Observation of interference between two distinct autoionizing states in dissociative photoionization of H 2

Dissociative photoionization (DPI) of randomly oriented H2 molecules has been studied using linearly polarized synchrotron radiation at selected photon energies of 31, 33, and 35 eV. Large amplitude oscillations in the photoelectron asymmetry parameter β, as a function of electron energy, have been observed. The phase of these β oscillations are in excellent agreement with the results of recent close coupling calculations [Fernández and Martín, New J. Phys. 11, 043020 (2009)]. We show that the oscillations are the signature of interferences between the 1Q1 Σu+1 and 1Q2 Πu1 doubly excited states decaying at different internuclear distances. The oscillations thus provide information about the classical paths followed by the nuclei. The presence of such oscillations is predicted to be a general phenomenon in DPIWe acknowledge NSERC, CLS, and UoW for their support. We thank Mare Nostrum BSC and CCC-UAM for allocation of computer time. Work partially supported by the MICINN Projects No. FIS2010-15127, No. ACI2008-0777, and No. CSD 2007-00010, the European MC-ITN CORINF, and the COST Action CM070

Depression and health related quality of life among HIV-infected people

Producción CientíficaLittle is known about the impact of comorbid psychiatric symptoms in health related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with HIV infection. The aim of this investigation was to describe depressive symptoms and the impact in HRQL in HIV infected people. A cross-sectional study over 150 HIV-outpatients in a tertiary hospital was designed. Depression data were obtained using the Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II) inventory. HRQL data were collected by disease-specific questionnaire MOS-HIV. Researchers' team designed a specific template to get rest of the data. Almost three-quarters of the population were men. After adjusting for gender and age, HIV-related symptoms and presence of depression were found to be negatively associated with all the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV) general domains and in the Physical Health Summary score and Mental Health Summary score. Optimization of HRQL is particularly important now that HIV is a chronic disease with the prospect of long-term survival. Quality of life and depression should be monitored in follow-up of HIV infected patients. Comorbid psychiatric conditions may serve as markers for impaired functioning and well-being in persons with HIV

Mechanical behavior of tungsten-vanadium-lanthana alloys as function of temperature

The mechanical behavior of three tungsten (W) alloys with vanadium (V) and lanthana (La2O3) additions (W–4%V, W–1%La2O3, W–4%V–1%La2O3) processed by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) have been compared with pure-W to analyze the influence of the dopants. Mechanical characterization was performed by three point bending (TPB) tests in an oxidizing air atmosphere and temperature range between 77 (immersion tests in liquid nitrogen) and 1273 K, through which the fracture toughness, flexural strength, and yield strength as function of temperature were obtained. Results show that the V and La2O3 additions improve the mechanical properties and oxidation behavior, respectively. Furthermore, a synergistic effect of both dopants results in an extraordinary increase of the flexure strength, fracture toughness and resistance to oxidation compared to pure-W, especially at higher temperatures. In addition, a new experimental method was developed to obtain a very small notch tip radius (around 5–7 μm) and much more similar to a crack through the use of a new machined notch. The fracture toughness results were lower than those obtained with traditional machining of the notch, which can be explained with electron microscopy, observations of deformation in the rear part of the notch tip. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination of the microstructure and fracture surfaces was used to determine and analyze the relationship between the macroscopic mechanical properties and the micromechanisms of failure involved, depending on the temperature and the dispersion of the alloy

Mapping and controlling ultrafast dynamics of highly excited H2 molecules by VUV-IR pump-probe schemes

We used ultrashort femtosecond vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and infrared (IR) pulses in a pump-probe scheme to map the dynamics and nonequilibrium dissociation channels of excited neutral H2 molecules. A nuclear wave packet is created in the BΣu+1 state of the neutral H2 molecule by absorption of the ninth harmonic of the driving infrared laser field. Due to the large stretching amplitude of the molecule excited in the BΣu+1 electronic state, the effective H2+ ionization potential changes significantly as the nuclear wave packet vibrates in the bound, highly electronically and vibrationally excited B potential-energy curve. We probed such dynamics by ionizing the excited neutral molecule using time-delayed VUV-or-IR radiation. We identified the nonequilibrium dissociation channels by utilizing three-dimensional momentum imaging of the ion fragments. We found that different dissociation channels can be controlled, to some extent, by changing the IR laser intensity and by choosing the wavelength of the probe laser light. Furthermore, we concluded that even in a benchmark molecular system such as H2∗, the interpretation of the nonequilibrium multiphoton and multicolor ionization processes is still a challenging task, requiring intricate theoretical analysisWe acknowledge many fruitful discussions and advice from R. Dorner, M. S. Schoffler, L. Ph. Schmidt, and Wei Cao. We are indebted to O. Jagutzki and A. Czasch from Roentdek GmbH and T. Jahnke from Cronologic GmbH for outstanding support for their momentum imaging detectors readout and software. F.S. acknowledges financial support by Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. A.P. and F.M.acknowledge the European COST Action XLIC CM1204, the European Research Council Advanced Grant XCHEM No. 290853, and the MINECO Project No. FIS2013-42002-R. X.M.T. was supported by a Grand-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Interdisciplinary Computational Science Program in Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba. This work was supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, and by the Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences of the U.S. Department of Energy at LBNL under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH1123

Molecular phases in coupled quantum dots

We present excitation energy spectra of few-electron vertically coupled quantum dots for strong and intermediate inter-dot coupling. By applying a magnetic field, we induce ground state transitions and identify the corresponding quantum numbers by comparison with few-body calculations. In addition to atomic-like states, we find novel "molecular-like" phases. The isospin index characterizes the nature of the bond of the artificial molecule and this we control. Like spin in a single quantum dot, transitions in isospin leading to full polarization are observed with increasing magnetic field.Comment: PDF file only, 28 pages, 3 tables, 4 color figures, 2 appendices. To appear in Physical Review B, Scheduled 15 Feb 2004, Vol. 69, Issue

Pioglitazone modulates the vascular contractility in hypertension by interference with ET-1 pathway

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is an important modulator of the vascular tone and a proinflammatory molecule that contributes to the vascular damage observed in hypertension. Peroxisome-proliferator activated receptors-γ (PPARγ) agonists show cardioprotective properties by decreasing inflammatory molecules such as COX-2 and reactive oxygen species (ROS), among others. We investigated the possible modulatory effect of PPARγ activation on the vascular effects of ET-1 in hypertension. In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), but not in normotensive rats, ET-1 enhanced phenylephrineinduced contraction through ETA by a mechanism dependent on activation of TP receptors by COX-2- derived prostacyclin and reduction in NO bioavailability due to enhanced ROS production. In SHR, the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone (2.5 mg/Kg·day, 28 days) reduced the increased ETA levels and increased those of ETB. After pioglitazone treatment of SHR, ET-1 through ETB decreased ROS levels that resulted in increased NO bioavailability and diminished phenylephrine contraction. In vascular smooth muscle cells from SHR, ET-1 increased ROS production through AP-1 and NFκB activation, leading to enhanced COX-2 expression. These effects were blocked by pioglitazone. In summary, in hypertension, pioglitazone shifts the vascular ETA/ETB ratio, reduces ROS/COX-2 activation and increases NO availability; these changes explain the effect of ET-1 decreasing phenylephrine-induced contractionThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (SAF2015-69294-R and SAF2016-80305-P), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, CB16.11.00286), Comunidad de Madrid (B2017/BMD-3676) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) a way to build Europ

Toll-like receptor 4 contributes to vascular remodelling and endothelial dysfunction in angiotensin II-induced hypertension

This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: "Toll-like receptor 4 contributes to vascular remodelling and endothelial dysfunction in angiotensin II-induced hypertension", British Journal of Pharmacology 172.12 (2015): 3159-76 which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.13117 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley-VCH Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingBackground and Purpose Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signalling contributes to inflammatory cardiovascular diseases, but its role in hypertension and the associated vascular damage is not known. We investigated whether TLR4 activation contributed to angiotensin II (AngII)-induced hypertension and the associated vascular structural, mechanical and functional alterations. Experimental Approach AngII was infused (1.44 mg·kg−1·day−1, s.c.) for 2 weeks in C57BL6 mice, treated with a neutralizing anti-TLR4 antibody or IgG (1 μg·day−1); systolic BP (SBP) and aortic cytokine levels were measured. Structural, mechanical and contractile properties of aortic and mesenteric arterial segments were measured with myography and histology. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to analyse these tissues and cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from hypertensive rats (SHR). Key Results Aortic TLR4 mRNA levels were raised by AngII infusion. Anti-TLR4 antibody treatment of AngII-treated mice normalised: (i) increased SBP and TNF-α, IL-6 and CCL2 levels; (ii) vascular structural and mechanical changes; (iii) altered aortic phenylephrine- and ACh-induced responses; (iv) increased NOX-1 mRNA levels, superoxide anion production and NAD(P)H oxidase activity and effects of catalase, apocynin, ML-171 and Mito-TEMPO on vascular responses; and (v) reduced NO release and effects of L-NAME on phenylephrine-induced contraction. In VSMC, the MyD88 inhibitor ST-2825 reduced AngII-induced NAD(P)H oxidase activity. The TLR4 inhibitor CLI-095 reduced AngII-induced increased phospho-JNK1/2 and p65 NF-κB subunit nuclear protein expression. Conclusions and Implications TLR4 up-regulation by AngII contributed to the inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, vascular remodelling and stiffness associated with hypertension by mechanisms involving oxidative stress. MyD88-dependent activation and JNK/NF-κB signalling pathways participated in these alterationsThis work was supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (SAF2012-36400), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red de Investigación Cardiovascular RD12/0042/0024 and RD12/0042/0033) and URJC (PRIN13_CS12). AMB was supported by the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC-2010-06473)

Enriquecimiento de la hamburguesa Cinta Senese con ácidos grasos omega-3. Efecto del tipo de adición y condición de almacenamiento en las características de calidad

The most beneficial omega-3 PUFAs to human health, EPA and DHA fatty acids, are typically present in fish products, but extraneous to meat. Therefore, Cinta Senese pork burgers were added with microencapsulated (M) and bulk fish oil (F) and subjected to three storage conditions: no storage (T0), chilled (T5) and frozen storage (T30). The physico-chemical and sensory attributes of raw and cooked burgers were investigated. After storage and cooking, EPA and DHA were better preserved in M burgers than in F samples, which showed the highest TBAR values at T0 and T5, while M samples presented scores similar to the control. Panelists observed differences mainly in greasy appearance, odor intensity and cooked meat odor and flavor. The M group showed the best scores at T5 with respect to the control and F burgers. So, fish oil microencapsulation was an effective method to prevent EPA and DHA oxidation while respecting burger quality characteristics.EPA y DHA son los ácidos grasos poliinsaturados omega 3 más beneficiosos para la salud humana, se presentan típicamente en el pescado, y no se encuentran en carnes. Por ello, se elaboraron hamburguesas de cerdo de la especie “Cinta Senese” añadiendo aceite de pescado (F), microcápsulas que contenían aceite de pescado (M) o sólo a base de carne (control (C)) y se mantuvieron bajo las siguientes condiciones de almacenamiento: sin almacenaje (T0), en refrigeración (T5) y congelación (T30). Se estudiaron los atributos sensoriales y físico-químicos de las hamburguesas crudas y cocinadas. En cuanto al almacenamiento y el cocinado, las hamburguesas con microcápsulas preservaron mejor los EPA y DHA que las muestras con aceite de pescado, las cuales presentaron los valores más altos de TBARs en las muestras T0 y T5, mientras que las M mantuvieron unos resultados similares a las de tipo control. En los resultados de la cata realizada se observaron, entre los tratamientos realizados y respecto a las distintas condiciones de almacenamiento, diferencias en la apariencia grasienta, olor y flavor a carne cocida e intensidad de olor. En las hamburguesas M se obtuvieron las mejores puntuaciones frente a las encontradas en F y C en el tipo T5. Por tanto, la microencapsulación de aceite de pescado se verificó como un método efectivo para prevenir la oxidación de EPA y DHA respetando la calidad y características de las hamburguesas

Skyrmions and edge spin excitations in quantum Hall droplets

We present an analysis of spin-textures in Quantum Hall droplets, for filling factors $\nu \simeq 1$. Analytical wavefunctions with well defined quantum numbers are given for the low-lying states of the system which result to be either bulk skyrmions or edge spin excitations. We compute dispersion relations and study how skyrmions become ground states of the Quantum Hall droplet at $\nu \gtrsim 1$. A Hartree-Fock approximation is recovered and discussed for those spin textures.Comment: RevTeX, four postscript figures appende

Enrichment of Cinta Senese burgers with omega-3 fatty acids. Effect of type of addition and storage conditions on quality characteristics

The most beneficial omega-3 PUFAs to human health, EPA and DHA fatty acids, are typically present in fish products, but extraneous to meat. Therefore, Cinta Senese pork burgers were added with microencapsulated (M) and bulk fish oil (F) and subjected to three storage conditions: no storage (T0), chilled (T5) and frozen storage (T30). The physico-chemical and sensory attributes of raw and cooked burgers were investigated. After storage and cooking, EPA and DHA were better preserved in M burgers than in F samples, which showed the highest TBAR values at T0 and T5, while M samples presented scores similar to the control. Panelists observed differences mainly in greasy appearance, odor intensity and cooked meat odor and flavor. The M group showed the best scores at T5 with respect to the control and F burgers. So, fish oil microencapsulation was an effective method to prevent EPA and DHA oxidation while respecting burger quality characteristics