Liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear multifragmentation

The equation of state of nuclear matter suggests that at suitable beam energies the disassembling hot system formed in heavy ion collisions will pass through a liquid-gas coexistence region. Searching for the signatures of the phase transition has been a very important focal point of experimental endeavours in heavy ion collisions, in the last fifteen years. Simultaneously theoretical models have been developed to provide information about the equation of state and reaction mechanisms consistent with the experimental observables. This article is a review of this endeavour.Comment: 63 pages, 27 figures, submitted to Adv. Nucl. Phys. Some typos corrected, minor text change

Disparities and risks of sexually transmissible infections among men who have sex with men in China: a meta-analysis and data synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including Hepatitis B and C virus, are emerging public health risks in China, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study aims to assess the magnitude and risks of STIs among Chinese MSM. METHODS: Chinese and English peer-reviewed articles were searched in five electronic databases from January 2000 to February 2013. Pooled prevalence estimates for each STI infection were calculated using meta-analysis. Infection risks of STIs in MSM, HIV-positive MSM and male sex workers (MSW) were obtained. This review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. RESULTS: Eighty-eight articles (11 in English and 77 in Chinese) investigating 35,203 MSM in 28 provinces were included in this review. The prevalence levels of STIs among MSM were 6.3% (95% CI: 3.5-11.0%) for chlamydia, 1.5% (0.7-2.9%) for genital wart, 1.9% (1.3-2.7%) for gonorrhoea, 8.9% (7.8-10.2%) for hepatitis B (HBV), 1.2% (1.0-1.6%) for hepatitis C (HCV), 66.3% (57.4-74.1%) for human papillomavirus (HPV), 10.6% (6.2-17.6%) for herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) and 4.3% (3.2-5.8%) for Ureaplasma urealyticum. HIV-positive MSM have consistently higher odds of all these infections than the broader MSM population. As a subgroup of MSM, MSW were 2.5 (1.4-4.7), 5.7 (2.7-12.3), and 2.2 (1.4-3.7) times more likely to be infected with chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HCV than the broader MSM population, respectively. CONCLUSION: Prevalence levels of STIs among MSW were significantly higher than the broader MSM population. Co-infection of HIV and STIs were prevalent among Chinese MSM. Integration of HIV and STIs healthcare and surveillance systems is essential in providing effective HIV/STIs preventive measures and treatments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO NO: CRD42013003721

Graphene Photonics and Optoelectronics

The richness of optical and electronic properties of graphene attracts enormous interest. Graphene has high mobility and optical transparency, in addition to flexibility, robustness and environmental stability. So far, the main focus has been on fundamental physics and electronic devices. However, we believe its true potential to be in photonics and optoelectronics, where the combination of its unique optical and electronic properties can be fully exploited, even in the absence of a bandgap, and the linear dispersion of the Dirac electrons enables ultra-wide-band tunability. The rise of graphene in photonics and optoelectronics is shown by several recent results, ranging from solar cells and light emitting devices, to touch screens, photodetectors and ultrafast lasers. Here we review the state of the art in this emerging field.Comment: Review Nature Photonics, in pres

LRP16 Integrates into NF-κB Transcriptional Complex and Is Required for Its Functional Activation

BACKGROUND: Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)-mediated pathways have been widely implicated in cell survival, development and tumor progression. Although the molecular events of determining NF-κB translocation from cytoplasm to nucleus have been extensively documented, the regulatory mechanisms of NF-κB activity inside the nucleus are still poorly understood. Being a special member of macro domain proteins, LRP16 was previously identified as a coactivator of both estrogen receptor and androgen receptor, and as an interactor of NF-κB coactivator UXT. Here, we investigated the regulatory role of LRP16 on NF-κB activation. METHODOLOGY: GST pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation (CoIP) assays assessed protein-protein interactions. The functional activity of NF-κB was assessed by luciferase assays, changes in expression of its target genes, and its DNA binding ability. Annexin V staining and flow cytometry analysis were used to evaluate cell apoptosis. Immunohistochemical staining of LRP16 and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based evaluation of active NF-κB were performed on primary human gastric carcinoma samples. RESULTS: We demonstrate that LRP16 integrates into NF-κB transcriptional complex through associating with its p65 component. RNA interference knockdown of the endogenous LRP16 in cells leads to impaired NF-κB activity and significantly attenuated NF-κB-dependent gene expression. Mechanistic analysis revealed that knockdown of LRP16 did not affect tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)-induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB, but blunted the formation or stabilization of functional NF-κB/p300/CREB-binding protein transcription complex in the nucleus. In addition, knockdown of LRP16 also sensitizes cells to apoptosis induced by TNF-α. Finally, a positive link between LRP16 expression intensity in nuclei of tumor cells and NF-κB activity was preliminarily established in human gastric carcinoma specimens. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings not only indicate that LRP16 is a crucial regulator for NF-κB activation inside the nucleus, but also suggest that LRP16 may be an important contributor to the aberrant activation of NF-κB in tumors

Exploiting Magnetic Resonance Angiography Imaging Improves Model Estimation of BOLD Signal

The change of BOLD signal relies heavily upon the resting blood volume fraction () associated with regional vasculature. However, existing hemodynamic data assimilation studies pretermit such concern. They simply assign the value in a physiologically plausible range to get over ill-conditioning of the assimilation problem and fail to explore actual . Such performance might lead to unreliable model estimation. In this work, we present the first exploration of the influence of on fMRI data assimilation, where actual within a given cortical area was calibrated by an MR angiography experiment and then was augmented into the assimilation scheme. We have investigated the impact of on single-region data assimilation and multi-region data assimilation (dynamic cause modeling, DCM) in a classical flashing checkerboard experiment. Results show that the employment of an assumed in fMRI data assimilation is only suitable for fMRI signal reconstruction and activation detection grounded on this signal, and not suitable for estimation of unobserved states and effective connectivity study. We thereby argue that introducing physically realistic in the assimilation process may provide more reliable estimation of physiological information, which contributes to a better understanding of the underlying hemodynamic processes. Such an effort is valuable and should be well appreciated

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

MicroRNA-125b Induces Metastasis by Targeting STARD13 in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting mRNAs to trigger either translation repression or mRNA degradation. miR-125b is down-regulated in human breast cancer cells compared with the normal ones except highly metastatic tumor cells MDA-MB-231. However, few functional studies were designed to investigate metastatic potential of miR-125b. In this study, the effects of miR-125b on metastasis in human breast cancer cells were studied, and the targets of miR-125b were also explored. Transwell migration assay, cell wound healing assay, adhesion assay and nude mice model of metastasis were utilized to investigate the effects of miR-125b on metastasis potential in vitro and in vivo. In addition, it was implied STARD13 (DLC2) was a direct target of miR-125b by Target-Scan analysis, luciferase reporter assay and western blot. Furthermore, activation of STARD13 was identified responsible for metastasis induced by miR-125b through a siRNA targeting STARD13. qRT-PCR, immunofluorescent assay and western blot was used to observe the variation of Vimentin and α-SMA in breast cancer cells. In summary, our study provided new insights into the function of miR-125b during the metastasis of breat cancer cells and also suggested the role of miR-125b in pro-metastasis by targeting STARD13

Synaptic Connections of the Neurokinin 1 Receptor-Like Immunoreactive Neurons in the Rat Medullary Dorsal Horn

The synaptic connections between neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor-like immunoreactive (LI) neurons and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-, glycine (Gly)-, serotonin (5-HT)- or dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH, a specific marker for norepinephrinergic neuronal structures)-LI axon terminals in the rat medullary dorsal horn (MDH) were examined under electron microscope by using a pre-embedding immunohistochemical double-staining technique. NK1 receptor-LI neurons were observed principally in laminae I and III, only a few of them were found in lamina II of the MDH. GABA-, Gly-, 5-HT-, or DBH-LI axon terminals were densely encountered in laminae I and II, and sparsely in lamina III of the MDH. Some of these GABA-, Gly-, 5-HT-, or DBH-LI axon terminals were observed to make principally symmetric synapses with NK1 receptor-LI neuronal cell bodies and dendritic processes in laminae I, II and III of the MDH. The present results suggest that neurons expressing NK1 receptor within the MDH might be modulated by GABAergic and glycinergic inhibitory intrinsic neurons located in the MDH and 5-HT- or norepinephrine (NE)-containing descending fibers originated from structures in the brainstem

Widespread Contribution of Gdf7 Lineage to Cerebellar Cell Types and Implications for Hedgehog-Driven Medulloblastoma Formation

The roof plate is a specialized embryonic midline tissue of the central nervous system that functions as a signaling center regulating dorsal neural patterning. In the developing hindbrain, roof plate cells express Gdf7 and previous genetic fate mapping studies showed that these cells contribute mostly to non-neural choroid plexus epithelium. We demonstrate here that constitutive activation of the Sonic hedgehog signaling pathway in the Gdf7 lineage invariably leads to medulloblastoma. Lineage tracing analysis reveals that Gdf7-lineage cells not only are a source of choroid plexus epithelial cells, but are also present in the cerebellar rhombic lip and contribute to a subset of cerebellar granule neuron precursors, the presumed cell-of-origin for Sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma. We further show that Gdf7-lineage cells also contribute to multiple neuronal and glial cell types in the cerebellum, including glutamatergic granule neurons, unipolar brush cells, Purkinje neurons, GABAergic interneurons, Bergmann glial cells, and white matter astrocytes. These findings establish hindbrain roof plate as a novel source of diverse neural cell types in the cerebellum that is also susceptible to oncogenic transformation by deregulated Sonic hedgehog signaling

Asthma susceptible genes in Chinese population: A meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Published data regarding the associations between genetic variants and asthma risk in Chinese population were inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate asthma susceptible genes in Chinese population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The authors conducted 18 meta-analyzes for 18 polymorphisms in 13 genes from eighty-two publications.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven polymorphisms were found being associated with risk of asthma, namely: <it>A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease 33 </it>(<it>ADAM33</it>) T1-C/T (odds ratio [OR] = 6.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.69-13.73), <it>Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme </it>(<it>ACE</it>) D/I (OR = 3.85, 95%CI: 2.49-5.94), <it>High-affinity IgE receptor β chain </it>(<it>FcεRIβ</it>) -6843G/A (OR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.01-2.22), <it>Interleukin 13</it>(<it>IL-13</it>) -1923C/T (OR = 2.99, 95%CI: 2.12-4.24), <it>IL-13 </it>-2044A/G (OR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.07-2.08), <it>Regulated upon Activation, Normal T cell Expressed and Secreted </it>(<it>RANTES</it>) -28C/G (OR = 1.64, 95%CI: 1.09-2.46), <it>Tumor Necrosis Factor-α </it>(<it>TNF-α</it>) -308G/A(OR = 1.42, 95%CI: 1.09, 1.85). After subgroup analysis by age, the <it>ACE </it>D/I, <it>β2-Adrenergic Receptor </it>(<it>β2-AR</it>) -79G/C, <it>TNF-α </it>-308G/A, <it>Interleukin 4 receptor</it>(<it>IL-4R</it>) -1902G/A and <it>IL-13 </it>-1923C/T polymorphisms were found significantly associated with asthma risk in Chinese children. In addition, the <it>ACE </it>D/I, <it>FcεRIβ </it>-6843G/A, <it>TNF-α </it>-308G/A, <it>IL-13 </it>-1923C/T and <it>IL-13 </it>-2044A/G polymorphisms were associated with asthma risk in Chinese adults.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>ADAM33, FcεRIβ, RANTES, TNF-α, ACE, β2-AR, IL-4R </it>and <it>IL-13 </it>genes could be proposed as asthma susceptible genes in Chinese population. Given the limited number of studies, more data are required to validate these associations.</p