The conceptus induces a switch in protein expression and activities of superoxide dismutase 1 and 2 in the sheep endometrium during early pregnancy

Acknowledgements We thank Philippe Bolifraud (INRA, France), Krawiec Angele, Sandra Grange, Laurence Puillet-Anselme (CHU Grenoble, France) and Margaret Fraser (Aberdeen, UK) for their expert technical assistance. The authors also thank the staff of the sheep sheds of Jouy-en-Josas (INRA, France). The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their close examination of this article and their useful comments. Funding This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.Peer reviewedPostprin

On a generalized quantum SWAP gate

The SWAP gate plays a central role in network designs for qubit quantum computation. However, there has been a view to generalize qubit quantum computing to higher dimensional quantum systems. In this paper we construct a generalized SWAP gate using only instances of the generalized controlled-NOT gate to cyclically permute the states of d qudits for d prime

Variability Flagging in the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Preliminary Data Release

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Preliminary Data Release Source Catalog contains over 257 million objects. We describe the method used to flag variable source candidates in the Catalog. Using a method based on the chi-square of single-exposure flux measurements, we generated a variability flag for each object, and have identified almost 460,000 candidate sources that exhibit significant flux variability with greater than ~7σ confidence. We discuss the flagging method in detail and describe its benefits and limitations. We also present results from the flagging method, including example light curves of several types of variable sources including Algol-type eclipsing binaries, RR Lyr, W UMa, and a blazar candidate

Strong coupling in the Kondo problem in the low-temperature region

The magnetic field dependence of the average spin of a localized electron coupled to conduction electrons with an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction is found for the ground state. In the magnetic field range $\mu H\sim 0.5 T_c$ ($T_c$ is the Kondo temperature) there is an inflection point, and in the strong magnetic field range $\mu H\gg T_c$, the correction to the average spin is proportional to $(T_c/\mu H)^2$. In zero magnetic field, the interaction with conduction electrons also leads to the splitting of doubly degenerate spin impurity states

DNA in nanopore-counterion condensation and coion depletion

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the equilibrium distribution of monovalent ions in a nanopore connecting two water reservoirs separated by a membrane, both for the empty pore and that with a single stranded DNA molecule inside. In the presence of DNA, the counterions condense on the stretched macromolecule effectively neutralizing it, and nearly complete depletion of coions from the pore is observed. The implications of our results for experiments on DNA translocation through alpha-hemolysin nanopores are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Local Heavy Quasiparticle in Four-Level Kondo Model

An impurity four-level Kondo model, in which an ion is tunneling among 4-stable points and interacting with surrounding conduction electrons, is investigated using both perturbative and numerical renormalization group methods. The results of numerical renormalization group studies show that it is possible to construct the ground state wavefunction including the excited ion states if we take into account the interaction between the conduction electrons and the ion. The resultant effective mass of quasiparticles is moderately enhanced. This result offers a good explanation for the enhanced and magnetically robust Sommerfeld coefficient observed in SmOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$, some other filled-skutterudites, and clathrate compounds.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Added references and "Note added

In vivo Spectroscopic and Imaging Studies of Photosensitizer in Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) has emerged as a useful cancer treatment modality which utilizes a tumor localizing dye and activating light to selectively destroy neoplastic tissue. In an effort to understand the newly synthesized photosensitizers, we are studying them in a mouse tumor model grown on the dorsal side of the foot by in vivo magnetic resonance techniques. We have synthesized several photosensitizers which are specifically labeled with fluorine. Several coils appropriate for the tumor study by 19F NMR were designed and constructed for this project. The solenoid coil tunable to both 1Hand 19F nuclei was used to monitor the 19F labeled photosensitizer in the mouse foot tumor. An in vivo 19F NMR technique was used to study the retention of the photosensitizer over time in the tumor. We have used 31P NMR to study the outcome of PDT after using the new photosensitizer

Surface phase transitions in one-dimensional channels arranged in a triangular cross-sectional structure: Theory and Monte Carlo simulations

Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling analysis have been carried out to study the critical behavior in a submonolayer lattice-gas of interacting monomers adsorbed on one-dimensional channels arranged in a triangular cross-sectional structure. The model mimics a nanoporous environment, where each nanotube or unit cell is represented by a one-dimensional array. Two kinds of lateral interaction energies have been considered: $1)$ $w_L$, interaction energy between nearest-neighbor particles adsorbed along a single channel and $2)$ $w_T$, interaction energy between particles adsorbed across nearest-neighbor channels. For $w_L/w_T=0$ and $w_T > 0$, successive planes are uncorrelated, the system is equivalent to the triangular lattice and the well-known $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})$ $[(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})^*]$ ordered phase is found at low temperatures and a coverage, $\theta$, of 1/3 $[2/3]$. In the more general case ($w_L/w_T \neq 0$ and $w_T > 0$), a competition between interactions along a single channel and a transverse coupling between sites in neighboring channels allows to evolve to a three-dimensional adsorbed layer. Consequently, the $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})$ and $(\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3})^*$ structures "propagate" along the channels and new ordered phases appear in the adlayer. The Monte Carlo technique was combined with the recently reported Free Energy Minimization Criterion Approach (FEMCA), to predict the critical temperatures of the order-disorder transformation. The excellent qualitative agreement between simulated data and FEMCA results allow us to interpret the physical meaning of the mechanisms underlying the observed transitions.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure