318 research outputs found
Lymphangiogenesis and tumor metastasis
The lymphatic system transports interstitial fluid and macromolecules from tissues back to the blood circulation, and plays an important role in the immune response by directing the traffic of lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells. The lymphatic system also constitutes one of the most important pathways of tumor dissemination. In many human cancers, increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) is correlated with regional lymph node metastases. Experimental studies using transgenic mice overexpressing VEGF-C or xenotransplantation of VEGF-C-expressing tumor cells into immunodeficient mice have demonstrated a role for VEGF-C in tumor lymphangiogenesis and the subsequent formation of lymph node metastases. However, there is at present little evidence for lymphangiogenesis in human tumors and the relative importance of preexisting vs. newly formed lymphatics for metastasis in humans remains to be determined. Nonetheless, the striking correlation between the levels of VEGF-C in primary human tumors and lymph node metastases predicts its importance in cancer spread. Aside from promoting lymphangiogenesis, VEGF-C may also activate lymphatics to promote tumor cell chemotaxis, lymphatic intravasation and hence tumor cell disseminatio
Templeting of Thin Films Induced by Dewetting on Patterned Surfaces
The instability, dynamics and morphological transitions of patterns in thin
liquid films on periodic striped surfaces (consisting of alternating less and
more wettable stripes) are investigated based on 3-D nonlinear simulations that
account for the inter-site hydrodynamic and surface-energetic interactions. The
film breakup is suppressed on some potentially destabilizing nonwettable sites
when their spacing is below a characteristic lengthscale of the instability,
the upper bound for which is close to the spinodal lengthscale. The thin film
pattern replicates the substrate surface energy pattern closely only when, (a)
the periodicity of substrate pattern matches closely with the characteristic
lengthscale, and (b) the stripe-width is within a range bounded by a lower
critical length, below which no heterogeneous rupture occurs, and an upper
transition length above which complex morphological features bearing little
resemblance to the substrate pattern are formed.Comment: 5 pages TeX (REVTeX 4), other comments: submitted to Phys. Rev.Let
Hydrodynamic Cavitation for Pollutant Treatment in the New Horizon of Green Chemistry
The study describes a systematic numerical optimization of a Venturi tube for wastewater treatment under cavitation conditions. The numerical approach employs computational fluid dynamics methodologies in a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes framework combined with an optimization algorithm to enhance a baseline Venturi geometry. A robust meshing technique is provided in order to define the numerical model associated with the baseline solution. The process compares alternative mesh sizes and turbulence closure to discover the optimal accuracy and processing time balance. Then the model is used as a starting point for the optimization. An optimal configuration is found to be able to improve the tube mean vapor quality by around 130% compared to the starting geometry
Charge-induced conformational changes of dendrimers
We study the effect of chargeable monomers on the conformation of dendrimers
of low generation by computer simulations, employing bare Coulomb interactions.
The presence of the latter leads to an increase in size of the dendrimer due to
a combined effect of electrostatic repulsion and the presence of counterions
within the dendrimer, and also enhances a shell-like structure for the monomers
of different generations. In the resulting structures the bond-length between
monomers, especially near the center, will increase to facilitate a more
effective usage of space in the outer-regions of the dendrimer.Comment: 7 pages, 12 figure
Diffusing-wave spectroscopy of nonergodic media
We introduce an elegant method which allows the application of diffusing-wave
spectroscopy (DWS) to nonergodic, solid-like samples. The method is based on
the idea that light transmitted through a sandwich of two turbid cells can be
considered ergodic even though only the second cell is ergodic. If absorption
and/or leakage of light take place at the interface between the cells, we
establish a so-called "multiplication rule", which relates the intensity
autocorrelation function of light transmitted through the double-cell sandwich
to the autocorrelation functions of individual cells by a simple
multiplication. To test the proposed method, we perform a series of DWS
experiments using colloidal gels as model nonergodic media. Our experimental
data are consistent with the theoretical predictions, allowing quantitative
characterization of nonergodic media and demonstrating the validity of the
proposed technique.Comment: RevTeX, 12 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Temporal fluctuations of waves in weakly nonlinear disordered media
We consider the multiple scattering of a scalar wave in a disordered medium
with a weak nonlinearity of Kerr type. The perturbation theory, developed to
calculate the temporal autocorrelation function of scattered wave, fails at
short correlation times. A self-consistent calculation shows that for
nonlinearities exceeding a certain threshold value, the multiple-scattering
speckle pattern becomes unstable and exhibits spontaneous fluctuations even in
the absence of scatterer motion. The instability is due to a distributed
feedback in the system "coherent wave + nonlinear disordered medium". The
feedback is provided by the multiple scattering. The development of instability
is independent of the sign of nonlinearity.Comment: RevTeX, 15 pages (including 5 figures), accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
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