Inkjet-printed stretchable and low voltage synaptic transistor array.

Wearable and skin electronics benefit from mechanically soft and stretchable materials to conform to curved and dynamic surfaces, thereby enabling seamless integration with the human body. However, such materials are challenging to process using traditional microelectronics techniques. Here, stretchable transistor arrays are patterned exclusively from solution by inkjet printing of polymers and carbon nanotubes. The additive, non-contact and maskless nature of inkjet printing provides a simple, inexpensive and scalable route for stacking and patterning these chemically-sensitive materials over large areas. The transistors, which are stable at ambient conditions, display mobilities as high as 30 cm2 V-1 s-1 and currents per channel width of 0.2 mA cm-1 at operation voltages as low as 1 V, owing to the ionic character of their printed gate dielectric. Furthermore, these transistors with double-layer capacitive dielectric can mimic the synaptic behavior of neurons, making them interesting for conformal brain-machine interfaces and other wearable bioelectronics

Localization of a bacterial group II intron-encoded protein in human cells

Group II introns are mobile retroelements that self-splice from precursor RNAs to form ribonucleoparticles (RNP), which can invade new specific genomic DNA sites. This specificity can be reprogrammed, for insertion into any desired DNA site, making these introns useful tools for bacterial genetic engineering. However, previous studies have suggested that these elements may function inefficiently in eukaryotes. We investigated the subcellular distribution, in cultured human cells, of the protein encoded by the group II intron RmInt1 (IEP) and several mutants. We created fusions with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and with a FLAG epitope. We found that the IEP was localized in the nucleus and nucleolus of the cells. Remarkably, it also accumulated at the periphery of the nuclear matrix. We were also able to identify spliced lariat intron RNA, which co-immunoprecipitated with the IEP, suggesting that functional RmInt1 RNPs can be assembled in cultured human cells.This work was supported by research grants CSD 2009–0006 from the Consolider-Ingenio, BIO2011-24401 and BIO2014-51953-P from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad all including ERDF (European Regional Development Funds). We thank Dr. Antonio Barrientos Durán for technical advice. MRC was supported by an FPI Ph.D grant. J.L.G.P´s laboratory is supported by CICE-FEDER-P09-CTS-4980, CICE-FEDER-P12-CTS-2256, Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008–2011 and 2013–2016 (FIS-FEDER-PI11/01489 and FIS-FEDER-PI14/02152), PCIN-2014-115-ERA-NET NEURON II, the European Research Council (ERC-Consolidator ERC-STG-2012-233764) and by an International Early Career Scientist grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (IECS-55007420).Peer Reviewe

Evolutionary responses to a constructed niche: ancient Mesoamericans as a model of gene-culture coevolution.

Culture and genetics rely on two distinct but not isolated transmission systems. Cultural processes may change the human selective environment and thereby affect which individuals survive and reproduce. Here, we evaluated whether the modes of subsistence in Native American populations and the frequencies of the ABCA1*Arg230Cys polymorphism were correlated. Further, we examined whether the evolutionary consequences of the agriculturally constructed niche in Mesoamerica could be considered as a gene-culture coevolution model. For this purpose, we genotyped 229 individuals affiliated with 19 Native American populations and added data for 41 other Native American groups (n = 1905) to the analysis. In combination with the SNP cluster of a neutral region, this dataset was then used to unravel the scenario involved in 230Cys evolutionary history. The estimated age of 230Cys is compatible with its origin occurring in the American continent. The correlation of its frequencies with the archeological data on Zea pollen in Mesoamerica/Central America, the neutral coalescent simulations, and the F(ST)-based natural selection analysis suggest that maize domestication was the driving force in the increase in the frequencies of 230Cys in this region. These results may represent the first example of a gene-culture coevolution involving an autochthonous American allele

Search for CP violation in D+→ϕπ+ and D+s→K0Sπ+ decays

A search for CP violation in D + → ϕπ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (−0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K − K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the ϕ meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the ϕ mass region of the D + → K − K + π + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+s→K0Sπ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Purification and Activity Testing of the Full-Length YycFGHI Proteins of Staphylococcus aureus

Background: The YycFG two-component regulatory system (TCS) of Staphylococcus aureus represents the only essential TCS that is almost ubiquitously distributed in Gram-positive bacteria with a low G+C-content. YycG (WalK/VicK) is a sensor histidine-kinase and YycF (WalR/VicR) is the cognate response regulator. Both proteins play an important role in the biosynthesis of the cell envelope and mutations in these proteins have been involved in development of vancomycin and daptomycin resistance. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we present high yield expression and purification of the full-length YycG and YycF proteins as well as of the auxiliary proteins YycH and YycI of Staphylococcus aureus. Activity tests of the YycG kinase and a mutated version, that harbours an Y306N exchange in its cytoplasmic PAS domain, in a detergent-micelle-model and a phosholipid-liposome-model showed kinase activity (autophosphorylation and phosphoryl group transfer to YycF) only in the presence of elevated concentrations of alkali salts. A direct comparison of the activity of the kinases in the liposomemodel indicated a higher activity of the mutated YycG kinase. Further experiments indicated that YycG responds to fluidity changes in its microenvironment. Conclusions/Significance: The combination of high yield expression, purification and activity testing of membrane and membrane-associated proteins provides an excellent experimental basis for further protein-protein interaction studies an

Prognostic value of metabolic response in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Today's clinical diagnostic tools are insufficient for giving accurate prognosis to breast cancer patients. The aim of our study was to examine the tumor metabolic changes in patients with locally advanced breast cancer caused by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), relating these changes to clinical treatment response and long-term survival.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients (n = 89) participating in a randomized open-label multicenter study were allocated to receive either NAC as epirubicin or paclitaxel monotherapy. Biopsies were excised pre- and post-treatment, and analyzed by high resolution magic angle spinning magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HR MAS MRS). The metabolite profiles were examined by paired and unpaired multivariate methods and findings of important metabolites were confirmed by spectral integration of the metabolite peaks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All patients had a significant metabolic response to NAC, and pre- and post-treatment spectra could be discriminated with 87.9%/68.9% classification accuracy by paired/unpaired partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) (<it>p </it>< 0.001). Similar metabolic responses were observed for the two chemotherapeutic agents. The metabolic responses were related to patient outcome. Non-survivors (< 5 years) had increased tumor levels of lactate (<it>p </it>= 0.004) after treatment, while survivors (≥ 5 years) experienced a decrease in the levels of glycine (<it>p </it>= 0.047) and choline-containing compounds (<it>p </it>≤ 0.013) and an increase in glucose (<it>p </it>= 0.002) levels. The metabolic responses were not related to clinical treatment response.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The differences in tumor metabolic response to NAC were associated with breast cancer survival, but not to clinical response. Monitoring metabolic responses to NAC by HR MAS MRS may provide information about tumor biology related to individual prognosis.</p

Gold nanoparticles supported on magnesium oxide for CO oxidation

Au was loaded (1 wt%) on a commercial MgO support by three different methods: double impregnation, liquid-phase reductive deposition and ultrasonication. Samples were characterised by adsorption of N2 at -96°C, temperature-programmed reduction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Upon loading with Au, MgO changed into Mg(OH)2 (the hydroxide was most likely formed by reaction with water, in which the gold precursor was dissolved). The size range for gold nanoparticles was 2-12 nm for the DIM method and 3-15 nm for LPRD and US. The average size of gold particles was 5.4 nm for DIM and larger than 6.5 for the other methods. CO oxidation was used as a test reaction to compare the catalytic activity. The best results were obtained with the DIM method, followed by LPRD and US. This can be explained in terms of the nanoparticle size, well known to determine the catalytic activity of gold catalysts