SIMP dark matter and its cosmic abundances

We give a review on the thermal average of the annihilation cross-sections for $3\rightarrow 2$ and general higher-order processes. Thermal average of higher order annihilations highly depend on the velocity of dark matter, especially, for the case with resonance poles. We show such examples for scalar dark matter in gauged $Z_3$ models.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Prepared for the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Gravitation, 3-7 July 201

Cosmic abundances of SIMP dark matter

Thermal production of light dark matter with sub-GeV scale mass can be attributed to $3\rightarrow 2$ self-annihilation processes. We consider the thermal average for annihilation cross sections of dark matter at $3\rightarrow 2$ and general higher-order interactions. A correct thermal average for initial dark matter particles is important, in particular, for annihilation cross sections with overall velocity dependence and/or resonance poles. We apply our general results to benchmark models for SIMP dark matter and discuss the effects of the resonance pole in determining the relic density.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, Version to appear in Journal of High Energy Physic

Dual Therapy with Cidofovir and Mirtazapine for Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy in a Sarcoidosis Patient

Background: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a demyelinating central nervous system disease caused by JC virus (JCV) reactivation in immunocompromised patients. The disease course of PML is often progressive, fatal and at present, there are few reports on successful treatment outcomes. Case Report: A 45-year-old man with systemic sarcoidosis presented with rapidly progressive dementia and right hemiparesis. The patient was diagnosed with PML as confirmed via brain biopsy and JCV PCR. With a combination treatment of cidofovir and mirtazapine, there was significant improvement of neurological symptoms without measurable functional deficit. Conclusion: This case suggests that dual therapy with cidofovir and mirtazapine might be an effective treatment option in PML patients with sarcoidosis

The Fit between Client IT Capability and Vendor Competence and Its Impact on Outsourcing Success

This study investigates the impact of client firm’s IT capability, vendor firm’s competence and their fit on the outsourcing success. In theory building, by concretizing the concepts of IT capability and competence based on the resource-based view, the importance of fit between the client’s IT capability and the vendor’s competence is emphasized. We then hypothesize that both factors are stronger together than the individual impact of either the client’s IT capability or the vendor’s competence. For validation, 267 client-vendor-matched-pair data were collected. To avoid potential imbalance caused by the bilateral perspective, an exploratory approach, all-possible-subsets-regression method was adopted. The results reveal that the vendor’s competence is the most significant factor in outsourcing success, but interestingly, the fit between vendor competence and the client’s IT capability is the second most important. The client’s IT capability also has a positive impact on outsourcing success but with the smallest explanation power

Recombinant mussel proximal thread matrix protein promotes osteoblast cell adhesion and proliferation

BACKGROUND: von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a key load bearing domain for mamalian cell adhesion by binding various macromolecular ligands in extracellular matrix such as, collagens, elastin, and glycosaminoglycans. Interestingly, vWF like domains are also commonly found in load bearing systems of marine organisms such as in underwater adhesive of mussel and sea star, and nacre of marine abalone, and play a critical load bearing function. Recently, Proximal Thread Matrix Protein1 (PTMP1) in mussel composed of two vWF type A like domains has characterized and it is known to bind both mussel collagens and mammalian collagens. RESULTS: Here, we cloned and mass produced a recombinant PTMP1 from E. coli system after switching all the minor codons to the major codons of E. coli. Recombinant PTMP1 has an ability to enhance mouse osteoblast cell adhesion, spreading, and cell proliferation. In addition, PTMP1 showed vWF-like properties as promoting collagen expression as well as binding to collagen type I, subsequently enhanced cell viability. Consequently, we found that recombinant PTMP1 acts as a vWF domain by mediating cell adhesion, spreading, proliferation, and formation of actin cytoskeleton. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that both mammalian cell adhesion and marine underwater adhesion exploits a strong vWF-collagen interaction for successful wet adhesion. In addition, vWF like domains containing proteins including PTMP1 have a great potential for tissue engineering and the development of biomedical adhesives as a component for extra-cellular matrix

Electrochemical performance of NixCo1-xMoO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nanowire anodes for lithium-ion batteries

NixCo1-xMoO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nanowire electrodes for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries have been synthesized via a hydrothermal method, followed by thermal post-annealing at 500°C for 2 h. The chemical composition of the nanowires was varied, and their morphological features and crystalline structures were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The reversible capacity of NiMoO4 and Ni0.75Co0.25MoO4 nanowire electrodes was larger (≈520 mA h/g after 20 cycles at a rate of 196 mA/g) than that of the other nanowires. This enhanced electrochemical performance of NixCo1-xMoO4 nanowires with high Ni content was ascribed to their larger surface area and efficient electron transport path facilitated by their one-dimensional nanostructure

Chiral magnetoresistance in Pt/Co/Pt zigzag wires

The Rashba effect leads to a chiral precession of the spins of moving electrons while the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) generates preference towards a chiral profile of local spins. We predict that the exchange interaction between these two spin systems results in a 'chiral' magnetoresistance depending on the chirality of the local spin texture. We observe this magnetoresistance by measuring the domain wall (DW) resistance in a uniquely designed Pt/Co/Pt zigzag wire, and by changing the chirality of the DW with applying an in-plane magnetic field. A chirality-dependent DW resistance is found, and a quantitative analysis shows a good agreement with a theory based on the Rashba model. Moreover, the DW resistance measurement allows us to independently determine the strength of the Rashba effect and the DMI simultaneously, and the result implies a possible correlation between the Rashba effect, the DMI, and the symmetric Heisenberg exchange