32,799 research outputs found
Synchronization in interacting Scale Free Networks
We study the fluctuations of the interface, in the steady state, of the
Surface Relaxation Model (SRM) in two scale free interacting networks where a
fraction of nodes in both networks interact one to one through external
connections. We find that as increases the fluctuations on both networks
decrease and thus the synchronization reaches an improvement of nearly
when . The decrease of the fluctuations on both networks is due mainly to
the diffusion through external connections which allows to reducing the load in
nodes by sending their excess mostly to low-degree nodes, which we report have
the lowest heights. This effect enhances the matching of the heights of low-and
high-degree nodes as increases reducing the fluctuations. This effect is
almost independent of the degree distribution of the networks which means that
the interconnection governs the behavior of the process over its topology.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Added a relevant reference.Typos fixe
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Emerging targeted strategies for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a widespread genetic disease that leads to renal failure in the majority of patients. The very first pharmacological treatment, tolvaptan, received Food and Drug Administration approval in 2018 after previous approval in Europe and other countries. However, tolvaptan is moderately effective and may negatively impact a patient's quality of life due to potentially significant side effects. Additional and improved therapies are still urgently needed, and several clinical trials are underway, which are discussed in the companion paper Müller and Benzing (Management of autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease-state-of-the-art) Clin Kidney J 2018; 11: i2-i13. Here, we discuss new therapeutic avenues that are currently being investigated at the preclinical stage. We focus on mammalian target of rapamycin and dual kinase inhibitors, compounds that target inflammation and histone deacetylases, RNA-targeted therapeutic strategies, glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors, compounds that affect the metabolism of renal cysts and dietary restriction. We discuss tissue targeting to renal cysts of small molecules via the folate receptor, and of monoclonal antibodies via the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor. A general problem with potential pharmacological approaches is that the many molecular targets that have been implicated in ADPKD are all widely expressed and carry out important functions in many organs and tissues. Because ADPKD is a slowly progressing, chronic disease, it is likely that any therapy will have to continue over years and decades. Therefore, systemically distributed drugs are likely to lead to potentially prohibitive extra-renal side effects during extended treatment. Tissue targeting to renal cysts of such drugs is one potential way around this problem. The use of dietary, instead of pharmacological, interventions is another
Floquet interface states in illuminated three-dimensional topological insulators
Recent experiments showed that the surface of a three dimensional topological
insulator develops gaps in the Floquet-Bloch band spectrum when illuminated
with a circularly polarized laser. These Floquet-Bloch bands are characterized
by non-trivial Chern numbers which only depend on the helicity of the
polarization of the radiation field. Here we propose a setup consisting of a
pair of counter-rotating lasers, and show that one-dimensional chiral states
emerge at the interface between the two lasers. These interface states turn out
to be spin-polarized and may trigger interesting applications in the field of
optoelectronics and spintronics.Comment: 5 pages with 3 figures + supplemental materia
Application of magnetically induced hyperthermia on the model protozoan Crithidia fasciculata as a potential therapy against parasitic infections
Magnetic hyperthermia is currently an EU-approved clinical therapy against
tumor cells that uses magnetic nanoparticles under a time varying magnetic
field (TVMF). The same basic principle seems promising against trypanosomatids
causing Chagas disease and sleeping sickness, since therapeutic drugs available
display severe side effects and drug-resistant strains. However, no
applications of this strategy against protozoan-induced diseases have been
reported so far. In the present study, Crithidia fasciculata, a widely used
model for therapeutic strategies against pathogenic trypanosomatids, was
targeted with Fe_{3}O_{4} magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in order to remotely
provoke cell death using TVMFs. The MNPs with average sizes of d approx. 30 nm
were synthesized using a precipitation of FeSO_{4}4 in basic medium. The MNPs
were added to Crithidia fasciculata choanomastigotes in exponential phase and
incubated overnight. The amount of uploaded MNPs per cell was determined by
magnetic measurements. Cell viability using the MTT colorimetric assay and flow
cytometry showed that the MNPs were incorporated by the cells with no
noticeable cell-toxicity effects. When a TVMF (f = 249 kHz, H = 13 kA/m) was
applied to MNP-bearing cells, massive cell death was induced via a
non-apoptotic mechanism. No effects were observed by applying a TVMF on control
(without loaded MNPs) cells. No macroscopic rise in temperature was observed in
the extracellular medium during the experiments. Scanning Electron Microscopy
showed morphological changes after TVMF experiments. These data indicate (as a
proof of principle) that intracellular hyperthermia is a suitable technology to
induce the specific death of protozoan parasites bearing MNPs. These findings
expand the possibilities for new therapeutic strategies that combat parasitic
infections.Comment: 9 pages, four supplementary video file
VLBA determination of the distance to nearby star-forming regions II. Hubble 4 and HDE 283572 in Taurus
The non-thermal 3.6 cm radio continuum emission from the naked T Tauri stars
Hubble 4 and HDE 283572 in Taurus has been observed with the Very Long Baseline
Array (VLBA) at 6 epochs between September 2004 and December 2005 with a
typical separation between successive observations of 3 months. Thanks to the
remarkably accurate astrometry delivered by the VLBA, the trajectory described
by both stars on the plane of the sky could be traced very precisely, and
modeled as the superposition of their trigonometric parallax and uniform proper
motion. The best fits yield distances to Hubble 4 and HDE 283572 of 132.8 +/-
0.5 and 128.5 +/- 0.6 pc, respectively. Combining these results with the other
two existing VLBI distance determinations in Taurus, we estimate the mean
distance to the Taurus association to be 137 pc with a dispersion (most
probably reflecting the depth of the complex) of about 20 pc.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figues, accepted in ApJ (Dec 20, 2007 issue
Cell death induced by the application of alternating magnetic fields to nanoparticle-loaded dendritic cells
In this work, the capability of primary, monocyte-derived dendritic cells
(DCs) to uptake iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is assessed and a
strategy to induce selective cell death in these MNP-loaded DCs using external
alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) is reported. No significant decrease in the
cell viability of MNP-loaded DCs, compared to the control samples, was observed
after five days of culture. The amount of MNPs incorporated into the cytoplasm
was measured by magnetometry, which confirmed that 1 to 5 pg of the particles
were uploaded per cell. The intracellular distribution of these MNPs, assessed
by transmission electron microscopy, was found to be primarily inside the
endosomic structures. These cells were then subjected to an AMF for 30 min, and
the viability of the blank DCs (i.e., without MNPs), which were used as control
samples, remained essentially unaffected. However, a remarkable decrease of
viability from approximately 90% to 2-5% of DCs previously loaded with MNPs was
observed after the same 30 min exposure to an AMF. The same results were
obtained using MNPs having either positive (NH2+) or negative (COOH-) surface
functional groups. In spite of the massive cell death induced by application of
AMF to MNP-loaded DCs, the amount of incorporated magnetic particles did not
raise the temperature of the cell culture. Clear morphological changes at the
cell structure after magnetic field application were observed using scanning
electron microscopy. Therefore, local damage produced by the MNPs could be the
main mechanism for the selective cell death of MNP-loaded DCs under an AMF.
Based on the ability of these cells to evade the reticuloendothelial system,
these complexes combined with an AMF should be considered as a potentially
powerful tool for tumour therapy.Comment: In Press. 33 pages, 11 figure
Algorithms for identification and categorization
The main features of a family of efficient algorithms for recognition and
classification of complex patterns are briefly reviewed. They are inspired in
the observation that fast synaptic noise is essential for some of the
processing of information in the brain.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
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