Competing orders and inter-layer tunnelling in cuprate superconductors: A finite temperature Landau theory

We propose a finite temperature Landau theory that describes competing orders and interlayer tunneling in cuprate superconductors as an important extension to a corresponding theory at zero temperature [Nature {\bf 428}, 53 (2004)], where the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ is defined in three possible ways as a function of the zero temperature order parameter. For given parameters, our theory determines $T_c$ without any ambiguity. In mono- and double-layer systems we discuss the relation between zero temperature order parameter and the associated transition temperature in the presence of competing orders, and draw a connection to the puzzling experimental fact that the pseudo-gap temperature is much higher than the corresponding energy scale near optimum doping. Applying the theory to multi-layer systems, we calculate the layer-number dependence of $T_c$. In a reasonable parameter space the result turns out to be in agreement with experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

A selective cascade reaction-based probe for colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescence detection of benzoyl peroxide in food and living cells

A novel colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent probe (Cou-BPO) was readily prepared for specific detection of harmful benzoyl peroxide (BPO). The probe Cou-BPO reacted with BPO via a selective oxidation cleavage-induced cascade reaction of the pinacol phenylboronate group, which resulted in an observable colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescence response towards BPO with a fast response time (o15 min) and a low detection limit (56 nM). For practical application, facile, portable and sensitive test paper of Cou-BPO has been prepared for visual detection of BPO. Furthermore, we employed Cou-BPO as a probe to determine BPO in food samples and living cells.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Induction- and conditioning-protocol dependent involvement of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors in synaptic potentiation and contextual fear memory in the hippocampal CA1 region of rats

Long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampal CA1 region requires the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). Studies using genetic and pharmacological approaches have reported inconsistent results of the requirement of NR2B-containing NMDARs in LTP in the CA1 region. Pharmacological studies showed that NR2B-containing NMDARs are not required for LTP, while genetic studies reported that over-expression of NR2B-NMDARs enhances LTP and hippocampus-dependent memory. Here, we provide evidence showing that the functional role of NR2B-NMDARs in hippocampal LTP and memory depends on LTP-inducing and behavior-conditioning protocols. Inhibition of NR2B-NMDARs with the NR2B selective antagonist ifenprodil or Ro25-6981 suppressed LTP induced by spike-timing protocol, with no impact on LTP induced by pairing protocol or two-train high-frequency stimulation (HFS) protocol. Inhibition of NR2B-NMDARs did not affect the late phase LTP induced by four-train HFS. Ca2+ imaging showed that there was difference in kinetics of intracellular Ca2+ signals induced by spiking-timing and pairing protocols. Pre-training intra-CA1 infusion of ifenprodil or Ro25-6981 impaired the contextual fear memory induced by five CS-US pairings, with no effect on the memory induced by one CS-US pairing

DF-GAN: Deep Fusion Generative Adversarial Networks for Text-to-Image Synthesis

Synthesizing high-quality realistic images from text descriptions is a challenging task. Almost all existing text-to-image Generative Adversarial Networks employ stacked architecture as the backbone. They utilize cross-modal attention mechanisms to fuse text and image features, and introduce extra networks to ensure text-image semantic consistency. In this work, we propose a much simpler, but more effective text-to-image model than previous works. Corresponding to the above three limitations, we propose: 1) a novel one-stage text-to-image backbone which is able to synthesize high-quality images directly by one pair of generator and discriminator, 2) a novel fusion module called deep text-image fusion block which deepens the text-image fusion process in generator, 3) a novel target-aware discriminator composed of matching-aware gradient penalty and one-way output which promotes the generator to synthesize more realistic and text-image semantic consistent images without introducing extra networks. Compared with existing text-to-image models, our proposed method (i.e., DF-GAN) is simpler but more efficient to synthesize realistic and text-matching images and achieves better performance. Extensive experiments on both Caltech-UCSD Birds 200 and COCO datasets demonstrate the superiority of the proposed model in comparison to state-of-the-art models

A dual-analytes responsive fluorescent probe for discriminative detection of ClO− and N2H4 in living cells

Hydrazine (N2H4) and ClO− are very harmful for public health, hence it is important and necessary to monitor them in living cells. Herein, we rationally designed and synthesized a dual-analytes responsive fluorescent sensor PTMQ for distinguishing detection of N2H4 and ClO−. PTMQ underwent N2H4-induced double bond cleavage, affording colorimetric and green fluorescence enhancement with good selectivity and a low detection limit (89 nM). On the other hand, PTMQ underwent ClO−-induced sulfur oxidation and displayed red fluorescence lighting-up response towards ClO− with good selectivity, rapid response (<0.2 min) and a low detection limit (58 nM). Moreover, PTMQ was successfully employed for in-situ imaging of N2H4 and ClO− in living cellsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New advances of DNA methylation in liver fibrosis, with special emphasis on the crosstalk between microRNAs and DNA methylation machinery

AbstractEpigenetics refers to the study of heritable changes in the pattern of gene expression that is controlled by a mechanism specifically not due to changes the primary DNA sequence. Well-known epigenetic mechanisms include DNA methylation, post-translational histone modifications and RNA-based mechanisms including those controlled by small non-coding RNAs (miRNAs). Recent studies have shown that epigenetic modifications orchestrate the hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and liver fibrosis. In this review we focus on the aberrant methylation of CpG island promoters of select genes is the prominent epigenetic mechanism to effectively silence gene transcription facilitating HSC activation and liver fibrosis. Furthermore, we also discuss epigenetic dysregulation of tumor-suppressor miRNA genes by promoter DNA methylation and the interaction of DNA methylation with miRNAs involved in the regulation of HSC activation and liver fibrosis. Recent advances in epigenetics alterations in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and their possible use as new therapeutic targets and biomarkers

Bifurcation and chaos of a flag in an inviscid flow

A two-dimensional model is developed to study the flutter instability of a flag immersed in an inviscid flow. Two dimensionless parameters governing the system are the structure-to-fluid mass ratio M⁎ and the dimensionless incoming flow velocity U⁎. A transition from a static steady state to a chaotic state is investigated at a fixed M⁎=1 with increasing U⁎. Five single-frequency periodic flapping states are identified along the route, including four symmetrical oscillation states and one asymmetrical oscillation state. For the symmetrical states, the oscillation frequency increases with the increase of U⁎, and the drag force on the flag changes linearly with the Strouhal number. Chaotic states are observed when U⁎ is relatively large. Three chaotic windows are observed along the route. In addition, the system transitions from one periodic state to another through either period-doubling bifurcations or quasi-periodic bifurcations, and it transitions from a periodic state to a chaotic state through quasi-periodic bifurcations