1,579 research outputs found
Chemoenzymatic synthesis of sulfoquinovosylmonoacylglycerols (SQMG) as anti-tumor-promoters
During our search for new glycoglycerolipids active in cancer chemoprevention, in recent years we have synthesized a number of esters of 2-O-beta-D-glycosylglycerols in which the length, shape, number and position of the acyl chain, and the type of sugar (alpha\uf020and beta glucose or galactose) were varied. These compounds were found to be very active in inhibiting the tumor-promoting activity of the phorbol ester TPA both in in vitro and in in vivo tests, being such activities mainly influenced by the changes of the acyl chains length. Sulfoquinovosylacylglycerols are acylated sulfoglycolipids in which sulfoquinovose (6-deoxy-6-sulfo-glucose) is alpha-linked to the sn-3 position of glycerol. These compounds exhibit noteworthy biological activities, that make them very attractive for their use in cancer therapy.
Here we report the synthesis of 6\u2019-sulfo-derivatives (SQMG) based on the skeleton of 2-O-beta-D-glucosylglycerol to which previously synthesized biologically active glucoglycerolipid analogues are related. A chemoenzymatic strategy has been used to selectively insert the proper chemical functionalities (i.e. acyl chain) at the desired position of glucosylglycerol to obtain the target compounds. Their potential as anti-tumor-promoters will be also discussed
PickCells: A Physically Reconfigurable Cell-composed Touchscreen
Touchscreens are the predominant medium for interactions with digital services; however, their current fixed form factor narrows the scope for rich physical interactions by limiting interaction possibilities to a single, planar surface. In this paper we introduce the concept of PickCells, a fully reconfigurable device concept composed of cells, that breaks the mould of rigid screens and explores a modular system that affords rich sets of tangible interactions and novel acrossdevice relationships. Through a series of co-design activities â involving HCI experts and potential end-users of such systems â we synthesised a design space aimed at inspiring future research, giving researchers and designers a framework in which to explore modular screen interactions. The design space we propose unifies existing works on modular touch surfaces under a general framework and broadens horizons by opening up unexplored spaces providing new interaction possibilities. In this paper, we present the PickCells concept, a design space of modular touch surfaces, and propose a toolkit for quick scenario prototyping
Modelling of compound nucleus formation in fusion of heavy nuclei
A new model that includes the time-dependent dynamics of the single-particle
(s.p.) motion in conjunction with the macroscopic evolution of the system is
proposed for describing the compound nucleus (CN) formation in fusion of heavy
nuclei. The diabaticity initially keeps the entrance system around its contact
configuration, but the gradual transition from the diabatic to the adiabatic
potential energy surface (PES) leads to fusion or quasifission. Direct
measurements of the probability for CN formation are crucial to discriminate
between the current models.Comment: 4 pages,2 figures,1 table, Submitted to PR
Relations Between Molecular Cloud Structure Sizes and Line Widths in the Large Magellanic Cloud
We present a comparative study of the size-line width relation for
substructures within six molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)
mapped with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Our sample
extends our previous study, which compared a Planck detected cold cloud in the
outskirts of the LMC with the 30 Doradus molecular cloud and found the typical
line width for 1 pc radius structures to be 5 times larger in 30 Doradus. By
observing clouds with intermediate levels of star formation activity, we find
evidence that line width at a given size increases with increasing local and
cloud-scale 8m intensity. At the same time, line width at a given size
appears to independently correlate with measures of mass surface density. Our
results suggest that both virial-like motions due to gravity and local energy
injection by star formation feedback play important roles in determining
intracloud dynamics.Comment: 20 pages, to appear in ApJ. Data presented in this paper can be found
at https://mmwave.astro.illinois.edu/almalmc
Health literacy, health status, and healthcare utilization of Taiwanese adults: results from a national survey
Abstract Background Low health literacy is considered a worldwide health threat. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence and socio-demographic covariates of low health literacy in Taiwanese adults and to investigate the relationships between health literacy and health status and health care utilization. Methods A national survey of 1493 adults was conducted in 2008. Health literacy was measured using the Mandarin Health Literacy Scale. Health status was measured based on self-rated physical and mental health. Health care utilization was measured based on self-reported outpatient clinic visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. Results Approximately thirty percent of adults were found to have low (inadequate or marginal) health literacy. They tended to be older, have fewer years of schooling, lower household income, and reside in less populated areas. Inadequate health literacy was associated with poorer mental health (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.35-0.91). No association was found between health literacy and health care utilization even after adjusting for other covariates. Conclusions Low (inadequate and marginal) health literacy is prevalent in Taiwan. High prevalence of low health literacy is not necessarily indicative of the need for interventions. Systematic efforts to evaluate the impact of low health literacy on health outcomes in other countries would help to illuminate features of health care delivery and financing systems that may mitigate the adverse health effects of low health literacy.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/1/1471-2458-10-614.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/2/1471-2458-10-614.pdfPeer Reviewe
Molecular Clouds associated with the Type Ia SNR N103B in the Large Magellanic Cloud
N103B is a Type Ia supernova remnant (SNR) in the Large Magellanic Cloud
(LMC). We carried out new CO( = 3-2) and CO( = 1-0)
observations using ASTE and ALMA. We have confirmed the existence of a giant
molecular cloud (GMC) at 245 km s towards the
southeast of the SNR using ASTE CO( = 3-2) data at an angular
resolution of 25 (6 pc in the LMC). Using the ALMA CO(
= 1-0) data, we have spatially resolved CO clouds along the southeastern edge
of the SNR with an angular resolution of 1.8 (0.4 pc in the
LMC). The molecular clouds show an expanding gas motion in the
position-velocity diagram with an expansion velocity of km s.
The spatial extent of the expanding shell is roughly similar to that of the
SNR. We also find tiny molecular clumps in the directions of optical nebula
knots. We present a possible scenario that N103B exploded in the wind-bubble
formed by the accretion winds from the progenitor system, and is now
interacting with the dense gas wall. This is consistent with a
single-degenerate scenario.Comment: 12 pages, 1 table, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journal (ApJ
ALMA Observations of a Quiescent Molecular Cloud in the Large Magellanic Cloud
We present high-resolution (sub-parsec) observations of a giant molecular
cloud in the nearest star-forming galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. ALMA Band
6 observations trace the bulk of the molecular gas in CO(2-1) and high
column density regions in CO(2-1). Our target is a quiescent cloud (PGCC
G282.98-32.40, which we refer to as the "Planck cold cloud" or PCC) in the
southern outskirts of the galaxy where star-formation activity is very low and
largely confined to one location. We decompose the cloud into structures using
a dendrogram and apply an identical analysis to matched-resolution cubes of the
30 Doradus molecular cloud (located near intense star formation) for
comparison. Structures in the PCC exhibit roughly 10 times lower surface
density and 5 times lower velocity dispersion than comparably sized structures
in 30 Dor, underscoring the non-universality of molecular cloud properties. In
both clouds, structures with relatively higher surface density lie closer to
simple virial equilibrium, whereas lower surface density structures tend to
exhibit super-virial line widths. In the PCC, relatively high line widths are
found in the vicinity of an infrared source whose properties are consistent
with a luminous young stellar object. More generally, we find that the smallest
resolved structures ("leaves") of the dendrogram span close to the full range
of line widths observed across all scales. As a result, while the bulk of the
kinetic energy is found on the largest scales, the small-scale energetics tend
to be dominated by only a few structures, leading to substantial scatter in
observed size-linewidth relationships.Comment: Accepted by ApJ; 21 pages in AASTeX two-column styl
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