916 research outputs found
Combining experimental and mathematical modeling to reveal mechanisms of macrophage-dependent left ventricular remodeling
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Progressive remodeling of the left ventricle (LV) following myocardial infarction (MI) can lead to congestive heart failure, but the underlying initiation factors remain poorly defined. The objective of this study, accordingly, was to determine the key factors and elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of LV remodeling using integrated computational and experimental approaches.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By examining the extracellular matrix (ECM) gene expression and plasma analyte levels in C57/BL6J mice LV post-MI and ECM gene responses to transforming growth factor (TGF-β<sub>1</sub>) in cultured cardiac fibroblasts, we found that key factors in LV remodeling included macrophages, fibroblasts, transforming growth factor-β<sub>1</sub>, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and specific collagen subtypes. We established a mathematical model to study LV remodeling post-MI by quantifying the dynamic balance between ECM construction and destruction. The mathematical model incorporated the key factors and demonstrated that TGF-β<sub>1 </sub>stimuli and MMP-9 interventions with different strengths and intervention times lead to different LV remodeling outcomes. The predictions of the mathematical model fell within the range of experimental measurements for these interventions, providing validation for the model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, our results demonstrated that the balance between ECM synthesis and degradation, controlled by interactions of specific key factors, determines the LV remodeling outcomes. Our mathematical model, based on the balance between ECM construction and destruction, provides a useful tool for studying the regulatory mechanisms and for predicting LV remodeling outcomes.</p
Density Matrix in Quantum Mechanics and Distinctness of Ensembles Having the Same Compressed Density Matrix
We clarify different definitions of the density matrix by proposing the use
of different names, the full density matrix for a single-closed quantum system,
the compressed density matrix for the averaged single molecule state from an
ensemble of molecules, and the reduced density matrix for a part of an
entangled quantum system, respectively. We show that ensembles with the same
compressed density matrix can be physically distinguished by observing
fluctuations of various observables. This is in contrast to a general belief
that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix are identical. Explicit
expression for the fluctuation of an observable in a specified ensemble is
given. We have discussed the nature of nuclear magnetic resonance quantum
computing. We show that the conclusion that there is no quantum entanglement in
the current nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing experiment is based on
the unjustified belief that ensembles having the same compressed density matrix
are identical physically. Related issues in quantum communication are also
discussed.Comment: 26 pages. To appear in Foundations of Physics, 36 (8), 200
Functional redundancy of type I and type II receptors in the regulation of skeletal muscle growth by myostatin and activin A.
Myostatin (MSTN) is a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family member that normally acts to limit muscle growth. The function of MSTN is partially redundant with that of another TGF-β family member, activin A. MSTN and activin A are capable of signaling through a complex of type II and type I receptors. Here, we investigated the roles of two type II receptors (ACVR2 and ACVR2B) and two type I receptors (ALK4 and ALK5) in the regulation of muscle mass by these ligands by genetically targeting these receptors either alone or in combination specifically in myofibers in mice. We show that targeting signaling in myofibers is sufficient to cause significant increases in muscle mass, showing that myofibers are the direct target for signaling by these ligands in the regulation of muscle growth. Moreover, we show that there is functional redundancy between the two type II receptors as well as between the two type I receptors and that all four type II/type I receptor combinations are utilized in vivo. Targeting signaling specifically in myofibers also led to reductions in overall body fat content and improved glucose metabolism in mice fed either regular chow or a high-fat diet, demonstrating that these metabolic effects are the result of enhanced muscling. We observed no effect, however, on either bone density or muscle regeneration in mice in which signaling was targeted in myofibers. The latter finding implies that MSTN likely signals to other cells, such as satellite cells, in addition to myofibers to regulate muscle homeostasis
Vortex-unbinding and finite-size effects in Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 thin films
Current-voltage (-) characteristics of TlBaCaCuO thin
films in zero magnetic field are measured and analyzed with the conventional
Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii (KTB) approach, dynamic scaling approach and
finite-size scaling approach, respectively. It is found from these results that
the - relation is determined by the vortex-unbinding mechanism with the
KTB dynamic critical exponent . On the other hand, the evidence of
finite-size effect is also found, which blurs the feature of a phase
transition.Comment: Typo corrected & reference adde
An Updated Search of Steady TeV Ray Point Sources in Northern Hemisphere Using the Tibet Air Shower Array
Using the data taken from Tibet II High Density (HD) Array (1997
February-1999 September) and Tibet-III array (1999 November-2005 November), our
previous northern sky survey for TeV ray point sources has now been
updated by a factor of 2.8 improved statistics. From to
in declination (Dec) range, no new TeV ray point
sources with sufficiently high significance were identified while the
well-known Crab Nebula and Mrk421 remain to be the brightest TeV ray
sources within the field of view of the Tibet air shower array. Based on the
currently available data and at the 90% confidence level (C.L.), the flux upper
limits for different power law index assumption are re-derived, which are
approximately improved by 1.7 times as compared with our previous reported
limits.Comment: This paper has been accepted by hepn
Seroprevalence of Cysticercosis in Children and Young Adults Living in a Helminth Endemic Community in Leyte, the Philippines
Cysticercosis is a significant public health problem in countries where pigs are raised for consumption and remains an important cause of neurological disease worldwide. The Philippines is considered an endemic area for cysticercosis because cases in both humans and pigs have been reported; however, epidemiologic information stays limited. We conducted a pilot survey of the seroprevalence of human cysticercosis in a village in Leyte, the Philippines, by measuring antibody specific for Taenia solium cyst-fluid antigen. There were 497 subjects aged 7–30 years in our study and most subjects were infected with one or more helminths. The overall cysticercosis seroprevalence in this population was 24.6% (95% CI: 20.82% ~ 28.58%) with no significant difference based on age, sex, or other helminth coinfection status. Although the sample may not be representative of the whole community, the findings suggest that cysticercosis is a significant, but underrecognized public health concern in the Philippines
Pairing symmetry and properties of iron-based high temperature superconductors
Pairing symmetry is important to indentify the pairing mechanism. The
analysis becomes particularly timely and important for the newly discovered
iron-based multi-orbital superconductors. From group theory point of view we
classified all pairing matrices (in the orbital space) that carry irreducible
representations of the system. The quasiparticle gap falls into three
categories: full, nodal and gapless. The nodal-gap states show conventional
Volovik effect even for on-site pairing. The gapless states are odd in orbital
space, have a negative superfluid density and are therefore unstable. In
connection to experiments we proposed possible pairing states and implications
for the pairing mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, 2 figures, polished versio
Recommended from our members
Genetically Determined Plasma Lipid Levels and Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy: A Mendelian Randomization Study.
Results from observational studies examining dyslipidemia as a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy (DR) have been inconsistent. We evaluated the causal relationship between plasma lipids and DR using a Mendelian randomization approach. We pooled genome-wide association studies summary statistics from 18 studies for two DR phenotypes: any DR (N = 2,969 case and 4,096 control subjects) and severe DR (N = 1,277 case and 3,980 control subjects). Previously identified lipid-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms served as instrumental variables. Meta-analysis to combine the Mendelian randomization estimates from different cohorts was conducted. There was no statistically significant change in odds ratios of having any DR or severe DR for any of the lipid fractions in the primary analysis that used single nucleotide polymorphisms that did not have a pleiotropic effect on another lipid fraction. Similarly, there was no significant association in the Caucasian and Chinese subgroup analyses. This study did not show evidence of a causal role of the four lipid fractions on DR. However, the study had limited power to detect odds ratios less than 1.23 per SD in genetically induced increase in plasma lipid levels, thus we cannot exclude that causal relationships with more modest effect sizes exist
Two loop electroweak corrections to and in the B-LSSM
The rare decays and are important to research new physics beyond standard model. In
this work, we investigate two loop electroweak corrections to and in the minimal
supersymmetric extension of the SM with local gauge symmetry (B-LSSM),
under a minimal flavor violating assumption for the soft breaking terms. In
this framework, new particles and new definition of squarks can affect the
theoretical predictions of these two processes, with respect to the MSSM.
Considering the constraints from updated experimental data, the numerical
results show that the B-LSSM can fit the experimental data for the branching
ratios of and . The
results of the rare decays also further constrain the parameter space of the
B-LSSM.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures, Published in EPJ
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