300 research outputs found
Stick-slip instability for viscous fingering in a gel
The growth dynamics of an air finger injected in a visco-elastic gel (a
PVA/borax aqueous solution) is studied in a linear Hele-Shaw cell. Besides the
standard Saffmann-Taylor instability, we observe - with increasing finger
velocities - the existence of two new regimes: (a) a stick-slip regime for
which the finger tip velocity oscillates between 2 different values, producing
local pinching of the finger at regular intervals, (b) a ``tadpole'' regime
where a fracture-type propagation is observed. A scaling argument is proposed
to interpret the dependence of the stick-slip frequency with the measured
rheological properties of the gel.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Europhysics Letter
Collapse of Flux Tubes
The dynamics of an idealized, infinite, MIT-type flux tube is followed in
time as the interior evolves from a pure gluon field to a
plasma. We work in color U(1). pair formation is evaluated
according to the Schwinger mechanism using the results of Brink and Pavel. The
motion of the quarks toward the tube endcaps is calculated by a Boltzmann
equation including collisions. The tube undergoes damped radial oscillations
until the electric field settles down to zero. The electric field stabilizes
the tube against pinch instabilities; when the field vanishes, the tube
disintegrates into mesons. There is only one free parameter in the problem,
namely the initial flux tube radius, to which the results are very sensitive.
Among various quantities calculated is the mean energy of the emitted pions.Comment: 16 pages plus 12 figures. RevTex3. DOE/ER/40427-160N9
Suppression of the Nuclear Factor Eny2 Increases Insulin Secretion in Poorly Functioning INS-1E Insulinoma Cells
Eny2, the mammalian ortholog of yeast Sus1 and drosophila E(y)2, is a nuclear factor that participates in several steps of gene transcription and in mRNA export. We had previously found that Eny2 expression changes in mouse pancreatic islets during the metabolic adaptation to pregnancy. We therefore hypothesized that the protein contributes to the regulation of islet endocrine cell function and tested this hypothesis in rat INS-1E insulinoma cells. Overexpression of Eny2 had no effect but siRNA-mediated knockdown of Eny2 resulted in markedly increased glucose and exendin-4-induced insulin secretion from otherwise poorly glucose-responsive INS-1E cells. Insulin content, cellular viability, and the expression levels of several key components of glucose sensing remained unchanged; however glucose-dependent cellular metabolism was higher after Eny2 knockdown. Suppression of Eny2 enhanced the intracellular incretin signal downstream of cAMP. The use of specific cAMP analogues and pathway inhibitors primarily implicated the PKA and to a lesser extent the EPAC pathway. In summary, we identified a potential link between the nuclear protein Eny2 and insulin secretion. Suppression of Eny2 resulted in increased glucose and incretin-induced insulin release from a poorly glucose-responsive INS-1E subline. Whether these findings extend to other experimental conditions or to in vivo physiology needs to be determined in further studies
Interplay of packing and flip-flop in local bilayer deformation. How phosphatidylglycerol could rescue mitochondrial function in a cardiolipin-deficient yeast mutant
In a previous work, we have shown that a spatially localized transmembrane pH gradient, produced by acid micro-injection near the external side of cardiolipin-containing giant unilamellar vesicles, leads to the formation of tubules that retract after the dissipation of this gradient. These tubules have morphologies similar to mitochondrial cristae. The tubulation effect is attributable to direct phospholipid packing modification in the outer leaflet, that is promoted by protonation of cardiolipin head-groups. In this study, we compare the case of cardiolipin-containing giant unilamellar vesicles with that of giant unilamellar vesicles that contain phosphatidylglycerol (PG). Local acidification also promotes formation of tubules in the latter. However, compared with cardiolipin-containing giant unilamellar vesicles the tubules are longer, exhibit a visible pearling, and have a much longer lifetime after acid micro-injection is stopped. We attribute these differences to an additional mechanism that increases monolayer surface imbalance, namely inward PG flip-flop promoted by the local transmembrane pH gradient. Simulations using a fully nonlinear membrane model as well as geometrical calculations are in agreement with this hypothesis. Interestingly, among yeast mutants deficient in cardiolipin biosynthesis, only the crd1-null mutant, which accumulates phosphatidylglycerol, displays significant mitochondria! activity. Our work provides a possible explanation of such a property and further emphasizes the salient role of specific lipids in mitochondria! function. n a previous work, we have shown that a spatially localized transmembrane pH gradient, produced by acid micro-injection near the external side of cardiolipin-containing giant unilamellar vesicles, leads to the formation of tubules that retract after the dissipation of this gradient. These tubules have morphologies similar to mitochondrial cristae. The tubulation effect is attributable to direct phospholipid packing modification in the outer leaflet, that is promoted by protonation of cardiolipin headgroups. In this study, we compare the case of cardiolipin-containing giant unilamellar vesicles with that of giant unilamellar vesicles that contain phosphatidylglycerol (PG). Local acidification also promotes formation of tubules in the latter. However, compared with cardiolipin-containing giant unilamellar vesicles the tubules are longer, exhibit a visible pearling, and have a much longer lifetime after acid micro-injection is stopped. We attribute these differences to an additional mechanism that increases monolayer surface imbalance, namely inward PG flip-flop promoted by the local transmembrane pH gradient. Simulations using a fully nonlinear membrane model as well as geometrical calculations are in agreement with this hypothesis. Interestingly, among yeast mutants deficient in cardiolipin biosynthesis, only the crd1-null mutant, which accumulates phosphatidylglycerol, displays significant mitochondrial activity. Our work provides a possible explanation of such a property and further emphasizes the salient role of specific lipids in mitochondrial function
Quantum Energies of Interfaces
We present a method for computing the one-loop, renormalized quantum energies
of symmetrical interfaces of arbitrary dimension and codimension using
elementary scattering data. Internal consistency requires finite-energy sum
rules relating phase shifts to bound state energies.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, minor changes, Phys. Rev. Lett., in prin
Static Response Function for Longitudinal and Transverse Excitations in Superfluid Helium
The sum rule formalism is used to evaluate rigorous bounds for the density
and current static response functions in superfluid helium at zero temperature.
Both lower and upper bounds are considered. The bounds are expressed in terms
of ground state properties (density and current correlation funtions) and of
the interatomic potential. The results for the density static response
significantly improve the Feynman approximation and turn out to be close to the
experimental (neutron scattering) data. A quantitative prediction for the
transverse current response is given. The role of one-phonon and multi-particle
excitations in the longitudinal and transverse channels is discussed.
(Phys.Rev.B, in press)Comment: 19 pages (plain TeX) and 3 Figures (postscript), UTF-26
Oxidative Stress in Canine Histiocytic Sarcoma Cells Induced by an Infection with Canine Distemper Virus Led to a Dysregulation of HIF-1α Downstream Pathway Resulting in a Reduced Expression of VEGF-B in vitro
Histiocytic sarcomas represent malignant tumors which require new treatment strategies. Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a promising candidate due to its oncolytic features reported in a canine histiocytic sarcoma cell line (DH82 cells). Interestingly, the underlying mechanism might include a dysregulation of angiogenesis. Based on these findings, the aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of a persistent CDV-infection on oxidative stress mediated changes in the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1\u3b1 and its angiogenic downstream pathway in DH82 cells in vitro. Microarray data analysis, immunofluorescence for 8-hydroxyguanosine, superoxide dismutase 2 and catalase, and flow cytometry for oxidative burst displayed an increased oxidative stress in persistently CDV-infected DH82 cells (DH82Ond pi) compared to controls. The HIF-1\u3b1 expression in DH82Ond pi increased, as demonstrated by Western blot, and showed an unexpected, often sub-membranous distribution, as shown by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. Furthermore, microarray data analysis and immunofluorescence confirmed a reduced expression of VEGF-B in DH82Ond pi compared to controls. In summary, these results suggest a reduced activation of the HIF-1\u3b1 angiogenic downstream pathway in DH82Ond pi cells in vitro, most likely due to an excessive, unusually localized, and non-functional expression of HIF-1\u3b1 triggered by a CDV-induced increased oxidative stress
Hypertensive nonobstructive hydrocephalus as main magnetic resonance imaging feature in a dog with disseminated choroid plexus carcinomatosis
Obstructive or nonobstructive hypertensive hydrocephalus is reported in choroid plexus tumors. Choroid plexus tumors typically present as T2âweighted hyperintense intraventricular masses with occasional cerebrospinal fluidâdrop metastasis. Acquired neoplastic nonobstructive hydrocephalus without visible mass lesion in magnetic resonance imaging is not reported in dogs. A 4.5âyearâold Rhodesian Ridgeback presented with reduced mental status, unilaterally absent pupillary light reflex, and neck pain. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a nonobstructive hydrocephalus and widened lumbar subarachnoid space with no evidence of a primary mass lesion. Postmortem examination confirmed a disseminated choroid plexus tumor affecting the ependyma and choroid plexi of all ventricles and the cerebral and lumbar subarachnoid space. Disseminated choroid plexus carcinomatosis should be considered as a possible cause of hypertensive hydrocephalus even in absence of a primary mass
Beyond the Thomas-Fermi approximation for a trapped condensed Bose-Einstein gas
Corrections to the zero-temperature Thomas-Fermi description of a dilute
interacting condensed Bose-Einstein gas confined in an isotropic harmonic trap
arise due to the presence of a boundary layer near the condensate surface.
Within the Bogoliubov approximation, the various contributions to the
ground-state condensate energy all have terms of order R^{-4}ln R and R^{-4},
where R is the number-dependent dimensionless condensate radius in units of the
oscillator length. The zero-order hydrodynamic density-fluctuation amplitudes
are extended beyond the Thomas-Fermi radius through the boundary layer to
provide a uniform description throughout all space. The first-order correction
to the excitation frequencies is shown to be of order R^{-4}.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, revtex. Completely revised discussion of the
boundary-layer corrections to collective excitations, and two new figures
added. To appear in Phys. Rev. A (October, 1998
Correlation effects and the high-frequency spin susceptibility of an electron liquid: Exact limits
Spin correlations in an interacting electron liquid are studied in the
high-frequency limit and in both two and three dimensions. The third-moment sum
rule is evaluated and used to derive exact limiting forms (at both long- and
short-wavelengths) for the spin-antisymmetric local-field factor, . In two dimensions is found to diverge as at long wavelengths,
and the spin-antisymmetric exchange-correlation kernel of time-dependent spin
density functional theory diverges as in both two and three dimensions.
These signal a failure of the local-density approximation, one that can be
redressed by alternative approaches.Comment: 5 page
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