Metabasin dynamics and local structure in supercooled water

We employ the Distance Matrix method to investigate metabasin dynamics in supercooled water. We find that the motion of the system consists in the exploration of a finite region of configuration space (enclosing several distinct local minima), named metabasin, followed by a sharp crossing to a different metabasin. The characteristic time between metabasin transitions is comparable to the structural relaxation time, suggesting that these transitions are relevant for the long time dynamics. The crossing between metabasins is accompanied by very rapid diffusional jumps of several groups of dynamically correlated particles. These particles form relatively compact clusters and act as cooperative relaxing units responsible for the density relaxation. We find that these mobile particles are often characterized by an average coordination larger than four, i.e. are located in regions where the tetrahedral hydrogen bond network is distorted

Alzheimer's disease and HIV associated dementia related genes: I. location and function.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, has few clinical similarities to HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD). However, genes were identified related among these dementias. Discovering correlations between gene function, expression, and structure in the human genome continues to aid in understanding the similarities between pathogenesis of these two dementing disorders. The current work attempts to identify relationships between these dementias in spite of their clinical differences, based on genomic structure, function, and expression. In this comparative study, the NCBI Entrez Genome Database is used to detect these relationships. This approach serves as a model for future diagnosis and treatment in the clinical arena as well as suggesting parallel pathways of disease mechanisms. Identifying a correlation among expression, structure, and function of genes involved in pathogenesis of these dementing disorders, may assist to understand better their interaction with each other and the human genome

Markers of acute rejection and graft acceptance in liver transplantation.

The evaluation of the immunosuppression state in liver transplanted patients is crucial for a correct post-transplant management and a major step towards the personalisation of the immunosuppressive therapy. However, current immunological monitoring after liver transplantation relies mainly on clinical judgment and on immunosuppressive drug levels, without a proper assessment of the real suppression of the immunological system. Various markers have been studied in an attempt to identify a specific indicator of graft rejection and graft acceptance after liver transplantation. Considering acute rejection, the most studied markers are pro-inflammatory and immunoregulatory cytokines and other proteins related to inflammation. However there is considerable overlap with other conditions, and only few of them have been validated. Standard liver tests cannot be used as markers of graft rejection due to their low sensitivity and specificity and the weak correlation with the severity of histopathological findings. Several studies have been performed to identify biomarkers of tolerance in liver transplanted patients. Most of them are based on the analysis of peripheral blood samples and on the use of transcriptional profiling techniques. Amongst these, NK cell-related molecules seem to be the most valid marker of graft acceptance, whereas the role CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells has still to be properly defined

Anglo-Saxon verbs of sounds: Semantic architecture, lexical representation and constructions

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the semantic structure of Anglo-Saxon verbs of sound from the point of view of the Lexical Grammar Model (LGM). Firstly, a description of the theoretical foundations of the LGM for the analysis of lexical structures and the specific methodological principles developed for historical vocabularies will be provided. Secondly, the semantic architecture of the verbal domain of Old English sound predicates will be offered. Thirdly, the system of lexical decomposition proposed by the LGM and its application to the lexical class under study will be explained. This system has the format of a lexical template which will be fundamental to understand the linking algorithm that mediates between the semantic representation of sound predicates and their morpho-syntactic realizations. This linking process has two phases: the first one will bind the lexical template of verbs of sound with the representation of the constructions and alternations where these predicates appear whereas the second interface will account for their grammatical behaviour

Survival outcome and EMT suppression mediated by a lectin domain interaction of Endo180 and CD147

Epithelial cell-cell contacts maintain normal glandular tissue homeostasis, and their breakage can trigger epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a fundamental step in the development of metastatic cancer. Despite the ability of C-type lectin domains (CTLD) to modulate cell-cell adhesion, it is not known if they modulate epithelial adhesion in EMT and tumor progression. Here, the multi-CTLD mannose receptor, Endo180 (MRC2/uPARAP), was shown using the Kaplan-Meier analysis to be predictive of survival outcome in men with early prostate cancer. A proteomic screen of novel interaction partners with the fourth CTLD (CTLD4) in Endo180 revealed that its complex with CD147 is indispensable for the stability of three-dimensional acini formed by nontransformed prostate epithelial cells (PEC). Mechanistic study using knockdown of Endo180 or CD147, and treatment with an Endo180 mAb targeting CTLD4 (clone 39.10), or a dominant-negative GST-CTLD4 chimeric protein, induced scattering of PECs associated with internalization of Endo180 into endosomes, loss of E-cadherin (CDH1/ECAD), and unzipping of cell-cell junctions. These findings are the first to demonstrate that a CTLD acts as a suppressor and regulatory switch for EMT; thus, positing that stabilization of Endo180-CD147 complex is a viable therapeutic strategy to improve rates of prostate cancer survival

Occurrence of iodinated X-ray contrast media in indirect potable reuse systems

A lack of knowledge of the health and environmental risks associated with chemicals of concern (COCs) and also of their removal by advanced treatment processes, such as micro-filtration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO), have been major barriers preventing establishment of large water recycling schemes. As part of a larger project monitoring over 300 COCs, iodinated x-ray contrast media compounds (ICM) were analysed in treated secondary wastewater intended for drinking purposes. ICM are the most widely administered intravascular pharmaceuticals and are known to persist in the aquatic environment. A direct injection liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (DI-LC-MS/MS) method was used to monitor secondary treated wastewater from three major wastewater treatment plants in Perth, Western Australia. In addition, tertiary water treated with MF and RO was analysed from a pilot plant that has been built as a first step in trialling the aquifer recharge. Results collected during 2007 demonstrate that MF/RO treatment is capable of removing ICM to below the analytical limits of detection, with average RO rejection calculated to be greater than 92%. A screening health risk assessment indicated negligible human risk at the concentrations observed in wastewater

Stochastic description of waterlogging and hydroperiods in wetlands

Wetlands are found at the interface between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, where different hydrologic factors and ecosystem processes interact to generate unique characteristics and a delicate balance between biotic and abiotic factors. The main hydrologic driver of wetland ecosystems is the water level, whose position above or below the ground level, determines the submergence or non-submergence of soil. When the water level lies above the soil surface, soil is saturated and hypoxic conditions affect all biochemical processes, inducing anaerobic microorganism functioning, variation of redox potential, and anoxic stress in plants, that might lead to the death of non-adapted organisms. When the water level is below the soil surface, the soil water balance is similar to that of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, which allows for both oxygen and water supply to the plant roots. Therefore, the succession of the submerged-unsubmerged conditions plays a fundamental role on the ecosystem. Shallow or above-ground water level fluctuations, at the daily time scale, are driven by stochastic precipitation; using a simple process-based model for soil water balance, the dynamics of groundwater level is here described as a function of evapotranspiration, lateral flow to/from an external water body and random precipitation, modeled as a marked Poisson process. This simple model provides the analytical long-term probability distribution of water table depth and the crossing properties of water table dynamics, which are used to study the timing of waterlogging. The interval of time during which a wetland remains flooded, often called “hydroperiod”, is represented by the first passage time of water table in down-crossing the soil surface; here we calculate the mean hydroperiod as the Mean First Passage Time of the process, that is a function of the model parameters, and we verify this result with numerical simulations. Focusing on the statistical properties of hydroperiods, we also propose to describe their long term probability distribution with a parametric distribution, whose parameters are linked to the model parameters through simple analytical relations. Numerical simulations again confirm the validity of the approach, and its capability of describing the properties of hydroperiods as a function of the climatic, pedological, and ecological characteristics of wetlands

Industrial manufacturing and characterization of multiscale CFRP laminates made from prepregs containing graphene-related materials

The introduction of graphene-related materials (GRMs) in carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) has been proved to enhance their mechanical and electrical properties. However, methodologies to produce the 3-phase materials (multiscale composites) at an industrial scale and in an efficient manner are still lacking. In this paper, multiscale CFRP composites containing different GRMs have been manufactured following standard procedures currently used in the aerospace industry with the aim to evaluate its potential application. Graphite nanoplateletelets (GNPs), in situ exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have been dispersed into an epoxy resin to subsequently impregnate aeronautical grade carbon fibre tape. The resulting prepregs have been used for manufacturing laminates by hand lay-up and autoclave curing at 180 {\deg}C. Abroad characterization campaign has been carried out to understand the behaviour of the different multiscale laminates manufactured. The degree of cure, glass transition temperature and degradation temperature have been evaluated by thermal evolution techniques. Similarly, their mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, in-plane shear, interlaminar shear and mode I interlaminar fracture toughness) have been analysed together with their electrical conductivity. The manufacturing process resulted appropriated for producing three-phase laminates and their quality was as good as in conventional CFRPs. The addition ofGOand rGO resulted in an enhancement of the in-plane shear properties and delamination resistance while the addition ofGNPimproved the electrical conductivity

Stochastic water table dynamics in groundwater-dependent ecosystems

Humidlands are environments where the groundwater plays a key role on the ecosystem function. Contrary to water limited ecosystems, where water table is mostly out of reach for the vegetation, groundwater-dependent ecosystems exhibit important interactions between the water table and vegetation dynamics. We propose here an analytical model to study the interactions between rainfall, water table and vegetation in humidland ecosystems. The groundwater dynamics is studied as a random process, stochastically driven by a marked Poisson noise representing rainfall events. Infiltration, root water uptake, water flow to/from an external water body, and capillary rise are accounted for in a probabilistic description of water table fluctuations. We obtain analytical expressions for the steady-state probability distribution of water table depth, which allows us to investigate the long term behavior of water table dynamics, and their sensitivity to changes in climate, vegetation cover, and water managemen