5,200 research outputs found
A combined high-pressure experimental and theoretical study of the electronic band-structure of scheelite-type AWO4 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb) compounds
The optical-absorption edge of single crystals of CaWO4, SrWO4, BaWO4, and
PbWO4 has been measured under high pressure up to ~20 GPa at room temperature.
From the measurements we have obtained the evolution of the band-gap energy
with pressure. We found a low-pressure range (up to 7-10 GPa) where
alkaline-earth tungstates present a very small Eg pressure dependence (-2.1 <
dEg/dP < 8.9 meV/GPa). In contrast, in the same pressure range, PbWO4 has a
pressure coefficient of -62 meV/GPa. The high-pressure range is characterized
in the four compounds by an abrupt decrease of Eg followed by changes in
dEg/dP. The band-gap collapse is larger than 1.2 eV in BaWO4. We also
calculated the electronic-band structures and their pressure evolution.
Calculations allow us to interpret experiments considering the different
electronic configuration of divalent metals. Changes in the pressure evolution
of Eg are correlated with the occurrence of pressure-induced phase transitions.
The band structures for the low- and high-pressure phases are also reported. No
metallization of any of the compounds is detected in experiments nor is
predicted by calculations.Comment: 26 pages, 1 table, 6 figure
Interplay between HIV/AIDS Epidemics and Demographic Structures Based on Sexual Contact Networks
In this article, we propose a network spread model for HIV epidemics, wherein
each individual is represented by a node of the transmission network and the
edges are the connections between individuals along which the infection may
spread. The sexual activity of each individual, measured by its degree, is not
homogeneous but obeys a power-law distribution. Due to the heterogeneity of
activity, the infection can persistently exist at a very low prevalence, which
has been observed in real data but can not be illuminated by previous models
with homogeneous mixing hypothesis. Furthermore, the model displays a clear
picture of hierarchical spread: In the early stage the infection is adhered to
these high-risk persons, and then, diffuses toward low-risk population. The
prediction results show that the development of epidemics can be roughly
categorized into three patterns for different countries, and the pattern of a
given country is mainly determined by the average sex-activity and transmission
probability per sexual partner. In most cases, the effect of HIV epidemics on
demographic structure is very small. However, for some extremely countries,
like Botswana, the number of sex-active people can be depressed to nearly a
half by AIDS.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figure
Target Selection for the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2 Survey
APOGEE-2 is a high-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopic survey observing
roughly 300,000 stars across the entire sky. It is the successor to APOGEE and
is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV). APOGEE-2 is expanding
upon APOGEE's goals of addressing critical questions of stellar astrophysics,
stellar populations, and Galactic chemodynamical evolution using (1) an
enhanced set of target types and (2) a second spectrograph at Las Campanas
Observatory in Chile. APOGEE-2 is targeting red giant branch (RGB) and red
clump (RC) stars, RR Lyrae, low-mass dwarf stars, young stellar objects, and
numerous other Milky Way and Local Group sources across the entire sky from
both hemispheres. In this paper, we describe the APOGEE-2 observational design,
target selection catalogs and algorithms, and the targeting-related
documentation included in the SDSS data releases.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. Accepted to A
Perinatal asphyxia: CNS development and deficits with delayed onset
Perinatal asphyxia constitutes a prototype of obstetric complications occurring when pulmonary
oxygenation is delayed or interrupted. The primary insult relates to the duration of the period
lacking oxygenation, leading to death if not re-established. Re-oxygenation leads to a secondary
insult, related to a cascade of biochemical events required for restoring proper function. Perinatal
asphyxia interferes with neonatal development, resulting in long-term deficits associated to mental
and neurological diseases with delayed clinical onset, by mechanisms not yet clarified.
In the experimental scenario, the effects observed long after perinatal asphyxia have been explained
by over expression of sentinel proteins, such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1),
competing for NAD+ during re-oxygenation, leading to the idea that sentinel protein inhibition
constitutes a suitable therapeutic strategy. Asphyxia induces transcriptional activation of proinflammatory
factors, in tandem with PARP-1 overactivation, and pharmacologically induced
PARP-1 inhibition also down-regulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines.
Nicotinamide has been proposed as a suitable PARP-1 inhibitor. Its effect has been studied in
an experimental model of global hypoxia in rats. In that model, the insult is induced by immersing
rat foetuses into a water bath for various periods of time. Following asphyxia, the pups are
delivered, treated, and nursed by surrogate dams, pending further experiments. Nicotinamide
rapidly distributes into the brain following systemic administration, reaching steady state
concentrations sufficient to inhibit PARP-1 activity for several hours, preventing several of the
long-term consequences of perinatal asphyxia, supporting the idea that it constitutes a lead for
exploring compounds with similar or better pharmacological profiles
Ultrasensitive quantitation of human papillomavirus type 16 E6 oncogene sequences by nested real time PCR
FET proteins TAF15 and EWS are selective markers that distinguish FTLD with FUS pathology from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with FUS mutations
Accumulation of the DNA/RNA binding protein fused in sarcoma as cytoplasmic inclusions in neurons and glial cells is the pathological hallmark of all patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with mutations in FUS as well as in several subtypes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, which are not associated with FUS mutations. The mechanisms leading to inclusion formation and fused in sarcoma-associated neurodegeneration are only poorly understood. Because fused in sarcoma belongs to a family of proteins known as FET, which also includes Ewing's sarcoma and TATA-binding protein-associated factor 15, we investigated the potential involvement of these other FET protein family members in the pathogenesis of fused in sarcoma proteinopathies. Immunohistochemical analysis of FET proteins revealed a striking difference among the various conditions, with pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with FUS mutations being labelled exclusively for fused in sarcoma, whereas fused in sarcoma-positive inclusions in subtypes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration also consistently immunostained for TATA-binding protein-associated factor 15 and variably for Ewing's sarcoma. Immunoblot analysis of proteins extracted from post-mortem tissue of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with fused in sarcoma pathology demonstrated a relative shift of all FET proteins towards insoluble protein fractions, while genetic analysis of the TATA-binding protein-associated factor 15 and Ewing's sarcoma gene did not identify any pathogenic variants. Cell culture experiments replicated the findings of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with FUS mutations by confirming the absence of TATA-binding protein-associated factor 15 and Ewing's sarcoma alterations upon expression of mutant fused in sarcoma. In contrast, all endogenous FET proteins were recruited into cytoplasmic stress granules upon general inhibition of Transportin-mediated nuclear import, mimicking the findings in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with fused in sarcoma pathology. These results allow a separation of fused in sarcoma proteinopathies caused by FUS mutations from those without a known genetic cause based on neuropathological features. More importantly, our data imply different pathological processes underlying inclusion formation and cell death between both conditions; the pathogenesis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with FUS mutations appears to be more restricted to dysfunction of fused in sarcoma, while a more global and complex dysregulation of all FET proteins is involved in the subtypes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with fused in sarcoma patholog
The 2HWC HAWC Observatory Gamma Ray Catalog
We present the first catalog of TeV gamma-ray sources realized with the
recently completed High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC). It is the
most sensitive wide field-of-view TeV telescope currently in operation, with a
1-year survey sensitivity of ~5-10% of the flux of the Crab Nebula. With an
instantaneous field of view >1.5 sr and >90% duty cycle, it continuously
surveys and monitors the sky for gamma ray energies between hundreds GeV and
tens of TeV.
HAWC is located in Mexico at a latitude of 19 degree North and was completed
in March 2015. Here, we present the 2HWC catalog, which is the result of the
first source search realized with the complete HAWC detector. Realized with 507
days of data and represents the most sensitive TeV survey to date for such a
large fraction of the sky. A total of 39 sources were detected, with an
expected contamination of 0.5 due to background fluctuation. Out of these
sources, 16 are more than one degree away from any previously reported TeV
source. The source list, including the position measurement, spectrum
measurement, and uncertainties, is reported. Seven of the detected sources may
be associated with pulsar wind nebulae, two with supernova remnants, two with
blazars, and the remaining 23 have no firm identification yet.Comment: Submitted 2017/02/09 to the Astrophysical Journa
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