Acute necrotizing eosinophilic myocarditis in a young woman

Abstract Eosinophilic myocarditis is recognized by severe heart failure and marked eosinophilia infiltration resulting from different etiologies. Acute necrotizing eosinophilic myocarditis, the initial presentation of the disease, is rare and often fatal, with unique echocardiographic pictures, and followed by endocardial thrombosis and chronic endomyocardial fibrosis. We report a young female with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who presented fever and acute heart failure syndrome. The echocardiography showed severe left ventricle diastolic dysfunction with preserved ejection fraction. Systemic eosinophilia and the unique echocardiographic images made the diagnosis of acute necrotizing eosinophilic myocarditis. The patient survived after intensive cytotoxic chemotherapy including high-dose steroid

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Studies on Inhibitive Performance of Aluminum Triphosphate Pigment

利用电化学阻抗谱研究了方解石及三聚磷酸铝环氧涂层的耐蚀性能 ,并提出了它们的作用机理 .结果表明 ,方解石只起体质颜料作用 ,不具备缓蚀性能 ;而三聚磷酸铝因在钢基表面作用形成致密的保护膜则表现出优良的缓蚀性能 .The epoxy coatings on A3 steel sheets containing calcite or aluminum triphosphate (AlTP), were investigated by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that calcite pigment is not an inhibitor, but an extender pigment, and that AlTP pigment can considerably enhance the protective performance of epoxy coating. The triphosphate ion at the interface between the steel substrate and the coating can complex with the corrosion product, such as ferric and ferrous ions, and form a compact protective film which effectively separates the steel substrate from the aggressive media.作者联系地址：中国科学院福建物质结构研究所!福建厦门361012,中国科学院福建物质结构研究所!福建厦门361012,中国科学院福建物质结构研究所!福建厦门361012,中国科学院福建物质结构研究所!福建厦门361012,中国科学院福建物质结构研究所!福建厦门361012Author's Address: Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361012,Chin

A Conserved Cysteine Motif Is Critical for Rice Ceramide Kinase Activity and Function

Ceramide kinase (CERK) is a key regulator of cell survival in dicotyledonous plants and animals. Much less is known about the roles of CERK and ceramides in mediating cellular processes in monocot plants. Here, we report the characterization of a ceramide kinase, OsCERK, from rice (Oryza sativa spp. Japonica cv. Nipponbare) and investigate the effects of ceramides on rice cell viability.OsCERK can complement the Arabidopsis CERK mutant acd5. Recombinant OsCERK has ceramide kinase activity with Michaelis-Menten kinetics and optimal activity at 7.0 pH and 40°C. Mg2+ activates OsCERK in a concentration-dependent manner. Importantly, a CXXXCXXC motif, conserved in all ceramide kinases and important for the activity of the human enzyme, is critical for OsCERK enzyme activity and in planta function. In a rice protoplast system, inhibition of CERK leads to cell death and the ratio of added ceramide and ceramide-1-phosphate, CERK's substrate and product, respectively, influences cell survival. Ceramide-induced rice cell death has apoptotic features and is an active process that requires both de novo protein synthesis and phosphorylation, respectively. Finally, mitochondria membrane potential loss previously associated with ceramide-induced cell death in Arabidopsis was also found in rice, but it occurred with different timing.OsCERK is a bona fide ceramide kinase with a functionally and evolutionarily conserved Cys-rich motif that plays an important role in modulating cell fate in plants. The vital function of the conserved motif in both human and rice CERKs suggests that the biochemical mechanism of CERKs is similar in animals and plants. Furthermore, ceramides induce cell death with similar features in monocot and dicot plants

GPM, TRMM, and Other Global Precipitation Products and Services at NASA GES DISC

Precipitation is a key environmental variable. For example, in agriculture, precipitation, temperature, water (soil moisture), solar radiation, NDVI, etc., are key variables.Rainfed agriculture major farming practices that rely on rainfall for water.Rainfed agriculture: >95% of farmed land (sub-Saharan Africa); 90% (Latin America); 75% (Near East and North Africa); 65% (East Asia); 60% (South Asia).Droughts and floods can cause severe crop loss. The Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC), one of 12 NASA data centers, is located in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The NASA GES DISC is a major data archive center for global precipitation, water & energy cycles, atmospheric composition, and climate variability

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer mission

The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), one of the four scientific space science missions within the framework of the Strategic Pioneer Program on Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a general purpose high energy cosmic-ray and gamma-ray observatory, which was successfully launched on December 17th, 2015 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The DAMPE scientific objectives include the study of galactic cosmic rays up to $\sim 10$ TeV and hundreds of TeV for electrons/gammas and nuclei respectively, and the search for dark matter signatures in their spectra. In this paper we illustrate the layout of the DAMPE instrument, and discuss the results of beam tests and calibrations performed on ground. Finally we present the expected performance in space and give an overview of the mission key scientific goals.Comment: 45 pages, including 29 figures and 6 tables. Published in Astropart. Phy

Direct detection of a break in the teraelectronvolt cosmic-ray spectrum of electrons and positrons

High energy cosmic ray electrons plus positrons (CREs), which lose energy quickly during their propagation, provide an ideal probe of Galactic high-energy processes and may enable the observation of phenomena such as dark-matter particle annihilation or decay. The CRE spectrum has been directly measured up to $\sim 2$ TeV in previous balloon- or space-borne experiments, and indirectly up to $\sim 5$ TeV by ground-based Cherenkov $\gamma$-ray telescope arrays. Evidence for a spectral break in the TeV energy range has been provided by indirect measurements of H.E.S.S., although the results were qualified by sizeable systematic uncertainties. Here we report a direct measurement of CREs in the energy range $25~{\rm GeV}-4.6~{\rm TeV}$ by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) with unprecedentedly high energy resolution and low background. The majority of the spectrum can be properly fitted by a smoothly broken power-law model rather than a single power-law model. The direct detection of a spectral break at $E \sim0.9$ TeV confirms the evidence found by H.E.S.S., clarifies the behavior of the CRE spectrum at energies above 1 TeV and sheds light on the physical origin of the sub-TeV CREs.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, Nature in press, doi:10.1038/nature2447

An Update on GPM and TRMM Data Services at NASA GES DISC

The Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) is home to data archives of the NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and other NASA missions and projects. To maximize the use of NASA data products in scientific research and applications as well as for societal benefits, we provide data and information services that make datasets easy to find and use through simplification of data access for users at all levels around the world. Over the years, user-friendly data services have been developed at GES DISC, including data subsetting, format conversion, online visualization and analysis (i.e. Giovanni), user support system, etc. We routinely analyze questions, feedback, and use cases from users and algorithm developers around the world as well as best practices and new technology to improve existing services and formulate new data services. Interaction between users and algorithm developers is an important process for identifying issues in products, collecting user requirements, and improving product quality and usability. Staff members regularly communicate with algorithm developers with user questions and concerns through conferences and workshops. We publish peer-reviewed papers and articles in major Earth science journals and book chapters to describe NASA global and regional precipitation datasets and services with examples. News articles about GPM and TRMM datasets associated with significant events are regularly posted in the GES DISC Web portal and social media. We also actively participate in training activities. In this presentation, we present our latest activities about GPM and TRMM data services, data/service metrics, and future plans at GES DISC

Prototype ATLAS IBL Modules using the FE-I4A Front-End Readout Chip

The ATLAS Collaboration will upgrade its semiconductor pixel tracking detector with a new Insertable B-layer (IBL) between the existing pixel detector and the vacuum pipe of the Large Hadron Collider. The extreme operating conditions at this location have necessitated the development of new radiation hard pixel sensor technologies and a new front-end readout chip, called the FE-I4. Planar pixel sensors and 3D pixel sensors have been investigated to equip this new pixel layer, and prototype modules using the FE-I4A have been fabricated and characterized using 120 GeV pions at the CERN SPS and 4 GeV positrons at DESY, before and after module irradiation. Beam test results are presented, including charge collection efficiency, tracking efficiency and charge sharing.Comment: 45 pages, 30 figures, submitted to JINS

Diffractive Dijet Production at sqrt(s)=630 and 1800 GeV at the Fermilab Tevatron

We report a measurement of the diffractive structure function $F_{jj}^D$ of the antiproton obtained from a study of dijet events produced in association with a leading antiproton in $\bar pp$ collisions at $\sqrt s=630$ GeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. The ratio of $F_{jj}^D$ at $\sqrt s=630$ GeV to $F_{jj}^D$ obtained from a similar measurement at $\sqrt s=1800$ GeV is compared with expectations from QCD factorization and with theoretical predictions. We also report a measurement of the $\xi$ ($x$-Pomeron) and $\beta$ ($x$ of parton in Pomeron) dependence of $F_{jj}^D$ at $\sqrt s=1800$ GeV. In the region $0.035<\xi<0.095$, $|t|<1$ GeV$^2$ and $\beta<0.5$, $F_{jj}^D(\beta,\xi)$ is found to be of the form $\beta^{-1.0\pm 0.1} \xi^{-0.9\pm 0.1}$, which obeys $\beta$-$\xi$ factorization.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter