently downregulated in prostate cancer, has a critical role in determining tumor-initiating potential and is involved in prostate cancer metastasis via direct regulation of CD44, a ubiquitous marker of PCa tumor-initiating cells (TICs)/stem cells. Expression analyses of miR-383 in PCa clinical tissues established that low miR-383 expression is associated with poor prognosis. Functional data suggest that miR-383 regulates PCa tumor-initiating/stem-like cells via CD44 regulation. Ectopic expression of miR-383 inhibited tumor-initiating capacity of CD44+ PCa cells. Also, 'anti-metastatic' effects of ectopic miR-383 expression were observed in a PCa experimental metastasis model. In view of our results, we propose that frequent loss of miR-383 at chr8p22 region leads to tumor initiation and prostate cancer metastasis. Thus, we have identified a novel finding that associates a long observed genomic alteration to PCa stemness and metastasis. Our data suggest that restoration of miR-383 expression may be an effective therapeutic modality against PCa. Importantly, we identified miR-383 as a novel PCa tissue diagnostic biomarker with a potential that outperforms that of serum PSA

Case Report: Varicella Associated Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (VANS) in Two Pediatric Cases

Background: Viral or bacterial infections can trigger auto-immune inflammatory reactions and conditions in children. Self-reactivity arises due to similarities in molecular structures between pathogenic microorganisms and regular body structures with consequent immune-cross reactions. Reactivation of latent Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) infections can cause neurological sequalae, including cerebellitis, post-herpetic neuralgias, meningo/encephalitis, vasculopathy and myelopathy. We propose a syndrome caused by auto-immune reactivity triggered by molecular mimicry between VZV and the brain, culminating in a post-infectious psychiatric syndrome with childhood VZV infections. Case presentation: Two individuals, a 6-year-old male and 10-year-old female developed a neuro-psychiatric syndrome 3-6 weeks following a confirmed VZV infection with intrathecal oligoclonal bands. The 6-year-old male presented with a myasthenic syndrome, behavior deterioration and regression in school, he was poorly responsive to IVIG and risperidone, however had a pronounced response to steroid treatment. The 10-year-old female presented with marked insomnia, agitation, and behavioral regression as well as mild bradykinesia. A trial of neuroleptics and sedatives resulted in a mild unsustained reduction in psychomotor agitation and IVIG was also unsuccessful, however the patient was very responsive to steroid therapy. Conclusion: Psychiatric syndromes with evidence of intrathecal inflammation temporally related to VZV infections that are responsive to immune modulation have not been described before. Here we report two cases demonstrating neuro-psychiatric symptoms following VZV infection, with evidence of persistent CNS inflammation following the resolution of infection, and response to immune modulation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Piezoelectric graphene field effect transistor pressure sensors for tactile sensing

This paper presents graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) based pressure sensors for tactile sensing. The sensing device comprises GFET connected with a piezoelectric metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor in an extended gate configuration. The application of pressure on MIM generates a piezo-potential which modulates the channel current of GFET. The fabricated pressure sensor was tested over a range of 23.54–94.18 kPa, and it exhibits a sensitivity of 4.55 × 10−3 kPa−1. Further, the low voltage (∼100 mV) operation of the presented pressure sensors makes them ideal for wearable electronic applications

Soft eSkin:distributed touch sensing with harmonized energy and computing

Inspired by biology, significant advances have been made in the field of electronic skin (eSkin) or tactile skin. Many of these advances have come through mimicking the morphology of human skin and by distributing few touch sensors in an area. However, the complexity of human skin goes beyond mimicking few morphological features or using few sensors. For example, embedded computing (e.g. processing of tactile data at the point of contact) is centric to the human skin as some neuroscience studies show. Likewise, distributed cell or molecular energy is a key feature of human skin. The eSkin with such features, along with distributed and embedded sensors/electronics on soft substrates, is an interesting topic to explore. These features also make eSkin significantly different from conventional computing. For example, unlike conventional centralized computing enabled by miniaturized chips, the eSkin could be seen as a flexible and wearable large area computer with distributed sensors and harmonized energy. This paper discusses these advanced features in eSkin, particularly the distributed sensing harmoniously integrated with energy harvesters, storage devices and distributed computing to read and locally process the tactile sensory data. Rapid advances in neuromorphic hardware, flexible energy generation, energy-conscious electronics, flexible and printed electronics are also discussed. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Harmonizing energy-autonomous computing and intelligence’

Magnetic moments of the low-lying {1/2}^- octet baryon resonances

The magnetic moments of the negative parity octet resonances with spin {1/2}: $N^*$(1535), $N^*$(1650), $\Sigma^*$(1620), and $\Xi^*$(1690) have been calculated within the framework of the chiral constituent quark model. In this approach, the presence of the polarized $q\bar{q}$ pairs (or the meson cloud, in other words) is considered by using the Lagrangian for Goldstone boson emission from the constituent quarks. Further, the explicit contributions coming from the spin and orbital angular momentum, including the effects of the configurations mixing between the states with different spins, are obtained. The motivation for these calculations comes from the recent interest in experimental measurement of the magnetic moment of the ${S_{11}(1535)}$ resonance and of similar calculations being done within lattice quantum chromodynamics approaches. Our results can be compared with those expected to come from these sources.Comment: 17 pages, 2 table

Flexible FETs using ultrathin Si microwires embedded in solution processed dielectric and metal layers

This work presents a novel manufacturing route for obtaining high performance bendable field effect transistors (FET) by embedding silicon (Si) microwires (2.5 μm thick) in layers of solution-processed dielectric and metallic layers. The objective of this study is to explore heterogeneous integration of Si with polymers and to exploit the benefits of both microelectronics and printing technologies. Arrays of Si microwires are developed on silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers and transfer printed to polyimide (PI) substrate through a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) carrier stamp. Following the transfer printing of Si microwires, two different processing steps were developed to obtain top gate top contact and back gate top contact FETs. Electrical characterizations indicate devices having mobility as high as 117.5 cm2 V−1 s−1. The fabricated devices were also modeled using SILVACO Atlas. Simulation results show a trend in the electrical response similar to that of experimental results. In addition, a cyclic test was performed to demonstrate the reliability and mechanical robustness of the Si μ-wires on flexible substrates