628 research outputs found
Very large Magneto-impedance and its scaling behavior in amorphous Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 ribbon
Magneto-impedance (MI) effects have been observed for amorphous
Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 ribbon which has been excited by an a.c. magnetic field
parallel to the length of the ribbon. Maximum relative change in MI as large as
-99% was observed which has never been reported before. The relative change in
MI, when plotted against scaled field was found to be nearly frequency
independent. A phenomenological formula for magneto-impedance, Z(H), in a
ferromagnetic material, is proposed based on Pade approximant to describe the
scaled behavior of MI.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, article in press, Physica B (2007
New Mechanism of Hepatic Fibrogenesis: Hepatitis C Virus Infection Induces Transforming Growth Factor β1 Production through Glucose-Regulated Protein 94
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver inflammatory disease (hepatitis), which often leads to more severe diseases, such as liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver fibrosis, in particular, is a major pathogenic consequence of HCV infection, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) plays a key role in its pathogenesis. Several HCV proteins have been suggested to either augment or suppress the expression of TGF-beta 1 by HCV-infected cells. Here, we report that TGF-beta 1 levels are elevated in HCV-infected hepatocytes cultured in vitro and in liver tissue of HCV patients. Notably, the level of TGF-beta 1 in media from in vitro-cultured HCV-infected hepatocytes was high enough to activate primary hepatic stellate cells isolated from rats. This indicates that TGF-beta 1 secreted by HCV-infected hepatocytes is likely to play a key role in the liver fibrosis observed in HCV patients. Moreover, we showed that HCV E2 protein triggers the production of TGF-beta 1 by HCV-infected cells through overproduction of glucose-regulated protein 94 (GRP94).open1177sciescopu
Gastrodia Elata Bl Attenuates Methamphetamine-Induced Dopaminergic Toxicity Via Inhibiting Oxidative Burdens
It has been recognized that Gastrodia elata Bl (GE), an oriental herb medicine, ameliorates various neurological disorders, that GE modulates the monoaminergic and GABAergic systems, and that GE possess antioxidant activities. We examined whether GE affects methamphetamine (MA)-induced striatal dopaminergic toxicity in mice. Treatment with MA (7.5 mg/kg, i.p. × 4) resulted in significant decreases in behavioural activity (as shown by locomotor activity and rota rod performance), dopamine level, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, and TH protein expression (as evaluated by immunocytochemistry and western blot analysis). In addition, MA treatment showed significant increases in lipid peroxidation [as evaluated by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) expression and malondialdehyde formation], protein oxidation (as shown by protein carbonyl expression and its formation), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. Treatment with GE significantly attenuates MA-induced behavioural and dopaminergic impairments, and oxidative stresses in a dose-dependent manner. Our results suggest that GE treatment shows anti-dopaminergic effects in response to MA insult via, at least in part, inhibiting oxidative stresses in the striatum of the mice
Using untagged B^0 -> D K_S to determine gamma
It is shown that the weak phase gamma=arg(-V_{ud}V^*_{ub}V_{cb}V_{cd}^*) can
be determined using only untagged decays B/Bbar--> D K_S. In order to reduce
the uncertainty in gamma, we suggest combining information from B^{+-}-->
DK^{+-} and from untagged B^0 decays, where the D meson is observed in common
decay modes. Theoretical assumptions, which may further reduce the statistical
error, are also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, same as published versio
Austenite in Transformation-Induced Plasticity Steel Subjected to Multiple Isothermal Heat Treatments
The thermodynamic limit to the progress of the bainite reaction in steels containing a cementite inhibitor often leaves large quantities of thermally or mechanically unstable austenite. Such austenite is not effective in delaying the onset of plastic instabilities during the course of deformation. In such circumstances, it is useful to conduct isothermal transformation at a high temperature where the rate of reaction is relatively rapid, followed by a lower temperature step that permits more bainite to be generated. This in turn increases the stability of the refined austenite, which then transforms gently over a large range of strain during a tensile test. A significant corollary is that the two-step heat treatments are unnecessary in low-carbon steels, where the bainite reaction is able to proceed to a greater extent before reaching the thermodynamic limit. Furthermore, the two-step process can be counterproductive in low carbon steel, because the austenite content is reduced to a level below which it does not enhance the mechanical properties. Other circumstances in which multiple heat treatments are necessary are also discussed.The authors are grateful to POSCO for support through Steel
Innovation Programme, and to the World Class University Programme of the National
Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, project
number R32-2008-000-10147.This is the accepted manuscript version. The final published version is available from Springer at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11661-014-2405-z
Study of Decays
We report on a study of decays using
29.1 fb of annihilation data recorded at the
resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB storage ring. Making no
assumptions about the intermediate mechanism, the branching fractions for
and are
determined to be and respectively. An analysis of candidates yields to the first observation of the color-suppressed
hadronic decay with the branching fraction . We measure the ratio of branching fractions
= 1.6 0.8.Comment: 13 pages, LaTex, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.
Measurement of the Branching Fraction for B->eta' K and Search for B->eta'pi+
We report measurements for two-body charmless B decays with an eta' meson in
the final state. Using 11.1X10^6 BBbar pairs collected with the Belle detector,
we find BF(B^+ ->eta'K^+)=(79^+12_-11 +-9)x10^-6 and BF(B^0 ->
eta'K^0)=(55^+19_-16 +-8)x10^-6, where the first and second errors are
statistical and systematic, respectively. No signal is observed in the mode B^+
-> eta' pi^+, and we set a 90% confidence level upper limit of BF(B^+->
eta'pi^+) eta'K^+- decays is
investigated and a limit at 90% confidence level of -0.20<Acp<0.32 is obtained.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Observation of Cabibbo-suppressed and W-exchange Lambda_c^+ baryon decays
We present measurements of the Cabibbo-suppressed decays Lambda_c^+ -->
Lambda0 K+ and Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma0 K+ (both first observations), Lambda_c^+
--> Sigma+ K+ pi- (seen with large statistics for the first time), Lambda_c^+
--> p K+ K- and Lambda_c^+ --> p phi (measured with improved accuracy).
Improved branching ratio measurements for the decays Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma+ K+
K- and Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma+ phi, which are attributed to W-exchange diagrams,
are shown. We also present the first evidence for Lambda_c^+ --> Xi(1690)^0 K+
and set an upper limit on the non-resonant decay Lambda_c^+ --> Sigma+ K+ K-.
This analysis was performed using 32.6 fb^{-1} of data collected by the Belle
detector at the asymmetric e+ e- collider KEKB.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Lett. B. v2: A small correction to the Authorlist
was made. An earlier version of this analysis was released as
BELLE-CONF-0130, hep-ex/010800
Measurement of the inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of B mesons and |Vcb|
We present a measurement of the electron spectrum from inclusive semileptonic
{\it B} decay, using 5.1 fb of data collected with the
Belle detector. A high-momentum lepton tag was used to separate the
semileptonic {\it B} decay electrons from secondary decay electrons. We
obtained the branching fraction, , with minimal model dependence.
From this measurement, we derive a value for the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa
matrix element .Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
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