1,090 research outputs found
Channel diffusion of sodium in a silicate glass
We use classical molecular dynamics simulations to study the dynamics of
sodium atoms in amorphous NaO-4SiO. We find that the sodium
trajectories form a well connected network of pockets and channels. Inside
these channels the motion of the atoms is not cooperative but rather given by
independent thermally activated hops of individual atoms between the pockets.
By determining the probability that an atom returns to a given starting site,
we show that such events are not important for the dynamics of this system.Comment: 10 pages of Latex, 5 figures, one figure added, text expande
Gastric cancer and Helicobacter pylori: a combined analysis of 12 case control studies nested within prospective cohorts
BACKGROUND: The magnitude of the association
between Helicobacter pylori and
incidence of gastric cancer is unclear. H
pylori infection and the circulating antibody
response can be lost with development
of cancer; thus retrospective studies
are subject to bias resulting from classifi-
cation of cases as H pylori negative when
they were infected in the past.
AIMS: To combine data from all case control
studies nested within prospective
cohorts to assess more reliably the relative
risk of gastric cancer associated with H
pylori infection.To investigate variation in
relative risk by age, sex, cancer type and
subsite, and interval between blood sampling
and cancer diagnosis.
METHODS: Studies were eligible if blood
samples for H pylori serology were collected
before diagnosis of gastric cancer in
cases. Identified published studies and two
unpublished studies were included. Individual
subject data were obtained for
each. Matched odds ratios (ORs) and 95%
confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated
for the association between H pylori
and gastric cancer.
RESULTS: Twelve studies with 1228 gastric
cancer cases were considered. The association
with H pylori was restricted to noncardia
cancers (OR 3.0; 95% CI 2.3–3.8)
and was stronger when blood samples for
H pylori serology were collected 10+ years
before cancer diagnosis (5.9; 3.4–10.3). H
pylori infection was not associated with an
altered overall risk of cardia cancer (1.0;
0.7–1.4).
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that
5.9 is the best estimate of the relative risk
of non-cardia cancer associated with H
pylori infection and that H pylori does not
increase the risk of cardia cancer. They
also support the idea that when H pylori
status is assessed close to cancer diagnosis,
the magnitude of the non-cardia
association may be underestimated
Samlet plan for utslipp til vann fra steinindustrien (larvikittprodusentene) i Larvik Del 1 Resipientundersøkelser 2006-2008 (Datarapport)
Rapporten inneholder: Stasjonsregister med koordinater Alle stasjonene vist på karter Alle fysiske, kjemiske, og biologiske primærdata i tabellerLarvikittprodusentenes Forening (LPF
Samlet plan for utslipp til vann fra steinindustrien (larvikittprodusentene) i Larvik, Del 1: Resipientundersøkelser 2006-2008 (Tekstdel)
Det er gjennomført resipientundersøkelser i vannforekomster som mottar avrenning fra Larvikittproduksjonen i Tjølling og Brunlanes i Larvik kommune. I alt 130 lokaliteter omfattende bekker, elver, innsjøer og fjorder er undersøkt gjennom en periode på to år. Vannforekomstene er undersøkt for turbiditet (grumsethet), vannkjemi, alger, bunnfauna, og fisk. Selv om påvirkningen visuelt sett kan virke betydelig, var den økologiske effekten overraskende liten. Kun i de sterkest påvirkede lokaliteter kunne man finne klare negative effekter på vannøkologien. Dette gjaldt innsjøene Mørjetjern, Bålsrudtjern, og i noe mindre grad Torpevannet. Det var ingen økologiske eller bruksmessige påvirkninger i Hallevannet. Nordre del av Varildfjorden i Viksfjord, var periodevis sterk påvirket av slamtilførsel, men noen økologisk effekt synes ikke utslippet å ha. Det samme kan sies om Mørjefjorden, innerst i Sildevika og ut for Kastet. I ekelte av de små bekkene var det negative effekter både på begroing, bunndyr og fisk. Dette gjaldt øverst i Tveidalsbekken, Mørjebekken, Askedalsbekken, Håkestadbekken, og Haslebekken. Det kunne ikke påvises negative økologiske effekter i de viktige lokalitetene som Istreelva, Mørjerødbekken, Mørjetjernbekken, og Eikedalsbekken. Kun få år etter at et brudd er avsluttet, avtar konsentrasjonene av forurensninger i avrenningen til uproblematiske nivåer. Med tanke på eutrofieringsvirkninger ble biotilgjengeligheten av fosfor i finknust larvikitt funnet å være lav, omtrent som fra turbid isbreavrenning og bare ca 1/5 av biotilgjengeligheten av fosfor fra erosjonsavrenning fra dyrket mark. Larvikitt inneholder ikke nitrogen. Aluminiumsinnholdet i larvikitten ble ikke funnet å kunne opptre i giftige former ved den pH og ionestyrke som er tilstede i de aktuelle resipientene.Larvikittprodusentenes forening (LPF
Protein sequence and structure: Is one more fundamental than the other?
We argue that protein native state structures reside in a novel "phase" of
matter which confers on proteins their many amazing characteristics. This phase
arises from the common features of all globular proteins and is characterized
by a sequence-independent free energy landscape with relatively few low energy
minima with funnel-like character. The choice of a sequence that fits well into
one of these predetermined structures facilitates rapid and cooperative
folding. Our model calculations show that this novel phase facilitates the
formation of an efficient route for sequence design starting from random
peptides.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to appear in J. Stat. Phy
Selectivity, efficacy and toxicity studies of UCCB01-144, a dimeric neuroprotective PSD-95 inhibitor
Inhibition of postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) decouples N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor downstream signaling and results in neuroprotection after focal cerebral ischemia. We have previously developed UCCB01-144, a dimeric PSD-95 inhibitor, which binds PSD-95 with high affinity and is neuroprotective in experimental stroke. Here, we investigate the selectivity, efficacy and toxicity of UCCB01-144 and compare with the monomeric drug candidate Tat-NR2B9c. Fluorescence polarization using purified proteins and pull-downs of mouse brain lysates showed that UCCB01-144 potently binds all four PSD-95-like membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUKs). In addition, UCCB01-144 affected NMDA receptor signaling pathways in ischemic brain tissue. UCCB01-144 reduced infarct size in young and aged male mice at various doses when administered 30 min after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion, but UCCB01-144 was not effective in young male mice when administered 1 h post-ischemia or in female mice. Furthermore, UCCB01-144 was neuroprotective in a transient stroke model in rats, and in contrast to Tat-NR2B9c, high dose of UCCB01-144 did not lead to significant changes in mean arterial blood pressure or heart rate. Overall, UCCB01-144 is a potent MAGUK inhibitor that reduces neurotoxic PSD-95-mediated signaling and improves neuronal survival following focal brain ischemia in rodents under various conditions and without causing cardiovascular side effects, which encourages further studies towards clinical stroke trials
Challenges and Obstacles for a Bouncing Universe in Brane Models
A Brane evolving in the background of a charged AdS black-hole displays in
general a bouncing behaviour with a smooth transition from a contracting to an
expanding phase. We examine in detail the conditions and consequences of this
behaviour in various cases. For a cosmological-constant-dominated Brane, we
obtain a singularity-free, inflationary era which is shown to be compatible
only with an intermediate-scale fundamental Planck mass. For a
radiation-dominated Brane, the bouncing behaviour can occur only for
background-charge values exceeding those allowed for non-extremal black holes.
For a matter-dominated Brane, the black-hole mass affects the proper volume or
the expansion rate of the Brane. We also consider the Brane evolving in an
asymmetric background of two distinct charged AdS black hole spacetimes being
bounded by the Brane and find that, in the case of an empty critical Brane,
bouncing behaviour occurs only if the black-hole mass difference is smaller
than a certain value. The effects of a Brane curvature term on the bounce at
early and late times are also investigated.Comment: 23 pages, Latex file, comments and references added, version to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Dietary metabolite profiling brings new insight into the relationship between nutrition and metabolic risk: An IMI Direct study
Background: Dietary advice remains the cornerstone of prevention and management of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, understanding the efficacy of dietary interventions is confounded by the challenges inherent in assessing free living diet. Here we profiled dietary metabolites to investigate glycaemic deterioration and cardiometabolic risk in people at risk of or living with T2D.
Methods: We analysed data from plasma collected at baseline and 18-month follow-up in individuals from the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) Diabetes Research on Patient Stratification (DIRECT) cohort 1 n=403 individuals with normal or impaired glucose regulation (prediabetic) and cohort 2 n=458 individuals with new onset of T2D. A dietary metabolite profile model (Tpred) was constructed using multivariate regression of 113 plasma metabolites obtained from targeted metabolomics assays. The continuous Tpred score was used to explore the relationships between diet, glycaemic deterioration and cardio-metabolic risk via multiple linear regression models.
Findings: A higher Tpred was associated with healthier diets high in wholegrain (β=0.004 g, p=0.02 and β=0.003 g, p=0.03) and lower energy intake (β=-0.0002 kcal, p=0.04 and β=-0.0002 kcal, p=0.003), and saturated fat (β=-0.03 g, p<.0001 and β=-0.03 g, p<.0001), respectively for cohort 1 and 2. In both cohorts a higher Tpred score was also associated with lower total body adiposity and improved lipid profiles HDL-cholesterol (β=0.07 mmol/L, p<.0001), (β=0.08 mmol/L, p=0.0002), and triglycerides (β=-0.1 mmol/L, p=0.003), (β=-0.2 mmol/L, p=0.0002), respectively for cohort 1 and 2. In cohort 2, the Tpred score was negatively associated with liver fat content (β=-0.74 %, p<.0001), and lower fasting concentrations of HbA1c (β=-0.9mmol/mol, p=0.02), glucose (β=-0.2 mmol/L, p=0.01) and insulin (β=-11.0 pmol/mol, p=0.01). Longitudinal analysis showed at 18-month follow up a higher Tpred score was also associated lower total body adiposity in both cohorts and lower fasting glucose (β=-0.2 mmol/L, p=0.03) and insulin (β=-9.2 pmol/mol, p=0.04) concentrations in cohort 2.
Interpretation: Plasma dietary metabolite profiling provides objective measures of diet intake, showing a relationship to glycaemic deterioration and cardiometabolic health
Search for R-Parity Violating Decays of Scalar Fermions at LEP
A search for pair-produced scalar fermions under the assumption that R-parity
is not conserved has been performed using data collected with the OPAL detector
at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of
about 610 pb-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) 189-209 GeV. An
important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric
particle is expected to be unstable. Searches of R-parity violating decays of
charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the
assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that
only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay
modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of
leptons, jets, or both with or without missing energy. No significant
single-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard
Model expectations. Limits on the production cross- section of scalar fermions
in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric
particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous
to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.Comment: 51 pages, 24 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
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