738 research outputs found
Multimodal nonlinear imaging of atherosclerotic plaques differentiation of triglyceride and cholesterol deposits
Cardiovascular diseases in general and atherothrombosis as the most common of its individual disease entities is the leading cause of death in the developed countries. Therefore, visualization and characterization of inner arterial plaque composition is of vital diagnostic interest, especially for the early recognition of vulnerable plaques. Established clinical techniques provide valuable morphological information but cannot deliver information about the chemical composition of individual plaques. Therefore, spectroscopic imaging techniques have recently drawn considerable attention. Based on the spectroscopic properties of the individual plaque components, as for instance different types of lipids, the composition of atherosclerotic plaques can be analyzed qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Here, we compare the feasibility of multimodal nonlinear imaging combining two-photon fluorescence (TPF), coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy to contrast composition and morphology of lipid deposits against the surrounding matrix of connective tissue with diffraction limited spatial resolution. In this contribution, the spatial distribution of major constituents of the arterial wall and atherosclerotic plaques like elastin, collagen, triglycerides and cholesterol can be simultaneously visualized by a combination of nonlinear imaging methods, providing a powerful label-free complement to standard histopathological methods with great potential for in vivo application
Current-induced highly dissipative domains in high Tc thin films
We have investigated the resistive response of high Tc thin films submitted
to a high density of current. For this purpose, current pulses were applied
into bridges made of Nd(1.15)Ba(1.85)Cu3O7 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. By recording the
time dependent voltage, we observe that at a certain critical current j*, a
highly dissipative domain develops somewhere along the bridge. The successive
formation of these domains produces stepped I-V characteristics. We present
evidences that these domains are not regions with a temperature above Tc, as
for hot spots. In fact this phenomenon appears to be analog to the nucleation
of phase-slip centers observed in conventional superconductors near Tc, but
here in contrast they appear in a wide temperature range. Under some
conditions, these domains will propagate and destroy the superconductivity
within the whole sample. We have measured the temperature dependence of j* and
found a similar behavior in the two investigated compounds. This temperature
dependence is just the one expected for the depairing current, but the
amplitude is about 100 times smaller.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, Revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Functional diversity of chemokines and chemokine receptors in response to viral infection of the central nervous system.
Encounters with neurotropic viruses result in varied outcomes ranging from encephalitis, paralytic poliomyelitis or other serious consequences to relatively benign infection. One of the principal factors that control the outcome of infection is the localized tissue response and subsequent immune response directed against the invading toxic agent. It is the role of the immune system to contain and control the spread of virus infection in the central nervous system (CNS), and paradoxically, this response may also be pathologic. Chemokines are potent proinflammatory molecules whose expression within virally infected tissues is often associated with protection and/or pathology which correlates with migration and accumulation of immune cells. Indeed, studies with a neurotropic murine coronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), have provided important insight into the functional roles of chemokines and chemokine receptors in participating in various aspects of host defense as well as disease development within the CNS. This chapter will highlight recent discoveries that have provided insight into the diverse biologic roles of chemokines and their receptors in coordinating immune responses following viral infection of the CNS
Exotic clouds in the local interstellar medium
The neutral interstellar medium (ISM) inside the Local Bubble (LB) has been
known to have properties typical of the warm neutral medium (WNM). However,
several recent neutral hydrogen (HI) absorption experiments show evidence for
the existence of at least several cold diffuse clouds inside or at the boundary
of the LB, with properties highly unusual relative to the traditional cold
neutral medium. These cold clouds have a low HI column density, and AU-scale
sizes. As the kinematics of cold and warm gas inside the LB are similar, this
suggests a possibility of all these different flavors of the local ISM
belonging to the same interstellar flow. The co-existence of warm and cold
phases inside the LB is exciting as it can be used to probe the thermal
pressure inside the LB. In addition to cold clouds, several discrete screens of
ionized scattering material are clearly located inside the LB.
The cold exotic clouds inside the LB are most likely long-lived, and we
expect many more clouds with similar properties to be discovered in the future
with more sensitive radio observations. While physical mechanisms responsible
for the production of such clouds are still poorly understood, dynamical
triggering of phase conversion and/or interstellar turbulence are likely to
play an important role.Comment: 10 pages, refereed, accepted for publication in the proceedings of
the "From the Outer Heliosphere to the Local Bubble: Comparisons of New
Observations with Theory" conference, Space Science Review
Observation of a decoupled band in 123 Cs
The methods of in-beam γ -ray spectroscopy have been used to study 123 Cs produced by the 115 In( 12 C, 4 n ) reaction. Five coincident stretched E 2 transitions, previously assigned in the literature to 123 Ba, have been identified as members of a decoupled band in 123 Cs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45822/1/10050_2005_Article_BF01422105.pd
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