Kondo effect in quantum dots coupled to ferromagnetic leads with noncollinear magnetizations

Non-equilibrium Green's function technique has been used to calculate spin-dependent electronic transport through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime. The dot is described by the Anderson Hamiltonian and is coupled either symmetrically or asymmetrically to ferromagnetic leads, whose magnetic moments are noncollinear. It is shown that the splitting of the zero bias Kondo anomaly in differential conductance decreases monotonically with increasing angle between magnetizations, and for antiparallel configuration it vanishes in the symmetrical case while remains finite in the asymmetrical one.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

High pressure vapour-liquid equilibrium of volatiles in supercritical carbon dioxide

Binary vapour-liquid equilibrium of thymoquinone and carbon dioxide at the isothermal conditions was carried out at temperature 323.15 K and pressures from 6 to 10 MPa. The experimental data were fitted to the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state. Results could be used for selection of process parameters in separation of volatiles from raw oil or for evaluation of existing separation technologies

Temperature dependent asymmetry of the nonlocal spin-injection resistance: evidence for spin non-conserving interface scattering

We report nonlocal spin injection and detection experiments on mesoscopic Co-Al2O3-Cu spin valves. We have observed a temperature dependent asymmetry in the nonlocal resistance between parallel and antiparallel configurations of the magnetic injector and detector. This strongly supports the existence of a nonequilibrium resistance that depends on the relative orientation of the detector magnetization and the nonequilibrium magnetization in the normal metal providing evidence for increasing interface spin scattering with temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PRL, minor corrections (affiliation, acknowledgements, typo

On determining defects identity in carbon nanotubes using charge probes

A metallic carbon nanotube with point-like defects under influence of a local potential due to a point charge probe is theoretically studied. A combination of density functional theory and the Landauer-Büttiker formalism is used to compute the electronic conductance in the zero-voltage limit. From a collection of the results obtained by varying the probe position around different defects the conductance maps are created. The analysis of the conductance maps allows us to formulate conditions under which several point-like defects (the Stone-Wales defect, a simple carbon vacancy, hydrogen-passivated vacancies) can be distinguished and identified in experiments with the help of scanning probe microscopy.This work has been supported by the National Science Centre under the contract DEC-2012/07/B/ST3/03412. We acknowledge that the results of this research have been achieved using the PRACE-3IP project (FP7 RI-312763) resource JUROPA based in Germany at Julich. We also thank the Spanish MICINN for the Grant No. FIS2012-34858 (V.M.G.S. and J.F.) and the Ramón y Cajal Fellowship No. RYC-2010-06053 (V.M.G.S.).Peer Reviewe

Towards the Application of Atorvastatin to Intensify Proapoptotic Potential of Conventional Antileukemic Agents In Vitro

It has been previously revealed that statins used at high concentrations display antileukemic potential towards chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. However, their usage alone in clinical practice may be limited due to possible side effects of high doses of these drugs. On the other hand, combined treatment of leukemia with statins and the conventional chemotherapeutics is questionable because of unknown influence of the first on the standard treatment results. This study has revealed that in vitro atorvastatin increases the proapoptotic potential of cladribine and mafosfamide in CLL cells isolated from peripheral blood of patients. Moreover, a preincubation with the above statin sensitizes leukemic cells to CM-induced apoptosis even at small concentrations of the drug. The usage of atorvastatin together with or followed by the conventional chemotherapy should be considered as therapeutic option for the treatment for this leukemia. Interestingly, CM-resistant patients might have the biggest benefits from atorvastatin administration.Grant no. 1407 from the University of Łódź

Regulation of ACE2 isoforms by type 2 inflammation and viral infection in human airway epithelium

SARS-CoV-2 enters human cells through its main receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which constitutes a limiting factor of an infection. Recent findings demonstrating novel ACE2 isoforms implicate that this receptor is regulated in a more complex way than previously anticipated. However, it remains unknown how various inflammatory conditions influence the abundance of these ACE2 variants. Hence, we studied expression of ACE2 mRNA and protein isoforms, together with its glycosylation and spatial localization in primary human airway epithelium upon allergic inflammation and viral infection. We found that interleukin-13, the main type 2 cytokine, decreased expression of long ACE2 mRNA and reduced glycosylation of full length ACE2 protein via alteration of N-linked glycosylation process, limiting its availability on the apical side of ciliated cells. House dust mite allergen did not affect the expression of ACE2. Rhinovirus infection increased short ACE2 mRNA, but it did not influence its protein expression. In addition, by screening other SARS-CoV-2 related host molecules, we found that IL-13 and RV significantly regulated mRNA, but not protein of TMPRSS2 and NRP1. Regulation of ACE2 and other host proteins was comparable in healthy and asthmatic epithelium, underlining lack of intrinsic differences but dependence on the inflammatory milieu in the airways

Resolution of diaschisis contributes to early recovery from post-stroke aphasia

Diaschisis is a phenomenon observed in stroke that is defined as neuronal dysfunction in regions spared by the infarction but connected to the lesion site. We combined lesion network mapping and task-based functional MRI in 71 patients with post-stroke aphasia to investigate, whether diaschisis and its resolution contribute to early loss and recovery of language functions. Language activation acquired in the acute, subacute and chronic phase was analyzed in compartments with high and low normative resting-state functional connectivity to the lesion site on an individual basis. Regions with high compared to regions with low lesion connectivity showed a steeper increase in language reactivation from the acute to the subacute phase. This finding is compatible with the assumption of resolution of diaschisis. Additionally, language performance in the subacute phase and improvement from the subacute to the chronic phase significantly correlated with the diaschisis effect and its resolution, respectively, suggesting a behavioral relevance of this effect. We therefore assume that undamaged but functionally connected regions become dysfunctional due to missing input from the lesion contributing to the aphasic deficit. Since these regions are structurally intact, dysfunction resolves over time contributing to the rapid early behavioral improvement observed in aphasic stroke patients. Our results demonstrate that diaschisis and its resolution might be a relevant mechanism of early loss and recovery of language function in acute stroke patients

Concept of heat recovery in drying with chemical heat pump

[EN] Drying is one of the most energy intensive unit operations. It easily accounts for up to 15% of all industrial energy consumption. In the most drying processes heat is required to evaporate moisture which is later removed with a flow of air. The hot, humid air leaving the dryer is often considered as a waste stream, and a large fraction of energy is lost. The aim of the theoretical and experimental concept study presented here was to evaluate a method of reclaiming energy from low temperature waste streams and converting it to useful in industry saturated steam of temperature from 120 to 150 °C. Chemical heat pump concept based on the dilution and concentration of phosphoric acid was used to test the method in the laboratory. Heat of dilution and energy needed for water evaporation from the acid solution were experimentally measured. The cycle of successive processes of dilution and concentration has been experimentally confirmed. Theoretical model of the chemical heat pump was tested and coefficient of performance measured. Energy balance of the drying system and efficiency increase of the dryer supported with chemical heat pump were calculated.The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Chemat Sp. z o.o. and Nationa Centre for Research and Development (POIR.01.01.01-00-0809/17-00) for this study.Tylman, M.; Jaskulski, M.; Wawrzyniak, P.; Czapnik, M. (2018). Concept of heat recovery in drying with chemical heat pump. En IDS 2018. 21st International Drying Symposium Proceedings. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1391-1398. https://doi.org/10.4995/IDS2018.2018.7271OCS1391139

Novel transcriptomic panel identifies histologically active eosinophilic oesophagitis.

Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) is characterised by symptoms of esophageal dysfunction and oesinophil tissue infiltration. The EoE Diagnostic Panel (EDP) can distinguish between active and non-active EoE using a set of 77 genes. Recently, the existence of distinct EoE variants featuring symptoms similar to EoE, such as oesophageal dysfunction but lacking eosinophil infiltration, had been determined. We used oesophageal biopsies from patients with histologically active (n=10) and non-active EoE (n=9) as well as from healthy oesophageal controls (n=5) participating in the Swiss Eosinophilic Esophagitis Cohort Study (SEECS) and analysed the gene expression profile in these biopsies by total RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Moreover, we employed the publicly accessible RNA-seq dataset (series GSE148381) as reported by Greuter et al, encompassing a comprehensive genomic profile of patients presenting with EoE variants. A novel, diagnostic gene expression panel that can effectively distinguish patients with histologically active conventional EoE from patients with EoE in histological remission and control individuals, and from three newly discovered EoE variants was identified. Histologically Active EoE Diagnostic Panel (HAEDP) consists of 53 genes that were identified based on differential expression between histologically active EoE, histological remission and controls (p≤0.05). By combining the HAEDP with EDP, we expanded our knowledge about factors that may contribute to the inflammation in EoE and improved our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disease. Conversely, we suggested a compact group of genes common to both HAEDP and EDP to create a reliable diagnostic tool that might enhance the accuracy of EoE diagnosis. We identified a novel set of 53 dysregulated genes that are closely associated with the histological inflammatory activity of EoE. In combination with EDP, our new panel might be a valuable tool for the accurate diagnosis of patients with EoE as well as for monitoring their disease course