Electron energy loss and induced photon emission in photonic crystals

The interaction of a fast electron with a photonic crystal is investigated by solving the Maxwell equations exactly for the external field provided by the electron in the presence of the crystal. The energy loss is obtained from the retarding force exerted on the electron by the induced electric field. The features of the energy loss spectra are shown to be related to the photonic band structure of the crystal. Two different regimes are discussed: for small lattice constants $a$ relative to the wavelength of the associated electron excitations $\lambda$, an effective medium theory can be used to describe the material; however, for $a\sim\lambda$ the photonic band structure plays an important role. Special attention is paid to the frequency gap regions in the latter case.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Tunneling mechanism of light transmission through metallic films

A mechanism of light transmission through metallic films is proposed, assisted by tunnelling between resonating buried dielectric inclusions. This is illustrated by arrays of Si spheres embedded in Ag. Strong transmission peaks are observed near the Mie resonances of the spheres. The interaction among various planes of spheres and interference effects between these resonances and the surface plasmons of Ag lead to mixing and splitting of the resonances. Transmission is proved to be limited only by absorption. For small spheres, the effective dielectric constant can be tuned to values close to unity and a method is proposed to turn the resulting materials invisible.Comment: 4 papges, 5 figure

Peritoneal protein transport during the baseline peritoneal equilibration test is an accurate predictor of the outcome of peritoneal dialysis patients

[Abstract] Background: Peritoneal protein excretion (PPE) is a potential marker of the outcome in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Method: Observational study of a cohort of 269 patients starting PD in a single unit. Study variables: total PPE during a baseline peritoneal equilibration test (PET; PET-PPE) and 24-hour PPE. Control variables: essential baseline demographic, laboratory and adequacy markers. Main outcomes: mortality, cardiovascular events and risk of peritonitis. We applied univariate and multivariate strategies of survival analysis. Main Results: PET-PPE sustained a significant, yet limited correlation with 24-hour PPE (r = 0.46, p < 0.0005). At baseline, the main study variables showed an independent correlation with peritoneal transport characteristics (D/P240’ creatinine) and cardiovascular comorbidity. PET-PPE (p < 0.0005, model global χ2 59.4) was a more accurate predictor of overall mortality than 24-hour PPE (p = 0.04, χ2 50.5). Moreover, PPE during PET, but not 24-hour PPE, was an independent predictor of the risks of cardiovascular and infectious mortality, and of peritonitis. Conclusions: Baseline PPE represents a strong independent marker of survival of PD patients. Estimation of PPE during PET is more accurate than 24-hour PPE for this purpose, sustains a definite independent association with cardiovascular and infectious mortality, and shows a significant correlation with the risk of peritonitis

Time-to-birth prediction models and the influence of expert opinions

Preterm birth is the leading cause of death among children under five years old. The pathophysiology and etiology of preterm labor are not yet fully understood. This causes a large number of unnecessary hospitalizations due to high--sensitivity clinical policies, which has a significant psychological and economic impact. In this study, we present a predictive model, based on a new dataset containing information of 1,243 admissions, that predicts whether a patient will give birth within a given time after admission. Such a model could provide support in the clinical decision-making process. Predictions for birth within 48 h or 7 days after admission yield an Area Under the Curve of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC) of 0.72 for both tasks. Furthermore, we show that by incorporating predictions made by experts at admission, which introduces a potential bias, the prediction effectiveness increases to an AUC score of 0.83 and 0.81 for these respective tasks

Integral elastic, electronic-state, ionization, and total cross sections for electron scattering with furfural

8 págs.; 2 figs.; 2 tabs.We report absolute experimental integral cross sections (ICSs) for electron impact excitation of bands of electronic-states in furfural, for incident electron energies in the range 20-250 eV. Wherever possible, those results are compared to corresponding excitation cross sections in the structurally similar species furan, as previously reported by da Costa et al. [Phys. Rev. A 85, 062706 (2012)] and Regeta and Allan [Phys. Rev. A 91, 012707 (2015)]. Generally, very good agreement is found. In addition, ICSs calculated with our independent atom model (IAM) with screening corrected additivity rule (SCAR) formalism, extended to account for interference (I) terms that arise due to the multi-centre nature of the scattering problem, are also reported. The sum of those ICSs gives the IAM-SCAR+I total cross section for electron-furfural scattering. Where possible, those calculated IAM-SCAR+I ICS results are compared against corresponding results from the present measurements with an acceptable level of accord being obtained. Similarly, but only for the band I and band II excited electronic states, we also present results from our Schwinger multichannel method with pseudopotentials calculations. Those results are found to be in good qualitative accord with the present experimental ICSs. Finally, with a view to assembling a complete cross section data base for furfural, some binary-encounter-Bethe-level total ionization cross sections for this collision system are presented.D.B.J. thanks the Australian Research Council (ARC) for financial support provided through a Discovery Early Career Research Award, while M.J.B. also thanks the ARC for their support. M.J.B. acknowledges the Brazilian agency CNPq for his “Special Visiting Professor” position at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. G.G. acknowledges partial financial support from the Spanish Ministry MINECO (Project No. FIS2012-31230) and the European Union COST Action No. CM1301 (CELINA). Finally R.F.C., M.T.doN.V, M.H.F.B, and M.A.P.L. also acknowledge support from CNPq, while M.T.doN.V. thanks FAPESPPeer Reviewe

Elastic scattering of electrons from alanine

Differential cross sections (DCSs) for elastic scattering of electrons from alanine, have been measured using a crossed beam system for incident energies between 20 and 80 eV and scattering angles from 10° to 150°. The experimental data were placed upon an absolute scale by normalisation to calculated absolute integral cross sections obtained using the corrected independent-atom method incorporating an improved quasifree absorption model. The calculated data-set includes DCSs and integral elastic and inelastic cross sections in the incident energy range between 1 and 10,000 eV. These theoretical results are found to agree very well with the experimental data both in the shape and magnitude of DCSs except at the smallest scattering angles

The epoxyketone-based proteasome inhibitors carfilzomib and orally bioavailable oprozomib have anti-resorptive and bone-anabolic activity in addition to anti-myeloma effects

PMCID: PMC3771507.-- et al.Proteasome inhibitors (PIs), namely bortezomib, have become a cornerstone therapy for multiple myeloma (MM), potently reducing tumor burden and inhibiting pathologic bone destruction. In clinical trials, carfilzomib, a next generation epoxyketone-based irreversible PI, has exhibited potent anti-myeloma efficacy and decreased side effects compared with bortezomib. Carfilzomib and its orally bioavailable analog oprozomib, effectively decreased MM cell viability following continual or transient treatment mimicking in vivo pharmacokinetics. Interactions between myeloma cells and the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment augment the number and activity of bone-resorbing osteoclasts (OCs) while inhibiting bone-forming osteoblasts (OBs), resulting in increased tumor growth and osteolytic lesions. At clinically relevant concentrations, carfilzomib and oprozomib directly inhibited OC formation and bone resorption in vitro, while enhancing osteogenic differentiation and matrix mineralization. Accordingly, carfilzomib and oprozomib increased trabecular bone volume, decreased bone resorption and enhanced bone formation in non-tumor bearing mice. Finally, in mouse models of disseminated MM, the epoxyketone-based PIs decreased murine 5TGM1 and human RPMI-8226 tumor burden and prevented bone loss. These data demonstrate that, in addition to anti-myeloma properties, carfilzomib and oprozomib effectively shift the bone microenvironment from a catabolic to an anabolic state and, similar to bortezomib, may decrease skeletal complications of MM.This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (T32CA113275:MAH; P01CA100730:KNW; P50CA94056:DP-W), the St Louis Men’s Group Against Cancer (KNW), the Holway Myeloma Fund (KNW), the Spanish MICINN-ISCIII (PI081825), the Fundación de Investigación Médica Mutua Madrileña (AP27262008), the Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de Castilla y León, the Spanish Myeloma Network Program (RD06/0020/0006 and RD06/0020/0041) and Spanish FIS (PS09/01897).Peer Reviewe

Abcg2 transporter affects plasma, milk and tissue levels of meloxicam

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2020.113924ATP-binding cassette (ABCG2) is an efflux transporter that extrudes xenotoxins from cells in liver, intestine, mammary gland, brain and other organs, affecting the pharmacokinetics, brain accumulation and secretion into milk of several compounds, including antitumoral, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the widely used anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam is an Abcg2 sustrate, and how this transporter affects its systemic distribution. Using polarized ABCG2-transduced cell lines, we found that meloxicam is efficiently transported by murine Abcg2 and human ABCG2. After oral administration of meloxicam, the area under the plasma concentration-time curve in Abcg2-/- mice was 2-fold higher than in wild type mice (146.06 ± 10.57 μg·h/ml versus 73.80 ± 10.00 μg·h/ml). Differences in meloxicam distribution were reported for several tissues after oral and intravenous administration, with a 20-fold higher concentration in the brain of Abcg2-/- after oral administration. Meloxicam secretion into milk was also affected by the transporter, with a 2-fold higher milk-to-plasma ratio in wild-type compared with Abcg2-/- lactating female mice after oral and intravenous administration. We conclude that Abcg2 is an important determinant of the plasma and brain distribution of meloxicam and is clearly involved in its secretion into milk.S

Quality control of CFRP by means of digital image processing and statistical point pattern analysis

Abstract Although fiber-reinforced composite materials have often been considered as periodic materials in theoretical models, the distribution of fibers is random in real materials. This random distribution of fibers is closely related to their transverse failure behavior. This paper proposes the use of statistical functions which describe random point patterns as a quantification of the dispersion of the transverse failure properties of several carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP). It is shown that the analysis of the K function is the most meaningful for this purpose