13,149 research outputs found
Macrophage-sensory neuronal interaction in HIV-1 gp120-induced neurotoxicity
Acknowledgements We thank Dr Jim Perkins of University College London for his help with the statistical analysis of our gene array data. We thank Prof. Maria Papathanasopoulos from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the gift of gp120Bal.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Fabrication of thick structures by sputtering
Deposit, 5500-gram of Cu-0.15 wt % Zr alloy, sputtered onto copper cylinder to average thickness of 12.29 mm. Structure was achieved with high-rate sputter deposition for about 100 hours total sputtering time. Material had twice the strength of unsputtered material at temperatures to 723 K and equivalent strength at nearly 873 K
Using blubber explants to investigate adipose function in grey seals:glycolytic, lipolytic and gene expression responses to glucose and hydrocortisone
Adipose tissue is fundamental to energy balance, which underpins fitness and survival. Knowledge of adipose regulation in animals that undergo rapid fat deposition and mobilisation aids understanding of their energetic responses to rapid environmental change. Tissue explants can be used to investigate adipose regulation in wildlife species with large fat reserves, when opportunities for organismal experimental work are limited. We investigated glucose removal, lactate, glycerol and NEFA accumulation in media, and metabolic gene expression in blubber explants from wild grey seals. Glycolysis was higher in explants incubated in 25 mM glucose (HG) for 24 h compared to controls (C: 5.5 mM glucose). Adipose-derived lactate likely contributes to high endogenous glucose production in seals. Lipolysis was not stimulated by HG or high hydrocortisone (HC: 500 nM hydrocortisone) and was lower in heavier animals. HC caused NEFA accumulation in media to decrease by ~30% relative to C in females, indicative of increased lipogenesis. Lipolysis was higher in males than females in C and HG conditions. Lower relative abundance of 11-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 mRNA in HG explants suggests glucose involvement in blubber cortisol sensitivity. Our findings can help predict energy balance responses to stress and nutritional state in seals, and highlight the use of explants to study fat tissue function in wildlife
Enhanced Pauli blocking of light scattering in a trapped Fermi gas
Pauli blocking of spontaneous emission by a single excited-state atom has
been predicted to be dramatic at low temperature when the Fermi energy
exceeds the recoil energy . The photon scattering
rate of a ground-state Fermi gas can also be suppressed by occupation of the
final states accessible to a recoiling atom, however suppression is diminished
by scattering events near the Fermi edge. We analyze two new approaches to
improve the visibility of Pauli blocking in a trapped Fermi gas. Focusing the
incident light to excite preferentially the high-density region of the cloud
can increase the blocking signature by 14%, and is most effective at
intermediate temperature. Spontaneous Raman scattering between imbalanced
internal states can be strongly suppressed at low temperature, and is
completely blocked for a final-state in the
high imbalance limit.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. v4: to appear in Journal of Physics B: Atomic,
Molecular, and Optical Physic
Constraints on the anisotropy of dark energy
If the equation of state of dark energy is anisotropic there will be
additional quadrupole anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background induced by
the time dependent anisotropic stress quantified in terms of .
Assuming that the entire amplitude of the observed quadrupole is due to this
anisotropy, we conservatively impose a limit of for any value of assuming that . This is
considerably tighter than that which comes from SNe. Stronger limits, upto a
factor of 10, are possible for specific values of and .
Since we assume this component is uncorrelated with the stochastic component
from inflation, we find that both the expectation value and the sample variance
are increased. There no improvement in the likelihood of an anomalously low
quadrupole as suggested by previous work on an elliptical universe
An Evaluation of the Inclusion of Alternative Forages With Grass Silage-Based Diets on Carcass Composition and Meat Quality of Beef Cattle Offered Two Contrasting Grass Silages
Recent studies have shown that the inclusion of some alternative forages with grass silage-based diets can increase animal performance of beef cattle. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of including either maize or whole crop wheat (WCW) silages with grass silage-based diets on meat quality of beef cattle offered two levels of concentrate
Modulation of cognitive performance and mood by aromas of peppermint and ylang-ylang
This study provides further evidence for the impact of the aromas of plant essential oils on aspects of cognition and mood in healthy participants. One hundred and forty-four volunteers were randomly assigned to conditions of ylang-ylang aroma, peppermint aroma, or no aroma control. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research computerized assessment battery, with mood scales completed before and after cognitive testing. The analysis of the data revealed significant differences between conditions on a number of the factors underpinning the tests that constitute the battery. Peppermint was found to enhance memory whereas ylang-ylang impaired it, and lengthened processing speed. In terms of subjective mood peppermint increased alertness and ylang-ylang decreased it, but significantly increased calmness. These results provide support for the contention that the aromas of essential oils can produce significant and idiosyncratic effects on both subjective and objective assessments of aspects of human behavior. They are discussed with reference to possible pharmacological and psychological modes of influence
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