Characterization of superconducting multilayers samples

Best RF bulk niobium accelerating cavities have nearly reached their ultimate limits at rf equatorial magnetic field H 200 mT close to the thermodynamic critical field Hc. In 2006 Gurevich proposed to use nanoscale layers of superconducting materials with high values of Hc > HcNb for magnetic shielding of bulk niobium to increase the breakdown magnetic field inside SC RF cavities [1]. Depositing good quality layers inside a whole cavity is rather difficult but we have sputtered high quality samples by applying the technique used for the preparation of superconducting electronics circuits and characterized these samples by X-ray reflectivity, dc resistivity (PPMS) and dc magnetization (SQUID). Dc magnetization curves of a 250 nm thick Nb film have been measured, with and without a magnetron sputtered coating of a single or multiple stack of 15 nm MgO and 25 nm NbN layers. The Nb samples with/without the coating clearly exhibit different behaviors. Because SQUID measurements are influenced by edge and shape effects we propose to develop a specific local magnetic measurement of HC1 based on ac third harmonic analysis in order to reveal the screening effect of multilayers

Position-referenced microscopy for live cell culture monitoring

Position-referenced microscopy (PRM) is based on smart sample holders that integrate a position reference pattern (PRP) in their depth, allowing the determination of the lateral coordinates with respect to the sample-holder itself. Regions of interest can thus be retrieved easily after culture dish transfers from a cell incubator to the microscope stage. Images recorded at different instants in time are superimposed in a common coordinate system with subpixel accuracy. This paper presents such smart Petri culture dishes and their use for live cell culture monitoring. The impact of the PRP on the light budget is discussed and performances are demonstrated. First results on the application of PRM to the observation of apoptotic body internalization are reported

The Liquid-Gas Phase Transitions in a Multicomponent Nuclear System with Coulomb and Surface Effects

The liquid-gas phase transition is studied in a multi-component nuclear system using a local Skyrme interaction with Coulomb and surface effects. Some features are qualitatively the same as the results of Muller and Serot which uses relativistic mean field without Coulomb and surface effects. Surface tension brings the coexistance binodal surface to lower pressure. The Coulomb interaction makes the binodal surface smaller and cause another pair of binodal points at low pressure and large proton fraction with less protons in liquid phase and more protons in gas phase.Comment: 20 pages including 7 postscript figure

Continuous non-perturbative regularization of QED

We regularize in a continuous manner the path integral of QED by construction of a non-local version of its action by means of a regularized form of Dirac's $\delta$ functions. Since the action and the measure are both invariant under the gauge group, this regularization scheme is intrinsically non-perturbative. Despite the fact that the non-local action converges formally to the local one as the cutoff goes to infinity, the regularized theory keeps trace of the non-locality through the appearance of a quadratic divergence in the transverse part of the polarization operator. This term which is uniquely defined by the choice of the cutoff functions can be removed by a redefinition of the regularized action. We notice that as for chiral fermions on the lattice, there is an obstruction to construct a continuous and non ambiguous regularization in four dimensions. With the help of the regularized equations of motion, we calculate the one particle irreducible functions which are known to be divergent by naive power counting at the one loop order.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 5 Encapsulated Postscript figures. Improved and revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev.

A Putative Plant Aminophospholipid Flippase, the Arabidopsis P4 ATPase ALA1, Localizes to the Plasma Membrane following Association with a β-Subunit

Plasma membranes in eukaryotic cells display asymmetric lipid distributions with aminophospholipids concentrated in the inner leaflet and sphingolipids in the outer leaflet. This unequal distribution of lipids between leaflets is, amongst several proposed functions, hypothesized to be a prerequisite for endocytosis. P4 ATPases, belonging to the P-type ATPase superfamily of pumps, are involved in establishing lipid asymmetry across plasma membranes, but P4 ATPases have not been identified in plant plasma membranes. Here we report that the plant P4 ATPase ALA1, which previously has been connected with cold tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana, is targeted to the plasma membrane and does so following association in the endoplasmic reticulum with an ALIS protein β-subunit

EMT and Stem Cell-Like Properties Associated with HIF-2α Are Involved in Arsenite-Induced Transformation of Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Arsenic is well-established as a human carcinogen, but the molecular mechanisms leading to arsenic-induced carcinogenesis are complex and elusive. It is not been determined if the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stem cell-like properties contribute in causing to carcinogen-induced malignant transformation and subsequent tumor formation.To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying EMT and the emergence of cancer stem cell-like properties during neoplastic transformation of human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells induced by chronic exposure to arsenite. HBE cells were continuously exposed to arsenite. Spheroid formation assays and analyses of side populations (SPs) were performed to confirm that arsenite induces the acquired EMT and cancer stem cell-like phenotype. Treated HBE cells were molecularly characterized by RT-PCR, Western blots, immunofluorescence, Southwestern assays, reporter assays, and chromatin immunoprecipitation.With chronic exposure to arsenite, HBE cells undergo an EMT and then acquire a malignant cancer stem cell-like phenotype. Twist1 and Bmi1 are involved in arsenite-induced EMT. The process is directly regulated by HIF-2α. The self-renewal genes, Oct4, Bmi1, and ALDH1, are necessary for arsenite-mediated maintenance of stem cells.EMT, regulated by HIF-2α, and the development of a cancer stem cell-like phenotype are associated with arsenite-induced transformation of HBE cells

Asymptotics for products of characteristic polynomials in classical β\beta-Ensembles

We study the local properties of eigenvalues for the Hermite (Gaussian), Laguerre (Chiral) and Jacobi $\beta$-ensembles of $N\times N$ random matrices. More specifically, we calculate scaling limits of the expectation value of products of characteristic polynomials as $N\to\infty$. In the bulk of the spectrum of each $\beta$-ensemble, the same scaling limit is found to be $e^{p_{1}}{}_1F_{1}$ whose exact expansion in terms of Jack polynomials is well known. The scaling limit at the soft edge of the spectrum for the Hermite and Laguerre $\beta$-ensembles is shown to be a multivariate Airy function, which is defined as a generalized Kontsevich integral. As corollaries, when $\beta$ is even, scaling limits of the $k$-point correlation functions for the three ensembles are obtained. The asymptotics of the multivariate Airy function for large and small arguments is also given. All the asymptotic results rely on a generalization of Watson's lemma and the steepest descent method for integrals of Selberg type.Comment: [v3] 35 pages; this is a revised and enlarged version of the article with new references, simplified demonstations, and improved presentation. To be published in Constructive Approximation 37 (2013

Phylogeography and Molecular Evolution of Potato virus Y

Potato virus Y (PVY) is an important plant pathogen, whose host range includes economically important crops such as potato, tobacco, tomato, and pepper. PVY presents three main strains (PVYO, PVYN and PVYC) and several recombinant forms. PVY has a worldwide distribution, yet the mechanisms that promote and maintain its population structure and genetic diversity are still unclear. In this study, we used a pool of 77 complete PVY genomes from isolates collected worldwide. After removing the effect of recombination in our data set, we used Bayesian techniques to study the influence of geography and host species in both PVY population structure and dynamics. We have also performed selection and covariation analyses to identify evolutionarily relevant amino acid residues. Our results show that both geographic and host-driven adaptations explain PVY diversification. Furthermore, purifying selection is the main force driving PVY evolution, although some indications of positive selection accounted for the diversification of the different strains. Interestingly, the analysis of P3N-PIPO, a recently described gene in potyviruses, seems to show a variable length among the isolates analyzed, and this variability is explained, in part, by host-driven adaptation

Family Firms and Firm Performance: Evidence from Japan

Corrigendum: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology 16 (12), 1331 (2009) doi:10.1038/nsmb1209-1331bInternational audienceThioredoxins (Trxs) are oxidoreductase enzymes, present in all organisms, that catalyze the reduction of disulfide bonds in proteins. By applying a calibrated force to a substrate disulfide, the chemical mechanisms of Trx catalysis can be examined in detail at the single-molecule level. Here we use single-molecule force-clamp spectroscopy to explore the chemical evolution of Trx catalysis by probing the chemistry of eight different Trx enzymes. All Trxs show a characteristic Michaelis-Menten mechanism that is detected when the disulfide bond is stretched at low forces, but at high forces, two different chemical behaviors distinguish bacterial-origin from eukaryotic-origin Trxs. Eukaryotic-origin Trxs reduce disulfide bonds through a single-electron transfer reaction (SET), whereas bacterial-origin Trxs show both nucleophilic substitution (SN2) and SET reactions. A computational analysis of Trx structures identifies the evolution of the binding groove as an important factor controlling the chemistry of Trx catalysis

A 1-Year Prospective French Nationwide Study of Emergency Hospital Admissions in Children and Adults with Primary Immunodeficiency.

PURPOSE: Patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) are at risk of serious complications. However, data on the incidence and causes of emergency hospital admissions are scarce. The primary objective of the present study was to describe emergency hospital admissions among patients with PID, with a view to identifying "at-risk" patient profiles. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational 12-month multicenter study in France via the CEREDIH network of regional PID reference centers from November 2010 to October 2011. All patients with PIDs requiring emergency hospital admission were included. RESULTS: A total of 200 admissions concerned 137 patients (73 adults and 64 children, 53% of whom had antibody deficiencies). Thirty admissions were reported for 16 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. When considering the 170 admissions of non-transplant patients, 149 (85%) were related to acute infections (respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal tract infections in 72 (36%) and 34 (17%) of cases, respectively). Seventy-seven percent of the admissions occurred during winter or spring (December to May). The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.8% (12 patients); death was related to a severe infection in 11 cases (8%) and Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoma in 1 case. Patients with a central venous catheter (n = 19, 13.9%) were significantly more hospitalized for an infection (94.7%) than for a non-infectious reason (5.3%) (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that the annual incidence of emergency hospital admission among patients with PID is 3.4%. The leading cause of emergency hospital admission was an acute infection, and having a central venous catheter was associated with a significantly greater risk of admission for an infectious episode