10 research outputs found
Mach-Zehnder-Fano interferometer
We introduce a concept of the Mach-Zehnder-Fano interferometer by inserting a
cavity exhibiting Fano resonance into a conventional interferometer. By
employing the scattering-matrix approach, we demonstrate that the transmission
is sensitive to a position of the cavity such that an asymmetric structure
exhibits a series of narrow resonances with almost perfect reflection. We
discuss how to implement this novel geometry in two-dimensional photonic
crystals and use direct numerical simulations to demonstrate novel regimes of
the resonant transmission and reflection.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
The PLIN4 Variant rs8887 Modulates Obesity Related Phenotypes in Humans through Creation of a Novel miR-522 Seed Site
PLIN4 is a member of the PAT family of lipid storage droplet
(LSD) proteins. Associations between seven single nucleotide polymorphisms
(SNPs) at human PLIN4 with obesity related phenotypes were
investigated using meta-analysis followed by a determination if these phenotypes
are modulated by interactions between PLIN4 SNPs and dietary
PUFA. Samples consisted of subjects from two populations of European ancestry.
We demonstrated association of rs8887 with anthropometrics. Meta-analysis
demonstrated significant interactions between the rs8887 minor allele with PUFA
n3 modulating anthropometrics. rs884164 showed interaction with both n3 and n6
PUFA modulating anthropometric and lipid phenotypes. In silico
analysis of the PLIN4 3′UTR sequence surrounding the
rs8887 minor A allele predicted a seed site for the human microRNA-522
(miR-522), suggesting a functional mechanism. Our data showed that a PLIN4
3′UTR luciferase reporter carrying the A allele of rs8887 was reduced in
response to miR-522 mimics compared to the G allele. These results suggest
variation at the PLIN4 locus, and its interaction with PUFA as
a modulator of obesity related phenotypes, acts in part through creation of a
miR-522 regulatory site
Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases
The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of
aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs)
can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves
excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological
concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can
lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl
radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic
inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the
involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a
large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and
inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation
of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many
similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e.
iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The
studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic
and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and
lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and
longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is
thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As
systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have
multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent
patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of
multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the
decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference