3,322 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Growth of high-density carbon nanotube forests on conductive TiSiN supports
This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/106/8/10.1063/1.4913762.We grow vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests on refractory conductive films of TiSiN and achieve area densities of (5.1 ± 0.1) × 1012 tubes cm−2 and mass densities of about 0.3 g cm−3. The TiSiN films act as diffusion barriers limiting catalyst diffusion into the bulk of the support, and their low surface energy favours catalyst de-wetting, inducing forests to grow by the root growth mechanism. The nanotube area density is maximised by an additional discontinuous AlOx layer, which inhibits catalyst nanoparticle sintering by lateral surface diffusion. The forests and the TiSiN support show ohmic conduction. These results suggest that TiSiN is the favoured substrate for nanotube forest growth on conductors and liable of finding real applications in microelectronics.The authors acknowledge funding from European project Grafol. J.Y. thanks Sarah Fearn and David McPhail from Imperial College London for use of the SIMS instrument. A.W.R. is supported by EPSRC (Platform Grant Nos. EP/F048009/1 and EP/K032518/1) and Korean Institute for Energy Research. H.S. acknowledges a research fellowship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science
Contribution of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 to Cerebral Edema and Functional Outcome following Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Background: Cerebral edema is an important risk factor for death and poor outcome following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). However, underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 is held responsible for the degradation of microvascular basal lamina proteins leading to blood-brain barrier dysfunction and, thus, formation of vasogenic cerebral edema. The current study was conducted to clarify the role of MMP-9 for the development of cerebral edema and for functional outcome after SAH. Methods: SAH was induced in FVB/N wild-type (WT) or MMP-9 knockout (MMP-9(-/-)) mice by endovascular puncture. Intracranial pressure (ICP), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) were continuously monitored up to 30 min after SAH. Mortality was quantified for 7 days after SAH. In an additional series neurological function and body weight were assessed for 3 days after SAH. Subsequently, ICP and brain water content were quantified. Results: Acute ICP, rCBF, and MABP did not differ between WT and MMP-9(-/-) mice, while 7 days' mortality was lower in MMP-9(-/-) mice (p = 0.03; 20 vs. 60%). MMP-9(-/-) mice also exhibited better neurological recovery, less brain edema formation, and lower chronic ICP. Conclusions: The results of the current study suggest that MMP-9 contributes to the development of early brain damage after SAH by promoting cerebral edema formation. Hence, MMP-9 may represent a novel molecular target for the treatment of SAH. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base
Two-way multi-lane traffic model for pedestrians in corridors
We extend the Aw-Rascle macroscopic model of car traffic into a two-way
multi-lane model of pedestrian traffic. Within this model, we propose a
technique for the handling of the congestion constraint, i.e. the fact that the
pedestrian density cannot exceed a maximal density corresponding to contact
between pedestrians. In a first step, we propose a singularly perturbed
pressure relation which models the fact that the pedestrian velocity is
considerably reduced, if not blocked, at congestion. In a second step, we carry
over the singular limit into the model and show that abrupt transitions between
compressible flow (in the uncongested regions) to incompressible flow (in
congested regions) occur. We also investigate the hyperbolicity of the two-way
models and show that they can lose their hyperbolicity in some cases. We study
a diffusive correction of these models and discuss the characteristic time and
length scales of the instability
Recommended from our members
In crystallo-screening for discovery of human norovirus 3C-like protease inhibitors.
Outbreaks of human epidemic nonbacterial gastroenteritis are mainly caused by noroviruses. Viral replication requires a 3C-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) which processes the 200Â kDa viral polyprotein into six functional proteins. The 3CLpro has attracted much interest due to its potential as a target for antiviral drugs. A system for growing high-quality crystals of native Southampton norovirus 3CLpro (SV3CP) has been established, allowing the ligand-free crystal structure to be determined to 1.3Â Ã… in a tetrameric state. This also allowed crystal-based fragment screening to be performed with various compound libraries, ultimately to guide drug discovery for SV3CP. A total of 19 fragments were found to bind to the protease out of the 844 which were screened. Two of the hits were located at the active site of SV3CP and showed good inhibitory activity in kinetic assays. Another 5 were found at the enzyme's putative RNA-binding site and a further 11 were located in the symmetric central cavity of the tetramer
Surface structure of epitaxial Gd(0001) films on W(110) studied by quantitative LEED analysis
The surface structure of thick (400 Ã…) Gd(0001) films, epitaxially grown on W(110), is investigated by low-energy electron-diffraction (LEED) IV measurements in combination with dynamical LEED calculations. A first-layer contraction of 2.4% and a second-layer spacing expansion of 1% is found. These findings are in good agreement with literature values determined for the (0001) surface of bulk Gd crystals. No significant difference in the LEED IV data is found between films grown at room temperature and films grown at elevated temperatures.published_or_final_versio
Cosmic Ray Anomalies from the MSSM?
The recent positron excess in cosmic rays (CR) observed by the PAMELA
satellite may be a signal for dark matter (DM) annihilation. When these
measurements are combined with those from FERMI on the total () flux
and from PAMELA itself on the ratio, these and other results are
difficult to reconcile with traditional models of DM, including the
conventional mSUGRA version of Supersymmetry even if boosts as large as
are allowed. In this paper, we combine the results of a previously
obtained scan over a more general 19-parameter subspace of the MSSM with a
corresponding scan over astrophysical parameters that describe the propagation
of CR. We then ascertain whether or not a good fit to this CR data can be
obtained with relatively small boost factors while simultaneously satisfying
the additional constraints arising from gamma ray data. We find that a specific
subclass of MSSM models where the LSP is mostly pure bino and annihilates
almost exclusively into pairs comes very close to satisfying these
requirements. The lightest in this set of models is found to be
relatively close in mass to the LSP and is in some cases the nLSP. These models
lead to a significant improvement in the overall fit to the data by an amount
dof in comparison to the best fit without Supersymmetry
while employing boosts . The implications of these models for future
experiments are discussed.Comment: 57 pages, 31 figures, references adde
Thermal counterflow in a periodic channel with solid boundaries
We perform numerical simulations of finite temperature quantum turbulence produced through thermal counterflow in superfluid 4He, using the vortex filament model. We investigate the effects of solid boundaries along one of the Cartesian directions, assuming a laminar normal fluid with a Poiseuille velocity profile, whilst varying the temperature and the normal fluid velocity. We analyze the distribution of the quantized vortices, reconnection rates, and quantized vorticity production as a function of the wall-normal direction. We find that the quantized vortex lines tend to concentrate close to the solid boundaries with their position depending only on temperature and not on the counterflow velocity. We offer an explanation of this phenomenon by considering the balance of two competing effects, namely the rate of turbulent diffusion of an isotropic tangle near the boundaries and the rate of quantized vorticity production at the center. Moreover, this yields the observed scaling of the position of the peak vortex line density with the mutual friction parameter. Finally, we provide evidence that upon the transition from laminar to turbulent normal fluid flow, there is a dramatic increase in the homogeneity of the tangle, which could be used as an indirect measure of the transition to turbulence in the normal fluid component for experiments
The role of concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma among endemic population: a meta-analysis of the phase iii randomized trials
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main objective of this meta-analysis was to determine the clinical benefit of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) compared with radiation alone (RT) in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients in endemic geographic areas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a prospective meta-analysis protocol, two independent investigators reviewed the publications and extracted the data. Published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which patients with NPC in endemic areas were randomly assigned to receive CCRT or RT alone were included.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven trials (totally 1608 patients) were eligible. Risk ratios (RRs) of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.50 to 0.80), 0.76 (95% CI, 0.61 to 0.93) and 0.74 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.89) were observed for 2, 3 and 5 years OS respectively in favor of the CCRT group. The RRs were larger than that detected in the previously reported meta-analyses (including both endemic and non-endemic), indicating that the relative benefit of survival was smaller than what considered before.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first meta-analysis of CCRT vs. RT alone in NPC treatment which included studies only done in endemic area. The results confirmed that CCRT was more beneficial compared with RT alone. However, the relative benefit of CCRT in endemic population might be less than that from previous meta-analyses.</p
Strategies used as spectroscopy of financial markets reveal new stylized facts
We propose a new set of stylized facts quantifying the structure of financial
markets. The key idea is to study the combined structure of both investment
strategies and prices in order to open a qualitatively new level of
understanding of financial and economic markets. We study the detailed order
flow on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange of China for the whole year of 2003. This
enormous dataset allows us to compare (i) a closed national market (A-shares)
with an international market (B-shares), (ii) individuals and institutions and
(iii) real investors to random strategies with respect to timing that share
otherwise all other characteristics. We find that more trading results in
smaller net return due to trading frictions. We unveiled quantitative power
laws with non-trivial exponents, that quantify the deterioration of performance
with frequency and with holding period of the strategies used by investors.
Random strategies are found to perform much better than real ones, both for
winners and losers. Surprising large arbitrage opportunities exist, especially
when using zero-intelligence strategies. This is a diagnostic of possible
inefficiencies of these financial markets.Comment: 13 pages including 5 figures and 1 tabl
The cardiac work-loop technique:An in vitro model for identifying and profiling drug-induced changes in inotropy using rat papillary muscles
- …