2,342 research outputs found
A small tabletop experiment for a direct measurement of the speed of light
A small tabletop experiment for a direct measurement of the speed of light to
an accuracy of few percent is described. The experiment is accessible to a wide
spectrum of undergraduate students, in particular to students not majoring in
science or engineering. The experiment may further include a measurement of the
index of refraction of a sample. Details of the setup and equipment are given.
Results and limitations of the experiment are analyzed, partly based on our
experience in employing the experiment in our student laboratories. Safety
considerations are also discussed.Comment: 4pages, 5fig
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MicroRNA-383 located in frequently deleted chromosomal locus 8p22 regulates CD44 in prostate cancer.
A major genomic alteration in prostate cancer (PCa) is frequent loss of chromosome (chr) 8p with a common region of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at chr8p22 locus. Genomic studies implicate this locus in the initiation of clinically significant PCa and with progression to metastatic disease. However, the genes within this region have not been fully characterized to date. Here we demonstrate for the first time that a microRNA component of this region-miR-383-is frequently downregulated in prostate cancer, has a critical role in determining tumor-initiating potential and is involved in prostate cancer metastasis via direct regulation of CD44, a ubiquitous marker of PCa tumor-initiating cells (TICs)/stem cells. Expression analyses of miR-383 in PCa clinical tissues established that low miR-383 expression is associated with poor prognosis. Functional data suggest that miR-383 regulates PCa tumor-initiating/stem-like cells via CD44 regulation. Ectopic expression of miR-383 inhibited tumor-initiating capacity of CD44+ PCa cells. Also, 'anti-metastatic' effects of ectopic miR-383 expression were observed in a PCa experimental metastasis model. In view of our results, we propose that frequent loss of miR-383 at chr8p22 region leads to tumor initiation and prostate cancer metastasis. Thus, we have identified a novel finding that associates a long observed genomic alteration to PCa stemness and metastasis. Our data suggest that restoration of miR-383 expression may be an effective therapeutic modality against PCa. Importantly, we identified miR-383 as a novel PCa tissue diagnostic biomarker with a potential that outperforms that of serum PSA
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Keratoconus and granular dystrophy
Concurrent bilateral keratoconus and granular dystrophy is reported in a 32 year old patient with decreased vision. Initially contact lenses were attempted unsuccessfully to treat the conditions. There are a handful of other reports of these combined pathologies in the literature, and the likelihood of a chance cause or possible genetic linkage between the conditions is discussed
CXCR4 Negatively Regulates Keratinocyte Proliferation in IL-23-Mediated Psoriasiform Dermatitis
CXCR4 is expressed by basal keratinocytes (KCs), but little is known about its function in inflamed skin. We crossed K14-Cre and CXCR4flox/flox (f/f) transgenic mice, resulting in mice with specific loss of the CXCR4 gene in K14-expressing cells (K14-CXCR4KO), including basal KCs. K14-CXCR4KO pups had no obvious skin defects. We compared K14-CXCR4KO and CXCR4f/f control mice in an IL-23-mediated psoriasiform dermatitis model and measured skin edema, and histologic and immunohistological changes. IL-23-treated K14-CXCR4KO mice showed a 1.3-fold increase in mean ear swelling, a 2-fold increase in epidermal thickness, and greater parakeratosis. IL-23-treated wild-type (WT) mice showed weak CXCR4 expression in areas of severe epidermal hyperplasia, but strong CXCR4 expression in nonhyperplastic regions, suggesting that CXCR4 may regulate KC proliferation. To test this hypothesis, we overexpressed CXCR4 in HaCaT KC cells and treated them with IL-22 and/or CXCL12 (chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 12). CXCL12 blocked IL-22-mediated HaCaT cell proliferation in vitro and synergized with IL-22 in upregulating SOCS3 (suppressor of cytokine signaling 3), a key regulator of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3). SOCS3 was required for CXCR4-mediated growth inhibition. In human psoriatic skin, both CXCR4 and SOCS3 were upregulated in the junctional region at the border of psoriatic plaques. Thus, CXCR4 has an unexpected role in inhibiting KC proliferation and mitigating the effects of proliferative T helper type 17 cytokines
The role of electronic correlation in the Si(100) reconstruction: a quantum Monte Carlo study
Recent low-temperature scanning tunneling experiments have challenged the
generally accepted picture of buckled silicon dimers as the ground state
reconstruction of the Si(100) surface. Together with the symmetric dimer model
of the surface suggested by quantum chemistry calculations on small clusters,
these findings question our general understanding of electronic correlations at
surfaces and its proper description within density functional theory. We
present quantum Monte Carlo calculations on large cluster models of the
symmetric and buckled surface, and conclude that buckling remains energetically
more favorable even when the present-day best treatment of electronic
correlation is employed.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex, 10 figure
Competition Between Exchange and Anisotropy in a Pyrochlore Ferromagnet
The Ising-like spin ice model, with a macroscopically degenerate ground
state, has been shown to be approximated by several real materials. Here we
investigate a model related to spin ice, in which the Ising spins are replaced
by classical Heisenberg spins. These populate a cubic pyrochlore lattice and
are coupled to nearest neighbours by a ferromagnetic exchange term J and to the
local axes by a single-ion anisotropy term D. The near neighbour spin
ice model corresponds to the case D/J infinite. For finite D/J we find that the
macroscopic degeneracy of spin ice is broken and the ground state is
magnetically ordered into a four-sublattice structure. The transition to this
state is first-order for D/J > 5 and second-order for D/J < 5 with the two
regions separated by a tricritical point. We investigate the magnetic phase
diagram with an applied field along [1,0,0] and show that it can be considered
analogous to that of a ferroelectric.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Promoting Effects of Sucrose-rich Diet on N-Nitrosobis (2-oxopropyl) amine-induced Pancreatic Carcinogenesis in Hamsters
It has been reported that there is an association between pancreatic cancer
and obesity, impaired glucose metabolism and diabetes based on excess
dietary fat and sugar intakes. A number of studies have suggested that a
high-fat diet increases development of carcinomas in various organs and
possible risk factors for pancreatic cancer. However, how an excess sugar
intake promotes pancreatic carcinogenesis is still unknown. In the present
study, we investigated the influence of an excess sugar intake on
pancreatic carcinogenesis by administration of a sucrose-rich diet in which
starch was replaced by sucrose in order to contain the same calories and
other nutrients. Two similar experiments were performed. Six-week-old male
Syrian golden hamsters were given N-nitrosobis (2-oxopropyl) amine (BOP) at
a dose of 50 and 20 mg/kg body weight as a carcinogen in Week 0 and 1,
respectively. In Week 2, the animals were divided into control and
experimental groups. In experiment 1, 15 animals received a control diet or
sucrose-rich diet in which 100% of the starch was replaced by sucrose,
respectively. Since five animals fed on the sucrose-rich diet died by Week
12, the diet was changed to a sucrose-rich diet in which 50% of the starch
was replaced by sucrose. In experiment 2, 15 animals received a control
diet or sucrose-rich diet in which 50 or 20% of the starch was replaced by
sucrose, respectively. All animals were sacrificed 25 weeks after the start
of the experiment, and histological examination of the pancreas was
performed. No significant difference was seen in the body weight at the end
of the experiment. There were no significant differences in the
glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and serum triglyceride, total cholesterol
and HDL-cholesterol levels between the control and sucrose-rich diet groups
in experiments 1 and 2. The incidence and number of carcinomas increased in
hamsters fed the sucrose-rich diet compared with the control diet in
experiments 1 and 2. These results suggest that an excess sucrose intake
may promote the development of pancreatic cancer in hamsters
Abrupt appearance of the domain pattern and fatigue of thin ferroelectric films
We study the domain structure in ferroelectric thin films with a `passive'
layer (material with damaged ferroelectric properties) at the interface between
the film and electrodes within a continuous medium approximation. An abrupt
transition from a monodomain to a polydomain state has been found with the
increase of the `passive' layer thickness . The domain width changes very
quickly at the transition (exponentially with ). We have estimated the
dielectric response (the slope of the hysteresis loop) in the
`fatigued' multidomain state and found that it is in agreement with experiment,
assuming realistic parameters of the layer. We derive a simple universal
relation for the dielectric response, which scales as , involving only the
properties of the passive layer. This relation qualitatively reproduces the
evolution of the hysteresis loop in fatigued samples and it could be tested
with controlled experiments. It is expected that the coercive field should
increase with decreasing lateral size of the film. We believe that specific
properties of the domain structure under bias voltage in ferroelectrics with a
passive layer can resolve the long-standing `paradox of the coercive field'.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX 3.1 with two eps-figures. Minor amendments. To appear
in Phys. Rev. Letter
A compact ultra-clean system for deploying radioactive sources inside the KamLAND detector
We describe a compact, ultra-clean device used to deploy radioactive sources
along the vertical axis of the KamLAND liquid-scintillator neutrino detector
for purposes of calibration. The device worked by paying out and reeling in
precise lengths of a hanging, small-gauge wire rope (cable); an assortment of
interchangeable radioactive sources could be attached to a weight at the end of
the cable. All components exposed to the radiopure liquid scintillator were
made of chemically compatible UHV-cleaned materials, primarily stainless steel,
in order to avoid contaminating or degrading the scintillator. To prevent radon
intrusion, the apparatus was enclosed in a hermetically sealed housing inside a
glove box, and both volumes were regularly flushed with purified nitrogen gas.
An infrared camera attached to the side of the housing permitted real-time
visual monitoring of the cable's motion, and the system was controlled via a
graphical user interface.Comment: Revised author affiliations, corrected typos, made minor improvements
to text, and revised reference
Dynamic correlations in an ordered c(22) lattice gas
We obtain the dynamic correlation function of two-dimensional lattice gas
with nearest-neighbor repulsion in ordered c(22) phase
(antiferromagnetic ordering) under the condition of low concentration of
structural defects. It is shown that displacements of defects of the ordered
state are responsible for the particle number fluctuations in the probe area.
The corresponding set of kinetic equations is derived and solved in linear
approximation on the defect concentration. Three types of strongly correlated
complex jumps are considered and their contribution to fluctuations is
analysed. These are jumps of excess particles, vacancies and flip-flop jumps.
The kinetic approach is more general than the one based on diffusion-like
equations used in our previous papers. Thus, it becomes possible to adequately
describe correlations of fluctuations at small times, where our previous theory
fails to give correct results. Our new analytical results for fluctuations of
particle number in the probe area agree well with those obtained by Monte Carlo
simulations.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
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