The Stokes-Einstein Relation in Supercooled Aqueous Solutions of Glycerol

The diffusion of glycerol molecules decreases with decreasing temperature as its viscosity increases in a manner simply described by the Stokes-Einstein(SE) relation. Approaching the glass transition, this relation breaks down as it does with a number of other pure liquid glass formers. We have measured the diffusion coefficient for binary mixtures of glycerol and water and find that the Stokes-Einstein relation is restored with increasing water concentration. Our comparison with theory suggests that addition of water postpones the formation of frustration domainsComment: 4 Pages and 3 Figure

Galactic Binary Gravitational Wave Noise within LISA Frequency Band

Gravitational wave noise associated with unresolved binary stars in the Galaxy is studied with the special aim of determining the upper frequency at which it stops to contribute at the rms noise level of the proposed space-born interferometer (LISA). The upper limit to this background is derived from the statistics of SN Ia explosions, part of which can be triggered by binary white dwarf coalescences. The upper limiting frequency at which binary stochastic noise crosses LISA rms sensitivity is found to lie within the range 0.03-0.07 Hz, depending on the galactic binary white dwarf coalescence rate. To be reliably detectable by LISA, the energy density of relic cosmological background per logarithmic frequency interval should be Omega_{GW}h_{100}^2>10^{-8} at f>0.03 Hz.Comment: 16 pages with 1 eps figure, aasms4.sty, to appear in the ApJ vol. 494 February 20, 1998 issu

A dual role in regulation and toxicity for the disordered N-terminus of the toxin GraT.

Bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules are tightly regulated to maintain growth in favorable conditions or growth arrest during stress. A typical regulatory strategy involves the antitoxin binding and repressing its own promoter while the toxin often acts as a co-repressor. Here we show that Pseudomonas putida graTA-encoded antitoxin GraA and toxin GraT differ from other TA proteins in the sense that not the antitoxin but the toxin possesses a flexible region. GraA auto-represses the graTA promoter: two GraA dimers bind cooperatively at opposite sides of the operator sequence. Contrary to other TA modules, GraT is a de-repressor of the graTA promoter as its N-terminal disordered segment prevents the binding of the GraT2A2 complex to the operator. Removal of this region restores operator binding and abrogates Gr aT toxicity. GraTA represents a TA module where a flexible region in the toxin rather than in the antitoxin controls operon expression and toxin activity

Baltic Quest for a Hungarian Path, 1965

The Soviet Union annexed the Baltic states in August 1940, an act Western democracies refused to recognize. Under somewhat different circumstances, the Baltic states could have turned, instead, into satellite 'People's Democracies' like Hungary - Communist-ruled but outside the Soviet Union. The annexed Baltic states played a major disruptive role during the demise of the Soviet Union. Might the Soviet Union have survived, had it disgorged the Baltic ferment in good time? The satellite option received mention repeatedly, from as early as June 1940 to as late as 1989. Here the focus is on 1965, when three Estonian refugees proposed a compromise: Washington might encourage Moscow to turn the Baltic states into satellites, the governments of which the USA could then recognize. For the Baltic nations, the main change would have been to curtail the influx of Russians. The reactions to this proposal are reviewed, ending with the question: what do alternate histories tell us about the actual one?. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Interferon β-1a in relapsing multiple sclerosis: four-year extension of the European IFNβ-1a Dose-C omparison Study

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease requiring long-term monitoring of treatment. Objective: To assess the four-year clinical efficacy of intramuscular (IM) IFNb-1a in patients with relapsing MS from the European IFNb-1a Dose-C omparison Study. Methods: Patients who completed 36 months of treatment (Part 1) of the European IFNb-1a Dose-C omparison Study were given the option to continue double-blind treatment with IFNb-1a 30 mcg or 60 mcg IM once weekly (Part 2). Analyses of 48-month data were performed on sustained disability progression, relapses, and neutralizing antibody (NA b) formation. Results: O f 608/802 subjects who completed 36 months of treatment, 493 subjects continued treatment and 446 completed 48 months of treatment and follow-up. IFNb-1a 30 mcg and 60 mcg IM once weekly were equally effective for up to 48 months. There were no significant differences between doses over 48 months on any of the clinical endpoints, including rate of disability progression, cumulative percentage of patients who progressed (48 and 43, respectively), and annual relapse rates; relapses tended to decrease over 48 months. The incidence of patients who were positive for NAbs at any time during the study was low in both treatment groups. Conclusion: C ompared with 60-mcg IM IFNb-1a once weekly, a dose of 30 mcg IM IFNb-1a once weekly maintains the same clinical efficacy over four years

Statistical Mechanics of Glass Formation in Molecular Liquids with OTP as an Example

We extend our statistical mechanical theory of the glass transition from examples consisting of point particles to molecular liquids with internal degrees of freedom. As before, the fundamental assertion is that super-cooled liquids are ergodic, although becoming very viscous at lower temperatures, and are therefore describable in principle by statistical mechanics. The theory is based on analyzing the local neighborhoods of each molecule, and a statistical mechanical weight is assigned to every possible local organization. This results in an approximate theory that is in very good agreement with simulations regarding both thermodynamical and dynamical properties

Supernova rates from the Southern inTermediate Redshift ESO Supernova Search (STRESS)

To measure the supernova (SN) rates at intermediate redshift we performed the Southern inTermediate Redshift ESO Supernova Search (STRESS). Unlike most of the current high redshift SN searches, this survey was specifically designed to estimate the rate for both type Ia and core collapse (CC) SNe. We counted the SNe discovered in a selected galaxy sample measuring SN rate per unit blue band luminosity. Our analysis is based on a sample of ~43000 galaxies and on 25 spectroscopically confirmed SNe plus 64 selected SN candidates. Our approach is aimed at obtaining a direct comparison of the high redshift and local rates and at investigating the dependence of the rates on specific galaxy properties, most notably their colour. The type Ia SN rate, at mean redshift z=0.3, amounts to 0.22^{+0.10+0.16}_{-0.08 -0.14} h_{70}^2 SNu, while the CC SN rate, at z=0.21, is 0.82^{+0.31 +0.30}_{-0.24 -0.26} h_{70}^2 SNu. The quoted errors are the statistical and systematic uncertainties. With respect to local value, the CC SN rate at z=0.2 is higher by a factor of ~2 already at redshift, whereas the type Ia SN rate remains almost constant. This implies that a significant fraction of SN Ia progenitors has a lifetime longer than 2-3 Gyr. We also measured the SN rates in the red and blue galaxies and found that the SN Ia rate seems to be constant in galaxies of different colour, whereas the CC SN rate seems to peak in blue galaxies, as in the local Universe. SN rates per unit volume were found to be consistent with other measurements showing a steeper evolution with redshift for CC SNe with respect to SNe Ia. Finally we have exploited the link between star formation (SF) and SN rates to predict the evolutionary behaviour of the SN rates and compare it with the path indicated by observations.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 25 pages (including on line material), 13 figure

Galactic chemical abundance evolution in the solar neighborhood up to the Iron peak

We have developed a detailed standard chemical evolution model to study the evolution of all the chemical elements up to the iron peak in the solar vicinity. We consider that the Galaxy was formed through two episodes of exponentially decreasing infall, out of extragalactic gas. In a first infall episode, with a duration of $\sim$ 1 Gyr, the halo and the thick disk were assembled out of primordial gas, while the thin disk formed in a second episode of infall of slightly enriched extragalactic gas, with much longer timescale. The model nicely reproduces the main observational constraints of the solar neighborhood, and the calculated elemental abundances at the time of the solar birth are in excellent agreement with the solar abundances. By the inclusion of metallicity dependent yields for the whole range of stellar masses we follow the evolution of 76 isotopes of all the chemical elements between hydrogen and zinc. Those results are confronted with a large and recent body of observational data, and we discuss in detail the implications for stellar nucleosynthesis.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, submitted to A&

Molecular dynamics in polymer networks containing caprolactone and ethylene glycol moieties studied by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy

Copolymer networks with methacrylate main chain and caprolactone and ethylene glycol side groups were obtained by free radical copolymerisation of caprolactone methacrylate (CLMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA). Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy was used to analyse molecular mobility of the different groups in the system. Only one main dielectric relaxation process was found in CLMA/PEGMA copolymer networks, located between those of the corresponding homonetworks, indicating that the system does not present phase separation. The copolymers show a secondary relaxation process at temperatures below −50 °C, which can be assigned to the overlapping of the corresponding secondary processes for the homopolymer networks; one of them was related to the local mobility of caprolactone units in CLMA and the second one was assigned to the twisting motions within ethylene glycol moiety in PEGMA. Besides the relaxation processes, the mobility of space charges has been analysed by means of conductivity and electric modulus formalisms.The support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and FEDER funds under the project MAT2012-38359-C03-01 is gratefully acknowledged.Sabater I Serra, R.; Escobar Ivirico, JL.; Romero Colomer, FJ.; Andrio Balado, A.; Gómez Ribelles, JL. (2014). Molecular dynamics in polymer networks containing caprolactone and ethylene glycol moieties studied by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. 404:109-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2014.08.013S10911540

γ-Secretase inhibitor enhances antitumour effect of radiation in Notch-expressing lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Notch receptor has an important role in both development and cancer. We previously reported that inhibition of the Notch3 by γ-secretase inhibitor (GSI) induces apoptosis and suppresses tumour proliferation in non-small-cell lung cancer. Although radiation is reported to induce Notch activation, little is known about the relationship between radiation and Notch pathway. METHODS: We examined the effect of combining GSI and radiation at different dosing in three Notch expressing lung cancer cell lines. The cytotoxic effect of GSI and radiation was evaluated using MTT assay and clonogenic assay in vitro and xenograft models. Expressions of Notch pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and Bcl-2 family proteins were investigated using western blot analysis. RESULTS: We discovered that the antitumour effect of combining GSI and radiation was dependent on treatment schedule. γ-Secretase inhibitor administration after radiation had the greatest growth inhibition of lung cancer in vitro and in vivo. We showed that the combination induced apoptosis of lung cancer cell lines through the regulation of MAPK and Bcl-2 family proteins. Furthermore, activation of Notch after radiation was ameliorated by GSI administration, suggesting that treatment with GSI prevents Notch-induced radiation resistance. CONCLUSION: Notch has an important role in lung cancer. Treatment with GSI after radiation can significantly enhance radiation-mediated tumour cytotoxicity