457 research outputs found
Orbital-selective Mott transitions: Heavy fermions and beyond
Quantum phase transitions in metals are often accompanied by violations of
Fermi liquid behavior in the quantum critical regime. Particularly fascinating
are transitions beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson concept of a local order
parameter. The breakdown of the Kondo effect in heavy-fermion metals
constitutes a prime example of such a transition. Here, the strongly correlated
f electrons become localized and disappear from the Fermi surface, implying
that the transition is equivalent to an orbital-selective Mott transition, as
has been discussed for multi-band transition-metal oxides. In this article,
available theoretical descriptions for orbital-selective Mott transitions will
be reviewed, with an emphasis on conceptual aspects like the distinction
between different low-temperature phases and the structure of the global phase
diagram. Selected results for quantum critical properties will be listed as
well. Finally, a brief overview is given on experiments which have been
interpreted in terms of orbital-selective Mott physics.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figs, mini-review prepared for a special issue of JLT
Ovine pedomics : the first study of the ovine foot 16S rRNA-based microbiome
We report the first study of the bacterial microbiome of ovine interdigital skin based on 16S rRNA by pyrosequencing and conventional cloning with Sanger-sequencing. Three flocks were selected, one a flock with no signs of footrot or interdigital dermatitis, a second flock with interdigital dermatitis alone and a third flock with both interdigital dermatitis and footrot. The sheep were classified as having either healthy interdigital skin (H), interdigital dermatitis (ID) or virulent footrot (VFR). The ovine interdigital skin bacterial community varied significantly by flock and clinical condition. The diversity and richness of operational taxonomic units was greater in tissue from sheep with ID than H or VFR affected sheep. Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla comprising 25 genera. Peptostreptococcus, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus were associated with H, ID and VFR respectively. Sequences of Dichelobacter nodosus, the causal agent of ovine footrot, were not amplified due to mismatches in the 16S rRNA universal forward primer (27F). A specific real time PCR assay was used to demonstrate the presence of D. nodosus which was detected in all samples including the flock with no signs of ID or VFR. Sheep with ID had significantly higher numbers of D. nodosus (104-109 cells/g tissue) than those with H or VFR feet
Evidence for Quark-Hadron Duality in the Proton Spin Asymmetry
Spin-dependent lepton-nucleon scattering data have been used to investigate
the validity of the concept of quark-hadron duality for the spin asymmetry
. Longitudinally polarised positrons were scattered off a longitudinally
polarised hydrogen target for values of between 1.2 and 12 GeV and
values of between 1 and 4 GeV. The average double-spin asymmetry in
the nucleon resonance region is found to agree with that measured in
deep-inelastic scattering at the same values of the Bjorken scaling variable
. This finding implies that the description of in terms of quark
degrees of freedom is valid also in the nucleon resonance region for values of
above 1.6 GeV.Comment: 5 pages, 1 eps figure, table added, new references added, in print in
Phys. Rev. Let
Hypoxia induces dilated cardiomyopathy in the chick embryo: mechanism, intervention, and long-term consequences
Background: Intrauterine growth restriction is associated with an increased future risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. Hypoxia in utero is a common clinical cause of fetal growth restriction. We have previously shown that chronic hypoxia alters cardiovascular development in chick embryos. The aim of this study was to further characterize cardiac disease in hypoxic chick embryos. Methods: Chick embryos were exposed to hypoxia and cardiac structure was examined by histological methods one day prior to hatching (E20) and at adulthood. Cardiac function was assessed in vivo by echocardiography and ex vivo by contractility measurements in isolated heart muscle bundles and isolated cardiomyocytes. Chick embryos were exposed to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its scavenger soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sFlt-1) to investigate the potential role of this hypoxia-regulated cytokine. Principal Findings: Growth restricted hypoxic chick embryos showed cardiomyopathy as evidenced by left ventricular (LV) dilatation, reduced ventricular wall mass and increased apoptosis. Hypoxic hearts displayed pump dysfunction with decreased LV ejection fractions, accompanied by signs of diastolic dysfunction. Cardiomyopathy caused by hypoxia persisted into adulthood. Hypoxic embryonic hearts showed increases in VEGF expression. Systemic administration of rhVEGF165 to normoxic chick embryos resulted in LV dilatation and a dose-dependent loss of LV wall mass. Lowering VEGF levels in hypoxic embryonic chick hearts by systemic administration of sFlt-1 yielded an almost complete normalization of the phenotype. Conclusions/Significance: Our data show that hypoxia causes a decreased cardiac performance and cardiomyopathy in chick embryos, involving a significant VEGF-mediated component. This cardiomyopathy persists into adulthood
Flavor decomposition of the sea quark helicity distributions in the nucleon from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering
Double-spin asymmetries of semi-inclusive cross sections for the production
of identified pions and kaons have been measured in deep-inelastic scattering
of polarized positrons on a polarized deuterium target. Five helicity
distributions including those for three sea quark flavors were extracted from
these data together with re-analyzed previous data for identified pions from a
hydrogen target. These distributions are consistent with zero for all three sea
flavors. A recently predicted flavor asymmetry in the polarization of the light
quark sea appears to be disfavored by the data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Nuclear Polarization of Molecular Hydrogen Recombined on a Non-metallic Surface
The nuclear polarization of molecules formed by recombination
of nuclear polarized H atoms on the surface of a storage cell initially coated
with a silicon-based polymer has been measured by using the longitudinal
double-spin asymmetry in deep-inelastic positron-proton scattering. The
molecules are found to have a substantial nuclear polarization, which is
evidence that initially polarized atoms retain their nuclear polarization when
absorbed on this type of surfac
Spatially Resolved Transcriptomes of Mammalian Kidneys Illustrate the Molecular Complexity and Interactions of Functional Nephron Segments
Available transcriptomes of the mammalian kidney provide limited information on the spatial interplay between different functional nephron structures due to the required dissociation of tissue with traditional transcriptome-based methodologies. A deeper understanding of the complexity of functional nephron structures requires a non-dissociative transcriptomics approach, such as spatial transcriptomics sequencing (ST-seq). We hypothesize that the application of ST-seq in normal mammalian kidneys will give transcriptomic insights within and across species of physiology at the functional structure level and cellular communication at the cell level. Here, we applied ST-seq in six mice and four human kidneys that were histologically absent of any overt pathology. We defined the location of specific nephron structures in the captured ST-seq datasets using three lines of evidence: pathologist's annotation, marker gene expression, and integration with public single-cell and/or single-nucleus RNA-sequencing datasets. We compared the mouse and human cortical kidney regions. In the human ST-seq datasets, we further investigated the cellular communication within glomeruli and regions of proximal tubules–peritubular capillaries by screening for co-expression of ligand–receptor gene pairs. Gene expression signatures of distinct nephron structures and microvascular regions were spatially resolved within the mouse and human ST-seq datasets. We identified 7,370 differentially expressed genes (padj < 0.05) distinguishing species, suggesting changes in energy production and metabolism in mouse cortical regions relative to human kidneys. Hundreds of potential ligand–receptor interactions were identified within glomeruli and regions of proximal tubules–peritubular capillaries, including known and novel interactions relevant to kidney physiology. Our application of ST-seq to normal human and murine kidneys confirms current knowledge and localization of transcripts within the kidney. Furthermore, the generated ST-seq datasets provide a valuable resource for the kidney community that can be used to inform future research into this complex organ
The Q^2-Dependence of Nuclear Transparency for Exclusive Production
Exclusive coherent and incoherent electroproduction of the meson
from H and N targets has been studied at the HERMES experiment as a
function of coherence length (), corresponding to the lifetime of hadronic
fluctuations of the virtual photon, and squared four-momentum of the virtual
photon (). The ratio of N to H cross sections per nucleon,
known as nuclear transparency, was found to increase (decrease) with increasing
coherence length for coherent (incoherent) electroproduction. For
fixed coherence length, a rise of nuclear transparency with is observed
for both coherent and incoherent production, which is in agreement
with theoretical calculations of color transparency.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
First Measurement of the Tensor Structure Function of the Deuteron
The \Hermes experiment has investigated the tensor spin structure of the
deuteron using the 27.6 GeV/c positron beam of \Hera. The use of a tensor
polarized deuteron gas target with only a negligible residual vector
polarization enabled the first measurement of the tensor asymmetry \At and
the tensor structure function \bd for average values of the Bj{\o}rken
variable and of the squared four-momentum transfer . The quantities \At and \bd are found to be
non-zero. The rise of \bd for decreasing values of can be interpreted to
originate from the same mechanism that leads to nuclear shadowing in
unpolarized scattering
Length of carotid stenosis predicts peri-procedural stroke or death and restenosis in patients randomized to endovascular treatment or endarterectomy.
BACKGROUND: The anatomy of carotid stenosis may influence the outcome of endovascular treatment or carotid endarterectomy. Whether anatomy favors one treatment over the other in terms of safety or efficacy has not been investigated in randomized trials.
METHODS: In 414 patients with mostly symptomatic carotid stenosis randomized to endovascular treatment (angioplasty or stenting; n = 213) or carotid endarterectomy (n = 211) in the Carotid and Vertebral Artery Transluminal Angioplasty Study (CAVATAS), the degree and length of stenosis and plaque surface irregularity were assessed on baseline intraarterial angiography. Outcome measures were stroke or death occurring between randomization and 30 days after treatment, and ipsilateral stroke and restenosis ≥50% during follow-up. RESULTS: Carotid stenosis longer than 0.65 times the common carotid artery diameter was associated with increased risk of peri-procedural stroke or death after both endovascular treatment [odds ratio 2.79 (1.17-6.65), P = 0.02] and carotid endarterectomy [2.43 (1.03-5.73), P = 0.04], and with increased long-term risk of restenosis in endovascular treatment [hazard ratio 1.68 (1.12-2.53), P = 0.01]. The excess in restenosis after endovascular treatment compared with carotid endarterectomy was significantly greater in patients with long stenosis than with short stenosis at baseline (interaction P = 0.003). Results remained significant after multivariate adjustment. No associations were found for degree of stenosis and plaque surface.
CONCLUSIONS: Increasing stenosis length is an independent risk factor for peri-procedural stroke or death in endovascular treatment and carotid endarterectomy, without favoring one treatment over the other. However, the excess restenosis rate after endovascular treatment compared with carotid endarterectomy increases with longer stenosis at baseline. Stenosis length merits further investigation in carotid revascularisation trials
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