11,831 research outputs found
Selective inhibition of phosphodiesterases 4, 5 and 9 induces HSP20 phosphorylation and attenuates amyloid beta 1-42 mediated cytotoxicity
Phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors are currently under evaluation as agents that may facilitate the improvement of cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease. Our aim was to determine whether inhibitors of PDEs 4,5 and 9 could alleviate the cytotoxic effects of amyloid beta 1â42 (AÎČ1-42) via a mechanism involving the small heatshock protein HSP20. We show that inhibition of PDEs 4,5 and 9 but not 3 induces the phosphorylation of HSP20 which, in turn, increases the co-localisation between the chaperone and AÎČ1-42 to significantly decrease the toxic effect of the peptide. We conclude that inhibition of PDE9 is most effective to combat AÎČ1-42 cytotoxicity in our cell model
Spin Hall Effect in Doped Semiconductor Structures
In this Letter we present a microscopic theory of the extrinsic spin Hall
effect based on the diagrammatic perturbation theory. Side-jump (SJ) and
skew-scattering (SS) contributions are explicitly taken into account to
calculate the spin Hall conductivity, and we show their effects scale as
, with
being the transport relaxation time. Motivated by recent experimental work we
apply our theory to n- and p-doped 3D and 2D GaAs structures, obtaining
where is the spin Hall
(charge) conductivity, which is in reasonable agreement with the recent
experimental results of Kato \textit{et al}. [Science \textbf{306}, 1910
(2004)] in n-doped 3D GaAs system.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles regulate smooth muscle cell phenotype
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are used for an increasing range of biomedical applications, from imaging to mechanical actuation of cells and tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate the loading of smooth muscle cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and to explore what effect this has on the phenotype of the cells. Adherent human smooth muscle cells were loaded with âŒ17 pg of unconjugated, negatively charged, 50 nm superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION). Clusters of the internalized SPION particles were held in discrete cytoplasmic vesicles. Internalized SPION did not cause any change in cell morphology, proliferation, metabolic activity, or staining pattern of actin and calponin, two of the muscle contractile proteins involved in force generation. However, internalized SPION inhibited the increased gene expression of actin and calponin normally observed when cells are incubated under differentiation conditions. The observed change in the control of gene expression of muscle contractile apparatus by SPION has not previously been described. This finding could offer novel approaches for regulating the phenotype of smooth muscle cells and warrants further investigation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Divertor power spreading in the Divertor Tokamak Test facility for a full power scenario with Ar and Ne seeding
Thermopower as a Possible Probe of Non-Abelian Quasiparticle Statistics in Fractional Quantum Hall Liquids
We show in this paper that thermopower is enhanced in non-Abelian quantum
Hall liquids under appropriate conditions. This is because thermopower measures
entropy per electron in the clean limit, while the degeneracy and entropy
associated with non-Abelian quasiparticles enhance entropy when they are
present. Thus thermopower can potentially probe non-Abelian nature of the
quasiparticles, and measure their quantum dimension.Comment: 5 pages. Minor revisions in response to referee comments. Published
versio
Universality of residence-time distributions in non-adiabatic stochastic resonance
We present mathematically rigorous expressions for the residence-time and
first-passage-time distributions of a periodically forced Brownian particle in
a bistable potential. For a broad range of forcing frequencies and amplitudes,
the distributions are close to periodically modulated exponential ones.
Remarkably, the periodic modulations are governed by universal functions,
depending on a single parameter related to the forcing period. The behaviour of
the distributions and their moments is analysed, in particular in the low- and
high-frequency limits.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure New version includes distinction between
first-passage-time and residence-time distribution
Efimov states and their Fano resonances in a neutron-rich nucleus
Asymmetric resonances in elastic n+C scattering are attributed to
Efimov states of such neutron-rich nuclei, that is, three-body bound states of
the n+n+C system when none of the pairs is bound or some of them only
weakly bound. By fitting to the general resonance shape described by Fano, we
extract resonance position, width, and the "Fano profile index". While Efimov
states have been discussed extensively in many areas of physics, there is only
one very recent experimental observation in trimers of cesium atoms. The
conjunction that we present of the Efimov and Fano phenomena may lead to
experimental realization in nuclei.Comment: 4 double-column pages, 3 figure
Parasitoid complex of fall armyworm, spodoptera frugiperda, in Ghana and Benin
Open Access Journal; Published online: 21 Jan 2020The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, a moth originating from the American continent, has recently invaded most African countries, where it is seriously threatening food security as a pest of cereals. The current management methods rely heavily on the use of synthetic insecticides but there is a need for more sustainable control methods, including biological control. Surveys were conducted in two West African countries, Ghana and Benin, to determine the native parasitoid complex and assess parasitism rates of S. frugiperda. Samples of S. frugiperda eggs and larvae were collected in maize fields located in 56 and 90 localities of Ghana and Benin, respectively, from July 2018 to July 2019. Ten species were found parasitizing the pest, including two egg parasitoids, one eggâlarval, five larval and two larvalâpupal parasitoids. The two most abundant parasitoids in both countries were two Braconidae: the eggâlarval parasitoid Chelonus bifoveolatus and the larval parasitoid Coccygidum luteum. Parasitism rates were determined in three Ghanaian regions and averages varied from 0% to 75% between sites and from 5% to 38% between regions. These data provide an important baseline for the development of various biological control options. The two egg parasitoids, Telenomus remus and Trichogramma sp. can be used in augmentative biological control and investigations should be conducted to assess how cultural practices can enhance the action of the main parasitoids, C. luteum and Ch. bifoveolatus, in the field. Understanding
the parasitoid complex of S. frugiperda in Africa is also necessary before any development of classical
biological controls involving the introduction of parasitoids from the Americas
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