57,310 research outputs found
Modulation of endoglin expression in islets of langerhans by VEGF reveals a novel regulator of islet endothelial cell function
BACKGROUND: Endoglin/CD105 is an auxiliary receptor for transforming growth factor-β with established roles in vascular remodelling. It has recently been shown that heterozygous endoglin deficiency in mice decreases insulin secretion in an animal model of obesity, highlighting a potential role for endoglin in the regulation of islet function. We have previously identified two different populations of endoglin expressing cells in human and mouse islets which are: (i) endothelial cells (ECs) and (ii) islet mesenchymal stromal cells. The contribution of islet EC endoglin expression to islet development and sensitivity to VEGF is unknown and is the focus of this study. RESULTS: In vitro culture of mouse islets with VEGF164 for 48 h increased endoglin mRNA levels above untreated controls but VEGF did not modulate VEGFR2, CD31 or CD34 mRNA expression or islet viability. Removal of EC-endoglin expression in vivo reduced islet EC area but had no apparent effect on islet size or architecture. CONCLUSION: EC-specific endoglin expression in islets is sensitive to VEGF and plays partial roles in driving islet vascular development, however such regulation appears to be distinct to mechanisms required to modulate islet viability and size
Practical Implementations of Twirl Operations
Twirl operations, which convert impure singlet states into Werner states,
play an important role in many schemes for entanglement purification. In this
paper we describe strategies for implementing twirl operations, with an
emphasis on methods suitable for ensemble quantum information processors such
as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum computers. We implement our twirl
operation on a general two-spin mixed state using liquid state NMR techniques,
demonstrating that we can obtain the singlet Werner state with high fidelity.Comment: 6 pages RevTex4 including 2 figures (fig 1 low quality to save space
Robust Ising Gates for Practical Quantum Computation
I describe the use of techniques based on composite rotations to combat
systematic errors in controlled phase gates, which form the basis of two qubit
quantum logic gates. Although developed and described within the context of
Nuclear Magnetic Resonanace (NMR) quantum computing these sequences should be
applicable to any implementation of quantum computation based on Ising
couplings. In combination with existing single qubit gates this provides a
universal set of robust quantum logic gates.Comment: 3 Pages RevTex4 including 2 figures. Will submit to PR
The M Dwarf GJ 436 and its Neptune-Mass Planet
We determine stellar parameters for the M dwarf GJ 436 that hosts a
Neptune-mass planet. We employ primarily spectral modeling at low and high
resolution, examining the agreement between model and observed optical spectra
of five comparison stars of type, M0-M3. Modeling high resolution optical
spectra suffers from uncertainties in TiO transitions, affecting the predicted
strengths of both atomic and molecular lines in M dwarfs. The determination of
Teff, gravity, and metallicity from optical spectra remains at ~10%. As
molecules provide opacity both in lines and as an effective continuum,
determing molecular transition parameters remains a challenge facing models
such as the PHOENIX series, best verified with high resolution and
spectrophotometric spectra. Our analysis of GJ 436 yields an effective
temperature of Teff = 3350 +/- 300 K and a mass of 0.44 Msun. New Doppler
measurements for GJ 436 with a precision of 3 m/s taken during 6 years improve
the Keplerian model of the planet, giving a minimum mass, M sin i = 0.0713 Mjup
= 22.6 Mearth, period, P = 2.6439 d, and e = 0.16 +/- 0.02. The noncircular
orbit contrasts with the tidally circularized orbits of all close-in
exoplanets, implying either ongoing pumping of eccentricity by a more distant
companion, or a higher Q value for this low-mass planet. The velocities indeed
reveal a long term trend, indicating a possible distant companion.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, accepted to PAS
Masses, Oxygen and Carbon abundances in CHEPS dwarf stars
Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics. © 2019 ESOContext. We report the results from the determination of stellar masses, carbon, and oxygen abundances in the atmospheres of 107 stars from the Calan-Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search (CHEPS) programme. Our stars are drawn from a population with a significantly super-solar metallicity. At least 10 of these stars are known to host orbiting planets. Aims. In this work, we set out to understand the behaviour of carbon and oxygen abundance in stars with different spectral classes, metallicities, and V sin i within the metal-rich stellar population. Methods. Masses of these stars were determined using data from Gaia DR2. Oxygen and carbon abundances were determined by fitting the absorption lines. We determined oxygen abundances with fits to the 6300.304 Å O I line, and we used 3 lines of the C I atom and 12 lines of the C 2 molecule for the determination of carbon abundances. Results. We determine masses and abundances of 107 CHEPS stars. There is no evidence that the [C/O] ratio depends on V sin i or the mass of the star within our constrained range of masses, i.e. 0.82 5 km s -1) are massive stars.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Anomalous Thermal Stability of Metastable C_20 Fullerene
The results of computer simulation of the dynamics of fullerene C_20 at
different temperatures are presented. It is shown that, although it is
metastable, this isomer is very stable with respect to the transition to a
lower energy configuration and retains its chemical structure under heating to
very high temperatures, T ~ 3000 K. Its decay activation energy is found to be
E_a ~ 7 eV. Possible decay channels are studied, and the height of the minimum
potential barrier to decay is determined to be U = 5.0 eV. The results obtained
make it possible to understand the reasons for the anomalous stability of
fullerene C_20 under normal conditions.Comment: Slightly corrected version of the paper submitted to Phys. Solid
Stat
Band Calculation for Ce-compounds on the basis of Dynamical Mean Field Theory
The band calculation scheme for electron compounds is developed on the
basis of the dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) and the LMTO method. The
auxiliary impurity problem is solved by a method named as NCAv', which
includes the correct exchange process of the virtual
excitation as the vertex correction to the non-crossing approximation (NCA) for
the fluctuation. This method leads to the correct magnitude
of the Kondo temperature, , and makes it possible to carry out
quantitative DMFT calculation including the crystalline field (CF) and the
spin-orbit (SO) splitting of the self-energy. The magnetic excitation spectra
are also calculated to estimate . It is applied to Ce metal and CeSb
at T=300 K as the first step. In Ce metal, the hybridization intensity (HI)
just below the Fermi energy is reduced in the DMFT band. The photo-emission
spectra (PES) have a conspicuous SO side peak, similar to that of experiments.
is estimated to be about 70 K in -Ce, while to be about
1700 K in -Ce. In CeSb, the double-peak-like structure of PES is
reproduced. In addition, which is not so low is obtained because HI
is enhanced just at the Fermi energy in the DMFT band.Comment: 30pages, 18 figure
Spin, Charge and Quasiparticle Gaps in the One-Dimensional Kondo Lattice with f^2 Configuration
The ground state properties of the one-dimensional Kondo lattice with an f^2
configuration at each site are studied by the density matrix renormalization
group method. At half-filling, competition between the Kondo exchange J and the
antiferromagnetic intra f-shell exchange I leads to reduction of energy gaps
for spin, quasi-particle and charge excitations. The attractive force among
conduction electrons is induced by the competition and the bound state is
formed. As J/I increases the f^2 singlet gives way to the Kondo singlet as the
dominant local correlation. The remarkable change of the quasi-particle gap is
driven by the change of the spin-1/2 excitation character from the itinerant
one to the localized one. Possible metal-insulator transition is discussed
which may occur as the ratio J/I is varied by reference to mean-field results
in the f^2 lattice system and the two impurity Kondo system.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp
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