621 research outputs found
Rotating Black Holes at Future Colliders. III. Determination of Black Hole Evolution
TeV scale gravity scenario predicts that the black hole production dominates
over all other interactions above the scale and that the Large Hadron Collider
will be a black hole factory. Such higher dimensional black holes mainly decay
into the standard model fields via the Hawking radiation whose spectrum can be
computed from the greybody factor. Here we complete the series of our work by
showing the greybody factors and the resultant spectra for the brane localized
spinor and vector field emissions for arbitrary frequencies. Combining these
results with the previous works, we determine the complete radiation spectra
and the subsequent time evolution of the black hole. We find that, for a
typical event, well more than half a black hole mass is emitted when the hole
is still highly rotating, confirming our previous claim that it is important to
take into account the angular momentum of black holes.Comment: typoes in eqs(82)-(84) corrected; version to appear in Phys. Rev. D;
references and a footnote added; same manuscript with high resolution
embedded figures available on
http://www.gakushuin.ac.jp/univ/sci/phys/ida/paper
Topological Edge Plasmon Modes between Diatomic Chains of Nanoparticles
We study the topological edge plasmon modes between two "diatomic" chains of
identical plasmonic nanoparticles. Zak phase for longitudinal plasmon modes in
each chain is calculated analytically by solutions of macroscopic Maxwell's
equations for particles in quasi-static dipole approximation. This
approximation provides a direct analogy with the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model
such that the eigenvalue is mapped to the frequency dependent
inverse-polarizability of the nanoparticles. The edge state frequency is found
to be the same as the single-particle resonance frequency, which is insensitive
to the separation distances within a unit cell. Finally, full electrodynamic
simulations with realistic parameters suggest that the edge plasmon mode can be
realized through near-field optical spectroscopy.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
The radical character of the acenes: A density matrix renormalization group study
We present a detailed investigation of the acene series using high-level
wavefunction theory. Our ab-initio Density Matrix Renormalization Group
algorithm has enabled us to carry out Complete Active Space calculations on the
acenes from napthalene to dodecacene correlating the full pi-valence space.
While we find that the ground-state is a singlet for all chain-lengths,
examination of several measures of radical character, including the natural
orbitals, effective number of unpaired electrons, and various correlation
functions, suggests that the longer acene ground-states are polyradical in
nature.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, supplementary material, to be published in J.
Chem. Phys. 127, 200
Operation-State Monitoring and Energization-Status Identification for Underground Power Cables by Magnetic Field Sensing
published_or_final_versio
Generalised involuntary limb twitching after ingestion of Mesobuthus martensii Karsch (Quanxie) powder
© 2014, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Press. All rights reserved. Mesobuthus martensii Karsch, commonly known as the Chinese scorpion or Manchurian scorpion, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine as Quanxie to treat chronic pain, tetanus, tremors, convulsion, and paralysis for more than a thousand years. We report a case of poisoning after ingestion of a teaspoon of Quanxie powder. The patient presented with chest pain, dizziness, diaphoresis, generalised involuntary limb twitching, and hypertonia around 15 minutes post-ingestion. The patient recovered uneventfully after supportive management. Intravenous diazepam appeared to be effective in alleviating limb twitching. Failure to accurately measure the dose and to boil before consumption may have contributed to his clinical toxicities.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
Identification of a novel distal regulatory element of the human Neuroglobin gene by the chromosome conformation capture approach
Neuroglobin (NGB) is predominantly expressed in the brain and retina. Studies suggest that NGB exerts protective effects to neuronal cells and is implicated in reducing the severity of stroke and Alzheimer's disease. However, little is known about the mechanisms which regulate the cell type-specific expression of the gene. In this study, we hypothesized that distal regulatory elements (DREs) are involved in optimal expression of the NGB gene. By chromosome conformation capture we identified two novel DREs located -70 kb upstream and +100 kb downstream from the NGB gene. ENCODE database showed the presence of DNaseI hypersensitive and transcription factors binding sites in these regions. Further analyses using luciferase reporters and chromatin immunoprecipitation suggested that the -70 kb region upstream of the NGB gene contained a neuronalspecific enhancer and GATA transcription factor binding sites. Knockdown of GATA-2 caused NGB expression to drop dramatically, indicating GATA-2 as an essential transcription factor for the activation of NGB expression. The crucial role of the DRE in NGB expression activation was further confirmed by the drop in NGB level after CRISPR-mediated deletion of the DRE. Taken together, we show that the NGB gene is regulated by a cell type-specific loop formed between its promoter and the novel DRE
Cytokine Response Patterns in Severe Pandemic 2009 H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza among Hospitalized Adults
BACKGROUND: Studying cytokine/chemokine responses in severe influenza infections caused by different virus subtypes may improve understanding on pathogenesis. METHODS: Adults hospitalized for laboratory-confirmed seasonal and pandemic 2009 A/H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza were studied. Plasma concentrations of 13 cytokines/chemokines were measured at presentation and then serially, using cytometric-bead-array with flow-cytometry and ELISA. PBMCs from influenza patients were studied for cytokine/chemokine expression using ex-vivo culture (Whole Blood Assay,±PHA/LPS stimulation). Clinical variables were prospectively recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: 63 pH1N1 and 53 seasonal influenza patients were studied. pH1N1 patients were younger (mean±S.D. 42.8±19.2 vs 70.5±16.7 years), and fewer had comorbidities. Respiratory/cardiovascular complications were common in both groups (71.4% vs 81.1%), although severe pneumonia with hypoxemia (54.0% vs 28.3%) and ICU admissions (25.4% vs 1.9%) were more frequent with pH1N1. Hyperactivation of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, CXCL8/IL-8, CCL2/MCP-1 and sTNFR-1 was found in pH1N1 pneumonia (2-15 times normal) and in complicated seasonal influenza, but not in milder pH1N1 infections. The adaptive-immunity (Th1/Th17)-related CXCL10/IP-10, CXCL9/MIG and IL-17A however, were markedly suppressed in severe pH1N1 pneumonia (2-27 times lower than seasonal influenza; P-values<0.01). This pattern was further confirmed with serial measurements. Hypercytokinemia tended to be sustained in pH1N1 pneumonia, associated with a slower viral clearance [PCR-negativity: day 3-4, 55% vs 85%; day 6-7, 67% vs 100%]. Elevated proinflammatory cytokines, particularly IL-6, predicted ICU admission (adjusted OR 12.6, 95%CI 2.6-61.5, per log(10)unit increase; P = 0.002), and correlated with fever, tachypnoea, deoxygenation, and length-of-stay (Spearman's rho, P-values<0.01) in influenza infections. PBMCs in seasonal influenza patients were activated and expressed cytokines ex vivo (e.g. IL-6, CXCL8/IL-8, CCL2/MCP-1, CXCL10/IP-10, CXCL9/MIG); their 'responsiveness' to stimuli was shown to change dynamically during the illness course. CONCLUSIONS: A hyperactivated proinflammatory, but suppressed adaptive-immunity (Th1/Th17)-related cytokine response pattern was found in severe pH1N1 pneumonia, different from seasonal influenza. Cytokine/immune-dysregulation may be important in its pathogenesis
A prospective cohort study of the long-term effects of CPAP on carotid artery intima-media thickness in Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To examine the long-term effect of CPAP on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective observational study over 12 months at a teaching hospital on 50 patients newly diagnosed with OSAS who received CPAP or conservative treatment (CT). Carotid IMT was assessed with B-mode Doppler ultrasound from both carotid arteries using images of the far wall of the distal 10 mm of the common carotid arteries at baseline, 6 months and 12 months.</p> <p>Measurements and results [mean (SE)]</p> <p>Altogether 28 and 22 patients received CPAP and CT respectively without significant differences in age 48.8(1.8) vs 50.5(2.0)yrs, BMI 28.2(0.7) vs 28.0(1.2)kg/m2, ESS 13.1(0.7) vs 12.7(0.6), AHI 38(3) vs 39(3)/hr, arousal index 29(2) vs 29(2)/hr, minimum SaO<sub>2 </sub>75(2) vs 77(2)% and existing co-morbidities. CPAP usage was 4.6(0.3) and 4.7(0.4)hrs/night over 6 months and 1 year respectively. Carotid artery IMT at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months were 758(30), 721(20), and 705(20)micron for the CPAP group versus 760(30), 770(30), and 778(30)micron respectively for the CT group, p = 0.002.</p> <p>Among those free of cardiovascular disease(n = 24), the carotid artery IMT at baseline, 6 months and 12 months were 722(40), 691(40), and 659(30)micron for the CPAP group (n = 12) with usage 4.5(0.7) and 4.7(0.7) hrs/night over 6 months and 12 months whereas the IMT data for the CT group(n = 12) were 660(20), 685(10), and 690(20)micron respectively, p = 0.006.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Reduction of carotid artery IMT occurred mostly in the first 6 months and was sustained at 12 months in patients with reasonable CPAP compliance.</p
- …