1,153 research outputs found
Mucin binding to therapeutic molecules: The case of antimicrobial agents used in cystic fibrosis
Kaluza-Klein bundles and manifolds of exceptional holonomy
We show how in the presence of RR two-form field strength the conditions for
preserving supersymmetry on six- and seven-dimensional manifolds lead to
certain generalizations of monopole equations. For six dimensions the string
frame metric is Kaehler with the complex structure that descends from the
octonions if in addition we assume F^{(1,1)}=0. The susy generator is a gauge
covariantly constant spinor. For seven dimensions the string frame metric is
conformal to a G_2 metric if in addition we assume the field strength to obey a
selfduality constraint. Solutions to these equations lift to geometries of G_2
and Spin(7) holonomy respectively.Comment: LaTeX, 13 page
Maxillary sinus augmentation with three different biomaterials: Histological, histomorphometric, clinical, and patient-reported outcomes from a randomized controlled trial
Background: Lateral maxillary sinus augmentation (MSA) is a predictable bone regeneration technique in case of atrophy of the posterior-upper maxilla. Aimed at obtaining quantity and quality of bone suitable for receiving osseointegrated implants, its success is largely due to the skill of the surgeon, but also to the characteristics of the biomaterial used. Methods: Twenty-four patients needing MSA were included in the study. The patients were randomly allocated to three different groups: anorganic bovine bone mineral as control, tricalcium phosphate with or without hyaluronic acid (HA) as test groups. Nine months after MSA, bone biopsies were harvested for the histomorphometric analysis. Secondary outcomes were mean bone gain, intraoperative and postoperative complications, implant insertion torque, implant failure, and patient-reported outcome measures. Results: Although the percentage of new bone was not statistically different between the three groups (P =.191), the percentages of residual biomaterial was significantly higher (P <.000) and nonmineralized tissue significantly lower (P <.000) in the control than in the test groups. Test groups did not differ significantly from each other for all histomorphometric parameters. The implant insertion torque was significantly higher in the control group (P <.0005). The rest of the secondary outcomes were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion: MSA is a safe and predictable procedure in terms of histological, clinical, and PROAMs, regardless of the biomaterial used. The addition of HA did not influence the outcomes
Numerical Study of the Optical Response of ITO-In2O3 Core-Shell Nanocrystals for Multispectral Electromagnetic Shielding
Nowadays materials to protect equipment from unwanted multispectral electromagnetic waves are needed in a broad range of applications including electronics, medical, military and aerospace. However, the shielding materials currently in use are bulky and work effectively only in a limited frequency range. Therefore, nanostructured materials are under investigation by the relevant scientific community. In this framework, the design of multispectral shielding nanomaterials must be supplemented with proper numerical models that allow dealing with non-linearities and being effective in predicting their absorption spectra. In this study, the electromagnetic response of metal-oxide nanocrystals with multispectral electromagnetic shielding capability has been investigated. A numerical framework was developed to predict energy bands and electron density profiles of a core-shell nanocrystal and to evaluate its optical response at different wavelengths. To this aim, a finite element method software is used to solve a non-linear Poisson's equation. The numerical simulations allowed to model the optical response of ITO-In2O3 core-shell nanocrystals and can be effectively applied to different nanotopologies to support an enhanced design of nanomaterials with multispectral shielding capabilities
Nebivolol: haemodynamic effects and clinical significance of combined beta-blockade and nitric oxide release.
Nebivolol is a third-generation beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist (beta-blocker) with high selectivity for beta(1)-adrenergic receptors. In addition, it causes vasodilatation via interaction with the endothelial L-arginine/nitric oxide (NO) pathway. This dual mechanism of action underlies many of the haemodynamic properties of nebivolol, which include reductions in heart rate and blood pressure (BP), and improvements in systolic and diastolic function. With respect to BP lowering, the NO-mediated effects cause a reduction in peripheral vascular resistance and an increase in stroke volume with preservation of cardiac output. Flow-mediated dilatation and coronary flow reserve are also increased during nebivolol administration. Other haemodynamic effects include beneficial effects on pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary wedge pressure, exercise capacity and left ventricular ejection fraction. In addition, nebivolol does not appear to have adverse effects on lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity like traditional beta-blockers. The documented beneficial haemodynamic effects of nebivolol are translated into improved clinical outcomes in patients with hypertension or heart failure. In patients with hypertension, the incidence of bradycardia with nebivolol is often lower than that with other currently available beta-blockers. This, along with peripheral vasodilatation and NO-induced benefits such as antioxidant activity and reversal of endothelial dysfunction, should facilitate better protection from cardiovascular events. In addition, nebivolol has shown an improved tolerability profile, particularly with respect to events commonly associated with beta-blockers, such as fatigue and sexual dysfunction. Data from SENIORS (Study of the Effects of Nebivolol Intervention on Outcomes and Rehospitalization in Seniors with Heart Failure) showed that significantly fewer nebivolol versus placebo recipients experienced the primary endpoint of all-cause mortality or cardiovascular hospitalization. The benefits of nebivolol therapy were shown to be cost effective. Thus, nebivolol is an effective and well tolerated agent with benefits over and above those of traditional beta-blockade because of its effects on NO release, which give it unique haemodynamic effects, cardioprotective activity and a good tolerability profile
The Curve of Compactified 6D Gauge Theories and Integrable Systems
We analyze the Seiberg-Witten curve of the six-dimensional N=(1,1) gauge
theory compactified on a torus to four dimensions. The effective theory in four
dimensions is a deformation of the N=2* theory. The curve is naturally
holomorphically embedding in a slanted four-torus--actually an abelian
surface--a set-up that is natural in Witten's M-theory construction of N=2
theories. We then show that the curve can be interpreted as the spectral curve
of an integrable system which generalizes the N-body elliptic Calogero-Moser
and Ruijsenaars-Schneider systems in that both the positions and momenta take
values in compact spaces. It turns out that the resulting system is not simply
doubly elliptic, rather the positions and momenta, as two-vectors, take values
in the ambient abelian surface. We analyze the two-body system in some detail.
The system we uncover provides a concrete realization of a Beauville-Mukai
system based on an abelian surface rather than a K3 surface.Comment: 22 pages, JHEP3, 4 figures, improved readility of figures, added
reference
On the Geometry of Matrix Models for N=1*
We investigate the geometry of the matrix model associated with an N=1 super
Yang-Mills theory with three adjoint fields, which is a massive deformation of
N=4. We study in particular the Riemann surface underlying solutions with
arbitrary number of cuts. We show that an interesting geometrical structure
emerges where the Riemann surface is related on-shell to the Donagi-Witten
spectral curve. We explicitly identify the quantum field theory resolvents in
terms of geometrical data on the surface.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures. v2: reference adde
Influence of attention alternation on movement-related cortical potentials in healthy individuals and stroke patients.
OBJECTIVE: In this study, we analyzed the influence of artificially imposed attention variations using the auditory oddball paradigm on the cortical activity associated to motor preparation/execution. METHODS: EEG signals from Cz and its surrounding channels were recorded during three sets of ankle dorsiflexion movements. Each set was interspersed with either a complex or a simple auditory oddball task for healthy participants and a complex auditory oddball task for stroke patients. RESULTS: The amplitude of the movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) decreased with the complex oddball paradigm, while MRCP variability increased. Both oddball paradigms increased the detection latency significantly (p<0.05) and the complex paradigm decreased the true positive rate (TPR) (p=0.04). In patients, the negativity of the MRCP decreased while pre-phase variability increased, and the detection latency and accuracy deteriorated with attention diversion. CONCLUSION: Attention diversion has a significant influence on MRCP features and detection parameters, although these changes were counteracted by the application of the laplacian method. SIGNIFICANCE: Brain-computer interfaces for neuromodulation that use the MRCP as the control signal are robust to changes in attention. However, attention must be monitored since it plays a key role in plasticity induction. Here we demonstrate that this can be achieved using the single channel Cz
Generation of Free Carriers in MoSe2 Monolayers Via Energy Transfer from CsPbBr3 Nanocrystals
Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDCs) monolayers make an excellent component in optoelectronic devices such as photodetectors and phototransistors. Selenide-based TMDCs, specifically molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) monolayers with low defect densities, show much faster photoresponses compared to their sulfide counterpart. However, the typically low absorption of the atomically thin MoSe2 monolayer and high exciton binding energy limit the photogeneration of charge carriers. Yet, integration of light-harvesting materials with TMDCs can produce increased photocurrents via energy transfer. In this article, it is demonstrated that the interaction of cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) nanocrystals with MoSe2 monolayers results into an energy transfer efficiency of over 86%, as ascertained from the quenching and decay dynamics of the CsPbBr3 nanocrystals emission. Notably, the increase in the MoSe2 monolayer emission in the heterostructure accounts only for 33% of the transferred energy. It is found that part of the excess energy generates directly free carriers in the MoSe2 monolayer, as a result of the transfer of energy into the exciton continuum. The efficiency of the heterostructure via enhanced photocurrents with respect to the single material unit is proven. These results demonstrate a viable route to overcome the high exciton binding energy typical for TMDCs, as such having an impact on optoelectronic processes that rely on efficient exciton dissociation
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