The effect of UCP3 overexpression on mitochondrial ROS production in skeletal muscle of young versus aged mice

AbstractUncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is suggested to protect mitochondria against aging and lipid-induced damage, possibly via modulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Here we show that mice overexpressing UCP3 (UCP3Tg) have a blunted age-induced increase in ROS production, assessed by electron spin resonance spectroscopy, but only after addition of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE). Mitochondrial function, assessed by respirometry, on glycolytic substrate was lower in UCP3Tg mice compared to wild types, whereas this tended to be higher on fatty acids. State 4o respiration was higher in UCP3Tg animals. To conclude, UCP3 overexpression leads to increased state 4o respiration and, in presence of 4-HNE, blunts the age-induced increase in ROS production

A solution for galactic disks with Yukawian gravitational potential

We present a new solution for the rotation curves of galactic disks with gravitational potential of the Yukawa type. We follow the technique employed by Toomre in 1963 in the study of galactic disks in the Newtonian theory. This new solution allows an easy comparison between the Newtonian solution and the Yukawian one. Therefore, constraints on the parameters of theories of gravitation can be imposed, which in the weak field limit reduce to Yukawian potentials. We then apply our formulae to the study of rotation curves for a zero-thickness exponential disk and compare it with the Newtonian case studied by Freeman in 1970. As an application of the mathematical tool developed here, we show that in any theory of gravity with a massive graviton (this means a gravitational potential of the Yukawa type), a strong limit can be imposed on the mass (m_g) of this particle. For example, in order to obtain a galactic disk with a scale length of b ~ 10 kpc, we should have a massive graviton of m_g << 10^{-59} g. This result is much more restrictive than those inferred from solar system observations.Comment: 7 pages; 1 eps figure; to appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio

Understanding the Induced Self-Assembly System Between PEO-b-PAA and Iron

The induced self-assembly phenomenon between PEO-b-PAA and Fe(II) was investigated. It was revealed that the electrostatic interaction between Fe(II) in the form of green rust (GR²⁺) particles and the COO- groups from the PAA backbone at pH 7 causes the formation of stable aggregates with Dh~156 nm. While it is stable at pH 7, the induced self-assembly structure, however, is disordered during the transformation of GR²⁺ into Fe₃O₄. The pH increment and the oxidation process itself were found to affect the stability.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Functional evaluation of sublingual microcirculation indicates successful weaning from VA-ECMO in cardiogenic shock

Background: Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly adopted for the treatment of cardiogenic shock (CS). However, a marker of successful weaning remains largely unknown. Our hypothesis was that successful weaning is associated with sustained microcirculatory function during ECMO flow reduction. Therefore, we sought to test the usefulness of microcirculatory imaging in the same sublingual spot, using incident dark field (IDF) imaging in assessing successful weaning from VA-ECMO and compare IDF imaging with echocardiographic parameters. Methods: Weaning was performed by decreasing the VA-ECMO flow to 50% (F50) from the baseline

Einstein's quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas: non-statistical arguments for a new statistics

In this article, we analyze the third of three papers, in which Einstein presented his quantum theory of the ideal gas of 1924-1925. Although it failed to attract the attention of Einstein's contemporaries and although also today very few commentators refer to it, we argue for its significance in the context of Einstein's quantum researches. It contains an attempt to extend and exhaust the characterization of the monatomic ideal gas without appealing to combinatorics. Its ambiguities illustrate Einstein's confusion with his initial success in extending Bose's results and in realizing the consequences of what later became to be called Bose-Einstein statistics. We discuss Einstein's motivation for writing a non-combinatorial paper, partly in response to criticism by his friend Ehrenfest, and we paraphrase its content. Its arguments are based on Einstein's belief in the complete analogy between the thermodynamics of light quanta and of material particles and invoke considerations of adiabatic transformations as well as of dimensional analysis. These techniques were well-known to Einstein from earlier work on Wien's displacement law, Planck's radiation theory, and the specific heat of solids. We also investigate the possible role of Ehrenfest in the gestation of the theory.Comment: 57 pp

Branching Fractions for D0 -> K+K- and D0 -> pi+pi-, and a Search for CP Violation in D0 Decays

Using the large hadroproduced charm sample collected in experiment E791 at Fermilab, we have measured ratios of branching fractions for the two-body singly-Cabibbo-suppressed charged decays of the D0: (D0 -> KK)/(D0 -> Kpi) = 0.109 +- 0.003 +- 0.003, (D0 -> pipi)/(D0 -> Kpi) = 0.040 +- 0.002 +- 0.003, and (D0 -> KK)/(D0 -> pipi) = 2.75 +- 0.15 +- 0.16. We have looked for differences in the decay rates of D0 and D0bar to the CP eigenstates K+K- and pi+pi-, and have measured the CP asymmetry parameters A_CP(K+K-) = -0.010 +- 0.049 +- 0.012 and A_CP(pi+pi-) = -0.049 +- 0.078 +- 0.030, both consistent with zero.Comment: 10 Postscript pages, including 2 figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Search for CP Violation in Charged D Meson Decays

We report results of a search for CP violation in the singly Cabibbo-suppressed decays D+ -> K- K+ pi+, phi pi+, K*(892)0 K+, and pi- pi+ pi+ based on data from the charm hadroproduction experiment E791 at Fermilab. We search for a difference in the D+ and D- decay rates for each of the final states. No evidence for a difference is seen. The decay rate asymmetry parameters A(CP), defined as the difference in the D+ and D- decay rates divided by the sum of the decay rates, are measured to be: A(CP)(K K pi) = -0.014 +/- 0.029, A(CP)(phi pi) = -0.028 +/- 0.036, A(CP)(K*(892) K) = -0.010 +/- 0.050, and A(CP)(pi pi pi) = -0.017 +/- 0.042.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; Elsevier LaTe

Search for Rare and Forbidden Dilepton Decays of the D+, Ds, and D0 Charmed Mesons

We report the results of a search for flavor-changing neutral current, lepton-flavor violating, and lepton-number violating decays of D+, Ds, and D0 mesons (and their antiparticles) into modes containing muons and electrons. Using data from Fermilab charm hadroproduction experiment E791, we examine the pi,l,l and K,l,l decay modes of D+ and Ds and the l+l- decay modes of D0. No evidence for any of these decays is found. Therefore, we present branching-fraction upper limits at 90% confidence level for the 24 decay modes examined. Eight of these modes have no previously reported limits, and fourteen are reported with significant improvements over previously published results.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX, elsart.cls, epsf.sty, amsmath.sty Submitted to Physics Letters

Asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons from 500 GeV/c pi- nucleon interactions as a function of xF and pt**2

We present asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons in Fermilab experiment E791 as a function of xF and pt**2. The data used here consist of 74,000 fully-reconstructed charmed mesons produced by a 500 GeV/c pi- beam on C and Pt foils. The measurements are compared to results of models which predict differences between the production of heavy-quark mesons that have a light quark in common with the beam (leading particles) and those that do not (non-leading particles). While the default models do not agree with our data, we can reach agreement with one of them, PYTHIA, by making a limited number of changes to parameters used