697 research outputs found
QCD Factorization Based on Six-Quark Operator Effective Hamiltonian from Perturbative QCD and Charmless Bottom Meson Decays
The charmless bottom meson decays are systematically investigated based on an
approximate six quark operator effective Hamiltonian from perturbative QCD. It
is shown that within this framework the naive QCD factorization method provides
a simple way to evaluate the hadronic matrix elements of two body mesonic
decays. The singularities caused by on mass-shell quark propagator and gluon
exchanging interaction are appropriately treated. Such a simple framework
allows us to make theoretical predictions for the decay amplitudes with
reasonable input parameters. The resulting theoretical predictions for all the
branching ratios and CP asymmetries in the charmless decays are found to be consistent with the current experimental data
except for a few decay modes. The observed large branching ratio in decay remains a puzzle though the predicted branching ratio may be
significantly improved by considering the large vertex corrections in the
effective Wilson coefficients. More precise measurements of charmless bottom
meson decays, especially on CP-violations in and decay modes, will provide a useful test and guide us to a better
understanding on perturbative and nonperturbative QCD.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figures, typos correcte
Adrenomedullin expression in epithelial ovarian cancers and promotes HO8910 cell migration associated with upregulating integrin α5β1 and phosphorylating FAK and paxillin
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women worldwide. Adrenomedullin (AM) is a multifunctional peptide which presents in various kinds of tumors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, we characterized the expression and function of AM in epithelial ovarian cancer using immunohistochemistry staining. Exogenous AM and small interfering RNA (siRNA) specific for AM receptor CRLR were treated to EOC cell line HO8910. Wound healing assay and flow cytometry were used to measure the migration ability and expression of integrin α5 of HO8910 cells after above treatments. Western blot was used to examine the phosphorylation of FAK and paxillin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that patients with high AM expression showed a higher incidence of metastasis, larger residual size of tumors after cytoreduction and shorter disease-free and overall survival time. Exogenous AM induced ovarian cancer cell migration in time- and dose- dependent manners. AM upregulated the expression of integrin α5 and phosphorylation of FAK, paxillin as well.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggested that AM contributed to the progression of EOC and had additional roles in EOC cell migration by activating the integrin α5β1 signaling pathway. Therefore, we presumed that AM could be a potential molecular therapeutic target for ovarian carcinoma.</p
Bloch surface plasmon enhanced blue emission from InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode structures with Al-coated GaN nanorods
InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode structures with Al-coated GaN nanorods were fabricated by using soft ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography. The intensity of light emission was found to be greatly enhanced due to the strong near-fields confined at the interface of Al/GaN and extended to the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) active region. The dynamics of carrier recombination and plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering were also investigated, providing a progressive view on the effective energy transfer between MQWs and surface plasmons.This work was supported by Special Funds for Major State
Basic Research Project (Nos. 2011CB301900 and
2012CB619304), the Hi-tech Research Project (No.
2014AA032605), National Nature Science Foundation of
China (Nos. 11104130, 61274003, 60990311, 61176063, and
61422401), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents
in University (No. NCET-11-0229), Nature Science Foundation
of Jiangsu Province (Nos. BK2011556, BK2011010,
BK2010385, BY2013077, and BE2011132), Funds of Key
Laboratory (No. 9140C140102120C14), Scientific Innovation
Research of College Graduate in Jiangsu Province
(CXZZ12_0052), PAPD, the Fundamental Research Funds
for the Central Universities, the Research Funds from NJUYangzhou
Institute of Opto-electronics, and the Australian
Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
(DE130101700)
Dynamic spin-lattice coupling and nematic fluctuations in NaFeAs
We use inelastic neutron scattering to study acoustic phonons and spin
excitations in single crystals of NaFeAs, a parent compound of iron pnictide
superconductors. NaFeAs exhibits a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural
transition at K and a collinear antiferromagnetic (AF) order at
K. While longitudinal and out-of-plane transverse acoustic
phonons behave as expected, the in-plane transverse acoustic phonons reveal
considerable softening on cooling to , and then harden on approaching
before saturating below . In addition, we find that spin-spin
correlation lengths of low-energy magnetic excitations within the FeAs layer
and along the -axis increase dramatically below , and show weak anomaly
across . These results suggest that the electronic nematic phase present
in the paramagnetic tetragonal phase is closely associated with dynamic
spin-lattice coupling, possibly arising from the one-phonon-two-magnon
mechanism
Mapping Opuntia stricta in the arid and semi-arid environment of Kenya using sentinel-2 imagery and ensemble machine learning classifiers
Globally, grassland biomes form one of the largest terrestrial covers and present critical social–ecological benefits. In Kenya, Arid and Semi-arid Lands (ASAL) occupy 80% of the landscape and are critical for the livelihoods of millions of pastoralists. However, they have been invaded by Invasive Plant Species (IPS) thereby compromising their ecosystem functionality. Opuntia stricta, a well-known IPS, has invaded the ASAL in Kenya and poses a threat to pastoralism, leading to livestock mortality and land degradation. Thus, identification and detailed estimation of its cover is essential for drawing an effective management strategy. The study aimed at utilizing the Sentinel-2 multispectral sensor to detect Opuntia stricta in a heterogeneous ASAL in Laikipia County, using ensemble machine learning classifiers. To illustrate the potential of Sentinel-2, the detection of Opuntia stricta was based on only the spectral bands as well as in combination with vegetation and topographic indices using Extreme Gradient Boost (XGBoost) and Random Forest (RF) classifiers to detect the abundance. Study results showed that the overall accuracies of Sentinel 2 spectral bands were 80% and 84.4%, while that of combined spectral bands, vegetation, and topographic indices was 89.2% and 92.4% for XGBoost and RF classifiers, respectively. The inclusion of topographic indices that enhance characterization of biological processes, and vegetation indices that minimize the influence of soil and the effects of atmosphere, contributed by improving the accuracy of the classification. Qualitatively, Opuntia stricta spatially was found along river banks, flood plains, and near settlements but limited in forested areas. Our results demonstrated the potential of Sentinel-2 multispectral sensors to effectively detect and map Opuntia stricta in a complex heterogeneous ASAL, which can support conservation and rangeland management policies that aim to map and list threatened areas, and conserve the biodiversity and productivity of rangeland ecosystems
Endothelial Atg7 Deficiency Ameliorates Acute Cerebral Injury Induced by Ischemia/Reperfusion
Ischemic strokes often result in cerebral injury due to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Although the local inflammatory responses are known to play a primary role in the brain I/R injury, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the current study, we investigated the effect of brain endothelial Atg7 (autophagy related 7) depletion in the acute brain injury induced by ischemia and reperfusion. Endothelial knockout of Atg7 in mice (Atg7 eKO) was found to significantly attenuate both the infarct volume and the neurological defects induced by I/R when compared to the controls. In fact, brain inflammatory responses induced by I/R were alleviated by the Atg7 eKO. Furthermore, an increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α, was observed in brain endothelial cells in response to oxygen/glucose depletion/reoxygenation, which was decreased by the shRNA-mediated Atg7 knockdown. Interestingly, Atg7 knockdown reduced IKKβ phosphorylation, leading to NF-κB deactivation and downregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines mRNA levels. Further, Atg7 transcriptional regulation function is independent of its role in autophagy. Taken together, our results demonstrated that brain endothelial Atg7 contributes to brain damage during I/R by modulating the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Depletion of Atg7 in brain endothelium has a neuroprotective effect against the ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute cerebral injury during stroke
Unraveling the Novel Protective Effect of Patchouli Alcohol Against Helicobacter pylori-Induced Gastritis: Insights Into the Molecular Mechanism in vitro and in vivo
Patchouli alcohol (PA), a natural tricyclic sesquiterpene extracted from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. (Labiatae), has been found to exhibit anti-Helicobacter pylori and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of PA against H. pylori-induced gastritis in vitro and in vivo, and determined the underlying mechanism. In the in vivo experiment, a C57BL/6 mouse model of gastritis was established using H. pylori SS1, and treatments with standard triple therapy or 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg PA were performed for 2 weeks. Results indicated that PA effectively attenuated oxidative stress by decreasing contents of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malonyldialdehyde (MDA), and increasing levels of non-protein sulfhydryl (NP-SH), catalase and glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disulphide (GSSG). Additionally, treatment with PA significantly attenuated the secretions of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), keratinocyte chemoattractant and interleukin 6 (IL-6). PA (20 mg/kg) significantly protected the gastric mucosa from H. pylori-induced damage. In the in vitro experiment, GES-1 cells were cocultured with H. pylori NCTC11637 at MOI = 100:1 and treated with different doses of PA (5, 10, and 20 μg/ml). Results indicated that PA not only significantly increased the cell viability and decreased cellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, but also markedly elevated the mitochondrial membrane potential and remarkably attenuated GES-1 cellular apoptosis, thereby protecting gastric epithelial cells against injuries caused by H. pylori. PA also inhibited the secretions of pro-inflammatory factors, such as monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6. Furthermore, after PA treatment, the combination of NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) and cysteine-aspartic proteases 1 (CASPASE-1), the expression levels of NLRP3 inflammasome-related proteins, such as thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), pro-CASPASE-1, cle-CASPASE-1, and NLRP3 and genes (NLRP3 and CASPASE1) were significantly decreased as compared to the model group. In conclusion, treatment with PA for 2 weeks exhibited highly efficient protective effect against H. pylori-induced gastritis and related damages. The underlying mechanism might involve antioxidant activity, inhibition of pro-inflammatory factor and regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome function. PA exerted anti-H. pylori and anti-gastritis effects and thus had the potential to be a promising candidate for treatment of H. pylori-related diseases
Search for the Rare Decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e, J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e, and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e-
We report on a search for the decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c., J/Psi -->
D- e+ nu_e + c.c., and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e- + c.c. in a sample of 5.8 * 10^7
J/Psi events collected with the BESII detector at the BEPC. No excess of signal
above background is observed, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the
branching fractions are set: B(J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c.)<4.8*10^-5, B(J/Psi
--> D- e+ nu_e + c.c.) D0bar e+ e- + c.c.)<1.1*10^-5Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Measurements of J/psi Decays into 2(pi+pi-)eta and 3(pi+pi-)eta
Based on a sample of 5.8X 10^7 J/psi events taken with the BESII detector,
the branching fractions of J/psi--> 2(pi+pi-)eta and J/psi-->3(pi+pi-)eta are
measured for the first time to be (2.26+-0.08+-0.27)X10^{-3} and
(7.24+-0.96+-1.11)X10^{-4}, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
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