117 research outputs found
Gravity model in the Korean highway
We investigate the traffic flows of the Korean highway system, which contains
both public and private transportation information. We find that the traffic
flow T(ij) between city i and j forms a gravity model, the metaphor of physical
gravity as described in Newton's law of gravity, P(i)P(j)/r(ij)^2, where P(i)
represents the population of city i and r(ij) the distance between cities i and
j. It is also shown that the highway network has a heavy tail even though the
road network is a rather uniform and homogeneous one. Compared to the highway
network, air and public ground transportation establish inhomogeneous systems
and have power-law behaviors.Comment: 13 page
Existence of a critical point in the phase diagram of the ideal relativistic neutral Bose gas
We explore the phase transitions of the ideal relativistic neutral Bose gas
confined in a cubic box, without assuming the thermodynamic limit nor
continuous approximation. While the corresponding non-relativistic canonical
partition function is essentially a one-variable function depending on a
particular combination of temperature and volume, the relativistic canonical
partition function is genuinely a two-variable function of them. Based on an
exact expression of the canonical partition function, we performed numerical
computations for up to hundred thousand particles. We report that if the number
of particles is equal to or greater than a critical value, which amounts to
7616, the ideal relativistic neutral Bose gas features a spinodal curve with a
critical point. This enables us to depict the phase diagram of the ideal Bose
gas. The consequent phase transition is first-order below the critical pressure
or second-order at the critical pressure. The exponents corresponding to the
singularities are 1/2 and 2/3 respectively. We also verify the recently
observed `Widom line' in the supercritical region.Comment: 1+25 pages, 6 B/W figures: Comment on the Widom line added. Minor
improvement. Version to appear in `New Journal of Physics
Matrix Schubert varieties and Gaussian conditional independence models
Seth Sullivant was partially supported by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and the US National Science Foundation (DMS 0954865)
Gremlin-1 Induces BMP-Independent Tumor Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion
Gremlin-1, a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonist, is overexpressed in various cancerous tissues but its role in carcinogenesis has not been established. Here, we report that gremlin-1 binds various cancer cell lines and this interaction is inhibited by our newly developed gremlin-1 antibody, GRE1. Gremlin-1 binding to cancer cells was unaffected by the presence of BMP-2, BMP-4, and BMP-7. In addition, the binding was independent of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2) expression on the cell surface. Addition of gremlin-1 to A549 cells induced a fibroblast-like morphology and decreased E-cadherin expression. In a scratch wound healing assay, A549 cells incubated with gremlin-1 or transfected with gremlin-1 showed increased migration, which was inhibited in the presence of the GRE1 antibody. Gremlin-1 transfected A549 cells also exhibited increased invasiveness as well as an increased growth rate. These effects were also inhibited by the addition of the GRE1 antibody. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that gremlin-1 directly interacts with cancer cells in a BMP- and VEGFR2-independent manner and can induce cell migration, invasion, and proliferation
Alterations in Mesenteric Lymph Node T Cell Phenotype and Cytokine Secretion are Associated with Changes in Thymocyte Phenotype after LP-BM5 Retrovirus Infection
In this study, mouse MLN cells and thymocytes from advanced stages of
LP-BM5 retrovirus infection were studied. A decrease in
the percentage of IL-7+
cells and an increase in the percentage of IL-16+ cells in the MLN
indicated that
secretion of these cytokines was also altered after LP-BM5 infection. The
percentage of MLN T cells expressing IL-7 receptors was significantly reduced,
while the percentage of MLN T cells expressing TNFR-p75 and of B cells
expressing TNFR-p55 increased. Simultaneous analysis of surface markers and
cytokine secretion was done in an attempt to understand whether the deregulation
of IFN-Υ secretion could be ascribed to a defined cell phenotype, concluding
that
all T cell subsets studied increased IFN-Υ secretion after retrovirus infection.
Finally,
thymocyte phenotype was further analyzed trying to correlate changes in thymocyte
phenotype with MLN cell phenotype. The results indicated that the increase in
single positive either CD4+CD8- or CD4-
CD8+ cells was due to accumulation of
both immature (CD3- ) and mature (CD3+) single
positive thymocytes. Moreover,
single positive mature thymocytes presented a phenotype similar to the phenotype
previously seen on MLN T cells. In summary, we can conclude that LP-BM5 uses
the immune system to reach the thymus where it interferes with the generation of
functionally mature T cells, favoring the development of T cells with an abnormal
phenotype. These new T cells are activated to secrete several cytokines that in turn
will favor retrovirus
replication and inhibit any attempt of the immune system to control infection
Leptin receptor Gln223Arg polymorphism and breast cancer risk in Nigerian women: A case control study
The presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in placenta and/or cord blood might result in Th2 polarization
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Envelope Protein Regulates Cell Stress Response and Apoptosis
Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV) that lacks the envelope (E) gene (rSARS-CoV-ΔE) is attenuated in vivo. To identify factors that contribute to rSARS-CoV-ΔE attenuation, gene expression in cells infected by SARS-CoV with or without E gene was compared. Twenty-five stress response genes were preferentially upregulated during infection in the absence of the E gene. In addition, genes involved in signal transduction, transcription, cell metabolism, immunoregulation, inflammation, apoptosis and cell cycle and differentiation were differentially regulated in cells infected with rSARS-CoV with or without the E gene. Administration of E protein in trans reduced the stress response in cells infected with rSARS-CoV-ΔE or with respiratory syncytial virus, or treated with drugs, such as tunicamycin and thapsigargin that elicit cell stress by different mechanisms. In addition, SARS-CoV E protein down-regulated the signaling pathway inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE-1) of the unfolded protein response, but not the PKR-like ER kinase (PERK) or activating transcription factor 6 (ATF-6) pathways, and reduced cell apoptosis. Overall, the activation of the IRE-1 pathway was not able to restore cell homeostasis, and apoptosis was induced probably as a measure to protect the host by limiting virus production and dissemination. The expression of proinflammatory cytokines was reduced in rSARS-CoV-ΔE-infected cells compared to rSARS-CoV-infected cells, suggesting that the increase in stress responses and the reduction of inflammation in the absence of the E gene contributed to the attenuation of rSARS-CoV-ΔE
Proteomics and transcriptomics analyses of Arabidopsis floral buds uncover important functions of ARABIDOPSIS SKP1-LIKE1
Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia via the ENIGMA consortium
Left-right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain that may be altered in schizophrenia, but most studies have used relatively small samples and heterogeneous approaches, resulting in equivocal findings. We carried out the largest case-control study of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia, using MRI data from 5,080 affected individuals and 6,015 controls across 46 datasets in the ENIGMA consortium, using a single image analysis protocol. Asymmetry indexes were calculated for global and regional cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume measures. Differences of asymmetry were calculated between affected individuals and controls per dataset, and effect sizes were meta-analyzed across datasets. Small average case-control differences were observed for thickness asymmetries of the rostral anterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus, both driven by thinner left-hemispheric cortices in schizophrenia. Analyses of these asymmetries with respect to the use of antipsychotic medication and other clinical variables did not show any significant associations. Assessment of age- and sex-specific effects revealed a stronger average leftward asymmetry of pallidum volume between older cases and controls. Case-control differences in a multivariate context were assessed in a subset of the data (N = 2,029), which revealed that 7% of the variance across all structural asymmetries was explained by case-control status. Subtle case-control differences of brain macro-structural asymmetry may reflect differences at the molecular, cytoarchitectonic or circuit levels that have functional relevance for the disorder. Reduced left middle temporal cortical thickness is consistent with altered left-hemisphere language network organization in schizophrenia
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