3,897 research outputs found
Definitive evidence for fast electron transfer at pristine basal plane graphite from high-resolution electrochemical imaging
After all, it's active: High-resolution scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) demonstrates that electron transfer at the basal plane of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) is fast. This finding requires radical revision of the current textbook model for HOPG electrochemistry
Causality Problem in a Holographic Dark Energy Model
In the model of holographic dark energy, there is a notorious problem of
circular reasoning between the introduction of future event horizon and the
accelerating expansion of the universe. We examine the problem after dividing
into two parts, the causality problem of the equation of motion and the
circular logic on the use of the future event horizon. We specify and isolate
the root of the problem from causal equation of motion as a boundary condition,
which can be determined from the initial data of the universe. We show that
there is no violation of causality if it is defined appropriately and the
circular logic problem can be reduced to an initial value problem.Comment: 5 page
Traveling wave packets of total electron content disturbances as deduced from global GPS network data
We identified a new class of mid-latitude medium-scale traveling ionospheric
disturbances (MS TIDs), viz. traveling wave packets (TWPs) of total electron
content (TEC) disturbances. For the first time, the morphology of TWPs is
presented for 105 days. Using the technique of GPS interferometry of TIDs we
carried out a detailed analysis of the spatial-temporal properties of TWPs by
considering an example of the most conspicuous manifestation of TWPs on October
18, 2001 over California, USA. The velocity and direction of TWPs correspond to
those of mid-latitude MS TIDs obtained previously from analyzing the phase
characteristics of HF radio signals as well as signals from geostationary
satellites and discrete cosmic radio sources.Comment: LaTeX2.09, 28 pages, 9 figure
Suppression of decoherence by bath ordering
The dynamics of two coupled spins-1/2 coupled to a spin-bath is studied as an
extended model of the Tessieri-Wilkie Hamiltonian \cite{TWmodel}. The pair of
spins served as an open subsystem were prepared in one of the Bell states and
the bath consisted of some spins-1/2 is in a thermal equilibrium state from the
very beginning. It is found that with the increasing the coupling strength of
the bath spins, the bath forms a resonant antiferromagnetic order. The
polarization correlation between the two spins of the subsystem and the
concurrence are recovered in some extent to the isolated subsystem. This
suppression of the subsystem decoherence may be used to control the quantum
devices in practical applications.Comment: 32 pages, Chinese Physics (accepted
Does the Association between Depressive Symptomatology and Physical Activity Depend on Body Image Perception? A Survey of Students from Seven Universities in the UK
This cross-sectional study assessed the association between depression and PA in university students of both genders and the role of body image perception as a potential effect modifier. Undergraduate students (N = 3706) from seven universities in the UK completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed sociodemographic information; a range of health, health behaviour and health awareness related factors; the modified version of Beck’s Depression Inventory (M-BDI); educational achievement, and different levels of physical activity (PA), such as moderate PA (at least 5 days per week moderate exercise of at least 30 minutes), and vigorous PA (at least 3 days per week vigorous exercise of at least 20 minutes). Only 12.4% of the sample achieved the international recommended level for moderate PA, and 33.1% achieved the recommendations for vigorous PA. Both moderate and vigorous PA were inversely related to the M-BDI score. Physically active students, regardless of the type of PA, were significantly more likely to perceive their health as good, to have higher health awareness, to perform strengthening exercises, and to be males. The stratified analyses indicated that the association between depression and PA differed by body image. In students perceiving their body image as ‘just right’, moderate (>4th percentile) and high (>5th percentile) M-BDI scores were inversely related to vigorous PA. However, in students who perceived their body image as ‘overweight’, the inverse association was only significant in those with high M-BDI scores. We conclude that the positive effect of PA on depression could be down modulated by the negative impact of a ‘distorted’ body image on depression. The practical implications of these findings are that PA programmes targeting persons with depressive symptoms should include effective components to enhance body image perception
The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey: The Galaxy Population Detected by ALFALFA
Making use of HI 21 cm line measurements from the ALFALFA survey (alpha.40)
and photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and GALEX, we
investigate the global scaling relations and fundamental planes linking stars
and gas for a sample of 9417 common galaxies: the alpha.40-SDSS-GALEX sample.
In addition to their HI properties derived from the ALFALFA dataset, stellar
masses (M_*) and star formation rates (SFRs) are derived from fitting the
UV-optical spectral energy distributions. 96% of the alpha.40-SDSS-GALEX
galaxies belong to the blue cloud, with the average gas fraction f_HI =
M_HI/M_* ~ 1.5. A transition in SF properties is found whereby below M_* ~
10^9.5 M_sun, the slope of the star forming sequence changes, the dispersion in
the specific star formation rate (SSFR) distribution increases and the star
formation efficiency (SFE) mildly increases with M_*. The evolutionary track in
the SSFR-M_* diagram, as well as that in the color magnitude diagram are linked
to the HI content; below this transition mass, the star formation is regulated
strongly by the HI. Comparison of HI- and optically-selected samples over the
same restricted volume shows that the HI-selected population is less evolved
and has overall higher SFR and SSFR at a given stellar mass, but lower SFE and
extinction, suggesting either that a bottleneck exists in the HI to H_2
conversion, or that the process of SF in the very HI-dominated galaxies obeys
an unusual, low efficiency star formation law. A trend is found that, for a
given stellar mass, high gas fraction galaxies reside preferentially in dark
matter halos with high spin parameters. Because it represents a full census of
HI-bearing galaxies at z~0, the scaling relations and fundamental planes
derived for the ALFALFA population can be used to assess the HI detection rate
by future blind HI surveys and intensity mapping experiments at higher
redshift.Comment: 21 pages (2 columns), 14 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ.
Version with full-resolution figures is available at
http://egg.astro.cornell.edu/alfalfa/pubs/Huang2012b_120702.pd
Orexin receptors exert a neuroprotective effect in Alzheimer's disease (AD) via heterodimerization with GPR103
Orexins are neuropeptides that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and feeding behaviour. QRFP is a newly discovered neuropeptide which exerts similar orexigenic activity, thus playing an important role in energy homeostasis and regulation of appetite. The exact expression and signalling characteristics and physiological actions of QRFP and its receptor GPR103 are poorly understood. Alzheimerâ €™ s disease (AD) patients experience increased nocturnal activity, excessive daytime sleepiness, and weight loss. We hypothesised therefore that orexins and QRFP might be implicated in the pathophysiology of AD. We report that the down-regulation of hippocampal orexin receptors (OXRs) and GPR103 particularly in the cornu ammonis (CA) subfield from AD patients suffering from early onset familial AD (EOFAD) and late onset familial AD (LOAD). Using an in vitro model we demonstrate that this downregulation is due to to Aβ-plaque formation and tau hyper-phosphorylation. Transcriptomics revealed a neuroprotective role for both orexins and QRFP. Finally we provide conclusive evidence using BRET and FRET that OXRs and GPR103 form functional hetero-dimers to exert their effects involving activation of ERK 1/2. Pharmacological intervention directed at the orexigenic system may prove to be an attractive avenue towards the discovery of novel therapeutics for diseases such as AD and improving neuroprotective signalling pathways
A Secreted BMP Antagonist, Cer1, Fine Tunes the Spatial Organization of the Ureteric Bud Tree during Mouse Kidney Development
The epithelial ureteric bud is critical for mammalian kidney development as it generates the ureter and the collecting duct system that induces nephrogenesis in dicrete locations in the kidney mesenchyme during its emergence. We show that a secreted Bmp antagonist Cerberus homologue (Cer1) fine tunes the organization of the ureteric tree during organogenesis in the mouse embryo. Both enhanced ureteric expression of Cer1 and Cer1 knock out enlarge kidney size, and these changes are associated with an altered three-dimensional structure of the ureteric tree as revealed by optical projection tomography. Enhanced Cer1 expression changes the ureteric bud branching programme so that more trifid and lateral branches rather than bifid ones develop, as seen in time-lapse organ culture. These changes may be the reasons for the modified spatial arrangement of the ureteric tree in the kidneys of Cer1+ embryos. Cer1 gain of function is associated with moderately elevated expression of Gdnf and Wnt11, which is also induced in the case of Cer1 deficiency, where Bmp4 expression is reduced, indicating the dependence of Bmp expression on Cer1. Cer1 binds at least Bmp2/4 and antagonizes Bmp signalling in cell culture. In line with this, supplementation of Bmp4 restored the ureteric bud tip number, which was reduced by Cer1+ to bring it closer to the normal, consistent with models suggesting that Bmp signalling inhibits ureteric bud development. Genetic reduction of Wnt11 inhibited the Cer1-stimulated kidney development, but Cer1 did not influence Wnt11 signalling in cell culture, although it did inhibit the Wnt3a-induced canonical Top Flash reporter to some extent. We conclude that Cer1 fine tunes the spatial organization of the ureteric tree by coordinating the activities of the growth-promoting ureteric bud signals Gndf and Wnt11 via Bmp-mediated antagonism and to some degree via the canonical Wnt signalling involved in branching
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