600 research outputs found
Isochoric, isobaric and ultrafast conductivities of aluminum, lithium and carbon in the warm dense matter (WDM) regime
We study the conductivities of (i) the equilibrium isochoric state
(), (ii) the equilibrium isobaric state (),
and also the (iii) non-equilibrium ultrafast matter (UFM) state () with the ion temperature less than the the electron temperature
. Aluminum, lithium and carbon are considered, being increasingly complex
warm dense matter (WDM) systems, with carbon having transient covalent bonds.
First-principles calculations, i.e., neutral-pseudoatom (NPA) calculations and
density-functional theory (DFT) with molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations, are
compared where possible with experimental data to characterize and . The NPA are
closest to the available experimental data when compared to results from
DFT+MD, where simulations of about 64-125 atoms are typically used. The
published conductivities for Li are reviewed and the value at a temperature of
4.5 eV is examined using supporting X-ray Thomson scattering calculations. A
physical picture of the variations of with temperature and density
applicable to these materials is given. The insensitivity of to
below 10 eV for carbon, compared to Al and Li, is clarified.Comment: 10 figure
Ion-ion dynamic structure factor, acoustic modes and equation of state of two-temperature warm dense aluminum
The ion-ion dynamical structure factor and the equation of state of warm
dense aluminum in a two-temperature quasi-equilibrium state, with the electron
temperature higher than the ion temperature, are investigated using
molecular-dynamics simulations based on ion-ion pair potentials constructed
from a neutral pseudoatom model. Such pair potentials based on density
functional theory are parameter-free and depend directly on the electron
temperature and indirectly on the ion temperature, enabling efficient
computation of two-temperature properties. Comparison with ab initio
simulations and with other average-atom calculations for equilibrium aluminum
shows good agreement, justifying a study of quasi-equilibrium situations.
Analyzing the van Hove function, we find that ion-ion correlations vanish in a
time significantly smaller than the electron-ion relaxation time so that
dynamical properties have a physical meaning for the quasi-equilibrium state. A
significant increase in the speed of sound is predicted from the modification
of the dispersion relation of the ion acoustic mode as the electron temperature
is increased. The two-temperature equation of state including the free energy,
internal energy and pressure is also presented
Two-temperature pair potentials and phonon spectra for simple metals in the warm dense matter regime
We develop ion-ion pair potentials for Al, Na and K for densities and
temperatures relevant to the warm-dense-matter (WDM) regime. Furthermore, we
emphasize non-equilibrium states where the ion temperature differs from
the electron temperature . This work focuses mainly on ultra-fast
laser-metal interactions where the energy of the laser is almost exclusively
transferred to the electron sub-system over femtosecond time scales. This
results in a two-temperature system with and with the ions still at
the initial room temperature . First-principles calculations, such as
density functional theory (DFT) or quantum Monte Carlo, are as yet not fully
feasible for WDM conditions due to lack of finite- features, e.g.
pseudopotentials, and extensive CPU time requirements. Simpler methods are
needed to study these highly complex systems. We propose to use two-temperature
pair potentials constructed from linear-response theory
using the non-linear electron density obtained from finite-
DFT with a single ion immersed in the appropriate electron fluid. We compute
equilibrium phonon spectra at which are found to be in very good
agreement with experiments. This gives credibility to our non-equilibrium
phonon dispersion relations which are important in determining thermophysical
properties, stability, energy-relaxation mechanisms and transport coefficients.Comment: International Conf. on Strongly-Coupled Coulombo Systems (SCCS) 201
Molecular Electroporation and the Transduction of Oligoarginines
Certain short polycations, such as TAT and polyarginine, rapidly pass through
the plasma membranes of mammalian cells by an unknown mechanism called
transduction as well as by endocytosis and macropinocytosis. These
cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) promise to be medically useful when fused to
biologically active peptides. I offer a simple model in which one or more CPPs
and the phosphatidylserines of the inner leaflet form a kind of capacitor with
a voltage in excess of 180 mV, high enough to create a molecular electropore.
The model is consistent with an empirical upper limit on the cargo peptide of
40--60 amino acids and with experimental data on how the transduction of a
polyarginine-fluorophore into mouse C2C12 myoblasts depends on the number of
arginines in the CPP and on the CPP concentration. The model makes three
testable predictions.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
TH17 cells require ongoing classic IL-6 receptor signaling to retain transcriptional and functional identity
Acting in concert with TGF-b, IL-6 signaling induces Th17 cell development by programming Th17-related genes via STAT3. A role for IL-6 signaling beyond the inductive phase of Th17 cell development has not been defined, as IL-23 signaling downstream of Th17 cell induction also activates STAT3 and is thought responsible for Th17 cell maintenance. Here, we find that IL-6 signaling is required for both induction and maintenance of Th17 cells; IL-6Ra–deficient Th17 cells rapidly lost their Th17 phenotype and did not cause disease in two models of colitis. Cotransfer of WT Th17 cells with IL-6Ra–deficient Th17 cells induced colitis but was unable to rescue phenotype loss of the latter. High IL-6 in the colon promoted classic, or cis, rather than trans receptor signaling that was required for maintenance of Th17 cells. Thus, ongoing classic IL6 signaling underpins the Th17 program and is required for Th17 cell maintenance and function
Cough-generated aerosols of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other Gram-negative bacteria from patients with cystic fibrosis
Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common bacterial pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Current infection control guidelines aim to prevent transmission via contact and respiratory droplet routes and do not consider the possibility of airborne transmission. We hypothesized that with coughing, CF subjects produce viable, respirable bacterial aerosols. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 15 children and 13 adults with CF, 26 chronically infected with P. aeruginosa. A cough aerosol sampling system enabled fractioning of respiratory particles of different size, and culture of viable Gram negative non-fermentative bacteria. We collected cough aerosols during 5 minutes voluntary coughing and during a sputum induction procedure when tolerated. Standardized quantitative culture and genotyping techniques were used. Results: P. aeruginosa was isolated in cough aerosols of 25 (89%) subjects of whom 22 produced sputum samples. P. aeruginosa from sputum and paired cough aerosols were indistinguishable by molecular typing. In 4 cases the same genotype was isolated from ambient room air. Approximately 70% of viable aerosols collected during voluntary coughing were of particles ≤ 3.3 microns aerodynamic diameter. P. aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Achromobacter xylosoxidans were cultivated from respiratory particles in this size range. Positive room air samples were associated with high total counts in cough aerosols (P=0.003). The magnitude of cough aerosols were associated with higher FEV1 (r=0.45, P=0.02) and higher quantitative sputum culture results (r=0.58, P=0.008). Conclusion: During coughing, CF patients produce viable aerosols of P. aeruginosa and other Gram negative bacteria of respirable size range, suggesting the potential for airborne transmission
MicroRNA-520b Inhibits Growth of Hepatoma Cells by Targeting MEKK2 and Cyclin D1
Growing evidence indicates that the deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) contributes to the tumorigenesis. We previously revealed that microRNA-520b (miR-520b) was involved in the complement attack and migration of breast cancer cells. In this report, we show that miR-520b is an important miRNA in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our data showed that the expression levels of miR-520b were significantly reduced in clinical HCC tissues and hepatoma cell lines. We observed that the introduction of miR-520b dramatically suppressed the growth of hepatoma cells by colony formation assays, 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assays and 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Moreover, ectopic expression of miR-520b was able to inhibit the growth of hepatoma cells in nude mice. Further studies revealed that the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 2 (MEKK2) and cyclin D1 were two of direct target genes of miR-520b. Silencing of MEKK2 or cyclin D1 was able to inhibit the growth of hepatoma cells in vitro and in vivo, which is consistent with the effect of miR-520b overexpression on the growth of hepatoma cells. In addition, miR-520b significantly decreased the phosphorylation levels of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK, a downstream effector of MEKK2) or retinoblastoma (p-Rb, a downstream effector of cyclin D1). In conclusion, miR-520b is able to inhibit the growth of hepatoma cells by targeting MEKK2 or cyclin D1 in vitro and in vivo. Our findings provide new insights into the role of miR-520b in the development of HCC, and implicate the potential application of miR-520b in cancer therapy
Industry-supported meta-analyses compared with meta-analyses with non-profit or no support: Differences in methodological quality and conclusions
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies have shown that industry-sponsored meta-analyses of drugs lack scientific rigour and have biased conclusions. However, these studies have been restricted to certain medical specialities. We compared all industry-supported meta-analyses of drug-drug comparisons with those without industry support.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched PubMed for all meta-analyses that compared different drugs or classes of drugs published in 2004. Two authors assessed the meta-analyses and independently extracted data. We used a validated scale for judging the methodological quality and a binary scale for judging conclusions. We divided the meta-analyses according to the type of support in 3 categories: industry-supported, non-profit support or no support, and undeclared support.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We included 39 meta-analyses. Ten had industry support, 18 non-profit or no support, and 11 undeclared support. On a 0–7 scale, the median quality score was 6 for meta-analyses with non-profit or no support and 2.5 for the industry-supported meta-analyses (P < 0.01). Compared with industry-supported meta-analyses, more meta-analyses with non-profit or no support avoided bias in the selection of studies (P = 0.01), more often stated the search methods used to find studies (P = 0.02), searched comprehensively (P < 0.01), reported criteria for assessing the validity of the studies (P = 0.02), used appropriate criteria (P = 0.04), described methods of allocation concealment (P = 0.05), described methods of blinding (P = 0.05), and described excluded patients (P = 0.08) and studies (P = 0.15). Forty percent of the industry-supported meta-analyses recommended the experimental drug without reservations, compared with 22% of the meta-analyses with non-profit or no support (P = 0.57).</p> <p>In a sensitivity analysis, we contacted the authors of the meta-analyses with undeclared support. Eight who replied that they had not received industry funding were added to those with non-profit or no support, and 3 who did not reply were added to those with industry support. This analysis did not change the results much.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Transparency is essential for readers to make their own judgment about medical interventions guided by the results of meta-analyses. We found that industry-supported meta-analyses are less transparent than meta-analyses with non-profit support or no support.</p
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