Electron-nuclear entanglement in the cold lithium gas

We study the ground-state entanglement and thermal entanglement in the hyperfine interaction of the lithium atom. We give the relationship between the entanglement and both temperature and external magnetic fields.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Behaviors of imitated agents in an evolutionary minority game on NW small world networks

AbstractIn this paper, we study the behaviors of imitated agents who compete for a limited resource through Evolutionary Minority Game. The agents are mapped into vertices on small world networks proposed by Newman and Watts [1] (NW small world networks). The numerical results show that the probability distribution P (p) is different for different prize-to-fine ratio R, and has a phasic evolution. The performance of the system with NW small world networks is better than that of the system with WS small world networks [2]

Effects of Trehalose, Bovine Serum Albumin, and Sucrose, on the Integrity of the Plasma Membrane of Pseudosciaena crocea Semen after Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation and the effect of additives on the plasma membrane stability, motility, enzyme activity, membrane lipid composition, and ultrastructural injury of sperm of Pseudosciaena crocea, were examined in this study. Results indicated that the addition of trehalose (TH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) provided significantly better results in the motility test compared to sucrose. Some BSA groups, showed significantly increased semen motility and effective enzyme activity. There were no significant differences between the cholesterol (CHO) composition for fresh sperm and cryopreserved sperm stored in 3 g/L BSA or 8.56 g/L TH+3 g/L BSA. Ultrastructural injury included damaged membrane, lost mitochondria, or broken flagella, whereas the majority of the freeze-thawed sperm remained morphologically normal. In conclusion, the addition of 3 g/L BSA and 8.56 g/L TH+3 g/L BSA significantly increased semen quality

Biased compensation recursive least squares-based threshold algorithm for time-delay rational models via redundant rule

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature. This paper develops a biased compensation recursive least squares-based threshold algorithm for a time-delay rational model. The time-delay rational model is transformed into an augmented model by using the redundant rule, and then, a recursive least squares algorithm is proposed to estimate the parameters of the augmented model. Since the output of the augmented model is correlated with the noise, a biased compensation method is derived to eliminate the bias of the parameter estimates. Furthermore, based on the structures of the augmented model parameter vector and the rational model parameter vector, the unknown time delay can be computed by using a threshold given in prior. A simulated example is used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm

A novel multifunctional biomedical material based on polyacrylonitrile:preparation and characterization

Wet spun microfibers have great potential in the design of multifunctional controlled release materials. Curcumin (Cur) and vitamin E acetate (Vit. E Ac) were used as a model drug system to evaluate the potential application of the drug-loaded microfiber system for enhanced delivery. The drugs and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were blended together and spun to produce the target drug-loaded microfiber using an improved wet-spinning method and then the microfibers were successfully woven into fabrics. Morphological, mechanical properties, thermal behavior, drug release performance characteristics, and cytocompatibility were determined. The drug-loaded microfiber had a lobed “kidney” shape with a height of 50 ~ 100 μm and width of 100 ~ 200 μm. The addition of Cur and Vit. E Ac had a great influence on the surface and cross section structure of the microfiber, leading to a rough surface having microvoids. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the drugs were successfully encapsulated and dispersed evenly in the microfilament fiber. After drug loading, the mechanical performance of the microfilament changed, with the breaking strength improved slightly, but the tensile elongation increased significantly. Thermogravimetric results showed that the drug load had no apparent adverse effect on the thermal properties of the microfibers. However, drug release from the fiber, as determined through in-vitro experiments, is relatively low and this property is maintained over time. Furthermore, in-vitro cytocompatibility testing showed that no cytotoxicty on the L929 cells was found up to 5% and 10% respectively of the theoretical drug loading content (TDLC) of curcumin and vitamin E acetate. This study provides reference data to aid the development of multifunctional textiles and to explore their use in the biomedical material field

Mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA dataset supports that Paramphistomum leydeni (Trematoda: Digenea) is a distinct rumen fluke species

BACKGROUND: Rumen flukes parasitize the rumen and reticulum of ruminants, causing paramphistomiasis. Over the years, there has been considerable debate as to whether Paramphistomum leydeni and Paramphistomum cervi are the same or distant species. METHODS: In the present study, the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of P. leydeni was amplified using PCR-based sequencing and compared with that of P. cervi. The second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of P. leydeni specimens (n = 6) and P. cervi specimens (n = 8) was amplified and then sequenced. Phylogenetic relationship of the concatenated amino acid sequence data for 12 protein-coding genes of the two rumen flukes and selected members of Trematoda was evaluated using Bayesian inference (BI). RESULTS: The complete mt genome of P. leydeni was 14,050 bp in size. Significant nucleotide difference between the P. leydeni mt genome and that of P. cervi (14.7%) was observed. For genetic divergence in ITS-2, sequence difference between P. leydeni and P. cervi was 3.1%, while no sequence variation was detected within each of them. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that P. leydeni and P. cervi are closely-related but distinct rumen flukes. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study support the proposal that P. leydeni and P. cervi represent two distinct valid species. The mt genome sequences of P. leydeni provide plentiful resources of mitochondrial markers, which can be combined with nuclear markers, for further comparative studies of the biology of P. leydeni and its congeners from China and other countries. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0823-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Transcriptional changes in Toxoplasma gondii in response to treatment with monensin

Background: Infection with the apicomplexan protozoan parasite T. gondii can cause severe and potentially fatal cerebral and ocular disease, especially in immunocompromised individuals. The anticoccidial ionophore drug monensin has been shown to have anti-Toxoplasma gondii properties. However, the comprehensive molecular mechanisms that underlie the effect of monensin on T. gondii are still largely unknown. We hypothesized that analysis of T. gondii transcriptional changes induced by monensin treatment can reveal new aspects of the mechanism of action of monensin against T. gondii. Methods: Porcine kidney (PK)-15 cells were infected with tachyzoites of T. gondii RH strain. Three hours post-infection, PK-15 cells were treated with 0.1 ?M monensin, while control cells were treated with medium only. PK-15 cells containing intracellular tachyzoites were harvested at 6 and 24 h post-treatment, and the transcriptomic profiles of T. gondii-infected PK-15 cells were examined using high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to verify the expression of 15 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified by RNA-seq analysis. Results: A total of 4868 downregulated genes and three upregulated genes were identified in monensin-treated T. gondii, indicating that most of T. gondii genes were suppressed by monensin. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of T. gondii DEGs showed that T. gondii metabolic and cellular pathways were significantly downregulated. Spliceosome, ribosome, and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum were the top three most significantly enriched pathways out of the 30 highly enriched pathways detected in T. gondii. This result suggests that monensin, via down-regulation of protein biosynthesis in T. gondii, can limit the parasite growth and proliferation. Conclusions: Our findings provide a comprehensive insight into T. gondii genes and pathways with altered expression following monensin treatment. These data can be further explored to achieve better understanding of the specific mechanism of action of monensin against T. gondii.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Fasciolopsis buski (Digenea: Fasciolidae) from China and India may represent distinct taxa based on mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences

Sequences of primers used to amplify fragments of Fasciolopsis buski mitochondrial genome. (DOCX 17 kb

The signal transduction pathway of PKC/NF-κB/c-fos may be involved in the influence of high glucose on the cardiomyocytes of neonatal rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High glucose could induce structure and function change in cardiomyocytes, PKC plays a core effect in the onset and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy, but its underlying downstream signal transduction pathway is still not completely understood.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>To study the influence of high glucose on the structure, function and signal transduction pathway of PKC (Protein Kinase C)/NF-κB(Nuclear factor-κB)/c-fos in cultured cardiomyocytes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using cultured cardiomyocytes of neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats as a model, groups were divided into: control group (glucose: 5 mmol/L); high glucose group (glucose: 10 mmol/L, 15 mmol/L, 20 mmol/L, 25.5 mmol/L); equimolar mannital group (5 mmol/L glucose + 20.5 mmol/L maninital); high glucose(25.5 mmol/L) add PKC inhibitor (Ro-31-8220, 50 nmol/L); high glucose (25.5 mmol/L) add NF-κB inhibitor (BAY11-7082, 5 μmol/L). The cellular contracting frequency and volumes were measured and the expression of PKC-α, PKC-β2, p-PKC-α, p-PKC-β2, NF-κB, p-NF-κB, TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) and c-fos were measured by western blot or RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cardiomyocytes cultured in high glucose level, but not iso-osmotic mannital, showed an increased pulsatile frequency and higher cellular volumes consistent with the increased glucose levels, and also higher expression of PKC-α, PKC-β2, p-PKC-α, p-PKC-β2, NF-κB, p-NF-κB, TNF-α and c-fos. The addition of Ro-31-8220 and BAY11-7082 could partly reverse these changes induced by high glucose level.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>High glucose significantly increased the pulsatile frequency and cellular volumes of cultured cardiomyocytes via PKC/NF-κB/c-fos pathway, which might lead to diabetic cardiomyopathy.</p